He took another look over the edge.  All the men were rolled up in their blankets asleep, except an old Indian who sat crouched over the fire.

Ted carefully lowered himself over the edge for the descent.

Down he went slowly and quietly, and soon his feet touched the ground just back of Stella’s tent.

“Hiss-t!” He gave a low, sibilant warning of his presence, and in a moment the corner of the tent moved aside, and he saw Stella’s bright eyes looking into his.  He motioned her to come out, and the flap was gently lowered again.

In a few moments, which seemed hours, the flap was raised again, and Stella crawled forth.

“Oh, Ted,” she whispered, pressing his hand.  He held up a warning finger as he rapidly tied the rope beneath her arms.

“Bud will pull you up.  Good luck,” he whispered.

“Are you going to stay down here?” she whispered back.

“Yes, I must.  Hurry!” He gave the rope two jerks, and it at once began to tighten, and Stella’s feet left the ground as she slowly ascended skyward.

Ted, concealed against the wall back of the tent, saw her go up and up.  She was more than halfway to the top when an old Indian woman crawled out of the tent, and, casting her eyes aloft, saw Stella.

A sudden scream rang through the hole.  It was the Indian’s warning.  The rope began to go faster, and before the sleepy men in the hole had been able to sit up and rub their eyes, Ted saw Stella reach the top and disappear over its edge.

But the old Indian woman had run among the men crying out something in her native tongue.  Evidently she was telling of the escape of Stella, for in an instant all sleep vanished and the place was full of men running about or staring up at the edge of the wall over which Stella had gone.

Then Shan Rhue came forth, swearing horribly.  He caught the old squaw by the arm and threw her down.

“So you let the white squaw go, did you?” he asked.  “And how much was you paid for it?” But the poor old wretch only shrank closer to the ground and moaned her protests that she had nothing to do with the escape of the white squaw.

Shan Rhue strode toward the tent, behind which Ted was crouching with his hand on his revolver.

Shan Rhue threw open the front of the tent and looked within.  Then he straightened up, and caught a glimpse of Ted, whom he did not at first recognize in the gloom.

He reached in his powerful right arm to pull the intruder out, and looked into the muzzle of Ted’s six-shooter, behind which he now saw Ted’s smiling face.

At that he straightened up with a loud laugh that filled the Hole in the Wall and reverberated from side to side.

“Well, of all the luck,” he shouted.  “This has worked out just as I expected.  I knew that if I got ther gal in yere that you’d be after her, an’ here you are.  Well, my bucko, you remember what I said about getting even with you.  Now is the time.  You’ve come to the end.”