He did not offer to shake hands, but stood looking down at his rival, with an odd look of envy on his face.  But it was the envy of a brave and generous man, who acknowledged victory to his foe.

“I give you best, Don Manuel,” he finally said.  “You’ve got me beat at every turn of the road.  You saved my life again, and mighty near paid with your own.  There ain’t anything to say that will cover that, I reckon.”

The Spaniard’s eyes met his steadily, but Pesquiera did not say a word.  He was waiting to see what the other meant.

“You’re a gamer man than I am, and a better one.  All I can say is that I’m sorry and ashamed of myself for the way I treated you.  If you still want to fight me, I’ll stand up and give you a chance to pepper me.  Anything you think right.”

“If you put it so, sir, I have no choice but to join you in regrets and hopes of future amity.”

“I can understand that you’d like to spill me over a ten-acre lot, and that you don’t listen to my apologies with any joy,” said the Coloradoan, smiling whimsically down at his former foe.

“I do not forget that the first offense was mine, Senor Gordon,” the Spaniard answered.

Then came Jimmie Corbett again with a message for Miss Valdes.

“Pablo wants to see you, ma’am.  Just rode over from the ranch.  Says it’s important.”

The hands of the two men met in a strong grip as Valencia left the room, and so, too, did their steady gazes.  Each of them knew that the other was his rival for the heart of the girl.  Oddly enough, each thought the other was the successful suitor.  But there was in each some quality of manliness that drew them together in spite of themselves.

Valencia found Pablo sitting on the porch.  A rifle lay across his knees ready for emergencies.  The deputies had ridden away to the other end of the valley that morning, but Menendez did not intend to be caught napping in case of their unexpected return.

Miss Valdes smiled.  “You needn’t be so careful, Pablo.  I bring you good news—­better than you deserve.  Mr. Gordon has promised to drop the cases against you and Sebastian.  Even if the officers arrest you, nothing can come of it except a trip to Santa Fe for a few days.  If I were you I would give myself up.  The rewards have been withdrawn, so it is not likely your friends will betray you.”

“But, Dona, are you sure?  Will this Americano keep his word?  Is it certain they will not hold me in prison?”

“I tell you it is sure.  Is that not enough?  Did you find Mr. Gordon so ready to give you his word and break it when he was your prisoner?”

“True, Dona.  He laughed at us and told us to kill him.  He is a brave man.”

“And brave men do not lie.”

Pablo turned to his horse and took down from the horn of the saddle a gunny sack tied to it.  This he opened.  From it he drew a tin box that had been badly blistered with heat.