It seemed to Reynolds as if he must be beholding a vision, so wonderful did it all appear.  He gazed upon Glen with intense admiration.  He could hardly believe it possible that such a sweet, confiding girl could be so changed into an imperious leader in such a short time.  Could she be the same who had bade him such a tender farewell by the shore of the lake in the hills?  She looked more beautiful than ever now, but it was the beauty of wild abandon in the glory of a noble cause, which for the time had transformed this tender maiden into a woman of unselfish daring.  She held him spellbound as she sat so superbly upon her now quiet horse.  Forgotten were his bonds as he watched her, and his one thought was of her.  How had she heard of his trouble? and how had she managed to arrive just at the critical moment?  He longed to hear the story from her own lips.  A passionate desire swept upon him to enfold her in his arms, to tell her how proud he was of what she had done, and to press his lips to hers.  And she was the girl who had been so grossly insulted by his villainous captors!  The thought stung him, and he turned sharply toward the cringing Curly.  The brute was standing there, sullen and defiant.  Reynolds knew that he would soon be free, and then he would deal with the cur.  He heard Glen speak and saw Sconda dismount and disarm the miners.  Last of all he came to Curly, and when the Indian reached for his revolver, the serpent spat at him and cursed wildly.  With a marvelous restraint, Sconda merely took the weapon from the enraged man’s pocket, and then walking over to Reynolds, swiftly cut the cords which bound him to the tree and freed his hands.

Finding himself unbound, Reynolds cast one glance toward Glen, and saw her looking at him with a peculiar expression in her eyes.  He seemed to read there a challenge, which could have but one meaning.  He turned to Curly, and beholding that sneer of contempt still upon his face, he sprang forward and confronted the villain.

“I am free now,” he cried, “and am able to answer your insult to the purest woman upon earth.  It is man to man, and we shall settle it right here.”

But Curly was in no mood for a fight; that was not his nature.  He was a coward at heart, though the failure of his plot made him so angry that he was daringly reckless.  With a curse he started to turn away, but Reynolds caught him by the shoulders and swung him roughly around.

“No, you don’t get off so easily,” he told him.  “One of us must get a drubbing here to-night, and if you can give it to me, come on.”

“Take that, then,” and Curly drew off and hit him a savage blow on the face.

It was all that Reynolds needed, and springing forward, he felled his antagonist to the ground with a single blow.  And there Curly lay, and made no attempt to rise.  He had enough, and he knew in his heart that he was no match for the man standing over him.