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"We'll start now," said Kut-le

Alchise led out the horses The squaws each threw an e across a pony's back and followed Alchise's fluttering shirt up thethe bridle of a sedate little horse on which he had fastened a coh-backed saddle

"Come, Rhoda," he said "I'll shorten the stirrups after you are mounted"

Rhoda stood with her back to the wall, her blue-veined hands clutching the rough out-croppings on either side, horror and fear in her eyes

"I can't ride cross-saddle!" she exclaiood horsewo in the side-saddle is out of the question"

"Anything except cross-saddle is utterly out of the question," replied the Indian, "on the sort of trails we have to take You oing to have an expert rider in you by the tiirl turned her face to the afterglow Rees She shuddered and turned back to the young Indian who stood watching her For the ony of her situation was concentrated in horror of another night in the saddle

"Kut-le, I can't!"

"Shall I pick you up and carry you over here?" asked Kut-le patiently

In her weakness and misery, Rhoda's cleft chin quivered There was only irl walked to his side He swung her to the saddle, adjusted the stirrups carefully, then fastened her securely to the saddle with a strap about her waist Rhoda watched hiirl to his satisfaction, he mounted his own horse, and Rhoda's pony followed him tractably up the trail

The trail rose steeply After the first few dizzyto the saddle with hands and knees, was thankful for the security of her new seat The scenery was uncanny to her terrorized eyes To the left were great overhanging walls with cactus growing froht, depth of cañon tohich she dared not look but only trusted herself prayerfully to her steady little horse

As the trail led higher and darkness settled, the cold grew intense and Rhoda cowered and shivered Yet through her fear and discoth had endured even this long In a spot where the trail widened Kut-le dropped back beside her and she felt the warm folds of a Navajo blanket about her shoulders Neither she nor the Indian spoke The ust of the afternoon gave way, slowly, to a lethargy of exhaustion All thought of her frightful predicament, of her friends' anxiety, of Kut-le's treachery, was dulled by a weariness so great that she could only cling to the saddle and pray for the trail to end