Inza was successful in avoiding Frank for some time. Once he thought he had her safely overtaken, only to find she was not crouching in a shadow of a bush where he fancied she must be. At last he paused in perplexity, realizing he had lost all trace of her.
“Inza!” he called. “Where are you?”
All around him were stunted cedars, and rocks, and shadows.
A sudden fear came upon him. What if something had happened to her? Once more he called her name.
Out of the shadows something came, moving swiftly, and a moment later a bareheaded, panting man dashed up and seized Frank’s arm.
“Merciful heavens, señor!” cried the familiar voice of Del Norte, “who was the lady? I caught barely a glimpse of her! It’s the most frightful thing! We must hasten to find her, for she may be yet alive.”
“What’s that?” hastily demanded Merry, grasping the Mexican in turn. “What are you talking about, Del Norte?”
“Why did she do it?” moaned the Mexican, releasing his hold on Frank to wring his hands. “She seemed distracted. She seemed crazy. I saw her flit along, but didn’t dream she meant to leap from the precipice.”
With sudden fear, Merry gave the panting man a shake.
“What are you talking about, you crazy imbecile?” he demanded. “It was Inza Burrage you saw!”