To all of these jibes the two wretched men made no response. They hurried from stake to stake, and when the last had been torn out and thrown savagely upon the ground, they turned and faced their fair young captor.
"Now, will ye let us go?" Sam snarled. He longed to express his feelings in more vehement words, but his courage was not equal to the occasion.
"Yes, you may go now," Nance replied, as she dropped the butt of the rifle upon the ground. "My! that tired my arms."
The Twins were about to scuttle away, when Tom stopped them.
"Hold on a minute," he commanded. "I want a word with ye. Ye may consider yerselves mighty lucky to git clear of this job with whole skins. The lassie an' her dad have been mighty good to ye. Mebbe it wouldn't have been the same if we'd happened along a little sooner. Ye might as well know first as last, Dave Pelchie, and Sam Purvis, that if ye interfere with this property agin ye won't git off as easy as ye have this time. So git out of this as quick as ye kin, fer the sight of yer measly faces makes me sick."
The miners watched for a while two defeated and crestfallen men as they skulked down to the river. Then, with Tom leading, they all shook hands with the heroine of the day.
"We're proud of ye, Miss, that's what we are," Tom exclaimed.
"Hear, hear!" agreed his companions.
But Dick, as he took her hand, held it a little longer than the rest. Their eyes met, and though no word fell from their lips, a language which the others could not understand passed between them—the language of the heart.