“Did he ask many questions about you?”
“No more than any one would naturally ask.”
“Did he show any curiosity about me?”
“No, you were not mentioned. He said he was hunting but he seemed to be rather interested, too, in prospecting and mining, and asked a lot of questions about the country up here as if he had a general idea of the lay of the land but was not exactly sure.”
Natachee said no more until he had finished his supper. Then, going to a corner of the cabin at the head of his bed, he pulled up a loose board in the floor, and from the hiding place took a revolver with its holster and belt of cartridges.
Offering the weapon to the astounded white man, he said with a meaning smile:
“I brought this for you from Tucson last fall. But, considering everything, I thought that it might be just as well for you not to have it unless some occasion should arise. I am going to leave you for a little while. Until I return you must keep this gun within reach of your hand every minute—day and night.”
Hugh took the weapon awkwardly.
“Do you know how to use it?” asked Natachee sharply.
The other laughed.