Tony Gomez had entered his prison once since morning and this for the purpose of bringing him in a frugal lunch. Evidently the Mexicans did not think much of lunch, or else Espato had repented of treating him too well and had decided to start in the starving process after all.
On this occasion Tony Gomez had not said a word, and what is more, had stubbornly refused to be drawn into conversation. As a result, Phil concluded that he had been too hasty in supposing that the Mexican had a grudge against Espato. His heart sank as this one faint hope appeared about to elude him.
Toward evening the suspense became almost unbearable. Despite the ache in his muscles, Phil paced the tiny prison with the restlessness of a caged animal. He almost wished that Espato would make up his mind to kill him at once. Anything would be better than this.
And still the never-ending hours passed slowly, monotonously. Phil wondered at the absolute stillness in the camp. Espato’s greasers were usually a noisy lot. The dead silence was getting on his already over-wrought nerves. He caught himself listening breathlessly for some sort of noise from the outside. He began almost to wish for the opening of the door, even if it should be Espato who entered.
Then he started as there was the noise of a rusty bolt being slipped aside and the heavy door of his prison opened slowly.
Phil braced himself, ready for anything, taking his stand at the back of the cell. Then, his mouth dropped open in utter surprise. For, instead of the brutal Espato whom he had expected to see, there crept through the narrow aperture made by the partly opened door, a pretty Mexican girl!
CHAPTER XXV
The Visitor At Dusk
To say that Phil was astonished, would have been to be putting it mildly. The sight of this young, dark-haired, dark-eyed girl, where he had more than half expected to see the villainous face of Espato, robbed him for a moment of the power of speech. He simply stood and stared.
The girl had closed the door, or rather, signaled that it should be closed, for it was pushed to from the outside, and had turned to him with a shy smile on her face.
“You are surprise to see me, senor, are you not?” she asked in a soft voice.