"You saw his guards, then?"
"Yes, forty or fifty of them, and I would rather have them as friends than foes. He wants you to ride out with me to meet him when I go next with some information that he needs."
"When will that be?" asked the lady.
"In the early morning, or perhaps to-night, if nothing happens to me between now and sunset to make it unnecessary!"
"Between now and sunset? That is within two hours. Do you anticipate any danger?"
"Not much. I have a little task before me. I have a horse to break, and a man known as Will Bill to tame."
"Wild Bill!–the dead-shot, the desperado, who has killed at least one man for every year of his life?"
"Yes, the same. But ask me no more questions now. After I have tamed him I will report–or, if he has settled me, there will be no need of it."
"Do not run this risk."
"It must be done. He has, in a manner, defied me, and I accept his defiance!"