“What is it, Bonnie Belle?”
“I have a letter from my brother.”
“I guessed as much.”
“It is written in cipher, and was sent to me through some one in the fort who is friendly toward him.”
“I hardly believe that possible, so bitter was the feeling toward him. He must be an ally of his in some way.”
“That may be. But the appeal from him is a strong one, and I have decided to see him.”
“Do you mean it, Ruth?” asked the surprised miner.
“Yes.”
“You are wrong in doing so, very.”
“It may be that I am, but in this case I feel that I must see him. He is an outlaw, it is true. He has committed many crimes as Silk Lasso Sam, the road-agent chief, and yet now he is down, ironed hands and feet, a prisoner at the mercy of his foes. He is under sentence of death, and will soon be led upon the gallows, to die at the end of a rope.