Dave looked him over idly, from head to heel, then murmured: "You would do well to go slow, compadre. Panfilo made his own quarrels."
"We were like brothers, and I do not know of any quarrels. But I shall find out. It begins to look bad for somebody. After he left that charco there is—nothing. Where did he go? Whom did he encounter? Rosa will ask me those questions. I am not given to boasting, señor, but I am a devilish bad man in my way."
XV
THE TRUTH ABOUT PANFILO
Nothing more was said during the luncheon, but when Alaire had finished eating and her two employees had begun their meal, she climbed the bank of the arroyo ostensibly to find a cool spot. Having succeeded, she called to Dave:
"There is a nice breeze up here."
The Ranger's face set; rising slowly, he climbed the bank after her. When they stood face to face in the shade of a gnarly oak-tree, Alaire asked him point-blank:
"Where is Panfilo Sanchez?"
Dave met her eyes squarely; his own were cold and hard. "He's where he dropped at my second shot," said he.
He could hear his companion's sharp inhalation. He did not flinch at the look she turned upon him.