"Are the men ready, Pedro?" he inquired at last.
"Uhuh!"
"Good. Keep a close watch on the girl and the young and the old prisoners. I'll be back in a little while. Remember, I hold you responsible for the girl and the others. If you try any tricks or leave this spot, I'll hunt you down—if I have to follow you into the jail at Keno!"
These words showed plainly the desperateness of Roger's mood, and the others followed his every move with apprehension.
Suddenly reining his pony alongside of Shaw, he unwound the sash about his own waist and bound it about the scout's head, blindfolding him.
This done, he seized the horse by the bridle and started to lead it down the canyon.
"Remember, your lives will pay the forfeit if I do not find you all here when I return," he snapped, in warning.
Believing that his end had come, Shaw listened for the slightest sound that might give an inkling as to the fate in store for him. But only the tramp of his horse could he hear.
For minutes that seemed interminable, his suspense continued. Now he thought he caught the sound of rushing water, and feared he was about to plunge into some swirling stream, then, as the sound died away, he told himself that his captor was probably leading him toward some precipice from which he would fall to a horrible death. The uncertainty was maddening. It seemed to him that his head would burst and in his mental agony he writhed and squirmed.
But at last his suffering came to an end.