“They could gain nothing by spoiling our schemes, Gonzales.”
Gonzales laughed softly and shook his head.
“Never trust a gringo,” he advised. “When their own color is concerned, they do not always count the cost. In many ways they are very great fools.”
“They will go back before the priest comes.”
“We do not know,” argued Gonzales. “They have said that this tall prisoner’s friend escaped to carry the news, and Hawk Hole will be a dangerous place for them. They will torture the tall one, in order to force him to confess, but what then? By this time there are men riding toward the border, Guadalupe, my friend.”
“What would you do?” asked Guadalupe anxiously.
“Ah!”
Gonzales stroked his mustaches and looked very wise.
“Torres is drunk,” he declared. “The girl is worth too much to become the bride of Torres. Suppose we remove the girl in the night, my friend. By morning——”
“You would take her from Torres?”