Page:Allan Dunn--Dead Man's Gold.djvu/104

90 had no thought of warmer acquaintanceship. He recognized the passionate nature of the girl, warm-blooded, impetuous, quick to anger, and swift and strong in gratitude for his taking up her cause and thrashing Padilla. But she was not his type. If, indeed, he had a special type. Stone had never been in love, had never felt the stir to mate in his careless progress through life. Most of the women he had intimately known were not the mating sort.

He switched back to Healy and to Harvey. What had the Desert Rat meant by asking Healy if "he was going through with it, if he was going to stick?" Through with what? If Harvey and Healy were leagued it would be policy for Stone to form an alliance with Larkin. But at present they all faced a common peril in the Indians.

The Desert Rat suddenly materialized out of the night.

"Two o'clock," he said. "Heard or seen anything?"

Stone told him of the green orbs.

"Coyote likely. Might have bin a mountain lion. Did the burros cut up any?"

"No."

"Then I reckon it was just a coyote an' the wind was agin him. You better turn in. I'll stay on till sun-up an' start the coffee. Did you say you was goin' to write a book about the caves?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Nothin'. On'y I never did see no sense 'bout