Page:J Allan Dunn--The Girl of Ghost Mountain.djvu/201

Rh Thora rode up to Mary as the latter slid from her horse. Thora dismounted and wrapped the girl in her motherly arms.

"Oh, my lamb. My pritty," she cried.

The cowboys instinctively moved off. Sheridan answered a few of their questions and promised them fuller details at the ranch.

"The main thing is, she's safe and sound," he said. "Boys, for her sake, the less said about this affair the better."

"Seguro," assured Stoney. "You won't have to worry about that, Boss." Then he joined Jackson.

"Where you git the likely lookin' hawss, Red?"

"Swapped him for my roan. Roan's gone to horse-heaven. Hollister's gone t'other direction. No cards, no flowers, an' no regrets. Mum's the word. Sabe?"

"I don't have to be told twice," said the indignant Stoney.

Thora's face had lost its plump outline, it had traces of tears, it was drawn with anxiety.

"I haven't slept nor ate, not till I bane know about you," she declared to Mary.

"Thora! I was more selfish."

"You don't bane have a selfish bone in your body. I had to watch that Juanita. She bane a minx. She bane want to flirt with all the cowboys. An' they bane want to go after you but I gave them their orders. Now we bane go back home to the mountain, pretty, an' fix up all over again. I wish I bane there to kill that Hollister," she added simply. "I kill him slow an' hard."