Page:Stewart Edward White--The Rose Dawn.djvu/360

348 they inclined their ears sympathetically; but by not one syllable did they indicate whether a single pellet of all his broadsides had reached the mark. And when he had finished, they went right on with everyday matters as though he had not opened his mouth. It was maddening.

They invited him to participate in everything they did—pigeon shooting, riding the ranch, poker parties, and the like. They expressed regret when he declined curtly, but did not press the matter. Apparently he was as free as air, yet several little things happened to show him that he was well and constantly watched. For example, one day Boyd saw from his room window a stranger driving in with one of the white-topped, spring buggies used for light travelling. This seemed an opportunity to place the fact of his captivity duly on record. Boyd threw open the door, only to find himself confronted by the burly forms of Chino and another.

"You go back now," they told him.

At last he fell into a fiercely sullen fit, like a resentful, impotent, teased bear. The very pressure of his ignorance began to make him uneasy. Try as he would he had gained no inkling of what it was all about, nor how long his detention was to last. His mind had swung to the Peyton deal as the pivot of all this; but for the life of him he could not see how he was there vulnerable. Item by item he went over the whole plan. It was copper-riveted! Nevertheless the cumulative effect of the long hours brought him finally to an instinctive, though non-reasoning, uneasiness in regard to it all. Everything was all right, of course; but he wished he could be there and find out. The only possible way these men could put a spoke in his wheel was by purchasing the notes themselves—if the bank would sell to them! Small chance! Boyd knew both their circumstances and their connections; and he was positive they could raise no such amount. How about raising it elsewhere? Remotely, very remotely possible: but it would have to be from some source unknown to Boyd: and his knowledge of their affiliations was pretty complete. Undoubtedly they were doing this melodramatic kidnapping to give themselves time to try to raise the money. If he had to remain captive until that result was achieved, he re-