Page:Vance--The trey o hearts.djvu/262

228 At this Barcus breathed an unheard but fervent prayer of thanksgiving, whose spirit he doubted not was shared by Alan. For it stuck in the memory of Barcus that their friend the prospector (whose shack had sheltered Rose and Barcus after their transit of the desert and prior to the man-made avalanche which had afforded this temporary immunity from pursuit) had mentioned in the hearing of Rose the fact that his string of burros was limited to three. And this intelligence Rose had undoubtedly communicated to Alan.

This, then, must have been the nub of the lovers' quarrel: Rose's insistence that Judith be left behind, Alan's reluctance to consent to this lest he convict himself of the charge of ingratitude, remembering the great service his erstwhile antagonist had done him.

If only Judith might not find cause to change her mind!

Thus, the prayer of Thomas Barcus.

But one dared not trust that young woman to demean herself consistently for as long as two consecutive minutes. It would need no more than a sisterly little spat with Rose to waken the perverse demon dormant in Judith, and bring her right-about-face on the question of staying behind with her father.

Now Mr. Barcus earnestly desired that nothing of the sort should happen. In him distaste for the society