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Hardesty was living; although now, of course, every one smoked. Then, back at last in the shadowy alcove which was suddenly vacated by the Jepsons they settled down on the Turkish divan and invited their souls with smoke. It rose up lazily as the talk drifted on and then Rimrock jumped abruptly to his problem. "Mrs. Hardesty," he said, "I'm in a terrible fix and I want you to help me out.
Through the window to the south and west he could see the white face of Mount Geikie, and forty miles away in that wilderness of peaks, the sombre frown of Hardesty; through it the sun came now, flooding his work as he had left it. The last page of manuscript on which he had been working was in his typewriter. He sat down to begin where he had left off in that pivotal situation in his masterpiece.
With a girl like that, and standing all she had from him, to lose her over Mrs. Hardesty! Who was Mrs. Hardesty? And why had she gone to Gunsight and fetched him back to New York? Was it because he was crazy that he had the idea that she was an agent, somehow, of Stoddard?
That two thousand shares of Tecolote stock that she had assured him Stoddard had sold her, wasn't it part of their scheme to lure him away and break up his friendship with Mary? Because if Mrs. Hardesty had it she had never produced it, and there was no record of the transfer on the books. Rimrock brought down his fist and swore a great oath never to see the woman again.
The thing to do was to beat him to it to raid his newly acquired Navajoa stocks and then pinch him until he let go of Tecolote. But it must be done secretly, not a word to anybody, not even to Buckbee or Mrs. Hardesty. They were friends of Stoddard's as well as his it was safest to work alone. So, while outwardly the same good-hearted plunger, Rimrock began his campaign of revenge.
They met at dinner, the lady being indisposed during the day as a result of their strenuous trip, but she came down now, floating gracefully in soft draperies and Rimrock knew why he had built those broad stairs. He had thought, in jail, that he was building them for Mary, but they were for Mrs. Hardesty after all.
"Where are you going?" she asked and the slim, jewelled fingers closed down on his hand like a vise. "Let me go!" muttered Rimrock, as he struggled against her; but she jerked him back to her side. "Don't you dare to humiliate me!" she hissed into his ear, "don't you dare to leave me for her!" "It's Mary!" mumbled Rimrock without taking his eyes from her and Mrs. Hardesty tightened her grasp.
"We'd climb over the mountain and come down on him from above!" exclaimed Langdon, laughing. "Bruce, you're the most senseless idiot on the face of the globe when it comes to climbing mountains! You'd climb over Hardesty or Geikie to shoot a goat from above, even though you could get him from the valley without any work at all. I'm glad it isn't morning. We can get that bear from the ravine!"
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