Of course he had not dreamed that she was
the mistress of Las Palmas. That altered matters, and yet--they
were to spend a long idle day together. If the Mexican did not
come, another night like this would follow, and she was virtually
his prisoner. Perhaps, after all--
Dave Law stirred nervously and sighed.
"Don't this beat hell?" he murmured.
II
THE AMBUSH
Alaire Austin slept badly. The day's hardships had left their
traces. The toxins of fatigue not only poisoned her muscles with
aches and pains, but drugged her brain and rendered the night a
long succession of tortures during which she experienced for a
second time the agonies of thirst and fatigue and despair. Extreme
physical ordeals, like profound emotional upheavals, leave
imprints upon the brain, and while the body may recover quickly,
it often requires considerable time to rest exhausted nerves. The
finer the nervous organism, the slower is the process of
recuperation. Like most normal women, Alaire had a surprising
amount of endurance, both nervous and muscular, but, having drawn
heavily against her reserve force, she paid the penalty. During
the early hours of the night she slept hardly at all, and as soon
as her bodily discomfort began to decrease her mind became unruly.
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