Adam broke down then. Sobs made his utterance incoherent. "Guerd is no brother-of mine-any more!" he burst out. His accent was one of humiliation and cheated love. "And as for-forher-I'll never-never think of her-again."When once more he turned to the river, a spirit wrestled with the emotion that had unnervedhim. Adam Larey appeared to be a boy of eighteen, with darkly tanned, clear-cut, and comely face, and a lofty stature, straight and spare and wide. Untying the boat from its mooring, he becameconscious of a singular thrill. Sight of the silent river fascinated him. If it had been drink that hadfortified his reckless resolve, it was some strange call to the wildness in him that had stirredexaltation in the prospect of adventure. But there was more. Never again to be dominated by thatselfish Guerd, his brother who had taken all and given nothing! Guerd would be stung by thisdesertion. Perhaps he would be sorry. That thought gave Adam a pang. Long habit of beinginfluenced, and strength of love fostered in playmate days, these made him waver. But the tide ofresentment surged up once more; and there flowed the red Colorado, rolling away to the southwest, a gateway to the illimitable wastes of desert land, with its mystery, its adventure, its gold and alluringfreedo