Thrusting aside the foliage the sheriff pulled out the wrinkled garments one by one, examining them closely. When he came to the hat his pig-like eyes widened.
'That's Masters' lid, shore enough--they must be his duds,' he said. 'Hello, what's this?'
Underneath the clothes, and half-hidden at the bottomofthe crack was a gleam of metal. The sheriff reached down and lifted the object into view--a Winchester repeater. The barrelofthe weapon was foul, not having been cleaned since last fired, and on the stock the initials 'J.S.' were rudely scratched. At sightofthese Tyler emitted a whoop of exultation.
'Them letters stands for Jim Severn, I reckon,' he pronounced, with the airofone who has worked out a difficult problem.
'What a head yu got, Hen,' Bart said, in anything but an admiring tone. 'Allasame, it's possible they might mean John Smith.'
The sheriff looked at him doubtfully. 'Yu think it's his gun?' he asked.
'I know it is, yu fool,' Bart assured him, and at his meaning look Tyler grinned with understanding. 'Now, see here,' the rancher continued, 'put them things back as they was. I didn't find 'em, remember. Yu an' one o' yore deppities, ridin' through here, will notice the tracks, roller 'em up an' discover the duds. Savvy?'
The sheriff did, plainly enough, and his evil little eyes glittered. This would show some of those cheap-wits in Hope what sortofa sheriff they had. He well knew that his reputation badly needed a tonic, and here it was, 'made and provided', like the statutes.
'Yu shorely have got brains, Bart,' he said admiringly, as he replaced the articles.
As they turned their horses' heads again towards the Bar B Tyler asked, 'Anythin' else to tell me 'bout Severn?'
'Yu can charge him with the bank robbery an' shootin' Rapson,' Bartholomew replied coolly, and the sheriff fairly jumped in his saddle.
'Yu can prove that, too?' he cried incredulously.
'There'll be no need--he'll do that for yu hisself,' the rancher told him.'But I thought--' began the bewildered officer.
'Great mistake. Fella like yu shouldn't think--too big a strain on your intellects,' sneered Bart. 'Lemme do it for yu, Hen; yu'll find it safer.'
The sheriff subsided like a burst bladder. He was well aware that he was wholly at the rnercy of this jeering devil, and must obey blindly, for though he knew a little, and suspected much, Bart had never admitted him to his confidence. He was a mere tool, to be used, rewarded or discarded at his master's whim.
'Whyfor did Severn want to abolish Masters?' he ventured. 'I figure him an' Embley are after the Lazy M,' Bartholomew explained. 'An' with the girl outa the way, there don't seem to be much to stop 'em--barrin' me.'
'But the White Masks took the gal an' he tried to git her back,' Tyler argued.
'Men wearin' white masks, yu mean, same as when the bank was looted,' the other corrected. 'First off, I thought he was in with the Pinnacles' gang, but I can see now he's just used 'em. They didn't find the girl, did they? Oh, he's clever, damn him.'
'What d'yu reckon they done with her?'
'Planted her, likely as not,' lied the Bar B owner. 'With noheirs--I never heard Masters mention any family-- an' Embleyexecutor o' the will, why, it's pie like mother used to make.'
'The Judge has a name for bein' straight,' Tyler offered. 'The cleverest crook allus has,' was Bart's caustic comment. When they parted at the Bar B ranch-house, the owner had afinal word :
'I hear Rapson is better an' is startin' up his bank again. Keep an eye on it; I've a hunch yu'll get yore chance there. Have a coupla yore men allus handy, but don't move till Severn gives yu the invite. I gotta take a little trip an' I'm leavin' this to yu. Bungle it, an' yu an' me take different trails. Savvy?'
The sheriff nodded and went away, the big man's eyes following him contemptuously.
'If I'd 'a' told him it was Sudden he'd gotta arrest he'd be p'intin' for Mexico right now,' he soliloquised.
'An' I dunno as I'd blame him much at that,' said another voice, and Bartholomew turned to find his foreman.
'Hello, Pent,' he greeted. 'How'd it go?'
'Easy as takin' a drink,' replied Penton. 'No trouble a-tall. Yu got the sheriff primed up?'
'Shore, but hang around town in case he wants help,' Bart said. 'Things is shapin' up right for us, an' I don't want any fool blunders.'
**In a rude but strongly-built log shack, hidden in a clump of wind-whipped, stunted pines on the slopesofthe second Pinnacle, was Phil Masters. From the moment when, in the hallway at the Lazy M, masked men had flung a blanket over her head, carried her out and tied her on the backofa horse, her mind had been in a stateofnumbed bewilderment. She was consciousofhaving been jolned about like a helpless sack on the back of a pony through an interminable ride. After the first hour the stifling blanket which muffled her head had been removed and she was able to breathe freely again and look about.
There were four men with her, two riding in front and two behind, well-armed, dressed in ragged range costume and masked. The towering peak far ahead told her that they were pointing for the mysterious region she had once expressed a desire to explore. Her escort took no notice of her, and, if they spoke, did so in whispers she could not hear; it was like riding with the dumb.
Hour after hour they plodded on, and at last, when they were beneath the shadow of the first Pinnacle, a halt was called. The men got down, lifted Phil from her saddle, and the journey was continued on foot up a narrow cliff pathway. She had guessed,ofcourse, that she was in the handsofthe dreaded White Masks, and she now recognised the place from the description Larry had given her. As she toiled up the steep slope she found herself wondering if Severn would come to her rescue.
She spent a sleepless night sitting on a blanket in a black hole adjoining the main cave. In the morning oneofher captors brought bread, bacon and coffee.
'We start in half an hour,' he said gruffly.
'Where are you taking me?' she asked, but got no answer.
The hot, strong liquid put a little heart into her, but she could not touch the food. Presently the fellow returned and, taking the lantern he had left, motioned her to follow him. Passing through a long, dark tunnel, they climbed a flight of rude steps. Here another man was waiting and, despite her protests, they fastened her wrists together and tied a handkerchief over her eyes. Then came a repetition of the previous day's discomfort. Unable to see the trail ahead, she was entirely at the mercyofher mount, and was jerked and bumped about in the saddle until every bone in her body ached. She had no conception as to where she was being conducted, but she guessed they were still in the mountains, because of the keenness of the morning air and the fact that every slope they descended was followed by a corresponding rise. Greatly to her relief the journey proved shorter than thatofthe day before. It ended at the hut in the pines.
An examinationofher prison promised little prospect of escape. The wallsofstout, untrimmed logs, embedded in a flooroftightly-packed earth, and a massive door secured by a heavy padlock, made the place ideal for the purpose to which it was being put. A mere hole a foot square admitted light and air; from it the prisoner could see only a gloomy curtainofpine branches. The furniture consisted of a pileofspruce tops covered by a dubious blanket, a bench, and a table constructed out of a packing-case which had once contained tinned goods. Phil shuddered as she remembered her own trim little bedroom at the Lazy M. A clang of metal at the door warned her that someone was coming in, and she seated herself on the bench and prepared to present as brave a front as possible. The man who entered was not one of the four who had captured her; he was taller andofslighter build. He did not trouble to remove his slouched hat, and through the slits in his mask she saw ruthless, covetous eyes devouring her.
'Why have I been brought here?' the girl demanded, trying to hide the tremor in her voice.
'Yu'll know that--later,' he replied. 'All I'm goin' to say now is that yu got one chance, an' on'y one. There's a visitor comin' to see yu an' he'll put a proposition. Agree to that an' yu go free.'
'And if I refuse?' Phil inquired, and saw a hateful gleam in his eyes.
'I'm shore hopin' yu will,' he chuckled, 'for then me an' the boys will have to draw lots to see whichofus yu come an' keep house for--first.'
The blood drained from her face as she realised his meaning.
'When is this--visitor--coming?' she asked.
'Oh, he'll be along,' the man replied casually, and went out, leaving her a prey to emotions in which fear
