face took on an ugly sneer. 'Yeah, time to git to the California border, pretty near,' was his reply.
'I've knowed Dutch a-many years an' he's straight,' Jake defended. 'He wouldn't play no pranks on me.' None of the others appeared to partake of his confidence. In the excitement of carrying out the raid, Jake's plan for getting rid of the tell-tale spoils had seemed good, but now they began to doubt its wisdom; it was a temptation not one of them could have resisted. Nothing further was said, however, and having eaten, they waited sullenly for the advent of the missing messenger.
As the day wore on and brought no sign of him, the fear that they had been duped deepened. It was a bitter dis-- appointment; the whole enterprise had gone smoothly; a single coup had given them more wealth than a year of rustling would produce, and now . . .
'I hope yo're right,' Javert shrugged. 'Me, I'm goin' to catch up some sleep.' He got his blanket, and, one by one, the others followed his example. Jake alone remained sitting by the fire, gazing into it morosely. Despite his bold front, he was desperately uneasy. What else could have happened? A rogue himself, he read the minds of his men, and was even now bitterly reproaching himself for not having done what they suspected.
It would have been simple, and with only two to share. ... The scrape of a hoof, and rattle of a rolling stone, recalled him to realities. He sprang up, crying :'He's here. What did I tell you?' The others flung aside their blankets and stood up, but the man who stumbled through the shadows and stepped into the glow of the fires was Pinto, the Bar O rider.
'Thought you was Dutch,' Jake said disgustedly. 'Hell ! '
'That's where you'll have to go if yo're wantin' him,' the cowboy replied.
'You sayin' that Dutch is--dead?' Jake asked.
'Hope so, seem' as they've buried him,' was the callous answer.
'Let's have a plain tale,' Javert cried impatiently.
'Well, the marshal didn't fall into yore trap an' stayed to home. When you punched the breeze, he sent the posse after, but him an' his damned deputy made for the Silver Mane, shot down Dutch, an' toted his remainders, with the coin, back to Welcome. Who put him wise?'
'Nobody,' Jake told him. 'I didn't git the idea till we was in the bank; it seemed a good way o' playin' safe.' This for the benefit of the Bar O man, whose face bore a palpable sneer. 'How d'you hear?'
'Reddy brought the cheerful tidin's.'
'Damnation! That tacks a label on us,' Javert said.
'Not any,' Jake corrected. 'It ain't knowed where we are, or that Dutch stayed with me. I'd ride into Welcome to-day if I felt like it; they can't prove a thing.'
'If you do, take a squint at yore of shack,' Pinto advised. 'Widow Gray is runnin' it, an' Reddy sez it's swell.' The other's eyes narrowed. 'So,' he said harshly. 'I shore will; in fact, I'll feed there.'
'Step careful then. Reddy said Sark paid a visit, got fresh, an' was throwed out, neck an' crop.'
'By that slip of a female?' asked an incredulous listener. 'No, by young Masters, an' as him an' the marshal are ace-high about now, it might be dangerous.' Jake frowned. 'Sark, huh? What's his game?'
'She's a relation, an' quite a few think she oughta be ownin' the Dumb-bell. Marriage with her would stop that talk.' This appeared to give Mullins food for thought; he was silent for a while. Then he dismissed the subject with a lift of his shoulders, and said briskly:
'Well, boys, I was right 'bout Dutch, you see--he played fair. We've lost this time, but there'll be others. What are the chances for a worth-while gather, Pinto?'
'Mighty slim--at present; the outfit is right on its toes, an' I have a hunch that cussed marshal has ideas 'bout me. I don't like them cold eyes--they gimme the feelin' he can read what's in my mind.'
'He must be a medicine man to have knowed about Dutch,' Pock-mark put in.
'Kid's talk,' Jake said scornfully. 'He guessed right, an' that's all there is to it. Awright, Pinto, we'll lie doggo till the Bar O is feelin' easy again. Better git back in case yo're missed.'
'I'm night-ridin'--watchin' for you fellas,' the man grinned, as he prepared to go. 'Hang the luck! I'd bin hopin' to tell John Owen what I think of him, an' git my time.'
'Which would 'a' showed pore sense,' Mullins remarked. 'Even if the bank deal had come off, we've a soft thing here, an' when the Bar O is good an' thinned, we'll have Sark where we want him.'
'Hadn't looked at it thataway,' Pinto admitted. 'You got a head, Jake, but I'd like to see the last o' that marshal.'
'He'll be taken care of,' was the sinister assurance.
The men retired to rest again, but for some time the scheming brain of the bandit chief was busy, and not on their account. The result of his deliberations was a shave, and an attempt to smarten his appearance in the morning, an unusual proceeding which inevitably provoked curiosity.
'Who's the dame, Jake?' one asked.
'Dame Fortune, the on'y one o' her sex worth troublin' about,' was the cynical reply. 'I'm goin' to Welcome.''Ain't that a risk?' Pocky inquired.
'Not to you, anyways. I'm ridin' in from Drywash, to see Dutch.'
'But he's cashed.'
'News to me, an' I'll be the most astonished fella in the place when I hear it.' Javert nodded. 'He's right; it's a good bluff, an' oughta lay out any suspicion of us bein' mixed up in that bank affair.' It was not until early afternoon that Mullins reached Welcome. The visitor rode to his late abode, dismounted with a sigh of relief, and after a peep through the neatly-curtained window, entered. His step on the board floor brought the Widow from the kitchen. Astonishment checked the customary greeting.
'Howdy, ma'am, I expect yo're s'prised to see me,' Jake said, as he removed his hat and sat down.
'What--do you want?' she stammered.
'I'm peckish, an' not partic'lar; I'll leave it to you,' he replied.
She served him in silence, and he too had nothing to say until he had done full justice to the food, but his eyes were busy and found her more desirable than ever. When she came to remove the empty plates, he was rolling a smoke.
'That was bully,' he complimented. 'I once said you couldn't cook; I was wrong.'
'Thank you,' she replied quietly.
'You've made a new place o' the shack,' he went on. 'Curtains, tablecloths, everythin' clean, it's a dandy layout, an' good grub. I allus said it takes a woman to make a go of a joint like this. I hope the hawgs appreciate it.' A tiny frown creased her brow at the epithet, but all she said was, 'My customers seem to like it.'
'Trade good, huh? Makes me feel 'most sorry I sold out. There's possibilities here. Build an extension--a dance-hall, freight in a pianner, an' have social evenin's, mebbe a game or two. It'd need capital, but I could find that'
'I have no desire to sell.'
'I ain't suggestin' any such thing,' lie continued. 'You'd run the show, just exactly as you pleased, understan'? Yo're the king-pin; I put up the dollars an' be sort o' pardner.' He paused for a moment. 'Why, what's the matter with makin' it a real pardnership?' He bent forward, his eager eyes devouring her, and she realized that, for the time being, at least, he was in earnest.
'Are you, by any chance, asking me to marry you?' she said coldly.
'Shore I am--I've allus wanted you,' he cried. 'I ain't no good at makin' fancy speeches, but I'll treat you right. Mebbe I run a bit wild after you took Gray; that's all over. Girl, we'd have a shore-enough bonanza in this of barn. What d'you say?'
'No, now and always,' she replied steadily.
The low voice carried conviction, and the crash of his new-born hopes aroused his anger. Thrusting a threatening face near to her own, he spoke through his clenched teeth:
'I'm not yore class, I s'pose? One o' these days I'll make you ask for what you just turned down. I'll '
'Why, Mister Mullins, what brings yu amongst us again?' The ruffian turned round. Dave Masters was smiling, but his eyes were flinty. Entering from the rear, he had approached unnoticed. Jake had his answer ready :
'I come to see Dutch--heard he was here.'
