Sudden Rides Again

Scar's scornful laugh cut him short. "Ever seen him play with a gun? Thought not. I'm tellin' you, he's better than Butch or Sudden. One bright fella tried yore idea an' was dead before he could pull. Besides, there's allus Silver behind you. No, gents, that flea won't jump. Also, I know a safer dodge--the cattle."

Daggs, who was dealing, slapped the pack on the table with an expression of approval. "Scar, yo're a great man," he said. "There's on'y them two Mex boys in charge."

"Git the herd away to a safe place where we can lie doggo for a spell, change the brands, drive north, an' sell," Scar went on.

"The Chief'll think the Double K has stole 'em back," Squint chortled. "Won't he be wild?"

"That's a good notion--we'll make it look thataway," Scar greed. "I'll mosey over to-morrow an' sound the Greasers--they's pretty sore over Pedro gettin' his. If they'll throw in with us, we can use 'em; it's a big bunch to handle."

"Shore is, but it means splittin' the dinero six ways," Coger objected.

"Does it?" the other retorted meaningly. "Four of a kind allus beats a pair."

Which promised ill for the Mexican herders.

Chapter XVI

"Wonder what's fetched that hombre out'n his blankets this early?"

Sudden, peering through the grimy panes of the saloon window, watched Roden ride past, evidently making for the western exit of the town.

"Looks like he's changed his mind 'bout leavin' us after all. Anyways, time spent watching him won't ever be wasted."

Devoutly thankful for a meal already eaten, he secured his rifle and saddle, and in a few moments, was on his way. The guardian of the gate regarded him with respect and lost not an instant in opening; the man who had slain Butch was not to be kept waiting.

"Yep, Scar's just ahead," he said in reply to a question. "Which road? There ain't but one till you come to the fork, an' you'll catch him afore then."

The puncher had his own opinion about this, but he made a show of haste until the first bend afforded concealment, dropping then to a more leisurely pace; Scar had not appeared to be in any hurry. Fortunately for his purpose, curves in the trail--a mere shelf along the mountainside--were frequent, enabling him to approach his quarry unseen. Presently he saw that they were nearing the fork, the left prong of which headed westwards into the hills. Hidden behind a jutting spur of rock, he waited until Scar had swung into it, and then followed. It proved to be a mere bridle-track, winding amongst miniature mountalns, through brush-cluttered ravines and thickets of birch and scrub-oak. Only at rare intervals did he get a glimpse of the man in front, but this did not worry him; the path was plain.

The miles fell behind and Sudden was beginning to speculate as to whether the ruffian was really bidding farewell to Hell City when he noticed they were climbing again. Through a break in the trees he could see that the ascent ended in a ragged rim of bare rock like the broken battlements of a great fortress, the approach to which was masked by a scanty covering of mesquite, catclaw, and other thorny growths.

He waited until he saw Scar disappear behind a boulder and then toiled laboriously up the slope. It took longer than he expected, for the trail twisted serpent-like around patches )f cactus, the dreaded cholla, its cruel spines glistening frostily in the sunshine. Arrived at the top, he saw a breach in the stone rampart, and through it, a scene which drew from him a low whistle of wonderment.

Before him lay an almost circular hollow, thickly carpeted with grass, and divided by a line of willows which indicated a running stream, from which the ground rose gently at first, and then steeply, to a saw-toothed ring of grey cliff. The place, as he learned later, was known as the Devil's Bowl, and me look told him that it was an ideal spot from a rustler's point of view. So the presence of a herd of cattle, grazing near _he water, did not surprise him. He was too far away to decipher the brands.

"Must be over five hundred head," he muttered.

He watched Roden ride along the side of the valley to a log shack built in the shade of a group of pines, heard his hail, and aw two men run out to meet him. Their attire told him they vere Mexicans, and the visitor appeared to be welcome, the nore so when on dismounting, he produced a couple of bottles from his saddle-bags, for one of them slapped his comrade on the back. Seating themselves on a grassy bankoutside the hut the three fell to drinking. Sudden could see no way of overhearing the conversation, and having learned what he wanted, left them to it.

Instead of taking the back trail he worked southwards round the Bowl, and presently, as he had expected, came upon a cattle-track leading up to another break in the wall of the valley. He noted that all the hoof-prints pointed in one direction--towards the hiding-place; this was where the stolen steers had been brought in, and therefore ... A humorous quirk creased the corners of his mouth as he urged his mount along the tell-tales traces.

"Step lively, Nig," he said. "We've a fine chance to give Mister Satan a kick where he sits if that Twin Diamond fella ain't dippy."

For an hour he followed the trodden road, which ran through low hills like a carelessly flung rope, winding this way and that, to avoid obstacles likely to hinder the progress of a herd, and came to a broad stretch of powdery sand, the surface swept smooth by the wind; on the edge of this the hoof-prints ceased abruptly.

This diminutive desert was not extensive, for he could see more hills and broken country on the far side, but it was big enough to make the task of finding where the cattle had entered it a long and tiring one. The puncher decided it was not worth while, and skirting the arid area, headed for where he believed the Twin Diamond ranch to be. Mile after mile he rode, trusting to his plainsman's sense of direction, and presently pulled up outside the dilapidated homestead. His shout brought its owner to the door, a pistol in one hand, an oily rag in the other. At the sight of the gun the visitor's eyes narrowed.

"Just cleanin' her up," the rancher explained. "Thought I reckernized the hoss but there's other blacks in this neck o' the woods. Light an' help yoreself to a seat."

He laid his weapon on the bench as he spoke. Sudden got down and trailed his reins.

"Do yu allus clean a gun when she's loaded?" he asked sardonically.

"Me, I'm a poor liar," Merry laughed. "Fact is, I warn't just lookin' for yu to call--yu left us a shade abrupt the other night."

"My neck suits me the way it is, an' I don't reckon Keith can improve it any."

"Yu can take it I ain't got no ambition thataway. What's yore errand?"

"I thought mebbe yu'd like to get yore cows back."

The other's face grew hard. "Double-crossin' yore new boss, huh?" he said, and when the cowboy's eyebrows rose, "Yo're wearin' his brand."

"Shore forgot that, an' yu'd better do the same--I ain't explainin'," Sudden shrugged. "If yu want the steers, I can tell yu where to find 'em."

"What's yore price?" the rancher asked.

The puncher stood up. "I allowed yu had sense, which is why I took a chance an' came here. Yu can go to blazes."

"Wait a minute," Merry cried. "I take that back. I guess I'm thick in the head as well as body, but I don't savvy yore game."

"Keith hired me to fight Hell City, an' when things looked ugly he turned me down--cold," Sudden pointed out. "I didn't know about the rustlin' till I heard it from him--as yu said just now, there's other black hosses around. Well, he may be finished with me, but I ain't finished with the fella who framed me."

"I get yu," Merry replied, after a moment's pause. "Ken is a square man but he can't help rememberin' he was once a little Gawd A'mighty on his plantation. Where are the cattle?"

Sudden described the spot and his journey to the Twin Diamond in detail. The fat man nodded understandingly.

"That's clear; they're usin' the Devil's Bowl, an' it's one damned good place for the purpose, too. Five hundred head, yu say, an' all wearin' Ken's brand or mine, I'll bet a stack."

"I couldn't get near enough to see."

"On'y two Greasers in charge, huh? Why, it'll be easy as takin' a drink, which reminds me ..." He shouted an order, and at once the pigtailed cook appeared with bottle and glasses. "Here's how," he toasted, adding, "This'll put yu right with Ken."

"I'll he obliged if yu don't mention me," Sudden said. "He needn't to know how yu got wind o' the herd."

"But, damn it all, man, he thinks "

The puncher smiled coldly. "What he thinks ain't lost me any sleep so far, an' I'd ruther he warn't told."

"Well, have it yore way."

"Yu'll need to strike quick," Sudden warned. "Roden's visit may mean the herd is to be moved."

"We'll start in less'n an hour--with on'y two to handle there'll be no need to trouble Ken." He pushed out a paw. "I'm obliged to yu--Jim. If yu get in a tight place, an' can send word, we'll be along."

Sudden thanked him, and set out on his return to Hell City with a feeling of grim satisfaction; he had prepared a blow for the bandit chief and found another friend. From the first he had liked this tubby little man, with the twinkling, genial eyes, and his support meant a great deal.

Soon after sunrise on the following morning, a ragged, hatless Mexican limped wearily through the western entrance to Hell City, staggered into the saloon, and demanded drink. He gulped a stiff dose of the fiery spirit, poured another, his hand shaking with fatigue, and sat down with a sigh of relief. Sudden, who had been chatting with the proprietor, surveyed him with interest.

"Yu 'pear to be all in, amigo," he remarked. "Come far?" The traveller shook his head. "A short way is a long way sometime, senor," he replied. "My hoss, she break de leg."

"Tough luck," the puncher commiserated.

At that moment Roden entered, and his eyes went wide when he saw the stranger. "Hello, Benito, what you doin' here?" he asked.

The Mexican drew him aside and spoke in a sibilant whisper. Sudden heard the muttered "Damnation!" and read the look of dismay and disappointment Benito's news evoked. He needed no second guess; the Twin Diamond had hit back, and, anxious to see how Satan would receive the reverse, he went out.

"Mebbe that fairy godmother o' his has told him all about it," was his whimsical reflection.

Evidently this was not the case, for he found the bandit leader in a good humour. He was reading a newspaper--one of those crude journalistic products of the pioneer days of which a settlement of any size boasted at least one example. The perusal seemed to afford him satisfaction.

"Hark to this, Sudden," he greeted. " `Another of those infamous outrages which blot the fair page of Western history.' That is how the Bosville Bugle refers to the looting of the local bank. It appears to have been very simple. Four strangers rode in and two of them entered the building. A shot was heard, the men emerged carrying a leathern satchel, mounted, and the whole party galloped away before the good citizens began to think. The cashier dead, with an undischarged pistol in his hand--he was clearly a fool--a rifled safe, and thirty thousand in cash and bills missing. As easy as that."

There was a pronounced sneer on his lips. He tapped the paper on his knee. "The nit-wit who conducts this mangy sheet adds, `This is an addition to the many similar daylight robberies which have disturbed the country during the past twelve months. What is the Governor going to do about it?' I can tell him: the Governor will do just--nothing. The sheriff and his blundering posse will lose the trail, as usual, and we shall turn the trick again elsewhere. My plans are well laid; I never fail."

The last three words moved the puncher to inward mirth; a contradiction was coming.

"Thirty thousand is a sizeable stake," he remarked. "S'pose them fellas decide to glom on to it?"

The stony eyes gleamed. "No man ever double-crossed me an got away with it," Satan said. "One who tried reached Montana; another, Kansas City; a third, Tucson--under the Governor's nose, but they all died--swiftly. These men know that I possess the power to find them, and fear will make them honest--to me."

"They're takin' their time; Bosville ain't so far, is it?"

"About fifty miles, but certain enquiries would necessitate a roundabout route, and possibly, delay."

Sudden would have liked more definite information, but his hope of obtaining it vanished when Silver ushered in Benito.

"Said he'd gotta see you right away," the dwarf rumbled.

The Mexican did not wait to be questioned, blurting out his news in short, spasmodic sentences, as though anxious to get the ordeal over. The herd had gone--a dozen Twin Diamond riders had raided the valley, and, after shooting his companion, had rounded up and driven away the cattle. He was distant from the camp, had seen them arrive, and escaped by hiding in the rocks. Trembling with fright, the man ceased his mumble and waited for the storm to break.

He was not kept long. 1 he Chief's face, schooled so carefully to stoic indifference, became insensate with fury. Snatching out a gun, he levelled it at the shivering wretch.

"You have lost my cows and made me a figure of fun," he hissed. "Well, for that you--die."

He was on the point of pulling the trigger when Sudden spoke.

"That's a mighty poor remedy. What d'yu expect a couple o' men to do against the Twin Diamond outfit? This fella had the guts to come an' tell yu; he could 'a' travelled the other way just as easy."

The sarcastic tone brought the bandit to his senses; he realized that he had betrayed himself. Replacing his weapon he said sternly, "This time I spare you, but speak so much as one word ..." He tapped the butt of his gun suggestively, and added, "Get out."

With a furtive glance of gratitude to the man who had saved him, Benito departed hurriedly. Satan turned to his companion.

"I should not have killed the cur, but I had to frighten him," he lied. "It is maddening to have been outplayed by that overfed hog, Merry. Someone must have betrayed me."

"Then yu oughta know--bein' a kind o' medicine man," was the ironical reply.

"True," Satan said, and putting one hand to his brow, sat in silence. Then he looked up. "Why did you do it, Sudden?"

The puncher grinned. "That's a bad miss," he replied. "Keith havin' tried to string me up, I'd naturally be eager to give him back his property, wouldn't I? An' yu can add to that I didn't know where to look for it. No, sir, I'd say one o' Merry's men happened on the tracks by accident; cows ain't got wings, yu savvy."

"You may be right, but I shall know," Satan said. "Well, the fat fool wins--this time, but he'll live to be sorry."

Sudden came away with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Ile had a plan, but to put it into operation he must have help, and promptly went in search of it. This took him to the northern extremity of the Double K range.

Frosty, perspiring and lurid-tongued, was engaged in an endeavour to drive a steer out of a patch of cactus scrub which it seemed loth to leave when a derisive voice from behind advised him to pick up the beast and carry it out. He whirled his pony to find Sudden enjoying his efforts.

"Any idjut can look on an' laff," he greeted. "Why don't yu do somethin', yu perishin'--ornament?"

"The Double K has dispensed with my services," Sudden reminded. "Anybody out here with yu?"

"Nope. Steve don't think it matters if I'm bumped off. Did yu hear we got our cows back?"

His friend's eyes twinkled. "I was told the Twin Diamond made yu a present of'em."

"Well, it amounted to that, an' the 01' Man is hoppin' mad --didn't like Merry's outfit gettin' ahead of us. I heard him give Steve his opinion, an' he made hisself plain."

"He's hard to please. yu got the natural increase, too."

"Yu bet. Why, in that short while the herd had more'n doubled, an' the curious thing was, the calves had all been born branded an' grooved to full size. Ain't Nature wonderful?"

"Shore is," Sudden agreed gravely. "How would the Double K like to give Mister Satan a jolt?"

"Try us," Frosty urged, adding slyly, "Anyways, it's our turn, ain't it?"

"Smart lad, huh?" the other grinned.

"Pickles! I know that Twin Diamond bunch--blind as bats. S'pose yu had to use 'ein, but don't tell me--"

"I won't, yore mouth opens easy as a saloon door. Now listen." He told what he had learned of the bank robbery.

"It will have to be a private play, just yu an' Lazy--they won't know there's on'y two o' yu. Say yo're goin' to Dugout. I'd take a hand but I gotta be where I can be seen. I'm guessin' them jaspers will arrive this evenin' an' use the west gate. If I'm wrong, yu'll be outa luck."

"Shore will, with the nights cold as they is," his friend said feelingly. "But if they do show up?"

"Short o' Hell City there's a split in the trail, with plenty cover; yu can stand 'em up there. One o' yu can heave their hardware into the brush, collect the cash--it'll be in a leather bag--an' stampede the hosses, while the other keeps 'em covered. By the time they've hoofed it into town, yu'll be past pursuit. Take the plunder to Merry an' tell him to send it by a shore hand to the Bosville sheriff. Yu sabe?"

"Sounds simple," Frosty lied cheerfully, and then, "Thirty thousand is a wad o' money. Yu could swipe it yore-self, head for California, an'--"

"Be the skunk the world tried to make me," Sudden finished. "No, yu snow-topped calamity, I'm workin' for somethin' more than easy money."

"It's devilish risky," Frosty offered. "If Satan learns he's been sold out by a man in his pay

"Back up," Sudden broke in. "Get this into the knob yu put yore hat on: I've never had a nickel from him an' ain't goin' to. Now, so long, an' good luck for to-night."

With puzzled eyes the Double K rider watched him disappear into a near-by ravine. "He shore has got me guessin'," he ruminated. "Passes up a chance to hive thirty thousand bucks, won't take no pay, an'--hell, it gives me a headache. I hope them bank-busters drift in." He smote his pony a flat-handed smack on the rump and sat easily rocking in the saddle while the outraged animal expressed disapproval in a mild bout of bucking. "G'wan, yu son of a wall-eyed mule, we got a li'l jape to put over an' it's goin' to be fun."

That the "li'l jape" had been duly "put over" Sudden got news in the morning, when Silver arrived at the saloon with an urgent summons from the Chief.

"He's wantin' you immediate," he objected, when the puncher casually promised to come along. "I gotta take you back, or he'll skin me. All het up, he is--never seed him so rathy."

"What's the trouble?" Sudden enquired.

"Guess he'll tell you hisself," was the cautious reply. "Best watch yore step, an' keep yore han's still."

Sudden thought little of the warning, but later he was to remember it. The bandit chief was pacing savagely up and down. At the sight of the puncher he stopped and snapped:

"Where did you spend last night?"

Sudden looked surprised. "In Dirk's," he said. "Takin' the wool off some o' yore lambs who fancied they could play poker; it cost them near a hundred good dollars to learn different. Easy pickin's, I'm tellin' yu."

"How long were you there?"

"All the evenin'. Cashed in after midnight--got tired o' slaughterin' the innocents--an' hit the hay. What's bitin' yu?"

Through the slits in the mask, the fierce eyes bored into the puncher's impassive face.

"I've been robbed," Satan said vehemently. "You alone knew those men were due from Bosville."

"Yu didn't tell me when or which way they'd come. Ain't they arrived?"

"Yes, on foot, with a tale of being held up, money and weapons taken, and horses driven off."

Sudden whistled. "Sounds a bit lame, but mebbe they're feelin' thataway, having walked," he grinned, and got a glare which did not disturb him. "S'pose they've cached the stuff--"

"Then why come back at all?" Satan interjected.

"If they can make their story stick, they'd have nothin' to fear from yu."

The masked man shook his head; conceit would not permit the thought that any of his underlings would dare so far.

"Another thing, I reckon yu ain't the on'y subscriber to that Bosville paper. Some fellas may've seen it, an' guessed right."

"I doubt if there is another copy within twenty miles. You seem very anxlous to pin the blame on someone."

Sudden's reply was a question, "Did the hold-up happen before midnight?" and when the other nodded, he went on, "What more do yu want? There's on'y one o' me, an' twenty of yore own men can tell yu where I was. Have some sense."

With an air of disgust, he reached for his "makings" and stepped back just as a gun roared and a bullet chipped the stone wall behind the spot where he had been standing. In a flash his own weapons were out, one covering the bandit, the other the picture, wreathing smoke from which showed whence the shot had come.

"What the hell's the meanin' o' that?" he grated.

The masked man stood motionless. "I don't know," he said calmly. "Silver!"

The uncouth attendant slid into view, a smoking pistol in one shaking hand. "I was just cleanin' her an' she done went off," he stammered. "I warn't meanin' no harm."

"You might have killed one of us; I'll deal with you later," his master said threateningly. "Quite an accident, you see, Sudden. The lout knows nothing of firearms, but will carry one."

"Yeah," Sudden replied, and stepped nearer the painting. "Why, if yu ain't lucky; the bullet came right through the muzzle o' the gun so the picture ain't hurt none; can't see the hole less yu look close."

Satan could detect no raillery in the voice and again found himself debating whether he was dealing with a clever man or a fool. He expressed his surprise at the remarkable coincidence.

"Comin' back to cases, I'm reckoned pretty useful at readin' sign," Sudden said. "The scene o' the holdup might tell me somethin'--if I can find it."

"The men said it took place where the road from the west gate divides," Satan replied.

"Ain't been so far in that direction," the puncher said easily. "I'll let yu know if I hit on anythin'." On his way out, he slapped Silver on the shoulder and cried, "Cheer up, Beautiful, a miss is as good as a mile, yu know."

Which boisterous exit left the bandit deeper in doubt than ever, and did not improve his temper. With a bitter oath, he vented his spleen on the one object available.

"Come here, you clumsy clown," he called. "What possessed you to fire without the signal?"

Silver lumbered forward, his ungainly form trembling. "Guessed he was goin' for his gun," he quavered. "Was scared he'd git you."

"Get me?" was the retort. "Did you think I was asleep? He's fast, but I could beat him. You have made me ridiculous --he was laughing at me, damn him. Another break like that and Muley shall take the flesh from your ugly, misshapen carcase and feed what is left to the coyotes. Get out of my sight, you freak."

Long ago he had learned that reference to his deformities cut the poor brute to the heart, and he delighted in the use of the knowledge. Turning his back contemptuously, he failed to see a look which would have made him thoughtful.

Chapter XVII

Satisfaction at the Double K over the rebuff to the rustlers was not as great as might have been expected. There had always been a friendly rivalry between the two ranches, and the fact that the Twin Diamond had undoubtedly scored, though it was to the Double K's advantage, rankled with both owner and outfit. Some of the latter had another reason for not exulting unduly, and of these the foreman was the most disgruntled.

"Can't figure it nohow," he said to Turvey. "Somebody must 'a' put them lunkheads wise. Jeff'll be mad."

"No blame to us anyway," the little man replied. "Our boys didn't find 'em. If there's bin a leak it's from Hell City. Reckon Green could 'a' had anythin' to do with it?"

"He dasn't show his face at the Twin Diamond, an' after helpin' to steal the herd he wouldn't be likely to hand 'em back to us."

"That's so," Turvey agreed. He did not know of the frame-up. "He's in Hell City, I s'pose, an' cherishin' no feelin' of affection for us. Me, I'd ruttier he was danglin' from a tree. How in blazes he got away from three o' yu "

"Oh, can the chatter," Steve said angrily. "That trick o' shootin' out the light gave him a chance an' he took it. He's Jeff's man now an' that makes us safe from him."

"Does it work both ways?" Turvey leered.

"I didn't say that," was the reply.

The subject of their conversation cropped up again at supper. With the object of stirring up Frosty, one man asked his neighbour if he had seen any more of Green?

"No, nor I don't hanker to," came the answer. "Last timewas the night o' the raid an' he was pumpin' lead at me plenty eager."

Frosty surveyed the rotund form of the speaker disdainfully. "Couldn't 'a' bin him, he'd not miss a mark like yu with eyes shut," he said.

"If it warn't him why did he skip?" the stout one argued. "Would yu wait if the Ol' Man promised to stretch yore neck?"

The other hesitated; Keith's reputation for keeping his word was well established. "It was his hoss," he evaded.

"Mebbe, with another fella straddling it," Frosty retorted Lagley cut in. "Green told me hisself no one else could ride the black. He was as guilty as hell, an' yu know it."

The cowboy stood up, his face suddenly stern. "What yu mean, I know it?" he asked, and his voice had an edge. "If yo're tryin' to rope me up with the rustlin', yu an' me'll have a ll'l argument, foreman or no."

Lagley's gesture was one of impatience. "I didn't mean nothin' o' the sort. Yu talk like a kid. Where's the sense gettin' sore over a cussed outlaw who oughta be swingin' in a loop?"

"He's my friend."

"They say a fella is knowed by the company he mixes with," Turvey sneered.

"If there was any truth in that yu'd be damned lonely," Frosty snapped.

A black scowl was all the answer he received. Good tempered as he usually was, when the white-haired puncher went "on the prod," none of the outfit was anxious to get in his way.

* Silver was in a seventh heaven. Passing along the street, the woman Anita had smiled at him from the entrance to her abode, and, when he paused in sheer bewilderment, invited him to come in and talk with her.

"It is cool inside, and I am lonely," she made excuse.

The experience was a novel one; usually members of the other sex shrank from him in fear or repulsion. This fact, of which he was bitterly conscious, rendered him painfully shy whenever a female was even in sight. Anita was not so beautiful as Belle Dalroy, but she was young and comely. For a moment he hesitated, glancing right and left. Was she playing a joke upon him? Well, if so, he had it in his power to make it an expensive amusement. The thought gave him courage, and he went in. The squalid place set him more at ease, and he perched himself on a stool.

"You like whisky?" she asked.

Silver did; it made him forget that he was not as other men. His small, deep-set eyes glittered as she poured out nearly a full glass, handed it to him, and sat down.

"Ain't you drinkin'?" he asked, and grinned when she said the spirit burned her throat. "It don't hurt mine," he boasted. "The more it bites, the better I'm pleased." He tilted the tumbler, absorbing half the contents at a gulp. "That's the stuff; makes a man o' one. Try some." He emptied the glass as he spoke and held it out. This time she filled it.

"I don't want to be a man," she smiled. "You are one already, important, a friend of the Chief."

"Friend?" he repeated, and his expression was hardly one of affection. Then, "So you reckon me a man--like the rest?"

"Not like the rest," she said softly. "You have the strength of three and--I admire strong men."

Silver drank again and laughed coarsely. "you shore picked a loser in Pedro."

"True, he was weak," she said carelessly, and he did notdetect the tremor in her voice. "I had almost forgotten him. The Chief would not dare do that to you."

The liquor and flattery were beginning to take effect. "He threatens me," he growled. "Me, that could break him wlth my two hands, easy as snappin' a stick."

His great paws rose in the air and dropped suddenly, portraying the act with such savage realism that the woman shivered. She was playing with something worse than fire, but she did not falter.

"He would not have you whipped," she said quietly, "but he might keep you shut up, as he does one other."

"What you know o' that?"

"Nothing, save his existence, and that he is seen only by the Chief, and you, who take him food."

"Why do you ask? Is this fella anythin' to you?" the dwarf asked thlckly.

She laughed at him. "A man I've never seen? No, my friend, put it down to a woman's curioslty. Don't you like my whisky?"

She passed the bottle and he helped himself liberally. "Best not meddle with what don't concern you," he warned. His covetous eyes dwelt on her. "You an' me'd make a good team," he said. "Allus wanted a woman o' my own."

Anita shrugged. "you travel too fast," she replied. "I'm not a dance-hall drab, and I'd never take up with one who wouldn't trust me completely."

Silver was silent. He had to choose between a man who mocked him as a monstrosity and a woman who seemed blind to his physical defects and admired the one attribute on which he prided himself--his strength. In some such way his drink-bemused brain reasoned it out. He could take her, she was at his mercy, and since the passing of Pedro, she had no friends, but mere possession would not satisfy his craving; she must come to him willingly.

Inwardly trembling, but outwardly calm, the woman watched him as might a desperate gambler the spinning wheel which spelled riches or ruin. She saw the huge claw- like fingers open and reach for her.

"It's a bargain, girl," Silver said, and breathed heavily. "You an' me--"

She swayed back. "You must have patience, amigo," she murmured, but her smile was kind. "Women like to be wooed, you know, and besides, you have not trusted me--yet. There is still some whisky; drink to our future."

With a raucous chuckle of triumph, Silver clutched the bottle, drained and flung it to the floor. Anita knew that the act signified surrender, but she had the wisdom to wait. He bent towards her, and in a low rumble, like far distant thunder, said: "There is a fella--I dunno who he is, but the Chief calls him his `ace in the hole,' an' he'd ruther lose an eye than let him go."

"What's the poor devil done?"

"Ain't a notion, suthin' bad, likely."

"His `ace in the hole,' " Anita mused. "That means he's saving him for some special purpose. I'd like to see this man; ake me with you one time, Silver."

The massive shoulders shook with mirth. "I ain't no wizard, glrl. To do that I'd have to get you through the Chief's room, there's no other way 'less yo're a bird," Silver wheezed, and anxious to prove that she was asking the impossible, went on to explain that the captive was confined in a cavern below Satan's, and only to be reached by padlocked trap-doors. "He keeps the keys hisself," he finished.

Her face fell. "But he goes away sometimes," she urged.

"An' takes 'em with him," was the reply. "Mebbe he won't come back one time an' that hombre'll just starve."

"A terrible death."

Hell, we all gotta go, sooner or later, but you an' me'll have a good innin's first."

He stood up, staggering a little on his stumpy legs, and made an awkward attempt to seize her. She evaded him easily enough and shook her head.

"Not yet, amigo, I am only half won," she smiled. "The Chief will be missing you. Come again--if you wish."

Greatly to her relief, he went docilely enough; the reminder that his dreaded master might be waiting somewhat sobered him. When his lurching, tipsy figure had disappeared, she sank down on a stool.

"God, what a weapon to have to use," she muttered, and fell to thinking. Had she found a way of striking at the man who had flogged her lover to death and humiliated her? It seemed so, but she could see little hope of using her information.

"That brute has no brain, and fears his keeper," she decided.

Alone, she was impotent. She must find a man wo was not afraid of the bandit chief, and where, in Hell City, was he to be found? With knitted brow, she puzzled over the problem, and then the strange cowboy who had buried her dead occurred to her. He appeared to be on good terms with the Red Mask, and yet ..

"At least, he would not betray me," she told herself.

* Sudden's survey of the scene of the hold-up produced little. The ambushing party, he reported, consisted of four riders--he had doubled the number--and having obtained the money, they had taken the northern trail. The latter was true, but he omitted to mention that after a couple of miles, they had swung south in the direction of the Twin Diamond. The Chief received the particulars with indifference.

"It is, after all, a small matter," he said. "I was annoyed at the time because I do not like my plans to miscarry, but ..."

Sudden, suspecting something behind this attitude, spent the next two days in the town. He would have liked to see Frosty or Merry but it was too dangerous; he had more than a dim suspicion that if he rode out, he would be followed.

It was on the second evening, as he was returning to the saloon, that a whispered invitation from the darkness took him into Anita's dwelling. A guttering candle served only to show the discomfort of the place.

"I gotta thank yu for the word about Butch," he said. "It was real useful."

"I couldn't let you be tricked," she replied quietly.

It was a different woman to the one who had cajoled Silver. Anita divined that her present guest was not one to allow his senses to be deadened by drink or snared by desire; he would be more likely to appreciate frankness.

"What are you to this mountebank who hides behind a mask?" she asked.

"Just one of his men," was the reply. "Holm' up, like the rest of 'em." - Her gestute showed that she was dissatisfied with the answer. "You may have reasons for hiding, but you are lifferent," she said. "Why does Satan want you killed?"

Sudden was silent for a moment. This woman had rendered him a service, but she might be playing a part, and his position in this den of desperadoes was too precarious for further risk.

"News to me," he said stolidly.

"Butch was sent for on purpose," she stated. "You don't :rust me, and I cannot blame you, but I am going to put my cards on the table. Odd as it may seem, I cared for Pedro--he was my one friend, and yet, it was because of me he died. I have vowed to avenge him and am ready to run any hazard."

In the frail light of the flickering candle he saw her sombre eyes gleam and realized that she was in earnest. But what could a mere woman do against one who was all-powerful? She read something of his thought.

"You are thinking I am mad," she went on. "That a weak creature like myself cannot injure him. But I have already dealt a blow, for you are alive, and I know of another and greater one that will wound him far more deeply than the loss of his stolen steers, or the plunder from Bosville."

"How do you know these things?"

She laughed contemptuously. "Men drink--and talk. If Satan wants his secrets kept, he should ban liquor and women from Hell City."

"Why are yu tellin' me?"

"It is something I cannot do myself, and you do not like the beast any better than I do." She raised her head as she spoke, looking him squarely in the face, but learned nothing. "You should win at any card game. Listen." She gave him the gist of her interview with Silver, ending, "Who is this man, and why is he buried alive?"

"I reckon we'll have to ask him that, ma'am," Sudden said. Instantly her face lit up with a fierce joy. "you'll help me?" she cried. "Then we shall succeed."

"I'm obliged for yore good opinion, ma'am," the puncher said a trifle ironically. "All we gotta do is steal the key from Silver or his master, get 'em both out'n the road ..."

"Hopeless," she decided, and sat, her face cupped in her hands, thinking. "Silver said there was no other way save for a bird," she mused. "What did that mean?"

"Plain enough," was the reply. "All these caverns have holes for light an' air."

"That will be it," Anita said eagerly. "Could a man clever with a rope climb up?"

"In the daylight, mebbe, but at night he'd need the eyes an' claws of a cat," Sudden told her. "Allasame, it seems to be the on'y chance. That big ape might win out--he's built for it."

"He fears the whip and would turn traitor," she said.

"I'll look it over in the mornin'," the puncher promised.

In the seclusion of his room at the saloon, he dwelt again on the strange story. The mysterious prisoner could not be one of Bleke's men; the body of the first had been returned, and Sudden himself had accounted for the second. Satan's "ace in the hole"--the phrase recurred to him; if indeed the unknown was a winning card in the bandit's crooked game, he must be spirited away, and hidden--where?

"The Double K? No, Steve would talk," he muttered. "I guess Merry could use another band."

Having settled this point, he turned in and slept as though Hell City and its problems did not exist.

Chapter XVIII

"Nigger, it's goin' to be dead easy--to break my fool neck."

At sunrise, Sudden had slipped out of the town by the ' western exit, followed the beaten track for over a mile and then struck north until he reached an open strip of sand and scrub. Crossing this, he hid in the bushes and waite Presently, satisfied that his movements were not being spied upon, he circled round and was now at the foot of the precipice on the brink of which stood Hell City. He had no fear of discovery here, for the trees and undergrowth afforded complete cover even for a horseman, Before him rose the vertical cliff, bare save for occasional clumps of cactus, coarse grass, and, here and there, a shrunken shrub, mesquite or sage, fighting tenaciously for life against the inhospitable surroundings. At a first glance, the task of scaling the height appeared an impossibility, but the puncher knew what to look for. One by one, his experienced eye picked out tiny crevices and ledges which might serve as hand or footholds. He noted too that, twenty feet up, the wall was a little less abrupt and more broken.

Moving backwards, he could see the great, jagged rampart of rock which formed one side of the bandit settlement, pitted with its primitive windows. Remembering that he had buried the Mexican almost immediately below Anita's, enabled him to locate Satan's quarters with some certainty. Twenty feet below, and a little to the right, was another opening.

"That'll be where he had Dolver," he reflected. "Didn't notice any trap-door but there was plenty else to look at." A third hole, lower, and still further away, attracted his attention. "Reckon that's it," he said, and mentally measured the distance. "She's a seventy-foot climb, an' I'm admittin' a little moonlight'll be welcome."

For a long time he remained, selecting a route up the rock, studying each step and fixing them in his mind. There could be no margin for error; one slip and ... At length, satisfied he had done all that was possible, he retraced his way to the town. The saloon-keeper had news for him.

"Silver's bin twice," he said. "Dunno what he wanted."

"The Chief is anxious 'bout my health, I expect," Sudden smiled. "I'll go an' set his mind at rest."

Satan appeared to be in a frlendly mood, which put the puncher on his guard. To a careless question as to what he had been doing he replied, "Givin' my hoss a li'l run--idleness don't suit neither of us."

"Then you'll be glad to hear I have some work for you. The stage from the East should reach Red Rock before sundown to-night. It will carry forty thousand dollars in gold consigned to the bank. About five miles short of the town the road dips and then rises quickly where it passes through a tract of timber. There is excellent cover; in fact, the place might have been designed for our purpose. You understand?"

"Shorely. Do I play a lone hand?"

"No, Scar and his men will go with you--five should be sufficient. They have their orders."

Somehow, the last four words had an ominous sound. Why had these men, with whom he had clashed more than once, been chosen? Sudden asked himself. But if the masked man expected protest he was disappointed.

"Suits me," Sudden said off-handedly. "I'll go hunt them fellas up right away. See yu to-morrow--mebbe."

"Yes,"" Satan said, and when his visitor had gone, added the one word, "Maybe."

The puncher did not at once seek his assistants, it was early 'et, and there was time to spare. Instead, he routed out oung Holt.

"Still honin' for a chance to get outa here?" he asked, and when he saw the eager look come into the lad's eyes, went on, "I'm givin' yu one. Got a hoss? Good. Know Red Rock?"

"On'y where it is--never bin there."

"Yo're goin', right away, an' when yu make it, search out the sheriff an' tell him to take a strong posse to meet the coach to-night 'bout seven mile out an' escort her to town. Sabe?"

Holt looked dubious. "I ain't stuck much on meetin' sheriffs," he muttered.

"Shucks," Sudden replied. "Yore trouble was down South, huh? Red Rock won't know nothin' of yu. Tell 'em yu been held prisoner by the gang what's aimin' to rob the coach, an' gettin loose, yu came to warn 'em. They'll be too grateful to ask questions."

"I'll risk it," the boy said. "It's mighty good o' you, mister, but how'll I get outa Hell City?"

Sudden gave him certain instructions and then went to the saloon, where, as he expected, he found his men huddled round a table, drinking.

"We start in twenty minutes from the west gate," he said. "The main trail from Dugout is easier," Scar objected. "I'm handlin' this," the puncher replied curtly, and went to make his own preparations.

"Quite the boss, ain't he?" Scar sneered. "Well, we can stand it for a while, seein' it means a double-barrelled chance to pay off a score an' collect a stake."

"Ten thousand bucks apiece, fair handed to us at that," Daggs chuckled. "I can swaller a lot o' lip at the price."

"Saine here," Squint agreed. "When do we square with that--?"

"After the stick-up, o' course," Scar told him. "Five ain't too many, an' besides, if anythin' goes wrong, he's in charge an' takes the blame."

The other applauded the wisdom of this course and complimented the maker of it upon his foresight. Meanwhile, Sudden had ridden to the gate and prevailed upon the custodian to open it on the plea that his party was late, and they had no time to lose.

"Dunno what's keepin' 'em," he said impatiently. "The Chief'd comb their wool good an' plenty if he knowed."

"Here's one a-comin' now," the man said, as Ben Holt loped up.

"He ain't with me, but mebbe he has a message," Sudden replied, and swung round so as to leave the exit clear.

Instantly Holt put spurs to his horse, dashed through the opening, and went thundering down the road. With an oath of dismay, the gate-man snatched out a pistol.

"Don't be an ass, friend," Sudden said sharply. "D'yu wanta advertise that yu let him pass?"

"This'll git me in bad," the man said angrily.

"Shore, if it's knowed, but I ain't yappin' an' if yu don't, who's to guess he didn't use the other gate?" the puncher argued. "Hello, here's them loafers."

As Scar and his company trotted up he surveyed them with a frown. "Yo're late," he snapped. "What d'yu think this is--a pleasure trip? Get goin'."

The went out and the keeper closed and bolted the gate behind them. "Gawd!" he soliloquized. "If I was takin' a ride with that bunch I wouldn't start with fault-findin', even if I had put Butch outa business. No, sir."

Outside, Sudden had paired with Roden, telling the others to ride ahead. "We want the shortest road to Red Rock, an'keep yore broncs movin'," he said, and to Scar, "Yu know what we're after?"

"Betcha life--the Chief told me," was the answer, with a sly look which had meaning for the man at his side.

"There's a dip five miles east o' the town; that's where we strike. Know it?"

"Yeah, it's the very place; lots o' cover an' a good getaway. It'll be the softest thing ever."

"No doubt," was the reply. "When we get there I'll lay out a plan. For now, yu can join yore friends."

The plain intimation that his presence was not desired brought a scowl to Roden's always unpleasant features, but he obeyed in silence, consoling himself with the thought that it would be his turn to talk presently.

Hours passed, spent in climbing hills, crossing streams, threading dark, winding gulches, with every now and then, an open space where they could put on speed. They were treading no beaten track but the leaders evidently knew their way, wild as the country was. The puncher followed, eyes and mind alert. The possibility that the ruffians might shoot him and decamp with the spoil must, he felt sure, have occurred to the Chief. Was he prepared to pay this price for Sudden's death, or did he rely on the fear which he flattered himself all his followers felt for him?

The puncher could not answer the question. It might even be that the coach robbery was a mere pretext to give these men their opportunity, but the covert backward glances and intermittent burst of rude mirth were not calculated to lull him into a sense of security. With set lips and narrowed eyes he rode on, his right hand never far from a gun; at the first dubious sign he would slay--ruthlessly.

But no occasion arose; the men in front pressed steadily on, seemingly intent only on the journey. At long last, they pulled up on the edge of a pine forest, and Scar nodded as Sudden joined them.

"Here she is," he said. "Take a peep through the brush an' you'll see the trail to Red Rock."

"I'm believin' yu," the puncher said drily, unwilling that his back should be a target for four guns.

It was indeed a perfect place for an ambush; high bushes fringed the wheel-rutted roadway, and behind them the matted foliage of the pines, defying the rays of the sinking sun, turned daylight into darkness.

"We can stay on our horses," Sudden decided. "String out along the trail, an' don't fire a shot till I give the word. I'll do the talkin'."

Half an hour went by and but for the stamp of a restive pony and a growled curse from its owner, there was no sound. Sudden was beginning to wonder if they had arrived too late when the distant crack of a whip and the muffled beat of hooves announced that the prey was heading for the trap. Presently they saw the coach swing round a bend and come racing down the slope. The puncher's teeth shut down on an oath when he saw that there were no attendant riders; had Holt failed?

"On'y the express-man to deal with," Scar chuckled. "Yu leave that to me," Sudden said sharply.

The clumsy vehicle clattered down the short descent at the gallop, gathering momentum for the coming rise, while Sudden vainly sought a way out of the dilemma in which he found himself. He could see nothing for it but to carry out the robbery and trust to being able to return the booty later, for to fail now without a powerful reason would be the end of his enterprise in Hell City. By the time he reached this decision the coach was slowing up for the climb, and he was just about to step forward and give the command to halt when a rifle spoke and the express messenger swayed in his seat."Damnation!" Sudden swore. "Who fired?"

"I did--yo're lettin' 'em git away," Daggs replied insolently, and urged his horse forward. "C'mon, boys." The puncher's face grew bleak. "I'll shoot the first man who stirs," he threatened. "Look, yu fools."

Round a curve in the trail a band of eight horsemen had appeared. They had arrived on the scene just in time to see the flash of the shot, and were now thundering at breakneck speed for the coach, shouting and shooting as they advanced. A storm of leaden bullets swept through the flimsy wall of brush behind which the bandits were hidden, and Daggs, with a gasping cough, pitched sideways from his saddle. Sudden gave him one glance.

"Cashed," he said. "An' we'll be the same 'less we get outa here, an' that soon."

There was no demur; the death of a comrade, the venomous hum of bullets about their ears, and utter collapse of the enterprise had reduced the road-agents to a state almost of panic; they had no thought but to save their skins. As they wheeled and galloped into the gloom of the forest, they heard the crack of a whip and the crunch of the iron tyres as the coach resumed its journey. The fusillade ceased, to be followed by the sound of bodies moving in the brush; they were being searched for. A couple of miles of fast riding and, the noise of pursuit having died away, they pulled up to breathe their mounts. Scar was the first to speak.

"Someone musta spilt the beans; that was the sheriff leadin'."

"Talk sense," Squint said irritably. "None o' us heard o' the job till this mornin'. Point is, what's to do?"

"Yu three will go back an' report," Sudden said. "I wanta find out what's happenin' to that gold--mebbe we'll get another chance. I'm goin' to Red Rock."

"The hell you are," Scar said. "Any one of us could tackle that."

"Any one o' yu would be clapped in the calaboose as soon as the sheriff put eyes on yu," came the stinging retort. "I'm not knowed."

This being the literal truth, was unanswerable. Sullenly the three watched him ride away, and then set out on a task besides which the risky one of robbing the coach was pure enjoyment; they had to own to another failure.

Free from observation, Sudden's disappointed expression vanished in a satisfied grin. He had scored again, and though compelled to deny himself the pleasure of breaking the bad news to the bandit, he had a hunch that his visit to Red Rock would be worth while. But caution was imperative, and therefore he compassed a half-circle in order to enter the town from the west.

He found it agog with excitement. The coach had departed, but armed men were stationed near the bank, and the saloons were full. Sudden entered the largest of these, purchased liquor, and sat down at a table. Presently, as he had expected, a burly, red-haired man--after a word with the bartender--came to join him, glass in hand.

"Stranger here, I think?" he remarked genially.

"Yu don't have to think again--sheriff," the puncher returned. "The town seems sorta agitated."

"Road-agents tried to hold up the coach," the other informed, and gave details, watching keenly.

"Which is why yo're investigatin' me, huh?" Sudden smiled. "D'yu figure any of 'em would be nervy enough to make for here?"

"Might be a good bluff--'cept for the fella downed, we didn't git a glimmer of 'em."

"Well, yo're wastin' time on me. I'm from the north, aimin' to visit a man name o' Merry. Know him?"

"Shore I do--tall, an' that scanty he don't hardly throw a shadder. Runs the Twin Diamond ranch."

"That's the joker," Sudden agreed, and smiled when he saw the other's eyes harden. "He must 'a' altered some, for when I last met up with him he was short an' his shadder made yu think the sun had gone in. Has he rebuilt that hen-roost he calls a house yet?"

The sheriff laughed. "I lose," he said. "The drinks is on me. Any friend o' Mart's is welcome here." He replenished the glasses, and went on, "I was admirin' that black o' yores, but the brand beat me."

"The JG stands for James Green, meanin' me," Sudden said carelessly. "He's a wild stallion, an' I broke an' put the the iron on him my own self."

"I'm Sim Dealtry, sheriff o' this burg some ten years now, an' it ain't no cake-walk."

"Pleased to know yu," the puncher replied, and then, "There used to be another range alongside the Twin Diamond, owned by a starchy of Southerner called Keith. He had a son--nice-appearin' lad, but a trifle mettlesome. Is he still about?"

"Ain't seen him for quite a considerable spell," the sheriff said. "He was a pretty constant visitor to Red Rock, an' bein', like you say, mettlesome, got in with the wrong party. Gamblin', drinkin', an' then a shootin', though that didn't amount to much for the fella was as crooked as a cow's hind leg an' pulled first, but when it comes to plain murder ..." His lips closed down on the word and his eyes were flinty. "My own son, Dan, shot from behind in the dark," he went on throatily. "An' that same night, Jeff Keith, who had quarrelled with the boy, disappeared. The town pinned the crime on him right away."

"An' yu?" the puncher asked.

Dealtry shook his head. "I ain't shore," he admitted. "I know somethin' the rest don't: Keith allus carried a forty-four, the same cartridges fittin' his rifle, an' the slug taken from my boy's body was--different. O' course, he mighta used another gun."

"Anyone else missin" 'bout that time?" Sudden asked. "Yeah, chap named Lafe Lander that Keith was pretty partial to, but he showed up again two-three days later. Didn't stay though--said he was goin' back East, where he belonged."

"Had he any grudge against yore son?"

"They didn't mix; it was over him that Dan an' Keith fell out. I guess my boy spoke his mind too plain."

"Tough luck, sheriff."

"Shore was--an' is. I'd feel easier if the sneakin' houn' hadn't got away with it."

"What's come o' young Keith?"

"I wlsh you could tell me," Dealtry said. "His dad disowned him--complete. Some claim he's the masked leader of a band of outlaws pesterin' the country since soon after he was lost sight of. What d'you make o' that?"

Sudden examined the familiar red badge with well-simulated curiosity.

"Yu can search me," he replied, inwardly amused at the thought that if the sheriff took him at his word, he would find a second. "Where'd yu get her?"

"The dead hold-up was wearin' it, an' if rumour is right, it means he was one o' Keith's gang. Well, I gotta get along to the bank; them hombres may try again; I hope they do. See you later, p'r'aps."

"I'm turnin' in," Sudden told him. "Makin' an early start."

"'Member me to Mart."

"Shore will, but he'll be surprised yu'd forgotten what he looked like."

The sly reminder of his little trap brought a grin to the sheriff's face. "You ain't obliged to tell him that," he pointed out. "An' say, if ever you want to cash in on that hoss, let me know."

"When he's for sale I'll be wearin' wings--mebbe," Sudden smiled.

Dealtry nodded comprehendingly; he had felt that way about a horse himself.

Chapter XIX

The sun was no more than peeping above the purple hills on the horizon when Sudden rode out of Red Rock. The town was not yet stirring, but in front of a squat 'dobe building which he knew to be the bank, an armed man was steadily pacing to and fro; clearly the sheriff was overlooking no bets. He smiled grimly.

"We've taken the pot again, Nig, but the luck's too good to last," he murmured. "There's bound to come a time when I'll wanta throw in an' dasn't, an' then--mebbe yu'll have a new master."

The animal whinnled, threw up its head, and dropped into a long lope which, save in difficult stretches, would eat up the miles. So it came about that, while the day was still young, Sudden rode again into Hell City, turned his horse into the corral, and went into the saloon. His three men were there.

"Reported? Not damn likely; that's yore affair," Scar snorted, ln reply to a question.

Sudden smiled; they were not going to help him. "I'm obliged," he said. "I'd sooner tell the story my own way."

He read the instant look of apprehension; evidently it had not occurred to Roden that the whole blame for the nonsuccess of the expedition might be put upon himself and his companions.

"Guess I'd better come along," he suggested.

"All the same to me," Sudden said indifferently.

He went out. Scar followed, sullenly enough, for he now saw that in trying to be clever he had been merely stupid; he should have made his own tale good.

"There ain't no call to tell him we come back ahead o' you," he suggested.

"Are yu expectin' he won't know?"

Scar was not, he had only hopes, and these died the moment his chief set eyes on him.

"You arrived eight hours ago, Roden," he said. "Why haven't I seen you?"

The man had an inspiration; he jerked a thumb at his companion. "Best ask him; he's the doc, an' a pretty mess he's made of it."

Satan looked savagely from one to the other. "Where's the gold?" he snapped.

"In the bank at Red Rock, I reckon," Sudden said coolly, and told what had happened.

The looked-for outburst did not come, but below the mask he could see the rigid jaw-muscles and knew that the bandit was fighting to conceal his fury.

"So you failed," came the caustic comment, and the tone conveyed a threat.

Sudden glared at him. "Shore we did," he retorted harshly, "an' whose fault was it? Yores, for givin' me muck-rakin's to work with. If they'd obeyed orders Daggs wouldn't 'a' fired, an' we'd 'a' had the posse under our guns before they knowed we was there, an' cleaned 'em up. As it was, they outnumbered us two to one; it's no use shoutin' against thunder."

Scar's eyes were near popping out of his head--he had never seen his dreaded chief talked back to, and fully expected to see the offender shot down. But the masked man had himself in hand. He looked at Roden.

"Was that the way of it?"

"Daggs was too eager, an' spilled us," the rogue sulkily admitted, and with a spark of spirit, added, "You didn't tell us there would be a guard follerin' the coach."

"You can get out," Satan said, and when Roden had retreated, willingly enough, turned to the puncher. "It seems you could not help it." He was silent for a moment, and then, "Singular how things have gone awry for me since you came here."

"Yu have lost yore medicine."

"What do you mean?"

"When it happens to an Injun, he has angered his gods an' nothin' goes right; a white man calls it bein' outa luck."

Satan's lips curled disdainfully. "The excuse of the weak," he said. "The strong man laughs at luck--good or ill. What did you learn at Red Rock?"

"On'y that the bank is a fine place to stay away from just now," Sudden replied. "The sheriff showed me one o' yore badges--got it from Daggs. He was real interested."

"Dealtry is a duffer; if he meddles in my affairs he'll be wearing one himself, though he won't know it," was the threatening answer. "And don't make the mistake of thinking these trifling reverses--due to the poor tools I have to use --are important. I shall win--in the end."

"I'll remember," Sudden replied solemnly.

With the vainglorious words ringing in his ears, he stepped into the street, a saturnine smile on his own lips.

"If conceit counted that fella could rule the world," he told himself. Another thought came. "Odd that Keith's son shouldn't know about Injun medicine. Well, gotta find that Frosty-pate an' arrange another `disappointment.' "

He got his horse and rode to the west gate, where he found the same man in charge. He enquired whether Holt had returned and appeared surprised at the negative reply.

"I've just left the Chief, an' he don't know of it," he said. "Keep a tight mouth--things went wrong yestiddy an' the boy mighta had somethin' to do with it. Get me?"

"You bet I do," the fellow said fervently. "Thanks, mister."

Circling to the south, Sudden crossed the plateau where he had first met Belle Dalroy, and descended to the edge of the Double K range. Here he built a small fire, and from the mouth of a near-by ravine which would permit an unobserved retreat, watched the smoke eddying into the still air.

"If he's around that'll fetch him," he argued. "If someone else shows up, I gotta be a whole lot absent.

His signal proved successful; at the end of half an hour a rider came pacing across the plain, to pull up, gun in hand, as he drew near.

"Stamp the fire out and come ahead," Sudden called. "It's Jim."

Frosty obeyed, a grin on his face. "Knowed that a'readynobody else'd be idjut enough to try that trick," he said. "S'pose it had been Steve who happened along?"

"He'd never have seen me," was the reply. "I had to take the risk; got a li'l job for yu to-night."

"If I thank yu, don't believe me," Frosty said. "What is it this time--a nice easy murder?"

"Nothin' that'll soil yore lily-white reputation," Sudden grinned. "Slant them long listeners o' yores this way." He told of the unknown prisoner, and then, "Soon as it's dark yu'll ride over to play poker at the Twin Diamond."

"I ain't got no invite," Frosty objected.

"There's somethin' else yo're lackin', too," Sudden said severely. "Come alive, yu chump, this is serious. Go to Merry, borrow a couple o' saddled hosses, an' fetch 'em to that place I told yu about. We'll need two more ropes as well. I'll be waitin' for yu there."

"Seems a lot o' trouble to turn loose a hombre yu don't know an' who may deserve to be where he is," Frosty grumbled.

"Yo're missin' the mark by about a million miles, ills friend retorted. "I don't care if he's committed every crime there is; Satan wants him an' that's a good argument for takin' him away. Are yu sittin' in?"

"Shore I am; what d'yu take me for?" was the indignant reply.

"I'd just hate to tell yu," Sudden smiled, and then his expression sobered. "We gotta keep our eyes skinned; if that devil catches us, a quick finish is the best we could hope for."

Frosty nodded, a speculative look in his eyes. "Just why are yu doin' this, Jim?" he asked. "Oh, I know the fella framed yu, but ... What's back o' yore mind?"

"If I told yu, ol'-timer, yu'd think me loco," the puncher said whimsically. "Mebbe we'll learn somethin' to-night. Now, I gotta get busy coverin' my tracks."

"What yu goin' to do?"

"Get drunk. Adios."

Before the Double K man could conjure up an adequate answer to this staggering statement, the maker of it had swung into his saddle and shot off up the ravine. Frosty flung up his hands.

"Ain't he the aggravatin' cuss?" he asked the world. "Yu never know when he's joshin', an' yet, he gets yu. Here's me, happy an' comfortable, 'cept that I'm mostly broke, an' when he sez `Come an' risk yore silly neck,' I not on'y does but I'm glad to. He's so damned--convincin'. I reckon he meant it all but that drunk notion, which was just his way o' tellin' me to shut up."

In which conclusion Frosty was wrong, for Sudden had meant that also. He had to be absent from Hell City and yet have evidence he had not left it. So the company at Dink's that evening saw him in a different guise, that of an angry, complaining man sitting at a table alone, who swore savagelywhen invited to take part in a game, and applied himself. steadily to the bottle before him. As the liquor took effect, his maudlin voice rose and those present gathered that he was grumbling at the way he had been treated. The bottle emptied, he banged on the table with it and demanded another. In the poor light, no one noticed that most of the spirit had been spilled on the sanded floor. Dirk himself brought the further supply, and with it, a caution; his customer had been entlrely too outspoken. Sudden stood up, grabbed the bottle and drank, regarding the saloon-keeper owlishly.

"No fella in this town c'n talk down to me," he said. "I'll fight an'body in the bar." He dropped into his seat. "I'd fight the lot of 'em if I c'd stand."

"O' course you would," Dirk said placatingly. "All you want is another little drink, an' a nice long sleep; then you can show 'em."

He winked at the men standing round and held out a glass. The puncher seized and drained it. "Thass ri'," he mumbled thickly. "Gotta sleep." His effort to rise was a failure. "Losh my legs. Helluva note." His head fell forward in a drunken stupor.

"That last shot has fixed him--he'll be out for the night," the saloon-keeper remarked. "I ain't sorry neither; when these quiet ones do break loose they're wuss'n the reg'lars. Help me carry him to his bed."

Two acted as bearers and Dirk showed the way. When they arrived at the room, the apparently intoxicated man opened his eyes and demanded to be set down. Staggering in, he slammed the door and slid the bolt into its slot.

"coin' to sleep," he called out. "If an'body rouses me--I'll kill 'em. Goo'-night."

The heard a tumble and a curse, followed by the creak of the pallet-bed, and silence. One of them furtively tried the door and jumped back as a bullet crashed through it above his head.

"Wake me, would yu?" the drunkard's voice snarled. Their rapidly retreating footsteps brought a smile to the face of the man sitting on the side of the bed.

"Reckon that'll hold 'em for the night," he murmured.

Stepping lightly on the balls of his feet, he jammed the one chair under the handle so that the door could not be easily forced, crossed the window, and raised the sash. With his coiled lariat round his neck, he slipped over the sill and, hanging by his hands, let go, landing as softly as a cat. Hat pulled down over his eyes, he slunk through the murky gloom of the town until he reached the secret exit. Here, as he knew, there was always a guard.

Noiselessly he felt his way through the cavern entrance and smothered a whoop when he saw that he had only one man to deal with. The fellow was squatting on a stool in front of a fire, his back to the intruder, a rifle propped against the wall. Clearly he was not expecting to be disturbed. Treading with the stealth of a stalking savage, the cowboy crept nearer. He was within a couple of yards when fortune failed him; a dry stick--invisible in the darkness--cracked beneath his step, bringing the guard instantly to his feet.

"Who th' hell--?"

He got no farther: Sudden's fist, propelled with all the power of his advancing body behind it, flashed upwards to his chin and hurled him, a senseless mass, to the ground. Remembering that he must return that way, Sudden tied and gagged his victim before proceeding. Then he climbed the ladder to the cave overhead, and repeating the process twice more, found himself in the open air, and looking into the muzzle of a pistol.

"Li'l boys shouldn't play with firearms," he said.

"Couldn't afford to take chances," Frosty explained. "' Sides, I was lookin' for a fella disguised in drink."

"Yu see him," Sudden grinned. "An hour back I had to be carried to bed. Got them horses?"

"Shore," Frosty replied, adding thoughtlessly, "Why didn't yu bring yore own?"

"Nigger is an intelligent animal but I never could learn him to climb ladders; dunno why, no ambition thatway, mebbe. Also--"

"Yu can go plumb to perdition."

"While he's in Hell City they'll figure I am, too," Sudden continued. "Fetch them ropes along?"

Being assured on this point, he mounted one of the Twin Diamond ponies and led the way eastwards. After several miles, they crossed the trail to Dugout, and turned again in the direction of the bandit town, traversing the valley which it overlooked. The night was dark and chilly, and the task of forcing a path through the undergrowth proved both laborious and painful.

"Every damn bush seems to 'a' got its claws out," Frosty complained. "C'mon, yu chunk o' crowbait, yore hide is thicker'n mine." He tugged at the lead-rope of the third horse. "Wish we had some o' that whisky yu wasted."

Sudden chuckled; he had told of the ruse employed to cover his absence. "Yo're readin' my thoughts," he said. "We oughts be gettin' near now."

They were: presently the black bulk of the cliff which was Hell City loomed up on their left. They went slowly on, the horses stumbling over the stony debris from the weather-worn height above. Sudden's eyes were busy, soon they caught a gleaming white mark on a tree-trunk where a sliver of bark had been sliced away. He pointed to it.

"There's my blaze; this must be the place."

They got down, secured the animals, and Frosty's gaze travelled over the apparently perpendicular wall; about half-way up he could discern a spot of diffused light. He turned to his companion, who was winding the extra ropes round his body.

"If yo're expectin' to climb up there yu'll need four hands, the same number o' feet, an' hooks on yore eyebrows," he said. "Give it up, Jim; it ain't possible, an' mebbe the hombre would ruther stay where he is anyways."

"Likely, but I'm goin' up an' he's comin' down," Sudden said, and with a grim smile, "If yu hear a yelp, stand from under--I shall be movin' fast."

With the jest on his lips, he began the ascent. The stars were brighter and afforded a little more light, enabling him to find hand and toe-holds marked down on his previous inspection. Flattened against the rock he worked his way upward almost inch by inch, while his companion watched and muttered things which might have passed for prayers to a careless listener. At the end of ten minutes, the climber had accomplished as many feet, and paused to rest. It was going to be even more difficult than he had looked for. An idea came.

"Frosty, I'm a bone-head," he said in a low tone. "Yo're tellin' me," was the sarcastic reply.

"There's a knob, 'bout twelve feet above me. Think yu could rope her?"

The first throw proved abortive, the falling noose slapping Sudden sharply across the face, nearly causing him to lose hold.

"I'll bet the Double K cows get a lot o' fun outa yu," was his chaffing comment.

The second attempt was successful, the loop settling over the protuberance. Frosty threw his weight upon it, to make sure. Hand over hand, Sudden hauled himself up to the knob, and let the rope fall; it could be of no further use tohim. A brief rest and he continued the climo. As he had hoped, the worst was over, but the task was still superhuman. Already his arms were aching under the terrific strain of supporting almost the whole weight of his body. Once or twice a foot slipped and only a desperate and lucky clutch at some slight inequality saved him from dropping to death on the boulders below.

Foot by foot he struggled up, digging his fingers into crevices, trusting his life to clinging roots which, only too frequently, came away in his grasp. More than once he fell foul of clumps of choya cactus and cursed as the vicious spines tore his flesh. But he set his teeth and battled on, fighting the inanimate rock as though it were a sentient being. To the watcher below, straining his sight to follow the dark patch spread-eagled against the cliff-face, time seemed endless, but at length he saw the faint glow blotted out and realized that Sudden had succeeded. A fervent oath testified his relief.

"He's made it," he muttered. "Sufferin' snakes, he'll go to Paradise all right, when his time comes--they'll never be able to keep him out."

Frosty's sense of satisfaction was but a shadow to that of the climber as he gripped the lower edge of the hole whence the light came and lifted himself to a tiny ledge beneath it. Here, panting for breath and with pain in every protesting muscle, he rested. The view was wonderful. He seemed to be sitting on the rim of a gigantic bowl of blackness, canopied by a velvet dome sprinkled with twinkling pin-pricks of light. But he had not come there to admire scenery, and after a few moments, he raised himself and peered through the opening. It was the outlet of a short tunnel, sufficiently large for a man to crawl along, and widening out into a sort of window-seat when it reached the room within.

For an instant he feared he had made the mistake of climbing to the Chief's own abode, for this place too was comfortably furnished; a carpet, a bed in one corner, chairs and a table. Then he saw that it was smaller, and had a flight of rude steps cut out of the wall on one side. Seated at the table, smoking, and reading by the light of a kerosene lamp, was the man he had risked so much to reach. Apart from the pallor of his skin, due to confinement, he had not the appearance of a prisoner. To the puncher he seemed oddly familiar; height and build were those of the bandit leader, and the dandified cowboy clothes increased the resemblance, but he was some years younger, and wore no mask. Presently he turned his head and Sudden stifled a cry of satisfaction; he had guessed right.

"Howdy, stranger."

The man at the table sprang to his feet, whirled, and stared in blank amazement at the intruder leaning carelessly with his back to the window opening.

"Who are you, and how on earth did you get here?" he gasped.

"A friend, an' I just dumb up," the visitor explained. "you--climbed--up?" the other repeated, and there was fear in his pale blue eyes. "Impossible."

Sudden smiled. "Yu see me, an' I ain't wearin' wings," he pointed out.

"Why have you come?"

"I'm takin' yu outa this."

"I've no desire to leave; in fact, I refuse." The metallic clang of a bolt being withdrawn over their heads made him start. "Someone is coming; get away while you can."

Sudden drew a gun. "I'm stayin'," he said. "I shall be at the window, hehind the blanket. If I'm discovered,, yu an' the other fella will take the last leap together."

He disappeared just as a trap-door in the roof opened and a man came down the steps. Sudden had expected to see Silver, but it was the Chief himself, and he was alone.

"Well, my friend," he greeted. "Was I dreaming, or did I hear voices?"

"You heard mine," the prisoner replied. "I talk aloud sometimes, just to convince myself that I am not dead, and buried in a tomb. I'd risk a lot to breathe God's good air again--one can't here."

"Of course not, when you keep it out with a curtain," the other retorted, and moved towards the window. "It's a lovely night."

"Leave the damned thing alone, I pulled it on purpose," was the irritable response. "It's cold, and I hate the sight of a world in which I have no part. There are days when I dream I am riding again, the wind slapping my face, the ground sliding beneath my horse's belly, birds singing, streams gurgling down the hillsides, and I wake to find myself in this cursed stone cage. It will send me mad."

"I know it's tough, boy, but what can I do?" Satan replied. "Only this morning I got news that Dealtry is still on the warpath, and offering a thousand dollars for word of the slayer of his son. He has spies all over the country, and my men--though they serve my purpose--are of the type who would sell a brother for a couple of gold pieces. This is the only place where you are safe; anyone who told you different would be no friend."

"The old, old story," the prisoner sneered, and then, "Must you wear that mask when you visit me?"

"As I have many times told you, it is my unbreakable rule. I prefer to remain a man of mystery; it gives me power over the ignorant people I have to deal with, and not one of them, in later years, will be able to say he has known me."

"Always the play-actor--you should have stuck to the stage," came the scornful comment. "How is the cattle business?"

"When we are ready to clean up and leave here there should be a big bank-roll to split," was the reply. "Is there anything more I can get you?"

"I have all I want, save that which means all--freedom."

"That may not be so long; if Dealtry should meet with an accident--"

"No, I will not have any dirty work," came the sharp interjection.

"My dear fellow," Satan remonstrated, "I am not suggesting it, but Dealtry is a good sheriff and no man can be that without making enemies. If one of these seizes an opportunity, I decline to be held responsible, or to wear mourning. Adios."

With a light laugh he went up the stairway. Sudden waited until he heard the bolts shoot home and then stepped out, to be met with a mocking smile.

"Well, Mister Interloper, you have wasted your time, you see."

"If there's anythin' yu wanta take along, get it."

"But, my good man, you heard what my friend said; I have an excellent reason for staying here."

"I've a better for not lettin' yu an' I'm holdin' it," the puncher replied meaningly. "If yu'd ruther be tied ..."

The unknown looked at the levelled revolver, then at the cold eyes and athletic form of its owner, and realized that he was helpless. From a peg in the wall, he took down a hat and clapped it on his head.

"The gun wins," he said.

Sudden sheathed the weapon, and began to unwind the ropes he had brought. This done, he joined them, and his gaze roved round the room in search of something to serve as a cross-bar. A stout leg wrenched from the table providedthis, and with one end of the rope knotted in the middle, was placed across the window. The slack, Sudden pitched out into the night, and turned to the prisoner, who had watched these preparations with evident misgiving.

"Go ahead," he said. "Our weight will keep that bit o' wood in place, but don't hurry or yu'll be liable to bust yore brains out. I'll be right after yu."

"Wouldn't it be safer to make that rope secure at this end?"

"Shore, but I ain't leavin' an easy way o' follerin' us; yore friend mighta forgot somethin'."

With a gesture of resignation, the other crawled out. On the brink of the black abyss which yawned at his feet, he hesitated, and then, gripping the frail support, lowered himself, hand over hand. It was not easy; the rope was thin, rendering a deliberate descent wellnigh impossible, and speed resulted in burned palms and a body bruised by bumps against protruding portions of the cliff. Lack of exercise, too, had softened his sinews, and the drag of his body soon numbed his arms. His mind was obsessed by the thought that the table-leg might slip, and then ... A scrape of boots and a fragment of stone which whizzed past his ear reminded him that his captor was running the same risk.

Spinning dizzily, slithering, holding the rope with hands which seemed to be on fire, he dropped what appeared to be an interminable depth. He heard the whicker of a horse and it gave him an idea: if he could reach the animal and ride off before the stranger completed the descent ... A moment later he staggered backwards as his feet impacted on solid ground. Recovering his balance, he was about to run when a voice said: "Hold on, yu. Where's Jim?"

A dark form a little way up the cliff, which suddenly gained momentum, curled itself up, and sent them both rolling, answered the question.

"Right here," it said, sitting up and stretching its limbs experimentaly. "On'y bruises, seem'ly. Why didn't yu stop me?"

"Well, of all the gall," Frosty retorted. "What was yore hurry, anyway?"

"Somethin' fetched loose," Sudden told him. "Reckon that cross-bar warn't such a notion after all." He explained.

"I'll say it wasn't--the damned thing on'y missed my head by an inch," the Double K man agreed feelingly. "Yu must be loco to take a chance like that for a couple o' ropes, an' they warn't even our'n."

"Yore ideas o' honesty won't never lose yu nothin' 'cept yore liberty," Sudden told him.

When they were mounted, he led the way west. The rescued man appeared to be indifferent as to his fate, and asked no questions. Sudden rode head down, deep in thought, and Frosty's efforts to enliven the journey met with a chilling response.

"Yu'll hear all about it presently," he was told. "What's the use tellin' things twice over?"

Some time later they pulled up outside the Twin Diamond ranch-house. Though it was near midnight, there was a light in the living-room, and Merry himself answered the rap on the door. He seemed surprised to see them.

"Hello, boys," he said. "Come right in."

They filed into the house, Sudden bringing up the rear, and for a moment there was an awkward silence, the rancher studying the third man curiously. Then he said: "Why this visit?"

"We've brung back the hosses," Frosty informed. "What hosses?"

"Them I borried--yu warn't around, so I couldn't ask. There was a couple o' ropes, too."

"How come yu overlooked the ranch-house?" Merry enquired ironically."We wasn't needin' firewood," Frosty grinned.

The fat man laughed, too. "That'll be enough from yu, Mister Impudence. What's it all mean, Jim?"

Sudden told him, his recital being punctuated by profane expressions of amazement from the rancher. When it was finished, he said : "An' who is this fella yu risked breakin' yore neck for?"

"One who only desired to be left alone," the unknown replied gruffly.

Sudden deftly twitched the pulled-down hat from the speaker's head. "I guess yu know him," he said. Open-mouthed, Merry stared at the man disclosed, who glared back defiantly.

"Jeff Keith!" he cried. "Then who the blisterin' hell is the Red Mask?"

Frosty, upon whom the revelation had produced a petrifying effect, now came to life again. "Mebbe Jeff can tell us?" he suggested.

The young man looked at Sudden. "You're the clever guy," he jeered. "Suppose you tell me."

"Right," the puncher said. "He is Lafe Lander, better knowed around here as Satan, boss of a band of outlaw thieves an' murderers, an' masqueradin' as--yu."

Keith's expression was one of plain derision. "Are you expecting me to swallow such a tale?" he asked.

"It is true, boy," Merry said sternly. "Dressed like yu, speakin' in yore voice, and masked, he has deceived all who have seen him, even those who knew yu well, like Frosty here."

"That's so, Jeff," the Double K rider supplemented. "An' he trots out yore favourite cuss-word, too."

"But there's a good reason why he shouldn't want to be taken for me. It doesn't make sense."

"Look at it this way," Sudden said quietly. "Him an' his gang are plinderin' the country, killin' , stealin' cast, n' cattle, an' yo're gettin' the blame. If things get too hot, all he has to do is peel off that mask an' slide out, leavin' yu to face the music. Until now, yu alone have knowed who he is, an' yore dead body, with that strip o' velvet on it, would wipe the slate clean for him. He called yu his `ace in the hole'; it was a true word."

The boy breathed hard and looked round helplessly. "It ounds incredible but the facts fit," he admitted. "Lafe would never let me leave that cursed vault--said it was too dangerous, one of his people might give me away."

Another thought came. "Why didn't you take me to Red Rock? It would have been worth your while."

"The sheriff would like to see yu, shore enough, but he ain't offerin' to pay a thousand for the privilege," Sudden said drily. "That was just another lie."

"Then why did you come?"

"Yore father hired me to make war on Hell City. He :hanged his mind, but I didn't."

"He paid a gunman to get his own son," the boy said bitterly.

"No to prevent him getting deeper in the mire," was the sharp reply. "Yu were not to be harmed."

The sneer was too much for Merry; he jumped up. "Get his straight, Jeff," he cried. "Yu've been a damned young fool, but I've allus stood by yu, an' I'm thunderin' glad matters ain't as bad as we feared, but yore father is a fine man, my friend, an' I won't hear a word against him." His anger went as quickly as it had come, and his customary smile was back as he finished, "Except from myself."

"I'm sorry, Mart," Keith replied. "My mind's in such a muddle ... Hell! I know you're all trying to help me, and I'll do anything you say, on one condition, that no news of this reaches the Double K. Possibly my father was justified, butuntil this tango: is straight out and I can go to him with clean hands ..."

"I guess that's the right play," the rancher agreed. "Ken is a proud man, sorely hurt, an' we gotta have absolute proof. Point is; what are we to do with yu?"

"He can stay here, but he'll have to lie close," Sudden said. "If that devil gets hold of him again, we're sunk. Now, I must be on my way."

Keith held out a hand. "I'd like to thank you," he said. "Do you have to go back?"

"Nothin' else for it," Sudden replied. "If they haven't busted in that bedroom door, I'll be sittin' pretty. Frosty will look after yore bronc, Mart."

As they raced through the night the Double K rider put a question.

"Did yu know it was Jeff yu were goin' after, Jim?"

"No, but I suspected Satan might not be the fella he was pretendin' to be; clever as he is, he slipped up once or twice. It ain't goin' to be easy to prove."

"But if Jeff shows hisself ..."

"Dealtry will gather him in, an' the other man will vanish. No, ol'-timer, that wouldn't work nohow; we gotta wait." Streaks of light were showing in the eastern sky when,they reached the secret entrance, and Sudden wasted no time in making the descent. He found the tied sentry and released him.

"If the Chief finds out 'bout this he'll crucify yu," he warned. "I'm sayin' nothin', an' recommendin' yu to do the same."

Confident that the advice would be taken, he made his way to the saloon, climbed to his room, and was asleep in five minutes.

Chapter XX

Sudden was aroused by a loud, insistent hammering. He had lain down fully clothed, even to his spurs, and when he stumbled across the room to fling wide the door, his tousled appearance and sleep-laden eyes were what might have been expected after the night before. The saloon-keeper was outside.

"What th' hell?" the puncher said in a surly tone. "Can't a fella have any rest in this shebang?"

The man chuckled. "Which I'm right distressed to cut short yore slumbers thisaway," he said. "'Specially as you ain't had but a measly fourteen hours, but the Chief wants you--urgent."

"Say I'll come when I'm good an' ready," was the truculent answer.

Dirk looked concerned. "Best mosey along, friend," he advised. "Dunno what's amiss, but Scar brought the message, an' he sez the Chief is murder-mad."

Sudden slapped on his hat, jerked his gun-belt into position, and grumbling, followed his host to the bar. Roden was waiting for them, and his beady eyes gleamed maliciously as they took in the cowboy's slovenly attire and disgruntled demeanour.

"Ain't feelin' so good, huh?" he said. "you certainly did git a skillful."

Sudden blinked at him. "With that load yu'd be dead to the world for another twenty-four hours," he retorted. "Where's Silver?"

l left him with the Chief, an' he's the scaredest man in the south-west--if he's still alive," Scar replied.

"Bah! Silver is the on'y man he trusts," Dirk stated.

"You don't know him; he wouldn't trust his own mother,'" Roden scoffed. "Let's be movin'."

Outside the entrance to the Chief's quarters several of the band were loafing, among them Squint.

"no an' take yore medicine, Sudden," he gibed.

The puncher paused. "Come an' get yores--now," he offered, and when the invitation was not accepted, laughed and went in.

Somewhat of a shock awaited him; erect before the masked man, her face deathly pale, stood Anita. A few feet away, eyes fearful, and his great body shaking on his short legs, was Silver. The presence of the woman warned Sudden that matters had gone amiss; he would need all his wits. Satan turned his basilisk gaze on the newcomers.

"Well?" he barked at Roden.

"He was carried to bed 'bout eight las' night, blind, an' I had to wait while Dirk waked him just' now," that worthy replied. "His hoss was in the corral at daybreak--it ain't bin rode recent."

Satan nodded. "That appears to absolve you, Sudden."

"If I knowed what th' hell yo're talkin' about, mebbe I'd thank yu," was the dry answer.

The bandit's cold eyes drilled into him. "A guest of importance to me has been kidnapped," he said. "That he was here was known only to myself and that half-wit"--he pointed to the dwarf--"until he has to get drunk and babble to this slut."

"Might 'a' walked out on yu."

"Impossible; he was lodged in a room some thirty feet below this, and would have had to come through here, or use the opening for air and light."

Sudden moved to the window and looked out. "Yu ain't accusin' a gal o' climbin' this cliff, are yu?"

"No, but none the less, that's how it was done; there are tracks of three horses beneath. Silver was here with me all the time."

"That lets him out," the puncher agreed.

Inwardly, he was cursing the cowardly brute who, in the hope of saving his own skin, had betrayed the girl. That he himself would be at once suspected he had foreseen, hence the elaborate alibi. Covertly studying the masked man anew, he was amazed at his resemblance in build, manner, and voice to young Keith. Satan put another question.

"I have told you all," Anita protested. "This--ape"--her contempt was real enough--"threatened to make trouble for me unless I gave him whisky; he took too much, and mumbled something about a solitary prisoner; it did not interest me."

The bandit bent forward, hls gaze intent. "That is a lie," he hissed. "Fool, to try to trick one who can read your brain. It was an opportunity to avenge the loss of your lover. Tell me the name of your accomplice, or ..."

Though the accuracy of his deduction must have startled her, the woman's eyes, calm, unwavering, met his. "I know nothing of it," she said.

With the snarl of a beast, the bandit stepped forward as though about to strike, but instead, twisted her round, ripped open the flimsy shirt-waist she was wearing, and called, "Muley."

From the shadows near the door, the one-time teamster emerged, his pig-eyes glittering bestially as they rested on the victim's bared shoulders.

"Can you write?" Satan asked, and when the fellow shook his head, went on, with a horrible laugh, "Then you must make your mark, a cross, Muley, so." He gestured with onehand. "Six strokes, and we will repeat the dose daily until she unlocks her lips."

Though there was stark terror in her eyes, Anita uttered no sound, but the grip on the torn raiment with Which she strove to cover her bosom tightened, and she shivered. Muley was toying with his whip and feeding his unsated lust for revenge upon the frail flesh he soon would mar for ever. This was better than Pedro. He was squaring his shoulders to begin his task when Sudden spoke.

"Thrashin' her won't get yu no place, Satan; she can't tell what she don't know. I'm the fella yo're after."

He had no sooner said the words than a gun was rammed into his ribs and Scar warned, "No funny stuff, Sudden, or..."

His frame rigid, the puncher continued his confession. "Yeah, I took yore `guest'--the woman had nothin' to do with it. A few nights ago, passin' one o' these rat-holes, I heard Silver's voice, an' bein' curious, slipped in an' listened. He was chuckin' a chest, tryin' to impress the gal with his own importance, an' was plenty drunk. It was me crawled up the rock, an' I was hidden in the window-hangin's when yu paid yore visit last night."

The masked man's face had lost its immobility; doubt was swiftly followed by certainty and an insensate rage as he realized that this enigmatical stranger had surprised his secret and now defied him. His usually glassy eyes flamed, and for the moment, he was mad.

"By God !" he swore. "I'll have your hide off for this," and motioned to Muley.

"Yo're forgettin' somethin', Satan," came the icy reminder. "I ain't a mongrel, like Pedro, nor a woman; whippin' won't wring a word from me, an' if I should chance to cash in, yu won't see yore friend Lander again."

The mention of the name brought a quick look from the * bandit. He hesitated, and then said abruptly "Roden, you and Muley can go. Take the woman with you, but she is not to leave the town."

They filed out, Anita leading; she did not speak, or even glance at the puncher as she passed, listless, and apparently indifferent. Her companions, dumbfounded by this unexpected development, were also silent. When they had gone, the Chief looked at Silver, who was awaiting his turn with obvious trepidation.

"It seems you have been merely indiscreet," he said. "Get to your post, or ..."

He tapped the butt of one of his revolvers and Sudden wondered was it a signal? He heard the door open and shut, but it did not deceive him--Silver's "post" would be behind the picture; that the stunted man knew nothing of firearms he had never credited for an instant. The Chief appeared to have regained his temper.

"This is a most unfortunate occurnence, Sudden," he began, "The fellow you released was here for his own good. Dealtry is seeking him for the shooting of his son. Now I did that killing--you see, I am frank with you--but I knew that Lander would be fastened upon because there was bad blood between them. So he had to be hidden--I could not let him suffer for my own act."

"It would 'a' cleared yu." The callous comment was made with deliberation.

"True, but he was a friend."

"Makes a difference, o' course," Sudden conceded. "Well, I 'pear to 'a' gone to a lot o' trouble to make the wrong play, but that's me--get a notion an' rush at it like an angry steer, without stoppin' to think. Oughta seed he was contented where he was."

"His conversation with me should have told you that."

"Couldn't hear much, an' I just hated the idea o' sweatin' up that cliff tor nothin' ; I guess I didn't give him any choice.' "Who helped you?"

Sudden shook his head. "I ain't tellin'. He warn't one o' yore folk, don't know anythin', an' all he did was fetch the hosses."

To his surprise, the bandit did not press the point. "Where is Lander now?"

"Dunno--I just turned him loose," the puncher replied, and his eyes creased at the corners. "I had to get back."

"I can't imagine why you meddled," Satan said peevishly.

"Beats me, too, lookin' it over, but prisons is pizen to me, an' that rock seemed a sort o' challenge. Sounds loco, but there it is. Say, s'pos'n I can round up Mister Lander an' bring him in again?"

"That's an idea," Satan said. "I'll admit I'm anxious about him; it would be awkward if he fell into the sheriff's hands."

"Shore would--for him," Sudden grinned. "Leave it to me."

He went out and breathed deeply when he reached the open air, it had been a near thing. How far he had succeeded in deceiving the masked man he could not tell, but he had saved the woman, and was himself still at liberty. No doubt he would be watched, so when presently he passed Anita, it was with a face of stone; she too showed no sign of recognition.

"She's got savvy," he murmured, as he entered the store in search of tobacco.

Almost on his heels, Silver came in, purchased six boxes of cartridges, and with a sheepish look at the puncher, departed.

"What's he want with all that gun-fodder?"

"They's for his boss," the tradesman said. "He's my on'y customer for thirty-eights, but he uses a hell of a lot of 'em--practises every darned day, Silver sez."

Which provided Sudden with fresh food for thought, and a question for Dealtry when he next encountered him. Meanwhile, the man he had left was sitting deep in doubt. Once more the puncher had him puzzled. Had he really blundered blindly into the affair as he had stated, or ...? He dismissed the alternative with an oath and a shrug--the overweening vanity of his nature made any stupidity in a fellow-being possible. The all-important secret of his identity was still safe, but Keith's freedom was a danger.

"He would not dare to show his face at the Double K, Twin Diamond, or Red Rock," he mused. "He must be in hiding, and if Sudden knows where, he will lead me to him." He called Silver. "Arrange for that cowboy to be shadowed," he ordered. "If he is lost sight of, I will have your ears torn off, which would make you still more ugly."

The dwarf nodded and hurried away, but when the door was between them he shook a menacing fist at it. Incapable as his brutish senses were of finer feelings, he remembered Anita's gleaming shoulders and hated the man who would have made them hideous.

His exit was followed by the entrance of Belle Dalroy. Throwing her gloves and quirt on the table, she dropped into a chair and crossed her legs, fully conscious that her short riding-skirt displayed her shapely limbs to advantage.

"Heavens, but it's hot outside," she said, and then, "What's the matter, Jeff? You look as though you'd lost a dollar and picked up a dime."

The unwinking gaze travelled over her from head to foot. She was a pretty woman, even more than that, in her own style, but the man was comparing her with another and found her lacking.

"So you have been to Dugout?" he remarked, ignoring her question.

She started. "Who--?" she began, and laughed. "Of course, it would be reported to you."

"You might have turned off the trail," he pointed out, and bent his head, thinking. "It comes dimly to me; you met someone from the Double K ranch."

This time he certainly scored. "It is true," she admitted. "I saw the Keith girl, in the store, and she sailed past as though I wasn't there."

Satan smiled. "She probably knows of our--friendship," he said. "And if she still cares for me ..." He noted the tiny crease between her brows. "I haven't seen her for some time," he lied. "She should be quite pretty."

The girl guessed his game--he had played it before; cruelty in any form was an amusement to him.

"She is beautiful," Belle said with studied indifference. "Now that you have disinherited yourself the ranch will go to her, I suppose? Is it a good one?"

"You could ride for two days in any direction and find none to equal it."

"And you threw it away rather than marry her."

"I prefer to choose my own wife." His lips curled maliciously. "It was a mistake, no doubt, but mistakes can be rectified."

His meaning was plain enough, and despite her effort to control herself, a flush of anger stained her cheeks.

"You don't exactly despise yourself, do you, Jeff?" she said. "You think, with your record, that she would take you?"

"Love is all-powerful," he mocked. "It will find a way, and it forgives."

"Some day I may remind you of that," she replied, and picking up her things, left him to his reflections.

That they were not of the pleasantest was evident from his expression. The loss of the man whose dead body would slam the door on Satan the bandit and leave Lafe Lander a free, wealthy, and unsuspected citizen had been a shrewd blow. Either he must get Keith back, or ... Already in that cunning, unscrupulous brain another desperate design, bred of his conversation with Belle Dalroy, was taking shape.

At the Twin Diamond ranch Keith found that he had but moved to another prison; he dared not show himself. The outfit knew there was a visitor whose presence must not be spoken of, but--except the cook--no one saw him. He spent his time reading, and gazing hungrily out over the range. The rancher was shocked at the change two years had wrought: the gay, high-spirited youth he remembered had become a moody man, silent for the most part, brooding over the perilous position in which he was placed. The information he gleaned from Merry only served to deepen his gloom as he realized the net of infamy from which he had yet to escape.

"Who is this cowboy--Jim, you called him--and why is he fighting Hell City if my father fired him?" he asked.

Merry told what he knew of Sudden. "He figures Satan framed him in that cattle raid an' aims to get even," he finished.

"Five hundred head and thirty thousand cash would settle his debt, you'd think, yet he goes back to that hornets' nest," Keith said thoughtfully. "What more does he want?"

"That red-masked devil's hair," Merry replied grimly. "Jim's a good payer. Frosty told me that years gone he promised a dyin' man he'd bring to book a couple o' human skunks. He's still searchin', but I don't reckon he'll ever meet up with 'em." (The rancher was wrong, and the story of the finding has been recorded in another place)) "If that's the kind o' hairpin he is, I'd hate to have him on my trail."

For a day or so, the prisoner bore his confinement with what patience he might, but on the third morning he stopped the rancher as he was going out, and said abruptly: "Mart, I want a pony," and when his host hesitated, added passionately, "I'm not running away, but if you'd been cooped up in a cave for nigh two years wouldn't you want to sling a leg over a horse and feel the spring of him under you?"

The appeal was too much for a man who almost lived in the saddle--the rancher gave in. "But for your own sake, ride south," he warned. "The Double K boys is mighty nervous o' strangers these times an' liable to shoot first an' enquire after."

"I'll keep out of sight," Keith promised.

Nevertheless, an hour later, when he loped away from the ranch-house, an irresistible magnet drew him towards the Double K range. The short, crisp grass sliding beneath his horse's feet, the aromatic tang of the sage in his nostrils, the wide expanse with the purple hills on the far horizon, the rush of warm air on his cheeks as he gathered speed sent a thrill of new life through his veins. Heedlessly he rode on, exulting in the freedom he had lacked so long. Presently familiar landmarks warned him that he was actually on his father's land.

Greedily his eager gaze swept over the miles of open plain, rising and falling like the rolling billows of a greenish-brown sea dotted with timbered islands. It was a view to delight the heart of a cattleman. And he had thrown it away, exiled himself to become a homeless, hunted man !

Suddenly mindful of his promise, he was about to retreat when another actor appeared on the scene. From behind a large clump of cactus and thorn came a racing pony, carrying a woman. Hatless, rocking in the saddle, she appeared to be trying to halt the beast but without avail; a dangling strip of leather told the reason--a rein had snapped. Keith swore; he recognized that slim, swaying figure and saw that the maddened horse was heading for what the cowboys called the Glue-pot, a quaking morass from the clammy clutch of which there was no escape.

A rake of the spurs sent his mount hurtling forward in an attempt to intercept the runaway, and he cursed again as he found no lariat on his saddle-horn. Yard by yard the distance between the animals lessened until at length they were galloping side by side. Leaning over, the young man grabbed the sound rein, wound it round his wrist, and slackened pace. The double rawhide thong stood the strain and slowly but surely the steady drag brought the girl's pony to a standstill.

For one panting moment, Keith looked at her, noting the sun-kissed lovely face, framed in wind-tossed curls, the parted red lips, and the lissom grace of her youth. Here was something else he had thrown away, something--and the realization of it overwhelmed him--worth more than anything in the whole universe.

"You?" she cried, and cuttingly, "What have you done with your mask?"

"I have never worn such a thing," he said quietly. "Is that true?"

"Lying was not one of my faults, Joan,"

"Then you cannot be--"

"The boss of Hell City, as my father believes," he finished bitterly.

"As we all believed," she corrected gently. "Even I, who spoke with him."

"When was this?" he asked sharply.

She told him, and saw his jaw harden as he listened. "Changed as you seemed, I could not doubt," she ended. "He must know you well."

"He has yet to know me better," Keith promised. "At present, I cannot move; my hands are tied." He anticipated her question. "I am wanted for the shooting of young Dealtry at Red Rock."

"Oh, Jeff," she breathed. "You couldn't have ..."

"I don't know," he said miserably. "We'd had words, and I was drunk." He did not spare himself. "I can't remember what happened that night. Lander said I did it, and I could not contradict him. He got me away into hiding. I've been buried alive, Joan, and knew nothing of the foul reputation being foisted upon me. Hell, what a mess I've made of everything."

Her eyes were moist. "It will come right, Jeff," she comforted. "This will be great news for Daddy Ken--he'll help you. He has been terribly hurt, and that has made him hard, but--"

"He must not be told--yet," he broke in. "I got into the mire and must get out. Promise to keep silent, Joan, or I will ride out of the country and never return."

She smiled, albeit a little sadly. This was the old Jeff, dominant, who always got his own way by just such a means when they played together as children. She must give in--it was no empty threat. What had been boastfulness in the boy had become resolution in the man.

"Very well," she said. "Have you any plans?"

"No, I'm rather relying on that cowboy, Green, who took me out of Hell City. A strange fellow; I don't quite know what to make of him."

"Trust a woman's intuition and make him a friend, Jeff," she advised. "He has my confidence."

"I'd accept the Devil himself with that backing," he smiled, and slid from his saddle. "Reckon that bridle wants fixing." Busy with the task, he spared a moment to glance up at her. "By Christmas, it's good to see you again, Joan, and you're prettier than ever, which I wouldn't have believed possible," he blurted out.

A tell-tale flush suffused the girl's cheeks. She shook a finger at him. "Attend to your job, sir," she said, and then, "I have not thanked you for saving, perhaps, my life; this feather-brain was running straight for that horrible swamp."

"you don't ever have to thank me for anything," Keith said earnestly. "How comes it that you've nothing better than this half-broke beast to ride?"

She stroked the animal's neck. "He's not bad, just young, inexperienced, and apt to have notions--" She stopped at the sight of his rueful face. "Oh, I shouldn't have said that, Jeff, but I was thinking only of the horse, truly I was."

"Never mind. I deserve all that's coming to me. What happened?"

"A road-runner got up under our feet, raced on fifty yards or so and then looked round and waited, with the usual insulting, challenging air. Of course, an older horse would have taken no notice, but this greenhorn has visions of trampling that impudent bird in the dust. As a lesson, I let him try for a while, but the runner was always two or three jumps ahead and travelling easily. Then I saw we were heading for trouble, tried to pull up, and the rein gave."

"It's all right now," he said, and mounted again.

She asked where he was staying, and laughed when--forgetting the brand on his pony--he teasingly told her it was a secret.

"Give my love to Mart," she said.

"Hi, don't you be too free with it," he retorted. "One of these days some fellow will come along and want it all. Maybe you'll be riding this way again?"

"Maybe I will," she smiled.

He grasped the outstretched hand, stooped swiftly, and pressed his lips to it. She blushed anew as she murmured: "The same impulsive Jeff."

"No, not the same,"he cried. "Changed in every way--but one."

Abruptly he swung his horse round and spurred it across the plain. For a space she watched him and then turned homeward, a prayer on her lips, a song in her heart.

Chapter XXI

"Shore yu wasn't abroad yestiddy mornin'?" Lagley asked. "I have said so," Satan replied. "Why?"

"Fancied I saw yu, talkin' to Joan Keith, out on our range," the foreman explained. "The fella looked like yu, but he warn't masked nor ridin' a black."

"Was that all you could see?"

"Couldn't git close--it's pretty open round there, but he kissed her hand when they parted."

Fire flashed in the stony eyes for an instant. There was a brief silence and then Satan said harshly: "Does the Colonel still pay his visit to Dugout?"

"Shore, he's due there to-morrow mornin'," Lagley's expression was one of unease. "What yu aimin' to do--Jeff?"

The familiar address produced a glare which made him regret it. "When I wish you to know anything, I shall tell you--Judas," came the searing answer.

Lagley left, hating the man who never lost an opportunity of humiliating him, and cursing the day he had put himself in his power.

"His tongue's wuss'n his dad's, blast him," he raged. "But once he's in the saddle at the Double K he'll have to tower his tone some, or ..."

As he reached the street, he cannoned into a tall figure, and stepped quickly back when the half-light revealed the saturnine features of Sudden.

"Well, if it ain't my of friend, Lagley," the puncher exclaimed."Cut names out, yu fool," the foreman said hastily.

The other stiffened. "Yu cut that sort o' name out, too," he rasped. "yu ain't my foreman now, an' it sticks in my mind that the last time we met yu wanted to hang me."

The retort made Lagley uncomfortable. He remembered the lightning speed of this man's draw at their first meeting, the passing of Butch, and that they were in a lawless place.

"Hell, I had to obey orders," he said. "I was meanin' to fix it so yu could slide out durin' the night, but yu took charge."

"Yu bet I did--it was my neck," Sudden rejoined. "Mebbe the next world is better, but I ain't honin' to find out. Say, it was damn funny 'bout them cows; the Twin Diamond put one over on yu there, an' twisted Satan's tail for him good an' proper."

He had not troubled to lower his voice and the Double K man's perturbation was plain to see.

"For Gawd's sake, dry up," he urged. "He'll hear yu."

A guttural voice from the doorway interrupted: "Hey, Sudden, the Chief sez for you to come in when you've finished chin-waggin'."

"Damnation, what did I tell yu?" Lagley said.

The puncher laughed. "If he could hear us he'd 'a' gone on listenin'. Toddle back to the Double K an' be good, Steve; yu ain't got the nerve for this game."

Without waiting for a reply, he followed Silver, who was waiting for him at the door. The bandit's first question did not surprise him.

"What were you saying to Lagley?"

"Complimentin' him on havin' neighbours smart enough to fetch his cattle back for him," Sudden grinned.

"It amuses you to lose a considerable sum of money, eh?"

"The fella who can laugh at his losses will win out in the end," was the philosophical reply.

"A pretty sentiment, no doubt," Satan sneered, "but one can get tired of laughing. When are you going to justify your presence in Hell City?"

"I rustled the herd--yu told me so yoreself, an' yu can't blame me for losin' 'em again," Sudden retorted impudently. "An' I got Butch for yu."

"For yourself--to save your own life," came the correction. "Where is Lander?"

The puncher's face lost its jaunty expression. "I dunno," he confessed. "Can't pick up a trace of him nohow; I reckon he's flew the coop."

The bandit made a negative gesture. "A stranger was seen on the Double K range yesterday, talking with Joan Keith."

Sudden's surprise was genuine. "The devil!" he said. "But he wouldn't know her, would he?"

"No, but they might have met by chance," Satan replied. "You must bring him back. If you fail to do this .. ."

He did not finish, but the relentless tone conveyed the unspoken threat. Sudden went out, apparently a chastened and thoughtful man. He left the bandit still brooding over the story Lagley had told.

"It couldn't have been Jeff--he would not dare speak to her," he argued. "And yet ..."

A vision of Joan as he had last seen her, the slim figure appearing to be part of the pony she bestrode and her lovely face rosy with indignation aroused by his attempted caress, came to torment him. Until that meeting, he had coveted the Double K range only, but then was born desire for the girl who would one day own it, and though he had not seen her since, that desire had become such an overwhelming passion that the very thought of another kissing even her finger-tips moved him almost to madness.

"She may still care for him, in spite of all," he said violently. "Well, friend Jeff, I'll plaster something on youwhich will turn love to loathing, an act so vile that the hand of every man must be against you, and women will shudder at your name. With the whole country raised, you'll be glad to sneak back into the only place where you can lie hidden--Hell City. Then, the game will be in my hands."

For long he stood, gazing into the deepening darkness, while the plot which would give him, not only the girl for whom he lusted, but wealth and power, framed itself in his cold-blooded brain. One factor only was lacking, and he cursed the cowboy who had deprived him of it.

"Jeff will be hack, on his knees," he told himself. "After to-morrow."

Notwithstanding his somewhat autocratic attitude towards his fellow-man, Colonel Keith was popular in Dugout. That he was just and generous compensated for the keenness of his tongue and as the owner of the largest ranch in the vicinity, his custom was an important consideration to a small community. So his weekly visit was a welcome event and had become a matter of routine. Always there was someone waiting to hitch his horse outside Black Sam's, but with the Colonel, business came first : the several tradesmen had to be visited, orders given, and the invariable invitation to drink the rancher's health extended.

On this particular morning, the final stage of the ritual had been reached and the cattleman was with his guests in the saloon. Standing there, straight as a young pine, he made an imposing figure in his full-skirted black coat, spotless linen shirt and trousers, and polished riding-boots. His aristocratic, rather severe features were softened by a smile as he grasped the julep Sam had mixed, and listened to the little speech Jansen was making. It was always the same.

"Colonel, thisyer town is mighty pleased to see you lookin' peart. Here's hopin' yore thirst won't never git ahead o' you."

"An' that's whatever," chorused the six or seven other citizens, while the saloon-keeper thumped the bar enthusiastically, pride in his old master transforming his face into one huge grin.

The Colonel bowed graciously. "My friends," he began. "I am--"

A harsh laugh halted him. From the doorway, a man dressed as a cowboy swaggered in, followed by half a dozen others, all of them--save the leader--gun in hand. Sam, the only one facing the street, had seen the intruders first; his smile vanished as though wiped off with a sponge, dismay taking its place. He knew them: Scar Roden and his two remaining rogues, three other Imps, and the sinister form in front, the mask beneath the slouched hat concealing all but the eyes and lips. Like men turned to stone the citizens stared at the red-badged rascals, conscious that a single hostile movement would start a slaughter. The negro made an effort to avert a catastrophe. Twitching the rancher's sleeve, he stammered :

"Yo done promised to speak to Mandy, sah. If yo step roun'--"

The look he received struck the rest of the sentence from his lips. The Colonel drew himself up, and in a steady voice, said, "My friends, I thank you. It is our custom on these happy occasions to toast the prosperity of Dugout. We shall still be doing that if we drink to the utter destruction of that robbers' roost, Hell City."

He raised his glass, but before he could sample the contents, a bullet shattered it; with one movement the masked man had drawn and fired, and now stood, his teeth uncovered in an ugly snarl, the smoking gun in his hand. The Colonel dropped the remaining fragment, drew out a kerchief to wipe his fingers, and said calmly: "The same again, Sam."

The hoarse tones of Roden issued a warning. "Stay put, you fellas; I ain't breakin' glasses."

With a terror-drawn face the negro mixed the drink, his hands trembling so violently that he spilled the liquor. When at length it was completed, the rancher slowly raised the glass, drank, and set it back on the bar. The man in the mask laughed mockingly.

"Shakespeare said, `All the world's a stage,' and you never forget it," he taunted. "A real man would have shot me down."

"I had the misfortune to bring you into the world, and I prefer that the hangman should help you out of it," was the barbed retort.

"You'll never live to see it."

"So you have come to murder me? Well, it should round off your record nicely--a parricide."

The unruffled demeanour and biting sarcasm seemed to flog the younger man into a fury. "By Christmas !" he cried. "And who is responsible for that record? The stiff-necked slave-driver who treated his son as he did the black-skinned brutes whose bodies and souls he used to traffic in, and when the boy rebelled, disowned and drove him to desperation. Damn you, I'm no son of yours, and if ever it appeared so, your wife must have had a lover."

At this infamous aspersion on the dead woman he had worshipped the Colonel's face became livid. He bent forward, as though about to spring upon the traducer, his gaze seeking to penetrate the blood-red mask.

"You lying, foul-minded hound," he almost whispered. "Son or no son--" He stopped and shook his head. "Pull your gun, you--" the other raged.

The venomous insult failed. With a look of utter disdain, the rancher stood back and folded his arms. Instantly Satan fired, and the spectators saw the old man stagger under the impact of the heavy slug, clutch blindly at the bar, and fall prone on the floor. So swiftly had the tragedy happened that for a moment no one stirred. Then the black man, with a howl of grief, flung himself beside the body.