red in gold an'
Sarchedon to boot."

Creech looked as if he had not heard aright. Bostil repeated the offer.

"No," replied Creech.

"I'll make it a thousand an' throw Plume in with Sarch," flashed Bostil.

"No!" Creech turned pale and swallowed hard.

"Two thousand an' Dusty Ben along with the others?" This was an
unheard-of price to pay for any horse. Creech saw that Bostil was
desperate. It was an almost overpowering temptation. Evidently Creech
resisted it only by applying all his mind to the thought of his
clean-limbed, soft-eyed, noble horse.

Bostil did not give Creech time to speak. "Twenty-five hundred an' Two
Face along with the rest!"

"My God, Bostil--stop it! I can't PART with Blue Roan. You're rich an'
you've no heart. Thet I always knew. At least to me you never had,
since I owned them two racers. Didn't I beg you, a little time back, to
lend me a few hundred? To meet thet debt? An' you wouldn't, unless I'd
sell the hosses. An' I had to lose my sheep. Now I'm a poor
man--gettin' poorer all the time. But I won't sell or trade Blue Roan,
not for all you've got!"

Creech seemed to gain strength with his speech and passion with the
strength. His eyes glinted at the hard, paling face of his rival. He
raised a clenching fist.

"An' by G--d, I'm goin' to win thet race!"

During that week Lucy had heard many things about Joel Creech, and some
of them were disquieting.

Some rider had not only found Joel's clothes on the trail, but he had
recognized the track of the horse Lucy rode, and at once connected her
with the singular discovery. Coupling that with Joel's appearance in
the village incased in a heaving armor of adobe, the riders guessed
pretty close to the truth. For them the joke was tremendous. And Joel
Creech was exceedingly sensitive to ridicule. The riders made life
unbearable for him. They had fun out of it as long as Joel showed signs
of taking the joke manfully, which was not long, and then his
resentment won their contempt. That led to sarcasm on their part and
bitter anger on his. It came to Lucy's ears that Joel began to act and
talk strangely. She found out that the rider Van had knocked Joel down
in Brackton's store and had kicked a gun out of his hand. Van laughed
off the rumor and Brackton gave her no satisfaction. Moreover, she
heard no other rumors. The channels of gossip had suddenly closed to
her. Bostil, when questioned by Lucy, swore in a way that amazed her,
and all he to