d his brows.

"Say," exclaimed the porter eagerly, "you didn't see any men ridin'
looselike, when you was coming in, did you?"

Rathburn shook his head. "What's all this you're tryin' to chirp into
my ear?" he asked.

"Well, Bob Long, the sheriff, has got all his deputies out except just
the jailer--there ain't anybody much in jail now, anyway--an' all the
other men he could pin a star on, lookin' for a gang that held up the
stage from Sunshine yesterday mornin', shot the stage driver dead, an'
made off with an express package full of money. There's a big reward
out for the man that's leadin' the gang. He's called The Coyote. Used
to live here. He's a bad one."

"Sheriff out, too?" Rathburn asked, showing great interest.

"Sure. Come back in early last night an' got more men. They're tryin'
to surround Imagination Range, I guess. That's where this Coyote an'
his gang are supposed to be hanging out. The sheriff don't care so
much for the fellers that's with him, I guess, but he sure does want
this Coyote person. He told everybody to let the gang go if they had
to, but to get the leader."

Rathburn looked through the front windows with a quizzical smile on
his lips. The sun was shining in the deserted street.

"How many men has the sheriff got?" he inquired casually.

"Most two hundred, I guess. They're scattered all over the range, an'
a lot of 'em has hit over on the other side. They think The Coyote
crossed the range an' is makin' east."

"Well, maybe he has, an' maybe he hasn't," Rathburn observed. "The
best place to hide from a posse is in the middle of it."

The porter looked at him, then burst into a loud laugh. "I guess you
said something that time, pardner. In the middle of it, eh?" He went
about his work, chuckling, while Rathburn walked to a front window and
stood looking out.

A few minutes later he stepped quickly back into a corner, as a small
automobile raced up the street. He sauntered to the rear door, passed
out with a pleasant word to the porter, and when he gained the open,
hurried up behind the buildings the length of the block. There he
turned to the left and walked rapidly to a large stone building. He
went around on the east side and entered a door on the ground floor.
He found himself in a hallway, and on his left was a door, on the
glazed glass of the upper half of which was the gold lettering:
"Sheriff's Office."

After a moment's hesitation he opened the door quickly and went in.