ke intercepted him, and he had little doubt in his mind that the man
had seen him go to the house and had waited for his return.

"Wal?" he said, drawling out his inquiry, as though the contemplation
of the answer he would receive gave him more than ordinary
satisfaction. "Guess blind hulks is a pretty hard man to deal with,
eh? You're goin' to quit us?"

Tresler was in no mood for this man's sneers. "No," he said. "On the
contrary, I stay till my time's out."

Jake could not conceal his surprise and chagrin. "You ain't quittin'?"

"No." Tresler really enjoyed his discomfiture.

"An' you're goin'----"

"No." A thought suddenly occurred to him. He could hand something on
to this man. "Miss Marbolt is going to be sent away until such time as
I leave this ranch. Nearly three years, Jake," he finished up
maliciously.

Jake stood thoughtfully contemplating the other's shrunken figure. He
displayed no feeling, but Tresler knew he had hit him hard.

"An' she's goin', when?" he asked at last.

"This day fortnight."

"Ah. This day fortnight."

After that Jake eyed his rival as though weighing him up in his mind
along with other things; then he said quietly--

"Guess he'd best have sent her right now." And, with this enigmatical
remark, he abruptly went back to his shack.

A week saw Tresler in the saddle again. His recuperative powers were
wonderful. And his strength returned in a manner which filled his
comrades with astonishment. Fresh air and healthy work served as far
better tonics than anything the horse-doctor had given him.

And the week, at least to Tresler, was full of portent. True, the
rustlers had been quiet, but the effect of their recent doings was
very apparent. The sheriff was now in constant communication with the
ranch. Fyles visited Julian Marbolt frequently, holding long
consultations with him; and a significant fact was that his men made
the place a calling station. He realized that the long arm of the law
was seriously at work, and he wondered in what direction the real
object lay, for he quite understood that these open movements, in all
probability, cloaked the real suspicions. Both he and Joe were of
opinion that the sheriff was acting on some secret information, and
they puzzled their heads to fathom the depths of the wily officer's
motives.

Then happened something that Tresler had been expecting for some time.
He had not seen Fyles to speak to since the Willow Bluff incident, and
t