licious? You've just got done hintin' that Lawler
said he shot 'em in self-defense. But you say he didn't. One man's word
is as good as another's in law, Mr. Warden--you got to remember that!"

"Then you won't do anything?" snapped Warden.

"I reckon I'll do somethin'," said the sheriff, drawlingly. "I'll have
to see Lawler an' get his side of it. An' if you charge Lawler with
murder, I'll have to bring him in. But I'm warnin' you that if you ain't
got any witnesses to prove your charge, you ain't got no show of
convictin' him. An' Lawler's standin' is pretty high in this country,
Warden--an' don't you forget it!"

Warden smiled derisively. "Well, he seems to have a friend in you,
anyway. I'll investigate a little before I file formal charges."

"It's a good idee--I'd do a lot of it," advised the sheriff. "An' then,
when I'd done a lot of it, I'd do some more--just to be sure I wasn't
bitin' off more than I could chew!"

Warden left the sheriff's office, after turning the bodies of Link and
Givens over to the official. He sent his men to the Two Diamond, and
spent some time at a window in the rear of the Wolf Saloon, examining
hoof prints on the snow in the vicinity of the Willets Hotel, a short
distance from the Wolf. He was in a vicious mood.

He noted that the three sets of tracks he had followed led to the rear
of the hotel. They were clear and distinct, for no other tracks were
near them. His men and himself had evidently been the first to reach
town after the storm had abated--excepting the riders whose tracks he
had followed.

He was still at the window when he heard a step behind him, and saw
Singleton approaching.

Singleton's eyes were gleaming with knowledge. He was breathing fast.

"I met the boys, headin' for the Two Diamond," he said. "They tell me
Lawler downed Link an' Givens--an' that Lawler caught 'em cuttin' the
fence. An' Colter says he was ridin' with you an' that you was followin'
them tracks that led to town from that Circle L line cabin. Well, that
was a hot trail, Warden. She's there--in the hotel!"

"Who?" demanded Warden, his face paling, though he was convinced that
what Singleton would tell him would merely confirm his suspicions.

"Della Wharton!" declared Singleton. He related what he had seen the
night before from the stable in the rear of the Wolf; and he stood tense
and stiff behind Warden as the latter glared out of the window, his lips
in a bestial pout.

Warden spoke at