y recognized
the heavy, slouch figure at the first glance.

Not for an instant did he hesitate about what he meant to do. The hour
had come when he and Dan Meldrum must have an accounting. From its
holster he drew his revolver and crept forward toward the bad man. His
eyes were cold and hard as chilled steel. He moved with the long, soft
stride of a panther crouched for the kill. Not till the whole thing
was over did he remember that for once the ghost of fear had been
driven from his soul. He thought only of the wrongs of Beulah
Rutherford, the girl who had fallen asleep in the absolute trust that
he would guard her from all danger. This scoundrel had given her two
days of living hell. Roy swore to pay the fellow in full.

Meldrum turned. He recognized Beaudry with a snarl of rage and terror.
Except one of the Rutherfords there was no man on earth he less wanted
to meet. The forty-four in his hand jerked up convulsively. The
miscreant was in two minds whether to let fly or wait.

Roy did not even falter in his stride. He did not raise the weapon in
his loosely hanging hand. His eyes bored as steadily as gimlets into
the craven heart of the outlaw.

Meldrum, in a panic, warned him back. His nerve was gone. For two
days he had been drinking hard, but the liquor had given out at
midnight. He needed a bracer badly. This was no time for him to go
through with a finish fight against such a man as Beaudry.

"Keep yore distance and tell me what you want," the ex-convict repeated
hoarsely. "If you don't, I'll gun you sure."

The young cattleman stopped about five yards from him. He knew exactly
what terms he meant to give the enemy.

"Put your gun up," he ordered sharply.

"Who's with you?"

"Never mind who is with me. I can play this hand alone. Put up that
gun and then we'll talk."

That suited Meldrum. If it was a question of explanations, perhaps he
could whine his way out of this. What he had been afraid of was
immediate battle. One cannot talk bullets aside.

Slowly he pushed his revolver into its holster, but the hand of the man
rested still on the butt.

"I came back to help Miss Rutherford out of this prospect hole," he
whimperingly complained. "When onc't I got sober, I done recalled that
she was here. So I hit the trail back."

Meldrum spoke the exact truth. When the liquor was out of him, he
became frightened at what he had done. He had visions of New Mexico
hunting him d