Colfax
sheriff was hanging around somewhere.

"He took two hundred head from Sanderson--when he ought to have taken
the whole damn herd--which he'd orders to do. And then, instead of
driving them direct to Lester's he made camp just on the other side of
Devil's Hole--three or four miles, Morley said. I don't know what for,
except that maybe he's decided to give Sanderson the steers he'd taken
from him--the damned fool! You've got to break him, Maison, for
disobeying orders!"

"I'll attend to him," said Maison.

"That's the reason we didn't go through Devil's Hole to see what had
become of Sanderson," resumed Dale. "We was afraid of running into the
sheriff, and him, being the kind of a fool he is, would likely have
wanted to know what had happened. I thought it better to sneak off
without letting him see us than to do any explaining."

Silverthorn looked at his watch. "Morley and the others ought to be
here pretty soon," he said.

"They're late as it is," grumbled Dale. "I ought to have gone myself."

They resumed their card-playing. An hour or so later there came a
knock on the door of the bank--a back door--and Dale opened it to admit
Morley--the big man who had drawn a pistol on Sanderson when he had
tried to take Barney Owen out of the City Hotel barroom.

Morley was alone. He stepped inside without invitation and grinned at
the others.

"There's no sign of Sanderson. Someone had been there an' planted the
guys we salivated--an' the guy which went down in the run. We seen his
horse layin' there, cut to ribbons. It's likely Sanderson went into
the sand ahead of the herd--they was crowdin' him pretty close when we
seen them runnin'."

"You say them guys was planted?" said Dale. "Then Sanderson got out of
it. He would--if anyone could, for he was riding like a devil on a
cyclone when I saw him. He's got back, and took his men to Devil's
Hole."

Maison laughed. "We'll say he got out of it. What of it? He's broke.
And if the damned court would get a move on with that evidence we've
sent over to prove that he isn't a Bransford, we'd have the Double A
inside of a week!"

Dale got up, grinning and looking at his watch.

"Well, gentlemen, I'm hitting the breeze to the Bar D for some sleep.
See you tomorrow."

Dale went out and mounted his horse. But he did not go straight home,
as he had declared he would. After striking the neck of the basin he
swerved his horse and rode northeastward