nd I'm going to win. Went to see
Levine to-day, representing your mother," he added, and his tone
suddenly became grim. "He made me feel, or at least he tried to make me
feel, that he had as much respect for my ability as he would for a
little speck of dirt."

"The very idea!" cried Betty indignantly. "I'd just like to tell him
what I think of--your ability----" she faltered on these last words, for
Allen was gazing at her with a most disconcerting light in his eyes.

Suddenly she whirled Nigger's head about and urged him to a gallop.

"Race you home, Allen!" she challenged. "Winner gets the other fellow's
piece of cake."

"Who cares for cake!" cried Allen, but it might have been noticed that
he followed her just the same.

CHAPTER XVIII

IN THE SHADOWS

Allen was acting in two capacities at this time--that of lawyer and that
of private detective. He probably would not have taken this role for
anybody but Betty and her family, but in order to serve them he was
willing to do pretty nearly anything.

So he had taken to scouting around the northern end of the ranch after
dark, in the hope that he might possibly discover something that would
help him in his theory that there was really gold on the ranch and,
also, that Peter Levine and his cronies, whoever they were, knew of it.

However, as the days passed, bringing no new developments, the young
fellow began to think that he had let his imagination run away with him.
He even began to formulate plans by which he could lure the unsuspecting
Peter Levine into telling what he knew.

And then--just when he was beginning to despair of being any help at all
to Betty and her family--fate or luck, or whatever one wishes to call
it, chose to smile upon him once more.

He was prowling around when quite unexpectedly he found himself
confronted by Andy Rawlinson. He had struck up quite a liking for the
head cowboy, and the two walked along together.

Gradually they neared a patch of timber near the northern boundary of
the ranch. The cowboy said he was looking for two calves that had
strayed away.

"And it ain't no use to follow 'em into the woods on hossback," he
explained.

"I have an object in coming here," declared Allen, at last. "I am
watching out for Peter Levine." He felt he could trust Rawlinson.

"I thought as much," replied the head cowboy, with a chuckle. "Believe
me, I wouldn't trust Levine out o' my sight, if I was the boss. I've
seen him prow