t wide
gulch at the base of the knoll upon which the house stood, and laughed
aloud as she landed and with gathered impetus sped a score of feet up
the knoll itself.

She had left Wayne happy in the two things which mattered: He loved her
even as she loved him; he was a strong man and a true. There was still
sadness in her breast but it was but a sunspot in the great glory of
her happiness. But now suddenly, even while her lips curved redly to
her gay laughter, was the gladness to go out of her.

She saw Willie Dart upon the porch, saw him start towards her in an
eagerness little less than frantic. He fairly hurled himself from the
steps into the deep snow, floundered helplessly, and progressing by
hard fought inches came on to meet her. As her skis, running up hill,
came slowly to a stop she watched him with amused eyes. But when she
saw his face, twisted with despair, she grew suddenly afraid.

"They've gone to arrest Red!" he wailed. "The sheriff and Hume and two
other guys. Where is he?"

"He has gone back to the Bar L-M," she answered swiftly. "What do you
mean?"

"I mean them crooks have gone to arrest him for murder," he called to
her. "They left nearly an hour ago. It's a skin game of the worst
kind. They want him tied up so they can work some sneaking gag and rob
him of his land. Hume wants him where he can't ride a race in the
spring so he'll grab Red's five thousand. The money's already up. God
knows what else they've got up their dirty sleeves."

For one dizzy moment the girl grew faint with fear. And when that
moment passed she saw clearly that as matters stood Wayne Shandon had a
man's work ahead of him. Thrown into jail, charged with so serious a
crime as fratricide, with Hume, and perhaps her own father, doing
everything in the world that they could do to hamper him, he would be
carrying a handicap to break the back of a man's hope.

"They mustn't do this thing!" she cried passionately, the eyes that had
been tender a moment ago growing fierce. "Does my father know this?"

"Sure," grunted Dart disgustedly. "He's one of the combine."

"And they left an hour ago?"

"Seems like a million years. It must be awful close to an hour. Say,
Wanda, I tried, honest to God, I did--"

She did not hear. She had turned away from him and was staring at the
long billowing sweep of snow lying between her and those men who had
gone to arrest Wayne Shandon. She saw the broken imprints of th