Barkwell hallooing from the
yard near the house, he got up and looked out of a window, a scowl on his
face.

Rosalind was not in the best of spirits, herself, for during the ride to
the ranchhouse she had been sending subtly-questioning shafts at the
foreman--questions that mostly concerned Trevison--and they had all fell,
blunted and impotent, from the armor of Barkwell's reticence. But a glance
at Trevison's face, ludicrous in its expression of stunned amazement,
brought a broad smile to her own. She saw his lips form her name, and then
she waited demurely until she saw him coming out of the ranchhouse door
toward her.

He had quite recovered from his surprise, she noted; his manner was that
of the day before, when she had seen him riding the black horse. When she
saw him coming lightly toward her, she at first had eyes for nothing but
his perfect figure, feeling the strength that his close-fitting clothing
revealed so unmistakably, and an unaccountable blush glowed in her cheeks.
And then she observed that his left arm was in a sling, and a flash of
wondering concern swept over her--also unaccountable. And then he was at
her stirrup, smiling up at her broadly and cordially.

"Welcome to the Diamond K, Miss Benham," he said. "Won't you get off your
horse?"

"Thank you; I came on business and must return immediately. There has been
a misunderstanding, my father says. He wired me, directing me to
apologize, for him, for Mr. Corrigan's actions of yesterday. Perhaps Mr.
Corrigan over-stepped his authority--I have no means of knowing." She
passed the morocco bag over to him, and he took it, looking at it in some
perplexity. "You will find cash in there to the amount named by the check
that Mr. Corrigan destroyed. I hope," she added, smiling at him, "that
there will be no more trouble."

"The payment of this money for the right-of-way removes the provocation
for trouble," he laughed. "Barkwell," he directed, turning to the foreman;
"you may go back to the outfit." He looked after the foreman as the latter
rode away, turning presently to Rosalind. "If you will wait a few minutes,
until I stow this money in a safe place, I'll ride back to the cut with
you and pull the boys off."

She had wondered much over the rifles in the hands of his men at the cut.
"Would your men have used their guns?" she asked.

He had turned to go to the house, and he wheeled quickly, astonished.
"Certainly!" he said; "why not?"

"That would