la had accompanied him. Undoubtedly, he told himself,
Sheila's admiration for Dakota had resulted from not one, but many,
meetings. He flushed at the thought, and was forced to look away from
Sheila for fear that she might see the passion that flamed in his eyes.

"You seen Dakota lately?" he questioned, after he had regained sufficient
control of himself to be able to speak quietly.

"No." Sheila was flecking some dust from her skirts with her riding whip,
and her manner was one of absolute lack of interest.

"Then you ain't been riding with your father?" said Duncan.

"Some." Sheila continued to brush the dust from her skirts. After
answering Duncan's question, however, she realized that there had been a
subtle undercurrent of meaning in his voice, and she turned and looked
sharply at him.

"Why?" she demanded. "Do you mean that father has visited Dakota?"

"I reckon I'm meaning just that."

Sheila did not like the expression in Duncan's eyes, and her chin was
raised a little as she turned from him and gave her attention to flecking
the grass near her with the lash of her riding whip.

"Father attends to his own business," she said with some coldness, for she
resented Duncan's apparent desire to interfere. "I told you that before.
What he does in a business way does not interest me."

"No?" said Duncan mockingly. "Well, he's made some sort of a deal with
Dakota!" he snapped, aware of his lack of wisdom in telling her this, but
unable to control his resentment over the slight which had been imposed on
him by Langford, and by her own chilling manner, which seemed to emphasize
the fact that he had been left outside their intimate councils.

"A deal?" said Sheila quickly, unable to control her interest.

For a moment he did not answer. He felt her gaze upon him, and he met it,
smiling mysteriously. Under the sudden necessity of proving his statement,
his thoughts centered upon the conclusion which had resulted from his
suspicions--that Langford's visit to Dakota concerned Doubler.
Equivocation would have taken him safely away from the pitfall into which
his rash words had almost plunged him, but he felt that any evasion now
would only bring scorn into the eyes which he wished to see alight with
something else. Besides, here was an opportunity to speak a derogatory
word about his enemy, and he could not resist--could not throw it
carelessly aside. There was a venomous note in his voice when he finally
answered: