she was surprised at
the admission.

"How do you know that Dakota killed him?" she said, looking straight at
him. He changed color, though his manner was still smooth and his smile
bland.

"Duncan was fortunate enough to be in the vicinity when the deed was
committed," he told her. "And he saw Dakota shoot him in the back. With
his own rifle, too."

There was a quality in his voice which hinted at satisfaction; a peculiar
emphasis on the word "fortunate" which caused Sheila to wonder why he
should consider it fortunate that Duncan had seen the murder done, when it
would have been much better for the success of Dakota's and her father's
scheme if there had been no witness to it at all.

"However," continued Langford, with a sigh of resignation that caused
Sheila a shiver of repugnance and horror, "Doubler's death will not be a
very great loss to the country. Duncan tells me that he has long been
suspected of cattle stealing, and sooner or later he would have been
caught in the act. And as for Dakota," he laughed harshly, with a note of
suppressed triumph that filled her with an unaccountable resentment;
"Dakota is an evil in the country, too. Do you remember how he killed that
Mexican half-breed over in Lazette that day?--the day I came? Wanton
murder, I call it. Such a man is a danger and a menace, and I shall not be
sorry to see him hanged for killing Doubler."

"Then you will have Duncan charge Dakota with the murder?"

"Of course, my dear; why shouldn't I? Assuredly you would not allow Dakota
to go unpunished?"

"No," said Sheila, "Doubler's murderer should be punished."

Two things were now fixed in her mind as certainties. Dakota had not been
to see her father since she had left him on the river trail; he had not
received his blood-money--would never receive it. Her father had no
intention of living up to his agreement with Dakota and intended to allow
him to be hanged. She thought of the signed agreement in her bodice.
Langford had given it to Dakota, but she had little doubt that in case
Dakota still had it in his possession and dared to produce it, Langford
would deny having made it--would probably term it a forgery. It was
harmless, too; who would be likely to intimate that the clause regarding
Dakota inducing Doubler to leave the country meant that Langford had hired
Dakota to kill the nester? Sheila sat silent, looking at Langford,
wondering how it happened that he had been able to masquerade so long