ce of excitement in his
manner, though; no visible sign to tell that what he had seen on entering
the cabin disturbed him in the least. Yet the whiteness of his face belied
this apparent composure. It seemed to Sheila that his eyes betrayed the
strong emotion that was gripping him.

She retreated to the chair beside the desk and sank into it. Langford had
wheeled and was now facing Dakota, a shallow smile on his face.

There was a smile on Dakota's face, too; a mysterious, cold, prepared grin
that fascinated Sheila as she watched him. The smile faded a little when
he spoke to Langford, his voice vibrating, as though he had been running.

"When you're fighting a woman, Langford, you ought to make sure there
isn't a man around!"

Mingling with Sheila's recognition of the obvious and admirable philosophy
of this statement was a realization that Dakota must have been riding
hard. There was much dust on his clothing, the scarf at his neck was thick
with it; it streaked his face, his voice was husky, his lips dry.

Langford did not answer him, stepping back against the desk and regarding
him with a mirthless, forced smile which, Sheila was certain, he had
assumed in order to conceal his fear of the man who stood before him.

"So you haven't got any thoughts just at this minute," said Dakota with
cold insinuation. "You are one of those men who can talk bravely enough to
women, but who can't think of anything exactly proper for a man to hear.
Well, you'll do your talking later." He looked at Sheila, ignoring
Langford completely.

"I expect you've been wondering, ma'am, why I'm here, when I ought to be
over at the Two Forks, trying to do something for Doubler. But the
doctor's there, taking care of him. The reason I've come is that I've
found this in Doublet's cabin." He drew out the memoranda which Sheila had
placed on the shelf in the cabin, holding it up so that she might see.

"You took my vest," he went on. "And I was looking for it. I found it all
right, but something was missing. You're the only one who has been to
Doubler's cabin since I left there, I expect, and it must have been you
who opened this book. It isn't in the same shape it was when you pulled it
off me when I was talking to you down there on the river trail--something
has been taken out of it, a paper. That's why I rode over here--to see if
you'd got it. Have you, ma'am?"

Sheila pointed mutely to the floor, where a bit of thin, crinkled ash was
all