ed them on the way
to the Hideout, or coming from it.

At times Plimsoll rode aside from the trail to a ridge crest for wider
vision. At last, coming up the pass of Willow Creek, he sighted Molly
and Donald with Grit trotting beside them. It was the dog that confirmed
his first surmise. He had heard that Molly had returned, but he had not
dared a visit to the Three Star. Who the rider with her was he did not
care. That it was a tenderfoot was plain by his clothes and by his seat.
As he adjusted the powerful glasses to a better focus Plimsoll's face
twisted to an ugly smile. He had a flask in his hip pocket and he
swigged at it before he rode to catch up with Parsons and Hahn.

"I'll show you if I do nothing but talk," he said to Butch after he told
them of his discovery. "We'll wait for them along the trail. We'll send
the chap with her back afoot."

"And what'll you do with her?" asked Hahn. "We've had enough of skirts,
Plimsoll. This is no time to be mixed up with them."

"Isn't it?" The drink had given Plimsoll some of his old swagger, and
the prospect of hatching the revenge over which he had brooded so long
took possession of him. "Then you're a bigger fool than I thought you,
Hahn. That particular skirt, aside from my personal interest in her,
represents about a quarter of a million dollars--maybe more. She's got a
quarter interest and a little better in the Molly Mine. The Three Star
owns another quarter. How much will they give up to have her back?
Bourke's her guardian, remember. I think the chap with her may be young
Keith. We won't monkey with him. He'll do to tell what happened. But
we'll take the girl along and we'll send back word of how much we want
to let her go. After I'm through with her. She may not go back the same
as she came, but they won't know that and they'll pay enough to set us
up and to hell with the herd."

Parsons and Hahn looked at each other, greed rising in their eyes. They
had no love for the partners of the Three Star nor for Molly Casey. A
big ransom was possible if it was handled right.

"You'll have the whole county searching the range," objected Parsons.
"There's a lot know something about the Hideout and they'll use Wyatt to
show 'em the way. Bourke'll guess where she is."

"Let him. Wyatt don't know about the caves, does he? We can take her
some other place to-morrow. We won't say anything now to the kid about a
ransom. We'll mail a letter after we fix details. But we'll t