and rummaging in the cupboard set out a cold
lunch which she devoured to the last crumb. Then she blew out the lamp
and, removing her riding boots, threw herself down upon the bunk to
think. She was angry now, and the longer she thought the angrier she
got. "I can see it all as plain as day," she muttered. "There isn't
anything he wouldn't do! He _did_ cut that pack sack, and he ran the
sheep man out of the hills because he knew it would be dangerous for
him to have a neighbor that might talk. And the Samuelson horse raid!
Of all the diabolical plotting! With his outlaw friends holding
trusted positions on the ranch, and old Mr. Samuelson sick in bed! Oh,
it was cleverly planned! And that Pierce was right in with them. No
wonder he wanted to lock me in his cellar!

"Who, then, was the man that lay sprawled by the side of the trail?"
The girl shuddered at the memory of the cheap cotton shirt torn open
at the throat, and the moonlight shining whitely upon the bare leg.
"Some loyal rancher, probably, who dared to oppose the outlaws. It's
murder!" she cried aloud. "And yesterday I thought he was watching up
there in the hills to see that no harm came to me!" She laughed--a
hard, bitter laugh that held as much of mirth as the gurgle of a tide
rip. "But he's come to the end of his rope! I'll expose him! I'm not
afraid of his lawless crew! He'll find out it will take more than
rescuing me from that herd of wild horses to buy my silence! I'll ride
straight to Samuelson's ranch in the morning, and from there to
Thompson's, and I'll tell them about his part in the raid, and about
his watching like a vulture from his notch in the hills, and about his
stealing what he thought was daddy's map, and about his filing the
claim. And did show 'em the glove and--" She paused abruptly: "What a
fool I was to come away without the notice! That would have proved it
beyond any doubt, even if he hasn't recorded the claim!" For a long
time she lay in the darkness planning her course for the day. All
thought of sleep had vanished, and her eyes continually sought the
window for signs of approaching light.

At the first faint glow of dawn the girl caught up her horse and
headed for the false claim. It was but the work of a moment to locate
the stake to which the notice was attached by means of a bit of twine.
Removing the paper, she thrust it into her pocket and returned to the
cabin where she ate breakfast before starting for the Samuelson ranch