l far into the night.

CHAPTER X

Bill Talpers's return to sobriety was considerably hastened by alarm
after the trader's words with Lowell. As long as matters were even
between Bill Talpers and the girl, the trader figured that he could at
least afford to let things rest. The letter in his possession was still
a potent weapon. He could at least prevent the girl from telling what
she seemed to know of the trader's connection with the murder. He had
figured that the letter would be the means of bringing him a most
engaging bride. It would have done so if he had not been such a fool as
to drink too much. Talpers usually was a canny drinker, but when a man
goes asking--or, in this case, demanding--a girl's hand in marriage, it
is not to be wondered at if he oversteps the limit a trifle in the
matter of fortifying himself with liquor. But in this case Bill realized
that he had gone beyond all reasonable bounds. That fall had been
disastrous in every way. She was clever and quick, that girl, or she
never would have been able to turn an incident like that to such good
advantage. Most girls would have sniveled in a corner, thought Bill,
until he had regained his senses, but she started right in to look for
that letter. He had been smart enough to leave the letter in the safe at
the store, but she had found plenty in that watch!

Another thought buzzed disturbingly in Bill's head. How did she know
just how much money had been taken from Sargent's body? Also, how did
she know that the watch was Sargent's, seeing that it had no marks of
identification on it? If there had been so much as a scratch on the
thing, Talpers never would have worn it. She might have been making a
wild guess about the watch, but she certainly was not guessing about the
money. Her certainty in mentioning the amount had given Bill a chill of
terror from which he was slow in recovering. Another thing that was
causing him real agony of spirit was the prominence of Lowell in affairs
at the Greek Letter Ranch. It would be easy enough to hold the girl in
check with that letter. She would never dare tell the authorities how
much she knew about Talpers, as Bill could drag her into the case by
producing his precious documentary evidence. But the agent--how much was
he learning in the course of his persistent searching, and from what
angle was he going to strike? Would the girl provide him with
information which she might not dare give to others? Women wer