Charlie See was little known in the county seat. It was not his
county, to begin with, and his orbit met Hillsboro's only at the
intersection of their planes. Hillsboro was a mining town, first, last
and at all intervening periods. Hillsboro's "seaport," Lake Valley,
was the cowman's town; skyward terminus of the High Line, twig from a
branch railroad which was itself a feeder for an inconsiderable spur.
The great tides of traffic surged far to north and south. This was a
remote and sheltered backwater, and Hillsboro lay yet twelve miles
inland from Lake Valley. Here, if anywhere, you found peace and quiet;
Hillsboro was as far from the tumult and hurly-burly as a corner of
Fifth Avenue and Forty-second Street.

Along the winding way, where lights of business glowed warm and
mellow, feverish knots and clusters of men made a low-voiced buzzing;
a buzzing which at See's approach either ceased or grew suddenly
clear to discussion of crossroads trivialities. From one of these
confidential knots, before the Gans Hotel, a unit detached itself
and strolled down the street.

"Howdy, Mr. See," said the unit as Charlie overtook it. "Which way
now?"

"Oh, just going round to the hardware store to get a collar button."

"You don't know me," said the sauntering unit. "My name is Maginnis."

"I withdraw the collar button," said Charlie. He slowed his step and
shot a glance at the grizzled face beside him. Who's Who in Cowland
has a well-thumbed page for Spinal Maginnis. "What's your will?"

"You arrested young Dines?"

"In a way, yes. I was with the bunch."

"It is told of you by camp fires," said Maginnis, "that you'll do to
take along. Will you come?"

"With you, yes. Spill it."

"For me. To do what I can't do for myself. You arrested Johnny Dines,
or helped; so you can go where I'm not wanted. Notice anything back
yonder?" He jerked his head toward the main street.

"Well, I'm not walking in my sleep this bright beautiful evening.
Whispering fools, you mean?"

"Exactly. Some knaves, too. But fools are worse always, and more
dangerous. This town is all fussed up and hectic about the Forbes
killing. Ugly rumors--Dines did this, Dines did that, Dines is a red
hellion. I don't like the way things shape up. There's a lot of
offscourings and riffraff here--and someone is putting up free whisky.
It's known that I was a friend of this boy's father, and it is
suspected that I may be interested in his father's son. But y