ond circled now and regained the road, continuing on into the
north in search of what he dreaded to discover. But not many miles had
been covered before he was gritting his teeth and swearing over the
knowledge of his scheme's defeat. He saw rolling toward him, swinging
their packs from side to side as gently as a mother rocks a cradle, six
shaggy, long-eared "desert canaries" with an old desert-colored man
behind them who limped along with the aid of a cane.

Drummond drove no farther in that direction. There was no need for it.
The sight of the old man drifting toward Ragtown and Hiram galloping on
ahead of him showed him plainly that the cat was out of the bag, that
the two had held a conference on the desert during the night just past.

Bitter with rage, Drummond turned about and drove fiercely back in
Hiram's wake. He slowed down when he began to draw near to the horse
and rider, and for an hour kept his distance while he waited for Hiram
to reach another dry lake that was nearer to Ragtown than the first.

When the rider ahead had reached it and was galloping across if,
Drummond speeded up, reached the lake in turn, and at last was able to
make a wide half circle over land where no greasewood grew to impede
the course of the car.

The lake was a large one, and by driving at close to sixty miles an
hour and skirting its edge, he reached the road again a mile ahead of
Hiram, and sped on toward home to break the news of defeat to Lucy
Dalles.

At ten o'clock he reached Ragtown, having driven recklessly.

"Somebody's spilled the beans!" was his stormy beginning. "We're
gypped. Got any jackass? Gi'me the bottle. I'm a wreck!"

He dropped wearily into a chair and told of what he had discovered.

"How on earth did they get wind of it?" she asked.

Drummond threw out his hands in a gesture proclaiming ignorance and
despair.

"There's one thing sure," she said thoughtfully. "He saw the paper
only yesterday or last night for the first time. Else why did he ride
way up there to see Filer? Jerkline Jo, then, has not yet seen it.
They've heard about it, though, and Hooker was sent out to hunt for
Filer. So the first thing the big rube will do when he reaches Ragtown
will be to travel over toward Julia to overtake Jo and report. He'll
get another horse, maybe, or hire a machine. Tweet would be in on it,
no doubt, and would take him in his car. So what we've got to do, my
dear boy, is to see that Hooker