yes went up to Swan's hat crown, descended to his shoulders
and lingered there admiringly for a moment, travelled down his flat,
hard-muscled body and his straight legs. "I'll bet you could put up
some fight, if you had to," he commented.

Swan grinned good-humouredly, glanced conscience-stricken at the
covered figure on the ground and straightened his face decorously.

"I could lick you good," he admitted in a stage whisper. "I'm a
son-off-a-gun all right--only I don't never get mad at somebody."

Brit Hunter smiled at that, it was so like Swan Vjolmar. But when they
were halfway to Thurman's ranch--Brit on horseback and Swan striding
easily along beside him, leading the blaze-faced horse, he glanced down
at Swan's face and wondered if Swan had not lied a little.

"What's on your mind, Swan?" he asked abruptly.

Swan started and looked up at him, glanced at the empty hills on either
side, and stopped still in the trail.

"Mr Hunter, you been longer in the country than I have been. You seen
some good riding, I bet. Maybe you see some men ride backwards on a
horse?"

Brit looked at him uncomprehendingly. "Backwards?"

Swan led up the blaze-faced horse and pointed to the right stirrup.
"Spurs would scratch like that if you jerk your foot, maybe. You're a
good rider, Mr Hunter, you can tell. That's a right stirrup, ain't it?
Fred Thurman, he's got his left foot twist around, all broke from
jerking in his stirrup. Left foot in right stirrup----" He pushed
back his hat and rumpled his yellow hair, looking up into Brit's face
inquiringly. "Left foot in right stirrup is riding backwards. That's
a damn good rider to ride like that--what you think, Mr Hunter?"

CHAPTER VI

LONE ADVISES SILENCE

Twice in the next week Lone found an excuse for riding over to the
Sawtooth. During his first visit, the foreman's wife told him that the
young lady was still too sick to talk much. The second time he went,
Pop Bridgers spied him first and cackled over his coming to see the
girl. Lone grinned and dissembled as best he could, knowing that Pop
Bridgers fed his imagination upon denials and argument and remonstrance
and was likely to build gossip that might spread beyond the Sawtooth.
Wherefore he did not go near the foreman's house that day, but
contented himself with gathering from Pop's talk that the girl was
still there.

After that he rode here and there, wherever he would be likely to meet
a Sawtooth