he bridgeman took the news in high good humor and slapped
Dancing on the back. "Did you see him alone, Bill?" asked Sinclair,
with interest. "Come over here, come along. I want you to meet a good
friend. Here, Harvey, shake hands with Bill Dancing. Bill, this is old
Harvey Du Sang, meanest man in the mountains to his enemies and the
whitest to his friends--eh, Harvey?"

Harvey seemed uncommunicative. Studying his hand, he asked in a sour
way whether it was a jackpot, and upon being told that it was not,
pushed forward some chips and looked stupidly up--though Harvey was by
no means stupid. "Proud to know you, sir," said Bill, bending frankly
as he put out his hand. "Proud to know any friend of Murray
Sinclair's. What might be your business?"

Again Du Sang appeared abstracted. He looked up at the giant lineman,
who, in spite of his own size and strength, could have crushed him
between his fingers, and hitched his chair a little, but got no
further toward an answer and paid no attention whatever to Bill's
extended hand.

"Cow business, Bill," interposed Sinclair. "Where? Why, up near the
park, Bill, up near the park. Bill is an old friend of mine, Harvey.
Shake hands with George Seagrue, Bill, and you know Henry Karg--and
old Stormy Gorman--well, I guess you know him too," exclaimed
Sinclair, introducing the other players. "Look here a minute,
Harvey."

Harvey, much against his inclination, was drawn from the table and
retired with Sinclair and Dancing to an empty corner, where Dancing
told his story again. At the conclusion of it Harvey rather snorted.
Sinclair asked questions. "Was anybody else there when you saw
McCloud, Bill?"

"One man," answered Bill impressively.

"Who?"

"A stranger to me."

"A stranger? What did he look like?"

"Slender man and kind of odd talking, with a sandy mustache."

"Hear his name?"

"He told me his name, but it's skipped me, I declare. He's kind of
dark-complected like."

"Stranger, eh?" mused Du Sang; his eyes were wandering over the room.

"Slender man," repeated Bill, "but I didn't take much notice of him.
Said he was in the real-estate business."

"In the real-estate business? And did he sit there while you talked
this over with the college guy?" muttered Du Sang.

"He is all right, boys, and he said you'd know his name if I could
speak it," declared Bill.

"Look anything like that man standing with his hands in his pockets
over there by the wheel?" asked Du Sa