below
the figures, "W. & S. Ex. Co." Finally they wrote automatically the one
word, "To-night."

Luck looked at what he had written, laughed grimly, and tore the envelope
in two. He threw the pieces in the waste paper basket.

CHAPTER III

AN INITIALED HAT

Mackenzie was reading the _Sentinel_ while he ate a late breakfast. He had
it propped against the water bottle, so that it need not interfere with
the transportation of sausages, fried potatoes, hot cakes, and coffee to
their common destination.

Trying to do two things at once has its disadvantages. A startling
headline caught his eyes just as the cup was at his lips. Hot coffee,
precipitately swallowed, scalded his tongue and throat. He set down the
cup, swore mildly, and gave his attention to the news that had excited
him. The reporter had run the story to a column, but the leading paragraph
gave the gist of it:

While the citizens of Saguache were peacefully sleeping last night, a
lone bandit held up the messengers of the Western and Southern
Express Company, and relieved them of $20,000 just received from El
Paso on the Flyer.

Perry Hawley, the local manager of the company, together with Len
Rogers, the armed guard, had just returned from the depot, where the
money had been turned over to them and receipted for. Hawley had
unlocked the door of the office and had stepped in, followed by
Rogers, when a masked desperado appeared suddenly out of the
darkness, disarmed the guard and manager, took the money, passed
through the door and locked it after him, and vanished as silently as
he had come. Before leaving, he warned his victims that the place
would be covered for ten minutes and at any attempt to call for help
they would be shot. Notwithstanding this, the imprisoned men risked
their lives by raising the alarm.

Further down the page Mackenzie discovered that the desperado was still at
large, but that Sheriff Bolt expected shortly to lay hands on him.

"I'll bet a dollar Nick Bolt didn't make any such claim to the reporter.
He ain't the kind that brags," Mackenzie told himself.

He folded the paper and returned to his room to make preparation to return
to his ranch. The buzz of the telephone called him to the receiver. The
voice of Cullison reached him.

"That you, Mac. I'll be right up. No, don't come down. I'd rather see you
alone."

The owner of the Circle C came right to business. "I've made a raise, Mac