uniform walked forward, went up the steps, crossed
the porch, and, stooping, picked up the meal-sack which Tharon had
dropped.

"Will some one kindly tell me who the young lady is and where she
lives?" he asked gravely.

Baston, unglued from the wall, spoke up with his usual pompous
eagerness.

"Tharon, from Last's Holdin'," he said.

"Thanks," and the man wrapped the sack into a small bundle and tied it
with its own string.

He stuck it under one arm and taking out a short brown pipe, proceeded
to fill and light it.

Courtrey, halted a few rods away, eyed him sharply.

As he turned, rolling his match to death in his fingers, the sun
struck mellowly upon something on his breast, a small, dark copper
shield which bore strange heraldry.

At the sight Courtrey's eyes sought Service's and held them for a
swift, questioning moment.

Strangers in Lost Valley were contraband.

The three settlers looked covertly at each other, drifted apart, got
their horses and presently left town by different ways.

Three hours later these men met by common consent at the head of
Rolling Cove and talked long and earnestly of the happening. They knew
that Courtrey would never take silently that bitter arraignment, that
something would transpire swiftly to show his resentment, to prove his
absolute power over Lost Valley.

"'Tain't Tharon that'll suffer, even ef he did try t' shoot her that
night in th' Golden Cloud, because Courtrey wants her himself," said
Jameson quietly, "th' whole country knows that. There was only one man
who didn't know it, an' that was Jim Last himself. No, he won't monkey
with th' Holdin' yet, not to any great extent. It'll be us little
fellers, us others who he knows would stan' behind her. Some of us'll
lose somethin' soon, an' don't you forget it."

"If we do," said Hill passionately, "it's time t' show our hand. We've
been hounded long enough. Th' men from Last's will be with us, we can
gamble on that."

"Yes," said Thomas, "but it'll be war. Open war. There'll be killin's
then."

Jameson, a quiet man with deep eyes, made a wide gesture.

"What if there is?" he asked, "might's well be done in th' open as in
th' dark an' unseen. Might better be! I move we ride th' Valley an'
ask th' settlers to band together, under Last's, an' give our
ultimatum t' Courtrey on th' heels of this. What say you?"

"I say yes," said Hill swiftly. Thomas, of less stern stuff, wavered.

"Well, let's wait awhile. L