ever shone in a man's
eyes, Stafford was certain that it had shone in the stray-man's during
the brief time that he had been in the office and when he had stepped
down from the door.

Stafford had received no invitation to follow the stray-man, but
impelled by the threat in the latter's eyes and by the hint of cold
resolution that gave promise of imminent tragedy, he stepped down also,
trailing the stray-man at a distance of twenty yards.

Ferguson did not hesitate once in his progress toward the bunkhouse,
except to cast a rapid, searching glance toward a group of two or three
men who lounged in the shade of the eaves of the building. Passing the
blacksmith shop he continued toward the bunkhouse, walking with a
steady stride, looking neither to the right or left.

Other men in the group, besides Leviatt and Tucson, had seen the
stray-man coming, and as he came nearer, the talk died and a sudden
silence fell. Ferguson came to a point within ten feet of the group of
men, who were ranged along the wall of the bunkhouse. Stafford had
come up rapidly, and he now stood near a corner of the bunkhouse in an
attitude of intense attention.

He was in a position where he could see the stray-man's face, and he
marveled at the sudden change that had come into it. The tragedy had
gone, and though the hard lines were still around his mouth, the
corners twitched a little, as though moved by a cold, feline humor.
There was a hint of mockery in his eyes--a chilling mockery, much like
that which the manager had seen in them months before when in Dry
Bottom the stray-man had told Leviatt that he thought he was a "plum
man."

But now Stafford stood breathless as he heard the stray-man's voice,
directed at Leviatt. "I reckon you think you've been some busy
lately," he drawled.

Meaningless words, as they appear here; meaningless to the group of men
and to the Two Diamond manager; yet to Leviatt they were burdened with
a dire significance. They told him that the stray-man was aware of his
duplicity; they meant perhaps that the stray-man knew of his dealings
with the cattle thieves whom he had visited yesterday in the hills near
the river. Whatever Leviatt thought, there was significance enough in
the words to bring a sneering smile to his face.

"Meanin'?" he questioned, his eyes glittering evilly.

Ferguson smiled, his eyes unwavering and narrowing a very little as
they met those of his questioner. Deliberately, as though