alias Hurd, called at the
camp. The latter was a little the worse for the bottle. Charley was
sober, hard, gloomy.

"Howdy, boys. Help yourself to chuck. Then we'll talk," said Pan.

The outcome of that visit was the hiring of both men to go on the
wild-horse drive. Brown's claim had been jumped by strangers. It
could not be gotten back without a fight. Brown had two horses and a
complete outfit; Mac New had only the clothes on his back.

"Fired me 'thout payin' my wages," he said, sullenly.

"Who fired you, Mac?" inquired Pan.

"Hardman, the ---- ---- ----!" replied Mac New.

"Well! That's strange. Does he own the jail?"

"Huh! Hardman owns this heah whole damn burg."

"Nix," spoke up Blinky. "Don't fool yourself there, pardner. Jard
Hardman has a long string on Marco, I'll admit, but somebody's goin' to
cut it."

Brown had an interesting account to give of his meeting with Dick
Hardman down at Yellow Mine. The young scion of the would-be dictator
of Marco fortunes had been drunk enough to rave about what he would do
to Panhandle Smith. Some of his maudlin threats, as related by Brown,
caused a good deal of merriment in camp, except to Blinky, who grew
perfectly furious.

"Hey, cowboy, are you goin' to stand fer thet?" he queried,
belligerently.

Pan tried to laugh it off, but Blinky manifestly had seen red at the
mention of Dick Hardman's name. He was going over to the Yellow Mine
and pick a fight. Pan, finding Blinky stubborn and strange, adopted
other tactics. Drawing the irate cowboy aside he inquired kindly and
firmly: "It's because of Louise?"

"What's because?" returned Blinky, blusteringly.

"That you want to pick a fight with Dick?"

"Naw," replied Blinky, averting his face.

"Don't you lie to me, Blinky," went on Pan earnestly, shaking the
cowboy. "I've guessed your trouble and I'm your friend."

"Wal, Pan, I'm darn glad an' lucky if you're my friend," said Blinky,
won out of his sullenness. "But what trouble are you hintin' aboot?"

Pan whispered: "You're in love with Louise."

"What if I am?" hissed Blinky, in fierce shame. "Are you holdin' thet
agin me?"

"No, I'm damned if I don't like you better for it."

That was too much for Blinky. He gazed mutely up at Pan, as a dog at
his master. Pan never saw such eyes of misery.

"Blinky, that girl is wicked," went on Pan. "She's full of hellfire.
But that's only the drink. She couldn't carry on that life without