ody that looked like him since?"

The question was followed by a deep silence.

Rathburn alert, his eyes gleaming, heard the sheriff rise.

"Answer me, boy. I'm the sheriff of this county!"

"'Tain't that--'tain't that," said the boy in a tremulous voice.
"Only--I'd rather not tell, Mr. Sheriff."

"You must answer me!" said the official sternly. "Have you seen any
one around here--yesterday or this morning?"

"Ye-e-s."

"When?" demanded the sheriff. "Don't lie!"

"This--this morning," stammered the boy.

"Where? Tell me about it, quick."

"Two men ran across from the timber to the house," replied the boy.
"He--he said not to lie for him--but----"

The sheriff stepped quickly to the kitchen door. "I thought you said
no one had been around here, ma'am."

"Why--I didn't see any one," came the girl's voice.

"I saw 'em from the pasture," the boy confessed.

"Then they're here!" cried the sheriff. "Search the house an' the
barn!"

In the dim, narrow cellar Rathburn was holding his gun aimed at Lamy's
heart.

"You remember what I said about keepin' your mouth shut?" he asked in
a low voice, his steel-blue gaze boring into the other's eyes.

Lamy gasped. Then he slowly nodded his head.

"That's your bond!" said Rathburn, as tramping feet sounded
overhead.

CHAPTER X

CAUGHT IN THE CELLAR

Rathburn rose and crouched under the trapdoor, gun in hand. Lamy
watched him, breathless, perplexed, uncertain. They heard men running;
then there were no sounds from above and a deathly stillness settled
down.

Slowly and with infinite care Rathburn raised the trapdoor an inch or
two and listened intently. Lamy scrambled to his knees on the pile of
gunny sacks; but Rathburn swung quickly upon him. They stared at each
other in the semidarkness.

"He said two," breathed Lamy, a curious look in his eyes.

"Are you afraid?" mocked Rathburn. "It's me they want--don't worry. I
may make a break for it, an' if I do there's likely to be powder
burned. You can stay here an' get out when they take after me, if I
go," said Rathburn, and the sneer in his voice caused Lamy to flush
uncomfortably.

Rathburn petted the gun in his hand. "But before I make a break I want
to tell you something that I should have told you before this, when I
had more time----"

He bit off his speech as there came a sudden recurrence of the sounds
in the house. The trapdoor closed down.

"Where's the cellar?" came the sheriff's autho