tes_, and other such charming things, just as they are
found in New York, or--Paris!

CHAPTER VIII

HIGHER THAN STATUTE LAW

Wade descended the stairs of the hotel and went into the barroom, fuming
with rage and chagrin because Helen had seen him in such a temper. Like
most men of action, he took pride in his self-control, which seldom
failed him, but the villainy of the Senator's attitude had momentarily
mastered his patience.

Gathered about the bar were a number of men whom he knew, but beyond a
nod here and there he took no notice of them, and went to sit down alone
at a small table in the corner. His friends respected his desire to be
left alone, although several eyed him curiously and exchanged
significant remarks at his appearance. They seemed to be of the opinion
that, at last, his fighting blood had been aroused, and now and then
they shot approving glances in his direction.

"Whiskey," Wade called to the bartender, and a bottle and glass were
placed on the table in front of him.

With a steady hand the ranchman poured out and quickly swallowed two
stiff drinks of the fiery liquor, although he was not ordinarily a
drinking man. The fact that he drank now showed his mental state more
clearly than words could have expressed it. Searching in his pockets, he
found tobacco and papers and rolled and lighted a cigarette. Nothing
could be done for Santry until night, and meanwhile he intended to get
something to eat and take the sleep that he needed to fit himself for
the task ahead of him. He ordered a steak, which on top of the whiskey
put new life into him.

The more he thought of his outburst of temper before Helen the more it
annoyed him, for he realized that he had "bitten off a bigger wad than
he could chew," as Bill Santry would have expressed it. Rascal though
the Senator was, so far as he was concerned, Wade felt that his hands
were tied on Helen's account. For her sake, he could not move against
her father in a country where the average man thought of consequences
after the act rather than before it. In a sense Wade felt that he stood
sponsor for Crawling Water in the hospitality which it offered Helen,
and he could not bring peril down on her head.

But as for Moran and his hirelings, that was a different matter! When
the ranchman thought of Moran, no vengeance seemed too dire to fit his
misdeeds. In that direction he would go to the limit, and he only hoped
that he might get his hands on