nor," he said, quietly. "You'll see,
when you look it over, that it's conditional. When you sign this paper I
have here the condition will be met."

He smoothed out the paper, handed Duane a pen, ran his forefinger along
a dotted line.

Duane's hand was shaky. Years had passed since he had held a pen. It
was with difficulty that he achieved his signature. Buckley Duane--how
strange the name looked!

"Right here ends the career of Buck Duane, outlaw and gunfighter," said
MacNelly; and, seating himself, he took the pen from Duane's fingers and
wrote several lines in several places upon the paper. Then with a smile
he handed it to Duane.

"That makes you a member of Company A, Texas Rangers."

"So that's it!" burst out Duane, a light breaking in upon his
bewilderment. "You want me for ranger service?"

"Sure. That's it," replied the Captain, dryly. "Now to hear what that
service is to be. I've been a busy man since I took this job, and, as
you may have heard, I've done a few things. I don't mind telling you
that political influence put me in here and that up Austin way there's a
good deal of friction in the Department of State in regard to whether or
not the ranger service is any good--whether it should be discontinued or
not. I'm on the party side who's defending the ranger service. I contend
that it's made Texas habitable. Well, it's been up to me to produce
results. So far I have been successful. My great ambition is to break
up the outlaw gangs along the river. I have never ventured in there
yet because I've been waiting to get the lieutenant I needed. You, of
course, are the man I had in mind. It's my idea to start way up the Rio
Grande and begin with Cheseldine. He's the strongest, the worst outlaw
of the times. He's more than rustler. It's Cheseldine and his gang
who are operating on the banks. They're doing bank-robbing. That's my
private opinion, but it's not been backed up by any evidence. Cheseldine
doesn't leave evidences. He's intelligent, cunning. No one seems to have
seen him--to know what he looks like. I assume, of course, that you are
a stranger to the country he dominates. It's five hundred miles west of
your ground. There's a little town over there called Fairdale. It's the
nest of a rustler gang. They rustle and murder at will. Nobody knows who
the leader is. I want you to find out. Well, whatever way you decide is
best you will proceed to act upon. You are your own boss. You know such
men and h