ed. I come near forgettin'. It's
about the idol an' the money an' the ranch. I don't want any of them.
They're yours. You've earned them an' you deserve them. Go to Las
Vegas an' petition the court to turn the property over to you; tell the
judge I flunked on the specifications."

"I don't want your property," she said in a strange voice.

"You've got to take it," he returned, with a quick look at her.
"Here"--he drew a piece of paper and a short pencil from an inside
pocket of his vest, and, walking to the table, wrote quickly, giving
her the paper.

"I herewith renounce all claim to my father's property," it read; "I
refuse the conditions of the will."

It was signed with his name. While he stood watching her, she tore the
paper to small bits, scattering them on the floor.

"I think," she said, regarding him fixedly, "that you are not exactly
chivalrous in leaving me this way; that you are more concerned over
your own safety than over mine. What do you suppose will happen when
the Taggarts discover that you have gone and that I am here alone?"

His eyes glinted with hatred. "The Taggarts," he laughed. "Did you
think I was going to let them off so easy? I'm charged with one
murder, ain't I? Well, after tonight there won't be any Taggarts to
bother anybody."

"You mean to--" Her eyes widened with horror.

"I reckon," he said. "Did you think I was runnin' away without
squarin' things with them?" There was a threat of death in his cold
laugh.

While she stood with clenched hands, evidently moved by the threat in
his manner and words, he said "So-long," shortly, and swung the door
open.

She followed three or four steps, again calling upon him to "wait." He
turned in the doorway and went slowly back to her. She was nervous,
breathless, and he looked wonderingly at her.

"Wait just a minute," she said; "I have something to give you."

She darted into the sitting-room; he could hear her running up the
stairs. She was gone a long time, so long a time that he grew
impatient and paced the floor with long, hasty strides. He was certain
that it was fully five minutes before she reappeared, and then her
manner was more nervous than ever.

"You act," he said suspiciously, "as though you wanted to keep me here."

"No, no," she denied breathlessly, her eyes bright and her cheeks
aflame. "How can you think that? I have brought you some money; you
will need it." She had a leather bag in her hands,