s playing in deceiving Mary Bransford; it made him feel in a
measure justified in continuing to deceive her.

For he divined that without his help Mary would lose the Double A.

Sanderson had always loved a fight, and the prospect of bringing defeat
and confusion upon Dale was one that made his pulses leap with delight.

He got up on the morning following Dale's visit, tingling with
eagerness. And yet there was no sign of emotion in his face when he
sat with Mary Bransford at breakfast, and he did not even look at her
when he left the house, mounted his horse, and rode up the gorge that
split the butte at the southern end of the range.

All morning he prowled over the table-land, paying a great deal of
attention to the depth of the gorge, estimating its capacity for
holding water, scanning the far reaches of the big basin carefully, and
noting the location of the buildings dotting it.

Shortly after noon he rode back to the house and came upon Mary in the
kitchen.

"I've put off askin' until now," he said while eating the food that
Mary placed before him. "How much money did dad leave?"

"Not much," she said. "He was never very prosperous. It took a great
deal to send me to school, and the thousand I sent you I saved myself
out of the allowance he gave me. I think there are three thousand
dollars to father's credit at the bank in Okar."

"Where's Okar?"

She looked quickly at him. "Don't you remember Okar? That little town
just beyond the mouth of the basin? Why, you've been there a good many
times, Will, on errands for father. There wasn't much to Okar when you
were here--just a few shanties and a store. Surely you remember!"

Sanderson flushed. "I reckon I do remember, now that you speak of it,"
he lied. "But I don't think Okar has grown much."

"Okar has grown to be an important town--for this locality," Mary
smiled. "You see, the railroad has made it grow. It is now quite
large, and has a bank and a dozen or more stores. It is a depot for
supplies for a big section, and the railroad company has built large
corrals there. A man named Silverthorn--and Alva Dale--are the rulers
of Okar, now."

"Who is Silverthorn?"

"He is connected with the railroad company--a promoter, or something of
that character. He is trying to make a boom town of Okar. He has
bought a great deal of land in the basin."

"You know what he wants the land for?" Sanderson smiled at her.

"For speculation purposes