bout it more than once. Dale hasn't told, of
course; but it is my opinion that Dale put the Double A cattle into
Ben's corral so that he could hang Ben. With Ben out of the way he
could take the Nyland property--and Peggy, too."

"Why did he use Double A cattle?"

Mary paled. "Don't you see the hideous humor of that? He knows Peggy
Nyland and I are friends. Dale is ruthless and subtle. Can't you
understand how a man of that type would enjoy seeing me send my
friend's brother to his death--and the brother innocent?"

"Why didn't you tell Dale the cattle did not belong to you?"

Mary smiled faintly. "I couldn't. To do so would have involved Ben
Nyland in more trouble. Dale would have got one of his friends to
claim them. And then I could have done nothing--having disclaimed the
ownership of the stock. And I--I couldn't lie. And, besides, I kept
hoping that something would happen. I had a premonition that something
_would_ happen. And something did happen--you came!"

"Yes," said Sanderson inanely, "I came."

He drew a large red handkerchief from a pocket and mopped some huge
beads of sweat from his face and forehead. When the handkerchief came
out a sheet of paper, folded and crumpled, fluttered toward the floor,
describing an eccentric circle and landing within a foot of Mary's feet.

The girl saw that Sanderson had not noticed the loss of the paper, and
she stooped and recovered it. She held it in a hand while Sanderson
continued to wipe the perspiration from his face, and noting that he
was busily engaged she smoothed the paper on the table in front of her
and peered mischievously at it. And then, her curiosity conquering
her, she read, for the writing on the paper was strangely familiar.

Sanderson having restored the handkerchief to its pocket, noticed
Mary's start, and saw her look at him, her eyes wide and perplexed.

"Why, Will, where did you get this?" she inquired, sitting very erect.

"Mebbe if you'd tell me what it is I could help you out," he grinned.

"Why, it's a letter father wrote to a man in Tombstone, Arizona. See
here! Father's name is signed to it! I saw father write it. Why, I
rode over to Dry Bottom and mailed it! This man had written to father
a long time before, asking for a job. I have his letter somewhere. It
was the oddest letter! It was positively a gem of formality. I can
remember every word of it, for I must have read it a dozen times. It
ran:

"DEAR