s visit would not be of long duration, and having no desire to
visit Doubler in the presence of his rival, he shunted his own horse off
the edge of a sand dune and down into the bed of a dry arroyo. Urging the
animal along this, he presently reached a sand flat on whose edge arose a
grove of fir-balsam and cottonwood.

For an hour, deep in the grove, he watched the cabin, and at length he saw
Dakota come out; saw a smile on his face; heard him laugh. His lips
writhed at the sound, and he listened intently to catch the conversation
which was carried on between the two men, but the distance was too great.
However, he was able to judge from the actions of the two that their
relations were decidedly friendly, and this discovery immediately raised a
doubt in his mind as to the correctness of his deductions.

Yet the doubt did not seriously affect his determination to carry out the
plan he had in mind, and when a few moments after coming out of the cabin,
Dakota departed down the river trail, Duncan slowly rode out of the grove
and approached the cabin.

Doubler stood in the open doorway, looking after Dakota, and when the
latter finally disappeared around a bend in the river the nester turned
and saw Duncan. Instantly he stepped inside the cabin door, reappearing
immediately, holding a rifle. Duncan continued to ride forward, raising
one hand, with the palm toward Doubler, as a sign of the peacefulness of
his intentions. The latter permitted him to approach, though he held the
rifle belligerently.

"I want to talk," said Duncan, when he had come near enough to make
himself heard.

"Pull up right where you are, then," commanded Doubler. He was silent
while Duncan drew his pony to a halt and sat motionless in the saddle
looking at him. Then his voice came with a truculent snap:

"You alone?"

Duncan nodded.

"Where's your new boss?" sarcastically inquired Doubler. "Ain't you scared
he'll git lost--runnin' around alone without anyone to look after him?"

"I ain't his keeper," returned Duncan shortly.

Doubler laughed unbelievingly. "You was puttin' in a heap of your time
bein' his keeper, the last I saw of you," he declared coldly.

"Mebbe I was. We've had a falling out." The venom in Duncan's voice was
not at all pretended. "He's double crossed me."

"Double crossed you?" There was disbelief and suspicion in Doubter's
laugh. "How's he done that? I reckoned you was too smart for anyone to do
that to you?" The sarc