stioned Allen.

"You and Dakota friendly?" he questioned again, noting Langford's nod.

"We've been quite friendly," smiled Langford.

"But you ain't now?"

"Not since this has happened. We must have law and order, even at the
price of friendship."

Allen squinted a mildly hostile eye at Langford. "That's a good principle
to get back of--for a weak-kneed friendship. But most men who have got
friends wouldn't let a little thing like law and order interfere between
them."

Langford reddened. "I haven't known Dakota long of course," he defended.
"Perhaps I erred in saying we were friends. Acquaintances would better
describe it I think."

Allen's eye narrowed again with an emotion that Langford could not fathom.
"I always had a heap of faith in Dakota's judgment," he said. And then,
when Langford's face flushed with a realization of the subtle insult,
Allen said gruffly:

"You say Doubler's dead?"

"I don't remember to have said that to you," returned Langford, his voice
snapping with rage. "What I did say was that Duncan saw him killed and
came to me with the news. I sent him for you. Since then my daughter has
been over to Doubler's cabin. He is quite dead, she reported," he lied.
"There can be no doubt of his guilt, if that is what bothers you," he
continued. "Duncan saw him shoot Doubler in the back with Doubler's own
rifle, and my daughter heard the shot and met Dakota coming from Doubler's
cabin, immediately after. It's a clear case, it seems to me."

"Yes, clear," said Allen. "The evidence is all against him."

Yet it was not all quite clear to Langford. To be sure, he had expected to
receive news that Dakota had accomplished the destruction of Doubler, but
he had not anticipated the fortunate appearance of Duncan at the nester's
cabin during the commission of the murder, nor had he expected Sheila to
be near the scene of the crime. It had turned out better than he had
planned, for since he had burned the agreement that he had made with
Dakota, the latter had no hold on him whatever, and if it were finally
proved that he had committed the crime there would come an end to both
Dakota and Doubler.

Only one thing puzzled him. Dakota had been to his place, he knew that he
was charged with the murder and that the agreement had been burned. He
also knew that Duncan and Sheila would bear witness against him. And yet,
though he had had an opportunity to escape, he had not done so. Why not?

He put this inter