or twitching lip--nothing but a quiet, stony stare.

"Been under the knife? You've a fine knife-wielder here--one Tull, I
believe!... Maybe you've all had your tongues cut out?"

This passionate sarcasm of Venters brought no response, and the stony
calm was as oil on the fire within him.

"I see some of you pack guns, too!" he added, in biting scorn. In the
long, tense pause, strung keenly as a tight wire, he sat motionless on
Black Star. "All right," he went on. "Then let some of you take this
message to Tull. Tell him I've seen Jerry Card! ... Tell him Jerry Card
will never return!"

Thereupon, in the same dead calm, Venters backed Black Star away from
the curb, into the street, and out of range. He was ready now to ride up
to Withersteen House and turn the racers over to Jane.

"Hello, Venters!" a familiar voice cried, hoarsely, and he saw a man
running toward him. It was the rider Judkins who came up and gripped
Venters's hand. "Venters, I could hev dropped when I seen them hosses.
But thet sight ain't a marker to the looks of you. What's wrong? Hev
you gone crazy? You must be crazy to ride in here this way--with them
hosses--talkie' thet way about Tull en' Jerry Card."

"Jud, I'm not crazy--only mad clean through," replied Venters.

"Mad, now, Bern, I'm glad to hear some of your old self in your voice.
Fer when you come up you looked like the corpse of a dead rider with
fire fer eyes. You hed thet crowd too stiff fer throwin' guns. Come,
we've got to hev a talk. Let's go up the lane. We ain't much safe here."

Judkins mounted Bells and rode with Venters up to the cottonwood grove.
Here they dismounted and went among the trees.

"Let's hear from you first," said Judkins. "You fetched back them
hosses. Thet is the trick. An', of course, you got Jerry the same as you
got Horne."

"Horne!"

"Sure. He was found dead yesterday all chewed by coyotes, en' he'd been
shot plumb center."

"Where was he found?"

"At the split down the trail--you know where Oldring's cattle trail runs
off north from the trail to the pass."

"That's where I met Jerry and the rustlers. What was Horne doing with
them? I thought Horne was an honest cattle-man."

"Lord--Bern, don't ask me thet! I'm all muddled now tryin' to figure
things."

Venters told of the fight and the race with Jerry Card and its tragic
conclusion.

"I knowed it! I knowed all along that Wrangle was the best hoss!"
exclaimed Judkins, with his lean face wor