"Sure?"

"Sure and safe. If he beats us to the gap and comes back--well, you
stop Adam's mouth and I'll be responsible for the papers. They'll
never be recorded in this world!"

"Where's your stand-in? At Garfield?"

"Never you mind my stand-in. That's my lookout. A letter posted at
Garfield to-night goes to Rincon by buckboard to-morrow; it lays over
in Rincon to-morrow night, goes out on the High Line to Nutt on the
nine-fifteen day after to-morrow, takes the branch line to Lake
Valley, and goes from Lake to Hillsboro by stage. It don't get to
Hillsboro till two in the afternoon, day after to-morrow. It takes as
long from Garfield to Hillsboro as from Chicago. After--after--if we
turn the trick--we can come back and post location notices for
ourselves. Then we can beat it on a bee line for Hillsboro and record
'em."

"Aha! So it's at Hillsboro post office you're the solid Muldoon, is
it?"

Weir's gun flashed to a level with Caney's breast. "That will be all
from you, Caney! Your next supposing along those lines will be your
last. Get me? Now or ever! Keep your mouth closed, and Adam Forbes'
mouth. That's your job."

"Put up your gun, kid. I can't afford to be killed. I'm going to be a
howlin' millionaire. I'll say no more, but I'm not sorry I spoke. You
bein' so very earnest that way, I'm satisfied you can deliver the
goods. That is what I want to know--for I tell you now, I don't expect
to head Forbes off here. He had too much start of us--unless he
dilly-dallies along the road or is delayed."

"If he comes back, won't he bring a gang with him? If he does we're
done," said Hales. "That's why I'm willing to kill my horse to beat
him to it. You two seem more interested in chewing the rag."

"O, that's all right! Jody and me, we've come to a good
understanding," said Caney smoothly. Jody Weir glanced carelessly at
the back of Hales' head, his eyes wandered till they met Caney's eyes
and held steadily there for a moment; his brows arched a trifle.

"Well, here we are," announced Jody. "We'd better make the climb
afoot. The horses are about done and they'd make too much noise
anyway--floundering about. It's all slick rock."

They took their rifles from the saddles, they clambered up the steep
pass, they peered over cautiously.

"Hell! There's two of them!" said Caney. "Get 'em both! Big stakes!
This is the chance of a lifetime!"

Below them on a little shelf of promontory stood a saddled horse, a
blue