mind all the time. I felt certain he
would kill Sinclair or get killed if he stayed there. And then, when I
took him away they sprang Tower W on me! That is the price, not of
having a conscience, for I haven't any, but of listening to the voice
that echoes where my conscience used to be," said the railroad man,
moving uneasily in his chair.

Bucks broke the ash from his cigar into the tray on the table. "You
are restless to-night, Gordon--and it isn't like you, either."

"It is in the air. There has been a dead calm for two days. Something
is due to happen to-night. I wish I could hear from Banks; he started
with the papers for Sinclair's yesterday while I went to Oroville to
sweat Karg. Blood-poisoning has set in and it is rather important to
us to get a confession. There's a horse!" He stepped to the window.
"Coming fast, too. Now, I wonder--no, he's gone by."

Five minutes later a messenger came to the car from the Wickiup with
word that Kennedy was looking for Whispering Smith. Bucks, McCloud,
and Smith left the car together and walked up to McCloud's office.

Kennedy, sitting on the edge of the table, was tapping his leg
nervously with a ruler. "Bad news, Gordon."

"Not from Ed Banks?"

"Sinclair got him this morning."

Whispering Smith sat down. "Go on."

"Banks and I picked up Wickwire on the Crawling Stone early, and we
rode over to the Frenchman. Wickwire said Sinclair had been up at
Williams Cache the day before, and he didn't think he was home. Of
course I knew the Cache was watched and he wouldn't be there long, so
Ed asked me to stay in the cottonwoods and watch the creek for him. He
and Wickwire couldn't find anybody home when they got to the
ranch-house and they rode down the corral together to look over the
horses."

Whispering Smith's hand fell helplessly on the table. "Rode down
together! For God's sake, why didn't _one_ of them stay at the
house?"

"Sinclair rode out from behind the barn and hit Wickwire in the arm
before they saw him. Banks turned and opened on him, and Wickwire
ducked for the creek. Sinclair put a soft bullet through Banks's
shoulder--tore it pretty bad, Gordon--and made his get-away before
Wickwire and I could reach the barn again. I got Ed on his horse and
back to Wickwire's, and we sent one of the boys to Oroville for a
doctor. After Banks fell out of the saddle and was helpless Sinclair
talked to him before I came up. 'You ought to have kept out of this,
Ed,' he s