ld do."

"Say it here," answered Cinnabar without taking his eyes from the man's
face.

Purdy shrugged: "All right. But first let me tell you somethin' fer yer
own good. Don't kill me! I've got three pals not so far from here that's
in on--well, you know what. I told 'em the whole story--an' if anything
happens to me--up you go--see? An' if you try to double-cross me--up you
go, too. You git that, do you? Well, here's what you got to do. It ain't
much. I've got a boarder fer you. It's a woman. Keep her here fer a
week, an' don't let anyone know she's here. Then I'll come an' git her.
That's all!"

"Who is she, an' what you goin' to do with her?"

"That ain't none of yer damn business!" snapped Purdy, "an' mind you
don't try to bushwhack me, an' don't let no one know she's here, or
you'll spend the rest of your life in Deer Lodge--an' me an' Jennie'll
run the outfit----"

With a cry Jennie threw herself upon her husband who, unarmed, had
launched himself at Purdy. "Joe! Joe! He'll kill you! He's got his
guns!" she shrieked, and held on the tighter as Cinnabar struggled
blindly to free himself. Purdy vaulted into his saddle and dashed across
the creek. Upon the opposite side he jerked his horse to a stand, and
with a wave of his hand, indicated the coulee down which he had come:
"She's up there a piece on a cayuse tied to a tree. Go get her--she's
had a hard ride."

Cinnabar succeeded in freeing himself from his wife's grasp, and dashed
for the house. Purdy stopped speaking abruptly and spurring his horse
madly, whirled and dashed for the shelter of a cottonwood grove. As he
plunged into the thicket a gun cracked behind him, and a piece of bark
flew from the side of a tree not a foot from his head. "The damn fool! I
wonder if he knew I was lyin' about tellin' the others. He sure as hell
was shootin' to kill--an' he damn near called my bluff!"

Working out of the thicket into the mouth of a deep coulee, Purdy rode
rapidly into the bad lands.

Three or four miles from the hang-out of the Grimshaw gang, was a rocky
gorge that had become the clandestine meeting place of the four who
sought to break the yoke of Grimshaw's domination. Unlike the cave, the
place was not suited to withstand a siege, but a water-hole supplied
moisture for a considerable area of grass, and made a convenient place
to turn the horses loose while the conspirators lay among the rocks and
plotted the downfall of their chief. Purdy made straigh