the valley he
must be considered an important factor. Haydon could not flatly tell him
to get out of the valley; he could not order him away from the Rancho
Seco. Harlan was in control there--for the rider who had come in with the
news that Harlan had set out for the valley had also apprised Haydon of
the coming, to the Rancho Seco, of the men of the T Down outfit.

The rider had not been able to tell Haydon who the men were, of course;
but it made little difference. They were friends of Harlan's, for they
had come from the direction of the desert--from Pardo.

It was plain to Haydon that Harlan had come to the valley to stay. It was
equally plain that he must be either propitiated or antagonized. He felt
that Harlan was giving him his choice.

"What do you want--if you throw in with us?" Haydon asked, following the
trend of his own thoughts.

"That's straight talk," said Harlan. "I'm givin' you a straight answer.
If I join your bunch I join on the same footing with you an'
Deveny--nothin' less. We split everything three ways--the other boys
takin' their regular share after we take ours. I bring my boys in under
the rules you've got that govern the others. I run the Rancho Seco--no
one interferin'. When I rustle up that gold old Morgan hid, we split it
three ways. Barbara Morgan goes with the ranch--no one interferin'."

Color surged into Haydon's face.

"You don't want much, do you?" he sneered.

"I want what's comin' to me--what I'm goin' to take, if I come in. That's
my proposition. You can take it or leave it."

Haydon was silent for an instant, studying Harlan's face. What he saw
there brought a frown to his own.

"Harlan," he said softly, "some of the boys feel a little resentful over
the way you sent Dolver and Laskar out. There are several friends of
those two men outside now. Suppose I should call them in and tell them
that the bars are down on you--eh?"

If Haydon expected his threat to intimidate Harlan, he was mistaken.
Harlan sat, motionless, watching the outlaw chief steadily. And into his
eyes came a glitter of that cold contempt which Haydon had seen in them
on the day he had faced Harlan near the bunkhouse at the Rancho Seco.

"You're doin' the honors, Haydon," he said. "If you're that kind of a
coyote I don't want to deal with you. If you think you want to pass up a
share of that hundred thousand, start yappin' to them boys. It's likely
there's some of them hangin' around, close. Mebbe you