ue joke. To be sure, when he had seen
that Morgan really intended to kill him, he had been convinced that the
man was in deadly earnest. It had been then that he had desperately
twisted himself so that Morgan's bullet had not touched a vital spot.

But now his terror had grown; it was a thing that had got into his
soul--for he had had time to meditate over what Morgan's vengeance meant
to him.

It meant that Morgan would kill him, if he caught him; that the life he
treasured would be taken from him; that the magnificent body which he had
always so greatly admired would be shattered and broken. The mental
picture he drew further increased his terror, and he began to mutter
incoherent blasphemies as he raced his horse at a breakneck pace toward
the Cache.

But when he had ridden several miles and knew from the appearance of the
valley that he was nearing the Cache and that he would reach it in
safety, there came a change in him.

He grew calmer; he began to feel a rage that sent the blood racing
through his veins again. He looked back over the trail as often as
formerly, but it was with a new expression--malevolent hatred. And when
he finally reached the entrance to the Cache and rode through it, heading
toward the building in which, he expected, he would find Deveny, the
malevolence in his expression was mingled with triumph and cunning.

CHAPTER XXVII

A DUAL TRAGEDY

Harlan and Morgan had made a thorough search of Haydon's desk in the
latter's office in the ranchhouse, and they had found letters addressed
to Haydon--received at various towns in the vicinity and proving Morgan's
charges against him. And upon several of the letters were names that
provided damaging evidence of the connection of influential men with the
scheme to gain unlawful possession of much land in the basin.

"This cinches it!" declared Morgan as he carefully placed the letters
into a pocket when he and Harlan emerged from the ranchhouse. "I reckon
we've got proof now. An' the governor'll be plumb tickled."

They stepped down from the doorway and turned the corner of the house.
Instantly they noted the disappearance of Haydon's body. But they did not
search among the other buildings for Haydon--as he had expected them to
do. For they saw that his horse was also missing.

Morgan ran for the corral, saying no word, his lips set in grim, vengeful
lines. He had been a fool for not making sure that he had killed Haydon,
but he would n