"Ten thousand!" she cried. "Good Lord, Steve Packard! Ten
thousand--and you'd lend me----"

"To pay off a mortgage to my grandfather, yes," he answered soberly,
quite conscious of what he was doing and of its recklessness and,
perhaps, idiocy. "And to beat Blenham."

She jumped up and ran around the table to put her two hands on his
shoulders and shake him.

"You're a God-blessed brick, Steve Packard!" she cried ringingly. "But
I'm not a bloodsucker, either. If you're a dead game sport-- Well,
that's what I'd rather be than anything else you can put a name to.
Lace your boots, get into a hat, shove that in your pocket." And she
slipped the roll of bills into his hand. "By now dad and Blenham will
be on the road to Red Creek; we'll beat them to it, have a lawyer and
some papers all ready, and when they show up we'll just take dad out of
Blenham's hands."

"I don't quite get you," said Steve. "If you won't borrow the
money----"

"I'll make dad sell out to you for eight thousand; he pockets one
thousand and with the other seven your money-grabbing, pestiferous old
granddad is paid off. Then you and I frame a deal between us----"

"Partners!" ejaculated Bill Royce. "Glory to be! Steve Packard an'
Terry Temple pardners----"

"Don't you see?" Terry was excitedly tugging at Steve's arm. "Come
on; come alive. We're going to play freeze-out with Hell-Fire Packard
and his right-hand bower, both. And we're going to keep dad from doing
a fool thing. And we're going to-- Oh, come on, can't you?"

Steve got up and stood looking down at her curiously. Then he laughed
and turned away for his coat and hat.

"Lead on; I'm trailing you," he said briefly.

Bill Royce rubbed his hands and chuckled.

"Even if I ain't got eyes," he mused, "there's some things I can see
real clear."

CHAPTER XVIII

"IF HE KNOWS--DOES SHE?"

There seemed no particular need for haste. And yet Terry ran eagerly
to her car, and Steve hurried after her with long strides while the men
down at the bunkhouse surmised and looked to Bill Royce for a measure
of explanation. Steve was not beyond the age of enthusiasm; Terry was
all atingle. Life was shaping itself to an adventure.

And so, though it appeared that all of the time in the world was theirs
for loitering--for it should be a simple matter to come to Red Creek
well in advance of Blenham and his dupe--Terry yielded to her
excitement, Steve yielded out of hand to