was at the door in an instant, and asked,--

"What's up?"

"They're gettin' the fellers together, and sayin' that yer shot a
woman in the hold-up."

"It's an infernal lie," I said.

"Sounds that way to me," assented the sheriff; "but two-thirds of
the boys are drunk, and it's a long time since they've had any
fun."

"Well," I said, as calmly as I could, "are you going to stand by
me?"

"I would, Mr. Gordon," he replied, "if there was any good, but
there ain't time to get a posse, and what's one Winchester
against a mob of cowboys like them?"

"If you'll lend me your gun," I said, "I'll show just what it is
worth, without troubling you."

"I'll do better than that," offered the sheriff, "and that's what
I'm here for. Just sneak, while there's time."

"You mean--?" I exclaimed.

"That's it. I'm goin' away, and I'll leave the door unlocked. If
yer get clear let me know yer address, and later, if I want yer,
I'll send yer word." He took a grip on my fingers that numbed
them as if they had been caught in an air-brake, and disappeared.

I slipped out after the sheriff without loss of time. That there
wasn't much to spare was shown by a crowd with some torches down
the street, collected in front of a saloon. They were making a
good deal of noise, even for the West; evidently the flame was
being fanned. Not wasting time, I struck for the railroad,
because I knew the geography of that best, but still more because
I wanted to get to the station. It was a big risk to go there,
but it was one I was willing to take for the object I had in
view, and, since I had to take it, it was safest to get through
with the job before the discovery was made that I was no longer
in jail.

It didn't take me three minutes to reach the station. The whole
place was black as a coal-dumper, except for the slices of light
which shone through the cracks of the curtained windows in the
specials, the dim light of the lamp in the station, and the glow
of the row of saloons two hundred feet away. I was afraid,
however, that there might be a spy lurking somewhere, for it was
likely that Camp would hope to get some clue of the letters by
keeping a watch on the station and the cars. Thinking boldness the
safest course, I walked on to the platform without hesitation, and
went into the station. The "night man" was sitting in his chair,
nodding, but he waked up the moment I spoke.

"Don't speak my name," I said, warningly, as he struggled to hi