he halted, looking at her questioningly.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You ought to know," she returned quietly.

"I ain't good at guessin' riddles," he returned, grinning at her.

"There is no riddle," she answered, still quietly. She came forward
until she stood within two paces of him, her eyes meeting his squarely.
"When you left here last night did you meet Ben on the trail?" she
continued steadily.

He started, reddening a little. "Why, yes," he returned, wondering if
Ben had told her what had been said at that meeting; "was he tellin'
you about it?"

"Yes," she returned evenly, "he has been telling me about it. That
should be sufficient for you. I am sorry that I ever met you. You
should know why. If I were you I should not lose any time in getting
away from here."

Her voice was listless, even flat, but there was a grim note in it that
told that she was keeping her composure with difficulty. He laughed,
thinking that since he had made the new agreement with the Two Diamond
manager he had nothing to fear. "I reckon I ought to be scared," he
returned, "but I ain't. An' I don't consider that I'm losin' any time."

Her lips curved sarcastically. "You have said something like that
before," she told him, her eyes glittering scornfully. "You have a
great deal of faith in your ability to fool people. But you have
miscalculated this time.

"I know why you have come to the Two Diamond. I know what made you
come over here so much. Of course I am partly to blame. You have
fooled me as you have fooled everyone." She stood suddenly erect, her
eyes flashing. "If you planned to kill my brother, why did you not
have the manhood to meet him face to face?"

Ferguson flushed. Would it help his case to deny that he had thought
of fooling her, that he never had any intention of shooting Ben? He
thought not. Leviatt had poisoned her mind against him. He smiled
grimly.

"Someone's been talkin'," he said quietly. "You'd be helpin' to make
this case clear if you'd tell who it was."

"Someone has talked," she replied; "someone who knows. Why didn't you
tell me that you came here to kill Ben? That you were hired by
Stafford to do it?"

"Why, I didn't, ma'am," he protested, his face paling.

"You did!" She stamped one foot vehemently.

Ferguson's eyes drooped. "I came here to see if Ben was rustlin'
cattle, ma'am," he confessed frankly. "But I wasn't intendin' to shoot
him. Why, I've had lots of c