“Marion? Why—”
Jimmy hesitated, his eyes turning toward the stable door, where Marion and Tex were standing. Marion was looking down at the ground, but now she looked up at him, a smile on her face. Tex started to reach toward her, realized that he had an audience, and they both stepped inside the stable. Jimmy grinned and shook his head.
“Why, no, I don’t reckon I will, Hashknife. That whips me.”
And Jimmy wondered why Hashknife laughed so suddenly and walked to his horse. He did not know that Tex had admitted defeat, too. When the buggy, with its three occupants started up the road toward Blue Wells, with Tex Alden riding beside it, far in the distance they could see a lone rider—Hashknife Hartley, riding swiftly to join Sleepy, that they might dispose of their horses and catch the first train out of town. Their work was done—and the other side of the hill was calling.
Transcriber’s Note: This story appeared in the November 23, 1926 issue of Adventure magazine.