“I am a ranger, Miss Longstreth.”
“And oh! I am a rustler's daughter,” she cried. “That's so much more terrible than I'd suspected. It was tricky cattle deals I imagined he was engaged in. But only to-night I had strong suspicions aroused.”
“How? Tell me.”
“I overheard Floyd say that men were coming to-night to arrange a meeting for my father at a rendezvous near Ord. Father did not want to go. Floyd taunted him with a name.”
“What name?” queried Duane.
“It was Cheseldine.”
“CHESELDINE! My God! Miss Longstreth, why did you tell me that?”
“What difference does that make?”
“Your father and Cheseldine are one and the same,” whispered Duane, hoarsely.
“I gathered so much myself,” she replied, miserably. “But Longstreth is father's real name.”