E-text prepared by Roger Frank and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustration. See 25779-h.htm or 25779-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/7/7/25779/25779-h/25779-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/7/7/25779/25779-h.zip) "DRAG" HARLAN by CHARLES ALDEN SELTZER Author of The Boss of the Lazy Y, "Firebrand" Trevison, The Trail Horde, The Ranchman, Etc. Frontispiece by P. V. E. Ivory [Illustration: She laid her head on his shoulder, sobbing, and talking incoherently. (Page 65)] Grosset & Dunlap Publishers :: New York Made in the United States of America Copyright A. C. McClurg & Co. 1921 Published May, 1921 Copyrighted in Great Britain CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I A Desert Rider 1 II A Man's Reputation 9 III A Girl Waits 31 IV His Shadow Before 38 V A Prison 48 VI Chain-Lightning 58 VII Single-Handed 66 VIII Barbara Is Puzzled 78 IX An Unwelcome Guest 88 X On Guard 96 XI The Intruder 107 XII Barbara Sees a Light 114 XIII Harlan Takes Charge 119 XIV Shadows 129 XV Linked 142 XVI Deep Water 153 XVII Forging a Letter 159 XVIII Harlan Rides Alone 169 XIX Harlan Joins the Gang 174 XX Left-Handed 191 XXI The Black-Bearded Man 206 XXII A Dead Man Walks 219 XXIII Deveny Secedes 225 XXIV Kidnapped 229 XXV Ambushed 238 XXVI Rogers Takes a Hand 242 XXVII A Dual Tragedy 248 XXVIII Converging Trails 252 XXIX World's End 258 XXX The Ultimate Treachery 263 XXXI Peace--and a Sunset 274 "DRAG" HARLAN CHAPTER I A DESERT RIDER From out of the shimmering haze that veiled the mystic eastern space came a big black horse bearing a rider. Swinging wide, to avoid the feathery dust that lay at the base of a huge sand dune, the black horse loped, making no sound, and seeming to glide forward without effort. Like a somber, gigantic ghost the animal moved, heroic of mold, embodying the spirit of the country, seeming to bear the sinister message of the desert, the whispered promise of death, the lingering threat, the grim mockery of life, and the conviction of futility.