It was almost dark when Jack Silver led the way to the Two Bar X. There were no lights in the ranchhouse. June dismounted and forced Jack to knock on the door. But there was no answer to his knock. The door was unlocked. Without any orders from June, Jack lighted the big lamp in the main room. “Where is everybody?” wondered June. “Is this the Two Bar X?” “It’s the Two Bar X all right,” said Jack. His heels were sore from the long walk in high-heeled boots and he limped painfully. June pointed at a door across the room. “Open that,” she ordered. Jack limped over and opened it. It was a windowless inside room, evidently used as a bedroom by some one who cared little for ventilation. There was a small lamp on the table, and June ordered Jack to light it. She told him to remove the rope, and then she backed into the main room, closing the door behind her. At some time the room must have been used for storage purposes, because there was a hasp and staple fastener. June quickly locked the door, after which she sat down in a chair and drew the first calm breath she had taken since Jack Silver had entered the deserted cabin. There was no way for him to get out of that room. She took a small lamp and went on a tour of investigation. The kitchen was fairly clean and there was plenty of food. She cooked a meal for herself, but was afraid to take any of it to Silver. She had him under lock and intended keeping him. She felt sure that the men of the Two Bar X would be coming back soon. Perhaps, she thought, they heard of what happened to her and were searching for her. And what a surprize it would be for them to come back and find her there, and to find Jack Silver a prisoner. She washed the dishes and went back to the main room. It was very quiet. A new moon was peeping over the crest of the Tomahawk range, and she heard the distant howling of a coyote. She put Jack Silver’s gun on the table beside her and sat down to look at some old magazines. Suddenly she heard the muffled tread of horses walking and thought it was the boys of the ranch coming home. She ran to a front window and looked out, but could see no one. For several minutes she stood at the window, but the half-light was baffling. She went back and sat down, after deciding that it had been some loose horses. But something made her feel that she was being watched. Perhaps it was sort of sixth sense. She found herself unable to read. The two dull, uncurtained windows seemed to stare at her like a pair of eyes. Why didn’t they curtain their windows, she wondered? There were noises, too--queer noises. Suddenly there came the scrape of leather sole on the porch, and the door was flung open. June jerked forward, her hand on the big gun. Two men stepped inside, looking queerly at her. It was McLeese, the deposed foreman, and Chuck Bell, a big, raw-boned, square-faced cowboy who worked for the Two Bar X. McLeese glanced at the hand and gun on the table.