Thor was whining piteously; Winch shook his head; if only he had his instruments, his antiseptics, and a bottle of chloroform! For here he foresaw such an operation as did not come his way every day. "Diagnosin' off-hand," Winch was telling the uninterested Joe, "I'd say here's the two important facts: first, old Thor has been beat unmerciful; his head's been whanged bad, but I don't believe the skull's fractured; his left fore leg is busted and he may have a cracked rib. Second and most important, after all that the old devil is alive." Bruce Standing, still seeking Lynette, more than satisfied to have Thor in Billy Winch's capable hands, turned toward the grotto which he had set apart for Lynette. And thus upon his first discovery. There was a piece of paper tied with a bit of string so that it fluttered gently from a low limb where it was inevitable that it must be seen. He caught it down eagerly. On the scrap of paper were a few pencilled words, written in a girlish-looking hand. At one sweeping glance he read: "I have gone back to Babe Deveril. LYNETTE." He stood staring incredulously at the thing in his hand. Here was a shock which for a moment confused him; here was something beyond credence. Lynette gone ... to Deveril? For that first second his brain groped blindly rather than functioned normally. Lynette gone to Babe Deveril ... that cursed Baby Devil! A handsome, graceful, and altogether irresistible young devil of a fellow to fill any girl's eye, to stir vague romantic longings in her heart. So she had gone to him? He had the proof of it in his hand; a word from her, signed with her name. A cruel, chill, heartless message of seven meagre words.... And she had broken her word; she had promised to wait for his return and she had not waited. She had left a dying dog to die alone and had gone to her lover ... and she carried with her the key to Mexicali Joe's golden secret ... to turn it over to Deveril! "What's eating you, Timber?" shouted Winch. "Gone to sleep or what?" Standing tossed the scrap of paper away. And then suddenly he laughed and both Winch and Joe were startled. Bill Winch had heard that laugh once before and knew vaguely the sort of emotion which prompted it: Standing's soul was suddenly steeped in rage ... and anguish.... "We'll be on our way pretty quick, Timber," said Winch. "We'll ride slow and you can pick us up in no time. And ... if you've got anything on your chest, any of your own private rat-killing to do, why, me and Mexicali will make out fine as far as headquarters, and once there I'll see old Thor through." Standing only nodded at him curtly and went hurriedly to his horse. CHAPTER XXIV