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Originally published in 1922 in Western Story Magazine under the
title of THREE WHO PAID, written under the pseudonym of George Owen
Baxter, and subsequently in book form under the title THE RANGELAND
AVENGER in 1924.
1
Of the four men, Hal Sinclair was the vital spirit. In the actual laborof mining, the mighty arms and tireless back Of Quade had been atreasure. For knowledge of camping, hunting, cooking, and all the loreof the trail, Lowrie stood as a valuable resource; and Sandersen wasthe dreamy, resolute spirit, who had hoped for gold in those mountainsuntil he came to believe his hope. He had gathered these threestalwarts to help him to his purpose, and if he lived he would lead yetothers to failure.
Hope never died in this tall, gaunt man, with a pale-blue eye the colorof the horizon dusted with the first morning mist. He was the veryspirit of lost causes, full of apprehensions, foreboding,superstitions. A hunch might make him journey five hundred miles; asnort of his horse could make him give up the trail and turn back.
But Hal Sinclair was the antidote for Sandersen. He was still a boy atthirty—big, handsome, thoughtless, with a heart as clean as new snow.His throat was so parched by that day's ride that he dared not open hislips to sing, as he usually did. He compromised by humming songs newand old, and when his companions cursed his noise, he contented himselfwith talking softly to his horse, amply rewarded when the ponyoccasionally lifted a tired ear to the familiar voice.
Failure and fear were the blight on the spirit of the rest. They hadfound no gold worth looking at twice, and, lingering too long in thesearch, they had rashly turned back on a shortcut across the desert.Two days before, the blow had fallen. They found Sawyer's water holenearly dry, just a little pool in the center, with caked, dead mud allaround it. They drained that water dry and struck on. Since then thewater famine had gained a hold on them; another water hole had not adrop in it. Now they could only aim at the cool, blue mockery of themountains before them, praying that the ponies would last to thefoothills.
Still Hal Sinclair could sing softly to his horse and to himself; and,though his companions cursed his singing, they blessed him for it intheir hearts. Otherwise the white, listening silence of the desertwould have crushed them; otherwise the lure of the mountains would havemaddened them and made them push on until the horses would have diedwithin five miles of the labor; otherwise the pain in their slowlyswelling throats would have taken their reason. For thirst in thedesert carries the pangs of several deaths—death from fire,suffocation, and insanity.
No wonder the three scowled at Hal Sinclair when he drew his revolver.
"My horse is gun-shy," he said, "but I'll bet the rest of you I candrill a horn off that skull before you do."
Of course it was a foolish challenge. Lowrie was the gun expert of theparty. Indeed he had reached that dangerous point of efficiency withfirearms where a man is apt to reach for his gun to decide an argument.Now Lowrie followed the direction of Sinclair's gesture. It was theskull of a steer, with enormous branching horns. The rest of theskeleton was sinking into the sands.
"Don't talk fool talk," said Lowrie. "Save your wind an