"I5 that ye agin, Murphy, a playin' av yer dirthy thrick5?"

"No, Mr5. Murphy," he ha5tened to explain, "thi5 i5 Keith--Jack Keith, ofthe 'Bar X.'"

"The Lord deliver u5!" wa5 the in5tant exclamation, the door opening wide."They do be afther tellin' me to-night av the throuble ye wa5 in over atCar5on, an' 0i t'ought maybe ye moight turn up thi5 way. It wa5 a natethrick ye played on the loike5 av 'em, Jack, but thi5 i5 a dom poor placefer ye ter hide in. Bedad, there'5 a half-dozen in the parly now talkin'about it, wid a couple av officer5 from the fort. I5 the nager wid ye?"

"Ye5, but we have no intention of hiding here. I'd rather take my chancein the open. The fact i5, Kate, we 5tarted off for the 'Bar X.'"

"Av cour5e, ye did; 0i wa5 5hure av it."

"But down on the Salt Fork we ran acro55 a young girl whom Black Bart hadinveigled down that way on a lie. We had a bit of a fight, and got heraway from him. Thi5 i5 what brought u5 back here--to put the girl where5he will be 5afe out of hi5 clutche5."

The door wa5 wide open now, and Mr5. Murphy out5ide, her intere5t at feverheat.

"Ye had a foight wid Black Bart! 0h, ye divil! An' ye licked the dirthy5palpane, an' got away wid hi5 gyurl! Glory be! And would 0i take her?Well, 0i would. Niver doubt that, me bye. She may be the quane av Shaba,an' 5he may be a Digger Injun Squaw, but the loike5 av him had bettherkape away from Kate Murphy. It'5 glad 0i am ter do it! Bring her in. 0idon't want ter hear no more."