“What d’you know?” insisted Donnegan.

All at once passion shook him; he fastened his grip in the shoulder of the larger man, and his fingertips worked toward the bone.

“What do you know?” he repeated for the third time, and now there was no hint of laughter in the hard voice of Lefty.

“You fool, if you follow that trail you’ll go to the devil.  It was Rusty Dick; and he’s dead!”

His triumphant laughter came again, but Donnegan cut into it.

“Rusty Dick was the one you—­killed!”

“Sure.  What of it?  We fought fair and square.”

“Then Rusty wasn’t the man I want.  The man I want would of eaten two like you, Lefty.”

“What about the birthmark?  It sure was on his shoulder; Donnegan.”

“Heavens!” whispered Donnegan.

“What’s the matter?”

“Rusty Dick,” gasped Donnegan.  “Yes, it must have been he.”

“Sure it was.  What did you have against him?”

“It was a matter of blood—­between us,” stammered Donnegan.

His voice rose in a peculiar manner, so that Lefty shrank involuntarily.

“You killed Rusty?”

“Ask any of the boys.  But between you and me, it was the booze that licked Rusty Dick.  I just finished up the job and surprised everybody.”

The train was out of the mountains and in a country of scattering hills, but here it struck a steep grade and settled down to a grind of slow labor; the rails hummed, and suspense filled the freight car.

“Hey,” cried Lefty suddenly.  “You fool, you’ll do a flop out the door in about a minute!”

He even reached out to steady the toppling figure, but Donnegan pitched straight out into the night.  Lefty craned his neck from the door, studying the roadbed, but at that moment the locomotive topped the little rise and the whole train lurched forward.

“After all,” murmured Lefty Joe, “it sounds like Donnegan.  Hated a guy so bad that he hadn’t any use for livin’ when he heard the other guy was dead.  But I’m never goin’ to cross his path again, I hope.”

5

But Donnegan had leaped clear of the roadbed, and he struck almost to the knees in a drift of sand.  Otherwise, he might well have broken his legs with that foolhardy chance.  As it was, the fall whirled him over and over, and by the time he had picked himself up the lighted caboose of the train was rocking past him.  Donnegan watched it grow small in the distance, and then, when it was only a red, uncertain star far down the track, he turned to the vast country around him.