“Did you see the big hulk look at Mary Hood?” Riley asked.

The name came pat with the unpleasant part of Hal’s brooding, and his scowl grew blacker.  “What about it?”

“Looked at her as though she was an angel—­touched her hand as though it was fire.  I tell you, Hal, she knocked Hunter clean off his balance.”

“Not the first she’s done that to,” said Hal with meaning.

“Maybe not.  Maybe not,” said Riley rather hastily.  “But I been thinking.  Suppose you go to Mary and tell her that you’re dead set on keeping this Hunter with you.  Tell her that he’s a hard fellow to handle, that he likes her, and that the best way to make sure of him is for her to be nice to him.  She can do that easy.  She takes nacheral to flirting.”

“Flirt with that thick-head?  She’d laugh in my face.”

“She’d do more than that for you, Hal.”

“H’m,” grunted Dunbar, greatly mollified.  “I ask her to make Hunter happy.  What comes of it?  If her father sees Hunter make eyes at her he’ll blow the head off the clodhopper.”

“I know.”  Riley nodded.  “He’s always afraid she’ll take a fancy to one of the hands and run off with him, or something like that.  He’s dead set agin’ her saying two words to anybody like me, say!”

He gritted his teeth and flushed at the thought.  Then he continued.  “But that’s just what you want.  You want to get Hunter’s head blown off, don’t you?”

Dunbar caught the shoulder of Riley and whirled him around.

“Are you talking murder to me, Riley?”

“I’m talking sense,” said Riley.

“By the Lord,” growled Dunbar, “you’re a plain bad one, Riley.  You like deviltry for the sake of the deviltry itself.  You want me to get—­”

“How much do you want the black hoss, chief?” Dunbar sighed.

“You can’t touch him, after him saving your life, and I can’t touch him, because everybody knows that I’m your man.  But suppose you get the girl and Hunter planted?  Then when Jack Hood rides in this afternoon, I’ll take him where he can see ’em together.  Leave the rest to me.  Will you?  I’ll have Jack Hood scared she’s going to elope before morning, and Jack will do the rest.  You know his way.”

“Suppose Hood gets killed?”

“Killed—­by that?  Jack Hood?  Why, you know he’s near as good as you with his gat!”

Dunbar nodded slowly.  After all, the scheme was a simple one.

“Well?” whispered Riley.

“You and the devil win,” said Hal.  “After all, what’s this Hunter amount to?  Nothing.  And I need the horse!”

He executed the first step of the scheme instantly.  He went downstairs and found the girl still on the veranda.  She began to mock him at once.

“You’ll go to heaven, Hal, giving a home to the man who beats you.”