"I didn't reckon yo' war doin' this--fur pay!" Jed faltered. Then
Greyson came forth:

"No pay, Jed. Gawd knows I do my duty as I see it. But being keen about
duty, I see more than one duty. When you catch and cage Lawson, Jed, I
want to be something closer to you than a friend."

"Closer than--" Jed gasped.

"And duty drives me to confess to you, Jed, that the happiness of a lady
is at stake."

Jed merely gaped now. Visions of Nella-Rose made him giddy and
speechless.

"The day you put Lawson in jail, Jed, that day I'll give you the hand of
my daughter. She loves you; she has confessed! You shall come here and
share--everything! The hour that Burke is convicted--Marg is yours!"

"Marg!" The word came on a gasp.

"Not a word!" Greyson waved his hand in a princely way--this gesture was
an heirloom from his ancestry. "I understand your feelings--I've seen
what has been going on--but naturally I want my daughter to marry one
worthy of her. You shall have my Marg when you have proven yourself!
I've misjudged you, Jed, but this will wipe away old scores."

With a sickening sense of being absorbed, Jed sank into black silence.
If Marg wanted him and old Greyson was helping her, there was no hope!