"All right, old man. Nobody's asking you to if you feel that way."

Hapgood waited as long as he could for Conniston to go on, and when
there came no further information he asked, incredulously:

"You don't mean that, do you, Greek? You don't intend to stop off all
alone out here in this rotten wilderness?"

"Yes, I do. If you won't stop with me."

"But how about me? What am I to do? Here I am--busted! What do you
think I'm going to do?"

"You can go on to San Francisco if you like. You can have half of what
I've got left--or you can drop off with me."

Hapgood argued and exploded and sulked by turns. In the end, seeing
the futility of trying to reason with a man who only laughed, and
seeing further the disadvantage of being cut off from his source of
easy money, Roger gave in, growling. So when the train drew into
Indian Creek that afternoon there were three people who got down from
it.




CHAPTER II


Indian Creek stood lonely and isolated in the flat, treeless,