He caught sight of my pony grazing, and
hunted cover real prompt."
"Then it might have been another man singing in the thicket."
"It might, but it wasn't. Y'u see, I'd followed him through the
bush by his song, and he showed up the moment I expected him."
"Still there might have been another man there singing."
"One chance in a million," he conceded.
A sudden hope flamed up like tow in her heart. Perhaps, after
all, Ned Bannister was not the leader of the outlaws. Perhaps
somebody else was masquerading in his name, using Bannister's
unpopularity as a shield to cover his iniquities. Still, this was
an unlikely hypothesis, she had to admit. For why should he allow
his good name to be dragged in the dust without any effort to
save it? On a sudden impulse the girl confided her doubt to
McWilliams.
"You don't suppose there can be any mistake, do you? Somehow I
can't think him as bad as they say. He looks awfully reckless,
but one feels one could trust his face."
"Same here," agreed the new foreman. "First off when I saw him my
think was, 'I'd like to have that man backing my play when I'm
sitting in the game with Old Man Hard Luck reaching out for my
blue chips.
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