\"SupposePogginormemightbedetained？\"heasked。
Longstrethbentadarkglanceuponhislieutenant。
\"Younevercantellwhat’llcomeoff，\"continuedKnell。\"I’lldomybest。\"
\"TheminuteyouseePoggintellhim。Ajobonhandsteadieshim。AndIsayagain——looktoitthatnothinghappens。EitheryouorPoggincarrythejobthrough。ButIwantbothofyouinit。Breakforthehills，andwhenyougetupintherockswhereyoucanhideyourtracksheadforMountOrd。Whenall’squietagainI’lljoinyouhere。That’sall。Callintheboys。\"
LikeaswiftshadowandasnoiselessDuanestoleacrosstheleveltowardthedarkwallofrock。Everynervewasastrungwire。Foralittlewhilehismindwasclutteredandcloggedwithwhirlingthoughts，fromwhich，likeaflashingscroll，unrolledthelong，bafflingorderofaction。Thegamewasnowinhishands。HemustcrossMountOrdatnight。Thefeatwasimprobable，butitmightbedone。HemustrideintoBradford，fortymilesfromthefoothillsbeforeeighto’clocknextmorning。HemusttelegraphMacNellytobeinValVerdeonthetwenty—fifth。HemustridebacktoOrd，tointerceptKnell，facehimbedenounced，killhim，andwhiletheironwashotstrikehardtowinPoggin’shalf—woninterestashehadwhollywonFletcher’s。Failingthatlast，hemustlettheoutlawsalonetobidetheirtimeinOrd，tobefreetorideontotheirnewjobinValVerde。InthemeantimehemustplantoarrestLongstreth。Itwasamagnificentoutline，incredible，alluring，unfathomableinitsnamelesscertainty。Hefeltlikefate。Heseemedtobetheironconsequencesfallinguponthesedoomedoutlaws。