WHEN Hashknife turned back to the Double Bar 8 it was because of a single theory. He was fairly positive that Marion had not been kidn*pped by those men because they wanted her; but that they had had reasons of more importance to them than the mere capture of a young lady. Hashknife wasn’t sure just what this was, but he had a suspicion—at least, enough suspicion to send him back to the ranch, instead of heading a posse over to the breaks of Broken Canyon.
He rode his horse into the stable, unsaddled quickly, turned it into the corral, and ran to the house, where he found Nanah, bathing her head in a basin of water. He explained to her the necessity of locking the house, covering the windows, and of keeping out of sight.
Without question she obeyed him, and he went back to the stable, cl
