The Trail to Yesterday

aining the smooth, sleek manner which he had brought with him from the East, David Dowd Langford sat in a big rocking chair on

een a thorn in your side?"

as been and still is. And now I'm willing him to you. I don'

umbs, his lips curving with an ironic smile, "I suppose I ought to feel extremely grateful to you-especiall

Doubler to yo

ust the same," he said. "As a usual thing it i

returned Duncan. "He don't seem to be influe

every

es

e l

ction, and he took up a quarter section. The only difference between us is that I own mine-or did own it until you bought it-and he ain't proved on his. He is on the other sid

y, "equal yours-or mine. That is," he added

o," agree

rofits of the Double

n that's

me the Double R," continued Lan

ble face of the new owner. "I reckon I

," remarked Langford

e Double R?" There was a slight sneer in his voice as he looked at Langford. "You've never been stung before, eh? Well, there's always

ow Doubler's presence on the Two Forks to affect the profits of the Double R. Pe

when he should discover that the value of his property was impaired by the presence of a nest

er being there is bad business. But how a

oked obliquely at Duncan, dr

d everything

at he had dropped the mask of sleek smoothness behind which he concealed his passions. Even now the significance wa

," he said, smiling craftily. "Some men are mighty

a steady gaze, which the latt

ication of certain methods which are not always agreeable to the opposition." He took another sly glance at Duncan. "There o

f my string and hadn't any more things to try. That's why I decided to sell. I wanted to get a

ry of the nester, and he remembered a time when Doubler had seen through one of his schemes to fasten the crime of rustling on him and had called him to account, and the recollection of what had happened at the interview between them was not pleasant. He had not bothered Doubler si

oubler had long been suspected of rustling; that the men of the Double R had never been able to ca

n unsuccessful in ousting him because of the fact that since Doubler controlled the land he also controlled the water rights of the river adjoining it. The Two Forks was the only spot which could be used by thirsty cattle in the vicinity, for the river at other

at there is no possibility of you succeeding in reaching a satisfactory agreement with Doubler, and therefor

situation which now confronted him was nothing more or less than business. Of course it was not the business to which he had been accustomed, but it offered the opportunity for cold-blooded, merciles

was in his mind a feeling of deep resentment against the former owner; he felt that he could no longer trust him, but for the sake of learning all the details of the new business he felt that he would have to make the be

ng a deep breath. "I was rather afraid at first that I would find i

mile. "You reckon on running him off, o

had been wandering from the subject. "Why, I really haven't given a thought to the method by which

can's scowl and