took the lantern from the hook, then carried it up the aisle toward the entrance. When he reached the doors, he blew out the flame and replaced the lantern where he had found it.
'Wait just a damn minute!' Seth put a hand on Longarm's shoulder to stop him when Longarm started past. 'You didn't tell me what Miss Kinsman was doing out here.'
'If it's any of your business, she was doing the same thing I was--checking on her horse. Now I'll thank you to let me by.' Longarm was tired, and he didn't bother trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice now.
Seth moved his hand and stepped back, but he managed to display some bravado as he said, 'You better not cross me, mister. I may have to work with you, but I don't have to like YOU.'
'Feeling's mutual,' said Longarm. He took a cheroot from his vest pocket, put it in his mouth, and strode off before Seth could say anything else. As he walked, he scratched another lucifer into life and lit the cheroot, drawing deeply on it.
Had Molly known that Seth was headed toward the barn when she made her play for him? Longarm wondered. Could be she was just using him to make Seth jealous, despite all the things she had said about not liking the young cowboy. And even though Seth seemed to consider her some sort of pest, Longarm had already guessed the boy was more than half in love with her. This was just the sort of game a couple of feisty kids who were really attracted to each other might play.
He just shook his head, feeling old, and walked on toward the bunkhouse.
CHAPTER 5
Longarm hadn't forgotten how early cowboys got up. Joe Traywick rousted the hands out of their bunks the next morning when the sky was barely turning gray in the east. Longarm rose with the rest of them, trying not to groan. After this, he vowed, he would never again complain about Billy Vail wanting him to show up at the Federal Building in Denver by nine o'clock in the morning. He knew, of course, that he would break that vow about the second morning back from this assignment.
Molly didn't put in an appearance at breakfast, which came as no surprise. Longarm hadn't expected to see her at the table. Seth Thomas was there, though, still glaring at him. Longarm ignored the young man and listened as Traywick handed out the day's chores.
'Custis, you'll be with me today,' concluded the foreman. 'I'll see that you get the lay of the land.'
Longarm nodded. 'Fine by me.'
The Arbuckle's was black and strong, and the Chinese cook piled up the flapjacks and bacon and scrambled eggs on each man's plate. Longarm ate heartily, and when he was finished, he felt considerably more alert and ready for the day that was stretching out in front of him. He went out to the barn with the other hands to saddle his horse, enjoying the cool morning air as he walked from the ranch house.
He had told Aurora Mcentire and Jared Flint that he would try to get back to the lumber camp today to let them know what, if anything, he had found out. That might not be possible after all, since it was likely he would be riding with Joe Traywick all day. But Longarm was working his way in here at the Diamond K so well that he didn't want to risk ruining things. Aurora and Flint would just have to wait.
The night before, Longarm had listened carefully to the talk going on around him in the bunkhouse. He had thought that one of the cowboys might let something slip about making trouble for the Mcentire lumber operation, but that hadn't proven to be the case. The conversation had been the usual mixture of jokes and boasts and jeers common to any gathering of cowhands. Clearly, if someone on the Diamond K was responsible for the timber company's problems, it was going to take longer to root him out.
Longarm didn't mind having the opportunity to tour the ranch with Traywick. Any time he was working, he liked to familiarize himself with the terrain. He had been to the western slopes of the Cascade range before, but not for a while and not this particular stretch of country.
Traywick proved to be a good companion too, an easy talker but not so long-winded about anything that he tired out a fella's ears. Longarm was the most interested when the foreman pointed out the boundaries of Diamond K range.
'That's all government land up there,' said Traywick, waving a hand toward the upper slopes as he and Longarm reined in high on the shoulder of the mountain. 'That Mcentire woman has got a timber lease on it.' His voice sounded like he had a bad taste in his mouth.
Longarm crossed his hands on the saddlehorn and leaned forward to ease his muscles. 'How far north does their lease run?' he asked casually.
Traywick snorted. 'Damned if I know--or care. It runs out somewhere, though, because there's another outfit loggin' those slopes over yonder. Belongs to a fella named Callahan.'
Longarm filed that nugget of information away. He doubted that it would ever prove useful, but he wanted to remain in the habit of taking note of things.
He and Traywick continued their loop, which would eventually take them back to the ranch headquarters. The Chinese cook had packed lunches for them--fried chicken legs left over from the night before, biscuits, and a little jar of marmalade that made Longarm lick his lips in delight when they stopped to eat at midday. They arrived back at headquarters late in the afternoon. Most of the other hands were still out on the range, including Seth Thomas, so Longarm didn't have to contend with the proddy kid for a change.
Molly was standing at one of the corral fences, however, a booted foot propped on the bottom rail as she watched a couple of cowboys trying to gentle some half-wild horses. She was wearing jeans and a man's shirt again, and Longarm admired the way the clothes showed off her breasts and backside. She glanced over her shoulder and caught him looking at her, and he felt unaccountably foolish. She had a way of keeping him off balance, and that was unusual.
He led his horse into the barn, following Traywick, and commented, 'The boss's daughter seems like a pretty high-spirited filly.'
'That she is,' agreed Traywick. 'She didn't much want Matt sendin' her off to school like that after her mama passed on, but he wouldn't be talked out of it. Said that with Alice gone, the ranch was no place for a young girl. I expect he was right... but it was still hard on Molly.'
The foreman shot a warning glance at Longarm. 'I wouldn't take it kindly if anybody was to ever hurt that gal.'
