waiting.' Hat in hand, he watched the two meet, and pass up the street together. The man's face was registering disapproval when the girl reached him, but all he said was:
'Had the cowboy anything of interest to tell you?'
She divined that he was jealous, and the thought thrilled, though she had not yet troubled to analyse her own feeling regarding him. But she was young, and the admiration of a physically attractive man, who had at least a semblance of culture, could not be entirely unwelcome. Still, she had no intention of letting him suspect this, and it was in rather a distant tone that she replied:
'I was under the impression that Mister Dover owned a ranch.'
'Thinks he does, but maybe he's mistaken,' Garstone told her. 'I wasn't asking out of curiosity, Miss Trenton. The Wagon-wheel and Circle Dot are practically at war, and that fellow might have let slip information of value to us.'
'Our conversation was confined to the youngest member of his outfit--the boy they call yorky.'
'Member of his outfit--that's a good one,' Garstone sneered. 'I'd call him a bit of useless lumber.'
'Hardly that, since Mister Dover has just purchased a present as a reward for good work.'
'Dover must have wanted a pocket picked.'
'You must not speak ill of my admirers,' she said playfully.
'Why, quite recently, he rode to the Wagon-wheel just to see where I lived. There's devotion.'
'The devil he did?' Garstone said. 'When was that?'
She thought for a moment. 'Oh yes, I remember; it was the day before that amusing attempt to rob the train. How awfully sick the second party must have felt on finding they had been anticipated, but it was childish to vent their spite on poor uncle's flour.'
Garstone had little to say during the rest of the ride home, and seeing Bundy as they approached the ranch- house, made his excuses to his companion, and rode towards him. 'Any news?' he asked.
'Plenty,' the foreman frowned. 'The fella who took the stuff back to the bank was atop of a black hoss with a white blaze.'
'Green!' Garstone exploded. 'I knew it.'
'Then you might 'a' opened up an' saved me a journey,' the other said sourly.
'I didn't learn of it until a little while ago,' the big man replied, and repeated what the girl had told him. 'We heard a movement in that tree we were talking under and put it down to birds. That young sneak must have seen us coming, and hopped up there to hide. He'd take the tale back to Green, and that damned cowboy out-planned and made monkeys of us. God! I'll bet the Circle Dot riders haven't stopped laughing yet.'
'They'll have somethin' else to grin about afore I've done with 'em,' the foreman growled. 'As for Green ...' He tapped the butt of his gun. 'He's for hell.'
'The trouble is, they know who were in it,' Garstone said, rather uneasily. 'If they split to Trenton ...'
'Can't prove a thing--it's their word agin ourn,' Bundy reassured. 'As for puttin' Zeb wise, Dover wouldn't do that if he knowed the of fool was to be bumped off tomorrow. No, I ain't worryin' 'bout that; it's the pot we've bin done out of. Why'n blazes didn't I send a slug into that damned tree?'
'No use moaning over a lost opportunity; we must find another. Trenton has a scheme; perhaps that will be luckier--for us,' the Easterner said meaningly. 'How are you going to deal with Green?'
'Watch my smoke,' the foreman said.
Garstone shrugged. 'Watch your step; he doesn't look a simple proposition to me,' was his reply. 'Fie sports two guns.'
'A bluff, meanin' nothin',' Bundy sneered. 'Take it from me, the fella who can really shoot on'y needs one gun an' one shot; mos'ly there ain't time for more.'
In the front room at the Circle Dot, Yorky was clutching the Winchester and scabbard Dan had brought home and presented to him. Usually loquacious enough, his gratitude and delight in this new possession nearly deprived him of speech.
'I dunno--how ter--thank yer, Boss,' he stammered. 'I didn't do nuttin'--it was jus' blind luck, an' I ...' He bogged down completely.
'Cut the cackle, Yorky,' Dan said kindly. 'you did a-plenty, an' I'm rememberin' it. Jim'll show you how to handle the gun, an' you got all outdoors to blaze away in. Now, I'm bettin' you wanta cut along an' show the boys.'
'You win, Boss,' Yorky grinned, and made for the door. There he paused to add, 'I ain't forgettin' this--ever,' and was gone.
'I'm thinkin' that li'l of Noo York has lost a citizen,' Burke laughed.
'An' Rainbow gains one, thanks to Jim,' Dover said.
'Rubbish,' the puncher replied. 'How long d'yu s'pose afore one o' them Wagon-wheel wastrels comes a- gunnin' for me?'
'But why?' they both asked.
'I rode my own hoss into the Bend; somebody must 'a' spotted it. I needed Nigger to make shore o' gettin' there before the train; I did it easy--the country bein' less difficult than I figured.'
'It was certainly a risk, but you would have it thataway,' Dan said, so seriously that the puncher laughed.
'Shucks! Fella who never takes one, takes nothin',' he rejoined. 'Mebbe I'm wrong.'
And when a week passed without anything occurring to disturb the serenity of the Circle Dot, it began to appear so. Every morning Yorky would depart for what the outfit called his 'cure,' the cherished rifle slapping against his pony's ribs. and would be absent for hours, frightening the birds, and making life a misery for any wandering jack-rabbit or coyote so unfortunate as to come within range, to return, tired but happy, and with a capacity for food which drew from the cook the ironical suggestion that he had contracted 'Wur-r-ms.'
'Gwan, yer human gas-bag,' Yorky retorted, when the accusation was made. 'I'm a small eater.'
'Shure it's so, but ye pack away enough for wan twice the size o' ye,' Paddy told him.
When late afternoon came and brought no sign of the boy, the cook grew anxious, and went to the foreman. 'Faith, he'll not be missin' a meal willin',' he said.
Burke looked grave; it was no country for a tenderfoot to get lost in, and there was a possibility of accident. He told the cook he would send the men out again as they came in. Sudden, with Blister and Tiny were the first to arrive, and they set off at once for the pool, which yorky made the starting-point of his excursions. They found plenty of tracks, but it was impossible to tell which were the most recent.
'Spread out fan-wise, but keep within hail,' Sudden said. 'If he's hurt, whoever finds him may need help.'
The ground was fairly open, with thickets of scrub here and there, most of them too dense and thorny for anything but a tough-hided animal to penetrate. Save for a brief glance, the searchers paid them no attention; neither Yorky nor his mount would fancy their exploration. The short, dried grass showed no marks, and Sudden rode straight on, trusting to luck. It came his way, for after they had left the pool several miles behind, a horseman loped from the far side of a larger patch of brush some hundreds of yards ahead, and at the sight of the newcomer spurred his pony in an evident attempt to escape.
Sudden shouted a command to halt, but no notice being taken, he spoke a word which galvanized the black into instant action; like a living thunderbolt, the animal shot forward, the ground sliding beneath the spurning hooves and the sound of them clearly reached the fugitive. A quick backward look, an oath, and something fell from his hand. Without slackening pace, Sudden swung down sideways, one legcrooked across the saddle, secured the object, and straightened up. A glance showed him that it was Yorky's rifle. He was now only a dozen yards away from his quarry; his hand went first to his gun, then to his rope. The coils spun out, the loop settled over the shoulders of the runaway, and the black stopped as though shot. Seconds later, the snared man was plucked from his seat as by a giant hand, to be flung heavily on his back. Sudden dismounted, his face pitiless. The other two cowboys, who had heard his shout, now came up.
'Why did yu run, Bundy?' was the first question.
'Didn't wanta git shot in the back,' was the impudent reply.
'Didn't like yore own medicine, huh?' Sudden went on, and did not fail to note the flicker in the man's eyes. 'Yu came damn near gettin' a dose, would have, if I hadn't wanted some information.'
'Go ahead. Mebbe I'll give it.'
