Turley strode purposely from the bunkhouse to the ranch office.
“Yes, Turley, what is it?” Houser asked, looking up from something he was writing.
“It’s about these new hands you have hired,” Turley said.
“What about them?”
“Well, they have moved into the bunkhouse and they are taking over the place, layin’ claim to bunks that some of the others already have. And to be honest with you, Mr. Houser, I don’ know why you hired ’em in the first place. I can’t see as we need any more riders.”
“Are you trying to tell me how to run my ranch, Turley?”
“What? No, sir, I ain’t tryin’ to do nothin’ like that. It’s just that, well, if them new hands is goin’ to be here, they need to know that I’m in charge.”
“You aren’t in charge of them,” Houser said.
“You mean they’re like Knox, Malcolm, and Dobbins?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes, that would be a good comparison.”
“So they’ll be working for Knox.”
“No, my brother will be in charge of Knox, Malcolm, and Dobbins, as well as the men who just arrived with him.”
“Your brother?”
“Mr. Shamrock is my brother. Incidentally, Mr. Turley, while you will continue to be in charge of the ranch hands, my brother will have superiority over you.”
“What? Mr. Houser, I can see maybe him bein’ in charge of all these new men, especially if they ain’t goin’ to be cowboys. But why are you puttin’ ’im in charge of me? You didn’t even put Knox in charge of me.”
“Are you troubled by that, Mr. Turley?”
Turley was quiet for a moment, before he answered. “No, sir, I reckon it don’t trouble me none.”
“Very good. Make some arrangement for the men who were displaced by the arrival of Mr. Shamrock and the others, would you?”
“Yes, sir, I will.
“Very good. Is there anything else?”
“No sir.”
* * *
Later that day Houser went into town, and when he stepped into Fiddler’s Green he saw Duff, Elmer, and Wang standing at the bar, talking with Biff Johnson.
Houser glared at Wang, but said nothing to him.
“Good afternoon, Captain MacCallister,” Houser said.
“Mr. Houser,” Duff replied.
“Has your Celestial performed any more tricks lately?”
“Wang is nae ‘my’ celestial,” Duff replied. “He is my friend, and my employee.”
“I will grant you this, he is a man of most unusual athleticism,” Houser said. He looked at Wang and nodded. “Mr. Wang, my apologies, sir, not only for questioning you, but also I apologize for the loutish behavior of my men. They had no right to do such a thing, and I have chastised them for it.”
Wang returned the nod, without comment.
“Elmer, Wang, and I are about to go down to Lee Fong’s Restaurant for Chinese food,” Duff said. “Why don’t you join us?”
“Very well, I will. Thank you for the invitation.”
* * *
Lee Fong’s restaurant was a relatively small building set between the Chinese laundry and an apothecary. It was painted in red and gold, and it had two waitresses, who wore the traditional cheongsam.
The young woman greeted them, holding her hands together, prayerlike, smiling broadly, and dipping her head toward Wang Chow.
Wang Chow mimicked her hand position and returning the abbreviated bow.
“What was all that?” Houser asked.
“This pretty thing is named Mai Lin, and she’s sweet on Wang. She just greeted him and he returned the greeting,” Elmer said.
Elmer smiled at the waitress and addressed her in her native tongue.
“My word! You speak Chinese?” Houser asked, shocked to hear the words coming from Elmer, a man for whom he had very little respect.
“I was a sailor man for a while,” Elmer said. “I was in China a few times and picked up some of the lingo. And Wang has helped me. I asked if she had anything good to eat today, but it was just to show off. The food here is always good.”
“I will defer, and let you two gentlemen order for me,” Houser said.
When the meal was delivered, Duff, Elmer, and of course Wang, ate with chopsticks. Houser didn’t even try.
“Captain MacCallister, I would like to get your opinion about the pervasive cattle rustling that is going on in the valley,” Houser said.
“Pervasive cattle rustling?”
“Yes. Surely, you are aware of that, aren’t you? I have lost, just within the last month, nearly two hundred head. That is no insignificant loss.”
“That is news to me, Mr. Houser, for I’ve lost nae cattle to thieves.”
“Hmm, it makes one question how it is that Sky Meadow, of all the ranches in the valley, is the only one that has not been hit by cattle rustlers.”
“My closest neighbor would be The Queen Ranch, ’n I’m quite positive that Percy Gaines has nae been visited by cattle thieves.”
“Percy Gaines? He’s one of the smaller ranchers, isn’t he?”
“Aye. Sometimes he works for me, but he is building his own ranch.”
“Yes, well, that is my point. I am convinced that most of our losses are directly attributable to the small ranchers’ perfidious raids against the ranches of their larger neighbors. Are you sure that this man Gaines isn’t enlarging his own spread with some of your cattle?”
“Aye, that he is, but ’tis some cattle I gave him to help with the start. And, ’twas not too long ago that he brought in three cows wearin’ the Sky Meadow brand, that he had collected while rounding up his own.”
“Actually, I suppose you are somewhat protected, seeing as you are raising Angus while the rest of us are raising Herefords. It would be very difficult for Gaines, or any of the other small ranchers, to run your cattle in with their own.”
“You forget, I gave some of m’ own cattle to Percy for him to start, so ’tis Angus that he is raising. Young Percy Gaines is a good man.”
“To you, maybe,” Houser said with a growl. “But I am now keeping a very close eye on my own livestock. As I said, I have lost a considerable number of cows, just since I arrived here. And of
