“I got the notification, yes, but it was not, nor could it have been, an official assembly. As I am the chairman, Mr. MacCallister, only I have the authority to convene meetings of the Chugwater Chapter of the Laramie County Cattlemen’s Association.”
It did not escape anyone’s attention that Houser had dropped the title Captain when he addressed Duff.
“Aye, Mr. Houser, you are quite correct, ’twas not an official invitation, because as you have pointed out, only you can issue an official invitation to a meeting of the Chugwater Chapter. Also, as ye can see, many of the wee ranchers are present at this meeting, and as you have specifically prohibited them from participating in the Chugwater Chapter, then ’twould have been futile for me to ask you to convene a meeting. Therefore, this is merely a friendly gathering of neighbors, for to discuss events that affect every rancher in the valley, be they large or small. So my invitation was not official, you see.”
“What good will it do? You can come up with no policy that will hold the weight of authorization by either the Chugwater Chapter, or the association as a whole,” Houser complained.
“Aye, ’tis true, that we can only discuss the problem and perhaps make a few suggestions for anything that might require an official sanction by the Chugwater Chapter. The rest, we will come up with our own solutions.”
“What do you mean, for the rest? You’ll have no authority for the rest.”
“Well, now, that’s where ye may be wrong, Mr. Houser. You see, I plan to make any such suggestions as may be dealt with by the county constabulary to Sheriff Sharpie. He will have the authority to deal with it, personally, or to appoint deputies, to handle such problems as we may point out to him.”
“You forget that we already have gubernatorial appointments for deputies whose authority supersedes any authority that any county official has,” Houser said.
“Well, we’ll just have to work along parallel paths, trying not to get in each other’s way,” Duff said. Again, he flashed a big smile. “Now, if you would please take your seat, Mr. Houser, we will continue with this meeting of”—he paused, then concluded the sentence with emphasis on the word—“neighors.”
Ethan Terrell held up his hand.
“Aye, Mr. Terrell?”
“When Asa ’n his wife was killed ’n their herd was all took, that was all Herefords, so it was easy enough to hide them. But when Kirk was killed while watching Percy Gaines’s ranch, Percy’s herd was all took, too, which makes a man wonder what happened to ’em. I mean, he was runnin’ Angus, just like you are. Where at would someone hide a bunch of Angus cows, unless it was with other Angus cows?”
“Well, now, that brings up a most cogent point, doesn’t it?” Houser said.
“I beg your pardon?” Duff replied.
“It is common knowledge to everyone in the valley, in fact it was pointed out to me rather quickly, that your herd is composed entirely of Angus cattle. So, too, was Mr. Gaines’s herd. Now his cattle are gone, and as Mr. Terrell has so correctly pointed out, where could you hide Angus cattle, except in another herd of Angus cattle?”
“Where indeed?” Duff replied, refusing to rise to the bait.
“Here’s somethin’ that’s puzzlin’ me,” Prosser said. “I have been running my own ranch for three years now, and never until this year have full-grown, branded cows managed to drift into my herd. Almost every other day now, there will be one or two, or sometimes a bit more, cows mixed in with my herd, but wearing brands like Twin Peaks, Pitchfork, Trail Back, and such. How do the cows get there?”
“That’s a good question, because that selfsame thing has been happening with me,” Terrell said.
“Mr. Prosser, Mr. Terrell, would you be for answering this question for me? When these cows show up, mixed in with your herds, do you ever get cattle from any of the ranches, other than the large ranches?”
“No,” Terrell said. “Now that you mention it, I’ve never gotten any of Kenny Prosser’s cattle, or any of Ed Chambers’s cows, and both their ranches are closer to mine than any of the big ranches.”
“Have any of you who have seen branded cattle show up in your herd, ever had one of the cows that belonged to anyone but one of the larger ranches?” Duff asked.
The smaller ranchers all looked at one another and discussed the issue for a moment, then Ethan Terrell answered for all of them.
“None of us have ever gained any cattle, but what it didn’t belong to one of the bigger ranches.”
“’N we’ve always took them cows back,” Spivey said.
“That is true,” Webb Dakota said. “On at least three occasions, I have had errant cattle returned.”
“There was never any of this going on when Prescott was alive,” Terrell said. “Oh sure, there might have been a long rope thrown now and again, but nothing like that is happening now. We didn’t have cows moving around from one ranch to another, we didn’t have entire herds being rustled, and we didn’t have folks being murdered.”
“You are aware, are you not, Mr. Terrell, that when you say none of this happened when Prescott owned Twin Peaks, that you are inferring that these incidents may be the result of the present owner?” Houser asked. “I think, perhaps, you are coming dangerously close to making a charge here, and if you do, bear in mind that you can be held pecuniarily responsible for libel, and I will file suit.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Houser?” Bert Rowe asked. “So far, there hasn’t been anyone make any kind of a charge against anyone. We are discussing the facts in evidence: rustling has increased, people are being murdered, and the cattle of the larger ranches, and larger ranches only, seem to be wandering off, and that is rather peculiar, wouldn’t you say so?”
“Yes, I suppose it is,” Houser agreed. “I guess I may have
