The rancher's face grew purple as he listened; he took the affair as a personal insult. "Three to one?" he cried. "It's a fine thing if my men have to ask the Circle Dot's permission to ride the range. I've a mind to call the boys an' have it out with Dover an' his bullies right away."
"What would that get you?" Garstone asked.
"Somethin' I've sworn to have--the Circle Dot," Trenton replied.
"No, only a forty thousand dollar mortgage which you couldn't meet," the other returned coolly. "I don't suppose Maitland would be any more generous to you."
Trenton's bluster collapsed like a punctured balloon. "Yo're right," he said moodily.
"I usually am," Garstone agreed serenely. Modesty was not one of his weaknesses.
"If yo're worryin' over payin' my score you needn't to," Bundy growled. "I'll 'tend to that my own self--int'rest an' all."
"Touching the acquisition of the Circle Dot, we don't seem to be getting any nearer," the Easterner remarked sarcastically. "Have you made any progress?"
"Very little. Maitland might renew on the security of the two ranches, though we owe him quite a lot already, but that would only mean gettin' deeper in. No, we'll have to fall back on the plan I had in mind--to find Red Rufe's Cache."
"A tale for a tenderfoot?" the foreman fleered. "If that's our on'y hope, we can wish the Circle Dot a fond fare-youwell as' no error."
The rancher's face stiffened. "The thrashin' seems to have destroyed yore manners as well as beauty, Bundy," he said coldly. "You can go."
Like a scolded dog the man came to heel instantly. "Sorry, Boss, I was disappointed," he pleaded. "If there'd bin any-thin' in that yarn, the Cache would 'a' come to light by this; plenty has searched for it."
"True, but the Cloudy country is large and terribly difficult; unless one knew just where to look, findin' the proverbial needle in a haystack would be child's play in comparison."
"And you have this information?" Garstone asked eagerly. "Not quite, or I should have made use of it before now," Trenton replied. "This is how the matter stands: Red Rufe was Dave Dover's elder brother. He left Rainbow, went further West, an' made a fortune and reputation as a gambler. Report has it that he sent a letter to Dave, statin' that he had hidden his wealth, an' givin' the approximate location--said to be in the Cloudy Hills. A second message was to follow with instructions for findin' the exact spot. This one miscarried, an', quite by chance, came into my hands."
"So that's why Flint and Rattray visited the Circle Dot?" Garstone said.
"Certainly. I hoped they would find the first letter. Flint was on the track of it when he made a fool of himself an' got fired."
"Then you are not sure it is concealed in the Cloudy Hills?"
"No, but the fellow who fetched the first letter said Rufe handed it to him there; that's all anyone knows except--Dover."
Garstone made a gesture of impatience. "That means our knowledge is useless," he said irritably.
"yore wits don't seem to be workin' this afternoon, Ches," Trenton returned equably. "Listen: the Circle Dot needs money even more than we do; what do you suppose they will do?"
"Try to find the Cache, possibly."
"Certainly, 1 should say, an' in doin' so will give us the information we now lack," the rancher said triumphantly. "I'm havin' a watch kept on their movements, an' when they start, we'll follow. Once we know the locality, we have the advantage of being able to go straight to the hidin'-place while they are gropin' in the dark."
"That's a great scheme, Boss," Bundy complimented, his damaged features contorted in a painful grin. "If we can collect the pot, we'll have Dover an' his crowd yappin' for mercy--an' not gettin' it."
"It's undoubtedly a fine chance," Garstone admitted, and he was looking at the foreman when he spoke. "Any idea what the Cache consists of?"
"No one knows," Trenton replied. "Gold, in coin or dust, possibly paper too."
"What became of this Rufe person?"
"Vanished after the second message. Went back to his cardsharpin', I expect, an' got wiped out. He was a big fellow, very upright--his back was the only straight thing about him. He had red hair, like all the Devers, an' a fiend of a temper, the sort of man to make more foes than friends."
"We oughta be ready to set out on the word," Bundy put in. "How many will you want?"
"We three, with Flint, Rattray, an' another should be sufficient. We'll need plenty of supplies, an' a small tent for my niece."
"Takin' her?" Bundy asked in surprise. "It ain't a job for a dame."
"Nonsense," the rancher said. "Just a little trip into the mountains; she'll enjoy it. We shall avoid trouble, an' probably not encounter the other party at all."
The foreman was not satisfied, but Garstone did not support him, and after the earlier rebuff he was taking no more risks; this thing was too good to miss.
Garstone had not objected because the presence of Miss Trenton fitted in with his plans, already partly formed, but which were now beginning to expand more widely than either of his companions suspected, even Bundy, who was having thoughts of his own.
That same evening, at the Circle Dot, a very similar conversation was taking place. Dan, who had been to Rainbow earlier in the day, broached the subject.
"I had a talk with Maitland an' there ain't any possibility o' the bank givin' us an extension," he began. "Told me his people wouldn't hear of it, an' that--as a business man--he agreed with 'em. So that's that."
"An' there's no other way o' raisin' the wind?" Burke asked. "On'y one," the rancher replied. "We gotta find the Cache." The foreman's face was anything but optimistic. "It's one hell of a chance," he muttered.
"Bill, if yu were in a poker game, with the cards runnin' badly, an' had just one stake left, what would yu do?" Sudden said.
"Bet it, o' course," was the prompt reply.
"Shore yu would," the other grinned. "Well, that's our position. So what?"
"I ain't baulkin', Jim," the foreman returned. "I've bin up agin the iron before. Whatever Dan sez, goes, with me."
"I know that, ol'-timer," Dover said. "An' because I do, I'm goin' to ask a favour: I want you to stay here an' look after the ranch; I'll feel easier in my mind with you in charge."
Burke made a brave effort to conceal his disappointment; he would have dearly loved to make one of the search party, but he recognized that his employer was right--it would be more than unwise for both of them to be absent; the Wagon-wheel might seize the opportunity to try something.
"Very well, Dan," he agreed. "Who you takin'?"
"No call for a crowd," Dan told him. "I figure that myself, Jim, Tiny, Blister, an' Hunch oughta be plenty.""Hunch?" Bill said in surprise.
"Yeah, he knows the Cloudy district probably better than anybody around here, is a good woodsman, an' can cook an' make camp. We might take Yorky along to help--just as well for him to be outa the way till Bundy's bruises lose some o' their sting."
"When do you aim to start?"
"Soon as we can arrange things," Dan replied. "We'll want some stores, which I'll get in town to-morrow."
"An, no one must know a word about it, not even the rest o' the outfit," Sudden supplemented. "Also, we'll slide out in the middle o' the night."
The other two looked at him in astonishment. "What's on yore mind, Jim?" Dan questioned.
"Just this: the possessor o' the second part o' the directions don't know where to begin searchin', but he's on'y gotta trail us to find out."
"Holy Moses, he's right, Bill," the rancher cried. "We're a couple o' sheep-heads. Trenton may have this place picketed, an' be waitin' for us to move."
"We'll try to keep him waitin'," Burke grinned. "How long d'you expect to be away?"