`You'll have to wait till I've sold 'em,' came the reply. `I was comin' to settle when I run into that blasted nester.' He gave his own version of the encounter, ending, `He took my money, hoss, an'--all.'
'You came back to this yer world o' sin a day too soon; by what I hear,' the other chuckled.
Bardoe's burst of profanity betrayed his soreness. `Made me a laughin'-stock,' he added. 'Camort's a blunderin' idjut. 'Bout time we had a sheriff whose head ain't full of sawdust. Drait has gotta go.'
The foreman's voice sounded indifferent. `Not ownin' the S P, I dunno as I care much.'
`Why shouldn't you own it? If you work things right, by the time they find Pavitt's kid you'll have the cash to buy, an' the ranch that poor, he'll be glad to sell.'
`Shore is an idea.'
'Skittles! Don't pretend I'm tellin' you anythin'. Count me on yore side, an' I reckon that goes for Cullin an' Vasco, none of us wants a stranger buttin' in here.'
`I'm obliged,' Gilman replied. `Well, I'll be taggin' along.'
The eavesdropper at the window took the hint and regained cover without delay. He grinned when he saw that Yorky had his rifle out. They watched the visitor depart, and then followed suit, taking a more southerly line.
`If we can find the Double V ranch-house we'll mebbe put a kink in Mister Bardoe's rope,' Sudden explained.
They covered some half-dozen miles and then the scattered cattle they encountered advised them that they were on the right range. Suddenly a horseman emerged from a clump of brush. He had a rifle across his knees, and his face, though hard and suspicious, was not aggressive. Apparently their interest in the grazing cows had aroused his curiosity.
`You fellas lookin' for anythin'?' he asked mildly.
`Why, we're kind o' searchin' for the Double V ranch-house,' Sudden replied.
`Three mile further on. If yo're wantin' Vasco, you've found him. What's yore trouble?'
`It ain't our'n, but I'll explain,' the puncher said. Getting down, he trod a bit of sand level, and with his finger drew on it the Double X brand. `Who owns that iron about here?'
`Nobody as I knows of. Why?'
`We've seen cows wearin' it,' Sudden told him. `The odd thing was that the upper half o' the brand was old, an' the lower added today.' He swept a toe over the latter, and stepped back. `Easy done' ain' it?'
The rancher swore. `Where'd you see them cattle?'
"Bout six mile o' here, bearin' north; they was mixed with some 8 B steers.'
Vasco swore again. `I'll git some o' the boys an' we'll look into this straightaway.'
Sudden hoisted himself into his saddle. 'Yo're playin' the wrong card,' he suggested. `He'll plead ignorance; you know, we could have done the blottin, for reasons of our own. No, sir, yore game is to keep cases an' catch him red-handed.'
The rancher considered this for a moment; something he had heard recurred to him; he studied the pair more closely, and suspicion grew in his eyes. `You ridin' for Drait?' he asked, and when Sudden nodded, went on. `Mebbe yo're right--I'd better hold off an' collect evidence my own self.'
`Shore,' the puncher smiled. `An' don't forget I've been tellin' yo to do that very thing. Yore friend in the scrub is gettin' impatient. What's the matter with him? Modest--or somethin'?'
The red crept up under the tan on Vasco's face; he had been ounplayed. `It's my foreman--he ain't usually careless,' he said. `Hi, Pawley!'
A tall, lean rider came out of the bushes, a somewhat sheepish expression on his craggy countenance; no man likes being caught in an undignified position. Sudden noted the long nose, high cheek-bones, and steady eyes; they told him something.
`Meet two o' the Shadow Valley boys,' Vasco said, and looked a question. Sudden supplied their names, and the foreman shook hands.
`You got a keen eye, Mister,' he complimented.
`Mostly guess-work,' Sudden replied. `I figured yore boss wouldn't tackle two armed strangers 'less he had help handy.'
`Huh! You don't know him,' Pawley grunted. `Takes too many damn chances.' Then he grinned. `We Texans do git around, don't we?'
Sudden returned the grin. `Brother, yu said it; we follow the longhorns.'
`When you've finished slammin' me an' swappin' childhood memories, Pawley, you might as well hear the news,' Vasco chimed in.
The foreman's face lengthened as he listened. `Well, we're losin' 'em--a steady leak,' he admitted. `I'd say Green has the right notion--we gotta be shore. I've allus told you, Vic, that iron o' yores is a rank temptation--Double M, Two Diamond; oh, hell it's as easy as turnin' over.'
`I put it on the first cow I ever owned,' the rancher said stubbornly.
`An' it'll go on the last if you ain't careful,' was the sardonic retort.
`Cheerful cuss, ain't he?' Vasco smiled. `Well, gents, I'm shorely obliged, an' I'll be pleased to see you any time.'
On their way home Yorky was silent for a while, and then, `Ain't you sort o' helpin' th' enemy, Jim?'
`I guess not. Look it over. If Bardoe is found to be robbin' other ranches, that's his finish. If it's owin' to us, Vasco, any- way, would be grateful; he's a straight man, if I'm any judge. Bet yu a dollar Nick'll be pleased.'
`Tiny sez betting is sinful 'less yo're certain o' winnin',' Yorky fenced. `Me, I'm aimin' to be good--this time.'
This decision was amply justified when they reported the day's happenings; Nick was patently delighted. `You done noble,' he said. Puttin' the Double V wise was one smart move, Jim, an' is goin' to help me a lot. I ain't met Vasco, but it's possible he's been misled.'
`By the way, Nick, not a whisper o' this to anyone--even Quilt,' Sudden warned. `If Bardoe gets wind of it, we're sunk.' `As you say, Jim, but I'd trust Quilt with all I got.'
`Mebbe, but a careless word could be enough for one who's waitin' to hear it. Better be safe than sorry.'
Drait nodded. `So Gilman is after the S P, an' lettin' Bull steal stock, at a price; I sorta suspicioned that. You didn't get to Cullin?'
`No, I reckoned we'd had all the luck due to us for one day.'
`He's a bad egg,' Drait went on. `The king-pin of what's wrong around here, I figure, but he's mighty careful not to show his hand.'
Chapter VI
IN an early morning drive, the cattle purchased from the S P had been brought to Shadow Valley, and by the end of the day, bearing the brand of the new owner, were turned loose; they could not get out, for the exit at the upper end had been blocked by a solid wall of stone. Drait smacked the last bawling victim of the iron on the rump as it lumbered past, and grinned at his perspiring crew.
`Good goin', boys,' he complimented. `Thanks.' And because he had himself worked as hard as any this brief approval satisfied them. Pie tonight, if them dried apple-rings came with the other stuff I ordered.'
`They shore did,' Long told him. `An' I hope Lindy had made a-plenty.'
`You should worry,' his brother said. `She allus counts you as three, anyways.'
Yelling like madmen they raced for the bunkhouse and first use of the towel. Sudden and the nester followed more soberly. `Glad that's done,' the former remarked. `But I ain't altogether easy.'
`I'm suspectin' a snag my own self,' Nick admitted.
At the bunkhouse door they parted; the uproar within told that the food was not yet on the table. At the house, Drait, having made himself presentable, went into the parlour, where his wife was awaiting him. Her smile was a surprise.
`A tiring day, but I can see, a satisfactory one,' she said.
`I'll have to be careful,' he replied. `A face that tells tales is a considerable drawback in these parts. Brandin' is hard work, but when it's yore own beasts it lightens the job. I've got a hundred head carryin' my iron, an' that's a good foundation for a herd' He lifted his shoulders.