u any good, I'll
look inside and see."

Van Horn sarcastically demurred: "Don't take the trouble, don't take
the trouble, Jim."

"Still he might be there," urged Lefever, "in the way I say--he
might've walked in since you went into the hills--what? No objection
to my looking in there, is there, Jim?"

"No man can search my cabin," snapped Laramie. "Have you got a warrant
for Abe Hawk?" He threw the question sharply at Lefever.

With Lefever's disclaimer, Doubleday interposed a savage rejoinder: "A
rope'll fit Abe's neck better than a warrant."

Laramie eyed the old cattleman unmoved: "And you're here to get me to
help you slip the noose, are you?"

"We're here to clean out these cattle thieves," stormed Doubleday.

"There are no cattle thieves here," retorted Laramie undisturbed.
"You're wasting the time you'll need on your job. Move on!"

Even Van Horn was taken aback by the rude command; he pulled his horse
around: "Look here, Jim; let me talk to you a minute alone."

Laramie, guiding his horse with his heels, followed Van Horn twenty
feet away and listened: "Jim, I'm leading this bunch, and whatever
troubles you've had with Barb and his friends, now's the time to fix
'em up. They'll give you the best of it. If you've got any line on
where Hawk is, say so and it puts you with us; say nothing, and you're
against us."

Laramie eyed him without a quiver: "I'm against you, Harry."

Van Horn did not give up. He talked again, and talked hard. It was
useless. Doubleday rode over to where Van Horn held Laramie in deadly
earnest conference. Van Horn, ready to quit, gladly let the older man
take over the case. But Doubleday made no better success. Laramie
could not be moved. If coaxed, he was obstinate; if threatened,
impatient--contemptuous. Doubleday, when Laramie coldly refused even
to answer his questions concerning Hawk, boiled over.

He moved his horse a step and opened his vials of wrath: "Laramie,
you've turned down the last chance decent folks on the range'll ever
try to hand you--the last chance you'll ever see to pull away from
these Falling Wall thieves. Now," he exclaimed, raising his right hand
and arm with a bitter imprecation, "we'll show you who's going to run
the Sleepy Cat range. I'll drive you out of this country if it takes
every cowboy I can hire and every dollar I've got. This country won't
hold you and me after today. D'ye hear?" he shouted, almost bending
with his huge f