ills and stopped Blue, while she stared moodily at the
familiar, shadow-splotched expanse of high-piled ridges, with deep
green valleys and deeper-hued canyons between. She loved them, every
one; but to-day they failed to steep her senses in that deep content
with life which only the great outdoors can give to one who has learned
how satisfying is the draught and how soothing.

Far over to the eastward a black dot moved up a green slope and slid
out of sight beyond. That might be Ward, taking a short-cut across the
hill to his claim beyond the pine-dotted ridge that looked purple in
the distance. Billy Louise sighed with a vague disquiet and turned to
look away to the north, where the jumble of high hills grew more
rugged, with the valleys narrower and deeper.

Here came two other dots, larger and more clearly defined as horsemen.
From mere objects that stood higher than any animal and moved with a
purposeful directness, they presently became men who rode with the easy
swing of habit which has become a second nature. They must have seen
her sitting still upon her horse in the midst of that high, sunny
plateau, for they turned and rode up the slope toward her.

Billy Louise waited, too depressed to wonder greatly who they were.
Seabeck riders, probably; and so they proved. At least one of them was
a Seabeck man--Floyd Carson, who had talked with her at her own gate
and had told her of the suspected cattle-stealing. The other man was a
stranger whom Floyd introduced as Mr. Birken.

They had been "prowling around," according to Floyd, trying to see what
they could see. Floyd was one of these round-faced, round-eyed, young
fellows who does not believe much in secrecy and therefore talks freely
whenever and wherever he dares. He said that Seabeck had turned them
loose to keep cases and see if they couldn't pick up the trail of these
rustlers who were trying to get rich off a running iron and a long
rope. (If you are of the West, you know what that means; and if you
are not, you ought to guess that it means stealing cattle and let it go
at that.) It was not until he had talked for ten minutes or so that
Billy Louise became more than mildly interested in the conversation.

"Say, Miss MacDonald," Floyd asked, by way of beginning a new
paragraph, "how about that fellow over on Mill Creek? He worked for
you folks a year or so ago, didn't he? What does he do?"

"He has a ranch," said Billy Louise with careful calm