boy?" said Norton. "My new boss?" He grinned,
evidently willing to go more than half way in forming a friendship with
his "new boss". "I don't reckon that you're much stuck on this here
country--much as you've seen of it?"

"I've been used to keeping busy," laughed Hollis, "and my impression is
that it seems rather dull out here."

Norton's eyelashes flickered. He deliberately closed one eye at the
judge, carefully averting his face so that Hollis could not see.

"So you're lookin' for action?" he said to Hollis in a grave voice.
"Mebbe it ain't none of my business," he added, his eyes gleaming, "but
I'm askin' you if you're thinkin' to stay in this country--keepin' your
dad's ranch an' his newspaper?"

Hollis nodded. Norton's eyes gleamed with a savage delight. "Bully!" he
declared. "If you stay here you'll get plenty of action. I was afraid
you wouldn't stay." He turned to Judge Graney, a grin of satisfaction on
his face. "I'm tellin' you somethin' that will tickle you a heap," he
said. "I told you that I had stopped in Red Egger's saloon. I did.
Dunlavey's bunch was feelin' mighty sore over somethin'. I stayed there
a while, tryin' to find out what it was all about, but there wasn't none
of them sayin' anything to me. But pretty soon I got Red over into a
corner an' he told me. Accordin' to him Dunlavey had corraled that
Hazelton girl outside an' was tellin' her somethin' pretty strong when a
tenderfoot, which hadn't any regard for Dunlavey's delicate feelin's, up
an' lambasted him in the jaw!"

"Struck him?" queried the judge, grinning delightedly.

"Knocked him cold," affirmed Norton, his eyes dancing. "Pasted him so
hard that he thought it was night an' went to sleep. Then Yuma busted in
an' thought to work his guns. He got his'n, too. That there tenderfoot
didn't have no respect for guns. Red says he never thought any man could
hit so hard. It must have been sumptuous!" He laughed delightedly. "I'd
like to shake hands with that tenderfoot--he's my friend!"

Hollis pulled out a cigar case, selected a cigar, lighted it, and smoked
in silence.

So her name was Hazelton. Admiration over the manner in which she had
held the men at bay before Dunlavey got to his feet still lingered; she
had impressed him deeply. But a deeper satisfaction overshadowed his
thoughts of the girl, for he had slugged Dunlavey, his father's enemy.
His satisfaction grew to amusement. Did Dunlavey know who had slugged
him? He must have