nowles, and this receipt proves it on him,"
broke in the puncher. "Ain't you taken him into your employ?--ain't
you treated him like he was a man?"

"Well, 'tisn't every busted millionaire would have asked for work, and
he seems to mean it."

"Just a bluff! You don't savvy the game yet. Busted millionaire--_bah!_
He's the coyote of that bunch of reclamation wolves. He comes out here
to sneak around and get the lay of things. We happen to catch him
rustling. To save his cussed carcass, he lets out about who his dad
is. Course he couldn't know we'd got all the reports on that Zariba
Dam and who backed the engineer, nor that we'd know all about Blake."

"Well?" asked Knowles, frowning.

"So he works us for suckers,--worms in here with us where he can learn
all about you and your holdings; ropes a job with you, and gets off
his report to that engineer Blake, first time he rides over to town."

"Is that all your argument?" asked Knowles.

"Ain't it enough?" rejoined Gowan. "Ain't he and that bunch all in
cahoots together? Ain't this sneaking cuss's dad either the partner or
the boss of Blake? Ain't Blake engaged in reclamation projects? You
shore see all that. What follows?--It's all a frame-up, I tell you.
Young Ashton comes out here as a sort of forerider for his concern;
finds out what his people want to know, and now he's sent in his
report to Blake. Next thing happens, Blake'll be turning up with a
surveying outfit."

Knowles scratched his head. "Hum-m-m--You sure put up a mighty stiff
argument, Kid. I'm not so sure, though.... Um-m-m--Strikes me some of
your knots might be tighter. First place, there wasn't any play-acting
about the way the boy went plumb to pieces there at the waterhole.
Next place, a man like his father, that's piled up a mint of money,
isn't going to send out his son as forerider in a hostile country.
Lastly, I've read a lot more about that engineer Blake than you have,
and I've sized him up as a man who won't do anything that isn't square
and open."

"Maybe he ain't in on the dirty side of the deal," admitted Gowan.
"How about this letter, though?"

"Just a friendly writing, like as not," answered the cowman. "No,
Kid--only trouble with you is you're too anxious over the interests of
Dry Mesa range. I appreciate it, boy, and so does Chuckie. But that's
no reason for you to take every newcomer for a wolf 'til he proves
he's only a dog."

"You won't do anything?" asked the puncher.

"W