om Jumpoff and had cut across country because he was late. There was
a moon, and he had seen a man riding across an open space between the
creek and the willows. The man had gone in among the willows. The AJ
man had not thought much about it, though he did wonder a little, too.
It was late for a man to be riding around on the range.

When he reached the place, he saw a man ride out of the brush farther
along, into clear moonlight. It was Tom Lorrigan; yes, he was sure of
that. He knew the horse that Tom was riding. It was a big, shiny black
that always carried its head up; a high-stepping horse that a man
could recognize anywhere. No, he didn't know of any other horse in the
country just like it. He admitted that if he hadn't been sure of the
horse he would not have been sure it was Tom. He did not think Tom saw
him at all. He was riding along next the bank, in the shadow. He had
gone on home, and the next day he heard that Scotty Douglas claimed
the Lorrigans had rustled a yearling from him.

Later, Tom's lawyer asked him why he had not spoken to Tom. The AJ man
replied that he didn't know--he wasn't very close; not close enough
for talking unless he hollered.

That was all very well, and Black Rim perked its ears, thinking that
the case looked bad for Tom. Very bad indeed.

But Tom's lawyer proved very adroitly that the AJ man had not been in
Jumpoff at the time he claimed. He had been with his own outfit, and
if he had ridden past Squaw Butte that night he must have gone out
from the ranch and come back again. Which led very naturally to the
question, Why?

On the other hand, why had Tom Lorrigan ridden to Squaw Butte that
night? He himself explained that later on. He said that he had gone
over to see if there was any hide in the willows as Douglas had
claimed. He had not found any.

Thus two men admitted having been in the neighborhood of the stolen
hide on that night. Tom's lawyer was quick to seize the coincidence,
and make the most of it. Why, he asked mildly, might not the AJ outfit
have stolen the yearling? What was the AJ man doing there? Why not
suspect him of having placed the hide in the crevice where it had
later been found? That night the hide had been removed from the
willows where Douglas had first discovered it. Douglas had gone back
the next day after it, and it had been missing. It was not until
several days later that he had found it in the crevice. Why assume
that Tom Lorrigan had removed it