tleman John the right sort of hombre?" he drawled.

"Why, I guess so," said Red in surprise. "He's one o' the biggest
cattlemen in three States."

The Texan was silent for a moment, then he smiled.

"Wheah are yo' headed fo' now?" he asked.

"Why, we're on the trail of the stolen herd," Red replied, "and we
intend to stop at the sod house and tell my brother, Joe, what's
happened--that is, if he don't already know. Maybe he's had trouble,
himself."

"If we find any of that Blacksnake gang, we'll fight," Lefty Warren
spoke up. "The odds are mighty bad against us, but they got one o' the
best punchers in the valley when they drilled Sam Whiteman."

"I'm interested," Kid Wolf told them. "Do yo' mind if I throw in with
yo'?"

"Do we mind?" repeated Red joyously. "Say, it would shore be great!
And--well, Joe and I will try and make it right with yuh."

"Nevah mind that," the Texan murmured. "Just considah yo' troubles
mine, too. And I'm downright curious to know what's happened to yo'
steers. Let's go!" He whistled for Blizzard.

For several hours the quartet of horsemen pressed southward, following
the trail left by the stolen beef herd. The four quickly became
friends. Kid Wolf liked them all from the first, and the Diamond D men
were overjoyed to have him enlisted in their cause. He learned that
Red Morton and his older brother, Joe, had worked hard to make the
Diamond D a success. The ranch had been left them by their father a
few years before, heavily burdened with debt. Now, until the
catastrophe of the day before, they were at the point of clearing it.
Evidently the brothers did not know of Gentleman John's criminal
methods, and the Texan said nothing. He was waiting for better proof.

"The ranch is in Joe's name," said Red proudly, "but we're partners.
He could sell it to Gentleman John, all right, without my consent, but
he wouldn't. I'm not quite twenty-one, but I'm a man, and Joe knows
it."

"Will yo' have to sell the Diamond D now?" the Texan asked.

"I hope not. Joe and two riders still have the south herd--at least,
they have if nothin's happened. It might pull us through. Eight
hundred head."

After a time, they swung off the trail they had been following, in
order to reach the sod house. Here Red expected to find his brother
and the other two Diamond D riders.

"With them, that'll make seven of us," young Morton said. "Then we can
show that Blacksnake gang a fight that i