her glance or her manner one
hundredth of a degree. The more harmless these people, the more
ridiculous she had made herself appear.

The chuckly one grinned and removed his soft gray hat, held it against
his generous equator, and bowed so low as to set him puffing a little
afterward. His eyes, however, appraised her shrewdly.

"Omitting all superfluous chatter, as you suggest, I am Robert Grant
Burns, of the Great Western Film Company. These men are also members
of that company. We are here for the purpose of making Western
pictures, and this little bit of unlawful branding of stock which you
were flattering enough to mistake for the real thing, is merely a scene
which we were making." He was about to indulge in what he would have
termed a little "kidding" of the girl, but wisely refrained after
another shrewd reading of her face.

Jean looked at the three men, who had taken it for granted that they
might leave their intimate study of the clay bank and were coming
toward her. She looked at the gun she had picked up from the
ground,--being loaded with blank cartridges was what had made it look
so queer!--and at Robert Grant Burns of the Great Western Film Company,
who had put on his hat again and was studying her the way he was wont
to study applicants for a position in his company.

"Did you get permission to haze our cattle around like this?" she asked
abruptly, to hide how humiliated she really felt.

"Why--no. Just for a few scenes, I did not consider it necessary."
Plainly, the chuckly Mr. Burns was taken at a disadvantage.

"But it is necessary. Don't make the mistake, Mr. Burns, of thinking
this country and all it contains is at the disposal of any chance
stranger, just because we do not keep it under lock and key. You are
making rather free with another man's personal property, when you use
my uncle's cattle for your rustling scenes."

"Your uncle? Well, I shall be very glad to make some arrangement with
your uncle, if that is customary."

"Why the doubt? Are you in the habit of walking into a man's house,
for instance, and using his kitchen to make pictures without
permission? Has it been your custom to lead a man's horses out of his
stable whenever you chose, and use them for race pictures?"

"No, no--nothing like that. Sorry to have infringed upon your
property-rights, I am sure." Mr. Burns did not sound so chuckly now;
but that may have been because the three picture-rustlers were quit