leaving, that segundo of the
buyers arrived and tried to stir up a little trouble. We all sat down
on him rather hard, and as I left he and the Texas foreman were holding
quite a big pow-wow."

"That's Tolleston all right," said old man Don, "and you can depend on
him stirring up a muss if there's any show. It's a mystery to me how I
tolerated that fellow as long as I did. If some of you boys will corner
and hold him for me, I'd enjoy reading his title to him in a few plain
words. It's due him, and I want to pay everything I owe. What's the
programme, Mr. Sheriff?"

"The only safe thing to do is to get full possession of the cattle,"
replied Phillips. "My deputies are all right, but they don't thoroughly
understand the situation. Mr. Lovell, if you can lend me ten men, I'll
take charge of the herd at once and move them back down the river about
seven miles. They're entirely too near the west line of the county to
suit me, and once they're in our custody the money will be forthcoming,
or the expenses will mount up rapidly. Let's ride."

The under-sheriff turned back with us. A swell of the mesa cut off a
view of the herd, but under the leadership of the deputy we rode to
its summit, and there before and under us were both camp and cattle.
Arriving at the wagon, Phillips very politely informed the Texas foreman
that he would have to take full possession of his beeves for a few days,
or until the present difficulties were adjusted. The trail boss was
a young fellow of possibly thirty, and met the sheriff's demand with
several questions, but, on being assured that his employer's equity in
the herd would be fully protected without expense, he offered no serious
objection. It developed that Reed had some slight acquaintance with the
seller of the cattle, and lost no time in informing the trail boss
of the record of the parties with whom his employer was dealing.
The one-armed drover's language was plain, the foreman knew Reed by
reputation, and when Lovell assured the young man that he would be
welcome at any of his wagons, and would be perfectly at liberty to see
that his herd was properly cared for, he yielded without a word. My
sympathies were with the foreman, for he seemed an honest fellow, and
deliberately to take his herd from him, to my impulsive reasoning
looked like an injustice. But the sheriff and those two old cowmen were
determined, and the young fellow probably acted for the best in making a
graceful surren