racket, an'
he stayed with them till I come up. Then he told me some interestin'
news. You see he's been worryin' about this gang thet's rangin' around
Buffalo Park, an' he's tried to get a line on them. Somebody took a shot
at him in the woods. He couldn't swear it was one of that outfit, but he
could swear he wasn't near shot by accident. Now Lewis says these men
pack to an' fro from Elgeria, an' he has a hunch they're in cahoots with
Smith, who runs a place there. You know Smith?"

"No, I don't, an' haven't any wish to," declared Belllounds, shortly.
"He always looked shady to me. An' he's not been square with friends of
mine in Elgeria. But no one ever proved him crooked, whatever was
thought. Fer my part, I never missed a guess in my life. Men don't have
scars on their face like his fer nothin'."

"Boss, I'm confidin' what I want kept under your hat," said Wade,
quietly. "I knew Smith. He's as bad as the West makes them. I gave him
that scar.... An' when he sees me he's goin' for his gun."

"Wal, I'll be darned! Doesn't surprise me. It's a small world.... Wade,
I'll keep my mouth shut, sure. But what's your game?"

"Lewis an' I will find out if there is any connection between Smith an'
this gang of strangers--an' the occasional loss of a few head of stock."

"Ahuh! Wal, you have my good will, you bet.... Sure thar's been some
rustlin' of cattle. Not enough to make any rancher holler, an' I reckon
there never will be any more of thet in Colorado. Still, if we get the
drop on some outfit we sure ought to corral them."

"Boss, I'm tellin' you--"

"Wade, you ain't agoin' to start thet tellin' hell-bent happenin's to
come hyar at White Slides?" interrupted Belllounds, plaintively.

"No, I reckon I've no hunch like that now," responded Wade, seriously.
"But I was about to say that if Smith is in on any rustlin' of cattle
he'll be hard to catch, an' if he's caught there'll be shootin' to pay.
He's cunnin' an' has had long experience. It's not likely he'd work
openly, as he did years ago. If he's stealin' stock or buyin' an'
sellin' stock that some one steals for him, it's only on a small scale,
an' it'll be hard to trace."

"Wal, he might be deep," said Belllounds, reflectively. "But men like
thet, no matter how deep or cunnin' they are, always come to a bad end.
Jest works out natural.... Had you any grudge ag'in' Smith?"

"What I give him was for somebody else, an' was sure little enough. He's
got the grudge