he could see the track of hosses. Somebody was drivin' that
herd.

"He come in a flyin' with the report, but it was after midnight and I
didn't want to wake you up.

"But there's one thing more," he added, "that makes me dead sure. Chip
meandered in from town last night, a little the worse for wear. He'd
been celebratin' some and lookin' upon the likker when it was red, and he
was so far gone that I guess he'd have slept somewhere on the road if his
broncho hadn't had more sense than him and brought him home. He was too
soused to know his name, and he didn't need no urgin' to tumble into his
bunk and sleep it off. He's got an awful head this mornin', too, but when
he heard Buck talkin' at breakfast about what he seen, he called to mind
somethin' that one of his pals that works on the Bar Y Ranch off toward
the east told him about, when he was a boozin' with him last night.

"It seems that this feller was comin' back from a round-up to his ranch
the other day, and he saw the body of a steer, a little off to the right.
He rode over to look at it, and, lookin' close, saw that the first brand
had been burned over by another one. Of course, he knows most of the
brands in this section of the country, and after he studied it over a
spell, he knew for sure that the first brand was ours. Knew it by the
little curlicue in the top corner of the O. The second brand had been put
on kinder careless, in a hurry, as if the fellers that did it wanted to
mosey along right quick. Then, too, he could see that the steer had died
from bein' overdriven."

Mr. Melton rose and paced the floor in growing anger as he pondered the
situation.

Like all Westerners, he hated cattle rustlers only less than he hated a
horse thief. In years past he had had frequent battles with them when
they had tried to raid his stock, and the dire punishment that he
inflicted had made them willing of late to leave his ranch alone. For
several years he had had immunity and had been inclined to think that he
would be henceforth free of that particular pest. When Sandy had first
begun to speak, he had thought there might be some mistake, and that
the depletion of his stock might be traced to other causes. The last
incident, however, had furnished positive proof and it was evident that
the miscreants were due for another lesson at his hands.

"Was there any clue on that steer, outside of the changing of the brand?"
he demanded.

"No," replied Sandy, "except just