what he ought to
be he'll be shootin' pretty soon."

"Why?" she gasped, catching at his sleeve, "why should he shoot?"

He laughed again--grimly. "Well," he returned, "if a puncher ketches a
rustler with the goods on he's got a heap of right to do some shootin'."

She shuddered. "And do you think that man among the cattle is a
rustler?" she asked.

"Wait," he advised, peering intently toward the ridge. "Why," he
continued presently, "there's another man ridin' this way. An' he's
hidin' from the other--keepin' in the gullies an' the draws so's the
first man can't see him if he looks back." He laughed softly. "It's
plum re-diculous. Here we are, able to see all that's goin' on down
there an' not able to take a hand in it. An' there's them three goin'
ahead with what they're thinkin' about, not knowin' that we're watchin'
them, an' two of them not knowin' that the third man is watchin'. I'd
call that plum re-diculous."

The first man was still riding through the break in the ridge, coming
boldly, apparently unconscious of the presence of the man among the
cattle, who was well concealed from the first man's eyes by a rocky
promontory at the corner of the break. The third man was not over an
eighth of a mile behind the first man, and riding slowly and carefully.
At the rate the first man was riding not five minutes would elapse
before he would come out into the plain full upon the point where the
man among the cattle was working at his fire.

Ferguson and Miss Radford watched the scene with interest. Plainly the
first man was intruding. Or if not, he was the rustler's confederate
and the third man was spying upon him. Miss Radford and Ferguson were
to discover the key to the situation presently.

"Do you think that man among the cattle is a rustler?" questioned Miss
Radford. In her excitement she had pressed very close to Ferguson and
was clutching his arm very tightly.

"I reckon he is," returned Ferguson. "I ain't rememberin' that any
ranch has cows that run the range unbranded; especially when the cow
has got a calf, unless that cow is a maverick, an' that ain't likely,
since she's runnin' with the Two Diamond bunch."

He leaned forward, for the man had left the fire and was running toward
the fallen cow. Once at her side the man bent over her, pressing the
hot irons against the bottoms of her hoofs. A thin wreath of smoke
curled upward; the cow struggled.

Ferguson looked at Miss Radford. "