he word "rustler" became associated with his name,
and "caught with the goods" grew to be a phrase that told eloquently of
the manner of his death. Later it was whispered that Leviatt and
Tucson had come upon Rope behind the ridge, catching him in the act of
running off a Two Diamond calf. But as no report had been made to
Stafford by either Leviatt or Tucson, the news remained merely rumor.

Ferguson had said nothing more to any man concerning the incident. To
do so would have warned Tucson. And neither Ferguson nor Miss Radford
could have sworn to the man's guilt. In addition to this, there
lingered in Ferguson's mind a desire to play this game in his own way.
Telling the men of the outfit what he had seen would make his knowledge
common property--and in the absence of proof might cause him to appear
ridiculous.

But since the shooting he had little doubt that Leviatt had been
Tucson's companion on that day. Rope's scathing words--spoken while
Miss Radford had been trying to revive him--. "You're a hell of a
range boss," had convinced the stray-man that Leviatt had been one of
the assailants. He had wondered much over the emotions of the two when
they returned to the spot where the murder had been committed, to find
their victim buried and his horse gone. But of one thing he was
certain--their surprise over the discovery that the body of their
victim had been buried could not have equalled their discomfiture on
learning that the latter's pony had been secretly brought to the home
ranch, and that among the men of the outfit was one, at least, who knew
something of their guilty secret. Ferguson thought this to be the
reason that they had not reported the incident to Stafford.

There was now nothing for the stray-man to do but watch. The men who
had killed Rope were wary and dangerous, and their next move might be
directed at him. But he was not disturbed. One thought brought him a
mighty satisfaction. He was no longer employed to fasten upon Ben
Radford the stigma of guilt; no longer need he feel oppressed with the
guilty consciousness, when in the presence of Mary Radford, that he
was, in a measure, a hired spy whose business it was to convict her
brother of the crime of rustling. He might now meet the young woman
face to face, without experiencing the sensation of guilt that had
always affected him.

Beneath his satisfaction lurked a deeper emotion. During the course of
his acquaintance with Rope J