The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
. 
 
Gilmore saw before him the broad back of Jack Shaw and instantly 
 drove two bullets through it. 
 
 Frontispiece. See page 318. 
 
The Owner of 
 the Lazy D 
 
 By 
 
 WILLIAM PATTERSON WHITE 
 
 WITH FRONTISPIECE BY 
 
 ANTON OTTO FISCHER 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
 1919 
 
Copyright, 1919, 
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 
 
 All rights reserved 
 Published August, 1919 
 
61 
 
 
 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 M692875 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE dusty young man riding the wiry little 
 dun was singing as if he hadn't a care in the 
 world: 
 
 "Around her neck she wore a yellow ribbon ; 
 
 She wore it in December and in the month of May. 
 I asked her why she wore the yellow ribbon ; 
 She said because her lover was far, far away ! ' ' 
 
 A not too distant rifle cracked a period. 
 Zung-g-g! The bullet ripped past not far over- 
 head. 
 
 " Good line, but high," remarked the dusty 
 young man, cocking a cheerful eye at the quarter- 
 mile sweep of rising ground in front of his horse's 
 nose. " Does the gentleman mean me? " he con- 
 tinued in a drawl. " He couldn't 'a' heard me 
 singin' through half a mile o' solid earth, an' he 
 couldn't 'a' expected to drill me through the 
 same. No, not the way they're loadin' shells 
 nowadays. Still " 
 
 The drawling voice trailed into silence as the 
 rider drew a well-kept Winchester from under his 
 leg. Clicking a cartridge into the chamber, he 
 rode forward to where a ragged outcrop crowned 
 the rising ground. In the rear of the rocky scarp 
 he dismounted and flung the reins over his horse's 
 
4 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 head. He crawled rapidly round the outcrop 
 and settled himself between two boulders. 
 
 His cheerful eyes had lost none of their joy- 
 ousness. Darkly blue and very bright, their 
 dancing merriness belied the unmistakable 
 strength of the straight nose and the wide mouth. 
 
 " Fine! " announced the young man, when one 
 rapid glance had taken in all there was to see. 
 " Fine, an' then some! " 
 
 Comfortably flat on his stomach, elbows on the 
 ground, square chin cupped in the palms of two 
 lean, brown hands, he stared at what promised to 
 be a fairly moving little drama. 
 
 From where he lay the ground fell away in a 
 mile-long slope to the thin, double line of cotton- 
 woods fringing a meandering creek. Half-way 
 down the slope, where the combination of a small 
 hollow, a dozen tamaracks, and an up-flung lip of 
 rock afforded shelter, a mite of a fire burned fit- 
 fully. On one side of the fire two hog- tied 
 yearlings beat the earth with their outraged heads 
 and groaned dismally. On the opposite side of 
 the fire two horses stood quietly. Beyond the 
 horses, one among the tamaracks, the other be- 
 hind the lip of rock, two individuals lay flat and 
 eyed the landscape below them through the sights 
 of their Winchesters. 
 
 " Rustlers ! " drawled the young man. * The 
 other outfit is shorely cautious a lot," he added 
 after a moment, with a slow smile. " Only the 
 one shot, an' that so high she sailed clean over 
 the ridge!" 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 5 
 
 Interestedly his gaze traveled across and across 
 the face of the flat beyond the creek, and the 
 scarred slope of a ri^ge beyond the flat. Nothing 
 but bunch-grass moved in the breeze. He had 
 not expected that any living thing would; but he 
 was a thorough person, efficient in all that he did. 
 
 From the unprofitable searching of the flat the 
 blue eyes skimmed the lines of the cottonwoods 
 marching along the banks of the creek. 
 
 " They're Injunin' along behind the cut-bank 
 o' the creek/' he mused. " That's what I'd do if 
 I was a posse surround 'em, you betcha! An' 
 them two rustlers know it, too." 
 
 He could see the two among the tamaracks 
 turning their heads toward each other. They 
 appeared to argue. The slighter one shook his 
 head determinedly. His tall companion rolled 
 across to him, seized him by the ankles, and 
 dragged him backward. 
 
 This evidently decided the matter. The 
 slighter fellow instantly jammed his Winchester 
 into its scabbard, mounted a horse on the fly, and 
 was off up the slope, quirting like mad. 
 
 His comrade, equally swift, tore away on a 
 course paralleling the banks of the creek. Im- 
 mediately several rifles among the cottonwoods 
 crackled hysterically; but both the fleeing riders 
 raced onward unchecked. 
 
 When the young man between the boulders 
 saw one of the rustlers heading in his direction, 
 he made as if to shove his Winchester forward; 
 but he thought better of that. Instead, he 
 
6 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 scuttled crablike round the rear of the outcrop, 
 ran to his saddle, and came back with his rope. 
 Peering cautiously over the edge, he beheld the 
 advancing rider within six jumps of him. 
 
 As the horse flashed past, the young man's 
 wrist flipped outward and downward. He 
 braced himself backward, digging his heels into 
 the ground, the rope snubbed over his hip. Fore- 
 footed, the horse stood on his nose and piled his 
 rider. 
 
 The young man dropped his rope and sprang 
 forward, pulling his six-shooter; but there \vas 
 no need of lethal weapons. A twenty-foot flight 
 through the air and a landing made mainly on 
 one's stomach are not conducive to combative- 
 ness. 
 
 Gasping painfully for breath, the erstwhile 
 rider was pulled over on his back. The young 
 man knelt beside him. Blue eyes looked into soft 
 amber ones. There was now a rather terror- 
 stricken expression in the young man's face; for 
 the hat of the individual fighting for breath had 
 fallen off, and above the amber eyes was a healthy 
 mop of disheveled, honey-colored hair honey- 
 colored hair with hairpins in it. Hairpins? 
 Exactly. 
 
 It was a red pair of lips, indeed, between which 
 the white teeth showed, and an angry bruise on 
 one cheek did not derogate from the startling fact 
 that this rustler was the prettiest girl the young 
 man had ever seen. An instant only he stared. 
 Then, without hesitation, he fled to his boulders 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 7 
 
 and began pumping lead at three earnest citizens 
 who were climbing the hill at the full stretch of 
 their ponies. 
 
 The first shot dropped a pony. The horse- 
 man expertly disengaged his feet from the 
 stirrups and flopped down behind the dead 
 animal. The other two men whirled their 
 mounts and rode for the cottonwoods. The 
 young man grinned and flanked them with bul- 
 lets. 
 
 Smack! The fellow behind the dead horse 
 drove a bullet against the face of the boulder on 
 the young man's left. Rock splinters stung his 
 forehead. He snuggled close to the ground 
 and planted two shots in the body of the dead 
 horse. 
 
 " I don't want to down the fool," he observed 
 calmly. 
 
 "Then if you don't, I do!" chimed in an 
 irritated voice in his immediate rear. " Get up, 
 will yuh, and give me a chance? " 
 
 The young man edged to one side and glanced 
 over his shoulder. Ten feet away knelt the girl. 
 Her hat was clamped down over her eyes, and 
 she was handling a cocked rifle. 
 
 " Y' all right now? " queried the young man 
 irrelevantly. 
 
 " No thanks to you if I am! " replied the lady 
 with spirit. " Would you mind telling me why 
 you first rope my horse and then about-face and 
 fight for me? At least, I infer you are fighting 
 for me, in spite of your remarking that you don't 
 
8 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 intend to kill Tom Johnson down there. Who 
 are you, anyway? " 
 
 " Me? Oh, I'm just a man. I " 
 
 " I didn't take you for a cow, stranger. What 
 are your politics? " 
 
 " That depends, ma'am. I ain't a frequent 
 voter." 
 
 She gave him an odd look, and turned to glance 
 at her horse, which had risen to its feet and was 
 cropping grass. When she faced him again, she 
 was smiling. 
 
 " Stranger," she said, " let's drag it! " 
 
 " No sense in danglin'," he agreed amiably. 
 " Can yore horse carry yuh? " 
 
 " He can walk, anyway," she answered, and 
 absent-mindedly started to rise to her feet. 
 
 With a fierce grunt the young man bounced 
 upward and fairly smothered her to earth. 
 
 " Haven't yuh any better sense than that? " 
 he demanded gruffly. " Those fellahs down 
 yonder have rifles. There's no real reason to 
 keep 'em from makin' a center shot once in a 
 while, an' once is 'most always enough." 
 
 " I don't know why I did start to stand 
 up," she said shamefacedly, as he got to his own 
 knees and helped her to hers. " I I forgot. 
 I guess I never did such a foolish thing be- 
 fore." 
 
 " Don't do it again, then," he admonished, 
 assisting her down-hill to her horse. 
 
 " You stood up, though. Why? " 
 
 " Me? Oh, I guess I just forgot, too." 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 9 
 
 " It's likely, quite likely. First you land me 
 and my horse on our heads, then you fight for 
 me, and now you protect me from possible bullets 
 with your own body. You're an odd number! 
 Are you by any chance a deputy? " 
 
 With a quick motion she flicked open his vest. 
 Her amber eyes searched for the betraying star 
 and found it not. He laughed lightly. 
 
 " You needn't be afraid of me," he assured her. 
 
 The amber eyes darkened. 
 
 " I'm not afraid of you! " she flashed. " I'm 
 not afraid of anybody." 
 
 She stooped for her bridle. Before she was 
 in the saddle he flitted to his boulders once more, 
 to send one shot into the dead horse and one 
 among the cottonwoods. 
 
 " Hurry! " she commanded when he returned 
 to her. ' That Injun trick may keep 'em amused 
 and where they are, but I'll gamble the limit 
 they're trotting up and down the creek trying to 
 surround us again ! " 
 
 " How many are there? " he inquired, as he 
 mounted. 
 
 " Ten or a dozen all of Tom Johnson's 
 gang," she replied indifferently. " Straight for 
 that draw, stranger. We'll throw 'em off. I'll 
 show you. I wonder how many chased dad," 
 she added reflectively. 
 
 " Dad the man with you? " 
 
 She noddecj, glancing sidewise at him out of 
 her amber eyes. 
 
 " I'm not worried," she said. " He always 
 
10 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 gets away, my dad. I was merely trying to 
 figure out how many were after us." 
 
 " Us ! " In spite of the fact that the word 
 implied a certain degree of intimacy with a rus- 
 tler, the blue-eyed young man experienced a real 
 thrill. It began somewhere in the small of his 
 back and branched out into both his shoulders. 
 
 "What's the matter cold? " asked the lady 
 solicitously. 
 
 " No, ma'am, no. Pin stuck in me, I s'pose. 
 Glad I didn't damage yore hoss." 
 
 ' You didn't, stranger, but you might have." 
 
 Again she gave him the odd look with which 
 she had favored him there beside the outcrop. 
 She lapsed into a silence which was not broken 
 for nearly two hours, during which time they rode 
 the draws religiously. At last, coming to a 
 place where a long draw forked, she checked her 
 horse. Turning in the saddle, she stared at him 
 steadfastly. In spite of her brass-studded chaps, 
 her man's shirt and vest, he thought she looked all 
 that was feminine and lovely. 
 
 " It's shorely wonderful what the Western 
 climate does ! " he remarked, suddenly moved to 
 speech. 
 
 " Meaning? " 
 
 " Everything, ma'am, everything," he ex- 
 plained. 
 
 Since he continued to gaze upon her with an 
 admiration that was as patent as it was sincere, 
 the explanation was not convincing. She eyed 
 him doubtfully for a space. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 11 
 
 " Never mincl ! " she said finally. * You 
 haven't answered my question as to your politics. 
 Honest, now are you for us or against us? " 
 
 " I'm for you, ma'am straight ticket! " 
 
 She passed this over and tried again. 
 
 " I wonder if you really understand! " 
 
 " What, ma'am? " 
 
 " I guess you really are a stranger, after 
 all." 
 
 "I may be a stranger now, ma'am, but I ain't 
 aimin' to stay one. I like this county. The 
 climate's shore amazin', an' the citizens ain't mud- 
 turtles so's yuh could notice it. I like life, I do, 
 an' I guess this here is it ! " 
 
 " It may not be as healthy as you think," 
 hazarded the girl, a dazzling smile taking the 
 edge off the sinister meaning of her words. 
 
 " Not healthy? Well, I always carry plenty 
 o' medicine. Habit I got." 
 
 Tenderly, almost lovingly, his brown fingers 
 caressed his shell-filled belts. The girl smiled 
 anew, her amber eyes sparkling. 
 
 " Do you know," she exclaimed, " I like you! 
 I wish " 
 
 She abruptly stopped speaking, her expression 
 turning somber on the instant. He waited. 
 
 ' Tell me what yore wish is," he urged after an 
 interval, " an' I'll get it for yuh." 
 
 "Thanks!" she countered dryly. "I'll let 
 you know if the wish becomes too overpowering. 
 In the meantime, if you ride down this left-hand 
 fork, you'll come to the Plain Edge and Virgin 
 
12 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 City trail. North for Plain Edge, south for 
 Virgin City. For your well-meant efforts in my 
 interest I thank you. Good-bye! " 
 
 She leaned across, holding out her hand. He 
 took it gently. 
 
 " Ma'am," he answered, releasing her fingers, 
 " yuh'll see me again soon." 
 
 " If you have a glimmer of sense I won't! " 
 was her somewhat inelegant retort. 
 
 He raised a questioning eyebrow, the cheerful 
 grin illumining his sunburnt face. Slowly he 
 dragged off his hat. He was in no hurry to be 
 gone. 
 
 At this juncture there was a sudden scurry of 
 hoofs, and out of the right-hand fork of the draw 
 swept five bunched horsemen. The girl jerked 
 her pony round to face the newcomers. The 
 young man put on his hat. When the riders 
 arrived, he was rolling a cigarette one-handed. 
 He lit the white roll and puffed luxuriously, star- 
 ing at the line of hostile faces out of speculative 
 eyes. 
 
 He did not appear in the least daunted by the 
 sinister array. He folded his hands on his 
 saddle-horn and continued to smoke and stare. 
 He believed in his heart that he had never seen a 
 worse-appearing set of characters north of old 
 Mexico. They looked like murderers. They 
 might be almost anything. 
 
 " Who are yuh, stranger? " demanded the 
 tallest and oldest of the five, a man with the face 
 of a fallen angel. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 13 
 
 "Me?" smiled the young man. "I'm a 
 traveler a towerist. I was born about twenty- 
 eight years ago, on a mornin' in May, when the 
 hills were white with snow, in a yaller house with 
 green shutters period. There was a red barn 
 back of it, where we kept the cows period. 
 This here little dun boss reminds me o' the house. 
 That's why I bought him. Anythin' else yuh'd 
 like to know? Just ask. I ain't proud. I'll 
 oblige 'most anybody." 
 
 The fallen angel opened his mouth to speak, 
 his right hand dropping swiftly. The young 
 man on the dun made no appreciable movement; 
 yet, before his own itching fingers closed on the 
 gun-butt, the fallen angel perceived that the 
 other man's Colt was staring him out of counte- 
 nance. 
 
 " Don't go draggin' at any guns," the young 
 man cautioned plaintively. " Guns make me 
 nervous, guns do. So you see, mister, if yore 
 friends go for to ventilate me, I'll just naturally 
 shake loose all six loads right plumb through yore 
 liver. That's right keep yore arms a cuddlin' 
 yore ears ! " 
 
 He paused. Some one snickered. It was the 
 girl. 
 
 " Say, Lanky," she remarked sharply, " since 
 when have you had a license to question my 
 friends?" 
 
 The fallen angel turned his head. All save 
 the young man gazed at the young woman. 
 
 " How do yuh mean, Sis? " queried a slim 
 
14 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 youngster with a broken nose. " He's a stranger, 
 this gent." 
 
 " Well, seeing that he stood off Tom John- 
 son's gang for me, and saved my life to boot, he 
 isn't such a total stranger. I'm calling him my 
 friend anyway." 
 
 Their eyes swung wonderingly from the girl 
 to the man with the ready Colt. The girl ex- 
 plained more fully. Lanky's Lucifer-like fea- 
 tures positively beamed. 
 
 " Stranger," he said, " yo're all right! I don't 
 care none who yuh are yo're all right. I'd ad- 
 mire to shake, if " 
 
 He gazed meaningly at the muzzle of the six- 
 shooter. 
 
 " That's all right," responded the young man, 
 bolstering his gun and extending his hand. " No 
 hard feelin's on my part." 
 
 " See yuh again, stranger," vouchsafed Luci- 
 fer. " Just now we got pressin' business some- 
 'eres else. Go home with Sis an' rest yore hat. 
 Glad to have ye. So-long! " 
 
 The five evil-looking citizens raced away in the 
 direction from which the girl and the young man 
 had come. 
 
 "It isn't really necessary, their going," she 
 said. "Dad'll get away all right; but that's 
 Lanky and the boys all over. They want to 
 double-cinch everything. Well, let's be go- 
 ing!" 
 
 She looked up at him with a bright smile. He 
 pointed up the left-hand fork. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 15 
 
 " I thought yuh showed me the way to the 
 Plain Edge trail," he said. 
 
 " That was then. , Now's now. . Better come, 
 stranger ! Our cook's a whizzer. But, of course, 
 if you don't care to accept Lanky's invitation, 
 why " 
 
 She shrugged expressive shoulders, her amber 
 eyes sparkling at him. 
 
 " I'd a heap rather it was yore invitation," he 
 drawled hopefully. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Stranger, preserver of my 
 father's charming daughter, and all the rest of it, 
 you are hereby invited to visit the family man- 
 sion. How's that? " 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE two reached the ranch-house in all the 
 splendor of the sunset glow. The number of 
 buildings betokened a large ranch. Besides the 
 ranch-house there were two bunk-houses, a fort- 
 like, sod-walled storehouse, and a blacksmith- 
 shop. In the rear were three high-fenced corrals. 
 
 Circling the buildings, the two approached the 
 nearest and smallest of the corrals. On the top 
 bar of the gate a man sat, his shirt showing white 
 in the fading light. Between his teeth he was 
 humming " Jack of Diamonds." 
 
 " Stranger," said the girl suddenly, leaning 
 ever so slightly toward the young man, " what 
 may I call you? " 
 
 " Gilmore, ma'am Dal Gilmore." 
 
 The man on the gate jumped to the ground 
 and came forward to meet the pair on horseback. 
 The girl slid from the saddle and ^vaved a hand 
 toward the dismounting Gilmore. 
 
 " This is Mr. Gilmore, Tom," she announced. 
 " He's a friend of mine. Mr. Gilmore, my 
 brother, Mr. Stuart." 
 
 The two young men shook hands. Even in 
 the half light Gilmore could see that Tom Stuart 
 greatly resembled his sister, and seemed to be of 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 17 
 
 about the same age. He wondered if they were 
 twins. Stuart was understood to say that he was 
 glad to meet his sister's friend ;^fter which he 
 stood back and narrowly observed the friend as 
 he stripped saddle and bridle and turned the dun 
 into the corral. 
 
 Gilmore, from beneath a lowered hat-brim, 
 perceived that Mr. Stuart, while in the act of 
 lighting a cigarette, contrived to illumine the 
 Diamond A brand on the dun's hip. 
 
 " Couldn't wait for his sister to tell him," re- 
 flected Gilmore contemptuously. 
 
 He followed Miss Stuart to the ranch-house, 
 Tom Stuart walking in heavy silence at her side. 
 At the door Stuart, leaning forward, touched his 
 sister's wrist. 
 
 " Jack Shaw's here," he said. 
 
 Miss Stuart paused with her hand on the latch. 
 
 " Then you take Jack Shaw and yourself, and 
 anybody else that's about," ordered she, " and go 
 help dad and the boys. Tom Johnson's gang is 
 after 'em. You'll find them somewhere beyond 
 the Forked Draw." 
 
 " I will, hey? " her brother almost shouted. 
 " Then why didn't yuh tell me before? Say, 
 what do yuh " 
 
 " Oh, shut up ! " returned Miss Stuart with 
 sisterly politeness, flinging wide the door. " Mr. 
 Gilmore, won't you come in? " 
 
 The living-room which Gilmore entered was a 
 large one. At one end was a huge, empty fire- 
 place, at the other an open doorway revealed the 
 
i8 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 dining room, where a solitary man sat eating at 
 a long table. Toward this doorway hastened 
 Tom Stuart. 
 
 The girl ringed her hat expertly over one 
 prong of a stand of mule-deer antlers nailed be- 
 tween two windows. She pushed a heavy lock 
 of honey-colored hair out of her eyes, and pre- 
 tended to adjust the wick of the lamp on the 
 table in the middle of the room. Behind her 
 Gilmore waited, his expression wooden, his quick 
 eyes busy. 
 
 "Say, Jack! " said Tom Stuart, halting in the 
 dining room doorway. " Dad an' the boys are 
 havin' a brush with the Johnson outfit. You 
 V me might as well go see about it, huh? " 
 
 " Shore," assented the lone diner, and brought 
 the meal to a close by wiping his hands on his 
 chaps and kicking his chair backward to the wall. 
 
 He was a middle-sized, pony-built individual, 
 this Jack Shaw. Shorter by three good inches 
 than Dal Gilmore, he nevertheless impressed 
 even the casual observer as the possessor of un- 
 usual strength. His shoulders were broad, out 
 of all proportion to his size, and his arms were as 
 long as an ape's. A forehead the least bit 
 reptilian, and a hawk nose did not add grace to 
 a face already burdened with a thin, cruel mouth 
 and a jutting, heavy chin. No, the most chari- 
 tably inclined could not have called Mr. Shaw 
 prepossessing. 
 
 On their hurried way out Tom Stuart intro- 
 duced the two men. Gilmore thrust out his 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 19 
 
 hand, and the other seized it in a clamp-like grip, 
 his hard gray eyes glinting coldly in the lamp- 
 light. To keep his hand from being crushed to 
 limpness, Gilmore was compelled to exert all his 
 strength. As it was, a gentle perspiration 
 started at the edge of his black hair. 
 
 " Glad to know yuh," announced Shaw, his 
 amiable tone at total variance with the light in 
 his cold, sardonic eyes. " See yuh again 
 maybe." 
 
 Gilmore sensed the significance in the pause 
 between the last two words. He smiled pleas- 
 antly, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. 
 
 " Yuh will," he assured the other. " Yuh'll 
 see quite a lot o' me maybe! " 
 
 Shaw's eyes narrowed. Then he grinned 
 mirthlessly, nodded, and vanished in the wake 
 of Tom Stuart. 
 
 Miss Stuart went to the door and stood leaning 
 against the jamb till the drum of hoof -beats 
 dwindled and died. 
 
 " You don't care what you say," she observed, 
 " or to whom you say it, do you? " 
 
 " It depends, ma'am," drawled Gilmore plain- 
 tively. " How about the other fellah? Ain't I 
 somebody?" 
 
 " I'm afraid you are," she murmured with 
 deep meaning. " Just how much of a somebody 
 you are is what I'd like to know. Come! " 
 
 When each had washed face and hands in a 
 dish-pan set on a broad bench beside the kitchen 
 door, she led the way to the dining room. A 
 
20 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 widely-smiling Chinese stuck a cue-wrapped bul- 
 let-head through a doorless aperture in a side 
 wall. He mowed at them bobbingly and with- 
 drew his head with the suddenness of a snapping- 
 turtle. Miss Stuart pulled out the chair at the 
 lower end of the table and sat down. 
 
 " Sit there," she said, indicating the chair on 
 her right. " Dinner'll be ready in a minute." 
 
 Lazily she tipped back on the two rear legs 
 of her chair. Gilmore could feel her amber eyes 
 searching his face. He did not return her gaze. 
 Instead, he scrutinized with careful interest a 
 Sioux saddle hanging on the wall. 
 
 " Do you know where you are? " she demanded 
 after a moment. 
 
 " Shore, ma'am," he replied with a quick smile. 
 " I'm at yore ranch. That's enough for 'most 
 anybody." 
 
 Her eyes wandered to a cowskin covering an 
 oak chest in a corner of the room. His gaze fol- 
 lowed hers. On the cowskin the brand was 
 plainly visible. 
 
 " Ever see that brand before? " she asked 
 without turning her head. 
 
 " No, don't think I ever did," he admitted. 
 " It looks like it might be a hash knife or 
 soniethin'." 
 
 " It is a hash knife, and this is the Hash Knife 
 ranch. It belongs to my father, Alec Stuart. I 
 am Louise Stuart. Now do you understand? " 
 
 " Shore! I've been a wonderin' what yore first 
 name might be." 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 21 
 
 " Quit it, can't you? You're not a fool. I can 
 see you're not. Now you listen to what I say. 
 Lanky and the boys saw you wittame this after- 
 noon. If they hadn't, I'd have seen that you 
 headed for the Plain Edge and Virgin City trail; 
 but they saw us together, and they'll ask me 
 questions later. I'll have to be able to answer 
 those questions intelligently. That's why I sent 
 Tom and Jack Shaw out to help dad and the 
 boys so that you could talk to me with no one 
 to overhear. Sing Fah's deaf and dumb, so fly 
 at it!" 
 
 He stared at her blankly. 
 
 " Yuh'll have to explain, ma'am," he chided 
 gently; " me bein' a stranger, an' " 
 
 The front legs of Louise Stuart's chair struck 
 the floor with a crash. She twisted her body side- 
 wise to face him, her rigid forefinger leveled at 
 his chin. 
 
 " Perhaps you don't know that this is Glenn 
 County? " she exclaimed heatedly. " Perhaps 
 you don't know that there's a cattle war between 
 the Hash Knife and V Up-and-Down on one 
 side and the Lazy D and Triangle O on the 
 other? Perhaps you don't know that the Lazy 
 D and Triangle O are hiring gunmen? Which 
 being so, a plain statement of your sentiments 
 would be appreciated ! " 
 
 ' Why not let yore brother or Jack Shaw ask 
 me questions? " he parried. 
 
 " Because there'd be a shooting. You might 
 kill one of my brothers before the rest of them 
 
22 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 or Jack Shaw killed you. I don't want any 
 shooting here." 
 
 " Why Jack Shaw? Wouldn't yore brothers 
 be enough? " 
 
 ' They would; but Jack's a a devil. He's 
 naturally suspicious, he's always practising the 
 draw, and he's mean to his horses. What more 
 do you want? " 
 
 " That's enough! A combination like that in 
 a man'll make him do anythin'. The sports he's 
 downed, now did he drill 'em in the back or 
 just put wolf -poison in their grub? " 
 
 " You needn't be sarcastic. Jack Shaw has 
 killed two both of 'em bad, and no loss to the 
 community. He's no coward, and you can take 
 it from me that he's a good man to walk 
 around." 
 
 * That's good hearin', but I've always found 
 a straight line is the shortest distance between 
 two points. I guess Jack Shaw'd turn out a 
 heap interest in' fellah to know." 
 
 " Suit yourself. I've warned you. Now " 
 
 " Ma'am, excuse me, but would yuh mind 
 tellin' me the rights o' this fraycas between these 
 here four ranches? " 
 
 "Where do you stand?" she persisted, her 
 voice hardening and her amber eyes beginning 
 to glitter dangerously. 
 
 " Why, ma'am, how do I know? " he said help- 
 lessly. " I'm comin' no'th from New Mexico, a 
 huntin' new scenery an' a job. I've found the 
 scenery all right, but no job. Till I locate that 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 23 
 
 job, I dunno where I stand I don't, ma'am, 
 honest." 
 
 "Answer me! At first your evasions didn't 
 seem to matter a great deal; but now they do, 
 and you can just make up your mind that you 
 won't leave this room till you tell me what I 
 want to know. Now answer me ! " 
 
 " I've done told yuh, ma'am, over an' over, I'm 
 from New Mexico, an' I want a job, an' I dunno 
 much about this case. Of course, even in New 
 Mexico we've heard rumors, but we don't know 
 the truth. If yuh could help me out, ma'am, by 
 givin' me the rights of the fraycas between the 
 four ranches, I might be able to tell yuh what 
 yuh want to know." 
 
 "That's easy," she said, beginning to cut a 
 steak which the dumb Chinaman slid noiselessly 
 in front of her. " The Lazy D claimed one of 
 our yearlings. We refused to surrender the cow, 
 of course, and they began to rustle our calves. 
 Matters have gone from bad to worse. The V 
 Up-and-Down that's Jack Shaw sided with 
 us, and the Triangle O chipped in with them. In 
 the last year there's been quite a lot of shooting. 
 Two of our boys have gone over. The Lazy D 
 has lost, three, and the Triangle O one. Quite 
 a few have been wounded on both sides. At 
 present the county is pretty evenly divided. 
 Nearly all the men in it, even the inhabitants of 
 the towns, have taken sides. So you see the weary 
 traveler is open to suspicion. He may be a gun* 
 man or a deputy. You don't seem to realize how 
 
24 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 serious it all is. If you had met Lanky and the 
 boys alone, you'd undoubtedly have been shot for 
 your fresh remarks. A flippant demeanor is not 
 a paying investment in this region." 
 
 ' What is your definition of gunman? " he 
 asked over the rim of his coffee-cup. 
 
 " One who kills for hire," was her prompt 
 reply. 
 
 ' Then by neither inclination nor habit am I 
 a gunman. I've never killed a man yet, an' I 
 never will unless I'm shoved. I'm a peaceable 
 citizen on the lookout for a job, like I told yuh." 
 
 His frank smile and merry eyes had been hav- 
 ing their effect. Miss Stuart's misgivings, if not 
 utterly dispelled, were at least lulled for the time 
 being. 
 
 " As I understand it," he casua^y observed, 
 stirring his fourth cup of coffee, " both sides are 
 rus well, brandin' each other's cows free an' 
 promiscuous? " 
 
 " One side is the Lazy D and the Triangle 
 O," she retorted coldly. " We brand our own 
 only don't make any mistake about that! " 
 
 "How about the V Up-an'-Down? " This 
 with a quizzical glance. 
 
 " The V Up-and-Down is our ally. Of course, 
 it's honest." 
 
 " With an owner who's a killer an' mean to 
 his bosses, it would be!" She shot him a sus- 
 picious glance. He regarded her innocently. 
 " Then, as I see it," he continued softly, " the 
 Lazy D an' Triangle O outfits are rustlers, while 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 25 
 
 the Hash Knife an' V Up-an'-Down are shore 
 enough pillars o' society 1 " 
 
 " If we're not ' pillars,' as you call it," she said 
 warmly, " we are at least honest. We defend 
 our rights, that's all." 
 
 He did not appear to hear what she was say- 
 ing. His attention was centered on an endeavor 
 to balance a spoon on the edge of his cup. Miss 
 Stuart watched him with growing irritation. She 
 wondered why she was answering his questions. 
 She was not usually so complaisant. Again, still 
 without looking in her direction, he spoke: 
 
 " Which ranch was here first the Lazy D or 
 the Hash Knife?" 
 
 " The Lazy D. We threw down a couple of 
 years later." 
 
 " Ever stop to think how easy it is to change a 
 Lazy D to a Hash Knife? " 
 
 Adroitly his lean, brown hands pinched the 
 soft center from a slice of bread. He laid the 
 hard crust on the table. It made almost a per- 
 fect Lazy D. From another slice of bread he 
 fashioned a T. This he placed upright on the 
 horizontal line of the D. The implication was 
 only too manifest. 
 
 " If you think " she burst out in quick 
 
 anger. 
 
 " I ain't thinkin'," he interrupted, busy again 
 with his spoon-balancing. " I'm just showin' 
 yuh somethin', that's all." 
 
 " I know just what you mean," she returned, 
 her voice trembling; "but I don't know why I 
 
26 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 sit here and let you question me you, who may 
 be anything! However, we'll decide what to do 
 about it when the boys come home." 
 
 " Suppose I don't just feel like waitin' till the 
 boys sift in?" 
 
 " You'll wait." 
 
 ' Who'll make me?" 
 
 " I will," was her tranquil reply. " You see, 
 from the doorway at your back Sing Fah has 
 been covering you for the past fifteen minutes. 
 If you turn your head, he'll shoot." 
 
 At that instant from the kitchen came the thud 
 of potatoes dropping into a dish-pan. Gilmore 
 threw back his head and laughed quite frankly. 
 He lowered his chin to look into the twin muzzles 
 of a stubby derringer. 
 
 ' You're not quite so smart, after all ! " the 
 lady snapped viciously. " I've got the drop! " 
 
 ;< What'll yuh do with it?" he asked tran- 
 quilly, his hands flat on the table. 
 
 " Shoot you if you budge. I don't want to, 
 because you helped me out there on the range, 
 but I will if you don't keep your hands where 
 they are!" 
 
 " Well, now, this is shore a nice way to treat 
 visitors invite 'em to pay yuh a visit, an' then 
 hold 'em up ! Yuh don't look like a road-agent, 
 not really." 
 
 The amber eyes darkened. The red lips 
 straightened. The slender hand that gripped the 
 butt of the derringer held steady as a church. 
 The girl made no reply to his verbal thrusts. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 27 
 
 He tried again: 
 
 " Yuh couldn't shoot me, ma'am! Yuh just 
 couldn't, an' yuh know it." 
 
 " You make one quick motion, and see what 
 happens ! " 
 
 * Well, now, maybe ye would, maybe ye would. 
 Can't tell what a woman'll do, not nohow. But 
 say, what's goin' to happen when the boys an' 
 Jack Shaw come home? " 
 
 * You'll be investigated pretty thoroughly 
 you can make up your mind to that. I don't be- 
 lieve you've given me a straight answer yet! " 
 
 "Why, ma'am, as if I'd lie to yuh!" he 
 drawled, as if with injured feelings. * What I 
 have told yuh was the truth what there was 
 of it." 
 
 "Exactly!" she flashed triumphantly. "I 
 knew you were keeping something back! " 
 
 " Only my star, ma'am." 
 
 " Your star! " she faltered. 
 
 " Shore! I'm a deputy sheriff." 
 
 * You lied to me ! You said you weren't a 
 deputy!" 
 
 " No, ma'am, I didn't. You said I wasn't. 
 You throwed my vest open; didn't see my star, 
 'cause it was pinned inside my shirt, an' yuh said 
 I wasn't a deputy. I didn't say nothin'. I just 
 laughed. It's all like I said. I'm a stranger 
 here. I'm from New Mexico. I'm lookin' for a 
 job, an' I don't expect to find it till I report to 
 the sheriff in Plain Edge. I aim to find the ins 
 an' outs o' this Glenn County rustlin', ma'am, an' 
 
28 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 yore invite was too good to pass up. I figured 
 yuh might likely tell me somethin'." 
 
 * You came to spy ! " The scorn in her tone 
 was terrific. 
 
 " No, ma'am ; not the way yuh mean," he de- 
 nied gently. ' There's two sides to every fraycas, 
 an' I want to know both sides of this deal before I 
 start. That's why I come here with yuh. I 
 wanted yuh to tell me. Well, yuh did, an' ac- 
 cordin' to yuh it's all the Lazy D's fault. I'll 
 hear what they have to say, an' then, between 
 the two of yuh, I ought to know somethin' about 
 the rights of the matter see? " 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE girl stared at him in blank amazement. 
 She could hardly credit her ears. That a deputy 
 sheriff should calmly confess his identity and 
 his purpose was almost unbelievable. 
 
 ' We'll see what the boys have to say," she ob- 
 served, following a tense silence. 
 
 " No, I wouldn't do that," coolly advised Gil- 
 more. " I just wouldn't, if I were yuh. Yuh'll 
 be obstructin' law an' order, if yuh do." 
 
 ' Well, of all the nervy individuals, you do put 
 the hat on the climax ! You admit you're a dep- 
 uty, and then suggest that I should allow you to 
 depart in peace. Not to-day! No, Mr. Dal 
 Gilmore if that really is your name, which I 
 doubt here you stay till the family passes on 
 your case." 
 
 " An' Jack Shaw. Don't forget him ! " 
 
 ' You'll soon wish you'd never heard of Jack. 
 He's the most radical one of the lot." 
 
 " I guess likely; but what I can't see is why, 
 if yo're all so honest an' straight as a string an' 
 things like that, yo're not willin' to let me drift 
 along 'bout my business. If there's nothin' 
 crooked goin' on, what yuh afraid of? Why do 
 
30 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 yuh jump sideways at deputies? I'm askin' yuh, 
 ma'am, why? " 
 
 " I shan't bandy words with you spy!" she 
 retorted furiously. 
 
 " Good reason why! " he replied equably. 
 
 " We are not rustlers ! " 
 
 " I didn't say yuh was. Why, ma'am, I 
 wouldn't think of sayin' such a thing. Yuh told 
 me yoreself yuh was honest. I'd believe yuh 
 quicker'n I would myself. May I smoke, 
 ma'am? " 
 
 " No keep your hands still ! " 
 
 " I am, I am. They ain't budged a hair since 
 yuh first drawed that derringer on me; but I'd 
 like one pill just one small pill, ma'am, an' I 
 won't bother yuh no more." 
 
 " You won't bother me. Don't worry about 
 that!" 
 
 " I'm not. No need. I know just what's goin' 
 to happen. But say, why don't yuh call in yore 
 deef-an'-dumb wonder an' hog-tie me? It's just 
 a suggestion. Seein' yuh holdin' up that baby 
 cannon so long made me think yore arm must be 
 tired." 
 
 His manner and expression, even his tone, were 
 most solicitous; but Miss Stuart was not im- 
 pressed. She did not deign to reply. Above the 
 derringer's twin barrels her amber eyes continued 
 to stare coldly into his. 
 
 " Kind of unhandy havin' help that can't hear," 
 he pursued pleasantly. " Ever try riggin' a 
 string to his big toe? " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 31 
 
 Hopefully he waited for the smile. No smile 1 
 Undaunted, he tried again: 
 
 " Do yuh know, the way yuh wear yore hair 
 is mighty pretty so fluffy like, an' soft round 
 yore ears! I dunno when I've seen hair pleased 
 me better. Seen a lot, too, if I am young still. 
 Would yuh mind lettin' me " 
 
 " Shut up ! " she interrupted sharply. " I've 
 heard enough from you." 
 
 " Can't I talk? " he pleaded. 
 
 "No, you can't!" 
 
 " Why, say, when a road-agent holds up a 
 stage, he lets the driver cuss all he likes, but 
 you 
 
 "Shut up!" 
 
 "Oh, all right! Certainly, ma'am; anything 
 to oblige. If yuh don't mind, can I breathe now 
 an' then? I ain't cashed yet, an' it's really nec- 
 essary some." 
 
 There followed a long silence, unbroken save 
 for the ticking of an alarm-clock in the living- 
 room. All was silent in the kitchen. Gilmore 
 wondered whether the cook was watching him 
 from the doorway. Probably Sing Fah was 
 doing so, for the Chinese are a quick-witted race. 
 
 His left leg was beginning to numb. He had 
 been working it quite steadily for the past ten 
 minutes. 
 
 Suddenly Miss Stuart felt a light touch on her 
 left arm. Her nerves being under somewhat of 
 a strain, she involuntarily started and glanced 
 down. In that unguarded instant Gilmore threw 
 
32 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 himself half-way across the table, and seized the 
 gun with one hand and her wrist with the other. 
 
 Bang! The little gun flashed and roared. The 
 ticking in the next room ceased instantly, and 
 there was a tiny clatter of something falling off 
 a table. 
 
 "Kind of handy havin' a deaf cook, after 
 all 1 " panted Gilmore, twisting the derringer 
 from her grip. 
 
 With her clenched fist she struck him square 
 on the mouth. If she had hoped to knock him 
 down, the hope failed. Gilmore did not even 
 flinch. He yanked her forward, seized her by the 
 belt, and pulled her across the table, to a brave 
 accompaniment of crashing china as the table 
 tilted. 
 
 When he had her flat on the table, face down, 
 he held her there, using for the purpose no more 
 strength than was absolutely necessary. Hers 
 was a most undignified position, and she knew it. 
 She wriggled and kicked and struggled. She 
 yelled continuously for help. Oh, she was in a 
 most wonderful rage! 
 
 Gilmore looked over his shoulder at the kitchen 
 doorway. The kitchen was dark. It appeared 
 to be deserted. He hoped it was. 
 
 Forcing the girl's hands behind her back, he 
 pinioned her wrists one-handed. Then he reached 
 up to the home-made hanger above the center of 
 the table, and took down the lamp. When he had 
 blown it out, he carefully set it back, and stooped 
 to speak to Miss Stuart. She was making so 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 33 
 
 much noise herself that he was forced almost to 
 bellow in her ear before she would grant him any 
 attention. When she lay half-sobbing, half- 
 panting, but otherwise silent, he spoke calmly. 
 
 " I don't want to hog-tie yuh, ma'am I sure 
 don't; but unless yuh give me yore word not to 
 leave this room for half an hour after I've gone, 
 why, I'll have to. Just yore word is all I want." 
 
 " I won't! I won't! I'll I'll see you killed 
 for this! I will! I will, if it takes a hundred 
 years ! " 
 
 " Yuh wouldn't care none about livin' so 
 long, ma'am, an' I dunno as I would, either. But 
 help yoreself. The bridle's off the hoss to you. 
 Won't yuh look nice when the family comes home 
 an' finds yuh hog-tied all same yearlin'? It'll be 
 kind of a joke on you, won't it? " 
 
 This aspect of the matter had not struck her 
 till he mentioned it. It carried no appeal. 
 
 "Yo're thinkin' Sing Fah'll find yuh, ain't 
 yuh? " he continued. " Maybe he will, but it's a 
 heap doubtful. Anyway, when the family sifts 
 in, yuh can tell 'em how yuh held me up for half 
 an hour, till I could move a chair close enough 
 with my left foot to nudge yuh on the arm an' 
 upset yore equilibrium, like I heard a juggler 
 fellah say once down in Santone. Yuh can tell 
 'em that. It'll make 'em laugh, maybe. Yuh 
 got to give the reason for bein' tied up yuh 
 know that. On the other hand, ma'am, yore 
 word is plenty good with me. What do yuh 
 say?" 
 
34 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 She said nothing. Instead, she exerted all her 
 strength to free herself. Her toes beat a frenzied 
 tattoo on the table. She whacked her head against 
 it, and bumped her nose till the pain made her 
 weep. Now, and not till now, did his grasp relax 
 the merest trifle. 
 
 " I'm sorry, ma'am/' he apologized; " but yuh 
 see it's no manner of use. Yuh'll hurt yoreself if 
 yuh keep a whangin' yore head sideways thata- 
 way. Be reasonable, can't yuh? " 
 
 Nothing in the world so incenses a woman as 
 the request to " be reasonable." Miss Stuart, al- 
 ready in a fine rage, now furnished a most ecstatic 
 display of fury. 
 
 Gilmore laughed aloud at her struggles 
 which did not tend to soothe the girl. In her rage 
 she contrived to twist her head to one side, and 
 for one instant to jerk her wrists upward. His 
 left sleeve brushed her cheek. Her chin shot for- 
 ward, and she clamped her jaws in a bulldog grip 
 on the flesh of his forearm. 
 
 The pain was exquisite, but Gilmore did not 
 flinch. Slowly, gently, he forced a rigid thumb 
 and forefinger into her cheeks. This method is 
 sometimes found efficacious in bitting a horse 
 which sets its teeth. It worked with Miss Stuart. 
 She held on as long as she could, but no human 
 being could resist the pressure of those inexorable 
 fingers. Her jaws separated reluctantly, and 
 Gilmore moved his arm out of tooth-reach. 
 
 The girl's body relaxed, and she began to cry 
 stormily. Gilmore felt like turning her over on 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 35 
 
 his knees and giving her a thorough spanking. 
 The little vixen 1 
 
 " Honest, ma'am," he observed whimsically, 
 " yuh've shore got the worst manners I ever seen. 
 Yuh hadn't ought to bite folks. Yuh'd ought to 
 know better, a big girl like you. It all comes 
 from wearin' pants, I'll bet. Yore parents 
 have shore neglected yore education. Likely 
 I'll get the spinal maginnis, or somethin'. About 
 that promise do yuh gimme yore word to set 
 still an' be a good child till I'm a half-hour on 
 my way, or do I hog-tie yuh an' stuff a towel 
 down yore neck? I'd have to gag yuh," he 
 added. 
 
 Save a gusty sob, she made no sound. He 
 wished that she would make up her mind. Wait- 
 ing was fraught with assorted dangers. In spite 
 of his assertion to the contrary, he knew perfectly 
 well that Sing Fah might come in from the 
 kitchen; then, too, " dad " and the boys were due 
 at any moment. 
 
 "Don't hurry any about decidin'," hazarded 
 the patient Gilmore. " I've got all night, of 
 
 course." 
 
 To his astonishment, for he had expected her 
 to essay one more struggle, she replied in a low 
 voice, her tone under perfect control: 
 
 " I give you my word." 
 
 " Yuh'll gimme a half -hour's start? Do yuh 
 understand? " 
 
 " Certainly. I don't quibble. When I give 
 my word, I give it." 
 
36 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Excuse me, ma'am, of course. I under " 
 
 " If you will release me," she remarked icily, 
 " I shall be greatly indebted to you/' 
 
 " Shore, shore ! I'd clean forgot I was holdin' 
 vuh." 
 
 He tried to help her to her feet, but she struck 
 down his hands and swung to the floor unaided. 
 
 His eyes had grown somewhat accustomed to 
 the darkness by now. He could dimly see the 
 girl where she stood at the end of the table, her 
 clenched fists resting on the wood. Stooping, he 
 felt about on the floor for his hat, found it, and 
 straightened quickly. He turned to go, but 
 wheeled back as Miss Stuart spoke. 
 
 " I've given you my word," she said in hard, 
 level tones. " For thirty minutes you're free as 
 a bird. After that, Mr. Man, keep your gun 
 loose ! You'll pay for what you've done to-night. 
 Why, you poor fool you, coming up here to 
 Glenn County expecting to run things ! You 
 you deputy sheriff! You won't live a week ! " 
 
 " That's what they told me down south," he 
 observed tranquilly. " But I've learned one 
 thing, ma'am, in my travels round this vale of 
 tears, an' that's never to believe all yuh hear. I 
 expect I'll be a heap alive at the end o' the week. 
 Don't make any mistake about that! I'll be 
 seein' yuh again, too. Don't forget that! " 
 
 " Go, will you? " Her outflung arm pointed 
 to the door. 
 
 " Yes," he continued, unheeding, " I'll be 
 seein' yuh again. Yuh an' me are goin' to be 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 37 
 
 friends good friends. I like you, an' yo're a 
 goin' to like me not a little bit, but a whole lot. 
 Before we get through, yo're a goin' to like me 
 feetter'n anybody yuh ever come across. That's 
 the way I like yuh now. Instanter, when I saw 
 yore eyes an' hair, I knowed. Couldn't help 
 myself. It come that quick. Curious, ain't it? " 
 
 " Very," she agreed calmly. " It adds a trifle 
 to the score." 
 
 " I s'pose it does, but it don't matter any. 
 Yo're a goin' to forget all about scores you'll 
 see!" 
 
 So, blithely, he made his way through the 
 darkness of the house to the outer air. Once be- 
 yond the door, however, his careless demeanor 
 vanished. He scooped up bridle and saddle and 
 ran toward the corral as swiftly as his high heels 
 would allow. Opening the gate, he slipped in 
 with his bridle and cast about for the dun. 
 
 Despite the bright starlight, picking out the 
 dun in that crowded corral was no easy matter. 
 The yellow horse saw his master first, and he 
 knew well enough what was wanted of him. 
 Work and plenty of it, on top of what he had 
 done that day, was not a pleasant prospect. He 
 shouldered in between two mares, and the three 
 fled round the corral together. 
 
 That action was the dun's undoing. Gilmore 
 placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled 
 piercingly. The dun stiffened his legs and slid to 
 a halt. His master approached and bridled him 
 quickly. 
 
38 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 * Yuh old son of a dog-robber! " he said affec- 
 tionately, leading the horse out. " All serene 
 now, ain't yuh? Couldn't make yuh run away 
 for shucks, huh? Yuh good-for-nothin' hollow 
 accordeen, ropes don't mean a whole lot to yuh, 
 do they now? But a whistle yuh don't ever for- 
 get what that means, do yuh? " 
 
 The dun saddled, Gilmore knelt and put his 
 ear to the ground. He heard nothing, and 
 mounted quickly. Spurring his horse, he dashed 
 past the house, heading southeast, in which direc- 
 tion lay Virgin City. This town was not his ulti- 
 mate destination, for Plain Edge, the county 
 seat, was where the sheriff lived. 
 
 " But," he reasoned, " they know I'm a deputy, 
 or they will know when she tells 'em. I can't 
 make it ahead of 'em till the hoss is rested good. 
 They'll know my first job is to see the sheriff. 
 Knowin' this, they'll think my driftin' toward 
 Virgin City is a blind, an' instead o' sailin' after, 
 they'll drag it up Plain Edge way, expectin' I'll 
 swing no'th an' make it easy for 'em. I guess, 
 though, I'd better send for Jimmy. This deal 
 don't look, first off, like a one-man job. What's 
 yore idea, Frosty fellah? " 
 
 " Frosty fellah " flattened his left ear and con- 
 tinued to lope steadily. A half-hour later Gil- 
 more slowed the little horse to a walk, and he 
 kept at this gait all night. 
 
 He would have hugely enjoyed making a run 
 of it to Plain Edge. Had Frosty been fresh, he 
 would have risked it, for he doubted whether 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 39 
 
 there was anywhere within five hundred miles an- 
 other horse the equal of the dun in bottom and 
 speed. But when there is a long trail to be cov- 
 ered, no weary pony, however excellent, can com- 
 pete with fresh animals. Gilmore consoled him- 
 self with the thought that in Virgin City he 
 might pick up much useful information regard- 
 ing the cattle war. In any case, the place was two 
 days' travel nearer the desired Jimmy than was 
 Plain Edge. 
 
 " Four by stage two three on the train," 
 mused the young man, checking off the days on 
 his fingers. " It ought to get there in a week. In 
 two weeks he'd ought to be here. Here, you 
 Frosty hoss, stop yore daisy-cuttin' ! Yo're tired, 
 but yo're not so all in as that." 
 
 When the sun began to lift above the rim of 
 the world, Gilmore stopped on the crest of a 
 ridge and looked over the way he had come. 
 Swell, ridge, and draw; draw, ridge, and swell 
 the earth's surface was visible for miles and 
 miles in the clear air of the high country; but, 
 save cattle here and there, Gilmore saw no living 
 thing. 
 
 " Razzle-dazzled 5 em!" he observed joyfully, 
 and urged Frosty onward. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 ONE broad, wavering street fenced by eight 
 saloons, two stores, a hotel, three dance-halls, an 
 express-office, a stage station, and some fifty 
 dwellings that was Virgin City. Surrounded 
 by a picket-line of empty tin cans, the town lay 
 blistering under the summer sun when Gilmore's 
 tired pony dispiritedly shuffled in between two 
 false fronts and stopped in front of the hotel 
 corral. 
 
 Under the wooden awning of Sam Kyle's Ace 
 Saloon, the building across the street, three citi- 
 zens sat in tip-tilted chairs and watched Gilmore 
 closely. A young woman stood in the saloon 
 doorway. Her hands were on her hips, her eyes 
 were fixed on the stranger. Black-eyed, black- 
 haired, lithe-bodied, she was strikingly handsome 
 in a bold way. 
 
 She was the proprietor's wife, and newcomers 
 always interested her. They might spend money 
 freely, they might be interesting to talk to, or 
 they might endeavor to run the town. In any 
 event, a newcomer signified a certain degree of 
 excitement. She wondered which degree this 
 particular stranger would furnish. 
 
 The three citizens sitting under the awning 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 41 
 
 were also wondering. They wondered what his 
 politics were, and whether he had come to town to 
 make trouble. They noted that he* wore but one 
 six-shooter, and decided that he was not a pro- 
 fessional gunman. Still 
 
 They shifted their quids and pondered. The 
 three were Triangle O punchers, and as such it 
 was incumbent upon them to be wary; for Virgin 
 City was frequently visited by the riders of the 
 Hash Knife 'and the V Up-and-Down. 
 
 "Diamon' A brand," muttered one of the 
 punchers. 
 
 " Uhuh! " agreed the second. 
 
 " Noo Mexico," vouchsafed the third. " Over 
 near the Rio Grande. Seen it often when I was 
 workin' for the Seven Lazy Seven." 
 
 They relapsed into sleepy silence; yet had any 
 person made a hostile move in their direction, 
 they could have gone into instantaneous ac- 
 tion. 
 
 Gilmore, whistling the joyous tune of " Bonny 
 Dundee," unsaddled his horse, turned it into the 
 corral, and entered the hotel, carrying his saddle. 
 He had seen the three under the saloon awning, 
 and was fully aware that they had noted every 
 salient point about himself and his horse. Be- 
 yond a swift glance, he paid no attention to the 
 good-looking girl who stood in the saloon door- 
 way. 
 
 He dumped saddle and bridle in a corner of the 
 barroom and walked to the bar. Two men, con- 
 versing in low tones at the end of the bar, ceased 
 
42 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 talking at his entrance, turned, and stared as un- 
 obtrusively as possible. 
 
 * Whisky," he said shortly. 
 
 "Cert!" replied the bartender, and slammed 
 a bottle and glass on the bar. 
 
 "Water," remarked Gilmore, pouring out a 
 meagre finger of the Old Jordan. 
 
 The bartender opened his mouth to speak; but 
 he found it impossible to utter what was on his 
 tongue's tip, for Gilmore's bright blue eyes were 
 fixed on his, and the stranger's smile was pecul- 
 iarly unpleasant. 
 
 " Water, I said," drawled Gilmore. " Are yuh 
 workin' behind that bar, or are yuh givin' imita- 
 tions of a ossified mummy? " 
 
 The two men at the end of the bar exchanged 
 meaning glances. The bartender gulped, gasped, 
 coughed once, and somehow poured a glass of 
 water. His expression was malevolent as he 
 swept Gilmore's two bits into the cash-drawer. 
 
 Gilmore looked about him. On a side wall 
 hung a gaudy calendar, setting forth, besides the 
 dates, the alleged fact that some one's baking- 
 powder was the only baking-powder in the world. 
 Gilmore walked across to the calendar, tore off 
 the day's sheet, and returned to the bar. Spread- 
 ing the sheet face down beside his glass, he un- 
 earthed a stubby pencil from the recesses of an 
 inner vest-pocket, and proceeded to write his 
 letter to Jimmy. When he had signed his name, 
 he looked across at the bartender. 
 
 " Got an envelope? " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 43 
 
 " Naw," was the surly response. 
 
 " Think again, fellah," came the swift advice. 
 " Scratch yore head, if yuh got" to, and think 
 again." 
 
 " Ain't got no envelopes." 
 
 " One'll do." 
 
 The bartender whirled toward Gilmore. He 
 had conjured up a working head of courage. 
 Perhaps the stranger was not to be feared, after 
 all. 
 
 " I done told you " he began viciously, 
 
 and choked. 
 
 By an extremely simple twist of his right 
 wrist, Gilmore had flicked the full glass of whisky 
 and water into the bartender's eyes. The man 
 yelped and hopped up and down with pain and 
 rage. 
 
 " Lucky there's water mixed up with that var- 
 nish, or yuh'd shore be blinded," soothed Gil- 
 more. " I wouldn't go for to wipe out niy eyes 
 with that salt-sack. Try yore shirt." 
 
 The insulted and blinded bartender, smarting 
 and blowing, found the water-bucket and relief. 
 
 " About that envelope," Gilmore observed 
 calmly, when the victim was partly himself again. 
 
 Meekly, the thoroughly chastened bartender 
 fished an envelope from the cash-drawer and slid 
 it across the bar. Gilmore tossed him a dime, 
 folded and sealed the letter, and departed in 
 search of the stage station. 
 
 His letter in care of the station-agent, he 
 strolled the length of Main Street, and did not 
 
44 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 return to the hotel till the clatter of a beaten dish- 
 pan announced the serving of the midday meal. 
 
 Dinner over, Gilmore entered the barroom, sat 
 down in the corner near his saddle, and rolled a 
 cigarette. To the bartender and the customers he 
 paid no attention, for his thoughts were centered 
 on more interesting subjects. Amber eyes and 
 honey-colored hair can make a pleasant mental 
 picture. 
 
 " What a good-looking chin she had, too! " he 
 mused. " An' cheeks, an' mouth, an' ears, an' all. 
 I wonder how she'd look in skirts ! " 
 
 He began to whistle " Lochaber No More," 
 with variations. The bar being fairly well lined 
 at the time, it was inevitable that one of the fringe 
 should project himself into the lime-light. The 
 projector, a long, black-avised individual, had 
 not witnessed Gilmore's dousing of the bartender, 
 but he had heard of it. 
 
 " Listen to the mocking-bird! " suggested this 
 thirster after publicity. "Ain't it sweet?" 
 
 Conversation at the bar promptly languished. 
 Men found the immediate vicinity of the long 
 citizen distasteful, and began to edge away. Be- 
 fore three minutes had passed, there was discov- 
 ered a clear space on his either hand. 
 
 This was a trifle disconcerting. The loss of the 
 shoulder-touch always is; but he had gone too far. 
 To continue was imperative. Ostentatiously he 
 turned his back on the whistling Gilmore and 
 poured out another drink. 
 
 " It shore beats all," remarked the long citizen 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 45 
 
 to the bartender, who remained at the discreet 
 distance of two yards, " how them singin' birds'll 
 come driftin' in an' blow their liT old tin 
 horns!" 
 
 Gilmore, who had not ceased to whistle unslur- 
 ringly, dropped his tobacco-bag. He leaned side- 
 wise in his chair; but instead of picking up the 
 bag, his fingers closed on the rifle leaning across 
 his saddle. His legs concealed the change of ob- 
 jective. The long mail was raising a glass of 
 whisky to his lips. Gilmore hunched a shoulder. 
 The rifle spat flame and smoke with a roar. 
 
 The tall citizen's hand halted six inches from 
 his mouth. Stupidly he stared, first at his empty 
 fingers, then down at the bits of broken glass ly- 
 ing in a trickle of liquor on the bar-top. 
 
 Gilmore laid down his rifle and readjusted 
 himself in his chair. Not knowing his audience, 
 he kept his right hand reasonably near the butt of 
 his six-shooter. 
 
 " My mistake, stranger," he drawled apolo- 
 getically, grinning up at the man who had men- 
 tioned mocking-birds. " I'm awful careless with 
 a rifle. Sometimes it will go off thataway three 
 or four times a day; then again I won't have any 
 trouble for a week, maybe. I'm shore a nervous 
 party awful nervous. Can't get over it. Yuh'll 
 have to excuse me, mister. Have another drink 
 to make up for the one I spoiled for yuh. Bar- 
 keep, fill the gent's hand! " 
 
 But the long man's thirst was assuaged. Pale 
 to the ears, he faded from the barroom. Seven 
 
46 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 citizens of Virgin City drifted streetward in his 
 wake. 
 
 " From the floor, leanin' over, at the full stretch 
 of his arm that's shootin' ! " was the awed com- 
 ment of one of the seven, when they were out of 
 ear-shot; and the others agreed with him. 
 
 Left to himself, Gilmore winked at the glum 
 bartender and started in on the " Logic of 
 Buchan." 
 
 " Idjit!" he reproved himself, between trills. 
 " Why couldn't ye take a little sass once in a 
 while? Had to spring a grand-stand play, too. 
 Yo're not much of a deputy 1 " 
 
 In the afternoon Gilmore strolled across to 
 Sam Kyle's saloon. The proprietor's wife saw 
 him coming. 
 
 " You look tired, Tom," Mrs. Kyle observed 
 artlessly, passing behind the bar. " S'pose you 
 go and fill the empties out o' the half -barrel? I'll 
 take your place for a while." 
 
 Nothing loath for filling bottles meant a long 
 nap the bartender departed. When Gilmore 
 entered the saloon, the proprietor's wife was 
 swabbing the bar. The bar did not require swab- 
 bing, but the exercise displayed a pretty arm to 
 excellent advantage. 
 
 Gilmore was not unappreciative. He gazed at 
 the arm and into the remarkably fine eyes of the 
 lady. Then he smiled gently and said that he 
 thought he'd have a little whisky and water. 
 She placed the two liquids before him gravely. 
 He poured, mixed, and drank just as gravely. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 47 
 
 The storekeeper entered in search of refresh- 
 ment. Mrs. Kyle expertly alined the usual in- 
 gredients convenient to his right hand, after 
 which she returned to her post near the silent and 
 reflective Gilmore. Her actions were not lost on 
 the storekeeper. He drank and pussy-footed 
 hastily back to his store. 
 
 " She's got a new one," he observed to a Tri- 
 angle O customer. "If I was Sam Kyle, 
 I'd " 
 
 " You'd let her do what she damwell pleases, 
 like she does now," returned the cowboy, with a 
 grin. " Not forty-fourjs, Bill forty-five my 
 gun is." 
 
 " Shore, shore! I must be gettin' careless in 
 my old age not to remember that. Here y'are. 
 Sam ain't really a fool yuh can't run a saloon 
 an' be one exactly; an' yet Sam Kyle don't seem 
 to look after his wife none whatsoever." 
 
 " I'm tellin' yuh she don't mean no harm," 
 emphasized the puncher. " She's straight." 
 
 " All the same, Sam'll just naturally up an' fill 
 his missus full o' lead some o' these dewy morn- 
 in's. He's deep, Sam is, and them deep ones 
 won't stand everythin'." 
 
 " S'pose yuh hop over an' tell him 'bout the 
 serpent in his midst," the puncher suggested 
 hopefully. " I'll hold yore hat an' order yore 
 coffin." 
 
 The storekeeper smiled wanly and changed the 
 subject. 
 
 Gilmore, dawdling over his drink, was in no 
 
48 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 hurry to speak. Three customers came and went 
 before he shifted his shoulders to face the woman. 
 
 " Any of the Lazy D outfit in town? " he in- 
 quired. 
 
 " I don't know," she replied. "Maybe. They 
 ain't been in here, anyhow." 
 
 " Do they always come in here? " 
 
 " Most generally. They come oftener now 
 than they used to. When the old man was alive, 
 I can tell you, stranger, old John Drummond 
 used to keep his boys a humpin'. They earned 
 their pay, take it from me; but now, since Tom 
 Johnson came to be manager, they've been able 
 to act like human beings. It must be three years 
 since old John Drummond passed out. He was 
 a hard worker, like I said, but he was one square 
 gent, if ever there was one. He'd 'a' stopped this 
 here fuss, and stopped it quick, I'm telling you. 
 There never was any nonsense about him." 
 
 "Why don't somebody else stop it?" Gil- 
 more's tone was casual. 
 
 " In the first place, there's nobody round here 
 big enough to stop it. In the second place " she 
 lowered her voice and leaned nearer to him 
 " nobody wants to stop it. A cattle war is a gam- 
 ble somebody wins, and wins big. The win- 
 nings are sure worth a battle." 
 
 " Shore, ma'am, shore," agreed Gilmore, mak- 
 ing rings on the bar with the wet bottom of his 
 glass. " I wonder is the Lazy D the same outfit 
 she was before John Drummond went out! " 
 
 " How do you mean the same? " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 49 
 
 " Same men like that." 
 
 " Only Tom Johnson him that was foreman. 
 He's manager now, and the only one left of the 
 old outfit. They all quit after the old man went, 
 and Tom, he filled his band with some hard gents ; 
 but then a punch has got to be hard to hold down 
 a job in Glenn County. It's eat or be et. What 
 beats me is why old John's son don't come up here 
 and look after his property. Not that Tom John- 
 son ain't looking after it all right I don't mean 
 that, not for a minute; but you'd think a sport 
 owning a ranch like the Lazy D would pay it a 
 visit once in a while. But not him. Young John 
 roosts somewhere in Texas, and don't pay any 
 more attention to the ranch than if it was noth- 
 ing. I'll bet he cashes the checks Tom sends him, 
 though!" 
 
 Gilmore, a trifle astonished at the woman's gar- 
 rulity, rolled a cigarette one-handed and with his 
 thumb-nail snapped a match alight. Over the 
 pulsing flame his bright blue eyes stared into the 
 woman's face. He did not realize that her lo- 
 quacity was prompted solely by an overpowering 
 desire to talk with a person other than an inhabit- 
 ant or frequenter of Virgin City. 
 
 " Hasn't the young fellah ever been here? " he 
 questioned idly. 
 
 " No," she said, shaking her head. " He's al- 
 ways stayed home in Texas on old John's other 
 ranch." 
 
 " Two ranches, eh? The Drummond family 
 must be well fixed." 
 
50 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " I guess so, and then some. Say, mister, what 
 did you say your name was? " 
 
 "I didn't say, but it's Gilmore Dal Gil- 
 
 more." 
 
 " Mine's Maryjane Kyle Missus Maryjane 
 Kyle. I'm married. My husband, Sam, he runs 
 this shack." 
 
 Gilmore received the information with some 
 surprise, for Maryjane Kyle did not have a do- 
 mestic look. He wondered what sort of man Sam 
 might be. 
 
 "Thinking of staying here any time?" pur- 
 sued Mrs. Maryjane, her head slightly tilted. 
 
 " I might." 
 
 " I'm sure I hope you do. I ' 
 
 Bang! A shot crashed in the street. A man 
 reeled through the doorway of the saloon, fell flat 
 on his face, rolled over, and sat up. Supporting 
 himself on one hand, he strove to drag out his 
 gun; but before the weapon was clear of the hol- 
 ster, a hard-featured person in chaps appeared in 
 the doorway and shot him through the heart. 
 
 The man on the floor fell back. His head 
 struck the floor a bumping thud, moved feebly, 
 and was still. 
 
 " Sam! Sam! " screamed Mrs. Kyle. 
 
 She ran round the bar and fell on her knees be- 
 side the body. Dal Gilmore hitched up his belt, 
 circled the weeping woman and her dead, and slid 
 through the doorway. Thirty yards away the 
 hard-featured citizen was preparing to mount his 
 horse. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 51 
 
 " Hands up ! " called Mr. Gilmore, six-shooter 
 drawn. 
 
 The murderer paused, one foot in the stirrup. 
 Quite hastily his elbows nudged his ears. Slowly 
 his foot fell away from the stirrup; slowly he 
 turned, faced Mr. Gilmore, and swore quite 
 heartily. 
 
 " Say ! " he bawled. " What for a deal is this? 
 What are yuh try in' to do? " 
 
 " I wish yuh wouldn't shout so," Mr. Gilmore 
 complained fretfully, walking toward him. " I 
 ain't hard of hearin' ; an' besides, I don't like loud 
 talk. I ain't tryin' to do anything, fellah, but 
 arrest yuh for murder ! " 
 
 " Murder ! Say, what " 
 
 " Yuh hadn't ought to 'a' drilled him in the 
 back," interrupted Gilmore severely. " Some- 
 how, I didn't like the look of that a little bit. It's 
 a greaser trick, that is, an' yuh don't look like a 
 Mexican. Are yuh? " 
 
 The hard-featured citizen gasped. When he 
 could speak, he swore anew. 
 
 " What call have yuh to arrest me? " he shouted 
 at the tail of a string of crackling oaths. " I tell 
 yuh, stranger, yuh just better think again before 
 hornin' in on this deal! Maybe yuh don't know 
 where yuh are? " 
 
 " Shore I'm right here, takin' yore gun away 
 for yuh, an' with my gun right against yore shirt. 
 I know it's reckoned dangerous to work in so 
 close, but I ain't worryin' any. This here gun of 
 mine pulls awful easy. A fellah don't hardly 
 
52 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 know he's touched the trigger when off she goes, 
 kerblam! an' there yuh are all spread out on the 
 real estate. Now yuh can turn round, still keepin' 
 yore hands over yore head, an' walk across the 
 street to the hotel." 
 
 " I won't! " announced the other firmly. 
 
 " No? I'm sorry. I'd enjoy havin' yuh go 
 alive, but if yuh prefer goin' feet first, why, fel- 
 lah, just take a rest while I'm countin' three. 
 One two that's right. I kind of thought yuh'd 
 see the light!" 
 
 Gilmore marched his prisoner into the hotel, 
 produced shiny new handcuffs from the cantinas 
 on his saddle, and snapped them on the murder- 
 er's wrists. The prisoner had lapsed into stupe- 
 fied silence. 
 
 Gilmore called the landlord and paid his bill. 
 He was stowing away the change when a stocky 
 man with green and shifty eyes entered quietly. 
 
 " I'm the marshal," announced the shifty-eyed 
 man, superfluously indicating with a spatulate 
 thumb the star pinned against the upper left- 
 hand pocket of his vest. " Me bein' the duly con- 
 stitooted officer of the law as made and provided 
 here in Virgin City, I'd shore admire to know 
 wherein an' how yuh undertake to mix in on a fair 
 fight an' arrest the survivin' party ! " 
 
 Gilmore turned a genial gaze on the marshal. 
 When he spoke, his tones were almost honeyed in 
 their suave accents. 
 
 " The marshal? Yuh don't say! Well, now, 
 I'm glad to hear it. Shore yuh want to know all 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 53 
 
 about the fraycas, an' correct, too. Yuh know 
 yore business I can see that by the way yuh 
 keep yore pretty little star all bright an' shinin'. 
 Yuh'd like to know where I get the right to arrest 
 this killer. I'm a deputy sheriff. Here take a 
 good look at my star. I always wear it under my 
 vest thisaway, because it ain't really nobody's 
 business who I am till it comes time for a show- 
 down, like now. Have I any right to arrest this 
 man?" 
 
 " Shore," agreed the marshal, scratching his 
 head; " but I can tell yuh yo're makin' a big mis- 
 take!" 
 
 " No mistake at all," Gilmore contradicted 
 warmly. " I saw the whole fraycas. This party 
 wearin' the come-alongs didn't give the other 
 sport a chance. It was a cold deal. He'll hang 
 for murder ! " 
 
 " Maybe he did, but " 
 
 " Did I hear yuh say ' maybe '? " 
 
 Gilmore's bright blue eyes turned frosty on the 
 instant, as they gimleted their way into the shifty 
 green orbs of the marshal. 
 
 ' Yuh did not," the marshal asserted hastily. 
 ' It's just like yuh say, but still it's a mistake. 
 The beefed gent was Sam Kyle, owner of the 
 Ace Saloon. This party is Slim Dennison, fore- 
 man o' the V Up-an'-Down outfit. There ain't 
 no chance he'll hang not in Glenn County, no- 
 how. Yuh might just as well turn him loose, Mr. 
 Deputy, an' save hard feelin's an' a lot o' trouble 
 all round." 
 
54 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " If yuh don't," sneered the hard-faced Denni- 
 son, " yuh'll be lynched so quick it'll make yore 
 hair curl!" 
 
 " If I am, yuh'll be too dead to enjoy the 
 sight," retorted Gilmore. " Yo're goin' to Plain 
 Edge with me. Yuh can go livin', like I say, or 
 yuh can go in a pack, but yo're goin'. It's a 
 whipsaw yuh lose both ways. Marshal, yo're 
 an officer of the law. I call on you to help me in 
 this deal. You bring the prisoner along, while I 
 carry my saddle an' bridle down to the corral. 
 That's it in front of me, both of yuh! " 
 
 In deep silence, watched by amazed citizens 
 who carefully refrained from comments or any 
 display of interest, the three walked to the corral. 
 The storekeeper, standing in his doorway, rubbed 
 a stubbly chin. 
 
 " Who'd 'a' thought that could happen in 
 Glenn County? " he muttered. " Law an' order I 
 It don't sound possible! " 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE marshal rode with the deputy and his 
 prisoner on their way north. He had no burning 
 desire to keep them company; but Dal Gilmore 
 had suggested it suggested it with twinkling 
 eyes and a fixed grin that would have daunted 
 stronger men than the marshal. 
 
 " It's right kindly o' yuh to trapes along with 
 us thisaway," acknowledged Gilmore, when the 
 town was a mile astern of their horses' tails. " I 
 won't forget it." 
 
 The prisoner laughed harshly. Like the scratch 
 of a slipped knife angling across a plate, the 
 sound grated on the marshal's stretched nerves, 
 and he almost jumped. He raised his eyes to 
 find Gilmore staring at him, an odd quirk at each 
 corner of the young man's smiling mouth. The 
 marshal realized that he might as well have 
 jumped. To cover his confusion, he spoke more 
 or less at random. 
 
 * Yo're makin' a big mistake," he said again. 
 
 " Yuh said that before," Gilmore complained 
 plaintively. " I could find it easy to like yuh a 
 lot, marshal, if yuh wasn't always repeatin' yore- 
 self. Travelin' the same trail thataway don't 
 yuh ever get tired of it? " 
 
56 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 The marshal did not reply. He did not know 
 how. The verbal parry being out of the question, 
 the obvious course was to make a remark beyond 
 which there would lie nothing save an appeal to 
 arms. To make such a remark would have ex- 
 ceedingly rejoiced his soul; but somehow it is dif- 
 ficult to free one's mind to a quick-shooting citi- 
 zen who is heedless of consequences. 
 
 The marshal had been a witness to Gilmore's 
 rifle-practice in the hotel bar. He possessed a 
 certain brand of animal courage. Willingly he 
 would have gone up against his equals, any or all 
 of them ; but he knew in his inmost heart that he 
 was Gilmore's physical, mental, and moral in- 
 ferior, and he knew that Gilmore knew it. The 
 marshal only hoped that the prisoner did not 
 know it, too. 
 
 "Yo're a fine marshal, Tim Simms!" Slim 
 Dennison announced suddenly. ' Yuh let this 
 sport take me away right out from under yore 
 nose. What'll Jack Shaw do about it, huh? I'm 
 askin' yuh, what'll Jack do? " 
 
 The marshal's green eyes shifted hither and 
 yon quite rapidly. Gilmore chuckled, and rolled 
 a cigarette. 
 
 " Why don't yuh answer the gent? " was Gil- 
 more's polite query, when the harassed marshal 
 remained dumb. 
 
 Tim Simms snorted out a reference to the in- 
 fernal regions. 
 
 " Seems like it might be just that, before all's 
 over," drawled Gilmore. " There's a heap o' hell 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 57 
 
 lyin' round loose an' promiscuous in Glenn 
 County too much by a whole lot. It ought to 
 be cleaned up. It's goin' to be cleaned up. If 
 yuh set any value by that star on yore chest, 
 yuh'll help." 
 
 " Say - " began the marshal. 
 
 " Don't be in too big a hurry to say it," advised 
 Gilmore. 
 
 The marshal subsided. The prisoner emitted a 
 string of oaths. 
 
 " Have yuh done gone traded in yore gun for 
 a atomizer, Tim Simms?" he added. "What's 
 the matter with yuh, anyway? " 
 
 "You can go plumb to hell!" snapped the 
 marshal, wagging a thick forefinger at Slim. 
 " Don'tcha try to ride me, feller don'tcha try 
 it!" 
 
 " If I had my gun I'd ride yuh quick enough, 
 an' don'tcha forget it! Yuh know I ain't got it. 
 That's why yuh can talk thisaway! " 
 
 There was reason in this. Furthermore, by 
 quarreling with Slim, there was nothing to gain 
 and a great deal to lose. 
 
 " If yuh had yore gun, yuh wouldn't be here," 
 said the marshal equably. " Don't yuh fret none. 
 Yuh'll get out o' this all right." 
 
 " I know that, but you'd ought to 'a' done 
 somethin', 'stead of standin' there like a wart on 
 a pickle. Yuh don't think I like this, do 
 
 Slim suggestively jingled his handcuffs. The 
 marshal stared unhappily at his horse's ears. He 
 
58 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 and the prisoner were riding side by side. Gil- 
 more had dropped a yard or two in the rear. 
 Now he called a halt and ordered the prisoner to 
 change horses with him. 
 
 * Yo're heavier J n me," he explained, " an' the 
 dun's stronger'n yore cayuse. If he piles yuh, 
 we'll be shore to stop an' pick yuh up." 
 
 But the yellow horse did not pile Slim Denni- 
 son. He bore him meekly enough, and Gilmore 
 took up his former position in the rear. 
 
 Little by little, Gilmore dropped back till sev- 
 eral yards separated him from the others. Reach- 
 ing down, he made sure that his six-shooter was 
 loose in the holster. Then he began to loll in the 
 saddle and hum broken snatches of song. At in- 
 tervals he yawned widely and loudly. 
 
 All these bits of byplay were not lost on the 
 precious pair in front. Under cover of the mar- 
 shal's lighting a cigarette for Slim, they whis- 
 pered together. 
 
 " They're plottin' away forty to the minute! " 
 Gilmore said to himself delightedly. " This is 
 goin' to be easier than I thought." 
 
 Rounding a low hill, the trail diagonally 
 climbed a ridge, ribboned down the reverse slope, 
 and vanished in a belt of pine-trees. At the top 
 of the ridge Gilmore caught the marshal looking 
 furtively over his shoulder. He promptly wav- 
 ered a little in the saddle. His head bobbed. He 
 strove to present the appearance of one far gone 
 in fatigue and drowsiness. 
 
 It was coarse work, but the marshal was no 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 59 
 
 judge of acting. Wholly devoid of subtlety him- 
 self, he did not attribute that admirable quality 
 to others. 
 
 Where the shadow of the first pine-tree fell 
 across the trail, Simms slipped from his saddle. 
 At the same moment Slim Dennison, crouching 
 forward, jumped the dun horse in among the 
 trees. Simultaneously with the aforesaid actions 
 of the marshal and the prisoner, Gilmore's hand 
 flashed down and up, and his six-shooter spat 
 spitefully. 
 
 The marshal howled shrilly as his revolver flew 
 one way and the last joint of his thumb another. 
 From the belt of pines there drifted the sound of 
 galloping hoofs. Gilmore hurriedly clapped two 
 fingers to his mouth, and the galloping sound 
 ceased abruptly. 
 
 Gilmore approached the agonized Simms, who 
 was teetering upon his high heels and clutching 
 the wrist of his wounded hand as if he feared it 
 would depart from him. When the deputy had 
 recovered the marshal's six-shooter and stuffed 
 it into the waistband of his own trousers, he 
 pulled out another pair of handcuffs and chained 
 the unhappy individual fast to a lodge-pole 
 pine. 
 
 * Wait for me," Gilmore urged genially, and 
 went into the woods on the trail of Slim Dennison 
 and the dun. 
 
 Fifty yards from where he had left the mar- 
 shal he found the dun horse, its legs braced four- 
 square, peacefully gazing upon the writhing form 
 
60 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 of Slim Dennison. Slim was indisposed after his 
 heavy fall, and showed it noisily. Gilmore 
 frankly hooted and slapped his leather-clad 
 thighs. 
 
 " What do yuh think of my little trick hoss? " 
 he demanded. " Piled yuh nice an' easy, didn't 
 he? Yessir, that's a reg'lar four-legged hoss with 
 a mane an' a tail, that is ! I wouldn't take a hun- 
 dred dollars for him no, not if I was flat broke 
 an' my ribs caved in. Don't mind me, Slim! Go 
 on, have yore sick out. Yuh got all the time there 
 is. After yuh get through, we'll go back an' join 
 the marshal where he's got both arms wrapped 
 round a tree. Funny fellah, that marshal man! 
 I never did see any gent get attached to anythin' 
 so quick an' so hard! " 
 
 Mr. Gilmore laughed anew and wiped tears of 
 unfeigned merriment from his eyes. Then he 
 sat down, leaned comfortably against a tree, and 
 rolled a cigarette. 
 
 After an appreciable interval Slim Dennison 
 hauled himself to a sitting position. He was not 
 pretty to look at. Gilmore stared at him critic- 
 ally. 
 
 " As a ranch foreman, yo're almost ruined," 
 observed the deputy, delicately flicking the ash 
 from his cigarette with his little finger. " Yore 
 nose an' yore forehead ain't what they used to be 
 by several square inches of skin, an' yore left ear 
 has been kind of mashed an' shredded up right 
 smart. That chin of yores won't need shavin' for 
 a long, long time, an' yore right eye is turnin' 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 61 
 
 black fast. Yessir, Slim, yore boss won't know 
 yuh when he sees yuh lookin' out through the 
 bars of Plain Edge calaboose! " 
 
 Slim Dennison spat several curses and one 
 tooth at his grinning tormentor. 
 
 " I forgot yore teeth," Gilmore continued tran- 
 quilly. " Any more besides that one? Come on 
 now ; up yuh come, an' we'll be gettin' back to the 
 marshal. I don't want him to grow into that 
 tree!" 
 
 They returned to the marshal, who, when they 
 appeared, loudly desired to know whether Gil- 
 more wished him to bleed to death. 
 
 * There's no arteries in yore thumb not a 
 one," rejoined the deputy. " Yo're just losin' a 
 little surface blood; that's all. Nothin' to worry 
 yuh at all. Here, don't joggle so! How can I 
 wrap her up good wiih you hoppin' round like a 
 stung steer? " 
 
 Ten minutes later they were riding northward 
 again, Slim Dennison in the lead on the dun, the 
 marshal following, and the rear brought up by 
 Dal Gilmore. Round Dennison's neck was the 
 loop of a rope, which in turn encircled the neck 
 of the marshal and was finally made fast at the 
 deputy's saddle-horn. 
 
 * You fellahs want to ride nice an' easy like," 
 Gilmore cheerfully remarked. " If those hosses 
 should run away now " 
 
 The prisoners, their backs turned, were unable 
 to perceive the eloquent wave of the deputy's 
 cigarette that completed the sentence; but they 
 
62 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 knew what was meant, and their jaundiced minds 
 were filled with evil foreboding. 
 
 Toward sundown, looking backward across a 
 sun-baked flat, Gilmore saw a lone horseman 
 overhauling them at a stretching run. Herding 
 his prisoners close together, the deputy swung his 
 horse across the trail in front of them, and dis- 
 mounted. He had no sentimental notions about 
 the sanctity of prisoners' bodies. If a rescue were 
 toward, then so much the worse for them. They 
 would be shot first. 
 
 Not knowing how Slim Dennison's horse 
 would act under fire, he was careful not to rest 
 his rifle on the saddle when he squinted through 
 the sights at the oncoming rider. 
 
 " Yore finish is a-comin'," announced Slim 
 Dennison gleefully, his beady black eyes alight. 
 " This sport is just the lead-horse; the rest o' the 
 herd will be up shortly. Then I guess maybe 
 yuh'll be singin' another tune ! " 
 
 " Yuh'll be lynched," balefully observed the 
 marshal. "Lynched, I tell yuh! That's just 
 what's a-goin' to happen to yuh. Teach yuh to 
 come up here an' try to run things ! " 
 
 " I guess likely," returned Gilmore. " Hot 
 day, ain't it? " 
 
 There was no further interchange of courtesies. 
 
 At four hundred yards' range Gilmore fired a 
 warning shot high. The horseman immedi- 
 ately halted and flung up his right hand, palm 
 outward, in the peace sign. 
 
 " Now I wonder! " muttered Gilmore, and 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 63 
 
 continued to stare warily along the sights of his 
 Winchester. 
 
 The rider dismounted, flung the reins over his 
 mount's head, stepped far to one side, and un- 
 buckled his cartridge-belt. Raising it above his 
 head, so that Gilmore could plainly see the six- 
 shooter in its holster and the knife in its sheath, 
 he quickly lowered belt and weapons to the 
 ground and started to walk toward Gilmore, with 
 both hands on a level with his ears. The deputy 
 did not cease to cover him as he approached. 
 
 " I'd kind of stop right there," softly advised 
 Gilmore, when the newcomer was within twenty 
 yards. " I can hear what yuh have to say all 
 right!" 
 
 The man instantly came to a halt. He was a 
 wide-shouldered, swarthy individual with a black 
 mustache and piercing black eyes. 
 
 " I have nothin' to say," he remarked with a 
 flash of white teeth. " I have letter. Can I geeve 
 her you? " 
 
 " Just drop her on the ground, then turn yore 
 back, walk five steps, an' sit down." 
 
 " Shore, I do dat." 
 
 The dark man fished in the breast pocket of his 
 flannel shirt, and produced a crumbled bit of 
 paper. He tossed it toward Gilmore, turned his 
 back, and did as the deputy had ordered. 
 
 Gilmore unhurriedly walked forward and 
 picked up the paper. He retreated behind his 
 breastworks before smoothing out its several 
 folds. The letter ran; 
 
64 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 DEAR MR. GILMORE : 
 
 You are in great danger. Slim Dennison 's friends, 
 and the marshal's, too, are organizing to trail you and 
 that murderer. They aim to kill you and free the 
 murderer. They will start soon. Don't stay on the trail. 
 Smoky Nivette will show you how to get to Plain Edge 
 by a short cut. He is an honest man and a friend of 
 mine. You can trust him. 
 
 Hoping this finds you well, as it leaves me, but very 
 sad at present, I am 
 
 Your heart-broken friend, 
 
 MARYJANE KYLE. 
 
 Gilmore stuffed the letter into one of his vest- 
 pockets and hurriedly dodged round his breast- 
 works to shake the hand of Smoky Nivette. He 
 had made an instantaneous decision to accept the 
 warning at its face value. It might be a forgery, 
 designed to lead him into a trap ; but if his ene- 
 mies were plotting his downfall, why should they 
 go to the trouble of writing a letter and sending 
 a messenger when a simple, unfrilled pursuit 
 would have been easier and more logical? So the 
 deputy reasoned as he shook hands with Nivette 
 and assured him that he was very glad to see 
 him. 
 
 "Me, too," flashed Smoky Nivette, with a 
 chuckle of mirth directly inherited from his 
 French father. * We got to hurry. I geet my 
 hoss un we weel dreeft." 
 
 'Y'betcha!" said Gilmore, and returned to 
 his prisoners. 
 
 They regarded him glumly. Of the two, the 
 marshal appeared to be a degree the more un- 
 happy. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 65 
 
 " That dam' breed! " the marshal remarked in 
 a low voice. " What does he want? " 
 
 " Seems like yuh corne mighty near knowin', 
 or yuh wouldn't be so free with yore language," 
 Gilmore replied, returning his rifle to the scab- 
 bard under the right fender. 
 
 " It won't do yuh no good," snarled the mar- 
 shal. " We'll be free ten minutes after we see 
 the sheriff in Plain Edge." 
 
 " I guess," said Gilmore. " I guess likely! " 
 
 Smoky Nivette, riding up, bestowed upon the 
 prisoners the steady, glittering stare of his In- 
 dian ancestry on the petticoat side. His features 
 had subtly changed. In the hard, black eyes and 
 in the dark face one read now the call of the 
 stake, the flaying knives, the burning splinters, 
 and other recondite means to the end that cap- 
 tives may be put to unutterable anguish. 
 
 Dennison and the marshal returned the half- 
 breed's gaze, but not for long. Their eyes wav- 
 ered, shifted, then slid sidewise in their sockets, 
 and finally settled upon the landscape. Gilmore 
 smiled slightly, and suggested that they might as 
 well be continuing their journey. 
 
 Under the expert guidance of Smoky Nivette 
 the party turned aside from the trail, dropped 
 down a steep slope, and rode through a fringe of 
 cottonwoods into a creek. Riding in the water, 
 they followed the creek till darkness replaced the 
 long summer twilight; then they went ashore, un- 
 saddled, and hobbled the horses. 
 
 The half-breed built a tiny fire between two 
 
66 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 boulders so cunningly that barely a ray was vis- 
 ible at a distance of forty feet. The prisoners, 
 bootless lest they should be moved to attempt 
 escape cuddled their feet and hungrily sniffed 
 the frying bacon. Gilmore lay on his back, and 
 knew that the world was good. So far luck had 
 been amazingly with him. He hoped it would re- 
 main in that position. 
 
 " How far to Plain Edge? " he inquired, when 
 the food had vanished. 
 
 " Feefty mile," replied Nivette. " Long mile 
 dey are, too. Lak dis ! " 
 
 He made a saw-tooth motion with his right 
 hand. 
 
 " Perpendicular scenery, huh? We'll get 
 there, if it's worse'n that." 
 
 " Why go dere, Meester Geelmore? " ques- 
 tioned the half-breed, his eyes two shining pin- 
 points in the thin glow of his cigarette. 
 
 " What do you mean? " Gilmore's tone held 
 more than a hint of hardness. 
 
 " I mean dis why tak' dese men to Plain 
 Edge? Sleem, she have keel Sam Kyle. Sleem 
 mus' die. I have not ask for why Teem, de mar- 
 shal, wear de han'cuff, but I guess she be good 
 t'ing eef Teem die, too. Well, den, we tak' dem 
 to Plain Edge. Dey weel not die. Dey weel go 
 free. So, I say, why tak' dem to Plain Edge? 
 Dees plass she ees good plass for leave a man. 
 Are you me? " 
 
 Gilmore understood. So did the two prisoners, 
 as their accelerated breathing plainly testified. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 67 
 
 " Can't be did," Gilmore said shortly. " They 
 goto Plain Edge!" 
 
 "But 
 
 " There ain't any buts. If yuh don't want to 
 guide me to Plain Edge, yuh don't have to. I'll 
 make out on my own hook." 
 
 " Oh, I weel go wit' you," Nivette grunted re- 
 signedly. " I know how you see dees t'ing. I 
 have been deputy, too. You have swore to hold 
 up de law un de ordair. Dat ees right dat ees 
 fine; but mabbeso dere ees no law un no ordair. 
 What ees dere to hold up, den? By gar, dees 
 Glenn County, she ees de bad plass, lak I say 
 widout de law un de ordair, where horse-t'ief un 
 rustler raise trouble all de time. I say we do lak 
 de Texas Rangair treat de greasair let dese two 
 men try for escape; un when we have bury dem, 
 who weel say all was not fair? But eef you say 
 no, den I do what you say. Togedder we tak 5 
 'em to Plain Edge/ 
 
 " Plain Edge it is," said Gilmore, greatly re- 
 lieved to hear that the half-breed would not de- 
 sert him. 
 
 Hampered by two prisoners, in an unknown 
 region, and pursued by a band of citizens bent on 
 lynching, he was not in a position where he could 
 afford to refuse a proffer of aid. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 IT might well be that the Hash Knife boys, set 
 on the deputy's trail by Louise Stuart, were al- 
 ready in Plain Edge. In that case it would be a 
 large, wide day. As Gilmore had suggested to 
 his two prisoners: 
 
 " If yore friends are here, yuh better pray- 
 hard!" 
 
 The sun was three hours high when the four 
 rode into Plain Edge. The town, a fair counter- 
 part of Virgin City, rubbed its eyes individually 
 and en masse when it beheld the V Up-and-Down 
 foreman and the Virgin City marshal wearing 
 handcuffs. 
 
 What could have happened? Had the Virgin 
 City people been struck mad, that they should 
 allow two of their most shining lights to be so 
 treated? Smoky Nivette was known to be an 
 oddly honest man, but that he should appear in 
 the role of a reformer did not fit the picture. 
 Who was the stranger? Always smiling, wasn't 
 he? Looked like a hard-bitted fellow, though. 
 He must be, to have got the drop on those two 
 sharps. Thus Plain Edge chattered circum- 
 spectly under its breath as it followed the four 
 riders to the calaboose. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 69 
 
 Smolcy Nivette had informed Gilmore that the 
 sheriff slept in the room behind the jail proper. 
 Leaving the half-breed and the two prisoners in 
 front of the building, the deputy rode round to 
 the back door and beat upon it with his fist. 
 There was no sound within. 
 
 Gilmore dismounted, his eyes extremely busy. 
 So far there had been no sign of hostility, and 
 none of the ponies in sight bore the Hash Knife 
 brand. Perhaps he had given Stuart and his 
 boys credit for too much energy. A mild-looking 
 little wisp of a man oozed round the corner. 
 
 " Lookin' for the sheriff? " ventured the wispy 
 one. 
 
 " Where is he? " Gilmore wheeled, his hand on 
 the latch. 
 
 " He ain't," replied the wisp, tilting his hat 
 and scratching a large ear. 
 
 " He ain't? " Gilmore repeated stupidly. 
 
 " Shore, he ain't," nodded the little man. " Got 
 drunk last night, the sheriff did, an' he mistook a 
 case o' dynamite sticks, down at Clancy's, for the 
 wood-box. Thinkin' they're fire-wood, the sheriff 
 dumps a whole armful of the sticks into the 
 stove. We picked Clancy, who was kind of 
 mixed up with a bed an' most o' the roof, out of 
 the river, but the sheriff done vanished complete. 
 That's why he ain't." 
 
 The wispy one extracted a long plug from his 
 boot-leg, bit off a chew, and worked his jaws 
 squirrel-wise. 
 
 "That's shore tough!" Gilmore remarked 
 
70 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 heartily, strong in the knowledge that he was 
 greatly favored of Providence. He had expected 
 trouble with the sheriff, and the official's demise 
 could hardly have been more apropos. " Where's 
 the deputy Enright? " he added. 
 
 " Off some'eres," the little man announced. 
 " tie may be at Virgin City, or 'most anywheres. 
 Yuh can't tell." 
 
 So much the better. Breathing an earnest 
 hope that Enright, who was an unknown quan- 
 tity, would prolong his absence, Gilmore went to 
 unbar the calaboose door. 
 
 The prisoners complained bitterly of hunger 
 and thirst as they were thrust within. True, they 
 had had nothing to eat or drink since the previous 
 day; but neither had their keepers. 
 
 " Keep yore hair on," Gilmore advised them. 
 " Yuh'll be watered an' fed quick as I can pack 
 water an' rustle some chuck. Now stop yore 
 yowlin'!" 
 
 Slamming shut the iron-bound door of the 
 jail, he dropped the heavy bars across it. He 
 turned to find the wispy one at his elbow. 
 
 " My hotel's right across the street," the little 
 man hazarded, with an engaging grin that re- 
 vealed the loss of several teeth. " Got a good 
 corral, too, an' a Injun to guard it at night." 
 
 ;< That's shore an inducement, that Injun 
 watch-dog," Gilmore replied. " I'll go yuh! " 
 
 " Fine!" said the other, and turned to shake 
 hands with Nivette. " She's a long time since I 
 seen you, Smoky." 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 71 
 
 While he and Nivette were unsaddling the 
 four horses at the corral bars, Niyette told him 
 that the wispy proprietor could be trusted. 
 
 " Dat ees why she say come to hees hotel," ex- 
 plained the half-breed. " She unnerstan' we are 
 buck de hard game, un she wan' for help. She 
 one hones' man, dat Shorty Damman." 
 
 Judge Trivvy, the pasty-faced, flabby una- 
 dornment of the Glenn County bench, was look- 
 ing through the bottom of a glass for the fifth 
 time that morning when Gilmore and Nivette en- 
 tered upon him. He set down the glass and 
 blinked blearily at them. 
 
 * Your business, gentlemen? " he said cour- 
 teously, leaning back in his chair and clasp- 
 ing pudgy hands across a still more pudgy 
 paunch. 
 
 " I want a warrant for Slim Dennison," Gil- 
 more announced briskly. " He's charged with 
 the murder of Samuel Kyle, of Virgin City. An' 
 I want another warrant for Timothy Simms, the 
 Virgin City marshal. He's charged with at- 
 temptin' to help a prisoner to escape." 
 
 His honor's pale, red-rimmed eyes bulged. He 
 found it difficult to credit his ears. Actually, war- 
 rants for two of his own friends were being de- 
 manded! What was the world coming to? And 
 who was this pushing person wearing the star of 
 a deputy sheriff? 
 
 " I don't believe I quite understand," frowned 
 the judge. " I am sure there is some mistake. 
 There must be. I " 
 
72 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " There ain't any mistake," Gilmore broke in. 
 " I saw Slim Dennison turn the trick. That 
 goes for the marshal, too. I'm a witness against 
 both of 'em. Do I get the warrants? " 
 
 " Who are you? " evaded the judge, feeling 
 somehow at a loss in the presence of this direct 
 and forceful character with the smiling mouth 
 and the twinkling blue eyes. 
 
 " Who am I? " drawled Gilmore. " Why, I'm 
 just Dal Gilmore, appointed a deputy sheriff in 
 this county by the Governor. Here's my ap- 
 pointment." 
 
 From an inner pocket of his vest he pulled a 
 long slip of folded paper. Flipping it open, he 
 spread it on the table in front of the judge. 
 Reluctantly the latter read the formal wording 
 that bore witness to Gilmore's veracity. Trivvy 
 raised his eyes and cocked one plump leg over the 
 other. 
 
 " Do you realize what you are doing in request- 
 ing me to issue these warrants? " was the judge's 
 bald query. 
 
 " I'm doin' what I'm paid to do," Gilmore re- 
 plied. 
 
 " You're young young and, I fear, hot- 
 headed. I realize that your mind is filled with 
 the high duties of your office, but you must learn 
 to temper with common sense the prosecution of 
 those same duties. Nothing is ever gained by 
 thoughtless haste. Think it over. I am sure the 
 V Up-and-Down will be reasonable in the mat- 
 ter. They " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 73 
 
 "That's enough!" interrupted Gilmore. 
 " You've said all I aim to hear. J[ want those 
 warrants. I aim to get 'em, if I have to build a 
 fire under yuh or beat yuh to death with a quirt. 
 I've handled mules before. My methods never 
 fail." 
 
 Gilmore looked menacingly at the judge, and 
 drew his wire-bound quirt through his fingers in 
 a manner unpleasantly significant. Trivvy's 
 nerves began to jerk. He strove to preserve his 
 dignity, to appear calm; but there was an uneasy 
 feeling about his digestive tract. He broke out 
 in a gentle perspiration. 
 
 " Young man, you are offensive and impu- 
 dent ! " said Judge Trivvy. " Get out of here, or 
 I shall hold you for contempt of court! " 
 
 Gilmore laughed. 
 
 " Judge," he said, " I don't want to beat yuh to 
 a frazzle. Yo're old, gray-headed, an' fat, an' no- 
 body loves yuh, not even yore friends. Yuh'd 
 ought to 'a' been lynched long ago. How yuh've 
 done escaped it so long is a mystery. This is the 
 way the rope feels, judge! " 
 
 Swift as a snake striking, Gilmore's right hand 
 flashed out, and his long fingers twined them- 
 selves in the front of the judge's white collar. 
 He gave his hand a slow half-turn. His honor 
 kicked, his honor struggled, his honor beat at 
 Gilmore with his fist; but the judicial com- 
 plexion went purple very quickly, and the judi- 
 cial breath became difficult to draw. When the 
 judge was on the verge of gurgling strangula- 
 
74 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 tion, Gilmore released the bulging neck and 
 leaned back against the table. 
 
 ' Yuh see how it is," he said lightly, quite as if 
 he had been demonstrating the best method of 
 rolling a cigarette one-handed. 
 
 The manhandling to which he had been sub- 
 jected had utterly upset the judge's physical and 
 mental balance. He writhed in his chair, clutch- 
 ing his throat, and breathed with difficulty. 
 Shaking in body and limb, he poured himself a 
 stiff four-fingers; but the liquor heartened him 
 not a whit. Instead, it stimulated his imagina- 
 tion. Certainly the unamiable Mr. Shaw would 
 be moved to question and, later, to act, when it 
 should come to his ears that his foreman had 
 been arrested on a warrant signed by Judge 
 Trivvy. 
 
 As the vision of the hawk-nosed Mr. Shaw 
 combined with the lively presence of the threat- 
 ening Mr. Gilmore, it is no wonder that cold ter- 
 ror twanged the judge's heart-strings and his fat 
 knees metaphorically turned to water. Wrig- 
 gling like a worm, he flapped miserable hands at 
 his tormentor. 
 
 "I can't sign those warrants!" he bleated. 
 "You know I can't!" 
 
 "*So! " Gilmore observed wearily, and pushed 
 the bottle toward the judge. " Have another. 
 Yuh need it." 
 
 His honor pettishly thrust the bottle from 
 him. Had he been a woman, he would have 
 wept. As it was, he snuffled while playing eeny- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 75 
 
 meeny-miny-mo with the sharp horns of the 
 dilemma confronting him. 
 
 Beyond a doubt he would be shot if he signed 
 those warrants. If he did not sign them, he 
 would be beaten to a pulp, probably choked, and 
 perhaps killed. This stranger looked like a man 
 who would not balk at murder. It was a lawless 
 country. 
 
 His honor's agonized eyes sought the window. 
 In the street, Lavey's baby was playing in the 
 dust. Oh, to be a care-free child again! The 
 forlorn judge groaned aloud in the utter misery 
 of his soul. 
 
 Smoky Nivette eyed him contemptuously and 
 rolled a cigarette. The impatient Gilmore leaned 
 forward, gripped the judicial shoulders in his 
 two hands, and shook them vigorously. 
 
 ' Yo're shore a pore skate of a judge!" he 
 exclaimed. " I heard yuh was crooked enough to 
 hide behind a corkscrew, but I didn't know yuh 
 was yellow. Now you do what I say issue 
 those warrants, an' do it muy pronto, or I'll shore 
 make yuh hard to find ! " 
 
 He flung Judge Triwy from him and stepped 
 back. His honor, huddled in his chair, goggled 
 at him. 
 
 " I'll I'll " he stuttered, striving to as- 
 sert himself. 
 
 "Yes?" said Gilmore, bending above him. 
 "You'll do what?" 
 
 " I'll do as you suggest ! " squeaked the judge. 
 "But " 
 
76 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 His honor clutched the table-edge and stared 
 pop-eyed at nothing. A great light had suddenly 
 shone upon his tortured brain. How ridiculously 
 easy was the way out! He was amazed that he 
 had not thought of it before. 
 
 What if he did issue the warrants? The men 
 would be tried before him. The county prose- 
 cutor would neither speak for conviction, nor 
 would the jury, packed with V Up-and- 
 Down and Hash Knife adherents, convict the 
 prisoners. All would go merrily as a wedding- 
 bell. 
 
 His honor almost laughed aloud. He even 
 plucked up sufficient courage to attempt a malev- 
 olent glare in Gilmore's direction. 
 
 " That's right, yore honor! " chuckled Gilmore. 
 " Screw up yore face thataway, if yuh feel like it, 
 but look me in the eye while yuh do it that is, 
 if yuh mean me!" 
 
 Without another word Judge Triwy pulled 
 out his table-drawer, took therfefrom two war- 
 rants, and proceeded to fill them out. When he 
 had signed his name, he pushed the documents to- 
 ward Gilmore and sat up with a slight resump- 
 tion of dignity. 
 
 " I shall make you suffer for this! " he declared 
 in a tone which he vainly essayed to make full, 
 round, and rolling. " When Enright returns, I 
 shall at once commit you for contempt of court 
 and assault and battery." 
 
 " Hands kind of shaky still, I see," Gilmore 
 observed unheedingly, reading the warrants. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 77 
 
 " But they'll do, I guess. What's that about 
 contempt of court? " 
 
 " You will know all about that when Enright 
 
 returns." 
 
 " Or Enright will," was Gilmore's happy re- 
 joinder. 
 
 " You you " sputtered the judge. 
 
 " Fellah, don't make any mistake," Gilmore 
 urged earnestly. " The good old days in Glenn 
 County are past an' done. These two sports " 
 he tapped the warrants with a lean forefinger 
 " are only a beginnin'. Others'll follow just as 
 fast as I can glom onto the evidence. Yuh 
 needn't think, 'cause hoss-thieves an' rustlers 
 have been bossin' the round-up for a while, that 
 they can keep on a-doin' it. No, sir, not by a 
 jugful! There's goin' to be either a heap o' re- 
 formin' round here or a full graveyard. There 
 ain't anybody livin' can mind their own business 
 better'n I can, an' this here is my business. I'm 
 just tellin' yuh this so's yuh won't go makin' any 
 fool breaks." 
 
 " What can one man clo? " the judge queried 
 faintly. 
 
 " There are other straight gents in this county. 
 They can't all be crooked. It wouldn't be natu- 
 ral. Think it over. Oh, an' before I forget it, I 
 want to tell yuh these two sharps are in the cala- 
 boose right now. Yuh'll try 'em this afternoon 
 better yet, why not try 'em immediate, an' get it 
 all over? That's the ticket. No use delay in* 
 things, judge." 
 
78 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 To hear that the two men had already been 
 arrested and lodged in jail, and that he was ex- 
 pected to try them that very afternoon, was dis- 
 tinctly disquieting. 
 
 " The district attorney is not in town," asserted 
 the judge. " He went to Fort Henderson for a 
 week or ten days." 
 
 " Den she go wit'out hees pant," the half-breed 
 promptly put in. " I see bot' pair hang on hees 
 line when we ride een. I t'ink you ees one beeg 
 liar, Meestair Treevvy! " 
 
 " Perhaps, if Mr. Nivette would step down to 
 
 the district attorney's office " Gilmore began 
 
 tentatively, staring hard at the judge. 
 
 " I go queeck, un I breeng heem here wit' me," 
 interrupted Nivette, and departed forthwith. 
 
 Gilmore sat down comfortably on the table 
 and swung his legs. Cheerful as he looked, he 
 knew that he was in a peculiarly tight hole. At 
 any moment the combined forces of the V Up- 
 and-Down and the Hash Knife might ride into 
 town. In that event it would be doubtful if he 
 would ever again see Louise Stuart; and he 
 wanted to see her very much. 
 
 What a little vixen she was ! How those amber 
 eyes could flash and sparkle! And her hair! 
 Never in his life had he seen hair one-quarter so 
 fine and soft. In fact, she was beautiful in every 
 way. That she was the daughter of one whose 
 morals were apparently worse than useless did 
 not in the least militate against the desirableness 
 of the girl. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 79 
 
 He realized that there would necessarily be ob- 
 stacles to surmount. It is not entirely easy to 
 work up even a mild friendship with a girl against 
 whose male relatives one is seeking evidence of 
 crime. But Gilmore had been accustomed to dif- 
 ficulties all his life, and he believed firmly in the 
 cheerful doctrine that if one only wants a thing 
 hard enough, one is almost sure to get it. The 
 judge wondered what the stranger was smiling 
 at. 
 
 " Dat deestrict attorney she ees no good to- 
 day," announced Nivette, entering abruptly. 
 " She varree drunk. I pour watair on heem. I 
 teeckle hees nose. She lie dere lak one peeg. Un 
 'nodder t'ing. Een Lane's plass, when I go by, I 
 hear two, free talk to odder man, un I t'ink, by 
 gar, dey mean to tak' de prisonair un turn dem 
 loose. Dat ees what I t'ink." 
 
 At these bits of news the judge brightened per- 
 ceptibly. Gilmore looked at him. 
 
 " Sounds good to yuh, huh? " he drawled. 
 " Well, you just come trottin' along with me, an' 
 we'll see what it amounts to." 
 
 The judge did not wish to go. He much pre- 
 ferred remaining where there was no likelihood of 
 a stray bullet putting an end to his sinful life. 
 That lead would fly was an assured thing. He 
 was well acquainted with the customers frequent- 
 ing Lane's place, and none of them was a gentle 
 soul. 
 
 The judge quaked. He found difficulty in 
 standing, but Gilmore heaved him erect. 
 
8o The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " I guess now there won't be any trial this 
 afternoon," said Gilmore to Nivette. " I'll keep 
 the prisoners in jail to-day, an' to-morrow I'll 
 take 'em over to Beardance. The calaboose there 
 sounds kind of safer. No need of temptin' these 
 hold-ups." 
 
 " Tak' dem to Beardance!" exclaimed Ni- 
 vette. "'Why " 
 
 " Shore, Beardance is good as any," Gilmore 
 insisted, one eyelid drooped in a slow wink. 
 
 Smoky Nivette forbore to demur further. He 
 thought he understood what lay behind Gil- 
 more's words, but he was not sure. The deputy 
 was a surprising person in many ways. 
 
 Gilmore, dragging the judge along by a limp 
 wrist, went out into the street. Nivette followed. 
 Gilmore turned his head quickly. 
 
 " This ain't really any o' yore business, Mr. 
 Nivette," he said. " It ain't a heap necessary for 
 yuh to ride this trail any farther." 
 
 " I go wit' you," observed Nivette. " Sam 
 Kyle, she was my frien', un de man what keell 
 heem should be punish'. Dese prisonair, dey may 
 wan' for shoot you een de back. I watch dem 
 varree sharp ! " 
 
 " I'm obliged," grinned Gilmore, and went on 
 his way toward Lane's place. 
 
 The deputy had already come to feel that he 
 could trust Smoky Nivette, and it was pleasant 
 to know that on this risky expedition the half- 
 breed would be on guard at his rear. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE deputy recognized the difficulties of the 
 situation, but he had no qualms regarding his 
 coming meeting with the would-be rescuers. He 
 possessed a tolerably large measure of self-confi- 
 dence, and the course he was pursuing was the 
 only logical one. Why should he doubt? 
 
 As he dragged Judge Trivvy down the street, 
 his progress did not go unmarked. Heads pro- 
 truded from windows, men lounged into door- 
 ways, or started to stroll, elaborately uncon- 
 cerned, in the same direction. In front of Lane's 
 place, which was next door to the jail, Gilmore 
 released the judge's wrist. 
 
 " Have a seat," he said kindly, and deposited 
 the well-nigh palsied jurist on one of the benches 
 flanking the door. " I'd take it as a favor if 
 yuh'd wait outside for me," he added to Nivette, 
 and quietly entered the saloon. 
 
 The bar was crowded. So were the two card- 
 tables; but no one was drinking, no one was 
 playing. All were listening to what was being 
 said by a short man standing in the middle of the 
 room. This man's back was toward the door, but 
 Gilmore perceived that he wore two guns tied 
 
82 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 down. The short person spoke with great vigor, 
 dashing oaths about with fluent abandon, and 
 beating the palm of one hand with the doubled 
 fist of the other. Gilmore halted just inside the 
 door. 
 
 " You all know me," the speaker was saying. 
 " An' I ask yuh, who'll make a better sheriff? I 
 won't make no mistake. I won't go arrestin' town 
 marshals an' V Up-an'-Down foremen. Just to 
 show yuh, I'm goin' down right now an' turn 
 loose them two prisoners, like I told yuh, an' 
 after that I'm a-goin' to run that young squirt of 
 a deputy out o' town." 
 
 " I wouldn't do nothin' rash," suggested a 
 calm voice in his immediate rear. 
 
 The short man's mouth remained open. His 
 two hands remained poised in mid-air. He did 
 not dare to reach for his guns, for of course the 
 other man had the drop. 
 
 Gilmore laughed. He knew what was pass- 
 ing in the enemy's mind. He had not drawn his 
 gun, but he wasted no time in foolhardy dilly- 
 dallying. He took two swift strides forward, 
 gripped the abbreviated citizen by his collar and 
 the slack of his gun-belt, and heaved him bodily 
 through the doorway. 
 
 With a smashing crash and splash, the human 
 comet hit the watering-trough, and Gilmore faced 
 about. His twinkling eyes and fixed, sardonic 
 smile played over the assemblage. No one moved 
 for the length of time required by a strong man 
 to draw three breaths. Then some one turned 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 83 
 
 to the bar and called for drinks. The spell was 
 broken, and business was resumed as usual. 
 
 Gilmore walked out. Keen perception was 
 not required to tell him that he had not yet done 
 with this crowd. It would require more than the 
 mere hurling of one man into the watering- trough 
 to bring it to heel ; but it had been surprised into 
 quiescence for the time being, and all that he 
 required for the proper furtherance of his plans 
 was a little time. 
 
 Amid the ruins of the watering-trough the 
 short man lay unconscious and breathing stertor- 
 ously. A little group of citizens surrounded the 
 inert body. One man was kneeling, his fingers 
 employed in searching for possible injuries. The 
 judge, clinging like a limpet to his bench, stared 
 as if fascinated. Nivette stood a little to one 
 side where, if circumstances demanded, his six- 
 shooter would have a free sweep. 
 
 Across the street Shorty Damman sat on the 
 front step of his hotel. Shorty's main points of 
 interest were his air of complete detachment and 
 a Sharp's buffalo-gun. 
 
 Gilmore walked into the handful of men 
 gathered about the man he had handled, and 
 glanced down at the unconscious face. Red- 
 headed, red-mustached, and red-goateed, the fel- 
 low appeared to be a hard customer. A thin 
 trickle of blood showed where a four-inch cut had 
 laid open his scalp. 
 
 * Is he busted bad? " questioned Gilmore. 
 
 " Only his head, I guess," the kneeling citizen 
 
84 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 replied shortly. " Take his legs, Bill, will 
 yuh? " 
 
 They picked up the red-headed man and de- 
 parted, a scuffling, side-swaying procession. 
 Gilmore turned to the judge. 
 
 " Yuh better trot along after, yore honor," he 
 remarked, flicking a thumb in the direction taken 
 by the carriers and their burden. * Yore friend 
 might feel like swearin' out a warrant." 
 
 So saying, Gilmore, followed by Smoky 
 Nivette, walked across the street to Shorty Dam- 
 man's hotel. When they entered the barroom, 
 Shorty was just hanging the buffalo-gun on its 
 hooks behind the bar. 
 
 " Nothin' like a Sharp's," he remarked, scratch- 
 ing his ear. " She don't scatter like a shotgun, 
 an' she don't shoot as often as a Winchester, but 
 she shore does put in the biggest period. What'll 
 yuh have, gents? " 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 GILMORE, well knowing that his life rested in 
 his holster, went to call on the district attorney 
 at four o'clock. He was hoping against hope 
 that Nivette's diagnosis had been too pessimistic; 
 but the half-breed had made no mistake. The 
 county prosecutor, tied down in his bed, was 
 alternately yowling frantically, wailing pitifully, 
 and begging some one to take away the faunal 
 phenomena that he saw disporting themselves on 
 the ceiling. 
 
 Gilmore withdrew after one look and returned 
 to his old friend the judge, with whom Nivette 
 was keeping company in his house. The half- 
 breed did not remove his feet from the table when 
 Gilmore entered. He merely winked a saturnine 
 eye, and remarked that the judge had tried to 
 escape. 
 
 Gilmore glanced at the judge, who sat de- 
 jectedly in the corner farthest from Nivette. 
 His feet were made fast to the chair-legs, and his 
 hands were tied behind his back. The jurist 
 essayed to speak, but could only gurgle unin- 
 telligibly. Gilmore freed him and helped him 
 across to the big chair beside the table. He 
 seemed frightened to death. 
 
86 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 "What did yuh do to him?" demanded Gil- 
 more. 
 
 " She try for escape," explained Nivette, " un 
 I have my rope. I rope heem, un I beat heem 
 leetle, leetle, not 'nough to hurt one leetle baby. 
 Den I tie heem. Dat ees all." 
 
 "Ain't yuh gettin' into this thing kind o' 
 deep?" 
 
 The half-breed removed his cigarette from his 
 mouth. 
 
 " Dees judge," he said, " ees one bad man, all 
 same horse-t'ief un rustler, lak Sleem, un de mar- 
 shal, un Jack Shaw, un dat Stuart gang, un de 
 Lazy D outfeet oh, dey are all bad! I know. 
 Well, den, you come. I see you begin for stop 
 de shenanigan. You arrest Sleem un de marshal. 
 You tak' Red Hall by de collar un de pant, un 
 you t'row heem out un bus' hees haid. I see what 
 I see. I know what I know. Un I know you 
 weel mak' de clean-up een Glenn County. Dat 
 ees why eet does not matter what I do to de judge. 
 She cannot have me arrest'. She do not mak' de 
 law. You mak' de law. I see it plain now. I 
 ride wit' you, my frien'." 
 
 " I can't appoint you a deputy." 
 
 " I do not wan' for be deputy. I do more eef 
 I am not deputy." 
 
 " But yore wages " 
 
 "Dam' de money! By gar, I have some 
 money leetle, not much. When you have 
 brought de law un de ordair, den I weel start de 
 freight-wagon line from Virgin City to de rail- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 87 
 
 road, un I weel mak' much money. Long time 
 I have wan' for do dat, but pas de^ chance! Too 
 many t'ief. But now you come for drive out de 
 t'ief . I be fool eef I not help you. Also dere 
 ees somet'ing you forget, mabbeso. Sam Kyle 
 was my frien', un Sleem Dennison ees not dead. 
 De men behin' Sleem, dey are not dead. You 
 see now? " 
 
 Gilmore said nothing, but he stretched out his 
 arm and shook hands with the half-breed. The 
 latter smiled after the fashion of the cat which 
 contemplates a meal of fat canary. Judge 
 Trivvy, observing it, shuddered. 
 
 " Yore honor," Gilmore said, " it seems like 
 luck is with yuh now. Owin' to the district 
 attorney seein' things, the case of ' People versus 
 Slim Dennison an' Tim Simms,' can't be opened 
 to-day. But maybe, it's just as well. Maybe 
 Plain Edge ain't just the place to try this case, 
 after all. The climate in Beardance may be a 
 mite healthier. So I'm takin' 'em there to-mor- 
 row aft'noon. Whenever yo're ready, scamper 
 over an' try 'em. Just write me here or at Vir- 
 gin City, an' I'll be on hand with witnesses. 
 Yuh understand it all plain, don't yuh, yore 
 honor? " 
 
 His honor thought he did. The removal of 
 the prisoners to Beardance would make matters 
 much easier for the judge; for the Hash Knife 
 and the V Up-and-Down were strong in Bear- 
 dance. The prisoners would be rescued with 
 ease before the opening of the trial. 
 
88 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 The judicial breath became freer. The atmos- 
 phere was not so oppressive as it had been. He 
 assured the deputy of his hearty concurrence in 
 any move that Gilmore saw fit to make. 
 
 " I'm glad yuh look at it that way," the deputy 
 observed dryly. " Do yuh know, though, I kind 
 o' thought yuh would! " 
 
 There was a certain grimness underlying the 
 words that tended to renew the judge's feeling of 
 helplessness. He was overjoyed when Gilmore 
 and the wily Nivette started toward the door. 
 
 Before they reached it, it was flung crashingly 
 open, and a tremendously tall man with a scar 
 on his chin stood in the doorway. He wore the 
 star of a deputy and one gun tied down. His 
 thumbs were hooked into his belt, and his washed- 
 out gray eyes roved with questioning surliness 
 from Gilmore to Nivette, from Nivette to Judge 
 Trivvy. 
 
 * What's this I hear about Slim Dennison an' 
 Tim Simms bein' arrested? " he demanded 
 quietly of the judge. 
 
 ' Yuh heard they're in the calaboose," Gil- 
 more answered for the other. " Yuh heard cor- 
 rect. They're there, an' they stay there till I 
 choose to move 'em." 
 
 The mouth of the scar-chinned man tightened 
 till the lips went white. His eyes narrowed to 
 two pin-points of light. 
 
 " Till you choose! " he said slowly. "An' who 
 might you be?" 
 
 Gilmore told him diffidently, almost timidly. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 89 
 
 He even shuffled backward a foot or two. The 
 eyes of the other widened slightly. He stepped 
 quickly up to Gilmore and stood looking down 
 into the smaller man's eyes. The bright blue 
 eyes wavered and dropped the fraction of an inch. 
 
 Nivette, puzzled at his friend's apparent lack 
 of nerve, frowned frowned till he happened to 
 notice the position of Gilmore's feet on the floor. 
 Then he smiled a pleased smile. 
 
 " Young feller," the tall man growled in a 
 harsh, incisive tone, tapping Gilmore on the chest 
 with a crooked forefinger; "young feller, yuh 
 can't run no blazers in this county, see! There's 
 only one deputy around here, an' that's me Dick 
 Enright. I'm goin' to throw them men loose 
 right now, an' I'm a-goin' to take yore star away 
 from yuh. A chicken-liver like you ain't fit to 
 wear it!" 
 
 He made a motion to seize the star on Gil- 
 more's lapel. The stretching fingers barely 
 touched the metal, however, for Gilmore's right 
 fist, starting from below the hip, flashed upward, 
 and with all Gilmore's weight behind it struck 
 the scar-chinned man under the left ear. 
 
 Lifted fairly off his feet, Enright described a 
 ragged parabola and landed on his head on a 
 chair. This broke his fall to some extent, but 
 the chair was reduced to its component parts. 
 Gilmore blew upon his knuckles, gave his chaps a 
 hitch, and proceeded to search the senseless Mr. 
 Enright with thoroughness. Excluding mean- 
 ingless personal belongings, the sole result of the 
 
90 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 search was a playing-card, the ace of spades, the 
 face of which bore a scribbled memorandum. 
 This he read with surprised interest before trans- 
 ferring it to an inside vest-pocket. 
 
 When he was satisfied that Enright was con- 
 cealing nothing else of any importance about his 
 person, Gilmore hastened the passing of time by 
 wetting him down with bucketful upon bucketful 
 of water brought from the judge's well. Nivette, 
 the Gallic side of him rejoiced beyond measure, 
 assisted with enthusiasm at the drenching. 
 
 " By gar," chuckled the half-breed, " when you 
 wus act scare, I do not know what to t'ink. 
 Den I see how you' right foot was stand way 
 behin' de lef on de floor, iin how you' right 
 shoulder was drop leetle, un den I know what was 
 goin' happen. By gar, Deeck Enright she weigh 
 two hundred poun' easy, un you leef heem clean 
 off floor lak she was nottin' 't all. You heet lak 
 de mule keeck. I am glad you are my frien'. 
 By gar, I am ! " 
 
 Nivette whooped with a fresh attack of merri- 
 ment and inadvertently emptied his bucket into 
 the judge's lap. Entered then upon this scene 
 of chaotic dampness Shorty Damman. The 
 wispy one tilted his hat and reflectively scratched 
 an ear. 
 
 " I just come down to tell yuh," he remarked, 
 " that Dick Enright was back, an' was yowlin' 
 round 'bout what he's a-goin' to do to folks he 
 don't like. But I see yo're a-puttin' Dick's fire 
 out, all right. Howdy, judge? Looks like 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 91 
 
 Plain Edge is a-goin' to witness times, don't it? 
 What do you guess? " 
 
 But the judge was not guessing, and the 
 neighborly Mr. Damman went back to his hotel, 
 after assuring the deputy that if trouble arose 
 he and a few friends would back Gilmore and 
 Nivette to the limit. 
 
 " What I tell you? " exclaimed the half-breed, 
 when the hotel-keeper had gone. " What I tell 
 you? Shorty, she ees good feller, you bet. 
 What you t'ink, dees feller Deeck Enright she 
 need more water? " 
 
 When Enright came to, he was impressed by 
 the fact that his world was composed of a heav- 
 ing floor and a pain in the head. Following sev- 
 eral efforts, he contrived to sit upright. Gingerly 
 he caressed the lump on his frontal bone. His 
 aching eyes finally rested on Gilmore, who was 
 sitting on the edge of the table, nonchalantly 
 swinging his legs and fingering Enright's own 
 gun. 
 
 " Glad to see yo're feelin' like old times again," 
 Gilmore observed genially. " Yuh won't know 
 yuh'd ever been hit, come to-morrow." 
 
 " Gimme my gun, an' I'll show yuhl " Enright 
 grunted thickly. 
 
 " Shore yuh will ! Don't doubt it for a minute. 
 You look like yuh were a hard gent, a real bad 
 man; but yo're careless, terrible careless. That's 
 why I'm a-keepin' yore gun. Don't want yuh to 
 go hurtin' yoreself with it." 
 
 "I'll kill you on sight!" 
 
92 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " My, my, how fierce we are to-day! But be- 
 fore yuh go shootin' up a pore innocent little 
 orphan fellah like me, just think is it worth 
 while? Yuh see, Enright, I don't care a. thing 
 about bein' shot up personal, that is, I don't. 
 But I'm a deputy; an' bein' that I just gotta 
 beef anybody that cuts down on me with a gun. 
 No two ways about it, I just gotta. Yuh see 
 how it is I can't help myself. An' I wish yuh'd 
 be a good fellah an' go slow. I'd take it as a real 
 favor if yuh would." 
 
 Nivette snickered. Enright did not even 
 grunt. He was too angry. After a time Gil- 
 more slid from the table. 
 
 "Able to walk, Enright? " he queried tenderly. 
 " If yuh are, we'll go down to the calaboose. I 
 got somethin' I want to show yuh." 
 
 " I'll go," the partly rejuvenated Enright 
 snarled through writhing lips. " I'll go, 'cause 
 I gotta! But I'll getcha, feller! I'll getcha if 
 it takes a hundred years ! " 
 
 " Now where have I heard that remark be- 
 fore? " Gilmore chuckled. " But there's no sense 
 in bein' mean, Mr. Enright. Why not make it 
 a thousand years? Yuh got all the time there 
 
 is." 
 
 Enright did not reply. He passed out 
 stumblingly into the street. 
 
 With Enright slightly in the lead this that 
 he might not be tempted to snatch at the weapons 
 swinging at his captors' belts the three walked 
 slowly along the street. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 93 
 
 " Yuh can stop here," said Gilmore, when they 
 arrived in front of the calaboose. t- 
 
 The wondering Enright obeyed. Gilmore 
 strode quickly to the side of the street, stooped, 
 and returned with an empty sardine-can. This 
 he hurled straight up into the air, and fanned his 
 gun at it. The battered piece of tin fell almost 
 at Enright's feet. 
 
 By this time there was quite a crowd of Plain 
 Edgers looking on, and more were coming. 
 Shorty Damman and his friends, standing in 
 front of the hotel, nudged one another in the ribs 
 and grinned delightedly. They did not like 
 Dick Enright. 
 
 Nivette came forward and picked up the sar- 
 dine-can. There were six holes in it. He held 
 the can before Enright's sullen eyes. The deputy 
 sneered and started to walk away. 
 
 " Wait," commanded Gilmore, and Enright 
 turned back. " Chuck her up again, will yuh, 
 Smoky? "he added. 
 
 The half-breed complied. Again Gilmore 
 fanned a six-shooter Enright's own gun, this 
 time; but now, when the can fell, it no longer 
 bore the remotest resemblance to a container for 
 fish. 
 
 " There's no tellin' how often I hit it this trip," 
 drawled Gilmore; " but yuh can take it, Enright, 
 that I come pretty close." 
 
 " Yes, yuh did, all right," muttered Enright, 
 and with a catlike spring he launched his huge 
 body at Gilmore. 
 
94 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 There was a twinkling flash from the neighbor- 
 hood of Gilmore's neck, and Enright staggered 
 back, clutching his left shoulder. Gilmore stood 
 quietly, a nine-inch bowie-knife in his hand. 
 From the point blood dripped slowly into the 
 dust of the street. 
 
 " That's the second time yuh made a mistake 
 about me, Enright," Gilmore observed dis- 
 passionately. " Just 'cause I emptied my gun 
 an' yores ain't a sign that I'm out on a limb. 
 Yuh poor fool, what do yuh s'pose I did this kid's 
 trick o' shootin' at a can for? To show yuh I 
 could fan a gun, or to draw yuh on which? 
 Enright, yuh've misguessed me twice. The third 
 time ought to be the charm." 
 
 Enright made no rejoinder. He was too 
 greatly occupied in stanching the knife-cut in his 
 upper arm. Smiling his fixed, peculiar smile, 
 Gilmore swung his eyes from amused contempla- 
 tion of Enright to the crowd in front of Lane's 
 place. He stood for a moment, and then went 
 to the corral to see if all was as it should be with 
 the horses. 
 
 " Say, what you mean by savin' we tak' de 
 prisonair to Beardance to-morrow? " inquired the 
 puzzled Nivette. " By gar, Beardance ees not 
 safe for leave dem, un eef we wait teel to-morrow 
 you un me weel not go 't all." 
 
 ' Why do yuh s'pose I told the judge in the 
 first place?" countered Gilmore. "If I was 
 goin' to Beardance, he'd be the last fellah I'd 
 tell, wouldn't he? I told him we were goin' to 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 95 
 
 slide out for Beardance to-morrow because you 
 an' I an' the prisoners are goin' to pull our freight 
 for Warrior's Mark to-night." 
 
 "Ah, now I see ! " exclaimed the enlightened 
 Nivette. 
 
 " Even waitin' till to-night ain't any more 
 popular with me than it is with you," continued 
 Gilmore; " but we gotta do it. Can't afford to 
 take the prisoners out o' town in plain sight o' 
 their friends. We just gotta risk the Hash 
 Knife boys gettin' here first." 
 
 " Dey should be here now." 
 
 " I know it ; but they ain't, an' we are. All we 
 gotta clo is not fret, keep our heads up, an' lean 
 back a little. Are you me? " 
 
 " I am you, but " 
 
 " Remember what I said 'bout not frettin' any 
 now. Here, what do yuh think o' this bit o' light 
 readin'?" 
 
 He held out to Nivette the playing-card he had 
 taken from Dick Enright. The scribbled lines 
 of the memorandum above the black pip read: 
 
 no X 15 = 1,650 
 1,650 -4- 2 = 825 
 
 Below the pip they ran: 
 
 I. O. U. $825 
 T.J. 
 
 "Well, what do dis mean?" questioned Nivette, 
 raising mystified eyes. 
 
 " What are cows bringin' now?" was Gilmore's 
 rejoinder. 
 
96 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen roun' dere, I 
 guess." 
 
 " For a hundred an' ten cows at fifteen a 
 fellah' d get sixteen an' fifty dollars, wouldn't he? 
 Well, then, s'pose he divided the same with an- 
 other gent? Still ramblin' along on our sup- 
 posin' way, if he didn't feel like handin' over the 
 eight hundred an' a quarter, he'd write out an 
 I. O. U. for the dinero an' give it to him, 
 wouldn't he? " 
 
 " M,abbeso yes." 
 
 " Good. I guess yo're beginnin' to see what 
 I see. Is Tom Johnson o' the Lazy D friends 
 with this Enright hold-up? " 
 
 " Eef she ees, she keep quiet 'bout eet. She 
 all time varree good frien's wit' de Hash Knife 
 un de V Up-un-Down." 
 
 " Even so, these here initials ' T. J.' in En- 
 right's possession don't grow on every bush. 
 They might stand for Tessie Jones, a hasher I 
 knew once over in Omaha, only they ain't in 
 Tessie's handwritin'. All this bein' plain to the 
 naked eye, I'm gamblin' it'll help to clear the air 
 if the reason for T. J.'s givin' an I. O. U. to 
 Dick Enright was looked into. There's no use 
 o' talkin', the law has got to be above suspicion, 
 especially when cows are sellin' at fifteen dollars 
 a head. We can't have T. J. corruptin' our 
 county officers. It ain't any way to act at all. 
 No, sir, I guess now I better go pay this T. J. a 
 visit at the Lazy D." 
 
 " I will go, too." 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 97 
 
 " Yuh will not. I'm obliged to yuh, Smoky; 
 but this is just goin' to be a little, friendly call 
 nothin' serious at all. Yuh can gamble an' go 
 the limit Mr. Johnson an* me will get along just 
 as comfortable as two heifers an' a fence-post. 
 Yuh wait an' see!" 
 
 " I guess I see all right," muttered Nivette. 
 " I guess I see what I do not wan' for see, 
 mabbeso." 
 
 But Gilmore only laughed at him. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THAT his position was sufficiently perilous Gil- 
 more realized perfectly well; but it did not in 
 the least affect his demeanor or prevent him from 
 taking a chair on the narrow strip of porch in 
 front of the hotel and making himself comfort- 
 able in the full rays of the westering sun. There 
 he sat and joyously whistled most of his repertory 
 of tunes. Red Hall, still somewhat shaky in the 
 knees, heard him where he sat in a friend's 
 kitchen. 
 
 " Just as soon as my head stops whirlin'," as- 
 serted Red, " I'm a-goin' to take a shotgun an' 
 canter out an' bust him wide open." 
 
 " I would," was the friend's sarcastic com- 
 ment. " I shore would; but I wouldn't do it to- 
 day, nor yet to-morrow. To tell yuh the truth, 
 the farther off yuh set that job the better she 
 sounds. You was lyin' down in here, so yuh 
 didn't see him flip a knife into Dick. Well, I 
 didn't see him, neither, an' I wasn't thirty foot 
 off, with my eyes clamped on the pair of 'em. 
 But the knife slipped into Dick all right. That 
 gent is one slow flash o' lightnin'. I don't mind 
 a gun. I'll go ag'in' the iron any time I gotta, 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 99 
 
 but I ain't carin' just nothin' at all about a knife, 
 an' that's whatever!" 
 
 " I'm a-goin to get him," insisted the stubborn 
 Red. 
 
 " Six o' Enright's friends are goin' to try it 
 to-night." 
 
 "They are?" 
 
 " Shore 'bout three or four in the mornin', 
 when him an' that breed friend o' his are sleepin' 
 sound. Oh, they'll get him all right! I'm for 
 gettin' him, but not that way. I say, give him a 
 short run for his money. Call him out in the 
 street, f'r instance, an' then blow him apart; but 
 that don't strike them as no way to do it." 
 
 "Any way's good," Red persisted vindictively. 
 
 " Perhaps," returned the friend, "but yuh hear 
 me talkin'. That feller's a long way from dead, 
 an' I don't want nothin' to do with rubbin' him 
 out, not nohow." 
 
 Red grunted sulkily. He would have enjoyed 
 frying Mr. Gilmore in oil. Oh, what a head- 
 ache! 
 
 That night Slim Dennison, who had been 
 sleeping for several hours, sat upright with a 
 jerk. There was a struggle going on in the 
 sheriff's old room. The partition was of squared 
 logs, but he could plainly hear the stamp and go 
 of feet and the hard-drawn breathing of wrestling 
 men. Dennison knew that Gilmore and Nivette 
 were both in there, or had been, for he had heard 
 their voices before he fell asleep. He shook 
 Simms awake, and together they listened tensely. 
 
ioo The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 :< They're a-goin' to rescue us, all right," said 
 the marshal. 
 
 " Shore, but who is they? " 
 
 " It ain't the Hash Knife or the boys from 
 Virgin City. They'd shoot ail' be done with it. 
 It must be our friends here." 
 
 " I guess. Wish they'd hurry. My wrists is 
 wore clean through with these blamed cuffs. If 
 I ever get a-holt o' that Gilmore! " 
 
 " He'll be cashed by then. Listen! " 
 
 Smack! Thud! a heavy body fell to the floor. 
 Something was dragged across the boards. 
 
 " They're a-takin' the remainders out," chuckled 
 Slim. 
 
 The marshal swore with pleasure. 
 
 Returning footsteps sounded in the other room. 
 The door between it and the jail proper was 
 quietly unbarred and opened. In the dim light 
 cast by a shaded lantern on the table the two 
 prisoners could see a man attired in a slicker. 
 His hat was pulled low over his forehead, and a 
 blue bandanna handkerchief with staring eye- 
 holes concealed his face. The masked man stood 
 in the doorway, beckoning. 
 
 " Come on, boys ! " he said in a husky whisper. 
 " Let's get out o' this!" 
 
 The two prisoners pushed into the other room. 
 The masked man was already at the outer door. 
 
 "Take off these cuffs, friend!" called the 
 marshal. 
 
 " Shhh!" The masked one wheeled quickly, 
 his hand up. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 101 
 
 "Take 'em off! What's the matter with 
 yuh?" 
 
 " Shut up, you idjits!" came the husky re- 
 joinder. " Yore cuffs'll have to be filed. The 
 keys ain't on Nivette. I searched him careful 
 after I carved him an' drug him outside. But 
 Gilmore's round some'eres. The rest o' the 
 bunch are lookin' for him now. Anyhow, just 
 to save trouble, we've decided to take you fellers 
 out o' town till Gilmore's been got. He's too 
 slippery a jack to risk anythin' with. So follow 
 me close an' don't make no noise." 
 
 The prisoners were in no mood to demur at 
 anything. At that moment their one burning 
 desire in life was to get out of jail. Quietly they 
 followed the masked man out beyond the picket- 
 line of tin cans encircling the town. 
 
 Their guide led them unerringly to where a 
 dark mass blocked their advance. The dark mass 
 proved to be a man and four horses. The night 
 was too black for the man's features to be dis- 
 tinguished. The masked one and his comrade 
 assisted the handcuffed men to mount, mounted 
 themselves, took each a prisoner's bridle, and rode 
 off at a walk. 
 
 Several times Slim Dennison and the marshal 
 essayed to open a conversation, but their efforts 
 met with no encouragement. Huskily whispered 
 monosyllables were their portion, till finally, after 
 several miles had been covered, they became sus- 
 picious. 
 
 " Say, who are you? " demanded the marshal. 
 
102 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 "Dal Gilmore," replied the man who had 
 taken them from the jail. 
 
 This time he did not speak in a whisper. 
 Twitching the bandanna from his face, he stuffed 
 it into the pocket of his slicker. It was still too 
 dark to see his face, but the voice was sufficient 
 evidence. Slim and the marshal did not swear. 
 They were too far gone in raging disgust for that. 
 
 Gilmore's comrade laughed in keen enjoyment 
 of the situation. 
 
 "So you t'ink I was cash een?" he said. 
 6 Well, I was not. But she was good fight you 
 hear all right all same real t'ing." 
 
 ' Yuh see, boys," Gilmore put in, " I knew if 
 yore friends here in Plain Edge was worth the 
 powder to blow 'em up, they'd scamper out an' 
 try an' rescue you fellahs to-night. They'd have 
 to. They couldn't let me run blazers on 'em for- 
 ever! So I just figured I'd better rescue yuh 
 first, an' work it so's yuh'd think it was yore 
 friends an' not go raisin' the roof. That's how 
 it was." 
 
 Slim Dennison and the marshal remained 
 speechless. 
 
 When the sky ahead of them lightened, they 
 perceived that they were being taken eastward. 
 This was disquieting. It might mean Warrior's 
 Mark, which town was as nearly neutral as a town 
 can be in the cattle country. They didn't know 
 a soul in the place, either. Inquiry elicited an 
 answer confirming their suspicion. Plunged in 
 deepening gloom, they rode onward to the 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 103 
 
 sprightly tune of " The Keel Row," whistled by 
 Gilmore. 
 
 In the middle of the morning they left the trail 
 and turned into a dry stream-bed choked with 
 boulders and windfalls. This, according to 
 Nivette's explanation, would lop some twenty 
 miles from their journey. 
 
 The going was hard, even for that country. 
 Twice the marshal's horse fell, and, a weak cinch 
 snapping under the strain of swelling lungs, Slim 
 Dennison's saddle turned and he was pitched off 
 on his head. Luckily for Slim he landed in a 
 patch of sand; but, as he profanely pointed out, 
 it might just as well have been a rock. Taking 
 it by and large, the trip was not without incident. 
 
 When they left the stream-bed they rode 
 diagonally up the side of a mountain Pack- 
 Saddle Mountain, Nivette called it through 
 pine woods, till they came out six hours later on 
 a broad, treeless shelf where bunch-grass grew 
 thickly. On this shelf they dismounted and 
 loosened cinches. Nivette fumbled in a saddle- 
 pocket and brought forth an excellent pair of 
 field-glasses. 
 
 " De judge was len' dem to me," he vouch- 
 safed with a leer. 
 
 " The judge did Judge Trivvy, yuh mean? " 
 
 " Shore. She ees de generous feller. I look 
 at dem, un I say, ' Weel you len' dem to me? ' 
 Un by gar, she does len' dem. You see dat long 
 cedair by de beeg rock? Well, from dat tree, 
 near de top, you can see de trail from Plain 
 
104 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Edge to Warrior* Mark. Dat dry wash we 
 have rode see dat too. I weel rustle de bacon 
 un de coffee." 
 
 Gilmore took the hint and the field-glasses. 
 Climbing the tree as high as he dared, he stood 
 on a limb and swept the tangle of mountain, flat, 
 and valley to the west and north. He found the 
 trail without difficulty could see it plainly where 
 it looped across a hillside or dipped down into a 
 valley. It was empty of all travelers, but not 
 so the dry stream-bed. Strung along it, moving 
 black dots testified to the presence of horsemen. 
 
 Gilmore counted more than a dozen of these 
 dots. Unhurriedly he slid down from his perch 
 and walked back to where Nivette had a small 
 fire going. The prisoners looked at him curi- 
 ously, hopefully. 
 
 " Not a thing in sight," announced Gilmore. 
 " Where'll I put these glasses? " 
 
 " I tak' dem," said Nivette, rising and follow- 
 ing Gilmore across to his horse. 
 
 * There's seventeen of 'em ridin' along the 
 wash," Gilmore whispered, his back turned. 
 " They're 'bout fourteen or fifteen miles away. 
 We'll start soon's we eat." 
 
 Nivette made no reply. He merely returned 
 the field-glasses to his saddle-bag and strolled un- 
 concernedly back to the fire. Gilmore rolled a 
 cigarette and pretended to occupy himself with 
 inspecting the dun's feet. The expression of the 
 prisoners became considerably less hopeful. 
 
 When they had eaten, they mounted and rode 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 105 
 
 onward. Crossing the treeless shelf and round- 
 ing a spur of the mountain, they plowed into 
 crackling jack-pines and feathery, stunted cedars. 
 Then they began to climb again, up and up, the 
 thin wind of the high places singing in their ears. 
 
 As they climbed, the stunted cedars became 
 fewer and the jack-pines grew gnarled and lower 
 to the ground. When finally they passed the 
 last gnome-like little tree, and came out on the 
 brown reaches of sunburnt grass above timber- 
 line, they halted and looked back over the way 
 they had come. 
 
 The view would have delighted the soul of an 
 artist, but Gilmore and Nivette did not notice the 
 scenery. Their puckered eyes roved over the 
 back trail, striving to pick up the pursuing riders. 
 Even with the field-glasses they saw no moving 
 object. 
 
 * Yuh'll find they're a-comin' after yuh all 
 right," the marshal sneered at a venture. 
 
 " Y'betcha ! " chimed in Slim. "An' then " 
 
 " There's a little word called ' if,' " interrupted 
 Gilmore. " Only a little word she is, two letters, 
 but they're shore harder to cross than the Rocky 
 Mountains. Goon, Slim! 'Scuse me for snubbin' 
 yuh up. What was yore valuable contribution 
 to the conversation goin' to be? " 
 
 But Slim, apparently, had forgotten what he 
 meant to say. 
 
 " Might as well mosey along," Gilmore sug- 
 gested in his most casual tone. 
 
 Nivette led the way, quartering across the easy 
 
io6 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 slopes. After a time Gilmore saw that the moun- 
 tain was not one mountain, but two, and that they 
 were herding toward a notch between the twin 
 peaks. They reached the pass an hour later, 
 crossed it, and rode straight down the reverse 
 slope. 
 
 " You see dat mountain 'bout forty mile off? " 
 queried Nivette. " No, not dat one de one 
 wit' de bald head. Well, dat ees War-Bonnet 
 Mountain een de Saddle Range, un dees side de 
 mountain, right unner de bald spot, dere ees 
 Warrior' Mark." 
 
 " We'll make it easy," observed Gilmore. 
 
 " Shore we weel ! No trouble at all." 
 
 Suddenly, when they were still a half-mile 
 above timber-line, Slim Dennison's horse went 
 lame in the off foreleg. The animal did not limp 
 a great deal, but any lameness at that time and 
 place was serious. 
 
 Three minutes later the marshal's horse began 
 to limp on its off fore. Gilmore's eyes narrowed. 
 
 " Say, Smoky," he called, " guess we'd better 
 stop right here a shake. Gotta tie the feet o' 
 these gents." 
 
 " Tie our feet ! " bellowed the indignant mar- 
 shal. * Whadda yuh want to tie our feet for? " 
 
 " So's yuh won't go stickin' yore toes in be- 
 tween the points o' yore bosses' elbows an' barrels, 
 an' makin' 'em go lame," Gilmore explained 
 calmly. " You fellahs make me sick ! Yo're 
 bein' treated like folks, which yuh don't deserve, 
 an' yuh gotta act thisaway. I tell yuh flat, I 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 107 
 
 don't want any trouble with you sports, an' I 
 don't aim to have it no, sir, not jsven if I have 
 to hog- tie yuh an' pack yuh like flour! " 
 
 Much to the prisoners' disgust, their feet were 
 tied. The journey was resumed, and before the 
 four had been riding through timber an hour the 
 lameness of the two horses had disappeared. 
 Observing which, Gilmore nodded his head con- 
 tentedly. 
 
 " I kind o' thought they'd work it out," he re- 
 marked. " You fellahs didn't stick yore toes in 
 quite far enough." 
 
 When they reached the bottom of the moun- 
 tain, a wide, grassy valley between high hills 
 opened before them. They rode into the valley 
 and breasted a fringe of dwarfish red willows 
 beside a tiny brook, of which they drank, and al- 
 lowed the horses to drink a few swallows no 
 more, for there is nothing like ice-cold mountain 
 water to give a sweating horse the colic. 
 
 " I've done lost all feelin' in my laigs," com- 
 plained the marshal. 
 
 ' Time enough to begin to worry >vhen yuh 
 lose all feelin' in yore neck," was Gilmore's 
 heartening response. "Do yuh want another 
 drink, Slim? " 
 
 " Not o' that rank water I don't." 
 
 "Suit yoreself. How far to the Mark, 
 Smoky? " 
 
 M 'Bout twenty mile. We fin' de trail varree 
 quick now." 
 
 Ten minutes later they rode into the trail the 
 
io8 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 narrow, grass-grown stage-trail between Plain 
 Edge and Warrior's Mark. The sun had long 
 since gone down behind the twin peaks of Pack- 
 Saddle. Gilmore, spurred by the thought of the 
 seventeen questing along the back track, drove 
 his little cavalcade mercilessly through the 
 strange, slow twilight of the high country and on 
 into the blue-blackness of the night. Not till 
 Nivette's horse began to stumble occasionally did 
 he slow down to a brisk walk. 
 
 And brisk it was. With quirt and spur the 
 ponies were kept going. Three of them were 
 desperately weary. The strong and hardy dun 
 showed no sign of suffering; but then he never 
 did. Gilmore had never yet attained the limit of 
 his horse's powers. 
 
 " What's yore hurry? " growled the peevish 
 Slim. " If I gotta be stretched, I gotta be 
 stretched, an' that's all there is to her; but I has 
 objections to ridin' to death first. Not that I'm 
 tired. I never get tired, but, what with my laigs 
 bein' tied down an' all, I'm kind o' glued to the 
 saddle. If yuh hasn't no serious objections I'd 
 shore admire to get off an' kick a tree good an' 
 hard, just to see if I'm paralyzed or not." 
 
 "Aw, shut up!" snapped the marshal. 
 " Paralyzed, huh? Me, I'm plumb dead from 
 the belt down, an' I been that way a long time. 
 Somebody's a-goin' to pay for all this! " he added 
 darkly. 
 
 " It's all yore fault, yuh id jit! " snarleo 1 Slim. 
 " If yuh'd 'a' waited, like I wanted to, till we got 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 109 
 
 in among them trees, an' then yuh'd 'a' cut down 
 on him, we wouldn't be here now* But no, yuh 
 knowed it all, yuh did, an' yuh had to go pullin' 
 at yore gun while we was still out in the open. 
 Course ye got nicked. 'Stead o' just a finger, I 
 wish it had been yore fool head! " 
 
 " Yuh do, huh? Well, if yuh'd V used yore 
 fool head yuh'd 'a' waited to beef Sam Kyle till 
 after dark, instead o' drillin' him in broad day- 
 light. Well, yuh got a long chance o' gettin' his 
 woman now, haven't yuh? For all yore sneakin' 
 an' snoopin' an' hangin' round she never would 
 have nothin' to do with yuh, an' she won't now, 
 yuh can gamble an' go the limit on that! " 
 
 "To hell with her!" sneered Slim. "She 
 ain't such a much. I guess I'll just have to cut 
 out Jack Shaw an' Dick Enright with you know 
 who. They ain't got no chance anyway. She 
 don't like 'em. She'll talk to 'em, but what's 
 that? Why, say, one day when I met her out on 
 the range she an' me had quite a confab. We 
 dumb off our horses an' set down ag'in' a log; 
 an', say, it wasn't no time 'fore I had my arm 
 round her waist an* was kissin' her forty to the 
 minute." 
 
 'Yo'realiar!" 
 
 " If I had my gun I'd show yuh; but long's I 
 ain't I'll just tell yuh to go ask her, next time yuh 
 see her. Yuh just ask her! I tell yuh, Tim, it 
 was shore a large time we had, Louise Stuart 
 an' me!" 
 
 Swish! Crack! A quirt's double thongs 
 
no The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 lashed Slim Dennison across the face. A horse 
 crowded alongside, and Gilmore leaned toward 
 him. 
 
 " Shut yore dirty mouth!" the deputy whis- 
 pered tensely. " Yo're a liar an' a skunk, an' if 
 yuh say one more word about that lady in any 
 way or meanin' whatever, I'll pull yuh off that 
 hoss an' beat yuh to a whisper ! " 
 
 Slim Dennison was too surprised to utter a 
 word at first. 
 
 " Yuh know I'm handcuffed " he began 
 
 thickly. 
 
 " Yo're lucky. If yuh'd 'a' been free an' foot- 
 loose, an' packin' a gun, yuh'd be flockin' to the 
 golden stairs right now. Now close yore face! " 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 IT was almost midnight when they rode into 
 Warrior's Mark. Gilmore routed out an amazed 
 marshal and requested him to open the jail. The 
 marshal complied with alacrity, and Slim Denni- 
 son and Tim Simms once more sat down on a 
 hard floor and looked at the star-dusted heavens 
 through barred windows. 
 
 The marshal, a bow-legged gentleman named 
 Doheny, listened without comment while Gilmore 
 explained the situation and its possibilities. 
 
 " How soon do yuh expect yore friends to drift 
 in? " he inquired, when he had the whole story. 
 
 " If their hosses are holdin' out, they ought to 
 be here in a hour, more or less," replied Gilmore. 
 " They're ten or twelve miles behind, I guess." 
 
 " I'll get a few o' the boys together," said 
 Doheny, caressing his square chin. " They 
 might want to run a blazer on us, or somethin'." 
 
 But even as he uttered the words there was a 
 far-away drum of horses galloping. 
 
 " I guess that's them," Gilmore observed 
 calmly, and took his Winchester from the saddle. 
 
 Smoky led the horses to the rear of the jail, and 
 Doheny hurried to get help. When the half- 
 breed returned with his rifle, he found Gilmore 
 
112 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 sitting comfortably on the jail steps, the Win- 
 chester across his knees. 
 
 " Take a seat, Smoky," invited Gilmore, mov- 
 ing over. " Nothin' like restin' easy while we 
 
 can." 
 
 They were sitting there when the would-be 
 rescuers, seventeen shadowy riders, loped their 
 staggering ponies up the town's one street and 
 halted in front of the jail. In the darkness they 
 did not at first perceive the two motionless figures 
 seated on the steps. 
 
 " They must 'a' got here," said one rider. " I'll 
 get the marshal." 
 
 " No need o' that," remarked Gilmore, slightly 
 shifting his Winchester. :< The marshal will be 
 hack in a minute." 
 
 " I knowed they was here! " exclaimed the man 
 who had spoken. 
 
 Another rider spurred forward. 
 
 "Not too close!" was Gilmore's soft-spoken 
 suggestion. 
 
 The man checked his horse. 
 
 " Yuh shore are slick," he said. " We give 
 yuh credit for gettin' here first an' sudden, but it 
 won't do yuh no good. Judge Triwy has an- 
 nulled them two warrants, an' we've come for the 
 prisoners. We don't want no trouble, but we've 
 come for the prisoners." 
 
 Gilmore's unquenchable spirit rose to meet the 
 menace in the other's tone. 
 
 " So yuh've come for the prisoners," he re- 
 peated tenderly. " Now that's what I call public- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 113 
 
 spirited. There ain't many gents would take the 
 trouble; an' after to-night, if yo^re still certain 
 shore yuhVe come for the prisoners, there won't 
 be so many. No, sir, such public-spirited gents, 
 sot in their ways, are a heap likely to grow less in 
 number as time rolls on. Think it over, gents, 
 think it over!" 
 
 " Say, I tell you we've " the spokesman 
 
 began angrily. 
 
 " No hurry," Gilmore hastened to assure him, 
 " Take yore time. We've got the whole evenin', 
 an' I ain't in a bit of a hurry. To tell yuh the 
 truth, we were gettin' a heap lonesome, my 
 pardner an' me, an' we was just wishin' some- 
 body'd sift in an' sort o' liven things up, when 
 
 here yuh come. Luck, I call it, an' Say, 
 
 fellah, you on the white boss, I wouldn't go f ussin' 
 at any gun. It always makes me jumpy an' nerv- 
 ous like when a gent starts pickin' at his artil- 
 lery. Here's my Winchester a-pointin' plumb at 
 the abdomen o' the tall sport who's been doin' all 
 the talkin'. Now he has a right nice-soundin' way 
 o' makin' a speech. I shore enjoyed hearin' what 
 he had to say. But an' here we come to the 
 bottom of the well but I'll shore have to drill 
 him a lot if I get any nervouser. I thank you, 
 Mr. White Horse. I kind o' hoped yuh'd see it 
 my way. The sharps in the back, the ones I 
 can't see very well 'count o' their bein* sort o' be- 
 hind the others, can take it for granted that Mr. 
 Nivette is lookin' after their interests. The 
 shadow that just slid down to the corner of the 
 
ii4 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 jail is Mr. Nivette. Now that we understand 
 each other, what can I do for yuh? If yuh don't 
 see what yuh want, ask for it." 
 
 " Don't be a fool! " cautioned the spokesman, 
 while the others muttered profanely among them- 
 selves. " We got yuh, an' yuh know it. There 
 ain't no two ways about it. Yuh gotta turn over 
 them prisoners, or we'll fill yuh full o' lead! " 
 
 " Yuh've been hintin' at that right steady ever 
 since yuh rode in," complained Gilmore. " Try 
 somethin' new, can't yuh? " 
 
 * Yuh won't give 'em up?" The speaker's 
 tone was rasping. 
 
 ' Yuh make me plumb weary," said Gilmore. 
 "Why, fellah, look what's comin' in behind 
 yuh!" 
 
 Involuntarily the entire seventeen turned their 
 heads. What they saw was sufficient. Rolling 
 swiftly toward them was a confused mass which, 
 on its nearer approach, resolved itself into the 
 town marshal heading a deputation consisting of 
 most of the male citizens of Warrior's Mark. 
 The citizens silently lined up along the edge of 
 the street. The marshal stepped forward and 
 confronted the leader of the Plain Edge men. 
 
 * What do yuh want? " Doheny demanded. 
 
 " Them two prisoners," the Plain Edger told 
 him. " Yore holdin' 'em ain't legal. The judge 
 who issued the warrants has annulled 'em. 
 Here's my authority." 
 
 He held a paper toward Doheny. 
 
 " You didn't show that to me," Gilmore said 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 115 
 
 reproachfully, rising and joining the marshal. 
 "Let's see it!" 
 
 He took the paper from Doheny's willing hand, 
 and struck a match. Calmly he held the flame 
 to the edge of the judicial notice. 
 
 " Hey, whatcha doin'? " the Plain Edge leader 
 bawled. 
 
 " Don'tcha move! " rejoined Doheny. 
 
 The paper burned swiftly. Gilmore dropped 
 the last flickering shred before it burned his 
 fingers, and looked up at the Plain Edger. 
 
 "Now where's your authority?" he inquired 
 cheerfully. 
 
 * Yuh'll be sorry for this ! " the other replied 
 heatedly. " Doheny, I call on you to release 
 them prisoners." 
 
 " What prisoners? " was Doheny's parry. 
 
 " The ones in the calaboose. Yuh can't tell us 
 they ain't there. We know better. We want 
 'em right now, an' we're a-goin to have 'em ! " 
 
 ' There he goes beginnin' all over again," 
 groaned Gilmore. 
 
 " Well, I'd shore admire to oblige yuh," 
 Doheny asserted; " but it can't be did nohow. I 
 can't go throwin' the jail open to all comers an' 
 releasin' prisoners thisaway. Special I can't 
 when I ain't got no written authority, no official 
 order, y' understand." 
 
 "But " 
 
 " I know, gents, but why talk about it? What 
 I'm tellin' yuh goes as it lays, an' no bets 
 coppered. S'posin' you an' yore friends pull yore 
 
n6 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 freight! To tell yuh the truth, if yo're gummin' 
 up the view three minutes from now, yo're mighty 
 likely to be with us some few of a time! " 
 
 The Plain Edge men did not stand upon the 
 order of their going. When the clatter of their 
 departure had become inaudible, the marshal's 
 reinforcements dispersed, and the officer himself 
 sat down upon the jail steps with Gilmore and 
 Nivette. 
 
 " I don't like that annulling notice," Doheny 
 abruptly announced. 
 
 "Meanin'?" was Gilmore's quiet question. 
 
 " Oh, I don't mean yore burnin' the thing. 
 That was all right ; but if they bring another one 
 signed by Triwy, what can I do? I'll have to 
 honor it." 
 
 " Will yuh? " 
 
 " If I don't, all they have to do is sue out a 
 writ o' habeas corpus. I can't get round that, 
 not nohow." 
 
 " Yuh can if yuh make another charge against 
 him." 
 
 " Another charge?" Doheny repeated stupidly. 
 
 " Shore, another charge," Gilmore chuckled. 
 " Yuh see, the habeas corpus writ only covers 
 the arrest for murder. If there's an additional 
 charge o' rustlin' or vagrancy oh, 'most any 
 little thing'll do why, then the writ don't travel 
 a foot. All yuh gotta do is keep makin' addi- 
 tional charges as fast as they bring up writs. O' 
 course, it ain't strictly fair, an' I dunno as it's 
 strictly legal, but it can be done." 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 117 
 
 " Ye-es," assented the dubious marshal, 
 "but " 
 
 " Now don't start in with any buts, Yuh 
 know as well as I that the bunch in Plain Edge 
 an' Virgin City are the busiest lot o' lawbreakers 
 outside o' jail. They gotta be stopped, an* it 
 don't matter real particular how they're stopped." 
 
 " This thing's been goin' on for years. What 
 can one or two men do? " 
 
 " You hold these two fellahs an' I'll show yuh 
 what one or two men can do." 
 
 The marshal scratched his head. He slowly 
 rolled a cigarette, lit it, and smoked, inhaling 
 deeply. Gilmore and Nivette waited patiently. 
 
 " If nobody brings me any habeas corpus writs, 
 I'll hold them two boys for yuh long's yuh like," 
 the marshal said at last. " But if their friends 
 do sue out writs an' they will, y'betcha I can't 
 make out to keep 'em more'n a month or six 
 weeks. That's the best I can do." 
 
 " That's good enough for a dog. A fellah can 
 do quite a jag o' work in six weeks. I'm shore 
 obliged to yuh for helpin' us out! " 
 
 " That's all right. How about comin' over to 
 my shack an' restin' yore hats, gents? " 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 DURING the ride from Warrior's Mark, Gil- 
 more had artfully brought round the subject of 
 conversation to women-folk in general. From 
 this as a basis it had been easy to work up to 
 specific cases. 
 
 " You bet you," Smoky affirmed, " Meesus 
 Mary jane ees one fine woman. She ees good 
 beezness man un good-lookin' een de face, too. 
 I like her, me." 
 
 " Not many others like her around, are there? " 
 
 Gilmore's tone was plainfully casual. Nivette 
 gave him a sharp look. 
 
 " I weel tell you, my Men'," he remarked. 
 " Dere ees one odair, un dat ees Mees Louise 
 Stuart. She ees one grande demoiselle by gar, 
 she ees ! All tarn she wear de pant like de man. 
 Nevair she wear de dress, nevair. But all de 
 same she ees what I say. One tarn when I was 
 seeck ovair at Benson's ranch, she bring me medi- 
 cine un feex me up. But dat was before de 
 trouble between de Hash Knife un de Lazy D. 
 She was onlee fourteen year old den. Her peo- 
 ple, dey are t'iefs, but because dey are dat does 
 not hurt her. No, by gar, eet does not ! Un she 
 mus' not be hurt een dees row." 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 119 
 
 " She won't be hurt." 
 
 " Eet ees not my beezness,"^ said the half- 
 breed, his hard, black eyes boring into Gilmore's 
 steady blue ones; " un you can tell me for to 
 shut de mouth, but Mees Stuart she ees my frien'. 
 For her I would fight whole tribe Enjun. Un 
 I ask you, my frien', how you lak her? " 
 
 " I love her," Gilmore replied simply. " Some 
 day I mean to marry her." 
 
 " Den dat ees all right," smiled Nivette. 
 " You are de good man, un I weesh you all de 
 luck een de worl'. I have t'ink 'bout dis long 
 time evair since you heet Sleem across de jaw 
 wit' de quirt un I have wonder. Well, I am 
 glad, my frien', for now I know." 
 
 " Say, Smoky, don't she ever wear skirts? " 
 
 " Nobody see Mees Stuart een a dress, 
 jamais nevair, lak I say. Eet ees alway de 
 pant." 
 
 ' Well, of course, I don't care, but " 
 
 " Don' you wreenkle de forehead ovair dat," 
 comforted the half-breed. " Eef you can mak' 
 de lady marry wit' you, you can mak' her wear 
 any kin' clo'es you lak. De job ees to marry wit' 
 her. De res' ees easy." 
 
 But Gilmore had his doubts. 
 
 When it came nearly time to separate, the half- 
 breed urged that he should be allowed to accom- 
 pany Gilmore; but the latter would have none 
 of it. 
 
 " She's no use a-talkin', Smoky," Gilmore said 
 with finality. " I gotta go alone. It's a one- 
 
120 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 man job, this visit is. Tom Johnson knows yuh, 
 don't he? Well, wouldn't he get suspicious a lot 
 if you an' me came driftin' in together? Yuh 
 bet he would. So yuh see I gotta go alone. No 
 two ways about it ! " 
 
 " I t'ink you weel be keel," was Nivette's 
 doubtful comment. 
 
 "I won't be," laughed Gilmore. "I ain't 
 a-goin' to die for quite a long time yet. Got too 
 much to do, I have, to go round dyin' just now. 
 But speakin' o' that, how about you an' Virgin 
 City? You can't go back there." 
 
 " Un why not? " Nivette wished to know. " I 
 have de Winchestair, I have de six-shootair, I 
 have de knife, un I have four five frien' een 
 Virgin Ceety. I am all right. When you come, 
 you weel fin' me dere waitin'." 
 
 " Here's where we separate, then. Ain't this 
 the draw where I turn off to go to the Lazy D? " 
 
 " Dees ees eet. You have de leetle map I mak' 
 safe? " 
 
 " Shore. So-long, Smoky ! " 
 
 " So-long, Dal. Don't you keel nobody 
 more'n you have to. Here, tak de fiel'-glass. 
 You may need dem." 
 
 The draw was three miles in length. Gilmore 
 rode out of the other end upon a wide flat, down 
 the middle of which meandered a small river bor- 
 dered by the eternal cottonwoods. This river 
 was the War Ax, and despite many bends its 
 general direction of flow was south. 
 
 According to Nivette's penciled map, the 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 121 
 
 Triangle O ranch-house lay down-stream some 
 forty miles. At a point beyond the Triangle O, 
 thirty miles or more, the river ran between a 
 saddle-backed hill and another shaped like a 
 wickiup. Between forty and fifty miles west of 
 these hills lay the Lazy D. 
 
 Gilmore made his unhurried way southward. 
 Most of the time he kept the western rim of the 
 valley between himself and the river. Twice he 
 saw riders, but, seeing them first, he got under 
 cover before they glimpsed him. 
 
 When the sun was near its setting, he knew by 
 his map that he was not far from the Triangle O 
 ranch-house. He detoured widely and struck 
 the river again ten miles to the south. Here he 
 made a fireless camp and spent the night. At 
 the first glow of dawn he was mounted and rid- 
 ing on. 
 
 An hour or two later he was moved to consult 
 his map ; but his prodding fingers could not find 
 it in any pocket, nor was it in the saddle-bags or 
 cantinas. 
 
 " I guess I remember it pretty well," he con- 
 soled himself, and urged his horse into a lope. 
 
 Now he rode with extreme caution; for 
 Nivette had told him that the Lazy D men were 
 worse than the Triangle O, and almost as bad as 
 the V Up-and-Down, it being their pleasant habit 
 to shoot first and seek an explanation later. This 
 was the reason both for Nivette's desire to ac- 
 company him and for his own resolve to go alone. 
 Gilmore knew that if he could reach Tom John* 
 
122 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 son without being shot, and without being com- 
 pelled to shoot, he would be safe enough. For 
 he had concocted a story warranted to impress the 
 most suspicious skeptic, and Tom Johnson was a 
 person of small imagination. He had proved 
 that by the memorandum and the I. O. U. on the 
 ace of spades. 
 
 When Gilmore had traveled, as he judged, 
 some thirty miles from the Triangle O, he rode 
 in among low hills. He did not see the saddle- 
 backed hill and the one shaped like a wickiup 
 which flanked the ranch-house. Nevertheless, 
 firm in the belief that his memory was not at 
 fault, he forded the War Ax and headed steadily 
 westward. 
 
 " I dunno, Frosty fellah," he said several hours 
 later. " It don't seem like the Lazy D is croppin' 
 up verv fast. It ain't possible that we overrode 
 it, huh? " 
 
 The dun flapped his lower lip and swished a 
 long tail when Gilmore leaned forward and 
 rubbed him between the ears with his knuckles. 
 
 Wliung-g! Something hummed through the 
 air where the rider's head had been before he bent 
 forward. Gilmore did not straighten up. He 
 stayed as he was, drove home the spurs, and 
 poured the leather into the dun. That surprised 
 animal, after one frantic leap, stretched himself 
 out and ran like a scared coyote. 
 
 Seconds after the bullet passed over his head 
 Gilmore heard the faint crack of the report. He 
 looked over his shoulder. Nearly three quarters 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 123 
 
 of a mile distant, above an outcrop on a hillside, 
 a tiny gray smoke-puff was shredding away, and 
 three riders were galloping down the slope to- 
 ward him. 
 
 "Now, little fellah, we gotta ride!" Gilmore 
 told the dun, and straightway became absorbed 
 in the task of increasing his lead. 
 
 The three pursuers did not fire again. They 
 confined themselves to riding. And they did 
 ride. They even gained a little at first ; but their 
 horses could not go the pace with the dun. 
 
 At the end of half an hour Gilmore looked 
 over his shoulder again. The men in the rear 
 were beginning to drop back. He waved his hat 
 derisively. Thut-t! A bullet ripped through 
 the crown of the hat and another ricocheted off 
 a rock near the dun's forefeet. Gilmore ab- 
 ruptly ceased waving his hat. 
 
 A hundred yards ahead he saw the entrance 
 of a narrow draw. He jerked the horse into the 
 draw, rode madly for a half-mile, and was brought 
 up short; for a great spruce had fallen into the 
 gully, blocking it completely. 
 
 The sides of the draw were extremely steep. 
 In places they were perpendicular. It was a 
 tight pinch, especially tight in that three quick- 
 shooting gentlemen were hammering along in 
 the rear. 
 
 Gilmore set his horse at the western side of the 
 draw, and stood up in his stirrups. The brave- 
 hearted dun scrambled upward like a cat. Dirt 
 and gravel flew from under his hoofs in showers. 
 
124 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 He was almost at the top when his hind legs 
 slipped and he slid to the bottom. 
 
 " Don'tcha care, fellah, don'tcha care!" bawled 
 Gilmore. "Try her again! Come on now! 
 Up yuh go ! " 
 
 Scrambling, slipping, catching himself by a 
 miracle, the horse strained up the steep. He 
 hooked his forelegs over the top of the declivity, 
 and there he stuck. Gilmore flung himself from 
 the saddle, sank his heels into the earth between 
 the horse's hoofs, and pulled on the bit for all he 
 was worth. 
 
 With a grunt and a plunge the dun heaved 
 himself up on level ground. Gilmore dragged 
 him away from the edge, dropped the reins on 
 the ground, and rushed back with his rifle to stem 
 a possible charge. But the enemy was not charg- 
 ing that day. A quarter-mile away, when the 
 dun made his supreme effort, the pursuers had 
 recognized that the advantage had changed 
 hands for the time being, and had turned back. 
 
 " They'll come round some other way," said 
 Gilmore, running back to his horse. " Oh, shore 
 they will, bless their little hearts, but when they 
 do they won't find this orphan child. Come on, 
 Frosty hoss, show these here hold-ups what a 
 Noo Mexican cayuse can do when he just natu- 
 rally spreads out his tail and travels ! " 
 
 Frosty flattened his ears and settled down to 
 his knitting. He galloped straight toward the 
 setting sun, and he kept up his stride till the sun 
 set and the stars came out. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 125 
 
 When he came to a tiny stream, Gilmore halted 
 and made another fireless camp. * His palate was 
 beyond measure tired of cold bacon and cold 
 water and dusty cracker-crumbs, but he dared not 
 light a fire not in this unregenerate country. 
 
 When he had eaten sparingly, and was lying 
 on his back smoking and listening to Frosty, as 
 the pony energetically wrenched its dinner out 
 of the bunch-grass, he felt a cold drop on his face. 
 Then came another, and another, and several 
 more all together added to the gaiety of the 
 occasion. 
 
 " I knew she was beginnin' to cloud up," he 
 muttered; " but I shore didn't think she was goin' 
 to rain. Why, it hadn't ought to rain not now, 
 in summer ! " 
 
 But it was raining, and in fifteen minutes it was 
 pouring. Gilmore, sitting cross-legged inside 
 his slicker, remained where he was till it began 
 to hail. Then he hastily saddled the frantic 
 Frosty and rode away, drifting with the storm. 
 
 The hail ceased inside of thirty minutes, but the 
 rain took it up harder than ever. The wind 
 raved across the levels and swooped, yelling, in 
 and out of the draws. 
 
 " This rain don't hit me where I live a-tall," 
 observed Gilmore, when the water began to 
 trickle down inside his collar. " I'd like it a lot 
 if there was lightnin' or somethin' ; but this here 
 has a steady run to it that sounds promisin' for 
 a week." 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 GILMORE'S augury of a week of rain was in- 
 correct; but the downpour lasted till the middle 
 of the following morning, when it ceased as sud- 
 denly as it had begun. The clouds blew away 
 to the southwest, the sun came out, and Gilmore 
 steamed in his wet clothes. 
 
 Leaving his horse in a cup-like pocket between 
 two low hills, he climbed the taller height, sat 
 down with his back braced against a boulder, and 
 swept the landscape with his field-glasses. Miles 
 away in the northwest, he saw a cluster of squat 
 ranch-buildings. 
 
 " Can't be the Lazy D," he said. " I'm a long- 
 ride west o' that now." Then something familiar 
 about the position of the corrals in relation to the 
 ranch-house struck him. " She's the Hash 
 Knife! That's what she is the Hash Knife! " 
 
 He continued to stare through the glasses, his 
 lips curving in a slow smile. It is not to be sup- 
 posed that he saw merely the prosaic buildings 
 of the ranch. Not at all ! He saw Louise Stuart 
 of the honey-colored hair and amber eyes. 
 
 " I wish she wouldn't wear pants," he 
 mourned. " I bet she'd be a whizzer in skirts ! " 
 
 From a hill that lay between him and the ranch 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 127 
 
 a figure on horseback detached itself and moved 
 slowly in his direction. The horse was a pinto 
 with an all-white head. 
 
 " Seems to me," muttered Gilmore, " that 
 Louise was ridin' a pinto like that the first time 
 I met her. Now I come to think of it harder, I'm 
 dead shore she was." 
 
 He crawled round behind his back-rest, lay 
 down on his stomach, and poked the field-glasses 
 past the edge. Horse and rider were within a 
 mile before Gilmore could be sure that the rider 
 was a woman. At eight hundred yards' range he 
 recognized Louise Stuart. 
 
 " If this ain't luck! " he breathed, ecstatically 
 clicking his heels together. " Luck, whole herds 
 o' luck! Say, she's a-goin' to get off. Yep an' 
 she's got on a divided skirt! " 
 
 Mr. Gilmore's eyes opened saucer-wise. He 
 stared with his mouth well ajar; but what fol- 
 lowed was still more amazing than the divided 
 skirt. Miss Stuart dismounted, knee-hobbled her 
 pony, spread a slicker on the wet ground, and 
 took a flat, oblong package from her saddle-bags. 
 She sat down on the slicker, her feet under her, 
 and undid the package. 
 
 "It's a lookin'-glass!" whispered Gilmore. 
 " A lookin'-glass, an' she's a-stickin' it up in front 
 of her against that rock. Now what's she doin' ? " 
 
 He was not long kept in doubt. Unhurriedly 
 Miss Stuart began to arrange her hair. When 
 she had completed her coiffure, she examined it 
 carefully from every angle, took it down, and 
 
128 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 started afresh. After the second attempt had 
 been demolished, Gilmore closed his field-glasses 
 and wriggled rearward. 
 
 Miss Stuart, having added the finishing touch 
 to her fifth experiment by tying a baby -blue rib- 
 bon round her head, tilted her chin to contem- 
 plate the effect. 
 
 ' That shore is pretty," a voice behind her 
 drawled lazily. 
 
 Miss Stuart did not start. She merely rested 
 her hands on her knees and slowly turned her 
 head. Her narrowed amber eyes beheld Gil- 
 more, his hat by his side, sitting within six feet 
 of her. He nodded cheerfully to her, his white 
 teeth flashing in a most disarming style. 
 
 " I always did like blue light blue like that," 
 he announced. " It goes great against yore 
 hair!" 
 
 She continued to regard him wordlessly. 
 
 " Ma'am, yuh could speak if yuh like," he con- 
 tinued. " Say howdy, or somethin', just to be 
 sociable an' show there's no hard feelin's." 
 
 Miss Stuart smiled. Yet thereby she added 
 nothing to the beauty of her face; for it was a de- 
 cidedly unpleasant smile. In its intensity it was 
 almost baleful. 
 
 ' What are you doing here? " she demanded. 
 
 * I'm watchin' you, ma'am," was his calm re- 
 joinder. 
 
 " Spy! " The most talented of actresses could 
 not have injected more contempt into the word. 
 
 " Now, ma'am," he deprecated, " yuh know 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 129 
 
 better. Honest, if yuh go on talkin' thataway, 
 I'll begin to think yuh don't want me round." 
 
 " You are a spy! You know you are! You 
 have come here to put innocent people in jail! " 
 
 " Innocent people! Why, ma'am, I never put 
 an innocent man, woman, or child in jail in my 
 life. You can gamble an' go the limit that if I 
 wrap a calaboose round anybody, he'll deserve it 
 all right. An' anyway, I ain't puttin' a soul in 
 jail just now. You can see for yoreself I ain't." 
 
 " I sha'n't bandy words with you! " 
 
 " Don't bandy 'em, ma'am. It sounds queer, 
 like bow-legs or somethin'. Try talkin' pleasant. 
 It may come hard at first, but yuh'll get used to 
 it after a while." 
 
 " Didn't you arrest Slim Dennison and Mar- 
 shal Simms?" 
 
 "Shore!" 
 
 " Yet you have the face to say that you don't 
 arrest innocent people! " 
 
 " I guess yuh ain't heard the right of that 
 business," Gilmore observed dryly, and pro- 
 ceeded to enlighten her. " So yuh see what the 
 Hash Knife boys heard in Virgin City an' Plain 
 Edge ain't true," he added in conclusion. 
 
 " None of the Hash Knife boys have been to 
 Virgin City, or Plain Edge, either, just lately," 
 she declared. " It was a V Up-and-Down 
 puncher that brought us the news." 
 
 Gilmore stared. The full significance of her 
 words had struck him forcibly. 
 
 " Yuh say," he drawled, " that none of your 
 
130 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 boys have been to Virgin City or Plain 
 Edge? " 
 
 "What of it?" 
 
 " Oh, no thin'. Only you warned me you were 
 goin' to set 'em on my trail soon's they got back." 
 
 Her direct gaze shifted. 
 
 " I changed my mind," she told him a trifle 
 nervously, he thought. " And if I did, it's my 
 own affair. Think yourself lucky that I did." 
 
 " I do, ma'am, I do. I think I'm a mighty 
 lucky fellah. Didn't yuh tell 'em anythin' about 
 our little argument? " 
 
 " None of your business whether I did or not! " 
 she returned furiously. 
 
 " No, ma'am, o' course it ain't. I was just 
 wonderin'. It's natural for me to wonder 'bout 
 what I don't understand. I can't help it. I'm 
 obliged to yuh for thinkin' of me so much. Yuh 
 remember I told yuh yuh would." 
 
 "You didn't! I haven't!" she stormed. 
 ' Think of you ! A man that's mishandled me as 
 you have! I hate you! I hate you! Do you 
 understand? " 
 
 " I understand what you mean," he replied 
 with an easy tolerance that was maddening. 
 " But yuh don't hate me. Yuh couldn't hate 
 me, ma'am. Why, yuh won't admit it, maybe, 
 but you really feel right friendly to me. Shore 
 yuh do!" 
 
 Louise Stuart was speechless. Her fingers 
 tingled to box his ears. She was furious with him 
 and with herself with him for tantalizing her to 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 131 
 
 the verge of hysterical weeping, and with herself 
 for losing control of her nerves. Habitually self- 
 contained, physically and mentally perfect, she 
 had remained calm and collected under the stun- 
 ning shock of hearing his voice over her shoulder, 
 yet now she was forced to exert every jot of will- 
 power to fight off the tears. The revelation of 
 her own weakness frightened her. 
 
 He was speaking again in his lazy drawl. 
 
 " Yuh shore do look wonderful in a dress, 
 ma'am. I wish yuh'd smile once ! " 
 
 " You think you're very smart," she said un- 
 steadily ; " but you won't think so later on. How 
 long do you imagine you'll keep those men pris- 
 oners? " 
 
 " Oh, some little time, some little time. Long 
 enough, I guess." 
 
 " Not in Plain Edge/you won't." 
 
 " No, not in Plain Edge in Warrior's Mark. 
 Yuh see, ma'am, when yuh said the whole county 
 had taken sides, yuh'd forgot the Mark. It seems 
 to be about the one place that's fairly neutral ; so 
 I took 'em there. They're there now. I don't 
 think anybody'll get 'em away in a hurrry." 
 
 "You'll see!" 
 
 " I'm always seem'. It's my business. Along 
 with that I'll be seein' you again mighty soon." 
 
 " But not the way you think." Her smile was 
 chilling. 
 
 "Hands up!" rapped out a harsh voice in 
 Gilmore's ear. 
 
 Gilmore immediately elevated his arms. His 
 
132 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 soul writhed within him, but his eyes and mouth 
 smiled at Miss Stuart. 
 
 " Yuh might have said somethin'," he re- 
 proached her. 
 
 " Lou," called the voice in his rear, "yuh might 
 get the gentleman's gun." 
 
 Miss Stuart stretched out an arm and pos- 
 sessed herself of Gilmore's six-shooter. She also 
 prodded him here and there in search of a hide- 
 out; but she overlooked the back of his neck, 
 where the hilt of his bowie caressed the skin. 
 
 " He hasn't anything else," she announced, ris- 
 ing and moving a few yards to one side. 
 
 " Yuh can put yore hands down now," an- 
 nounced the voice, " an' yuh can get up an' turn 
 round." 
 
 Gilmore obeyed. Twenty feet distant stood 
 two men. The younger of the two was Louise's 
 brother, Lanky, he of the Lucifer-like counte- 
 nance. The other was a tall, fierce-eyed old citizen 
 with a stubby white mustache. It was the latter 
 individual who was holding up the deputy. 
 
 " Say, what was yuh cloin' here, Sis? " Lanky 
 queried in a surprised tone, his eyes roving from 
 the mirror on the ground to his sister's coiffure. 
 " Prinkin', huh? Well, I'll be 
 
 "No cussin' in front of her, Lanky!" inter- 
 rupted the old man. " How many times have 
 I " 
 
 "Well, look at her!" Lanky argued in self- 
 defense. " First she stops smokin', an' says it 
 ain't womanly. Then she puts on dresses, an' 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 133 
 
 now she comes cavortin' out here an' goes to 
 prinkin' up her hair where nobody can see her; 
 an' we follow her an' find her a-sittin' under a 
 rock an' talkin' with this deputy. It might pay 
 us to look into this ! " 
 
 Gilmore's heart leaped at Lanky's words. He 
 turned his head and deliberately winked at Miss 
 Stuart. That young lady looked through him 
 and bent down to pick up her looking-glass. 
 
 ' You always were a good-natured fool, 
 Lanky," she flung over her shoulder. ' You'll be 
 having me a spy next. Why don't you say right 
 out that I had an engagement with this deputy 
 right here on this spot? " 
 
 " I don't say that," grunted Lanky. 
 
 * Yuh'd better not, if yuh know what's good 
 for yuh," came in ominous tones from the older 
 man. " Yore sister has a right to act just as 
 she pleases, an' I'll shorely admire to see any 
 son of mine try to make her do different. Shut 
 up ! Not a yap out o' yuh ! Where's yore boss, 
 Mr. Deputy? " 
 
 " Hoss, boss ! " repeated Gilmore in pained as- 
 tonishment. " Yuh mean my boss? " 
 
 " Don't try to be funny. I mean yore 
 boss." 
 
 " Oh, my boss ! Shore, my boss, my little four- 
 legged cayuse. Poor HT fellah, he ran away just 
 before you sports drifted in. It's shore a ca- 
 lamity, but it can't be helped." 
 
 He grinned cheerfully at his captor. The lat- 
 ter glared. 
 
134 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Lanky," he said, " s'pose yuh ride round be- 
 hind that hill an' see if the hoss ain't there! " 
 
 " I take it yo're Mr. Alec Stuart," hazarded 
 Gilmore, when Lanky had gone. 
 
 The other nodded surlily. 
 
 "Don't be afraid to laugh," continued Gil- 
 more. " I can see yuh ain't used to it, but try 
 it once, anyway. It's good for the liver." 
 
 " Yo're the gent helped out my daughter an' 
 me when Tom Johnson's boys jumped us over 
 on Taylor's Ridge," old Stuart observed smile- 
 lessly. " I'm obliged to yuh for that, a heap 
 obliged, but don't think for a minute it's goin' to 
 be of much use to yuh. Yuh haven't no business 
 here, none whatever. Yuh come here makin' 
 trouble. We don't want no trouble. I guess 
 there's only one way for us to keep out of trouble, 
 an' that's by hangin' you." 
 
 " I wouldn't do that," cautioned Gilmore. 
 ' Yuh might regret it some time." 
 
 " I might, an' then again I mightn't. What 
 for did yuh arrest Slim Dennison an' Tim 
 Simms? " 
 
 Gilmore stretched his arms aloft and yawned. 
 
 ' Yuh make me tired, old-timer," he observed. 
 " I ain't got time to answer any questions 
 special if I'm a-goin' to be stretched." 
 
 "Iguessyuh'llbethat!" 
 
 " Well, there's a tamarack over yonder a little 
 ways. It looks like it ought to hold me up." 
 
 " Yuh won't be stretched to-day, nor yet 
 maybe to-morrow; but by the day after it's likely 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 135 
 
 yuh will be. Yuh see, my intention is to try yuh 
 all fair an' square, an' to do that the V Up-an'- 
 Down'll have to help. I'll do the right thing by 
 yuh. It won't be no lynchin'. It'll be a reg'lar 
 law-abidin' hangin'. I know yo're a deputy, but 
 us citizens of Glenn County didn't ask yuh to 
 come round here. We can 'tend to our own af- 
 fairs, an' we will. Here comes Lanky leadin' a 
 dun. I kind o' thought there'd be a boss cached 
 behind that hill. Yuh gen' rally pack yore hand- 
 cuffs in yore war-bags, don't yuh? " 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 IT is difficult to preserve an outward appear- 
 ance of cheer when one's wrists are wearing hand- 
 cuffs ; yet Gilmore accomplished the feat. When 
 he was not genially inquiring as to the number 
 of cows rustled by Alec Stuart and his sportive 
 offspring, he was whistling " The Rakes of Mal- 
 low " and other blithesome airs. 
 
 From his captors he obtained no satisfaction 
 as he rode. The two men flanked him, the girl 
 brought up the rear, and all three rode in solemn 
 silence. 
 
 When they reached the Hash Knife, men came 
 running from the ranch-house, the corrals, and 
 the bunk-house. They surrounded the little cav- 
 alcade, staring at Gilmore with extreme disfavor. 
 Besides Louise's five other brothers, Gilmore 
 counted sixteen punchers. Hard-looking folk, 
 these sixteen, quite on a par, apparently, with 
 the six Stuart boys. 
 
 Gilmore's serene blue eyes, resting casually on 
 each in turn, ranged round the assemblage. Last 
 he faced old Alec and smiled. 
 
 " Quite a crowd yuh've got," he drawled. " I 
 wonder just how many will be leavin' us before 
 the year's out!" 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 137 
 
 " You will, for one," was Stuart's pointed re- 
 minder. 
 
 " I'll do that, all right, but not the way yuh 
 think. Somehow, old-timer, I can't see myself 
 bein' stretched. In the first place, it wouldn't be 
 comfortable; in the second place, I'm too busy; 
 an' in the third, I aim to be some'eres else when 
 the happy event takes place. An' to make the 
 affair a success I'd have to be here. I'm sorry to 
 disappoint yuh, but yuh see how it is." 
 
 " I see," 'Stuart nodded, " an' so will you! " 
 
 " I always do. Done it since I first opened 
 my eyes. Do yuh aim to keep me here all day, or 
 do I get somethin' to eat? Last time I was in- 
 vited to rest my hat I got fed, an' fed plenty. 
 Just now I could eat a raw dog." 
 
 " Yuh'll be fed an' watered," replied Stuart. 
 " Tom, you an' Bob take all the tools out o' the 
 blacksmith-shop. We'll keep him in there till 
 Jack an' his outfit get here. Bill, yuh better 
 caper over to the V Up-an'-Down quick an' 
 right away, an' bring 'em back with yuh." 
 
 The men receiving the orders started to exe- 
 cute them without delay. They did not even look 
 over their shoulders as they went. It was only 
 too evident that old Alec's word was law at the 
 Hash Knife. 
 
 Gilmore's heart did not slow a beat. To be 
 cast down in the face of defeat had never been 
 his habit; and in this, probably the tightest corner 
 of his career, he was more sunnily flippant than 
 usual. He ate his dinner with a good appetite, 
 
138 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 and topped the meal with two pieces of pie and 
 three cups of coffee. 
 
 * Yuh gotta eat in my business," he observed to 
 the slim youngster with the broken nose, who was 
 guarding him. " Caperin' round after you law- 
 breakers is one sure cure for dyspepsy! " 
 
 ' Yore ailments won't bother yuh none after 
 a while," the other smiled back. 
 
 " You, too? An' I did have hopes for you. 
 Yuh look right sensible, not to say almost human. 
 So yuh think the way yore old man does, do 
 yuh? Well, well, ain't that just too curious? 
 Gimme a match, will yuh? " 
 
 Dinner over, they put him in the blacksmith- 
 shop, and effectively jammed the door by leaning 
 a crowbar bracewise under the latch. 
 
 " Jack Shaw'll be over here to-morrow, so 
 yuh won't have long to wait," were Bob Stuart's 
 parting words bawled through the crack. 
 
 " Yuh'll have to fetch him quicker'n that if yuh 
 want me to see him," Gilmore flashed back. 
 
 A taunting laugh, and Bob was gone. 
 
 There were no windows in the shop, but Gil- 
 more, stumbling in the darkness, found a seat on 
 a nail-keg by the simple expedient of falling over 
 it. After many efforts for they had handcuffed 
 him as soon as he had eaten he contrived to 
 reach a long forefinger down into the off pocket 
 of his chaps. He poked about beneath two extra 
 bags of tobacco for a space, then withdrew the 
 finger with an exclamation of deepest satisfac- 
 tion. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 139 
 
 " Fine an' dandy ! " he muttered. " Father an' 
 his little helpers'll shore wish they'd gone through 
 me with a fine-tooth comb before putting me in 
 here!" 
 
 He laughed silently, and proceeded to la- 
 boriously construct and light a cigarette an 
 operation rather badly impeded by the hand- 
 cuffs. 
 
 When his eyes became accustomed to the dark- 
 ness, he moved slowly around the four walls and 
 took stock of his surroundings. The little shop 
 was a solidly-constructed building of squared 
 logs, with a floor of beaten earth. At one side 
 was the forge of adobe, beside it was the water- 
 tub, opposite were several wagon-wheels, a small 
 pile of horseshoes, and, in the middle of the floor, 
 the nail-keg on which he had been sitting. There 
 was nothing else. Certainly there was nothing 
 that he could use as a weapon, but he found near 
 the forge, half-buried in dirt, a stick with a 
 charred end that had evidently seen service as a 
 poker. 
 
 " Just what I needed ! " he breathed delight- 
 edly, and carefully covered the stick with more 
 dirt. 
 
 He smoked another cigarette, then lay down 
 in the cleanest place he could find and went to 
 sleep. 
 
 A light in his eyes awakened him. He blinked 
 and sat up. The light came from the rays of the 
 setting sun shining through the open doorway. 
 In the opening stood Louise Stuart. 
 
140 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Gilmore struggled to his feet. He nodded ap- 
 provingly. 
 
 " I shore like yore clo'es," he observed. :< That 
 there blue dress looks awful good on yuh. Yo're 
 still wearin' that ribbon, too. Keep right on 
 a-doin' it. Honest, yuh look like somethin' that's 
 almost too good to be true. Like a angel, I 
 mean!" 
 
 " This is no time to pass compliments," she said 
 sharply, coming forward. " You don't seem to 
 realize that you have got yourself into a serious 
 situation. To put it bluntly, you may not see the 
 sun set to-morrow evening." 
 
 * Well, now, I'd be right sorry not to. I like 
 sunsets, don't you all red an' yaller an' goldy- 
 green? " 
 
 Frank impatience was patent in her amber 
 eyes. She struck her palms together. 
 
 " Stop joking! I have a proposition to make 
 to you." 
 
 " Now, that's what I call talking. Take a 
 chair, ma'am I mean, take a nail-keg. I'll stand 
 in front so's the sun won't hit yuh in the eyes." 
 
 " You needn't trouble yourself. Stand still, 
 can't you? How can I talk connectedly with 
 you strolling about like a lost calf? " 
 
 " All right, ma'am, I'm stiller'n a fence-post. 
 Watch me!" 
 
 She gazed up at him, and he wondered how it 
 would feel to run his fingers through her hair. 
 
 ".It looks just like silk," he said aloud. 
 
 "What looks oh! Don't you think it's the 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 141 
 
 least bit rude to comment upon a girl in her 
 presence? " 
 
 " I should say not," he replied, shaking his 
 dark head. " No, sir, not when the lady's as goocl- 
 lookin' as you are. I can't help talkin' about yuh 
 when yo're round. Yo're wonderful ! " 
 
 Obviously startled, she bit her lip. The slow 
 red colored cheeks and chin. 
 
 " Yo're prettier right now than any sunset that 
 ever was," pronounced the appreciative Gilmore. 
 
 " Please don't," she entreated earnestly. " I 
 I wish you wouldn't not now. Just listen, do! 
 My father says that if you will free Dennison 
 and Simnis, and give him your word to resign 
 your office and to leave Glenn County at once, he 
 will let you go. Otherwise " 
 
 " I'll be lynched," he finished the sentence for 
 her. 
 
 She nodded, her face suddenly going white. 
 
 " Why didn't yore dad tell me this himself? " 
 he questioned. 
 
 " I don't know. I " 
 
 " Yes, yuh clo know. He had you bring his 
 message because he thought yuh'd have some in- 
 fluence with me now, didn't he? " 
 
 To this brutally direct attack she made no 
 reply. She averted her head. There was a catch 
 in her breath. Suddenly she sprang up, her 
 lithe figure tense, her eyes glistening. 
 
 " It isn't fair! " she cried. " I told them you 
 wouldn't do what they wanted! I knew you 
 wouldn't! And they'll hang you! " 
 
142 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 The blood pounded in Gilmore's throat. His 
 whole being had a curious sense of lightness. 
 Louise Stuart was taking his part! She sym- 
 pathized with him ! He walked to her and patted 
 her clumsily on the shoulder. 
 
 " Don't you care," he comforted. " I ain't 
 hung yet. Another thing, how do yuh know I 
 won't take yore dad up? " 
 
 She faced him with hot cheeks. 
 
 " I know you," she said simply. " You 
 wouldn't do it. The man who had the nerve to 
 pull a gun on Lanky when he had four of his 
 brothers with him, and who went against my der- 
 ringer and took it away from me, isn't the man 
 to reneg now." 
 
 It was his turn to redden. His heart sang 
 within him. Louise Stuart was actually praising 
 him. He knew that he was greatly favored of 
 men. Opportunity knocked. He grasped oppor- 
 tunity and Miss Stuart's hand. 
 
 " Girl dear," he whispered, " I shore love yuh a 
 lot! I " 
 
 She tore her hand away and fled. Gilmore, 
 feeling a trifle dizzy, sat down on the nail-keg. 
 The door was open, but he made no attempt to 
 leave his prison. He stared down at the dirty 
 floor, a little smile on his lips. 
 
 Five minutes later Miss Stuart returned. She 
 came no farther than the doorway. He perceived 
 that she was breathing hard. Standing there with 
 downcast eyes, she wet her lips several times be- 
 fore she spoke. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 143 
 
 " Wha what shall I tell my father? " 
 
 " Why, I thought yuh knew all about what to 
 tell him." 
 
 Without another word, she closed the door, 
 leaned the crowbar under the latch, and went 
 away. 
 
 Gilmore, grinning widely into the darkness, 
 teetered on his nail-keg. He was still grinning, 
 still teetering, when the door of the shop was re- 
 opened a few minutes later, and Bob, the broken- 
 nosed youngster, brought in his supper. 
 
 " It's a wonder you chunkers wouldn't let a 
 fellah eat in the house," grumbled Gilmore. " I 
 ain't partic'lar who I eat with rustlers, hoss- 
 thieves, road-agents, they all look alike to me 
 when it comes to eatin'. Can't spoil my appe- 
 tite!" 
 
 " You shut up ! " snarled Bob. 
 
 "My, my, what a temper we're in! What's 
 happened to ruffle up Bobby boy's little pink feel- 
 ings? Did it lose its rattle, or did one of its 
 brothers steal its nursin'-bottle? " 
 
 "Dam' yore soul, yuh lousy deputy! Shut 
 up!" bellowed Bobby, slamming the supper 
 down on the forge. 
 
 "There now, see what yuh did! Yuh've 
 busted that coffee-cup. Naughty, naughty ! " 
 
 Bob flung back to the door in a rage, just as 
 his sister came round the corner of the black- 
 smith-shop. 
 
 " Go to the house and get another cup of cof- 
 fee," she ordered quietly. 
 
144 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 "Get it yourself!" was the counter of the 
 amiable Bob. 
 
 Louise moved closer to her brother. With 
 narrowed eyes she stared at him till his gaze 
 shifted. 
 
 " Do as I say," was her low-voiced command. 
 
 Bob departed in the direction of the house. 
 Gilmore, affecting not to observe the family jar, 
 was slowly eating his supper. Wordless, Louise 
 stepped past him, gathered up the pieces of the 
 broken cup, and tossed them into a corner. Sfie 
 went back to the doorway and stood leaning 
 against the jamb. When Bob returned, she 
 took the fresh cup from him and brought it in to 
 Gilmore. 
 
 " You like it sweet, don't you? " she said. " If 
 Sing Fah didn't put in enough sugar, I'll send 
 Bob back." 
 
 But the coffee was just right, and Louise re- 
 sumed her place in the doorway. The disgruntled 
 Bob, squatting on his heels a few yards distant, 
 sullenly refrained from looking at her or speak- 
 ing. 
 
 Suddenly old Alec strode through the door- 
 way. He nodded briefly to Gilmore and shoved 
 his hat back from his forehead. 
 
 " My daughter says you can't see my proposi- 
 tion none," he cast at a venture. 
 
 " Not one little bit," declared Gilmore. " I 
 don't wear a star just to take it off whenever the 
 first man who comes along tells me to. Y'ought 
 to know that." 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 145 
 
 " Now don't be a fool," argued Stuart. " I 
 don't want to have to hang yuh. I'd a heap 
 rather turn yuh loose. It'll save a lot o' trouble 
 all round." 
 
 "Look here! S'pose you were in my place, 
 would you do it? " 
 
 " Shore I would, instanter! " 
 
 " Yo're a liar, an' yuh know it! " 
 
 Stuart scratched his head reflectively. 
 
 " Well maybe I am," he admitted; " but " 
 
 " Then why talk about it? " 
 
 " Aw, leave the id jit alone! " Bob put in from 
 the doorway. " Yuh can't teach a mule sense ! " 
 
 " But I can teach young fellers when to keep 
 quiet ! " flared his father. 
 
 Bob subsided. 
 
 Old Alec turned again to Gilmore. 
 
 " Can't yuh see what a lot o' trouble you'll save 
 by doin' what I want? All yuh gotta do " 
 
 " All I gotta do is quit bein' a man," drawled 
 Gilmore over the edge of the coffee-cup. 
 
 "But " 
 
 "Yo're millin', old-timer. Yuh want to get 
 bedded down for the night." 
 
 Stuart pulled his hat forward, wheeled, and 
 went out. Gilmore finished his meal in silence. 
 
 " Don't lose heart," Louise whispered to him, 
 as she gathered up the few dishes. " Be ready for 
 whatever may happen! " 
 
 The ubiquitous Bob entering at that moment, 
 Gilmore did not dare open his mouth to question 
 her. When she had gone out into the twilight, 
 
146 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 the door was closed and Gilmore was left sitting 
 on his nail-keg in the darkness. But he did not 
 mind not in the least! He dreamed a waking 
 dream in which amber eyes and honey-colored 
 hair were the most prominent objects. 
 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 TIME passed, as is its habit, but as there was 
 no light by which to look at a watch, Gilmore was 
 at a loss to tell the hour. He went to the door, 
 knelt down, and put his ear to the crack at the 
 bottom. He heard nothing at first save the rush 
 of the wind, which had risen since the sun set. 
 Within a minute or two, however, the sound of 
 dragging footsteps struck his ear-drums. 
 
 The slow-moving feet shuffled past. Quickly 
 the sound of them was smothered in the gallop 
 of the wind. Gilmore waited, his ear at the crack. 
 He soon discovered that at regular intervals the 
 slow feet passed the door. 
 
 " He'll get tired o' that merry-go-round," Gil- 
 more told himself. " I'll wait till he settles 
 down." 
 
 No doubt the man did grow weary of his sen- 
 try-go, but he varied the monotony in a manner 
 totally unexpected by Gilmore. He stopped at 
 the door and kicked away the crowbar. Gilmore 
 had barely time to scramble across the shop and 
 flop down near the wagon-wheels when the door 
 opened and a lantern was flashed inside. 
 
 To all appearances the prisoner was sleeping 
 peacefully. The lantern was withdrawn, the door 
 
148 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 was shut, and the crowbar replaced. Gilmore 
 sat up. 
 
 " Guess it's safe enough now," he whispered, 
 and forthwith groped beneath the tobacco-bags in 
 the off pocket of his chaps. 
 
 He found the object of which he had made sure 
 when he was locked up, and pulled it out. It was 
 a handcuff-key. Putting the handle between his 
 teeth, he bent his head and inserted the key in 
 one of the locks. The cuff opened hard, but he 
 managed it, almost losing two teeth in the proc- 
 ess. With one hand free, it was no trick at all to 
 unlock the other cuff. 
 
 " I wonder they didn't know cuffs come with 
 two keys! " he grinned. " Good thing I hid out 
 that extra key well, I guess yes! " 
 
 He swung his arms and stretched luxuriously. 
 It was good to be rid of the clinking steel brace- 
 lets. He drew out the charred wooden poker 
 from its pile of dirt beside the forge, and cat- 
 footed to the door. 
 
 When the sound of the sentry's footsteps had 
 died away around the corner of the building, Gil- 
 more shoved his stick through the crack and felt 
 about for the crowbar. When he found where 
 the end was stuck in the earth, he adjusted his 
 stick beneath it and waited a few seconds. 
 
 Judging that his guard was crossing at the 
 back of the building, Gilmore shoved the end of 
 the crowbar free, but no more than free. Jump- 
 ing to his feet, he tried the latch. The door 
 moved. He opened it gently. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 149 
 
 His heart almost stood still as the crowbar be- 
 gan to slide along the ground. Quickly he thrust 
 his arm past the edge of the door, and seized the 
 crowbar before it could fall. Then he pushed the 
 door open, slid through, and quietly closed it. 
 He laid down the crowbar, and, muffling the 
 handcuffs with his handkerchief, tiptoed along 
 the front of the shop. At the corner he halted 
 and raised his right hand the one holding the 
 handcuffs above his head. 
 
 The slouching sentry turned the corner. Gil- 
 more's arm came down, and the handcuffs struck 
 heavily upon the man's skull. He crumpled for- 
 ward soundlessly. Gilmore flung an arm round 
 his shoulders and eased him to the ground. Ex- 
 pertly the escaping prisoner divested him of his 
 cartridge-belt and six-shooter, and strapped the 
 belt round his own waist. 
 
 The night was cloudy, and features could not 
 be distinguished; but Gilmore breathed an ear- 
 nest hope that the man he had struck was Lanky, 
 as he turned him over on his back and snapped 
 the handcuffs on his wrists. Next he gagged the 
 senseless guard with his own neckerchief, grasped 
 him by the ankles, and dragged him into the 
 blacksmith-shop. He closed the door, replaced 
 the crowbar under the latch, and was on the point 
 of starting for the corrals when he perceived a 
 moving figure between him and the ranch-house. 
 Hastily he dodged round the corner of the build- 
 ing. 
 
 He crouched down and peered cautiously over 
 
150 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 the protruding butt of the foundation log. What 
 he saw was sufficiently amazing. 
 
 A dark figure ran up to the door of the black- 
 smith-shop, wrenched away the crowbar, and 
 opened the door. In a loud whisper a voice be- 
 gan calling: 
 
 "Mr. Gilmorel Mr. Gilmore, where are 
 you?" 
 
 Gilmore arose and hurried forward. 
 
 " Here I am," he said. 
 
 With a little cry the figure turned. 
 
 " How did you get free? " whispered Louise 
 Stuart. 
 
 " Unlocked my handcuffs an' knocked the 
 guard on the head," he explained. " Yuh see, 
 they overlooked my extra key." 
 
 " It's just as well they did. I didn't know 
 about the guard. I thought I'd just have to let 
 you out. Where did you put him? " 
 
 " In the shop." 
 
 He flicked a thumb over his shoulder. 
 
 " Let him stay there," she said with superb un- 
 concern. " Your horse," she continued, speaking 
 rapidly, " is tied outside the little corral. Your 
 rifle is in its holster, and your belt and six- 
 shooter are hung on the horn. Come, I'll take 
 you!" 
 
 She grasped his wrist and ran with him to the 
 little corral. 
 
 ' What'll they do to you? " he queried, untying 
 his horse. 
 
 " They won't do anything to me," she replied 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 151 
 
 impatiently. " I'd like to see them I would in- 
 deed! Hurry, can't you? " 
 
 " Yuh've shore got lots o' nerve, ma'am," he 
 declared. "Do yuh remember what I said a 
 while back? " 
 
 " I d-d-don't know what you mean." 
 
 Try as she might, she could not keep her voice 
 steady. She would have fled, but he was holding 
 her hand too firmly. 
 
 " Yes, yuh do. Yuh remember I said I loved 
 yuh a lot. I do more'n yuh think. I've loved 
 yuh ever since that day when I piled yuh, not 
 knowin' yuh were a girl. Some day I'm a-goin 
 to come back an' marry yuh." 
 
 Oddly enough, she could not find a word to 
 say. She, Louise Stuart, who had prided herself 
 on having no feminine weakness, who had told 
 this man that she hated him, was trembling all 
 over. 
 
 " Girl, yo're the most wonderful thing God 
 ever made! " the low voice went on. " Yo're the 
 one I've been a-huntin' for all my life. Will 
 yuh wait for me? " 
 
 He was drawing her toward him. His other 
 hand was on her shoulder. She braced her body 
 backward. 
 
 " D-don't! " she begged shakily. " Not now! 
 I I don't want you to! " 
 
 Instantly he released her. 
 
 " Yuh'll never have to do anythin' yuh don't 
 want to, not with me," he told her. He took her 
 hand, stooped, and kissed her smooth, white 
 
152 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 wrist. " I ain't forgettin' what yuh've done for 
 me," he said quietly. " I'll be back! " 
 
 He mounted and rode away. The girl's eyes 
 followed his going long after he had disappeared. 
 Slowly and very thoughtfully she turned away, 
 went back to the ranch-house, and let herself in. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 A WEEK later Gilmore, his face covered with 
 nine days' growth of stubble, rode in among the 
 buildings of the Lazy D ranch. Only the cook 
 was about, for the morning was yet early in the 
 making. 
 
 Gilmore unsaddled the dun, turned him into 
 the nearest corral, and walked calmly to the 
 kitchen, where, in the doorway, the cook stood 
 staring, amazement written large on his features. 
 
 " Mornin' ! " was the deputy's brief greeting, 
 as he seated himself on the cook's private chair 
 beside the door. 
 
 "Who might yuh be, a-makin' so free?" the 
 cook wished to know. 
 
 Gilmore's peculiar smile flashed at full power 
 on the cook. 
 
 " I might be 'most anythin', but I am a, 
 stranger in a strange land, sort of a pilgrim o* 
 the night. Anythin' else yuh'd like to know 
 'bout what's none o' yore business? " 
 
 The cook would have liked to know a great 
 deal more; but there was something daunting 
 about the stranger's smile, and the stranger's 
 eyes, for all their careless merriness, were not the 
 eyes of one with whom it would be safe to pre- 
 
154 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 sume. The cook was wise in his generation. He 
 returned to his pots and pans. 
 
 Gilmore, when he had smoked a cigarette, 
 lounged into the doorway. 
 
 " Say, cookie," he said, " how's chances here 
 for gettin' a job? " 
 
 Something concisely impolite was on the tip of 
 the cook's tongue, but he choked down the words. 
 
 " I dunno," he replied, painfully civil. 
 " Yuh'll have to see Tom Johnson." 
 
 " I'll have some coffee while I'm waitin'," ob- 
 served Gilmore, holding out a tin cup. 
 
 To the cook's intense surprise, he found him- 
 self filling the stranger's cup. And the cook was 
 one who never fed hungry people at odd times. 
 
 " Good coffee! " remarked Gilmore, following 
 the first sip. " Yo're a reg'lar cook! " 
 
 Heavily silent, the cook continued to prepare 
 breakfast. 
 
 Ten minutes later Tom Johnson, issuing from 
 the ranch-house in response to the announcement 
 of breakfast, thumped by the cook upon a dish- 
 pan, perceived a stranger sitting by the kitchen 
 door. A stranger? Tom Johnson almost rubbed 
 his unbelieving eyes. Then he walked quickly to- 
 ward the man. The latter met him half-way. 
 
 " Howdy? " said Gilmore, his cool eyes ap- 
 praising the other. " I want a job." 
 
 Tom Johnson, a lean individual with a clean- 
 shaven, saturnine countenance, whistled softly 
 through his thin lips as he surveyed Gilmore. 
 There was meanness in Johnson's slightly pro- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 155 
 
 truding upper lip, selfishness in his small, flat 
 ears, and cunning malice in his close-set, mud- 
 brown eyes. 
 
 " That's a right good tune yo're makin' a hash 
 of," observed Gilmore. " Why don't yuh whistle 
 it right? " 
 
 With the greatest good nature in the world 
 Gilmore proceeded to make clear his point by 
 whistling the air correctly. Tom Johnson's eyes 
 narrowed. 
 
 " Stranger, who are yuh? " was his harsh ques- 
 tion. 
 
 " Yuh can call me Gill, if yuh don't do it too 
 frequent Dan Gill, if yo're partic'lar." 
 
 "What do yuh want?" 
 
 " I told yuh I wanted a job. I want one 
 bad. An' just to make it plainer, yuh need me 
 bad. I can outshoot, outride, an' outrope any 
 gent on the place, bar none. I'll be one welcome 
 addition to yore happy family, an' don't yuh 
 forget it." 
 
 "Yo're modest!" 
 
 " Yuh've noticed it? " chuckled Gilmore. " It's 
 where I live, modesty is." 
 
 " Are yuh as good with a Winchester as y'are 
 with yore tongue? " 
 
 " I told yuh I could outshoot any sharp on the 
 ranch, didn't I? That goes for rifle an' six- 
 shooter both. An' I'm a ring-tailed whizzer on 
 the draw. Yuh didn't know it, did yuh, but my 
 gun's been coverin' yore belt-buckle for the last 
 minute!" 
 
156 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Torn Johnson looked down. It was true. The 
 long barrel of a six-shooter pointed unwaveringly 
 at his stomach. He smiled wryly. Then he 
 blinked his eyes; for the six-shooter was no 
 longer pointing at his stomach. It was back in 
 the holster hanging low along the musical dem- 
 onstrator's right leg. Yet, in Tom Johnson's 
 sight, there had been no perceptible move- 
 ment. 
 
 " There'd ought to be an openin' 'most any- 
 where for a feller with yore nerve, Gill," vouch- 
 safed Tom Johnson. " Yo're new to this coun- 
 try, I take it? " 
 
 " I am to Glenn County." 
 
 " Come far? " 
 
 " Some might call it far, but I like to travel." 
 
 " Figurin' on goin' back soon? " 
 
 " Not right soon/' was the cautious reply. 
 
 " Come on an' eat," said Johnson, and headed 
 for the bunk-house. 
 
 There were only ten men at the ranch, Gilmore 
 found. The other thirty were out on the range 
 and at the line camps. There was a lot of work 
 to do on the range work not strictly confined to 
 the raising of cattle for the market. In short, the 
 Hash Knife and the V Up-and-Down were rus- 
 tling the Lazy D cows. Tom Johnson mentioned 
 these matters to Gilmore in the office after break- 
 fast. 
 
 " Why, only a couple o' days ago," stated the 
 manager, " three o' my boys cut down on one o* 
 the Hash Knife or V Up-an'-Down gents over 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 157 
 
 west a ways. They chased him, but he made it. 
 Had a good hoss, a dun, they said." 
 
 " Shore, duns are tough," Gilmore concurred 
 smoothly. " Got one myself. Are these here 
 Hash Knife fellahs regarded hard? " 
 
 " They're all that. An' there's another sharp 
 yuh gotta look out for a gent named Gilmore. 
 A new deputy he is, an' for a wonder he's honest, 
 they say. He arrested Dennison, o' the V Up- 
 an'-Down, an' Tim Simms, the marshal o' Virgin 
 City, an' took 'em north. I ain't got no use for 
 either o' 'em, so I'm glad it had to happen ; but 
 this Gilmore'd just as soon arrest you or anybody 
 who didn't ride to suit him. O' course, he'll cash 
 sooner or later. If he crosses my trail, he shore 
 will; but anyway yuh better watch out for him 
 while yo're cavortin' round." 
 
 " I never was in a cattle war before," said the 
 other hesitatingly. 
 
 " What's a matter, Gill? Idea make yuh nerv- 
 ous?" 
 
 " I guess yuh don't mean that," drawled Gil- 
 more, his smile very much in evidence. 
 
 " I guess I don't. Whatever yuh are, y'ain't 
 afraid. Now look here, I got a job for yuh. 
 Yo're bein' a stranger makes it easy. I thought 
 of it soon's yuh said yuh were new to Glenn 
 County. What'll yuh take to hire out to the 
 Hash Knife an' kill old Alec Stuart the first 
 chance yuh get? " 
 
 " Five hundred dollars," Gilmore replied 
 promptly. 
 
158 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Too much ! Give you two fifty." 
 
 " Say, whadda yuh think I am? " demanded 
 the indignant Gilmore. " My life is worth a 
 sight more to me than a measly five hundred dol- 
 lars, but I'm willin' to risk it for that, an' not a 
 cent less." 
 
 " Say three hundred. I ain't made o' money, 
 man! I can't stick my hand in my pocket 
 an' haul out double eagles whenever I feel like 
 it." 
 
 " No? Now yuh listen to me. Yuh'll haul 
 out twenty-five double eagles before I'll attend 
 to the job, an' that goes. If yuh like, I'll take 
 Jack Shaw, o' the V Up-an'-Down, at the same 
 price. Come a-runnin'! Bargains in assorted 
 killin's ! Murders while yuh wait Dan Gill, pro- 
 prietor. There y'are! " 
 
 " What do yuh know o' Jack Shaw? " 
 
 Johnson's eyes were snakily suspicious. 
 
 " None o' yore business what I know o' Jack 
 Shaw," replied the truculent Gilmore. " Just 
 because I work for yuh don't give yuh license to 
 go buttin' in askin' fancy questions." 
 
 " Y'ain't workin' for me yet." 
 
 " No, but I will be soon. Y'ain't got a sport in 
 yore outfit to turn this trick for yuh. There 
 ain't another card in the pack but yores truly. 
 Yuh gotta take me see? " 
 
 "Oh, I dunno 'bout that!" 
 
 " What's surprisin' to me," Gilmore pursued 
 unheeding, " is that yuh ain't downed those two 
 jiggers before this. She looks like a short hoss to 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 159 
 
 curry, but it ain't been done. Folks is shore un- 
 enterprisin' round here ! " 
 
 " Yo're sure makin' me yore friend for life," 
 Tom Johnson remarked with caustic sar- 
 casm. 
 
 " I expect," was the serene reply. " While 
 we're talkin' so friendly o' sudden death, ain't 
 there some other gent you'd like pushed off the 
 map? I ain't partic'lar at all." 
 
 * Yes, there is," Tom Johnson admitted. 
 " How'd yuh like to go to Texas? " 
 
 "Not me! I've been there. I don't like 
 Texas, not nohow." 
 
 ' Yuh'd be paid well, o' course. If yuh beef 
 them two thieves, Stuart an' Shaw, I want yuh 
 to go down to Texas an' down a feller named 
 John Drummond." 
 
 "Any address?" 
 
 " Shore the Double D ranch, about forty 
 mile east o' El Paso." 
 
 " What is he punch, foreman, manager? " 
 
 " He's the owner." 
 
 " Owner, huh? John Drummond! Seems to 
 me I heard how a John Drummond owned this 
 ranch." 
 
 " He does, but I guess the John Drummond 
 yuh heard of was old John Drummond. He 
 owned this ranch an' the one in Texas. He died 
 'bout three year ago in a El Paso hospital, and 
 now his son owns both ranches." 
 
 " I shore see what you mean. Nothin' small 
 about yuh, none whatever! If young John cashes, 
 
160 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 are yuh figurin' on glommin' onto the Texas 
 ranch as well as this one? " 
 
 " None o' yore business ! " 
 
 " I said that a while back to you. That goes; 
 but yore business is my business while liT orphan 
 Willy is doin' yore dirty work. Yessir, yuh 
 gotta be nice to Willy, an' not keep him guessin'. 
 Willy don't like to guess. It strains his brain. 
 Now what was yuh goin' to say? " 
 
 " If John Drummond dies, I stand to win only 
 the Lazy D out o' the deal," Tom Johnson de- 
 clared sulkily. 
 
 " Only the Lazy D that's tough! Yuh de- 
 serve 'em both. I was hopin' yuh'cl get more'n 
 the Lazy D, so's I could charge yuh more. How- 
 ever, seein' as it's you, an' I like yore looks, I'll 
 put yore Texas young fellah out o' the way for 
 one thousand." 
 
 " Whadda yuh think I'm made of? " bawled 
 Tom Johnson. 
 
 " Lord knows, but yuh look fairly human. 
 Maybe y'are. Can't never tell. One thousand, I 
 said." 
 
 A crafty gleam lit the manager's eye. 
 
 " Well, you don't expect to get your money in 
 advance? " 
 
 " Not a simoleon ! Cash on delivery is my 
 motto. Yep, I know what's wrigglin' round in- 
 side yore roof. Yuh think that after I've done 
 yore little job it'll be easy to snuff my light out, 
 thereby savin' yuh money an' trouble. Don't be- 
 lieve it for a minute! Puttin' out my light is a 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 161 
 
 heap likely to ruin the extinguisher. I'll collect 
 from you, Mr. Johnson; an' while I'm workin' 
 for yuh I draw reg'lar wages as a hand! " 
 
 "Aw, say " 
 
 "Say it! Say it! Do I or don't I? " 
 
 " Yuh do! Yuh do! I dunno why I ever lis- 
 tened to yuh in the first place. I don't like yuh a 
 little bit!" 
 
 " Yuh will 'fore yo're through. Everybody 
 does. My takin' little ways are shore winnin'. 
 Howdja like to hire a friend o' mine? " 
 
 " Is he like you? " 
 
 " He ain't so tall, but he's just about as wide, 
 an' he can shoot with both hands. To tell yuh the 
 truth, I'd kind o' like to have this fellah for a 
 side-kicker." 
 
 " I thought yuh was aimin' to go it alone." 
 
 " I don't remember tellin' yuh how I was 
 aimin' to go it. I want Jimmy. I gotta have 
 him, or the deal's off." 
 
 " What did yuh say his name was? " 
 
 " Jimmy for now. He'll tell yuh the rest when 
 he drifts in." 
 
 " I can use another gun-fighter. All right, get 
 yore Jimmy. I'll pay his wages. How soon will 
 he be here? " 
 
 " Week, maybe." 
 
 Tom Johnson nodded. 
 
 " I guess yore best plan'll be to hire out to old 
 Alec first." 
 
 1 Yore best plan'll be to leave me to do it my 
 own way." 
 
i62 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Shore, shore, help yoreself ! " 
 
 " I mean to. Don't fret or ask questions if I 
 ain't always on hand. I may be away a week- 
 two weeks at a time. I'll be busy, all right. Now, 
 before I start in, there's one formality to go 
 through I want yore promise to pay in writin'." 
 
 "Yuh won't get it!" 
 
 " Then I'll be leavin' yuh. So-long! " 
 
 Gilmore started toward the door. 
 
 " Aw, come on back," the other grunted. " I'll 
 give yuh yore fool I. O. U." 
 
 " I kind o' hoped yuh'd see the light," grinned 
 Gilmore. 
 
 " I've seen that sport some'eres, an' I'd shore 
 admire to know where," mused Tom Johnson, 
 when Gilmore had departed to look after his 
 horse. " Gill Dan Gill the name don't tell 
 me no thin'. Burn his soul, if it wasn't I could 
 use him I'd 'a' blown him apart for talkin' the 
 way he did. But I'll fix that, Mr. Dan Gill, 
 when yuh've done finished yore little jag o' work. 
 Yuh shore talk too free to suit me! " 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE new hand fell easily into the ways of the 
 Lazy D. The men accepted him without ques- 
 tion. None essayed to try him out. Doubtless 
 they had perceived what had been obvious to the 
 cook and to Tom Johnson that Dan Gill was a 
 good man to let alone. 
 
 Four days after his arrival, his facial stubble 
 having assumed creditable proportions, Gilmore 
 threw a saddle on the toughest of the string as- 
 signed to him and set out for Virgin City. He 
 arrived late at night, and dismounted in front of 
 the Ace Saloon. The windows were dark. He 
 walked round to the back and beat upon the rear 
 door. 
 
 ' Whatcha want? " the voice of Tom, the bar- 
 tender, growled through an open window. 
 
 " I want to speak to Mrs. Kyle." 
 
 " She don't wanna speak to nobody. If yuh 
 want a drink, come round in the mornin'." 
 
 " Fellah, wake the lady up, an' do it pronto! " 
 
 Tom decided to obey. Mrs. Kyle pattered to 
 the door. 
 
 " Who is it? " she inquired before lifting the 
 bar. 
 
164 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " I'm from Warrior's Mark," Gilmore replied 
 in meaning tones. 
 
 " Tom, you skip right back to bed," Gilmore 
 heard the lady say. " This gentleman's a friend 
 of mine." 
 
 The door opened, and Mrs. Kyle fairly hauled 
 Gilmore within. By the light of an oil-lamp on 
 a chair, he saw that the widow was fully dressed, 
 that her eyes were red, and that her face beneath 
 the tumbled mass of her hair was swollen with 
 weeping. She managed a brave smile as she 
 picked up the lamp. 
 
 " Come on in my room," she said. " We can 
 talk there." 
 
 Once inside the Avails of her room, with the 
 windows down and curtains drawn, the door 
 locked, and a heavy blanket hug from jamb to 
 jamb, she ran to Gilmore and clutched his sleeve. 
 
 " What did yuh come here for? " she exclaimed 
 in a tense whisper. " Don't yuh know any bet- 
 ter? " 
 
 " Nobody'll know me behind these whiskers," 
 he said, smiling down at her. 
 
 " Don't yuh fool yourself! I'd know yuh any- 
 where, whiskers or no whiskers, and I haven't the 
 only sharp eyes in town. Jack Shaw and six of 
 the V Up-and-Downers are here. You've got to 
 get out before daylight ! " 
 
 "Well, maybe I will," Gilmore said; "but I 
 got a little business to do round here first. I 
 gotta see Smoky, an' I gotta meet a friend. Any 
 strangers sifted in lately? " 
 
 j 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 165 
 
 " One he's stayin' over at the hotel. Rode in 
 two days ago." 
 
 " What sort of a lookin' fellah is he? " 
 
 " Not so tall as you, about your weight, yellow 
 hair, gray eyes. Looks young, but acts older." 
 
 " That's Jimmy he's a friend o' mine. Say, 
 I ain't thanked yuh for sendin' Smoky with yore 
 
 warnin'.' 
 
 ' Warnin' ? What warnin' ? " 
 
 " Why, that letter yuh sent by Smoky warnin' 
 me there was a citizens' committee organizin' to 
 trail me an' my prisoners." 
 
 " Oh, yes, of course, that letter. You're 
 you're welcome. Don't mention it. What else 
 could I have done? I'd do a lot more'n that to 
 play even for my Sam. Even! I can never play 
 even ! But I can do something anyway. You're 
 sure Dennison and the marshal can't escape? " 
 
 " Not if I have any luck at all. Don't worry; 
 Slim will hang an' the marshal will get ten years 
 more, if I can manage it." 
 
 Tight-lipped, she nodded and passed a hand 
 across her eyes. 
 
 " You didn't come here to tell me the news. 
 What can I do for you besides notifying Smoky 
 and your friend? " 
 
 " I was comin' to that. Can yuh tell me any- 
 thin' about the Fort Henderson beef issues? " 
 
 ' They had one fixed for yesterday. I guess 
 they had it, all right. The government's regular 
 enough." 
 
 ' 'Bout how many cows do the Injuns get? " 
 
 * 
 
166 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Averages two twenty or two thirty round 
 there, anyway." 
 
 " Djuh know who has the contracts? " 
 
 " I don't know that. Is it important? " 
 
 " Kind of." 
 
 " I'll try an' find out." 
 
 "Don'tcha bother I'll find out. Where's 
 Smoky live? " 
 
 " You stay here, and I'll send Tom for him. 
 Want yore friend, too? " 
 
 " Might as well have 'em both. You send 
 Tom, then, an' I'll throw my boss in vore cor- 
 ral." 
 
 When Jimmy and Smoky Nivette arrived in 
 tow of Tom, Mrs. Kyle ushered them into her 
 bedroom. When the door was blanketed, she sat 
 down on the floor with her back against it. 
 
 Smoky was unfeignedly glad to see Gilmore. 
 Jimmy greeted him with a slow smile and a 
 slower wink. He looked younger than his years, 
 this Jimmy. Even his eyes were juvenile in their 
 frank, almost wondering stare. 
 
 Both listened silently as Gilmore outlined his 
 work of the past few days. When he held out 
 for their inspection the ace of spades I. O. U., 
 both laughed shortly. So did Gilmore, as he re- 
 turned the precious bit of evidence to his inner 
 vest-pocket. 
 
 " Now that we know Johnson wrote out En- 
 right's I. O. U.," drawled Gilmore, " the next 
 thing to do is find out what that number one hun- 
 dred and ten stands for. Do yuh know the agent 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 167 
 
 over at the Fort Henderson reservation, 
 Smoky?" 
 
 " Shore, she ees one t'ief," was Smoky's suc- 
 cinct reply. " All tarn lie, lie to de Enjun. Some 
 day Enjun she geet mad un geet hees hair, 
 mabbeso." 
 
 " Do yuh know the Injuns, too? " 
 
 " Shore! Know dem well. Dem Enjun Pie- 
 gan. I have Piegan woman once." 
 
 " I guess we'll take a pasear over to Fort Hen- 
 derson. I know they had a beef issue yesterday." 
 
 " So that's it! " Jimmy murmured softly. 
 
 " That's it," said Dal Gilmore. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 FORT HENDERSON was a cavalry post two hun- 
 dred and fifty miles due east of Virgin City. A 
 few miles beyond the post lay the reservation. 
 Most of the Indians, gorged to repletion with 
 agency beef, and carrying their agency goods, 
 had departed, but some thirty families still re- 
 mained. The teepees flecked the flats beyond 
 the agency buildings. The braves, resplendent 
 in new blankets and much brass wire, stalked sol- 
 emnly about, or reclined in silent groups and 
 smoked, or sat in not so silent groups and gam- 
 bled away what a benevolent government had so 
 recently bestowed upon them. 
 
 Smoky, followed by Gilmore and Jimmy, rode 
 in among the wickiups. Instantly an army of 
 assorted curs broke upon them in a snarling 
 wave. An ancient warrior sitting in front of a 
 large teepee raised a seamy, scarred countenance 
 and uttered a succession of harsh gutturals. A 
 fat squaw and six naked children popped out of 
 the teepee, dispersed the dogs with shrill outcries 
 and well-directed pebbles, and popped in again. 
 
 The half-breed spoke briefly to the veteran and 
 dismounted. 
 
 " Dees man she ees Walkin' Hoss hees niece 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 169 
 
 was my; woman," he explained, and introduced 
 his two friends. 
 
 Smoky after the long, carved pipe of red and 
 polished pipe-stone had gone the rounds, began 
 to talk rapid Piegan to Walking Horse. The old 
 man listened intently. When the half-breed 
 ceased speaking, the Indian called to the fat 
 squaw and spoke at some length. The woman 
 waddled away. 
 
 Within twenty minutes she was back. In her 
 arms were two cowhides. They were wet, and 
 smelled to heaven. She spread the unlovely 
 things on the ground. One hide bore the A Up- 
 and-Down brand, the other Lazy H-in-a-Circle. 
 
 Gilmore and his friends smiled slightly; for the 
 A Up-and-Down brand is an amazingly simple 
 derivation of the V Up-and-Down. Any gentle- 
 man wishing to make the change merely takes 
 unto himself a hot iron and a wet blanket, crosses 
 the open ends of the V's, and prolongs their 
 sides. 
 
 Again, from the Hash Knife, by adding a 
 semicircle across the top of the brand and con- 
 necting with vertical lines the two horizontal bars 
 of what was formerly the handle of the knife, a 
 passable Lazy H-in-a-Circle may be evolved. 
 True, the circle will be rather more oval than 
 round, but the wards of the nation are not given 
 to quibbling about such trifles. 
 
 When the iron is expertly applied to a cow 
 through the aforesaid medium of the wet blanket, 
 the result is a wound that heals quickly and sel- 
 
170 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 dom sloughs, greatly to the owner's embarrass- 
 ment and to the profit of the intelligent rustler. 
 
 "Slick!" observed Nivette, fingering the 
 brand on one of the hides. 
 
 " Yo're shore whistlin'," grinned Jimmy. 
 
 " But yuh can see where she's been gone over," 
 said Gilmore. " That Lazy H-in-a-Circle is shore 
 a work of art ! " 
 
 " 'Tain't evidence enough," doubted Jimmy, 
 then added hopefully: " I dunno as we need it, 
 do we? " 
 
 " Oh, we gotta be legal," was Gilmore's virtu- 
 ous rejoinder, accompanied by a quirk of the 
 right eyebrow. " Smoky, ask Walkin' Hoss who 
 delivered the cows, how many of 'em there were, 
 and who had the contract." 
 
 Smoky turned to Walking Horse. The In- 
 dian's reply was not short. When the clicking 
 gutturals ceased to flow, Smoky's face had lost 
 some of its impassivity. 
 
 " Walkin' Hoss she say," announced the trans- 
 lator, " dat five men drive de cow two hunnerd 
 un feefty cow one hunnerd ten Lazy H-een-a- 
 Circle un de res' A Up-un-Down. She say de 
 foreman o' de outfeet was name' Brown, Tom 
 Brown, un she ees de one have de contract. 
 Dees Tom Brown she good frien' wit' de agent. 
 By gar, I t'ink dees Tom Brown she ees all same 
 bruddair wit' Sam Jone' un John Smeet'. 
 Walkin' Hoss she see dees man many tarn, un 
 she describe heem varree good, un by gar, 
 Tom Brown ees look lak Deeck En right! " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 171 
 
 " I kind o' expected he would," drawled Gil- 
 more. " Let's go up an' say howdy to the agent." 
 
 The Indian agent received them in his office. 
 His name was Oyle, and it fitted, for his aspect 
 was oily and his greeting oilier. 
 
 " How's chances for a beef contract? " queried 
 Gilmore, after introducing himself as one Riley, 
 of Beardance. 
 
 " What price? " countered the agent, tenderly 
 patting his pomaded brown hair. 
 
 " The usual, I guess twenty-two dollars a 
 head, an' the contract made out at twenty-five." 
 
 Oyle raised scandalized hands. 
 
 " My dear sir, this is corruption. I cannot 
 listen to you. I must ask you to leave at once ! " 
 
 " Shore, but would yuh listen if I made it 
 twenty? Oh, yuh don't have to put on yore holy 
 look with us. Dick Enright sent us to yuh. 
 We're all friends together, an' yuh bet we under- 
 stand each other. Don't make any mistake about 
 that!" 
 
 " For whom are you acting? " Oyle asked with 
 a keen look. 
 
 " Myself ourselves, I mean." 
 
 ' What is your brand? " 
 
 " Don't fret about any brand. It won't hurt 
 the flavor o' the beef. But I was askin' yuh if I 
 made it twenty dollars how about it? " 
 
 "But you are so brutally direct!" protested 
 the agent. " However, since Dick Enright sent 
 you, we'll say no more about it. Positively, 
 though, I couldn't consider any offer of more 
 
172 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 than eighteen. Say eighteen, and the contract 
 for twenty-five." 
 
 " Say nineteen, and the contract for twenty- 
 five." 
 
 "Eighteen fifty!" 
 
 " Nineteen. Why, at that yo're makin' fifteen 
 hundred dollars! What more do yuh want? " 
 
 " You know very well that they can be bought 
 in the open market at fifteen. Eighteen fifty is 
 generous more than generous, I may say." 
 
 " Yuh may say all yuh please, but yo're not 
 buyin' these here cows in the open market. Yo're 
 buyin' from gents who are givin' yuh a chance to 
 make fifteen hundred dollars out of good old easy 
 Uncle Samuel. The chance is worth somethin'. 
 Fifteen hundred, I said. That fixes her at nine- 
 teen, which goes as it lays." 
 
 " Nineteen it is, then. Hand in your bid any 
 time this month, and I'll attend to it myself. 
 After all, what's the difference? Have a little 
 drink?" 
 
 "We ain't drinkin'," said Gilmore shortly. 
 " Who's this a-comin,' Smoky? " he added, as two 
 ponies clattered up to the door. 
 
 Smoky, who was nearest to the window, 
 glanced out. Immediately he went after his 
 gun. 
 
 " She ees ol' Stuart un Jack Shaw! " he ex- 
 claimed in a loud whisper. 
 
 " No gun-play! " cautioned Gilmore. 
 
 Jimmy's hand rested on the butt of his six- 
 shooter, but he did not offer to pull the weapon. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 173 
 
 Gilmore sauntered to the doorway. Old Alec 
 and Shaw were sitting in their saddles, staring 
 with narrowed eyes at Gilmore's horse. 
 
 " What's a Lazy D boss doin' here? " Jack 
 Shaw was saying. 
 
 " I rode him here," explained Gilmore from 
 the doorway. " Nice day, ain't it? " 
 
 The two whirled in their saddles, their right 
 hands dropping. 
 
 " Now, now, none o' that! " expostulated Gil- 
 more, flinging out his hands. " I could 'a' drilled 
 both o' yuh from where I stood behind yuh, an' I 
 didn't. Yessir, passed up one thousand wagon- 
 wheels just like they were nothin' at all. Don't 
 yuh know me? Shore, this is me, the original Gil- 
 more, behind the whiskers. Come on in! No- 
 body wants to hurt yuh." 
 
 Old Alec and Jack Shaw looked at each other. 
 Stuart's white mustache fairly bristled with sus- 
 picion. Shaw's thin lips parted, revealing sharp 
 white teeth. Gilmore saw the V Up-and-Down- 
 er's heavy shoulder-muscle lift and twitch under 
 the blue flannel shirt, and believed that he had 
 lost. To refrain from going after his gun in a 
 desperate attempt to beat the others to the draw 
 required all of his will-power; but neither his 
 eyes nor his smile faltered for an instant. 
 
 Slowly Shaw's hand fell away from the butt of 
 his gun. Stuart's followed suit. The two men 
 dismounted and tied their horses. 
 
 Gilmore turned back into the room and whis- 
 pered to Smoky. The half-breed walked out, 
 
174 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 mounted his horse, and rode away in the direc- 
 tion of the Indian camp. In passing he had fa- 
 vored Stuart and Shaw with a malevolently 
 contemptuous grin. When the two entered 
 the room it was apparent that they were far from 
 being at ease. 
 
 " What's the breed goin' away for? " de- 
 manded Stuart. " I tell yuh flat, if there's any 
 razzle-dazzlin', yuh get my first bullet, Gil- 
 more! " 
 
 " Keep yore shirt on," requested Gilmore. 
 " Yo're safe as a baby in a cradle." 
 
 " Yuh needn't think yore bein' on the reserva- 
 tion'll help yuh any," growled Shaw with a ven- 
 omous stare. " I'm watchin' yuh, young feller! " 
 
 " Don't strain yore eyes," Gilmore advised 
 cheerfully. " I tell yuh, no harm's meant by yuh 
 at all. If yuh think yuh need protection, ask Mr. 
 Gyle for it. He'll be glad to help y' out." 
 
 But Mr. Oyle was not thinking of helping any- 
 body out at that moment. His chief concern was 
 for his precious self. The last two persons in the 
 world whom he wished to see were Stuart and 
 Shaw. In his agitation he even failed to remark 
 that while the deputy had introduced himself as 
 Riley, of Beardance, Stuart had addressed him as 
 Gilmore. 
 
 " How did yore lynchin'-bee pan out, Mr. 
 Stuart? " Gilmore asked. " I hope Mr. Shaw 
 got there in time." 
 
 " Yuh better keep off my range! " Stuart cried 
 angrily. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 175 
 
 " 'F I catch yuh on mine there won't be no 
 trial," Shaw stated earnestly. 
 
 " Now that's right unfriendly. I tell yuh, it's 
 a dog's life bein' a deputy! " 
 
 " A deputy? " shouted the agent. 
 
 " Why, yes," said Gilmore. " I guess I must 
 'a' forgot to tell yuh. But don't let me keep yuh 
 from attendin' to these two gents. I don't mind 
 waitin' a bit." 
 
 " We come about them last bids of ours, Mr. 
 Oyle," Stuart remarked ominously. ' We don't 
 understand why they was refused. We always 
 got the contracts up to a year an' a half ago 
 never had no trouble ; but since then we've been 
 beat out reg'lar. Last month well, yuh know 
 what our terms was. They was cut, an' we want 
 to know who cut 'em. An' yuh can gamble yore 
 best dollar, Oyle, that we're goin' to find out who 
 was the sharp who was low card, an' just how low 
 that card was ! " 
 
 Gilmore and Jimmy burst into loud roars of 
 laughter. They whooped and stamped upon the 
 floor and beat each other upon the shoulder- 
 blades. They wiped away the tears and went off 
 into fresh paroxysms. Smoky Nivette, entering 
 upon the scene with two smelly cowhides under 
 his arm, discovered them clinging to each other 
 and chortling weakly. 
 
 By a great effort Gilmore regained command 
 of his faculties. He took the hides from Smoky, 
 and opened them on the floor in front of the 
 agent's desk. Pointing to the brands, Gil- 
 
176 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 more turned to the wondering Stuart and 
 Shaw. 
 
 " Yuh see that A Up-and-Down an' that Lazy 
 H-in-a-Circle," said he. " They're right hand- 
 some brands, but they don't belong to this Terri- 
 tory. One o' 'em's a Texas brand, an' the other's 
 New Mexico. They was one hundred an' ten 
 Lazy H-in-a-Circle an' one forty A Up-and- 
 Down in the last issue on this reservation. It 
 might be interestin' to know how they got here. 
 If you two fellahs will scrouge down on yore 
 hunkers an' look close at those two brands, yuh 
 can easy see how they got here, an' yuh won't 
 need any microscope, either! " 
 
 There was a crash of splintering glass beyond 
 the desk. Mr. Oyle was jumping through the 
 window. 
 
 ' Yuh see how 'tis," Gilmore observed signifi- 
 cantly, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. " An' 
 if yore friend Enright was here, he'd be in just as 
 much of a hurry as the agent." 
 
 ' Enright! " Stuart gasped. 
 
 "Deputy Dick that's the baby; only they 
 call him Tom Brown down here. I'm not askin' 
 yuh to swallow it all at once. It's kind of a 
 mouthful for yuh both, I know; but just gulp 
 away, an' the first thing yuh do go ask old 
 Walkin' Horse to tell yuh what the man who got 
 the last contract looked like. What he says'll do 
 yuh a heap o' good ! " 
 
 Mr. Stuart and Mr. Shaw stamped outside and 
 swung into their saddles. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 177 
 
 " They just can't get to that camp fast 
 enough! " Gilmore remarked. 
 
 " They'll be back," said Jimmy. 
 
 " Shore," Gilmore agreed. " They want to say 
 good-by to the agent man; but I'll go yuh ten 
 even that fellah won't be visible on the sky-line 
 this side o' the fort inside a week." 
 
 ' Yuh got a shore thing," grinned Jimmy. 
 
 When Stuart and Shaw returned to the agency 
 they found Gilmore sitting alone on the door-sill. 
 Nivette and Jimmy were leaning against a near- 
 by freight-wagon. Jimmy was handling a Win- 
 chester, and asserting in loud tones that this par- 
 ticular rifle was the straightest-shooting weapon 
 in the Territory. 
 
 " Agent's still out," announced Gilmore, smil- 
 ing up at the two horsemen. " One o' the Injuns 
 told me he saw him on a pony a-hittin* the trail 
 for the fort. He's probably takin' tea with the 
 commandant right now." 
 
 " Remember what I said about stayin' away 
 from my ranch," Stuart warned heavily. " Yuh 
 better not try to force trouble on me ! " 
 
 " Why, I never thought o' such a thing as trou- 
 ble with you," Gilmore declared; "but I gotta 
 come to the ranch. I gotta come, I tell yuh. Yuh 
 see, I'm goin' to marry yore daughter." 
 
 "Louise!" 
 
 " Ain't she the only daughter yuh got? Shore, 
 Louise. Who else? An' say, please keep yore 
 hands away from yore belts. My friend Jimmy 
 is right behind yuh, an' he's got a liT gun, an' he's 
 
178 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 a-goin' to shoot the liT gun if he sees any funny 
 motions about you two gents. Yessir, he said he 
 would. I heard him ! " 
 
 " Lemme tell yuh somethin', young feller," ex- 
 claimed Stuart. " Yo're walkin' mighty close to 
 the fire!" 
 
 " Meanin' " 
 
 " If you've been tellin' any lies to Louise 
 
 " Now look here, father-in-law-to-be," inter- 
 rupted Gilmore, " I don't mind yore callin' me 
 names an' talkin' rough, 'cause yo're her father. 
 I don't mind it much. Still, I wouldn't be too 
 brash, if I were you. I just wouldn't give my im- 
 agination free rein, like the poet fellah says." 
 
 " By " barked Jack Shaw. 
 
 " None of my remarks apply to you," Gilmore 
 cut in frostily. " I tell yuh flat, I don't like yuh 
 a little bit, an' any time yuh feel like startin' any- 
 thin', why, come a-runnin'. There ain't any fence 
 to jump I'm right here! " 
 
 " Yuh can talk big when there's a gent with a 
 rifle behind me," yapped Shaw. 
 
 " Jimmy," called Gilmore, " there's a close sea- 
 son on Mr. Shaw, so far as yo're concerned. 
 Now, Mr. Shaw, my time is yores! " 
 
 " I ain't takin' no chances," grunted Shaw. 
 " I'll meet yuh some other time, when there's just 
 you an' me around." 
 
 " I'll try to be on hand when that time comes. 
 Speak up, Mr. Stuart! I can see yo're sufferin' 
 to say somethin'." 
 
 "So long's yo're a-goin' to marry my daughter 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 179 
 
 so free," said Stuart, " yuh'll be glad to know 
 that she's a-goin' to marry Mr. Shaw next 
 month." 
 
 "He's a healthy-lookin' bridegroom!" ob- 
 served Gilmore, who had not for a single instant 
 ceased to keep both eyes on Shaw. "I'd shore 
 hate to be you two when Miss Stuart hears the 
 glad tidin's ! But jokin' aside, yuh might remem- 
 ber what I said, father-in-law, about yore daugh- 
 ter. She's a-goin' to marry me, an' don't try any 
 odd numbers tryin' to make her do different. If 
 yuh do, I'll hear of it, an' you'll pay for it. That 
 reminds me, Tom Johnson offered me five hun- 
 dred dollars apiece for the scalps o' you fellahs. 
 O' course, dad-to-be, yo're out of it, so long's 
 yo*re a good boy; but nothin' like that goes for 
 Mr. Jack Shaw. An' five hundred dollars would 
 go a long way toward buyin' pots an' pans an' 
 furniture for a liT shack. But I'm reasonable. I 
 don't like to be hard on folks ; so I'm open to an 
 offer, Mr. Shaw. What'll you gimme to down 
 Tom Johnson?" 
 
 Jack Shaw was dumb. Stuart opened his 
 mouth as if to speak, but thought better of it, and 
 jerked his horse about. 
 
 " I'll see yuh again! " was Shaw's parting re- 
 mark, as he rode off after Stuart. 
 
 " Better see yore foreman first," advised Gil- 
 more in a long-drawn shout. " Last time I saw 
 Slim, he was askin' for yuh right affectionate ! " 
 
 But Shaw did not even turn his head. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 "YuH ain't goin' back to the Lazy D!" 
 Jimmy exclaimed in alarm. 
 
 " Shore I am," replied Gilmore. " I wouldn't 
 miss it for a ranch in Old Mexico. Look a 
 here Johnson rustles the cows from the Hash 
 Knife an' the V Up-an'-Down, an' through En- 
 right sells 'em to Oyle at, as he thinks, the market. 
 I suppose, seem' as they're stolen anyway, John- 
 son hadn't the nerve to ask more; but nothin' like 
 that bothered Enright. He, havin' it ail fixed up 
 how he'll divvy with Johnson at fifteen a head, 
 sells 'em to Oyle at somethin' over my price o' 
 nineteen twenty, probably. Shore, if it had 
 been less 'n nineteen, the agent wouldn't 'a' 
 taken me up at that price. He'd 'a' stuck to his 
 old friend Deputy Dick. It's as plain as the 
 W. G. R. brand, an' that takes up the whole side 
 of a cow. Tom Johnson'll see it yuh can bet 
 yore saddle an' slicker on that. An' what's 
 more, now that Stuart an' Shaw know that their 
 dear friend has been runnin' a ranikaboo on 'em, 
 do yuh s'pose they'll take it sittin' down, or write 
 him a letter? Not if I know 'em they won't. 
 They'll paint for war prompt an' sudden, an' 
 more'n likely they'll head for Plain Edge as fast 
 as bosses can drag it ! " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 181 
 
 Jimmy and Smoky began to laugh. 
 
 " I see it now," said Jimmy. " With Stuart 
 an' Shaw knowin' that Enright ain't their friend 
 no more, Plain Edge is liable to witness times." 
 
 " Yo're whistlin', an' if they take to wipin' 
 each other out, it ought to make the job o' re- 
 formin' Glenn County a heap easy," chuckled 
 Gilmore. 
 
 " Yuh long-legged oF rascal!" exclaimed the 
 admiring Jimmy. * Yuh shore do use yore head 
 now an' then! Say!" as Gilmore swung his 
 foot sidewise " leave my cayuse alone! I don't 
 allow nobody to kick him but me. Quit it, 
 can'tcha? There ugh! now yuh've set him 
 off ugh! an' I've just et! " 
 
 When Jimmy had reduced his emotional mount 
 to partial submission and resumed his place, Gil- 
 more was squinting far ahead, where the trail 
 vanished between two hills. 
 
 " If I didn't like a sharp," he observed, " an' I 
 kind o' wanted to ventilate him, an' he was due to 
 ride this trail, I dunno but what I'd wait for him 
 right there behind a tree on one of those two 
 hills." 
 
 " She ees a good plass," agreed Smoky. 
 
 " Yuh bet she is ! Jimmy, s'pose you ride on, 
 an' if yuh get through without bein' downed or 
 nicked, come back an' tell us. We'll wait right 
 here." 
 
 " You go to Hell! " cried Jimmy. " Yuh talk 
 like I was a cat or somethin' with nine lives. Be- 
 sides, my will ain't made, an' a fellah as sinful as 
 
182 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 me hadn't ought to cash without repentin' any- 
 way. An' I don't feel like repentin', nohow." 
 
 " Well, if yuh won't go, yuh won't," Gilmore 
 sighed in mock resignation. " I s'pose we'll have 
 to circle those hills. I guess, though, if we got 
 on top of one of them, we might be able to see if 
 anybody's hid out." 
 
 Accordingly, they departed from the trail, and 
 rode among draws and small, brushy flats for the 
 space of three hours. At the end of that time 
 they were climbing the southern slope of one of 
 the two hills. They reached the top, dismounted 
 in a lean grove of pines, and went forward on 
 foot. 
 
 Near the top of the reverse slope they lay 
 down in the tall grass, wriggled forward, and 
 gazed downward. Far below was the ribbon of 
 trail, and beyond it rose the steep slope of the 
 opposite hillside. 
 
 At first Gilmore saw nothing save the trees and 
 the rocks and the grass waving in the wind. 
 Suddenly something twinkled on the hillside, 
 above the trail. With the help of the field-glasses 
 he discerned, projecting beyond a boulder, a 
 man's booted legs. The hidden enemy's spurs 
 twinkled his betrayal as he crossed one ankle over 
 the other. 
 
 " One of 'em's behind that white boulder," an- 
 nounced Gilmore. " I can't make out the other. 
 Let's work west an' see if we can't pick up their 
 horses." 
 
 They worked west, and in a hollow a hundred 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 183 
 
 yards beyond the ambushed citizen they saw two 
 horses tied to a young sapling. 
 
 "A gray an' a sorrel," observed Gilmore. 
 " Stuart rode a gray an' Shaw a sorrel. It's our 
 dear friends, all right! Jimmy, you take the 
 gray an' I'll take the sorrel. Smoky, bein' up- 
 wind where the smoke won't blow in his eyes, can 
 look out for developments." 
 
 The two Winchesters barked almost together. 
 The sorrel collapsed quietly; the gray gave a con- 
 vulsive leap, and a scream of agony drifted thinly 
 to their ears. 
 
 Jimmy swore, and righted his bungle with a 
 clean shot. 
 
 " I dunno how I come to do such ragged work. 
 Lookout!" 
 
 Below them, on their own hillside, a rifle 
 cracked, and a bullet whisped through the grass- 
 stems close beside Gilmore's cheek. Smoky sent 
 three rapid bullets in the center of the smoke- 
 cloud. Gilmore rolled backward, seized Jimmy 
 by the ankles, and jerked him to safety behind 
 a rock. 
 
 " What's the matter with you? " demanded 
 Jimmy, sitting up in a rage. " I was just cuttin' 
 down on that feller behind the white boulder, an' 
 you gotta spoil it all! Yuh big id jit, yuh got a 
 nerve, you have ! " 
 
 " That's old man Stuart behind the boulder," 
 Gilmore explained gently. " I don't want him 
 downed 'less it's absolutely necessary." 
 
 " I know, but he'd 'a' got yuh if he could," 
 
184 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 snarled the disgruntled Jimmy. " Yo're too 
 charitable by half, Dal. I tell yuh, yuh'll be 
 downed first thing yuh know, an' then yuh'll wish 
 yuh'd let me finish my shot." 
 
 " Maybe, I dunno. Let's be wanderin'." 
 At that moment Smoky joined them. He was 
 shoving cartridges into the loading-gate of his 
 rifle, and his black eyes were glittering with 
 pleasurable excitement. 
 
 " Eef I deed not geet Jack Shaw, I part hees 
 hair good!" he declared. "By gar, I do! I 
 deed not shoot at de ol' man Stuart. I t'ink you 
 not wan' heem for be shot, mabbeso." 
 
 * Yo're a mind-reader, Smoky," pronounced 
 Gilmore. 
 
 * You fellers make me sick! " Jimmy declared. 
 " I give up. Why not let's go down an' buy 'em 
 a drink? " he added, with elaborate sarcasm. 
 
 The three returned to their horses in silence, 
 but the peevish Jimmy refused to ride with the 
 others. He brought up the rear, smoking ciga- 
 rettes incessantly, and making caustic comment 
 on tender-hearted charity, both abstract and con- 
 crete. 
 
 By sunset, however, an afternoon's self-com- 
 munion had had its effect on Jimmy. He came 
 out of his sulk, and signified his emergence by 
 dropping a horny beetle down Gilmore's neck. 
 Then there was a vigorous rough-and-tumble, 
 which did not end till Nivette wished to know if 
 he was expected to cook supper with people fall- 
 ing over him all the time. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 185 
 
 " I don't guess they could get horses before 
 this mornin'," Gilmore remarked, after breakfast 
 on the following day. 
 
 " Noon, mabbeso," said the half-breed. " Dose 
 heel was t'irty mile from de fort, un dere was 
 no ranch nearer dan dat. Dere ees no stage to 
 de fort only de freight-wagon, un dey do not 
 come for two week. By gar, dem men weel have 
 to walk, un dat weel tak long tarn. Dey weel 
 have de sore feet before dey get dere ! " 
 
 " Will they? " Jimmy asked in a sardonic tone. 
 " Not if they're in the middle o' that cloud o' dust 
 they won't!" 
 
 Gilmore and Smoky looked back over the way 
 they had come. Nine or ten miles distant a small 
 dust-cloud was distinctly visible on w the trail. 
 Gilmore whipped out the field-glasses. 
 
 " Mules ! " he announced. " Four of 'em. 
 By the way they're a-comin', she's a light wagon." 
 
 "Has de wagon a square, white top?" in- 
 quired Nivette. 
 
 ' Yep." 
 
 " Den she ees de ambulance takin' de officer or 
 de officer's woman to de railroad. Mabbeso dey 
 meet Stuart un Shaw un geeve dem a ride." 
 
 " In that case we want to know it. Here's as 
 good a place as any, when we've moved the bosses 
 farther back. Yuh know a short cut, don't yuh, 
 Smoky, so's we can get in front of 'em again? " 
 
 " Shore Leetle Cloud Mountain. Dey mus' 
 follow de trail roun', un we can go troo de canon." 
 
 From their vantage-point among the trees on 
 
i86 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 the knoll where they had made camp they watched 
 the oncoming mules and their attendant dust- 
 cloud. When the teams were six miles away, 
 they dipped out of sight, and did not reappear 
 till they pulled out of a draw not more than four 
 hundred yards distant. 
 
 They came at a brisk trot, the creaking vehicle 
 behind them so gray with dust that the red cross 
 behind the driver's seat showed a faded pink. 
 It was indeed the Fort Henderson ambulance, 
 under escort of two troopers; but neither dusty 
 ambulance nor dustier soldiers interested the 
 three on the knoll. Their attention was centered 
 on the driver's seat, where, beside the driver, sat 
 Alec Stuart and Jack Shaw. 
 
 " Let's drag it," suggested Gilmore, when all 
 that remained to tell of the ambulance's passing 
 was a settling cloud of dust-particles. 
 
 Keeping two miles or more in the rear of the 
 ambulance which distance was not strictly 
 necessary, for now the trail ran among the hills, 
 and no straight reach was more than three or four 
 hundred yards long they neared Little Cloud 
 Mountain, and turned aside into Little Cloud 
 Canon. 
 
 The going was bad windfalls where there 
 were not huge rocks, and once they had to dis- 
 mount and practically haul the horses between 
 two boulders, each of them larger than the Ace 
 Saloon. 
 
 * I'm surprised the trail don't run through 
 here," observed Jimmy, thumping his discour- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 187 
 
 aged mount through the crackling branches of a 
 windfall. " Yuh'd only have to take a freight- 
 wagon to pieces about six times to get this far. 
 Here's a nice little pebble to have fall on yore 
 headi It don't weigh more'n twenty ton at the 
 outside. I s'pose they all come from the moun- 
 tain, huh, Smoky? " 
 
 " Shore," answered the half-breed. " Dey fall 
 off w'en de fros' she loosen dem een de wintair. 
 Een de summair dey fall leetle, not much." 
 
 "That's cheerin'," said Gilmore. "Here's 
 hopin'!" 
 
 Gr-r-ruck! Shus-s-sh! Bam! Several rocks 
 of assorted sizes, the smallest larger than a wheel- 
 barrow, plunged down the wall of the canon and 
 smashed into the ground a hundred yards ih their 
 rear. 
 
 " They don't fall so very little, at that," was 
 Gilmore's comment. " What's the matter, 
 Jimmy nervous? " 
 
 " Me nervous? Oh, no, not so yuh could 
 notice it. I enjoy havin' rocks sailin' down all 
 round me. I like it shore I do. Gives me a 
 appetite for my chuck, it does. O' course, Dal, 
 if yuh feel like yuh just got to go slow, lemme 
 get in front. I think there's a gent waitin' for 
 me at the other end o' this canon, an' I don't like 
 to keep him waitin'. It ain't polite." 
 
 Luckily for Jimmy's peace of mind they won 
 to the end of the canon without witnessing an- 
 other rock-slide. The passage had occupied them 
 the better part of three hours ; but from now on, 
 
i88 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 according to Nivette, the traveling would be 
 easy. 
 
 Relatively speaking, it was easy, and they made 
 good progress; yet there is always a fly in the 
 ointment. In this case there was quite a large 
 one. 
 
 Coming to a wide creek, Nivette advised 
 trotting across, the sole available fording-place 
 having a quicksand bottom. The half-breed 
 crossed without difficulty, and so did Jimmy, but 
 not so Gilmore. His horse picked the exact 
 middle of the stream as the most suitable spot to 
 stop and drink. Gilmore howled, and employed 
 spurs and quirt. The pony, usually an animal 
 of equable temper, laid back his ears, squealed, 
 and strove nobly to buck. To his frantic aston- 
 ishment, he found himself unable to move his 
 legs. Fetlock deep in the sucking grip of the 
 quicksand, he was slowly sinking deeper. 
 
 His equine brain rocked on its bed-plates. 
 Rank terror descended upon him, and he 
 screamed. 
 
 "Shut up, yuh id jit!" exclaimed Gilmore, 
 hastily unstrapping his rope. * Yuh don't de- 
 serve to get out. I'd ought to leave yuh right 
 here!" 
 
 Working swiftly and expertly, Gilmore con- 
 trived to pass his rope around the horse's body, 
 just behind the shoulders. He made a bowline, 
 and flung the end ashore to the waiting Jimmy, 
 who snubbed it round his saddle-horn. The half- 
 breed, whirling a small loop, made a good throw 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 189 
 
 and fastened on Gilmore's horn. Gilmore freed 
 the rope and made it fast to the'bowline on the 
 side opposite the knot. 
 
 The pony was down to his hocks when the two 
 horses ashore began to pull. Holding the terri- 
 fied animal's nose above water, Gilmore looked 
 down and saw the ripples chase one another be- 
 tween his mount's ears before the steady tug 
 from the shore had any effect. 
 
 Slowly, very slowly, the pony's legs were torn 
 free. His head went under as he turned on his 
 side; but the two horses on the ropes were going 
 fast now. With Gilmore out of the saddle, and 
 hanging for dear life to the horn, the half- 
 drowned animal was pulled from the water and 
 skated up on the bank. 
 
 ' This is lovely, this is ! " cried Gilmore when 
 he discovered that his mount would require at 
 least half a day's rest before he could proceed. 
 "Twelve hours' delay! They'll get to Virgin 
 City ahead of us, that's a cinch! " 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 EARLY in the following evening the three rode 
 into Virgin City, and went at once to the rear 
 door of the Ace Saloon. In the saloon, and in 
 the street beyond, sundry folk, each after his 
 fancy, were busily establishing the fact that it 
 is a white man's inalienable prerogative to pur- 
 sue pleasure as fast as he sees fit. One of those 
 in the street was pursuing it on a pony. He em- 
 phasized his enjoyment with loud yells, and at 
 short intervals fired his revolver. 
 
 In the saloon a fiddle was jigging forth the 
 heartsome strains of the "Arkansaw Traveler." 
 Many boot-heels were scraping the splintery 
 planks, while an enthusiastic trio bellowed the 
 words. To add to the 'general harmony, an in- 
 fant in the house next door was voicing at the full 
 top of lusty lungs his disgust for a grown-up 
 world. 
 
 Gilmore had dismounted, and was approaching 
 the door, when it opened and a man emerged. 
 He was far gone in liquor, this citizen. He did 
 not attempt to close the door. Staggering, 
 mumbling to himself, he made his uneven way 
 to the wood-pile, where he sat down and began in 
 all solemnity to remove his boots. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 191 
 
 " Evenin' ! " was Gilmore's greeting, as he ap- 
 proached the inebriated one. " Have yuh seen 
 Stuart or Shaw anywhere round to-night? " 
 
 " Sh-shore, they're inside, both of 'em/' the 
 other answered. "An' ain't Jack d-d-drunk? 
 If I ever gug-got as pup-pup-pie-eyed as that 
 bub-but I wouldn'. Nun-not me ! I know when 
 I've had enough, an' an' I al'ays pup-pup- 
 pup-pack my m-m-m money in my bub-boots ! " 
 
 Gravely he upended one boot and poured 
 therefrom several silver dollars and four-bit 
 pieces. They rolled this way and that, to the 
 perplexity and mental anguish of their owner. 
 Overwhelmed by his troubles, he toppled over on 
 his face and lay weeping among his scattered 
 money and the morning's kindling-wood. 
 
 Gilmore stepped over him and returned to the 
 open door. He stood a little on one side of the 
 doorway and reflected. He wished very much 
 to enter the Ace Saloon and hold speech with 
 Mrs. Kyle. His desire to avoid trouble with 
 Mr. Stuart was equally strong. Stronger than 
 both these things was his dislike for a policy of 
 side-stepping. To dodge a row or run out of 
 one had never been his custom. 
 
 He peered through the doorway. Across the 
 darkness of the back room and the short hall, 
 whose doors were flung wide, he could see into 
 the garish brightness of the barroom itself. The 
 dancers whirled among the eddying wreaths of 
 tobacco-smoke. The customers at the bar were 
 making very merry. 
 
192 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Stuart and Shaw were nowhere visible, but 
 Gilmore supposed that they must be at one of the 
 small tables opposite the t>ar. He stepped into 
 the back room, hoping that he might find some 
 one to take a message to Mrs. Kyle, when he 
 heard her voice. It came from the hall between 
 the back room and the saloon. 
 
 " Leave me alone! " she was exclaiming in a 
 tense whisper. 
 
 "Aw, Mary jane, yuh needn't be so almighty 
 finicky! " protested a man's voice that of Jack 
 Shaw. "After the way yuh carried on with - 
 
 Smack! A hearty slap interrupted him right 
 there. 
 
 "Another yap out o' you, and I'll kill you! " 
 was the woman's furious threat. 
 
 " Come here ! " ordered Shaw. 
 
 There was a rip as of a fabric tearing, and 
 Mrs. Kyle fled into the back room, her waist torn 
 at the shoulder, Jack Shaw in close pursuit. 
 Gilmore sprang forward and bent his gun across 
 Shaw's head. The V Up-and-Down man went 
 down flat just as Mrs. Kyle jerked a derringer 
 from her bosom, whisked about, and fired twice. 
 
 Gilmore, in the double flash of the little gun's 
 discharge, had an instantaneous glimpse of old 
 Alec Stuart's face over the shoulder of the fall- 
 ing Shaw. Then he was coughing in the pungent 
 powder-smoke, and saw but dimly. 
 
 " What'sa matter? What'sa matter? " Jimmy 
 Was crying at his side. 
 
 " Get the woman away ! " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 193 
 
 " Smoky's done it. Come on! " 
 
 The music had stopped in the middle of a bar. 
 In the saloon there was deep silence; but not for 
 long. The habitues of the place, hot arid eager 
 with curiosity, and hearing no more shots, 
 crowded into the hall. 
 
 " It's old Alec! " exclaimed a tall puncher of 
 the V Up-and-Down. "An' here's Jack!" he 
 added, coming into the back room and striking 
 a match. 
 
 "Alec's gone out!" called another. "Two 
 shots plumb through his heart! Who done it? " 
 
 " I dunno," the bartender answered. "Is 
 Jack cashed? " 
 
 " He's breathin'," said the tall puncher laconic- 
 ally. "Got a bed handy?" 
 
 " Shore, put him in mine," the bartender an- 
 swered. 
 
 " Who done it? Who done it? " clamored the 
 crowd, as Shaw was taken away. 
 
 " How do I know? " bawled the exasperated 
 puncher. ' There wasn't nobody in this room 
 when I come in. Ask me somethin' easy, why 
 don'tcha? Take Stuart's feet, Rufe, will yuh? 
 Lemme through, can'tcha? Didn'tcha ever see 
 a downed gent before? " 
 
 "A-agh-ugh!" 
 
 A wheezing grunt issued from the throat of the 
 supposed corpse, to the horror of the bearers, who 
 promptly dropped it and stood back well back. 
 The corpse sat up. It rubbed its stomach and 
 swore aloud. 
 
194 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 ' What you id jits try in' to do? " came the 
 question in the well-known voice of Mr. Alec 
 Stuart. ' Wanta kill a man, throwin' me round 
 thisaway? Who hit me anyway? " 
 
 " Yo're sh-shot," stuttered the tall puncher. 
 " Plumb through the heart, too ! Look at the 
 blood all over yore shirt! " 
 
 Mr. Stuart looked down at the shirt in ques- 
 tion, and delved within a drenched breast-pocket. 
 He removed therefrom several pieces of broken 
 glass, and flung them afar. 
 
 " Med'cine," he observed. " Med'cine for the 
 toothache. Must 'a' broke the bottle. An* my 
 watch " again the hand was plunged into the 
 pocket " my watch " the hand was with- 
 drawn " is say, who busted my watch? " 
 
 He dangled before the multitude a bent and 
 shattered watch. He rose to his feet, and by the 
 light of a lamp obligingly held out by the bar- 
 tender, examined the wrecked timepiece. Em- 
 bedded in the battered metal and among the 
 twisted wheels were two flattened bullets. 
 
 " Derringer bullets," he remarked. ' Who's 
 been practisin' on me? I'd shore admire to know 
 who's been turnin' loose his artillery in my direc- 
 tion!" 
 
 " None of us did, yuh can gamble on that," 
 the tall puncher told him. 
 
 " Some gent did," insisted Stuart. " Here's 
 the proof in these bullets. I remember comin' in 
 here. I was goin' outside, an' I just got past the 
 door when there was a flash plumb in my eyes, an' 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 195 
 
 I got this belt in the chest, an' I don't remember 
 another thing. Yo're shore there wasn't nobody 
 else in here when yuh come in? " 
 
 " Nobody but Jack Shaw," was the answer. 
 " Some gent had took a smash at his head, an' 
 he shore did land. Jack's in on the bartender's 
 bed right now, senseless as jerky." 
 
 Well away in the darkness Gilmore and Jimmy 
 held the three horses and awaited the return of 
 the half-breed. 
 
 " Y'oughta plugged him, Dal, 'stead o' just 
 whangin' him over the head," chided Jimmy. 
 
 " I guess maybe I'll have to yet," grumbled 
 Gilmore. 
 
 "Yuh shore will! It's like I always says, 
 yo're too tender-hearted. Yuh let a fellah im- 
 pose on yuh thataway, an' wait till he crowds yuh, 
 'stead o' rubbin' him out in the beginnin' an' 
 settlin' his troubles once for all." 
 
 Gilmore nodded without hearing a word of 
 what his friend was saying. 
 
 " I shore hope the old man ain't gone out," was 
 Gilmore's fervent declaration. " It'll be hard 
 on his daughter if he did ! " 
 
 " * Many a good horse dies,' " Jimmy quoted. 
 
 'Yeah; but " 
 
 " It wasn't yore fault." Consolingly. 
 
 ' It ain't that. Yuh don't understand at all." 
 
 " Nor you, neither. Yuh make me plumb 
 weary. Here yuh go moonin' an' carryin' on 
 over an old gent who was only too anxious to 
 down yuh, just as if yuh'd turned the trick yore- 
 
196 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 self. Don't be so sorrowful about it. Maybe he 
 ain't cashed after all." 
 
 " De ol' man she ees not hurt," reported 
 Nivette a half -hour later, and told of the life- 
 saving watch. 
 
 " That's shore a heap providential," said Gil- 
 more, relieved. " Saves a lot of trouble, all 
 right! Djuh get her away, Smoky? " 
 
 " Shore! I tak' Meesus Kyle een troo de side 
 door. Nobody see her. Nobody but us un Jack 
 Shaw know she shoot de gun. She ees safe now 
 from Jack Shaw. By gar, yes ! I weel be here, 
 un I weel spik wit' Meestair Shaw. She geeve 
 me dis for you, Dal." 
 
 " Dis " was a letter. Gilmore took the missive, 
 opened it, and struck a match. It ran: 
 
 DEAR MR. GILMORE: 
 
 Jack Shaw and Alec Stuart have planned to kill 
 you at the first opportunity. Probably you know this, so 
 I'm wasting time telling you. But what you don't know 
 is that they intend to entice you to the Hash Knife and 
 then murder you. The plan is to use a letter of Louise 
 Stuart's. It will be a forgery. Shaw is an excellent 
 penman. Look out for them. 
 
 If I learn anything else, I will let you know somehow. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 MRS. MARYJANE KYLE. 
 
 The match flickered out and left Gilmore star- 
 ing at the white blotch of the paper in his hand; 
 but he was not thinking of the letter's meaning. 
 His brain was busy with what, to his mind, was 
 vital in every way. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 197 
 
 " I gotta see Mrs. Kyle," Gilmore suddenly 
 announced. 
 
 " Oh, shore, right now," was Jimmy's sarcastic 
 comment. " It'd be right healthy to go makin' 
 calls now, wouldn't it? " 
 
 " You stay here with the hosses," said the un- 
 heeding Gilmore, " an' Smoky an' me'll take a 
 liT pasear back to town." 
 
 And back to town they went, despite the 
 earnest protests of Jimmy. Gilmore crawled in 
 at Mrs. Kyle's opened window, while the in- 
 valuable Nivette, simulating drunkenness, stood 
 guard at a corner of the building. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 MRS. KYUE placed a screen in front of the win- 
 dow, lighted a lamp, and turned the wick low. 
 She looked at Gilmore with bright eyes. 
 
 " I'm glad I didn't kill him," she said in a 
 low voice; " but I'd shoot him again, I guess, if 
 he tried to grab me the way he did that time! " 
 
 "An* serve him right," observed Gilmore; 
 " but watch yoreself , an' yuh won't have to. 
 He'll get all tangled up in his rope yet. Yuh'll 
 see! I got yore letter," he added with a keen 
 look. 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 " I know," she said. " One of the Hash Knife 
 boys got drunk, and told their plan of the forged 
 letter to my bartender, and Tom told me. That 
 was at five o'clock this afternoon. I wrote the 
 letter right away. I didn't know where I could 
 reach you, but I thought I'd better write it, any- 
 way. Good thing I did ! " 
 
 She dropped her eyes and began aimlessly to 
 pick at the deerskin table-cover. Gilmore laid 
 the letter on the table. 
 
 " Yuh wrote that," he observed; " but did yuh 
 write this?" 
 
 He laid another letter beside the first. This 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 199 
 
 second letter was the one delivered by Smoky 
 Nivette on the trail to Plain Edge. Mrs. Kyle 
 stared at the letter. Slowly she raised her eyes 
 to his face. 
 
 " Why " she began nervously. 
 
 " What's the use? " he asked. " If yuh wrote 
 this second letter, yuh didn't write the first. The 
 handwritings different, an' the way it's written is 
 different. What I want to know is, who wrote 
 this first letter?" 
 
 His lean forefinger tapped the crinkled 
 rectangle of paper. Mrs. Kyle looked at him 
 reflectively. 
 
 " I oughtn't to tell you," she said at last. 
 " Louise and Smoky told me not to, but I guess 
 I must. Louise Stuart wrote that first letter. 
 She had just ridden in when she found out that 
 the boys were organizing to go after you, and she 
 fixed up the letter to look as if I wrote it, and 
 sent it off by Smoky. I'd have done it myself, 
 only only I didn't think of it." 
 
 "I know!" he said gently. "I'm thankin' 
 yuh just the same. I'm obliged to yuh for tellin' 
 
 me." 
 
 He folded both letters and put them back in 
 his pocket. 
 
 " I wish you luck," said Mrs. Kyle, holding 
 out her hand. 
 
 ' Thanks," he said, squeezing her fingers with 
 unconscious roughness. 
 
 " Don't mind what Louise says," she told him. 
 " Make her marry you ! " 
 
200 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Has she been talkin' to yuh? " he asked in 
 amazement. 
 
 " Never mind whether she has or not; but fol- 
 low my advice. And whatever you do, don't tell 
 her I told you about the letter or any thing else." 
 
 At this juncture there came a rap on the door. 
 Gilmore wheeled toward the window. From the 
 street came the whistled lilt of " Billy Venero " 
 Nivette's signal that some one was coming round 
 the house. No escape through the window! 
 
 Again the rap on the door, and a voice called 
 loudly on Mrs. Kyle. 
 
 "Here!" she whispered sharply, and pushed 
 Gilmore behind one section of the screen. The 
 other section she angled in such a manner that he 
 was completely hidden from an observer at either 
 the window or the door. 
 
 " Hey, are yuh deef in there? " bawled the 
 irritated voice on the other side of the door. 
 
 " You'll soon find out whether I'm deaf or 
 not," Mrs. Kyle replied with spirit, " if you don't 
 stop kicking that door! What do you want?" 
 
 " Want you to come and look after Jack. He 
 needs a woman. We're goin' to search yore 
 room, too." 
 
 At these words Gilmore dragged out his gun. 
 Mrs. Kyle gave a hearty laugh. 
 
 "Going to search my room, are you?" she 
 cried. " That's good, that is! I can see myself 
 letting you do it! Who's we, might I ask? " 
 
 She walked to the door, unlocked it, and flung 
 it open. The lamplight fell on the faces of sev- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 201 
 
 eral men gathered round the doorway. One of 
 them was the tall V Up-and-Down puncher who 
 had pronounced Alec Stuart dead. 
 
 The intruders shuffled in embarrassment. The 
 tall puncher cleared his throat. It was compara- 
 tively simple to talk through a door, but it was 
 different when confronted by the lady. 
 
 * Yuh see, ma'am," he said ingratiatingly, 
 " we've done searched the whole saloon for the 
 gent who hit Shaw, an' we'd like to search yore 
 room, too, if you don't mind." 
 
 " We don't care nothin' about pokin' through 
 a lady's room," a comrade hastened to say. " It 
 was yore idee. You can have the credit." 
 
 " Well ' began the tall puncher. 
 
 " Oh, yes, I see! " said Mrs. Kyle, her hand- 
 some eyes appraising him. ' You're the man 
 who couldn't tell the difference between tooth- 
 ache medicine and blood, aren't you? Are you 
 sure you'd know the man you're hunting for? 
 I don't " 
 
 But the tall puncher had already departed. 
 His friends, roaring with laughter at Mrs. Kyle's 
 wit, followed. The widow closed the door and 
 locked it. She walked to the window and looked 
 out. 
 
 "Quick!" she whispered, pulling back the 
 screen. " There's no one in sight but Smoky." 
 
 Gilmore slid over the window-sill, joined 
 Smoky, and together they hurried back to the 
 waiting Jimmy, who received them with strong 
 language. 
 
202 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Say, this hoss-holdin' is no cinch/' he stated 
 feelingly, when he had sworn off most of his 
 temper. " Twice gents ride by me, an' I have 
 to squeeze the noses of three hosses to keep 'em 
 from whinnerin' an' me with only two hands. 
 An' then a drunk sport comes out here an' goes 
 for to rustle my own special hoss. I whangs him 
 over the head, you bet! Oh, I thank yuli for a 
 very pleasant and sociable evenin', Mr. Gilmore 
 an' company! Next time I'm goin' with yuh." 
 
 "Aw, shut up ! " retorted Gilmore pleasantly. 
 * Yo're a selfish jigger always wantin' all the 
 fun. Y'ain't happy till yuh get it. Don't fret, 
 yuh'll get all the fun that's comin' to yuh before 
 long. Smoky, we'll be seein' yuh soon couple 
 o' weeks, maybe. Take care o' yoreself ! " 
 
 Gilmore and Jimmy jogged off, heading in the 
 direction of the Lazy D. The irrepressible 
 Jimmy endeavored to keep a conversation going, 
 but Gilmore was hardly more responsive than a 
 wooden Indian. 
 
 " What'sa matter with yuh? " cried the dis- 
 gusted Jimmy. " Here I've done asked yuh 
 over an' over for a match, an' yuh just sit there 
 an' chuckle at nothin'. Gimme a match, will 
 
 Gilmore turned a slow head. 
 
 " Did you speak? " 
 
 " Me? No, I didn't say a word. I was just 
 singin' a song to myself. I don't believe in 
 talkin'. Strains the throat. Now that I've got 
 yore attention, yuh might gimme a match, if 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 203 
 
 yo're shore I ain't troublin' yore highness too 
 much." 
 
 Gilmore told Jimmy where to go, and pulled a 
 match from his hatband. One could not blame 
 the deputy for being in an abstracted frame of 
 mind. Any man who has just discovered that 
 his beloved loves him cannot be held responsible; 
 and that Louise had responded to his swift pas- 
 sion Gilmore did not doubt for an instant. How 
 he was to bring about the all-important wedding 
 did not bother him in the slightest degree. 
 
 "It's a cinch!" he told himself. "Now I 
 know how I stand, everything'll work out all 
 right!" 
 
 It was early in the evening when Gilmore and 
 Jimmy rode in among the buildings of the 
 Lazy D ranch. They could easily have arrived 
 in the daylight, but the darkness was safer. 
 News travels slowly in the cow country, but there 
 was no knowing what choice bits might have 
 drifted to the Lazy D. Caution always pays. 
 
 Their first step was to saddle the dun, which 
 had recovered its strength and spirits, and an- 
 other horse, and tie them to the stockade of the 
 nearest corral. Then they went to the cook- 
 shack, knowing well that the latest gossip, if 
 there were any, would sauce their food; but the 
 cook had nothing to tell them. He sulkily placed 
 cold beans and beef on the table, and would have 
 let them go coffeeless had not Gilmore persuaded 
 him to do otherwise. 
 
 "An' yuh can give us some o' that pie," said 
 
204 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Gilmore over his third cup. " Yeah, that one. 
 Looks good, don't it?" 
 
 The tone was light, but the blue eyes were 
 heavily compelling. The pie was supplied. 
 
 Supper finished, Gilmore and Jimmy strolled 
 across to the office. Tom Johnson's saturnine 
 countenance lowered at their entrance, and his 
 little green eyes narrowed. Somehow, at that 
 'particular moment, he reminded Gilmore of the 
 lank hogs of the Ozarks. 
 
 'Whatcha laughin' at?" Johnson wished to 
 know. 
 
 " Somethin' I saw once back in Arkansaw," 
 answered Gilmore. " I think o' things like that 
 once in a while. Can't help it. It's shore grown 
 to be a habit. How are yuh, anyway? Me, I'm 
 enjoyin' my usual good health. Take a chair, 
 Jimmy. Make yoreself at home. We're all 
 friends here." 
 
 Mr. Johnson smiled a sour smile. 
 
 !< I dunno " he began. 
 
 " I do," interrupted the cheery Gilmore. 
 " Yuh were goin' to say yuh don't see how yuh 
 stand my foolishness. Shore yuh weret Can't 
 fool me. I know yuh, yuh good-natured old 
 rascal. Honest, Tommy, if I was so overflowin' 
 with the milk o' human kindness like you are, I'd 
 bust. I shore would ! Couldn't stand the strain. 
 But you were sayin' somethin' don't let me 
 interrupt." 
 
 Gilmore leaned back in his chair and fanned 
 himself with his hat. He was smiling serenely. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 205 
 
 Johnson spat on the floor and reached for the 
 matches. 
 
 " I've seen eight-day clocks," he observed 
 acridly, " but you never seem to run down. 
 Don't y'ever worry about yore mainspring 
 bustin'?" 
 
 " Never," was the bland reply. 
 
 Tom Johnson gave it up and turned to Jimmy. 
 
 "Any other name besides Jimmy? " he in- 
 quired. 
 
 " Not to you," replied that personage. 
 
 " I see yo're like yore friend. Yuh look 
 young." 
 
 " Don't let yore eyes deceive yuh." 
 
 "All right, I won't. Yuh know what yuh 
 gotta do?" 
 
 "Shore!" 
 ' Then I guess that's all for to-night." 
 
 " No, it ain't all," spoke up Gilmore. " I kind 
 o' guess, Tom, yuh'll be interested in hearin' what 
 I found out at the Fort Henderson agency," 
 
 " What do yuh know about the agency? I 
 didn't tell yuh to go there." 
 
 " I know yuh didn't, but then I figured yuh 
 couldn't be expected to know as much as I did, so 
 I went there." 
 
 " Go on! " Johnson's voice was harsh. 
 
 " I found that Enright, o' Plain Edge, has 
 been sellin' cows to the government at somethin' 
 over the market." 
 
 Lively suspicion looked out of Johnson's small, 
 close-set eyes. 
 
2o6 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Say, who are you, anyway? " 
 
 " Dan Gill, like I told yuh. When I'm on a 
 job like the one you gave me, I always use my 
 head an' go Injunin' round all over the country; 
 so yuh needn't be surprised at any thin' I do. I 
 got to talkin' confidential with the Injun agent, 
 Oyle. He told me quite a tale. Did yuh know, 
 Johnson, that Enright signed a voucher for some- 
 thin' like twenty dollars a head on two hundred 
 an' fifty cows? " 
 
 Johnson sprang right out of his chair. His 
 fist crashed down on the desk. 
 
 " Dam' his soul! " he exploded. " He told me 
 fifteen!" 
 
 " I expect," Gilmore commented gently ; " but 
 it ain't necessary to tell the neighbors about it." 
 
 " Did yuh see the voucher? " demanded John- 
 son, still on his feet. 
 
 " Didn't need to," replied Gilmore, and forth- 
 with made clear to Johnson his reasons for sus- 
 pecting Enright. 
 
 Striding to and fro the length of the office in 
 his rage, Johnson swore violently. 
 
 " I never did trust him! I'll play even with 
 him, the " 
 
 " Five times two fifty, that's twelve hundred 
 an' fifty dollars," cut in Gilmore, thoughtfully 
 fanning the flames of Johnson's wrath. ' That's 
 a lot o' money. He shore could 'a' split even 
 without hurtin' himself." 
 
 " I'll fill him so full o' lead he'll rattle! " fumed 
 Tom Johnson. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 207 
 
 Jimmy grinned quietly at the^floor. Gilmore 
 rolled a meticulous cigarette. 
 
 " I thought yuh said yuh was new to this 
 country ! " 
 
 Johnson had halted in his wild parade, and 
 flung the remark at Gilmore with the suddenness 
 of a pistol-shot. 
 
 " Don't ask me too many questions, Johnson," 
 drawled Gilmore, blowing a smoke-ring ceiling- 
 ward. 
 
 " That's all right, but this about Enright. 
 Yuh talk like yuh know him! " 
 
 " Maybe I do. What's it to yuh so long's I 
 do what I'm paid to do? " 
 
 "Well " 
 
 " Here, take a look at this." 
 
 Gilmore, whose hand had been busy within 
 his vest, flipped a playing-card toward Johnson. 
 It fell between them on the table. Johnson 
 leaned forward. His hot eyes perceived that the 
 card was the ace of spades and bore a memo- 
 randum and an I. O. U. He picked it up and 
 looked at Gilmore. 
 
 * Yore friend Enright is mighty careless with 
 his personal property," explained Gilmore. 
 " Yuh'd ought to tell him to be more careful." 
 
 Johnson tore the card into bits and flung them 
 on the floor. 
 
 " It don't make no difference," he said. " I 
 wouldn't pay him now, nohow. When are yuh 
 goin' down an' hire out to the Hash Knife? " 
 
 Gilmore's face went solemn. 
 
208 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Stuart's dead," said he. 
 
 " When d'juh get him? " was Tom's quick 
 question. 
 
 " I didn't, but somebody else did. It don't 
 matter who. Anyway, he's gone out, an' you 
 save five hundred. Jack Shaw's next, huh? " 
 
 " Yo're shore the old man's dead? " 
 
 " Y'ain't doubtin' my word, are yuh? " 
 
 " No, oh, no, but - 
 
 " There ain't any buts. We'll be pushin' on 
 to our next job to-morrow; but yuh understand 
 that we don't hire out to the V Up-and-Down. 
 Jack Shaw'll be put where he won't bother folks, 
 but it'll be done our way." 
 
 "Any way, any way you like best the bridle's 
 off!" 
 
 ' That's all right. Glad yuh see it that way. 
 But look here, what do yuh say to me an' my 
 friend takin' Enright's place in the next beef con- 
 tract? When I was talkin' to the agent, he took 
 me up at nineteen." 
 
 " Took yuh up at nineteen? " 
 
 " Shore! I didn't know where I'd get the 
 cows, but I guessed I could rustle 'em some'eres." 
 
 " I guess yuh could. I'll go yuh on yore 
 prop'sition. Split even with you you two 
 against me." 
 
 " Will they be the same brands Lazy H-in-a- 
 Circle an' A Up-an'-Down? " 
 
 "Shore! Listen!" 
 
 The lean villain proceeded to relate the pre- 
 cise manner in which the cattle were rustled, as 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 209 
 
 opportunity offered, from the Hash Knife, the 
 V Up-and-Down, and sundry other ranches, re- 
 branded, drifted across the ranges, and finally 
 turned over to the Indian agent. 
 
 " Gimme five years," said Johnson in conclu- 
 sion, " an' I'll have pretty near every cow in the 
 Territory!" 
 
 Gilmore believed him. At ten o'clock he and 
 Jimmy left the office. At ten thirty the manager 
 retired. At eleven thirty he was awakened by a 
 cold ring of metal pressed tightly against his 
 temple. 
 
 " Don't yell," a calm voice commanded him. 
 " An' I wouldn't move too sudden, either. I 
 know it's dark, but the window's wide open, an' 
 yuh can see enough to put on yore clo'es, I guess. 
 Get up an' begin, an' remember LiT Willy's 
 watchin' yuh all the time." 
 
 " Say, Gill, is this a joke? " Tom Johnson was 
 careful not to speak above a whisper. 
 
 " I never joke," was the severe reply. " Get 
 up!" 
 
 Tom Johnson arose softly. 
 
 ' What do yuh want, anyway? " 
 
 " Yoreself, that's all." 
 
 ' But " 
 
 * There yuh go buttin' again. Yo're always 
 buttin'. Seems like yuh don't know any other 
 word. I might as well tell yuh I'm a deputy, 
 named Gilmore. Too bad yuh didn't know that 
 when yuh were tellin' Jimmy an' me all about 
 yore rustlin'! It shore was an interestin' story. 
 
210 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 The judge an' the jury'll enjoy hearin' it that 
 an' how yuh hired me to rub out three men. An' 
 yuh can take it from me, I won't be so careless 
 about hangin' on to Exhibit A in the shape o' that 
 I. O. U. yuh gave me, as Enright was with the 
 one yuh gave him. That's right cuss all yo're a 
 mind to. When yo're dressed, Jimmy'll go down 
 to the bunk-house an' bring back yore foreman. 
 Yuh'll be sittin' in the office then, behind yore 
 desk. Yuh'll tell the foreman yuh gotta go away 
 for a while, two-three weeks, maybe, on business ; 
 but yuh won't let on anythin' to the foreman. 
 Yuh won't even wink yore eye at him, 'cause I'll 
 be sittin' in here in the dark with the door open 
 an' my gun a-pointin' at yore tummy. Jimmy'll 
 be standin' some'eres behind the foreman, an' he 
 won't have his eyes closed, exactly. Do yuh un- 
 derstand? Speak up, man ! I can't hear yuh." 
 
 It was a choked and spluttery " yes " that Mr. 
 Johnson uttered. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 A FEW days later Doheny, the efficient marshal 
 of Warrior's Mark, was sitting on the jail steps, 
 conversing with another eminent citizen, when 
 he raised his eyes and glanced along the dusty 
 street. 
 
 " Here comes that feller Gilmore again," said 
 he. " Who's he got this trip? " 
 
 " I dunno," answered the eminent citizen, 
 squinting his eyes. " Yes, I do, too. It's John- 
 son Tom Johnson, manager o' the Lazy D." 
 
 " Are yuh shore o' that? " 
 
 " Shore as yo're a foot high. I seen Tom John- 
 son more'n once in Virgin City an' Plain Edge 
 both. I'd know him well enough anywhere." 
 
 * This here is gettin' to be the supreme limit," 
 Doheny announced with conviction. 
 
 The eminent citizen nodded. 
 
 " I got a hundred buckshot cartridges day be- 
 fore yest'day," he observed with seeming irrele- 
 vance. 
 
 ' Yuh'll need 'em," grunted the marshal with 
 perfect understanding. 
 
 " Howdy, folks? " Gilmore said gravely. " I 
 hope, marshal, yore calaboose ain't filled ! " 
 
 " Always room for one more," the marshal as- 
 
212 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 sured him, his impersonal gaze taking in Tom 
 Johnson from hat to heels. " Why is it this 
 time? " 
 
 " Rustling cattle an' conspiracy to commit 
 murder," Gilmore replied smoothly. 
 
 " Why don'tcha make it arson an' stage-rob- 
 bery? " sneered Johnson savagely. 
 
 " Don't get impatient maybe I will. Come 
 on now, Tom, don't be a fool ! It won't do yuh 
 any manner o' good to wrastle round thisaway. 
 I'll have to bust yuh one. Take his shoulders, 
 Jimmy, an' we'll pack him inside." 
 
 " I didn't ask about any warrant," said the 
 marshal, when Gilmore came out, " but 
 
 " Yuh can hold him till I get one from Plain 
 Edge," cut in Gilmore. 
 
 " Y'ain't goin' to Plain Edge? " 
 
 "Shore, why not?" 
 
 ' Yuh'll find out why not when yuh get there. 
 I tell yuh plain like a friend yuh won't last 
 more'n about a half a minute. Them fellers have 
 come up here twice after the prisoners. Plain 
 Edge is mad, an' gettin' madder, and yore stroll- 
 in' into town will just about put the hat on the 
 climax. If I was you, I wouldn't bother about 
 no warrant not just now I wouldn't. I'll board 
 Tom Johnson without it for a while." 
 
 " Yo're a regular gent, an' I appreciate yore 
 offer, but it can't be did. There's got to be a war- 
 rant!" 
 
 '" There'll be two funerals! " 
 
 " Yuh think so? Well, vuh wait an' see if there 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 213 
 
 ain't a lot more'n two. Come on over an' have 
 a drink. I'm drier'n a covered bridge." 
 
 * That was easy," commented Jimmy, when 
 the two were riding out on the Plain Edge trail. 
 
 " Too easy," Gilmore answered. " Everything 
 been that way so far. Hardly any trouble at all. 
 They just fall into handcuffs an' jail like turtles 
 slidin' off a log. We ain't^gettin' our share o' 
 hard times; but they'll come. They always do." 
 
 "Yuh betcha they will!" Jimmy assented. 
 * Two men ag'in' a whole county is no snap. LIT 
 Jimmy's the feller that always rides the buckin' 
 hoss. Some day I'll learn sense, get married, an' 
 stick to home like a Christian if I live long 
 enough. Coin' to ride the trail the whole way to 
 Plain Edge?" 
 
 " Shore! If there's anybody comin' from there 
 I want to meet 'em." 
 
 But they met no one on the road, and on the 
 following afternoon they halted a mile outside of 
 Plain Edge to wait for nightfall and to rest their 
 horses. 
 
 Two hours after sunset they mounted and, rid- 
 ing circumspectly, forded the river and ap- 
 proached the town by the Beardance trail. This 
 entailed fording the stream a second time, but it 
 was necessary, for among the cottonwoods along 
 the river-bank lay the only safe shelter for 
 Jimmy. 
 
 " But I wanna go, too," complained that young 
 man, when told what his part in the action was to 
 be. " It ain't no fun stickin' here a-suckin* my 
 
214 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 thumbs. Yuh may need me, Dal, then what'll 
 yuh do? What did yuh write to me for to come 
 an' help yuh, if the first time there's any real 
 chance for trouble yuh go an' leave me behind? 
 It ain't sensible, Dal!" 
 
 " Here yuh stay," the inexorable Gilmore told 
 him. " How can yuh go with me when I gotta 
 take yore hoss? They won't know me behind the 
 whiskers, but they'll know the dun, won't they? 
 Well then, quit yore bellerin'." 
 
 " Here's my hoss," snarled the hapless Jimmy. 
 " Would yuh like my shirt, or my hat, or maybe 
 my socks? I got a real fine pair o' boots. Yuh 
 overlooked them. How about a cigarette? Can't 
 I make yuh a couple o' dozen, an' stick 'em in 
 yore mouth an' light 'em for yuh? But I draw 
 the line at my gun an' my rifle an' my cartridges. 
 If yuh don't object, I'd like to keep them with 
 me!" 
 
 " You know where you can go! " Gilmore ge- 
 nially told his friend, and splashed down into the 
 water on the borrowed horse. 
 
 Debating whether he should first go to Shorty 
 Damman's hotel or to the judge's house, he 
 finally determined to call on his honor which, 
 could he have known it, was a mistake. Unfor- 
 tunately, Gilmore was not omniscient. He 
 blithely dismounted in front of a saloon a few 
 doors from the judge's house and tied his horse 
 to the hitching-rail. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 " TOWN'S mighty dead," thought Gilmore, 
 glancing in at the open door of the saloon. " No- 
 body round but the bartender, an' he's asleep." 
 
 He looked up and down the street. There was 
 no one in sight save a woman carrying home some 
 groceries, and there were no ponies tied to any of 
 the hitching-rails. Idly speculating, he walked 
 down the street to the judge's house. Here was 
 life, at least. Through the open windows he 
 heard the clink of bottle nudging glass and the 
 voices of men conferring together. 
 
 He walked boldly past the house, then tiptoed 
 back and dodged in between it and the house next 
 door. Edging along the wall, he took off his hat, 
 crouched, and peered in at the corner of a win- 
 dow. 
 
 With his back toward Gilmore, and almost 
 within arm's length, Judge Trivvy sat at a table. 
 The shadow of the broad, judicial body, luckily 
 for the watcher outside, fell across the lower half 
 of the window. At the judge's right hand was 
 Dick Enright, his hat far back on his head, his 
 left hand cupped round a whisky-glass. The 
 third man, who sat facing the judge, was a 
 stranger to Gilmore. 
 
216 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 He was a heavy-shouldered, bullet-headed 
 man, this stranger, with a hairless face, promi- 
 nent jaws, thin lips, large cheek-bones and out- 
 standing ears. Completing the picture, as it 
 were, the black eyes flanking his hooked nose were 
 glassily cold in their blank stare. 
 
 Had Gilmore been a student of Grohmann or 
 Lombroso, he would have known at once how to 
 catalogue this repellent-looking person; but, not 
 being conversant with the facial characteristics of 
 the habitual murderer, he merely concluded that 
 the stranger would be a good man to watch. 
 
 " It's shore queer there ain't nobody rubbed 
 him out yet," the bullet-headed man was saying, 
 his black eyes fixed on Enright. 
 
 " It is an exceptional case," cut in the learned 
 judge. " This man is unusual, very unusual! " 
 
 " He must be," was the stranger's dry com- 
 ment, delivered with curling, thin lips. " Yuh'd 
 kind o' think he might be a crowd or somethin'." 
 
 " Yuh'll have yore hands full," growled En- 
 right, carefully ignoring the other's palpable 
 slur. 
 
 ' Yes, I heard he carved his name on yore 
 arm. Yuh can't move it right easy yet, can 
 yuh? " 
 
 It suddenly broke upon Gilmore's conscious- 
 ness that he himself was the subject of their con- 
 versation. With freshened interest he watched 
 to see how Enright would take the stranger's last 
 remark. 
 
 The Plain Edge deputy took it well enough. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 217 
 
 He did not seem to be in a mood to resent any 
 insult, no matter how flagrant, that evening. 
 
 " It should be a comparatively simple matter," 
 hurriedly piped up the judge, " for you to er 
 put this man Gilmore out of action. Very sim- 
 ple indeed! I " 
 
 " Ye-es, I reckon that's why yuh sent for me 
 an* are payin' me six hundred for the job 'cause 
 it's so simple! " 
 
 " We I was taken at a disadvantage," pro- 
 tested Judge Triwy, pouring himself a drink. 
 " I was unable to reach my gun." 
 
 " Didn't Nivette tie yuh to a chair or some- 
 thin'? " the stranger asked curiously. 
 
 " He did, and Gilmore choked me. Could I 
 have reached my gun " 
 
 " Yuh'd have handed it over to him! " finished 
 the stranger, and burst into a high-pitched cackle 
 of laughter. 
 
 " Say, are yuh tryin' to make trouble? " de- 
 manded Enright, with a sudden show of spirit. 
 
 ' Why, I ain't worry in'," was the placid reply. 
 " I never try to make trouble." 
 
 Both men were included in the speaker's feline 
 smile. 
 
 " Have another drink," invited Judge Triwy, 
 and pushed the bottle toward the truculent one. 
 
 The man poured out one narrow finger, sipped 
 it delicately, and then leaned back in his chair and 
 rolled a cigarette with an expertness that even 
 Gilmore could not have surpassed. 
 
 " One little thing more," observed the stranger, 
 
218 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 breaking a silence which had endured till his 
 cigarette was smoked out. " I want half in ad- 
 
 vance." 
 
 " Half in advance! " the judge cried in alarm. 
 * Why, my dear sir, we gave you a quarter in 
 advance one hundred and fifty dollars not 
 twenty minutes ago." 
 
 " I ain't yore dear sir. I'm only workin' for 
 yuh. I don't like yuh, an' yuh make me think of 
 a fat frog, so snub up yore affection. I want one 
 hundred an' fifty more, three hundred flat! " 
 , " My friend - 
 
 " I ain't yore friend, neither. Three hundred, 
 I said. Keep me dangiin', an' I'll make it four 
 hundred. I reckon now I will make it four hun- 
 dred. Four hundred wheels from yore pockets 
 into mine, or the deal's off! " 
 
 " All right, call it off! " exclaimed the exasper- 
 ated Enright. 
 
 " Shore, call it off," agreed the stranger. 
 " Couldn't suit me better, that couldn't. Don't 
 have to do no work, an' I'm one hundred an' fifty 
 to the good!" 
 
 "What? You mean you would keep our 
 money? " The judge's voice was almost a shriek. 
 
 " Why not? I don't see nobody round here 
 fit an' able to take it away from me." 
 
 The judge turned a doleful head toward En- 
 right. 
 
 " What shall we do? " he queried helplessly. 
 
 " I s'pose you'll have to give it to him," En- 
 right answered. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 219 
 
 f< We'll have to give it to him, ygu mean," cor- 
 rected the judge. 
 
 " I don't mean us at all. I mean you yes, 
 you, yuh old sot. Fork over two hundred an' 
 fifty an' give it to this graspin' gent! " 
 
 ;< I won't do it! I won't! It's robbery !" 
 
 " It's more than that," chimed in the stranger. 
 " I'd do anything for money. Why, judge, if I 
 was paid enough, I'd even cut yore throat! " 
 
 The judge was visibly agitated. He raised a 
 glass to his lips, and one-third of the liquid 
 slopped over and ran down his wrist. 
 
 " Why don't you chip in, Enright? " Judge 
 Trivvy's tone was agonized. 
 
 " Because I ain't got it handy. Dig up the 
 simoleons, y' old crab. Whatcha waitin' for? " 
 
 " What a pleasant little family y'all are! " ob- 
 served the stranger. " So lovin' like one might 
 think yuh was related. I can't wait all night. 
 Do I get my money, or don't I? " 
 
 " But how how do I know you will keep your 
 promise? " quavered the judge. 
 
 The stranger leaned across the table. 
 
 " How do yuh know? " he said in a cold voice. 
 " Did I hear yuh say them words? " 
 
 " No no, I didn't say that," the judge dis- 
 claimed. " I I'll give you the money." 
 
 Enright laughed, but there was no answering 
 smile on the stranger's face. Impassive, he 
 watched the judge taKe a fat buckskin bag from 
 his coat-pocket and count out on the table the 
 necessary number of gold pieces. He pouched 
 
220 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 the money without a word of thanks, and re- 
 marked that he would start immediately. 
 
 ' Yore not knowin' where this Gilmore is don't 
 make it too easy," he added, rising. " I reckon 
 I'll try Virgin City first." 
 
 " If he ain't there, go see Stuart o' the Hash 
 Knife," suggested Enright. " He's a good friend 
 o' mine, an' it's just a chance he'll maybe have 
 heard somethin' about Gilmore. Jack Shaw o' 
 the V Up-an'-Down is another one I know. He'll 
 help yuh all he can. But yuh want to look out 
 for the Triangle O an' the Lazy D. Keep away 
 from 'em. If any o' them see yuh ridin' the 
 range, they're a heap likely to beef yuh first an* 
 ask yuh about it after. Glenn County ain't no 
 health-resort! " 
 
 " So I heard. Don't yuh fret none about me. 
 I'll be back to claim the other two hundred before 
 long." 
 
 Abruptly he quitted the room. Gilmore could 
 hear him walking away along the street. 
 
 " That Crowner is shore a hellion," remarked 
 Enright, holding the bottle against the lamplight. 
 " Not a man's drink left. Where's another bot- 
 tle, judge?" 
 
 " There are no other bottles for you," was 
 the pointed reply. 
 
 " Aw, don't be a crab, y' old miser! Anybody'd 
 think yuh really care somethin' about that two 
 fifty. I'll pay yuh back. I'd pay yuh right now, 
 only I ain't got it with me." 
 
 "Oh, go to the devil!" 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 221 
 
 " Shut up, or I'll find a short ;way to make 
 yuh!" 
 
 " I've a good mind to cut loose from you en- 
 tirely." 
 
 " Yuh can't afford to. S'pose Stuart an' Shaw 
 ever found out you was in cahoots with Tom 
 Johnson an' Oyle what then, huh? " 
 
 * You're in this deeper than I am." 
 
 " I know I am, but whose idea was it in the 
 first place? Yuh won't be the silent partner yuh 
 make out to be, if yuh ever break with me. Break 
 with me! That shore listens well! " 
 
 Enright threw his head back and burst into a 
 jarring laugh. The judge jerked open the table- 
 drawer. His fat fingers scrabbled within. En- 
 right swung forward swiftly. 
 
 "None o' that, y' old fool!" he rapped out, 
 gripping the other's wrist. " Let loose o' that 
 gun, or I'll twist yore hand off! Oh, it hurts, 
 huh? Then drop it. Here, I'll take it out o' yore 
 reach. Don't move now while I feel yuh over for 
 anythin' else." 
 
 " I sha'n't try to hurt you! " cried the judge. 
 " I give you my word ! " 
 
 " Yore word is worth about half as much as 
 yore rotten self. I don't trust yuh for a minute. 
 There now, I guess yuh ain't concealin' nothin' 
 about yore person. Yuh can sit back if yuh like." 
 
 " I I I fear I nearly lost my temper," 
 quavered the judge. " I apologize. This this 
 business of fleeing with the hare and running with 
 the hounds is very trying to the nerves." 
 
222 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " It's a fact, yuh don't know when yo're goin' 
 to trip," Enright answered equably. " But keep 
 yore heart up. A couple o' years more, what 
 with both sides payin' for protection, an' them 
 agency contracts, an' you an' I can retire." 
 
 " If young Drummond should come north, 
 where will the contracts and half the protection 
 be?" 
 
 " I'm bettin' he'll never come. The Double D 
 is takin' all his time. Don't worry none Tom 
 Johnson'll have a free hand for years yet." 
 ' Yes, but this cattle war may bring him." 
 
 " No 'twon't. Johnson's been sendin' him the 
 best kind o' reports from the Lazy D. If he 
 knowed the ranch was losin' cattle, it'd be differ- 
 ent; but he don't, an' he won't, not with Tom 
 manager. Anyway, s'pose the Lazy D an' Tri- 
 angle O have suffered a lot, still, takin' it all in 
 all, it's the V Up-an'-Down an' the Hash Knife 
 that have come out the little end so far. One 
 more o' the Hash Knife boys was clowned about a 
 week ago. Oh, Tom's shore a whizzer. He's got 
 'em all beat forty ways from the jack! " 
 
 " Oyle's the one to profit the most," grumbled 
 the judge. 
 
 " Shore, but we can't all be Injun agents. I'm 
 satisfied to be just a deputy." 
 
 "Are yuh?" said Gilmore, his gun poked 
 across the window-sill. " Too bad the rest of us 
 ain't!" 
 
 The command of " Hands up ! " was quite un- 
 necessary. At the sound of his voice two pairs of 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 223 
 
 arms clawed ceilingward. Gilmore flung a leg 
 over the sill and eased his body into the room 
 without losing for an instant the magic of the 
 drop. 
 
 Enright's face was a Japanese mask of malev- 
 olent hatred and the passion to kill. His washed- 
 out gray eyes were narrowed like a cat's. 
 
 The judge quivered as a well-made jelly quiv- 
 ers. His two chins visibly wabbled with appre- 
 hension. 
 
 Gilmore walked to the table and removed the 
 lamp to the mantelpiece. 
 
 " So's yuh won't be tempted to knock it over," 
 he explained, and stepped behind Enright. 
 ' Yuh'll excuse me for takin' yore gun an* the 
 judge's," he continued, with elaborate politeness, 
 removing the weapons. " Yo're so venturesome, 
 you two, yo're liable to do 'most any thin'. There, 
 I guess we can all be happy now, but keep 
 yore hands up. The exercise'll be good for 
 yuh." 
 
 He sidled across the room and seated himself 
 in Judge Trivvy's most comfortable chair. 
 
 " How long yuh been here? " inquired Enright 
 harshly. 
 
 "Me? Oh, I just come. Why?" 
 
 " Nothin'. I was just wonderin'." 
 
 " That's not a criminal offense, but shiftin' 
 round in yore chair thataway is. Keep still, En- 
 right ! Yuh don't suppose there'd be many ques- 
 tions asked if I should drill yuh, do yuh? Judge, 
 make out a warrant for Thomas Johnson. He's 
 
224 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 charged with rustling cattle and inciting to mur- 
 der." 
 
 Enright gaped. His complete change of ex- 
 pression was almost ludicrous. 
 
 " Tom Johnson! " he gasped. " Honest, yuh 
 got him?" 
 
 "Shore!" 
 
 " Where is he? " 
 
 " It's none of yore business, o* course; but see- 
 in' it's you, I'll tell yuh he's safe in the calaboose 
 at the Mark." 
 
 " At the Mark? " 
 
 " Shore! Why the happy laughter? " 
 
 For Enright was laughing heartily ; but in an- 
 other instant he ceased laughing as suddenly as 
 he had begun, and began to curse loudly. To 
 Gilmore's mind, there was a flavor of pretense 
 about those curses. He sensed that the Plain 
 Edge deputy was using them to mask something 
 quite different from the matter in hand, but what 
 that something might be was more than he could 
 fathom. Later he discovered to his intense dis- 
 gust the cause of Enright's mirth. It also ex- 
 plained the tiny quirk at the corner of the judge's 
 mouth as he wrote out the warrant, and the mal- 
 ice in his eyes as he pushed the warrant across the 
 table. 
 
 " I guess the warrant's all right," remarked 
 Gilmore, leisurely folding the document and 
 thrusting it into an inner pocket. " If it ain't, 
 I'll be back, don't worry any about that ! It's al- 
 ways a pleasure to call on folks like you two. But 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 225 
 
 I'm afraid next time I drop in one of yuh'll be 
 missing. Not you, yore honor. We can't spare 
 yuh yet a while, but we can manage without Dep- 
 uty Enright an' not miss a single drink. En- 
 right, yuh hear me talkin' now ! To-night, before 
 twelve o'clock, yuh pull yore freight out o' Glenn 
 County, an' nouiin' '11 happen to yuh so far's I'm 
 concerned. Stay here, an' the next time I see 
 yuh, yuh better come a-shootin', 'cause I 
 will!" 
 
 " Yuh can't drive me out," Enright snarled. 
 
 " I can bury yuh," was the imperturbable 
 reply. 
 
 "Talk's cheap!" 
 
 " So's lead." 
 
 "Say " 
 
 " Shut up ! Listenin' to you is shore the hard- 
 est think I ever did, an' I don't aim to do it no 
 more. Judge Trivvy, my advice to you is, go 
 slow. Yo're an old feller, an' yuh'd ought to have 
 sense enough to see that drinkin' yoreself to death 
 is a heap easier'n goin' to jail. Good night, gents, 
 kindly keep those hands up till I'm out o' the 
 doorway. I wouldn't try to give the alarm too 
 soon, either. There's no tellin' how long I may 
 be watchin' yuh from the window." 
 
 Backing to the door, Gilmore reached behind 
 him with his free hand and pulled the latch. He 
 slipped silently through the doorway, shut the 
 door, and raced toward his horse. His move- 
 ments were so swift that a gentleman crouching 
 at the corner of the house had not even time to 
 
226 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 rise when Gilmore's knee hit him violently in the 
 face and knocked him cold as a wedge. 
 
 Gilmore, of course, fell all asprawl, but he was 
 an agile individual, and was on his feet and in full 
 motion in a breath. 
 
 The collision with the crouching gentleman 
 necessarily entailed some commotion. Hardly 
 was Gilmore on his feet when there were muffled 
 exclamations from the sides and rear of the 
 judge's house. Followed then the thump of run- 
 ning feet other than Gilmore's. That young man 
 tore loose his reins, made a flying leap into the 
 saddle, and was off toward the river. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 JIMMY, hot and anxious, met Gilmore in the 
 spray of his crossing. Together they raced west- 
 ward in the direction of Beardance, swung round 
 the Little Kettle Mountain, and struck out east- 
 ward. Half an hour later they dismounted to 
 listen and change horses. 
 
 " I can't hear nothin'," announced Jimmy. 
 
 " Me either. Guess we must 'a' razzle-dazzled 
 'em. Stand still, you Frosty fellah! Yuh ain't 
 got a kid straddlin' yuh now. It's me, yuh lump 
 o' sin!" 
 
 " I wouldn't want to ride such a sawbuck," as- 
 serted Jimmy. " Why don't yuh feed him some- 
 thin' once in a while? Maybe the shock'd kill him, 
 but yuh might try." 
 
 " Don't yuh fret any 'bout this liT fellah," re- 
 marked Gilmore. " He's a reg'lar hoss, he is, all 
 wool an' two yards wide. Naturally, since yuh've 
 been ridin' that wind-busted accordeen of yores 
 yuh can't appreciate a reg'lar hoss. Yuh will 
 when yo're older!" 
 
 Three miles from Warrior's Mark they passed 
 a dead horse. The animal had been shot through 
 the back of the head, and a ragged furrow scarred 
 his hide from hip to shoulder. 
 
228 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Plugged while he was goin' away," observed 
 Jimmy. 
 
 " Dead more'n a day, too. Look at the way his 
 legs stick up. I'd shore admire to know how his 
 rider found time to take the saddle off." 
 
 " Here's another no saddle, either." 
 
 " Drilled through the chest, this fellah was. 
 Maybe the sport ridin' the other one'd know 
 somethin' about it. An' there's a grave. Ain't 
 been filled up long, either." 
 
 " Guess we'll find out all about it at the 
 
 Say, ain't that a gent a-hangin' on that cotton- 
 wood?" 
 
 When they had come close to the cottonwood 
 they saw that the swinging bundle was indeed a 
 man. Rope knotted under the ear, the body 
 swung slowly round and round in the puffs of the 
 fitful breeze; and the features were those of 
 Thomas Johnson, late manager of the Lazy D 
 ranch. 
 
 " Thunder! " drawled Gilmore. " I had some- 
 thin' I wanted to tell him before that happened. 
 I wonder what was the matter with Doheny ! " 
 
 On reaching Warrior's Mark they rode at once 
 to the jail or, rather, what was left of the jail, 
 for the building had been reduced to a few piles 
 of drifted ashes. Two houses on one side and a 
 store on the other had been partially burned. 
 Doheny stepped out of a saloon and strolled 
 toward them. He wore a bandage round his 
 head. 
 
 " What's happened? " queried Gilmore. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 229 
 
 " A gang o' hold-ups jumped this town early 
 yest'day morning" explained Doheny wrathfully. 
 " They busted in the door o' the calaboose with a 
 log. Then they cavorted off with the prisoners 
 an' set fire to the calaboose. The town came near 
 burnin' up." 
 
 " I notice they stopped to lynch Johnson out- 
 side o' town a ways." 
 
 " That's where we run up on 'em. We got two 
 gents an' a hoss. They played mighty near even 
 by downin' one of our boys, creasin' another, an* 
 lay in' out a hoss." 
 
 " Couldn't yuh tell who they were? " 
 
 " Every last one of 'em wore a hank'chief over 
 his face." 
 
 " I'm bettin' they came from Plain Edge an' 
 Virgin City, too, likely. Have yuh buried the 
 two boys yuh downed? " 
 
 " We buried one where he dropped alongside 
 the trail, but the other didn't die right away, so 
 we packed him back to town. He's here in So- 
 ley's store. Want to see him? " 
 
 " Shore! I might know him." 
 
 The dead man, the upper part of his body 
 swathed in bandages, lay on a table in the back 
 room of the store. The storekeeper was busily 
 sewing flour-sacks into a shroud. 
 
 " O' course," said the storekeeper shame- 
 facedly, " it ain't really necessary, but I wouldn't 
 want to have nothin' at all between me an' the 
 dirt." 
 
 One glance at the silent dead was sufficient for 
 
230 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Gilmore. He remembered well the red hair, the 
 red mustache, the red goatee. 
 
 " Now I know why Plain Edge was so quiet 
 the other night, an' why Enright laughed so 
 hearty," said Gilmore. " This fellah belongs to 
 that outfit. His name's Red Hall. I wonder 
 how many from Virgin City an' the V Up-an'- 
 Down was here with 'em! " 
 
 Doheny nodded comprehendingly. 
 
 " My idea exactly, when I saw how they'd 
 stretched Tom Johnson. You just come from 
 Plain Edge?" 
 
 " Ye P " 
 
 " Funny yuh didn't meet 'em on the trail! " 
 
 " I guess they didn't ride the trail. They must 
 'a' taken the short cut over Packsaddle Moun- 
 tain. Marshal, can yuh tell us where we can get 
 two hosses? Ours are played out." 
 
 " Yuh can have two o' mine. Where yuh 
 goin' the hotel? No, y 'ain't, neither of ye. 
 Yo're a-comin' over to my house. My wife'll be 
 glad to have yuh. It's just about supper-time, 
 too." 
 
 When they had eaten, slept the clock around, 
 and eaten again, they said good-by to the hos- 
 pitable Dohenys, mounted the borrowed horses, 
 and rode off into the northwest. Their des- 
 tination was the flag-station of Sandy River 
 on the B. and R. railroad, two hundred miles 
 away. 
 
 Jimmy asked no questions on the trip, but he 
 thought a great deal. So did Gilmore. He had 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 231 
 
 made a decision, and he did not know what effect 
 it would have upon the heart of Louise Stuart. 
 None the less he meant to follow the lines of that 
 decision, wherever it might lead. 
 
 Sandy River which town consisted simply of 
 a blistered hotel, a blacksmith-shop, two saloons, 
 a few shacks, and the railroad-station and water- 
 tank lay sizzling in its basin among the hills 
 when Gilmore and Jimmy rode in. The two were 
 covered with dust, so were the horses, and all were 
 aching for a drink. 
 
 In the cool shadow of the tank the agent had 
 built a trough to catch the overflow. While the 
 caked horses plunged in their muzzles, the two 
 men drank deep of the drip at the head of the 
 trough. 
 
 " Shore tastes good! " Jimmy breathed ecstat- 
 ically, rolling his eyes. 
 
 " It must," remarked Gilmore. " Yuh sound 
 like yore hoss." 
 
 " So would you, yuh long-legged sponge, if 
 yuh had any teeth," countered Jimmy. " O' 
 course, me bein' young thataway, I can't help 
 bein' noisy when I drink. Howsomever " 
 
 Jimmy raised the brimming tin cup to his lips. 
 Gilmore's hand flashed up and forward, and the 
 water went splashing up into his companion's 
 face. Pnorting and spluttering, the indignant 
 Jimmy scooped out half the contents of the 
 trough in an earnest attempt to deluge Gilmore; 
 but the latter fled to the comparative safety of 
 the station doorway, from which point of vantage 
 
232 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 he twiddled his fingers in that world-old gesture 
 of opprobrium. 
 
 " I'll getcha yet! " bawled Jimmy, and started 
 to mop himself as his friend, laughing, disap- 
 peared within the station. 
 
 " That water's to drink, not to waste," an- 
 nounced a censorious voice at Jimmy's elbow. 
 
 Jimmy looked up quickly, his eyes narrowing. 
 
 " Is it? " he asked of the surly person confront- 
 ing him. "What of it?" 
 
 " It ain't to waste, I said," repeated the other. 
 
 " I know yuh did," agreed Jimmy, laboriously 
 polite. ' Yuh've done said it twice now; an' I'm 
 still askin' yuh, Angel-face, what of it? " 
 
 Jimmy's right hand, swinging low, was close to 
 the butt of his gun. If his tone had been frosty, 
 his eyes were frostier. The surly person hesi- 
 tated. Plainly, he did not know whether to risk 
 it or not. The alert Jimmy awaited develop- 
 ments. The surly man suddenly smiled. It was 
 not a pleasant smile. It was a wolfish smile. 
 
 ;< This town is shore gettin' populous," he re- 
 marked acridly, and, wheeling, walked briskly 
 away. 
 
 "See yuh again, old-timer!" Jimmy called 
 after him. 
 
 But the man did not turn. Jimmy watched till 
 the fellow entered one of the saloons; then he 
 chuckled gently and followed Gilmore into the 
 station. His friend was in the act of handing a 
 telegram to the agent. 
 
 " Rush her," said Gilmore. " I guess I'll take 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 233 
 
 one o' yore envelopes, an' some paper an' some 
 stamps." 
 
 " Help yoreself to the envelopes an* paper," 
 smiled the agent. " They're free, but I ain't got 
 no stamps. Yuh'll have to get them at the store. 
 Here's ink an' a pen an' a blotter all the pleas- 
 ures o' home. This telegram " his eyes skimmed 
 the words " will cost yuh three dollars an' six 
 bits." 
 
 Gilmore dug beneath his chaps and produced 
 the required three dollars and seventy-five cents; 
 after which he retreated with the paper and pen 
 and ink to a table in the corner of the room. 
 
 Jimmy, sitting on a case of canned tomatoes, 
 noted that Gilmore's letter was extremely short. 
 The missive written and slipped into a long en- 
 velope, Gilmore took from the inner pocket of his 
 vest a rectangular document and put it in with 
 the other sheet. Then he unpinned his deputy's 
 star, wrapped it in a piece of paper, and enclosed 
 it with the letter and the document. 
 
 " Come on, Jimmy," he invited, thumping 
 down the moistened flap. " Let's go over to the 
 store and get those stamps." 
 
 The storekeeper weighed the letter and lacon- 
 ically mentioned the requisite amount of postage. 
 When the two men had departed, he stood heft- 
 ing the letter in a calloused paw and staring at 
 the address. 
 
 "I'd shore admire to know," he muttered, 
 " what kind o' business them two chunkers has 
 with the Governor o' this yere Territory ! " 
 
234 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " I've done it," announced Gilmore, as he and 
 Jimmy headed back to the station. " I've re- 
 signed. I thought I could fix things up legally, 
 but I've found out it can't be done not in Glenn 
 County. Now we're a-goin' to see what ordinary 
 folks can do." 
 
 " Vigilantes ! " breathed Jimmy with shining 
 eyes. 
 
 " A fellah might call 'em that, but I guess it 
 don't really matter much about the name. The 
 results ought to be the same. That telegram was 
 a call for a few o' the boys." 
 
 "A few!" 
 
 " Well, twenty-five of 'em, to be exact. I told 
 'em to buy their hosses at Ringwood, thirty mile 
 east o' here, an' wait for us there; but I kind o' 
 guess we'll be on hand to meet 'em." 
 
 Jimmy halted in his tracks. With a wild yell 
 he leaped into the air and cracked his heels to- 
 gether till the spurs rang. Then he shook loose 
 into the atmosphere every load in his gun. 
 
 "Wow! Wow! Wow-w-w-w!" screamed 
 Jimmy. " I'm a long-haired, ring-tailed wolf 
 with forty-four rattles an' a button, an' this here 
 is the greatest day in history! Come on an' 
 licker!" 
 
 So shouting, he propelled Gilmore into the 
 nearest saloon. It happened to be the very sa- 
 loon entered by the surly person a few minutes 
 before. The surly one was still there. In fact, 
 excepting the bartender, he was the only cus- 
 tomer. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 235 
 
 At their entrance he turned, and as quickly 
 turned again to his liquor. Gilmore eyed him 
 idly. He drank off his whisky, hunched his 
 grouchy shoulders, and walked out. 
 
 " Stomach don't seem to rest easy," Gilmore 
 drawled, grinning at the bartender. 
 
 " He's always that way," explained the bar- 
 tender. " I dunno why he should be. Got a 
 good job." 
 
 "Ye-es?" 
 
 " Y'betcha. He's owner o' the Barred O over 
 on Paint Creek." 
 
 " The Barred O don't guess I know that 
 brand," Gilmore said without interest. 
 
 " She's a new one," the bartender rattled on. 
 " Only started up about two year ago." 
 
 " Big ranch? " yawned Gilmore. 
 
 " Not so roarin' enormous. Got maybe six, 
 seven hundred head, Mack has." 
 
 " That his name Mack? " 
 
 " Mack Jim Mack, that's it." 
 
 " What for a outfit has he? How many, I 
 mean?" 
 
 " Three an' himself mostly. Round-up he 
 hires extra, o' course." 
 
 " Shore, he'd have to. Over on Paint Creek, 
 yuh say? Far from here? " 
 
 ' 'Bout twenty mile almost due west, the 
 ranch-house is. Coin* there? " 
 
 " It's all accordin'. Can't ever tell what we're 
 goin' to do. Let's drag it, Jimmy." 
 
 When they were half-way to the tank where 
 
236 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 they had left their horses they looked at each 
 other. 
 
 " I don't want to go back to Warrior's Mark," 
 Jimmy announced in a drawling singsong. 
 
 ' We won't," Gilmore assured him. ' We're 
 a-goin' to stick around Sandy River. It's just 
 possible we might go fishin' in Paint Creek 
 'bout twenty mile due west." 
 
 " Yep, I guess now that'll be the right place. 
 I hear the fishin's real good over there." 
 
 " She'd ought to be." 
 
 " Barred O, Barred O real ingenious, I call 
 it!" 
 
 " Yo're shore whistlin', James. Let me tell 
 you, it's amazin' what miracles can be done with a 
 heavy iron an' a wet blanket. Did that bartender 
 say six or seven hundred head? " 
 
 " He said both. Take yore choice." 
 
 " I'd rather take the cattle." 
 
 Jimmy laughed uproariously, as at the great- 
 est joke in the world. Truly, the humor of the 
 frontier is often more elemental than subtle. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 EARLY the following morning the two friends 
 departed from Sandy River, and noon found 
 them leisurely riding the range of the Barred O. 
 The first cow they sighted bore the brand and 
 was grazing in a draw which seemed providen- 
 tial. Between the screening slopes they roped the 
 cow and threw her. Leaving the horses to hold 
 the animal prostrate and quiescent, they dis- 
 mounted and examined the brand. 
 
 Now it is even simpler to contrive the Barred 
 O out of the Lazy D than it is to alter the Hash 
 Knife into the Lazy H-in-a-Circle. 
 
 " Those experts shore have a gall ! " pro- 
 nounced the exasperated Gilmore. 
 
 " Yo're whistlin'," agreed Jimmy. " But any 
 gents what can turn out work like this shore 
 hadn't ought to 'a' stopped at seven hundred 
 head. It's just as easy to rustle a thousand." 
 
 " Give 'em time. They're young yet. I won- 
 der if they're all Barred O! " 
 
 " We got all the time there is to find out." 
 
 They saw many cows during the afternoon, but 
 all were Barred O. 
 
 They rode back to Sandy River to spend the 
 night, and in the morning were out again on the 
 
238 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Barred O range. This day they rode the eastern 
 part of the range, and soon came upon a 
 cow bogged down in a water-hole. Gilmore 
 pulled out the unfortunate animal. When they 
 had thrown her and scraped the mud from her 
 hip, they found that the brand was the Barred 
 Diamond Eight. They looked at each other. 
 
 " Triangle O," affirmed Gilmore. " Turn her 
 over, an' there y'are." 
 
 " She's just too easy," said Jimmy. " The bar- 
 keep didn't Say nothin' about this brand, though." 
 
 " Maybe he forgot it," suggested Gilmore, 
 freeing the cow. " This seems to be one forgetful 
 country." 
 
 Crack! A rifle spoke thinly from a neighbor- 
 ing hill. Gilmore's horse fell to its knees, then 
 collapsed with a grunt. Gilmore promptly 
 crawled behind him. 
 
 " Get around into that draw, Jimmy quick! " 
 he ordered. 
 
 But Jimmy and his horse had started for it 
 almost at the shot. They reached it safely, al- 
 though three bullets dusted the ground close to 
 the pattering hoofs. Gilmore, behind the body of 
 his horse, had wormed his Winchester out of its 
 scabbard the poor brute was lying on it and 
 was methodically sending shot after shot into the 
 drifting smoke marking the position of the bush- 
 whacking gentleman on the hill. 
 
 The latter was somewhat of a marksman. He 
 planted three bullets in the belly of the dead 
 horse, and once he perforated Gilmore's hat. As 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 239 
 
 the hat jerked Gilmore swore, forjt was a good 
 hat, and had cost him twenty dollars in Santa Fe. 
 He removed his expensive head-covering and 
 tucked it tenderly under the horse's neck. 
 
 Then he raised his head slightly for a sight of 
 the enemy, and a bullet filled his mouth and eyes 
 with sand. This destroyed his usefulness for 
 some minutes. 
 
 " D'he hit yuh? " Jimmy shouted anxiously 
 from the shelter of the draw. 
 
 " Got sand in my eyes an' mouth," explained 
 Gilmore, and swore softly as he almost broke a 
 tooth on a piece of grit. 
 
 " Try keepin' yore mouth shut," gibed Jimmy. 
 " If it's a strain, tie a hankercher round yore jaw, 
 like yuh do for the toothache. Say, that feller 
 can shoot ! " 
 
 ' Whatcha think he can do play the organ in 
 a choir? Hit yuh?" 
 
 " Missed my ear by a flea's hind leg, the pup ! 
 He'll hit somebody yet, if we don't stop him. 
 Git yore field-glasses out, will yuh? " 
 
 " Can't they're too far under the hoss." 
 
 " Well, I can't see him move, but I know where 
 he is. You keep him busy, an' I'll work round 
 behind him." 
 
 "Can yuh?" 
 
 " I dunno, but the ground over this way looks 
 like I could. Maybe I can rustle his hoss, any- 
 way. If I do, I'll sell him to yuh cheap, an' 
 throw in the saddle. Is it hot where you are, 
 Dal?" 
 
240 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 "No, it's colder'n all Hades! Shut up an' 
 vamose ! " 
 
 " In a minute, when I get my rifle loaded. 
 Why don'tcha come over here in the draw, an' 
 wait till I get back with this hold-up's hair an' 
 hoss? It's fine an' shady here under this liT 
 cedar-tree. Come on, she's only a hundred yards, 
 an maybe he won't hit yuh. Run kind o' wriggly 
 like, an' yuh'll have a better chance! " 
 
 "You tomfool!" called the affectionate Gil- 
 more. " Get a move on ! " 
 
 " Startin', deary, startin'. Be good while 
 papa's away, an' don't'stray out o' the yard! " 
 
 Gilmore was devoting himself to the serious 
 business of endeavoring to puncture his hard- 
 shooting opponent without being punctured him- 
 self. 
 
 " Bet that one got him! " he observed half an 
 hour later, when there was no response to his last 
 shot. 
 
 He raised an incautious head. Instantly, on 
 the neighboring hill, mushroomed the familiar 
 smoke-puff. It seemed, too, that a gigantic bee 
 had seized that very moment to sting his right 
 ear. Ducking his head with ludicrous haste, Gil- 
 more raised exploring fingers. He brought them 
 away covered with blood. The tip of his right ear 
 was missing. 
 
 " Which the range is a good seven hundred an' 
 fifty," he remarked, tying his neckerchief round 
 his head, " an' he comes as close to me as that. 
 An' me, I ain't seen him yet. This is disgustin' ! " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 241 
 
 Another bullet scored the swell-fork of his sad- 
 dle. A second drilled his rolled-up slicker 
 through and through. A third bored a cantina. 
 
 " First my hat, then me, then my saddle," 
 mourned Gilmore, squirming to his horse's hind- 
 quarters for another try. " An' she's only two 
 years old, that saddle. Here's luck to Jimmy ! " 
 
 He fired three shots in the direction of the 
 bushwhacker and drew a reply. Then he laid 
 down his rifle and rolled a cigarette. He smoked 
 it slowly, taking care to blow the smoke along the 
 ground. 
 
 Suddenly he seized his Winchester, snicked the 
 rear sight to six hundred yards, and cuddled 
 down. His opponent on the slope of the hill had 
 suddenly jumped into view, and was seeking a 
 lower altitude as fast as he could run. Ragged 
 swirls of smoke at the top of the hill told the 
 story. Jimmy had arrived. 
 
 Gilmore, squinting along the sights, pulled 
 trigger quickly. The fleeing man pitched for- 
 ward on his face, rolled over, and lay still, his 
 booted legs higher than his head. Gilmore scram- 
 bled to his feet, slapped on his hat, and hurried 
 across the flat. Jimmy was standing beside the 
 body when his friend came up. 
 
 " Nick yuh bad? " Jimmy asked with concern, 
 at sight of Gilmore's bandage. 
 
 " Only the tip o' my ear," the other answered, 
 gazing down at the dead face. " It ain't Jim 
 Mack, after all!" 
 
 The dead man looked like any other hard- 
 
242 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 working cowboy, and there was nothing about 
 him to reveal his identity. Jimmy had discov- 
 ered his horse in a hollow behind the hill, so they 
 rolled him in his own saddle-blanket and piled 
 rocks on him to keep the wolves away. 
 
 " One more down," Gilmore remarked without 
 elation, placing the dead man's saddle on top of 
 the little cairn. 
 
 " He won't be the last," said the practical 
 Jimmy. " He shore had a good red hoss. Look 
 at them laigs, will yuh? Bet he rustled him, even 
 though the brand is Barred O. Aw, don't look so 
 gloomersome! He got what was comin' to him." 
 
 " Maybe," hesitated Gilmore, assailed by an 
 uncomfortable thought " maybe he took us for 
 rustlers ! " 
 
 Jimmy stared. 
 
 " Maybe he took us for Mr. an' Mrs. King of 
 England ! " he exclaimed with deep sarcasm. 
 
 " I mean this here Barred O may be all right," 
 detailed Gilmore. " The brand on that cow was 
 all healed up." 
 
 "Aw, say, yuh make me sick!" declared 
 Jimmy, greatly taken aback. " Look at the way 
 that brand was made ! Look at the way the edges 
 came together ! Y'ain't goin' to let 'em get away 
 with it, are yuh? Why, what'sa matter with yuh, 
 Dal? She's just a plain open an' shut case. An' 
 you ain't a deputy no more," he added signifi- 
 cantly. 
 
 " We'll see what turns up," returned Gilmore, 
 whose conscience was beginning to trouble him. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 " I JUDGE she's an even break," sagely ob- 
 served Jimmy, when they were riding eastward. 
 " Tom Johnson rustles cows from the Hash 
 Knife an' V Up-an'-Down, an' they turn round 
 an' rustle 'em from Tom. It's a great game. Got 
 a match, Dal? " 
 
 " An' the makin's, an' can't I hold my hat for 
 yuh while yuh light it? " 
 
 " Yuh could if there was any wind. What yuh 
 goin' to do about that Crowner party? " 
 
 * Why, I'm goin' to go up an' shake hands 
 with him. What yuh s'pose? " 
 
 " I know! " Jimmy nodded gloomily. " Yuh'll 
 give the coyote a chance. I know you, an' that's 
 just what yuh'll do. Here's a plain killer out to 
 beef yuh, an' do you aim to bust him on sight? 
 Not you! I tell yuh flat, Dal, some day yore 
 charitable nature will make yuh sorry a lot, only 
 yuh'll be too dead to know it." 
 
 " Every man does things his own way," replied 
 Gilmore. " But you'd give him a chance yore 
 own self. Yuh know mighty well yuh would." 
 
 "Not with a skunk like that I wouldn't," 
 stoutly defended Jimmy. " I'd drop him any old 
 way was easiest." 
 
244 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Maybe yuh'll have the chance. Anyhow, 
 there's no use thinkin' about Crowner now. We 
 won't see him till we go back Virgin City way." 
 
 " I dunno. Look at the run o' luck we've had. 
 I know them prisoners was turned loose, but 
 Johnson was hung, so yuh play pretty near even 
 on that; an' they missed us on the trail. That's 
 shore somethin'. Now here we cut the trail o' this 
 Mack party by luck pure luck, 'tain't nothin' 
 else. Nothin' else but that brought us to Sandy 
 River. Luck don't hold forever. We're due 
 for a break, I tell yuh. It may be 'most anythin' 
 a busted laig, a rustled hoss, or Crowner." 
 
 " Yo're a cheerful cuss, you are! Yuh always 
 see the silver linin', don't yuh? " 
 
 " You wait. You just wait. You'll see." 
 
 " Yeah, maybe so. But here's more luck, un- 
 less my eyes deceive me. See those cows over 
 yonder by the big rock? Do they limp, or don't 
 they? An' now that we're a little closer, sling 
 yore eyes over the brands. Barred O an' Barred 
 Diamond Eight, ain't they? An' by the fresh- 
 ness o' the burn, they were branded not longer 
 ago than day before yest'day." 
 
 " They're three-year-olds, too," averred 
 Jimmy. 
 
 " That red steer next the white cow is a four- 
 year-old, or I'm Dutch ! " 
 
 " Limpin' an' poor, all of 'em. They've shore 
 been drove hard an' lately. Ain't yuh satisfied 
 now, Dal?" 
 
 " Pretty near." 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 245 
 
 The two did not return to Sandy River, for 
 the red horse in Gilmore's possession might re- 
 quire explaining, and it was Jim Mack's home 
 town. So they made camp in a draw five miles 
 north of the place. 
 
 The evidence against Mack, taking into con- 
 sideration the time and the place, was not fairly 
 conclusive; but Gilmore was a thorough person. 
 In the morning he borrowed Jimmy's horse and 
 rode to town, where he spent the day making ac- 
 quaintances. The latter talked more or less 
 usually less. Even so, Gilmore became pos- 
 sessed of the knowledge that the Barred Dia- 
 mond Eight brand belonged to Mack's foreman, 
 and that the Barred O ranch had started life with 
 twenty cows and eighteen steers. 
 
 " Twenty cows an' eighteen steers ! " cried 
 Jimmy, when he heard the joyful news. * That 
 was two year ago, an' he's got six or seven hun- 
 dred head now! That shore does beat guinea- 
 pigs!" 
 
 The next day Gilmore and Jimmy rode east- 
 ward in the direction of Ringwood. They did 
 not risk entering the town, but, following their 
 plan of campaign at Sandy River, made camp a 
 few miles outside of the place. As before, Gil- 
 more rode in on Jimmy's horse. 
 
 Ringwood, twice as large as Sandy River, 
 boasted five saloons. Gilmore dismounted in 
 front of the Palace. He strode whistling to the 
 deserted bar and called for liquor. His gaze, 
 roving round the room, fell upon a quiet i'ndi- 
 
246 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 vidual sitting in a chair tipped back against a 
 side wall. The quiet individual was Crowner. 
 
 The sight of that hawk-nose and hairless face 
 would, under the circumstances, have been a dis- 
 tinct shock to less rugged nerves than those of 
 Gilmore. But Gilmore's eyes swept calmly on 
 round the room and finally came to rest on the 
 face of the bartender. 
 
 ' Two bits," gruffly announced the latter, mis- 
 taking Gilmore's smile for a sign of weakness. 
 
 " Two bits back in the hills," corrected Gil- 
 more, " but not on the railroad. A dime a throw, 
 huh? " 
 
 The bartender silently swept the proffered 
 dime into the cash-drawer. Gilmore's fingers 
 curved round the glass. His brain was busy pon- 
 dering the question whether Crowner knew him 
 behind the beard. Had the killer left Plain Edge 
 before Enright or the judge had been able to tell 
 him of the whiskers? It would seem so, for 
 Crowner was evincing not the slightest show of 
 interest, or even of animation. 
 
 Gilmore, since taking note of the other's pres- 
 ence, had so maneuvered his body that he could 
 watch him out of the tail of his eye. He con- 
 sumed an inordinate amount of time in swallow- 
 ing his drink. Yet Crowner remained motionless. 
 Gilmore was unable to tell where those black eyes 
 were looking. 
 
 " Have a drink, stranger? " was Gilmore's 
 abrupt invitation, delivered with his most en- 
 gaging grin. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 247 
 
 " Don't care if I do," said Crowner promptly. 
 
 Rising, he sauntered across to the bar. Gil- 
 more treated, Crowner treated, and they had one 
 on the house. Gilmore proposed a game of cards. 
 
 " There's only two of us let's make it draw," 
 Crowner suggested in a flat, uninterested tone. 
 
 Gilmore immediately seated himself behind a 
 table in a corner, where he had a windowless wall 
 at his back and left hand and his view of the door 
 was unobstructed. 
 
 " I don't like to sit with my back to a door," 
 Crowner coldly objected, his eyes fixed on Gil- 
 more's face. 
 
 " All right," said Gilmore, instantly changing 
 his seat. " I don't, either. We'll sit sideways to 
 the door. Nothin' fairer'n that, is they? " 
 
 Crowner grunted and sat down. They cut 
 for deal. Gilmore won. 
 
 Hardly had the first round been dealt when 
 Jimmy entered, looked around, saw Gilmore, 
 turned away his head, and almost galloped to the 
 bar, calling loudly for refreshment. 
 
 Gilmore, playing mechanically, wondered 
 greatly what contingency had arisen to bring 
 Jimmy to town. For Jimmy had been instructed 
 to remain in camp, and Jimmy always obeyed 
 orders except when some emergency dictated 
 otherwise. 
 
 Having gulped his drink, Jimmy sat down on 
 a chair from which he could watch the door, 
 crossed his knees, and hooked his thumbs in his 
 belt ; all with no sign of recognition for Gilmore. 
 
248 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 The latter continued to play and to wonder at 
 Jimmy's actions. Crowner played listlessly. He 
 even scooped in his winnings draggingly. 
 
 Not for a single instant did Gilmore relax his 
 vigilance. When Crowner 's hands, in the exi- 
 gencies of play, moved beltward, Gilmore's fol- 
 lowed suit. At the end of twenty minutes, with 
 Crowner's first hostile move yet to be made, Gil- 
 more concluded that the killer did not know him, 
 and determined to force the issue. 
 
 " Might I ask yore name? " he inquired. 
 
 " You might," Crowner parried, his blank 
 stare telling nothing. 
 
 " I'm askin'," pursued Gilmore, his cards face 
 down on the table, his finger-tips lightly touching 
 the wood. 
 
 " Well, it might be 'most anythin'," countered 
 the unhelpful Crowner. " Was yuh real inter- 
 ested in knowin' ? " 
 
 " Shore." 
 
 " Might yuh be a sheriff or somethin' like 
 that? " Crowner's thumbs were hooked in the 
 armholes of his vest. 
 
 " Yo're shore a hard man to get anythin' out 
 of," Gilmore complained. " I was just askin' so 
 as to help yuh earn some money." 
 
 "Money?" The lean lips curled in a smile. 
 Gilmore nodded. 
 
 " Quite a lot o' money. But yuh'll shore earn 
 it, fellah!" 
 
 " Fellah! " Here was the height of calculated 
 rudeness. Crowner's mouth straightened to a 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 249 
 
 slit. His right shoulder moved -upward ever so 
 little. He silently inspected his fellow player. 
 
 " My name," Gilmore said with a deadly gen- 
 tleness, " is Gilmore Crowner! " 
 
 Crowner did not move a muscle at the an- 
 nouncement. He simply continued to stare. 
 
 " Yuh see, Crowner," explained Gilmore, " I 
 was outside the window listenin' the night En- 
 right an' you an' the judge had yore little confer- 
 ence up in Plain Edge. I'm just tellin' yuh who 
 I am so's yuh could earn the rest of yore 
 wages ! " 
 
 " Now that's what I call bein' polite," Crowner 
 declared smoothly. " I'm grateful to yuh. 
 Them whiskers are shore as deceivin' as a ban- 
 danna over a road-agent's face. I dunno but 
 what I like the bandanna better. Yore impulsive 
 friend there has pulled his gun," he added fret- 
 fully. 
 
 " He won't shoot," Gilmore assured him. 
 " Yuh see, he don't know yuh like I do. Likely 
 he thought yuh weren't worth givin' a chance to. 
 Maybe he's wrong, maybe he's right. Anyhow, 
 it'd pay yuh a whole lot to sort o' keep yore eyes 
 on me instead t)f lookin' to see what my friends 
 are doin'." 
 
 " Don't yuh worry none about me not keepin' 
 my eyes on yuh," said Crowner. " I could tell 
 he pulled his gun 'cause I heard his holster shift- 
 in'. He'd ought to tie it down, like I do mine." 
 
 " He might need to if he was in yore busi- 
 ness," flashed the counter, pat and pithy. " Any- 
 
250 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 how, you an' I are wanderin' off the range. I 
 take it yuh believe in windin' up a business matter 
 prompt an' right away? " 
 
 " The sooner the quicker," agreed Crowner. 
 
 ' Then the rest is easy. We can lay our guns 
 handy on the table, start playin' cards again, an' 
 grab our guns whenever we feel like it; or we 
 can take off our artillery, clamp our left hands 
 together, an' go to carvin' with our knives. If 
 yuh ain't got a bowie, yuh can borrow one some- 
 'eres. Or else yuh can go out in the street with 
 me, walk away a hundred yards, start back, 
 an' set yore gun a-goin' whenever yuh feel like 
 it." 
 
 " I don't care nothin' about that knife busi- 
 ness," Crowner declared with emphasis. " Lay in' 
 our guns on the table, or shootin' it out in the 
 street they both listen well. But while I'm thus 
 walkin' away from yuh in the street, how do I 
 know you or yore friend won't plug me? " 
 
 Gilmore's eyes blazed ; then he smiled. " Yuh' 11 
 have to take my word that yuh won't be plugged. 
 If yo're still worried, yuh can back away the 
 whole hundred yards; then yuh won't have to 
 take yore eyes off me. Which is it in here or 
 out there? " 
 
 " Let's finish our game," suggested Crowner. 
 
 Gilmore nodded. The two watching each other 
 with the keenness of nervous cats, slowly dragged 
 out their six-shooters and laid them on the table 
 within easy reach. 
 
 " Say," exclaimed the bartender, speaking for 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 251 
 
 the first time, " I wish you gents, would go out 
 in the street. I don't like gun-fights in here ! " 
 
 "Shut up!" snapped Jimmy. "This ain't 
 none o' yore battle." 
 
 " I tell yuh " 
 
 " Yuh'll tell me just less'n nothin'. An' don't 
 go reachin' for no sawed-off shotguns, neither. 
 Go right on arrangin' them bottles an' glasses, 
 an' keep yore paws in plain sight! " 
 
 The card-players had paid no attention to the 
 verbal contretemps. The deck was cut, shuffled, 
 and dealt with a tranquil serenity worthy of the 
 best gambling-house in Cheyenne. Seven times 
 the deal changed hands. The soft shuffle of the 
 cards on the table was answered from behind the 
 bar by the scrape and clink of glassware as the 
 bartender complied with Jimmy's orders. 
 
 Gilmore had coldly calculated the chances in 
 this card-and-gun duello, and had concluded that 
 he was running the lesser risk. The longer the 
 game lasted, the greater would be the strain on 
 the players,* and Gilmore knew that his own steel 
 nerves were proof against any tension. He had 
 no knowledge of the state of Crowner's nerves, 
 but he was betting that they were not on a par 
 with his own. His belief was well founded, for 
 Crowner was his elder by a good ten years, and in 
 such a grim game as this the odds are on the 
 younger man. 
 
 Suddenly, on the eighth deal, as Crowner was 
 on the point of picking up his hand, the bartender 
 dropped a bottle. Whether the sharp crash un- 
 
252 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 steadied taut nerves, or whether Crowner judged 
 that the decisive moment had arrived, will never 
 be known. It is history that at the sound of the 
 breaking glass his right hand moved lightning- 
 like toward his gun; but his speed was over- 
 matched by an uncannier, swifter legerdemain. 
 His fingers had barely touched the butt of his six- 
 shooter when he sighed deeply and fell forward 
 across the table with a round, blue-bordered hole 
 in the middle of his forehead. 
 
 Gilmore flipped up his smoking revolver and 
 ejected the empty shell. Unhurriedly he drew a 
 cartridge from his belt and inserted it in the 
 empty chamber. He slid the gun into its holster 
 and rose to his feet. 
 
 " Come on, Dal," urged Jimmy, already at the 
 door. 
 
 " Say, y'ain't goin' to leave that remainder 
 here for me to bury, are yuh? " tremulously re- 
 monstrated the bartender. 
 
 " He's got money," said Gilmore, jerking his 
 thumb at the dead man, whose face lay among the 
 scattered cards. " An' he hasn't any heirs least- 
 wise, what money he's got sort o' belongs to me 
 in a way. I don't want it. It'll pay for his 
 buryin', easy, an' yuh can have what's left." 
 
 Gilmore passed out of the barroom in Jimmy's 
 wake. Under the eyes of the curious they walked 
 along the street, Gilmore leading his horse. 
 
 " We got to drift," were Jimmy's first words. 
 
 " Why? " 
 
 " That blame red cayuse. I'm settin' there on 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 253 
 
 my blanket rollin' a pill, a little while after you 
 left, when a long sharp on a short hoss sifted into 
 camp. ' Howdy/ says he, an' borries matches. 
 Out o' the side of his eye I can see he's takin' in 
 the red hoss an' the Barred O brand. Now he 
 come into camp from the west an' he rode out to 
 the east all right, but that look in his eye was 
 funny; so I clumb up on that little hill south o' 
 camp an' watches the jigger. Shore 'miff, he 
 fetches a half-circle round camp an' drags it west- 
 'ard like he had a sick wife or somethin'. By the 
 way he was streakin' it, he'd ought to be in Sandy 
 River pronto" 
 
 " Where'd yuh leave the hoss? " 
 
 " I tied him to a post behind that corral at the 
 near end o' town. He's pretty dusty, anyway, 
 an' I muddied up the brand at the ford, so I 
 guess there ain't no chance o' his bein' recognized 
 unless somebody knows him real well." 
 
 " You better wiggle along back to yore hoss 
 while I buy some grub." 
 
 " Get some makin's an' chawin' too. I'm near 
 out, an' we'll be dodgin' a posse now for a week 
 or ten days till the boys get here." 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 FOR three days Gilmore and Jimmy pushed 
 their horses to the limit of the animals' endurance. 
 They rode in the water, they rode on rocky 
 ground, they doubled on their tracks, they swam 
 the wide Belleflamme nothing was left to 
 chance. 
 
 " I guess we're safe for a spell," observed Gil- 
 more on the morning of the fourth day. 
 
 " We'd ought to be," said Jimmy. " We're a 
 hundred and fifty mile north o' Ringwood, an' 
 we've made a heap o' trail two hundred mile, 
 anyway." 
 
 So that day they rested themselves and their 
 horses on the edge of a wooded plateau, and the 
 following morning Gilmore awoke to see a band 
 of twelve riders in the valley below. The horse- 
 men had halted and appeared to be debating. 
 They were barely a mile distant. 
 
 Gilmore and Jimmy did not remain for break- 
 fast. They flung the saddles on their horses and 
 crossed the wooded plateau at a gallop. Again 
 they were compelled to twist and dodge and have 
 recourse to the water and the hard ground. 
 
 Once, while passing through a canon, they 
 were fired at from the top of the cliffs. The hid- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 255 
 
 den marksman emptied his magazine, but shoot- 
 ing downward makes for overshooting, and all the 
 shots went high. Other rifles took up the tale be- 
 fore the two fugitives could get out of range, 
 but fortunately the marksmanship did not im- 
 prove. 
 
 Luck continued to be with Gilmore and 
 Jimmy. To reach the floor of the canon the pur- 
 suers were compelled to make a fifteen-mile de- 
 tour. By the time they had covered the fifteen 
 miles, the pursued were well on their way else- 
 where and still going at a good gait. 
 
 It is not necessary to recount how^ Gilmore 
 and Jimmy spent the ensuing ten days. Let it 
 suffice to say that they rode hard, slept little, and 
 ate less. They covered a deal of broken country, 
 and saw no further signs of their trailers. On 
 the eleventh day they swung southward, and 
 early one morning, two weeks after their hasty 
 departure, they rode into Ringwood. Their ac- 
 tion was not so bold as it appeared, for they had 
 reconnoitered the town during the previous night 
 and found that which they sought. 
 
 A lanky young cow-puncher standing in the 
 hotel doorway squinted his eyes at the two ap- 
 proaching riders. 
 
 "Here they come, boys!" he flung over his 
 shoulder in a delighted tone, &nd stepped out into 
 the street with a loud yell of welcome. 
 
 From the hotel poured twenty-four cow-men. 
 They were of all ages, all sizes, and, judging by 
 their bellowings, in excellent spirits. 
 
256 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " They're shore a great crowd," observed Gil- 
 more to Jimmy. 
 
 "Ain't they, huh? Look at Big Art, all 
 dressed up like King Solomon's pet pony, an' 
 Dakota he's wearin' two guns. Hello, Dakota, 
 when djuh get here? " 
 
 " Oh, we been here a month," came the reply 
 from the sidewalk. " I'd 'a' married an' settled 
 down if you fellers hadn't pulled in to-day." 
 
 " Yep," bawled Big Art, " Dakota has the gal 
 all picked out. Fine-lookin' lady she is. She 
 don't weigh an ounce more'n three hundred, an' 
 yuh'd never know she was Injun in the dark! " 
 
 Dakota was immediately thumped by every 
 one able to reach him. 
 
 "Quit it, can'tcha?" shouted Dakota. "Lemme 
 alone, or I'll shore step on somebody's face with 
 both feet!" 
 
 At this juncture the town marshal, followed 
 by three set-featured citizens, was crossing the 
 street in the direction of Gilmore and Jimmy. 
 The latter, who had dismounted, promptly slipped 
 behind their horses. The twenty-five cow- 
 punchers, sensing the unusual, lined up along the 
 sidewalk. The marshal and his retainers halted 
 in the middle of the street. Their hands were 
 held well away from their gun-butts. 
 
 " Yuh seem to h'-^e found friends," the mar- 
 shal said harshly; "but lemme tell you two gents, 
 it won't do yuh a bit o' good. Nobody can run 
 any blazers in this town an' get away with it. 
 Where djuh get that boss? " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 257 
 
 "Which one?" Gilmore drawled in a gentle 
 tone. 
 
 " The Barred O cayuse." 
 
 "Oh, shore, the Barred O! That would be 
 the one yuh'd want to know about, wouldn't it? 
 Well, I'll tell yuh I got that boss from a rustler 
 down on the Barred O range. He shot my pony, 
 the rustler did, so I downed him,, and took his 
 boss. Yuh can't ask for nothin' fairer'n that, 
 can yuh? " 
 
 The marshal blinked. The situation was un- 
 usual, and he seemed to find it difficult to collect 
 his wits. 
 
 " Do yuh admit killin' the puncher? " he 
 blurted finally. 
 
 " Rustler, fellah, rustler," was the soft-voiced 
 correction. " Just one o' the rustlers o' the 
 Barred O ranch, that's all. We're a-goin' up 
 there now, my friends here an' I yeah, all those 
 fellahs yuh see on the sidewalk an' we're a-goin' 
 to ask Mr. Jim Mack a few questions. Then 
 we're a-goin' to stretch Jim Mack an' his men. 
 Yuh see, those Barred O cows were all rustled 
 from the Lazy D, over beyond the War Ax. If 
 you prairie-dogs weren't blind as bats, yuh'd 
 'a' seen it. Djever see the Barred O brand on a 
 cow? 'Tain't any thin' like the brand on this here 
 cayuse. This boss brand is cle ar enough, but the 
 cow brand is rough-lookin', 3? a little flat on the 
 sides, an' about twice as big as it ought to be. 
 Two year ago Jim Mack started the Barred O 
 with twenty cows an' eighteen steers, an' now 
 
258 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 he's got six or seven hundred head. There's an 
 increase for yuh that'll stand lookin' into; an* 
 we're a-goin' to do it, an' nobody's goin' to stop 
 us, either! " 
 
 " Who are yuh, friend? " demanded the 
 marshal. 
 
 " Dal Gilmore, an' my main business in life is 
 the ropin' of rustlin', so now yuh know. Better 
 not start anythin', marshal! There's twenty- 
 seven of us here, an' even if the whole town chips 
 in it won't help you an' yore three friends any. 
 But I'm always willin' to help folks out. If you 
 ain't satisfied, marshal, s'pose you trail along 
 with us when we go after Mack, an' find out for 
 yoreself. We're a-goin' this mornin'. Take as 
 many friends as yuh like we don't care." 
 
 * You needn't go after Jim Mack he's right 
 here in town," the marshal announced with a grim 
 smile. " He's down at the other hotel, him an' 
 two of his men. I sent a man for him just as 
 soon as I seen you fellers." 
 
 Gilmore's gun was out in a flash. 
 
 ' 'Nds up ! " he snapped. " Not a move out 
 o' yuh! You sport with the black hair, don't try 
 to slide over behind the marshal ! That's it, stay 
 right in sight. Yuh say Jim Mack an' two of his 
 men are here. Where's the rest of the posse? " 
 
 " The other nine went back to Sandy River 
 last night," was the sulky reply. 
 
 " Oh, they did, huh? All right, we're a-goin' 
 down to the hotel to see Jim Mack, an' yo're 
 a-goin' with us in front ! " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 259 
 
 But when they had surrounded the hotel, and 
 Gilmore and Jimmy and a few others had entered 
 and searched the building, they were reluctantly 
 forced to believe the landlord's statement that 
 Mack and his two men, after viewing through a 
 window the enthusiastic reception accorded Gil- 
 more and Jimmy in front of the other hotel, had 
 hastily departed corralward by way of the back 
 door. 
 
 "An' the way they lit out o' that corral wasn't 
 a bit slow," the landlord said in conclusion. 
 
 * We're gonna trail those gents," Gilmore told 
 the marshal, " an' I don't care whether yuh like 
 it or not. They got away 'cause I spent too 
 much time explainin' things to you. Now do we 
 go peaceable, an' will yuh give me yore word not 
 to bother us? " 
 
 " Yuh've done held me up " began the 
 
 marshal. 
 
 " Yo're lucky to be able to say so," drawled 
 Gilmore. " What's the answer? " 
 
 " They's somethin' funny about all this here," 
 grumbled the marshal. 
 
 He and his three companions had been relieved 
 of their guns, and their tempers were ruffled in 
 consequence. To make matters worse, the whole 
 town was looking on. 
 
 * Yuh can just bet there is," Gilmore agreed, 
 " but yo're too dumb to see it. Quick now 
 speak up ! " 
 
 The marshal gave a surly promise for the good 
 behavior of himself and the town, and the six- 
 
260 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 shooters were returned. Inside of fifteen 
 minutes the twenty-seven were riding out of 
 Ringwood on the trail of Jim Mack and his two 
 companions which trail led them westward. 
 
 They rode without a word, as befitted men 
 about to visit vengeance on the evil-doer. They 
 also rode in a manner calculated to ease their 
 mounts as much as possible. Where the trail of 
 the three forded a small stream, they halted to 
 water the horses. Gilmore eyed the opposite 
 bank, its shelving slope marred by deeply cut 
 hoof -marks. 
 
 "They ain't far ahead of us," Jimmy remarked. 
 
 '* They're close," asserted Gilmore, splashing 
 across and leaning down from his saddle. 
 " Here's one mark just fillin' up with water." 
 
 This bit of information set the posse in instant 
 motion. Within the hour they sighted the fugi- 
 tives a mile ahead. The three must have been 
 riding chin on shoulder, for they immediately 
 separated and galloped in different directions. 
 
 " We'll keep after the middle one! " Gilmore 
 shouted above the rolling thunder of the 
 hoofs. 
 
 They kept after the middle one tight after 
 him. By the time the scattered buildings of 
 Sandy River came in sight, the range had been 
 reduced to four hundred yards, and the pursued 
 was turning about in the saddle and firing rear- 
 ward with a rifle. Good marksmanship under 
 such conditions is impossible. Gilmore, Jimmy, 
 Big Art, and Dakota bent low over their saddle- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 261 
 
 horns and encouraged their weary ponies with 
 quirt and spur. 
 
 These four men, owing to the superior quality 
 of their horse-flesh, were far ahead of the other 
 members of the posse, who were strung along the 
 back trail at all distances up to five miles. 
 
 " If he gets in among the houses, it'll be a hard 
 job to pry him out!" yelled Gilmore. "Pull 
 wide o' me ! I'm a-goin' to try a shot ! " 
 
 Gilmore drew out the Winchester from under 
 his right leg and dragged his horse back on its 
 haunches. He swung from the back of the 
 sliding, stiff-legged brute, ran forward a few 
 steps to get out of the dust, and dropped on one 
 knee. The rifle cracked. At the report the 
 fugitive's horse collapsed in the middle of a leap. 
 The animal fairly stood on its head, flinging the 
 rider a good twenty feet before crashing over on 
 its back. 
 
 Gilmore caught up his reins, mounted, and 
 galloped to where Jimmy, Big Art, and Dakota 
 were already grouped round the fallen man. 
 
 " Head hit kind o' hard," observed Big Art. 
 " Outside o' that, he's good as new." 
 
 ' It's Mack, Dal," Jimmy said quietly. 
 
 Gilmore nodded with satisfaction. " I was 
 thinkin' he might be the one in the middle! " 
 
 They all dismounted and squatted down on 
 their heels to await the unconscious man's re- 
 covery of his senses. The sweating, dust- 
 streaked horses stood with drooping heads. 
 They had a right to be tired. The thirty miles 
 
262 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 between Ringwood and Sandy River had been 
 covered in better than three hours. 
 
 " Here comes Long Jack an' the Kid," re- 
 marked Gilmore, squinting along the back trail 
 at two madly quirting horsemen. 
 
 Long Jack, a snub-nosed puncher, and the 
 Kid, a youngster of eighteen, rode up as Mack 
 opened his eyes. 
 
 " No use feelin' for yore gun," drawled Gil- 
 more. * Y' ain't got it." 
 
 Mack made a sound deep in his throat. His 
 eyes shifted. 
 
 ' Fellah," went on Gilmore dispassionately, 
 " yo're caught. Yo're due to be stretched, like 
 any other rustler; but I know yuh ain't alone in 
 this deal. Tell me who's behind yuh, an' yo're 
 free to hop the next freight." 
 
 "Yuh got me all right. Hang an' be damned!" 
 The words were brave enough, but the voice was 
 not quite steady. 
 
 " Yuh see," drawled Gilmore, " yore friends 
 have deserted yuh. To save their skins they'll 
 put it all on you. They will, certain shore, when 
 they know yo're too dead to mind it. But yuh 
 don't have to die, Mack. No, sir, yuh can 
 scamper aboard the next freight, just like I say, 
 an' away yuh'll go free an' foot-loose. O' course 
 yuh can't ever come back, but I guess yuh won't 
 want to. There's nothin' funny about bein' 
 stretched, Mack. It hurts some, an' it hurts 
 worse if the knot slips. Yuh've seen men hung, 
 I take it. 'Member how they kicked? " 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 263 
 
 Evidently Mack had seen the supreme punish- 
 ment administered, for he squirmed. The mus- 
 cles in his cheeks bulged. He was gritting his 
 teeth in a tremendous effort to keep his nerve 
 and his counsel. 
 
 " Sometimes it takes as much as five minutes 
 for a man to cash," the inexorable voice con- 
 tinued. "An' sometimes he gets his hands loose 
 an' grabs the rope over his head, an' yuh've got to 
 do the business all over again. It ain't pleasant. 
 Are yuh goin' to make it hard for us, Mack? 
 Are yuh? " 
 
 Mack dragged himself to a sitting position. 
 His hands were trembling. His eyes refused to 
 meet squarely the eyes of his captors. 
 
 ' Yuh ain't got no evidence," he whispered 
 with dry lips. 
 
 " No? Long Jack, yore rope looks to be 
 nearly new. Unstrap her, will yuh? One o' 
 those cottonwoods down by the river'll do, I 
 guess. Come on, Mack get on yore feet! " 
 
 Mack jerked his shoulder to shake off the hand 
 laid upon it. 
 
 " I'll tell yuh," he breathed hoarsely. " Yuh'll 
 give me yore word to let me go, won't yuh? " 
 
 1 Yuh have it," Gilmore replied simply. 
 
 " Jack Shaw, of the V Up-an'-Down, is the 
 boss of this show," said Mack. " 'Twas him an' 
 his men rustled the cows from the Lazy D an' 
 Triangle O an' drifted 'em north to us." 
 
 * Where'd yuh rebrand 'em? " 
 
 " We didn't rebrand 'em at all not here, that 
 
264 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 is. Jack Shaw's boys 'd do it right after they 
 rustled 'em. By the time the cows 'd get to me 
 the brands 'd be 'most healed up." 
 
 " We found some a while ago that weren't 
 healed .up. They were Barred O an' Barred 
 Diamond Eight eight of 'em, steers an' cows." 
 
 " I shore forgot them. They was overlooked 
 by the V Up-an'-Downers, an' we had to brand 
 'em ourselves. I was kind o' scared somebody'd 
 notice it, an' I was a'most minded to kill 'em for 
 beef. Wishtlhad!" 
 
 Mack's thin upper lip lifted in a sneer. Under 
 the promise of immunity his fear was disappear- 
 ing and his habitual sulky surliness was taking 
 its place. 
 
 " Yo're shore nobody but the V Up-an'-Down 
 outfit was in this rustlin' from the Lazy D? " 
 
 " I'd ought to be shore. I tell yuh nobody 
 but my outfit an' the V Up-an'-Down are in on 
 this deal here. O' course old Alec Stuart done 
 some brand-blottin' on the Lazy D cows, but he 
 kept all he rustled on his own range. Aw, what's 
 the difference? Every ranch in Glenn County 
 is rustlin' from the next one. It's a fair enough 
 game. The losers are the boys who get beefed, 
 an' they're paid for that, so there y' are! " 
 
 " I reckon yore usefulness here is about over," 
 snapped Gilmore. " Get up ! " 
 
 " Say, yuh promised yuh wouldn't hang me! " 
 Mack cried in alarm. 
 
 " No more we will, yuh poor fool," was the re- 
 assuring answer. " We're a-goin' to take yuh to 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 265 
 
 the railroad-station an' see yuh off on the next 
 freight." 
 
 Passing through Sandy River they were met 
 by the other members of the marshal's posse, who 
 had ridden homeward the night before. These 
 men were citizens of Sandy River, and, while not 
 openly hostile, it was obvious that they were 
 grimly determined to arrive at the true inward- 
 ness of matters. 
 
 When Gilmore had explained the affair, and 
 Mack had brazenly corroborated his statement, 
 the Sandy River men called loudly for the rope. 
 They had been fooled; badly fooled, and the 
 lynching of Mack would at least partly restore 
 their self-respect. Gilmore, however, explained 
 quite frankly that Mack was to take the next 
 train, and that any attempt at violence would 
 meet with disaster. 
 
 ;< I gave him my word," he told his hearers. 
 * Yuh can easy see how it is." 
 
 They saw, and their spirits fell accordingly, 
 but they brightened again when a thoughtful 
 soul among them suggested that they might ride 
 out to the Barred O and call upon the solitary 
 puncher left in charge. 
 
 ' That's a good idea," said Gilmore. " If one 
 or two o' yuh could sort o' look after the Barred O 
 till this cat-hop's settled, we'd take it kindly." 
 
 They assured him earnestly that they would, 
 these whole-souled Sandy River citizens, and 
 hastened to the corrals. Gilmore and his men 
 went on to the station. 
 
266 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 An hour later a west-bound freight, pulling 
 in, had not clanked to a stop before Jim Mack 
 was hastily scrambling up the caboose steps. 
 
 "An* that's the last o' him! " observed Jimmy 
 cheerfully, as the long train drew away from the 
 station. 
 
 " It is for us," Gilmore returned without ex- 
 ultation. "Let's be movin', boys. As it is, I 
 dunno but what those two rustlers'll get to Plain 
 Edge ahead of us." 
 
 Gilmore was now in a fair way to accomplish 
 his mission, but the knowledge did not bring con- 
 tentment. He did not see how, in all fairness to 
 the other rustlers, the shooting or hanging of 
 Alec Stuart and his six sons could well be 
 avoided; and Louise Stuart could not be expected 
 to view with equanimity either their elimination 
 or their eliminator. 
 
 Yet Gilmore was not in the least disposed to 
 turn back. He had started the business, and of 
 necessity he must see it through. His creed 
 would allow of no other procedure. His heart 
 was very sore as he and his men journeyed to 
 Plain Edge. Truly, there are times when the 
 way of the reformer rivals in rocky hardness that 
 of the transgressor. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THEY struck the trail from Warrior's Mark 
 to Plain Edge half-way between the two towns, 
 and turned into it. Within ten miles of Plain 
 Edge they met the Fort Henderson ambulance 
 up to its wagon-box in the quicksand of Tom's 
 Creek. 
 
 " Yuh'd ought to 'a' hung to the ford," called 
 Gilmore, and unstrapped his rope. 
 
 " The dam' mules ran away," was the driver's 
 sufficient explanation. 
 
 With five ropes to a wheel, and seven on the 
 tongue, the ambulance squashed out of the quick- 
 sand and lurched up on dry ground. 
 
 " We're shore obliged to yuh," the driver said, 
 on behalf of himself and the two dripping and 
 muddied troopers. " Goin' to the trial? " 
 
 "What trial?" Gilmore inquired, and picked 
 up his reins. 
 
 " Why, the trial o' Smoky Nivette, in Plain 
 Edge. We'd 'a' stayed, only we had to get back 
 quick an' right away with the colonel's express 
 packages. Great man for express packages, the 
 colonel is, an' he's always fuller'n a goat the next 
 day. I dunno " 
 
268 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Djuh say Smoky Nivette was bein' tried in 
 Plain Edge? " interrupted Gilmore, the others 
 crowding closer. 
 
 " Shore, for the murder o' Red Hall. It's a 
 shame, too. He didn't kill Hall no more'n I did. 
 Red was dropped in a fair fight; but them 
 V Up-an'-Downers an' the Hash Knife, they 
 kind o' make the law up thisaway." 
 
 "Are both outfits in town? " The calm tone 
 was no gauge of Gilmore' s seething anger. 
 
 " Shore, they're both in town, 'ceptin' Stuart 
 an' his boys." 
 
 Gilmore did not grasp the full significance of 
 the latter part of the sentence, for his brain was 
 busy with the possibilities embodied in the first 
 part of it. Waving his men to follow, he spurred 
 into the water. On the opposite bank he checked 
 his horse. 
 
 " Boys, she's come to a show-down quicker'n 
 I thought," he said to the eager-faced crowd sur- 
 rounding him. " One o' my friends, if that mule- 
 skinner told the truth, is due to be lynched. I 
 dunno the rights of it, but I know Nivette. If 
 he killed anybody, it was because he was crowded, 
 an' the other fellah got an even break all right. 
 Anyhow, he didn't down Hall. We've got to 
 stop this lynchin'. Seein' that the V Up-an'- 
 Down's in town, it'll be a large order. It's just 
 possible somebody else might like to help fill it. 
 Jimmy, s'pose you an' the Kid drag it for the 
 Mark, an' tell Doheny an' the rest o' the bunch 
 what the driver told us. Tell him right now 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 269 
 
 ought to be as good a time as any for them to 
 play even for gettin' their jail burned." 
 
 " Send Big Art an' the Kid," Jimmy pro- 
 tested. " I don't want to go to the Mark." 
 
 " Oh, shore, send me ! " bawled the indignant 
 Kid. " Just 'cause I ain't as old as the rest o' 
 you gran'pops, yuh think I got to do all the dirty 
 work, an' let the rest o' yuh have all the fun. 
 Send " 
 
 " Shut up ! " ordered Gilmore. " You prairie- 
 dogs don't seem to realize that while yo're belly- 
 achin' round Smoky Nivette is liable to swing. 
 Jimmy, you an' the Kid do as I say. A mile east 
 
 yuh'll come to a dry wash Here, anybody 
 
 got a pencil an' a piece o' paper? Old envelope's 
 all right. That's it! Crowd over here, Jimmy, 
 an' I'll explain this short cut over Packsaddle 
 Mountain while I'm drawin' a map for yuh." 
 
 Five minutes later Jimmy and the lid were 
 heading toward Warrior's Mark, while the others 
 were riding hard in the opposite direction. 
 
 " They'll shore hurry," observed Dakota, 
 spurring up beside his chief. 
 
 " Y'betcha," replied Gilmore. "An' yuh can 
 gamble that Mark outfit'll come back with 'em." 
 
 The long hitching-rail in front of the log-and- 
 frame court-house in Plain Edge held a kaleido- 
 scopic double fringe of switching, stamping cow- 
 ponies. These nervous brutes were the only 
 visible signs of life when Gilmore and his men 
 rode in. Dismounting in the rear of Shorty 
 
270 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Damman's hotel, they tied their mounts to the 
 corral stockade and proceeded on foot to the 
 court-house, within which building, to judge by 
 the babel of voices, a hot argument was in 
 progress. 
 
 Gilmore jerked out his gun and walked briskly 
 through the doorway, his men crowding at his 
 heels. As by magic the clamor hushed. Every 
 face was turned toward Gilmore. In the dead 
 silence the inadvertent scrape of a boot-sole 
 jarred intolerably. 
 
 Smiling his fixed, peculiar smile, Gilmore 
 gazed round the court-room. He noted the 
 position of Jack Shaw and Slim Dennison, who 
 sat side by side close to the jury-box. He saw 
 that Shorty Damman and several of his friends, 
 all heavily armed, were sitting on the bench 
 nearest the handcuffed half-breed. Gilmore's 
 smile became more fixed, and, if anything, a 
 trifle more peculiar. 
 
 " Howdy, Smoky? " he drawled, when the 
 silence had become almost unbearable. * Were 
 you needin' any help? " 
 
 " Not now, by gar! " grinned Smoky. 
 
 The blear-eyed, trembling judge cleared his 
 throat. He beckoned to two men wearing 
 deputies' stars. 
 
 " Clear the court-room!" said Judge Trivvy. 
 
 The two looked at Gilmore and his twenty- 
 four men, now occupying strategic positions 
 along the wall. The deputies did not move to 
 obey the judge's order. Gilmore laughed. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 271 
 
 " I guess, yore honor," he remarked, " this 
 court will stay the way she is. An' Mr. Shaw 
 an* Mr. Dennison will stay the way they are. 
 An' so will their outfit. Quit it, you fellah in the 
 red shirt ! It ain't necessary for yuh to get up. 
 If yo're thirsty, yuh can wait till the session's 
 over with. Try an' sit still. Remember, this is 
 goin' to be strictly legal. I ain't a deputy any 
 more, so there's nothin' official about this mornin' 
 call. We're here as visitors, nothin' more'n that, 
 but I can't say what'll happen if any misguided 
 sport goes after his hardware. I mean you,, 
 Shaw, an' you, Slim! You two will be downed 
 first pop, to say nothin' o' quite a jag o' fellahs 
 sittin' on these back benches. Shore, I know 
 there's forty or fifty o' yuh, corral count, an' yuh 
 may rub us out in the end, but there won't be 
 many o' yuh left alive to celebrate! " 
 
 At this point a woman who had been sitting 
 on one of the front benches rose and rushed up 
 the aisle. It was Mrs. Kyle. 
 
 " Don't let them hang him! " she cried, clutch- 
 ing Gilmore's sleeve. " They wouldn't take my 
 testimony. I came here to tell them that Smoky 
 Nivette was in Virgin City the time Red Hall 
 was killed. Anyway, everybody knows Hall was 
 killed in the fight at the Mark. The charge 
 against Smoky is perfectly ridiculous. They 
 want to hang him, that's all! They wouldn't 
 even listen to Mr. Damman." 
 
 " Don't you fret," comforted Gilmore, patting 
 her on the shoulder. " There's goin' to be a 
 
272 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 whole heap o' listenin' done from now on. You 
 better go back to yore seat now. Yore honor, 
 the jury has not gone out. Yuh haven't charged 
 'eni yet, have yuh? " 
 
 Judge Trivvy was unable to articulate, but he 
 managed to answer with a shake of the head. 
 
 " I'm glad o' that," Gilmore said gravely. 
 " S'pose we all listen to what Mr. Damman has 
 to say, if the district attorney has no objection." 
 
 The red-nosed district attorney had no objec- 
 tion. At any rate he uttered none, for he seemed 
 to be as fear-stricken as the judge. 
 
 Shorty Damman got on his feet. In the 
 hollow of his right arm he held a double-barreled 
 sawed-off Greener. 
 
 " I want to say," declared the wispy one, slid- 
 ing his chew into the corner of his cheek, " I want 
 to say what I been try in' to say all mornin'. I 
 know Smoky didn't shoot Red Hall, an' nobody 
 knows it any better'n that crowd that went to the 
 Mark an' burned the calaboose. Yuh might as 
 well accuse Smoky o' downin' Abe Lincoln, an' 
 be done with it. This here is a short-card game, 
 an' you fellers know mighty well it is. An' I 
 want to say right now what I've said before 
 that me an' my friends come here this mornin' to 
 see justice done, an' we're a-goin' to see it done, 
 or this session o' the Glenn County court will 
 wind up in the smoke! " 
 
 " Hooray! " incautiously bawled Big Art, and 
 immediately, with great presence of mind, or- 
 dered Dakota to keep quiet. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 273 
 
 Gilmore stilled the momentary ^ flurry among 
 his followers, and turned to the judge. 
 
 " Yore honor an' the jury," he drawled, 
 " yuh've heard what Mr. Damman had to say. 
 S'pose we listen to the testimony o' Mrs. Kyle. 
 I know yuh've all heard it once, but maybe yuh 
 weren't listenin' real hard the first time. Gettin' 
 nervous, Dennison? Yore friend, Tim Simms, 
 knows what happens to nervous folks. Has the 
 end o' his thumb grown back on again? All 
 right, Mr. Attorney, call the witness when yo're 
 ready. What? There ain't any lawyer for the 
 defendant? This don't look legal a little bit! 
 Yore honor, yuh've overlooked a bet. I'd ap- 
 point a lawyer, if I were you." 
 
 The judge rose to the occasion sufficiently to 
 assign a lawyer to the accused. The designated 
 counsel, who hated the district attorney, promptly 
 called his witness. Mrs. Kyle testified in a clear 
 voice that on the day Red Hall was shot Smoky 
 Nivette spent the time from 6: 30 p. M to 1 A. M. 
 playing cards in her saloon. At the conclusion of 
 Mrs. Kyle's testimony the defense rested its case. 
 
 The district attorney and Judge Triwy were 
 at their wit's end. The looks that Shaw and 
 Dennison bent upon them were shriveling their 
 lickspittle souls. Nor did they find inspiration 
 in Gilmore's set smile. They feared for their 
 currish lives, these two men of law; and they had 
 reason. 
 
 " Speak up, Mr. District Attorney," urged 
 Gilmore. " The jury's gettin' tired waitin'." 
 
274 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 The jury, composed wholly of V Up-and- 
 Down adherents, did not look in the least weary. 
 On the contrary, its twelve members appeared as 
 alert as so many weasels. This may have been 
 due to the fact that the jury-box was so situated 
 that, should hostilities occur, the bullets missing 
 Shaw and Dennison would inevitably find lodg- 
 ment among the jurors. 
 
 The district attorney stood up. He swayed 
 on his feet, striving manfully to speak, but he 
 was past speech. He could only guggle. He 
 sat down. 
 
 " There, now, that's what I call a right sensible 
 oration!" Gilmore declared admiringly. "He 
 didn't say a word too much not a word. Yore 
 honor, ain't it about time to charge the jury? 
 Shaw, sit still! " 
 
 * This this is coercion!" bleated Judge 
 Trivvy. 
 
 " Don't mind 'em," warmly advised Gilmore. 
 
 ' We're here to see fair play, old-timer ; so you 
 
 go ahead an' do the right thing, an' they will, an' 
 
 we will. What more do yuh want? Fly at 
 
 it!" 
 
 Wretched Judge Trivvy, fear clutching his 
 nut-gall of a heart, charged the jury in a voice 
 so low and wavering that Gilmore was compelled 
 more than once to request him to speak louder. 
 Gilmore found no fault with the charge. It was 
 eminently fair-minded. But when the jury rose 
 to file out for their deliberations Gilmore offered 
 decided objection. He did not trust those jurors. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 275 
 
 They appeared to be capable of almost any act 
 of treachery. 
 
 " But a jury al'ays wrastles it out in private," 
 protested the foreman. 
 
 " Yuh can be as private as yuh like behind that 
 rail," Gilmore informed him. " Lemme tell yuh 
 plain, fellah, what I said to the spectators goes 
 for the jury. No gent leaves this room till I 
 say so, 'ceptin' he leaves feet first! " 
 
 The jury looked helplessly at Shaw and Den- 
 nison. The harried pair returned the look as 
 helplessly. The jurors debated not a great while. 
 They cast their ballots in the foreman's hat. As 
 might have been expected, the verdict was " Not 
 guilty." 
 
 When Smoky Nivette had been released, and 
 his weapons returned by the deputies, the V Up- 
 and-Down and their Plain Edge friends arose 
 and pushed for the door. 
 
 "I haven't given the word yet!" cried Gil- 
 more. " Before yuh go out I got somethin' to 
 say." 
 
 The crowd halted. 
 
 " See here," shouted Shaw, shoving his way to 
 the front, " yuh can't keep us here forever ! 
 We " 
 
 " Close yore face," interrupted Gilmore, " an' 
 keep yore Bands away from yore belt. You an' 
 yore boys'll be free as air in less time than it takes 
 to saddle a hoss, but now yuh got to listen. Yore 
 bein' in front o' me thisaway makes it easier for 
 me to speak my little piece. I shore do hate to 
 
276 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 talk about a gent when he's hidin' behind a lot o' 
 other men! " 
 
 Shaw's lips paled, and his fingers twitched, but 
 he refrained from going after his gun. 
 
 Gilmore never took his eyes from Shaw's 
 reptilian countenance. He realized that never, 
 from the time of his entry into the court-room till 
 now, had the moment been so tense, so fraught 
 with hair-hung sudden death. 
 
 " Remember, you tin-horns in the back," Gil- 
 more reminded them, " that yore friends here in 
 front will shorely be among the missin' if just 
 only one o' you fires a shot. An' another thing 
 yuh've maybe forgot: Shorty Damman an' his 
 friends are behind yuh, an' Smoky Nivette has 
 his guns back!" 
 
 The hostile crowd, still outnumbering the com- 
 bined forces of Gilmore and Shorty Damman, 
 yet barkened to the speaker's combined impu- 
 dence and common sense, and stifled its seething 
 emotion. Decidedly, the hour was Gilmore's. 
 
 " Yuh was goin' to say somethin'," Shaw ex- 
 claimed feverishly. " Spit it out! " 
 
 " Sorry to keep yore highness waitin'," drawled 
 Gilmore. " I just wanted to tell yuh that yo're 
 a hoss-thief an' a rustler, an' y' ain't fit to eat 
 with a sheepman." 
 
 " Yo're a liar ! " cried Shaw, his hand dropping. 
 
 " Put 'em up ! " flashed Gilmore, instantly 
 shoving his gun into Shaw's abdomen. " Don't 
 yuh know any better'n to try to pull a gun on 
 me?" 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 277 
 
 Slowly Shaw's fingers uncurled from the butt 
 of his six-shooter, and slowly his arms went up 
 and bent inward the edges of his hat. 
 
 " Yo're shore one leisurely gent," was Gil- 
 more's dry comment. " Lucky for you I got a 
 whole lot o' patience. What do yuh say, Shaw, 
 to you an' me an' yore dear friend an' foreman, 
 Slim Dennison, goin' into the street an' shootin' 
 it out? Bein' the better man myself, it's only 
 fair to make it two to one." 
 
 " Yo're on! " barked Slim Dennison from far 
 back in the crowd. 
 
 Shaw nodded evilly. 
 
 "I'll go yuh, Gilmore. This Territory is 
 shore too small for you an' me! " 
 
 " That's the first sensible thing I ever heard 
 yuh say. Got yore rifles, you an' Slim?" 
 
 "Rifles?" 
 
 " Shore, we'll settle our little difficulty with 
 rifles, the conditions o' this gun-play bein' that 
 we all go out into the street together, each party 
 backs off a hundred yards, an' then walks toward 
 each other, settin' our artillery a-goin' when- 
 ever we feel like it." 
 
 " I ain't got mine with me," objected Shaw. 
 
 " It's on yore saddle. Don't try to tell me yuh 
 come here without it. Yuh can get it when we 
 go outside, which'll be after I get my Winchester. 
 Dakota, would yuh mind gettin' my rifle for me? " 
 
 When Dakota had returned from the corral 
 with the rifle, Shaw and Dennison flatly refused 
 to precede Gilmore through the doorway. They 
 
278 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 would not go outside and leave their men inside, 
 and that was all there was to it. In this senti- 
 ment the men loudly joined. 
 
 Again the moment became touch-and-go; but 
 it passed without a break, and, following a short 
 argument, the two recalcitrants led the way as 
 requested. Gilmore's friends were the next to 
 leave. Gilmore himself went out last. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 As Gilmore, in the middle of the dusty street, 
 moved backward, his friends on the sidewalk 
 naturally drifted along with him till he stopped 
 opposite Shorty Damman's hotel. Two himdred 
 paces distant stood his opponents, but not side by 
 side. Shaw was almost touching a large boulder 
 in front of the express office, while Dennison 
 slouched beside a freight-wagon backed up to the 
 opposite sidewalk. The two men were at least 
 thirty yards apart. 
 
 Gilmore, while fully expecting some wily and 
 guileful action on the part of his enemies, had not 
 counted on their separating in this manner. He 
 knew that he had only himself to blame for not 
 foreseeing such an obvious and logical move. 
 Yet he was not disheartened, though the odds 
 against him in this desperate game were mani- 
 festly heavy. 
 
 He took a step forward, his faculties in readi- 
 ness for the quick and fancy shooting that the 
 exigencies of the occasion would presently de- 
 mand. Shaw instantly dropped behind the 
 boulder, Dennison slipped behind the freight- 
 wagon. The pained and amazed Gilmore 
 emptied his magazine into the fortifications of 
 
280 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 his now invisible enemies and ran for the shelter 
 of the hotel. He knew what was coming next. 
 
 It was not long in coming. Bang, bang, 
 bang! A Winchester cracked thrice in the door- 
 way of the court-house, and three bullets cut the 
 dust behind Gilmore's flying heels. He speeded 
 up and entered the hotel full jump, neck and 
 neck with the proprietor. 
 
 As a wet sponge in the hand of the scholar 
 erases the pencil-marks from the slate, so did 
 those first three hysterical shots clear the main 
 street of Plain Edge. Inside of thirty seconds 
 the town looked as it had when Gilmore and his 
 men rode in. The only living things in sight 
 were the ponies in front of the court-house. 
 
 No outburst of firing followed the three shots. 
 Instead, a heavy silence hung over Plain Edge. 
 The V Up-and-Down forces, the sudden move of 
 their leaders taking them by surprise, had no 
 time for concerted action before their opponents 
 were under cover, and busily making good that 
 cover by all the means in their power. 
 
 The positions of the rival bands were about 
 equal in strength. Gilmore's men, together with 
 Shorty and his friends, held the hotel, three 
 corrals, two stores, and half a dozen of the houses 
 near the hotel. Across the street were several 
 houses and shacks, the jail, and a storehouse be- 
 longing to a friend of Damman's. Except the 
 storehouse, they were all poorly built and would 
 not stop a questing bullet. 
 
 Farther up the street, a hundred yards from 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 281 
 
 the storehouse, from which it was separated by 
 open ground and a large corral, stood the court- 
 house. Beyond the court-house all the shacks 
 and houses and there were a round score of 
 them were owned by V Up-and-Down sympa- 
 thizers. 
 
 The street itself, after the cheerful fashion of 
 streets laid out by men unhampered by strict re- 
 gard for property lines, was a wide one, but of 
 assorted widths, running from a scant thirty-five 
 yards in front of the express office to a long forty 
 between the hotel and the storehouse. 
 
 "Le's go in my store," a friend of Shorty 
 Damman's suggested to Gilmore, Smoky and 
 Shorty. " She sticks out ten feet beyond the 
 front o' the hotel, an' there's a window on the 
 side toward the co't-house, so's yuh can shoot 
 straight out stead o' slanchways." 
 
 Shooting straight out being preferable to 
 shooting " slanchways," the three followed the 
 storekeeper, Shorty Damman delaying only long 
 enough to exchange his short shotgun for a 
 sixty-caliber Sharps. 
 
 " Shotgun's all right for close to," observed 
 Shorty, patting the stock of the long eight-square, 
 " but for searchin' out an' borin' through a gent 
 any ways off, gimme this here buff 'ler gun ! " 
 
 Besides its invaluable window, the store pos- 
 sessed other attractions, such as heavy log walls 
 and a long counter. They knew nothing of the 
 art of Vauban, these four Westerners, yet in their 
 crude, uncultured way they contrived a more 
 
282 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 than passable traverse out of the counter by pil- 
 ing sacks of flour upon it. To the end that the 
 whiteness of the sacks should not draw fire, they 
 covered them with a tarpaulin. 
 
 " I shoot left-handed," announced Sam, the 
 storekeeper; " so I'll take one of the front win- 
 dows." 
 
 " Dere ees a hole here between de log on de 
 corner," grinned Nivette, lying down on his 
 stomach. " Un I have one fine lookout at de 
 court-house. By gar, eef I can geet dat Shaw 
 I do not care w'at happen or Sleem, burn hees 
 soul!" 
 
 Nivette thrust the muzzle of his rifle level with 
 the opening, his swarthy cheek cuddling the 
 stock. Gilmore and Damman, at the side win- 
 dow, squinted through their sights and waited 
 patiently. The former seized the opportunity 
 to clear up a question which had been puzzling 
 him for some time. 
 
 " I don't see Enright around," said he. 
 
 " He's been got," explained Damman. 
 
 " Who got him? " 
 
 "Alec Stuart an' his boys." 
 
 " When did it happen? " Then, when Dam- 
 man told him, Gilmore added: " Why, that was 
 the night I hit town!" 
 
 4 You?" 
 
 " Shore I came in to get a warrant from 
 Judge Trivvy." 
 
 "An' the Stuarts come to get Enright." 
 
 "An' they'd 'a' got me, if I'd stayed a minute 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 283 
 
 longer! I've been a-wonderin' who the gent was 
 I fell over as I was goin' out Judge Triwy's 
 door!" 
 
 " They got Enright yuh seen them two new 
 deputies an' the judge went off in a faint. 
 Guess they thought they'd killed him. Anyhow, 
 it 'd 'a' saved a heap of trouble if they had. I 
 s'pose a feller can't expect everythin'. Can yuh 
 scrouge over a little? " 
 
 "Shore! How's that?" 
 
 " Fine for the money. Have a chaw? " 
 
 " Not for liT Willie. I'll roll me a pill when 
 my magazine's empty." 
 
 " What gets me," said Damman, " is how them 
 Stuarts an' Enright happened to fall out. They 
 used to be thicker'n cold molasses ; but I did hear 
 there was some trouble about cows over to Fort 
 Henderson." 
 
 " I guess maybe there was," Gilmore drawled. 
 " I guess maybe there was ! " 
 
 The wisp-like Damman scratched an ear with 
 his trigger-finger and grinned expansively. 
 
 " It shore beats hell how part o' the world 
 ain't big enough for some people," he remarked 
 sagely. * They got to go try in' to hawg it all 
 then o' course they gets planted, an' nobody's 
 more surprised than they be theirselves. Yuh'd 
 think them four ranches 'd learn sense." 
 
 " One of 'em's a-learnin' fast now." 
 
 " Yo're shore singin' a true song! Well, she 
 had to come some time, an' it might as well be 
 now, an' " 
 
284 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Bang! Gilmore's Winchester cut short the 
 sentence. Simultaneously a bullet chucked 
 softly into the traverse and a cloud of white dust 
 puffed out, to be followed immediately by a trick- 
 ling stream of flour. 
 
 "Plug her, Shorty, will yuh?" called the 
 storekeeper. " It's such a job scrapin' her up off 
 the floor." 
 
 The obliging Shorty complied with the re- 
 quest, employing for the purpose a Sharps shell. 
 
 " Djuh get him? " he asked of his partner. 
 
 " I dunno," Gilmore replied. " It was just 
 the point of his shoulder I saw." 
 
 "Which I can't see him at all," complained 
 Shorty. " I can't see notliiri! Say, there's 
 somethin' movin' see, down there near the cor- 
 ner o' the big corral. Anyhow, there's a crack 
 there, an' the edge o' the co't-house shows through 
 it. No, it don't show now ! " 
 
 Shorty's buffalo gun roared. When the smoke 
 cleared away, the marksman, to his satisfaction, 
 perceived the corner of the court-house through 
 the crack in the stockade of the large corral. 
 
 Shorty's shot seemed to have aroused the 
 enemy. Promptly, f rom the windows and partly 
 opened doors of the court-house and the build- 
 ings beyond, there issued quick-winking orange 
 flashes and gray smoke. Gilmore, working his 
 lever with such speed that the reports burred like 
 the roll of a drum, threw ten shots through the 
 court-house door. Somebody made haste to 
 close the door. The horses tied to the hitching- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 285 
 
 rail, terrified by the spurts of flame and smoke 
 in their vicinity, sat back on their haunches, tore 
 themselves loose, and fled in all directions. 
 
 "That's good!" observed Gilmore. "Now 
 they can't get away on 'em." 
 
 Shorty, aiming carefully, was boring the plank- 
 ing beneath the sills of each court-house window 
 in succession. 
 
 "Al'ays told 'em they'd ought to build that o' 
 logs all the way up, 'stead o' just the founda- 
 tion," observed Shorty. " But no, they had to 
 put on more dog than a shave-tail lootenant, an' 
 use planks. The judge he plumb insisted on 
 'em. If he's in there now, I bet he wishes he'd 
 took my advice!" 
 
 Gilmore, when next he reloaded his Win- 
 chester, told his three companions of the Barred 
 O ranch and the activities of Shaw in that direc- 
 tion. 
 
 " I ain't surprised," said Damman, shaking his 
 head; "but it strikes me yuh was shore actin' 
 charitable to offer a stand-up fight to them two 
 rustlers, Shaw an' Slim. They'd ought to 'a' 
 been plugged any old way." 
 
 " My idea exactly. That's why I got 'em to 
 go out in the street so's I could shoot 'em any 
 old way. S'pose now I'd blatted out inside there 
 all about the Barred O. The fracas would 'a' 
 started right then, an' we wouldn't 'a' had a 
 chance. No, sir, I had to try an' get 'em away 
 from their friends. They're the brains o' that 
 crowd, those two. Once they're rubbed out, the 
 
286 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 rest o' the outfit won't last much longer'n a small 
 drink in a big town." 
 
 " Dirty kyotes! " interpolated Sam, the store- 
 keeper. 
 
 ' You was shore takin' a long chance," ob- 
 served Damman. " S'pose them two Barred O 
 punchers got here before you did then what? " 
 ' Well, I had to risk that." 
 
 " If they float in here later we'll attend to 'em." 
 
 " It don't matter an awful lot what happens 
 to 'em. Durin' to-day an' to-morrow rustlin' in 
 Glenn County is shore due to receive a bad set- 
 back. I guess maybe I forgot to tell yuh I sent 
 two o' my men to the Mark, to tell them what was 
 doin' an' invite 'em over." 
 
 "Which yuh shore did forget to tell that! 
 The Mark, huh? That's good hearin'. They'll 
 be over all right, or I don't know Doheny ! " 
 
 " They'd 'a' been over before, only the job was 
 a leetle too big for 'em to swing," remarked the 
 storekeeper. " But now, with yore bunch o' 
 fighters, Mr. Gilmore, it's like bettin' on a shore 
 thing. They can't lose." 
 
 The storekeeper fell back, clutching his arm. 
 A bullet had ripped his right forearm from wrist 
 to elbow. Almost crazy with pain, for the 
 missile had grazed the funny-bone, the store- 
 keeper danced up and down and called down the 
 i most terrific curses on the heads of those in the 
 court-house. He was bandaged by Damman, 
 and after a space went back to his window. Be- 
 tween rumbling strings of oaths he began again 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 287 
 
 to reduce the architectural value of the court- 
 house. 
 
 " I wish we could get into that storehouse 
 across the street," Damman said. 
 
 "We'll get into it to-night," Gilmore told 
 him. 
 
 ' If they don't get there first! " 
 
 " They won't, you'll see. Lord, listen to those 
 shots from the corral! That fellah don't care 
 how many shells he w.astes. Must be Big Art- 
 he always was the spendthrift boy. Who's got 
 the buffalo in yore hotel? She's been a-goin' off 
 every so often." 
 
 " My cook. He's Scotch, an' never wastes a 
 shell."' 
 
 Save that of the cheerful shooter down by the 
 corral, there was now very little firing in pro- 
 portion, at least, to the number of men engaged. 
 There was certainly nothing of the spectacular 
 about the fight. Both sides were waiting for the 
 coming of night to enable them to work in closer. 
 
 This being the case, it was not to be wondered 
 at that Gilmore, Nivette, and a dozen friends, 
 entering the front door of the storehouse in the 
 last of the twilight, surprised several gentlemen 
 crawling in through the rear windows. 
 
 Gilmore's little force promptly went into 
 action with such vigor that the enemy was unable 
 to retain a foothold in the place. He retired, 
 leaving one dead in a jack-knife position across 
 a window-sill, and, judging by the swearing, 
 carrying two wounded. 
 
288 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 But Gilmore's men had not escaped scot-free. 
 Nivette had a furrow along his scalp, and Big 
 Art was dead. Under the sheltering overhang 
 of a counter, Gilmore lit a match and held it over 
 the quiet face. 
 
 " Plumb in the forehead," he said. " He never 
 knew what hit him. We'll make 'em pay for it. 
 You were shore one good fellah, if there ever was 
 one!" 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 LEAVING eleven men to barricade and hold the 
 storehouse, Gilmore took Nivette and scouted 
 out to the stockade of the big corral between the 
 storehouse and the court-house. Crawling along 
 on hands and knees, he butted head foremost into 
 a silent citizen coming the other way. 
 
 Although a many-starred constellation pin- 
 wheeled before his eyes, Gilmore managed to 
 reach out and grip the other man by the neck. 
 Nivette, desirous of taking part in the festivities, 
 plunged forward. Gilmore thought for an in- 
 stant that the stockade had fallen on him, but it 
 was only the half-breed scrambling along his 
 spinal column. 
 
 Ship-chuck! A knife flipped down and pinned 
 Gilmore's shirt and a fold of skin to the ground, 
 and somebody stuck a thumb in his eye. Squirm- 
 ing with pain, he struck out with the barrel of his 
 Colt and very nearly ruined Nivette's knuckles. 
 
 Simultaneously a hand seized a generous hand- 
 ful of Gilmore's hair and wrenched strongly. 
 This time the arc described by his six-shooter 
 ended at the back of some one's head. The hand 
 pulling Gilmore's hair relaxed, and he felt the 
 
290 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 throat he was gripping go limp. The head fell 
 forward over his wrist. 
 
 " By gar," whispered Nivette, " my hail' ees 
 shore done for! Dees feller ees one good 
 fightair!" 
 
 ' That was me hit yore hand," grunted Gil- 
 more. " I thought it was that fellah's head. 
 Take one of his feet, will yuh? We'll drag 
 him in." 
 
 Jarring reports smashed the silence as several 
 rifles in the court-house began to flash. Bullets 
 spatted into the ground, ricocheted with shrills, 
 buzzing whines, or smacked into the posts of the 
 stockade. 
 
 " For Heaven's sake, git a move on! " besought 
 Gilmore, a missile having gone through his hat. 
 
 Crouching, taking tremendous steps, holding 
 their captive by an ankle apiece, they dragged 
 him round the corral to the storehouse. Boost- 
 ing him through a window into the hands of the 
 others, they followed. 
 
 " Who is it you've got there? " queried the 
 town blacksmith. 
 
 " I dunno," replied Gilmore. " He shore put 
 up a hard fight! He nigh blinded my eye, an' 
 tried to knife me, but only got a small piece of 
 skin. Then he pulled out half my hair, an' 
 Smoky comes along an' uses my back for a road. 
 I'm sore all over! " 
 
 " My hand," observed Nivette, wigwagging his 
 fingers in the darkness, " ees all same bust. I 
 can wiggle de fingair no more." 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 291 
 
 " Ow, my head!" groaned a new voice the 
 voice of the captive. 
 
 " Dakota! " exclaimed Gilmore. 
 
 "Shore, Dakota! Who'd yuh think it was? 
 What fell on me? What happened anyway? " 
 
 " I thought you were one o' the other fellahs," 
 explained Gilmore. 
 
 " So you done it, huh? Well, if this is the way 
 yuh treat yore friends, I don't want to be yore 
 enemy, none whatever! My head's busted. 
 What did yuh hit me with a ax? " 
 
 " Only my gun." 
 
 "Only yore gun! Only yore gun! Yuh 
 might think she was a powder-puff, the way you 
 talk. Only yore gun! I tell yuh I'm mighty 
 lucky if I don't have brain fever or some- 
 thin'." 
 
 " Yuh couldn't ever have brain fever," Gil- 
 more assured him ; " so yuh don't need to fret." 
 
 " Oh, couldn't I? That's all you know about 
 it. Yuh needn't think, 'cause yo're you, yuh got 
 a mortgage on all the brains in the county. 
 What do yuh think I was doin' out there by the 
 corral, huh? I was comin' in from spyin' on the 
 court-house that's what I was doin'." , 
 
 " Good for you, Dakota! What did yuh find 
 out? " 
 
 " I found out they're plannin' to burn this 
 storehouse. Leastwise, they was all talkin' about 
 it when I left where I was hidin' underneath the 
 window. Feller come along an' near stepped on 
 my face. I shore thought I'd have to shoot him. 
 
292 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Then maybe liT old Dakota never would 'a' come 
 back." 
 
 " What else did they say? " 
 
 " Nothin', 'cept that the wind bein' just right 
 when they set fire to the storehouse the sparks 
 'd go across the street and set fire to the hotel." 
 
 "Well, God bless their lovin' hearts!" ex- 
 claimed Shorty Damman. 
 
 " They don't like yuh none at all," said Dakota 
 gravely. 
 
 " Come on! We got to stop their fireworks 
 display," remarked Gilmore, " an' the only place 
 we can do it is outside. An' next time yuh got to 
 go rampagin' round at night thisaway, Dakota, 
 you let us know ahead o' time." 
 
 * You can gamble I will," was Dakota's fer- 
 vent response as he tenderly felt his aching head. 
 " Yuh needn't be afraid to drop anybody yuh see 
 or hear. I was the only one out." 
 
 " They must shore be drunk," whispered 
 Shorty Damman to Gilmore, when the two were 
 outside. " They's a lot o' Plain Edgers among 
 'em. Don't they know the whole town'll go? " 
 
 " Seems like they don't. But the whole town 
 won't go not if we know it! " 
 
 Followed by Nivette, the two crawled over to 
 the corner of the corral. Crouching beside it, 
 they prepared to make life exciting for any one 
 injudicious enough to attempt the firing of the 
 storehouse. At the opposite corner of the corral 
 were posted Dakota and three men. The others 
 lay a few yards out from the storehouse wall. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 293 
 
 " Listen to them fools in the hotel," said 
 Shorty. ;< They're firin' again, an' there ain't 
 nothin' to shoot at. I know it." 
 
 " Must be doin' it for company," suggested 
 Gilmore. " No, they ain't, either. Hear those 
 other rifles? They sound kind o' muffled, like 
 they was way off. They ain't comin' from the 
 court-house. They're " 
 
 " They're behind the string o' shacks on the 
 same side of the street as the hotel that's where 
 they are!" 
 
 " Yo're whistlin' an' there's some more on the 
 other side o' the hotel outside o' town." 
 
 " They's good cover behind a cut-bank about 
 three hundred yards beyond the last shack," said 
 Damman. 
 
 " That's where they are. They're aimin' to 
 surround us ! " 
 
 " It looks like they done it, too," Shorty 
 gloomily observed. 
 
 " Wait till that crowd behind the cut-bank sees 
 Jimmy an' his mob ridin' in," returned Gilmore, 
 not discouraged. " They won't be expect in' 
 that!" 
 
 " I hear somet'ing! " came in Nivette's cautious 
 whisper. 
 
 They listened. In the darkness beyond them 
 some one was undoubtedly moving. Suddenly 
 there was the sound of a slip and a smothered 
 curse. 
 
 " Crawlin' in, an' cut his hand on a busted 
 bottle," grinned Gilmore to himself, and tossed 
 
294 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 up his six-shooter. Following the bunched re- 
 ports there was an instant scurry of pelting feet, 
 diminuendo. "Hear 'em hit the grit!" he 
 chuckled, as he ejected the empty shells. " There 
 was more'n one." 
 
 " Four," said Nivette, jamming cartridges 
 through his loading-gate. " I do not t'ink we 
 geet any, but we scare dem." 
 
 " They know we're watchin' now. They won't 
 come again." 
 
 They did not come again, but they endeavored 
 to set fire to the corral. 
 
 " They are drunk," remarked Shorty. " Fire 
 that corral, huh? She was only built three weeks 
 ago, an' the wood's so green she wouldn't burn 
 on a bet. There, she's flickerin' out. Ain't even 
 enough light to shoot by." 
 
 " They're behind the stockade, some of 'em," 
 said Gilmore. " What ain't there are huggin' 
 cover too close to do us any good. If I can only 
 get one shot apiece at Shaw an' Slim that's all 
 I want." 
 
 " Dey are mine, dem two fellers," said Nivette 
 softly; " un, by gar, I weel tak' deir hair, me! " 
 
 " Yo're shore welcome, Smoky," declared Gil- 
 more. "After all, they do belong to you more'n 
 they do to anybody else." 
 
 The dawn brought a brisk resumption of firing. 
 It also brought unexpected reinforcements in the 
 shape of a dozen horsemen. These riders were 
 fired on by the force behind the cut-bank. Re- 
 plying with promptness, they chased the bush- 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 295 
 
 whackers to the cover of the shacks opposite the 
 court-house, and dismounted behind the hotel 
 corral. 
 
 " That was shore no trouble at all," the hard- 
 faced leader of the newcomers informed Gilmore. 
 " I hope the rest's as easy. Two fellers we met 
 yest'day afternoon said the V Up-an'-Down an' 
 the Hash Knife was pullin' Plain Edge to slivers, 
 so we come to sweep up the pieces; but there don't 
 seem to be no pieces." 
 
 " There will be with yore help," Gilmore ob- 
 served significantly. 
 
 "My idea exactly! Between the lot of us 
 we'd ought to lay over them jiggers like a big 
 blanket over a small bed. My name's Kling." 
 
 Mr. Kling and his friends, it seemed, were in- 
 habitants of Warrior's Mark. They had been 
 riding out on business the business happening 
 to be the pursuit and capture of a horse-thief- 
 when they had met Jimmy and the Kid. 
 Jimmy's story had brought them hotfoot. 
 
 " Which that hoss-thief was just swingin' clear 
 o' the grass-blades when yore two friends rode 
 up," said Kling. " They said they was on their 
 way to the Mark. Ten minutes either way an' 
 we'd 'a' missed 'em, 'cause we hadn't come by the 
 trail an' we didn't figger on goin' back by the 
 trail. Providential, I call it." 
 
 Gilmore quite agreed with the engaging Mr. 
 Kling, and related, over a Kentucky breakfast, 
 the true tale of the Barred Diamond Eight ranch 
 on Paint Creek, near Sandy River. 
 
296 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 'Well, I shore do admire a hawg!" pro- 
 nounced Kling. " Which lynchin' is too good 
 for that feller Shaw! He'd ought to be drug to 
 death. Djever stop to think how he might get 
 away? " 
 
 " He won't," affirmed Gilmore. " He'll stick. 
 He's got sand." 
 
 " His sand may be part chalk," said the doubt- 
 ful Mr. Kling. 
 
 Following the advent of the newcomers there 
 was a more or less brisk exchange of shots. To- 
 ward noon it became desultory, dropping, on the 
 part of the enemy, to not more than ten or twelve 
 shots in the hour. But when Jimmy, the Kid, 
 Doheny, and forty-two citizens of Warrior's 
 Mark arrived in the middle of the afternoon, 
 Shaw's outfit began to waste ammunition in 
 scandalous fashion. They saw the beginning of 
 the end. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 Six hundred yards in rear of the court-house 
 a long, shallow draw paralleled Plain Edge's 
 main street. It was an excellent position from 
 which to enfilade the court-house and the row of 
 shacks and houses on its flank, and Gilmore had 
 only been prevented from circling the town and 
 occupying it by a lack of men. Now, with a 
 large force at his disposal, he promptly posted 
 Doheny and thirty willing fighters in that draw. 
 
 "We'll jump 'em to-night," Gilmore told 
 Jimmy and Damman. 
 
 "Fine!" said the wispy hotel-keeper, draw- 
 ing a plug from his boot-leg and biting off a 
 large chew. " I ain't as young as I was twenty 
 year ago, but I don't mind gettin' in where it's 
 warm once in a while. Djever stop to think how 
 maybe they'll get away on their bosses? " 
 
 "They can't," Gilmore replied. "Most o' 
 their bosses ran out o' town." 
 
 " Most o' theirs did, but there's others in them 
 corrals at the far end o' town next to them last 
 two shacks." 
 
 " They won't get away on 'em," declared Gil- 
 more. " Jimmy an' a few o' the boys'll be 
 hangin' round those corrals." 
 
298 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 That night was clear too clear. The starlight 
 enabled the watchers at the court-house windows 
 to see several dark shapes moving toward them. 
 The watchers fired their Winchesters. Instantly 
 there broke out on the front, side, and rear of the 
 court-house a furious chatter of gun-fire. The 
 sharp crack of the Winchester was answered by 
 the heavier report of the Colt's " Frontier." 
 
 Thud! Cr-r-rash! The butt of a log batter- 
 ing-ram shivered and smashed the door of the 
 court-house. In through the splintery open- 
 ing drove a torrent of men, shooting as they 
 came. 
 
 The fighting in the court-house was over within 
 four minutes. When the few prisoners had been 
 tied with their own lariats, Gilmore reloaded his 
 reeking six-shooter and led the way into the 
 street, where, to judge by the inferno of noise, 
 a good-sized skirmish was in progress. 
 
 The gray smoke hung in the air like fog. 
 Through it stabbed the level orange flashes of the 
 guns. Men met death each after his own fashion 
 there under the stars. 
 
 Shorty Damman's bartender had an alarm- 
 clock, and its hands indicated 12: 55 A. M. when 
 the last shot was fired. The bartender could not 
 see what time it was, however, for he was too far 
 under the bar; nor had he any means of knowing 
 that the battle was over. So he stayed where he 
 was till many men stamped into the barroom and 
 bellowed for liquor. 
 
 "A good half of 'em got away," mourned 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 299 
 
 Jimmy, squeezing his glass as if he feared it 
 would also escape him. 
 
 "About twenty or twenty-five," corrected Gil- 
 more. " It can't be helped. Anyhow, I don't 
 guess they'll hang around Glenn County a whole 
 lot." 
 
 " By gar, Sleem un Shaw dey shore geet away," 
 growled Smoky Nivette, pushing his way to Gil- 
 more's side. 
 
 " I know," nodded his friend. " I went over 
 everythin' careful with a lantern. I guess they 
 made it, all right." 
 
 " How many djuh lose, Dal?" asked Shorty 
 Damman. 
 
 " Two gone out an' eight nicked an' grazed in 
 
 various wavs." 
 
 * We lost one an' three hit, countin' Sam, who 
 was nicked the first day. The Mark crowd 
 here's Doheny! What did they do to yuh, 
 Doheny?" 
 
 " Three down," replied Doheny, " an' five 
 hurt." 
 
 " Nothin' the matter with that," said Kling, a 
 bandage concealing the major portion of his hard 
 features. " Eleven of 'em cashed, I counted 
 seventeen creased, an' there's eight prisoners. If 
 the river was nearer town there wouldn't so many 
 have got away. That an' them two-way corrals 
 was what helped 'em." 
 
 After breakfast in the morning a party of 
 ^rave-faced men accompanied the eight prisoners 
 into the fringe of cottonwoods on the river-bank. 
 
300 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Half an hour later the grave-faced men returned 
 without the prisoners. It was then that Judge 
 Trivvy, tremulous and white-faced, sought out 
 Gilmore. 
 
 " I am delighted that you won," remarked the 
 old rascal. " The man Shaw and his evil crew 
 have long been thorns in my side. By threats of 
 bodily violence they compelled me to do as they 
 wished. I thank Heaven that the menace of 
 their presence has been removed. I trust, sir, 
 that you will follow up the good work. Shaw 
 and Dennison may return; but I am sure you 
 will know what to do if they should." 
 
 Gilmore could only gape at- the ancient rogue. 
 Such barefaced assurance was almost unbeliev- 
 able. 
 
 " I trust that you bear me no malice," quavered 
 the judge. " What I did I did under compul- 
 sion you must remember that." 
 
 " Shore, I'll try to remember it," agreed Gil- 
 more; " but it'll be some few of a strain on my 
 memory. Yuh see, the night I got the warrant 
 for Tom Johnson I'd been listenin' under yore 
 window a little longer than I let on. I heard 
 yuh hire Crowner to down me." 
 
 Judge Trivvy appeared to curl up on himself 
 as a green shaving curls in a hot blaze. 
 
 " O' course, old-timer, yo're a dog an* a rat, 
 an' y'ain't fit to talk to," Gilmore informed him 
 pleasantly ; " but yuh maybe can be useful to me. 
 If the Governor or Uncle Sam asks any questions 
 about this night's work, you'll know how to tell 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 301 
 
 'em there wasn't any real trouble at all, won't 
 yuh? An' yuh can make that drunken bummer 
 of a district attorney keep paws off, can't yuh? " 
 
 " My dear sir, you may resfeassured " be- 
 gan the judge eagerly. 
 
 " I guess I may rest assured that yo're goin' 
 to be one good liT boy from now on," coolly in- 
 terrupted Gilmore. " So long's y'are good an' 
 try to please me by livin' honest an' judgin' cases 
 on their merits, an' keepin' yore mouth shut about 
 what's best forgot, just so long yuh'll be able to 
 stay out o' Leavenworth." 
 
 " Leavenworth! " 
 
 " Y'betcha ! Not for tryin' to have me rubbed 
 out, but for conspirin' with Enright an' Oyle o' 
 the Fort Henderson agency to swindle the gov'- 
 ment on the beef issue see? " 
 
 The judge saw. So well did he see that he 
 even managed to greet with a smile a perturbed 
 captain of cavalry who called upon him an hour 
 later. 
 
 "What has happened?" inquired the officer. 
 
 " Happened? Why, what do you mean? " 
 
 " The fight, of course." 
 
 "What fight?" 
 
 " What fight? What fight? Didn't a crowd 
 of gun-fighters try to wipe out the town last 
 night?" 
 
 " No, captain, no. I have heard of no such 
 
 occurrence." 
 
 The captain stared. Then he ran a finger 
 round the inside of his collar and gulped. 
 
302 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Judge," he said earnestly, " early this morn- 
 ing a scared tin-pedler drove into camp and said 
 that Plain Edge was being shot to pieces. I rode 
 here with my troop at once. And you say there 
 has been no fight! Why, the door of the court- 
 house has been smashed in, the front of the build- 
 ing is full of bullet-holes, and there are eight 
 dead men hanging in the cotton woods at the head 
 of the ford!" 
 
 " Oh, those men yes, of course. No wonder 
 you're puzzled, but you needn't be. It's really 
 very trivial indeed. A party of strangers fell to 
 quarreling among themselves. Some of the 
 bullets went a little wild. That accounts for the 
 holes in the court-house." 
 
 " But it doesn't account for the dead bodies 
 hanging in the cottonwoods, or for the number of 
 bandaged men on the street ! " 
 
 " Well," replied the judge, in an extremely 
 dry tone, " some of the bullets didn't go wild." 
 
 With which explanation the captain was forced 
 to be satisfied. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 MEANTIME Gilmore and his men, accompanied 
 by Mrs. Kyle and a delegation of Plain Edge 
 and Warrior's Mark citizens, were riding to 
 Virgin City. Some of those who ran from the 
 Plain Edge fight had also taken the trail to 
 Virgin City; but they were not there when the 
 posse arrived. According to Mrs. Kyle's bar- 
 tender, they had passed through with as little 
 delay as possible. The marshal had joined them, 
 as had several other undesirables of Virgin City. 
 
 " How many hours ahead are they? " asked 
 Gilmore. 
 
 " 'Bout four hours," was the bartender's reply. 
 
 " They was more'n eight hours ahead when we 
 started," put in Jimmy. 
 
 " We'll change bosses an' keep a-goin'," said 
 Gilmore. 
 
 They kept going, but so did the bad men of 
 Glenn County. As was to be expected, the pur- 
 suers found that the pursued had split into groups 
 of three or four and scattered in widely divergent 
 directions. Gilmore promptly divided the posse 
 into three sections, assigned a trail to each, and 
 renewed the pursuit. 
 
 In Gilmore's section were Jimmy and Smoky 
 Nivette. The latter, reputed to be the best 
 
304 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 trailer in the Territory, rode beside Gilmore, his 
 swarthy face alight with the wolf-lust of the best 
 hunting in the world the hunting of man. 
 
 It was the half-breed who was the first to 
 glimpse seven horsemen against the greeny- 
 brown of a distant hillside. 
 
 " They can't be what we're chasin'," said Gil- 
 more, glasses at his eyes. " They're shore comin' 
 this way too fast." 
 
 " De sun ees een deir eye," asserted Nivette, 
 " un we are een de shade o' de pine-tree wood. 
 Dey cannot see us." 
 
 " By the way they're ridin' they'd ought to 
 come right near these here trees," Jimmy sug- 
 gested hopefully, drawing his Winchester from 
 the holster under his leg. " That steep slope is 
 bound to throw 'em this way." 
 
 " This is about as good a place as any to wait 
 for 'em," nodded Gilmore. " Come on, boys 
 we've got to get the bosses back in the trees." 
 
 Twenty minutes later seven horsemen de- 
 bouched from a valley a mile away. They had 
 halved the distance when, even as Jimmy had 
 said, the steep slope of a hill turned them almost 
 directly toward the ambushed posse. 
 
 " It's old Stuart an' his boys," Gilmore re- 
 marked quietly, and closed the glasses with a 
 snap. " Don't shoot unless yuh see 'em begin to 
 crowd me. I'm goin' out to talk to 'em." 
 
 " Don't be a fool ! " exclaimed Jimmy, but Gil- 
 more was already up and strolling nonchalantly 
 into the open. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 305 
 
 In the longhorn country a man afoot is an un- 
 usual sight. It is even a suspicious one. The 
 seven riders, now not more than four hundred 
 yards distant, drew apart, and three of them 
 reached down for their rifles. Not so Alec 
 Stuart. The old man rode steadily forward. 
 
 Gilmore stood still, his right hand raised in the 
 peace sign. He was smiling his peculiar smile. 
 His bright blue eyes revealed no hint of that 
 which troubled him a lively fear that Stuart and 
 his boys would lose their heads. The last thing 
 he wished was to have one of them stop a 
 bullet. 
 
 Alec Stuart and his sons halted their horses in 
 front of Gilmore. There was a glint of triumph 
 in the old man's eyes. Lanky, the young Lucifer, 
 grinning a grin of vindictive malice, began to un- 
 strap his rope. The other sons stared with frank 
 hostility. 
 
 ' Yuh shore ought to 'a' stayed in them woods," 
 observed old Alec. " I don't think yuh'll get 
 away this time ! " 
 
 * Which I should say not! " exclaimed Lanky, 
 and swung to the ground. 
 
 Gilmore did not move. His smile became a 
 trifle more fixed. His thumbs remained hooked 
 in the armholes of his vest. 
 
 " I wouldn't do nothin' rash," he suggested in 
 a very slow drawl. " S'pose yuh take a squint to 
 yore left an' a little back." 
 
 Bob, the youngest boy, turned his head. The 
 others did not remove their eyes from Gilmore's 
 
306 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 face. With a precociously lurid imprecation, 
 Bob slid his Winchester back into its holster. 
 
 " What's the use? " he said rather faintly. 
 
 Old Alec flashed a look over his shoulder. At 
 the edge of the wood sixteen men were standing. 
 All had rifles, and all the rifles, while held in 
 various positions, were pointing in the general 
 direction of Stuart and his sons. 
 
 The old rustler's shoulders hunched forward, 
 and his six-shooter muzzle gaped at Gilmore. 
 Gone was the erstwhile triumph in his eyes. 
 They were ablaze with fierce anger. 
 
 " If a shot's fired, you'll be the first to die! " 
 he barked. 
 
 " Yuh make me plumb sick," declared Gilmore. 
 " Honest, if yuh had six times as much sense, 
 yuh'd be half-witted. Don'tcha use that head 
 for anythin' besides roundin' off yore neck? " 
 
 The veins in the aforementioned neck swelled 
 alarmingly. Gilmore eyed death down the barrel 
 of Stuart's long six-shooter. 
 
 " I know how yuh feel," he went on easily. 
 " Yuh'd admire to fill me so full o' lead I'd rattle, 
 but don't be a bigger fool than yuh are. Go 
 ahead, old-timer, cuss away! Maybe I'll hear 
 somethin' new." 
 
 " Shut up ! " snarled the sunny-tempered 
 Lanky. " I've a good mind to take a chance an' 
 knock yore horns off right now." 
 
 "That's for you to decide, fellah; but re- 
 member, I could 'a' bushwhacked you sports dead 
 easy with the accent on the dead. I come out 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 307 
 
 here to talk to yuh, hop in' yuh'd be sensible an' 
 listen like humans. I s'pose it's almost too much 
 to hope, ain't it?" 
 
 " Go on! " grated old Stuart. 
 ' Well, first maybe yuh can gimme some in- 
 formation. Have yuh met any gents that was 
 goin' some'eres else in a hurry lately? We're 
 huntin' three." 
 
 " Whadda yuh mean? " demanded Bob. 
 ' Why, nothin', only a crowd of us sort o' had 
 a run-in with the V Up-an'-Down up at Plain 
 Edge, an' a good many of 'em were downed. 
 We hung eight after the fight. Some got away, 
 an' we're lookin' for 'em, like I say." 
 
 Old Alec licked his lips ; Lanky spat upon the 
 ground; but none of the Stuarts said anything 
 audible. 
 
 " How comes it I didn't see you fellahs at the 
 trial? " Gilmore asked. 
 
 " Huh! " snorted old Alec. " I ain't none in 
 favor o' gettin' rid o' folks that way. There's 
 too many other ways o' doin' it besides goin' to 
 law as yuh'll prob'ly find out ! " 
 
 " I expect. Now listen to me. I've busted 
 the V Up-an'-Down, an' I won't be able to sleep 
 easy till Shaw, Slim, an' Tim Simms are either 
 stretched or run out o' the Territory. So, as I 
 like my sleep, it's a cinch those three fellahs are 
 goin' to do some hard ridin' for a while. But 
 that ain't really what I aimed to tell yuh. Yuh 
 got Enright, didn'tcha? An J there's been a kind 
 o' slump in beef -issue cows an' raised vouchers 
 
308 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 ever since. Enright an' Oyle weren't the only 
 ones in that deal, but who the other was don't 
 matter. It wouldn't help yuh to know, not any. 
 To keep on our ramblin' way, Tom Johnson o' 
 the Lazy D has been lynched. First an' last a 
 whole jag o' gents have gone out. Rustlin', old- 
 timer, has been rode to a whisper unless certain 
 sports choose to wake her up. There's plenty o' 
 range in Glenn County. It ain't necessary to 
 start new ranches, like Shaw did with the Barred 
 
 an' the Barred Diamond Eight. Yeah, djever 
 hear o' those brands? Well, it don't matter, none 
 whatever. As I was sayin', what happened at 
 Plain Edge needn't happen again. That is, it 
 needn't if rustlin' stops; but rustlin' has got to 
 stop, an' it's goin' to stop if we have to use every 
 rope in the Territory. Yuh might tell yore 
 friends, if you have any. Yeah, I know the Tri- 
 angle O an' the Lazy D have been a heap care- 
 less 'bout other folks' cows, but I kind o' think 
 they'll listen to reason now. In fact, I know 
 they'll have to. Well, I got to be weavin'. Glad 
 
 1 run up on yuh. I've been wantin' to see yuh 
 for some time. So-long! " 
 
 ' You've had yore say," old Stuart said be- 
 tween his teeth, " an' now I'll have mine, young 
 feller ! The best thing you can do is to get meas- 
 ured for yore coffin. Yuh'll shore be needin' it 
 one o' these days. You hear me? " 
 
 :< Help yoreself," smiled Gilmore, and, turn- 
 ing, walked back to his friends. 
 
 Silently he mounted his horse and as silently 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 309 
 
 took up the trail of the fugitives.. Inwardly he 
 tingled with shame; for he had done that of 
 which he had never for an instant believed him- 
 self capable he had actually shown leniency 
 toward rustlers; and all because he loved a fem- 
 inine relative of the rustlers. The fact that his 
 warning had been flouted and would certainly be 
 disregarded did not tend to diminish the enormity 
 of his offense in breaking the law of the range. 
 
 " If I'd 'a' known fallin' in love meant all this 
 
 muss " he thought, not realizing that the 
 
 aforesaid muss was responsible for his falling in 
 love. But he did not complete the sentence. 
 "What would yuh do?" he demanded of him- 
 self instead. "What would yuh do, huh? Yuh'd 
 do it all over again that's what yuh'd do ! " 
 
 Jimmy and Nivette wondered what their com- 
 panion was smiling at, but neither made any 
 comment. 
 
 " Cloudin' up," observed Gilmore, within the 
 hour. 
 
 " Beeg storm," Nivette contributed briefly. 
 
 An hour later the storm broke. Nivette had 
 spoken the truth. Slickers were soaked through 
 in less than twenty minutes. 
 
 " No use goin' on," pronounced Gilmore wrig- 
 gling his clammy shoulders. " Sign all washed 
 away." 
 
 "Shore," said Nivette. " Un dey know eet. 
 Eef dey have sense, dey make heap of trail while 
 de storm last un I t'ink dey have sense, me." 
 
 So the posse rode back to Virgin City. Gil- 
 
310 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 more, unsaddling at the hotel corral, felt a touch 
 on his shoulder. He turned. The station-agent 
 was holding out a letter. Gilmore took it, glanced 
 at the superscription and promptly felt his heart 
 bump its way up into his throat ; for the address 
 was in the handwriting of Louise Stuart. 
 
 " Well, he might 'a' said somethin' ! " grumbled 
 the agent as the wordless Gilmore plunged for- 
 ward to the shelter of a freight-wagon tilt. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 BUT Gilmore was oblivious to all the world. 
 Opening and spreading out his letter, he read 
 it with a careful intensity that the few lines it 
 contained did not seem to warrant. 
 
 This was the letter: 
 
 DEAR MR. GILMORE: 
 
 My father and my brothers will not be home for a 
 week. The boys are all out on the range. If you 
 receive this before the nineteenth, I wish you would come 
 to see me. I have something of the utmost importance 
 to tell you. 
 
 LOUISE STUART. 
 
 Gilmore took from his pocket the well- 
 thumbed letter brought by Smoky Nivette on the 
 occasion of his taking Slim and the marshal to 
 Plain Edge. Comparing both letters, he could 
 see no difference in the handwriting. 
 
 " I know old Stuart an' the boys were goin' 
 away from the ranch yesterday/' he mused. 
 " They had their war-bags with 'em, too. An' 
 to-day's the nineteenth. She says if I get this 
 before the nineteenth an' Mrs. Kyle said a let- 
 ter supposed to be from Louise was goin' to invite 
 me out to the ranch so's they could wipe me out 
 nice an' easy. But this handwritin' it's hers, 
 I'll swear it's hers ! " 
 
312 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 Gilmore recinched his saddle and galloped to 
 the station. 
 
 "Who brought this?" he demanded of the 
 agent, thrusting toward the latter the envelope 
 of Louise's letter. 
 
 "Billy Bobtail," replied the agent indiffer- 
 ently. 
 
 " Where's he, this Bobtail gent? " 
 
 " He ain't a gent he's a Injun, an' I don't 
 know where he is. He might be 'most any- 
 wheres." 
 
 ' Yuh shore know a whole lot, you do! 
 When'd he bring this letter? " 
 
 " 'Bout four days ago. I can't tell yuh no 
 more'n that." 
 
 Gilmore departed in haste to seek the errant 
 Billy Bobtail; but the Indian was not to be 
 found. The storekeeper had caught him paw- 
 ing within the confines of the prune-barrel, 
 and had promptly shown Billy the error of his 
 ways. 
 
 * Which I thro wed that war-whoop out on 
 his ear," said the storekeeper. " The last I seen 
 of him he was punchin' the breeze doo east. That 
 was yesterday. If his cayuse holds out, he'd 
 ought to be fordin' the War Ax right now." 
 
 The last sentence was spoken to Gilmore's re- 
 treating back. 
 
 " It's the nineteenth, an' it may be a blind; but 
 I got to go, I got to go," Gilmore muttered as 
 he sloshed his way to the Ace Saloon. 
 
 His wish was to borrow a fresh horse from 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 313 
 
 Mrs. Kyle. He knew that the lady owned two 
 good animals. 
 
 " She's went," the bartender said in answer to 
 Gilmore's question. " Rode away two days 
 ago. Didn't say where she was goin'. Said she 
 might be back in a week, maybe less. Shore, 
 yuh can take the other boss. The boss won't 
 mind." 
 
 Gilmore's intention had been to ride alone to 
 the Lazy D; but neither Jimmy nor Nivette 
 would hear of it. 
 
 " 'T's all right," yapped Jimmy; " don't take 
 all the boys if yuh don't want to, but yuh ain't 
 a-goin' out there without Smoky an' me an' a few 
 others. No, y'ain't, not by a jugful ! If we have 
 to, we'll trail yuh. We're goin' see? " 
 
 So it was that Gilmore and a dozen men, 
 mounted on fresh horses, rode away through the 
 downpour. With the wet of thirty-six hours 
 soaking their clothes and their skins, they pushed 
 their steaming animals to the utmost. 
 
 The creeks were bank-full and over. What 
 had been dry gullies were now rushing torrents 
 of yellow water. Every depression was a pond. 
 The face of the land was a sodden waste. 
 
 " See de Hash Knife from de top o' dees heel," 
 said Nivette late in the afternoon of the follow- 
 ing day. 
 
 At the time they were breasting a long, thinly 
 wooded slope. Gilmore at once halted his men 
 and rode forward alone. On the hilltop he took 
 out the field-glasses and reconnoitered the ranch- 
 
31 4 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 buildings. They were not more than three miles 
 away. A few horses stood in the corrals. Wood- 
 smoke, beaten down by the hammers of the rain, 
 pennoned raggedly from the kitchen chimney of 
 the ranch-house. Evidently some one was at 
 home. 
 
 Even as he looked, three riders dashed out of 
 a draw beyond the ranch-house, galloped to one 
 of the corrals, and dismounted. Stripping the 
 saddles from their own beasts they roped fresh 
 horses and saddled up. 
 
 " Must be goin' away in a hurry," observed 
 Gilmore. " Now they're leadin' the hosses out 
 an' tyin' 'em to the stockade." 
 
 He continued to watch as the three figures in 
 the shapeless yellow slickers crossed to the ranch- 
 house and entered. 
 
 " Wonder where the other four are? " he said. 
 " If I'd only got that letter day before yester- 
 day!" 
 
 Suddenly the door of the kitchen popped open, 
 and a man issued, walking backward. It was 
 sufficiently odd that he should walk backward, 
 but it was still more odd that he should be tow- 
 ing another man's body, gripping it by the ankles. 
 Once the dragging head was clear of the sill the 
 first man dropped the ankles and stepped quickly 
 into the house. 
 
 Hardly had he closed the door when it opened 
 again and a woman shot out with two men in 
 pursuit. She ran well, that woman, but they 
 caught her before she could reach one of the 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 315 
 
 tied horses and dragged her, struggling every 
 step of the way, back to the house. 
 
 Gilmore did not see her taken into the house. 
 He had already bounded to his feet and torn off 
 his soggy slicker and was running back to his 
 horse. 
 
 He topped his mount with a rush, spurred 
 across the top of the hill and plunged full tilt 
 down the slope. The wiser plan would have 
 been to return for his men, but Gilmore had no 
 thought for either men or plans. He even for- 
 got that Louise's letter might be a forgery. He 
 only knew that a dead man had been taken out 
 of the Hash Knife ranch-house, and that a 
 woman undoubtedly Louise Stuart had been 
 mishandled, and stood in danger of further ill- 
 treatment. Whether the other riders were the- 
 Stuarts or other folk was immaterial. The ac- 
 counting would be the same. 
 
 The hillside above the Hash Knife is not steep, 
 but it is freckled with boulders, among which 
 grow cedar and lodge-pole pine. Here and 
 there are outcrops and little ledges. Certainly 
 that slope is one to be negotiated at a circumspect 
 walk; but Gilmore took it full gallop. Without 
 doubt Providence dropped everything else for 
 the moment and devoted all her energies to the 
 setting down and taking up of the feet of the im- 
 petuous young man's horse. 
 
 His teeth bared to the gum, panting like a 
 runner finishing a race, Gilmore leaped the pony 
 over a log at the bottom of the hill and barged 
 
316 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 down a cut-bank in a shower of mud and gravel 
 into six feet of running water. The horse 
 plopped out of sight, but came up snorting and 
 gamely struck out for the opposite bank. 
 
 When his mount touched bottom, Gilmore 
 sank in the spurs and laced the pony's hind quar- 
 ters with his quirt. With a swish and a suck, the 
 animal surged out of the water and clawed and 
 scrambled up the bank to level ground. 
 
 Here Gilmore had sense enough to swing to 
 the south, thus keeping a long swell between him 
 and the ranch-house. A mile farther on he jerked 
 his horse into a draw that he had marked from 
 the hilltop. The western end of this draw was 
 not more than a quarter-mile from the ranch- 
 buildings, and any one riding toward the house 
 would be concealed throughout the whole of his 
 approach by the three corrals. 
 
 Ears flat back, desperate eyes rimmed with 
 white, outblown nostrils showing red, the strong- 
 hearted little horse ran like wild-fire. He had to, 
 for his rider quirted and spurred without ceas- 
 ing. 
 
 But Gilmore was hardly aware of what his 
 jabbing heels and flailing right arm were doing. 
 His imagination had outstripped his racing 
 mount, and into his brain was burned a picture 
 of the ranch-house interior. 
 
 There were figures in that picture struggling 
 figures. He saw Louise Stuart dragged through 
 the kitchen, through the dining room, into the 
 living-room. He fancied he heard her shriek. 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 317 
 
 Gilmore's scalp prickled. The hair of his head 
 stiffened and lifted like the hackles of an angered 
 dog. The lust to kill swept through him in a 
 great red wave. 
 
 Now he was nearing the corrals. He swayed 
 back on the reins with such force that his horse, 
 rearing, almost fell over backward. The rider 
 flung himself from the saddle, tore the hat from 
 his head, and raced along the stockade. As he 
 ran, he pulled his six-shooter. 
 
 Spinning round the corner of the corral, he 
 charged straight at the ranch-house. Deep in 
 his throat he made odd, whining noises. His 
 eyes glared like those of a madman. It may be 
 that for the moment he was actually insane. 
 
 A few yards from the door he slipped and fell 
 heavily. He rolled over and over like a shot 
 rabbit, lunged to his feet, and sprang forward 
 again. 
 
 The shock of the fall seemed to have blown 
 clear the red fog in his brain. Instead of burst- 
 ing open the door in the fashion of the bull- 
 headed, unreasoning avenger, he paused in front 
 of it, placed his ear to the latch-string hole, and 
 listened. 
 
 ;< There, yuh clawin' cat," the voice of Shaw 
 was growling, " I guess yuh won't make no noise 
 now! Yuh can just set there an' watch what 
 happens to Mary jane! " 
 
 A cackle of Pan-like laughter shrilled but at 
 the tail of the words. 
 
 "Ain't it luck, catchin' 'em both together?" 
 
318 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 cried Slim Dennison. " My gal an' yourn, 
 Jack!" 
 
 " Where do I come in? " shouted Tim Simms, 
 and laughed again hideously. 
 
 "You will all be killed for this!" Louise 
 Stuart said clearly, unshakenly. " My father 
 and brothers will be home almost any time." 
 
 " Will they? " snarled Shaw. " Well, Lou, 
 pretty Lou, we'll gamble with yuh on that. If 
 they come back before we're through, we lose. 
 If they don't, you lose. I'll teach yuh to gimme 
 the mitten! Wouldn't marry me, huh? I ain't 
 good enough for yuh, huh? Well, when I get 
 through with you, you won't be good enough to 
 marry yore nice little feller, Dal Gilmore! " 
 
 Gilmore decided that the time had arrived to 
 pull the latch-string. Holding his six-shooter 
 in his right hand, he threw the door open with 
 his left, saw before him the broad back of Jack 
 Shaw, and instantly drove two bullets through it. 
 
 Slim Dennison had been holding Mrs. Mary- 
 jane Kyle against the wall, with one hand im- 
 prisoning her throat, the other round her wrists, 
 and the sole of a heavy boot jamming down her 
 two feet. At the thudding crashes of the double 
 discharge he endeavored to get his gun into ac- 
 tion. So did the marshal from beside the chair 
 to which he had been making fast by the arms 
 and legs a greatly disheveled Louise Stuart. 
 
 Gilmore, firing through the smoke swirling 
 round the shoulders of Shaw's falling body, shot 
 Tim Simms through the right eye at the precise 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 319 
 
 moment that the latter let drive from the hip. 
 Tim had always prided himself on his ability to 
 shoot straight from the hip. It would have vexed 
 him to know that his bullet had merely removed 
 a small patch of skin from his opponent's cheek- 
 bone. 
 
 Whirling on Dennison, Gilmore found that 
 worthy wrestling with Mrs. Kyle, who, at the 
 instant her hands were released, had seized the 
 butt of his six-shooter. Gilmore effectively des- 
 troyed Slim's further usefulness in the melee by 
 clipping him under the ear with his gun- 
 barrel. 
 
 Mrs. Kyle leaned against the wall, panting, 
 with both hands over her eyes. Beyond the 
 drifting smoke-clouds Gilmore saw the face of 
 Louise Stuart staring whitely at him. He ran 
 to her. 
 
 " I I knew you'd come ! " she gasped, and 
 fainted, her body sagging limply forward against 
 the rope that bound her to the chair. 
 
 " She'll be around in a minute," said Mrs. 
 Kyle, bending over the bed, on which the sense- 
 less form of Louise Stuart had been deposited. 
 * There, there, Mr. Gilmore, don't look so wor- 
 ried. She's all right, I tell you ! " 
 
 4 Yo're shore it's only a faint? Yo're shore? " 
 
 " Of course I am. Heavens, don't you sup- 
 pose I know what a fainting-spell is when I see 
 it?" 
 
 " I s'pose yuh do," he replied doubtfully. 
 
320 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " You bet I do! Get me some more water and 
 that other towel hanging there by the stove." 
 
 " I'd shore admire to know how you two came 
 to be here all alone," he said, coming back with 
 the water and the towel. " Stuart might 'a' left 
 a couple o' punchers, anyway." 
 
 " Every last one of 'em's out on the range," 
 explained Mrs. Kyle, bathing Louise's forehead. 
 " The storm's drifting the cows toward the Tri- 
 angle O, and the boys are busy. I guess Alec 
 didn't think there'd be any trouble like this." 
 
 "I guess he didn't," Gilmore nodded. 'I 
 guess now maybe he didn't. Lordy, ma'am, I'm 
 glad yo're here!" 
 
 " It's just luck. I was riding to Benson's 
 ranch on some business when the storm hit me, 
 and this was the nearest house." 
 
 And then Louise opened her eyes. Gilmore, 
 on his knees beside the bed, caught his breath 
 sharply. With a gesture as natural as that of a 
 child she held out her arms. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 MRS. KYLE stared at the two sitting shame- 
 lessly hand in hand on the long bench beside the 
 fireplace. 
 
 " Well," she said at last, " I never would have 
 guessed it never! And I guess," she added, as 
 a shadow crossed the window, " I guess here 
 comes somebody who never would have guessed 
 it either." 
 
 The door was flung violently open, and in 
 walked Alec Stuart, Lanky, and Bob. They 
 were oilskinned and dripping. Their amazed 
 eyes surveyed the two holding hands on the 
 bench. 
 
 Gilmore grinned. Louise eyed her relatives 
 reflectively, much as one would gaze upon so 
 many specimens of some annoying insect. 
 
 "Well, I'd like to know began old 
 
 Stuart. 
 
 "I just guess you would!" snapped Mrs. 
 Kyle. " Of all the fools I ever saw and I've 
 seen a few you're the biggest and the oldest! 
 Didn't you know any better than to leave Louise 
 here all alone with only Sing Fah while you went 
 riding round? She'd been alone for a day and 
 a half already when I came. It's just luck " 
 
322 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 "Wait, Mary jane! I'll talk to him," inter- 
 rupted Louise, slipping in front of Mrs. Kyle. 
 " Dal, stay right where you are. I'm doing 
 this ! " Her amber eyes were sparkling. Her 
 voice, when next she spoke, was low, but had a 
 vibrant quality that emphasized every word. 
 " Maryjane tells me that you and Jack Shaw had 
 planned to write Mr. Gilmore in my name invit- 
 ing him here to the ranch. Once here, you in- 
 tended to to murder him. You needn't attempt 
 to deny it. I know that it's true! " 
 
 " We we wasn't goin' to murder him none," 
 uncomfortably pleaded old Alec. ' We was 
 goin' to hang him." 
 
 * That my own father could be so base is un- 
 thinkable! I'd expect anything of Lanky, per- 
 haps, but not you. You always have fought 
 fairly." 
 
 " But I tell you we didn't send him the letter. 
 We " 
 
 " I know you didn't, but I did." 
 ' You did? " 
 
 " I did, jand he knew of your plan when he re- 
 ceived it. In spite of that he came here." 
 
 " So I see," said the old man dryly. 
 
 " But there are other things you don't see," 
 continued Louise, the knuckles of her clenched 
 fists white against the tan. " You are not aware 
 that a short time before Mr. Gilmore arrived, 
 Shaw, Dennison, and Marshal Simms rode in. 
 They killed Sing Fah when he tried to defend us, 
 they tied me to a chair, and they threatened 
 
The Owner of the Lazy D 323 
 
 Mary jane and me. Do you understand? They 
 tied me to a chair, and they threatened both of 
 us!" 
 
 A low growl issued from the throats of the 
 six Stuart boys. 
 
 " Where are they? " demanded Alec Stuart in 
 a terrible voice, his stubby mustache working with 
 rage. 
 
 1 You're interested now, aren't you? Oh, very 
 much interested you are! Splendid allies, 
 weren't they? Well, Mr. Gilmore arrived before 
 anything really serious occurred. He shot Shaw 
 and Simms, and knocked out Dennison." 
 
 " I wouldn't 'a' been able to do it so easy if 
 Mrs. Kyle hadn't grabbed his gun," cut in Gil- 
 more. 
 
 " It doesn't matter how it happened. What 
 does matter is that Slim Dennison, hog-tied and 
 chained to the anvil, is in the blacksmith-shop. 
 You'll find the bodies of the others there, too. 
 Shall I tell them now, Dal? " 
 
 Gilmore nodded, smiling, and stepped for- 
 ward to her side. She laid her hand in his. 
 
 " It may interest you to know," Louise con- 
 tinued, " that I am engaged to John Dalling 
 Drummond. Don't look so stupid, father! He's 
 the son of the late owner of the Lazy D." 
 
 " But what are yuh holdin' this feller's hand 
 for? " cried her puzzled parent. 
 
 " Because he is John Dalling Drummond my 
 Dal." 
 
 "Fore Dal? Yore Dal?' 9 
 
324 The Owner of the Lazy D 
 
 " Certainly my Dal." 
 
 " You see, Mr. Stuart," said Gilmore, his blue 
 eyes twinkling, " I thought if I came up here as 
 a deputy sheriff, instead of as the owner of the 
 Lazy D, I might be able to get at the bottom of 
 the trouble in Glenn County." 
 
 Alec Stuart batted his eyes sharply. Gil- 
 more's rescue of Louise had spiked his artillery 
 to the last gun. Obviously there was but one 
 course to follow. He stepped forward, his hand 
 held out. 
 
 " So far's the Hash Knife is concerned, there 
 ain't no trouble at all in Glenn County," he an- 
 nounced. "Shake!" 
 
 " I'll answer for the Triangle O an' the Lazy 
 D," said Gilmore as they solemnly shook hands. 
 
 " Ain't it one ring-tailed whizzer of a 
 weddin'?" Jimmy observed to Smoky Nivette. 
 * There's Tom Stuart eatin' beef with two Lazy 
 D boys an' the Triangle O foreman. Old Alec 
 an' Shorty Damman are camped down alongside 
 a whisky -kag a-singin' * The Bull-Whacker ' an' 
 lowerin' the liquor in the kag at the end o' each 
 verse. There's six verses, an' they've sung the 
 whole tune eight times so far. Come on, Smoky, 
 le's go help 'em ! " 
 
 " I am wit' you," said Smoky Nivette. 
 
 THE END 
 
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 farmers encamped on the grounds of the Flying U Ranch. 
 
 The Northwestern cattle country has never had a better chronicler 
 in fiction of its deeds and its people than B. M. Bower. New Tork 
 'Times. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN & CO., Publishers, Boston, Mass. 
 
NOVELS BY B. M. BOWER 
 
 GOOD INDIAN Illustrated. $1.60 net 
 
 A story named for its half-breed hero, who dominates 
 this stirring Western romance. 
 
 There is excitement and action on every page . . A somewhat 
 unusual love story runs through the book. Boston Transcript. 
 
 THE UPHILL CLIMB Illustrated. $1.60 net 
 
 How a cowboy fought the hardest of all battles a 
 fight against himself. 
 
 Bower knows the West of the cowboys, as do few writers to-day 
 . . . The word pictures of Western life are realistic, and strongly 
 suffused with local color. Philadelphia North American. 
 
 LONESOME LAND Frontispiece. $1.60 net 
 
 A story of modern Montana, giving a wholly different 
 phase of life among the ranches. 
 
 Montana described as it really is, is the "lonesome land" of this 
 new Bower story. A prairie fire and the death of the worthless 
 husband are especially well handled. A. L. A. Booklist. 
 
 SKYRIDER Frontispiece. $1.60 net 
 
 A cowboy who becomes an aviator is the hero of this 
 new story of Western ranch life. 
 
 An engrossing ranch story with a new note of interest woven into 
 its breezy texture. Philadelphia Public Ledger. 
 
 THE THUNDER BIRD Frontispiece. $1.60 net 
 
 Further aeronautic adventures of "Skyrider" Johnnie 
 Jewell. 
 
 "A good story with numberless thrills and a humorous quality 
 throughout its pages." New Tork Sun. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN & CO., Publishers, Boston, Mass. 
 
NOVELS BY B. M. BOWER 
 
 THE RANCH AT THE WOLVERINE 
 
 Frontispiece. $1.60 net 
 
 A ringing tale full of exhilarating cowboy atmosphere, abundantly 
 and absorbingly illustrating the outstanding feature of that alluring 
 ranch life that is fast vanishing. Chicago Tribune. 
 
 JEAN OF THE LAZY A Frontispiece. $1.60 net 
 
 A spirited novel of ranch life in which the fascinating 
 heroine poses for film pictures that she may make money 
 necessary to prove her father innocent of a crime for which 
 he has been convicted. 
 
 It possesses all the popular ingredients a quick-action plot, color 
 and picturesqueness aplenty, and an unflagging interest to be 
 found in Bower's earlier successes. Philadelphia Public Ledger. 
 
 THE PHANTOM HERD Frontispiece. $1.60 net 
 
 Another western tale in which the Happy Family be- 
 come real "movie" actors. 
 
 There has been so much truck written in the last few years about 
 motion pictures, that it is a positive relief to find a book by an author 
 who knows exactly what to talk about in an entertaining manner 
 with a knowledge of actual conditions as they exist. Boston Post. 
 
 THE HERITAGE OF THE SIOUX 
 
 Frontispiece. $1.60 net 
 
 A Flying U story in which the Happy Family get 
 mixed up in a robbery faked for film purposes. 
 
 Altogether a rattling story, that is better in conception and ex- 
 pression than the conventional thriller on account of its touches of 
 real humanity in characterization. Philadelphia Public Ledger. 
 
 RIM O' THE WORLD Frontispiece. $1.60 net 
 
 An engrossing tale of a ranch-feud between "gun- 
 fighters" in Idaho. 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN & CO., Publishers, Boston, Mass. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 8W58HK 
 
 
 neettg, 
 
 
 
 WAY $1 
 
 
 SENtONILL 
 
 
 NflV 2 R 2001 
 
 
 li U t U LUUI 
 
 Ur BERKELEY 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 General Library 
 LD 21A-50m-8,'57 University of California 
 (C8481slO)476B Berkeley 
 
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