The Trail Horde

saw a group of children. Lawler recognized the building as the Wolf Saloon-so named because of the river that ran through th

at stretch of plain that ran eastward. He caught sight of a dot on his right, so far a

-to mount Red King-his color had returned, though something of the

ooking toward the Wolf as he passed it, but hearing s

ounted, tied the horse to a hitching rail and strode to an open doorway from which ran the stairs that

end, Lawler heard a woman's voice, floati

," said the voice; "

g, the words unintelligible to him;

closing, and the light tread o

he now stepped back in the narrow hallway, agains

orrals on the other side of the railroad track. His eyes narrowed with satisfaction-for there would be room for the thousand head of cattle that Blackburn and the o

widen eloquently. She half paused as she started to pass him, and it seemed to him that she was about to speak. He smiled gravely, puzzled, hesitant, f

kably eastern. He decided that she had mistaken him for someone of her acquain

am; I reckon it's a cas

"I thought sure I knew you. Are

mething else that he was not aware of it. It seemed to him that the eyes were merely engaging, a

judge of that, ma'am. You cert

Her pause w

ne Lawle

appointment he expected to find the

't know you. I

's no harm done

athom. And when halfway up the stairs he looked back, curious, subtly attracted to the woman, he saw her standing in

turned at the sound of the door ope

t may have been that what Lawler had heard of Gary Warden was reflected in his gaze-a doubt of Warden's honorablene

s of a subtle pulse of antagonis

sciously aware that it had come when he had noted the rugged, manly strength of Lawl

rage in him. His cheeks flus

ts. He managed that so cleverly that many

n's character that vindicated the things he had heard about the man-the t

hat seemed to offer him a personal affront. As quickly as Warden had veiled his eyes from Lawler,

h a saturnine smile in which there was amused contempt. Assuredly the new buye

s of friendliness that had distinguished all his relations w

Gary W

rt, affirmative nod

g my cattle. I've got eight thousand head-good clean stock. They're above the average,

delivered at the railroad com

for the slight smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth-

. "That was the price L

red to be bl

ed for his resignation. But if you have a written contract with Lefingwell-in which it appears that Lefingwell acte

t; I had Jim Lefingwell's wor

rden. "Unfortunately, a man's

when he told you he'd agreed to pay t

city. But the company requires a written agreement i

ingwell told me he'd had a talk with you about my a

did not mention

Lefingwell lied to me

hat I'm a liar, I suppose," he said, h

mirthless, brought a pulse of apprehension through him, and Lawler's voice

have said it to you mighty plain, so there'd be no doubt in your mind about it. So far as I know, you are not a liar. I'm telling you this, t

fingwell spoke to you about his agreement with me. Anyway, I feel that charitable enough toward you to advance that expl

On the threshold he paused, f

ell at twenty-f

s voice, and his eyes were alight with cunning. In the atmosphere about him was complacency which suggested that Warden knew exactly wh

twenty-five,"

re having some trouble with their rolling stock-it is hard to get cars.

that owners in the South Basin, over at Shotwell, were offered forty just before the round-up. I was kicking myself for making that agreeme

some buyers were offering forty-and they contracted for some at that price. But that was before we made-" He hesitated

ore cattle this season than ever before. There is no demand and the price had to tumble

are no cars?"

w Warden's

And a shortage of cattle would mean higher prices for those that got through. But I'm not arg

h you luck,"

k to Lawler, bend

f complacence that surrounded the man. His manner hinted of secret knowledge-strongly; it gave Lawler an impression of something stealthy, clandestine. Warden's business methods were not like Lefingwell's. Lefingwell had been bluff, frank, and sincere; there was s

rase the impression he had gained of Warden. He grinned, thinking of how he had caught her watching him as he had mounted the sta

lackburn, about "chapper-owns," and he decided she must be that woman to whom Blackburn had referred as "a woman at Lefingwell's old place, ke

presently he found himself smiling with pleasure, with a mental picture of Ruth's face before him-her clear, direct-looking,

small purchases, the woman who had encountered Lawler in the hall

alled; "do you

he woman. Then she lowered h

Circle L? Is tha

n the Wolf River sect

er must be

s got wads of

es glowed with

ious about him. He is a remarkabl

that would fit him. You've hit it. He's different. Looks like one of them statesmen

d, reflectively. "He is big, and imposing, and stri

dead, now-died five years ago. Luke was a wolf, ma'am, with a gun. He could shoot the buttons off your coat with his eyes shut. An' he was so allfired fast with his gun t

errupted the woman. "You

to marry a girl that wasn't educated like him, an' he'd begin to get fool notions about hisself-why, it'd make it pretty hard for the girl to get along with him." He grinned. "But accordin' to what I hear, Ka

Is Mr. Lawler going

for?" he demanded. "Neither of them is a heap flighty, I reckon. An' Kane

an, and she smiled as they both walked out of the store and climbed into a buckboard. The smile was one that would have puzzled Corwi