The Dolores star., 1918-02-22

q touch Of the spurs, rode close to the
fence and stood In his stirrups while
he studied the bunch.
"Helr' be said when the inspection
was over and dropped back into the
saddle while he gaxed unseeingiy at
the canyon wall. 1t was . very real
hell that his mind saw-a hell made
BY men wherein other men must dwell
In torment because of their sins or the
sins Of their fellows.
Seabeck's brand was Q big v, bad
brand to own, since It favors revision
at the hands Of the unscrupulous.
These cattle were Seabeck cattle, and
their brand had been altered. For the
right slant Of the v had been extended
. little and curled into q 9, 80 that In
time the brand would stand casual In
spection as q Y6 monogram-Ward's
own brand. The work was crude, pur-
posefully crude. The v had not been
returned enough to make It look fresh.
and the newly scared 6 had been add
ed with q malevolent pressure that
would make It stand out fresh brand
for . long time in case Of q delay in
the proceedings, ~ Ward knew per-
fectly well. F....
So he sat there and looked over the
fence and saw himself q convicted
''rustler." There was the evidence all
ready to damn him utterly before q
jury. They would be turned loose on
the range near his claim, and they
would be found before the scabs had
haired over. Il was q good time for
rustling. 'Roundups were over for the
winter. and the weather would confine
range riding to absolute necessity.
OF course the work was coarse-so
coarse as to reflect against his intelli-
gence-but when brands are worked
over and the culprit has been caught
the law is not too careful to give the
prisoner credit for brains.
Ward stared at the altered brands
and wondered what he had best do.
He bethought him that perhaps It
would be a. well to put q little scenery
between himself and that particular
locality, and he started back mp the
hill. Once he pulled up a. II he would
go back, but he thought better of It
1t was out Of the question to turn
those cattle loose. He could not kill
them and dispose Of the bodies, not
when there were seven Of them. He
might 60 down and blotch the brands
80 that they would not read anything
at all. He had thought of that before
and decided against It That would
put those three on their guard and
would probably not benefit him in the
long run. They would work the brands
on other cattle.
He hunched forward in the saddle
and let Rather choose his own trail
up the hill Though he did not know
1t, trouble had caught Billy Louise in
that same place and had sent her for
ward with dropping shoulders and
mind 30 absorbed that she gave no At
tention to her horse. But that is mere.
ly trifiing coincidence. The thing he
had tn decide was far more compli-
Gated than Eilly Louise's problem.
Should he go straight to Seabeck and
tell him what he had found out? He
did not know Seabeck, except as he
had met him once or twice on the trail
and exchanged trivial greetings and 4
few words about the weather. Besides,
Seabeck would very soon find out
There It stood at his shoulder, grim
ming at him malevolently-hisp past. 1t
deal with single handed, for Olney had
the fear of him that is born Of a
guilty conscience. He could send Buck
"over the road" whenever he chose to
tell some things he knew. He could do
it without any compunctions too. Buck
Olney, the stock inspector, deserved no
mercy at Wards hands and would get
none If ever they met where Ward
would have q chance at him.
Olney he could deal with alone, but
with the evidence of those rebranded
cattle and the testimony Of two men,
together with the damning testimony
of his past! Ward lifted his head and
stared heavily at the pine slope before
him. He could not go to Seabeck and
tell him anything. In the black hour
of that ride he could not think Of any
thing that he could do that would
save him. 49, as.
And then quite suddenly in his des-
peration he decided upon something.
He laughed hardly, turned Rather back
from the homeward trail and returned
to the corral in the canyon. "They
started this game, and they've put it
up to me-" he told himself grimly,
"and they needn't squeal If they burn
their own fingers" Hn....
He hurried, for he had some work
ahead Of him, and the sun was sliding
past the noon mark already. He reach
ed the corral and went about what he
had to do as II he were working for
wages and wanted to give good meas
ure.
First he rebuilt the little fire Just
outside the corral where the cattle
could not trample 1t, but where one
might thrust branding iron into its
midst from between the rails. When
it was going properly he searched GER
tain likely hiding places and found an