The Monticellonian., 1918-03-29

jury. They would be turned loose on the range near his claim, and they would be found before the seabs had haired over. It was good time for rustling. Roundups were over for the winter, and the weather would confne 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 as well to put little scenery between himself and that particular locality, and he started back up the hill. Once he pulled up as if he would go back, but he thought better of it. It 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 go down and blotch the brands so that they would not read anything at all He had thought of that before and decided against 1t. That would l 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 hunehed forward in the saddle and let Rattler choose his own trail up the hill. Though he did not know | it, trouble had caught Billy Louise in 1 that same place and had sent her for ward with dropping shoulders and mind so absorbed that she gave no at | tention to her horse But that is mere. | ly a trifing coincidence. The thing he had to decide was far more compli- cated than Lilly Louises problem.
 Should he go straight to Scabeck 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 a | few words about the weather Besides Seabeck would very soon find out
 There it stood at his shoulder, grin ming at him malevelently-his past It tied his hands. Buck Olney he could 1 deal with single handed, for 0lney had | the fear of him that is born of l guilty conscience. He could send Buck lover the road whenever he chose to tell some things he knew He could do l it without any eomRunetions too. Buck l 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 Seabeek 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.
 And then quite suddenly in his des- peration he decided upon something ITe laughed hardly, turned Rattler 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
 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 if 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 a branding iron into its midst from between the rails When it was going properly he searched cer- tain likely hiding places and found an iron still warm from previous service He thrust it into heat, led Rattler into the corral and closed the gate securely behind him. Then he mounted took down his rope and widened the loop, while his angry eyes singled out the animal he wanted first.
 Ward was not an adept with a run ming iron" He was honest whatever men might say of him. But he knew how to tie down an animal and he sacrificed part of his lariat to get the short rope he needed to tie their feet together. He worked fast-no telling what minute some one might come and catch him-and he did his work well. far better and heater than had his predecessors.
 When he left that corral he smiled. Before he had ridden very far up the bluff he stopped. looked down at the long suffering cattle and smiled again sardonically. One could read their brands easily from where he sat on his horse. They were not blotched they were very distinct. But they were not Y6s within that corral. There were other brands which might be made of a Y6 monogram by the judicious ad- dition of mark here and a mark there.
 There, hang yuh, chew on that awhilew he apostrophized the absent three. He turned away and rode back once more toward home.
 Rattler turned naturally into the trail which ran up the creek to the ranch. but Ward immediately turned him out of it. We aren't going to overlook any bets. old timer De said grimly and crossed the creek at point where it was too rocky to leave any hoof prints behind them. He rode up the lower point of the ridge beyond and