"He thought so, too, at th’ time," and Hoppy gave a brief history of their friend’s movements. "When he got back to th’ ranch he was restless an’ decided to come up here an’ help you. He ’s been very busy up here in a quiet way. He tells me he knows th’ man that put th’ itch on yore range. Tex says he could ’a’ stopped it if he knew enough to add two an’ two. But he says there ’s another man behind him, slicker ’n a coyote. Tex ’s been hopin’ every day to rope an’ tie him but he ain’t got him yet." "Who is it?" asked Buck, with grim simplicity. "Tex won’t tell me. He says you can’t do no good shootin’ on suspicion. He’s tried watchin’ him but he might as well be goin’ to church when he does leave home, his travels is that innocent." "Why didn’t Tex come here? I been wantin’ one man I could trust, an’ me an’ Tex could ’a’ wiped out th’ gang." "He says different—an’ he was afraid o’ bein’ seen. You see, that would kill his usefulness. Just as soon as he could get to th’ bottom o’ th’ game an’ lay his fingers on th’ real boss, _then_ he ’d ’a’ come out for you in th’ open, put th’ boss in th’ scrap-pile for burial, an’ burned powder till you had things where you wanted ’em. We about concluded you ain’t makin’ good use o’ th’ punchers you got, Buck, though I shore hates to say it." "How can I make use o’ men I don’t trust? You don’t know th’ worst, Hopalong—" "About th’ couple o’ thousand head went swimmin’? I ain’t heard much else in Twin River. How ’d it happen?" Buck ran over the day’s occurrences graphically and without missing a single point. Hopalong’s thoughtful comment was characteristic of the man upon whom Buck had unconsciously leaned in crises not a few. "The two men on yore south pasture is liars," he declared. "Yore foreman is some doubtful: ’pears like to me if he ’s honest an’ attendin’ to business, no point o’ yore range ought to go shy o’ him for long. Th’ Britisher ’s white: it’s no part o’ his business to help you, th’ way Tex tells me; if he ain’t square he just does his work an’ don’t offer no suggestions. Th’ other two is all right if they ain’t just fools what ’ll do as th’ foreman says ’cause he ’s th’ foreman, right or wrong. That’s how I reckons you stand. Now we got to prove it." "Fire away," said Buck, earnestly. "I agrees to every word. Provin’ it’s th’ horse I ain’t been able to rope." "Th’ outlyin’ free range don’t count. You ain’t missed no cows in th’ round-up, has you?" "No, they tallied high." "Goes to show there ’s a head to th’ deviltry. You don’t get no losses on’y right on yore home range. Now, we divide th’ range in sections, a man to each section, an’ work ’em that way a few days. There won’t be no night ridin’ at first. Then we set ’em night ridin’ when they ain’t expectin’ it an’ shift th’ men every night. We soon know who to trust, don’t we?"