“Certainly,” murmured Perry, “I ought to be thankful that I have friends like you and your pards to lend me a helping hand at this critical time. Every man on the Brazos seems to have been against Dunbar and me!” “Not every man, Dick,” protested Jordan. “Only Benner and Phelps are really against you. The rest of the cattlemen are so completely dominated by Benner and Phelps that they don’t dare take sides with you openly.” “We know the stake Benner is playing for,” said Wild Bill, “but what does Phelps hope to make out of this rascally work?” “For one thing,” replied Perry, “Phelps wants the Star-A range. He tried to buy out the man who sold to me. Maybe it would have been better if I had gone elsewhere for a location and let Phelps have the Star-A range. We can never tell about these things until it’s too late.” “Then, too,” spoke up Jordan, “Phelps is a bosom friend of Benner’s. That’s the principal reason, I suppose, why he’s taking a part in this rascally work. But prosperity is back of it all--too much prosperity for men who do not understand how to make the best use of their wealth.” “Isn’t there something we can do for Hattie?” asked Perry tremulously. “Must we stay cooped up in this coulee, guarding against an attack from the H-P outfit, while my girl is in the hands of that scoundrel, Benner?” “We’re going to do something for Miss Perry, amigo,” returned the scout, “and we’ll start the ball to rolling just as soon as we can decide what’s to be done. If your daughter had been at the H-P ranch, you’d have discovered it, I think. And I don’t believe Benner would have her taken to his place. Is there any one else besides Red Steve on whom Benner could depend for help in dealing with Miss Perry?” “There’s Fritz Dinkelmann,” suggested Dunbar. “That Dutchman and his wife owe Benner money, and while I think Fritz is as honest as the usual run of men, still, being in debt head over ears to Benner he might be forced to----” “Dinkelmann, Dinkelmann!” muttered Wild Bill. “Say, Nick, wasn’t that the Dutchman our Dutch pard went to see? Wasn’t it Dinkelmann who----” A call came from Cayuse. As he shouted, he beckoned those below to come up the slope and see with their own eyes something he had discovered. What the pards saw, peering over the crest of the coulee bank, sent the hot blood pounding through their veins. “It’s the baron--our Dutch pard!” shouted Wild Bill; “the fellow we were just talking about, Perry!” “There’s a woman with him,” faltered Perry; “can it be--on my soul, I think it is----” “Yes,” breathed Dunbar hoarsely, “it’s Hattie, Dick! I can see her plain. An’ behind the two are a score or two of cowboys from Benner’s ranch, and from the H-P outfit. They outnumber us, but we’ve got to do something! We can’t stand here like this.” Dunbar whirled around and rushed stumbling down the slope toward the horses.