"Did I say there was? All I do say is that I'm going to find out who stampeded our critters and scattered 'em all over the county. Every one of them went out last night. Some of 'em came back this morning, and I rounded up a lot in the hills over east; but there's three or four steers clean gone." He threw the saddle over the peg and led the tired pony off to water. For half a minute Harry stared after him, overcome. The chaos of the last two days seemed about to boil up once more and engulf her. No! That it should not. She stiffened resolutely. It was the very time when she needed every bit of calmness that she could muster. Pulling Hike round, she trotted after Rob. "See here, Bobby," she began briskly, "you must get back to help with Robinson's haying, and I'm going out to hunt those steers. Yes, I am now," as he began objecting. "There's nothing to be done here that can't wait, and I shall thoroughly enjoy getting our critters out of Ludlum's clutches before he's had a chance to ship them to the stockyards." "Oh, he wouldn't do that! He wouldn't risk getting into trouble. What he can do is to keep them moving until there's not much chance of our finding them again. If we lose our stock we can't pay his loan and he takes your land. That's what he's after. A water hole and green meadow like this is a gold mine to a man with so much stock. Ludlum's strictly 'honest,' but business is business with him, and he's waiting for the chance to close down on us." "He'll never get the chance, never!" cried Harry. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed if you think telling him so will stop him. If you don't want to lose your land, you'd better have the cash handy when our friend comes round this fall to see how things are getting on." Harry made no answer. She knew that Rob was right. Power, not arguments about right and wrong, was what Ludlum respected. What she must do was to see to it that they lost not another head of stock and that the herd got all the grazing that belonged to it. Then she could sell at a better price and renew the loan without having to sacrifice her entire herd. "I'll start out this very afternoon," she said once more as Rob was leaving for Robinson's, "and get the census, as you may say, of every critter hereabouts. I'm going over first to see how Isita is; and by the way, Bobby, if any one is going to town while you're over yonder, have them bring back some oranges for Isita, and also telephone in to the doctor. If they haven't sent for him, tell him to come over, anyhow. I'll pay him myself, if they won't." Rob promised without comment. How like Harry it was to offer to pay the doctor, and quite ignore the fact that she had not a cent in the bank. It amused him, even while he was glad that she could so quickly rise from her depression.