"He say, 'Tell that boss of yourn to no send you, send heemself nex' time.' He say he weel keel you on sight. I say he can't. He laugh, _so_!" laughing in a blood-curdling manner. "He say he keel nex' man an' cows that cross line. He ees _uno_ devil!" "He will, hey!" Meeker exclaimed, thoroughly angered. "We'll give him all th' chance he wants when we get things fixed. 'Tony, what did you do about getting those two men you spoke of? You went down to Eagle, didn't you?" "_Si, si_," assured the Mexican. "They come, _pronto_. They can keel heem. They come to-day; _quien sabe_?" "I'll do my own killin'--but here comes Doc," Meeker replied. "Looks mad, too. Mebby they was going to kill him an' he objected. Hullo, Doc; what's th' matter?" "That Cassidy d--n near blowed my arm off," Doc replied. "Caught him turnin' back one of our cows an' told him not to. When I backed off so I could keep one eye on his friend he up an' plugs me through my gun arm." "I see; they owns th' earth!" Meeker roared. "Shootin' up my men 'cause they stick up for me! Come in th' house an' get that wing fixed. We can talk in there," he said, glancing at Antonio. "They cut 'Tony across th' face with a quirt 'cause he was ridin' in their valley!" "Let's get th' gang together an' wipe 'em off th' earth," Doc suggested, following Meeker towards the house. Mary looked up when they entered: "What's th' matter, Dad? Why, are you hurt, Doc?" "Don't ask questions, girl," Meeker ordered. "Get us some hot water an' some clean cloth. Sit down, Doc; we'll fix it in no time." "We better clean 'em up to-morrow," Doc remarked. "No; there ain't no use of losin' men fighting if there's any other way. You know there's a good strong line house on th' top of Lookout Peak, don't you?" "Shore; reg'lar fort. They calls it Number Three." Mary had returned and was tearing a bandage, listening intently to what was being said. "What's th' matter with getting in that some day soon an' holdin' it for good?" asked the foreman. "It overlooks a lot of range, an' once we're in it it'll cost 'em a lot of lives to get it back--if they can get it back." "You're right!" cried Doc, eagerly. "Let me an' Curley get in there to-night an' hold her for you. We can do it." "You can't do that. Somebody sleeps in it nights. Nope, we've got to work some scheme to get it in th' daylight. They are bound to have it guarded, an' we've got to coax him out somehow. I don't know how, but I will before many hours pass. Hullo, who's this?" he asked, seeing two strangers approach the house. "Couple of Greasers," grunted Doc. "Hey, you," cried Meeker through the open door. "You go down to th' corral an' wait for me." "_Si, señor._" "What's th' matter, Dad?" asked Mary. "How did Doc get shot?" Meeker looked up angrily, but his face softened.