"No," Bud shook his head slowly, "but it ain't noways reasonable t' suppose that both of them horses would break loose in such a way as t' leave their ropes; and a tie-rope don't usually break in the neck-loop. Ain't neither horse got a rope nor a rope-burn. Nawsir, them two broncs were untied." "What do you think, Henderson?" asked Grandon. "I think that Conley is right, sir." "Possibly. You will go at once to Kingsburg and try to get in communication with McKay, Henderson." Henderson snapped a salute, whirled on his heel and started for the stables. Bud turned his back on Grandon and began rolling a cigarette. "Do yuh know what I think?" asked Bud slowly. Grandon seemed to have little interest in what Bud thought, and did not reply. "I think that Kingsburg is a hell of a place to send one officer, Grandon." "Yes?" Grandon's voice held a trifle of a sneer, "but McKay does not drink." "Then he won't get off as cheaply as I did." "What do you mean, Conley?" "I mean that there's somethin' queer about that danged place. A week ago I seen somethin' that I never reported to you, Grandon. I was comin' down past there at night and I looked it over from that knoll back of town. I seen at least twenty men go into Magee's place. "It kinda struck me as bein' queer; so I rode down and went in. I found Magee and one Injun in there. Magee offered me a drink of hootch, but I didn't take it. There was at least twenty men went in there, and I found two." "I can hardly credit that statement, Conley." "Hell, you ain't got nothin' on me," grinned Bud. "You knew that Magee had a stock of liquor?" "So did you," retorted Bud. "You know damn well that Magee is responsible for most all of the liquor that comes into this district, but you can't nail him with it. You send one man in there to buck that whole bunch. Don't you know that every smuggler, rustler, bootlegger is on Magee's side? What can one man do? [Illustration] "You swell out your chest and imagine that the R. N. W. M. P. is all powerful, don'tcha? They ain't. A red coat ain't got a Chinaman's chance in Kingsburg. I know Magee and his outfit. He told me that I was wastin' m' time tryin' t' put the deadwood on him, and that, if I'd quit the force, he'd show me how to make more money than the force ever paid anybody." Grandon's eyes fairly snapped with anger, but he knew down deep in his heart that Bud was right. Their efforts against Magee had been dismal failures, but he did hate to be told in such plain language. Without a word he turned and went back into the house. "I reckon his hide ain't as thick as I thought it was," mused Bud. "And I didn't say 'sir' to him once."