"Meanin' does he know his business? Well, I reckon. He's got the best head for range work of any man in the country! He's square, ma'am. An' there ain't no man monkeyin' with him. I've knowed him for five years, an' I ain't ever knowed him to do a crooked trick, exceptin'"--and here he scratched his head and grinned reminiscently--"when he gets the devil in him which he does occasionally, ma'am--an' goes to jokin', ma'am. But they're mostly harmless jokes, ma'am; he's never hurt nobody, bad. But he got a level head--a heap leveler than a lot of folks that--" "I think Tom Chavis would make a good range boss, Ruth," said Masten. He did not look at her, and his words were expressionless. "Mister man," said Vickers evenly, "what do you know about Tom Chavis?" Masten looked quickly at Vickers, and as quickly looked away, his face slowly reddening. "He's foreman now, isn't he?" he said. "It seems that Harkness trusted him that much." "There's a first time for every man to go wrong, Mister," said Vickers. Masten's voice was almost a sneer. "Why don't you tell Chavis that?" "I've told him, Mister--to his face." Vickers' own face was growing dark with wrath. "You were range boss after Harkness' death," persisted Masten. "Why didn't you discharge Chavis?" "I'm askin' the new boss for permission to do it now," declared Vickers. "It'll be a good wind-up for my stay here." "We shall keep Chavis for the present," said Ruth. "However," she added firmly, "he shall not be range boss. I do not like him." Vickers grinned silent applause. And again Uncle Jepson had trouble with his pipe. Aunt Martha worked her knitting needles a little faster. Masten's face paled, and the hand that held the cigar quickly clenched, so that smoking embers fell to the porch floor. Whatever his feelings, however, he retained his self-control. "Of course, it is your affair, Ruth," he said. "I beg your pardon for offering the suggestion." But he left them shortly afterward, lighting a fresh cigar and walking toward the bunkhouse, which was deserted, for Chavis and Pickett had gone to a distant part of the range. Thus Masten did not see Vickers, when a little later he came out on the porch with his war-bag. He said good-bye to Aunt Martha and Uncle Jepson, and then he took Ruth's hand and held it long. "You'll never go a heap wrong when you use your own judgment, girl," he said. "I'm ridin' over to the Diamond H to tell Randerson about his new job. Don't make no mistake, girl. Rex Randerson is square. An' if any trouble comes sneakin' around you, take it to Rex; he'll stick on the right side till hell freezes over." [Illustration: "I am Ruth Harkness, the new owner of the Flying W"] CHAPTER VI A MAN AND HIS JOB