“Yore men did.” “Did they? I didn’t know it. Where’s June Meline?” “That female fiddler?” “Yeah, that female fiddler! Where is she?” “I heard somebody stole her.” “Oh, yuh did, eh? I reckon yuh didn’t need to _hear_ it. Some of you boys lift him on a horse. We’ll take him along with us and settle his case at the Two Bar X.” They lifted Buck Priest to a saddle, and he cursed them for hurting his broken leg. Perhaps they were none too gentle. “Want to rope him on, Park?” asked one of the men. “What for? If he falls off he can’t run away, can he?” Two of the cowboys rode double and one of them led Buck Priest’s horse. The jolting of the horse was misery to Priest, but he clamped his jaws tightly and held all his weight on his right stirrup. * * * * * The first faint touch of dawn streaked the old pole corrals and the stables of the Two Bar X. Huddled in a chair beside the table in the main room sat June Meline, wrapped in a blanket, asleep. At one of the front windows stood Jack Silver. He had watched all night for the return of Bell, who he was sure would come back. The body of McLeese still lay where it fell. He turned his head and saw June looking at him. She had slept for several hours. “How are yuh feelin’, June?” he asked. “All right, Jack. Oh, I must have slept a long time. Why, it’s morning!” “Just about. We’ll get some breakfast and then I’ll rope a couple of horses. I dunno what became of my horse, but I think they took him away. We’re goin’ back to Tomahawk, June. Somethin’ is wrong out here.” She nodded and got up from her chair. “I’ll get the breakfast, Jack. I can cook.” “I’ll betcha,” he smiled. “Yo’re quite a woman, June. I don’t blame Reber for likin’ yuh. I never knew that women had the nerve you’ve got. After what you went through since yuh left Tomahawk yesterday, it’s a wonder you’ve got any nerve left.” “But I’ve been frightened,” confessed June. “If you had said ‘boo!’ to me yesterday I’d have dropped your gun.” “Mebbe not,” said Jack smiling. “That gun is too easy on the trigger to take any chances. I might have just booed a bullet into my nervous system.” Jack laughed and turned back to the window, leaning forward tensely. There were cattle drifting past the rear of the corrals and sheds--a compact mass of moving animals heading northwest toward the West Fork pass. Jack stepped to the door and opened it enough to give him a farther view down the valley. As far as he could see down the valley there were cattle surging ahead like a brown wave. Jack shut the door quickly. A man had slipped through the corral-fence at the corner of a shed, a man carrying a rifle in his hand. “What is it, Jack?” asked June anxiously.