And this was the situation
against which Mart Cooley led his determined band.

It was at the end of a hard day's ride, and, late afternoon, when the
cattlemen arrived in sight of the enemies' stronghold. They had circled
the plains to the west, and ridden down in the shelter of the hills, to
avoid coming within rifle range of the house. These western hills were
rocky, and at their end a growth of firs, scrub oak, and brush gave the
lynchers shelter. They were four or five hundred yards from the house,
which was in plain view.

Mart Cooley, Walt Lampson, Buck Milton, and a couple of ranchmen stood
in this natural screen and took in the situation.

"Sheep must be up in that coulee," said Walt.

"Sure," Mart replied. "They c'n wait. That there house is sure in a good
spot. If it'd bin planned for a fort it couldn't be better." He stood
and silently regarded the house, his eyes narrowed more than usual. "How
many men d'ye s'pose they've got in there?" he asked finally.

"Reck'n they could scrape up 'bout twenty-five, in th' time they've
had," Walt answered.

"An' some o' 'em shepherds, an' rotten shots, an' they's fifty o' us,"
Buck put in. He was eager for action.

"Well, I come here t' fight, an' I'm paid for it," said Mart Cooley.
"But if we go after 'em in th' open an' th' daylight, they'll get a lot
of us. We'll wait till night."

"Suits me," said Walt Lampson. "I don't want no sheepman t' get me."

There was a puff of smoke from the house, and a bullet whined over the
men's heads. They dropped to the ground. The lynchers raised their
rifles and emptied them, but not at the house. Back of it and to the
left was a raised water tank, and into the lower part of this the shots
were directed. As the men wormed their way back through the scrub, and
around the hill, thin streams of water began to trickle from the tank.

"If we have t' stick 'round awhile, we'll leave 'em some thirsty,
anyhow," said Walt.

Volleys of harmless shots had followed their creeping course, for at
five hundred yards it is hard to hit an object on the ground--especially
when it is protected by scrub.

Under cover of the steep hills the cattlemen waited for night. There was
no sign of attack from the hills. Evidently the sheepmen were keeping
their forces in the house during the daylight hours. After a brief
twilight the night fell, cloudy and very dark. And Mart Cooley had
formed another plan.

One of the men knew the lay of the canyon