arge.

There were grounds for both suppositions, and the girl, after hours of
vain struggle, found herself still in the middle ground, but more nervous
and anxious than she had ever been.

The arrival of Mike Stelton under guard two days after that of the other
rustlers created a sensation. For the girl it was the blow that shattered
another illusion, for although she had never cared for the foreman, her
belief in his unswerving faithfulness to the Bissell house was absolute.
Now to see him the admitted leader of the gang that had steadily
impoverished her father was almost unbelievable.

The man who brought Stelton in also brought a hurried scrawl to Juliet
from Bud, which read:

Darling:

We are more than half-way up the range. Have recovered 1,500 head of
rebranded stock, much of which is Bar T. Stelton is the head of the
rustlers and I have the proof. Sorry to foist these criminals on the
Bar T, but it was the nearest ranch, and besides, I want them there
when your father comes home. Also I want to be able to tell you that
I love you, and will love you always. With luck, two days ought to
see the end of all these troubles.

Your Bud.

Probably the most miserable man in the whole cow country at this time was
Smithy Caldwell. Aside from the fate he feared, his position among the
captured rustlers was one of utter torture. The men had discovered that
it was through his selfish scheming that Stelton had been betrayed, and
they treated him with the cruelty and scorn of rough, savage men.

So, when Stelton appeared, Caldwell fairly cringed. With the strange,
unreasoning terror of a coward he feared bodily harm at the hands of the
foreman, forgetting that, in all probability, his life was forfeit sooner
or later.

His fear was all but realized, for no sooner were Stelton's hands unbound
as he caught sight of Caldwell than he made a leap for him and would have
strangled him then and there had not others pulled the two apart.

"There, you whelp!" bellowed Stelton. "That's a sample of what you'll get
later on. All I ask is to see you kickin' at the end of a rope, you
yellow-bellied traitor!" And Smithy, clutching at his throat, staggered,
whimpering, away.

The day after Stelton's arrival Juliet conceived the idea of questioning
the foreman about the letter that she knew Smithy Caldwell had written
her. At her request he was brought into