?" added the Texan suddenly.

The former S Bar men jumped nervously. The man at The Kid's left
gulped.

"Well," he blurted, "we was only gettin' forty-five, and when Stover
offered to double it, and with nothin' to do but lie around, why,
we----"

"Things are changed now," said The Kid gently. "Ma Thomas is alone
now."

"That's right," said the oldest awkwardly. "I suppose we ought to----"

"Ought to!" repeated one of the others, jumping to his feet. "By
George, we will! I ain't the kind to go back on a woman like Mrs.
Thomas. I don't care what yuh others do!"

"That's what I say," chorused his two companions in the same breath.

"I'll show yo' I aim to play fair," Kid Wolf approved. He took a
handful of gold pieces from his pocket and placed them on the table in
a little pile. "This is all I have, but Mrs. Thomas isn't in a
position to pay right now, so heah is yo' first month's wages in
advance."

The three looked at him and gulped. If ever three men were ashamed,
they appeared to be. The old cow-puncher pushed the pile back to The
Kid.

"We ain't takin' it," he mumbled. "Don't get us wrong, partner. We
ain't thet kind. We never would've quit the S Bar if it hadn't been
for Steve Stacy--the foreman. And, of course, things was goin' all
right at the ranch then. Guess it's all our fault, and we're willin'
to right it. We don't know yuh, but yo're O.K., son."

They shook hands warmly. The Kid learned that the oldest of the three
was Anton. Wise was the bow-legged one, and Lathum was freckled and
tall.

"Stacy hadn't better know about this," Lathum decided.

"I was hopin' to get him back," said The Kid.

"No chance. He's in with the major now," spoke up Wise. "So's
Mullhall. Neither of 'em will listen--and they'll make trouble when
they find we're goin' back."

"If yo'-all feel the same way as I do," Kid Wolf drawled as they filed
out of the back room, "they won't have to make trouble. It'll be theah
fo' 'em."

As they approached the bar, Anton clutched The Kid's elbow.

"There's Steve Stacy and Mullhall now," he warned in a low voice.

Stacy and Mullhall were big men, heavily built. Upon seeing the party
emerge from the back room, they pushed away from the bar and came
directly toward Kid Wolf, who was walking in the lead.

"Steve Stacy's the hombre in front," Wise whispered. "Be on yore
guard."

The Kid knew the ex-foreman's type even before he spoke. He was the
loud-m