ver carefully. Who could refuse
such a reasonable request? The herd had started on for the Saw Log,
while the remuda had wandered down the river about half a mile, and
it took us nearly an hour to give them a thorough inspection. Once by
ourselves, the detective said, with a chuckle: "All I was playing for
was to get as large a cash payment as possible. Those mixed brands were
my excuse for the money; the Marshall estate might wait for theirs, but
the small ranchmen would insist on an immediate settlement the moment
the cattle were reported sold. If it wasn't for this fellow Tolleston,
I'd sell the other two Buford herds the day they arrive, and then we
could give The Western Supply Company the laugh. And say, when they
drew me a draft for thirty thousand dollars on a Washington City bank, I
never let the ink dry on it until I took it around to Wright, Beverly &
Co., and had them wire its acceptance. We'll give Seay plenty of time,
and I think there'll be an answer on the check when we get back to
town."

CHAPTER VIII. EN PASSANT

It was intentionally late in the day when we reached Dodge. My horse,
which I was leading, gave considerable trouble while returning,
compelling us to drive slow. The buyers repeatedly complained that
dinner would be over at their hotel, but the detective knew of a good
restaurant and promised all of us a feast. On reaching town, we drove to
the stable where the rig belonged, and once free of the horses, Siringo
led the way to a well-known night-and-day eating-house on a back street.
No sooner had we entered the place than I remembered having my wagon
in town, and the necessity of its reaching camp before darkness made my
excuse imperative. I hurried around to the outfitting house and found
the order filled and all ready to load into the wagon. But Parent was
missing, and in skirmishing about to locate him, I met my brother Bob.
Tolleston had arrived, but his presence had not been discovered until
after Seay reached town. Archie was fairly well "organized" and had
visited the hotel where the buyers were stopping, leaving word for them
of his arrival. My brother and Seay had told him that they had met,
down the trail that morning, two cattle buyers by the name of Field and
Radcliff; that they were inquiring for a herd belonging to Tom Coleman,
which was believed to be somewhere between Dodge and the Cimarron River.
The two had assured Tolleston that the buyers might not be back for a
week