ell, anyway," she said suddenly aloud, "I'm glad Stella's not here."

Then, realizing that she had spoken aloud, she blushed and looked hastily
around. No one was in sight, but a moment or two later Mrs. Archer
appeared on the veranda.

"I thought I heard voices a little while ago," she said, glancing around.
"Have the men come back?"

Mary turned to meet her. "No, dear. That was the--the sheriff and some of
his men."

"The sheriff!" An expression of anxiety came into Mrs. Archer's pretty,
faded face. "But what has happened? What--?"

"I'm not quite sure; they had no time to explain." The girl put an arm
reassuringly around the older woman's shoulder. "But they're after Tex and
the other hands. They've done something--"

"Ha!" In any other person the sound would have seemed suspiciously like a
crow of undisguised satisfaction. "Well, I'm thankful that at last
somebody's shown some common sense."

"Why, auntie!" Astonished, the girl held her off at arm's length and
stared into her face. "You don't mean to say you've suspected--?"

Mrs. Archer sniffed. "Suspected! Why, for weeks and weeks I've been
perfectly certain the creature was up to no good. You know I never trusted
him."

"Yes; but--"

"The last straw was his bringing that ridiculous charge against Buck
Green," Mrs. Archer interrupted with unexpected spirit. "That stamped him
for what he was; because a nicer, cleaner, better-mannered young man I've
seldom seen. He could no more have stolen cattle than--than I could."

A mental picture of her tiny, delicate, fragile-looking aunt engaged in
that strenuous and illicit operation brought a momentary smile to Mary
Thorne's lips. Then her face grew serious.

"But you know I didn't believe it--really," she protested. "I offered to
keep him on if he'd only assure me he wasn't here for any--any secret
reason. But he wouldn't, and at the time there seemed nothing to do but
let him go."

"I suppose he might have had some other private reason than stealing
cattle," commented Mrs. Archer.

"He had," returned Mary, suppressing a momentary sense of annoyance that
her aunt had shown the greater faith. "As nearly as I can make out, he was
here to shadow Tex. As a matter of fact he really wanted to leave the
ranch and work from a different direction, so it turned out all right in
the end. He thinks it was Tex himself who secretly instigated the
cattle-stealing."

"The villain!" ejaculated Mrs. Archer energetically.