is status was that of
a constant visitor. He quartered with the family, if Hulls, Archie,
and Maizie would be called a family, instead of living at the
bunkhouse. Old Jeff referred to him as a dude, but the comment applied
to mannerisms rather than clothes. He dressed as a townsman; he
frequented the poolroom and Gatty's doggery. He announced his name as
Steve Adams, said that he was Maizie's nephew. He played a fancy game
of pool and drank in moderation.

"Questioned by the curious, he talked freely but always about places
and conditions elsewhere. He knew nothing about local affairs. That
summer he made frequent trips. On his return he would report having
been to Chicago, Kansas City, Denver. A later checkup revealed that he
was telling the truth. And these truthful stories were exasperating.
They explained nothing. The Bar-O, with its mixed up domestic
complications, was still an isolated enigma.

"That fall was the time of the great train robbery. The event occurred
at the same time as the local raid on Gatty's Quart Shop. The world
news was minimized by the local affair. We gave it little thought. In
the week following, several cattle men headquartered here and at
Grandaddy's. They inspected several herds to include the Bar-O outfit.
And later still, they raided the Bar-O premises. They were railroad
detectives, posing as cattle buyers. They were too late. They got
nothing but some bits of evidence that the train robbers had used the
Bar-O as a hangout. Maizie explained to the detectives and sheriff
that the strangers represented themselves as mineral prospectors. They
worked in the hills in the daytime. They left in the evening following
the cattle inspection. She reported that her nephew, Steve Adams, was
in Chicago, had been there for several weeks. A check up revealed that
this was true.

"A further check up revealed that these strangers had stayed all
night at the Unicorn Ranch near Northgate. Abel Sneed, the Unicorn
boss, as a matter of precaution went through their 'war bags' while
they slept. He found nothing unusual, surely no money.

"What became of this giant sum that was blasted out of the safe after
wounding the messenger? Neither the detectives nor anyone else ever
found a trace of it. But a further enigma was added to the mystery
when a month later Archie Barrow, the younger brother, came to the
Records office and made a deed of his undivided share in the Bar-O
lands to his brother Hulls. Archie