hat moment. This was the kind
of son he would have liked to have himself.

"By ginger, that was what he beat Gurley up for! Nobody knows why, an'
Roberts kept the real reason under his hat. He's a prince, Jack Roberts
is. I did that boy a wrong, 'Mona, an' guessed it all the time, just
because he had a mixup with Ford. He wasn't to blame for that, anyhow,
I've been told."

Ramona felt herself unaccountably trembling. There was a queer little
lump in her throat, but she knew it was born of gladness.

"He's been good to me," she said, and told of the experience with the
traveling salesman on the stage.

Clint Wadley laughed. "I never saw that boy's beat. He's got everything
a fellow needs to win. I can tell you one thing; he's goin' to get a
chance to run the A T O for me before he's forty-eight hours older.
He'll be a good buy, no matter what salary he sticks me for."

'Mona became aware that she was going to break down--and "make a little
fool of herself," as she would have put it.

"I forgot to water my canary," she announced abruptly.

The girl jumped up, ran into the house and to her room. But if the
canary was suffering from thirst, it remained neglected. Ramona's
telltale face was buried in a pillow. She was not quite ready yet to
look into her own eyes and read the message they told.

CHAPTER XXVIII

ON A COLD TRAIL

"Dog it, Jack, we got to go after the Dinsmores," said Ellison, pounding
the table with his fist. "I've just had a letter from the old man
wantin' to know why we don't get results. It's not the Ranger policy to
wait for outlaws to come to us. We go after 'em."

Tex smiled cheerfully. "Suits me fine. What are your instructions,
Captain? Want me to arrest Homer Dinsmore again?"

"What would I do with him if you got him?" snapped the old-timer.

"You could turn him loose again," suggested Roberts, not entirely
without sarcasm.

"If you boys were worth the powder to blow you-all up--!" exploded the
veteran.

"Instead of bein' a jackpot bunch of triflin' no-account scalawags,"
murmured Jack.

"--You'd hustle out an' get evidence against 'em."

"Sounds reasonable." The Ranger lifted his heels to the seat of a second
chair and rolled him a cigarette.

"You'd find out where they're hidin' the cattle they rustle."

"Are you givin' me an assignment, Captain?"

"You done said it, son. There's a bunch of rustled stock up in the rocks
somewheres. You know it. Question is, can you