ne, for he did not know at what moment a bullet might come
singing down at him.

He reached the outgrazers of the herd and identified the A T O brand on
half a dozen cows. The brand had been changed by an adroit touch or two
of a running-iron. Probably the cattle were being held here until the
hair had grown again enough to conceal the fact of a recent burn.

The Ranger circled the herd, moving toward the brow of the land swell.
He made the most of the cactus, but there was an emptiness about the pit
of his stomach. If some one happened to be watching him, a single shot
would make an end of Tex Roberts. His scalp prickled and drew tight, as
though some unseen hand were dragging at it.

From one clump to another he slipped, every sense keyed to alertness.
The rifle in his hand, resting easily against the right hip, could be
lifted instantly.

At the top of the rise the Ranger waited behind a prickly pear to search
the landscape. It rolled away in long low waves to the horizon. A mile
or more away, to the left, a faint, thin film of smoke hung lazily in
the air. This meant a camp. The rustlers, to play safe, had located it
not too near the grazing herd. It was a place, no doubt, where water was
handy and from which the outlaws, if caught by surprise, could make a
safe and swift retreat to the rim-rock.

Again, in a wide circuit in order not to meet anybody who might be
riding from the camp to the herd, the Ranger moved forward warily. The
smoke trickle was his guide and his destination.

He took his time. He was in no hurry. Speed was the least part of his
programme. Far more important was secrecy. With that patience which the
frontiersman has learned from the Indian he followed a tortuous course
through the brush.

His trained eye told him the best direction for approach, the side from
which he could get nearest to the camp with the least risk of being
seen. Through the curly mesquite he crawled, hiding behind the short
bushlike clumps until he had chosen the next line of advance. At last,
screened by a Spanish bayonet, he commanded a view of the camp.

So far as he could tell it was deserted. Camp equipment lay scattered
about. A frying-pan, a coffee-pot, tin cups and plates, had been dropped
here and there. The coals of the fire still smouldered and gave forth a
wisp of smoke. Fifty yards away a horse was picketed. It was an easy
guess that the campers had not gone permanently, but were away from home
for a fe