in the first saloon," broke in
Bob.

Plant looked at him coldly for ten seconds.

"Those men are waiting to tally Wright's cattle," he condescended,
naming one of the most powerful of the valley ranch kings.

But Welton caught at Bob's statement.

"All you need is one man to count cattle," he pointed out. "Can't you do
that yourself, and send over your men?"

"Are you trying to tell me my business, Mr. Welton?" asked the
Supervisor formally.

Welton laughed one of his inexpressible chuckles.

"Lord love you, no!" he cried. "I have all I can handle. I'm merely
trying to protect my own. Can't you hire some men, then?"

"My appropriation won't stand it," said Plant, a gleam coming into his
eye. "I simply haven't the money to pay them with." He paused
significantly.

"How much would it take?" inquired Welton.

Plant cast his eyes to the ceiling.

"Of course, I couldn't tell, because I don't know how much of a fire it
is, or how long it would take to corral it. But I'll tell you what I'll
do: suppose you leave me a lump sum, and I'll look after such matters
hereafter without having to bother you with them. Of course, when I have
rangers available I'll use 'em; but any time you need protection, I can
rush in enough men to handle the situation without having to wait for
authorizations and all that. It might not take anything extra, of
course."

"How much do you suppose it would require to be sure we don't run
short?" asked Welton.

"Oh, a thousand dollars ought to last indefinitely," replied Plant.

The two men stared at each other for a moment. Then Welton laughed.

"I can hire a heap of men for a thousand dollars," said he, rising.
"Goodnight."

Plant rumbled something. The two went out, leaving the fat man chewing
his cigar and scowling angrily after them.

Once clear of the premises Welton laughed loudly.

"Well, my son, that's your first shy at the government official, isn't
it? They're not all as bad as that. At first I couldn't make out whether
he was just fat and lazy. Now I know he's a grafter. He ought to get a
nice neat 'For Sale' sign painted. Did you hear the nerve of him? Wanted
a thousand dollars bribe to do his plain duty."

"Oh, that was what he was driving at!" cried Bob.

"Yes, Baby Blue-eyes, didn't you tumble to that? Well, I don't see a
thousand in it whether he's for us or against us."

"Was that the reason he didn't send over all his men to the fire?" asked
Bob.

"Partly.