The Ranch at the Wolverine

put up, I see," Billy Louise re

o the point of exuberance. He felt as though he could work day a

old him bluntly, "and you needn't try to

k, then humorously at her. He recognized the futility of tryi

u please. I can tell a one-man stack when I

bo I ran across. I h

ery well informed as to Ward's resources. She was evidently trying to match her knowledge

dandy span of mares.

going into debt, are you?" Her tone was anxious.

y a red cent, Willi

ise looked at him from

r awhile; old ones and dens. They'd killed a couple of calves for me, and I got

he haystack, at the long line of new, wire fence, and at the two heavy-set mares feed

e was hiding behind Ward's lips again and threatening to come

they haven't. I guess they

known he could not fool Billy Louise, who had careworn experience of the cost of ranch improvements and could figure almost the exact number of wolf-bounties it would take to pay for what he had put in

d, when they had exhausted some very trivial subjects. "Y

n't talk about anything but Charlie and how well he's doing. She lets him do most of the managing, I think. And he had some money left to him, this spring, and

laughed. "I was figuring on being the only thriving

uise, "some kind person would leave me a bunch of money. Don't you? Cattle

he said, with a twitch of the lips, "I intend to stick my little Y6 monogram on a few mor

ouise declared lightly, and for a wonder Ward

. The country is settling up all the time," she sighed. "Pretty soon there won't be any more wilderness left. I li

t, though it was his own fault, and-well, I thought at the time someone had taken them, and I think so still. And just the other day one of Seabeck's men stopped at the ranch, and he told m

's amazing, the way the days slip by when a fellow's busy all the time. Except for two

robbed, a few weeks ago, isn't it?

re for a month and more," said Ward easily. "Nearer two months, com

and added several more wolves to the number

th mischief. "Honest, William, I'm not wading into debt. Every cent I've put

lat statement, yet feeling certain there was some "catch" to it, after all. It was exactly like a

ain, William Louisa, and I'll shake hands on it if you like. When you've had enough of this just-friend business, I'll show you how I dig dollars outa wolf-dens." He grinned at the puzzled face

squelched him promptly. "Not that crazy, anyway.

ll her all about it. He got as far as, "Oh, well, I suppose I'll have to-" when Billy Louise saw a rattlesnake in the trail ahead and spurred up to kill i

ving it to Billy Louise, but he let it stay where it was and instead took down his own rope to get after the snake, that had crawled under a bush and there sh

is cayuse Rattler," Ward shouted. "I'll bet

k at him and so lost her point just when she had practically

thout a tensing of nerves. He sighted the snake, coiled and ready for war in the small shade of a rabbit-bush. He circled th

down" on the snake, and cu

at myself," Billy Lou

und just right so I can make one swing of the rope do. But Mr. Snake stuck too close to that rabbit brush; and I was

time." Billy Louise laughed good-humoredly. "I w

pped the repulsive thing to the ground with a slight shiver of relief. He gave the rattles to Billy Louise. "I'm glad Blue

's heart give a flop. "There's some of Marthy's cattle right ahead," she added hur

d mechanically, as is the habit of your true range

r so ago," said Billy

tion," he observed, quite idly. "Say, William, when these hills get filled up with Y6

answered pessimistically. "I lost two nice heifers, a week or so ago. They broke through the up

lf-" Ward started to promi

d me to stop and get some currants. Marthy says they're

you're dead sure

rty. Charlie Fox is a perfectly lovely young man, but he's got a girl in Wyoming. The stage-driver says there's never been a

ented. "Foxy ought to land on him a fe

ust say Charlie's a hustler, all right. He keeps a man all the time now, since he bought more cattle. Peter Howling Dog's working for him. Charlie's tried to range-herd his cattle so he and Peter can gather th

any human man can come out West and no

n, do you w

tice in the second chapter, says 'By Jove! What a little beauty!' in the third, and from there on till the wind-up spends most of his time running around in circles because the beautiful flower of the

ind. Looks like there's no chance for our young hero. Brave buckaroo has to hie him forth to toil, however-" Ward paused long enough to light up, and afterwards blow out the match carefully before dr

om Billy Louise, who wa

bbey romance. All according to Hoyle. Young hero- Say, Bill, what's the matter with that gazabo

cared Blue so that he lunged against the romancer. "You men seem to think the girl has nothing to say abo

ps our young hero running around in circles, and the brave buckaroo can't

last chapter and hides her maidenly blushes against the

hen, would it?" Ward leaned close, swift tenderness putting the teasing twin

han any girl could hope to hide behind a coat of tan. "There's lots of chapters b

d appellation, which seemed to approach satisfact

to act so." Billy Louise scowled unco

," blurted Ward foolhardil

," retorted Billy Louise squelchingly, and Ward's self-assurance

ude mail-box, reading avidly a letter of many crisp, close-wr

them cordially, while he hastily folded the letter. "Going down into the Cove?

ng briefly toward what he consi

narrow for three, isn't it? I'l

" said Billy Louise trivially. "I

ancing back at them. "No more bars to be left down accid

le, have you?" The question was a s

e. I-can't speak so positively a

past her without tagging it immediately with plain English. Char

have stray-drifted, I mean-back toward their home ranch

lost some cattle, for heaven's sake why don't you say so!" (Ward smiled to himself at her tone.) "I

says we have," he admitted, with very evident reluctance. "I hardly think so myself.

do," Billy Louise told him bluntly. "If

smiled deprecatingly. "I've argued with Aunt Martha and Peter u

our brand on them, did you?"

on a tenderfoot, have you?" he protested. "No, they are all branded, re

inly is rustling going on around here; and no one seems to know a thing

It sort of makes a fellow feel shaky about going into cattle very strong, doesn't it?

certain percentage of loss,"

reat stuff. I put this padlock on it so she can lock herself in, nights when I'm away. She feels better with the gate locked. And then I've got a dog that's as good as a company of soldiers himself. If either of you happen down here when there's no one about, you will have to introduce yourselves to Cerberus-so named because he guard

trayed the fact even to the sharp eyes of Billy Louise, but he could not quite bring himself

, mounting on the inside of the barrier and following cheerfully after them. "But that do

see why such precautions were necessary in a coun

ved, and how she pioneered in here when the country was straight wilderness, and all that. Of co

fly. She was wondering why Ward was s

ood-thirsty as he sounds, too. I'd hate to have him tackle me in the gorge, on a dark night. He's too savage, though it's only with strangers,

fied laconically. "Marthy came out just in the nick of time. I absolutel

William," ap

tic over him. But Marthy wanted me to get a dog, and so when a fellow offered me this one, I took him; and as Surbus h

nobody calls him off, I shall shoot him." It was not a threat, as she spoke it, but a plain statement of a fact. "You'd better serve notice too, Ward. He's a nasty beast, and he'd just as soon kill a person as not. He was goin

ing for that assault. She caught Ward's truculent eye, smiled, and shook her head at him. "We're pretty fair friends

ll leave Cerberus alone as long as he leaves me and my f

don me," he added to his companions and rode past them to meet the

his chest, and dropped behind, nosing the tracks of Blue and Rattler a

was singing. If he could live down here, he thought, with Billy Louise and none other near, he would ask no odds of the world or of heaven. He glanced at Charlie Fox enviously. Well, he had a fairly well-sheltered place of his own, up there in the hills. He could set out fruit and plants a

pealed to her, and right there he decided to study horticulture