She sent Nels, mounted upon his own horse, and leading Majesty, to Rodeo in search of Stewart.  Nels had instructions to bring Stewart back to the ranch.  In due time Nels returned, leading the roan without a rider.

“Yep, I shore found him,” replied Nels, when questioned.  “Found him half sobered up.  He’d been in a scrap, an’ somebody hed put him to sleep, I guess.  Wal, when he seen thet roan hoss he let out a yell an’ grabbed him round the neck.  The hoss knowed him, all right.  Then Gene hugged the hoss an’ cried—­cried like—­I never seen no one who cried like he did.  I waited awhile, an’ was jest goin’ to say somethin’ to him when he turned on me red-eyed, mad as fire.  ‘Nels,’ he said, ’I care a hell of a lot fer thet boss, an’ I liked you pretty well, but if you don’t take him away quick I’ll shoot you both.’  Wal, I lit out.  I didn’t even git to say howdy to him.”

“Nels, you think it useless—­any attempt to see him—­persuade him?” asked Madeline.

“I shore do, Miss Hammond,” replied Nels, gravely.  “I’ve seen a few sun-blinded an’ locoed an’ snake-poisoned an’ skunk-bitten cow-punchers in my day, but Gene Stewart beats ’em all.  He’s shore runnin’ wild fer the divide.”

Madeline dismissed Nels, but before he got out of earshot she heard him speak to Stillwell, who awaited him on the porch.

“Bill, put this in your pipe an’ smoke it—­none of them scraps Gene has hed was over a woman!  It used to be thet when he was drank he’d scrap over every pretty Greaser girl he’d run across.  Thet’s why Pat Hawe thinks Gene plugged the strange vaquero who was with little Bonita thet night last fall.  Wal, Gene’s scrappin’ now jest to git shot up hisself, for some reason thet only God Almighty knows.”

Nels’s story of how Stewart wept over his horse influenced Madeline powerfully.  Her next move was to persuade Alfred to see if he could not do better with this doggedly bent cowboy.  Alfred needed only a word of persuasion, for he said he had considered going to Rodeo of his own accord.  He went, and returned alone.

“Majesty, I can’t explain Stewart’s singular actions,” said Alfred.  “I saw him, talked with him.  He knew me, but nothing I said appeared to get to him.  He has changed terribly.  I fancy his once magnificent strength is breaking.  It—­it actually hurt me to look at him.  I couldn’t have fetched him back here—­not as he is now.  I heard all about him, and if he isn’t downright out of his mind he’s hell-bent, as Bill says, on getting killed.  Some of his escapades are—­are not for your ears.  Bill did all any man could do for another.  We’ve all done our best for Stewart.  If you’d been given a chance perhaps you could have saved him.  But it’s too late.  Put it out of mind now, dear.”