On this night, before the hour was late, three persons were seated in the balmy air on the outside of the dwelling, talking together in low tones.

They were Fred Whitney, whose bandaged arm rested in a sling, Monteith Sterry, and Jennie Whitney.  The memory of the recent affliction suffered in the death of the father naturally subdued the voices and tinged the words with a seriousness that would not have been felt at other times.

Young Sterry, as already stated, had accepted an engagement with the Live Stock Association, which required him to investigate the operations of the rustlers over a large portion of Wyoming and Montana, and to report at regular intervals to his superior officers.

This was perilous business, but Sterry set about the work with a vigour, directness and intelligence that were felt over an extent of territory numbering hundreds of square miles, and made him a marked man by the rustlers, who are always quick to identify their friends and enemies.  It seemed to make little difference, however, to him, who loved the excitement.  He was a capital pistol and rifle-shot, a fine horseman, and as devoid of fear as the men against whom he directed his movements.

Unconsciously Monteith Sterry brought a grievous peril upon his friends, who held him in so high regard.  Hated intensely by the rustlers, they were not long in learning that he spent a great deal of his time at the Whitneys.  They came to be regarded, therefore, as aiders and abettors of his.  This enmity was emphasized by the attack of which an account has been given.

“I think, Fred,” said his sister, oppressed by the shadow that had fallen across the threshold, “we ought to sell out and leave this country.”

“Why?” he gently asked.

“Because not only of what happened yesterday, but of the certainty that such attacks will be repeated.”

“What reason have you to fear their repetition?” asked Monteith.

“Matters are growing worse between the cowmen and the rustlers; I have heard our men talk, and you have said so yourself.”

“I cannot deny it,” replied their visitor, thoughtfully smoking his cigar.  He would have been pleased had her brother, now the head of the little household, decided to make his home once more in the East, for then he would take up the study of his profession of law and be placed where he could often meet them.

“It would be cowardly to sell out and abandon the country through fear of those men,” said the brother, to whom the proposition was not pleasant.

“But suppose you should be their next victim?” suggested Jennie, with a shudder.

“I don’t think I shall be a victim,” he quietly responded; “this wound won’t bother me long, and with Budd and Grizzly to help, we can laugh at all the rustlers in the country.”

“It is hardly a matter of courage,” ventured Sterry, “for no one knowing you or your sister would question your bravery, but it is rather the peace of mind of your mother and her.  It will be a long time, if ever, before your parent recovers from the shock of yesterday.  No matter how confident and plucky you may be, Fred, you know it is no guarantee against a bullet from one of those scamps at five hundred or a thousand yards.  I shudder to think of what might happen.”