“It’s no wonder the raiders were able to cut out my short-horned Durhams if the boys didn’t keep better watch.”

His tone showed deep annoyance, and he was on the point of speaking again when a sharp challenge rang out from their left: 

“Who goes there?”

Instantly Mr. Wilder’s anger vanished as he recognized the voice of his foreman and replied: 

“Don’t get excited, Pete.  It’s only Jim Snider and me.”

In response to his master’s greeting the cowboy sprang to his feet and a movement of his hand toward his belt showed both ranchmen that he had been prepared to dispute their advance should they have proven foes instead of friends.

“Where are the others?  You two didn’t come alone, did you?  I told Nails to have you get as many as you could,” said the foreman.

“We left them back yonder,” returned the owner of the Half-Moon.  “Nails said we were to meet you in the morning, and when we saw the fire Jim and I thought we’d make sure it was you.”

“Well, I’m glad you’ve come,” responded Pete.  “Now we can get on the trail so much the sooner.  How many did you bring?”

“Nine from the Three Stars, including Jim, Bill, Nails and myself.  With your boys that will make twenty, just the number of the raiders.”

As he uttered the last words Mr. Wilder expected his foreman to evince surprise, but instead he and Snider were the ones to be taken aback as Pete remarked: 

“So Nails found out, did he?  What else did he?  What else did he learn?”

Briefly the owner of the Half-Moon reported the information Nails had gleaned at Tolopah and then told him of the opinions he and the proprietor of the Three Stars had formed.

“You got the lay of the land down to the last sage brush,” declared the foreman.  “But we will put a crimp in Megget’s plans that he will not forget.  My men are asleep by the fire, so there is no use waking them till we’ve decided what to do.”

“Then we must get down to business,” returned his master.  “I told the boys to ride up unless we returned in half an hour.”

A moment there was silence, as though each were waiting for the other to make some suggestion as to the best course to pursue, and then Mr. Wilder said: 

“So long as we know the headquarters are in the Lost Lode Mine, it seems to me we had better strike for it direct.  Nails told me you knew some trail.”  And he looked at Pete.

“I know trails enough, but which is the one that leads to the Lost Lode, I can’t say.  That’s just the trouble.  It would take a month of Sundays to ride them all down.  While we were driving the cattle up here, I was trying to figure out which trail to take in case Nails found the mine was the place.”

“You have tried some of the trails, haven’t you, Pete?” inquired the owner of the Three Stars.

“Sure.  There are six I know that don’t lead to the mine.  That leaves three between the pool and the Long Creek bottoms, and it may be any one of them.”