Wade presented himself with something more than his usual methodical action.  He smelled buffalo steak, and he was hungry.  The cabin had been built years ago, and was a ramshackle shelter at best.  The stone fireplace, however, appeared well preserved.  A bed of red coals glowed and cracked upon the hearth.

“Reckon I sure smelled buffalo meat,” observed Wade, with much satisfaction.  “It’s long since I chewed a hunk of that.”

“All ready.  Now pitch in....  Yes, thar’s some buffalo left in here.  Not hunted much.  Thar’s lots of elk an’ herds of deer.  After a little snow you’d think a drove of sheep had been trackin’ around.  An’ some bear.”

Wade did not waste many words until he had enjoyed that meal.  Later, while he helped his host, he recurred to the subject of game.

“If there’s so many deer then there’s lions an’ wolves.”

“You bet.  I see tracks every day.  Had a shot at a lofer not long ago.  Missed him.  But I reckon thar’s more varmints over in the Troublesome country back of White Slides.”

“Troublesome!  Do they call it that?” asked Wade, with a queer smile.

“Sure.  An’ it is troublesome.  Belllounds has been tryin’ to hire a hunter.  Offered me big wages to kill off the wolves an’ lions.”

“That’s the job I’m goin’ to take.”

“Good!” exclaimed Lewis.  “I’m sure glad.  Belllounds is a nice fellar.  I felt sort of cheap till I told him I wasn’t really a hunter.  You see, I’m prospectin’ up here, an’ pretendin’ to be a hunter.”

“What do you make that bluff for?” queried Wade.

“You couldn’t fool any one who’d ever prospected for gold.  I saw your signs out here.”

“Wal, you’ve sharp eyes, thet’s all.  Wade, I’ve some ondesirable neighbors over here.  I’d just as lief they didn’t see me diggin’ gold.  Lately I’ve had a hunch they’re rustlin’ cattle.  Anyways, they’ve sold cattle in Kremmlin’ thet came from over around Elgeria.”

“Wherever there’s cattle there’s sure to be some stealin’,” observed Wade.

“Wal, you needn’t say anythin’ to Belllounds, because mebbe I’m wrong.  An’ if I found out I was right I’d go down to White Slides an’ tell it myself.  Belllounds done some favors.”

“How far to White Slides?” asked Wade, with a puff on his pipe.

“Roundabout trail, an’ rough, but you’ll make it in one day, easy.  Beautiful country.  Open, big peaks an’ ranges, with valleys an’ lakes.  Never seen such grass!”

“Did you ever see Belllounds’s son?”

“No.  Didn’t know he hed one.  But I seen his gal the fust day I was thar.  She was nice to me.  I went thar to be fixed up a bit.  Nearly chopped my hand off.  The gal—­Columbine, she’s called—­doctored me up.  Fact is, I owe considerable to thet White Slides Ranch.  There’s a cowboy, Wils somethin’, who rode up here with some medicine fer me—­some they didn’t have when I was thar.  You’ll like thet boy.  I seen he was sweet on the gal an’ I sure couldn’t blame him.”