to O.K. him."

"I see you don't, Jim. The boys aren't going to like it very well,
though."

"Then they know what they can do about it," Yeager answered evenly,
level eyes steadily on those of his critic.

"What time did this nester get here, Jim?" broke in Phil.

Yeager's opaque eyes passed from Healy to Sanderson. "It might have been
about eight."

"Then he couldn't be the man," the boy said to Healy, almost in a
whisper.

"What man?" Jim asked.

"We ran on a rustler branding a C.O. calf. We got close enough to take a
shot at him. Then he slid into some arroyo, and we lost him," Phil
exclaimed.

"How long ago was this?" asked Yeager.

"About an hour since we first saw him. Beats all how he ever made his
getaway. We were right after him when he gave us the slip."

"Oh, he gave you the slip, did he?"

"Dropped into some hole and pulled it in after him. These hills are