he'd already mentioned our agreement to Warden and that Warden had
agreed to carry it out."

"But suppose Warden has changed his mind?"

Lawler spoke seriously. "No man goes back on his word in this country.
But from what I've heard of Warden, he's likely to. If he does, we'll
drive the stock to Keppler, at Red Rock. Keppler isn't buying for the
same concern, but he'll pay what Lefingwell agreed to pay. We'll ship
them, don't worry."

"Red Rock means a five hundred mile drive, Kane."

Lawler replied, "You're anticipating, Mother. Warden will take them."

Lawler grinned and stepped off the gallery. A few minutes later he
emerged from the stable carrying a saddle, which he flung over one of
the top rails of the corral fence. He roped a big, red bay, smooth, with
a glossy coat that shone like a flame in the clear white light of the
morning sun.

The bay was built on heroic lines. He was tall and rangy, and the spirit
of a long line of thoroughbred ancestors was in him. It showed in the
clear white of his gleaming, indomitable eyes, in his thin, sensitive
nostrils and long, shapely muzzle; in the contour of his head and chest,
and in his slender, sinewy legs.

Man and horse were big, capable, strong-willed. They were equipped for
life in the grim, wild country that surrounded them. From the slender,
powerful limbs of the big bay, to the cartridge-studded belt that