amounted to quite an item, he begged for just a few minutes' time
to look them over carefully. Who could refuse such a reasonable
request? The herd had started on for the Saw Log, while the
remuda had wandered down the river about half a mile, and it took
us nearly an hour to give them a thorough inspection. Once by
ourselves, the detective said, with a chuckle: "All I was playing
for was to get as large a cash payment as possible. Those mixed
brands were my excuse for the money; the Marshall estate might
wait for theirs, but the small ranchmen would insist on an
immediate settlement the moment the cattle were reported sold. If
it wasn't for this fellow Tolleston, I'd sell the other two
Buford herds the day they arrive, and then we could give The
Western Supply Company the laugh. And say, when they drew me a
draft for thirty thousand dollars on a Washington City bank, I
never let the ink dry on it until I took it around to Wright,
Beverly & Co., and had them wire its acceptance. We'll give Seay
plenty of time, and I think there'll be an answer on the check
when we get back to town."



CHAPTER VIII. EN PASSANT

It was intentionally late in the day when we reached Dodge. My
horse, which I was leading, gave considerable trouble while
returning, compelling us to drive slow. The buyers repeatedly
complained that dinner would be over at their hotel, but the
detective knew of a good restaurant and promised all of us a
feast. On reaching town, we drove to the stable where the rig
belonged, and once free of the horses, Siringo led the way to a