track of man or horse. That's their business--ridin' line on the railroad.
The section men's been workin' off down the other way, where a culvert got
scorched up pretty bad. By granny, Fred 'n' Bill Madison spend might' nigh
all their time ridin' the trail to town. They're might' p'ticular about
watchin' the railroad between the switches--_he-he!_"

"That's something for the Double Diamond to worry over," Kent rebuffed. He
hated that sort of gossip which must speak ill of somebody. "Our winter
range lays mostly south and east; we could stop a fire between here and the
Double Diamond, even if they let one get past 'em."

Polycarp regarded him cunningly with his little, slitlike eyes. "Mebbe you
could," he said doubtfully. "And then again, mebbe you couldn't. Oncet
it got past Cold Spring--" He shook his wizened head slowly, leaned, and
expectorated gravely.

"Man Fleetwood's keeping tab pretty close over that way."

Polycarp gave a grunt that was half a chuckle. "Man Fleetwood's keeping tab
on what runs down his gullet," he corrected. "I seen him an' his wife out
burnin' guards t' other day--over on his west line--and, by granny, it
wouldn't stop nothing! A toad could jump it--_he-he!_" He sent another
stream of tobacco juice afar, with the grave air as before.

"And I told him so. 'Man,' I says, 'what you think you're doing?'

"'Buildin' a fire guard,' he says. 'My wife, Mr. Jenks.'

"'Polycarp Jenks is my cognomen,' I says. 'And I don't want no misterin'
in mine. Polycarp's good enough for me,' I says, and I took off my hat and