"
"See here, Stockton. This young Ward will see the timber is bein' cut
clean. If it was only a little patch I wouldn't mind. But this slash an'
this mill! He'll know. More'n that, he'll tell Leslie about the Mexican.
Dick's no fool. We're up against it."
"It's risky, Buell. You remember the ranger up in Oregon."
"Then we are to fall down on this deal all because of a fresh tenderfoot
kid?" demanded Buell.
"Not so loud. . . . We'll not fall down. But caution--use caution. You made
a mistake in trusting so much to the Greaser."
"I know, an' I'm afraid of Leslie. An' that other fire-ranger, Jim
Williams, he's a Texan, an' a bad man. The two of them could about trim up
this camp. They'll both fight for the boy; take that from me."
"We are sure up against it. Think now, and think quick."
"First, I'll try to fix the boy. If that won't work . . . we'll kidnap him.
Then we'll take no chances with Leslie. There's a cool two hundred an'
fifty thousand in this deal for us, an' we're goin' to get it."
With that Buell went into his office and closed the door; the other man,
Stockton, walked briskly down the platform. I could not resist peeping from
my hiding-place as he passed. He was tall and had a red beard, which would
enable me to recognize him if we met.
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