Splintered Canyon by Emmett Stone

Author:Emmett Stone [Stone, Emmett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Robert Hale
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Stars appeared like blossom on the tree of night as Barclay and Mulhall rode steadily in the direction of the T Bench. There was little doubt about when they had reached it. All along the boundary line fences had either been erected or were in the process of being erected and already a considerable amount of the open range that Mulhall had seen on his former visit had been enclosed. Posts had been placed at regular intervals and wire bound tight to them. In places several strands of wire had been twisted into a cable and fastened to large rocks buried deep in the ground to give added support.

‘Miss Peyote’s men have been busy,’ Mulhall said.

‘Sure seems like they intend closin’ this place off,’ Barclay replied. ‘I wonder if they’ve got somethin’ to hide?’

As they continued to ride, Mulhall was surprised to see cattle on the range, which had previously been bare. He drew Barclay’s attention to this and the older man brought them to a halt.

‘Let’s take a closer look,’ he said.

They rode up to a group of cattle and dismounted. Barclay approached the nearest cow and bent down to look closely at its markings. He stood up and addressed Mulhall. ‘See for yourself,’ he said.

Mulhall did as instructed. ‘What am I lookin’ for?’ he asked.

‘Those brands. It’s hard to tell in the dark, but it looks to me like they’ve been interfered with. They’re carryin’ T Bench markin’s, but there’s somethin’ not right about it.’

‘Wouldn’t they be difficult to alter?’

‘No matter how carefully a brand’s designed, it can be altered.’

‘You think they’ve been rustled? I ain’t heard of any complaints from the ranchers around these parts.’

Barclay considered the young man’s comment for a moment and then slapped his thigh. ‘Of course,’ he said. He turned to Mulhall. ‘Didn’t you say that Miss Peyote had sold the land on which those new pens have been built over by Horned Toad Head?’

‘Yeah, that’s right. So what?’

‘She seems mighty keen now to fence in the rest of her land. Maybe Miss Peyote or whoever’s involved in this didn’t have to resort to rustlin’. Maybe all they have to do is just sit back and have the cattle delivered right to their door.’

Mulhall considered his words for a moment. ‘I think I see what you mean,’ he said. ‘But that would suggest Miss Peyote is definitely involved with Craven.’

‘It’s a nice set-up,’ Barclay replied. ‘Cattle are driven up to the rail-head. Craven takes delivery. One way and another, they end up on the T Bench.’

‘He’d have to be careful about how he did it,’ Mulhall said, ‘but he would only need to take a few at a time.’

‘It doesn’t sound quite like the way the Splintered Canyon Bunch would operate,’ Barclay said. ‘But I guess it’d be just one more string to Craven’s bow.’ He glanced around. ‘I think we’re certainly on to something. The details can wait till later. But right now I figure we need to get movin’. We must be gettin’ close to the ranch house.

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