CHAPTER XXI
WATCHING
It took nine days to complete the flume a second time, and all hands were dog-tired. All the time the heat had continued and the hot winds were constant. The ranch had suffered badly. Irreparable damage had been done. The grain was stunted, yellow. There would not be half a crop.
These things bit into the soul of Angus Mackay as he labored fiercely, pitting his strength and endurance against relentless time. He could get no clew, no inkling of the person responsible for the trouble.
On the afternoon of the day when the flume was completed, Rennie was absent. After supper he sought Angus.
"I went across the creek this afternoon," he said, "and I clumb up onto that hill across where we was workin'. There was somebody there across the gulch from me. Course I went down and over, but he'd gone. Found where his horse had been standin' on top of the hill."
"You couldn't tell who it was?"
"No. I don't think he seen me. But whoever it was, was sizin' up the flume. I'm goin' to take my blankets and camp alongside it for some nights."
"So will I," Angus said. "If I can find out who is doing this, Dave, I will handle them myself. I will not bother about the law."
A little spark lit in Dave Rennie's mild, blue eyes.