“Heavens, no! I would certainly have heard of it if he had. Why?”
“Oh, he seemed rather stand-offish, that’s all,” Rock answered indifferently.
“Buck thinks rather highly of himself,” Nona told him. “He’s in charge of a big outfit. The Maltese Cross is an estate, and he is one of the administrators. He’s pretty high-handed. There are men in this country who don’t like him much. But I don’t think Doc cared two whoops, one way or the other. Probably Buck was thinking about something.”
“Very likely. And who is the yellow-haired dulce?”
“Alice Snell. She and a brother inherit the whole Maltese Cross outfit when the boy comes of age.”
“She told me to tell you to ride down to see her—that she’d be at the ranch all summer.” Thus Rock delivered the message. “I didn’t hardly know what she was talking about.”
“Alice never does talk about anything much, although she talks a lot,” Nona said coolly. “Her long suit is getting lots of attention.”
“Well, I expect she gets it,” Rock ventured. “She’s good looking. Heiress to a fortune in cows. She ought to be popular.”
“She is,” Nona said—“especially with Buck Walters.”
“Oh! And is Buck popular with her?” Rock asked with more than mere curiosity. This was an item that might be useful in the task of sizing up Buck Walters and his way with the Maltese Cross.