"I reckon I stayed there. It was in a cabin down at a place which I heard the girl say was called 'Bear Flat.' I didn't ketch the name of the man."
Stafford grinned coldly. "I reckon they didn't know what you was comin' over here for?"
"I didn't advertise," returned Ferguson quietly.
"If you had," declared Stafford, his eyes glinting with a cold amusement, "you would have found things plum lively. The man's name is Ben Radford. He's the man I'm hirin' you to put out of business!"
For all Stafford could see Ferguson did not move a muscle. Yet the news had shocked him; he could feel the blood surging rapidly through his veins. But the expression of his face was inscrutable.
"Well, now," he said, "that sure would have made things interestin'. An' so that's the man you think has been stealin' your cattle?" He looked steadily at the manager. "But I told you before that I wasn't doin' any shootin'."
"Correct," agreed the manager. "What I want you to do is to prove that Radford's the man. We can't do anything until we prove that he's been rustlin'. An' then——" He smiled grimly.
"You reckon to know the girl's name too?" inquired Ferguson.
"It's Mary," stated the manager. "I've heard Leviatt talk about her."
Ferguson contemplated the manager gravely. "An' you ain't sure that
Radford's stealin' your cattle?"