At the first scrape the cowboys and their girls leaped to the floor and began to dance, but none of the people from the fort cared to dance to such music.
Suddenly the door flew open and a band of a dozen cow-punchers walked into the room, and were greeted by joyous shouts by the other cowboys in the hall.
At their head was a handsome young fellow, slender and dark, with a resolute face and a pair of piercing eyes that flashed around the room for the purpose of seeing and locating his possible enemies.
"Who is that?" asked Stella.
"That's Billy Sudden," answered Ted.
"And who is he?"
"Foreman at 'Cow' Suggs' ranch. That's the Suggs bunch of cow-punchers. There'll be something doing here to-night."
"Why?"
"There are a lot of fellows in this part of the country who don't like Billy, and some of them are liable to tread on his feet."
"Oh, is he quarrelsome?"