"Oh, it doesn't take much of a man to steal cattle. A thieving gambler could do it as well as another."
"But our brand and ear crop? They shore couldn't get away from them."
"They're not so hard, Bud. A good man could run our stock out of this part of the country and alter the brand without any trouble."
"Shore, ther brand is not so hard to alter."
"Let's ride back to camp and look at the brand book, and see if any one has a similar brand to ours, or one that they could alter without trouble. But, remember, I'm not going to give myself any uneasiness in the matter, and I think we will find the herd all there. I can't see how so many cattle as you think could get away from us."
"I do."
"In what manner could they?"
"Well, yer see, thar ain't ary o' us fellers been ridin' herd at night since Stella was taken away."
"Yes; go on."
"Ther fellers what hev been guardin' ther herd at night we picked up around here when we drove ther herd up from ther South."