“Oh! that’s all a mistake, Billie!” declared Adrian; “wherever cattle are raised on any large scale you’ll find men trying to steal them, and change the marks; because once this is done it’s hard to pick out your own property. And unless both of us are mighty much mistaken, that’s what was being done with that herd we saw pass by on the gallop. But here comes Donald with the little torch; and as the dust has partly settled by now, we can go out and take a look around.”
“And,” said Billie, as if to show that he was not so dull as he had been once upon a time, “if them rustlers were chasing along behind the herd we’ll find the plain hoofprints of their ponies there; because they’ll show up different from the split hoofs of the steers, eh, Adrian?”
“Good for you, Billie; you’re on to the racket nowadays!” declared the other; and then Donald coming up, the three stepped out toward the spot where they had seen the unlucky steer fall never to rise again.
There was little trouble about finding the remains, for these prairie boys had a fashion of locating things at the time they happened, so that they could head straight to them again when they wished.
And just as Donald had said, the wretched animal had been pounded almost flat by the many hoofs that passed over him. They might find some decent pieces of beef to make use of, and that was all, for even the hide had been ruined.
Adrian took the torch from his chum’s hand. They saw him bend down closer as if to examine the flank of the dead steer. Hardly had he done so than he gave utterance to a loud cry.
“What have you found now?” demanded Billie, scenting new developments in the remarkable mystery which had greeted their advent into the Wyoming cattle country.
“Look at this mark here!” was what the other said, as he drew in a long breath; and of course both Donald and the fat chum dropped on their knees, the better to see what was meant.
And there, plainly branded on the flank of the dead animal was the sign manual which Adrian recognized as his own property, a bar, and the letter S!