Nel’s pale eyes hardened and his huge hands moved convulsively for he was a man of deep emotion.
“We shall stop that, and soon,” he roared. “Tomorrow we go see Cook and line him up. After that we’ll clean out Dirty Water and maybe that will stop the rustling.”
Joe looked thoughtful.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to swing Cook along with us,” he said, “and when it comes to cleaning up Dirty Water, we’ll have to have some proof.”
“I’m tired of waiting,” said Nels. “Action I got to have. There’s no law in the valley unless we make it ourselves.”
“You’re right,” agreed Slim, “but let’s wait until we’re sure of the gang responsible for this rustling.”
Nels grumblingly agreed that Slim’s advice was logical and they parted with the agreement that the Box B foreman would ride over to the Double O in the morning and that Nels would accompany him on a visit to the Cook ranch.
“What sort of a fellow is this Cook?”
“All bad,” replied Joe. “He runs the Diamond Dot, a small outfit that lies east of the Double O and the Box B and north of Dirty Water. His range backs right up against the Cajons. We’ve had lots of trouble with him over our water rights.”
“Has he been losing cattle the last year?”