“Where did you learn to shoot like that?” Ricker questioned MacNutt sharply. “Can you do as well with a rifle at two hundred yards?”
MacNutt grinned modestly.
“I reckon I can,” he drawled slowly. “I’ve shot a revolver and rifle ever since I was a kid.”
A rifle shoot was next in progress, but MacNutt declined to wait for that event. Soon, he took his leave after saying a few words in an undertone to his friend Jean Barry. The cowboys watched him depart with keen interest. He had risen several points in their estimation by his accurate shooting.
As he drew near the place where Tug Conners had held him up, he saw the guard leaning on his rifle, watching him approach.
“Guess I can pass you through quicker next time you visit us,” Tug called after him as he rode past. “If you see one of our men at the Post, tell him to hurry up for I sent him to bring me some tobacco.” “I sure will,” he answered cheerfully. “I am going back that way and if I see your man I’ll hustle him along.”
“Yes, you certainly will pass me through quicker when I call on you next time, my friend,” he added grimly to himself as he rode steadily on.
In due time he arrived at the Post, where he spent about two hours looking after some private business and making a few necessary purchases. As he mounted his horse for the run to Bar X he was surprised to see Jim Haley lounging on the hotel veranda.
“He must have followed me,” he mused, a grin playing over his features. “The play is on in earnest.”
He looked around to see if the cowboy’s horse was in sight. Seeing no signs of the animal he decided that the cowboy had put his horse in the hotel corral.