On the side of the wall was a gun-rack. Hanging from it were seven rifles, all well oiled and polished, as though they had been recently taken care of. On the floor were several boxes of cartridges. But, stranger than this and what had brought the cry of surprise from Teddy, was a pile of queerly shaped implements in one corner.
“Branding irons!� Roy ejaculated. “Branding irons, as sure as you’re a foot high! Can you beat that?�
“They sure are!� Teddy cried excitedly. Bending over, he picked one up. “Roy! See here!�
The older boy looked eagerly at the object in his brother’s hand. It was a square piece of iron fastened to a wooden handle, and between the handle and the plate was a piece of fluted and corrugated metal, to allow rapid radiation of heat and prevent the burning of the wood. Teddy turned the iron over. On the face, in raised characters, was marked: 8 X 8.
“Pete Ball’s brand!â€� Roy exclaimed. “Now what—â€�
“If they had a sign on the door, ‘Horse Thieves,’ they couldn’t tell us plainer than this,� Teddy interrupted.
“But this is an 8 X 8 branding iron,� put in Roy slowly. “They wouldn’t want to brand the cattle they stole with the same brand.�
Instead of replying, Teddy picked up another one of the irons. This had a small circle at each end and four curves between.
“I’ll bet this is a fake branding iron!� cried the younger ranch lad triumphantly. “Don’t you see, Roy? They can stamp this fake iron directly over the 8 X 8 and that will make an entirely different brand, having a three-leafed clover at each end with a curved rope uniting them.�
“Say, I’ve heard something about that before!� came quickly from the older boy. “Don’t you remember dad’s talking once about the Rope and Clover brand which was used by some rustlers in upper Montana? I’ll bet this is the same kind of outfit!�