“What will happen to him?” Connie asked.
The detective shrugged.
“Oh, he’ll probably get twenty years if he pleads guilty. I have him locked up at the jail now. Late this afternoon I’m starting back to Texas with him.”
“Then I may not see you again,” Connie said regretfully. “You must forgive me for discharging you.”
“You did me a service,” the man smiled. “The only thing I worried about was that you might tell Blakeman I had been prying into his chest.”
“I’ll always be grateful to you,” Connie said earnestly. “And you’ll be remembered as the finest hand I ever had!”
“Maybe you’ll see me again next summer,” the man promised as he prepared to ride away. “I’ve taken a liking to this ranch. I’d enjoy spending my vacation here.”
“We’ll be looking for you back next year,” Connie declared.
Later in the morning the girls rode to Red Gulch themselves. By that time the cowboys had driven the cattle to the stockyards, and the loading was nearly completed.
“Did we lose many animals in the stampede?” Connie asked Lefty anxiously.