He hated Franklyn Moran, who owned the Big 4 and lived in ease and luxury in Chicago. Men said that that was why Moses Conley refused to sell out to the Big 4. There was a story told about some trouble between Conley and Moran in the old mining days; Moran was alleged to have cheated Conley out of a piece of property.
The truth of the matter was that Moran had money, and by offering a bigger price than Conley could pay he had acquired the property after Conley had offered to take Moran in with him on the deal.
The Big 4 had made life rather hard for Conley, and he had retaliated by fencing in his five hundred acres with four strands of barbed-wire, almost impoverishing himself to buy the material to shut out the Big 4 cattle from Hot Spring Valley, or Hot Creek, as it was commonly known.
Moran had sent Conley a final offer of more than the ranch was worth; but the squaw-man refused flatly to consider any offer. He would keep his ranch; it was home to him, and a home meant more than money.
Moran had one son, Jimmy, who came from college to show the Big 4 how it should be run; but he got into trouble with “Slim” Regan, the foreman, and tried by telegraph to have the whole outfit fired. Failing in that, he drew every cent he had on deposit in a Chicago bank, his inheritance from his mother, who had died two years before he came to Black Horse Valley. He bought out the Stumbling K ranch, two miles east of Conley’s ranch; it was known as the Busted ranch, because every owner had gone broke.
Jimmy Moran was going to show the world how to raise cows. He hired “Wind River” Jim, who had no other name, as far as he knew, and “Lovely” Lucas, who had been christened Ephriam, to punch cows for him, and “Horse-Collar” Fields to do the cooking.
Jimmy was of medium height, sandy-haired, freckled, with a streak of good and a streak of mean. He liked liquor and cards and was not averse to fighting occasionally. In fact Jimmy liked cards so well that everybody predicted no change in the name or fortunes of the Busted ranch. But their opinions meant little to Jimmy, as he went his joyful way, regardless of anything.
He had met and liked Dawn Conley, and he had also met Moses Conley, who told him to keep away from the Hot Creek ranch.
“He’s afraid I’m after his daughter,” said Jimmy, but he knew the real reason was because of the enmity Conley held against his father.
Pete Conley had always treated Jimmy civilly. But Pete was more like old Conley’s wife—nearly all Indian. Dawn did not look or act like an Indian.