“Mrs. Hartwell, I’m sure glad for yore sake. The night me and Sleepy found yuh——”
“And I thought Sleepy was a ghost,” laughed Jack. “He had on Molly’s nightgown!”
“Oh, I forgot,” said Mrs. Hartwell, anxiously. “That night——”
She searched inside her waist and drew out a sheet of paper, which she handed to Jack.
“That is the letter that McLeod brought me, Jack. You were so angry when you came back, and tore the letter—oh, I—I—it hurt me to think that you suspected me
“Good gosh!” exploded Jack. “Oh, I must ’a’ been a fool. This letter—” he held it out toward the crowd—“was from her father. I was fool enough to think my own wife was a spy for the sheepmen. I tore a corner off, in tryin’ to take the letter from her. And on the part I got, was, ‘Find out what—’. Just those three words. And I thought Eph King was askin’ for information about the cattlemen. Here is what the letter says—including what I tore off:
“Dear Molly: Just a short note to let you know that I have found out how things are for you and Jack down there. Why didn’t you write and tell your old dad about it? De Larimore told me how they had treated you, and it makes me mad enough to come down and whip the whole valley. See if you can find out what Jack wants to do. I have plenty of work for a man like Jack. If he don’t want to work with sheep, I can turn the Turkey Track ranch over to him. He knows enough about cattle to make that ranch pay——”
“Turkey Track?” interrupted Marsh Hartwell wonderingly.
“I’ve owned it for two years, Marsh,” said King softly. “Yuh see, I couldn’t keep out of the cattle business. The man you call Larrimer was recommended to me by Jack Noonan, about the time I bought the Turkey Track, so I made it appear that Larrimer was the owner.
“Larrimer framed up this thing and kept me posted. He and his men were the ones that shot the old man at Kiopo Pass. He told me that he had it fixed for us to drive straight into the valley, but later on he said his plans had gone wrong. Then he said that there were some men who suspected him and that it would be impossible to break through his side of the line.