‘Who had charge of the key?’ asked Lem.
‘Anybody at the ranch. They had the keys, along with the other stuff they took from Pete’s pockets, in a drawer of the table. Any of them could have swiped the key and looted the safe, Lem.’
Lem considered the matter gravely.
‘It’s kinda hard to accuse anybody of theft when yuh don’t know anythin’ has been stolen, Dave. There’s no record of what was in the safe. Old Briggs has had several days to make his getaway, and nobody knows which way he went.’
‘Yeah, that’s true. I suppose we might as well forget that safe.’
‘Best thing to do, Dave. Have you taken over the 6X6?’
‘Just about. I’m goin’ to see a lawyer now and have him fix it up.’
He turned to Hashknife. ‘I need two good men, Hartley. The crew at the 6X6 have quit, and I’m kinda short-handed. If you’ll take the job, I’ll put yuh in charge of the Flyin’ M. I had a talk with Miss Lane and the young feller awhile ago, and I made her a proposition to cook for yuh. She’s cookin’ for yuh now; so she might as well make some money out of it. I can use the kid, too. He ain’t worth much, but he’ll learn. What do yuh say?’
‘I dunno,’ smiled Hashknife. ‘Sounds all right. I’ll talk it over with Miss Lane and see what she thinks. We can’t step out and leave her alone, yuh see.’
‘No, that wouldn’t be right. You talk it over with her and let me know. I want to move my outfit over to the 6X6 as soon as I can. As far as Lane’s stock is concerned, he’s only got a few head, and yuh can herd them over to my place.’