“Why should I?”

“Well, I—I—you hate Park Reber.”

“Yo’re not Park Reber.”

“I—I work for him.”

“Lotsa folks work for him, ma’am, and I never kidnaped any of them.”

June bit her lip and studied Jack Silver, who looked at her frankly. He did not look like a man who would kidnap a woman. There was nothing of the sneak about him.

“What do you do for a living?” she asked bluntly.

“Trappin’, mostly. I had a small herd of cattle a few years ago, but Park Reber’s men killed ’em off. He didn’t want me to get a start. In the winter I trap from here over into the Clear Valley side of the range. I make a good livin’.”

“What do you do with the cattle you steal from Park Reber?”

It was a very blunt question. Jack Silver’s eyes did not shift, but narrowed slightly, and for several moments he did not speak. Then—