“His horse is gone. Sorensen, Blackwell, and Weed are all over at the saloon, but there’s no sign of Butch. And he ain’t at the hotel.”
Some one was coming along the sidewalk, and a moment later Jim Langley came in.
“What’s new, Slim?” he asked. “Any news of old Rance?”
“Not a thing, Jim,” replied Slim. “We’re stuck.”
“Pshaw. Me and Angel have been down in the country below the Half-Box R all day, so I thought I’d stop and see what was new.”
He looked directly at Hashknife as he spoke to Slim, but Hashknife said nothing about being out at the JML that day.
“Somebody ransacked the Circle Spade ranch-house while the folks was all in town this mornin’,” offered Chuck.
“The hell they did! What for, do yuh suppose?”
“Some enterprisin’ person tryin’ to find where Rance cached the loot,” grinned Slim.
“Prob’ly. But do yuh still think Rance pulled that job?”