Scarcely had the two boys arranged themselves in the hay, Whitey taking care that he had a slight opening through which he could observe what took place in the room, when Crowley and four of the ranch-hands entered. Three of the men carried lanterns, and by their dim glow Whitey could see that the chamber was of vast extent, and plainly of natural origin.
Crowley and the men lost little time in getting to work; and in a moment a fire was going in the small furnace and the branding-irons were heating.
"Get a move on!" said Crowley, impatient at some small delay. "This business ought 'a' bin done days ago! The Boss is sore—tho' he ain't got no kick comin', really, as he's bin lushin', same as the rest of us. Them cattle ought 'a' bin branded and on their way long ago."
In a moment, the iron was hot, and three of the hands proceeded to drag one of the steers out of the corral and it was thrown to the floor. Crowley took the branding-iron, and applied it with extreme care. Although Whitey could not make out just what was done, this is what happened: The steer had been previously branded,-O. The branding-iron that Crowley used was marked I.; and when it was applied exactly over the previous brand, the result was +O. A very simple process, therefore, changed the brand of "Bar O" into "Cross and Circle."
One after another the cattle were dragged in and re-branded, until twelve in all had been "counterfeited." In the midst of this process Ross appeared, and examined critically each of the re-branded animals, and expressed satisfaction at the completeness and perfection of the job.
"It'll bother them Bar O people consider'ble to claim them steers now," he said. "But jes' the same, we better get 'em off 'long towards mornin', with the others, an' ship 'em as soon as we kin. It's takin' some risk, with them fresh brands, but I dunno 's anybody is goin' to make a holler. The main thing is to get 'em away from here. I don't jes' like thet Injun's hoss bein' out there; but I reckon 'f he's 'round, the boys'll round him up, an' no harm'll be did."
"It'll bother them Bar O people consider'ble to claim them steers now," he said.