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We didn't bring no cattle over, for we hadn't made no arrangement with Jim Lefingwell like you done an' we didn't want to stampede Warden." Lawler told them what had occurred in his interview with Warden. "I reckon Warden's the liar, all right," declared Caldwell; "Jim Lefingwell's word was the only contract anyone ever needed with him." He looked keenly at Lawler.
He saw grim pity in the eyes and he shuddered. "Ruth knows you're stealing cattle. Everybody knows it, now. Who is buying them?" "Singleton." "Singleton!" Lawler's voice snapped with astonishment. "Dave Singleton, Lefingwell's old range boss?" Hamlin nodded. And then the grip of Lawler's fingers on his chin relaxed.
He found himself wondering about her why she had been in Warden's office, and who she could be. And then he remembered his conversation with Blackburn, about "chapper-owns," and he decided she must be that woman to whom Blackburn had referred as "a woman at Lefingwell's old place, keepin' Warden company."
That's why my company asked for his resignation. But if you have a written contract with Lefingwell in which it appears that Lefingwell acted for the company, why, of course we'll have to take your stock at the contract price. Let me see it, if you please." "There was no written contract; I had Jim Lefingwell's word which was all I ever needed." "Lefingwell's word," smiled Warden.
In my case, I made arrangements with Jim Lefingwell, the buyer at Willets, as long ago as last spring. But Lefingwell isn't buyer any more, and Gary Warden, the present buyer, refuses to recognize my agreement with Lefingwell." "A written agreement?" "Unfortunately not. Lefingwell's word was always good." Hatfield's smile was very near a sneer.
He smiled at her, but there was a stiffness about his lips, and a cold, whimsical light in his eyes, that told her much. She drew a deep breath, and smiled faintly. "You have disagreed with Gary Warden," she said. "He will not keep Lefingwell's agreement." "Said he never heard of any agreement," said Lawler. "I rode in to tell the boys to hold the herd here until I got back from the capital.
This information had reached Lawler's ears through the medium of neighboring cattle owners, and he was willing to accept it as accurate, though he was not prepared to form an estimate of Warden until he had an opportunity to talk with him personally. "Well," went on Blackburn; "them that's looked him over don't hesitate to say he don't measure up to Jim Lefingwell's size."
Blackburn grinned wickedly when informed of Gary Warden's refusal to keep Lefingwell's agreement. "Didn't I hit him right," he sneered. "I aim to be able to tell a coyote first pop, whether he's sneakin' in the sagebrush or settin' in a office. They ain't no difference. No cars, eh? Bah! If you say the word, me an' the boys'll hit the breeze to town an' run Warden and Simmons out!
"Singleton," he said, his voice thick and throaty; "when I stepped into Jim Lefingwell's boots the county board of education appointed me to succeed Lefingwell as school commissioner for Willets. It strikes me that something ought to be done about the teacher punishing your boy. I think I had better have a talk with her." "Shucks," growled Singleton; "I reckon the kid deserved what he got.
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