"I don't know," exclaimed Jane, with some antagonism. "I don't know. Jim Thorpe's a nice seemin' feller enough, someways, but----"
"But--what?" inquired Mrs. Rust, eagerly.
"Oh, nothin' much, on'y there's queer yarns goin' of that same Jim Thorpe. Restless was yarning with two of McLagan's boys, who are out huntin' the stolen cattle. Well, they got a yarn from one of the boys of the '[diamond] P.'s.' Course I don't know if it's right, but this feller seen a big bunch of cattle running where Jim keeps his stock. An' he swore positive they was re-branded with Jim's mark. You know, '[double star],' which, as he pointed out, was an elegant brand for covering up an original brand. Them boys, Restless said, was off to look up the stock."
Jane told her story with considerable significance, and, for the moment, her two friends were held silent. Then Pretty Wilkes gathered herself to protest.
"But--but Jim's McLagan's foreman. He don't need to."
"That's just it. Folks wouldn't suspect him easy."
The force of Jane's argument almost carried conviction. But the blacksmith's wife liked Jim, and could not let Jane carry off honors so easily.
"Jim ain't no cattle-thief," she said. "And," she hurried on, with truly feminine logic, "if he was he'd be cleverer than that. Mark me, Jim's too dead honest. Now, if it was Will Henderson----"
But the gossip was becoming too concentrated, and Pretty helped it into a fresh channel.
"Talkin' of Will Henderson," she said, "Kate Crombie told me the Doc's goin' to make him say where he gets his gold--in the interest of public prosperity. That's how she called it. That's why he ain't showed up in town for nigh three weeks. Guess he'll go on keepin' away."
"Doc's up again Will someways," said Jane.
"Doc's a bad one to get up against," observed Pretty. "If he's going to make Will talk, our men-folk 'll all get chasin' gold. I don't know, I'm sure. Seems to me a roast o' beef in the cook-stove's worth a whole bunch o' cattle that ain't yours. Well, I'll get on to home, an' get busy on the children's summer suitings--if you can call such stuff as Abe sells any sort o' suitings at all. Good-bye, girls."
She left the matrons and hurried away. A moment later Jane Restless went on to the butcher's, while Mrs. Rust pottered heavily along to Smallbones' store to obtain some iron bolts for her husband.