"From what I know of Wilder, he won't let a bunch of his cattle be
lifted without doing something. That may be his fire."
"All the more reason why we should go to it--to make sure," snapped
the leader of the raiders. "Wilder is a fool or he wouldn't leave
his herd unguarded at the Witches' Pool."
"You'll find he's smarter than you think. I'll bet all my share of
these raids will come to that the only reason the herd was alone
was because his whole outfit is on the trail from the bottoms,"
asserted another.
"Well, the boys can take care of 'em if they are. I said I was
going to find out who built that fire, and I'm going to." And
without more ado, the leader of the raiders dashed into the woods.
Riding cautiously among the trees until he thought he was about
back of the fire Megget gave the word to dismount.
A short distance to the south and above them was a ledge from which
they would be able to command a view of the camp fire, and rapidly
the raiders made their way to It.
What they saw when they reached the top and gazed down caused them
to exclaim in amazement.
The cowboys were saddling their ponies, and instead of the three
men they had expected to discover, Megget and his companions saw a
dozen.
"That's the Half-Moon bunch!" declared one of them.
"There are too many of them," asserted another. "We're in a pretty
mess now.
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