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“Benteen Calder, with the Triple C” He courteously offered his hand in greeting and felt the fairly youngthe effort to shake it

“I’ve been iving the i “I’d like you to speak to your boys and ask them not to make any trouble I knohen they come to town it’s natural for them to feel kind of frisky I don’t expect that you control that, but I’d like you to see to it that they don’t bother any law-abiding folk”

“I don’t suppose they will as long as you see to it that your law-abiding folk don’t bother theed

“That Hobie Evans rides for you, don’t he?” It was a statement of recollection rather than a quest for information

“He does” The rancher’s look almost dared the sheriff to say more

“It was nice ents,” the sheriff drawled and nodded to each of them in turn “This is a day for celebration I hope your boys behave themselves and don’t step out of line I wouldn’t like to have to arrest anybody on the day of our nation’s independence”

The corners of his mouth were turned up in the closest effort he ood day and aht him there

“I heard a ru a sheriff, but I wasn’t aware they actually had” Benteen sent a questioning glance at the man beside him “This must have just happened”

“The first of the month”

“Has there been trouble?”

“A few ed “There isn’t an outfit around that hasn’t had to let so around town until their et bored with nothing to do and start hazing the drylanders Basically, it’s just harh sometimes”

The horeen, so they were the most likely ones to bear the brunt of a cowboy’s frustration And if a homesteader’s sense of humor didn’tto back up his opinion on the matter Benteen was certain a few scuffles had resulted

“There’s been complaints, too, about Sonny’s saloon—and the ‘cris out there” Ed Mace stressed the derogatory reference to the et a bunch of those high- to close his place down God help Fannie when the pious horsefaces find out about her”

“The next thing you know they’ll be drawing a deadline the way they did in the trail towns,” Benteen suggested in dry amusement

“With the respectable folk on one side and the cattle resentment “And us forbidden to cross the line It was us, andto tell me or my men where we can walk in it Not ever”