Mac headed out toward the Withers ranch. Adam and the others went in another direction. Mac would not be able to see them but he would know they were there. He was nervous as he rode up the trail toward that ranch. He made sure the thong was off his gun so that he would be able to draw it fast. He tried not to be so nervous but it was hard. He knew what kind of people he was dealing with and they might just shoot him and claim that they did not know who it was and that he was trespassing.

As he neared the ranch, he noticed that the fences were not as well cared for as the ones he had seen on Simpson's ranch. There were a few cows there however and they looked like they were getting plenty of grazing. Mac could soon see the ranch house which did not look like it was well-kept either. The wood looked weathered. It was not painted and the thatch roof looked like it might have a few leaks. A rider came out to meet him as he got closer.

"Who are you?" the man asked pointing his rifle at Mac.

"I'm Mac Taylor, U.S. Marshall," Mac replied. "I want to see Carl Withers."

"He's not seeing anyone right now."

"Why not?"

"That's none of your business."

"Well, I think I will just go on down there to the house and see whoever is in charge here."

The man's face turned just a little redder. "And how do you know I'm not in charge?" he asked.

"Because, you're a hothead," Mac answered. He thought the man would shoot him there, but then they heard another horse coming.

"Vincent! What are you doing?" the second rider asked.

"This is that Marshall that's been hanging around town," Vincent replied.

The other man looked at Mac. "Marshall?" he said. "I'm John Brenner. I'm the foreman around here. What brings you out this way?"

"I was wanting to talk to Carl Withers," Mac said.

"What for?" Brenner asked suspiciously, his blue eyes sizing Mac up.

"Is there some reason why I can't talk to him?"

Brenner was surprised by that question for a moment. "Well…no. He's just not wanting to see anyone right now. He's been ailing."

"Ailing?"

"Yes. He fell off his horse a few weeks ago and broke his leg. He's stove up."

"Is that any reason why I can't talk to him?"

"I'll see if he wants to see you. Come on to the house."

Mac followed them and scanned around the hills and trees wishing he could spot one of his friends, but if he could spot them, the others might too. They arrived at the house where the hitching post was swaying. "We have a lot of repairs that need doing," Brenner said. "Things haven't been going very well around here the last few days."

"Why's that?" Mac asked.

Brenner shook his head. "I'll see if Mr. Withers wants to see you," he said. "Come in and sit at the table."

Mac sat at the table and waited while Brenner went into a back bedroom. The kitchen looked like it was kept very clean. It had a potbellied stove and another stove as well. He could see pies sitting on the counter cooling. Mac knew that ranches like this always had pies cooling. A pie was a treat to a ranch hand when they had been working hard all day. He hardly ever visited a ranch where there were no pies cooling.

The house was warm and cozy and there was a big fireplace in the living room with a big fire in it. Mac heard someone coming back that way from the hallway. Joshua Withers came into the room where Mac was sitting. "Marshall Taylor," he said. "How nice of you to visit."

Mac stood up. "I was wondering if I might see your brother a minute," he said.

"I'm afraid he's not feeling like having company right now."

Mac thought it was strange that they would not let him see Carl Withers. He was not an old man and Mac did not think he should be so stove up over a busted leg like this. "I can't just see him a minute?" he asked.

Joshua Withers frowned and stared at Mac. "You can only see him a minute," he said, his voice strained.

Mac followed him to the back room. Brenner was still in the room. He eyed Mac warily and looked rather nervous. There was a man in the bed who looked a little pale but he had brown eyes that looked like they still had plenty of fire and his red hair looked fiery on the white pillow.

"Carl, this is Marshall Taylor from Wyoming," Joshua Withers said. "He wanted to see you."

"A Marshall?" Carl asked. "What do you want to see me for?"

"Well no one has seen you around in a while and I was wondering if you were okay."

"I wouldn't say I'm okay, but Josh is here handling things while I'm laid up."

"Do you know about all the cattle rustling and murdering that has been going on around these parts?"

Carl looked surprised. "Haven't heard anything," he said. He looked at Joshua. "Why haven't you told me?"

"I didn't want to upset you," Josh answered. "You shouldn't be worrying about that right now."

"You said you were negotiating the water rights, not that there was a crime spree going on."

"I have been, Carl. Don't get yourself upset." Josh glared at Mac. "See what you've done? Now, he's going to be worrying over this."

"Sorry," Mac replied. "But I think anyone has a right to know what is going on. After all, people have been killed and cattle have been stolen and they're being herded out toward the West."

Mac thought Josh Withers' face turned a shade whiter. "Are they now?" he asked. "Do you know where?"

"Not yet, but we're going to find out. We think they're being taken to California."

"California?" Carl Withers asked. He looked at his brother. "Have we lost any cattle?"

"A few," Josh answered.

"And you didn't tell me? We can't afford to lose cattle!"

"Don't get yourself all upset. I have everything under control." Josh glared at Mac. "You need to leave. You have caused enough trouble."

"What trouble have I caused?" Mac asked. He was tempted to blurt out what he knew but he had to have proof first.

"Out!" Josh herded Mac out of the room and back to the front room. "Brenner, take him out and make sure he leaves this ranch."

"Yes sir," Brenner replied sounding none too happy.

Mac walked outside to Avalanche and Brenner mounted his horse as well. Mac was quiet as they rode away from the ranch but when they got out to the border of the ranch, he glanced at Brenner. "You know, if you know something that I need to know, you can always drop by the sheriff's office in town when you're there," he said.

Brenner cleared his throat. "We're off the ranch now," he said. He looked at Mac. "I'll see you around, Marshall. And I do think you're on the right track."

Mac stared at him a moment. "Thanks," he said and rode away. He knew Adam and the others must have seen that he was escorted off the ranch.

When he got out away from the ranch, Adam and the others caught up with him. "What happened?" Nathan Simpson asked curiously.

"Well, it's like I thought…Joshua Withers has taken over that ranch. Carl Withers is laid up with a broken leg. Seems he fell off his horse. He didn't even know what was going on around here, and I think that foreman knows what's going on."

"So what are we going to do?" Adam asked.

"We have to go back and track down those cattle but we need more men with us."

"I'll go with you," Simpson volunteered. "I'm sure more of the ranchers around here will be glad to help."

"I think we will find them on Joshua Withers' ranch out there in California. See, he can say he bought those cattle and was taking them out there to have them slaughtered and no one will know the difference. He probably had a fake bill of sale and everything."

"Well thought out," Adam said.

"Now, he's taken over his brother's ranch so that he can keep a low profile around here and so that his thieves can have a place to go fast." Mac paused a moment. "That guy, Vincent, out there…I think he is in on this."

"I'll bet all those others are out there somewhere too, and some of them may be staying in California."

"I want to round up this gang and the only way to do that is to track down those cattle and get more of them so they can tell us who is the head of this mess although I think I already know. Got to have proof."

They rode back to Virginia City where Sheriff Coffee was standing outside the jail. "Well, it's about time you two got back," he said. "You find out anything else?"

"Yes," Mac replied. He told Roy what happened out at Withers' ranch. "We have to track down those cattle. We know they went out to the West. Although their prints are lost in that sand, they have to come out somewhere."

"So when are you going?"

"I don't know. I'm still waiting for that telegram back from Carson City."

"You got an answer to that while you were gone."

Mac followed Roy into the jail house and Roy got the telegram from his desk drawer. Mac unfolded it and read it. "Well, it wasn't Carl Withers who lost all that money over there," he said. "It was his brother."

Adam looked at the telegram. "Are you saying that he's doing all this to make up for that?" Roy asked. He shook his head. "I still don't believe it."

"Sheriff, he practically threw me off that ranch," Mac said. "He didn't want me to see his brother but he realized that it was going to look suspicious if he didn't let me see him. I mean, the man just has a broken leg, and he's not old."

"So, you barged in there. You know something? They could have shot you dead out there for barging in like that."

"Why would they? I didn't barge in. I just went out there to visit Withers."

"For what reason? You're not a friend of his."

"Because I'm on an investigation and people have told me that Carl Withers has not been seen in quite a while and I wanted to see why. I have a right to conduct this investigation, and I know that Joshua Withers has something to do with this."

"I agree," Adam said. "He's up to his neck in this. I don't think it's just coincidence that the cattle are being driven to California. And besides that, I doubt we're going to find any of them. He's probably already disposed of those cattle and had everything he needed to make it all look legal."

Mac shook his head. "There has to be something," he said. "We're going to track those cattle anyway. I want to know where Joshua Withers' ranch is out there. I think I am going to pay an unexpected visit."

"You like to barge in, don't you?" Adam asked.

"I should have worked on a river boat."

Adam shook his head at Mac's wit. "Am I going with you?" he asked.

"Not to the ranch. They might know you."

"They might know you too. They might have seen you in town."

"I don't think any of those out there that night saw me. Mulligan and Jake in there were the only two who saw me."

"I hope you're going to share your plan before we get over there."

"Don't worry. You all will know everything before we get there."