Lone Star 03 by Wesley Ellis Read Free Book Online Page B

have had a hand in it, I suppose.”
    â€œHe had enough influence to get his son accepted at West Point. And it’s no secret that the army’s very vulnerable to political influence right now. Besides, the senior Joseph Farnam can use not only his own political strength, he can call on the other cartel members in this country as well.”
    â€œBut for what purpose, Jessie?”
    â€œSomething you said earlier today gave me the idea, Ki.”
    Ki thought for a moment, then shook his head, frowning. “It must have been some remark I’ve forgotten, then.”
    â€œWhen we were first talking about the rustlers, you said the Lazy G or the Circle Star might be next on their list.”
    â€œEven if they stole one of our market herds, they couldn’t hurt the Circle Star, Jessie. Not the way losing a herd hurts Brad Close’s Box B.”
    â€œOf course not.” Jessie raised her teacup to her lips, and found it empty. She picked up Ki’s cup, which was empty too, and went to the stand. As she refilled the miniature teapot and relighted the spirit lamp, she went on talking. “We could survive, as you said this afternoon, Ki. And you were right about the Lazy G, too. The syndicate got three million acres of land in ten counties for building the Texas capital, and the Lazy G’s just a little part of those three million acres.”
    â€œThen what’s your point?”
    â€œThis is our headquarters, Ki.”
    â€œJessie,” Ki said patiently, “even if we lost the Circle Star as a headquarters, we have others we can use.”
    Before he’d finished speaking, the look in Jessie’s emerald-green eyes told Ki he’d said the wrong thing. In spite of the angry gleam her eyes showed, Jessie held her temper.
    She said, “I know as well as you do that we can work out of the other bases we have. But they aren’t the same as the Circle Star, Ki. This is more than a base or a headquarters to work from. This is home!”
    â€œI’m sorry, Jessie. I know you feel just the way Alex did about the ranch. And you’re right, of course. But what I said about our not having to worry over the loss of one market herd still makes sense, doesn’t it?”
    Jessie came back with the cups of freshly brewed tea. She said, “In one way it does, but if you carry that thought a step further, it can be really alarming.”
    â€œCarry it further in what direction?”
    â€œIn a ring around the Circle Star. Our neighbors, the ones that touch our range.”
    â€œThat means the Box B, the Lazy G, the Lightning Fork, and the X Slash X,” Ki frowned. “But I still don’t see what you’re trying to tell me.”
    â€œThink, Ki!” Jessie urged. “What would our situation be if we couldn’t drive a market herd from the Circle Star across the range that belongs to any of those four ranches?”
    â€œWhy, we wouldn’t be able to get our cattle off Circle Star land, of course,” Ki replied promptly.
    â€œSuppose the rustlers who stole the Box B herd never took a single steer off the Circle Star range, but came back and stripped the Lazy G and the Lightning Fork and the X Slash X, not all at once, but one at a time?”
    Ki frowned thoughtfully. “Well, we’ve both agreed the Lazy G wouldn’t be hurt much. From what I last heard, the Lightning Fork’s in good condition. The X Slash X is in about the same shape as the Box B, though. Shaky.”
    â€œNow suppose the rustlers came back every few months, not just when the market herds are formed.”
    â€œJessie, you know that if that happened, every hand on all these ranches would join forces and wipe out the rustlers. And we’d be right with them, leading the Circle Star men.”
    â€œHow long do you think a cattle ranch can survive if it has to fight a constant war with rustlers, Ki? How long would Brad Close or the X Slash X last