He held the Winchester in his right hand, the stock trapped under his right elbow. He swung the barrel from rider to rider. There were four of them, five if you counted the one he knocked down and who was still down, perhaps steer-trampled, Tom didn't know. He kept his eyes moving, waiting for some movement from another one he couldn't see.

“There's no need for a gun, Power,” one of them said.

Tom swung the barrel of the Winchester in search of the voice. When he saw who had spoken, he lowered the rifle. “Ranger Kirby,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

There was a long pause, then Kirby said, “I'm finding the men who've been driving off your cattle.” There was another silence, then a snort from one of the other riders. Tom swung the rifle in that direction. “Laughing boy,” he said. T. T. Swift shook his head and raised his hands shoulder-high in submission.

Power turned back to Kirby. “What are you doing?” he asked again.

“I told you,” Kirby said. “I'm arresting these men for running off your cattle.”

“You ain't,” Tom said. “You ain't arresting no one. You're running off my cattle. I ain't stupid.” There was another snort from T. T. Swift. Tom brought the barrel of the rifle back to him. “You got an annoying habit I can cure for you.” Swift raised his hands again.

“Why would I do that?” Kirby asked.

“That's what I was asking. Why would you do that after you give me this badge and everything? I ain't stupid.” He swung the rifle back to Swift, who just shook his head and looked at the ground.

“I think I'm arresting you. You better give up your guns.” He heard a noise behind him and wheeled his horse to see the knocked-down man back on his feet. He was covered in dust, and his arm hung limp, but he looked all right. He was trudging over to where the others were.

“You can't arrest us,” Kirby said. “I'm a United States forest ranger.”

“And I'm a deputy United States forest ranger.”

“No,” Kirby said. “You ain't taken the oath. It don't count if you ain't had the oath.”

“Who can give me the oath?”

Kirby said nothing.

“You can, can't you?”

Again, Kirby remained silent.

Tom brought the Winchester up to his shoulder now and took aim at Kirby. “Let's get on with that oath, then.”

“I—” Kirby said. “Say your name.”

“What?”

“I'm giving you the damned oath, even though it doesn't mean a damn thing because you're holding me at gunpoint. But you got to say ‘I’ and then your name—Tom Powers.”

“Power,” Tom said. “Not Powers. Power.”

“Power, then. Say that, say, ‘I, Tom Power.’”

“I, Tom Power—”

“Swear to uphold the laws of the United States of America and defend her lands against all interlopers—”

“Against all what?”

“Interlopers. It means ‘intruders’ or something.”

“Why don't it just say that, then?”