His question suggested some knowledge of the situation, but an accomplice of the offenders would, no doubt, have heard of the part Grant's hired man had played.
"I don't see how that concerns you," he replied.

"You'll have to wait until I return if you want the team." He rode on, but he had not gone far when he met Beamish, of the Sachem.
"I was coming over to see you," the man told him.

"You bought that young Hereford bull of Broughton's, didn't you ?" George was surprised at the question, but he answered that he had done so.
"Then would you sell him ?" "I hadn't thought of it." "Guess that means I'll have to tempt you," Beamish said.

"I want the beast." He named a price that struck George as being in excess of the animal's value; and then explained: "I've seen him once or twice before he fell into Broughton's hands; the imported Red Rover strain is marked in him, and a friend of mine, who's going in for Herefords, told me not to stick at a few dollars if I could pick up such a bull." This was plausible, but not altogether satisfactory, and George, reflecting that a buyer does not really praise what he means to purchase, imagined that there was something behind it.
"I'm not likely to get a better bid," he admitted.

"But I must ask if the transaction would be complete?
Would you expect anything further from me in return ?" Beamish regarded him keenly, with a faint smile.
"Well," he said, "I certainly want the bull, but you seem to understand.