Sam Hill was a fair man. He gave most folks a chance to prove themselves before passing judgment, but this time, Cal Prentiss, his neighbor, had gone too far. The cut fence said it all. After telling Cal no, he still moved his cattle through Sam's property. Compounding Sam's frustration was finding that a good number of his stock had followed the Prentiss herd through the damaged fence.

His first order of business was repairs to prevent further loss by fashioning a temporary gate, and the second, was to go after and retrieve his property. Judging by the freshness of the trampled ground, Prentiss hadn't been gone too long. Enlisting the help of two hands, Brick and Andy Talbert, brothers and trusted men, along with a few days of supplies, they went to reclaim Sam's property.

Brick Talbert was strong and sturdy, while his brother, Andy, was still wet behind the ears at seventeen. Under Brick's tutelage, Andy would make a fine cowboy someday.

The three men followed the cattle trail across Sam's property through the temporary gate. Brick thought Cal might have a few hours lead on them, but driving a large herd of cattle would slow them down while three men on horseback would gain on them quickly.

Sam listened to the brothers, who picked on one another endlessly. It was all good-natured, and every so often, Sam guffawed at a tall tale. They were decent company; the brother's quibbles took his mind off resentment directed at his neighbor. This recent incident was not the first time Cal had overstepped himself, but Sam decided it would be the last.

They camped that night near a fallen tree. Brick reasoned they would catch up with the herd tomorrow. Sam, grateful the man knew a lot about tracking was hopeful of Brick's prediction.

In his mind, the rancher practiced what he would say to his former friend. Then Sam thought about the work it would take to cut his cattle from Prentiss' herd and got angry all over.

Sam would never do to a man, what Cal had done to him. They'd grown up friends and neighbors, but when it was time to take over their respective father's ranches, Cal tried to move the fence line to include a portion of a stream that rightfully ran through Sam's property.

A surveyor and a day in court admonished Cal, who was forced to move the fence back to where it belonged and pay Sam damages. That was the beginning of the downfall of their friendship. Sam would have shared the water if Cal had only asked him after his finger of the stream dried up when the rains didn't come. There was plenty of water for both ranches, but instead of asking, Cal took.

After a restless night, Sam stood, feeling the result of sleeping on the wet, hard ground in his movements when pulling himself upright. The rancher had softened sleeping in his bed every night, served home-cooked meals by his pampering housekeeper, Wanita. Finding himself less than enchanted at being thrust into the wild cowboy life, Sam decided Prentiss should pay for that, too.

The brothers and their employer followed the trail of broken ground. Andy scouted ahead, coming back to report cloud dust ahead, indicating the cattle were not far in front of them. Sam bristled at the thought of seeing his neighbor and spurred his horse on. Hopefully, they would find themselves back at Lone Pine, his ranch, eating Wanita's cooking tomorrow.

By midmorning, they'd caught up with Prentiss and his men moving the cattle to market. Sam ran ahead of the Talbert boys, approaching Cal Prentiss, who looked at his former friend warily before placing a hand on his revolver.

"Don't even think about it," Sam shouted. "You cut my fence. I've come to claim my property again." Prentiss huffed.

"If you have property here, take them. I am not a cattle thief."

"Oh, but you are, Cal; you cut my fence and crossed my property, letting my cattle follow yours."

"That was not my intention." Cal's nonchalant answer infuriated Sam. How many more times did he have to butt heads with his former friend?

"Brick, Andy, cull the herd." Sam watched his men search each head, looking for the L/\P brand and cutting those cattle from the group. The brothers moved off with several heads, with Andy keeping them contained as Brick returned, continuing the search.

"You make sure you aren't taking any of my property," Prentiss warned.

"I should press charges." Sam retorted. He wanted to wipe the smirk off his neighbor's face.

"Sam, don't make this such a big deal. I'm warning you," Prentiss said defensively.

"Warning me about what? When you get back, you'll be answering to the Sheriff."

"Look, Sam, let's be reasonable. How about you trust me to sort all of this out at the market? My man, James, here, will count your property when we get to the cattle yard, and I will pay you the going rate for them."

"I am supposed to trust you? A little late for that, Cal."

"This is a waste of time. How will you single out every head that has your brand out of hundreds?" Sam had to admit that Prentiss had a point. Hill heads were intermingled with the Prentiss cattle, and short of passing them through a gate, there was no finding all his strays in this can of worms.

Sam looked at James Kramer in the eye. The man nodded his assurance he would count fairly. Since Brick and Andy were cousins to James, Sam was forced to trust the cowboy.

"If I hadn't tracked you down, would you have been honest with me?" Sam returned his gaze to Cal.

"Of course, Sam. We go back a long way. I've learned my lesson over the water war. I will be honest in my dealings with you and your property." Sam sighed. He wanted to vent his anger and frustration at Cal but was tired and didn't want to fight anymore.

"I am holding you to your word, Prentiss." He watched Brick cut a few more cattle from the herd, calling out to his hand, "That's enough, Brick; let's bring them home."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Hill." Brick moved the last of the gleaned strays toward Andy, who kept them apart from the herd. Sam had no idea how many more of his beef had been lured by Prentiss' drive. Frustrated, he forced himself to ride away because he was mad enough to do irreparable harm, and it took a lot to get Sam to that state. Today, Sam would make a decisive move and walk away from this confrontation before regretting it. The most important rule in the game of chess is the least active piece strategy. That was to take the least active piece and elevate its position. As a man who loved the game, Sam was already formulating a plan.

With its small herd, the Lone Pine crew headed for home, with the rancher still brooding in silence. The brothers kept busy moving the strays while Sam trailed behind, lost in thought. He missed the brother's ribbing, but his mind had turned to the best way to handle the situation. You hit a man hardest when you hit him at home.

A particular young lady, Miss Penelope Prentiss, lived with her brother. She had recently come of age, and as he remembered, she was quite fetching. Sam decided he should visit her while her brother was rustling his cattle. He would make sure his neighbor was fair in his dealings. When Prentiss returned, Sam would have Miss Penelope convinced he was the man she should marry. That was his move, Cal's sister, in exchange for Prentiss' honesty.

The day after Sam returned to Lone Pine, he cleaned up and rode to the Prentiss spread. Knocking on the door, he stood with his hat in hand and waited for the lady of the house to answer.

"Sam?" She was drop-dead gorgeous, and his eyebrows raised in surprise upon seeing the once lanky girl had filled out in all the right places.

"Penelope, er, excuse me, Miss Prentiss." Feeling awkward, Sam foolishly bowed. He was uncomfortable with her maturity as the rancher was nearly ten years her senior.

"Sam, please come in. There's no need to be so proper; we are old friends." Penelope stood back, opening the door wider and inviting him in. She called her housekeeper.

"Mrs. Hatch, will you make Mr. Hill and me a pot of coffee? And please, warm some of those biscuits I made this morning?" The woman nodded and hurried off to the kitchen.

"To what do I owe this honor?" Penelope looked at her neighbor with rapt attention. The plan of misleading Cal's sister died right there. Miss Penelope was much too nice of a person to use as a pawn to control her brother.

Sam melted in her smile. They drank coffee and ate biscuits. Cal's sibling was everything her brother wasn't. Miss Penelope didn't deserve to be treated in any other way but with the most profound respect. After telling the beguiling woman what Cal had done to him, the enchantress assured Sam she would personally see that the Prentiss Ranch made good on Sam's lost cattle.

Weeks later, Penelope rode up to the Lone Pine in a buggy driven by James Kramer, the man Sam recognized from the cattle drive.

"I am here to give you your fair share of the money," Penelope said as he helped her from the buggy. Sam called Wanita, asking her to take Miss Penelope inside, where they would do business after granting James Kramer's request to speak privately.

"What is it, James?"

"Sir, I don't want to work for a man the likes of Cal Prentiss. He is dishonest, and it is only a matter of time before he gets me arrested or, worse, killed for doing things I shouldn't. I am asking you for a job. I personally counted ninety-five head of Hill cattle intermixed with the Prentiss' group at the stockyards. I told Miss Penelope, and she insisted on coming here to pay you in full despite her brother's protests."

"I will seriously consider giving you employment, James," they shook hands. "If you will excuse me, I have business with Miss Prentiss to attend to."

Sam walked into his parlor, where Wanita had set out a silver coffee pot on a tray.

"If you'll allow me, Sam, I'll pour," Penelope said amicably. The woman was enchanting. Sam couldn't take his eyes off her. How could Cal have such a beautifully honest sister?

"Please do," Sam pointed to the coffee pot. He ordered his coffee with two sugars. Penelope handed him a cup on a saucer and sat across from him balancing her cup in hand.

"I wanted to apologize for my brother's shortcomings. He was anxious to get his cattle to market in the shortest of ways and should not have crossed your land without permission. I have added additional money for the cost of fence repair to this money envelope with proceeds from the cattle sale. I hope you find this satisfactory." She handed the envelope to Sam.

"Why thank you, Miss Penelope, that's right, fair of you." Sam opened the envelope and saw a sizable amount of cash inside.

"My brother sold seventy-five head, so this money is your profit from that transaction, along with the additional amount for the broken fence repair." Sam looked Miss Penelope in the face, shocked when he realized the woman had deliberately misled him on the amount of the cattle sold. James had already told him there were ninety-five cattle with his brand on them. Miss Penelope wasn't as beautiful as when she arrived after he found she was as bad as her brother. Sam wouldn't get mad, he'd get even.

"Why thank you, Miss Penelope, for getting involved and arranging the transaction." Without counting the money, Sam slipped the envelope into the front pocket of his jacket.

"Aren't you going to count it?" Miss Penelope asked, batting her eyelashes. Sam's mind was already moving to the next piece on the chessboard. Given the recent circumstances, Miss Penelope was worthy of being in this game with Cal. Sam picked up his coffee cup and jutted out his pinky finger, sipping loudly.

"Why no, Miss Penelope, I believe you are as honest as the day is long. There is a matter I'd like to discuss with you. James Kramer is interested in working here at Lone Pine, and I am looking for another cowboy. The Talbert brothers are his cousins, and he would like to work with them. Do you think Cal would see to letting him go?"

"I believe my brother could find another hired hand; of course, I will let him know that James has taken a position here on your ranch." Sam nodded.

"Miss Penelope, I have another delicate matter to discuss with you. How would you feel about my approaching your brother to ask him if I might court you?" Penelope blushed, but her giggle said it all.

A slow smile spread over Sam's face. It was so satisfying, this game of chess with Cal Prentice. The rancher had Penelope right where he wanted, or did Miss Penelope have him? He wasn't quite sure yet.

Sam couldn't wipe the smile off his face while sipping his coffee, anticipating the next move, he had already captured James Kramer, Cal Prentiss' bishop, and now, he had elevated the opposition's queen safely in his corner, a decisive advantage.

"Game over," Sam mumbled to himself.

"Did you say something, Sam?" Miss Penelope asked, putting her cup back on its saucer.

"I asked when I might come over?" Sam replied, clearing his throat.

After their visit, Sam escorted Penelope to her waiting buggy, shaking James Kramer's hand to welcome him to the Lone Pine.

James flicked the reins, turning the buggy toward the Prentiss spread. Sam lifted his hat to Miss Penelope as she rode by. She giggled and waved with the broadest smile.

"Check, and mate!" Sam chuckled to himself, watching them disappear over the hill.