“Good!” cried Jed, his face brightening. “I’ve been worryin’ about him considerable. How’d he git his ribs broke?”
“One o’ them fellers kicked him in th’ side,” explained Jack, and repeated the story he had heard from Mary.
“Th’ skunk!” said Jed, when he had finished, his face very dark. “Th’ low-down skunk! I only wish I could git my hands on him fer about two minutes.”
“So do I,” agreed Jack, his lips quivering. “That’s why I came.”
Jed held out his hand again.
“I’m with you!” he said. "We’ll go on a little still-hunt of our own. I’d intended t’ go by myself, but I’ll be glad to hev you along."
So Jack, provided with rifle and revolver, presently sallied forth beside his new friend.
“No trace o’ them yet?” he asked.
“Not a trace,” Jed answered. “It beats me. But one thing I’m sure of—it’s possible that they managed t’ slip through my lines, but they didn’t take th’ chest with ’em.”
“Then what did they do with it?”