At that moment the man in the checked suit looked up and caught Ted and Kit staring at him.
Hastily calling the attention of the man with the red necktie to them, he hurried around the corner, and the other followed.
Ted ran to the corner of the station, but all he could see of either was through a swirl of dust as the motor car in which they were riding flew up the street.
"By crickey! I'll bet anything that was Checkers," grumbled Ted. "I'm always too late to get to him. But next time I'll take a long chance with him."
The train pulled into Green River at eight o'clock that night, and they all went to the leading hotel, and Ted registered them as coming from the ranch.
During the evening the boys mingled with the crowd in the hotel lobby, talking cattle, and met many of the representative women of the section.
They were out after a bunch of stockers, and promised to be in the neighborhood for several days and to visit the ranches and look over the stock.
One of the men whom they met was introduced to them as Colonel Billings, ranch owner and speculator in cattle.
He was a middle-aged man of most pleasant features—benign, good-natured, and yet shrewd. He dressed well for a cowman, and from his pink, bald crown and gray chin whiskers down to his neat shoes, he looked the part of the prosperous business man.
"I have a lot of stock such as I think you boys need out at my ranch," he said to Ted, when he learned that they wanted to buy. "I'd like to have you bring your party out to the place and stay several days as my guests. You would then have plenty of time to look the stock over, and if you like them I'm sure we can strike a bargain."