"They can, an' welcome," replied Hank Leeson.
"You are going to leave us?" queried Joe.
"Don't see any other way to do, lad. The sooner I get the news to the fort the better. I'll come back in the morning after you—or send your brother or somebody else."
"We can ride it alone, can't we?" questioned Darry.
"I wouldn't try it, if I were you. The trail is a rough one, and there are several forks where you might go astray."
"Better stay with me, lads," put in Leeson. "I'll treat ye well, never fear," and he smiled broadly.
"Thank you," returned Joe. "I was only thinking I'd like to see my brother soon, that's all."
"A few hours more or less won't make much difference," said Darry. He had looked around the trapper's cabin, and was interested. "Let us wait." And so it was arranged.
It did not take long to get a bit of supper, and in less than half an hour Sam Benson was off, astride of a powerful steed which had been Hank Leeson's pride for years.
"Jest tell him to go to the fort," said Leeson, "and he'll carry ye thar with his eyes shet," and he gave a parting salute to the old scout.