"And for the shelter given to the Indians our late friend has some reward I suppose?" chimed in Harold, a note of satire in his voice.
"If he is a rascal, and if what I am surmising is correct, then he undoubtedly has something in return for what he does. There are scores of our beasts unbranded at certain seasons of the year, and it must be easy to pick out those animals, and leave the remainder to the Indians."
"While the man from whom the beasts are stolen can never claim them, seeing that they do not bear his brand. I see your meaning, Dudley," said Harold thoughtfully. "In the same way this fellow may harbor a crew of outlaws, and few would suspect that the raids came from his estancia."
"That was what I was thinking. I know that the sudden onset of these ruffians, and their equally sudden disappearance, have been puzzling questions for Mr. Blunt. True, he and his gauchos have never followed them more than a mile or two over the estancia borders. But still, when they have come to inquire, the neighboring gauchos and the owners of the estancia have seen nothing of the raiders, till their turn comes, perhaps weeks later. Everyone thinks that the rascals disappear into the Indian country, but what if they have their headquarters near at hand, and the very fact of their being on an estancia owned by a white man shelters them even from suspicion?"
The very thought was sufficient to make Dudley anxious, and for five minutes at least he sat his horse like a statue. Harold looked expectantly into his face, as if about to ask him a question, while just in rear, obedient to every action of their leader, the gauchos sat silently, the fringes of their leggings blowing in the wind, and their steel bits jingling musically. Something was in the air they knew, for why had their leader called two of his following to his side? Something told them that the señor was disturbed in his mind, and, as if to give him every opportunity to get to the bottom of this trouble, they sat as silent as a band of ghosts, looking keenly into one another's eyes.
As for Dudley, he felt that he ought to take some action, and he was puzzled as to what it ought to be. During the past half-hour the many tales which Mr. Blunt had told him had been passing across his mind with unusual vividness. He knew that his employer had been raided time and again, just as other owners had been. He remembered, too, that the roving bands of outlaws and rascals who at times infested the pampas had paid more than one visit, and had even burnt Mr. Blunt out of house and home. On each occasion they had disappeared as if by magic, to turn up again days later many miles away. What if those bands came from the neighboring estancia?
"I will do it," he said aloud. "I feel that it is my duty to set a watch on this fellow. We have still four days to ourselves, for Mr. Blunt told me he did not expect us to return till a fortnight had gone. We will make the most of those spare days. We will turn and ride back."
With a swing he brought his horse's head round in the opposite direction, and was in the act of cantering away past the gauchos, when Pepito arrested his attention.
"The master returns?" he asked, with a lift of his chin. "The señor suspects this owner whom we have left, and means to watch him?"
"That is my intention," was the short answer. "About turn!"