guard over him in the bunk house, with orders to shoot him down if he even tries to cut out. You might think he’d use the big house for a prison, but—well, under the circumstances it would hardly be the safe thing to do.”
“On account of my Aunt Josie, you mean, don’t you, Donald?”
“Yes, to say what’s on my mind, that’s the stuff,” replied the other. “She’s in league with this riffraff element, because her brother is Hatch Walker himself, and blood is thicker than water, they say. I reckon, now, the lady has been brought up to be in touch with rustlers and all such, so that she believes in their ways of getting other people’s property without paying for the same.”
“Don’t be afraid to speak what’s on your mind, just because she happens to be my aunt by marriage,” said Adrian. “Uncle Fred as much as admits that he was played for and caught by the widow. He’s been bitterly sore about it ever since; but since she’s his wife he’s tried to do the right thing. And if she hadn’t happened to be related to the Walkers, and influenced to back up their schemes for robbing the Bar-S Ranch right along, he never would have gone back on her. Uncle Fred isn’t that kind of a man, you see.”
“Yes, I know,” Donald went on to say, “but let’s drop that subject now, and get back to where we started. Two of the hard crowd we can account
for, and they’re out of the game, I reckon. That left three more. We hope they’ve skipped, and gone over where they belong, with the enemy; but we don’t know, and that’s where most of our danger lies, in my opinion.”
“Oh!”
When Adrian uttered this one word there was considerable significance in connection with it. The fact was he realized right then and there that his chum had not commenced this counting up the disposition of the enemy without some motive back of it besides mere curiosity.
“Now, three fellows may not stand for a heap when they’re facing your gun, and you’ve got a fair chance to pepper the same as they come on,” continued Donald; “but that number of snakes in the grass, lying low, and out of sight, ready to give you a tap on the head, or a thrust in the back with a knife, can demoralize almost any garrison. You know that, Adrian, don’t you?”
“I think I know now what you’re getting at,” remarked the other. “You’re afraid that when nobody was looking those three traitors have slipped into the ranch house and are hiding there right now, waiting to be tipped off as to when they ought to attack us in the rear, while we’re fully occupied with defending our front—is that your idea, Donald?”