"Tell me about it, please?" said Mrs. Simms anxiously.
"Have you anyone that you could send to Forsythe at once with an urgent message for your husband?" he asked.
"There is no one. The herders would not dare to leave their flocks—that is not until the sheep were safe in their corral to-night."
"That will be too late. I'll have to go myself. Have you a spare pony that I could ride!"
"Of course. That is if you can rope one out of the pen and saddle it yourself."
"Certainly. I can do that," said the boy quickly. "But I shall probably ride him pretty hard and fast. I do not think Mr. Simms will object when he learns my reasons."
"Is it so serious as that?"
"It seems so to me. Last night while lost in the mountains I overheard some men plotting against your husband. They said he was expecting a large number of sheep that were being brought in on a drive."
"Yes, that is true."
"They were planning to attack the herd, to stampede it and kill all the animals they could——"