"You look like the real thing," observed Stacy.
"Thank you. Then the other man did not?"
"He did not—-to me," answered Tad Butler.
"How are we to know that you are the captain in person?" asked the professor suspiciously.
"I wear the badge and then here's my open countenance," answered the
Ranger with another hearty laugh.
"Professor, there can be no doubt that this is Captain McKay. I should know him now from the description given to me by Lieutenant Withem. Won't you join us? We have just about finished the grub, but there is more. I'll cook something for you," proposed Tad.
"I'll join you in a cup of coffee, thank you," replied Captain McKay.
"Lucky for him that Ned didn't make the coffee for supper," muttered
Stacy, but so low that the captain did not hear the remark.
Captain McKay, the real Captain McKay this time, was almost boyish in appearance. He was of about the same build as the other man who had declared himself to be the captain, but the real captain had light hair and laughing blue eyes, as opposed to the dark hair and eyes of the other man. The captain's skin was fair. It seemed not to have suffered from exposure to the sun and storm of the plains.
Tad led the way to the camp, followed by the visitor and the rest of the Pony Rider outfit.