"Bob Nichols."
"Nichols, eh? Then I must have been mistaken," he added in a voice too low for the boy to hear, and a look of disappointment settled on his face as he continued aloud: "Well, what do you want?"
"You are Mr. Ford, I presume?" asked Bob.
"I am; John Ford, owing no man a cent and afraid of nothing, or no one on earth."
Smiling at this unusual introduction, Bob said:
"I came out to ask if you'd give me a job on your ranch, Mr. Ford."
"Know anything about ranching?"
"No, sir. But I can learn."
"Who sent you to me?"
"A Mr. Higgins."