The sight of the two serious-faced boys, whose eyes showed them to be keen and alert, brought Jeffreys to his senses.
"I reckon you're right," he exclaimed. "But what's up, Horace? If you and your friends are out for a little excitement, just take my tip and turn your attention to jumping a coyote or you may——"
"We are not after excitement," retorted the boy from the Half-Moon Ranch. "We don't have to go looking for it. We've got all we want. Some of Megget's gang have raided our herd."
"No? It must have been them I saw over near the hills early this morning."
"Where were they?" "Which way were they going?" "How many were there of them?" demanded the lads, each one asking a question.
"It was just after sun-up. I was too far away to recognize the cattle, but I counted four men. As they only had about fifty head with 'em, I sort of suspected something was wrong, so I got out of sight before they could see me. Leastways, if they did, they didn't make any move to get me."
"Where have you been?"
"I've been up in the hills for a few days prospecting."
"Did you find the mine?" inquired Tom, forgetting the raid and pursuit in his eagerness to learn about the Lost Lode.
"No, I didn't. I just learned another trail, which isn't the right one."