“Yes, it has happened a few times, but I would not have known a thing about what to do, only for Chunky’s advice,” she told him.
“Oh! you can rely on Chunky then, can you?” asked Ned, quickly, for that was one of the points he wanted settled, because a great deal depended on it.
“Always. My husband would trust him with his life. If ever we do have a foreman at the Double Cross, Chunky will be the one.”
“I’m glad to hear that, because I rode in behind him, and somehow I fancied he would be the one to confide in. Please send out for him as soon as you can, ma’m, because we have little time to waste. I hope to learn from Chunky just who the other four traitors are, for he will have noticed how this Ally Sloper picks out his friends. Birds of a feather flock together, you know; and these fellows would feel safer if they kept in constant touch with each other.”
The other scouts approved of what Ned was doing, as their manner of nodding at different times indicated. They knew that their leader was equal to running things, even though he might not know so much about the working of a cattle ranch. And in times gone by they had seen him pitted against what seemed to be overwhelming odds, to win out in the end; so that they had unbounded confidence in whatever he started to do.
The rancher’s wife left them for a minute, and presently came back to say that she had sent out the Chink cook, Chin-chin Charlie, to find Chunky, and tell him to come right to the house on important business.
“We’ll get this working pretty soon, I think,” Jack declared, with animation.
“And they’ll just have to hunt up some broncs for the lot of us to straddle, too,” added Harry.
“Tell me about that,” chuckled Jimmy. “How glad I’ll be to mount a fiery charger and dig me heels into his flanks, after all this terrible walkin’ the lot of us have been doin’ lately. I do be wishin’ Chunky’d hurry. If he’s gone off now, and couldn’t be found at the bunkhouse, we’ll be in a nice pickle, sure.”
“Don’t worry, because I think he’s coming,” Ned told him.