"Iky, set down a bit," he demanded. "'Twill do ye good. Thar's somethin' I want to tell ye. I won't keep ye long."
Somewhat reluctantly the lame man seated himself by the side of the trail, unslung his pack, and laid his rifle by his side.
"Fire away, then," he grunted, "and don't be long about it, either."
"Now look here, Iky," Dan began. "I'm mighty glad ye've been knocked out to-day."
"The devil! Well, that's cool."
"Jist keep yer mouth shet fer a minute an' I'll explain what I mean. I've known ye fer years, Iky, as a square man, even though ye are cranky at times. Ye're true to the core, which is more'n I kin say of some I've run ag'inst. If ye knew of a mean ugly game bein' put up ag'inst some poor little kid ye would jist explode like a barrel of dynamite, wouldn't ye?"
"My God! yes. You bet your life I would."
"Wall, then, thar's a poor wee lad at Hishu that's been stole away from its home by a set of measly skunks."
"Who are they?" demanded Ike, half rising to his feet, while his eyes blazed with anger. "Tell me the names of the villains, and I'll bring the boys down to Hishu like greased lightning. D'ye know who they are?"