“Well, what do you want here?” repeated Beppo, in a lower tone.
“I have no time to waste in answering questions. Crawl out of that jacket.”
The Mexican seemed to be very much astonished at this order, but, without an instant’s hesitation, he divested himself of his greasy, tattered garment, and threw it on the floor.
“Now that sombrero,” continued Archie. “That’s all right. I shall be obliged to borrow these articles for a little while, but, as I shall leave my own in their place, you will not lose much in case I fail to return them. When I get them on, I think I shall have no trouble in passing myself off for you. What are you doing in here?”
“I came after the gray and black,” replied Beppo, pointing toward Roderick and King James.
“Well, if it is all the same to you, I will take charge of them myself. I have a better right to one of them, than you or any body else about the rancho. He was stolen from me, Greaser, and when I get home, I am going to make somebody smart for it.”
“I didn’t do it,” said Beppo.
“It is fortunate for you that you didn’t,” replied Archie. “If I thought you had a hand in it, I would take you down and give you a good drubbing. I’d like to have a long talk with you about the strange things that are done here every night,” he continued, pulling off his neat jacket, and picking up the one Beppo had thrown upon the floor; “but just now I am too deeply interested in getting away from here, to bother my head about any thing else. I will put the saddles on the horses, and then I want you to show me”——
“Santa Maria!” yelled Beppo again. “Help! help!”