“I don’t know where I am going,” answered Gus, ignoring the first part of the question, and speaking entirely for himself. “I am looking for a chance to go into business of some kind, and if I could get stock enough to begin on I might be tempted to try cattle-raising on the squatter plan.”
This was enough to set their host to going again, and during the rest of the evening he kept the boys interested. He told of his own trials and failures, and gave Gus some advice which might have been valuable to him had he thought seriously of going into the business of cattle-raising. The squatter talked almost incessantly until ten o’clock, and then seeing that Gus began to yawn he stopped abruptly and led the boys into an adjoining room.
“I brung your saddles an’ things in yere,” said he. “You can spread your blankets on the floor an’ sleep as comfor’ble as you please. Mebbe the roof’ll leak a little if it rains, an’ if it does, you can come in an’ lay down in front of the fire. All night to you!”
So saying the squatter left the room, and the boys began groping about in the dark in search of their saddles, to which their blankets and ponchos were fastened. They found them at last, and after making their beds they lay down on them without bidding each other good-night, and prepared to go to sleep. It was very probable that the room would leak a little in case of a sudden shower, Gus thought, as he looked up at the roof. There were several holes in it, and some of them were so large that he could have crept through them. He lay there for a long time looking up at the stars, thinking of his home, and telling himself how foolish he was to run away from it just in time to miss that excursion to the trout streams of the Adirondacks, and when his eye-lids were beginning to grow heavy and the holes in the roof to assume fantastic shapes, Ned suddenly started up and laid a hand on his shoulder.
“What’s that?” said he, in a low whisper. “Don’t you hear something?”
Gus was wide awake in an instant. He held his breath and listened for a moment, and then sank back in his blanket again.
“I don’t see any sense in frightening a fellow half to death for nothing!” said he. “Let me alone, now. I want to go to sleep!”
“But I hear horses,” whispered Ned. “They’re coming fast, too.”
“So do I hear them; but what of it?” replied Gus.
He spoke as though he took no interest whatever in the matter, but if Ned could have seen his face, he would have found that it was growing whiter every moment. Gus heard the sound of the hoofs plainly enough, but until Ned spoke it never occurred to him that the horses which made the noise might be ridden by men who were in pursuit of himself and his companion. A few seconds later the dogs were aroused and rushed out in a body to salute the approaching horsemen. Ned hoped from the bottom of his heart that they would pass on without stopping, but in this he was disappointed. The horsemen came straight toward the house, the sound of the hoofs ceased suddenly in front of the porch, and a voice that made Ned tremble all over rang out on the air.