“I wish he wasn’t worth so much money, for I shall live in constant fear that his owner will be along here some day hunting him up. I know that if he had been stolen from me I should never sleep soundly until I found him.”
During the ride to the rancho, Ned often looked behind him, fully expecting every time he did so to see a horseman or two galloping along the trail in pursuit; but he was alone on the prairie, and to his great relief there was no one about the house or yard to see him come home with his prize or to ask him questions that he did not want to answer. He hitched the horse under the shed and supplied him with a good feed of corn, and no one was the wiser for it.
While the horse was eating Ned stood by with his hands in his pockets admiring him, and it was with the greatest reluctance that he left him long enough to go into the house to get his own supper. He said nothing to his father regarding the events of the afternoon, for he had made up his mind that, for the present at least, he had better keep his own counsel.
It was customary for Ned and his father to start out every evening, as soon as it began to grow dark, for a short walk up and down the trail in front of the house, and on this particular evening they continued their agreeable exercise until a later hour than usual. As they were about to retrace their steps they heard the clatter of hoofs on the trail, and presently two horsemen dashed up to them and came to a full stop. They were rough-looking fellows and carried revolvers in their belts. Ned, believing that they were raiders, could hardly refrain from screaming at the sight of them, and even Uncle John acted as though he didn’t know whether to stand still or run away. The latter’s fears, however, if he had any, were speedily set at rest, while Ned’s were increased a thousand fold.
“Good-evening, gentlemen,” exclaimed one of the horsemen. “Do you live about here?”
“My rancho is about a quarter of a mile farther down the trail,” answered Uncle John.
“Have you lived here long enough to know all the people in the neighborhood?”
“I have lived here a little more than a year.”
“Have you seen a stranger pass through the settlement to-day, either of you?”
“I have seen no one; have you, Ned?”