"Come from the States, I reckon, didn't you?"
"Yes, sir; and we're looking for somebody who can tell us just what we ought to do. We're going out to the mountains to hunt and trap. Do you think we can make a living at it?"
"Finest business in the world!" was the encouraging reply. "I know lots of fellows who are getting rich at it. It's a trifle rough sometimes if you get into the Injuns' hunting-grounds, but all you've got to do is to grab your spelter and skip out."
"I understand that you used to be post-hunter at Fort Laramie," said Frank.
"Yes; and I got kicked out 'cause me and the colonel couldn't hitch hosses," replied the man cheerfully.
If he had said that he had been detected in an attempt to rob the sutler's drawer, and had been obliged to leave the neighborhood of the fort in order to escape arrest, he would have been nearer the truth.
"Well, we are green——" began Leon.
"Yes; I knowed you were tenderfeet," interrupted the hunter.
"And we want to find somebody of experience who will take us in charge and manage matters for us," added Leon. "We don't know what kind of an outfit we want, or where to go to find good hunting-grounds."