No more was said on the subject at that time, though Clay often wondered if there could be any connection between the two, and also if Mr. Stagg was exactly what he seemed.
CHAPTER IV
A NIGHT ON SHORE
The boys had a hard time getting on board the Rambler, but it was accomplished at last, and the sufferer was soon in one of the bunks. Then the boat was headed downstream.
Mr. Stagg was left standing on the river bank in the rain. The boys invited him on board, but he explained that he was determined to “get that pesky steer before he went home.”
“It’s a wild night to be hunting for cattle,” Clay suggested as the boat was got under way, “but we all hope you’ll find it.”
“Say,” said Alex, as the boat started downstream, “do you believe the story that man told?”
“Seems like an honest fellow,” was Jule’s reply, “but one can never tell. To tell the truth, he looked to me more like an outlaw than any fellow we caught on board.”
“Pretty fierce night to be hunting cattle,” commented Alex, and the discussion was dropped.
“How far is it to the Hayes Junction?” asked Case. “We can’t get a surgeon to set that broken leg until we get there, and perhaps not then. I think I’ll study surgery, just to be ready for any emergency, when I go to college,” added the boy.