“You’ve got us guessing, Steve,” he said. “Just how much in earnest were you in what you said in your wind-up? Talk turkey now. What’s the game? Get right down to brass tacks.”
After a brief interval Steve’s answer came.
“Stirred up the animals did I with that innocent remark of mine?” he said. “Well, Phil, old boy, here’s what I mean, straight from the shoulder.
“I want you and Dick and Tom to come down here and join me in the service of the Texas Rangers. They’re the finest kind of a bunch, straight fellows, dead shots, daring riders, just the kind of men you boys would like to pal up with. The border troubles are getting so serious here that we need more men. Of course, there are Government troops here but only a handful, and the border line is so long that they can’t possibly police it. So we Rangers get in and help on the job. The discipline is good—our Captain Bradley is an old West Pointer—but it’s nothing like so irksome as it is in the regular army. I can guarantee you plenty of excitement and adventure with very little of the red tape.
“Above all we’re short of flying men and we need them more than anything else. In chasing the Mexican guerrillas or warning of their approach on one of their frequent raids they’re invaluable. Now, you and Dick and Tom are as much at home in a plane as you are on the ground, and the job is just cut out for you. I’ve talked the matter over with Captain Bradley and he’s keen to have you in our flying service.
“Then as to that matter of Muggs Murray, I honestly think you’d stand a first-class chance of nabbing him if you came along with us. In the course of your work, aloft in the air, you’d be called on to scan practically every foot of the border in this section. Sooner or later you’d be likely to come across him and his band. And you’d have the whole troop of Rangers behind you to help you round him up.
“Now that’s the whole story. I’ll have to stop now as I have to turn in a report. Think it over carefully, old scout, and call me up tomorrow night. Regards to the rest of the boys and so long.”
The voice ceased, leaving the listeners’ minds in a tumult.
“Are you game, fellows?” asked Phil.
“You bet,” replied Dick emphatically.