“Don’t worry—I know that,” Teddy returned. “Roy and I have both been down this far, but not for a long time. But this curve is familiar. Golly, it sure is pretty around here!”
Silently the boy gazed ahead, resting his paddle across the canoe. The scene was truly magnificent. The sun, past its zenith now, threw flecks of gold on the water as it shone through the trees. Fleecy clouds drifted slowly overhead. The willows nodded sleepily, as a soft breeze stirred them.
“I could enjoy this if we weren’t in such a hurry,” Teddy sighed. Then he turned to Roy and grinned. “This is soft for you, hey, Roy? Kind of beats a sunset, doesn’t it?”
“Kind of,” Roy answered absently. His eyes were dreamy, and as Teddy saw them he winked at Bug Eye.
“‘This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,’” he began to quote softly, then suddenly gave a yell. “Hey! It’s morning! Wake up!”
“What?” Roy stared at his brother stupidly. Then a sheepish grin came over his face. “All right, you Indian! I’ll get you for that. But I sure was day-dreaming. Guess it was that meal.”
“Uh-huh,” Teddy grunted, expressing his contempt of such subterfuge.
As the boat shot downstream, Pop Burns cast an appraising eye shoreward. The foliage was especially thick at this point, almost concealing the hint of mountains which rose back of the pebbly beach line. The puncher thought that if a man wanted to make a getaway after a crime, he would surely take this route. Unless by some chance the pursuers stumbled on the fugitive, there would be very little chance of finding him.
“If he hugged the river, he could travel for miles without bein’ seen,” Pop muttered to himself, and squinted again toward the bank. “But I suppose he wouldn’t have sense enough to do that. More than likely, if a rustler wanted to dig out for another country, he’d take an overland route and have to ride like all get-out to keep ahead. An’ if he wanted to, he could mosey along this bank an’ take his time. Then, when he got to where he wanted, he could cut for it. Seems that when a man takes to stealin’ an’ such like he loses what little brains he ever had.”
Strangely enough, thoughts of this same nature were revolving in Teddy’s mind as his paddle dipped into the water. But they were more definite and were centered about a certain man. That man was The Pup. When they had received word that they were to leave the ranch and follow their father, the boy had been nervous for fear Marino might return and, out of revenge, try to do some damage to the place or its occupants. Yet Roy had said there was not much danger of this—that The Pup was miles away by this time. Surely if Roy—he of the careful, “mature” judgment—was satisfied that the home folks were safe, then Teddy had no cause for worry. Nick knew about Marino, and knew he was a character to be watched. Nick would see to it that Marino had his fangs drawn if ever he ventured to show his face at the X Bar X again.