CHAPTER IX
LEAVE IT TO ME
Rathburn had recognized the ranch long before they came close to it. It was the place where he had stopped for a meal with the girl and the freckle-faced boy two days before––the day he had gone on into Dry Lake. He saw no sign of the girl or the boy or any one else as they reached the front door and hurried inside.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lamy look hurriedly about and step into the kitchen. He followed him.
Lamy grabbed part of a loaf of bread and some cold meat on a shelf above the kitchen table.
“There’s usually a cellar under the main room in these square houses,” he said, hurrying back into the larger room.
Rathburn stepped after him, and Lamy pulled back the rug before the table and disclosed a trapdoor. He raised the door, held out the food to Rathburn, and whispered: “You better get down there. Take this grub an’–––”
“What’s the matter? Isn’t there room for both of us?” Rathburn put the question in a voice which conveyed surprise.