“Perhaps the man went away in such haste he forgot his luncheon,” suggested Emma whimsically, which caused a laugh and relieved the tension somewhat.
“You are a lot of tenderfeet,” averred Hippy, limping over and peering down at the basket. He gave it a gentle shake.
“Oh, Hippy darlin’! Be careful,” begged Nora.
“Be quiet! There is something alive in here,” warned Lieutenant Wingate, giving the basket another shake, whereupon his companions distinctly heard familiar sounds coming from it.
“Birds! Well, what do you folks know about that? Someone has made us a present of a basket of birds, perhaps blackbirds with which to make a pie,” chortled Hippy.
The basket cover was secured with a piece of wire, which the Overlander unwound and cautiously peered within while Tom Gray held a lantern to enable Hippy to see. He thrust a hand in and brought out a bird, holding it up for the others to look at.
“Bindloss, what do you think of our present?” he cried jovially.
“Well, I’ll be shot!” exclaimed the rancher. “What fool is carrying ’round a basket of birds?” The rancher laughed uproariously.
Tom Gray took one look at the bird and uttered an exclamation under his breath, then after cautiously peering into the basket, being careful that none of the other birds there made its escape, he got up and faced his companions with a puzzled expression in his eyes.
At this instant, Grace and Elfreda also discovered what both Tom and Hippy already knew.