"That he's a spy, of course."
"That may be. Yes, you're probably right but my guess is that he's spying after Royce."
"You mean—?"
"I mean that if he's the man I think he is, I believe Hains has sent him here to do some harm to Royce."
"What'll we do about it?"
"We ought to warn Jeb before he hires him, but I don't see how we can do it."
"Nor I. We couldn't possibly get to the house ahead of him without him seeing us."
"I have it," Bob said a moment later.
"What's your plan?"
"I'll go catch up with him and make some excuse for going to the house, and maybe I'll get a chance for a word with Jeb before he sees him. If he's all right he can't object and if he isn't we should worry."