“Three.”
“Since when?”
“Last night. He passed the house where we slept. We saw him again while we were fixing up the tire and gears, along the road, and now here he is again,” replied Chick.
“You didn’t mention the time when we saw the horse standing, with his bridle trailing, in the valley, by the side of a stream,” put in Patsy. “We didn’t see the man, but he must have been there, all the same.”
“That’s true,” agreed Nick. “Look at him through the glass the next time we catch him in daylight. We ought to have done that before.”
“I did do it,” announced Chick. “You were busy with the car when we stopped about noon, and I took a good long stare at him across the hood.”
“Well? What did he look like? Did you know him?”
“Never saw him before,” was Chick’s answer. “But I’ll know him again. He is a dark fellow, with short hair. He is in a linen suit of light gray, with a belt holding a sword, and a large panama hat. There is a holster, with a pistol in it, hanging to his belt, too.”
“Soldier?”
“I don’t think so. He hasn’t a uniform, and he doesn’t carry himself stiff enough.”