"Me aeroplane is hitched on to the moon till I gits ready ter leave," answered the captain, gruffly. "Toddle on! An' when ye gits done lookin' at me, checkers—"
"Sir!" said Buck James, haughtily.
"Sir to you, sir! An' I wenture ter say as how a suit like that is handy nuff when you wants ter hev a game, sir!"
"Do you know who I am?"
"I ain't pertic'lar to learn; my eyes is hurt nuff with them clo'es."
Uttering a loud guffaw, the captain turned away, and seized his mustang by the bridle, while Buck James, highly indignant, lost no time in riding away.
"Now, let's follow the stream and see if we can find that level stretch and another bend," said Bob, in low tones. "Hear what James said, Dave—a 'frost'? More I think of it, the more certain I feel they're—"
"Goin' to have an awful awakening," grinned Tim; "eh, Jack? Whoa, little codger!"
He sprang into the saddle.
One by one the bronchos clambered up a steep bank, and were presently cantering briskly over ridges patched with stunted spruce and sage brush. On one side lay "Mount Wanatoma"; on the other, a vast reach extending toward a distant mountain chain.