“‘I’m sure I don’t, but I’d like to know.’

“‘Injins!  Varmints!  They’re nigh you; look out!’

“Wal, instead of j’ining the others in laughing at me, he says; just as earnest-like as if it was the colonel that had spoke, ’If that’s the case, Grizzly, why we’ll look out; you have been in this business afore I was born and I am glad you told me.  I didn’t s’pose any of ’em was within miles of us, but it’s easy to be mistaken.’

“Wal, to make a long story short we didn’t any of us go to sleep; the boys laughed at what I said, but the way the lieutenant acted showed ’em he believed me, and that was enough.  The Apaches come down on us that night and wiped out two of the boys.  If the lieutenant hadn’t showed his good sense by believing what I told him, there wouldn’t have been one of us left.”

Budd Hankinson then crossed his legs, extended on the ground as they were, shoved his sombrero back on his head, with his Winchester resting against the rock behind him, and smoked his pipe after the manner of a man who is pondering a puzzling question.  The latter assumed much the same position, but, having said sufficient, was not disposed to speak until after the other had given his opinion.

“Grizzly, when your leg warns you like that, does it speak plain enough to tell you the sort of danger that’s coming?  Does it say what hour; where the trouble is to come from, and who them that make the trouble will be?”

“No!” replied the other, contemptuously; “how could a fellow’s leg do that?”

“How could it do anything ’cept help tote him around when he wanted it to?”

“I’ve just explained, that twitching is a warning—­that’s all.  I ’spose the leg thinks that’s enough; so it is.”

“There ain’t any Apaches or Comanches in this part of the world.”

“But there’s rustlers, and where’s the ch’ice?”

“Wal, Grizzly, all I’ve got to say is let ’em come; it ain’t the first time we’ve seen ’em, and we’re ginerally ready for ’em.  We was yesterday, and I reckon we’ll get there, all the same, to-night or to-morrow morning.”

Grizzly Weber felt it his duty to be more explicit.

“The night I was telling you about down in Arizona wasn’t the only time my leg signaled to me.  While it allers means that something is going to come, it doesn’t always mean it’ll amount to much.  It has happened that only a slight flurry follored.  That may be the case to-night.”

“What’s to be done?  Are we to set here on the ground and wait for it?  I was going to take turns with you watching, but I guess we hadn’t better go to sleep yet.”

“You can sleep till near morning if you like, and when I want to lay down I’ll wake you, but afore you do that I’ll take a look around.”

Weber rose to his feet, yawned, stretched his long, muscular arms, looked about him and listened.  The moonlight enabled him to see only a comparatively short distance in any direction.  Near-by were the forms of several cattle stretched upon the ground and sleeping.  One or two were still chewing their cuds, but the scene was suggestive of rest and quiet, the reverse of what he told his friend was coming.