“Our horses ain’t fur off,” replied Cadmus; “the rest of the boys didn’t think it worth while to trouble you.”

“What do you mean by troubling me?” asked Fred, though he understood the meaning.

“We’re on an unpleasant errand,” continued Cadmus, acting as the spokesman of the party, the others remaining in the background and maintaining silence.

“Shall I bring chairs for you?  It is so unusually mild to-night that I am sitting out doors from choice, and I do not wish to disturb my mother and sister, who retired some time ago.”

“No, we’ll stand,” was the curt response.  “Whitney, as I suppose it is, are you accustomed to sit out here alone?”

“Not when I can have company.”

“Were you alone before we came up?”

“When you were here earlier in the evening, as you saw for yourself, I had my sister and a friend.”

“Exactly; who was that friend?”

“Mont Sterry, the gentleman who is on a little tour through some parts of Wyoming and Montana to try to help make you fellows behave yourselves.”

“Yes; wal, we’re looking for him.”

“Why do you come here?”

“Because he spends a good deal of his time here; he seems to be interested in Miss Whitney.”

“Well, if he is, that is no business of yours,” retorted Fred, angered by the reference to his sister.

“Perhaps not, but it would be well for you to keep a civil tongue in your head, Fred Whitney; we’re not in a pleasant mood to-night, for we’ve had trouble.”

“It matters not to me what trouble you’ve had; you have no right to name any member of my family.  They are in affliction; my father was shot down by your gang yesterday, and, though we made several of you fellows bite the dust, the whole of them weren’t worth his little finger.”

“We’ll let them matters drop; I told you we’re looking for Mont Sterry, and we’re going to have him.”

“And I ask you again, why do you come here after him?  I don’t deny that he was with me, but he left fully two hours ago.”

“We know that; he gave us the slip, but we believe he came back.”

“And I ask what reason you have for such belief; why did he bid us good-by and ride away?  I know that he had not the slightest intention of returning for several days,” said Fred, sticking to the technical truth.

“We don’t care what his intention was, he did come back.”

“How do you know that?”

“He was sitting in that chair alongside of you less than ten minutes ago; you were smoking and talking, though you didn’t speak loud enough for us to catch your words.”

“Where is the proof, Larch Cadmus, of what you say?”

Without noticing this penetration of his disguise, the rustler turned and spoke to the nearest of his companions: 

“Spark Holly, how was it?”

“I seen ’em both and heard ’em talking,” was the prompt response of the individual appealed to.