“That’s a pretty good effort for a lot of kids,” said Ted.  “Wait, here’s a watermark in the paper.  Let’s see what it is?”

Ted took the paper from the wall and held it up to the light.

In the paper was the representation of the fabulous monster, the griffin, and woven into the paper were the words “Griffin Bond.”

“That’s as easy as shooting fish in a tub,” said Ted, as he folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

“The fellow who put that warning up certainly left his footprints behind him,” said Stella, with a smile.

“He did, but even without that I should have known the authors of it.”

“How?”

Ted then told Stella the substance of the conversation between the boys the night before, and of his suspicions as to the guilt of Creviss and his gang in the mysterious robberies that had occurred in the two towns.  “But,” he concluded, “it is not up to me to get at the matter.  It is work for the sheriff.  However, if those boys try any of their foolishness with us, we’ll turn in and send them to the reform school, where they belong.”

“They’re certainly a bad lot.  I was talking to a lady at the ‘rent rag’ last night, and she was telling me what a horrid boy young Creviss is.”

“I wish I knew at what time this notice was put up here.  It must have been done in daylight, for it was getting light in the east when we turned in.”

“Perhaps some one was so quiet as to put it there while you were all inside talking.”

“I hardly think so, for we were all sitting near the fireplace, and the room was so warm that Kit opened the door, and it stood open until we separated to go to bed.”

“Sure you could have heard them?  Some of you were talking pretty loud, for I heard you in my room just before I went to sleep.”

“Well, of course, I couldn’t be certain about it; but I came out on the veranda to take a look at the sky just before I turned in, and I didn’t see it then.  Surely, as I turned to come back into the house my eye would have caught that big piece of white paper beside the door.”

“What time was it that the most important part of your conversation took place?”

“Just before we broke up.  I remember we were going over the mysterious robberies, and I expressed the opinion that they were the work of the gang under Skip Riley and Creviss.”

“That was probably the time the fellow who put up that notice was about.  You see, if he followed you from Soldier Butte he wouldn’t get here much earlier than that, for he wouldn’t dare ride a pony the length of the valley at that time of the morning, so he had to walk from the south fence.”

“By Jove!  I believe you are right.”

“If my theory is true, the fellow who brought the warning also carried back your conversation to the gang.”

“Then they surely will have something to fight us on.”

“Yes, fear that you will get on their trail will compel them to try to make their bluff good, as expressed in that message.”