Frank finished the sentence by shaking his head in a threatening manner, and taking down his rifle, which he proceeded to load very carefully.  He had made up his mind to fight, if it should become necessary.

He was now more anxious than ever for the arrival of his two friends, for he did not like the idea of remaining alone in the house all night, with so much money under his charge, and a villainous-looking Mexican hovering about.  Frank, as we know, was very far from being a coward; but having by some means got it into his head that Pierre was a rascal, and that something unpleasant would happen before morning, he could not help feeling rather anxious.

The afternoon wore slowly away, but Johnny and Dick did not make their appearance.  Darkness came on apace, and Frank, being at last satisfied that he was to be left alone in his glory for that night at least, ate his supper, and visited Roderick in his stable to see that he was well provided for, and then whistled for his dog, which he had not seen since the departure of Mr. Brown.  Marmion, however, did not respond to the call.  Frank whistled and shouted several times in vain, and then set out to hunt up his favorite.  He visited the Rancheros’ quarters, and found Felix and Pierre sitting in the door of one of the cabins, smoking their cigarettes.  The former had not seen the dog; but, willing to serve Frank to any extent in his power, offered to go in search of the animal.  Pierre, however, said that would be useless, for he had seen Marmion in hot pursuit of a rabbit.  No doubt he had driven the game into its burrow, and was engaged in digging it out.  When he caught the rabbit, he would come home of his own free will.

Although Frank was suspicious of every thing Pierre said or did, he could see no reason for disbelieving this story.  Marmion was quite as fond of the chase as his young master, and frequently indulged in hunting expeditions on his own responsibility; sometimes being absent all day and nearly all night.  But he was not off hunting then, and Pierre had told a deliberate falsehood, when he said that he had seen him in pursuit of a rabbit.  The Ranchero had determined upon a course of action which he knew he could not follow out so long as the dog was at liberty, and Marmion was, at that very moment, lying bound and muzzled under one of the corn-cribs, almost within hearing of his master’s voice.

Frank slowly retraced his steps toward the house, feeling more nervous and uneasy than ever.  In Marmion he had an ally that could be depended on in any emergency; and, if the dog had been at his side, he would have felt perfectly safe.  But he was not the one to indulge long in gloomy thoughts without a cause, and in order to drive them away, he lighted his lamp, and, drawing his easy-chair upon the porch, amused himself until nine o’clock with his guitar.  The music not only served to soothe his troubled feelings, but also had the effect of banishing his suspicions to a great extent, and left him in a much more cheerful frame of mind.