Pagina 206 di 439

Fraser breathed freer when they rode out of sight. He had

overslept, and had had a narrow shave; for his pony was grazing

in the alfalfa field within a hundred yards of them at that

moment. No sooner had the posse gone than Hank Speed stepped

across the field without an instant's hesitation and looked the

animal over, after which he returned to the house and came out

again with a rifle in his hands.

The ranger slid down the farther side of the stack and slipped

his revolver from its holster. He watched the ranchman make a

tour of the out-buildings very carefully and cautiously, then

make a circuit of the haystack at a safe distance. Soon the

rancher caught sight of the man crouching against it.

"Oh, you're there, are you? Put up that gun. I ain't going to do

you any harm."

"What's the matter with you putting yours up first?" asked the

Texan amiably.