rise for you: Yetmore's saddle's gone!"

"His saddle gone!" I exclaimed. "Is that why you went to the stable? Did
you expect to find it gone?"

"That's just what I did."

"You did! Why?"

Without replying directly, Tom came in, sat down, and leaning his elbows
on the table, said, with a quiet chuckle, the meaning of which we could
not understand:

"Should you like to know, boys, what Yetmore did when he came down for
his tobacco this morning? He went to the stable, saddled his horse,
untied your two ponies and led them out. Then he mounted his horse and
taking the halter-ropes in his hand he led your ponies by a roundabout
way through the woods down to the road. After leading them at a walk
along the road for half a mile he dismounted--that was where his tracks
showed--and either took off the halters and threw them away, or what is
more likely, tied them up around the ponies' necks so that they
shouldn't step on them. Then he mounted again and went off at a gallop,
driving your ponies ahead of him."

As Tom concluded, he leaned back in his chair, bubbling with suppressed
merriment, until the sight of our round-eyed wonder was too much for him
and he burst into uproarious laughter, which was so infectious that we
could not help joining in, though the cause of it was a perfect mystery
to us both.

At length, when he had laughed himself out, he leaned forward again, and
rubbing the tears out of his eyes with the back of his hand, he said:

"Can't you guess, boys, why Yetmore has gone off with your horses?"

I shook my head. "No," said I, "unless he wants to steal them, and he'd
hardly do that, I suppose."

"No; anyhow not in such a bare-faced way as that. What he's after is to
make you boys walk home."

"Make us walk home!" cried Joe. "What should he want to do that for?"

Tom grinned, and in reply, said: "Yetmore thought that as soon as we
uncovered that fine three-foot vein of galena you would be for getting
your ponies and galloping off home to tell Mr. Crawford of the great
strike, and as he wanted to get there first he stole your
ponies--temporarily--to make sure of doing it."

"But why should he want to get there first?" I asked. "You are talking
in riddles, Tom, and we haven't the key."

"No, I know you haven't. You don't know Yetmore. I do. He's gone down to
buy your father's share in the claim for next-to-nothing before he hears
of the strike!"

The whole thing was plain and clear now; and the h