is life should pay therefor.

Since Motoza was not in the situation thus to be warned, the hunter did
the next best thing. With no attempt to veil the sound of his footsteps,
he strode into the circle of light thrown out by the Indian camp-fire.
The bucks looked up curiously at him, but betrayed no emotion beyond a
few grunts. They did not invite him to be seated or to join them in
smoking, and had they done so, neither invitation would have been
accepted.

Hank knew nothing of the lingo of the red men, but it was presumed they
had a fair understanding of English, taking which for granted, he
proceeded to carry out his self-imposed mission. He told the bucks they
had no business off their reservation, although it was a matter of
indifference to him. He knew there were others in the mountains, and
Motoza was among them. It was concerning this scoundrel, as Hank
characterized him, that he had something to say. A white youth, while
hunting that afternoon not far off, with his companion, had disappeared.
Hazletine had looked into the matter far enough to discover that he had
been stolen by Motoza. The white man was hunting for Motoza, but in the
brief time at his disposal had not been able to find him, though he was
confident of doing so on the morrow.

Meanwhile, the white man wanted these three, or any one of them, if they
should meet the aforementioned scoundrel, to repeat what he had said
about him. If any harm had befallen the missing boy, Hazletine would
take it upon himself to hunt down Motoza and "execute" him himself,
without waiting for the United States authorities to do it. Such a
summary course would save expense and make the white man feel better.

If Motoza should return the stolen boy within twenty-four hours, and it
was found he was unharmed, the whole matter would be treated as a joke,
and no punishment would be visited upon Motoza, provided he didn't do it
again.

This was the substance of Hank Hazletine's communication to the three
bucks, to whom he repeated and discussed it until there was no fear of a
misunderstanding, after which the visitor strode out of camp, without so
much as bidding the trio good-night. His whole manner was that of
contempt, for, had it been otherwise, he would not have dared to turn
his back upon them, when they could have shot him down with impunity.

The cowman had accomplished something, though less than he hoped. While
he failed to gain definite knowledge of the missin