d Filaree are."

"You quit joshin' your dad," said Cheyenne.

"I ain't joshin' _nobody_. Ole 'Clubfoot' Sneed, over by the
re'savation's got Josh and Filaree. I seen 'em in his corral, yesterday.
I was up there, huntin'."

"Did you talk to him?" queried Cheyenne.

"Nope. He just come out of his cabin an' told me to fan it. I wasn't
doin' nothin'. He said it was against the law to be huntin' up there.
Mebby he don't hunt when he feels like it!"

"Did you tell Uncle Frank?"

"Yep. Wish I hadn't. He says for me to stay away from the high
country--and not to ride by Sneed's place any more."

Cheyenne turned to Bartley. "I done made one guess right," he said.

"You goin' to kill Sneed?" queried young Jim enthusiastically.

"Nobody's goin' to get killed. But I aim to git my hosses."

Cheyenne turned to Jimmy. "You ride over and tell Uncle Frank and Aunt
Jane that me and Mr. Bartley'll be over after we eat."

"Will you sing that 'Git Along' song for me, dad?"

"You bet!"

"But why don't you come over and eat to our place? You always stop by,
every time you ride down this way," said Jimmy.

"You ride right along, like I told you, or you'll be late for your
supper."

Little Jim climbed into the saddle, and, turning to cast a lingering and
hopeful glance at Bartley,--a glance which suggested the possibilities
of further practice with the Luger gun,--he rode away, a manful figure,
despite his size.

"They're bringin' my kid up right," said Cheyenne, as though in
explanation of something about which he did not care to talk.

CHAPTER XIII

AT AUNT JANE'S

Aunt Jane Lawrence was popular with the young folks of the district, not
alone because she was a good cook, but because she was a sort of foster
mother to the entire community. The young ladies of the community
brought to Aunt Jane their old hats and dresses, along with their love
affairs, petty quarrels, and youthful longings. A clever woman at
needlework, she was often able to remodel the hats and "turn" the
dresses so that they would serve a second season or maybe a third.

The love affairs, petty quarrels, and youthful longings were not always
so easy to remodel, even when they needed it: but Aunt Jane managed
well. She had much patience and sympathy. She knew the community, and so
was often able to help her young friends without conflicting with
paternal or maternal views. Hat-trimming and dressmaking were really
only incidental to her rea