he letter; and as you didn't ask
for it when you came, and didn't even mention Silsbee's name, that same
letter was sent back to your cousin through me, because the bank thought
we knew his whereabouts. It came to the gulch by an express rider,
whilst you were prospectin' on the hillside. Rememberin' your story, I
took the liberty of opening it, and found out that your cousin had told
Silsbee to bring you straight to him. So I'm only doin' now what Silsbee
would have done."

Any momentary doubt or suspicion that might have risen in Clarence's
mind vanished as he met his companion's steady and masterful eye.
Even his disappointment was forgotten in the charm of this new-found
friendship and protection. And as its outset had been marked by
an unusual burst of confidence on Clarence's part, the boy, in his
gratitude, now felt something of the timid shyness of a deeper feeling,
and once more became reticent.

They were in time to snatch a hasty meal at Buckeye Mills before the
stage arrived, and Clarence noticed that his friend, despite his rough
dress and lawless aspect, provoked a marked degree of respect from those
he met--in which, perhaps, a wholesome fear was mingled. It is certain
that the two best places in the stage were given up to them without
protest, and that a careless, almost supercilious invitation to drink
from Flynn was responded to with singular alacrity by all, including
even two fastidiously dressed and previously reserved passengers. I
am afraid that Clarence enjoyed this proof of his friend's singular
dominance with a boyish pride, and, conscious of the curious eyes of the
passengers, directed occasionally to himself, was somewhat ostentatious
in his familiarity with this bearded autocrat.

At noon the next day they left the stage at a wayside road station, and
Flynn briefly informed Clarence that they must again take horses. This
at first seemed difficult in that out-of-the-way settlement, where
they alone had stopped, but a whisper from the driver in the ear of
the station-master produced a couple of fiery mustangs, with the same
accompaniment of cautious awe and mystery. For the next two days they
traveled on horseback, resting by night at the lodgings of one or other
of Flynn's friends in the outskirts of a large town, where they arrived
in the darkness, and left before day. To any one more experienced
than the simple-minded boy it would have been evident that Flynn was
purposely avoiding the m