ity made it difficult to extract details, but apparently the fellow
had passed himself off as an old friend of Buck's from Texas, desirous of
looking him up. He was a stranger to Gabby, slight, dark, with eyes set
rather closely together, and he rode a Shoe-Bar horse. Apparently he had
hung around camp until nearly dusk, and then departed only when Gabby got
rid of him by suggesting that his man had probably ridden in to spend the
night at the Rocking-R ranch-house.

Stratton and Jessup discussed the incident while making brief preparation
for bed. So far as Bud knew there had been no stranger on the Shoe-Bar at
that time; but it seemed certain that the fellow must have been sent by
Lynch to spy around and find out where Buck was.

"I s'pose he went to the ranch-house first and Tenny sent him down here,
knowing he wouldn't get much out of Gabby," remarked Stratton. "Well, as
far as I can see he had his trouble for his pains. Unless he hung around
for two or three days he couldn't very well be certain I wasn't somewhere
on the ranch."

Save as a matter of curiosity, however, the whole affair lay too far in
the past to be of the least importance now, and it was soon dismissed.
Having removed boots and outer clothing, and spread their blankets in one
of the pair of double-decked bunks, the two men lost no time crawling
between them, and fell almost instantly asleep.

CHAPTER XXV

THE TRAP

"Yuh out last night?" brusquely inquired Gabby, as they were dressing next
morning.

A direct question from the eccentric individual was so novel that Buck
paused in buckling on his cartridge-belt, and stared at him in frank
surprise.

"Why, no," he returned promptly. "Were you, Bud?"

"I sure wasn't. I didn't budge after my head hit the mattress. What gave
yuh the notion, old-timer?"

"Door unlatched," growled Gabby, continuing his preparations for
breakfast.

"Is that all?" shrugged Bud. "Likely nobody thought to close it tight."

Gabby made no answer, but his expression, as he went silently about his
work, failed to show conviction.

"Ain't he a scream?" inquired Bud an hour later, when they had saddled up
and were on their way. "I don't wonder Tenny can't get nobody to stay in
camp with him. It would be about as cheerful as a morgue."

"Must have got soured in his youth," remarked Stratton. "I had to put up a
regular fight to get him to look after the pack-horse till somebody can
take it back to the ranch-ho