soon he pulled out several small pieces of charred
paper. They were only burned on their curled-up edges, and Ted saw that
they were covered with writing, evidently part of a letter.

"What's this?" he exclaimed, after he had spread them out, and studied
them attentively. "Here are some words. There is not very much sense in
them, though."

"What do they read?" asked Stella.

"This is all I can make out of it: 'I *end you *** **nds of ***is **een.
***tter it on *** *rass. nce rr ws,'. Sounds as crazy as the steer,
doesn't it?"

"That's as easy as living on a farm," said Stella, who had been looking
over Ted's shoulder.

"All right, Miss Smarty, what is it?" said Ted laughingly.

"See, it's part of instructions to some one, and the way I read it is
like this: 'I send you so many pounds'--I don't know just how many, but
from the spaces the weight is expressed in three letters or three
figures. The next is presumably a poison, although I wouldn't have
thought of it if you hadn't spoken of it. What does two words, the first
ending in 'is' and the other in 'een' mean, I wonder?"

They all scratched their heads for an answer.

"Why, sure, I have it," said Ted. "It is Paris green."

"That's it. Clever boy. Then there's 'tter,' which simply shouts
'scatter' at you. After that 'rass.' That's not hard. It reads so far:
'I send you, say six, pounds of Paris green,' although it must have been
more than that. 'Scatter it on the grass.'"

"But the rest of it. That will stump you," said Ben.

"That's what caused me to get next to it first. It's Clarence Barrows,
as sure as you're born!"

"Stella, you're right, by jinks!" shouted Bud. "Ther sweet-scented
Lieutenant Barrows has sent men out yere ter poison our critters, and
we've caught him with ther goods on."

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE BOBWHITE'S CALL.

The discovery that Lieutenant Barrows had lent himself to such an
enormous crime in the sight of all cowmen as to attempt to poison a herd
of cattle, served to keep them all silent as they rode homeward, but
around the fire that night their tongues loosened as they discussed it.

They told Hallie Croffut nothing about it, as they wished to save her
pain, for as far as any of them knew she was still betrothed to
Lieutenant Barrows, who was proving himself an enemy indeed.

"I see how it is, and how easy," said Ted. "They have been following us
ever since we have been on the trail, but from a secure distance,
gen