hot forward, while
Professor Blair excitedly exclaimed:

"Oh, they are killing him! They are killing him!"

CHAPTER IV

SUSPICIONS

With distinct feelings of joy, and no alarm whatever, Nort and Dick
watched the hands of Slim and Babe slide toward their holsters, where
nestled their .45 guns. Bud had taken his off, on reaching the house,
and his two "city" cousins found themselves wishing that they wore
those ugly but effective weapons.

It was not that Bud was a "gun man," nor was either the ranch foreman
or his fat assistant. But as the classical saying has it:

"You don't always need a gun out West, but when you do need it you need
it mighty bad, and mighty sudden!"

The guns, by which are meant revolvers of heavy calibre, were used for
many other purposes than shooting at human beings. They were almost a
necessity for a lone rider to signal for help, or indicate the need of
certain action, and more than one cowboy owed his life to his gun,
either in turning aside a stampede of steers, or against some human or
animal enemy.

It had been the hope of Norton, and Richard Shannon, as soon they
learned they were to spend some time at their uncle's ranch, to "pack a
gun," but their advent and arrival had been so sudden, and their time
so crowded since reaching Diamond X, that they had to dispense with
these luxuries, or necessities, according to the way you regard them.

But the two eastern lads grinned happily at one another as they
galloped along, and saw the foreman and his fat helper with their heavy
weapons out of their holsters.

"Left mine home!" muttered Bud, as his hand, too, instinctively sought
the leather sheath. Professor Blair, as he had called himself, did not
seemed to be armed.

"They shore is some row going on!" exclaimed Slim, as he clapped spurs
to his already well-doing horse, and shot ahead of the others. "How
many in your bunch?" he called to the professor.

"There are four of us--Professor Wright, myself and two helpers, Edward
Newton and Silas Thorpe," was the answer. "But the other day we
engaged some Mexicans and burros, so our party is now about eight."

"And how many are trying to rush you?" asked the foreman, slightly
checking his horse to accommodate its pace to the slower gait of the
professor's animal.

"I don't know. There seemed about a dozen who were threatening
Professor Wright when he told me to go for help."

"Not such bad odds," murmured Bud.

"Is