uld stray far; they are too tired."

I knocked off work, and returned with them to the flat, where we
proceeded to look for tracks. The earth was too hard and tramped to show
us much, and after a half hour of fruitless examination we returned to
camp with the intention of eating something before starting out on a
serious search. While thus engaged the express messengers rode up.

"Hullo!" said Johnny cheerfully. "Glad to hear you made such a good
thing out of your cattle!"

He caught our stare of surprise, swung from his horse and advanced on us
with three swift strides.

"You haven't sold them?" he exclaimed.

"We've been looking for them all the morning."

"Stolen, boys!" he cried to his companions. "Here's our job! Come on!"

He leaped on his horse in the headlong, graceful fashion the boys had
cultivated at the relay station, and, followed by Cal and Old, dashed
away.

We made nothing definite of this, though we had our surmises to
exchange. As the boys had not returned an hour later, I resumed my
digging while the Woodruffs went over to visit with Yank, who was now
out of bed. Evening came, with no sign of our friends. We turned in at
last.

Some time after midnight we were awakened by the shuffling and lowing of
driven cattle, and went out into the moonlight to see our six oxen, just
released from herding, plunging their noses thirstily into the little
stream from the spring. Five figures on horseback sat motionless in the
background behind them. When the cattle had finished drinking, the
horsemen, riding in two couples and one single, turned them into the
flat, and then came over to our camp.

After they had approached within plain sight we saw that the single
horseman was Cal Marsh; and that Johnny and Old each led an animal on
which a man was tied, his arms behind him, his feet shackled beneath the
horse's barrel.

"Here, you fellows," said Johnny in a low voice, "just catch hold here
and help with these birds."

The three descended rather wearily from their horses, the lead lines of
which Cal held while the rest unshackled the prisoners and helped them
to dismount. They were both known to me, one as the big desperado,
Malone; and the other as the barkeeper at Morton's place, our old friend
of Chagres days. The latter's head was roughly bound with a bloody
cloth. Under Johnny's direction we tied them firmly. He issued his
orders in a low-voiced, curt fashion that precluded anything but the
most