"I beg your pardon," said Roy. "I suppose I talk, more or less, as I
do on the ranch. I meant they tried to get me into one of their
corrals and take my hide off. Hold me up, you know."

"I'm afraid I don't exactly know," went on the gentleman with a smile,
"but I gather that you mean they would have robbed you, after getting
you into their power."

"That's it," said Roy. "I'm on another trail now, and they want to be
careful," and he looked as though he could take care of himself, a fact
that the gentleman noticed.

"I felt like warning you, my boy," he said, "as I saw it was your first
long journey."

"And I'm much obliged to you," said Roy. "I wonder how everyone knows
I'm a tenderfoot when it comes to traveling on railroad trains?"

"A tenderfoot?"

"Yes, that's what we call persons who don't know much about western
life. I suppose their feet get tender from taking such long walks on
the plains. Anyhow that means a sort of 'greenhorn' I suppose.
Everyone on the train spots me for that."

"Well, it is easy to see you are not used to traveling, for you take so
much interest in everything, and you show that it is new to you. But
you are learning fast. Even an experienced traveler might have been
taken in by those gamblers."

"I guess they'll not bother me any more," said Roy.

And he was right, but only to a certain extent, for, though the
gamblers did not "bother" him again, he had not seen the last of them,
as you shall see.

The tricksters were in a bad mood, and, soon after that they left the
smoking room, and remained in another car, so Roy did not see them
again that day.

The express continued on, bringing the boy nearer and nearer to
Chicago. He wished he might have a little time to spend there, as he
had heard much of it, especially the stock yards, where his father sent
many head of cattle in the course of a year. But Roy knew he must
hurry on to New York, to attend to the business on which he had been
sent.

The next morning, soon after breakfast, the train came to a sudden
stop, near a small railroad station. As the express did not stop,
except at the large cities, Roy wondered if some one like himself, had
flagged the engineer. Soon he was aware, however, that something
unusual had occurred. Passengers began leaving their seats, and went
out of the cars.

"I wonder what's the matter?" Roy said aloud. He was overheard by the
gentleman who had talked to him about the gambler