y to embrace his friend.

Injun, as usual, showed no surprise, but there was a gleam of welcome in
his eye. "Monty, him stolen," he said. "Me find him."

Whitey wormed Injun's story from him, in jerky sentences, while Hank
Dawes rode up and looked on, and listened indifferently. It seemed that
two days before, at the Bar O Ranch Monty had "turned up missing."
Injun, who knew Monty's hoofprints as one friend would know the color of
another's eyes, had taken it upon himself to follow them. They had led
him a long chase, ending at a night camp, many miles west of the spot
where he and Whitey met.

Injun had tied his pony some distance from the camp. This that he might
not whinney a greeting to Monty. Then Injun had crept up on the
camper-thief, and waited patiently until "him snore heap." Then Injun
had quietly extracted Monty from that camp, and silently faded away
into the night. He was now on his way to the Bar O.

"Didn't you see who the thief was?" asked Whitey.

"Him fire out. Me 'fraid make light," said Injun, unknowingly giving a
hint of the time he must have visited at the camp.

Monty was showing his joy at meeting Whitey, who was patting the pony's
neck.

"This isn't my saddle!" Whitey cried suddenly.

"Him Bill Jordan's saddle," said Injun, grinning. It seemed to appeal to
Injun's peculiar sense of humor that the clever Mr. Jordan should have
had his saddle stolen.

"Did Bill suspect any one?" inquired Whitey.

"Guess heap, can't tell," Injun replied. "Henry Dorgan, him leave
Monday," Injun added darkly, plainly willing to connect the man he
disliked with the theft.

Whitey hardly thought that Dorgan would risk a return to the ranch for
Monty, though he always had admired the pony. If Dorgan had stolen
Monty, it was pleasant to think that he was now wending his way across
the plains on foot.

Another idea occurred to Whitey. "Why don't you stay with me, Injun?" he
demanded. "Then we can ride back to the Bar O together."

Injun grinned his agreement to the idea, not saying that he had thought
of it first. So Whitey transferred his person to Monty, and, leading the
Star Circle horse, he and Injun and Hank Dawes continued on their way.
And Mr. Dawes was allowed to ride ahead while Whitey told Injun what had
befallen him since leaving the Bar O Ranch, and of his present errand.

Injun cast a knowing eye at the sky. "No cut out cows t'day," he said.
"Heap storm comin'."

"What's the difference?" W