hitey
reached over rather fearfully and pulled down the upper blankets, and
Slim was brought to view. Not only was Slim bound and gagged, but a coat
was tied around his head, to keep him from hearing. In fact, about the
only thing to show that the man was Slim was his black hands.

Injun and Whitey hastily removed the head covering and the gag, and
Whitey eagerly asked what had happened. Slim was half choked and very
indignant.

"I dunno what happened to nobody, 'ceptin' to me," he gurgled. "Gimme a
drink o' watah. I'se burnin' up."

While Whitey held a cup of water to Slim's lips, Injun struggled with
his bonds, and with great difficulty succeeded in releasing him. Whitey
asked a hundred questions meanwhile, none of which Slim answered. He
seemed entirely absorbed in his own troubles, and when he was free, he
carefully felt himself all over.

"Dis is fine foh mah misery, fine!" he said bitterly.

As far as Whitey had ever been able to learn, a "misery" was a sort of
rheumatism.

"How is your misery?" he asked, despairing of getting him to talk about
anything but himself.

"Tehibul, tehibul," groaned Slim; "an' dey tie me wid a rawhide rope,
too, dat jest eat into mah flesh." And Slim looked venomously down at
the lariat that lay at his feet.

"Who tied you?" Whitey inquired.

"I dunno. Wen I wakes up dis yeah rag is bein' jammed into mah mouf, an'
dis yeah coat bein' wrapped round mah haid, an' dat dere rope bein'
twisted round mah body, till it cuts mah ahms an' legs somethin'
scand'lus. I dunno who dey wuz, but dey suttinly wuz thorough," Slim
admitted.

"Then you didn't hear anything?" Whitey demanded.

"Heah? I couldn't 'a' heard a elephant cough," Slim declared.

"Well, Whiff and String Beans and Ham just rode away," said Whitey.

"Dey did?" said Slim. Then an awful thought came to him, and he jumped
to his feet. "Wheah's mah watch?" he cried. He hastily fumbled under the
bedclothes, and brought to light an enormous, old-fashioned silver
watch. Then he heaved a sigh of relief. "An' dat Ham gone, too! Now,
how'm I goin' t' cook, wid dat misery wuss'n evah?"

It was very plain to Whitey that all Slim could think about the affair
was the way it concerned him personally. Also, there was no doubt in the
boy's mind that the absent men were bent on mischief. Bill and the other
cowboys were surely making a night of it at the Junction, in celebration
of the gold shipment. Whatever was to be done in the ma