h widening eyes, said "Good gosh!" just under his breath, and
hitched himself farther down the slope.

His curiosity was satisfied; he had seen all of the country he needed
to see and there was nothing to stay for, anyway. When he reached.
the patient sorrel pony a minute or two later (it had taken him half an
hour or more to climb from the pony to the peak, but climbing, of
course, is much slower than coming down--even without the acceleration
of singing rifle bullets) he was perspiring rather freely and puffing a
little.

For a time he waited there under the shelf of rock. But he heard no
sound from above, and in a little while he led the pony down the other
way, which brought him to the valley near a small pasture which was
evidently the pony's home, judging from the way he kept pulling in that
direction. Johnny turned the horse in and closed the gate, setting the
old saddle astride it with the bridle hanging over the horn. He did
not care for further exploration, thank you.

What Johnny would like to know was, what had he done that he should be
shot at? He was down there by Cliff Lowell's invitation-- Straightway
he set off angrily, taking long steps to the cabin and the great oak
tree beside it. The two dogs and five half-naked Mexican children
spied him and scattered, the dogs coming at him full tilt, the children
scuttling to the cabin. Johnny swore at the dogs and they did not
bite. He followed the children and they did not stop. So he came
presently to the oak and roused Cliff, who came promptly to an elbow
with a wicked looking automatic pointed straight at Johnny's middle.

"Say, for gosh sake! I been shot at twice already this morning.
What's the idea? I never was gunned so much in my life, and I live in
Arizona, that's supposed to be bad. What's the matter with this darned
place?"

Cliff tucked the gun out of sight under his blanket, yawned, and lay
down again. "You caught me asleep, old man. I beg your pardon--but I
have learned in Mexico that it's best to get the gun first and see who
it is after that. Did you say something about being shot at?"

"I did, but I could say more. Here I am down here without any gun but
that cussed shotgun, and I didn't have that, even, when I coulda used
it handy. And look what I got, up here on the hill!" He removed his
hat and poked two fingers through the two holes in the crown. "Some
movie stuff! What's the idea?"

Cliff nearly looked startled