in. He got up stolidly to answer more questions.

"Oh--Skyrider! I can only talk a minute. Mom's in the kitchen, and dad's
gone to hunt up Bill Hayden. Is it true, Johnny, that a lot of horses
have been stolen?"

"Yes."

"I heard dad talking. Oh, I wish I could help hunt them, but I'm in an
awful mess, Skyrider! Bill Hayden knew I'd taken Jake, because my saddle
was gone, and none of the other horses were. I never _saw_ any one so
mean and suspicious! And he knows Jake got away from me, too, because I
was trying to catch him when Bill rode up, just perfectly furious over
the horses stampeding. And Bill told dad--he certainly is the _meanest_
thing! And now dad won't let me go out of sight of the house unless he or
mom are with me. And mommie never goes anywhere, it's so hot. And dad
only goes to town. But they don't know it was us in the aeroplane--and
I'm just glad of it if we did scatter their old herd for them.
Everybody's so mean to me! And I was planning how you'd teach me to fly,
and we'd have the duckiest times--and now--"

She hung up so abruptly that Johnny knew as well as though he had been
in the room with her, what had happened. She had heard her dad coming.
Before Johnny had sat down again to his brooding, Sudden called him.

"You spoke about a greaser telling you about an aeroplane, and that you
went with him and got it." Sudden's voice was cool and even--an
inexorable voice. "Do you remember my telling you not to let a greaser on
the Rolling R range if you could help it?"

"Yes, sir. This one's brother came first. He was just a kid, and he
wanted--a drink." It struck Johnny quite suddenly that Tomaso's reason
for coming had been a very poor one indeed. For there was water much
nearer Tucker Bly's range, which was to the east of Sinkhole. And Tomaso
should have had no occasion whatever to be riding to Sinkhole.

"Oh. He wanted a drink, did he? Where did he come from?"

"He works for Tucker Bly. So he said. And he told me about the airplane
that had been lost, across the line. His brother had found it."

"And you went to see his brother?"

"His brother came to see me. The kid told him I was--interested."

"You went after the flying machine when? Over two weeks ago, eh? And you
were gone--I see. Approximately two days and two nights--nearer three
days. Who answered the telephone while you were gone? It happens that I
have not missed calling you every night; did the man have a cold?"

"I--I don't