from thieves. He could have been on his guard,
could have noticed when the first horses were missing, and notified
Sudden at once. That, of course, was what had been expected of him.

But as to Tomaso and his oily brother, Johnny did not at first see any
possible connection between them and his present trouble, save that they
also had innocently contributed to his neglect. But Sudden had told him
to think about it, and the suggestion kept swinging his thoughts that
way. Finally, for want of something better, he went back to the very
beginning and reconstructed his first meeting with Tomaso. Sudden had
hinted that they must have known how deeply he was interested in
aviation. But Johnny did not see how that could be. He had not talked
much about his ambition, even at the Rolling R, he remembered; not enough
to set him apart from the others as one who dreamed day and night of
flying. Until the boys got hold of that doggerel he wrote, Johnny was
sure they had not paid any attention to his occasional vague rhapsodies
on the subject.

Tomaso had seen the letterhead of that correspondence school, and had
just accidentally mentioned it. Or was it accidental? To make sure,
Johnny got out the circular which Tomaso had seen, laid it where he
remembered it to have been that day, and sat down at the table where
Tomaso had been sitting. He placed the lamp where the light fell full
upon the paper and studied the letterhead for several minutes, scowling.

Tomaso, he decided, had remarkably sharp eyes. Seen from that angle, the
letterhead was not conspicuous. The volplaning machine was not at all
striking to the eye. Unless a person knew beforehand what it represented,
or was looking for something of the sort, Johnny was forced to admit that
he would be likely to pass it over without a second glance.

Tomaso, then, must have come there with the intention of leading adroitly
to the subject of airplanes. He must have brought those little, steel
pliers purposely. And after all, he really had no business on the Rolling
R range, if he was riding for the Forty-seven. He had come a good five
miles inside the line. And when you looked at it that way, how had he
got inside the line? There was no gate on the east side of the fence.

It looked rather far-fetched, improbable. Johnny was slow to accept
the theory that he had been led to that airplane just as a toy is given
to a child, to keep its attention engrossed with a harmless pastime
whil