II

A THANKLESS TASK

Modoc waited, as if for an answer, and when it did not come, his face
took on an expression of anger, in which cunning seemed to be mingled.

"What's yore message?" he rasped.

It took Kid Wolf several seconds to recover his composure. Was the
wagon train being led to its doom by a madman? What did Modoc mean by
his low-voiced, mysterious query? Or did he mean anything at all? The
Texan put it down as the raving of a mind unbalanced by hardship and
peril.

"I suppose yo'-all know," he drawled loudly enough for them all to
hear, "that yo're on the most dangerous paht of the Llano, and that
yo're off the road to Santa Fe."

"Yo're a liar!" the train commander snarled.

Kid Wolf tried to keep his anger from mounting. This was the thanks he
got for trying to help these people!

"I'll prove it," sighed the kid patiently. "What rivah was that yo'
crossed a few days ago?"

"Why, the Red River; we crossed it long ago," Modoc sneered. "Yo're
either a liar or a fool, Kid! And I'd advise yuh to mind yore own
business."

"Call me 'Wolf,'" said the Texan, a ring of steel in his voice. "I'm
just 'The Kid' to friends. Others call me by mah last name. And
speakin' of the trail, that wasn't the Red Rivah yo' crossed. It was
the Wichita. And yo' must have gone ovah the Wichita Mountains, too."

"The Wichita!" ejaculated one of the other men. "Why, Modoc, yuh told
us----"

"And I told yuh right!" said the leader furiously. "I've been over
this route before, and I know just where we are."

"Yo're in The Terror's territory," drawled The Kid softly. "And I've
heahd from a reliable source that he's planned to raid yo'."

The others paled at the mention of The Terror. But Modoc raised his
voice in fury.

"Who are yuh goin' to believe?" he shouted. "This upstart, or me?
Why, for all we know"--his voice dropped to a taunting sneer--"he might
be a spy for The Terror himself--probably measurin' the strength of our
outfit!"

The other men seemed to hesitate. Then one of them spoke out:

"Reckon we'll believe you, Modoc. We don't know this man, and we've
trusted yuh so far."

Modoc grinned, showing a line of broken and tobacco-stained teeth. He
looked at Kid Wolf triumphantly.

"Now I'll tell you a few things, my fine young fellow," he leered.
"Burn the wind out o' here and start pronto, before yuh get a bullet
through yuh. Savvy?"

Kid Wolf decided to make one last appeal. If