mean?" questioned the bearer of bad tidings.
"The water's here, ain't it?"

"But no tellin' how long it'll run," added the veteran cowpuncher. "A
black rabbit run across Bud's path the day he was ridin' to meet Nort
and Dick, and ever since then----"

"Do you mean t' tell me you still believe in that old superstition?"
laughed Snake Purdee, who had acquired this name because of his
exceeding fear of rattlers and other reptiles. He had been bitten
once, he declared, and had nearly died.

"There's more'n superstition!" declared Old Billee. "Look at that!"
and he brought out the board warning, and related the incident of the
mysterious disappearance of the water, and its equally strange
reappearance.

"Oh, it's just one of those freaks of the old, underground river
course," said Snake. "Of course I wouldn't put much past Hank Fisher
and Del Pinzo, but if either of them sent these warnings it was t' play
a joke, an' scare our boy ranchers. Guess Hank's jealous!" laughed
Snake.

"But what has happened over at Square M?" asked Dick.

"Has Hank or Del Pinzo anything to do with that?" Nort wanted to know.

"I don't see how they could," spoke Snake. "It's just that----"

But at this moment Bud came out of the tent, having finished his
telephonic talk with his father.

"There's an epidemic of disease at dad's Square M ranch," Bud explained
to his cousins and the others. "It's so bad that a lot of the steers
have already died, and dad is going to take off the rest of the stock
before they catch the trouble. Some he's going to put at Triangle B,
some at Diamond X and some he's going to haze over to us. We'll have
to double up, fellows," he told Nort and Dick. "I guess dad is glad
he's got Flume Valley now. It may save him a lot of money that
otherwise he'd lose."

"Got t' double up, eh?" murmured Old Billee Dobb. "How many head's he
goin' t' send here, Bud?"

"About five hundred he told me. They'll be stock that hasn't been near
the infected cattle," he went on, "so there won't be any danger to our
herds."

"Can we look after five hundred more steers?" asked Nort.

"Oh, I'm comin' to help you," offered Snake. "I forgot t' say that I
was going t' move into one of your _flats_," and he waved his hand
toward where the white tents made an attractive camp. "Didn't bring my
duffle bag," he added, "but one of th' boys is going t' ride over this
evening with his 'n' mine."

"Is some one else coming?" Bud