's brother, and too young to be with that gang. So keep him
here, safe and out of sight, until I come. Then I'll want to borrow your
horse. Shall I tie the kid?"

"And me an able-bodied woman that could turn him acrost my knee?" Mrs.
Hanson's eyes snapped.

"It's more likely the boy needs his breakfast. Get along with ye!"

Bud got along, slipping into the bank by the rear door and taking a hand
in the desultory firing in the street. The sheriff had a couple of men
ironed and one man down and the landlord of the hotel was doing a great
deal of explaining that he had never seen the bandits before. Just by
way of stimulating his memory Bud threw a bullet close to his heels,
and the landlord thereupon grovelled and wept while he protested his
innocence.

"He's a damn liar, sheriff," Bud called across the hoof-scarred road.
"He was talking to them about eleven o'clock last night. There were
three that chased me into town, and they got him up out of bed to find
out whether I'd stopped there. I hadn't, luckily for me. If I had he'd
have showed them the way to my room, and he'd have had a dead boarder
this morning. Keep right on shedding tears, you old cut-throat! I was
sitting on the court-house porch, last night, and I heard every word
that passed between you and the Catrockers!"

"I've been suspicioning here was where they got their information
right along," the sheriff commented, and slipped the handcuffs on
the landlord. Investigation proved that Jeff Hall and his friends had
suddenly decided that they had no business with the bank that day, and
had mounted and galloped out of town when the first shot was fired.
Which simplified matters a bit for Bud.

In Jimmy Lawton's kitchen he received his money, and when the prisoners
were locked up he saved himself some trouble with the sheriff by
hunting him up and explaining just why he had taken the Collier boy into
custody.

"You know yourself he's just a kid, and if you send him over the road
he's a criminal for life. I believe I can make a decent man of him. I
want to try, anyway. So you just leave me this deputy's badge, and make
my commission regular and permanent, and I'll keep an eye on him. Give
me a paper so I can get a requisition and bring him back to stand trial,
any time he breaks out. I'll be responsible for him, sheriff."

"And who in blazes are you?" the sheriff inquired, with a grin to remove
the sting of suspicion. "Name sounded familiar, too!"

"Bud