vely, and so were all the
other members of the band, who appeared to be deeply interested in what
he was saying. Arthur had told the chief that his secret was discovered,
and Pierre had urged him to use every exertion to allay the suspicions
of the boys.

"You don't know them as well as I do," said the Ranchero; "and, if you
will take my advice, you will try to make friends with them again."

"That's something I'll never do," said Arthur, decidedly. "Shall a
gentleman's son stoop to beg the good-will of a lot of young Arabs? Not
if he knows himself; and he thinks he does. They have found me out,
somehow, and I don't care if they have. I may as well throw off the mask
entirely. I'll let them see that, while they are prisoners, and bound
hand and foot, I am at liberty to go and come when I please."

When Arthur said this, he was gazing into the fire, and consequently did
not see the significant glances which the robber chief exchanged with
his men. It might have astonished him to know that he was not free to go
and come when he pleased; and that Pierre, in spite of all his promises
to the contrary, intended to demand twenty thousand dollars for him, as
well as for the others.

When Frank and his friends had eaten their supper, they began to make
preparations for the night, by collecting a pile of dried leaves and
grass, over which they spread their blankets, placing the saddles at the
head of the bed, to serve as pillows. When the couch was completed, it
was very inviting, and, had it not been for the knowledge of the fact
that they were to be bound hand and foot, they would have been sure of a
good night's rest.

Frank could not go to bed without visiting Roderick. He found the horse
standing quietly by the spring, and when he saw his master approaching,
he raised his head and welcomed him with a shrill neigh.

"O, if we could only get half a minute's start of these robbers!" said
Frank, patting the animal's glossy neck, "wouldn't we show them a clean
pair of heels? They'd never have us prisoners again, I _bet_."

Frank emphasized the last word by punching Roderick in the ribs with his
thumb--an action which caused the animal to lay back his ears, and kick
viciously, with both feet, at some imaginary object behind him.

When our hero returned to the place where he had left Archie and Johnny,
he saw them lying on their beds securely bound. Pierre stood close by,
with a lasso in his hand, and, when Frank came up, h