So when Ned managed to catch the eye of the party he believed to be the much wanted Clem Parsons, he invited him to come over to where they sat, which the man did, though with a frown on his scarred face and an ugly look in his eye that the boys did not like any too well. "It gets pretty cool toward morning and as we haven't any blankets, would you mind if we crawled inside that deserted cabin there to sleep?" Ned asked. "So you can get your heads together and try to skip out, is that what you're after?" the rustler demanded, harshly. "Well, this place is as good as anything you'll get, so make the most of it. Tomorrow we're meaning to fix you up, so as to let old Colonel Job know what we think of him. Perhaps he'll have a special cage built to keep his prize fowls in when you get back to Double Cross Ranch. We owe him a long bill, and think we see a chance to pay it before we quit this region for our new location down in Arizona. Now shut up and don't give us any bother, or I'll let Hy Adams loose on you. He wanted to have a quirt jubilee right away, with you boys tied to stakes, and every puncher being allowed three cuts at your bare shoulders. But I said, 'Wait till morning for the fun.'" With that he turned on his heel and left them, Jimmy with wide-open mouth and trembling with indignation. "D'ye think now he meant that, or was he playin' hocus-pocus with us boys?" was what Jimmy asked, as soon as he could catch his breath. "I'd like to believe it was in the nature of a joke," Ned told him, "and that he was only trying to make us feel bad during the rest of the night; but from all I've heard about Clem Parsons, he's a cold-blooded scamp, and I'm afraid he means to do something to us, Harry, that will make your Uncle Job furious. He said they meant to leave this part of the country, and on that account it's likely they'll go further than if they expected to stay around here right along." "Gee! I'm sorry to hear that," Harry observed, and it could be seen that the boy must be considerably worked up, for Harry seldom used slang of any kind. As for Jimmy, he ground those strong white teeth of his and muttered to himself in a fashion that told how excited he was. "There he is talking with that big rustler now," Harry remarked, a minute later; "the one you think must be Hy Adams, and who hurried over to join the leader after he saw him leave us. See the giant swinging his arms, and hear him growl like thunder in the distance. Now, what d'ye think he can be asking of Clem Parsons, Ned? D'ye expect he wants to have that nice little practice whipping-bee right away, and not wait for morning to come?" "I don't know, but something's bothering him--that's sure--for he keeps pointing this way and wagging that great big head of his, like he'd shake it off. Seems to me as though he's winning his point, too, because the other man isn't objecting as much as he did before."