"Now, you see, dad never comes home alone any more, but fetches some of his cronies along with him, and there's unpleasant scenes ahappenin' all the time; which is one of the reasons why I skip out. They gets to drinkin', too, purty hard, till mam she has to douse a bucket of water over each puncher, and start 'em off. Mam she don't approve of the kinds of business that dad takes up. But he keeps amakin' these here visits to home further apart all the while, 'cause things ain't as pleasant as they might be. Some time mebbe he won't come no more. I'm bankin' on that, which is one reason I ain't never laid a hand on him when he gets roarin' like a mad bull. There are others, too, but I wont mention the same." Amos had apparently been very frank with his new friends. He seemed to have taken a great fancy for them all, and, in turn, asked many questions concerning their expected visit to Harry's uncle on Double Cross Ranch, which place he knew very well. The conversation by degrees became general, and finally the scouts went on to talk about their own affairs. During this exchange of opinions, it happened that the name of Clem Parsons was mentioned by Ned. Perhaps it would be hardly fair to call it "chance," when in reality the scout master wanted to find out whether the kid puncher seemed to be familiar with the name of the man whom the Government authorities in Washington wished him to round up. The bait took, for immediately he heard Amos say: "What's that, Clem Parsons? Say, I happen to know a man by that name, and he's been over to our house lots of times, too." "Then he's a puncher, is he?" asked Ned. "Well, I reckon he has been 'bout everything in his day, for I've heard him say so," came the reply. "He rides with my awful dad, an' they seem to git on together, which is some queer, because most of 'em is that skeered o' dad they tries to steer clear o' him." "My! but this dad of yours must be a grizzly bear, Amos?" remarked Jimmy, who had been greatly impressed with what he heard the boy say. "Just you wait till you see him, that's all," was what Amos told him. "Mam, she reckons as how 'twas this same Clem Parsons as had got dad to ridin' 'round the kentry doin' things that might git him into trouble, an' she hates him like pizen, for the same. Since they got to goin' together, dad he's allers showing plenty of the long-green, which he never handled before. But I ain't tellin' fambly secrets, and I reckons I'd better shut up shop." He had said enough, however, to convince Ned and Jack that he strongly suspected his step-father of having joined forces with a band of cattle thieves who were stealing the fattest beeves neighboring ranchers owned, and selling them on the side.