"Yes, I can see you sitting around and doing nothing while such a nasty job is on," Jack remarked, with a shake of his head. "I know you too well for that, Ned. If you saw them taking Sloper out and carrying a bag and a kettle along, I'm justly certain you'd call a halt on the operation and stand between the skunk and the boys who wanted to give him what he deserved." Ned made no reply to this accusation. Perhaps he knew there was considerable of truth back of it, and that, if such a case did come about, he would be strongly tempted to try and restrain the angry and indignant punchers. The boys loitered around all morning. No one seemed able to do any particular work, save look after the cattle in the stockade, carrying water and seeing that they had some hay to keep them quiet. When the two stockmen returned from the station they would have to decide whether it were safe to drive the herds to the feeding grounds again, and watch them for a while, so as to guard against further trouble. So noon came and went. Jimmy had no complaint to make on the score of lack of food. He told his chums he was making up for lost time; and the grinning Chinese cook was only too well pleased to dance attendance on the scout, whom he seemed to fancy more than any of the others. Half of the afternoon dragged away, and it was understood that possibly in two more hours they could expect the absent owners of the ranch to show up, unless detained by something not down on the bills. It was a very hot afternoon, and as they had not been oversleeping of late, the four scout chums found themselves nodding as they sat on the shady side of the verandah. Jimmy had crawled into the one hammock and refused to budge. He declared that his sleep had been so wretched lately that he had a whole lot to make up. Now and then one of them would arouse enough to ask some drowsy question, after which they would relapse into silence once more. This sleepy condition of things was suddenly disturbed by loud shouts, and what seemed to be a rushing about on the part of excited cow punchers. Even Jimmy raised his fiery head from the hammock to call out: "What's the bloomin' row about now? Is that the way they always act when the Colonel shows up in the distance? Well, I ain't agoin' to climb out of this snug hammock to go gallopin' over the hot plain just to yell and swing my hat. You'll have to excuse me, fellers." "But I don't believe it's the Colonel coming at all!" declared Jack. "Look at the way the boys are jumping for their horses, will you? And there's some snatching up belts with guns, and ropes as well. It's something else that's happened." "I wouldn't be much surprised if that Sloper's nerve had begun to fail him as the time drew near for my uncle to come back, and that he's skipped out, taking chances of being overhauled and strung up, rather than to face Colonel Job."