“One o’ Benner’s men, who’s a friend o’ Jordan’s, sprung a leak. The sky pilot got all worked up. He’s a nervy ombray, that same Jordan, but he’s been takin’ more physical exercise lately than what he kin stand. He’s laid up fer repairs in the Delmonico _Ho_-tel in Hackamore.” “Not sick?” “Not him--jest tired like. Preachin’ the Gospel is some differn’t from makin’ er splice in the saddle with the hosses jest er-smokin’. Right strenyus work fer a sky pilot, I call _that_.” “What sort of deviltry is Lige Benner hatching, Sim?” went on the scout. “Benner’s man didn’t say--mebby he didn’t know--but he allowed it was ter be pulled off some suddent. Jordan thought you fellers might git a line on purceedin’s an’ use yore original, Cody brand o’ kybosh.” “That’s all?” “That’s all. I’ll now go over ter the c’ral, put out my hoss an’ hang eround till arter dinner; then I’ll p’int fer Hackamore. Whar’s Nate?” “Gone to town. You’d have passed him if you’d come the regular trail.” “Shucks! Say, I was in sich a big hurry that I kim ’cross lots. Waal, hyer’s fer ther c’ral.” Sim Pierce stepped toward his horse and laid hold of the bridle reins. “Mind, Sim,” warned the scout as the man moved off, “not a word about this to Mrs. Dunbar or Perry. There may be nothing to it, and there’s no need of arousing the fears of those in the house.” “Shore not,” flung back Pierce over his shoulder as he moved away with his horse. “I’ll keep mum, all right.” “What do you think about this, Hickok?” queried the scout thoughtfully, when he and the Laramie man were again alone. “I don’t think that sky pilot would have sent Sim with a warning unless there was good ground for worry.” “My notion, exactly. Jordan isn’t a man to shy at trifles. But how are we to know what’s taking place at Benner’s ranch?” “I’ve got a way for discovering that, pard. Listen.” With that, the Laramie man settled back and freed his mind of a daring expedient which had abruptly occurred to him. “It might be safe enough for Buffalo Bill or one of his pards to call at Lige Benner’s ranch, but if one of us dropped in there, compadre, how much would he find out?” “Not much, and that’s a fact,” said Buffalo Bill. “Benner is the kind of a snake-in-the-grass that strikes from cover, and he hunts his cover well. If you or I went to his place, Hickok, we might or might not come away with our scalps; but--and mark this--if anything happened to us, Lige Benner would fix things so he could prove an alibi.” “Right-o. I wasn’t thinking along that line, however. If Benner is laying his wires, Buffalo Bill or his pards wouldn’t be able to discover anything; but if some one went there who wasn’t known to be one of Cody’s pards, there’d be a fine opportunity for getting a line on Benner.” “Well, yes. I’m not catching your drift, though, Hickok.”