Ned was not very highly elated over his escape, for he knew that he was not yet wholly out of danger. On the contrary, he would never be out of danger while that horse was in his possession. Those two men would come back some day to return the horses they had borrowed of Uncle John and reclaim their own, and they might come, too, when they were least expected, and before Ned had opportunity to secrete the stolen horse. It was too late now to avoid trouble by giving the animal up to his lawful owner, for the latter would want to know why he had not given him up before, and Ned did not know what answer he could make to so awkward a question as that. Besides, there was Philip, the Mexican cook. Ned grew angry and alarmed every time he thought of him. The man was up to something beyond a doubt, for if he were not, what was the reason he did not tell the strangers that the horse of which they were in search was under the shed where Ned had left him? The boy was in a very tight place, and he did not know which way to turn. He was in a scrape at last that he could not lie out of. The longer he dwelt upon it the plainer he saw the dangers of the situation and the greater became his alarm. He walked slowly down the steps and turned his face toward the shed in which the stolen horse was confined. The animal welcomed him with a low whinny of recognition, and when Ned patted his sleek neck he rubbed his head against his shoulders as if he were glad to see him. Beyond a doubt he was somebody’s pet, and the boy did not wonder that his owner was anxious to recover him. Ned, whose nervousness and excitement seemed to increase all the while, stayed there in the shed for two long hours, walking restlessly about with his hands in his pockets, and asking himself over and over again why he did not tell his father all about the new horse when he first came home, and what he should do to bring himself out of the scrape he had got into through his foolishness. When bed-time came the servants began shutting up the rancho for the night. He heard them closing the heavy shutters and locking and barring the doors, but he did not move. He could not bear to go to bed just then, and he knew that when his nervousness abated so that he could sleep he could gain admittance to the house through the door that was always left unfastened to accommodate any of the servants who might happen to be out later than usual. The rancho looked gloomy and dark enough after the shutters and doors were closed. It stood out in bold relief against the sky, looking like one of the haunted castles of which Ned had so often read. The bright moonlight gave it an almost unearthly appearance, Ned thought; and when at last all sounds of life about the building had died away, he began to feel lonely and afraid—afraid to stay longer where he was and afraid to pass across the lighted yard between the shed and the back porch of the rancho.