Pringle reflected a little. “Gentlemen,” he said, “we will put our little ad. in the papers to-night, at once, _muy pronto_ and _immediatamente_. After which I should think a good sleep would be the one first wise move. We will then sally forth, or Sarah forth, in pursuit of knowledge in general, both in El Paso and in Juarez--vulgarly called Whereas--and, more especially, knowledge of Messrs. Thorpe and Patterson and all fat men with whom they do consort. To avoid giving any slightest ground for suspicion--which must be avoided at all hazards--I will disguise myself as a bald-headed, elderly cattleman from Rainbow. Mr. Aughinbaugh----” “Mister? George, you mean,” said that person. “George, then. George, you will masquerade as a lawyer’s clerk. Billy, you’d better buy a haircut and canvas leggings and get yourself up as a reformed Easterner in the act of backsliding. And you, Leo”--he paused and regarded Ballinger doubtfully--“You,” he said, and stopped again, with a puzzled frown. The unhappy victim writhed and twisted, thus held up to public scorn and derision as neither fish, flesh, nor herring. “I have it,” said the poor nondescript, with a brave attempt at a smile. “I’ll buy some clothes, some booze and a stack of blues--and pass myself off for a Remittance Man.” Pringle heaved a sigh of relief. “I hated to name it to you,” he said. “Say, when Jeff first rescued you, exhumed you, resuscitated you, or whatever it was, he told me a little quotation the first time you went out and left us. His explanation went some like this: “‘_I traced my son through a street of broken windows, and found him dead of old age at five-and-twenty._’ “So, my boy, it’s back to the husks and the hogs for yours. You are assigned to cover the Street of Broken Windows. And that’s a pretty big order--in El Paso.” The next morning Jeff found what he had been looking for these many days. In both the _Times_ and the _Herald_ was an inconspicuous personal in the modest retirement of the advertising section, of obscure wording and small type: _Now is the time for all good men and true to get a cautious move on the trail sit tight coming up._ It was the twenty-fourth day of his imprisonment. Chapter XII “No, no! the adventures first: explanations take such a dreadful time.” --_The Gryphon._ Billy took up his quarters at the leading hotel and permeated both El Paso and Juarez with much abandon. He wired Cleveland, Ohio, for funds, and Cleveland responded generously, sending him, without delay or demur, a noble wad for the emergency. George frequented the real-estate section on legitimate, if trivial, pretexts connected with Hibler’s business; demanding vacation from that legal luminary on his arrival. Pringle waxed talkative with visiting and resident cowmen, among whom exists a curious freemasonry, informal but highly effective.