The older boy smiled his agreement. "I do believe it will do as well as any place." They went toward the spot indicated and Dan continued: "Suppose we choose a cone on that lowest pine branch. If a bullet hits it, the cone will surely fall. Now, Gerald, just to be polite, shall we let Julie try first?" The boy nodded, his eyes shining with eagerness. "Sure! How many tries do we each get? Three?" "Any number you wish is all right with me." Then Dan placed the small gun in the position that Julie was to hold it, showed her how to look along the barrel, and how to take aim. "Hold it steady! One, two, three, go!" But no report was heard. "What's the matter, chick-a-biddie?" Dan was surprised to see how white the small girl's face had become, and to note that her arm was shaking so that she could hardly hold the gun. "I'm scared," she confessed. "I don't know why, but I am, Dan." She dropped the gun and ran to his arms. Then she smiled up through her tears. "I guess I'm afraid to hear the noise." "Pooh, pooh! That's just like a girl," said Gerry almost scornfully. "Anyhow, you don't need to learn to shoot. Dan or I'll always be around to protect you'n Jane. Can I have a try now, Dan? Can I?" The older lad turned to the small girl. "Suppose we let Gerald practice today, and later, when you feel that you would like to try again, you may do so?" This plan seemed quite satisfactory to Julie, who seated herself upon a rock which overhung the curving mountain road, and was about twenty feet above it. Gerald, instead of dreading the noise that the small gun would make, was eager to hear it, and after repeated trials, he managed to dislodge the brown cone. "Hurray! I did it! Bully for me! I'm a marksman now! Isn't that what I am, Dan? Now I'll pick out another one, and I bet you I'll hit it first shot." Julie, having wearied of the constant report of the small gun, had wandered away in search of wild flowers. The boys saw her running toward them, beckoning excitedly. "Dan," she said in a low voice, "Come on over here and look down at the road. The queerest man seems to be hiding. I was so far up above him, he didn't see me. He's hiding back of some rocks watching the road. Who do you suppose he is?" Dan looked troubled. He thought at once that it might be the old Ute Indian who had not gone with his tribe when they went in search of better hunting grounds, nor was he wrong. Very quietly, the three went to the rim of their ledge. About twenty feet below they beheld a most uncouth creature crouching behind a big boulder. Evidently he was intently watching the road as it wound up from Redfords. His cap was of black fur with a bushy tail hanging down at the back. They could not see his face as they were above him. Julie clung fearfully to her brother. "Oh, Dan," she whispered. "What do you suppose he's watching for?"