"Say, you might be right at that, Kid. That's going some, though, to push things like that, when they know their plan has been overheard. Of course I didn't actually hear it all, but I heard enough to know it has something to do with this ranch. And the time is to-morrow night." "That will hurry up the deputy's idea, won't it? If things break right, we might have a chance to collect that reward." "Let's not think about that now. What we have to do is to get hold of the rest and tell them what happened, and ask Mr. Hawkins if this will change his plan. He's in town, isn't he?" "Should be. Dick'll know--he rode in with him." "Say, Kid, before I forget it--I heard something that didn't sound so good about that Mexican cook of ours. Delton let slip the hint that he was one of his men--didn't exactly say that, but he led me to believe he was." "Did, hey? Well, I've been kind of suspicious of that Greaser ever since we found him here alone, when the rest had beat it. Don't seem reasonable that one man would stay at a ranch that has been cleaned out, unless he had some business there. Delton's idea may have been to let him stay and spy on us. Think we ought to kick him out?" "That means we've got to find another cook. No, I think it will be all right to let him stay if we watch him carefully. He sure is one peach of a cook--I'll say that for him--and I don't think he'd deliberately try to poison us." "Oh, I'm not afraid of that. Of course we could make him taste each dish he cooks for us, like they do in stories, but he'd sure suspect something then. I believe in keeping a secret to yourself." "You mean not letting him know we suspect him?" "Yep! That's it. We can watch him if he doesn't know he's bein' watched, but as soon as he knows we got something on him, we're through." "You're right about that, Kid. Say, where did you say the others were?" "In town. Ought to be back soon, though. Billee Dobb is around some place in back. Want to see him?" "No, I'll wait till Nort and Dick get here and spill it all at once. Let's go out." The two arose and walked toward the yard. As they passed through the door the Kid looked sharply about him, but the Mexican cook was nowhere in sight. His lesson had been learned when the Kid had caught him listening before. They hadn't long to wait before they heard the approach of two riders. Dick and Nort had returned. "Something happened," Nort exclaimed after he had dismounted. "How do you know?" Bud asked with wide-open eyes. "I mean to us. Why, did something happen to you, too?" "I'll tell you about it in a minute. Let's hear your story first." "Not much of a story," Dick said. "We saw Delton." "You did! Where?" "You remember that water hole the Kid found the Chinaman at?" "Yes--go ahead!"