"Well, I don't want to ask him. I don't want anything to do with him. He
stole Simon Moultrie's diary, he smashed one of our boats, he took one of
our packs and no one knows how much more damage he has done. I don't think
he ought to be here."
"You might tell him so," suggested Zeke, smiling slightly as he spoke.
"I'm not going to tell him," retorted John. "I'm telling you and you are
responsible for this party."
"That's right, so I be," spoke up Zeke as if it was the first time he had
heard the statement. "There isn't much use," he continued, "in my looking
after you when I find that you don't pay any 'tention to what I tell you.
I left word for not one o' you boys to leave the camp while I was gone and
when I come back I find that all four of you have been up to all sorts of
tricks."
"What are those men waiting for?" demanded Fred, glancing as he spoke at
the Navajo and the white man, who were frequently looking toward the rim
of the Gulch.
"I think you'll have to ask them," said Zeke as he at once withdrew and
joined the men whose actions had caused Fred to ask his question.
Fred's confusion returned when he found that Zeke and the white man
apparently were on the best of terms. His anger increased as he became
convinced that he was the topic of their conversation, for each frequently
glanced in his direction and both laughed as if the reference to the Go
Ahead Boy was highly amusing.
Fred's conviction that they were awaiting the coming of some one was
strengthened when he joined his friends.
"I'm telling you, fellows, there's something strange about all this," he
said positively. "Nobody knows what those men have in mind. I'm getting
worried."
"What are you afraid of, Pee Wee?" laughed George, who thus far apparently
was unmoved by the anxiety of his friend.
"I'm afraid something will happen that won't do us any good," said Fred.
The fears of the Go Ahead Boy were not expressed, however, for at that
moment above the rim of the Gulch appeared the tall form of the white man
who had been the companion of the man with the scar.
Blankly the Go Ahead Boys stared at this latest addition to their party,
but not one of them was able to offer any explanation of his coming. It
was plain, however, that the arrival of this man had been expected, for
both the Indians and the man with the scar at once advanced to meet him
and the long conversation that followed indicated that his approach was
not a surprise.
The confusion in the minds of the Go Ahead Boys increased when a few
minutes later Zeke conducted the two white visitors to the place where the
boys were standing. As he drew near he doffed his hat and said, "Boys, I
want to make you acquainted with Mr. Moultrie. This is the man," he
added, as he slapped the tall stranger on his shoulder.
The boys somehow murmured their appreciation of the introduction though
the blank manner in which they stared at the visitor indicated that they
were more mystified than before.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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