The two brothers had been long together. They had been through many trials and dangers. Between two such a bond, firm, unbreakable, is established. There was no selfishness in either one. If occasion came, one would cheerfully, willing, offer his life for the other. Both seemed to feel something of this sentiment as they rode the range toward Red Rock. They had, of course, been vividly reminded of it that day they had been menaced by the wolves. Perhaps they were thinking of this, for it was some moments before either spoke. But youth is buoyant, not introspective. The mood passed. And when Teddy, apropos of nothing, declared that Bug Eye would see many a day go by before Mrs. Ball let him try his inventions near her flower bed again, Roy laughed. “Poor Bug Eye! He always manages to get in wrong. Remember his Fishmobile? Wonder what happened to that? And the time he got interested in hypnotism, and Pop let him think he had him hypnotized. I’ll never forget that.” “Me, either. Bug Eye thought sure he had him under his spell. Then Pop showed him up. Say, how far is it to Red Rock?” “Plenty far. Lucky there are no steep hills on the way. Reckon we might as well choose this route to drive those cattle over. Peterson wants to give us all the trouble he can, I reckon. Be much simpler to take ’em to Eagles, as we’ve always done. We’ll earn that two bucks a head extra, I’m thinking. He must have had this journey in mind when he made the offer.” “Uh-huh. Maybe, and maybe not. He was a fish, that man. I hate to talk about another behind his back, and especially when I’ve only seen him once, but--well, I just don’t like him!” “You and me both. But, as dad said, you can’t afford to let your liking interfere with business.” “Dad didn’t say that. I did. It’s true. So we’ll forget Peterson till we learn something about him. Perhaps Gus will have found out from the boys in town what kind of a man he is.” “I doubt it. But we’ll let the matter rest, anyhow. What we want to do is to select the best way to take the cattle to Red Rock, and this looks like it. Let’s get a wiggle on.” They urged their horses forward, and finally came into sight of Red Rock. The town itself was much like Eagles, but smaller. The railroad station was the center, and as they rode in the boys saw that a large corral opened out at the rear of the depot. They looked over this well, and decided that, after all, they might not have much more trouble in bringing the cattle here than they would in bringing them to Eagles. “Not as many people to bother us, at any rate,” Teddy declared, and he halted his pony in the center of the dusty main street. “Three stores and a row of houses back there. Looks like a deserted village.” “Not quite deserted,” Roy said in a low voice. “Look there.” Teddy swung around. Three men had just stepped from behind the corner of the station. They were talking earnestly, and did not see either Teddy or Roy.