"I want to read that sign, Wild," spoke up Arietta, as she brought her horse to a halt. "Well, it was not painted by an ignorant man, anyhow. It is about the first sign, with so many letters to it, that I have seen spelled correctly--in a little camp, like this, anyhow." "Oh, I reckon Cap Roche made the sign, all right, Et," replied our hero. "He seems to be a pretty smart man. The lettering is good, I must say. And there is even a painted background--something I did not notice last night, boys. A pale-blue background, with white letters. Well, that is all right!" "We have got to pay toll, I suppose, Arietta," said Jim, with a twinkle in his eye. "I said a minute or two ago that I would pay it, if any was demanded," she retorted. "Just leave that part to me." No one knew exactly what she meant, and it is hardly likely that she did herself. But there was one thing evident, and that was that she did not mean that any money was to be handed over to the outlaws, should it be demanded. They did not remain at a halt long, but proceeded on their way, their horses at a gentle canter. "Just keep your eyes on the watch for three stones lying close together," said Wild, as they got nearly a mile through the pass. "They are stones a little larger than a goose egg, I should judge." "All right," answered the scout, with a confident nod. "I reckon I'll see 'em, if they kin be seen, Wild." A minute or two later they came to the very spot where Wild had seen the villain disappear the night before. The boys could tell when he got there right away, as he had noticed the spot where he had dismounted, the ground being rather soft there; and the hoofprints, as well as his own footprints were discernible. Charlie and Jim noticed the prints, too, and they were almost straining their eyes to catch sight of the three stones. Suddenly the scout gave an exclamation of satisfaction, and then quickly added: "I see 'em, Wild." "So do I," said Jim, almost at the same instant. "All right, boys. We'll go right on through the pass, and when we come back we'll make an investigation." The girls also saw the three little stones, but when they found that Wild did not seem to want to make much of them just then they rode on, with only a passing comment. They reached the other end of the pass without meeting a human being or seeing anything that would indicate the presence of any. Then they dismounted and took a look at the sign that was posted there. It was so nearly like the other that if the two had been side by side the difference could not have been told. This one was nailed to a big tree, and after he had looked it over Wild decided to take it down and see if there was anything on the other side of it. He used the butt of a revolver in place of a hammer and soon knocked the barrel-head loose from the tree. Then it was quickly pried off. Much to his satisfaction, he saw that there was some lettering on the back of the sign.