two days later dave was hard at work with the others on the mountainside when a gang of six cowboys rode up. they were curious to know some particulars concerning the new railroad spur which was to be put through in that vicinity, and stopped to watch proceedings and to ask a number of questions.

“what ranch do you hail from, boys?” questioned frank andrews of the leader of the crowd, a tall, leathery-looking man of about forty.

“we’re from the double eight outfit,” was the answer, as the fellow pulled a sheet from a book of papers he carried, filled it with some loose tobacco from a pouch, and proceeded to roll himself a cigarette.

“the double eight, eh?” exclaimed the civil engineer. “that is interesting. i think one of my young men here would like to ask you a few questions, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“all right, pard, shoot away,” answered the 99cowboy calmly, as he began to puff at his cigarette.

frank andrews lost no time in summoning dave, who was some distance up the trail, and told our hero where the cowboy hailed from.

“i believe you have a fellow staying with you who calls himself jasper nicholas,” began dave.

“we did have a feller with that handle down to our outfit,” responded the cowboy. “but he got fired some days ago.”

“fired!” cried dave and roger simultaneously.

“that’s the size on it, son. he got kind o’ fresh with the boss, and jim wouldn’t stand for it nohow. i don’t know exactly wot the rumpus was about, but that feller didn’t lose no time vamoosin’.”

“i wish you would tell me some of the particulars about him,” went on dave. “then i’ll tell you something that may interest you.”

“i ain’t got much to tell, ’cause i didn’t like the feller, and consequently didn’t have much to do with him. fact is, he wasn’t in cahoots with nobody around the ranch. he had a hang-dog way about him none of us cottoned to.”

“but i wish you would tell me what you do know,” insisted our hero.

thereupon the cowboy, who said his name was pete sine, told how nick jasniff had come to the 100double eight ranch some weeks before with a hard-luck story and had been given a job as an all-around handy man.

“but he wasn’t handy at all,” announced pete sine. “fact is, he was the most unhandy critter i ’most ever met up with. but he told such a pitiful story, the boss and some of the fellers felt sorry for him, so they all done the best they knowed how for him—that is at the start. but he soon showed the yellow streak that was in him, and then, as i said before, the boss got wise to him and fired him. now what do you know about him?”

dave, aided by roger, gave many of the particulars concerning nick jasniff’s past doings, and our hero related the details of the fight on the road, and how he had lost the contents of his pocketbook.

“snortin’ buffaloes!” ejaculated pete sine, giving his thigh a resounding slap with his hand. “i knew it! i sized that feller up from the very start. i warned jim dackley about him, but jim was too tender-hearted to see it—that is at first. now when did this happen?” went on the cowboy. and after dave had mentioned the day, he continued: “that was the very day the boss fired him!”

“and have you any idea where he went to?” questioned our hero quickly.

101“not exactly, son. but fred gurney, one of our gang who ain’t here just now, got it from the agent over to the railroad depot that the feller took the seven-thirty train that night for chicago.”

“he must have left montana for good!” cried roger. “dave, i’m afraid you can whistle your forty-odd dollars good-bye.”

“so it would seem, roger. it’s too bad! but i’m mighty glad nick jasniff has cleared out. i’d hate to think he was around here. he would be sure to try to do us some harm.”

“you might send on to chicago and have him arrested on his arrival there,” suggested frank andrews. “that is, if he hasn’t gotten there already.”

“i don’t think it would be worth bothering about,” answered dave. “it would make a lot of trouble all around; and maybe i would have to go on to chicago to identify him, and then stay around and push the charge against him. i’d rather let him go and pocket my loss.”

“maybe you’ll meet up with him some day,” suggested pete sine. “and if you do——well, i know what i’d do to him,” and he tapped his pistol suggestively.

the other cowboys had listened with interest to the talk, and every one of them intimated that he had distrusted nick jasniff from the start. evidently the fellow who had been in prison had 102not created a favorable impression, even though his hard-luck story had brought him some sympathy.

after this occurrence matters moved along quietly for a few days. on sunday, there being no work to do, old john hixon and several of the other men went out to look for the bobcat dave had met on the trail. but though they spent several hours in beating around through the brushwood and the scrub timber, they failed to find the animal.

“guess he got strayed away from his regular haunts, and then went back,” was hixon’s comment. “wild animals do that once in a while. i remember years ago an old hunter told me about a she bear he had met here in montana. some time later another hunter, a friend of his’n, told about meetin’ the same bear over in wyoming. then, less than a month later, this old hunter i first mentioned met the same bear and killed her. he always wondered how it was that bear got so far away from home and then got back again.”

on monday morning came more letters from home, and also communications from phil lawrence, ben basswood and shadow hamilton. the letters from crumville were, as usual, two communications from laura and jessie; and in each of these the girls mentioned the fact that dave’s uncle dunston, as well as mr. wadsworth 103and mr. basswood, had had more trouble with the gypsies who had formerly occupied the vacant land on the outskirts of the town.

“uncle dunston says the gypsies were very forward,” wrote laura. “they said all kinds of mean things and made several threats. one of the old women, who is called mother domoza, came here to the house and frightened jessie and me very much. the folks were away at the time, and i don’t know what we would have done had it not been for dear old mr. potts. he was in the library, where, as you know, he spends most of his time, and when he heard the old gypsy denouncing us he came out with his cane in his hand and actually drove her away.”

“good for professor potts!” cried dave, when roger read this portion of the letter to him. “i’m glad he sent the old hag about her business.”

the letter from jessie also contained some references to the gypsies, but had evidently been mailed previous to the trouble with mother domoza. jessie said she was glad that the vacant ground was to be cut up into town lots and built upon, and she sincerely trusted that none of the gypsies would ever come to camp near crumville again.

“some of them used to come around and tell fortunes,” wrote jessie. “but i don’t need to have my fortune told, dave. i know exactly what 104it is going to be, and i would not have it changed for the world!”

and this part of the letter dave did not show to roger; but he read it over many times with great satisfaction.

but all thoughts of the gypsies and of what they might do were forgotten by our hero and roger when they came to peruse the letters sent by phil, ben and shadow.

“hurrah! they are on their way at last!” cried dave, his face beaming with satisfaction. “ben writes that they were to start within forty-eight hours after this letter was sent.”

“and that is just what shadow and phil say, too,” announced the senator’s son. “that being so, they ought to arrive here within the next two days.”

“right you are, roger! oh, say! when they come, won’t we have the best time ever?” exclaimed dave.

and then, in the exuberance of their spirits, both youths caught hold of each other and did an impromptu war-dance.

“hello! hello! what’s going on here?” cried frank andrews, coming up at that moment. “have you fellows joined the hopi indians?”

“our three chums are on the way—we expect them here inside of the next two days!” announced dave.

105“is that so? i don’t wonder you’re so happy. as i understand it, you fellows were all very close chums.”

“the closest ever!” answered roger. and then suddenly his face clouded a little. “but oh, mr. andrews, what are we going to do with them when they get here? we’ll have to make some sort of arrangements for them.”

“i reckon we can make room one way or another,” answered the older civil engineer. “you know barry and lundstrom have left and that gives us two vacant bunks, and we can easily fix up an extra cot here if we want to.”

“then that’s what we’ll do, if you won’t mind,” announced dave.

he and roger had already spoken about the matter to ralph obray, and the general manager had given them permission to entertain their chums at the camp for several days if the visitors wished to stay that long. it was, of course, understood that their meals should be paid for, since a report of all expenditures had to be made to the head office.

“i think you fellows have earned a little vacation,” said the manager to the chums. “you have both worked very hard. and i have not forgotten, porter, how you carried those documents to orella for me and what a fight you had to get them there in safety.”

106“but understand, mr. obray, we don’t expect to be paid for the time we take off,” interposed roger. “at least i don’t expect to be paid for it.”

“and that is just the way i feel about it,” added dave.

“you young fellows leave that to me,” answered the construction company manager smilingly. “i’ll take care of that. i can remember when i was a young fellow and had my friends come to see me. you go on and show your chums all the sights, and have the best time possible, and then, when they are gone, i’ll expect you to work so much the harder to make up for it. i think you see what i mean.”

“and we’ll do it—take my word on it!” answered dave heartily.

“indeed we will!” echoed roger.

during the next two days the chums were so anxious awaiting the coming of the others that they could hardly attend to their work. they saw to it that quarters were made in readiness for the three who were expected and that jeff, the cook, would have room for them at one of the dining-tables.

then, on the morning of the third day, when a telegram came in from the railroad station stating that phil and the others would arrive by noon, dave and roger, taking a lunch along, set off on 107horseback, leading three other horses behind them, to meet the expected visitors.

the ride to the railroad station occurred without mishap, though it was no easy matter to make the three riderless horses follow them at certain points where the trail was rough. but the two chums reached the station with almost an hour to spare.

“and it wasn’t no use for you fellers to hurry,” announced the station master, when he found out what had brought them. “that train is generally from one hour to three hours late.”

“great scott! have we got to wait around here three hours?” groaned the senator’s son.

“we might have known the train would be late,” observed dave. “they usually are on this line.”

presently the station master went in to receive a telegram. when he came out he announced that the train would be there in less than two hours unless something occurred in the meanwhile to cause a further delay.

the chums put in the time as best they could; but it was slow work, and they consulted their watches every few minutes. at last, however, the time came to a close, and soon they heard a long, low whistle.

“here she comes!” cried dave, his heart giving a leap.

108“let’s give them a cheer as soon as we see them,” suggested the senator’s son.

and then the long train rolled into sight around a bend of the mountains and soon came to a standstill at the little station.