John Mason Mason glanced up from his letter to find MacNutt regarding him with a curious expression in his eyes. The strange man had taken a great liking to Mason, and the latter found himself in his company a good bit of his time. Mason had come to think that MacNutt wasn’t such a fool as most people seemed to take him for. The leaders of the searching party were far in advance by this time and, as Mason intended to take part in the hunt, he pocketed his letter and called to MacNutt and Scotty. As they rode he explained the letter to them in detail. “You have got to get this Ricker or he’ll get you,” Scotty said, after a long silence. “But I haven’t even seen the man yet,” Mason protested. “I heard Bud say this morning that we are going to call on that delightful gentleman,” MacNutt chirped up. Scotty favored him with a warning scowl. “You’ll have a chance to see him to-day, but I’m going to watch him sharp for he’s the quickest man in these parts with a gun,” Scotty declared, still keeping his eyes on MacNutt and frowning darkly. The latter, not one bit abashed, was whistling gaily, and opened his eyes in child-like wonder at Scotty’s words. The cowboy mentally put him down as cracked. There was a stiff wind blowing and the sky was overcast with ominous looking clouds. The cowboy was casting an anxious eye on the horizon. “We are going to get a hard storm before night,” he said uneasily. “Do you get very hard storms in these parts?” queried MacNutt timidly. “Well, rather,” drawled Scotty with a grin. They were riding fast now, and had begun to overtake the party in front. “Wo don’t want to be too far in the rear when they get to the ranch,” the Scot explained, as he urged his horse faster. The rest of the ride was made in silence, Mason turning over in his mind the news from his father. Soon they were approaching the outbuildings of the ranch, and Mason’s blood tingled as he remembered his first experience on this ranch. The cowboys ahead had halted and were waiting for Mason and his party to
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