he replied breathlessly. ‘Leastwise there ain’t been one yet, but Pa says sure as a cactus ain’t a mesquite thar’ll be a robbery in these here parts afore sunup tomorrow, Pa says it’s sure sartin.’

“Of course we were interested. We never knew our respected station master to prophesy anything but that it came to pass with almost uncanny accuracy, so Lucky and I drew rein and listened to what the little fellow had to tell, but when we had heard him out, all we could make of it was that a queer kind of caravan had been seen leaving Douglas early that morning headed toward Silver Creek. Davie thought maybe there were half a dozen covered wagons and a dozen mules and dogs, but he wasn’t certain. The cowboy who’d seen the outfit hadn’t stopped to count them.

“‘Gypsies, I reckon,’ was Lucky’s conclusion, ‘and if so, kid, your pa’s right. Thar’ll be some stealin’ ’fore sunup sure sartin.’ Then he looked at me with a puzzled expression as he said, ‘Malcolm, I never heard tell of gypsies trailin’ across the desert hereabouts, have you now?’

“I agreed that I had not, but the lad’s description seemed to fit and so we let it go at that.

“‘Wall, I must be off.’ Davie seemed suddenly to remember his former haste but I detained him long enough to ask, ‘Where are you going in such a hurry?’

“‘Over to Slater’s to warn ’em ‘bout that robbery as Pa says it’s sure sartin.’

“Davie’s little wild pony needed no urging and a second later all we could see of him was a racing sand cloud. I laughed, but Lucky seemed to take the matter more seriously. ‘What do you make of it?’ I asked when I had let him study on the matter in silence for several moments.

“‘Ah jest don’t,’ he replied. ‘Ah cain’t figure nohow why a caravan of gypsies ’d start across this here trackless part of the desert.’

“‘It isn’t as trackless as it used to be,’ I reminded him, ‘for now that all the ranchers own automobiles there’s a makeshift sort of a road from one place to the next.’

“‘Mebbe so, but Ah cain’t figger out why gypsies would go to all the trouble of draggin that there caravan o’ theirs through the sand jest to be robbin’ ranches. They couldn’t make fast enough time to get away with it. More’n likely, if they was gypsies, they-all thought as how this might be a short cut to some place up north where they’re bound for.’

“I 

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