But the Dean calmly kept his seat, and
glancing up at his big friend with twinkling eyes, said to the boys,
with pretended gruffness, "Aw, what's the matter with you kids? Don't
you know that horse thief Patches wouldn't dare show himself in
Williamson Valley again? You're havin' bad dreams--that's what's the
matter with you. Or else you're tryin' to scare us."
"Honest, it's Patches, Uncle Will," cried Littly Billy.
"We seen him comin' from over beyond the corral," said Jimmy.
"I saw him first," shouted Conny. "I was up in the grand stand--I mean
on the fence."
"Me, too," chirped Jack.
Jim Reid stood looking toward the corral. "The boys are right, Will," he
said in a low tone. "There they come now."
As the three horsemen rode into the yard, and the watchers noted the
peculiarity of their companionship, Jim Reid muttered something under
his breath. But the Dean, as he rose leisurely to his feet, was smiling
broadly.
The little procession halted when the horses evidenced their dislike of
the automobile, and Patches came stiffly forward on foot. Lifting his
battered hat courteously to the company, he said to the Dean, "I have
returned your horse, sir.
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