“But there is one thing I do know,” said he, turning to the guide—“that mule and that wagon belong to me. They were stolen early last summer by that miserable Lish, the Wolfer—you know him, Thompson—and when I——What’s the matter with you, young man?”
“Nothing,” answered Oscar, with more earnestness than the occasion seemed to require.
“Then what did you say ‘Ah!’ for?” asked the ranchman.
Oscar hesitated. He did not know what reply to make to this question. The truth was the exclamation that attracted the notice of the ranchman had been called forth by a variety of conflicting emotions.
Lish, the Wolfer, was the chosen companion and friend of his brother Tom. He was suspected by the commandant of the fort of having been engaged in something during the previous summer that rendered him liable to arrest; and no doubt the stealing of the mule and wagon was the “affair” to which the colonel referred.
If that was the case, Tom could have had no hand in the matter, for it was only recently that he had fallen in with the Wolfer.
Oscar knew now what Tom was suspected of; and he knew, too, that he was innocent. That was a great relief to him. But he knew, also, that his brother was the willing associate of a thief who was in danger of being apprehended or shot at any minute; and the knowledge of the fact weighed heavily on his mind.
What would his mother say if she knew it?
If he gave a truthful answer to the ranchman’s question, he would be obliged to explain all this, and that was something he would not have done for the world.
However, he knew that he must make some reply, so he gathered his wits as quickly as he could, and said:
“I will answer your question by asking another. If you knew who it was that stole your mule, why were you in such haste to get the drop on _me_?”
Oscar had picked up this expression since he came on the plains.
“To get the drop” on one, means, in frontier parlance, to get the advantage of him.
“When I first came up here you said you had been looking for me,” continued Oscar. “How did you know that your mule was in my possession?”
“I didn’t know that he was in your possession. I only knew that he was coming, and that he would be here to-night.”
“Nobody _told_ me. I found it out in this way.”