But undoubtedly Lopez realized that it ill became him to decline to
take the hand that had helped save his life.
"You understand that we are your friends, Lopez, don't you?" asked
Frank, as he held the small palm of the Mexican in his own strong one
for a moment, and looked with a puzzled expression into the big black
eyes that quickly fell under his gaze.
"Oh, yes, Senor, surely you have proved it more than enough," the
little fellow hastened to say; and Frank was astonished to hear what
good language he used.
"You go across mountains, eh?" asked Bob, indifferently; truth to tell
he was just then more interested in the size of the great grizzly that
had fallen before the guns of himself and his saddle chum, than the
mere fact of this stripling being entrusted with such a task as
bringing supplies to prospectors, or rustlers, as the case might prove.
A flash crossed the face of the boy, just as though he saw a sudden
opening whereby his presence here might be explained without entering
into details.
"Oh! yes, across the range. I get supplies for prospectors in camp,"
he replied, with an intake of his breath, while he watched Bob
narrowly, as if, somehow, he believed he had more to fear from that
source than from the tawny-haired prairie lad.
"That's kind of queer, seems to me," remarked Bob, slowly, turning to
again survey the boy; "for them to send so small a chap on so long a
trail. I should think it was more of a man's work, toting supplies
across these mountains, through the canyons.
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