large pictures, and Frank had been drawn up until his toes only rested
on the floor; and all because he refused to tell where he had hidden a
key. Where the rest of the lasso was he did not know. The last time he
saw it, it was around the neck of a man who was running through the
grove at the top of his speed, with Marmion close at his heels. The dog
came back, but the man and the piece of lasso did not; and this brings
us to our story.




CHAPTER III.

TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS.


One day, about six weeks before the commencement of our story, Frank and
Archie were sent to San Diego on business for Uncle James. When they
returned, they found a new face among the Rancheros--that of Pierre
Costello, a man for whom Frank at once conceived a violent dislike.
Pierre was a full-blooded Mexican, dark-browed, morose, and
sinister-looking, and he had a pair of small, black eyes that were never
still, but constantly roving about, as if on the lookout for something.
His appearance was certainly forbidding; but that was not the reason why
Frank disliked him. It was because Marmion regarded him with suspicion,
and seemed to think he had no business on the rancho. When the Ranchero
came about the house, Marmion would follow him wherever he went, as if
he feared that the man was about to attempt some mischief; and, when
Pierre returned to his quarters, the dog always seemed to be immensely
relieved. Frank invariably made common cause with his favorites, whether