"I guess this is no place for me!" muttered Tim, with a sly wink.

"Oh, yes, Tim, stay!" Jennie begged. "I'll tell you about it, too. You'll
want to know in case these men ever come back."

"If they do!" exclaimed Jack, doubling up his fists, "I'll--"

"Oh, please don't fight with them!" pleaded Jennie. "Just let the sheriff
deal with them, Jack."

"Well, if I can't manage them myself, I'll call for help," promised the
youth. "But now tell me about it. Who were they?"

"I don't know, Jack. They are strangers around here. I was working all
alone in the office, getting my reports into shape, and was just going to
check up my stamps, when they came in. I had left the private door open, as
I didn't expect any one. Mother is away for the day, but I didn't in the
least mind being left, as I had a lot of work to do.

"Well, these men began asking all sorts of questions. I don't mind giving
information to strangers if it's the kind I can safely let out of the
office, but they wanted to know too much. Why, they even asked about you!"

"They did? Why, they didn't seem to know me just now!"

"Perhaps they didn't by sight, but they knew your name, and they asked me
how often you made the trips, where you stopped, how long it took, and they
even wanted to know what kind of a horse you rode.

"I simply refused to tell them, and then they began to threaten and