STANDING OFF THE JAYHAWKERS 



"Bill Sawyer, come here!" and then returned to 

 us, while William Sawyer, who seemed to have 

 been rehearsed in his part, came trotting up with 

 alacrity, feeling in his inside pocket for the paper 

 that he seemed to know — although he had been 

 out of hearing distance of us — was to be called 

 for at this stage of the game. As Sawyer left 

 his chums they all gathered about Joe — he of the 

 old cavalry jacket — and seemed to be holding 

 an earnest consultation. 



As Sawyer reached us I had time to notice that 

 he wore a green patch over his left eye — or the 

 place where the eye had been; a villainous grin 

 added devilishness to his sinister countenance. 

 In his hand he held the same old yellow envelope 

 that Jack and I had seen Joe using to copy the 

 mules' brands on. 



Taking the old envelope triumphantly from his 

 man. Tucker passed it to Tom with a confident 

 air as he demanded. 



**Now, let's compare the brands marked on that 

 paper with the brands on them mules.'' And 

 he turned his horse as if to ride around on the 

 other side of our wagon, where the mules were 

 tied. 



'*'Twon't be necessary — ^wait a minute," re- 

 turned Tom as he passed the old envelope to Jack 

 and me with the query: "Do you men recognize 

 that paper?" 



"Yes, we've seen it before," we both answered. 



57 



