Come along." He took the boy's gloved right hand in his own powerful grasp, and together they clambered up the steep hillside to a rocky ledge on which a fallen pine from above had crashed, snapped itself in twain, and then left its withered crown to hang half down the slope, while the other half rested on the ledge.

On this they sat, looking down upon the road and the tethered horse.

A gentle breeze moved the treetops above their heads, and the westering sun played hide-and-seek with the shifting shadows.

The boy's face was quick and alert with all that moved round him, but without thought the father's face was heavy, except for the eyes that were fixed upon his son.
"Van Loo came to the Mission," he said suddenly.
The boy's eyes glittered quickly, like a steel that pierced the father's heart.

"Oh," he said simply, "then it was the padre told you ?" "How did he know you were here ?" asked Steptoe.
"I don't know," said the boy quietly.