half-grunted the Indian.

"Babe has a broken leg in a fight with robbers?" gasped Bud.
"Shoot it along a little faster, Buck! I'm sorry I didn't let you
ride harder at first. How much did they get? Was it rustlers, and
I'll bet a cookie with a raisin in that Del Pinzo and his gang
had a hand in the fracas! Did Babe shoot any of 'em?"

"Babe him try--but too fat," said the Indian, with as near to a
chuckle as ever he achieved, "Fall down--bust leg. Your
_padre_ no can tell how much money gone, but big iron box
not opened."

"Oh, they didn't get to the safe, then!" exclaimed Bud with
relief in his voice. For he knew, at this season of the spring
round-up, that many thousands of dollars, from the sale of
cattle, were often kept in his father's safe. "But go ahead,
Buck! Tell us more about it. Step on her! Give her the gas! Open
the throttle!"

"Hu?" grunted the Zuni, questioningly. "I step on somet'ing?"
"You're only mixing him up!" declared Nort "Let him take his own
time, Bud."

"If I do he'll be until noon giving us the facts. And if the
robbers looted dad's office, even if they didn't get the safe
open, they may have lit out with a tidy sum, and we ought to take
the trail after 'em. That's what Buck came here for, likely! To
get us on the chase from this end. Go ahead! Shoot!" he
requested, meaning a verbal fire, not actual.