Part 17 (1/2)
”But that's a camera, sure enough, though the lens has been taken off. I wonder how that got here,” and he looked anxiously at the young operator.
”I'll ask Mr. Norton,” Russ volunteered, and, as the ranch proprietor came along at that moment, Russ had his chance.
”That? Oh, that belongs to a new man I hired the other day,” said the ranchman.
”What sort of a man is he?” asked Mr. Pertell, suspiciously.
”Well, not as good a sort as I thought he was. He knows a little about cow-punching; but not much. Still, I was short of help and had to put him on.”
”What--what does he do with that?” asked Russ, pointing to the camera out on the bench.
”That? Oh he says that's an electric battery. He uses it for rheumatism; but I haven't seen him work it yet. He said it was out of order, and he's tinkering with it the last few days. Why?”
”Oh, I was just--just wondering,” returned Russ, evasively.
Then, as he pa.s.sed on to the dining room, he saw, through a window, a man hurry up to the bench and remove the camera. Russ could not recall ever having seen this man.
”There's something queer about this,” said Mr. Pertell to his operator.
”What would a cowboy be doing with a moving picture camera?”
CHAPTER XIII
AT THE BRANDING
Russ did not answer for a moment, but kept on beside the manager through the long corridor that led to the dining hall. Then, just as the two entered the room, Russ said:
”I reckon, as they say out here--I reckon, Mr. Pertell, that you're thinking the same thing I am.”
”What's that, Russ?”
”That maybe those International fellows are still on our trail.”
”That's what I do think, Russ. Though how they got out here ahead of us is more than I can tell.”
”It would be easy enough. They learned we were coming here, and just took a short cut. We've been on the road quite a while.”
”That must be it, Russ. But you say you had a glimpse of the fellow who took the camera off the bench. You didn't know him; did you?”
”Never saw him before, as far as I could tell. But there are a lot of camera operators nowadays, so that isn't strange. The International firm could hire anyone and send him on here to try and steal some of the scenes we're depending on. He could pose as a cowboy, too.”
”Well, we'll just have to be on our guard, Russ. It won't do to let them get ahead of us. There's too much at stake.”
Nothing was said to the players of the suspicions of Russ and Mr.
Pertell. They wanted to wait and see what happened.
Though the meal at Rocky Ranch was served without any of the elegance which would have been expected at a hotel, the food was of the best, and there was plenty of it.
”Ah, again sauerkraut!” cried Mr. Switzer, as he saw a steaming dish brought on the table, topped with smoking sausages. ”Dot is fine alretty yet!”