They questioned Bud, who could offer no positive information on the subject, except that once he and Smoky had rolled down a bluff together, and Smoky had been lame for a while afterwards.
It did not occur to anyone to ask Bud which leg had been lamed, and Bud did not volunteer the detail.

An old sprain, they finally decided, and Bud replaced his saddle, got his chaps and coat from Jerry, who was smiling over an extra twenty-five dollars, and rode over to give the girls their winnings.
He stayed for several minutes talking with them and hoping for a chance to thank Marian for her friendly warning.

But there was none, and he rode away dissatisfied and wondering uneasily if Marian thought he was really as friendly with Honey as that young lady made him appear to be.
He was one of the first to ride back to the ranch, and he turned Smoky in the pasture and caught up Stopper to ride with Honey, who said she was going for a ride when the races were over, and that if he liked to go along she would show him the Sinks.

Bud had professed an eagerness to see the Sinks which he did not feel until Marian had turned her head toward Honey and said in her quiet voice: "Why the Sinks?
You know that isn't safe country to ride in, Honey." "That's why I want to ride there," Honey retorted flippantly.

"I hate safe places and safe things." Marian had glanced at Bud--and it was that glance which he was remembering now with a puzzled sense that, like the note, it had meant something definite, something vital to his own welfare if he could only find the key.