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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/6067.txt b/6067.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d0281f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/6067.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7381 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Pony Rider Boys in the Rockies, by Frank Gee Patchin + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Pony Rider Boys in the Rockies + +Author: Frank Gee Patchin + +Posting Date: May 27, 2013 [EBook #6067] +Release Date: July, 2004 +First Posted: November 1, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES *** + + + + +Produced by Kent Fielden + + + + + + + + +THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES + +BY FRANK GEE PATCHIN + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE LOVE OF A HORSE + + +"Oh, let me get up. Let me ride him for two minutes, Walter." + +Walter Perkins brought his pony to a slow stop and glanced down +hesitatingly into the pleading blue eyes of the freckle-faced boy at +his side. + +"Please! I'll only ride him up to the end of the block and back, and I +won't go fast, either. Let me show you how I can ride him," urged Tad +Butler, with a note of insistence in his voice. + +"If I thought you wouldn't fall off----" + +"I fall off?" sniffed Tad, contemptuously. "I'd like to see the pony +that could bounce me off his back. Huh! Guess I know how to ride +better than that. Say, Chunky, remember the time when the men from +Texas had those ponies here--brought them here to sell?" + +Chunky--the third boy of the group--nodded vigorously. + +"And didn't I ride a broncho that never had had a saddle on his back +but once in his life? Say, did I get thrown then?" + +"He did that," endorsed Stacy Brown, who, because of his well-rounded +cheeks and ample girth, was known familiarly among his companions as +"Chunky." "I mean, he didn't. And he rode the pony three times around +the baseball field, too. That broncho's back was humped up like a mad +cat's all the way around. 'Course Tad can ride. Wish I could ride half +as well as he does. You needn't be afraid, Walter." + +Thus reassured by Chunky's praise, Walter dropped the bridle rein over +the neck of his handsome new pony, and slid slowly to the ground. + +"All right, Tad. Jump up! But don't hold him too tightly. He doesn't +like it, and, besides, he has been trained to run when you tighten up +on the rein, and father would not like it if we were to race him in +the village." + +"I'll be careful." + +Tad Butler needed no second invitation to try out his companion's +pony. With the agility of a cowboy, he leaped into the saddle without +so much as touching a foot to the stirrup. In another second, with a +slight pressure on the rein, he had wheeled the animal sharply on its +haunches, and was jogging off up the street at an easy gallop, both +boy and pony rising and falling in graceful, rhythmic movements, as if +in reality each were a part of the other. Tad seemed born to stirrup +and saddle. + +Yet, true to his promise, the boy made no effort to increase the speed +of his mount. Nor did he go beyoud the corner named. Instead, he +circled and came galloping back, one hand resting lightly on the rein, +the other swinging easily at his side. + +As he neared the two boys, Tad checked his pony, but Walter motioned +to him to continue. With a smile of keen appreciation, Tad shook out +the reins, and pony and rider swung on down the village street. + +The soft breeze bad by now fanned the bright color into the face of +Thaddeus Butler, and his deep blue eyes glowed with excitement and +pleasure; for, to him, there was no happiness so great as that to be +found on the back of a swift-moving pony. + +However, this was a pleasure that seldom came to Tad, for his lines +had not fallen altogether in pleasant places. The boy was now +seventeen, and from his twelfth birthday he had been almost the sole +support of his mother. His time, out of school hours, was spent +largely in doing odd jobs about the village where his services were in +demand, and on Saturday afternoons and nights he delivered goods for a +grocery store, for which latter service he earned the--to +him--munificent sum of twenty-five cents. But all of this he +accepted cheerfully and manfully. Now and then Tad was allowed to +drive the grocer's wagon to the station for goods, and at such times +his work was a positive recreation. Some day Tad hoped to have a horse +of his own. He could imagine no more perfect happiness than this. He +had determined, though, that when he did own one, it should be a +saddle horse and a speedy one at that. Yet, at the present moment the +realization of his ambition seemed indeed far away. + +Walter Perkins was the son of a banker. He and Tad Butler had been +born and brought up in the little village of Chillicothe, Missouri, +where they still lived, and, despite the difference in their social +positions, had been fast friends since they were little fellows. + +Chunky was the son of a merchant in a small town in Massachusetts, and +had been visiting an uncle in Chillicothe for nearly a year past. + +Walter was a delicate boy, and, reared in luxury, as he had been all +his life, he had sensed few of the delights of out-door life that were +so apparent in the face of his nimble friend, Tad. It was this +delicate physical condition that had brought about the gift of the +pony. The family physician had advised it in order that the boy might +have more out-door air, and on this May morning Walter had brought the +pony out to show to his admiring friends. + +"Tad's a good rider. Isn't he a beauty?" breathed Chunky, as they +watched the progress of boy and horse down the street. + +"Who, Tad?" asked Walter, absorbed in the contemplation of his new +possession. + +"Tad! Pooh! No; the pony, of course. I don't see anything very +fetching about Tad, do you? But I should be willing to be as freckled +as he is if I could stick on a pony's back the way he does." + +"Yes, he does know how to ride," agreed Walter. "And, by the way, +father is going to get a horse for Professor Zepplin, my tutor; then +we are going off on long rides every day, after my lessons are +done. The doctor says it will be good for me. Fine to have a doctor +like that, isn't it?" + +"Great! Wish I could go along." + +"Why don't you?" asked Walter, turning quickly to his companion. "That +would be just the idea. What great times we three could have, riding +off into the open country! And we could go on exploring expeditions, +too, and make believe we were cowboys and--and all that sort of +thing." + +Chunky shook his head dubiously. "I haven't a pony. But I wish I +had. I should like to go so much," replied the boy wistfully. + +"Then, why not ask your uncle to get one for you? He will do it, I +know," urged Walter brightly, brimming over with his new plan. "Why, +I'll ask him myself." + +"I did." + +"Wouldn't he do it?" + +"No. Uncle said I was too young, and that the first thing I would be +doing would be to break my neck. If father was here and gave his +permission, why, that would be different. Uncle said it would take my +mind off my school, besides." + +"School? Why, school will not last much longer. It is May, now, and +school will be over early in June. That isn't long to wait. You go +right home, Chunky, and tell your uncle you must have a pony. Tell him +I said so. If he refuses, I'll have my father go ask him. He won't +refuse my father anything he asks. My father is a banker and everybody +does everything he wants them to, because he lends them money," +advised Walter wisely. + +"My--my uncle doesn't have to borrow money. He's got money of his +own," bristled Chunky. + +"Yes, that's so. But you go ask him. Tell him about my pony and that +we are all going off for a ride every day. Say that Professor Zepplin +will be along to take care of us. And say! I'll tell you what," added +the boy eagerly. + +"Yes?" urged Chunky. + +"We will form ourselves into a club. Now, wouldn't that be great?" + +"Fine!" glowed Chunky. "But, what kind of a club? They don't have +horses in clubs." + +"We shall, in this one. That is, we shall be the club, and the ponies +will be our club-house. When we are on our ponies' backs we shall be +in our club-house. Maybe we can get Ned Rector to join us. He knows +how to ride--why, he rides almost as well as Tad." + +Chunky nodded thoughtfully. + +"What shall we call it? We must have some kind of a name for the +club." + +"I hadn't thought of that. I'll tell you what," exclaimed Walter, +brightening, after a moment's consideration. "We will call ourselves +the Rough Riders. That's what we will do, Chunky." + +"Yes, but we are not rough riders," protested Chunky. "We are only +beginners; that is, all of us except Tad, and he can't join us--just +because he's too poor to have a horse. As for us--humph! We'd be +rough riders only when we fell off!" + +Walter laughed heartily. + +"No," he admitted. "I guess we are not rough riders yet; but we may be +some day, after we've learned to ride better. I can't think of any +other name, can you?" + +"We might call ourselves the Wild Riders," suggested Chunky. + +"No, that won't do, either. It's as bad as the other name. Father'd +never let me go out at all if we called ourselves the Wild Riders, +because he would think it meant we were going to be too much like +cowboys. I guess we shall have to think it over some more. But here +comes Tad back. Suppose we ask him? He'll know what to call the club." + +Tad reigned in alongside of them and pulled the pony up sharply, +patting its sleek neck approvingly, still loath to dismount. + +"It's great, fellows. Wish I had a pony like him." + +"So do I," echoed Chunky. + +"Why, you don't have to touch the reins at all. I could ride him +without just as well as with them. All you have to do is to press your +knee against his side and he will turn, just as if you were pulling on +the rein. He's a trained pony, Walter. Did you know that?" + +"That's what the man said when father bought him. Jo-Jo can walk on +his hind legs, too. But father said I mustn't try to make him do any +tricks, for fear I might get hurt." + +"Hurt nothing! He wouldn't hurt a baby," objected Tad in the little +animal's defence. "I'll show you--I won't hurt him, don't be +afraid," he exclaimed leaping to the ground, stripping the rein over +the animal's head and holding it at arm's length. "If he knows how to +stand up I can make him do it. I've seen them do that in the +circus. Let me have your whip." + +"I don't know about that," answered Walter doubtfully. "Yes, you may +try," he decided finally, extending the whip that he had been idly +tapping against his legging. "But don't hit him, will you?" + +"Not I," grinned the freckle-faced boy, leading the pony further out +into the street. "He doesn't need to be struck." + +Tad first coaxed the pony by patting it gently on the side of the +head, to which the intelligent animal responded by brushing his cheek +softly with its nose. + +"See, he knows a thing or two," cried Tad. "Now, watch me!" + +Standing off a few feet, the boy tapped the animal gently under the +chin with the whip. + +"Up, Jo-Jo! Up!" he urged, lifting the whip into the air +insistently. At first, Jo-Jo only swished his tail rebelliously, +shaking his head until the bit rattled between his teeth. + +But Tad persisted, gently yet firmly urging with voice and +whip. Jo-Jo meanwhile pawed the dirt up into a cloud of dust that +settled over the boys, finally causing a chorus of sneezes, until Tad +felt sure he observed a twinkle of amusement in the eyes of the +knowing little animal. + +"Up, Jo-Jo!" he commanded almost sternly, bringing the whip sharply +against the side of his own leg. + +The pony, recognizing the voice of a master, hesitated no longer. Half +folding its slender forelegs back, it rose slowly, up and up. + +Walter Perkins and Stacy Brown broke into a cheer. But Tad, never for +an instant removing his gaze from Jo-Jo, held up a warning hand, +leaned slightly forward and fixed the pony with impelling eyes. + +Then Tad backed away slowly. To the amazement of the others, Jo-Jo, +balancing himself beautifully on his hind legs, followed his new-found +master in short, cautious steps, the animal's head now high in the +air, its nostrils dilated, and every nerve strained to the task in +hand. + +"Beautiful," breathed Walter and Chunky in chorus. + +"He's a regular brick," added Chunky. + +"How'd you do it, Tad!" + +Before replying, the boy lowered the whip to his side, motioning to +the pony that his task was done. Jo-Jo dropped quickly on all fours, +and, walking up to Tad, rubbed his nose against the lad's cheek again. + +"Good boy," soothed Tad, returning the caress, his eyes swimming with +happiness. + +But as Tad stepped back Jo-Jo insistently followed, alternately +pushing his nose against the boy's face and tugging at his shirt. + +"He wants to do it again, Tad," cried Chunky, enthusiastically. + +The freckle-faced boy grinned knowingly. + +"Got any sugar, Walter?" he asked. + +Walter thrust a hand into a trousers pocket, bringing up a handful of +lumps that were far from being their natural color. But Tad grabbed +them, and an instant later Jo-Jo's quivering upper lip had closed +greedily over the handful of sweets. + +"That's what the little rascal wanted," breathed Tad with a pleased +smile. "I could teach that pony to do 'most anything but talk, +fellows. I'm not so sure that he couldn't do that in his own way, +after a little time. What did you give for him?" + +"Father paid the man a hundred and fifty dollars." + +Tad uttered a long-drawn whistle; his face sobered. It was more money +than he ever had seen at one time in his life. Would he ever have as +much as that? The freckle-faced boy doubted it. + +"We fellows were talking about getting up a club," spoke up Walter. + +"Club? What kind of a club?" asked Tad absently. + +"Oh, some sort of a riding club. Chunky is going to ask his uncle to +buy him a pony; then we are going out with my tutor on long rides in +the country." + +Tad eyed them steadily. + +"Somehow we can't just decide on the name for the new club. I thought +maybe we would call ourselves the Bough Riders. Chunky doesn't like +that name. We had an idea that, perhaps, you could give us one. What +do you say, Tad?" + +"Chunky's uncle is going to get him a pony?" asked Tad a bit +unsteadily. + +"We hope so," nodded Walter. "And that's not all. We are going to get +Ned Rector to join the club. He already has a pony. Wish you might +come in with us, Tad." + +"Wish I might," answered Tad wistfully. + +"Of course, we know you can't really, but you belong to us just the +same. You can be a sort of--of honorary member. We will let you ride +our ponies sometimes when we are in town, though, of course, when we +go out for long trips we can't take you along very well. You +understand that, don't you, Tad?" + +Tad inclined his head. + +"And now about the name. Got anything to suggest?" + +The freckle-faced boy walked over to the pony and laid his cheek +against its nose, which he patted softly, his head averted so that the +others might not see the pain in his eyes. + +"You--you might call yourselves 'The Pony Rider Boys,'" suggested +Tad, controlling his voice with an effort. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE PONY RIDER BOYS' CLUB ORGANIZED + + +The Pony Rider Boys, as a club, met for the purpose of organization, +with headquarters under a tent in Banker Perkins's orchard. It was the +tent in which Walter, under orders from the family physician, had been +sleeping during the spring. Over the entrance the boys pinned a strip +of canvas on which they had printed in red letters, "Headquarters Pony +Rider Boys' Club." + +"Now they will know who we are," explained Walter, standing off to +view their handiwork. "You see, people can read that from the +street. Everybody who passes will see it." + +"Yes," replied Ned Rector, who already had been enrolled as a charter +member. "But I hope they won't think it's a blacksmith shop over here, +and drive in to get their horses shod." + +The boys laughed heartily. + +"The next question is, whom shall we have for president of the club?" +asked Walter. "I suppose we ought to elect one to-day so we can be +regularly organized." + +"Yes, that's so," agreed Chunky. "What's the matter with having Tad +Butler for president? He knows all about horses, even if he has none +himself." + +"But he's not a member of the club," objected Ned. + +"No," agreed Walter, "but I had thought we might make him an honorary +member. We ought to take him in, someway, for I know he's anxious to +join us." + +"Then, I would suggest that we organize first," advised Ned, who +possessed some slight knowledge of parliamentary law. "You can choose +one of us for temporary chairman, and then we will go ahead and form +our organization just like a regular club." + +"That's a good plan. Will you be the chairman, Ned?" + +"No, Walt. I think I should prefer to be on the floor, where I can +talk. Neither the chairman nor president has the right to argue, you +know. I'm afraid I shouldn't be of much use to the club if I couldn't +talk," laughed Ned. "I propose Mr. Stacy Brown, otherwise known as +'Chunky,' for temporary chairman. Chunky is fat, and can appear very +dignified when he wants to, even if he doesn't feel that way." + +"That's the idea," agreed Walter. + +"Now, all in favor of Mr. Chunky Brown for presiding officer of the +first meeting of the Pony Rider Boys manifest it by saying 'Aye.'" + +Ned and Walter voted in the affirmative. + +"All opposed, say 'Nay.'" + +"Nay!" voted Chunky in a loud voice. + +"The Ayes have it. Mr. Stacy Chunky Brown has been duly chosen +temporary chairman of the Pony Rider Boys. Mr. Chairman, will you +please take the chair and call this meeting to order?" invited Ned +Rector, escorting Stacy to a chair which had been placed at one end of +the tent for the purpose of receiving him. + +Chunky sank into the seat, gazing helplessly about him. + +"Well?" urged Ned. + +"Do something," laughed Walter. + +"Yes, but what shall I do?" + +"Call the meeting to order, of course. What do you think we elected +you for? Not to sit up there and look pretty. Call it to order." + +"I do." + +"Help!" pleaded Ned Rector, weakly. "See here, that's not the way to +do it. Is this the first time you have presided at a meeting?" + +Chunky, by a nod, informed them that it was. + +"Humph!" grunted Ned witheringly. "Then say after me, 'I now call the +meeting of the Pony Rider Boys to order. What is your pleasure, +gentlemen?'" + +The chairman haltingly repeated the words. + +"Now, that's the way to do it," approved Ned. "I shouldn't be +surprised to see you President of the United States some day. I now +move, Mr. Chairman, that Tad Butler be made an honorary member of the +club, as well as riding master and manager of the live stock." + +"Second the motion," added Walter quickly. + +The motion was carried with much enthusiasm. Then the club voted to +make Chunky Brown its permanent presiding officer, and this in spite +of the winner's vigorous objections. Walter was made treasurer +because, as Ned expressed it, Walter's father was a bank +president. Ned Rector was chosen secretary. + +"I now move," proposed Ned Rector, "that this club direct its +secretary to write to the uncle of its president, pointing out to him +the advisability of providing a pony for said president to ride; said +president being so heavy as to make walking to the meetings of this +club a burden to himself and to the club members who have to wait for +him." + +This motion was adopted with a shout of laughter. + +After having directed the secretary, at his own suggestion, to notify +Tad Butler of his election, the club adjourned to meet on the +following morning for field practice. In other words, the club's two +ponies, with Walter Perkins and Ned Rector upon them, were to be taken +out for exercise about the village and in nearby roads. + +The next day being Saturday, Tad Butler found himself too busy to +devote much time to brooding over his troubles. As a matter of fact, +the boy was little given to this sort of thing; he was too much a +man. His was a wholesome, confident nature, and the same indomitable +courage and determination that had enabled him to stand next to the +head of his class in the high school filled him with a resolution to +possess a pony of his own. Nor did he permit the receipt of a letter +that morning, informing him of his honorary election to the Pony +Riders Club, to cast him down, even though, for want of a pony, he +could not enter into full membership. + +Instead, with flashing eyes, his clean-cut jaw set more firmly than +usual, Tad went about his duties of the day cheerfully, his active +mind running over this and that plan through which he might possibly +gratify his longings. + +Late that same afternoon, on his way driving out to deliver a package +of goods to a summer residence just outside the town, he came upon +Walter and Ned, returning on their ponies from a short jaunt into the +country. + +The two boys hailed him joyously. + +Tad grinned and waved his hand. + +"Hello! Aren't you going to stop to tali with a fellow?" called Ned, +as the riders came abreast of the grocery horse and pulled up. + +Tad shook his head. + +"Oh, come on; hold up a minute." + +"Can't. I'm on business, you know," answered the boy, smiling +pleasantly. "I am working all day to-day for Mr. Langdon, and I +mustn't stop. I have a lot of goods to deliver before night." + +"Then what do you say to our riding out and back with him, Walt?" +suggested Ned. + +"All right. I guess we shall have plenty of time to do that and get +back for supper. Tad won't stay long. He's in too big a hurry," +answered the banker's son, bringing his pony about, and galloping up +beside the wagon, which had continued on its way during the +conversation. + +This gave Tad an opportunity to gaze admiringly at the sleek ponies on +which the boys were mounted, as well as at the nickel trimmings of +bridles and saddles, which glistened brightly in the sunlight. + +"Wish you had him, don't you?" laughed Ned, noting Tad's gaze fixed on +his own well-groomed mount. + +To Ned's surprise, Tad shook his head negatively. + +"Mean to tell me you don't want a pony like this?" + +"I didn't say so, Ned. No, I wouldn't say that, because it isn't +true. You asked me if I didn't wish I had him. Of course, I want a +pony more than anything else in the world. But I want my own, not +yours. That is different, you see. Much as I want one, I don't covet +either yours or Walt's." + +"Well, you are a funny fellow. I never did understand you," marveled +Ned. "But, I guess he's about right, eh, Walter? Don't you think so!" + +"Yes. And I have been thinking, since our meeting yesterday, that +perhaps it might be fixed. I wasn't going to say anything about it," +answered Walter, meditatively. + +"Thinking about what?" demanded Ned. + +"About Tad's not having a horse, and no way to get one. I tell you, +it's mighty tough----" + +"Yes?" + +"Well, he is a member of the club, and as fellow members of the Pony +Riders, we are bound to stand by one another." + +"That's right," agreed Ned. "That's what we're going to do, too. But +what are you getting at, Walt?" + +Tad's blue eyes were fixed inquiringly on Walter's face. He, too, was +at a loss to understand what it was that his delicate young friend was +planning. Still, he would not ask, knowing full well that it was of +him they were thinking. + +"Simply this. Tad has got to have a pony." + +Ned uttered a long-drawn whistle, while the boy on the grocery wagon +suddenly straightened up. + +"I agree with you there, Walt," Ned remarked. "Yet, how is he going +to get one? That's what I should like to know--and it's a question +that the Pony Riders will have a hard time in answering. Now, it is +different with Chunky. Chunky's uncle has money. He can well afford to +buy his nephew a pony. When I went to ask him to-day he said he would +see about it. That means Chunky will have one." + +"Why do you think that?" + +"Because my father is a lawyer, and he says when a fellow doesn't know +his own mind, you can make him agree to 'most any old thing," answered +Ned with a laugh. + +By this time they had reached their destination. Though keenly +interested in the conversation of his companions Tad leaped to the +ground, tying his horse without an instant's delay, and proceeded to +the house to deliver his merchandise. + +The boys watched him disappear around the corner of the house before +resuming their conversation. + +"I'll tell you, now," began Walter. "I didn't want to explain before +him. Tad is the best rider in town, you know, Ned----" + +"Next to me," added Ned humorously. + +"Yes, next ahead. And he is the second best scholar in the high +school. Nothing could stop him from heading the class if he had the +time to devote to his studies, so Professor Zepplin tells me. I like +him, Ned----" + +"Since he fished you out of the mill pond, when you fell through the +ice there last winter, eh!" + +"Yes, partly. But, I liked him just as well before that. Do you know," +continued Walter after a moment of silence, "I never told my father +that Tad did that for me?" + +"You didn't? Why not?" asked Ned, his face reflecting his surprise. + +"Because Tad made me promise I wouldn't. He's such a modest chap that +he didn't want father to thank him, even. So I never did----" + +"He is a queer lad----" + +"That is, I did not until last night," corrected Walter thoughtfully. + +"Oh! Then you told him? What did he say?" questioned Ned, now keenly +interested in the narration. + +"He said Tad was a brave boy, and that he wanted to do something for +him. I told him there was one thing he could do that would please me, +at the same time making Tad the happiest boy in Chillicothe--yes, +happier than any other boy in the state of Missouri." + +"Yes?" + +"Father laughed and asked me what it was that Tad desired so much." +Walter glanced up at his companion, a queer smile playing about his +lips. + +"Well, what did you tell him!" + +"That Tad wanted a pony." + +The boys gazed into each other's eyes. + +"Good for you," breathed Ned. "You are the right sort, even if you are +weak. I always said you were. But did your father say he would get Tad +a pony?" + +"Well, not exactly. He wanted to know how I thought Tad could take +care of a pony when he got it--said the boy would have no place to +keep it, nothing to feed it on----" + +"Yes, that's so." + +"But, I told him Tad might stable his pony with Jo-Jo in our barn." + +"Sure thing. That's fine. Did he agree?" + +"He said for me to bring Tad in to see him." + +"But you did not?" + +"No; I haven't had a chance. I'm going to try to get him to stop on +the way back, if he will. All three of us will stop off at the bank +Father usually stays late on Saturdays to go over the books all by +himself----" + +Further conversation was interrupted by the return of Tad. Acting upon +a knowing look from Walter, Ned maintained a discreet silence on the +subject. And, if Tad's keen glance, which searched their faces, as he +clambered aboard the grocery wagon, gave him the slightest inkling as +to what they had been discussing, he made no effort further to gratify +his curiosity. + +"What are you going to do when you get back, Tad?" asked Walter by way +of directing the conversation to the subject of which he was at that +moment so full. + +"Going back to the store. Why?" + +"Oh, nothing much. Father wanted you to step in some time this +afternoon," answered Walter as carelessly as he could. + +"What for?" + +"He wishes to talk with you about something. You can stop off as we go +by. It will take only a few minutes of your time." + +Tad shook his head emphatically. Nothing could deter him from doing +what he considered was his full duty to his employer. + +"Then I shall go over to the store with you myself and see +Mr. Langdon," announced Walter firmly. After that, the conversation +drifted into a discussion of the respective merits of the two ponies +that Ned and Walter were riding. + +Arriving at the store, Walter dismounted, and, tossing the reins to +Ned, ran up the steps into the store, while Tad began methodically to +haul the market baskets from the wagon, piling them together on the +sidewalk. + +In a moment Walter came hurrying out. + +"It's all right," he called from the top step. "Mr. Langdon says hitch +your horse here, while you go over with me to see father." + +"Very well," replied Tad, as, with evident reluctance, he followed his +friend to the hank, half a block up the street. + +Mr. Perkins greeted his young guest with marked courtesy. + +"Walter delayed telling me of your heroic conduct in saving his life +until last night, Thaddeus. I am sorry. But, according to the old +saying, 'it is never too late to mend.' Therefore, I want to thank +you now." + +Mr. Perkins grasped the lad's hands in a firm grip, while Tad, hiding +his embarrassment as best he could, gazed with steady eyes into the +face of the banker. + +"I'm sorry he told you, sir. I just pulled him out--that was all." + +The banker laughed. + +"Yes, fortunately that was all. But there surely would have been more +if you had not, Walter would have drowned. How you managed to get him +out, without both of you going down, is more than I can understand." + +"He dived in and swam out with me," Walter informed him. + +"Quite so. And you wished my son to say nothing about it?" added the +banker with a twinkle in his eyes, not wholly lost on the boy who was +standing so rigidly before him, steeling himself to the most trying +ordeal he ever had experienced. + +"I did, sir." + +"Walter respected your wishes in the matter. But something came up +last evening that induced him to make a clean breast of the whole +affair. And I am very glad he did so." + +"Yes, sir." + +"Walter tells me you are a great lover of animals, especially horses." + +"I am more fond of them, sir, than of anything else in the world, save +my mother," answered the boy, his eyes growing bright. + +"And he also has told me about this new club of which I most heartily +approve. It will be an excellent thing for Walter. But of course you +will not be able to go out with the boys, not having a pony of your +own." + +"No, sir," answered Tad in a firm voice. + +"I take it you would be very happy to be able to join them on their +outings?" + +"Indeed I should, Mr. Perkins." + +"Well," glowed the banker, "at Walter's suggestion I have arranged it +so that in the future you shall not be denied this pleasure. Do you +happen to know where there are any ponies for sale at this moment?" + +"Yes, sir. They have several at the McCormick farm about three miles +from town. They are very fine ponies, too, sir. One of them, I think, +would make an excellent mate for Jo-Jo, if you are considering getting +another one for Walter to drive or ride." + +"No, I was not thinking of doing that at present. I will tell you what +I propose to do, however." + +"Yes, sir." + +"I propose to send you out to the McCormicks' this afternoon, if you +can spare the time. When you reach there you will pick out what you +consider is the best pony in the lot, and bring him back to town. +They will let you have him upon presentation of the letter I shall +give you before you leave," smiled the banker. + +"I--I don't quite understand, sir. I--I--what is it you wish me +to do with the pony?" stammered Tad. + +Banker Perkins rose, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. + +"Take him home with you--he is yours, Tad." + +"My--my--mine?" + +"Yes." + +A sudden rush of color flashed into the face of Tad Butler and crept +up to the roots of his hair, his eyes holding those of the hanker in +an unflinching gaze. + +"I--am sorry, sir; but I cannot accept it." + +"What?" exclaimed Mr. Perkins. + +"I thank you very much. Believe me, I do. But I could not accept a +gift like that from you. You will understand me, won't you? I +couldn't--I couldn't do it; that's all." + +"I do, my lad. I understand you perfectly," answered the hanker +slowly, grasping the lad's hand and gripping it until Tad winced. + +"Thank you," murmured Tad, backing from the room, with as much +composure as he was able to muster. + +Reaching the street, the boy clenched his fingers until the nails dug +into the palms of his hands. Then, with shoulders erect, he strode +rapidly off down the street to continue his duties at the grocery +store. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +TAD GOES INTO BUSINESS + + +After supper, that night, Banker Perkins strolled leisurely across +town to the cottage occupied by Tad Butler and his mother. The house +lay on the outskirts of the village, surrounded by half an acre of +ground, part of which the boy tilled, keeping the little family in +vegetables a great part of the year. The rest of the plot had been +seeded down, and was now covered with a bright green carpet of new +clover. + +Tad, being busy at the grocery store that night, did not return home +for his supper, so that the banker's visit was all unknown to the boy +who was going stoically about his duties over in the village. Yet, in +his clear eyes there was nothing of regret at his own refusal to +permit the desire of his life to be gratified. + +Mr. Perkins remained at the cottage for nearly an hour and a half, and +a quiet smile might have been observed hovering about his lips as he +bade good-night to Mrs. Butler, whose countenance reflected something +of his own satisfaction. + +"I will attend to the matter on Monday morning," were his parting +words, at which Mrs. Butler bowed and withdrew into the cottage. + +All unmindful of the important conference, Tad returned home at ten +o'clock. His mother was awaiting him. She greeted him with a hearty +embrace and a kiss, which the boy returned with no less fervor. + +"I have a nice, warm supper ready for you, Tad," she informed +him. "You must have a man's appetite by this time, for you have had +hardly anything to eat since your breakfast." + +"It does put an appetite into a fellow, riding behind a horse, even if +it is an old lame one," laughed Tad. + +"I really believe you would find pleasure in driving a wooden horse, +such as I have seen in harness shops," smiled Mrs. Butler. "You are so +like your grandfather. He would miss a meal at any time for the sake +of driving a horse or talking horse with a friend." + +"Father didn't care so much about them, did he?" + +"No, your father was not particularly interested in horses. He was in +too poor health to be able to handle them after he reached a position +where he might have afforded such a luxury." + +Tad nodded reflectively. + +"And you still want a pony, do you, my son?" asked Mrs. Butler, +leaning forward with a twinkle in her eyes. But the boy's gaze was +fixed steadily on his plate and he failed to note the expression. + +"Yes, I do, mother. However, I don't allow myself to think much about +it. I have got to take care of you, first. After I have made enough so +that you can get along, then I shall have a horse. But not until +then." + +"Perhaps you may have one sooner than you know," breathed the mother, +veiling her eyes with her hands, that he might not read what was +plainly written there. + +Tad shot a keen glance at her, then resumed his supper in silence. + +The subject was not again referred to between them, and on Monday +afternoon Tad Butler was again at the grocery store, prepared for work +should there be any for him. + +Mr. Langdon, the proprietor, was talking with one of the men from his +farm just outside the village. + +"You say the old mare is unfit for further service, Jim?" + +"Yes." + +"What do you advise doing with her?" + +"Shoot her." + +"Very well, take the old mare out in the swamp and put her out of her +misery," directed Mr. Langdon after he had thought a moment. + +"I beg pardon, Mr. Langdon," interrupted Tad Butler, who had been an +interested listener to the interview. + +"Yes, Tad; what is it?" + +"Is it old Jinny that you are speaking of, if I may ask?" + +"It is," smiled the grocer, good-naturedly. + +"What's the trouble with her?" + +"Trouble?" sniffed the farm-hand. "Jinny's got the heaves that bad she +blows like a blacksmith's bellows. Why, sometimes she even coughs the +oats out of her manger before she's had the chance to eat them. And +that ain't all that ails her, either. I----" + +"Why do you ask, Tad?" said Grocer Langdon. + +"What will you take for Jinny?" inquired the boy, the color flaming to +his face as a bold plan suddenly occurred to him. + +"Why, what could you do with an old, broken-down animal like that?" + +"I don't know. But I should like to make a bargain with you----" + +"Of course if you want her you may have her, provided you get her +off the premises at once," answered the grocer. "She'll die on our +hands presently, anyhow." + +"No; I don't want the mare that way. But, I'll tell you what I will +do, Mr. Langdon." + +"Yes?" + +"I will clean out your store every morning for a month in payment for +the mare. Yes, I will make it two months. If two months is not long +enough, I will work for you longer." + +"Oh, very well. The mare's not worth it. However, if you wish to have +it that way I am sure I ought to be satisfied," laughed the grocer. + +"Then, will you write on a piece of paper that the mare is sold to me, +and that I am to clean out the store every morning in payment for +her?" asked Tad. + +"Certainly, if you wish it. I wish you luck," smiled Mr. Langdon, +handing the agreement over the counter after he had prepared it. + +With the precious document in his pocket, Tad Butler sped homeward as +fast as his legs could carry him. Mrs. Butler saw him coming and +wondered what the boy's haste might mean. + +"I've got a horse! I've got a horse!" shouted Tad, vaulting the fence +lightly and bounding up the steps. "I surely have a horse at last, +mother." + +Grasping his mother about the waist with both arms, Tad whirled her +dizzily, the full length of the porch and back, finally dropping her +into a rocking chair with a merry laugh. + +"Mercy!" gasped Mrs. Butler. "You have shaken all the breath out of +me. What does this whirlwind arrival mean?" + +"It means that I have a horse at last, mother. To be sure, it is not +much of a horse; but it's a horse just the same. And it's all mine, +too." + +Mrs. Butler gazed up at him in perplexity. Tad sank down at her feet +and explained the terms on which he had procured Jinny from +Mr. Langdon. + +"Well, now that you have her, what do you mean to do with her?" asked +Mrs. Butler, a quizzical smile on her face. + +"With your leave, I shall bring her home. Will you let me turn Jinny +in the clover patch there, mother? There'll be enough grass there to +keep her all summer, and as soon as she is able to work I can get odd +jobs enough with her to pay for the oats that I shall need to keep her +up on," went on the boy speaking rapidly. + +"Very well, Tad; the place is as much yours as it is mine," agreed +Mrs. Butler, indulgently. + +"And I have been thinking of something else, too--something for +you. But I shall not tell you about that now. I am going to keep it as +a surprise for you when I get it ready," announced the boy +mysteriously. "If you have nothing for me to do just now, I think I'll +go out to Mr. Langdon's farm and bring the mare in. I shall want to +spend the evening making her comfortable." + +Mrs. Butler gave a ready permission, and Tad hounded away, running +every foot of the mile and a half to the Langdon farm, where old Jinny +was turned over to him, together with a brand new halter and an old +harness which the grocer had directed his man to furnish with the +mare. + +Tad petted and fondled the wheezy old creature, who nosed him +appreciatively. + +"How old is Jinny?" he asked. + +"Going on twelve," answered the farm-hand laconically. + +Tad opened the mare's mouth, which he studied critically. + +"Humph!" he grunted, flashing a glance of disapproval at the +farm-hand. + +"What's that, younker? I said as she was going on twelve." + +"I guess you have dropped five years out of your reckoning somewhere," +answered the boy. "Jinny is past seventeen. But it's all right. It is +all the same to me. I don't care if she's a hundred," decided Tad, +picking up the halter and leading the mare from the yard. + +"Hope she don't run away with ye," jeered the farm-hand, as boy and +horse passed out into the highway. But to this Tad made no reply. He +was too fully occupied with his new happiness to allow so little a +thing as the farm-hand's opinion to disturb him. + +Once out of sight of the farm buildings, the lad pulled the mare to +one side of the road, where he examined her carefully. + +"Huh!" he exclaimed. "Heaves, ringbone and spavin. I don't know how +much more is the matter with her, but that's enough. Still, I think +she will wiggle along for some time and be of real service if I can +fix up the heaves a little. They must have filled her up on dusty +hay," he decided, examining the mare's throat and nostrils. "I'll get +her home and look her over more carefully." + +Tad's course led him through the principal residential street of the +town. But he thought nothing of this, even though his new purchase was +a mere bundle of bones and scarcely able to drag its weary body along. + +"She's mine," he whispered, as the sense of possession took full hold +of him. "Mine, all mine!" + +Just ahead of him stood the home of Stacy Brown's uncle. + +Chunky was standing in front of the gate, both hands thrust into his +trousers pockets. He had observed the strange outfit coming down the +street, but at first the full meaning of it did not impress him. Now +he discovered that the procession consisted of Tad Butler and an +emaciated, hesitating old horse. + +Stacy's eyes gradually closed until they were mere slits, through +which he peered inquiringly. + +"Hullo, Tad," he greeted. + +"Hello, Chunky," returned the freckle-faced boy with a grin. + +"What you got there, a skeleton?" + +"No; this is a mare. Her name is Jinny and she's mine." + +"Huh! Skate, I call her. Where did you get her?" + +"Bought her," answered Tad proudly. + +Chunky emitted a long-drawn whistle. + +"What are you going to do with her?" he demanded, a sudden suspicion +entering his mind. + +"First, I am going to doctor her up and make a real live horse of +her. Then, perhaps, she will join the Pony Riders' Club." + +"What?" + +"I said she might join the club," reiterated Tad. + +"Then I resign," declared Chunky. + +"All right," retorted Tad. "Jinny's +better than no horse at all. And you haven't any." + +"Yes, but my uncle is going to get me one next week. He's going to buy +the handsomest one he can find out at the McCormick ranch," chortled +the fat boy. + +"Gid-ap!" commanded Tad, his face sobering. "I don't care. I'll show +them yet," he gritted, urging old Jinny along with sundry coaxes and +promises of a real meal upon their arrival home. + +Though the boy tried to keep his purchase a secret until he should +have conditioned the mare a little, Stacy Brown lost no time in +informing the other members of the club, and through them the news +soon became the property of the village. As a result, Tad was the butt +of many jokes and jibes, to all of which he returned a quiet smile, +registering a mental promise to "show them." + +In two weeks time he had worked a marvelous change in Jinny. One who +had seen her on the day the boy brought her home, would scarcely have +recognized in her the old, wind-broken skeleton that she had appeared +two weeks previously. + +By this time, Tad was beginning to use her to haul up wood which he +had gathered in a patch of forest below the village. He would first +gather and pile the poles; then, wrapping a rope about all he +thought the mare could draw, would make her haul them home. Here he +sawed the poles to stove lengths in preparation for the winter. +This work Mrs. Butler had always been obliged to hire done, and the +saving now was of no small moment to her. + +One hot afternoon, however, Tad had left Jinny in the shade of the +trees to rest, while he wandered out to the highway and sat down to +think. + +He had been there not more than fifteen minutes when the faint chug, +chug of a motor car was borne to his ears. It was still some distance +away, but from the sound he knew the car was approaching rapidly. + +"If they keep on at that gait, something surely will happen," decided +Tad, being fully aware of the dangers that lay in the stretch of road +between himself and the oncoming car. + +A few moments later he saw the car round the bend in the road just +beyoud him. It came tearing along, swerved unsteadily from one side of +the road to the other, then was brought to a sudden, grinding stop, +narrowly missing a plunge into the roadside ditch. + +"The steering gear has gone wrong. I think the ball has been wrenched +from the socket," announced the driver of the car, disgustedly. "I +wish I could see a horse." + +Tad grinned. + +"What are you grinning at, you young ape?" snapped the driver, +voicing his increasing irritation. "You seem to think this is some +kind of a joke." + +"I am not laughing at you, sir," answered Tad respectfully. + +"You'd better not," growled the driver. "How far is it to Chillicothe, +kid?" + +"About a mile and a half," replied the boy. + +"Can I get a horse anywhere around here?" + +"I reckon you can. I've got a horse." + +"You? Where is it?" demanded the autoist doubtfully. + +"In the bushes, back here a piece. What'll you give me to pull you +in?" + +"I'll give you five dollars," announced the driver eagerly. "But be +quick about it." + +Tad rose slowly and stretched himself. + +"I'll do it for two," he announced, to the surprise and amusement of +the occupants of the car. + +In a few moments Jinny had been led out, Tad taking along the rope +that he used in hauling the wood. One end he fastened securely to the +front axle of the car, attaching the other to the whiffletree that he +had made to use in the woods. + +"Now, if you will start your engine and give me just a little lift, I +think I can draw you in. Can you steer the car enough to keep it in +the road, do you think?" + +"I will try," answered the driver. "But if I find I can't, I'll toot +my horn, which will be the signal for you to stop." + +It was all the old mare could do to draw the heavy car over the slight +rise of ground that lay just beyoud where the automobile had been +stalled; yet, with the aid of the power of the car itself, they +managed to make the hill all right. At last the boy pulled the car and +its occupants up in front of the blacksmith shop in the village, +collecting his fee with the air of one used to transacting similar +business every day. + +Tad, however, did not return to the woods that day. Instead, he turned +old Jinny toward home, which he made all haste to reach. + +Arriving there he placed the money he had earned in his mother's +hands. + +"Just earned it with Jinny," he explained proudly, in answer to her +surprised look. "I'll get the wood to-morrow, and maybe I'll catch +another automobile." + +However, Tad's luck deserted him next day, though three days later he +earned a dollar and a half towing in a disabled car. + +This led the lad to ponder deeply, the result being a hurried trip to +the store, followed by sundry mysterious preparations in the stable at +the rear of the house. + +Tad's early mornings were devoted to cleaning up the store, so that he +had no time then to give to his own affairs. Late one afternoon in the +middle of the following week, Tad Butler, driving Jinny and with a +parcel under his arm, moved down the street toward the woods. + +Arriving at the woods he tied Jinny to a tree and walked on around a +bend in the highway, where he unrolled his parcel. A coil of clothes +line dropped from it. + +The bundle, which proved to be a long strip of canvas, Tad stretched +out, tying an end of the clothes line on either side. + +The boy's next move was to climb a tree at one side of the road, and +make fast one of the lines. Descending, he did the same on the +opposite side of the highway. + +By this time, Tad's clothes were in a sad state of disorder. But to +this he gave no heed. He was bent on accomplishing a certain purpose, +and all else must give way before it. + +Hauling down on the rope which he had made fast to the second tree, he +caused a banner to flutter to the breeze directly over the highway. On +it in big red letters had been painted: + + AUTOS TOWED IN. + IF YOU DON'T SEE ANY ONE, + YELL FOR TAD OR CALL + AT LANGDON'S STORE. + TOW YOU IN FOR TWO DOLLARS. + +"I guess that's high enough to clear a load of hay," decided Tad, +standing off and critically, surveying his work. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A SURPRISE, INDEED + + +That makes fifteen dollars, mother. Tad Butler, with flashing eyes and +heightened color, laid two crisp new one dollar bills in his mother's +hand, and nervously brushed a shock of hair from his forehead. + +"My, that car was a big one," he continued. "Jinny couldn't quite pull +it, so I had to get behind and push. But we made it." + +Mrs. Butler patted the disordered hair affectionately. + +"Need a comb, don't I?" he grinned. "Now, I am going to tell you about +the surprise I promised you, Mother. I've pieced together that old +broken down buggy out in the barn, and, when I can afford to buy some +paint for it, you will have a carriage to ride in. You needn't be +ashamed of it, for it's a dandy. Nobody will know it from a new +one. Then, when I am at school, you and Jinny can go out for a drive +every day. Come out and look at it, Mother, please." + + + +Proudly escorting his mother to the stable, Tad exhibited the vehicle +that he had spent many nights putting together. It was truly a +creditable piece of work, and Mrs. Butler made her son happy by +telling him so. + +Tad's business venture had proved more profitable than even he had +dreamed, and the owners of cars breaking down on the rough road made +frequent use of the invitation extended on the sign. Soon, however, +there were so many calls during the day, when the young man was at +school, that he was considering the advisability of taking in a +partner who would attend to the towing when he was not available. The +only reason Tad hesitated was because he feared his assistant would +not be considerate of Jinny. Yet this, he told himself, should not +deter him from making the move the moment he found the right sort of a +boy to go in with him. + +During the past week there had been frequent conferences between +Mrs. Butler and Banker Perkins, and on several occasions Tad's mother +had called at the hank in person. Of all this the young man knew +nothing. But one afternoon something did occur to stir him more +profoundly than he ever had been stirred before. + +Ned Rector had called a meeting of the Pony Rider Boys, and the word +was passed that important business was coining up for discussion. + +Tad said he could not spare the time from his business down the road. + +"I wish you would take the afternoon off," advised his mother. "You +have been working hard of late, and I imagine the boys will have +something to discuss that will be of great interest to you," added +Mrs. Butler with a knowing smile. + +"W-e-l-l," answered Tad. "If you think I ought to, of course I +will. What are you going to do?" + +"I am going out to take tea with Mrs. Secor. I will leave your supper +in the oven and you can help yourself. Besides, it will do Jinny fully +as much good as it will you to have a rest. Have you seen Mr. Perkins +to-day?" + +"No. Why?" + +"He said something about wanting you to drop in soon, when I saw him +downtown this morning," answered Mrs. Butler softly. "Now, run along +and attend your important meeting, my boy." + +"All right," answered Tad cheerily, after a second's hesitation. He +ran lightly from the house, whistling a merry tune as he went. + +Arriving at the headquarters of the club, he found all the members +there awaiting him. + +"Hello! How's the skate!" they cried in chorus. + +"Howdy, fellows," greeted the freckle-faced lad with a pleased +smile. "Jinny goes when the automobile doesn't. Give me a horse every +time. How's the new pony, Chunky? Been too busy to drop in to look him +over." + +"I fell off yesterday," replied Stacy Brown with a sheepish grin. + +"That's no news," jeered Ned Rector. "I guess we'll have to get a net +for Chunky to perform over. However, fellows, as the notice stated, we +have some very, very important matters to talk over to-day. President +Brown will please take his chair and call the meeting to order. That +is, if he is able to sit down. If not, I think there will be no +objection to his standing up," announced Ned, amid a general laugh. + +The president rapped sharply on the floor with his foot, and the +members of the club settled down to the keenest attention. +Anticipation was reflected on each smiling face. Tad instinctively +felt that there was something behind all of this that he knew +nothing about. But he bided his time. + +"What is the pleasure of the meeting?" asked the president. + +"I move," said Ned Rector, "that our friend and fellow member, Walter +Perkins, now take the floor and outline the plans which I understand +he has in mind. I think none of us know what they are, beyoud the fact +that some sort of a trip has been planned for us. We are all ears, +Mr. Perkins." + +Walter rose with great deliberation, a smile playing over his thin, +pale features, as he looked quietly from one to the other of his young +friends. + +"Fellow members," he began. + +"Hear, hear!" muttered Ned. + +Stacy Brown dug his heel into the floor for order. + +"As brother Rector already has said, we are soon to take a trip. The +matter has all been arranged. In the first place, our doctor says that +I must spend the summer in the open air--that I must rough it, you +understand. The rougher the life, the better it will be for me. He +didn't say so to me, but I overheard him telling father that I was +liable to have consumption, if I did not----" + +"You don't mean it?" interrupted Ned with serious face. + +"Yes. That's what he said. So they have planned a trip for me and all +of you boys are to go along." + +"Hooray!" shouted Chunky. + +Ned fixed him with a stern eye. + +"A president never should forget his dignity," he warned. "Mr. Perkins +will now proceed." + +"We all now have our ponies, except Tad Butler, and when we get ready +to start we shall have nothing to do but go. Professor Zepplin is to +accompany us. Father has bought him a big new cob horse. The professor +was once an officer in the German army, and he knows how to +ride--that is, the way they ride over there. He reminds me of a +statue on horseback, when he's up. Anyhow, he will go along to see +that we are taken care of." + +"When do we go?" asked the president. + +"As soon after your school closes as is possible." + +"I am afraid our fathers and uncles will have something to say about +that," said Chunky with a wry face. "Uncle never would let me go off +like that. It's all very well for you, but with the rest of us it's +different." + +Walter smiled knowingly. + +"That has all been taken care of, fellows. Tour fathers, as well as +mine, know all about it." + +"You don't mean it?" marveled Ned. + +"Yes." + +"Is Tad Butler going on that old skate of his?" bristled Chunky. + +"I can't say as to that," answered Walter. + +"Well, if he does, it's me for home. Why, we never would get beyoud +the water works station, he would be so slow. Does my uncle know about +Tad's old mare?" + +"Never mind about the mare," growled Ned Rector. "We have other and +more important matters to attend to just now." + +"Yes, and we shall have to settle among ourselves what we are to take +along, though father said he had a man who would look out for all +that. We are going to rough it, you understand, so we shall have to +leave behind all our fine clothes. And sometimes we may go without +meals, even. But we all will sleep out-of-doors, most likely, every +night after we get started. In the meantime, I would suggest that we +practice riding--that is, form ourselves into a sort of company with +a regular captain. I move that Tad Butler be made captain, and he can +drill us." + +"You don't need to make that motion," announced Ned, springing to his +feet, full of excitement. "He will be our captain without being +elected. He already is master of horse. It's now up to Tad to get busy +and drill us. We will begin to-morrow afternoon." + +Tad, who had taken no part in the conversation, now shook his head +slowly, which caused the others to shout in chorus: + +"You won't!" + +"Of course I will drill you, if you boys wish it. But, you know I can't +go with you. Therefore, you had tetter make some one of you three +fellows the captain." + +"Why can't you go?" demanded Ned Rector. "Of course you are going." + +"In the first place, I am too busy," answered Tad with a wan +smile. "Then there are other reasons. I can't afford it. I must stay +at home and earn money this summer. Then, again, I have no pony." + +"Oh pshaw!" growled Ned. "That's too bad. I would rather stay at home +myself." + +Tad flashed an appreciative glance at him. + +"Thank you. But I would rather you went, Ned. I'll drill you willingly +if you boys want me to." + +"That's right," approved Walter. "Perhaps something may turn up in the +meantime, so you can go with us. It really will spoil our trip if you +don't go along." + +"Nothing will turn up. Nothing can turn up. I tell you, I must stay at +home with my mother. But I don't even know where you are going. I can +drill you to better purpose if I know what sort of riding you expect +to do." + +"Yes! Where are we going?" demanded Chunky, with quickened interest. + +"That's so. I hadn't thought of that. Where did your father say we were +to ride to? We must be going quite a distance away, judging by all the +preparations," besought Ned Rector. "And, by the way, are you sure you +are right about this business, Walt?" + +"There is no doubt," smiled Walter Perkins good-naturedly. "That is +what this meeting was called for--to tell you about it. It was left +to me to announce it to you boys, because it is my party, if you want +to call it that. And you want to know where you are going?" + +"Yes, of course we do," they shouted. + +"Boys, we are going to the Rocky Mountains! We are going over the +roughest and wildest part of them. Perhaps we shall go where no white +man's foot ever has trod. We shall be explorers. What do you think of +it?" + +For a full moment no one spoke. + +Each was too full of the wonderful news to do more than gape at the +speaker. Only the sound of their labored breathings broke the +stillness. + +"Will--will there be bears and things there?" asked Stacy, +hesitatingly. + +"I presume so," smiled Walter. + +"Ugh! And snakes?" + +"Maybe." + +"Rattlers. I've read about them out there," added Ned. + +"I--I guess I'll stay home," stammered the president. + +"Don't be a baby," jeered Ned. "I rather think you'll be able to stand +it if the rest of us can. And, besides, Walt's professor will be +along. He'll fix the animals and reptiles with, his cold, scientific +eye till they'll be glad to run away and leave us to ourselves." + +"You boys are to come over to my house tomorrow night, when father is +going to tell you more about it. He has not told me everything yet. But +he directed me to give you the main points of the plan, which I have +done." + +"I propose three cheers for Walter Perkins and his father," cried +Ned, springing to his feet. The boys joined in the cheers with a will, +Tad no less loudly than the rest, though there was no joy in his face +now. The boy's disappointment was keen, yet he determined that his +friends should not see it. And, as quickly as he could do so, Tad +slipped away and went home to fight out his boyish sorrow all alone. + +Tad's mother found him out in the barn half an hour later, vigorously +grooming the old mare. Mrs. Butler smiled to herself as she observed +that he studiously managed to keep the mare between himself and her as +he worked. + +"Do you want to sell Jinny?" she asked after a little. + +"What?" + +Tad was all attention now. + +"I said, do you want to sell your horse?" + +"No. That is, I might if I got enough for her. But I can't say that I +am anxious to. Why, I am making plenty of money with her," answered +Tad coining out from behind the mare. "What made you ask that +question, Mother?" + +"I didn't know but you might be willing to part with her. And then, +with the money you might be able to purchase a better one--a horse +that you would be able to earn more money with." + +Tad studied his mother's face a moment inquiringly. + +"Not with any money that I could get for Jinny." + +"How much do you think you could get for her?" + +"Not more than ten dollars. I doubt if any one would be willing to pay +that, even. Who wants to buy her?" + +"Yes; Mr. Secor, the butcher, spoke to me about it while I was at his +house this afternoon. His delivery horse broke a leg yesterday and +they had to shoot the animal to-day." + +"Too bad," muttered Tad. + +"He thought Jinny was just the horse he wanted, because she is so +gentle and will stand without hitching. It takes too much time to +hitch a delivery horse at every stop, you know!" + +Tad nodded his understanding. + +"Did you tell him what ailed Jinny?" asked Tad. + +"Yes, as well as I could. But he said he knew all about her, and was +willing to take all chances. Mr. Secor said he believed Jinny was good +for ten years yet, with the kind of work he would require of her." + +"Make an offer?" asked Tad, with an eye to business. + +"Yes." + +"How much?" + +"Twenty-five dollars." + +"W-h-e-w! He must be crazy. All right, he can have her so far as I am +concerned. I'll go over to see him this evening." + +That night Tad Butler came home with twenty-five dollars in his +pocket, which, added to what he already had earned, made the tidy sum +of forty dollars--a little fortune for him. + +He dropped the handful of bills into his mother's lap, and, going out +to the porch, sat down with his head in his hands, to +think. Mrs. Butler followed him after a few moments. + +"Do you think you would like to go with the boys on their jaunt this +summer?" she asked, innocently enough, it seemed. + +"Yes, but I can't." + +"Why not, my boy?" + +"First place, I've got no pony." + +"Don't be too sure about that." + +"What do you mean, Mother!" + +"Run out to the stable and see," smiled Mrs. Butler. + +Wonderingly, Tad did as she had directed. And there in a stall stood a +sleek Indian Texas pony, quite the finest little animal he had ever +seen. + +"Wh--whe--where did he come from!" gasped the astonished boy. + +"You earned him, Tad, and the money you brought home this evening will +complete the purchase price. You shall accompany the Pony Riders on +their trip to the Rockies----" + +"But----" + +"Mr. Perkins has arranged to have you go with Walter to look after +him. You will be his companion, and for this service Mr. Perkins +agrees to pay you the sum of five dollars a week and all +expenses. Understand, you are not going as a servant--he wished that +made very clear--but as the young man's companion. You can easily +get someone to do your work at the store for another month, when your +agreement will be worked out." + +"Yes--but--but you, Mother?" + +"I am invited to spend the summer with Aunt Jane, so you need have no +concern whatever about me." + +Tad's eyes grew large as the full significance of it all was home in +upon him. + +"Mother, you're a brick," he cried, impulsively throwing his arms +about Mrs. Butler. + +But Tad had no thought of the thrilling experiences through which he +was destined to pass during the coming eventful journey. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +IN A DESPERATE CONFLICT + + +A sudden bright flash lighted up the camp, throwing the little white +tents into hold relief against the sombre background of the +mountains. It was followed after an interval by a low rumble of +distant thunder that buffeted itself from peak to peak of the Rockies. + +The Pony Riders stirred restlessly on their cots and tucked the +blankets up under their chins. + +Close upon the first report followed another and louder one, that sent +a distinct tremor through the mountain. + +"What's that?" whispered Stacy Brown, reaching from his cot and +grasping Tad Butler by the shoulder. + +"A mountain storm coming up," answered the boy, who for some time had +lain wide awake listening to the ever increasing roar. "Go to sleep." + +Yet, instead of following his own advice, Tad lay with wide-open eyes +awaiting the moment when the storm should descend upon their camp in +full force. + +He had not long to wait. + +With a crash and a roar, as if the batteries of an army had been +suddenly let loose upon them, the elements opened their bombardment +directly over the camp. + +"Ugh!" exclaimed Chunky in a muffled voice, as he crawled further down +under the blanket to shut out the glare of the lightning. + +For a few moments the boys lay thus. Then Tad, rising, slipped to the +opening of the tent and looked out wonderingly upon the impressive +scene. Each flash appeared to light up the mountains for miles around, +their crests lying dark and forbidding, piled tier upon tier, the +blue, menacing flashes hovering about them momentarily, then fading +away in the impenetrable darkness. + +The camp appeared to be wrapped in sleep, and, by the bright flashes, +Tad observed that the burros of the pack train were stretched out +sound asleep, while, off in the bushes, he could hear the restless +moving about of the ponies, their slumbers already disturbed by the +coming of the storm. + +The Pony Riders had been out three days from Pueblo, to which point +they had journeyed by train, the stock having been shipped there in a +stable car attached to the same train. In the city of Pueblo they +found that all preparations for the journey had been made by Lige +Thomas, the mountain guide whom Mr. Perkins had engaged to accompany +them. + +Besides the four ponies of the boys there were the Professor's cob, +Thomas's pony and a pack train consisting of six burros, the latter in +charge of Jose, a half-breed Mexican, who was to cook for the party +during their stay in the mountains. + +It was a brave and joyous band that had set out from the Colorado city +in khaki trousers, blue shirts and broad-brimmed sombreros for an +outing over the wildest of the Rocky Mountain ranges. + +By this time the boys had learned to pitch and strike camp in the +briefest possible time--in short, to take very good care of +themselves under most of the varying conditions which such a life as +they were leading entailed. + +They had made camp this night on a rooky promontory, under clear skies +and with bright promise for the morrow. + +Tad gave a quick start as a flash of lightning disclosed something +moving on the far side of the camp. + +"What's that!" he breathed. + +With quick intuition, the boy stepped back behind the flap of the +tent, and, peering out, waited for the next flash with eyes fixed upon +the spot where he thought he had observed something that did not +belong there. + +"Humph! I must be imagining things tonight," he muttered, when, after +three or four illuminations, he had discovered nothing further. + +Tad was about to return to his cot when his attention was once more +attracted to the spot. And what he saw this time thrilled him through +and through. + +A man was cautiously leading two of the ponies from camp, just back of +Professor Zepplin's tent. + +The boy paused with one hand raised above his head, prepared to pull +the tent flap quickly back in place in case the stranger chanced to +glance that way, all the while gazing at the man with unbelieving +eyes. + +Was he dreaming? Tad wondered, pinching himself to make sure that he +really was awake. + +Once more, impenetrable darkness settled over the scene, and, when the +next flash came the camp had resumed its former appearance. + +Tad Butler hesitated only for the briefest instant. + +"Ahoy, the camp!" he shouted at the top of his voice, springing out +into the open. "Wake up! Wake up!" + +As if to accentuate his alarm, a twisting gust of wind swooped down +upon the white village. Accompanied by the sound of breaking ropes and +ripping canvas, the tent that had covered Professor Zepplin was +wrenched loose. It shot up into the air, disappearing over a cliff. + +Now the lightning flashes were incessant, and the thunder had become +one continuous, deafening roar. + +Stoical as he was, the Professor, thus rudely awakened, uttered a yell +and leaped from his cot, while the boys of the party came tumbling +from their blankets, rubbing their eyes and demanding in confused +shouts to know what the row was about. + +But Lige, experienced mountaineer that he was, instinctively divined +the cause of the uproar, when, emerging from his tent, he saw Tad +darting at top speed across the camp ground. + +"The ponies! The ponies!" shouted the boy, as he disappeared in the +bushes, regardless of the fact that he was clad only in his pajamas, +and that the sharp rocks were cutting into his bare feet like +keen-edged blades. + +"What about the ponies?" roared Ned Rector, quickly collecting his +wits and following in the wake of the fleeing Tad. + +"Stolen! Two of them gone!" was the startling announcement thrown back +to them by the freckle-faced boy. + +By this time the entire camp, with the exception of Professor Zepplin +and Stacy Brown, had set out on a swift run, following on the trail of +Tad. + +Ahead of him, the boy could hear the ponies' hoofs on the rocks, and +now and then a distant crash told him they were working up into the +dense second growth that he had seen in his brief tour of inspection +earlier in the evening. He realized from the sound that he was slowly +gaining on the missing animals. + +Tad's blood was up. His firm jaw assumed the set look that it had +shown when he won the championship wrestling match at the high school. + +The shouts of the others at his rear, warning him of the danger and +calling upon him to return, fell upon unheeding ears. So intent was +the boy upon the accomplishment of his purpose that he gave no heed to +the fact that the sounds ahead had ceased, and that only the soft +patter of his own feet on the rocks broke the stillness between the +loud claps of thunder. + +Yet, even if Tad had sensed this, its meaning doubtless would have +been lost upon him, unused as he was to the methods of +mountaineers. So the boy ran blindly on in brave pursuit of the man +who had stolen their mounts while the Pony Riders slept. + +Suddenly, without the slightest warning, Tad felt himself encircled by +a pair of powerful arms, and, at the same time, he was lifted clear of +the ground. + +But even then the lad's presence of mind did not desert him, though +the vise-like pressure about his body made him gasp. + +All his faculties were instantly on the alert. But he realized now +that his only hope lay in attracting the attention of the others of +his party, who could be only a short distance away, for he could still +hear their shouts. + +"Help!" + +Tad's shrill voice punctuated a momentary lull in the storm. + +"Coming!" answered the voice of the guide, its strident tones carrying +clearly to Tad, filling him with a feeling as near akin to joy as was +possible under the circumstances. + +With a snarl of rage the boy's captor suddenly released his hold +around the waist and grasped Tad quickly by the knees. So skilfully +had the move been executed that Tad Butler found himself dangling, +head down, before he really understood what had occurred. His head was +whirling dizzily. He felt his body swaying from side to side, his head +describing an arc of a circle, as he was rapidly being swung to and +fro. + +"Where are you, Tad?" + +"Here!" came the muffled voice of the boy, too low for the others to +catch. + +Tad knew that they would have to hurry if they were to save him, for +as soon as the dizzy swinging of his body began he had understood the +purpose of his captor. At any second the boy might find himself flying +through space--perhaps over a precipice. It plainly was the intent +of the man to hurl the boy far from him, as soon as Tad's body should +have attained sufficient momentum to carry it. + +However, before the fellow was able to put his desperate plan fully +into execution, Tad, with the resourcefulness of a born wrestler, +suddenly formed a plan of his own. + +As his body swung by that of his captor, the boy threw out his hands, +clasping them about the left leg of the other and instantly locking +his fingers. + +It seemed as if the jolt would wrench his arms from their sockets. Yet +Tad held on desperately. And the result, though wholly unexpected by +the mountaineer, was not entirely so to Tad. He had figured--had +hoped--that a certain thing might occur. And it did. + +The man's left leg was jerked free of the ground, and before he was +able to catch his balance the fellow fell heavily on his side. Tad, +with keen satisfaction, heard him utter a grunt as he struck. But +before the boy could release himself he was grabbed and pulled up over +his adversary by the latter's left hand, his right still being +pinioned under his own body. Yet the mountaineer's move had not been +entirely without results favorable to his captive. + +"I'll kill you for this!" snarled the man, fuming with rage. + +Tad, groping for a wrestler's hold, felt his hand close over the hilt +of a knife in the man's belt. And, as the boy was hauled upward, the +blade came away from its sheath, clasped in Tad's firm grip. + +But not even with this deadly weapon in hand did Tad Butler for a +second forget himself. He flung the knife as far from him as his +partly pinioned arms would permit, and, with keen satisfaction, heard +it clatter on the rocks several feet away. + +"You'll do it without that cowardly weapon, then!" gasped the boy. + +Though thoroughly at home in a wrestling game, Tad knew that he would +be no match for the superior strength of his antagonist. So, resorting +to every wrestling trick that he knew, he sought to prevent the fellow +from getting the right arm free. However, the most the lad could hope +to accomplish would be to delay the dreaded climax for a minute or +more. + +With an angry, menacing growl, the mountaineer threw himself on his +hack, hoping thereby to free the pinioned arm. + +"Now, I've got you, you young cub!" + +Instantly, both of Tad's knees were drawn up and forced down with all +his strength on his adversary's stomach. From the growl of rage that +followed, Tad had the satisfaction of knowing that his tactics had not +been without effect. + +"You--you only think you have," retorted the boy, breathing heavily +under the terrible strain. + +The mountaineer might now have hurled the boy from him. To do this, +however, would have been giving Tad an opportunity to escape, of which +he would have been quick to take advantage; and so, gulping quick, +short breaths, and struggling with his slightly built adversary, Tad's +captor finally managed to throw the lad over on his back. + +So heavily did Tad strike that, for the moment, the breath was fairly +knocked from his body. + +Recovering himself with an effort, he raised a piercing call for help. + +All grew black about him. He no longer saw the brilliant flashes of +lightning that at intervals lighted up the scene, nor heard the voices +of his companions frantically calling upon him to come back. The +mountaineer's sinewy fingers had closed in an iron-grip over Tad +Butler's throat. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE CAPTURE OP THE HORSE THIEF + + +"There they are!" cried Ned Rector, a flash of lightning having +disclosed the man kneeling over Tad Butler. "He's got Tad down!" + +But Lige Thomas did not even hear the warning words. He, too, during +the momentary illumination, had caught the significance of the scene. + +With a mighty leap he hurled himself upon the body of the crouching +mountaineer, both going down in a confused heap, with the unfortunate +Tad underneath. + +Ned Rector was only a few seconds behind the guide. While the two men +were straggling in fierce embrace, he sprang to them, and, grabbing +Tad by the heels, drew him from beneath the bodies of the desperate +combatants. But Ned's heart sank when he saw Lige drop over backward, +with the mountaineer on top. + +With a courage born of the excitement of the moment, Ned clasped both +hands under the fellow's chin, jerking his head violently +backwards. So sudden was the jolt that the lad distinctly heard the +man's neck snap, and, for the moment, believed he had broken it +entirely. + +However, the mountaineer's tough coating of muscle made such a result +impossible. Yet he had sustained a jolt so severe that, for the time +being, he found himself absolutely helpless, and wholly at the mercy +of his antagonists. + +Lige leaped upon the thief with the lightness of a cat, quickly +completing the job which Ned Rector had begun. In a moment more the +guide had thrown several strands of tough rawhide lariat about the +body of the dazed mountaineer, binding the fellow's arms tightly to +his side. + +"I guess that will hold him for a while," laughed Ned. Then, +bethinking himself of Tad, whom in the excitement of conflict he had +entirely forgotten, Rector dropped down beside his comrade. + +"Tad! Tad! Are you all right?" + +Tad made no response. He told Ned afterwards that he had heard him +distinctly, though to save his life he could not have answered. + +Ned pulled him up into a sitting posture, and shook the boy until his +teeth chattered. Tad gulped and began to choke, his breath beginning +to come irregularly. + +"How's the boy?" demanded the guide, rising after having completed his +task of binding the captive. + +"He'll be all right in a minute. Is there any water about here!" + +"No; not nearer than the camp. Wait a minute; I'll bring him around +without it," announced Lige. + +In this case, however, Tad felt that the remedy was considerably worse +than the disease itself. Lige brought his brawny hand down with a +resounding whack, squarely between Tad's shoulders, which operation he +repeated several times with increasing force. + +"On--ouch!" yelled Tad, suddenly finding his voice under the guide's +heroic treatment. "Wh--where am I?" + +"You're in the woods. That's about all I know about it," laughed Ned, +assisting his companion to his feet, and supporting him, for Tad was +still a bit unsteady from his late desperate encounter. "You're lucky +to be alive." + +"What--what has happened!" + +"That," answered Ned, pointing to Lige as the latter roughly jerked +the captive mountaineer to an upright position. + +"Find the ponies!" commanded the guide sharply. "I hear them in the +bushes there. Will they come if you whistle!" + +"Depends upon which ones they are. Mine will." + +But, though Ned whistled vigorously, neither of the animals appeared +to heed the signal. + +"Jimmie isn't there. I'll go get them." And Ned ran off into the +bushes, where they could hear him coaxing the little animals to +him. In a few moments he returned leading them by their bridle reins. + +"Whose ponies are they?" asked Tad, leaning against a tree for +support. + +"Texas and Jo-Jo. The fellow picked a couple of good ones. But then, +all the ponies are worth having," added Ned, realizing that he was +placing the others ahead of his own little animal. "What do you +propose to do with that fellow over there, guide?" + +"Depends upon you young gentlemen. Just now I am going to tie him on +one of the ponies and take him back to camp. I suppose you know what +they do with hoss thieves in this country, don't you?" asked Thomas. + +"Never having been a horse thief, and never having caught one, I can't +say that I do," confessed Master Ned. "What do they do with them?" + +"Depends upon whether there are any large trees about," answered Lige +significantly. "We must be getting back now. Master Tad, you get on +your pony, and I will lead Jo-Jo behind with the thief." + +The mountaineer had been securely tied to the back of Walter Perkins's +mount, and the procession now quickly got under way, Tad riding ahead, +Ned Rector bringing up the rear, that he might keep a wary eye on +their prisoner on their way back to camp. Ned was armed with a club, a +stout limb of oak, which he had picked up before the start, and which +he covertly hoped he might have an opportunity to use before reaching +camp. + +However, no such chance was given him, and, after picking their way +cautiously over the rocky way, for trail there was none, they at last +reached their temporary home. + +Ned gave a war whoop as a signal to the camp that they were coming, +which was answered with a slightly lesser degree of enthusiasm by +Stacy Brown. + +The storm had died down to a distant roar and the camp was in +darkness. + +"Get a fire going as quickly as possible," directed the guide. + +Ned quickly procured dry fuel, and in a few moments had a crackling +fire burning. + +Professor Zepplin and Stacy Brown now came forward into the circle of +light. After the sudden departure of his tent the Professor had taken +refuge in one of the other tents, where he had remained, not knowing +exactly what had happened. + +In the excitement of losing his own little home he did know that all +the boys, save Stacy, had rushed out of camp, shouting about the theft +of the ponies. Chunky averred that all the stock had run away. Still +there seemed nothing left for the two to do except remain where they +were until the return of the others of the party. They would have been +sure to lose themselves had they ventured away from camp in the +darkness. + +Both paused suddenly when they observed the figure of a man tied to +the back of Jo-Jo. + +"What's this? What's this?" demanded the Professor in puzzled +accents. "A man tied to a horse? What is the meaning of this, sir?" + +Lige Thomas smiled grimly. + +"That's our prisoner," declared Tad, who, sitting upon his horse in +his bedraggled, torn pajamas, presented a most ludicrous figure. + +"You certainly are a sight, sir," declared Professor Zepplin, +surveying the boy with disapproving eyes. "What is the meaning of all +this disturbance? First, my tent goes up into the air; then you all +disappear, though where I am not advised. And now, you return with a +man tied to a pony." + +"The man's a thief--" began Ned. + +"It was this way, Professor," Tad informed him. "I saw some one +walking away with Jo-Jo and Texas. I ran after and caught up with the +fellow. Then the others came and we nabbed him. That's all." + +"Yes, sir; if it hadn't been for Master Tad's quickness we might have +lost both the ponies," added the guide. "He caught the fellow and +handled him as well as a man could have done until we got there. When +you get your full strength, you'll be a whirlwind, young man," glowed +Lige. + +Blushing, Tad slipped from his pony. + +"The man is a thief, you say, Thomas?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Well, well; I am surprised. I should like to take a look at him." + +Thomas dumped the prisoner on the ground in the full glare of the +torches, still leaving his arms bound, and taking the further +precaution of securing the fellow's feet. + +"Who are you, my man!" demanded the Professor sternly, peering down +into the prisoner's dark, sullen face. + +There was no response. + +"Humph! Can't he talk, Thomas?" + +"I reckon he can, but he won't," grinned Lige. "There ain't no use in +asking him questions. He knows we've caught him in the act, and he +knows, too, what the penalty is." + +"The penalty--the penalty? You refer to imprisonment, of course?" + +"No; that ain't what I mean." + +"Then, to what penalty do you refer?" inquired the Professor. + +"We usually hang a hoss thief in this country," replied the guide, +grimly. "But, of course, it's for you and the boys to say what shall +be done." + +"Hang him? Hang him? Certainly not! How can you suggest such a thing? +We will turn him over to the officers of the law, and let them dispose +of him in the regular way," declared the Professor with emphasis. + +"That's all right, but where are we going to find any officers?" asked +Tad. "They don't seem to be numerous about here." + +"The young gentleman has hit the bull's-eye, sir. It's sixty miles, +and more, to a jail. You don't want to go back, do you?" + +"Certainly not." + +"That's how we men of the mountains come to take the law into our own +hands, sometimes. We have to be officers and jails, all in one," +hinted the guide significantly. + +"Then, there remains only one thing for us to do, regrettable as it +may seem," decided the Professor after a moment's thought. + +"Yes, sir?" + +"Let the fellow go, but with the admonition not to offend again." + +Lige laughed. + +"Heap he'll care about that," he retorted, his, face growing glum. + +However, at the Professor's direction, the prisoner was liberated. No +sooner was this done than the fellow leaped to his feet and started to +run. + +"Catch him!" roared Lige. + +Tad promptly stuck out a foot. The mountaineer tripped over it, +measuring his length on the ground. Lige jerked the fellow to his feet +and stood him against a tree, the thief becoming suddenly meek when he +found himself looking along the barrel of a large six-shooter. + +"I reckon you can run now, if you want to," grinned the guide +suggestively. + +"Admonish him," urged the Professor. + +"Now, you see here, fellow," said Lige in a menacing tone, "you've +struck a rich find tonight. Next time, I reckon you won't get off so +easy. I've got you marked. I'll find out what your brand is, then I'll +tell the sheriff to be on the lookout for you. Now, you hit the trail +as fast as your legs'll carry you. If I catch you up to any more +tricks--well, you know the answer. Now, git!" + +And the late prisoner did. One bound carried him almost out of +camp. The boys shouted derisively as they heard him floundering +through the bushes as he hastily made his escape. + +"Where is Walt? Did he go hack to bed?" asked Tad, after the +excitement had subsided. + +"To bed? No; he followed you," replied Stacy Brown. + +"Followed us? You are mistaken. Did you see anything of Walter +Perkins, Mr. Thomas?" + +The guide shook his head. + +"Did not go with you? I think you must be in error," spoke up the +Professor, with quick concern. + +"He certainly was not with us," insisted Ned. "I did not even see him +leave his tent." + +"Why, he must have gone. With my own eyes I saw him running after +you," urged Professor Zepplin in a tone of great anxiety. + +"Guide, get torches at once. The boy surely is lost." + +Alarmed, the boys needed no further incentive to spur them to instant +action. Grasping fagots from the fire, they lined up, standing with +anxious faces, awaiting the direction of Lige Thomas, to whom they +instinctively looked to command the searching party. + +"Wait a minute," commanded Lige in a calm voice. "Which way did you +see him go, Professor?" + +"Let me reflect. I am not sure--yes, I am. I distinctly remember +having seen him run obliquely to the left there. It was just after I +had lost my tent----" + +"Over that way?" asked Lige, pointing. + +"Yes, that was the direction. I am positive of it now. But, if he went +that way, he didn't follow you?" added the Professor hesitatingly. + +"Do you know what lies there, less than ten rods away?" asked the +guide, gravely. + +"I don't understand you." + +"There's a cliff there that drops down a clear hundred feet," answered +Lige, impressively. + +A heavy silence fell over the little group. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +OVER THE CLIFF + + +Professor Zepplin's face worked convulsively as he sought to control +his emotions. + +"You--you can't mean it, sir. You cannot mean that Walter has come +to any real harm? I----" + +"I don't know. I'm only telling you what to expect." + +"Then do something! Do something! For the love of manhood, do--" +exploded the Professor, striding to the guide. + +But Lige, having turned his back on the German tutor, was giving some +brief directions to the boys, who were now fully dressed. They +assented by vigorous nods, then promptly fell in behind him and held +their torches close to the ground as if in search of something. + +Reaching the bushes at the point where the Professor thought he had +seen Walter Perkins disappear, they halted, the guide making a careful +examination while the boys waited in silent expectancy. + +Lige nodded reflectively. + +"Yes; he went this way. You boys spread out, and if any of you observe +even a broken twig that I have missed, let me know. The trail seems +plain enough here." + +And, the further he proceeded, the more convinced was Lige Thomas that +his fears were soon to be fully realized. + +Suddenly he paused, dropping onto his knees, in which position he +cautiously crawled forward a few paces. + +"Huh!" grunted the guide. + +The boys, realizing that he had made some sort of a discovery, started +forward with one accord. + +"Stop!" commanded their guide sternly. "Don't you know you are +standing on the very edge of the jumping-off place? Get down and crawl +up by me here, Master Ned. But, be very careful. Leave your torch." + +Ned quickly obeyed the instructions of the guide, lying down flat on +his stomach, and wriggling along in that way as best he could. + +Lige took a firm hold of his belt. + +"I can't see anything," breathed the boy. + +At first his eyes were unable to pierce the blackness. But after a +little, as they became more accustomed to it, he began to +comprehend. Below him yawned a black, forbidding chasm. + +Ned shivered. + +"Walt didn't--didn't----" + +Lige inclined his head. + +"Are you going to keep me in this suspense all night?" demanded the +Professor irritably. "What have you discovered?" + +The guide, before replying, assisted Ned back to his feet, leading him +to a safe distance beyoud the dangerous precipice. + +"There's no doubt of it at all, Professor. He has left a trail as +plain as a cougar's in winter. He must have stepped off the edge at +the exact point where you saw me lying." + +"Then--then you think--you believe----" + +"That he has been dashed to his death on the rocks a hundred feet +below," added Lige solemnly. "Nothing short of a miracle could have +saved him, and miracles ain't common in the Rockies." + +The boys gazed into each other's eyes, then turned away. None dared +trust his voice to speak. It was some moments before the Professor had +succeeded in exercising enough self-control to use his own. + +"Wh--what can we do?" he asked hoarsely. + +"Nothing, except go down and pick him up----" + +"But how?" + +"By going back a mile we shall hit a trail that will lead us down into +the gulch. But we'll have to leave the ponies and go down on foot. +Not being experienced, I'm afraid to trust them. Only the most +sure-footed ponies could pick their way where one misstep would send +them to the bottom." + +Returning to camp, and piling the fire high with fresh wood, the boys +secured the ponies, and, led by Lige, struck off over the hack +trail. It was a silent group of sad-faced boys that followed the +mountain guide, and not a syllable was spoken, save now and then a +word of direction from Lige, uttered in a low voice. + +After somewhat more than half an hour's rough groping over rocks, +through tangled underbrush and miniature gorges, Lige called a halt +while he took careful account of their surroundings. His eye for a +trail was unerring, and he was able to read at a glance the lesson it +taught. + +"Here is where we turn off," he announced. "Follow me in single +file. But everybody keep close to the rocks at your right hand, and +don't try to look down. I'm going to light a torch now." + +The guide had had the forethought to bring a bundle of dry sticks, +some of which he now proceeded to light, and, holding the torch high +above his head, that the light might not flare directly in their eyes, +he began the descent, followed cautiously by the others of the +party. Yet, so filled were the minds of the boys with their new sorrow +that they gave little heed to the perils that lay about them. + +At last they came to the end of the long, dangerous descent, and, +turning sharply to the right, picked their way through the cottonwood +forest to the northwest. + +Not a word had the Professor spoken since they left the camp, until +observing a faint light in the sky some distance beyoud them, he asked +the guide what it was. + +"That's the light from our camp fire. We are getting near the place," +he answered shortly. + +Professor Zepplin groaned. + +Now, realizing the necessity for more light, Lige procured an armful +of dry, dead limbs, all of which he bound into torches, and, lighting +them, passed them to the others. With the aid of these the rocks all +about them were thrown up into hold relief. + +The boys were spread out in open order and directed to keep their eyes +on the ground, remaining fully a dozen paces behind their leader, who +of course, was the guide himself. + +Peering here and there, starting at every flickering shadow, their +nerves keyed to a high pitch, they began the sad task of searching for +the body of their young companion. + +Finally they reached the point which Lige knew to be almost directly +beneath the spot where Walter was supposed to have stepped off into +space. + +"Remain where you are, please," ordered the guide. + +Continuing in the direction which he had been following for several +rods, Lige turned and made a sweeping detour, fanning the ground with +his torch, as he picked his way carefully along. + +"Wh--wha--what do you find?" breathed the Professor as Lige turned +and came back to them. + +"Nothing." + +"Nothing? What does that mean?" + +"That the boy's not here. That's all." + +"Not--here!" marveled the three lads, and even that was a distinct +relief to them. If Walter had not been dashed to death on the rocks at +the bottom of the gulch, then there still was hope that he might be +alive. However, this faint hope was shattered by Lige Thomas's next +remark. + +"The body may have caught on a root somewhere up the mountain side," +he added. "I am afraid we shall have to go back and wait for +daylight. But we'll see what can be done. I don't want to give it up +until I am sure." + +"Sure of what?" asked the Professor. + +"That the boy is dead. Look!" exclaimed the guide, fairly diving to +the ground, and rising with a round stone in his hand. He held it up +almost triumphantly for their inspection. + +But his find failed to make any noticeable impression upon either the +boys or Professor Zepplin. They knew that in some mysterious way it +must be connected with the loss of their companion, though just how +they were at a loss to understand. + +"I don't catch your idea, Lige," stammered the Professor. "I +understand that you have picked up a stone. What has that to do with +Walter?" + +"Why, don't you see? He must have dislodged it when he fell off the +mountain." + +"No; I do not see why you say that." + +"And up there, if you will look sharply, you will observe the path it +followed coming down," continued Lige, elevating the torch that they +might judge for themselves of the correctness of his assertion. + +But, keen-eyed as were most of the party, they were unable to find the +tell-tale marks which were so plain to the mountaineer. + +"What do you think we had better do, sir?" asked Tad Butler anxiously. + +"Go back to camp. I should like to leave someone here--but----" + +"I'll stay, if you wish," offered Tad promptly. + +"No, I couldn't think of it. It's too risky, There is no need of +our getting into more trouble. If you knew the mountains better it +might be different. If I left you here you might get into more +difficulties, even, than your friend has. No; we'll go back +together. It is doubtful if we could do anything for poor Master +Walter now. No human being could go over that cliff and still be +alive. A bob-cat might do it, but not a man or a boy," announced +the guide, with a note of finality in his tone. + +Sorrowfully the party turned and began to retrace their steps. But the +necessity for caution not being so great on the return, most of the +way being up a steep declivity, they moved along much faster than had +been the case on their previous journey over the trail. + +The return to camp was accomplished without incident, and the boys +slipped away to their tents that they might be alone with their +thoughts. + +Professor Zepplin and the guide, however, sat down by the camp fire, +where they talked in low tones. + +Tad, upon reaching his tent, threw himself on his cot, burying his +head in his arms. + +"I can't stand it! I simply can't!" he exclaimed after a little. "It's +too awful!" + +The boy sprang up, and going outside, paced restlessly back and forth +in front of the tent, with hands thrust deep into his trousers +pockets, manfully struggling to keep hack the tears that persistently +came into his eyes. + +A sudden thought occurred to him. + +With a quick, inquiring glance at the two figures by the fire, Tad +slipped quietly to the left, and nearing the scene of the accident, +crept cautiously along on all fours. He flattened himself on the +ground, face down, his head at the very spot where his companion had, +supposedly, taken the fatal plunge. + +For several minutes the boy lay there, now and then his slight figure +shaken by a sob that he was powerless to keep back. + +"I cannot have it--I don't believe it is true. I wish it had been I +instead of Walt," he muttered in the excess of his grief. "I----" + +Tad cheeked himself sharply and raised his head. + +"I thought I heard something," he breathed. "I know I heard +something." + +He listened intently and shivered. + +Yet the only sounds that broke the stillness of the mountain night +were the faint calls of the night birds and the distant cry of a +roaming cougar. + +"H-e-l-p!" + +Faint though the call was, it smote Tad Butler's ears like a +blow. Never had the sound of a human voice thrilled him as did that +plaintive appeal from the black depths below. + +He hesitated, to make sure that it was not a delusion of his excited +imagination. + +Once more the call came. + +"Help!" + +This time, however, it was uttered in the shrill, piercing voice of +Tad Butler himself, and the men back there by the camp fire started to +their feet in sudden alarm while Ned Rector and Stacy Brown came +tumbling from their tents in terrified haste. + +"What is it! What is it?" they shouted. + +Instead of answering them, Lige Thomas, with a mighty leap, cleared +the circle of light and sprang for the bushes from which the sound had +seemed to come. He was followed quickly by the others. Both the guide +and Professor Zepplin had recognized the voice, and each believed that +Tad Butler had gone to share the fate of Walter Perkins. + +Yet, when Lige heard Tad tearing through the underbrush toward him, he +knew that this was not the case. + +"What is it?" bellowed the guide in a strident voice. + +"It's Walt! He's down there! Quick! Help!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A DARING RESCUE + + +Lige thrust the excited boy to one side. Running to the edge of the +cliff, he leaned over and listened intently. + +A moment more and he too caught the plaintive cry for help from below. + +It was the first time thus far on the journey that Lige Thomas had +manifested the slightest sign of excitement. Just now, however, there +could be no doubt at all that he was intensely agitated. + +"Keep back! Keep back!" he shouted, as the boys and Professor Zepplin +began crowding near the masked edge of the cliff. "You'll all be over +if you don't have a care. We've got trouble enough on our hands +without having the rest of you jump into it." + +"What is it?" demanded the Professor breathlessly. + +"It's Master Walt," snapped the guide. "Stand still. Don't move an +inch. I'm going back for a torch," he commanded, leaping by them on +his way to the camp fire. + +"Where--is--he?" stammered the Professor, not observing that the +guide had left them. + +"Down there, sir," explained Tad, pointing to the ledge of rock over +which Walter had fallen. + +"I know--I know--but----" + +"I heard him call. Walt's alive! Walt's alive! But I don't know how we +are going to get him." + +The shout of joy that had framed itself on the lips of Ned Rector and +Stacy Brown died out in an indistinct murmur. + +"Is it possible! What are we going to do, Thomas--how are we to +rescue the boy?" + +Lige Thomas made no reply to the question as he ran past them, and, +dropping down, leaned over the cliff, holding the torch he had brought +far out ahead of him. + +"See anything?" asked Tad tremulously, creeping to his side. + +"Looks like a clump of bushes down there. But I ain't sure. Can you +make it out?" + +"No. All I can see is rocks and shadows. Where is it that you think +you see bushes?" + +"Over there to the right, just near the edge of the light space made +by the torch light," answered the guide. + +"Yes," agreed Tad, "that does look like bushes. I'll call to Walter +and tell him we are coming. Hey, Walter! Where are you?" +"H--e--r--e," was the faint response. "All right, old man. Stick +tight and don't get scared. We'll have you out of that in no time." + +"Don't move around. Lie perfectly still," warned the guide. "Are you +hurt?" + +To this question Walter made some reply that was unintelligible to +them. + +"Now, what are we going to do, I'd like to know?" asked Ned. + +"I don't know," answered Lige, frowning thoughtfully. "It's a tough +job. If I had a couple of mountaineers who knew their business, we'd +stand a better chance of pulling him up." + +"Why not get a rope and let it down to him," suggested Tad. + +"Yes, that's the only way we can do it. Run over to the cook tent and +tell Jose to give you those rawhide lariats that he will find behind +his bunk. Hurry!" + +Tad was off almost before the words were out of the mouth of the +guide, and in the briefest possible time came racing back with the +leather coils, which he tossed to Lige before reaching him, that there +might not be even a second's delay. + +The mountaineer quickly formed a loop in one end of the rope, making +it large enough to permit of its slipping over the shoulders of a +man. This he dropped over the brink, after splicing two lariats +together, and directing Ned Rector to make the other end fast about +the trunk of a tree by giving it a couple of hitches. + +"Hello, down there! Let me know when the rope reaches you. Can you +slip it over your shoulders and under your arms?" called the guide. + +There was no response. + +"I say, down there!" shouted Lige. + +"That's funny," wondered Tad. "H-e-l-l-o-o-o-o, Walt!" + +But not a sound came up from the black depths in answer to the boy's +hail. They gazed at each other in perplexity. + +"Has--he---gone?" asked the Professor weakly. + +"No. We should have heard him if he had," answered Lige. "If I could +see him I'd lasso him and haul him up. But I don't dare try it. Then +again, these roots on a wall of rock ain't any too strong usually. I +don't dare try any experiments." + +"What do you think has happened to him?" asked Tad in a troubled +voice. + +"Fainted, probably. He ain't very strong, you know. And that tumble's +enough to knock the sense out of a full grown man. Ain't no use to +expect him to hook himself onto the line, even if he does wake up," +decided the guide with emphasis, beginning to haul up the lariat, +which he coiled neatly on the rock in front of him. + +"Then what are we going to do? We've got to get Walt up here, even if +I have to jump over after him," said Tad firmly. + +"Right you are, young man. But talking won't do it. Something else +besides saying you're going to will be necessary." + +"What would you suggest!" + +"One of us must go down there," was the guide's startling +announcement. "That's the only way we can reach him," explained Lige, +dangling the loop of the lariat in his hands as he looked from one to +the other. + +"D--do--down in that dark place? Oh!" exclaimed Chunky. + +"In that case, you will have to go yourself, Thomas," decided the +Professor sharply. "I could not think of allowing any of my charges to +take so terrible a risk, and----" + +"Let me go, Mr. Thomas," interrupted Ned Rector, stepping forward, +with almost a challenge in his eyes. + +"No; I am the lighter of the two," urged Tad. "I am the one to go +after Walt, if anyone has to. I'll go down, Mr. Thomas." + +"Master Tad is right," decided the guide, gazing at the two boys +approvingly. "It will be better for him to go, if he will----" + +"And he most certainly will," interrupted Tad, advancing a step. + +"I protest!" shouted the Professor. "You yourself should go, Lige. You +are----" + +"I am needed right here, sir," replied the guide, shortly. "You'd have +both of us at the bottom if I left it to you to take care of this +end." + +"I'm ready, sir when you are," reminded Tad. + +The guide, without further delay, and giving no heed to Professor +Zepplin's nervous protests, slipped the noose over Tad's shoulders, +and, drawing it down and up under his arms, secured the knot so that +the loop might not tighten under the weight of the boy's body. + +"Now, be very careful. Make no sudden moves. And, if you meet with +anything unlooked for, let me know at once. You know, you will have to +stay down there while we are drawing the boy up. But, before removing +the rope from your own body, make sure that you are safe. If you find +the support too weak to bear your weight, let me know. I'll send down +another rope to which you can tie yourself until we get Master Walter +to the top. Be sure to fasten him securely to the loop before you give +the signal to haul up," warned the guide. "Here, put my gun in your +pocket." + +"I understand." + +"Are you ready?" + +"Yes." + +Tad tossed away his sombrero and sat down on a shelf of rock at the +edge of the cliff, his feet dangling over. + +The lad's face was pale, the lines on it standing out in sharp ridges; +but not by so much as the flicker of an eyelid did he betray the +slightest nervousness. Yet Tad Butler realized fully the perilous +nature of his undertaking, and that the least mistake on his part or +on the part of those above him might mean a sudden end to his earthly +ambitions. + +Lige shortened the hitch about the tree, until the line drew +taut. After winding the end tightly about his own arm, he handed a +lighted torch to Tad. + +It was a trying moment for all of them, and naturally more so for the +boy who was about to descend into the unknown depths of the mountain +canyou. + +"Right!" announced the guide in a reassuring voice. + +Tad made no reply, but, turning so that he faced them, let himself +carefully over the ledge, his right hand holding the torch, his left +firmly gripping the ledge so that there might be no jolt on the line +by a too sudden stepping-off. + +"Good!" approved Lige encouragingly, beginning to let the rawhide slip +slowly around the trunk of the tree. As he did so, Tad felt himself +gradually sinking into the sombre depths. + +He tilted his head to look up. The movement sent his body swaying +giddily from side to side. + +Cautiously placing a hand against the rocks to steady himself, Tad +wisely concluded that hereafter it would not pay to be too curious. + +"Hold a torch over the edge of the cliff, Master Ned," directed the +guide. "Better lie down so you, too, don't take a notion to fall +off. Keep your eyes shut till I tell you to open them." + +Slowly, but steadily, the slender line was paid out, amid a tense +silence on the part of the little group at the top of the +canyou. After what seemed to them hours, a sharp call from the +depths reached their ears. + +Lige quickly made fast the line to a tree. + +"Yes? Got him?" he answered, leaning over the cliff. + +"I see him," called Tad, his voice sounding hollow and unnatural to +those above. "He's so far to the right of me that I can't reach +him. Will it be all right for me to swing myself?" + +"Where is he?" + +"Lodged in the branches of a pinyon tree, I think it is. But he +doesn't answer me." + +"Wait a minute," cautioned the mountaineer. + +Lige searched until he found a limb some three inches in diameter, and +this he placed under the rope so as to relieve the strain of the rock +upon it, that there might be no danger of the leather being sawed in +two by contact with the ledge. + +"All right. Now try it." + +The creaking of the rawhide told them that Tad Butler was swaying from +side to side, fifty feet below them, at the end of a slender +line. Lige, leaning over the brink, was able to follow the boy's +movements by the aid of the thin arc of light made by the torch in +Tad's hand. + +At last, the thread of light contracted into a point, and the watching +guide knew that the courageous boy had finally reached the pinyon +tree. + +Then followed a long period of suspense. But from the cautious +movements of the light far below them, the guide understood that the +lad was at work carrying out his part of the task of rescue to the +best of his ability. + +"Why doesn't he say something?" cried the Professor, unable to +restrain his impatience longer, his overwrought nerves almost at the +breaking point. + +"Keep still! Don't bother him. The boy's doing the best he can. Mebby +you think he's having some sort of a picnic down there, eh?" glared +Lige. + +"A--l--l right!" + +Tad's voice, now strong and clear, rose from the depths of the canyou. + +"Shall we haul up?" asked Lige, making a megaphone of his hands. + +"Yes; haul away. Tell them Walt's all right. He can talk now," was +the answer that carried with it such a note of gladness that Ned and +Stacy were unable to resist a shout of joy. + +"Lend a hand here," commanded Lige, taking firm hold of the line, and +stepping to the edge that he might command both ends of the +operation. "Are you all safe down there, Tad?" + +"Sure thing!" answered the boy. + +Very slowly, restraining their inclination to haul the rope in with +all speed only because the warning eyes of the guide were upon them, +the two boys, assisted by Professor Zepplin, began hoisting Walter +Perkins toward the top. + +In a few moments the sinewy hands of the guide gripped Walter by an +arm and dragged him safely to the table rock. + +Walter had fully regained consciousness by this time, and a brief +examination showed that he had sustained no serious injury, he having +struck on the yielding branches of the pinyon, which broke his fall +and saved his life. Beyond sundry bruises, a black eye and a thin +crimson line on the right cheek where a branch had raked it, Walter +Perkins was practically unharmed after his perilous experience. + +But it was a trying moment for Tad Butler, down there alone in the +branches of the pinyon tree, with fifty feet of nothingness beneath +him and a sheer wall that extended an equal distance above him. + +Nor was his sense of security increased when, in shifting his +position, the torch fell from his grasp, the fagots scattering as they +slipped down between the limbs of the tree and whirling in +ever-diminishing circles until finally he heard them clatter on the +rocks below. + +The boy could not repress a shudder. Closing his eyes, he clung to the +slender support with grim courage until a hail from above told him +that the rawhide loop was rapidly squirming down toward him. + +This time Lige had allowed for his mistaken reckoning when Tad had +first descended, and the boy grasped eagerly at the leather as he felt +it gently slap against his cheek. + +A few moments more, and he, too, had been hauled safely to the top, +amid the wild cheers of his companions and the congratulations of the +guide and Professor Zepplin. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +RIFLES AND PONIES + + +After having been well rubbed down by the guide, and given a steaming +cup of tea, Walter was put to bed, protesting stubbornly that he was +all right and that their attentions were unnecessary. + +But Lige Thomas was firm. + +"You'll be that lame, to-morrow, you can't reach a stirrup. I want you +to be fit, for we have a long journey ahead of us." + +Walter soon fell into a deep sleep, while Tad and Ned, too full of the +events of the night to go to sleep at once, sat by the camp fire +discussing the stirring scenes through which they had so recently +passed, until the deep, rhythmic snores of Stacy Brown reminded them +that they, too, should seek their pine bough cots if they intended to +get any more rest that night. + +Next morning the camp slept late in spite of itself--that is, all +save Lige Thomas. He was up with the sun, busying himself with getting +the outfit ready for a prompt start. + +At nine o'clock the guide routed them out, and the boys, after washing +themselves in the cool, refreshing waters of a little mountain stream, +announced themselves as ready to eat anything that might be placed +before them. + +Walter, still pale from his recent experience, but smiling happily, +took his place with the rest and ate as heartily as they did of the +crisp bacon that Jose had prepared. + +"Now that you young gentleman are all together, it's a good time to +give you some advice," said Lige. + +"Guess I'm the one who needs it most," laughed Walter. + +"He's had his already," chuckled Chunky Brown. + +"But yours is still coming to you," added Ned maliciously. + +"You must keep in mind that these mountains are full of danger," +continued the guide. "Even an experienced mountaineer sometimes goes +wrong, losing his life as the result. So, before any one of you takes +a step, be sure that your foot is going to land on something solid. As +we get up into the Park Range you will find the country rougher, and +still more caution will be necessary. But you're going to be all +right. You boys have the right sort of stuff in you. Not many fellows +of Master Tad's age would have had the courage to do what he did last +night." + +Tad Butler flushed a rosy red, and devoted his attention to his bacon. + +"Yes, he saved my life," breathed Walter. "You all did your share +too." + +"There's one thing I should like to do more than anything else," +interrupted Ned, changing the subject. + +"And that?" inquired the Professor. + +"To shoot a bear." + +"Wow!" exclaimed Chunky. + +"And so should I," agreed Tad, his blue eyes opening wide. "The +biggest thing I ever shot was a woodchuck." + +"You will have a chance to do some hunting soon," replied the +guide. "We shall be on the hunting grounds in a day or so, if we have +good luck, and none of you falls off a mountain. Then I am going to +show you some real sport." + +"Oh, that will be fine," chorused the boys. + +"I believe I should like to try my hand at it, too," added the +Professor. "Do you know, young gentlemen, I have not been on a hunting +trip since I hunted wild boar in the Black Forest with General von +Moltke! You may talk about the savagery of your native bear. But, for +real brutality, I recommend the wild boar." + +"Yes, but wait a minute," objected Ned Rector, his face sobering. +"How are we going to hunt? We have no guns to hunt with. +Mr. Thomas has the only rifle in the party." + +"That's so," agreed Tad. "I hadn't thought of that. I should have +brought my old rifle with me." + +The guide smiled good-naturedly and motioned to Jose. + +"Do you know where that long package marked 'hard tack' is, Jose?" he +asked. + +The cook said he did. + +"Bring it to me," directed Lige so low that the others did not catch +his words. + +The package was placed on the ground at Lige's side a moment later. + +"What is it?" asked Chunky, stretching his neck so he could look over +the table. + +"Your curiosity will be the death of you some day if you don't correct +the habit," warned Ned. "If you'll use your eyes you will observe that +the package contains hard tack, and----" + +However, something in the shape of the four wrapped objects taken from +the bundle, and laid on the ground, did not exactly correspond with +their idea of what hard tack looked like. + +The boys rose full of curiosity. + +"Wha--what----" gasped Ned. + +"It's--guns!" fairly shouted Tad Butler. + +Sure enough, it was. + +Undoing the other three packages, the guide laid before their +astonished eyes four handsome thirty-eight calibre repeating rifles. + +The boys looked at each other questioningly. + +At first they could scarcely believe it to be true. + +"Are--are they for us--for us to use?" stammered Tad. + +"That's what they're for, young gentlemen," smiled the guide. "You +surely didn't expect to go hunting without guns, did you? At the +Professor's suggestion I have been keeping them as a sort of surprise +for you." + +"Three cheers for Lige Thomas and Professor Zepplin," cried Ned +Rector, in which the boys joined with a will, their shouts echoing +back to them from the rocky peaks on the other side of the gulch. + +"Rifles and ponies! We surely ought to be happy!" laughed Tad, with +flashing eyes. "Any boy with those two things wouldn't change places +with a king, would he, fellows?" + +"No!" answered the Pony Riders at the top of their voices. "Not even +for a whole monarchy!" + +Lige was beset by a perfect clamor of questions as to when they were +to have a chance to try the guns on real game. + +"One at a time--one at a time," begged the guide. "First I must find +out how well you boys can shoot. Has any of you ever handled a gun +before?" + +"I have," spoke up Tad promptly. + +"And I," added Ned Rector. + +"I've done a little shooting with my thirty-two calibre," said +Walter. "But I don't call myself much of a shot." + +"And how about you, Master Stacy?" smiled the guide. + +"I? Why, I can shoot a bull's eye with a how and arrow. But somehow, +when I try to fire a real gun, I can't help shutting my eyes before +the thing goes off." + +"That's bad." + +"Then I don't hit anything--that is, not the thing I want to hit," +he added humorously, at which there was a loud laugh from the other +boys. + +"Won't do at all," decided the guide with a shake of the head. "You +will have to learn to do better than that before we take you out." + +"Yes, he'll have to before I go gunning with him," growled Ned +Rector. "Any man who shuts his eyes when he's getting ready to shoot, +is no friend of mine, especially if I happen to be in the +neighborhood." + +"Yes," agreed Lige. "We'll have to go out for a little +practice--this morning if you wish. I guess we can spare the +time. But we must not waste too much of it, as we have an eighteen +mile journey ahead of us over a rough trail, and I want to reach Bald +Mountain before night. + +To-morrow will be Sunday, and we must have a nice camping place, as +you will want to rest and get ready for the busy week ahead of us. At +any rate, you boys can try out the guns this morning and get the +sights regulated. Jose bring me a box of those thirty-eights, will +you?" + +Wistful glances were cast at the pasteboard box, as the boys fondled +the guns, worked the cartridge ejectors, examined the magazines and +looked over the sights at imaginary game. + +"Better fall to, now, and strike camp, so the pack train can go on +ahead," advised the guide. "When we finish shooting you can strap your +guns to the saddles, or carry them over your backs, as you +prefer. You see they have a leather on them for the purpose." + +There were no doubts in the minds of the Pony Riders as to how they +would carry the weapons. As they set about obeying the instructions of +the guide, they pictured themselves riding over the mountains like a +troop of cavalry, rifles hanging across their backs, following the +trail of a band of real Indians. + +The camp was struck in record time that morning, and the tents, neatly +rolled, soon were strapped to the backs of the sleepy burros. Jose +attended to the packing of the commissary. + +"I think we are ready, Mr. Thomas," announced Tad, their task having +been completed. + +The boys shouldered their guns proudly. + +"Oh, yes; there is something else that goes with it," advised Lige, +after glancing critically over the boys and their outfits. "I had +almost forgotten it. Fine general I'd make in war time!" + +The guide ran to the cook tent which Jose was packing, returning in a +moment with another of those mysterious packages. + +By now the Pony Riders were worked up to a high pitch of excitement +and anticipation. + +"What have you got?" asked Chunky, with his usual curiosity. + +"I'll show you if you'll wait a minute," whereupon the guide opened +the package, holding the contents toward them. + +"What is it!" marveled Chunky, eyeing the things gingerly. + +"I know! Cartridge belts!" shouted Ned Rector. + +And cartridge belts they were--regulation canvas belts, each with a +shining brass buckle, bearing a spread eagle on its face, the belts +each having compartments for forty-five rounds of ammunition. + +Once more the Pony Riders made the mountains ring with their shouts of +joy in which not even the dignified German Professor could resist +joining. + +Stacy Brown in the meantime, had been greedily filling his belt with +the cartridges, until finally there was room for no more. + +The other three boys, who had quickly strapped on their belts, were +parading about with guns on their shoulders, Walter Perkins giving +them their orders. + +"Wow! But this thing is heavy," exclaimed Chunky, the weight of his +loaded belt tugging at his waist line. + +"Here, here, Master Brown! You don't need all those shells. Put all +but ten of them back in the box," laughed the guide. + +"They're not good to eat, Chunky," advised Walter. + +"Huh!" grunted Ned Rector. "Anybody would think he was going into +battle. Why, a soldier doesn't carry any more bullets than that. And +what's more, Mr. Chunky Brown, if you intend to shoot off a belt full +of those shells, it's me for a rocky cave where the bullets can't +reach. Eh, Tad?" + +Tad nodded and grinned. + +"I'm with you in that." + +"We all have precious lives to save," added Ned. + +"We are all ready," announced the guide. "Jose, you bear to the right +after you leave camp and follow the blazed trail. We shall take the +lower trail. Push right along so as to have a meal ready for us when +we get in. We'll be hungry by that time." + +"Have we any lunch with us?" asked the Professor. + +"Yes, in the saddle bags." + +A few moments later the boys were waking the echoes with the crashing +explosions of their weapons as they banged away at the targets. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE LOSS OF THE PACK TRAIN + + +"Feels good to be in the saddle again, doesn't it, Walt?" + +"Yes, Ned. At least it's better than falling over a cliff. How do you +feel, Chunky?" + +"Shoulder aches where the gun kicked me. I didn't think a gun could +hit so hard from both ends at the same time." + +Stacy Brown worked his right arm up and down like a pump-handle, +making a wry face as he did so. + +The boys had completed their first target practice, in which Tad and +Ned had carried off even honors, with Walter Perkins a close second, +while Stacy Brown had hit pretty much everything within range except +the target itself. + +About the best they had been able to do with him was to induce him to +keep his eyes open, at least, until the first finger of his right hand +had begun to exert a gentle pressure on the trigger. Then, he would +pinch his eyelids so tightly together as to compress his forehead into +a series of small ridges. + +Their practice had lasted some two hours, and now they were once more +picking their way over the rough mountain trail, headed for Bald +Mountain, and discussing the happenings of the night and morning. + +Considerable amusement was afforded them when, on the journey, old +Bobtail, as they had named the Professor's cob, stumbled and threw its +rider over its head. + +Fortunately, Professor Zepplin was not injured. He explained that he +had had too many similar disasters while an officer in the German +army, and that he did not mind a slight mishap like that at all. He +declared that it reminded him so much of his younger days that he +really enjoyed the sensation of falling off. + +This caused the Pony Riders to shout with laughter, and Ned confided +to Tad, by whose side he was riding, that he never knew the Professor +was such a real sport. + +From then on the afternoon passed quickly. Although the sun was +shining brightly, the air was cool and invigorating, and a gentle +breeze fanned their cheeks when the riders reached the higher places. + +At such times the boys would break into exclamations of wonder at the +gorgeous panorama which unfolded itself before them. + +"Makes a fellow feel as if he were walking on air, doesn't it?" +bubbled Stacy Brown. + +"You will be in a minute, if you don't watch out where you are going," +warned Ned, observing that the boy had unconsciously pulled his horse +too near the outer edge of the trail. "Walt tried that last night, and +you know what happened to him." + +"Yes, but Chunky would not come out of it quite so well," spoke up +Tad. + +"I reckon he'd break a rock or two on the way down," grinned Ned +Rector, clucking to his pony. + +About four o'clock that afternoon Lige announced that they had arrived +at their destination. Yet not a sign of Jose and the pack train could +they find. He had not arrived. + +The faces of the Pony Riders grew long at this, for the ride had given +them an appetite that would not bear trifling with. + +"What do you suppose has happened to the pack train, Mr. Thomas?" +asked Tad. + +"Probably been delayed by a pack slipping off. But don't you +worry. Jose will be along in good time," smiled Lige. + +However, in his own mind the guide believed that, while this might be +possible, it was more likely that the cook had missed his way, and was +now wandering about the mountains. It was too late to go in search of +the missing outfit that day, so there was nothing to do but to wait +until morning, then to start out after it, in case the straggler had +not come in by then. + +Lige told the boys to stake down their live stock and make themselves +at home while he went out for an observation. In the meantime the boys +also took the opportunity to look about them. + +Their new location they found to be a sightly one. The wild and rugged +reaches of the Rockies stretched away at their feet as far as the eye +could see, the hills and low mountains rising in sheer slopes, broken +by cliffs and riven by deeply cut and gloomy gorges. + +The Pony Riders gazed upon the scene in awe--at least three of them +did. + +"Splendid, is it not?" breathed Tad, his eyes growing large with +wonder. + +"Oh, I don't know. It isn't so much," replied Chunky lightly. "I've +seen better. We've got bigger mountains in Massachusetts." + +"Humph!" grunted Ned Rector, resuming his study of the scene, its +beauties intensified by the colors in which the low-lying sun had +bathed them. + +A shot sounded off somewhere in front of and below them. + +"What's that?" exclaimed Chunky, now aroused to sudden interest. + +No one was able to answer him. + +Soon two more shots followed, and Chunky; was sure that he heard a +bullet sing by his head. + +Professor Zepplin laughed, saying it was no doubt some one hunting, +and that what the boy had imagined was a bullet was merely an echo. + +"You no doubt will hear many shots while you are in the +mountains. This is a place where people make a business of shooting, +and even yourselves will be doing some of it within a few days, if all +goes well. Perhaps the shot you heard was from Lige, trying his skill +on some bird or animal." + +When Lige returned, some little time after, the boys did not observe +that he left his rifle in the bushes at the edge of the camp. + +"Was that you shooting just now?" asked Tad. + +Instead of answering the question, however, the guide called the boys +to him. + +"I'm going to teach you how to make beds in the mountains," he +said. "We have not tried to make any like them yet----" + +"Beds? I don't see any beds to make," objected Chunky. "Where are +they?" + +"Get your hatchets and I'll show you," grinned Lige. "We have to +discover a good many things when we are roughing it, you know." + +Fetching their hatchets from the saddle bags, the boys cut great +armfuls of pine boughs, all hands making two trips to camp and back in +order to carry enough for the purpose. But, even then, they were +mystified as to exactly what Thomas intended to do or how he would go +about it to make a bed out of the stuff they had gathered. + +Professor Zepplin watched the preparations with interest, finding much +that was new to him in the resourceful operations of the mountain +guide. + +Having heaped up a great pile of fragrant green stuff, Lige looked +about him to fix upon the best locations for the beds he was about to +make. + +"Oh, I know," exclaimed Ned. "You are going to lay the stuff into +piles so we can sleep on them." + +"Not quite," grinned Lige. "Watch me." + +Carefully selecting the branches that he wanted, he stuck one after +another of them into the ground, stem down, until he had outlined a +fairly good bed. This done, he continued setting more of the green +limbs, pushing each firmly into the ground until the mass became so +thick and matted that it resembled a green hedge. + +"There," he announced. "One bed is ready for you." + +"Call that a bed?" sniffed Stacy. "Why, that wouldn't hold a +baby. He'd fall through the slats." + +"Try it. Lie down on it," smiled Lige. + +Chunky did so, gingerly, then little by little a sheepish smile crept +over his countenance. + +"Why, it does hold me up." + +"Of course it does." + +"Say, fellows, this is great. It's softer than any feather bed I ever +slept in. But it wouldn't be half so funny if a fellow made a mistake +and got a branch off a thorn bush; would it, now?" + +One after the other, the boys took turns in trying the new bed, and +each was enthusiastic over it. + +"I'll never sleep on any other kind as long as I live," decided +Ned. "I'll have a tent in the back yard and a pine bed under it. What +do you say, fellows?" + +"I have an idea," smiled the Professor, "that you will get all you +want of the experience this summer. Some other trips have been +planned for you, and you no doubt will spend many nights in the open +air before you return to your homes this fall. I'll say no more on +the subject at present." + +And Professor Zepplin steadfastly stuck to his word, leaving to their +youthful imaginations the solution of the problem that he had +presented. + +"Get busy for firewood," called Lige. + +"Why, it's almost dark," exclaimed Ned. "Where is that pack train? +What are we going to do, Professor?" + +"Ask the guide. He knows everything. He's the original wizard," +laughed the German. "What do you think about it, Lige?" + +"I might as well tell you all now--the pack train undoubtedly is +lost in the mountains. We probably shall see nothing of Jose nor the +pack train until some time to-morrow." + +"Yes; but what are we going to do?" demanded Walter. "Here we are, +without a thing to eat, or a place to sleep." + +"We have the pine beds," answered Tad. "That's a place to sleep, +anyway." + +"But we can't eat the beds," jeered Chunky. + +"If you young gentlemen will build a fire, I'll see what I can do +about getting you some supper," advised Lige. "You know, we have to +get used to difficulties in the mountains. In a short time you should +be well able to take care of yourselves without any of my help." + +Lige disappeared in the bushes, returning a few moments later, +carrying a brace of some sort of animal by the hind legs. + +"What's that?" demanded Stacy Brown, his eyes growing large. + +"Jack-rabbits," answered the guide. "There are two of them. I shot +them, and now we'll eat them. I was providing a supper for you when +you heard those shots." + +The boys set up a cheer. Now that the wholesome air of the mountains +had in reality taken possession of their beings, they found themselves +able to arouse enthusiasm over almost any subject. + +Lige skilfully skinned the rabbits and dressed them. By the time he +had accomplished this the fire was burning high, and out of it he +scraped a bed of red hot coals, about which he built an oven of stones. + +"Get two sharp sticks," he directed. + +On these he spit the rabbits, thrusting them over the coals to cook, +while the boys looked on wonderingly. + +"You see," said the Professor, "it is possible for a man to find +sustenance in almost any place--that is, if he knows how." + +"I'd starve to death if I were turned loose up here," said Chunky. + +"Of course you would; and I probably should share the same fate. The +only mountain subject with which I am familiar is geology," said the +Professor. + +"And you can't eat rocks," grinned Ned. + +"Just so." + +"Now, boys, if you will go to my saddle bags you will find salt and +pepper and some hard tack. Bring it all over here, fill your folding +cups with water, and then I think we'll be ready for supper," +announced the guide, after the rabbits had been done to a rich brown. + +"Pardon me, sir, but I'm curious to know what we're going to do for +plates, knives and forks," asked Tad. + +"Do? + +"Why, my young friend, we shall do without them. If you'll watch +me carefully you will learn how." + +By Lige's direction, the boys squatted down about a flat rock, after +which the guide proceeded to carve the rabbits with his hunting-knife, +seasoning the pieces with salt and pepper, yet doing all with +tantalizing deliberation. + +The boys looked on expectantly. + +"Much as I need money, I wouldn't take four dollars and a half for my +appetite at this very moment," declared Ned Rector, earnestly. + +"It can't beat mine, fellows," laughed Walter. "I tell you, there's +nothing like falling off a mountain to give a chap a full-grown +hankering for real food." + +"I should imagine it would shake one down a bit," agreed Tad. "What do +you think about it, Chunky?" + +But Chunky's reply was not clear to them, for the greater part of his +face was buried in a flank of jack-rabbit, and he was able to talk +with his eyes alone, which at that moment were large and expressive. + +Never had a meal seemed to taste so good to these boys as did this +crude repast, served on a rock several thousand feet in the air and +with only such conveniences for eating it as nature had provided. But +good humor prevailed and everybody was happy. + +Chunky at last paused from his labor long enough to go to the spring +for a cup of water. + +"While you are up you might fetch some for the rest of us," suggested +Ned. + +So Chunky gathered up the cups and plodded to the spring, chewing +vigorously as he went. However, finding it inconvenient to carry all +the cups at one time, he left his own at the spring, returning with +those of the others, filled with cool, sparkling water. + +The boys were profuse in their thanks, to which Stacy bowed with great +ceremony and returned to the spring for more water. + +For the moment, in the conversation that followed, they forgot Clunky +entirely. But he was recalled sharply to their minds a few minutes +later. + +"Pussy, pussy, pussy!" + +Ned and Tad turned inquiringly at the sound. Lige and the Professor, +being engaged in earnest conversation at the time, had not heard Stacy +Brown's plaintive call off behind the rocks yonder. + +The Pony Riders looked at each other and roared. + +"Well, what do you think of that?" laughed Ned. "That kid has gone and +picked up a cat. Who would ever think of finding a cat up here?" + +"What's that?" demanded Lige sharply, turning to them. + +"Why, Chunky's found a----" + +"Pussy, pussy, pussy! Nice pussy. Come here, pussy. That's a good +kittie. Puss, puss, puss," continued the soothing voice of the boy. + +Had Lige Thomas been projected from a huge bow-gun he probably would +not have leaped forward with much greater quickness than he did in +this instance, bowling over the Professor as he sprang by him, and +making for the spring in mighty strides. + +"Leave him alone!" he roared. + +The guide had heard and understood. He was hurrying to the rescue. + +Those by the camp fire heard two sharp, quick explosions from the +guide's revolver, followed by a squall of rage and pain and a great +floundering about in the bushes. Then the guide appeared around the +corner of a large rock, leading Chunky by one ear, the latter taking +as long strides as his short legs would permit, to relieve the strain +on the aforesaid ear. + +"Wha--what----" stammered the Professor. + +The boys had sprung to their feet in alarm at the crack of the pistol, +and stood, amazement written on their faces, as Lige and Chunky came +toward them. + +"What's the row?" asked Ned Rector in as firm a voice as he could +muster. + +"I got a pussy and he tried to shoot it," wailed Chunky. + +"Pussy! Huh! He got a bob-cat and he was trying to catch the brute," +growled the guide. "Lucky I got there when I did." + +Stacy's eyes opened wide and his face blanched. + +"A--a bob-cat?" they gasped. + +"Yes; I put a shot into him, but it did not kill kill him! Hear him +squall?" the guide made answer. + +"Well of all the idiotic things I ever heard of!" exclaimed Ned, +gazing at Chunky in bewilderment. + +"Yes; it was all of that," grinned Lige. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +CHUNKY GETS THE CAT + + +"Wake up, fellows! The sun is up!" shouted Tad Butler, as Sunday +morning dawned bright and beautiful, the birds now making the +mountains ring with their joyous songs. + +The Pony Riders rose up, rubbing their eyes sleepily. + +"What time is it?" asked Ned Rector. + +"Half-past six." + +"Too early to sing. I refuse to sit on a bough and sing at any such +unearthly hour." + +"Huh! I should say so," agreed Stacy Brown, turning over and burying +his face in the fragrant green boughs of his cot. + +Still, the boys had no patience with Chunky's dislike to early +rising, even though they themselves were not averse to a morning +cat-nap. With a yell, they tumbled from their cots, descending upon +Chunky in a bunch, pulling him from his bed without regard to the +way in which they did so. His ill-natured protests went for nothing. + +"I wonder where the guide is?" asked Walter, after they had thoroughly +awakened their companion. + +"Probably gone gunning for our breakfast," answered Tad. + +"I think he has gone after the pack train," said the Professor. "He +told me last night that he should start at daybreak, and that you +would find some rabbit and hard tack for your breakfast under a flat +stone back of his cot. I am afraid you will have to be satisfied with +a cold meal this morning, unless you think you want to build a fire +and warm up the food." + +"Of course we will. Lige Thomas needn't think he's the only one in the +party who can get a meal out of nothing," answered Ned proudly, +starting off to gather sticks for the fire. + +But when they went to get the rabbit there was no rabbit. The stone +under which it had been placed was there right enough, as were several +chunks of hard tack. The stone, however, had been turned over and the +meat was nowhere to be found. + +"That settles it," said Ned ruefully. "I never had an appetite yet +that it didn't meet with the disappointment of it's young life. Now, +who do you suppose took that food!" + +"Perhaps it was another of Chunky's pussy cats," laughed Walter. + +"Don't we get anything to eat!" asked Stacy in a plaintive voice, +glancing from one to the other of his companions. + +"Yes, of course. You can go out in the bushes and browse, if you are +hungry enough," suggested Ned. "As for myself I'm going to the spring +and wash, and after that fill myself up on cold water. That may make +my stomach forget, for a while, that it has a grievance." + +"I'm going to bed," growled Stacy. + +"You'll do nothing of the sort," shouted the boys, grabbing their +roly-poly president and rushing him back and forth to wake him up +again. "No Pony Rider is allowed to sleep after sun-up." + +"Professor, I have a suggestion to make," said Tad, approaching +Professor Zepplin, who was sitting on the edge of his cot, making a +meal of a cup of water, seemingly well pleased that that much had been +left to him. + +"I'll hear it, sir." + +"Will you let me go out with my rifle to look for some game for +breakfast? Ned has three shells left in his belt. I think I shall be +able to shoot something. There's no telling when Mr. Thomas will +return with the pack." + +"I couldn't think of it, my boy." + +"I'll take care of myself, Professor." + +"No. The responsibility is too great. We have had enough trouble +already. I have not the least doubt that a resourceful young man like +yourself could take care of himself under almost any conditions. But I +do not dare take the risk. And, besides, a day's fast will do you all +good. I remember when I was an officer in the German army----" + +"Professor, may we go out and follow the trail of Chunky's pussy cat?" +interrupted Walter. "Ned has found the trail, and says he can follow +it by the blood spots. Perhaps we'll find the animal dead near by, and +the skin would be a fine trophy of our hunt in the Rockies." + +"Certainly not. This is Sunday, young gentlemen, and even in the +mountains we must preserve some sort of decorum on that day." + +"Oh, very well," answered Walter politely, covering his disappointment +with a smile. + +"All days look alike to me up here," grunted Ned. "If it wasn't that +one had a calendar he wouldn't even know when Sunday did come. Now, +would he----" + +"I've got him! I've got him!" came the sudden and startling yell from +the bushes, accompanied by a series of resounding whacks and a great +threshing about in the thick undergrowth. + +The boys paused, not realizing, at first, to whom the excited voice +belonged. + +"Come help me! I've got him!" + +"Chunky!" they groaned. "He's at it again!" + +Professor Zepplin leaped from his cot, striding off in the direction +from which Stacy Brown's triumphant voice had come, and followed by +the rest of the party on the run. All four of them crashed into the +bushes at the same instant, shouting words of warning to Stacy. + +They did not know what it all meant, but the boys were sure that he +had gotten himself into some new danger. + +Chunky had slipped away some moments before, after Ned Rector had +discovered the trail of the bob-cat. His companions, however, had not +missed him, so Stacy was free to follow his own inclinations. + +"Where are you?" cried the Professor. + +"Here! here!" + +Whack! whack! came the sound from a rapidly wielded club again, +accompanied by a vicious spitting and snarling that caused the boys to +hesitate, for a brief second, in their mad dash for the underbrush. + +As they emerged into a little open space, made so largely by the +battle that was being waged there, their eyes fairly bulged with +surprise. + +There was Stacy Brown, hatless, his face red and perspiring, and in +front of him a snarling bob-cat at bay. + +They saw at once that the animal had been wounded, two of its legs +apparently having been broken, while blood flowed freely from a wound +in its side. + +Chunky was prancing about in what appeared to be an imitation of an +Indian war dance, now and again darting in and delivering a telling +blow with the club held firmly in both hands, landing it on whatever +part of the animal's anatomy he could most easily reach. The beast was +snapping blindly at the weapon which Chunky was using with telling +effect. + +The boys in their surprise were unable to do more than stand and stare +for the moment. That Chunky Brown had had the courage to attack a +bob-cat, even though it already had been seriously wounded, passed all +comprehension. + +"Stop!" commanded the Professor, finding his voice at last. + +Whack! + +Stacy landed a blow fairly on the top of the brute's skull, causing +the animal to sway dizzily. + +Paying not the slightest heed to the Professor's stern command, the +excited boy followed up his last successful blow by planting another +in the same place. + +But the savage little beast, though probably unable to see its +enemies, was showing its yellow teeth and squalling in its deadly +anger, the jaws coming together with a snap like that from the sudden +springing of a steel trap. + +"Stand back!" ordered the Professor. "Don't touch him! Get away, +boys!" + +They were obliged to grab Chunky by the arms, fairly dragging him from +his victim, so filled was he with the fever of the chase and a resolve +to conquer his savage little enemy. + +Professor Zepplin, once they had gotten Chunky out of the way, stepped +as near to the bob-cat as he deemed prudent. Drawing his heavy army +revolver, he took careful aim, shooting the beast through the head. + +The Pony Riders uttered a triumphant shout. + +The Professor waved them back as they pressed forward, and planted +another bullet in the animal's head to make sure that it was +thoroughly finished. + +"Hooray for the president of the Pony Riders!" shouted Ned Rector. + +"Hip-hip hooray! T-i-g-e-r!" roared the boys, grabbing Chunky and +tossing him back and forth, making of him a veritable medicine ball. + +"What's the matter with Chunky?" cried Walter. + +"Chunky's all right," chorused the band. + +"Who's no tenderfoot?" + +"Chunky's Brown's no tenderfoot." + +Puffing out his cheeks, and squaring his shoulders, Stacy swaggered +over to the dead bob-cat, violently pulling its ear. + +"He tried to bite me," explained the boy. "See--he tore a lacer in +my leggin. I didn't see him till I almost stepped on him. I knew right +off that it was the pussy that Lige shot at last night." + +"What happened then?" asked Tad, with an admiring grin on his face. + +"I fetched him one on the side of the head with a club. He jumped at +me and I hit him again. About that time I called, and you fellows came +up. But I got him, didn't I, Professor?" + +"You did, my lad. But you took a great risk in attempting to do so," +smiled the Professor, picking the dead animal up and hefting it. "I +think he'll weigh about twenty pounds," he decided. "Yes; undoubtedly +it's the fellow Thomas shot last night. The brute was so badly wounded +that he was unable to drag himself far away." + +"What shall we do with him now?" asked the boys. + +"Take him to camp and leave him till Lige returns," advised the +Professor. "And I think we had better tie up our young friend Stacy, +or he will be getting into more mischief than we are able to get him +out of." + +"Why can't we skin the cat?" inquired Ned. + +"I should think you would prefer to wait till the guide sees it. And, +besides, he knows better how to do that than any of the rest of us." + +"Are--are bob-cats good to eat?" asked Chunky sheepishly. + +The boys shouted. + +"Not satisfied with trying to kill the poor beast, now you want to eat +him," jeered Ned Rector. "Why, Stacy Brown, you ought to be ashamed of +yourself. No, I never heard of any one with an appetite so difficult +to satisfy that he was willing to eat cats----" + +"Yes; but this isn't a real cat," protested Stacy. + +"You would have found him real enough if he had fastened one of those +ugly claws in your flesh," laughed Tad. + +"Eat him, by all means, then," advised Ned. "Eat him raw. I wouldn't +even stop to cook the beast if I were in your place." + +Walter and Stacy picked up the dead animal, carrying it along through +the bushes, all talking loudly, the boys--though they would have +been slow to admit the fact--casting envious glances at the fat boy +and his trophy. Chunky told himself he would have something to write +to the folks back East that would make them open their eyes. + +The boys, after having reached the camp, stretched the cat out on a +flat rock. And now that the animal lay in the full light of day, the +sight of its ugly, beetling brow, thin, cruel lips and powerful teeth +made each of the three boys feel rather thankful that he had not had +the luck to come face to face with it over in the bushes. + +As for Chunky, he sat down beside the cat to enjoy the proud sense of +victory, gazing down at the trophy with fascinated eyes. Deep down in +his heart, he wondered how he ever had had the courage to attack +it. But, of course, Chunky confided nothing of this to his companions. + +"Congratulating yourself, eh!" laughed Ned Rector. + +Chunky glanced up at him solemnly. + +"At this minute I was wishing I had a piece of apple pie," he +answered, hitching his belt a little tighter. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +ROUGH RIDERS IN THE SADDLE + + +The afternoon had grown old when a distant "C-oo-ee-e," told them that +Lige Thomas was on his way back to camp. + +They answered his call with a wild whoop, and were for rushing off to +meet him. But Professor Zepplin advised them to remain where they were +and get the fire going in case Lige had failed to find the pack +train. He no doubt would bring food of some kind with him. The fire +would be ready and thus no time would be lost in preparing the first +meal of the day, which, in this case, would be breakfast, dinner and +supper all in one. + +The boys awaited the guide's approach with impatience, some pacing +back and forth, while others coaxed the fire into a roaring blaze, at +the same time confiding to each other how hungry they were. + +After what had seemed an interminable time they heard Jose urging +along the lazy burros. + +It was a gladsome sound to this band of hungry boys, whose ordinarily +healthy appetites, under the bracing mountain air and the long fast, +had taken on what the Professor described as a "razor edge." + +"Now you may go," he nodded. + +With a shout, the boys dashed pell-mell to meet the pack train, and, +falling in behind the slow-moving burros, urged them on with derisive +shouts and sundry resounding slaps on the animals' flanks. + +"Had anything to eat!" asked the guide. + +"Not enough to give us indigestion," answered Ned. "Cold water is the +most nourishing thing we've touched since last night." + +"But I left you a rabbit. Didn't you find it?" + +"We did not. It must have come to life some time during the night and +dug its way out," laughed Tad. + +"And we've got a surprise for you," announced Stacy, swelling with +pride. + +"What's it all about?" laughed the guide. + +"You'll see when you get to camp," answered Chunky. "I don't need guns +to hunt with. A stout club for mine." + +After having shown the cat to Lige and getting his promise to teach +them how to skin it, the boys set to with a will to assist in the +unpacking. While they were pitching the tents over the pine cots Jose +got out his Buzzacot range, which he started up in the open, and in a +few moments the savory odors of the cooking reached the nostrils of +the Pony Riders, drawing from them a shout of approval. + +By the time the meal was ready the tents had been pitched and the boys +had returned from the spring, rubbing their faces with their coarse +towels, their cheeks glowing and their eyes sparkling in anticipation +of the feast. + +Chunky reached the table first, greedily surveying what had been +placed on it. + +"Hooray, fellows!" he shouted. "Hot biscuit and--and honey. What do +you think of that?" + +"Honey? Why, Mr. Thomas, where did you get honey?" asked Walter. + +"Found a bee tree on my way back, and cut it down. I think you will +find there is enough of it to double you all up," grinned Lige. + +"We'll take all chances," advised Ned. "But what's this! It looks like +jam." + +"Jam?" exclaimed Chunky, stretching his neck and eyeing the dish +longingly. + +"Yes; wild plum jam," answered the guide. + +"Wow!" chuckled Stacy under his breath. + +"Now, fall to, young gentlemen," directed the Professor. "I am free to +admit that I am hungry, too. I think I shall help myself to some of +that wild plum jam and biscuit, first It reminds me of old times. We +sometimes had jam when I was with the German----" + +"Army," added Ned. + +"Yes." + +But the Professor was lost in his enjoyment of the biscuit, which he +had liberally smeared with the delicious jam. + +Chunky did even better than that. He buried his biscuit under a layer +of jam, over which he spread a thick coating of honey. + +Ned fixed him with a stern eye. + +"Remember, sir, that a certain amount of dignity befits the office of +president of the Pony Riders Club," he said. + +Chunky colored. + +"It's good, anyway." + +"Then, I think I'll try some myself," announced Ned, helping himself +liberally to the honey and jam. "I'd lose my dignity for a mouthful +of that, any day," he decided after having sampled the combination. +"President Brown, I withdraw my criticism. I offer you my humble +apologies. You are not only the champion hunter of the Pony Riders, +but you also are the champion food selector and eater. Next thing +we know you'll be providing us with bear steak." + +"Bears, did you say?" demanded Stacy in a voice not unmixed with +awe. "Are there bears up here?" + +"I reckon there are," smiled the guide. "We are in the bear country +now. I had a tough battle with one in a cave not far from here, +several years ago. I came near losing my life too, and----" + +"A cave?" interrupted Tad. + +"Yes, the country is full of caves. Some of them are so big that +you would lose yourself in them almost at once; while others are +merely dens where bears and other animals live. Besides this, there +are many abandoned mines up the range further. All are more or less +interesting, and some, for various reasons, are dangerous to enter." + +"Shall we see any of them?" asked Tad eagerly. + +"All you want. Perhaps we may even explore some if we come across +any," said the guide. + +This announcement filled the boys with excitement. + +"What I want to know, is, when do we go hunting?" asked Ned. + +"That depends. Perhaps Tuesday. We shall need a dog. But I know an +old settler who will lend us his dog, if it is not out. Of course, +dogs can't follow the trail of an animal as well, now, as they could +with snow on the ground. But this dog, you will find, is a wonder. He +can ride a pony, or do almost anything that you might set him at." + +"I think I'll ride my own pony and let the dog walk," announced Ned. + +Supper having been finished, the party gathered about the camp fire +for their evening chat, after which, admonishing Stacy to keep within +his tent and not to go borrowing trouble, the boys turned in for a +sound sleep. + +As yet, they had been unable to attempt any fancy riding with their +ponies, owing to the rugged nature of the country through which they +had been journeying. So in the morning they asked Lige if he knew of a +place where they could do some "stunts," as Ned Rector phrased it. + +The guide said that, by making a detour in their journey that day, +they would cross table lands several acres in extent and covered with +grass. + +"And come to think of it, that will be an ideal place for us to drop +off for our noon meal," he added. "We'll let Jose go on again, and I +don't think he can lose himself so easily this time. The trail is so +plainly marked that he can't miss it." + +The boys were now all anxiety to start, while the ponies, after their +Sunday rest, were almost as full of life as were their owners. The +little animals were becoming more sure-footed every day, and Ned said +that, before the trip was finished, "Jimmie" would be able to walk a +slack rope. + +An early start was made, so that the party reached the promised table +lands shortly before ten o'clock in the forenoon. A temporary camp was +quickly pitched. + +At their urgent request, Professor Zepplin told the boys to go ahead +and enjoy themselves. + +"But be careful that you don't break your necks," he added, with a +laugh. "I guess I had better go along to see that you do not." + +They assured him that nothing was further from their intention, and +quickly casting aside guns and cartridge belts, they threw themselves +into their saddles again for a jolly romp. + +The great, green field, surrounded on all sides by tall trees, made +the place an ideal one for their purpose. + +"Tell you what let's do," suggested Tad. "Suppose we start with a +race? We'll race the length of the field and back. We'll do it three +times, and the one who wins two times out of three will be it." + +To this all agreed. Appointing Professor Zepplin as starter, the Pony +Riders lined up for the word. + +The first heat was run easily, none of the ponies being put to its +utmost speed. Walter Perkins won the heat. + +The next two heats were different. This time the battle lay between +Tad Butler and Ned Rector. It was a beautiful race, the little Indian +ponies seeming to enter thoroughly into the spirit of the contest, +stretching themselves out to their full lengths, and, with heads on a +level with their backs, fairly flew across the great plot of green. + +Up to within a moment of the finish of the second heat the two ponies +were racing neck and neck. + +Tad hitched in his saddle a little, throwing the greater part of his +weight on the stirrups. He slapped Texas sharply on the flank with the +flat of his hand. + +Texas seemed to leap clear of the ground, planting himself on all +fours just over the line, the winner by a neck. + +The third heat was merely a repetition of the second. All agreed that +Tad's superior horsemanship, alone, had won the race for him. Ned took +his defeat good-naturedly. + +By this time, the boys had come to feel fully as much at home in the +saddle as they formerly had been out of it. Even Stacy Brown, though +he did not sit his saddle with the same grace that marked the riding +of Tad Butler and Ned Rector, more practiced horsemen, was +nevertheless no mean rider. + +"We will now try some cowboy riding," announced Tad, who, as master of +horse, was supposed to direct the riding of the club. "Who of you can +pick up a hat on the run?" + +"Don't all speak at once," said Ned, after a moment's silence on the +part of the band. + +"I'll show you," promised Tad. + +Galloping into camp the boy fetched his sombrero, which he carried +well out into the field and tossed away. Then, bidding the boys ride +up near the spot to watch him, he drew off some ten rods, and, +wheeling, spurred his pony to a run. + +Tad rose in the stirrups as he neared the spot where the hat lay, +keeping his eyes fixed intently upon it. + +All at once he dropped to the saddle and slipped the left foot from +the stirrup. Grasping the pommel with the left hand, he appeared to +dive head first toward the ground. + +They saw his long hair almost brush the grass; one of his hands swept +down and up, and once more Tad Butler rose standing, in his stirrups, +uttering a cowboy yell as he waved the sombrero on high. + +The boys howled with delight--that is, all did save Stacy Brown. + +"Huh! That's nothing. I can do that myself," he grunted. "I've seen +them do that in the wild west shows too many times not to know how +myself." + +Walter smiled, with a twinkle in his eyes. + +"Why not show us, then?" he said. + +"I will," replied Chunky, confidently. + +"Got your life insured?" asked Ned. "If you haven't I would advise you +to go easy. Tad is an experienced rider." + +"Don't you worry about me, Ned Rector. Guess I know how to ride. Let +me have that hat, Tad," he demanded as the latter came trotting up to +the group. + +Stacy, his face flushed, determination plainly showing in his eyes, +stretched forth his hand for the sombrero. Riding bravely out into the +field, he tossed it to the ground. The first time he rode swiftly by +it, leaning over to look at the hat as he passed, holding to the +pommel firmly with his left hand. + +Stacy dismounted and removed the hat carefully to one side. + +"What's that for?" demanded Ned, wonderingly. + +"Hat too close to me. I couldn't get it," explained Chunky. + +The boys roared. + +"Why don't you move the pony? You don't have to move the hat, you +ninny." + +Once more Stacy approached the sombrero, his pony running well, and as +he drew near it, they saw him rise in his saddle just as Tad Butler +had done a few minutes before. + +"By George, he's going to try it," exclaimed Ned. + +"Be careful, Chunky," warned Walter. + +"He's got to learn," declared Tad. + +Then Chunky essayed the feat. + +At the moment when he freed his left foot from the stirrup, he threw +his body sharply to the right, reaching for the hat without taking the +precaution to grasp the pommel. + +As a result, instead of stopping when he reached the hat, the boy kept +on going. Fortunately, his right foot freed itself from the stirrup at +the same time, or there might have been a different ending. Chunky +turned a double somersault, lay still for a moment, then struggled up, +rubbing his body gingerly, as the rest of the party came hurrying up +to him. + +"Are you hurt?" asked Tad apprehensively. + +"No; that's the way I always get off," grinned Chunky. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +VISIONS OF GOLD + + +After satisfying themselves that Stacy was not injured, the others of +the party each made an effort to pick up the hat, though with much +more caution than Stacy had used. + +Ned accomplished the trick the first time he tried. Walter, however, +made several attempts, instructed by Tad, before he finally caught the +knack of it. + +"That will do for one day," decided the instructor, finally. "We must +not tire out our ponies, for we still have a long jaunt ahead of us, +according to the guide." + +When they reached the camp, Stacy was still rubbing his head, much to +the amusement of his companions. The noonday lunch was a light one; +while they were eating it the ponies were tethered out on the plain to +browse on the fresh, green grass. + +Shortly after noon the party was on its way again, Lige being anxious +to reach their destination before dark. Yet the trail was so rugged +and precipitous that rapid progress was impossible. To add to this, +late in the afternoon they overtook the pack train, which they found +halted in the trail. One of the burros had gone lame, nor did Jose +know what the trouble was. He was sitting by the side of the trail +helplessly, waiting for someone to come along. + +Tad hastily slipped from his saddle, running over to the burro. + +"Which foot is he lame in?" asked the boy. + +"Donno," answered the Mexican. + +The boy led the little animal back and forth several times. + +"It's the off hind foot," he announced. + +"Off?" queried Chunky. "He doesn't seem to have a foot off." + +"No, I didn't mean that. Horsemen call the right the off side, and the +left the near one," explained Tad, picking up the beast's foot and +examining it critically. + +"He has stepped on a sharp piece of rock and driven it into the hoof," +announced the boy. "I am afraid we shall have to unload the pack and +strap him down before I can get it out." + +Tying their horses, all hands drew near to witness the proceeding, +which bade fair to be unusually interesting. However, Tad skilfully +rigged a harness out of a long piece of quarter-inch rope. This he put +on the burro, and soon had the animal on its knees, then on its +side. The rope was drawn taut so that the burro could not kick, after +which the boy cautiously cut around the sharp stone with his pocket +knife, and, after considerable effort, extracted it. + +"I'm sorry we have nothing to put in the wound. But I guess he will go +along all right. He'll be lame for the rest of the day; but we cannot +help that." + +Once more they loaded up the beast of burden and the procession +continued on its way, Lige having decided to keep the train in sight +in case it was thought advisable to stop and make camp. They had been +so delayed that it was now close to sunset. + +At dusk they were still some distance from their destination. + +"I think we bad better pull up here," suggested the guide. + +"There's a moon up there," answered Tad. "Why not go on by moonlight? +That is, of course, if you can follow the trail." + +"I could follow the trail with my eyes shut, young man," grinned the +guide. "What do you say, Professor?" + +"As you think best, Lige. I do not mind a moonlight ride." + +"Yes; let's go on," urged the boys, looking forward with keen +anticipation to traveling over the mountains by night, for this they +had not yet had an opportunity to do. + +"Very well, if your appetites will keep for another hour or so. We +should make it in an hour and a half," Lige decided, glancing about +him keenly for landmarks. "We'll try, at any rate." + +The shadows now began to close in, the gulches standing out in bold +relief, black, forbidding seas at the foot of the ridges that lay a +white wonderland in the moonlight. + +"This is great!" declared Ned enthusiastically. + +"Glorious," breathed Tad, drinking in the scene with wide open eyes, +while inhaling in long, slow breaths, the soft mountain air. "I never +saw anything more beautiful." + +Now that night had settled over the trail, the riders had to move +along more cautiously, and with tight reins, that their ponies might +not stumble and hurl the riders over their heads. Tad, with an eye to +caution, had advised them to do this. In this way the train moved on +until nearly nine o'clock, when Lige announced that they had reached +their halting place. + +The mountain top where they stopped was thickly studded with cedars +and pinyon trees, while off in the ravines slender spruces reared +their sharp points above the shadows, projecting up through the black +sea like the spars of a whole fleet of sunken schooners. + +"Old Ben Tackers lives nigh here," the guide told them. "I'll go over +and get him after supper. We can then talk with him about his dog. He +can tell us all about the game. Ben is a character. However, you +mustn't mind his blunt way of speaking. The old fellow is all right at +heart." + +Ben came over later in the evening, and the boys were much interested +in him. A thick shock of shaggy hair covered his head and face, while +through the mass of gray and brown twinkled a pair of bright, beady +eyes. Ned said they reminded him of a couple of burnt holes in a horse +blanket. + +"Any game about here, Mr. Tackers?" asked Ned after the old +mountaineer had been introduced to them. + +"For them as can see, there's things to be seen," answered Ben +enigmatically. "What do you reckon on shooting?" + +"Anything we can find to shoot at," answered Ned. + +"Beckon I'll go home and lock up my pigs, then," declared the old man +firmly. + +"Oh, it's not as bad as that, sir," hastily added Tad. "My friend, +Ned, means anything in the game line. Surely we can be trusted to tell +the difference between a bob-cat and a litter of pigs. Stacy Brown, +here, knocked out a bobcat with nothing but a club at Beaver Mountain +yesterday." + +Ben turned to look at Chunky, who, huddled on the ground, appeared not +unlike a large, round ball. + +"Huh! He ain't much to look at," grunted the old man. "I got a tame +cub over to my cabin that would be a good mate for him." + +Stacy flushed painfully. + +"Mr. Thomas was saying that you might be willing to make some +arrangement with us so we could use your dog for a few days," hinted +Professor Zepplin. + +"Eh! Dogs! Lige Thomas kin have my dogs--I've got two of them +now. No arrangement ain't necessary," growled Ben. + +"We prefer to pay for them, sir," spoke up Walter. "And perhaps you +may be able to tell us, also, where we may hope to find game?" + +"Mebby so and mebby not. I'll see Lige about that. Got that cat skin +ye was talking about?" he demanded suddenly, looking from one to the +other. + +Chunky brought it out, the old man examining it critically, nodding +his head over some thought of his own. + +"Bigger cats on Tacker's mountain," he grunted. "Want to sell it?" +Chunky shook his head. + +"Huh!" exclaimed the old man, rising and starting away. + +"What's your hurry, sir?" asked the Professor politely. + +"Must shut up the pigs. The little red-faced bear over there by the +fire might get loose with his club again," and the mountaineer strode +from the camp without another word. + +Stacy Brown hung his head in chagrin, while the boys laughed heartily +at what they considered a most excellent joke on Stacy. + +"Chatty old person, isn't he, Mr. Thomas?" grinned Ned. + +"Well, not exactly. But he's one of the best hunters on the Park +Range. Besides, he is credited with knowing more about what's hidden +under these mountains than any other man on them. But Ben doesn't care +much for money. He'll set us right about the game when the time +comes. If the game is not running he'll stay away and say +nothing. However, at the right moment, you'll see old Ben Tackers and +his dogs suddenly appearing in camp. It will do you no good to ask him +questions. He'll tell me in a word what he has to say, and I shall +have to guess the rest." + +"And you will know what he means?" asked Tad. + +"I reckon," grinned Lige. + +"In about the same way he told me to-night that there were some bad +men in these parts--prospectors they called themselves--who were +trying to locate some sort of a claim----" + +"Claim? What kind?" asked Walter. + +"Gold." + +"Gold? Here?" spoke up the Professor sharply. + +"Mountains are full of it, if you can find it," answered Lige in an +impressive tone. + +And the boys, thrilled by the thought that perhaps fortunes in the +bright yellow metal lay beneath their feet, went to bed to dream of +buried treasures and limitless wealth. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A NARROW ESCAPE + + +The Pony Riders awoke full of enthusiasm for the work of the day. Thus +far, each day had held a new and wonderful experience for them, while +those to come were destined to be even more full of stirring +incidents. + +Most of all, the boys looked forward to the hunting trips that had +been promised. Next to that came the exploration of mountain caves. It +was enough to gladden the heart of any boy. + +Immediately they had arisen, they descended upon the guide in a body, +demanding to know if they were to hunt that day. + +"Depends upon Ben Tackers," answered Lige. "You remember what I told +you last night. He'll let us know when it's time for our little +excursion. I think we had best have another hour of target practice +this morning." + +This plan suited the boys so exactly that, after breakfast, they set +to work cleaning their rifles. A dozen rounds of ammunition were +placed in their cartridge belts, after which, the boys announced their +readiness for practice. + +"Get the ponies," directed the guide. + +"Ponies? What for? We're not going to shoot the ponies, are we?" asked +Ned Rector. + +"I wouldn't advise it," grinned the guide. "I'll show you what I want +after we have reached the range. I suppose you know that hunting in +this country is quite generally done on horseback, so you will have to +get used to that way of shooting. Also your ponies must become +accustomed to the firing from their backs. Snap shooting on horseback +is a trick you will have to learn. It may be the means of saving your +lives some time when you are after wild game." + +The boys made a rush to the spot where the ponies were staked. The +little animals looked up in mild protest as their owners hastily threw +on saddles, cinched the girths and slipped the bits into unwilling +mouths. + +Leading their ponies into camp, each boy, with gun slung over his +shoulder, stood at the left of his mount, awaiting the command of his +leader. + +"Ready," announced Tad. + +Four right hands grasped the saddle pommels, the left hands the manes. + +"Mount!" + +Four enthusiastic lads swung lightly into their saddles, gathering up +the reins, and on the alert for the next command. + +"Forward!" ordered Tad. + +The Pony Riders clucked to the little animals and in single column +filed slowly up the mountain pass. + +The place that Lige Thomas had chosen for the target work was not an +ideal one, being rough and uneven. Yet, as he explained to them, it +represented general hunting conditions in the Rockies. + +However, the boys did not care. Their ponies were sure-footed enough +now, they thought, to warrant being trusted under ordinary conditions, +while the boys themselves had no fear of their own ability to stick to +their saddles. + +Lige picked out a stump for the first target, on which he pinned a +torn piece of newspaper. + +This the boys were to shoot at with their ponies at the gallop. They +were first to ride to the upper end of the range, after which, they +were to gallop down the field, keeping to the right of the target, +firing at will at any time before reaching a certain point designated +by a handkerchief tied to a bush. + +It was a proud and happy band that thundered down the field on the +fleet-footed ponies, one at a time, discharging their weapons as they +came bravely on. + +At first the little animals objected, in no uncertain manner, to the +crashing of the heavy guns over their heads. Chunky's horse reared and +plunged until the boy was forced to drop his rifle and hang on +desperately, while the pony tore about the field. The young man +undoubtedly would have come to grief had not Tad Butler, observing +that his companion had lost control of the animal, put spurs to Texas, +and reining alongside of Stacy, grasped the pony by the bit, subduing +it only after a lively struggle. During this contest Chunky had let go +of the reins entirely, and was clinging to the pommel of the saddle +with both hands. + +"You take Texas and let me ride your pony for a couple of rounds," +suggested Tad. "I'll see if I can't trim him into shape." + +Stacy willingly relinquished his horse, and Tad, mounting the stubborn +little animal, treated the party to as entertaining a bit of +horsemanship as they ever had witnessed. After Tad had finished with +the pony the animal, thoroughly subdued, made no further objections to +the discharge of weapons all about and over him. + +"Now, go ahead, Chunky," advised Tad. "If he cuts up any more just +take a tight rein and give him the spur. But I think he'll be good +without it." + +Stacy had no further trouble with the pony after that. In fact, all +the ponies soon accustomed themselves to the noise of the firing and +the attendant excitement. + +At first none of the boys seemed able to hit even the +stump. Presently, though, little black patches began to appear on the +white paper as the marksmen dashed by, each successful shot being +greeted by a cheer of approval from the spectators. + +"Those boys have the right stuff in them," said the guide to Professor +Zepplin. "They shoot and ride like old hands already, though they +don't hit the mark every time they shoot." + +"They are young Americans," smiled the Professor. "No other country in +the world produces such types. As a foreigner I can appreciate that." + +While they were talking, Tad was taking his turn at the target. + +"Just look at that boy ride. That proves it," said the Professor. + +Tad had dropped the bridle rein over the saddle bow as he neared the +shooting mark. Rising in his stirrups, riding there as if he were a +part of the animal itself, he was holding the bobbing rifle easily, +eyes fixed on the mark that hung gleaming in the sunlight. + +Suddenly the butt of the rifle sprang to his right shoulder, a flash +of smoke and flame leaped from the muzzle of the gun, and a tiny black +patch appeared, like magic, fairly in the center of the target. + +Dropping to his saddle, half-turning his body, Tad Butler sent back a +second shot hard on the report of the first one, once more planting a +leaden pellet in the now well-riddled paper. + +The boys sent up a whoop of approval. + +"I guess that will do for to-day," decided the guide. "Got any charges +left in your magazines?" + +"I have," answered Chunky. + +"Draw them, then." + +"Yes," said Ned Rector. "Even though Chunky is beginning to get his +eyes open, I don't consider myself safe so long as he has a loaded gun +in his hands. What we shall do with him when we get after real game, +and can't watch him every second, I don't know." + +"Don't you bother about me. You've got enough to do looking after +yourself," retorted Stacy sharply, much to the discomfiture of his +tormentor. + +The boys now turned campward, well satisfied with the morning's +practice and with keen appetites for the noonday meal. Nothing had +been seen of Ben Tackers, so their hopes for going hunting that day +were shattered. + +Yet they were given no opportunity to brood over their +disappointment. Professor Zepplin and Lige Thomas still had a few +surprises in store for them. Very cleverly, they had pieced these +surprises along instead of giving them all to the lads at the +beginning. Thus each day held its new interest, different from any +that had preceded it. + +"We will call this our shooting day, eh, Thomas?" smiled the Professor +significantly. + +"It has been." + +"Then, perhaps you had best get out the other implements of warfare +for our young gentlemen. It will keep them busy until supper time, +furnishing something new as well." + +With a knowing grin, Lige went to the cook tent, soon returning with +an armful. At first the boys glanced at the bundle curiously, then +with more interest as it began to assume shape and form to their eyes. + +"What---what----" stammered Tad. + +Stacy, whose eyes were wide open, was the first to recognize the +articles, and as he did so, Lige dumped them on the ground. + +"Bows and arrows," cried the boys, performing a grotesque war dance +about the weapons. + +"We'll be real Indians now, won't we?" chortled Chunky. + +"They are only playthings," sniffed Ned. "What good are they when we +have real rifles?" + +"You'll find these bows and arrows real enough," answered the +guide. "They were made by Indians, and some of them have been used by +Indians, not only for hunting, but against men as well. A shot from +one of those arrows might put an end to any one of you fully as +quickly as would a bullet from one of your thirty-eights." + +"Shall we help ourselves?" asked Ned. + +"Wait. I'll divide them according to your size and strength. These two +are war bows. I think I'll give them to Master Tad and Ned Rector. It +takes a strong arm to pull them, and you'll want to be careful which +way you shoot." + +"I'll show you fellows how to shoot," averred +Stacy. "I can beat any boy in the bunch with the bow and arrow. I +learned the trick up in New England, where I come from. My ancestors +learned it from the Indians, who used to shoot them up, and the trick +has been handed down in my family. Somebody throw up his hat and see +me pink it," he directed, stringing his bow skilfully. + +The boys could not repress a smile at Chunky's self-praise. + +"Here you go," said Ned, sending his sombrero spinning high in the +air, hoping thereby to take Stacy so much by surprise that he would be +unable to draw a bead on it. + +But Chunky demonstrated that, however slow he might be in some other +things, he could twang a bow with remarkable skill. + +Even before the hat had spent its upward flight, Stacy Brown's +bowstring sang, a slender dark streak sped through the air, its course +laid directly for the hat of which its owner was so proud. + +"Hi there! Look out! You're going to hit it!" warned Ned. + +That was exactly what Stacy had intended to do, though none had had +the slightest idea that he could shoot well enough to accomplish the +feat. + +To their astonishment, the keen-pointed arrow went fairly into the +center of the hat, coming out at the crown, its feathered butt tearing +a great rent in the peak of the sombrero as it passed through. + +Ned groaned as he witnessed the disaster that had come upon his new +hat. But he got no sympathy from the rest of the boys. + +"I'll trade with you. You can wear mine," consoled Chunky, observing +his companion's rueful countenance as he picked up the sombrero, +sorrowfully surveying the rent in its peak. "I'll do nothing of the +sort," snapped Ned. "I told you to shoot at it. It serves me right and +I'll take my medicine like a man. If it rains, I'll stuff the hole +full of leaves," he added humorously. "Then my umbrella will be just +as good as yours." + +"That's the talk," approved the boys. "Anybody else want to offer his +hat to the sacrifice!" grinned Chunky. + +"I think hereafter you had better use the blunt arrows unless you are +shooting at game," advised the guide. "Those flint arrow heads are +dangerous things for work such as yours. I'll pack them away, so there +will be no danger of an accident." + +After having practiced in camp for a time, the boys strayed off, +hoping for a chance to try their skill on some live thing. To this the +Professor made no objection, for they were now becoming so used to the +mountains as to be quite well able to take care of themselves, unless +they got too far from camp, which they were not likely to do. + +Tad soon strolled away by himself, taking a course due south by his +pocket compass. This led him directly over the range where they had +been shooting earlier in the day, and the boy smiled with pride as he +passed the target and counted up the bullet holes that his own rifle +had made. He then pressed on, intending to enter the cedar forest that +crowned a great ridge some distance beyoud him. + +Before reaching there, however, Tad sat down in a rocky basin, to +enjoy to the fullest the sense of being alone in the mountain +fastness. His quiver was full of arrows, and the strong, business-like +looking bow lay across his knees. + +"If I could see a bob-cat now, I'd have something real to interest +me," Tad confided to himself. + +But not a sign of animal life did he observe anywhere about him. + +Tad's right hand was resting on a small jagged stone beside him. It +felt cool under his touch, and, after a little, the boy carelessly +picked it up and looked at it. As he gazed, his eyes took on a +different expression. The stone, in spots, sparkled brilliantly in the +sunlight. He turned it over and over, examining it critically. + +"I wonder if it is gold?" marveled the boy, his eyes growing large +with wonder. "I'll take it back to camp and ask Lige." + +Tad scrambled to his feet, but ere he could carry out his purpose of +starting for camp, an unexpected and startling thing happened. + +There was a whir, as of some object being hurled through the air. The +boy experienced a stinging sensation on his right cheek, as the +missile grazed it, and a stone the size of a man's hand clattered to +the rocks several feet ahead of him, rolling over and over, finally +toppling from a small cliff. + +Some one had thrown the stone at him. Had it hit the boy's head fairly +it almost surely would have killed him. Tad Butler needed no other +evidence than that afforded by his own senses to tell him the missile +was intended for him. + +He whirled sharply. But not a person was in sight. All at once, +however, the keen-eyed boy discovered a slight movement in the sage +brush, a few rods to the rear of where he had been sitting. + +Like a flash he whipped a blunt arrow from the quiver. + +The bow twanged viciously, and the arrow sped straight into the sage +brush. A yell of rage and a floundering about in the bush as if +someone were running, told the boy that his shot had reached a human +mark. + +Pacing the sage, Tad had become conscious of the fact that before him +lay a large black hole in the rocks, and he dimly realized that he had +come upon a cave. But he gave the matter no further attention at that +moment, his first thought being that he must get back to camp as +quickly as possible. + +Stringing his bow, Tad hurled another arrow into the brush, then +bounded away, wondering vaguely who his mysterious enemy might be. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE BATTLE IN THE CAVE + + +Reaching the rifle range, Tad sat down to think over the occurrences +of the past half hour. Why anyoue should wish to do him harm, he could +not understand. And, if anyoue did, why should he adopt such a +peculiar way of attack? Had it been a mountaineer, Tad was sure the +man would have used a gun instead of standing off and throwing stones +at turn like a petulant school boy. He realized too, that they had a +different mode of procedure in the mountains. + +"I'd have been as dead as Chunky's bob-cat if the stone had hit me +fairly," muttered the boy. "Anyway, I've got a chunk of something that +looks a good deal like gold, in my pocket," he added. + +Deciding to say nothing about his recent experience to his companions, +Tad strolled slowly toward camp. Yet, he had firmly made up his mind +to go back to the spot later and make sure that his suspicions were +correct. + +Most of the boys had returned by the time Tad arrived, and there was a +clamor to know the result of his hunting trip. + +"Maybe I shot a cat. But, I didn't," he grinned. + +"What's that!" demanded Ned. + +"Anyway, I've brought back a chunk of gold and discovered a +cave. That's more than the rest of you have done, I'll warrant." + +Either announcement would have been sufficient to arouse the interest +of the campers, and they crowded about Tad, demanding to know what he +meant by his mysterious words. + +"I found a cave, I tell you," he repeated. + +"Where?" asked Lige. + +Tad explained its location as well as he could. + +"And I found this chunk of gold, too," he added proudly. + +The guide took the piece of ore, examining it carefully. + +"That isn't gold," he laughed. "That is what is known as 'fools' +gold.'" + +"Scientifically known as 'iron pyrites'" explained the Professor. + +Tad's jaw fell at this shattering of his hopes. Yet, when Lige tossed +the piece of mineral on the ground, the boy picked it up and dropped +it back in his pocket. Why he did this he did not know. Perhaps it was +instinct. However, after a few moments he had forgotten all about it. + +"You must have had a fight with a bob-cat to get that fierce scratch +on your cheek," chuckled Ned Rector. "I must say that Chunky has you +beaten to a--a--I've forgotten the word I want--when it conies +to fighting cats." + +"I have seen no cats to-day, Ned. But I have found a real cave. Will +you take us over to explore it, in the morning, Mr. Thomas? I'll show +you the biggest thing of its kind you ever have seen, if you'll go," +promised Tad, enthusiastically. + +"Providing we don't go hunting, yes, and--and find some more fools' +gold," laughed the guide. + +Tad went to his tent, for the wound in his cheek was giving him +considerable pain, and a glance into the hand mirror showed him that +the cheek was beginning to swell. + +Taking a towel with him, the boy hurried off to a mountain rivulet, +where he bathed the wounded cheek, holding the wet towel to it to +reduce the swelling. + +Chancing to look up, he observed the guide, Lige Thomas, standing +before him, eyeing him keenly. + +"Warm, isn't?" grinned Tad. + +"Rather. Put the towel down. I want to look at that cheek." + +Tad hesitated, drew the towel away, and gazed back at the guide with a +challenge in his eyes. + +Lige examined the wound carefully. + +"How'd you get it?" he demanded, straightening up. + +"Why do you ask that? It's only a scratch." + +"Because I want to know. If you do not wish to tell me, of course I +shall not press you. However, it will be my duty to call the attention +of the Professor to it. You see, I am responsible for you boys while +you are up here, and----" + +"A stone did it," interrupted Tad, with a touch of stubbornness in his +tone. + +"A stone?" + +"Yes." + +"How?" + +"Somebody threw it at me." + +For a moment the guide gazed at Tad doubtingly. + +"I'll tell you all about it," exclaimed Tad impetuously. "But promise +me that you won't tell the boys. They'd never cease joking me about +it. I'm going back there to-morrow to see if I can find the fellow who +shied the rock at me. No; I didn't see him at all. I was sitting with +my back to him when he let fly at me. But I pinked him, +Mr. Thomas. Believe me, I did----" + +"Pinked him?" + +"Yes, I let him have an arrow full tilt, and I know it hit him, for he +yelled and ran away," explained the boy. + +"This matter must be looked into," decided Lige thoughtfully. "It +begins to look as if Ben Tackers was right about the gang after +all. No; I'll not say anything to the crowd. It would only stir them +up. We will visit the cave to-morrow, and, while the others are +amusing themselves, you and I will look the ground over a bit. I'll go +back now, and you may come along when you get ready." + +Tad remained by the stream until he heard the supper call, whereupon +he rose slowly and picked his way over the rocks to where the others +had assembled about the table in the gathering twilight. + +The boy's appetite, however, had not been affected by the experience +through which he had passed that afternoon, and he stowed away a +hearty meal, after which the evening was spent in listening to stories +of the chase related by Lige Thomas. + +There being still no sign of Ben Tackers on the following morning, a +visit to the cave was decided upon. They reached the place about nine +o'clock, guided by Tad, who took them to the hole in the rock at once. + +"I guess you boys had better fix up some torches," directed Lige. +"Sometimes there are holes within holes, in these mountains, and we +don't want to take a sudden drop down a hundred feet or so. Three +torches will be enough to light. You had better take along two or +three more in case of need." + +Before entering, the guide took the precaution of unslinging his +rifle, and, placing the boys behind him with the torches, he entered +the cave first. They were obliged to stoop to get through the +opening. Once within they followed what appeared to be a passage hewn +out of the solid rock. + +"Ah, here we are!" exclaimed Lige finally, straightening and glancing +about him curiously. + +They found themselves in a dome-like chamber, from which hung +suspended hundreds of stalactites that threw back the rays of the +torches in a thousand sparkling, scintillating points of fire. + +The Pony Riders gasped in amazement. Never had any of them seen +anything like this. + +"Wha--what is it?" breathed Tad Butler. + +"Stalactites," announced the Professor. + +"Look like icicles to me. B-r-r-r," shivered Stacy Brown. + +"It is a very common thing to find them in caves," added the +Professor. "But I never have had the pleasure of observing the +formation before." + +"I can show you some better than these," stated the guide. "I know of +a cave, not so very far from here, that is as big as a church, and a +regular picture of one, too." + +"Is this the end of the cave?" asked Ned. + +"No; there are other passages leading further into the mountain, at +the other end of the chamber there," replied Lige. + +"Are we going to explore them?" inquired Walter. + +"Yes; we can go further, if you wish. But you boys must keep a sharp +lookout where you are going. Don't fool too much. It's easy to get +into trouble here, you know." + +While Lige was speaking, Tad had edged cautiously to one side of the +chamber, where he had observed what appeared to be a small rock, +glistening in the light of the torches. He picked it up, unobserved by +the others, and dropped it into his pocket for further observation. + +The party then pushed on into the cave, one chamber leading into +another, forming a bewildering maze, the brilliant reflections almost +blinding them at times, until at last Lige Thomas was forced to admit +that he never had quite seen the like of it anywhere else in the +Rockies. + +"Didn't I tell you I'd show you the biggest thing you ever saw in your +life?" glowed Tad Butler. + +At that instant a yell of terror from Stacy Brown drew their attention +sharply from Tad, their eyes bulging with fear at what they saw before +them. + +There, sitting on its haunches, paws extended menacingly, showing its +teeth as it uttered low, angry growls of protest, was a full-grown +black bear. + +Tad Butler, indeed, had shown some of them the most surprising things +they had ever seen. Yet this was not exactly the surprise he had +planned for them, or for himself. + +The guide had put his gun down as he entered the chamber, to get one +of the stalactites for Professor Zepplin, who wished to examine it. As +a result, Lige was now some twenty-five feet away from his weapon. + +At first, with the bright reflection in his eyes, the guide was unable +to understand what it was that had caused their sudden fright. Yet the +breathless silence about him told him instantly that something serious +had happened. + +The bear had dropped to all fours and was lumbering straight toward +Stacy Brown, who stood fascinated, watching the approach of the +hideous object, whose raised upper lip showed a row of white gleaming +teeth. + +"Look out!" yelled Tad suddenly finding his voice. + +"Quick, guide!" begged the Professor, weakly. + +"What is it? Where?" snapped Lige, crouching down and shading his +eyes to protect them from the glare. + +He quickly saw what had caused the startling alarm. He saw too, the +hulking beast drawing nearer and nearer to Stacy Brown, and knew that +only some sudden shock to his mind would break the spell that seemed +to possess the boy at that moment. + +"Run!" thundered the guide. + +But Chunky stood as rigid as a statue. + +Lige sprang for his rifle. In his haste he slipped on the smooth, damp +floor and went sprawling. + +By the time he had recovered himself, the bear had ambled up to Stacy, +until the boy could feel the hot, nauseating breath beating against +his face. + +Tad Butler without regard for his own safety, leaped for the bear. But +Professor Zepplin was too quick for him. He caught Tad by the arm, +jerking him back. + +Now, at that instant, Stacy Brown did a thing that brought a groan +from each one who witnessed the daring act. + +Chunky drew back his pudgy fist and let go with all his might. + +His knuckles smote the bear fairly on the point of its nose, and the +impact sounded loud and clear in the tense stillness of the cave. + +If the Pony Riders were surprised, Bruin was even more so. With a +grunt the bear suddenly sat down on its haunches, passing its paws +over its nose, bewilderment plainly written on its countenance. Under +ordinary circumstances the boys would have laughed. But now they were +too horrified to do so. + +Chunky, either because he was emboldened by the success of his attack, +or through the excitement of the moment, picked up a rock from the +cave floor, and stepping back, hurled it with all his strength. The +stone hit the bear a glancing blow on the head, bringing from the +animal a growl of rage. Now, the brute was dangerously angered. + +It charged the party savagely, jaws wide apart, but uttering no sound, +not even a growl. By this time some one had pulled Chunky from his +perilous position and Tad and Professor Zepplin were pushing the other +boys back toward the exit with all possible haste. It all had happened +in a few seconds. Lige scrambled to his feet, rifle in hand, just in +time to see the big brute charging straight at him, as if recognizing +that in that quarter lay its gravest danger. + +There came a sudden flash of flame, a crash and a roar as if the very +mountain had been rent in twain, followed by another and still +another. + +Tad had grabbed a torch from the hands of one of his companions, the +instant Lige began to fire, and sprung back to give the guide +sufficient light to shoot by. + +In doing so, however, the boy had unwittingly placed himself in the +direst peril. + +The wounded bear was charging madly here and there, uttering terrific +growls of mingled rage and pain. But the instant its bloodshot eyes +were fixed upon the boy with the torch, the animal rose on its +haunches, and, with paws making powerful sweeps in the air, bore down +upon Tad. + +The boy was too far over in the chamber to be able to make his escape +without getting between Lige and the bear, and escape seemed well-nigh +impossible. + +However, Tad did not lose his presence of mind. With a leap as +unexpected as it was surprising, he sprang straight for the savage +beast. It seemed as if he was throwing himself right into the wide +open jaws to be crushed to death. + +"Don't shoot!" he warned, leaping forward. As he did so, he lowered +the torch to the level of his own eyes, and drove it straight into the +gaping mouth of the maddened bear. Then Tad sprang lightly to one +side, throwing himself prone upon the floor. + +The great bear was not growling now, but its groans of agony as it +fought to get the deadly thing from its throat, sent a chill to the +hearts of all who heard them. + +At the instant when Tad threw himself down, Lige pulled the trigger. + +His bullet ploughed its way through the brain of the bear, relieving +its fearful sufferings. Bruin collapsed and rolled over, dead. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +LIVE CUBS CAPTURED + + +"Bring torches!" shouted Lige. "Look out for yourselves! There may be +another in the cave. This is an old she bear." + +After the lights had been brought, the boys cautiously approached the +dead bear. Lige was down on his knees examining it. + +"I think we shall find something interesting here, before we have +finished," he announced. "Master Tad, as you have strong nerves, you +come along with me. The others can drag the bear out and wait for us +outside. Bring a couple of extra torches, in case we need them." + +"What are you looking for? More bear?" inquired the boy after they had +penetrated further into the cave. + +"You'll see; that is, if I find what I am looking for. Your cave is +turning out better than any of us had any idea it would. Was that some +more fools' gold you picked up back there?" + +"Oh, you saw me, did you? I don't know. It shines, and that's all I +know about it. Do you know of any place where there is real gold in +this part of the Rockies?" + +"Yes; there are some claims paying fairly well within twenty miles of +here. The Lost Claim is supposed to be somewhere in this neighborhood, +but thus far no one ever has been able to locate it. I've had +suspicions that Ben Tackers might make a close guess if he wanted to +disclose it. But old Ben wouldn't bother with the gold if it was +dumped right down in his pig sty." + +"What's the Lost Claim?" + +"It's quite a long story. I'll tell it to you, briefly, while we are +exploring the cave." + +"Then it was a real gold mine?" + +"It surely was, Master Tad. And I guess it is still. Some twenty years +ago a miner who had been born and brought up in the Park Range began +dropping down to Denver at more or less irregular intervals, where he +exchanged nuggets of pure gold and pay dust for cash. The quality of +the gold showed that it must come from a rich vein. + +"Naturally, people were curious. But to all their questions, Ab +Ferguson simply said he'd got the gold out of 'the Lost Claim.'" + +"Wonder they didn't follow him. I should think they might have located +it in that way?" wondered Tad. + +"They did. But they might as well have tried to find the pot of gold +that is said to be at one end or the other of the rainbow. Ab was too +much of an Indian to be caught that way." + +"What happened to him finally?" + +"Knocked down by a runaway team in Denver, and died three days later." + +"And he didn't tell anyoue where the Claim was?" + +"Not he. They've been looking for it ever since. But no one, so far as +I ever heard, has got anywhere near it. There's a bunch of hard +characters beating up the mountains now, hoping to get rich without +work. It's dollars to sandwiches they're hoping to find the Lost +Claim." + +"You--you don't suppose it was one of them who threw the stone at +me, do you?" asked Tad reflectively. + +"I hadn't thought of that. It may be--it may be. H-m-m-m. That's an +idea." + +"But why should they wish to harm me? I don't understand it at all." + +"No more do I, unless they found you snooping about, or thought our +party might be on the same lay they are. You know, fellows of that +kind will stop at nothing. More than one man has been killed on +nothing more than an idle suspicion, in these mountains. A lot more +will follow in the same way. But we've been warned, and it will be +well to keep a sharp lookout." + +"If they hadn't thought we were near the Lost Claim, I don't see why +they should have had any suspicions," decided Tad. + +"On general principles--that's all." + +"Did you ever try to find the Lost Claim?" + +"I? Never. What would I do with it, if I had it? I'm like Ben +Tackers--don't need any more money than I've got. More would be too +much." + +Yet Tad Butler was unable to rid his mind of the idea that somehow he +had stumbled close upon the dead miner's secret. He determined to turn +prospector at the very first opportunity. + +"Is this more fools' gold?" he asked, pointing to a thin, yellow +streak that sparkled in the rock at their right. + +"I reckon it is. It has fooled more than one prospector, and drove +some of them crazy. Take my advice and don't get the fever. Nothing +but trouble will follow you if you do. Trouble always does follow the +greed for the yellow metal." + +They had been winding out in the maze of passages, Lige, in the +meantime, keeping a sharp lookout for guide marks, now and then +gouging a niche in the wall to guide them on their return journey. + +"Watch out," he cautioned. "We are coming to something." + +Sundry soft, muffled growls led them to proceed more carefully, until, +finally, Lige directed the lad to raise the torch higher. Lige cocked +his rifle, holding it in readiness for quick action. In this manner +they crept further into the cave until Tad was suddenly startled by a +loud laugh from the guide. + +"What is it?" exclaimed the boy. + +"Just what I thought. Come here." + +At first, Tad could make nothing of what the guide was exhibiting. + +However, after a moment's peering in that direction, the boy observed +what appeared to be a round ball of fur in one corner of the +chamber. "Wha--what is it--bears?" Lige nodded, and, striding over +to the heap, he pulled it roughly apart. His act was greeted with a +series of savage snarls and growls. + +"Cubs. Four of them, and beauties, at that. I knew they were in here, +somewhere, after I had examined the mother," announced the guide +triumphantly. + +"Bear cubs? You don't mean it!" exclaimed Tad joyously. "And we can +take them with us?" + +"That's exactly what we shall do. There will be one for each of you, +and we can crate them up so they can be carried on the burros." + +"One for each of us? Won't the boys go wild when they see them? But, +how are we going to get them to camp?" + +"I'll show you." + +Taking a strip of rawhide from his pocket, Lige fashioned a collar +about the neck of each cub, leaving a leash four or five feet long to +lead the animal by. However, this was not accomplished without +vigorous protest on the part of the cubs. Tad was highly amused at +their efforts to cuff their captor with their little paws, which they +wielded with more or less skill. Yet, they were too young to be able +to make any great resistance, and the guide did not give the slightest +attention to their attempts to drive them away. + +"There," he announced, having secured the little animals. "We each +will lead two. Don't be afraid to pull, if they hold back. They'll +come along all right when they begin to choke." + +With their prizes in tow Tad and the guide retraced their steps to the +cave entrance. + +At first, looks of amazement greeted them as they emerged with their +strange captives. + +"Know what they are?" grinned Tad, proudly hauling his cubs up for +inspection. + +The boys shook their heads. + +"Bear cubs. There's one for each of us." + +"Whoop!" shouted the boys in chorus. + +"Now, we'll have a regular menagerie," exclaimed Ned. "If we could +catch a live bob-cat to go with them, wouldn't that be great?" + +"Will they bite?" asked Chunky, apprehensively edging away from one of +the animals that was playfully tugging at his leggin. + +"Not yet," answered the guide. "And you can tame them so they won't +hurt you at all. They make good pets if one begins when they are +young." + +The next half hour was spent in skinning the big mother bear, which +proceeding the boys watched with keen interest. Some of the meat they +took back to camp with them to cook for supper. + +They found old Ben Tackers there awaiting them. + +"Hullo, Ben," greeted the guide. "How's everything?" + +"Tol'ble," grunted the old mountaineer. + +"Are the dogs ready?" + +Ben nodded. + +"Start morning," he said. + +"Good," shouted the boys. + +"We couldn't imagine where you had been keeping yourself all the +time," added the Professor. "Lige went over to your cabin last night +and found it locked." + +"Been away, Ben?" asked Lige. + +"Over to Eagle Pass. Miners steal old Ben's hogs--one, two of +them. Sheriff come by-and-bye and chase bunch out. Old Ben kill them, +but Sheriff do better. Big fight when Sheriff comes." + +The boys laughed at his quaint way of expressing himself, but not +catching the full import of his words. + +Lige, on the other hand, eyed him questioningly; and, when Ben finally +left the camp in his usual abrupt fashion, the guide rose and followed +him. When Lige Thomas returned, his face wore an expression of +seriousness that amounted almost to anxiety. + +The boys were excitedly discussing their plans for the morrow. It had +been decided that the Professor should remain in camp with Jose, as, +owing to the presence of the miners in the vicinity, it was not +thought wise to leave the camp entirely alone. The four boys, with +Lige Thomas, were to make the trip, from which, in case they found the +game running, they might not return in twenty-four hours. + +Tad had been thinking deeply. After a little while he rose and walked +over to Professor Zepplin's tent. + +"May I come in?" he asked. + +"Certainly, walk right in, Tad. What is on your mind?" + +"This," answered the lad, laying on the Professor's table the chunks +of mineral that he had picked up. + +"What's this? Ah, I see. More of the iron pyrites. The metal has +driven many a poor fellow mad with anticipations of fabulous wealth," +smiled the German. + +"Are you sure it is fools' gold, Professor?" + +"Reasonably so. But you may leave it here, if you wish, and I will +examine it at my leisure. Where did you find the second piece?" + +"In the cave. There is a streak of what appears to be the same stuff, +extending around one entire chamber there. If it was gold instead +of----" + +"Pyrites," supplied the Professor. + +"Yes. It would make a man very rich, would it not?" asked Tad rising. + +"Undoubtedly," smiled the Professor, bowing the boy out courteously. + +Professor Zepplin, from the opening of his tent, watched Tad until the +latter had joined his companions, after which he pulled the flap shut, +quickly seating himself in front of his camp table. + +Having done so, he proceeded to examine the two pieces of metal under +a magnifying glass. Then with his geologist's hammer he broke off bits +of the metal, through all of which sparkled the bright yellow +particles. + +The German got out his field kit, from which he selected several +bottles with glass stoppers, arranging these on the table in front of +him. This done, he pulverized a small quantity of the rock, with +short, quick raps of the hammer, placing the powder thus made on a +plate. + +"One part nitric acid, two parts hydrochloric acid," he muttered, +pouring the desired quantities from the bottles. + +These preparations having been made, the Professor's next move was to +apply a blowpipe to some of the metal from the pulverized ore, thus +forming a small yellow button. This he dissolved in the aqua regia, +formed by the combination of the two acids, and applied the usual +chemical tests. + +As he did so, Professor Zepplin's eyes glowed with a strange light. + +He sprang up, peered cautiously from behind the tent flap, then +settled himself once more to his experiments. + +Again he went through a similar process with the powder made from +still another chunk of the ore. The same result followed. + +"Gold! Gold! Rich yellow gold!" breathed the scientist. + +He sat with head bowed, breathing heavily, his fascinated gaze fixed on +the shining metal. + +"Can it be possible!" he murmured. + +The loud laughter of the boys off by the camp fire was borne to his +ears. But Professor Zepplin did not seem to hear the sounds. He was +lost in deep thought. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE PONIES STAMPEDE + + +Next morning the camp was stirring as the first gray streaks appeared +on the eastern horizon. + +Each saddle bag was quickly packed with hard tack, coffee and other +necessaries which might be easily carried, the rest of the space being +taken up with cartridges and the like. Blankets were rolled, ready to +be strapped behind the saddles on the ponies' backs. + +The luggage was to be reduced to the absolute needs of the party, but +with the possibility of having to remain out over night, their +requirements were greater than if they had intended to return the same +evening. + +Before they had finished their hurried breakfast, Ben Tackers +appeared, accompanied by two vicious looking hounds, whose red eyes +and beetle brows made the boys hesitate to approach them at first. + +However, after the Pony Riders had tossed small chunks of cooked bear +meat to them, the animals, by wagging their tails, showed that nothing +need be feared from them. + +No sooner were the guns brought out than the dogs, beginning to +understand what was in the air, bounded from one to another of the +lads, barking and yelping with keen delight. + +All was activity in the camp. Ponies were quickly rubbed down, saddled +and bridled, blankets strapped on, and, at a command from Tad Butler, +the young hunters fairly threw themselves into their saddles. The +party moved off, with the enthusiastic riders waving their hats and +shouting farewells to those who had been left behind. + +Jose swung a dishpan, grinning broadly, while the Professor smiled and +nodded at the departing horsemen. In a few moments the voices of the +boys had become only a distant murmur. + +"Come into my tent a moment, Mr. Tackers," invited the Professor. + +The old mountaineer accepted the invitation apparently somewhat +grudgingly. + +"I hear considerable about gold being found in this neighborhood, +occasionally, Mr. Tackers. What has been your experience, may I ask?" + +"There's some as has found pay dirt," answered Ben. "But I reckon Ben +Tackers don't bother his head about it." + +"Hm-m-m-m," mused the Professor. "What is the nearest railroad station +to this place?" + +"Eagle Pass. 'Bout twenty miles from here, due east." + +"How long would it take you to make the trip there and back?" + +"Wouldn't make it again. Just been there. Haven't any horse." + +"I have a horse, Mr. Tackers, and I should very much like to have you +make this trip for me," announced the Professor, coming directly to +the point. "I will pay you well for your trouble, but with the +understanding that you say nothing of it to anyoue. The errand on +which I am asking you to go is a confidential one. You will not +mention it even to Lige Thomas. And, of course, it goes without saying +that I do not wish the boys to know about it, either." + +Ben peered at the Professor from behind his bushy eyebrows, with +suspicion plainly written in his beady eyes. + +"What for?" he grunted. + +"That I cannot tell you--in fact it is not necessary for you to +know. When you get there, all you will be required to do will be to +hand two packages to the express agent there, with instructions to +forward them at once to their destination, which will be Denver." + +"What'll you give?" + +"How much will you charge?" asked the Professor. + +Ben considered for a moment. + +"'Bout fifty cents, I reckon," he answered hesitatingly, as if +thinking the amount named would be too much. + +"I'll give you five times that," announced the Professor promptly. + +"No; fifty cents 'll be 'bout right." + +"How soon can you start?" + +"Now, I reckon." + +"Be ready in an hour, and I will have the packages for you. When will +you return?" + +"To-night." + +"Good. Now be off and get yourself ready. You know where my horse +is. And, by the way, I shall want you to make the trip again no later +than the day after to-morrow, as I shall expect an answer to my +message by that time. For that service I shall be glad to pay you the +same." + +"No; fifty cents will cover it all." + +"Have it your own way." + +Ben, understanding that the interview was at an end, rose and left the +tent. Professor Zepplin then took one of the ore specimens from his +pocket and packed it carefully in a small pasteboard box, wrapping and +tying the package with great care. + +Next, he wrote industriously for some twenty minutes. The letter he +sealed in a large, tough envelope, after which he leaned back, lost +in thought. + +"Things couldn't be better," he muttered. Ben, upon his return, +received the packages which he was to express, and a few moments later +had ridden from camp on old Bobtail, headed for Eagle Pass. + +"I rather think I have turned a trick that will surprise some people," +chuckled the Professor. "Perhaps I'll even surprise myself." + +Later in the morning he strolled up to the cave entrance, hammer in +hand, breaking off a bit of rock here and there, all of which he +dropped into a little leathern bag that he carried attached to his +belt. Yet the Professor wisely concluded not to take the chance of +entering the cave alone, much as he wished to do so. + +The young hunters, in the meantime, were plodding along on their +ponies on their way to the hunting grounds, which lay some ten miles +to the northward of their camp. They found rough traveling. Instead of +following the ridges, they were now moving at right angles to them, +which carried the boys over mountains, down through gulches and +ravines, over narrow, dangerous passes and rocky slopes that they +would not have believed it was possible for either man or horse to +scale. + +"Regular goats, these ponies," said Tad proudly. "Regular trick +ponies, all of them." + +"They have to be or break their necks," replied Walter. + +"Or ours," added Ned Rector. + +"I don't see any wild beasts, but I feel hungry," declared Stacy. +"My stomach tells me it's time for the 'chuck wagon,' as Lige Thomas +calls it, to drive up." + +"Tighten your belt--tighten your belt," jeered Ned. "Cheer up! +You'll be hungrier bye-and-bye." + +The boys munched their hard tack in the saddle, the guide being +anxious to get, before nightfall, to the grounds where Tackers had +advised him the bob-cats were plentiful. Already the dogs were lolling +with tongues protruding from their mouths, not being used to running +the trail in such warm weather. Now and then they would plunge into a +cool mountain stream, immersing themselves to the tips of their noses +where the water was deep enough, and sending up a shower of glistening +spray as they shook themselves free of the water after springing to +the bank again. + +It was close to the hour of sunset when the guide finally gave the +word to halt. Lige prepared the supper while the boys bathed and +rubbed down their ponies, after which they busied themselves cutting +boughs for their beds, which they now were well able to make without +assistance from their guide. + +Bronzed almost to a copper color, the lads were teeming with health +and spirits. Even Walter Perkins, for the first time in his life, felt +the red blood coursing healthfully through his veins, for he was fast +hardening himself to the rough life of the mountains. + +All were tired enough to seek their beds early. Wrapping themselves in +their blankets, they were soon asleep. + +Midnight came, and the camp fire slowly died away to a dull, lurid +pile of red hot coals that shed a flicker of light now and then, as +some charred stick flamed up and was consumed. A long, weird, wailing +cry, as of some human being in dire distress, broke on the stillness +of the night. + +The boys awoke with a start. + +"What's that?" whispered Chunky, shivering in his bed. + +"Nothing," growled Ned. "What did you wake me up for?" + +Once more the thrilling cry woke the echoes, wailing from rock to +rock, and gathering volume, until it seemed as if there were many +voices instead of only one. + +The ponies sprang to their feet with snorts of fear, while the boys, +little less startled, leaped from their beds with blanching faces. + +The guide was already on his feet, rifle in hand. + +Again the cry was repeated, this time seeming to come from directly +over their heads, somewhere up the rocky side of the gulch in which +they were encamped. + +Even horses trained to mountain work had been known to stampede under +less provocation. The frightened ponies suddenly settled back on their +haunches. There was a sound of breaking leather, as the straps with +which they were tethered parted, and the little animals were free. + +"Stop them! Stop them! Jump for them!" roared the guide. + +But his warning command had come to late. With neighs of terror, the +animals dashed straight through the camp, some leaping over the boys' +cots as they went. + +"Catch them!" thundered Lige. "It's a cougar stampeding them so he can +catch them himself." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +ON A PERILOUS HIDE + + +"Grab him! Don't let him get by you!" + +One of the ponies swept by Tad Butler like a black projectile. The +boy's hand shot out, fastening itself in the pony's mane. + +Tad's feet left the ground instantly, his body being jerked violently +into the air, only to strike the earth again a rod further on. So +rapidly was the pony moving, that the boy was unable to pull himself +up sufficiently to mount it. + +Almost in a twinkling Tad had been lifted out of the camp and whisked +from the sight of his companions. The lad was taking what he realized +to be the most perilous ride of his life. + +As soon as he was able to get his breath, he began coaxing the pony, +but the continual bobbing of his body against the side of the +terrified animal outweighed the persuasive tones of his urging. With +each bump, the little animal, with a frightened snort, would leap into +the air and plunge ahead again. + +Tad did not know to which of the ponies he was clinging. Nor did he +find an opportunity to satisfy himself on this point. + +His flesh was torn from contact with thorns, while his face was ribbed +from the whipping it had received by being dragged through the thick +undergrowth, until tiny rivulets of blood trickled down his cheeks and +neck. + +Yet Tad Butler clung to the mane of the racing pony with desperate +courage. He had not the slightest thought of letting go until ho +should finally have subdued the animal. + +"Whoa, Texas! Whoa, Jimmie! Whoa, Jo-Jo!" he soothed, trying the name +of each of the ponies in turn. But it was all to no purpose. Finally, +the little animal slackened its speed, somewhat, as it began the +ascent of a steep rise of ground. Tad took instant advantage of the +opportunity, and, after great effort, succeeded in throwing his right +hand over the pony's back. Then his right leg was jerked up. It came +down violently on the animal's rump. + +Startled, the pony sprang forward once more, causing Tad to slide back +to his former unpleasant position. But the boy had succeeded in +getting a mane-hold with his right hand as well. This was a distinct +gain, besides relieving the fearful strain on his left hand, the +fingers of which were now cramped and numb. Hardly any sense of +feeling remained in them. Instead of being dragged along on his left +side, the plucky lad was now able, with great effort, to keep his face +to the front. + +"If I could only get my hand on his nose and pinch it now, I'd stop +him," breathed Tad Butler. + +In the meantime, excitement at the camp was at fever heat. Lige had +failed to bring down the cougar and every one of the ponies had +disappeared. + +"Bring torches!" commanded the guide calmly, not wishing to let the +boys see that he was in the least disturbed. "We must try to round up +some of the stock. One of you build up the fire." + +"But Tad?" urged Walter. "Don't you know Tad's gone? He'll be lost. We +must go after him at once." + +"That's what I want you to start the fire for--so he can see it. +He'll come back with the pony. No fear about that, for Tad Butler +is not the boy to give up until he has accomplished what he's set +out to do. One of you must remain here, though, while the rest of +us go out to look for the stock. Will you stay, Ned?" + +"I will," answered the boy, though far from relishing the task +assigned to him. + +"You have your rifle. Signal us by shooting into the air if anything +happens. But be careful. Don't get the 'buck fever' and let go at us, +or at Tad, if he should return before we get back." + +"I'll be careful," answered the boy. "Please don't worry about me. Any +danger of that cougar jumping down on me here?" he asked, glancing +apprehensively at the rocks overhead. + +"I think not. He's gone. We shall be more likely to see him than you +will. It's the ponies the brute's after. And he may have gotten one of +them before this," added the guide. + +Ned pluckily took his station just outside the circle of light formed +by the replenished fire, and sat down with rifle laid across his +knees. + +The guide, with Walter Perkins and Stacy Brown, set off at a trot in +search of the stampeded ponies. At Lige's direction they spread out so +as to cover as much ground as possible, the torches making it well +nigh impossible for any of them to get lost. + +"Call your ponies," advised the guide. "We may be able to pick up some +of them in that way after they have spent themselves." + +Yet, though the forest rang with their calls, no trace were they able +to find of the missing animals. + +"No use," announced Lige finally. "We shall only get lost +ourselves. It will be better to return to camp and wait for +daylight. If the cougar is going to eat any of them, he probably has +them by this time. However, I think my shooting has frightened him +off, and that he is several miles from here by now. That was my main +object in wasting so much ammunition on the beast." + +"Yes, but what are we going to do about Tad?" insisted Walter. + +"If he has not returned, we can do nothing more than to keep the +fire burning and discharge our guns now and then to let him know +where we are. When daylight comes, I probably shall be able to +follow his trail. But first of all we must get the ponies. We can +do nothing without them." + +"Do you think we ever shall find them?" asked Stacy. + +"I most certainly hope so. At least, I expect to get some of them. If +any are then missing, we can buy a couple at Eagle Pass, which is not +very far. But you trust Master Tad to take care of himself. He'll get +back somehow, My duty is to remain with you boys. We will look him up +together when we get something to ride on." + +The little band trudged ruefully through the dark forest on their +return to camp, guided carefully by Lige, without whom they surely +would have lost their way. + +In the meantime, Tad had been dragged over an entire mountain range, +the ranges in this case, however, being no more than a succession of +summits of low peaks. The pony had reached the top of one of these +when, without pausing in its mad course, it dashed on over the crest, +and started down the opposite side. + +All at once Tad realized that they were treading on thin air. The +meaning of it all, smote him like a blow. + +"We're over the cliff!" he groaned. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +LOST IN THE MOUNTAINS + + +Fortunately, however, their fall proved to be a very short one, though +to Tad it seemed as if they had been falling for an hour. Boy and +horse landed on a soft, mossy bank, rolling over and over, the pony +kicking and squealing with fear, until, finally, both came to a stop +at the bottom of the hill. + +Tad was unharmed, save for the unmerciful treatment he had received +during his record-breaking journey. Yet, he proposed to take no +further chances of losing his horse, if he had the good fortune to +find the animal still alive. Tad came up like a rubber ball. With a +quick leap, he threw himself fairly on the pony's side. The impact +made the little horse grunt, his feet beating a tattoo in the air in +his desperate struggles to free himself. + +"Whoa!" commanded Tad sharply, sliding forward and sitting on the +animal's head, which position he calmly maintained, until the pony, +realizing the uselessness of further opposition, lay back conquered. + +Yet the boy did not rise immediately. Instead, he patted the pony's +neck gently, speaking soothing words and calming it until the animal's +quivering muscles relaxed and it lay breathing naturally. + +"Good boy, Jimmie," he said, recognizing the pony as Ned's. "Now, +after you have rested a bit we'll see what we can do about getting +back to camp. If I'm any judge, you and I are not going to have a very +easy time of it on the back track, either, Jimmie." + +Without a compass, with only a hazy idea of the direction in which +they had been traveling, Tad's task indeed was a difficult one. + +"I think we'll walk a bit, Jimmie," he confided to the pony, and, +taking the little animal by the bridle, began leading it cautiously up +the slope, which he ascended by a roundabout course, remembering the +jump they had taken on the way down. Tad was not likely to forget +that. + +The boy's eyes were heavy for want of sleep and his wounds pained him +beyoud words. After somewhat more than an hour's journey he pulled up, +looking about him. + +"I am afraid we two pards are lost, Jimmie." + +The pony rubbed its nose against him as if in confirmation of the +lad's words. + +"And the further we go, the more we shall be lost. Jimmie, the best +thing for you and me to do will be to go to bed. Lie down, Jimmie, +that's a good boy." + +As Tad tapped the pony gently on the knees the little animal slowly +lowered himself to the ground, finally rolling over on his side with a +snort. + +"Good boy," soothed Tad. Then snuggling down, with the pony's neck for +his pillow, the bridle rein twisted about one hand, Tad went as sound +asleep as if he had not a care in the world, and without thought of +the perils which the mountains about them held. + +Yet some good fairy must have been watching over Tad Butler, for not a +sound broke the stillness until a whinny from Jimmie at last disturbed +his slumbers. + +The boy opened his eyes in amazement. It was broad daylight. + +Tad's first care was to tether the pony to a sapling, after which he +searched about until he found a mountain stream, in which he washed, +feeling greatly refreshed afterward. He then treated the pony as he +had himself, washing the animal down, and allowing it to quench it's +thirst in the stream. + +"Not much of a breakfast, is it, Jimmie? But you can help yourself to +leaves. That's where you have the best of me. Not being a horse, I +can't eat leaves. I wonder where I am!" + +Gazing about him inquiringly, the boy failed to recognize the +landscape at all. In fact, he did not believe he ever had seen it +before. When the sun rose he declared to himself that it had come +right up out of the west. What little sense of direction he might have +had left was entirely lost after this, and Tad sat down to think +matters over. + +Once he raised his head sharply and listened. He was sure that he had +heard a shot, far off toward the rising sun. + +Tad wished with all his heart, that he had his rifle with him, for he +realized that with it he might be able to attract attention. + +"I certainly cannot sit here and starve to death," he decided after +Jimmie had satisfied his own hunger from the fresh green leaves. "Come +on, Jimmie; we'll go somewhere, anyway." + +Saying which, Tad methodically patched the broken bridle rein +together, mounted the pony's bare back and set off to climb the low +mountain that loomed ahead of him. + +He had gone on thus for nearly two hours, without finding any trace of +either the camp or his late companions, when a sound off in the bushes +to the right of him caused him to pull Jimmie up sharply. Jimmie +pricked up his ears and whinnied. + +"That's strange," muttered Tad. "He wouldn't be likely to do that if +it was a wild animal over there. Judging from past experiences, he'd +run." + +Once more did Jimmie set up a loud whinny, and to Tad's surprise and +delight, the signal was answered by a similar call off in the sage +brush. + +"It's a horse. I believe it's one of the ponies," cried Tad, turning +his mount in the direction from which the sounds had seemed to come, +and galloping rapidly toward the place. Next, the boy uttered a shout +of joy. + +His delight was great, after he had penetrated the sage, to come +suddenly upon a pony contentedly munching a mouthful of green leaves, +and gazing at him with great wondering eyes. + +"Texas!" shouted the boy. + +Tad had indeed come upon his own faithful little pony. + +"Texas, you rascal, you come right here. What do you mean by running +away from me like this?" + +Texas swished his tail, shaking his head and stamping his feet as if +in mute protest at his owner's chiding. + +Yet the pony made no attempt to run away as his master rode up beside +him. Leaping to the ground, Tad petted the animal, throwing his arms +about its neck, as if he had found a long lost friend. The two ponies, +too, rubbed noses, and in other ways expressed their satisfaction at +once more being together. + +Now, reassured, and almost as well satisfied as if he had eaten a +hearty breakfast, Tad mounted his own pony, and, taking Jimmie in tow, +pressed on once more, hoping eventually to come out somewhere near the +camp. + +But the boy's companions had not been idle. Lige had prepared their +breakfast without waking them. When he called them they sprang up, +rubbing their eyes, and a few minutes later gathered around the hot +meal. + +"What is the first thing this morning?" asked Ned after learning that +Tad had not yet returned. + +"Breakfast," answered the guide. "Next, we'll look for the ponies, +then go after Master Tad." + +More fortunate in their search than they had hoped for, the party +within the hour succeeded in rounding up all the ponies save Jimmie +and Texas. One of the two they knew Tad had gone away with, so, after +a council, it was decided to take the animals they had captured and +make an effort to find Tad Butler. + +"I'm going to try an experiment," announced Lige, after they had +returned to camp with the stock. + +Calling the hounds, Ginger and Mustard, to him, the guide allowed them +to sniff the saddles and saddle cloths of Jimmie and Texas. After +that, he showed them Tad Butler's hat. + +The intelligent animals, after sniffing attentively at the articles, +looked up at the guide as much as if to say: "Well, what about it?" + +"Go after them! Fetch them, Ginger and Mustard!" he urged. + +With noisy barks, the dogs began running about the camp with noses to +the ground, sniffing at the ponies again and again, the little party +in the meantime, watching them with keen interest. + +All at once, with a deep bay, Mustard struck out for the bushes, +followed an instant later by Ginger. + +"They've got it! They've got it!" shouted Lige. "That's the way Tad +went. Now, if those brutes don't get sidetracked on the trail of a +bob-cat, we ought to round up some of our missing friends." + +Lige bade Ned to accompany him on Jo-Jo, and directed the others to +remain in camp--not to move from it until their return. Then the two +horsemen set off at a gallop, following the swiftly moving dogs. + +Lige knew that he was on the right track, for Tad, as he was dragged +through the bushes, had left a plainly marked trail--that is, plain +to the experienced eyes of the mountain guide, who nodded his head +with satisfaction as he noted the course the dogs were taking. + +Tad pulled up his pony, and, leaning forward, listened intently. + +He faintly caught the distant baying of a hound. + +Placing a hand to his mouth, he gave a long, piercing war whoop. + +The dogs' baying seemed to come nearer. Now and then, as the animals +sank into a ravine, the sound would be lost momentarily, only to be +taken up again with added force when the crest of the hill was +reached. + +Once more, Tad sent out his long, thrilling war-cry. + +It was answered by a rifle shot, but from the perplexing echoes he was +unable to place it. The ponies now pricked up their ears +inquiringly. Jimmie snorted, and, for the moment, acted as if he were +ready to bolt again. Tad slapped him smartly on the flanks, sternly +commanding him to stand still. + +"There they are!" cried the boy, as the dogs, stretched out to their +full lengths, with tails held straight out behind them, swept down a +gentle slope on the other side of the valley, and, taking the hill on +his side, rose rapidly to the pinnacle where he was sitting on his +pony. + +"Ginger! Mustard!" was the glad cry uttered by Tad Butler, as the +dogs, yelping with joy at the sound of his voice, came bounding to +him, while the ponies reared and plunged in the excess of their +excitement. + +Tad leaped from his mount, petting and fondling the hounds, hugging +them as they leaped upon him, and shouting at the top of his voice, as +he heard still another shot on the other side of the hill. + +A few moments later, he made out the figures of two horsemen on the +opposite ridge, following on in the trail of the dogs. They were Ned +Rector and the guide, Lige Thomas. + +The two set up a glad shout as they made out Tad, waving his arms and +gesticulating. + +"Come on, doggies! It's breakfast for us, now!" cried Tad, leaping to +Texas' back, leading Jimmie dashing down the hill to meet the oncoming +horsemen. + +"Hooray!" welcomed Ned Rector. + +And amid the shouts of the boys and the barking of the dogs, rescuers +and rescued drew swiftly toward each other. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE DOGS TREE A CAT + + +Walter and Chunky finally made out Tad, tattered and torn, but riding +his pony proudly, approaching the camp. It was a warm welcome that the +two boys extended to the returning horsemen, after they had finally +dismounted and staked down their ponies. The plucky lad was kept busy +for some time telling them of his thrilling experience on the wild +ride of the night before. + +"And now, I guess we had better lay up for the day," decided the +guide. "You must be pretty well tired out after your little trip. The +rest of us didn't get much sleep last night, either." + +"No," protested Tad. "I never was more fit in my life. I am crazy to +start on our hunting trip." + +"So are we," shouted the boys in chorus. + +"All right, then. Pack up while Tad is getting something to eat. He +must have a large-sized appetite by this time," smiled Lige Thomas. + +"If I had a chunk of that bear meat that we got the other day, I'd +show you what sort of an appetite I have," laughed Tad. "There's +something about this mountain air that would lead a man to sell his +blouse for a square meal. Where's my rifle?" + +"Over there by your bunk," answered Walter. "You go ahead and +eat. We'll pack the pony for you while you are breakfasting." + +Tad did so, and an hour later the Pony Riders were once more in the +saddle. + +"I think I'll put the dogs on the trail of the fellow that upset our +plans so thoroughly last night," decided Lige. "He probably is a long +way from here by this time, but it will be a good trail to warm the +hounds up on." + +Bidding the boys draw down the valley half a mile or so, where he said +he would join them, Lige went in the opposite direction, and, picking +his way along a ledge, sent the dogs on ahead of him. The hounds soon +scented the trail, though on the bare rocks they had considerable +difficulty in picking it up. + +After watching them for a few moments, Lige urged them out into the +brush, where he thought the scent might be more marked. His judgment +was verified when, a moment later, a yelp from Mustard told him the +faithful animal had picked up the trail at last. + +Turning back, the guide hastened to the foot of the mountain, whence +he galloped down the valley to join the boys, who, having heard the +deep baying of the hounds, were restless to be off. + +"What are they doing?" called Walter, observing Lige approaching. + +"They're after the cougar. Set your horses at a gallop." + +The Pony Riders needed no urging, for they were keen for the +excitement of the chase. The hounds, by this time, had obtained quite +a lead on them, though the boys still could hear their hoarse voices. + +"They are following the ridge yet," decided Lige. "The fellow ought to +cross over pretty soon. I think if we will turn to the left, here, and +climb the mountain, we may be able to save some distance. But don't +speak to the dogs if they pass anywhere near you. It might throw them +off the scent." + +Half an hour after they had turned off, they were rewarded by seeing +the dogs racing down the opposite hill, in great leaps and bounds, +crossing the valley a short quarter of a mile ahead of the party. + +The ponies, which had been walking since they turned off, were now +sent forward at a slow gallop again, soon falling in close behind the +hounds. + +"They've got him!" cried Lige. + +"Got who?" asked Chunky. + +"I don't know. The cougar, I presume. Don't you hear them?" + +"I hear the dogs barking, that's all," replied Ned. + +"And I hear more than that," said the guide, with a peculiar +smile. "Don't you distinguish a difference in the tone of one of the +dogs' bark?" + +"No, I don't," snapped Chunky. "All barks sound alike to me." + +"Mustard is baying 'treed,'" said the guide. "Hurry, if you want to be +in at the death. If you don't the dogs either will kill him or get +killed before we can reach them." + +Putting spurs to their mounts, the hunters set off at a livelier +gallop, and soon the deep tones of the hounds began to grow +louder. Now, too, the boys were able to catch a new note--a note +almost of triumph, it seemed to them, in the dogs' hoarse baying. + +"Stick to your ponies. Don't leave them. If it's a cougar, he is +liable to stampede them again. And don't any of you shoot until I give +you the word." + +"There he is!" cried Tad, pointing to a low-spreading pinyon tree. "I +can see him moving around in the top there. May I take a shot at him, +Mr. Thomas?" + +"No; do you want to kill the dogs?" + +"The dogs?" + +"Certainly. That is one of the dogs up there. Probably Mustard," said +the guide. + +"What's that? Dogs climb trees?" demanded Chunky, laughing +uproariously. + +"Keep still! Do you want to spoil our fun?" growled Ned. + +"The idea! Dogs climb trees!" And Chunky Brown went off into a +paroxysm of silent mirth, his rotund body convulsed with merriment. + +"Mustard can climb a tree as well as you can, if not better," answered +Lige sharply. "Use your eyes, and you will see for yourself. That is +one of the dogs that you see in the tree there--not a cougar. Ah! +There goes the other one!" he cried, pointing with his rifle. + +And, sure enough, it was. + +"It's Ginger!" exclaimed Walter in amazement. + +The hound was creeping cautiously up the sloping trunk of the +spreading tree, following in the wake of his companion, whose presence +in the tree was indicated only by the movement of the slender limbs +which he fastened upon to keep from losing his balance. + +"What are they after?" asked Ned. "Perhaps a cougar. I can't tell, +yet," replied the guide, keeping his eye fixed on the tree. + +A yelp of pain and anger followed close upon his words, and a dark +object came plunging from the tree. + +"There goes one of the dogs!" shouted Lige. "That's too bad." + +The hound had approached too close to the animal in the tree, and a +mighty paw had smitten it fairly on the nose, hurling it violently to +the ground. + +Mustard, nothing daunted, scrambled to his feet with an angry roar, +the blood trickling from his injured nose, and pluckily began digging +his claws into the bark of the pinyon tree, up which he slowly pulled +himself again. + +"Well, if that doesn't beat all!" marveled Chunky. "He is climbing +that tree!" + +"He surely is," agreed Walter, his eyes fairly bulging with surprise +at the unusual spectacle. "And there's the other one away up in the +top there. Why doesn't he fall off?" + +"He prefers to remain up a tree, I imagine," laughed Ned Rector, +without withdrawing his gaze from the unusual exhibition. + +A squall of rage from the tree top caused the boys to draw their reins +tighter, the ponies champing at their bits and pawing restlessly. The +ugly sound thrilled the lads through and through. The deep, menacing +growl of the dog that was crawling up the sloping trunk voiced his +anxiety to take part in the desperate battle that was being waged +above them. + +"Ginger's got hold of him!" shouted the guide. + +"Got hold of who?" demanded Chunky. + +"You'll see in a minute," growled Ned. + +"Look out! There he comes!" came the warning voice of the guide. +"Back, out of the way!" + +From the dense foliage, as if suddenly projected from a great bow, +leaped the curving body of the animal that the dogs had been harassing. + +With a snarl of rage it landed lightly, almost at the feet of the +assembled Pony Riders. + +Stacy chanced to be nearest to the spot where the beast struck the +ground. As it did so, his pony rose suddenly into the air. The boy, so +intently watching the battle, had carelessly allowed his reins to drop +from his hand to the neck of his mount. + +"I'm going to fall off!" yelled Stacy, grabbing frantically for the +pommel of his saddle. + +He missed the pommel and slipped from the leather. Striking the smooth +back of the horse, he tobogganed down and over the pony's rump in a +flash, sitting down on the ground with a suddenness that caused him to +utter a loud "Ouch!" + +"He-help!" gasped the boy. + +Before the snorting pony's fore feet had touched the earth. Tad +made a grab for the bit, and was jerked from his own pony as a +result. But still he clung doggedly to his own bridle rein with one +hand, hanging to the other plunging animal with the other. + +The others of the party were having all they could do to manage their +own horses, and hence were unable to offer Tad any assistance at that +moment. So mixed in the melee of flying hoofs and plunging bodies was +Tad Butler, that for a few seconds the onlookers were quite unable to +tell which was pony and which was boy. + +Yet the lad was amply able to fight his own battles, and he was doing +so with a grim determination that knew not failure. The ponies already +were lessening their frantic efforts to get away. + +"It's a bob-cat!" shouted Lige, as soon as he had succeeded in +swinging his horse about so he could get a good view of the animal, +which was now bounding away. + +Throwing his rifle to his shoulder, the guide took a snap shot at the +fleeing cat, which now was no more than an undulating black +streak. His bullet kicked up a little cloud of dirt just behind the +bob-cat, which served only to hasten its pace. A moment more and the +little animal had plunged head first into a depression in the ground +and quickly crawled into a hole, probably its home. + +"Too bad," groaned Ned Rector. "Now, we've lost him." + +"Never mind," soothed Lige. "There are more of them in the +mountains. Besides, it's a good experience for you, before we tackle +bigger game. We'll see if we can't bag a cat before the day is over." + +Chunky pulled himself up ruefully, rubbing his body and pinching +himself to make sure that no serious damage had been done. Satisfying +himself on this point, he straightened up, gazing from one to the +other of his companions pityingly. + +"You fellows make me weary," he growled. + +"The whole bunch of you can't do with guns what I did with a little +stick. Gimme my pony." + +"It occurs to me," retorted Tad, after having subdued the ponies, +"that you weren't doing much of anything, either. If I remember +correctly, you were sitting on the ground during most of the +circus." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +A COUGAR AT BAY + + +The dogs did not succeed in picking up another trail that day, so, +late in the afternoon, the guide directed them to make camp by a +stream, under the tall, clustering spruces in a deep ravine. + +Tired from their hard run, the hounds threw themselves down by the +cool stream to satisfy their thirst. Mustard employed his time in +licking his wounded nose, where the claws of the bob-cat had raked +it. Altogether the two animals appeared more disappointed over the +loss of their quarry than did the boys themselves. While responding to +the caresses of their young masters, the dogs were irritable to the +point of snapping angrily at each other whenever they approached one +another close enough to do so. + +"They don't seem to enjoy each other's company," said Stacy, observing +the animals curiously. + +"They're always that way after a chase," answered the guide. "They +will be friendly to their masters, but extremely irritable to each +other. By to-morrow morning the hounds will be bosom friends, you will +find." + +"Humph! I wouldn't like to belong to that family," decided Chunky. + +Next morning, Lige decided that it would be best to move further north +for cougar, they having failed to strike the trail of any on the +previous day. Somehow, the dogs had lost the trail of the one that had +so recently disturbed the camp, picking up the scent of the bob-cat +instead. + +This frequently was the case, as the guide informed them while they +were riding along in the fresh morning air. The dogs had not been +freed yet, Lige leading them along by the side of his pony on a long +leash. + +Tad was trailing along a few rods to the rear. A sudden exclamation +from him caused the others to pull up sharply. + +The lad's eyes were fixed on a tree a short distance ahead of him +beneath which the party had just passed. + +"What is it?" demanded Lige in a low voice. + +As if in answer to his question, the hounds uttered a deep, menacing +growl. + +Tad made no reply, but signaled with his hand that they were to remain +quietly where they were. + +They saw him slip off the strap that held the rifle to his back and +bring the weapon around in front of him. There he paused, holding the +gun idly in one hand, his gaze still fixed on the top of the tree. + +All at once the butt of the rifle leaped to his shoulder. There was a +puff of smoke, a crash, followed by a loud squall, and a great +floundering about among the branches. + +Without lowering the weapon from his shoulder, the young hunter let go +another shot. + +The squalling ceased suddenly, but the disturbance in the tree +continued, sounding as if some heavy body were falling through the +branches. + +This proved to be the case. In a moment more the animal he had fired +at came tumbling down, landing in a quivering heap at the foot of the +tree. + +Tad lowered the muzzle of his smoking weapon, gazing in keen +satisfaction at the victim of his successful shot. + +"Good shot!" glowed Lige. "It's a cat." Yet, before he could dismount, +the hounds had wrenched themselves free and pounced upon the body of +the dead bob-cat. With savage growls they tore the sleek hide into +ribbons, on one side, and were devouring the flesh of the animal +ravenously. + +The hide was ruined. + +"Let them alone!" ordered Lige. "That's the only fun they get out of +the game. They'll be keen to get on the track of a cougar, now that +they have tasted blood." And so it proved. + +With their first big game, on this trip, at their feet, the boys were +eager to be off for the haunts of the cruel cougar. To their +disappointment, however, they were able to sight nothing more +interesting than a gaunt gray wolf, at which Ned took a long shot and +missed. + +"Might as well try to hit a razor's edge at that distance," said +Lige. "They have no flesh on them at all, to speak of, now----" + +"Will they bite?" asked Chunky innocently. "A pack of them would eat +you, bones and all, in a few moments," grinned Lige. + +Chunky shuddered. + +"But the gray wolf, when taken young, makes an ideal pet. Some of the +best cougar hounds I nave ever seen were trained wolves, working with +a pack of regular hounds, of course," he explained. Leaving the +carcass of the bob-oat for the ravens and magpies, which were already +hovering about in the tall trees awaiting their turn at it, the +hunters moved on. + +No other game being found that day, the party turned eastward, where +camp was made, this time on the flat top of a low-lying mountain. Nor +was it until late the following afternoon that the dogs appeared to +have struck a promising lead. From the way they worked Lige thought +they were trailing a black bear. + +Forcing the ponies into a brisk trot, the boys still found themselves +falling behind the hounds. Then, at the guide's suggestion, they went +in chase at a lively gallop. + +The run continued for somewhat more than two hours, until the ponies +began to lag, and until every bone in the bodies of the hunters seemed +to be crying aloud for rest. The going had been rougher than any they +had yet experienced. + +Now they found themselves in a country differing materially from any +they had yet explored. The hills were lower and thickly studded with +trees, the whole resembling an exaggerated rolling prairie. + +"They've got him this time," announced the guide. + +"Got what?" demanded Chunky. + +"We'll know soon," answered Lige directing the boys to urge their +ponies along, and at a rapid pace they came up with the hounds some +twenty minutes later. + +They were fighting some animal in a dense copse. It was a dinful +racket they made in their desperate battle. + +"It's a cougar," explained Lige. "No cat would make such a +rumpus. Look out for yourselves. I guess you had better lead the +ponies off to the right, there, and stake them securely, for we may +have a fight on our own hook before we have finished here. Hurry if +you want to see the fun." + +The boys were back in a twinkling. + +"Fix them so they can't get away?" + +"Yes." + +"Then all of you line up here on this side so we won't be shooting +each other when the brute makes his attempt at a get-away, as he +surely will, when the dogs give him a chance. Two of them can't hold +him long. We ought to have a pack." + +They could hear the battle waging desperately in the bushes, which +were being rapidly trampled down by the dogs and their victim, amid +screams of rage from the animal and menacing, deadly growls from the +hounds. + +Soon the young hunters were able to make out the combatants, as the +beast worked its way little by little to its right in an effort to +get within reaching distance of a tree that it espied near by. But +the dogs fought valiantly to outwit this very move. + +"We've got a cougar this time!" shouted Lige triumphantly. "Look out +for him!" + +They could see the fighters plainly now. It was dangerous to fire for +fear of hitting the hounds. Already they were bleeding where the fangs +or claws of the ugly beast had raked them. + +However, the dogs were working with keen intelligence. One would nip +at a flank while the other played for the head of the cougar, in hopes +of getting an opening. + +Snarling, pawing, grinning, its ugly yellow teeth showing in two +glistening rows, the beast fought savagely for its life. + +Despite the guide's warning, Tad Butler and Ned Rector had drawn +closer that they might get a better view of the sanguinary conflict. + +"I'm afraid they'll never make it," groaned Lige. "It's fearful +odds. Everybody stand ready to let him have it when he breaks +away. But keep cool. And be careful that you don't hit the dogs. Might +better let the cat get away. There he goes!" + +The huge beast leaped clear of the pocket into which the dogs had +backed him. + +"Don't shoot!" ordered the guide, observing one of the boys +swinging his rifle down on the struggling animals. + +As the big cat leaped, Mustard fastened his fangs into the beast's +left leg, and was carried along with the cougar in its mighty +spring. They could hear the hones grind as the iron jaws of the hound +shut down on them. + +With a scream of rage, the maddened animal came to a sudden stop. +Its cruel yellow head shot out, jaws wide apart, aimed straight for +Mustard, who was still hanging with desperate courage to the beast's +leg. + +Yet the momentary hesitation, the few seconds lost in stopping in +its rapid flight and reaching back for Mustard, proved the cougar's +undoing. + +With a snarl that sent a shiver up and down the backs of the Pony +Riders, Ginger threw himself at the head of the beast. The hound's +powerful jaws closed upon it with a snap. + +Over and over rolled the combatants, the dogs without a sound--the +cougar uttering muffled screams, its great paws beating the air. One +stroke reached Mustard, hurling him fully a rod away, where he fell +and lay quivering, a dull red rent appearing in his glossy coat. + +The cougar, in an effort to throw Ginger off, was shaking his head, as +a terrier would in killing a rat. + +"Ah! He can't make it," cried Lige. + +"Hang on, Ginger! Go it, Ginger!" encouraged the boys, now wild with +excitement. + +But the hound was fast losing his hold, and the hunters groaned in +sympathy with him as they observed this. + +Mustard, understanding this too, perhaps, struggled to his feet and +staggered into the arena to assist his mate, only to meet a repetition +of the calamity that had befallen him a few minutes before. Ginger's +hold was broken at last. One great paw felled him to earth, and the +cougar's yawning jaws closed over his head with crushing force. + +Tad Butler's blood was coursing through his veins madly. He could +endure it no longer. A second or so more and the faithful dog's life +would be at an end. With a cry of warning to the others not to shoot, +Tad leaped into the fray, Mustard, at the same time, hurling himself +at the beast's throat, where he fastened and clung. + +As Tad sprang forward, his hunting knife flashed from its sheath, and +with a movement so quick that the eyes of the spectators failed to +catch it, the boy drove the keen blade into the cougar's body, just +back of the right shoulder. + +At that instant the beast succeeded in freeing itself from the +weakened hounds, and, straightening up with a frightful roar, leaped +into the air, one huge paw catching Tad Butler and hurling him to the +ground. + +Tad shuddered convulsively, then lay still. + +Lige Thomas's rifle roared out a hoarse protest, and at the end of its +leap the cougar lurched forward and fell dead. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +PROFESSOR ZEPPLIN'S MYSTERIOUS FOE + + +Though Tad Butler had received an ugly wound where the sharp claw of +the dying cougar had raked him from his right shoulder almost down to +the waist line, his youthful vitality enabled him to throw off the +shock of it in a very short time. + +Making sure that the beast was dead, Lige rushed to the boy's side, +and turning him over, made a hasty examination of his wounds. + +Tad was unconscious. + +"Is--is he dead?" breathed Walter, peering down into the pale face +of his friend. + +"No. He's alive, but he's had a mighty close call," answered Lige in a +relieved tone, and each of the boys muttered a prayer of thankfulness. + +"Bring me some water at once," commanded the guide. + +Ned rushed away, returning in a few moments with his sombrero +filled. In his excitement he dropped the hat in attempting to pass it +to the guide, deluging the unconscious Tad with the cold water. Tad +gasped and coughed, a liberal supply of the water having gone down +hist throat. + +"Clumsy!" growled Lige. "Get some more, but don't let go till I get +hold of the hat this time." + +By the time Ned had returned with the second hatful, Tad Butler was +regaining consciousness, and in a few moments they had him sitting up. + +The guide washed the boy's wound, and, laying on a covering of leaves, +which he secured with adhesive plaster, allowed him to stand up. + +"Well, young man, how do you feel?" he asked, with a grin. + +"I feel sore. Did he bite me?" + +"Luckily for you, he didn't. If you are going in for hand-to-hand +mix-ups I'm afraid we shall have to leave off hunting. Old and +experienced hunters have done what you did, but I must say it's the +first time I ever heard of a boy even attempting it." + +"Are the dogs dead?" asked Tad solicitously. + +"No. But, like you, they're pretty sore. You saved Ginger's life, and +I guess he knows it. You can see how he keeps crawling up to you, though +he can hardly drag his body along." + +"Good Ginger," soothed Tad, patting the wounded beast, which the hound +acknowledged by a feeble wag of its tail. + +"Now, if you boys are satisfied, I propose that we start back in the +morning," advised Lige. "It will take us well into the second day to +reach camp, and we may pick up some game on the way back. I'll skin +the cat to-night after supper, so we can take the hide back with us. I +guess you'll all agree that it belongs to Tad Butler?" smiled Lige. + +"Well, I should say it does," returned Ned earnestly. "But he's +welcome to it. If that's the way they get cougar skins, I'll roam +through life without one, and be perfectly contented with my lot." + +"Not many fellows would risk their lives for a dog," added Walter, +with glowing eyes. + +While the boys had been having such exciting times, Professor Zepplin +also had been enjoying the delights of the mountains, as well as +experiencing some of their more unpleasant features. + +The lure of the yellow metal had gotten into the Professor's veins, +immediately he had proved to his own satisfaction that that which Tad +had discovered was real gold. The German could scarcely restrain his +anxiety until the final return of Ben Tackers with the reply to the +message he had sent on to Denver. + +Ben had made the trip to Eagle Pass again on the third day, returning +some time in the night, so that the Professor did not see him until +the following day. + +In the meantime, Professor Zepplin had not been idle. He had made +frequent trips to the vicinity of the cave, bringing away with him +each time a bagful of the ore, which he had detached with his hammer +and chisel, all of which he had submitted to the blow-pipe, acid +tests, and, in most instances, with the same result that had followed +his first attempt. + +The Professor's enthusiasm now was almost too great for his +self-restraint. There could be no doubt of the correctness of his +conclusions. There must be a rich vein of ore running through the +rocks, terminating, he believed, in the cave itself. + +Finally, urged on by this same enthusiasm, Professor Zepplin ventured +in as far as the first chamber one afternoon, and what he found there +raised his hopes to the highest pitch. + +"I must be careful. I must be cautious. No one must know of my +discovery just yet," he breathed, glancing apprehensively about, as he +emerged from the cave on hands and knees. + +Yet, as he came out, the Professor failed to observe two pairs of eyes +that were watching his every movement from the rocks above the +entrance to the cave. + +Believing himself entirely alone, the Professor spread the ore he had +just gathered on the ground before him, taking up each piece of +mineral, fondling it and gazing upon it with glowing eyes. + +"Gold! Bright yellow gold! A fortune, indeed!" + +With a deep sigh of satisfaction, he gathered up the specimens, +replacing them in his bag with great care. He drew the mouth of the +bag shut, tying it securely. + +So thoroughly absorbed was he with his great discovery, that he was +all unconscious of the fact that a man had been creeping up to him +from the rear while he had been thus engaged. + +In one hand the fellow carried a stout stick, the free hand being +employed to aid him in his cat-like creeping movements. + +"I wonder if anyoue suspects," mused the scientist, sitting with a +far-away look in his eyes. "Well, we shall see. We shall----" + +The words died on the Professor's lips, as the tough stick, which had +been raised above him, was brought down with a resounding whack, +squarely on the top of his uncovered head. + +Sudden darkness overwhelmed Professor Zepplin. He sank down with a +moan, into utter oblivion. + +When finally his heavy eyelids had struggled apart, night had +fallen. At first, he could not imagine where he was nor what had +happened. Shooting pains throbbed through his head and down into his +arms and body. + +The Professor uttered a suppressed moan, closed his eyes and lay back, +vainly groping about in his disordered mind for a solution of the +mystery. + +Step by step he went back over the occurrences of the afternoon, which +gradually became clearer, until at last he reached the point where he +had finished his examination of the specimens of ore, in front of the +cave entrance. + +"And that's where I am now," decided Professor Zepplin, sitting +up. "But, what happened then? I have it. Something hit me." + +His hand instinctively went to his injured head. Then, with trembling +fingers he began searching for the bag of minerals. + +It was nowhere to be found. The Professor marveled at this for some +minutes. + +Like a blow, the answer came to him. + +"Robbed!" he exclaimed. + +Struggling to his feet, the German staggered down the rocks toward the +camp, calling for Jose with the full strength of his voice. The +Professor having been assisted to his tent and a lotion prepared for +his aching head, Jose was hurried off to the cabin of Ben Tackers with +an urgent demand for his presence. + +When Ben responded, and had listened to the full account of Professor +Zepplin's mishap, he sat grave and thoughtful. + +"Bad lot," he growled. "Ab Durkin's one of the most lawless critters +on the Park Range; and I've got all I'm goin' to stand from him. The +sheriff will settle him when he gits here----" + +"I don't care anything about the sheriff. The coward shall suffer for +this, if he is the one who attacked me. I'll drive him out myself, if +you won't help me. I'll----" + +"I'm with you all right, pardner." + +"Then, come. I'm ready now," urged the Professor rising. + +"What you going to do?" "I am going back there to take possession of +that claim. That's what I am going to do. And it will be worse for the +man who tries to stop me," declared Professor Zepplin, taking a +revolver from his kit, and examining it to see that all the chambers +were loaded. "I'd like to see this man, Ab, attempt to interfere with +my rights--I mean, interfere again." + +Yet, had he known what was in store for him, the Professor might have +hesitated before taking the step that he had determined upon. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE PONY RIDERS UNDER FIRE + + +With many a whoop and hurrah, the boys dashed into the home camp in +the early forenoon of the following day. + +Lige had left them three miles down the trail, that he might make a +short cut to Eagle Pass for the purpose of getting word to the parents +of the boys, that their trip had been concluded, and asking that +directions for their further journeys might be sent to them at Denver, +where they were to travel by easy stages. + +The trail to camp being clear and easily followed, he felt no +apprehension in allowing them to go on alone. + +"Halloo the camp!" shouted Ned, hurling his sombrero on high, riding +under and deftly catching it as it descended. + +"Why, there's no one here!" exclaimed Tad Butler, looking about +inquiringly, as they rode in. + +Walter swung from his pony, and, hurrying to the tents, glanced into +each in turn. + +"That's queer. Looks as if no one had been here in a month. Well, +suppose we unpack and wait." + +"Somebody has been through these tents in a hurry," declared Tad after +having made a hasty examination on his own account. "Did you notice +that everything in the Professor's tent had been fairly turned inside +out? There are our bows and arrows lying out there near where the camp +fire was." + +Now, the boys began to feel real concern. + +"Tether the ponies and we will go out and see if we can find them," +commanded Tad Butler. + +"Shall we take our guns?" asked Stacy. + +"Better not. Take your bows and arrows if you wish. We are going on +the trail of two-footed game now, and we do not want to have guns. We +might use them and be sorry for it afterwards." + +Realizing the wisdom of his words, the boys laid aside their rifles, +grabbed up their bows and quivers, and following Tad, who immediately +struck off in the direction of the cave. Tad's own experience there +was still fresh in memory. + +At the entrance, they halted. + +"Look at that! What do you think of that?" exclaimed Tad. + +Above the entrance to the cave hung suspended a broad strip of +sheeting. On it had been scrawled, evidently with a piece of blunt +lead, the words: + + THIS CLAIM BELONGS TO AB DURKIN. KEEP OFF! + +The boys gazed at each other in amazement. + +"We'll find out whom this claim belongs to!" declared Tad sternly. +"I don't believe what that notice says at all. There is something +more to this than we know about. Who'll go into the cave with me?" + +"I will," chorused the boys. + +"Follow me, then." + +Tad moved forward, with the rest of the boys following closely behind +him. But, as they started, a revolver shot rang out and a bullet sang +by the head of Tad Butler. + +"Back to the rocks!" shouted the boy, springing from the open place +where they had been standing, at the same time urging his companions +forward. + +"What does this mean?" demanded Ned Rector. + +"I don't know. We are in for trouble. Spread out and hide behind +the boulders as well as you can, while we crawl back to camp. +Chunky, you run for Ben Tackers as fast as your fat legs will carry +you!" + +With more order than might reasonably have been expected under the +circumstances, the boys retreated rapidly, two more shots zipping over +their heads as they leaped over a projecting ledge and scurried to +cover without losing any time. + +"I guess they're trying to scare us, that's all," decided Ned. + +They could hear their unseen enemies, clambering down the rough ground +that lay on either side of the cave, evidently bent on following them, +now and then sending a bullet at one or the other of the dodging +figures of the Pony Riders. + +"Humph! Looks like it, doesn't it?" snapped Tad. + +Suddenly rising to his full height, the boy waved his sombrero and +hailed the men who bad been firing at them. + +"Hold on, there! What are you trying to do? You're shooting at us! +You had best look out what you are doing, unless you want to got into +trouble yourselves. I----" + +The answer came promptly. + +A gun barked viciously, and the plucky lad's sombrero was snipped from +his hand, with a bullet hole through its broad brim. + +Tad ducked behind a rock with amazing quickness. + +"Spread out a little more, fellows. It won't be so easy to hit us," he +commanded. "Walter, you watch out on either side of us, while Ned and +I take care of the front." + +"Wish I had my rifle. I'd show them," growled Ned. + +"I don't," snapped Tad. "We've got trouble enough as it is." + +The boys had been carrying on their conversation in low tones, that +they might not betray their positions to their enemies. + +"Get out of there, you young cubs!" suddenly roared a voice, whose +owner they could not see. "I'll l'arn ye to interfere with other +folks' business. I'll give yer five minutes to shake ther dust of this +hy'ar mounting off yer feet. If any of ye is here then, it'll be the +worse for ye. This claim belongs to Ab Durkin. Now, mosey! D'ye hear?" + +Tad Butler did hear. And now he saw as well as heard. + +Ab, confident that he had nothing to fear from the boys, had taken his +station on a large boulder, from which position he was giving his +orders to the Pony Riders. Tad, peering from behind the rock where he +had taken refuge, saw an evil face, topped by a weather-worn sombrero, +and, beyoud it, the figures of four other men whose faces he was +unable to make out. + +"I say, will ye git?" + +"No!" shouted Tad, his face flushing, as all the old fighting spirit +in him came to the surface. + +"Then, take the consequences!" + +Ab Durkin raised his revolver, peering from rock to rock, not certain +now as to the exact location of the boys. He seemed ready to fire the +instant he made out the mark he was seeking. + +Tad Butler never had been more cool in his life, and a strange sense +of elation possessed him. + +Motioning to the boys to lie low, Tad fitted an arrow to his bow, +after which he waited a few seconds, keenly watching the enemy and +measuring the distance to him, with critical eyes. + +All at once the boy's right arm drew back. There followed a sharp +twang. + +"Ouch!" + +The mountaineer leaped straight up into the air, which action was +followed by two shots in quick succession, as both of the man's +revolvers were accidentally discharged, the bullets burying themselves +harmlessly in the ground in front of him. + +Tad's arrow had sped home. Its blunt end had been driven with powerful +force, straight against the left ear of Ab Durkin, having been +deflected slightly from where Tad had intended to plant it. + +"Lie low!" commanded the boy. + +The next instant, a shower of revolver shots flattened themselves +against the rocks all about the boys. + +"Give them a volley and drop back quickly!" ordered Tad. + +Three bows twanged, and yells of rage told the boys that at least some +of their missiles had gone home. This was a different sort of warfare +from anything to which these mountaineers had been accustomed, and, +somehow, it had begun to get on their nerves, desperate men though +they were. + +"Follow me. We must change our positions again. They've got our range +now," directed Tad, and the boys, wriggling along on their stomachs, +to the left, dutifully followed their leader. + +Tad was heading for a clump of sage brush, so that their operations +might be the better masked. While he was doing so, the mountaineers, +who also had taken to cover, were bombarding the rocks from which the +Pony Riders had just made their escape. + +From their new position the boys were overjoyed to find that their +enemies were in plain view. + +"Take careful aim, and when I count three, let go at them. See that +not one of you misses," directed the leader. + +"Ready, now! One, two, three!" + +Three bowstrings sang, and as many mountaineers, with yells of rage, +began shooting, fanning every rock and bush about them, in hopes of +driving from cover their tantalizing opponents. + +At first they were at a loss to locate the boys' new position, but, +after a little, as the arrows kept coming persistently from the sage +bush, the mountaineers' bullets began to snip the leaves over the +heads of the Pony Riders. + +"Shoot slowly, and make every shot count!" directed Tad with stern +emphasis. + +Once, a bullet grazed Tad's left cheek, and Ned Rector narrowly missed +death, escaping with the loss of a lock of hair. With rare +generalship, Tad continually changed their positions, which tactics +also were followed by the mountaineers, all the time crowding the boys +nearer and nearer to their own camp. + +Chunky had not yet returned, and Tad devoutly hoped that the boy would +not be rash enough to attempt to do so now. + +If anything, the boys thus far had the best of the battle, and +although none had sustained a serious wound, every one of the +mountaineers had marks on his body to show where blunt tipped arrows, +driven by a strong arm, had been stopped. + +Now, a new danger menaced the brave little band. Their quivers were +nearly empty. Tad, discovering it, drew his hunting knife from its +sheath, tossing it to Walter Perkins. + +"Quick! Cut some sticks and make some arrows. Don't lose a +second. Make them as straight as possible, or we shall be unable to +hit a thing." + +By the time their supply had become almost exhausted, Walter had +succeeded in turning out more than half a dozen new arrows. Yet no +sooner had they begun driving these at their enemies than the +mountaineers sent up a yell of defiance. They recognized the +predicament the boys were in. + +"Cease firing!" commanded Tad, realizing at once that their enemies +had discovered their plight. + +"Fellows, we are about at the end of our rope. Give me the +arrows. Then, you two make your get-away. But be careful not to expose +your bodies to the fire of those brutes. When you get far enough away +run for Ben Tackers' cabin. You can hide there, anyway," directed Tad +Butler. + +"Yes, but what are you going to do? You surely don't intend to remain +here?" protested Walter. + +"I'm going to cover your retreat. They'll think we have no more +ammunition left and then they'll start to rush us. That's the time +I'll surprise them. We have a few arrows left. They won't be so fast +to----" + +"See here, Tad Butler, what do you take us for?" demanded Walter, his +eyes snapping. "Do you think we are going to desert you and leave you +here, perhaps to be killed?" + +"While we run away?" added Ned. "I guess not. What breed of tenderfoot +do you think we belong to?" + +"No! We stay with you," announced Walter firmly. + +"Oh, very well. I'm sorry. Hold your arrows till you have to shoot, +but it would be much better for you to go while you have a chance." + +Recognizing the helplessness of the boys, the mountaineers began +moving on their position, revolver shots occasionally zipping against +the rocks. It was almost impossible for the boys to return the fire +with their few remaining arrows, for fear of exposing themselves to +too great danger. + +"I guess it's about up with us," said Tad, coolly stringing his last +arrow. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +CONCLUSION + + +The faces of the three boys were pale, though a half smile played +about the lips of Tad Butler. "Lie down!" he said. + +Tad was watching the enemy from behind a rock, nervously fingering the +arrow that lay across his bow. + +At last the men had approached to within three or four rods of +them. Tad rose, not a muscle of his body appearing to quiver when they +sent a few shots at him. + +Deliberately drawing back his bowstring, the boy drove one of the +heavy missiles that Walter had cut for him full into the evil face of +Ab Durkin. They could hear the impact as the heavy stick landed. + +Ab toppled over backwards with a yell of rage. + +"That's our last shot." Tad threw down his bow, standing with folded +arms calmly facing the enemy. "Hands up!" rang the stern command. At +first, Tad thought the order was directed at himself. Then a puzzling +expression settled over his face as he saw the mountaineers suddenly +wheel, then throw their hands above their heads. + +Lige Thomas, on his way to the Pass, had not gone far before he came +up with the sheriff, to whom he explained what he had heard about the +doings of Ab Durkin and his gang. While they were conversing, the +sound of the shooting was borne faintly to them on the clear mountain +air. + +Suspecting something of the truth, Lige had wheeled his horse and +ridden back with all speed, followed by the sheriff and his little +posse. They had arrived at the moment when they were, perhaps, needed +most. + +Creeping down into an advantageous position, they had put a quick and +sudden end to the onslaught of the mountaineers, who were in no mood +for trifling with their young opponents now. + +In a few moments the sheriff had each of the five men in handcuffs, +and without having had to fire a shot. Tad, who had rushed out, +followed by his companions, explained to the posse that the Professor +and Jose were missing. He believed now that they were prisoners in the +cave. + + And there they found them--Professor Zepplin, Ben Tackers and Jose, + bound hand and foot. + +All of them bad been taken captive by the mountaineers when they +visited the cave the night before. + +Ab Durkin was fuming with rage. + +"These cayuses was stealin' my claim," he snarled. "Understand me, +they was stealin' the gold, and, when I tried to drive them off, they +sailed into us----" + +"Yes, I observed that you were shooting at three boys," retorted the +sheriff, sarcastically. + +"See, thar's my mark over that hole in the ground," continued Ab +pointing to the sign that was flapping idly in the breeze. "That's my +claim and no man ain't goin' ter take it away from me, neither." + +"My friend," retorted Professor Zepplin, stepping forward +frowning. "If I did what you deserve, I should send a bullet into your +miserable carcass. Instead I'm going to tell you about a little paper +I have here." + +All eyes instantly were centered on the Professor. + +"This little document, gentlemen, is a certificate from the register's +office at Denver, stating that the Lost Claim, which lies just within +this cave here, is the property of Herman von Zepplin. Had you +examined this neighborhood more closely you would have found my claim +stakes driven, as required by law. With the certificate is a report on +the assay of the samples of ore I sent them, showing that, while the +mine is a valuable property, it does not contain such untold wealth as +generally has been believed. However, it may give these boys a few +thousands apiece." + +"The Lost Claim! Is it possible?" breathed the boys. + +"Yes, Ben Tackers will tell you I am not mistaken. He has known this +all along. I had the mine registered in my own name as this was the +quickest way to secure it. However, Tad Butler is the rightful +owner. Immediately upon our arrival at Denver, I shall take legal +measures to transfer the property to him," announced the +Professor. Tad slowly shook his head. "It's not mine alone," he +answered, gazing at his companions, all of whom, now, were flushed +with suppressed excitement. "The Lost Claim belongs to the Pony Rider +Boys Club, of which Professor Zepplin is now a member and therefore +entitled to share equally with us. Are you willing, fellows?" + +"Yes!" they shouted, following it with three cheers and a tiger for +Professor Herman von Zepplin. + +"As for my share in the claim, Professor, I would prefer that you made +it over to my mother," said Tad, with a glad smile. "That is, if no +one in the club objects," he added. + +"Well, I guess not," replied Ned, with strong emphasis. + +Later in the day, the sheriff and his party set out for Eagle Pass +with the prisoners. Each member of the gang was sentenced to a term in +prison because of the attack on the Pony Rider Boys. + +That same day the boys began their preparations for leaving the +mountains. At Denver, where they arrived within a week, they effected +a sale of the Lost Claim, with the permission of their parents, most +of whom came on to fulfill the necessary legal requirements, and when +the transfer of the mine had been made, the Pony Rider Boys were +twenty-five thousand dollars richer, giving them exactly five thousand +dollars apiece. Tad's share was promptly turned over to his +mother. Though he did not know it, the money was deposited to his +credit in Mr. Perkins's bank. + +The exciting experiences of the Pony Rider Boys were not yet at an +end. The boys will be heard from again in another volume under the +title: "THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN TEXAS; Or, The Veiled Riddle of the +Plains." In this forthcoming volume the narrative of how the boys +learned to become young plainsmen, and the stirring account of their +experiences in the great cattle drive, will be found full of +fascination and in every detail true to the strenuous out-door life +described. + +THE END. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Pony Rider Boys in the Rockies, by +Frank Gee Patchin + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES *** + +***** This file should be named 6067.txt or 6067.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/6/6067/ + +Produced by Kent Fielden + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Let me ride him for two minutes, Walter." + +Walter Perkins brought his pony to a slow stop and glanced down +hesitatingly into the pleading blue eyes of the freckle-faced boy at +his side. + +"Please! I'll only ride him up to the end of the block and back, and I +won't go fast, either. Let me show you how I can ride him," urged Tad +Butler, with a note of insistence in his voice. + +"If I thought you wouldn't fall off----" + +"I fall off?" sniffed Tad, contemptuously. "I'd like to see the pony +that could bounce me off his back. Huh! Guess I know how to ride +better than that. Say, Chunky, remember the time when the men from +Texas had those ponies here--brought them here to sell?" + +Chunky--the third boy of the group--nodded vigorously. + +"And didn't I ride a broncho that never had had a saddle on his back +but once in his life? Say, did I get thrown then?" + +"He did that," endorsed Stacy Brown, who, because of his well-rounded +cheeks and ample girth, was known familiarly among his companions as +"Chunky." "I mean, he didn't. And he rode the pony three times around +the baseball field, too. That broncho's back was humped up like a mad +cat's all the way around. 'Course Tad can ride. Wish I could ride half +as well as he does. You needn't be afraid, Walter." + +Thus reassured by Chunky's praise, Walter dropped the bridle rein over +the neck of his handsome new pony, and slid slowly to the ground. + +"All right, Tad. Jump up! But don't hold him too tightly. He doesn't +like it, and, besides, he has been trained to run when you tighten up +on the rein, and father would not like it if we were to race him in +the village." + +"I'll be careful." + +Tad Butler needed no second invitation to try out his companion's +pony. With the agility of a cowboy, he leaped into the saddle without +so much as touching a foot to the stirrup. In another second, with a +slight pressure on the rein, he had wheeled the animal sharply on its +haunches, and was jogging off up the street at an easy gallop, both +boy and pony rising and falling in graceful, rhythmic movements, as if +in reality each were a part of the other. Tad seemed born to stirrup +and saddle. + +Yet, true to his promise, the boy made no effort to increase the speed +of his mount. Nor did he go beyoud the corner named. Instead, he +circled and came galloping back, one hand resting lightly on the rein, +the other swinging easily at his side. + +As he neared the two boys, Tad checked his pony, but Walter motioned +to him to continue. With a smile of keen appreciation, Tad shook out +the reins, and pony and rider swung on down the village street. + +The soft breeze bad by now fanned the bright color into the face of +Thaddeus Butler, and his deep blue eyes glowed with excitement and +pleasure; for, to him, there was no happiness so great as that to be +found on the back of a swift-moving pony. + +However, this was a pleasure that seldom came to Tad, for his lines +had not fallen altogether in pleasant places. The boy was now +seventeen, and from his twelfth birthday he had been almost the sole +support of his mother. His time, out of school hours, was spent +largely in doing odd jobs about the village where his services were in +demand, and on Saturday afternoons and nights he delivered goods for a +grocery store, for which latter service he earned the--to +him--munificent sum of twenty-five cents. But all of this he +accepted cheerfully and manfully. Now and then Tad was allowed to +drive the grocer's wagon to the station for goods, and at such times +his work was a positive recreation. Some day Tad hoped to have a horse +of his own. He could imagine no more perfect happiness than this. He +had determined, though, that when he did own one, it should be a +saddle horse and a speedy one at that. Yet, at the present moment the +realization of his ambition seemed indeed far away. + +Walter Perkins was the son of a banker. He and Tad Butler had been +born and brought up in the little village of Chillicothe, Missouri, +where they still lived, and, despite the difference in their social +positions, had been fast friends since they were little fellows. + +Chunky was the son of a merchant in a small town in Massachusetts, and +had been visiting an uncle in Chillicothe for nearly a year past. + +Walter was a delicate boy, and, reared in luxury, as he had been all +his life, he had sensed few of the delights of out-door life that were +so apparent in the face of his nimble friend, Tad. It was this +delicate physical condition that had brought about the gift of the +pony. The family physician had advised it in order that the boy might +have more out-door air, and on this May morning Walter had brought the +pony out to show to his admiring friends. + +"Tad's a good rider. Isn't he a beauty?" breathed Chunky, as they +watched the progress of boy and horse down the street. + +"Who, Tad?" asked Walter, absorbed in the contemplation of his new +possession. + +"Tad! Pooh! No; the pony, of course. I don't see anything very +fetching about Tad, do you? But I should be willing to be as freckled +as he is if I could stick on a pony's back the way he does." + +"Yes, he does know how to ride," agreed Walter. "And, by the way, +father is going to get a horse for Professor Zepplin, my tutor; then +we are going off on long rides every day, after my lessons are +done. The doctor says it will be good for me. Fine to have a doctor +like that, isn't it?" + +"Great! Wish I could go along." + +"Why don't you?" asked Walter, turning quickly to his companion. "That +would be just the idea. What great times we three could have, riding +off into the open country! And we could go on exploring expeditions, +too, and make believe we were cowboys and--and all that sort of +thing." + +Chunky shook his head dubiously. "I haven't a pony. But I wish I +had. I should like to go so much," replied the boy wistfully. + +"Then, why not ask your uncle to get one for you? He will do it, I +know," urged Walter brightly, brimming over with his new plan. "Why, +I'll ask him myself." + +"I did." + +"Wouldn't he do it?" + +"No. Uncle said I was too young, and that the first thing I would be +doing would be to break my neck. If father was here and gave his +permission, why, that would be different. Uncle said it would take my +mind off my school, besides." + +"School? Why, school will not last much longer. It is May, now, and +school will be over early in June. That isn't long to wait. You go +right home, Chunky, and tell your uncle you must have a pony. Tell him +I said so. If he refuses, I'll have my father go ask him. He won't +refuse my father anything he asks. My father is a banker and everybody +does everything he wants them to, because he lends them money," +advised Walter wisely. + +"My--my uncle doesn't have to borrow money. He's got money of his +own," bristled Chunky. + +"Yes, that's so. But you go ask him. Tell him about my pony and that +we are all going off for a ride every day. Say that Professor Zepplin +will be along to take care of us. And say! I'll tell you what," added +the boy eagerly. + +"Yes?" urged Chunky. + +"We will form ourselves into a club. Now, wouldn't that be great?" + +"Fine!" glowed Chunky. "But, what kind of a club? They don't have +horses in clubs." + +"We shall, in this one. That is, we shall be the club, and the ponies +will be our club-house. When we are on our ponies' backs we shall be +in our club-house. Maybe we can get Ned Rector to join us. He knows +how to ride--why, he rides almost as well as Tad." + +Chunky nodded thoughtfully. + +"What shall we call it? We must have some kind of a name for the +club." + +"I hadn't thought of that. I'll tell you what," exclaimed Walter, +brightening, after a moment's consideration. "We will call ourselves +the Rough Riders. That's what we will do, Chunky." + +"Yes, but we are not rough riders," protested Chunky. "We are only +beginners; that is, all of us except Tad, and he can't join us--just +because he's too poor to have a horse. As for us--humph! We'd be +rough riders only when we fell off!" + +Walter laughed heartily. + +"No," he admitted. "I guess we are not rough riders yet; but we may be +some day, after we've learned to ride better. I can't think of any +other name, can you?" + +"We might call ourselves the Wild Riders," suggested Chunky. + +"No, that won't do, either. It's as bad as the other name. Father'd +never let me go out at all if we called ourselves the Wild Riders, +because he would think it meant we were going to be too much like +cowboys. I guess we shall have to think it over some more. But here +comes Tad back. Suppose we ask him? He'll know what to call the club." + +Tad reigned in alongside of them and pulled the pony up sharply, +patting its sleek neck approvingly, still loath to dismount. + +"It's great, fellows. Wish I had a pony like him." + +"So do I," echoed Chunky. + +"Why, you don't have to touch the reins at all. I could ride him +without just as well as with them. All you have to do is to press your +knee against his side and he will turn, just as if you were pulling on +the rein. He's a trained pony, Walter. Did you know that?" + +"That's what the man said when father bought him. Jo-Jo can walk on +his hind legs, too. But father said I mustn't try to make him do any +tricks, for fear I might get hurt." + +"Hurt nothing! He wouldn't hurt a baby," objected Tad in the little +animal's defence. "I'll show you--I won't hurt him, don't be +afraid," he exclaimed leaping to the ground, stripping the rein over +the animal's head and holding it at arm's length. "If he knows how to +stand up I can make him do it. I've seen them do that in the +circus. Let me have your whip." + +"I don't know about that," answered Walter doubtfully. "Yes, you may +try," he decided finally, extending the whip that he had been idly +tapping against his legging. "But don't hit him, will you?" + +"Not I," grinned the freckle-faced boy, leading the pony further out +into the street. "He doesn't need to be struck." + +Tad first coaxed the pony by patting it gently on the side of the +head, to which the intelligent animal responded by brushing his cheek +softly with its nose. + +"See, he knows a thing or two," cried Tad. "Now, watch me!" + +Standing off a few feet, the boy tapped the animal gently under the +chin with the whip. + +"Up, Jo-Jo! Up!" he urged, lifting the whip into the air +insistently. At first, Jo-Jo only swished his tail rebelliously, +shaking his head until the bit rattled between his teeth. + +But Tad persisted, gently yet firrnly urging with voice and +whip. Jo-Jo meanwhile pawed the dirt up into a cloud of dust that +settled over the boys, finally causing a chorus of sneezes, until Tad +felt sure he observed a twinkle of amusement in the eyes of the +knowing little animal. + +"Up, Jo-Jo!" he commanded almost sternly, bringing the whip sharply +against the side of his own leg. + +The pony, recognizing the voice of a master, hesitated no longer. Half +folding its slender forelegs back, it rose slowly, up and up. + +"Walter Perkins and Stacy Brown broke into a cheer. But Tad, never for +an instant removing his gaze from Jo-Jo, held up a warning hand, +leaned slightly forward and fixed the pony with impelling eyes. + +Then Tad backed away slowly. To the amazement of the others, Jo-Jo, +balancing himself beautifully on his hind legs, followed his new-found +master in short, cautious steps, the animal's head now high in the +air, its nostrils dilated, and every nerve strained to the task in +hand. + +"Beautiful," breathed Walter and Chunky in chorus. + +"He's a regular brick," added Chunky. + +"How'd you do it, Tad!" + +Before replying, the boy lowered the whip to his side, motioning to +the pony that his task was done. Jo-Jo dropped quickly on all fours, +and, walking up to Tad, rubbed his nose against the lad's cheek again. + +"Good boy," soothed Tad, returning the caress, his eyes swimming with +happiness. + +But as Tad stepped back Jo-Jo insistently followed, alternately +pushing his nose against the boy's face and tugging at his shirt. + +"He wants to do it again, Tad," cried Chunky, enthusiastically. + +The freckle-faced boy grinned knowingly. + +"Got any sugar, Walter?" he asked. + +Walter thrust a hand into a trousers pocket, bringing up a handful of +lumps that were far from being their natural color. But Tad grabbed +them, and an instant later Jo-Jo's quivering upper lip had closed +greedily over the handful of sweets. + +"That's what the little rascal wanted," breathed Tad with a pleased +smile. "I could teach that pony to do 'most anything but talk, +fellows. I'm not so sure that he couldn't do that in his own way, +after a little time. What did you give for him?" + +"Father paid the man a hundred and fifty dollars." + +Tad uttered a long-drawn whistle; his face sobered. It was more money +than he ever had seen at one time in his life. Would he ever have as +much as that? The freckle-faced boy doubted it. + +"We fellows were talking about getting up a club," spoke up Walter. + +"Club? What kind of a club?" asked Tad absently. + +"Oh, some sort of a riding club. Chunky is going to ask his uncle to +buy him a pony; then we are going out with my tutor on long rides in +the country. + +Tad eyed them steadily. + +"Somehow we can't just decide on the name for the new club. I thought +maybe we would call ourselves the Bough Riders. Chunky doesn't like +that name. We had an idea that, perhaps, you could give us one. What +do you say, Tad?" + +"Chunky's uncle is going to get him a pony?" asked Tad a bit +unsteadily. + +"We hope so," nodded Walter. "And that's not all. We are going to get +Ned Rector to join the club. He already has a pony. Wish you might +come in with us, Tad." + +"Wish I might," answered Tad wistfully. + +"Of course, we know you can't really, but you belong to us just the +same. You can be a sort of--of honorary member. We will let you ride +our ponies sometimes when we are in town, though, of course, when we +go out for long trips we can't take you along very well. You +understand that, don't you, Tad?" + +Tad inclined his head. + +"And now about the name. Got anything to suggest?" + +The freckle-faced boy walked over to the pony and laid his cheek +against its nose, which he patted softly, his head averted so that the +others might not see the pain in his eyes. + +"You--you might call yourselves 'The Pony Rider Boys,'" suggested +Tad, controlling his voice with an effort. + + + +CHAPTER II + + THE PONY RIDER BOYS' CLUB ORGANIZBD + +The Pony Rider Boys, as a club, met for the purpose of organization, +with headquarters under a tent in Banker Perkins's orchard. It was the +tent in which Walter, under orders from the family physician, had been +sleeping during the spring. Over the entrance the boys pinned a strip +of canvas on which they had printed in red letters, "Headquarters Pony +Rider Boys' Club." + +"Now they will know who we are," explained Walter, standing off to +view their handiwork. "You see, people can read that from the +street. Everybody who passes will see it." + +"Yes," replied Ned Rector, who already had been enrolled as a charter +member. "But I hope they won't think it's a blacksmith shop over here, +and drive in to get their horses shod." + +The boys laughed heartily. + +"The next question is, whom shall we have for president of the club?" +asked Walter. "I suppose we ought to elect one to-day so we can be +regularly organized." + +"Yes, that's so," agreed Chunky. "What's the matter with having Tad +Butler for president? He knows all about horses, even if he has none +himself." + +"But he's not a member of the club," objected Ned. + +"No," agreed Walter, "but I had thought we might make him an honorary +member. We ought to take him in, someway, for I know he's anxious to +join us." + +"Then, I would suggest that we organize first," advised Ned, who +possessed some slight knowledge of parliamentary law. "You can choose +one of us for temporary chairman, and then we will go ahead and form +our organization just like a regular club." + +"That's a good plan. Will you be the chairman, Ned?" + +"No, Walt. I think I should prefer to be on the floor, where I can +talk. Neither the chairman nor president has the right to argue, you +know. I'm afraid I shouldn't be of much use to the club if I couldn't +talk," laughed Ned. "I propose Mr. Stacy Brown, otherwise known as +'Chunky, ' for temporary chairman. Chunky is fat, and can appear very +dignified when he wants to, even if he doesn't feel that way." + +"That's the idea," agreed Walter. + +"Now, all in favor of Mr. Chunky Brown for presiding officer of the +first meeting of the Pony Rider Boys manifest it by saying 'Aye.'" + +Ned and Walter voted in the affirmative. + +"All opposed, say 'Nay.'" + +"Nay!" voted Chunky in a loud voice. + +"The Ayes have it. Mr. Stacy Chunky Brown has been duly chosen +temporary chairman of the Pony Rider Boys. Mr. Chairman, will you +please take the chair and call this meeting to order?" invited Ned +Rector, escorting Stacy to a chair which had been placed at one end of +the tent for the purpose of receiving him. + +Chunky sank into the seat, gazing helplessly about him. + +"Well?" urged Ned. + +"Do something," laughed Walter. + +"Yes, but what shall I do?" + +"Call the meeting to order, of course. What do you think we elected +you for? Not to sit up there and look pretty. Call it to order." + +"I do." + +"Help!" pleaded Ned Rector, weakly. "See here, that's not the way to +do it. Is this the first time you have presided at a meeting?" + +Chunky, by a nod, informed them that it was. + +"Humph!" grunted Ned witheringly. "Then say after me, 'I now call the +meeting of the Pony Rider Boys to order. What is your pleasure, +gentlemen?'" + +The chairman haltingly repeated the words. + +"Now, that's the way to do it," approved Ned. "I shouldn't be +surprised to see you President of the United States some day. I now +move, Mr. Chairman, that Tad Butler be made an honorary member of the +club, as well as riding master and manager of the live stock." + +"Second the motion," added Walter quickly. + +The motion was carried with much enthusiasm. Then the club voted to +make Chunky Brown its permanent presiding officer, and this in spite +of the winner's vigorous objections. Walter was made treasurer +because, as Ned expressed it, Walter's father was a bank +president. Ned Rector was chosen secretary. + +"I now move," proposed Ned Rector, "that this club direct its +secretary to write to the uncle of its president, pointing out to him +the advisability of providing a pony for said president to ride; said +president being so heavy as to make walking to the meetings of this +club a burden to himself and to the club members who have to wait for +him." + +This motion was adopted with a shout of laughter. + +After having directed the secretary, at his own suggestion, to notify +Tad Butler of his election, the club adjourned to meet on the +following morning for field practice. In other words, the club's two +ponies, with Walter Perkins and Ned Rector upon them, were to be taken +out for exercise about the village and in nearby roads. + +The next day being Saturday, Tad Butler found himself too busy to +devote much time to brooding over his troubles. As a matter of fact, +the boy was little given to this sort of thing; he was too much a +man. His was a wholesome, confident nature, and the same indomitable +courage and determination that had enabled him to stand next to the +head of his class in the high school filled him with a resolution to +possess a pony of his own. Nor did he permit the receipt of a letter +that morning, informing him of his honorary election to the Pony +Riders Club, to cast him down, even though, for want of a pony, he +could not enter into full membership. + +Instead, with flashing eyes, his clean-cut jaw set more firmly than +usual, Tad went about his duties of the day cheerfully, his active +mind running over this and that plan through which he might possibly +gratify his longings. + +Late that same afternoon, on his way driving out to deliver a package +of goods to a summer residence just outside the town, he came upon +Walter and Ned, returning on their ponies from a short jaunt into the +country. + +The two boys hailed him joyously. + +Tad grinned and waved his hand. + +"Hello! Aren't you going to stop to tali with a fellow?" called Ned, +as the riders came abreast of the grocery horse and pulled up. + +Tad shook his head. + +"Oh, come on; hold up a minute." + +"Can't. I'm on business, you know," answered the boy, smiling +pleasantly. "I am working all day to-day for Mr. Langdon, and I +mustn't stop. I have a lot of goods to deliver before night." + +"Then what do you say to our riding out and back with him, Walt?" +suggested Ned. + +"All right. I guess we shall have plenty of time to do that and get +back for supper. Tad won't stay long. He's in too big a hurry," +answered the banker's son, bringing his pony about, and galloping up +beside the wagon, which had continued on its way during the +conversation. + +This gave Tad an opportunity to gaze admiringly at the sleek ponies on +which the boys were mounted, as well as at the nickel trimmings of +bridles and saddles, which glistened brightly in the sunlight. + +"Wish you had him, don't you?" laughed Ned, noting Tad's gaze fixed on +his own well-groomed mount. + +To Ned's surprise, Tad shook his head negatively. + +"Mean to tell me you don't want a pony like this?" + +"I didn't say so, Ned. No, I wouldn't say that, because it isn't +true. You asked me if I didn't wish I had him. Of course, I want a +pony more than anything else in the world. But I want my own, not +yours. That is different, you see. Much as I want one, I don't covet +either yours or Walt's." + +"Well, you are a funny fellow. I never did understand you," marveled +Ned. "But, I guess he's about right, eh, Walter? Don't you think so!" + +"Yes. And I have been thinking, since our meeting yesterday, that +perhaps it might be fixed. I wasn't going to say anything about it," +answered Walter, meditatively. + +"Thinking about what?" demanded Ned. + +"About Tad's not having a horse, and no way to get one. I tell you, +it's mighty tough----" + +"Yes?" + +"Well, he is a member of the club, and as fellow members of the Pony +Riders, we are bound to stand by one another." + +"That's right," agreed Ned. "That's what we're going to do, too. But +what are you getting at, Walt?" + +Tad's blue eyes were fixed inquiringly on Walter's face. He, too, was +at a loss to understand what it was that his delicate young friend was +planning. Still, he would not ask, knowing full well that it was of +him they were thinking. + +"Simply this. Tad has got to have a pony." + +Ned uttered a long-drawn whistle, while the boy on the grocery wagon +suddenly straightened up. + +"I agree with you there, Walt," Ned remarked. "Yet, how is he going +to get one? That's what I should like to know--and it's a question +that the Pony Riders will have a hard time in answering. Now, it is +different with Chunky. Chunky's uncle has money. He can well afford to +buy his nephew a pony. When I went to ask him to-day he said he would +see about it. That means Chunky will have one." + +"Why do you think that?" + +"Because my father is a lawyer, and he says when a fellow doesn't know +his own mind, you can make him agree to 'most any old thing," answered +Ned with a laugh. + +By this time they had reached their destination. Though keenly +interested in the conversation of his companions Tad leaped to the +ground, tying his horse without an instant's delay, and proceeded to +the house to deliver his merchandise. + +The boys watched him disappear around the corner of the house before +resuming their conversation. + +"I'll tell you, now," began Walter. "I didn't want to explain before +him. Tad is the best rider in town, you know, Ned----" + +"Next to me," added Ned humorously. + +"Yes, next ahead. And he is the second best scholar in the high +school. Nothing could stop him from heading the class if he had the +time to devote to his studies, so Professor Zepplin tells me. I like +him, Ned----" + +"Since he fished you out of the mill pond, when you fell through the +ice there last winter, eh!" + +"Yes, partly. But, I liked him just as well before that. Do you know," +continued Walter after a moment of silence, "I never told my father +that Tad did that for me?" + +"You didn't? Why not?" asked Ned, his face reflecting his surprise. + +"Because Tad made me promise I wouldn't. He's such a modest chap that +he didn't want father to thank him, even. So I never did----" + +"He is a queer lad----" + +"That is, I did not until last night," corrected Walter thoughtfully. + +"Oh! Then you told him? What did he say?" questioned Ned, now keenly +interested in the narration. + +"He said Tad was a brave boy, and that he wanted to do something for +him. I told him there was one thing he could do that would please me, +at the same time making Tad the happiest boy in Chillicothe--yes, +happier than any other boy in the state of Missouri." + +"Yes?" + +"Father laughed and asked me what it was that Tad desired so much." +Walter glanced up at his companion, a queer smile playing about his +lips. + +"Well, what did you tell him!" + +"That Tad wanted a pony." + +The boys gazed into each other's eyes. + +"Good for you," breathed Ned. "You are the right sort, even if you are +weak. I always said you were. But did your father say he would get Tad +a pony?" + +"Well, not exactly. He wanted to know how I thought Tad could take +care of a pony when he got it--said the boy would have no place to +keep it, nothing to feed it on----" + +"Yes, that's so." + +"But, I told him Tad might stable his pony with Jo-Jo in our barn." + +"Sure thing. That's fine. Did he agree?" + +"He said for me to bring Tad in to see him." + +"But you did not?" + +"No; I haven't had a chance. I'm going to try to get him to stop on +the way back, if he will. All three of us will stop off at the bank +Father usually stays late on Saturdays to go over the books all by +himself----" + +Further conversation was interrupted by the return of Tad. Acting upon +a knowing look from Walter, Ned maintained a discreet silence on the +subject. And, if Tad's keen glance, which searched their faces, as he +clambered aboard the grocery wagon, gave him the slightest inkling as +to what they had been discussing, he made no effort further to gratify +his curiosity. + +"What are you going to do when you get back, Tad?" asked Walter by way +of directing the conversation to the subject of which he was at that +moment so full. + +"Going back to the store. Why?" + +"Oh, nothing much. Father wanted you to step in some time this +afternoon," answered Walter as carelessly as he could. + +"What for?" + +"He wishes to talk with you about something. You can stop off as we go +by. It will take only a few minutes of your time." + +Tad shook his head emphatically. Nothing could deter him from doing +what he considered was his full duty to his employer. + +"Then I shall go over to the store with you myself and see +Mr. Langdon," announced Walter firmly. After that, the conversation +drifted into a discussion of the respective merits of the two ponies +that Ned and Walter were riding. + +Arriving at the store, Walter dismounted, and, tossing the reins to +Ned, ran up the steps into the store, while Tad began methodically to +haul the market baskets from the wagon, piling them together on the +sidewalk. + +In a moment Walter came hurrying out. + +"It's all right," he called from the top step. "Mr. Langdon says hitch +your horse here, while you go over with me to see father." + +"Very well," replied Tad, as, with evident reluctance, he followed his +friend to the hank, half a block up the street. + +Mr. Perkins greeted his young guest with marked courtesy. + +"Walter delayed telling me of your heroic conduct in saving his life +until last night, Thaddeus. I am sorry. But, according to the old +saying, 'it is never too late to mend.' Therefore, I want to thank +you now." + +Mr. Perkins grasped the lad's hands in a firm grip, while Tad, hiding +his embarrassment as best he could, gazed with steady eyes into the +face of the banker. + +"I'm sorry he told you, sir. I just pulled him out -- that was all." + +The banker laughed. + +"Yes, fortunately that was all. But there surely would have been more +if you had not, Walter would have drowned. How you managed to get him +out, without both of you going down, is more than I can understand." + +"He dived in and swam out with me," Walter informed him. + +"Quite so. And you wished my son to say nothing about it?" added the +banker with a twinkle in his eyes, not wholly lost on the boy who was +standing so rigidly before him, steeling himself to the most trying +ordeal he ever had experienced. + +"I did, sir." + +"Walter respected your wishes in the matter. But something came up +last evening that induced him to make a clean breast of the whole +affair. And I am very glad he did so." + +"Yes, sir." + +"Walter tells me you are a great lover of animals, especially horses." + +"I am more fond of them, sir, than of anything else in the world, save +my mother," answered the boy, his eyes growing bright. + +"And he also has told me about this new club of which I most heartily +approve. It will be an excellent thing for Walter. But of course you +will not he able to go out with the boys, not having a pony of your +own." + +"No, sir," answered Tad in a firm voice. + +"I take it you would be very happy to be able to join them on their +outings?" + +"Indeed I should, Mr. Perkins." + +"Well," glowed the banker, "at Walter's suggestion I have arranged it +so that in the future you shall not be denied this pleasure. Do you +happen to know where there are any ponies for sale at this moment?" + +"Yes, sir. They have several at the McCormick farm about three miles +from town. They are very fine ponies, too, sir. One of them, I think, +would make an excellent mate for Jo-Jo, if you are considering getting +another one for Walter to drive or ride." + +"No, I was not thinking of doing that at present. I will tell you what +I propose to do, however." + +"Yes, sir." + +"I propose to send you out to the McCormicks' this afternoon, if you +can spare the time. When you reach there you will pick out what you +consider is the best pony in the lot, and bring him back to town. +They will let you have him upon presentation of the letter I shall +give you before you leave," smiled the banker. + +"I--I don't quite understand, sir. I--I-- what is it you wish me +to do with the pony?" stammered Tad. + +Banker Perkins rose, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. + +"Take him home with you--he is yours, Tad." + +"My--my--mine?" + +"Yes." + +A sudden rush of color flashed into the face of Tad Butler and crept +up to the roots of his hair, his eyes holding those of the hanker in +an unflinching gaze. + +"I--am sorry, sir; but I cannot accept it." + +"What?" exclaimed Mr. Perkins. + +"I thank you very much. Believe me, I do. But I could not accept a +gift like that from you. You will understand me, won't you? I +couldn't--I couldn't do it; that's all." + +"I do, my lad. I understand you perfectly," answered the hanker +slowly, grasping the lad's hand and gripping it until Tad winced. + +"Thank you," murmured Tad, backing from the room, with as much +composure as he was able to muster. + +Reaching the street, the boy clenched his fingers until the nails dug +into the palms of his hands. Then, with shoulders erect, he strode +rapidly off down the street to continue his duties at the grocery +store. + + + +CHAPTER III + + TAD GOES INTO BUSINESS + +After supper, that night, Banker Perkins strolled leisurely across +town to the cottage occupied by Tad Butler and his mother. The house +lay on the outskirts of the village, surrounded by half an acre of +ground, part of which the boy tilled, keeping the little family in +vegetables a great part of the year. The rest of the plot had been +seeded down, and was now covered with a bright green carpet of new +clover. + +Tad, being busy at the grocery store that night, did not return home +for his supper, so that the banker's visit was all unknown to the boy +who was going stoically about his duties over in the village. Yet, in +his clear eyes there was nothing of regret at his own refusal to +permit the desire of his life to be gratified. + +Mr. Perkins remained at the cottage for nearly an hour and a half, and +a quiet smile might have been observed hovering about his lips as he +bade good-night to Mrs. Butler, whose countenance reflected something +of his own satisfaction. + +"I will attend to the matter on Monday morning," were his parting +words, at which Mrs. Butler bowed and withdrew into the cottage. + +All unmindful of the important conference, Tad returned home at ten +o'clock. His mother was awaiting him. She greeted him with a hearty +embrace and a kiss, which the boy returned with no less fervor. + +"I have a nice, warm supper ready for you, Tad," she informed +him. "You must have a man's appetite by this time, for you have had +hardly anything to eat since your breakfast." + +"It does put an appetite into a fellow, riding behind a horse, even if +it is an old lame one," laughed Tad. + +"I really believe you would find pleasure in driving a wooden horse, +such as I have seen in harness shops," smiled Mrs. Butler. "You are so +like your grandfather. He would miss a meal at any time for the sake +of driving a horse or talking horse with a friend." + +"Father didn't care so much about them, did he?" + +"No, your father was not particularly interested in horses. He was in +too poor health to be able to handle them after he reached a position +where he might have afforded such a luxury." + +Tad nodded reflectively. + +"And you still want a pony, do you, my son?" asked Mrs. Butler, +leaning forward with a twinkle in her eyes. But the boy's gaze was +fixed steadily on his plate and he failed to note the expression. + +"Yes, I do, mother. However, I don't allow myself to think much about +it. I have got to take care of you, first. After I have made enough so +that you can get along, then I shall have a horse. But not until +then." + +"Perhaps you may have one sooner than you know," breathed the mother, +veiling her eyes with her hands, that he might not read what was +plainly written there. + +Tad shot a keen glance at her, then resumed his supper in silence. + +The subject was not again referred to between them, and on Monday +afternoon Tad Butler was again at the grocery store, prepared for work +should there be any for him. + +Mr. Langdon, the proprietor, was talking with one of the men from his +farm just outside the village. + +"You say the old mare is unfit for further service, Jim?" + +"Yes." + +"What do you advise doing with her?" + +"Shoot her." + +"Very well, take the old mare out in the swamp and put her out of her +misery," directed Mr. Langdon after he had thought a moment. + +"I beg pardon, Mr. Langdon," interrupted Tad Butler, who had been an +interested listener to the interview. + +"Yes, Tad; what is it?" + +"Is it old Jinny that you are speaking of, if I may ask?" + +"It is," smiled the grocer, good-naturedly. + +"What's the trouble with her?" + +"Trouble?" sniffed the farm-hand." Jinny's got the heaves that bad she +blows like a blacksmith's bellows. Why, sometimes she even coughs the +oats out of her manger before she's had the chance to eat them. And +that ain't all that ails her, either. I----" + +"Why do you ask, Tad?" said Grocer Langdon. + +"What will you take for Jinny?" inquired the boy, the color flaming to +his face as a bold plan suddenly occurred to him. + +"Why, what could you do with an old, broken-down animal like that?" + +"I don't know. But I should like to make a bargain with you----" + +"Of course if you want her you may have her, provided you get her +off the premises at once," answered the grocer." She'll die on our +hands presently, anyhow." + +"No; I don't want the mare that way. But, I'll tell you what I will +do, Mr. Langdon." + +"Yes?" + +"I will clean out your store every morning for a month in payment for +the mare. Yes, I will make it two months. If two months is not long +enough, I will work for you longer." + +"Oh, very well. The mare's not worth it. However, if you wish to have +it that way I am sure I ought to be satisfied," laughed the grocer. + +"Then, will you write on a piece of paper that the mare is sold to me, +and that I am to clean out the store every morning in payment for +her?" asked Tad. + +"Certainly, if you wish it. I wish you luck," smiled Mr. Langdon, +handing the agreement over the counter after he had prepared it. + +With the precious document in his pocket, Tad Butler sped homeward as +fast as his legs could carry him. Mrs. Butler saw him coming and +wondered what the boy's haste might mean. + +"I've got a horse! I've got a horse!" shouted Tad, vaulting the fence +lightly and bounding up the steps. "I surely have a horse at last, +mother." + +Grasping his mother about the waist with both arms, Tad whirled her +dizzily, the full length of the porch and back, finally dropping her +into a rocking chair with a merry laugh. + +"Mercy!" gasped Mrs. Butler. "You have shaken all the breath out of +me. What does this whirlwind arrival mean?" + +"It means that I have a horse at last, mother. To be sure, it is not +much of a horse; but it's a horse just the same. And it's all mine, +too." + +Mrs. Butler gazed up at him in perplexity. Tad sank down at her feet +and explained the terms on which he had procured Jinny from +Mr. Langdon. + +"Well, now that you have her, what do you mean to do with her?" asked +Mrs. Butler, a quizzical smile on her face. + +"With your leave, I shall bring her home. Will you let me turn Jinny +in the clover patch there, mother? There'll be enough grass there to +keep her all summer, and as soon as she is able to work I can get odd +jobs enough with her to pay for the oats that I shall need to keep her +up on," went on the boy speaking rapidly. + +"Very well, Tad; the place is as much yours as it is mine," agreed +Mrs. Butler, indulgently. + +"And I have been thinking of something else, too--something for +you. But I shall not tell you about that now. I am going to keep it as +a surprise for you when I get it ready," announced the boy +mysteriously. "If you have nothing for me to do just now, I think I'll +go out to Mr. Langdon's farm and bring the mare in. I shall want to +spend the evening making her comfortable." + +Mrs. Butler gave a ready permission, and Tad hounded away, running +every foot of the mile and a half to the Langdon farm, where old Jinny +was turned over to him, together with a brand new halter and an old +harness which the grocer had directed his man to furnish with the +mare. + +Tad petted and fondled the wheezy old creature, who nosed him +appreciatively. + +"How old is Jinny?" he asked. + +"Going on twelve," answered the farm-hand laconically. + +Tad opened the mare's mouth, which he studied critically. + +"Humph!" he grunted, flashing a glance of disapproval at the +farm-hand. + +"What's that, younker? I said as she was going on twelve." + +"I guess you have dropped five years out of your reckoning somewhere," +answered the boy. "Jinny is past seventeen. But it's all right. It is +all the same to me. I don't care if she's a hundred," decided Tad, +picking up the halter and leading the mare from the yard. + +"Hope she don't run away with ye," jeered the farm-hand, as boy and +horse passed out into the highway. But to this Tad made no reply. He +was too fully occupied with his new happiness to allow so little a +thing as the farm-hand's opinion to disturb him. + +Once out of sight of the farm buildings, the lad pulled the mare to +one side of the road, where he examined her carefully. + +"Huh!" he exclaimed. "Heaves, ringbone and spavin. I don't know how +much more is the matter with her, but that's enough. Still, I think +she will wiggle along for some time and be of real service if I can +fix up the heaves a little. They must have filled her up on dusty +hay," he decided, examining the mare's throat and nostrils. "I'll get +her home and look her over more carefully." + +Tad's course led him through the principal residential street of the +town. But he thought nothing of this, even though his new purchase was +a mere bundle of bones and scarcely able to drag its weary body along. + +"She's mine," he whispered, as the sense of possession took full hold +of him. "Mine, all mine!" + +Just ahead of him stood the home of Stacy Brown's uncle. + +Chunky was standing in front of the gate, both hands thrust into his +trousers pockets. He had observed the strange outfit coming down the +street, but at first the full meaning of it did not impress him. Now +he discovered that the procession consisted of Tad Butler and an +emaciated, hesitating old horse. + +Stacy's eyes gradually closed until they were mere slits, through +which he peered inquiringly. + +"Hullo, Tad," he greeted. + +"Hello, Chunky," returned the freckle-faced boy with a grin. + +"What you got there, a skeleton?" + +"No; this is a mare. Her name is Jinny and she's mine." + +"Huh! Skate, I call her. Where did you get her?" + +"Bought her," answered Tad proudly. + +Chunky emitted a long-drawn whistle. + +"What are you going to do with her?" he demanded, a sudden suspicion +entering his mind. + +"First, I am going to doctor her up and make a real live horse of +her. Then, perhaps, she will join the Pony Riders' Club." + +"What?" + +"I said she might join the club," reiterated Tad. + +"Then I resign," declared Chunky. + +"All right," retorted Tad. "Jinny's +better than no horse at all. And you haven't any." + +"Yes, but my uncle is going to get me one next week. He's going to buy +the handsomest one he can find out at the McCormick ranch," chortled +the fat boy. + +"Gid-ap!" commanded Tad, his face sobering. "I don't care. I'll show +them yet," he gritted, urging old Jinny along with sundry coaxes and +promises of a real meal upon their arrival home. + +Though the boy tried to keep his purchase a secret until he should +have conditioned the mare a little, Stacy Brown lost no time in +informing the other members of the club, and through them the news +soon became the property of the village. As a result, Tad was the butt +of many jokes and jibes, to all of which he returned a quiet smile, +registering a mental promise to "show them." + +In two weeks time he had worked a marvelous change in Jinny. One who +had seen her on the day the boy brought her home, would scarcely have +recognized in her the old, wind-broken skeleton that she had appeared +two weeks previously. + +By this time, Tad was beginning to use her to haul up wood which he +had gathered in a patch of forest below the village. He would first +gather and pile the poles; then, wrapping a rope about all he +thought the mare could draw, would make her haul them home. Here he +sawed the poles to stove lengths in preparation for the winter. +This work Mrs. Butler had always been obliged to hire done, and the +saving now was of no small moment to her. + +One hot afternoon, however, Tad had left Jinny in the shade of the +trees to rest, while he wandered out to the highway and sat down to +think. + +He had been there not more than fifteen minutes when the faint chug, +chug of a motor car was borne to his ears. It was still some distance +away, but from the sound he knew the car was approaching rapidly. + +"If they keep on at that gait, something surely will happen," decided +Tad, being fully aware of the dangers that lay in the stretch of road +between himself and the oncoming car. + +A few moments later he saw the car round the bend in the road just +beyoud him. It came tearing along, swerved unsteadily from one side of +the road to the other, then was brought to a sudden, grinding stop, +narrowly missing a plunge into the roadside ditch. + +"The steering gear has gone wrong. I think the ball has been wrenched +from the socket," announced the driver of the car, disgustedly. "I +wish I could see a horse." + +Tad grinned. + +"What are you grinning at, you young ape?" snapped the driver, +voicing his increasing irritation. "You seem to think this is some +kind of a joke." + +"I am not laughing at you, sir," answered Tad respectfully. + +"You'd better not," growled the driver. "How far is it to Chillicothe, +kid?" + +"About a mile and a half," replied the boy. + +"Can I get a horse anywhere around here?" + +"I reckon you can. I've got a horse." + +"You? Where is it?" demanded the autoist doubtfully. + +"In the bushes, back here a piece. What'll you give me to pull you +in?" + +"I'll give you five dollars," announced the driver eagerly. "But be +quick about it." + +Tad rose slowly and stretched himself. + +"I'll do it for two," he announced, to the surprise and amusement of +the occupants of the car. + +In a few moments Jinny had been led out, Tad taking along the rope +that he used in hauling the wood. One end he fastened securely to the +front axle of the car, attaching the other to the whiffletree that he +had made to use in the woods. + +"Now, if you will start your engine and give me just a little lift, I +think I can draw you in. Can you steer the car enough to keep it in +the road, do you think?" + +"I will try," answered the driver. "But if I find I can't, I'll toot +my horn, which will be the signal for you to stop." + +It was all the old mare could do to draw the heavy car over the slight +rise of ground that lay just beyoud where the automobile had been +stalled; yet, with the aid of the power of the car itself, they +managed to make the hill all right. At last the boy pulled the car and +its occupants up in front of the blacksmith shop in the village, +collecting his fee with the air of one used to transacting similar +business every day. + +Tad, however, did not return to the woods that day. Instead, he turned +old Jinny toward home, which he made all haste to reach. + +Arriving there he placed the money he had earned in his mother's +hands. + +"Just earned it with Jinny," he explained proudly, in answer to her +surprised look. "I'll get the wood to-morrow, and maybe I'll catch +another automobile." + +However, Tad's luck deserted him next day, though three days later he +earned a dollar and a half towing in a disabled car. + +This led the lad to ponder deeply, the result being a hurried trip to +the store, followed by sundry mysterious preparations in the stable at +the rear of the house. + +Tad's early mornings were devoted to cleaning up the store, so that he +had no time then to give to his own affairs. Late one afternoon in the +middle of the following week, Tad Butler, driving Jinny and with a +parcel under his arm, moved down the street toward the woods. + +Arriving at the woods he tied Jinny to a tree and walked on around a +bend in the highway, where he unrolled his parcel. A coil of clothes +line dropped from it. + +The bundle, which proved to be a long strip of canvas, Tad stretched +out, tying an end of the clothes line on either side. + +The boy's next move was to climb a tree at one side of the road, and +make fast one of the lines. Descending, he did the same on the +opposite side of the highway. + +By this time, Tad's clothes were in a sad state of disorder. But to +this he gave no heed. He was bent on accomplishing a certain purpose, +and all else must give way before it. + +Hauling down on the rope which he had made fast to the second tree, be +caused a banner to flutter to the breeze directly over the highway. On +it in big red letters had been painted: + + AUTOS TOWED IN. + IF YOU DON'T SEE ANY ONE, + YELL FOR TAD OR CALL + AT LANGDON'S STORE. + TOW YOU IN FOR TWO DOLLARS. + +"I guess that's high enough to clear a load of hay," decided Tad, +standing off and critically, surveying his work. + + + +CHAPTER IV + + A SURPRISE, INDEED + +That makes fifteen dollars, mother. Tad Butler, with flashing eyes and +heightened color, laid two crisp new one dollar bills in his mother's +hand, and nervously brushed a shock of hair from his forehead. + +"My, that car was a big one," he continued." Jinny couldn't quite pull +it, so I had to get behind and push. But we made it." + +Mrs. Butler patted the disorderd hair affectionately. + +"Need a comb, don't I?" he grinned. "Now, I am going to tell you about +the surprise I promised you, Mother. I've pieced together that old +broken down buggy out in the barn, and, when I can afford to buy some +paint for it, you will have a carriage to ride in. You needn't be +ashamed of it, for it's a dandy. Nobody will know it from a new +one. Then, when I am at school, you and Jinny can go out for a drive +every day. Come out and look at it, Mother, please." + + + +Proudly escorting his mother to the stable, Tad exhibited the vehicle +that he had spent many nights putting together. It was truly a +creditable piece of work, and Mrs. Butler made her son happy by +telling him so. + +Tad's business venture had proved more profitable than even he had +dreamed, and the owners of cars breaking down on the rough road made +frequent use of the invitation extended on the sign. Soon, however, +there were so many calls during the day, when the young man was at +school, that he was considering the advisability of taking in a +partner who would attend to the towing when he was not available. The +only reason Tad hesitated was because he feared his assistant would +not be considerate of Jinny. Yet this, he told himself, should not +deter him from making the move the moment he found the right sort of a +boy to go in with him. + +During the past week there had been frequent conferences between +Mrs. Butler and Banker Perkins, and on several occasions Tad's mother +had called at the hank in person. Of all this the young man knew +nothing. But one afternoon something did occur to stir him more +profoundly than he ever had been stirred before. + +Ned Rector had called a meeting of the Pony Rider Boys, and the word +was passed that important business was coining up for discussion. + +Tad said he could not spare the time from his business down the road. + +"I wish you would take the afternoon off," advised his mother. "You +have been working hard of late, and I imagine the boys will have +something to discuss that will be of great interest to you," added +Mrs. Butler with a knowing smile. + +"W-e-l-l," answered Tad. "If you think I ought to, of course I +will. "What are you going to do?" + +"I am going out to take tea with Mrs. Secor. I will leave your supper +in the oven and you can help yourself. Besides, it will do Jinny fully +as much good as it will you to have a rest. Have you seen Mr. Perkins +to-day?" + +"No. Why?" + +"He said something about wanting you to drop in soon, when I saw him +downtown this morning," answered Mrs. Butler softly. "Now, run along +and attend your important meeting, my boy." + +"All right," answered Tad cheerily, after a second's hesitation. He +ran lightly from the house, whistling a merry tune as he went. + +Arriving at the headquarters of the club, he found all the members +there awaiting him. + +"Hello! How's the skate!" they cried in chorus. + +"Howdy, fellows," greeted the freckle-faced lad with a pleased +smile. "Jinny goes when the automobile doesn't. Give me a horse every +time. How's the new pony, Chunky? Been too busy to drop in to look him +over." + +"I fell off yesterday," replied Stacy Brown with a sheepish grin. + +"That's no news," jeered Ned Rector. "I guess we'll have to get a net +for Chunky to perform over. However, fellows, as the notice stated, we +have some very, very important matters to talk over to-day. President +Brown will please take his chair and call the meeting to order. That +is, if he is able to sit down. If not, I think there will be no +objection to his standing up," announced Ned, amid a general laugh. + +The president rapped sharply on the floor with his foot, and the +members of the club settled down to the keenest attention. +Anticipation was reflected on each smiling face. Tad instinctively +felt that there was something behind all of this that he knew +nothing about. But he bided his time. + +"What is the pleasure of the meeting?" asked the president. + +"I move," said Ned Rector, "that our friend and fellow member, Walter +Perkins, now take the floor and outline the plans which I understand +he has in mind. I think none of us know what they are, beyoud the fact +that some sort of a trip has been planned for us. We are all ears, +Mr. Perkins." + +Walter rose with great deliberation, a smile playing over his thin, +pale features, as he looked quietly from one to the other of his young +friends. + +"Fellow members," he began. + +"Hear, hear!" muttered Ned. + +Stacy Brown dug his heel into the floor for order. + +"As brother Rector already has said, we are soon to take a trip. The +matter has all been arranged. In the first place, our doctor says that +I must spend the summer in the open air -- that I must rough it, you +understand. The rougher the life, the better it will be for me. He +didn't say so to me, but I overheard him telling father that I was +liable to have consumption, if I did not ----" + +"You don't mean it?" interrupted Ned with serious face. + +"Yes. That's what he said. So they have planned a trip for me and all +of you boys are to go along." + +"Hooray!" shouted Chunky. + +Ned fixed him with a stern eye. + +"A president never should forget his dignity," he warned. "Mr. Perkins +will now proceed." + +"We all now have our ponies, except Tad Butler, and when we get ready +to start we shall have nothing to do but go. Professor Zepplin is to +accompany us. Father has bought him a big new cob horse. The professor +was once an officer in the German army, and he knows how to +ride--that is, the way they ride over there. He reminds me of a +statue on horseback, when he's up. Anyhow, he will go along to see +that we are taken care of." + +"When do we go?" asked the president. + +"As soon after your school closes as is possible." + +"I am afraid our fathers and uncles will have something to say about +that," said Chunky with a wry face. "Uncle never would let me go off +like that. It's all very well for you, but with the rest of us it's +different." + +Walter smiled knowingly. + +"That has all been taken care of, fellows. Tour fathers, as well as +mine, know all about it." + +"You don't mean it?" marveled Ned. + +"Yes." + +"Is Tad Butler going on that old skate of his?" bristled Chunky. + +"I can't say as to that," answered Walter. + +"Well, if he does, it's me for home. Why, we never would get beyoud +the water works station, he would he so slow. Does my uncle know about +Tad's old mare?" + +"Never mind about the mare," growled Ned Rector. "We have other and +more important matters to attend to just now." + +"Yes, and we shall have to settle among ourselves what we are to take +along, though father said he had a man who would look out for all +that. We are going to rough it, you understand, so we shall have to +leave behind all our fine clothes. And sometimes we may go without +meals, even. But we all will sleep out-of-doors, most likely, every +night after we get started. In the meantime, I would suggest that we +practice riding--that is, form ourselves into a sort of company with +a regular captain. I move that Tad Butler be made captain, and he can +drill us." + +"You don't need to make that motion," announced Ned, springing to his +feet, full of excitement. "He will be our captain without being +elected. He already is master of horse. It's now up to Tad to get busy +and drill us. We will begin to-morrow afternoon." + +Tad, who had taken no part in the conversation, now shook his head +slowly, which caused the others to shout in chorus: + +"You won't!" + +"Of course I will drill you, if you boys wish it. But, you know I can't +go with you. Therefore, you had tetter make some one of you three +fellows the captain." + +"Why can't you go?" demanded Ned Rector. "Of course you are going." + +"In the first place, I am too busy," answered Tad with a wan +smile. "Then there are other reasons. I can't afford it. I must stay +at home and earn money this summer. Then, again, I have no pony." + +"Oh pshaw!" growled Ned. "That's too bad. I would rather stay at home +myself." + +Tad flashed an appreciative glance at him. + +"Thank you. But I would rather you went, Ned. I'll drill you willingly +if you boys want me to." + +"That's right," approved Walter. "Perhaps something may turn up in the +meantime, so you can go with us. It really will spoil our trip if you +don't go along." + +"Nothing will turn up. Nothing can turn up. I tell you, I must stay at +home with my mother. But I don't even know where you are going. I can +drill you to better purpose if I know what sort of riding you expect +to do." + +"Yes! Where are we going?" demanded Chunky, with quickened interest. + +"That's so. I hadn't thought of that. Where did your father say we were +to ride to? We must be going quite a distance away, judging by all the +preparations," besought Ned Rector. "And, by the way, are you sure you +are right about this business, Walt?" + +"There is no doubt," smiled Walter Perkins good-naturedly. "That is +what this meeting was called for--to tell you about it. It was left +to me to announce it to you boys, because it is my party, if you want +to call it that. And you want to know where you are going?" + +"Yes, of course we do," they shouted. + +"Boys, we are going to the Rocky Mountains! We are going over the +roughest and wildest part of them. Perhaps we shall go where no white +man's foot ever has trod. We shall be explorers. What do you think of +it?" + +For a full moment no one spoke. + +Each was too full of the wonderful news to do more than gape at the +speaker. Only the sound of their labored breathings broke the +stillness. + +"Will--will there be bears and things there?" asked Stacy, +hesitatingly. + +"I presume so," smiled Walter. + +"Ugh! And snakes?" + +"Maybe." + +"Rattlers. I've read about them out there," added Ned. + +"I--I guess I'll stay home," stammered the president. + +"Don't be a baby," jeered Ned. "I rather think you'll be able to stand +it if the rest of us can. And, besides, Walt's professor will be +along. He'll fix the animals and reptiles with, his cold, scientific +eye till they'll be glad to run away and leave us to ourselves." + +"You boys are to come over to my house tomorrow night, when father is +going to tell you more about it. He has not told me everything yet. But +he directed me to give you the main points of the plan, which I have +done." + +"I propose three cheers for Walter Perkins and his father," cried +Ned, springing to his feet. The boys joined in the cheers with a will, +Tad no less loudly than the rest, though there was no joy in his face +now. The boy's disappointment was keen, yet he determined that his +friends should not see it. And, as quickly as he could do so, Tad +slipped away and went home to fight out his boyish sorrow all alone. + +Tad's mother found him out in the barn half an hour later, vigorously +grooming the old mare. Mrs. Butler smiled to herself as she observed +that he studiously managed to keep the mare between himself and her as +he worked. + +"Do you want to sell Jinny?" she asked after a little. + +"What?" + +Tad was all attention now. + +"I said, do you want to sell your horse?" + +"No. That is, I might if I got enough for her. But I can't say that I +am anxious to. Why, I am making plenty of money with her," answered +Tad coining out from behind the mare. "What made you ask that +question, Mother?" + +"I didn't know but you might be willing to part with her. And then, +with the money you might be able to purchase a better one--a horse +that you would be able to earn more money with." + +Tad studied his mother's face a moment inquiringly. + +"Not with any money that I could get for Jinny." + +"How much do you think you could get for her?" + +"Not more than ten dollars. I doubt if any one would be willing to pay +that, even. Who wants to buy her?" + +"Yes; Mr. Secor, the butcher, spoke to me about it while I was at his +house this afternoon. His delivery horse broke a leg yesterday and +they had to shoot the animal to-day." + +"Too bad," muttered Tad. + +"He thought Jinny was just the horse he wanted, because she is so +gentle and will stand without hitching. It takes too much time to +hitch a delivery horse at every stop, you know!" + +Tad nodded his understanding. + +"Did you tell him what ailed Jinny?" asked Tad. + +"Yes, as well as I could. But he said he knew all about her, and was +willing to take all chances. Mr. Secor said he believed Jinny was good +for ten years yet, with the kind of work he would require of her." + +"Make an offer?" asked Tad, with an eye to business. + +"Yes." + +"How much?" + +"Twenty-five dollars." + +"W-h-e-w! He must be crazy. All right, he can have her so far as I am +concerned. I'll go over to see him this evening." + +That night Tad Butler came home with twenty-five dollars in his +pocket, which, added to what he already had earned, made the tidy sum +of forty dollars--a little fortune for him. + +He dropped the handful of bills into his mother's lap, and, going out +to the porch, sat down with his head in his hands, to +think. Mrs. Butler followed him after a few moments. + +"Do you think you would like to go with the boys on their jaunt this +summer?" she asked, innocently enough, it seemed. + +"Yes, but I can't." + +"Why not, my boy?" + +"First place, I've got no pony." + +"Don't be too sure about that" + +"What do you mean, Mother!" + +"Run out to the stable and see," smiled Mrs. Butler. + +Wonderingly, Tad did as she had directed. And there in a stall stood a +sleek Indian Texas pony, quite the finest little animal he had ever +seen. + +"Wh--whe--where did he come from!" gasped the astonished boy. + +"You earned him, Tad, and the money you brought home this evening will +complete the purchase price. You shall accompany the Pony Riders on +their trip to the Rockies----" + +"But----" + +"Mr. Perkins has arranged to have you go with Walter to look after +him. You will be his companion, and for this service Mr. Perkins +agrees to pay you the sum of five dollars a week and all +expenses. Understand, you are not going as a servant--he wished that +made very clear--but as the young man's companion. You can easily +get someone to do your work at the store for another month, when your +agreement will be worked out." + +"Yes--but--but you, Mother?" + +"I am invited to spend the summer with Aunt Jane, so you need have no +concern whatever about me." + +Tad's eyes grew large as the full significance of it all was home in +upon him. + +"Mother, you're a brick," he cried, impulsively throwing his arms +about Mrs. Butler. + +But Tad had no thought of the thrilling experiences through which he +was destined to pass during the coming eventful journey. + + + +CHAPTER V + + IN A DESPERATE CONFLICT + +A sudden bright flash lighted up the camp, throwing the little white +tents into hold relief against the sombre background of the +mountains. It was followed after an interval by a low rumble of +distant thunder that buffeted itself from peak to peak of the Rockies. + +The Pony Riders stirred restlessly on their cots and tucked the +blankets up under their chins. + +Close upon the first report followed another and louder one, that sent +a distinct tremor through the mountain. + +"What's that?" whispered Stacy Brown, reaching from his cot and +grasping Tad Butler by the shoulder. + +"A mountain storm coming up," answered the boy, who for some time had +lain wide awake listening to the ever increasing roar. "Go to sleep." + +Yet, instead of following his own advice, Tad lay with wide-open eyes +awaiting the moment when the storm should descend upon their camp in +full force. + +He had not long to wait. + +With a crash and a roar, as if the batteries of an army had been +suddenly let loose upon them, the elements opened their bombardment +directly over the camp. + +"Ugh!" exclaimed Chunky in a muffled voice, as he crawled further down +under the blanket to shut out the glare of the lightning. + +For a few moments the boys lay thus. Then Tad, rising, slipped to the +opening of the tent and looked out wonderingly upon the impressive +scene. Each flash appeared to light up the mountains for miles around, +their crests lying dark and forbidding, piled tier upon tier, the +blue, menacing flashes hovering about them momentarily, then fading +away in the impenetrable darkness. + +The camp appeared to be wrapped in sleep, and, by the bright flashes, +Tad observed that the burros of the pack train were stretched out +sound asleep, while, off in the bushes, he could hear the restless +moving about of the ponies, their slumbers already disturbed by the +coming of the storm. + +The Pony Riders had been out three days from Pueblo, to which point +they had journeyed by train, the stock having been shipped there in a +stable car attached to the same train. In the city of Pueblo they +found that all preparations for the journey had been made by Lige +Thomas, the mountain guide whom Mr. Perkins had engaged to accompany +them. + +Besides the four ponies of the boys there were the Professor's cob, +Thomas's pony and a pack train consisting of six burros, the latter in +charge of Jose, a half-breed Mexican, who was to cook for the party +during their stay in the mountains. + +It was a brave and joyous band that had set out from the Colorado city +in khaki trousers, blue shirts and broad-brimmed sombreros for an +outing over the wildest of the Rocky Mountain ranges. + +By this time the boys had learned to pitch and strike camp in the +briefest possible time--in short, to take very good care of +themselves under most of the varying conditions which such a life as +they were leading entailed. + +They had made camp this night on a rooky promontory, under clear skies +and with bright promise for the morrow. + +Tad gave a quick start as a flash of lightning disclosed something +moving on the far side of the camp. + +"What's that!" he breathed. + +With quick intuition, the boy stepped back behind the flap of the +tent, and, peering out, waited for the next flash with eyes fixed upon +the spot where he thought he had observed something that did not +belong there. + +"Humph! I must be imagining things tonight," he muttered, when, after +three or four illuminations, he had discovered nothing further. + +Tad was about to return to his cot when his attention was once more +attracted to the spot. And what he saw this time thrilled him through +and through. + +A man was cautiously leading two of the ponies from camp, just back of +Professor Zepplin's tent. + +The boy paused with one hand raised above his head, prepared to pull +the tent flap quickly back in place in case the stranger chanced to +glance that way, all the while gazing at the man with unbelieving +eyes. + +Was he dreaming? Tad wondered, pinching himself to make sure that he +really was awake. + +Once more, impenetrable darkness settled over the scene, and, when the +next flash came the camp had resumed its former appearance. + +Tad Butler hesitated only for the briefest instant. + +"Ahoy, the camp!" he shouted at the top of his voice, springing out +into the open. "Wake up! Wake up!" + +As if to accentuate his alarm, a twisting gust of wind swooped down +upon the white village. Accompanied by the sound of breaking ropes and +ripping canvas, the tent that had covered Professor Zepplin was +wrenched loose. It shot up into the air, disappearing over a cliff. + +Now the lightning flashes were incessant, and the thunder had become +one continuous, deafening roar. + +Stoical as he was, the Professor, thus rudely awakened, uttered a yell +and leaped from his cot, while the boys of the party came tumbling +from their blankets, rubbing their eyes and demanding in confused +shouts to know what the row was about. + +But Lige, experienced mountaineer that he was, instinctively divined +the cause of the uproar, when, emerging from his tent, he saw Tad +darting at top speed across the camp ground. + +"The ponies! The ponies!" shouted the boy, as he disappeared in the +bushes, regardless of the fact that he was clad only in his pajamas, +and that the sharp rocks were cutting into his bare feet like +keen-edged blades. + +"What about the ponies?" roared Ned Rector, quickly collecting his +wits and following in the wake of the fleeing Tad. + +"Stolen! Two of them gone!" was the startling announcement thrown back +to them by the freckle-faced boy. + +By this time the entire camp, with the exception of Professor Zepplin +and Stacy Brown, had set out on a swift run, following on the trail of +Tad. + +Ahead of him, the boy could hear the ponies' hoofs on the rocks, and +now and then a distant crash told him they were working up into the +dense second growth that he had seen in his brief tour of inspection +earlier in the evening. He realized from the sound that he was slowly +gaining on the missing animals. + +Tad's blood was up. His firm jaw assumed the set look that it had +shown when he won the championship wrestling match at the high school. + +The shouts of the others at his rear, warning him of the danger and +calling upon him to return, fell upon unheeding ears. So intent was +the boy upon the accomplishment of his purpose that he gave no heed to +the fact that the sounds ahead had ceased, and that only the soft +patter of his own feet on the rocks broke the stillness between the +loud claps of thunder. + +Yet, even if Tad had sensed this, its meaning doubtless would have +been lost upon him, unused as he was to the methods of +mountaineers. So the boy ran blindly on in brave pursuit of the man +who had stolen their mounts while the Pony Riders slept. + +Suddenly, without the slightest warning, Tad felt himself encircled by +a pair of powerful arms, and, at the same time, he was lifted clear of +the ground. + +But even then the lad's presence of mind did not desert him, though +the vise-like pressure about his body made him gasp. + +All his faculties were instantly on the alert. But he realized now +that his only hope lay in attracting the attention of the others of +his party, who could be only a short distance away, for he could still +hear their shouts. + +"Help!" + +Tad's shrill voice punctuated a momentary lull in the storm. + +"Coming!" answered the voice of the guide, its strident tones carrying +clearly to Tad, filling him with a feeling as near akin to joy as was +possible under the circumstances. + +With a snarl of rage the boy's captor suddenly released his hold +around the waist and grasped Tad quickly by the knees. So skilfully +had the move been executed that Tad Butler found himself dangling, +head down, before he really understood what had occurred. His head was +whirling dizzily. He felt his body swaying from side to side, his head +describing an arc of a circle, as he was rapidly being swung to and +fro. + +"Where are you, Tad?" + +"Here!" came the muffled voice of the boy, too low for the others to +catch. + +Tad knew that they would have to hurry if they were to save him, for +as soon as the dizzy swinging of his body began he had understood the +purpose of his captor. At any second the boy might find himself flying +through space-- perhaps over a precipice. It plainly was the intent +of the man to hurl the boy far from him, as soon as Tad's body should +have attained sufficient momentum to carry it. + +However, before the fellow was able to put his desperate plan fully +into execution, Tad, with the resourcefulness of a born wrestler, +suddenly formed a plan of his own. + +As his body swung by that of his captor, the boy threw out his hands, +clasping them about the left leg of the other and instantly locking +his fingers. + +It seemed as if the jolt would wrench his arms from their sockets. Yet +Tad held on desperately. And the result, though wholly unexpected by +the mountaineer, was not entirely so to Tad. He had figured--had +hoped--that a certain thing might occur. And it did. + +The man's left leg was jerked free of the ground, and before he was +able to catch his balance the fellow fell heavily on his side. Tad, +with keen satisfaction, heard him utter a grunt as he struck. But +before the boy could release himself he was grabbed and pulled up over +his adversary by the latter's left hand, his right still being +pinioned under his own body. Yet the mountaineer's move had not been +entirely without results favorable to his captive. + +"I'll kill you for this!" snarled the man, fuming with rage. + +Tad, groping for a wrestler's hold, felt his hand close over the hilt +of a knife in the man's belt. And, as the boy was hauled upward, the +blade came away from its sheath, clasped in Tad's firm grip. + +But not even with this deadly weapon in hand did Tad Butler for a +second forget himself. He flung the knife as far from him as his +partly pinioned arms would permit, and, with keen satisfaction, heard +it clatter on the rocks several feet away. + +"You'll do it without that cowardly weapon, then!" gasped the boy. + +Though thoroughly at home in a wrestling game, Tad knew that he would +he no match for the superior strength of his antagonist. So, resorting +to every wrestling trick that he knew, he sought to prevent the fellow +from getting the right arm free. However, the most the lad could hope +to accomplish would be to delay the dreaded climax for a minute or +more. + +With an angry, menacing growl, the mountaineer threw himself on his +hack, hoping thereby to free the pinioned arm. + +"Now, I've got you, you young cub!" + +Instantly, both of Tad's knees were drawn up and forced down with all +his strength on his adversary's stomach. From the growl of rage that +followed, Tad had the satisfaction of knowing that his tactics had not +been without effect. + +"You--you only think you have," retorted the boy, breathing heavily +under the terrible strain. + +The mountaineer might now have hurled the boy from him. To do this, +however, would have been giving Tad an opportunity to escape, of which +he would have been quick to take advantage; and so, gulping quick, +short breaths, and struggling with his slightly built adversary, Tad's +captor finally managed to throw the lad over on his back. + +So heavily did Tad strike that, for the moment, the breath was fairly +knocked from his body. + +Recovering himself with an effort, he raised a piercing call for help. + +All grew black about him. He no longer saw the brilliant flashes of +lightning that at intervals lighted up the scene, nor heard the voices +of his companions frantically calling upon him to come back. The +mountaineer's sinewy fingers had closed in an iron-grip over Tad +Butler's throat. + + + +CHAPTER VI + + THE CAPTURE OP THE HORSE THIEF + +"There they are!" cried Ned Rector, a flash of lightning having +disclosed the man kneeling over Tad Butler. "He's got Tad down!" + +But Lige Thomas did not even hear the warning words. He, too, during +the momentary illumination, had caught the significance of the scene. + +With a mighty leap he hurled himself upon the body of the crouching +mountaineer, both going down in a confused heap, with the unfortunate +Tad underneath. + +Ned Rector was only a few seconds behind the guide. While the two men +were straggling in fierce embrace, he sprang to them, and, grabbing +Tad by the heels, drew him from beneath the bodies of the desperate +combatants. But Ned's heart sank when he saw Lige drop over backward, +with the mountaineer on top. + +With a courage born of the excitement of the moment, Ned clasped both +hands under the fellow's chin, jerking his head violently +backwards. So sudden was the jolt that the lad distinctly heard the +man's neck snap, and, for the moment, believed he had broken it +entirely. + +However, the mountaineer's tough coating of muscle made such a result +impossible. Yet he had sustained a jolt so severe that, for the time +being, he found himself absolutely helpless, and wholly at the mercy +of his antagonists. + +Lige leaped upon the thief with the lightness of a cat, quickly +completing the job which Ned Rector had begun. In a moment more the +guide had thrown several strands of tough rawhide lariat about the +body of the dazed mountaineer, binding the fellow's arms tightly to +his side. + +"I guess that will hold him for a while," laughed Ned. Then, +bethinking himself of Tad, whom in the excitement of conflict he had +entirely forgotten, Rector dropped down beside his comrade. + +"Tad! Tad! Are you all right?" + +Tad made no response. He told Ned afterwards that he had heard him +distinctly, though to save his life he could not have answered. + +Ned pulled him up into a sitting posture, and shook the boy until his +teeth chattered. Tad gulped and began to choke, his breath beginning +to come irregularly. + +"How's the boy?" demanded the guide, rising after having completed his +task of binding the captive. + +"He'll he all right in a minute. Is there any water about here!" + +"No; not nearer than the camp. Wait a minute; I'll bring him around +without it," announced Lige. + +In this case, however, Tad felt that the remedy was considerably worse +than the disease itself. Lige brought his brawny hand down with a +resounding whack, squarely between Tad's shoulders, which operation he +repeated several times with increasing force. + +"On--ouch!" yelled Tad, suddenly finding his voice under the guide's +heroic treatment. "Wh--where am I?" + +"You're in the woods. That's about all I know about it," laughed Ned, +assisting his companion to his feet, and supporting him, for Tad was +still a bit unsteady from his late desperate encounter. "You're lucky +to be alive." + +"What--what has happened!" + +"That," answered Ned, pointing to Lige as the latter roughly jerked +the captive mountaineer to an upright position. + +"Find the ponies!" commanded the guide sharply. "I hear them in the +bushes there. Will they come if you whistle!" + +"Depends upon which ones they are. Mine will." + +But, though Ned whistled vigorously, neither of the animals appeared +to heed the signal. + +"Jimmie isn't there. I'll go get them." And Ned ran off into the +bushes, where they could hear him coaxing the little animals to +him. In a few moments he returned leading them by their bridle reins. + +"Whose ponies are they?" asked Tad, leaning against a tree for +support. + +"Texas and Jo-Jo. The fellow picked a couple of good ones. But then, +all the ponies are worth having," added Ned, realizing that he was +placing the others ahead of his own little animal. "What do you +propose to do with that fellow over there, guide?" + +"Depends upon you young gentlemen. Just now I am going to tie him on +one of the ponies and take him back to camp. I suppose you know what +they do with hoss thieves in this country, don't you?" asked Thomas. + +"Never having been a horse thief, and never having caught one, I can't +say that I do," confessed Master Ned. "What do they do with them?" + +"Depends upon whether there are any large trees about," answered Lige +significantly. "We must be getting back now. Master Tad, you get on +your pony, and I will lead Jo-Jo behind with the thief." + +The mountaineer had been securely tied to the back of Walter Perkins's +mount, and the procession now quickly got under way, Tad riding ahead, +Ned Rector bringing up the rear, that he might keep a wary eye on +their prisoner on their way back to camp. Ned was armed with a club, a +stout limb of oak, which he had picked up before the start, and which +he covertly hoped he might have an opportunity to use before reaching +camp. + +However, no such chance was given him, and, after picking their way +cautiously over the rocky way, for trail there was none, they at last +reached their temporary home. + +Ned gave a war whoop as a signal to the camp that they were coming, +which was answered with a slightly lesser degree of enthusiasm by +Stacy Brown. + +The storm had died down to a distant roar and the camp was in +darkness. + +"Get a fire going as quickly as possible," directed the guide. + +Ned quickly procured dry fuel, and in a few moments had a crackling +fire burning. + +Professor Zepplin and Stacy Brown now came forward into the circle of +light. After the sudden departure of his tent the Professor had taken +refuge in one of the other tents, where he had remained, not knowing +exactly what had happened. + +In the excitement of losing his own little home he did know that all +the boys, save Stacy, had rushed out of camp, shouting about the theft +of the ponies. Chunky averred that all the stock had run away. Still +there seemed nothing left for the two to do except remain where they +were until the return of the others of the party. They would have been +sure to lose themselves had they ventured away from camp in the +darkness. + +Both paused suddenly when they observed the figure of a man tied to +the back of Jo-Jo. + +"What's this? What's this?" demanded the Professor in puzzled +accents. "A man tied to a horse? What is the meaning of this, sir?" + +Lige Thomas smiled grimly. + +"That's our prisoner," declared Tad, who, sitting upon his horse in +his bedraggled, torn pajamas, presented a most ludicrous figure. + +"You certainly are a sight, sir," declared Professor Zepplin, +surveying the boy with disapproving eyes. "What is the meaning of all +this disturbance? First, my tent goes up into the air; then you all +disappear, though where I am not advised. And now, you return with a +man tied to a pony." + +"The man's a thief--" began Ned. + +"It was this way, Professor," Tad informed him. "I saw some one +walking away with Jo-Jo and Texas. I ran after and caught up with the +fellow. Then the others came and we nabbed him. That's all." + +"Yes, sir; if it hadn't been for Master Tad's quickness we might have +lost both the ponies," added the guide. "He caught the fellow and +handled him as well as a man could have done until we got there. When +you get your full strength, you'll be a whirlwind, young man," glowed +Lige. + +Blushing, Tad slipped from his pony. + +"The man is a thief, you say, Thomas?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Well, well; I am surprised. I should like to take a look at him." + +Thomas dumped the prisoner on the ground in the full glare of the +torches, still leaving his arms bound, and taking the further +precaution of securing the fellow's feet. + +"Who are you, my man!" demanded the Professor sternly, peering down +into the prisoner's dark, sullen face. + +There was no response. + +"Humph! Can't he talk, Thomas?" + +"I reckon he can, but he won't," grinned Lige. "There ain't no use in +asking him questions. He knows we've caught him in the act, and he +knows, too, what the penalty is." + +"The penalty--the penalty? You refer to imprisonment, of course?" + +"No; that ain't what I mean." + +"Then, to what penalty do you refer?" inquired the Professor. + +"We usually hang a hoss thief in this country," replied the guide, +grimly. "But, of course, it's for you and the boys to say what shall +be done." + +"Hang him? Hang him? Certainly not! How can you suggest such a thing? +We will turn him over to the officers of the law, and let them dispose +of him in the regular way," declared the Professor with emphasis. + +"That's all right, but where are we going to find any officers?" asked +Tad. "They don't seem to be numerous about here." + +"The young gentleman has hit the bull's-eye, sir. It's sixty miles, +and more, to a jail. You don't want to go back, do you?" + +"Certainly not." + +"That's how we men of the mountains come to take the law into our own +hands, sometimes. We have to be officers and jails, all in one," +hinted the guide significantly. + +"Then, there remains only one thing for us to do, regrettable as it +may seem," decided the Professor after a moment's thought. + +"Yes, sir?" + +"Let the fellow go, but with the admonition not to offend again." + +Lige laughed. + +"Heap he'll care about that," he retorted, his, face growing glum. + +However, at the Professor's direction, the prisoner was liberated. No +sooner was this done than the fellow leaped to his feet and started to +run. + +"Catch him!" roared Lige. + +Tad promptly stuck out a foot. The mountaineer tripped over it, +measuring his length on the ground. Lige jerked the fellow to his feet +and stood him against a tree, the thief becoming suddenly meek when he +found himself looking along the barrel of a large six-shooter. + +"I reckon you can run now, if you want to," grinned the guide +suggestively. + +"Admonish him," urged the Professor. + +"Now, you see here, fellow," said Lige in a menacing tone, "you've +struck a rich find tonight. Next time, I reckon you won't get off so +easy. I've got you marked. I'll find out what your brand is, then I'll +tell the sheriff to be on the lookout for you. Now, you hit the trail +as fast as your legs'll carry you. If I catch you up to any more +tricks--well, you know the answer. Now, git!" + +And the late prisoner did. One bound carried him almost out of +camp. The boys shouted derisively as they heard him floundering +through the bushes as he hastily made his escape. + +"Where is Walt? Did he go hack to bed?" asked Tad, after the +excitement had subsided. + +"To bed? No; he followed you," replied Stacy Brown. + +"Followed us? You are mistaken. Did you see anything of Walter +Perkins, Mr. Thomas?" + +The guide shook his head. + +"Did not go with you? I think you must be in error," spoke up the +Professor, with quick concern. + +"He certainly was not with us," insisted Ned. "I did not even see him +leave his tent." + +"Why, he must have gone. With my own eyes I saw him running after +you," urged Professor Zepplin in a tone of great anxiety. + +"Guide, get torches at once. The boy surely is lost." + +Alarmed, the boys needed no further incentive to spur them to instant +action. Grasping fagots from the fire, they lined up, standing with +anxious faces, awaiting the direction of Lige Thomas, to whom they +instinctively looked to command the searching party. + +"Wait a minute," commanded Lige in a calm voice. "Which way did you +see him go, Professor?" + +"Let me reflect. I am not sure--yes, I am. I distinctly remember +having seen him run obliquely to the left there. It was just after I +had lost my tent----" + +"Over that way?" asked Lige, pointing. + +"Yes, that was the direction. I am positive of it now. But, if he went +that way, he didn't follow you?" added the Professor hesitatingly. + +"Do you know what lies there, less than ten rods away?" asked the +guide, gravely. + +"I don't understand you." + +"There's a cliff there that drops down a clear hundred feet," answered +Lige, impressively. + +A heavy silence fell over the little group. + + + +CHAPTER VII + + OVER THE CLIFF + +Professor Zepplin's face worked convulsively as he sought to control +his emotions. + +"You--you can't mean it, sir. You cannot mean that Walter has come +to any real harm? I----" + +"I don't know. I'm only telling you what to expect." + +"Then do something! Do something! For the love of manhood, do--" +exploded the Professor, striding to the guide. + +But Lige, having turned his back on the German tutor, was giving some +brief directions to the boys, who were now fully dressed. They +assented by vigorous nods, then promptly fell in behind him and held +their torches close to the ground as if in search of something. + +Reaching the bushes at the point where the Professor thought he had +seen Walter Perkins disappear, they halted, the guide making a careful +examination while the boys waited in silent expectancy. + +Lige nodded reflectively. + +"Yes; he went this way. You boys spread out, and if any of you observe +even a broken twig that I have missed, let me know. The trail seems +plain enough here." + +And, the further he proceeded, the more convinced was Lige Thomas that +his fears were soon to be fully realized. + +Suddenly he paused, dropping onto his knees, in which position he +cautiously crawled forward a few paces. + +"Huh!" grunted the guide. + +The boys, realizing that he had made some sort of a discovery, started +forward with one accord. + +"Stop!" commanded their guide sternly. "Don't you know you are +standing on the very edge of the jumping-off place? Get down and crawl +up by me here, Master Ned. But, be very careful. Leave your torch." + +Ned quickly obeyed the instructions of the guide, lying down flat on +his stomach, and wriggling along in that way as best he could. + +Lige took a firm hold of his belt. + +"I can't see anything," breathed the boy. + +At first his eyes were unable to pierce the blackness. But after a +little, as they became more accustomed to it, he began to +comprehend. Below him yawned a black, forbidding chasm. + +Ned shivered. + +"Walt didn't--didn't----" + +Lige inclined his head. + +"Are you going to keep me in this suspense all night?" demanded the +Professor irritably. "What have you discovered?" + +The guide, before replying, assisted Ned back to his feet, leading him +to a safe distance beyoud the dangerous precipice. + +"There's no doubt of it at all, Professor. He has left a trail as +plain as a cougar's in winter. He must have stepped off the edge at +the exact point where you saw me lying." + +"Then--then you think--you believe----" + +"That he has been dashed to his death on the rocks a hundred feet +below," added Lige solemnly. "Nothing short of a miracle could have +saved him, and miracles ain't common in the Rockies." + +The boys gazed into each other's eyes, then turned away. None dared +trust his voice to speak. It was some moments before the Professor had +succeeded in exercising enough self-control to use his own. + +"Wh--what can we do?" he asked hoarsely. + +"Nothing, except go down and pick him up----" + +"But how?" + +"By going back a mile we shall hit a trail that will lead us down into +the gulch. But we'll have to leave the ponies and go down on foot. +Not being experienced, I'm afraid to trust them. Only the most +sure-footed ponies could pick their way where one misstep would send +them to the bottom." + +Returning to camp, and piling the fire high with fresh wood, the boys +secured the ponies, and, led by Lige, struck off over the hack +trail. It was a silent group of sad-faced boys that followed the +mountain guide, and not a syllable was spoken, save now and then a +word of direction from Lige, uttered in a low voice. + +After somewhat more than half an hour's rough groping over rocks, +through tangled underbrush and miniature gorges, Lige called a halt +while he took careful account of their surroundings. His eye for a +trail was unerring, and he was able to read at a glance the lesson it +taught. + +"Here is where we turn off," he announced. "Follow me in single +file. But everybody keep close to the rocks at your right hand, and +don't try to look down. I'm going to light a torch now." + +The guide had had the forethought to bring a bundle of dry sticks, +some of which he now proceeded to light, and, holding the torch high +above his head, that the light might not flare directly in their eyes, +he began the descent, followed cautiously by the others of the +party. Yet, so filled were the minds of the boys with their new sorrow +that they gave little heed to the perils that lay about them. + +At last they came to the end of the long, dangerous descent, and, +turning sharply to the right, picked their way through the cottonwood +forest to the northwest. + +Not a word had the Professor spoken since they left the camp, until +observing a faint light in the sky some distance beyoud them, he asked +the guide what it was. + +"That's the light from our camp fire. "We are getting near the place," +he answered shortly. + +Professor Zepplin groaned. + +Now, realizing the necessity for more light, Lige procured an armful +of dry, dead limbs, all of which he bound into torches, and, lighting +them, passed them to the others. With the aid of these the rocks all +about them were thrown up into hold relief. + +The boys were spread out in open order and directed to keep their eyes +on the ground, remaining fully a dozen paces behind their leader, who +of course, was the guide himself. + +Peering here and there, starting at every flickering shadow, their +nerves keyed to a high pitch, they began the sad task of searching for +the body of their young companion. + +Finally they reached the point which Lige knew to be almost directly +beneath the spot where Walter was supposed to have stepped off into +space. + +"Remain where you are, please," ordered the guide. + +Continuing in the direction which he had been following for several +rods, Lige turned and made a sweeping detour, fanning the ground with +his torch, as he picked his way carefully along. + +"Wh--wha--what do you find?" breathed the Professor as Lige turned +and came back to them. + +"Nothing." + +"Nothing? What does that mean?" + +"That the boy's not here. That's all." + +"Not--here!" marveled the three lads, and even that was a distinct +relief to them. If Walter had not been dashed to death on the rocks at +the bottom of the gulch, then there still was hope that he might be +alive. However, this faint hope was shattered by Lige Thomas's next +remark. + +"The body may have caught on a root somewhere up the mountain side, +"he added." I am afraid we shall have to go back and wait for +daylight. But we'll see what can be done. I don't want to give it up +until I am sure." + +"Sure of what?" asked the Professor. + +"That the boy is dead. Look!" exclaimed the guide, fairly diving to +the ground, and rising with a round stone in his hand. He held it up +almost triumphantly for their inspection. + +But his find failed to make any noticeable impression upon either the +boys or Professor Zepplin. They knew that in some mysterious way it +must be connected with the loss of their companion, though just how +they were at a loss to understand. + +"I don't catch your idea, Lige," stammered the Professor. "I +understand that you have picked up a stone. What has that to do with +Walter?" + +"Why, don't you see? He must have dislodged it when he fell off the +mountain." + +"No; I do not see why you say that." + +"And up there, if you will look sharply, you will observe the path it +followed coming down," continued Lige, elevating the torch that they +might judge for themselves of the correctness of his assertion. + +But, keen-eyed as were most of the party, they were unable to find the +tell-tale marks which were so plain to the mountaineer. + +"What do you think we had better do, sir?" asked Tad Butler anxiously. + +"Go back to camp. I should like to leave someone here--but----" + +"I'll stay, if you wish," offered Tad promptly. + +"No, I couldn't think of it. It's too risky, There is no need of +our getting into more trouble. If you knew the mountains better it +might be different. If I left you here you might get into more +difficulties, even, than your friend has. No; we'll go back +together. It is doubtful if we could do anything for poor Master +Walter now. No human being could go over that cliff and still be +alive. A bob-cat might do it, but not a man or a boy," announced +the guide, with a note of finality in his tone. + +Sorrowfully the party turned and began to retrace their steps. But the +necessity for caution not being so great on the return, most of the +way being up a steep declivity, they moved along much faster than had +been the case on their previous journey over the trail. + +The return to camp was accomplished without incident, and the boys +slipped away to their tents that they might be alone with their +thoughts. + +Professor Zepplin and the guide, however, sat down by the camp fire, +where they talked in low tones. + +Tad, upon reaching his tent, threw himself on his cot, burying his +head in his arms. + +"I can't stand it! I simply can't!" he exclaimed after a little. "It's +too awful!" + +The boy sprang up, and going outside, paced restlessly back and forth +in front of the tent, with hands thrust deep into his trousers +pockets, manfully struggling to keep hack the tears that persistently +came into his eyes. + +A sudden thought occurred to him. + +With a quick, inquiring glance at the two figures by the fire, Tad +slipped quietly to the left, and nearing the scene of the accident, +crept cautiously along on all fours. He flattened himself on the +ground, face down, his head at the very spot where his companion had, +supposedly, taken the fatal plunge. + +For several minutes the boy lay there, now and then his slight figure +shaken by a sob that he was powerless to keep back. + +"I cannot have it--I don't believe it is true. I wish it had been I +instead of Walt," he muttered in the excess of his grief. "I----" + +Tad cheeked himself sharply and raised his head. + +"I thought I heard something," he breathed. "I know I heard +something." + +He listened intently and shivered. + +Yet the only sounds that broke the stillness of the mountain night +were the faint calls of the night birds and the distant cry of a +roaming cougar. + +"H-e-l-p!" + +Faint though the call was, it smote Tad Butler's ears like a +blow. Never had the sound of a human voice thrilled him as did that +plaintive appeal from the black depths below. + +He hesitated, to make sure that it was not a delusion of his excited +imagination. + +Once more the call came. + +"Help!" + +This time, however, it was uttered in the shrill, piercing voice of +Tad Butler himself, and the men back there by the camp fire started to +their feet in sudden alarm while Ned Rector and Stacy Brown came +tumbling from their tents in terrified haste. + +"What is it! What is it?" they shouted. + +Instead of answering them, Lige Thomas, with a mighty leap, cleared +the circle of light and sprang for the bushes from which the sound had +seemed to come. He was followed quickly by the others. Both the guide +and Professor Zepplin had recognized the voice, and each believed that +Tad Butler had gone to share the fate of Walter Perkins. + +Yet, when Lige heard Tad tearing through the underbrush toward him, he +knew that this was not the case. + +"What is it?" bellowed the guide in a strident voice. + +"It's Walt! He's down there! Quick! Help!" + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + A DARING RESCUE + +Lige thrust the excited boy to one side. Running to the edge of the +cliff, he leaned over and listened intently. + +A moment more and he too caught the plaintive cry for help from below. + +It was the first time thus far on the journey that Lige Thomas had +manifested the slightest sign of excitement. Just now, however, there +could be no doubt at all that he was intensely agitated. + +"Keep back! Keep back!" he shouted, as the boys and Professor Zepplin +began crowding near the masked edge of the cliff. "You'll all be over +if you don't have a care. We've got trouble enough on our hands +without having the rest of you jump into it." + +"What is it?" demanded the Professor breathlessly. + +"It's Master Walt," snapped the guide. "Stand still. Don't move an +inch. I'm going back for a torch," he commanded, leaping by them on +his way to the camp fire. + +"Where--is--he?" stammered the Professor, not observing that the +guide had left them. + +"Down there, sir," explained Tad, pointing to the ledge of rock over +which Walter had fallen. + +"I know--I know--but----" + +"I heard him call. Walt's alive! Walt's alive! But I don't know how we +are going to get him." + +The shout of joy that had framed itself on the lips of Ned Rector and +Stacy Brown died out in an indistinct murmur. + +"Is it possible! What are we going to do, Thomas--how are we to +rescue the boy?" + +Lige Thomas made no reply to the question as he ran past them, and, +dropping down, leaned over the cliff, holding the torch he had brought +far out ahead of him. + +"See anything?" asked Tad tremulously, creeping to his side. + +"Looks like a clump of bushes down there. But I ain't sure. Can you +make it out?" + +"No. All I can see is rocks and shadows. Where is it that you think +you see bushes?" + +"Over there to the right, just near the edge of the light space made +by the torch light," answered the guide. + +"Yes," agreed Tad, "that does look like bushes. I'll call to Walter +and tell him we are coming. Hey, Walter! Where are you?" +"H--e--r--e," was the faint response. "All right, old man. Stick +tight and don't get scared. We'll have you out of that in no time." + +"Don't move around. Lie perfectly still," warned the guide. "Are you +hurt?" + +To this question Walter made some reply that was unintelligible to +them. + +"Now, what are we going to do, I'd like to know?" asked Ned. + +"I don't know," answered Lige, frowning thoughtfully. "It's a tough +job. If I had a couple of mountaineers who knew their business, we'd +stand a better chance of pulling him up." + +"Why not get a rope and let it down to him," suggested Tad. + +"Yes, that's the only way we can do it. Run over to the cook tent and +tell Jose to give you those rawhide lariats that he will find behind +his bunk. Hurry!" + +Tad was off almost before the words were out of the mouth of the +guide, and in the briefest possible time came racing back with the +leather coils, which he tossed to Lige before reaching him, that there +might not be even a second's delay. + +The mountaineer quickly formed a loop in one end of the rope, making +it large enough to permit of its slipping over the shoulders of a +man. This he dropped over the brink, after splicing two lariats +together, and directing Ned Rector to make the other end fast about +the trunk of a tree by giving it a couple of hitches. + +"Hello, down there! Let me know when the rope reaches you. Can you +slip it over your shoulders and under your arms?" called the guide. + +There was no response. + +"I say, down there!" shouted Lige. + +"That's funny," wondered Tad. "H-e-l-l-o-o-o-o, Walt!" + +But not a sound came up from the black depths in answer to the boy's +hail. They gazed at each other in perplexity. + +"Has--he---gone?" asked the Professor weakly. + +"No. We should have heard him if he had," answered Lige. "If I could +see him I'd lasso him and haul him up. But I don't dare try it. Then +again, these roots on a wall of rock ain't any too strong usually. I +don't dare try any experiments." + +"What do you think has happened to him?" asked Tad in a troubled +voice. + +"Fainted, probably. He ain't very strong, you know. And that tumble's +enough to knock the sense out of a full grown man. Ain't no use to +expect him to hook himself onto the line, even if he does wake up," +decided the guide with emphasis, beginning to haul up the lariat, +which he coiled neatly on the rock in front of him. + +"Then what are we going to do? We've got to get Walt up here, even if +I have to jump over after him," said Tad firmly. + +"Right you are, young man. But talking won't do it. Something else +besides saying you're going to will be necessary." + +"What would you suggest!" + +"One of us must go down there," was the guide's startling +announcement. "That's the only way we can reach him," explained Lige, +dangling the loop of the lariat in his hands as he looked from one to +the other. + +"D--do--down in that dark place? Oh!" exclaimed Chunky. + +"In that case, you will have to go yourself, Thomas," decided the +Professor sharply. "I could not think of allowing any of my charges to +take so terrible a risk, and----" + +"Let me go, Mr. Thomas," interrupted Ned Rector, stepping forward, +with almost a challenge in his eyes. + +"No; I am the lighter of the two," urged Tad. "I am the one to go +after Walt, if anyone has to. I'll go down, Mr. Thomas." + +"Master Tad is right," decided the guide, gazing at the two boys +approvingly. "It will be better for him to go, if he will----" + +"And he most certainly will," interrupted Tad, advancing a step. + +"I protest!" shouted the Professor. "You yourself should go, Lige. You +are----" + +"I am needed right here, sir," replied the guide, shortly. "You'd have +both of us at the bottom if I left it to you to take care of this +end." + +"I'm ready, sir when you are," reminded Tad. + +The guide, without further delay, and giving no heed to Professor +Zepplin's nervous protests, slipped the noose over Tad's shoulders, +and, drawing it down and up under his arms, secured the knot so that +the loop might not tighten under the weight of the boy's body. + +"Now, be very careful. Make no sudden moves. And, if you meet with +anything unlooked for, let me know at once. You know, you will have to +stay down there while we are drawing the boy up. But, before removing +the rope from your own body, make sure that you are safe. If you find +the support too weak to bear your weight, let me know. I'll send down +another rope to which you can tie yourself until we get Master Walter +to the top. Be sure to fasten him securely to the loop before you give +the signal to haul up," warned the guide. "Here, put my gun in your +pocket." + +"I understand." "Are you ready?" + +"Yes." + +Tad tossed away his sombrero and sat down on a shelf of rock at the +edge of the cliff, his feet dangling over. + +The lad's face was pale, the lines on it standing out in sharp ridges; +but not by so much as the flicker of an eyelid did he betray the +slightest nervousness. Yet Tad Butler realized fully the perilous +nature of his undertaking, and that the least mistake on his part or +on the part of those above him might mean a sudden end to his earthly +ambitions. + +Lige shortened the hitch about the tree, until the line drew +taut. After winding the end tightly about his own arm, he handed a +lighted torch to Tad. + +It was a trying moment for all of them, and naturally more so for the +boy who was about to descend into the unknown depths of the mountain +canyou. + +"Right!" announced the guide in a reassuring voice. + +Tad made no reply, but, turning so that he faced them, let himself +carefully over the ledge, his right hand holding the torch, his left +firmly gripping the ledge so that there might be no jolt on the line +by a too sudden stepping-off. + +"Good!" approved Lige encouragingly, beginning to let the rawhide slip +slowly around the trunk of the tree. As he did so, Tad felt himself +gradually sinking into the sombre depths. + +He tilted his head to look up. The movement sent his body swaying +giddily from side to side. + +Cautiously placing a hand against the rocks to steady himself, Tad +wisely concluded that hereafter it would not pay to be too curious. + +"Hold a torch over the edge of the cliff, Master Ned," directed the +guide. "Better lie down so you, too, don't take a notion to fall +off. Keep your eyes shut till I tell you to open them." + +Slowly, but steadily, the slender line was paid out, amid a tense +silence on the part of the little group at the top of the +canyou. After what seemed to them hours, a sharp call from the +depths reached their ears. + +Lige quickly made fast the line to a tree. + +"Yes? Got him?" he answered, leaning over the cliff. + +"I see him," called Tad, his voice sounding hollow and unnatural to +those above. "He's so far to the right of me that I can't reach +him. Will it be all right for me to swing myself?" + +"Where is he?" + +"Lodged in the branches of a pinyon tree, I think it is. But he +doesn't answer me." + +"Wait a minute," cautioned the mountaineer. + +Lige searched until he found a limb some three inches in diameter, and +this he placed under the rope so as to relieve the strain of the rock +upon it, that there might be no danger of the leather being sawed in +two by contact with the ledge. + +"All right. Now try it." + +The creaking of the rawhide told them that Tad Butler was swaying from +side to side, fifty feet below them, at the end of a slender +line. Lige, leaning over the brink, was able to follow the boy's +movements by the aid of the thin arc of light made by the torch in +Tad's hand. + +At last, the thread of light contracted into a point, and the watching +guide knew that the courageous boy had finally reached the pinyon +tree. + +Then followed a long period of suspense. But from the cautious +movements of the light far below them, the guide understood that the +lad was at work carrying out his part of the task of rescue to the +best of his ability. + +"Why doesn't he say something?" cried the Professor, unable to +restrain his impatience longer, bis overwrought nerves almost at the +breaking point. + +"Keep still! Don't bother him. The boy's doing the best he can. Mebby +you think he's having some sort of a picnic down there, eh?" glared +Lige. + +"A--l--l right!" + +Tad's voice, now strong and clear, rose from the depths of the canyou. + +"Shall we haul up?" asked Lige, making a megaphone of his hands. + +"Yes; haul away. Tell them Walt's all right. He can talk now," was +the answer that carried with it such a note of gladness that Ned and +Stacy were unable to resist a shout of joy. + +"Lend a hand here," commanded Lige, taking firm hold of the line, and +stepping to the edge that he might command both ends of the +operation. "Are you all safe down there, Tad?" + +"Sure thing!" answered the boy. + +Very slowly, restraining their inclination to haul the rope in with +all speed only because the warning eyes of the guide were upon them, +the two boys, assisted by Professor Zepplin, began hoisting Walter +Perkins toward the top. + +In a few moments the sinewy hands of the guide gripped Walter by an +arm and dragged him safely to the table rock. + +Walter had fully regained consciousness by this time, and a brief +examination showed that he had sustained no serious injury, he having +struck on the yielding branches of the pinyon, which broke his fall +and saved his life. Beyond sundry bruises, a black eye and a thin +crimson line on the right cheek where a branch had raked it, Walter +Perkins was practically unharmed after his perilous experience. + +But it was a trying moment for Tad Butler, down there alone in the +branches of the pinyon tree, with fifty feet of nothingness beneath +him and a sheer wall that extended an equal distance above him. + +Nor was his sense of security increased when, in shifting his +position, the torch fell from his grasp, the fagots scattering as they +slipped down between the limbs of the tree and whirling in +ever-diminishing circles until finally he heard them clatter on the +rocks below. + +The boy could not repress a shudder. Closing his eyes, he clung to the +slender support with grim courage until a hail from above told him +that the rawhide loop was rapidly squirming down toward him. + +This time Lige had allowed for his mistaken reckoning when Tad had +first descended, and the boy grasped eagerly at the leather as he felt +it gently slap against his cheek. + +A few moments more, and he, too, had been hauled safely to the top, +amid the wild cheers of his companions and the congratulations of the +guide and Professor Zepplin. + + + +CHAPTER IX + + RIFLES AND PONIES + +After having been well rubbed down by the guide, and given a steaming +cup of tea, Walter was put to bed, protesting stubbornly that he was +all right and that their attentions were unnecessary. + +But Lige Thomas was firm. + +"You'll be that lame, to-morrow, you can't reach a stirrup. I want you +to be fit, for we have a long journey ahead of us." + +Walter soon fell into a deep sleep, while Tad and Ned, too full of the +events of the night to go to sleep at once, sat by the camp fire +discussing the stirring scenes through which they had so recently +passed, until the deep, rhythmic snores of Stacy Brown reminded them +that they, too, should seek their pine bough cots if they intended to +get any more rest that night. + +Next morning the camp slept late in spite of itself--that is, all +save Lige Thomas. He was up with the sun, busying himself with getting +the outfit ready for a prompt start. + +At nine o'clock the guide routed them out, and the boys, after washing +themselves in the cool, refreshing waters of a little mountain stream, +announced themselves as ready to eat anything that might be placed +before them. + +Walter, still pale from his recent experience, but smiling happily, +took his place with the rest and ate as heartily as they did of the +crisp bacon that Jose had prepared. + +"Now that you young gentleman are all together, it's a good time to +give you some advice," said Lige. + +"Guess I'm the one who needs it most," laughed Walter. + +"He's had his already," chuckled Chunky Brown. + +"But yours is still coming to you," added Ned maliciously. + +"You must keep in mind that these mountains are full of danger," +continued the guide. "Even an experienced mountaineer sometimes goes +wrong, losing his life as the result. So, before any one of you takes +a step, be sure that your foot is going to land on something solid. As +we get up into the Park Range you will find the country rougher, and +still more caution will be necessary. But you're going to be all +right. You boys have the right sort of stuff in you. Not many fellows +of Master Tad's age would have had the courage to do what he did last +night." + +Tad Butler flushed a rosy red, and devoted his attention to his bacon. + +"Yes, he saved my life," breathed Walter. "You all did your share +too." + +"There's one thing I should like to do more than anything else," +interrupted Ned, changing the subject. + +"And that?" inquired the Professor. + +"To shoot a bear." + +"Wow!" exclaimed Chunky. + +"And so should I," agreed Tad, his blue eyes opening wide. "The +biggest thing I ever shot was a woodchuck." + +"You will have a chance to do some hunting soon," replied the +guide. "We shall be on the hunting grounds in a day or so, if we have +good luck, and none of you falls off a mountain. Then I am going to +show you some real sport." + +"Oh, that will be fine," chorused the boys. + +"I believe I should like to try my hand at it, too," added the +Professor. "Do you know, young gentlemen, I have not been on a hunting +trip since I hunted wild boar in the Black Forest with General von +Moltke! You may talk about the savagery of your native bear. But, for +real brutality, I recommend the wild boar." + +"Yes, but wait a minute," objected Ned Rector, his face sobering. +"How are we going to hunt? We have no guns to hunt with. +Mr. Thomas has the only rifle in the party." + +"That's so," agreed Tad. "I hadn't thought of that. I should have +brought my old rifle with me." + +The guide smiled good-naturedly and motioned to Jose. + +"Do you know where that long package marked 'hard tack' is, Jose?" he +asked. + +The cook said he did. + +"Bring it to me," directed Lige so low that the others did not catch +his words. + +The package was placed on the ground at Lige's side a moment later. + +"What is it?" asked Chunky, stretching his neck so he could look over +the table. + +"Your curiosity will be the death of you some day if you don't correct +the habit," warned Ned. "If you'll use your eyes you will observe that +the package contains hard tack, and----" + +However, something in the shape of the four wrapped objects taken from +the bundle, and laid on the ground, did not exactly correspond with +their idea of what hard tack looked like. + +The boys rose full of curiosity. + +"Wha--what----" gasped Ned. + +"It's--guns!" fairly shouted Tad Butler. + +Sure enough, it was. + +Undoing the other three packages, the guide laid before their +astonished eyes four handsome thirty-eight calibre repeating rifles. + +The boys looked at each other questioningly. + +At first they could scarcely believe it to be true. + +"Are--are they for us--for us to use?" stammered Tad. + +"That's what they're for, young gentlemen," smiled the guide. "You +surely didn't expect to go hunting without guns, did you? At the +Professor's suggestion I have been keeping them as a sort of surprise +for you." + +"Three cheers for Lige Thomas and Professor Zepplin," cried Ned +Rector, in which the boys joined with a will, their shouts echoing +back to them from the rocky peaks on the other side of the gulch. + +"Rifles and ponies! We surely ought to be happy!" laughed Tad, with +flashing eyes. "Any boy with those two things wouldn't change places +with a king, would he, fellows?" + +"No!" answered the Pony Riders at the top of their voices. "Not even +for a whole monarchy!" + +Lige was beset by a perfect clamor of questions as to when they were +to have a chance to try the guns on real game. + +"One at a time--one at a time," begged the guide. "First I must find +out how well you boys can shoot. Has any of you ever handled a gun +before?" + +"I have," spoke up Tad promptly. + +"And I," added Ned Rector. + +"I've done a little shooting with my thirty-two calibre," said +Walter. "But I don't call myself much of a shot." + +"And how about you, Master Stacy?" smiled the guide. + +"I? Why, I can shoot a bull's eye with a how and arrow. But somehow, +when I try to fire a real gun, I can't help shutting my eyes before +the thing goes off." + +"That's bad." + +"Then I don't hit anything--that is, not the thing I want to hit," +he added humorously, at which there was a loud laugh from the other +boys. + +"Won't do at all," decided the guide with a shake of the head. "You +will have to learn to do better than that before we take you out." + +"Yes, he'll have to before I go gunning with him," growled Ned +Rector. "Any man who shuts his eyes when he's getting ready to shoot, +is no friend of mine, especially if I happen to be in the +neighborhood." + +"Yes," agreed Lige. "We'll have to go out for a little +practice--this morning if you wish. I guess we can spare the +time. But we must not waste too much of it, as we have an eighteen +mile journey ahead of us over a rough trail, and I want to reach Bald +Mountain before night. + +To-morrow will be Sunday, and we must have a nice camping place, as +you will want to rest and get ready for the busy week ahead of us. At +any rate, you boys can try out the guns this morning and get the +sights regulated. Jose bring me a box of those thirty-eights, will +you?" + +Wistful glances were cast at the pasteboard box, as the boys fondled +the guns, worked the cartridge ejectors, examined the magazines and +looked over the sights at imaginary game. + +"Better fall to, now, and strike camp, so the pack train can go on +ahead," advised the guide. "When we finish shooting you can strap your +guns to the saddles, or carry them over your backs, as you +prefer. You see they have a leather on them for the purpose." + +There were no doubts in the minds of the Pony Riders as to how they +would carry the weapons. As they set about obeying the instructions of +the guide, they pictured themselves riding over the mountains like a +troop of cavalry, rifles hanging across their backs, following the +trail of a band of real Indians. + +The camp was struck in record time that morning, and the tents, neatly +rolled, soon were strapped to the backs of the sleepy burros. Jose +attended to the packing of the commissary. + +"I think we are ready, Mr. Thomas," announced Tad, their task having +been completed. + +The boys shouldered their guns proudly. + +"Oh, yes; there is something else that goes with it," advised Lige, +after glancing critically over the boys and their outfits." I had +almost forgotten it. Fine general I'd make in war time!" + +The guide ran to the cook tent which Jose was packing, returning in a +moment with another of those mysterious packages. + +By now the Pony Riders were worked up to a high pitch of excitement +and anticipation. + +"What have you got?" asked Chunky, with his usual curiosity. + +"I'll show you if you'll wait a minute," whereupon the guide opened +the package, holding the contents toward them. + +"What is it!" marveled Chunky, eyeing the things gingerly. + +"I know! Cartridge belts!" shouted Ned Rector. + +And cartridge belts they were--regulation canvas belts, each with a +shining brass buckle, bearing a spread eagle on its face, the belts +each having compartments for forty-five rounds of ammunition. + +Once more the Pony Riders made the mountains ring with their shouts of +joy in which not even the dignified German Professor could resist +joining. + +Stacy Brown in the meantime, had been greedily filling his belt with +the cartridges, until finally there was room for no more. + +The other three boys, who had quickly strapped on their belts, were +parading about with guns on their shoulders, Walter Perkins giving +them their orders. + +"Wow! But this thing is heavy," exclaimed Chunky, the weight of his +loaded belt tugging at his waist line. + +"Here, here, Master Brown! You don't need all those shells. Put all +but ten of them back in the box," laughed the guide, + +"They're not good to eat, Chunky," advised Walter. + +"Huh!" grunted Ned Rector. "Anybody would think he was going into +battle. Why, a soldier doesn't carry any more bullets than that. And +what's more, Mr. Chunky Brown, if you intend to shoot off a belt full +of those shells, it's me for a rocky cave where the bullets can't +reach. Eh, Tad?" + +Tad nodded and grinned. + +"I'm with you in that." + +"We all have precious lives to save," added Ned. + +"We are all ready," announced the guide. "Jose, you bear to the right +after you leave camp and follow the blazed trail. We shall take the +lower trail. Push right along so as to have a meal ready for us when +we get in. We'll be hungry by that time." + +"Have we any lunch with us?" asked the Professor. + +"Yes, in the saddle bags." + +A few moments later the boys were waking the echoes with the crashing +explosions of their weapons as they banged away at the targets. + + + +CHAPTER X + + THE LOSS OF THE PACK TRAIN + +"Feels good to be in the saddle again, doesn't it, Walt?" + +"Yes, Ned. At least it's better than falling over a cliff. How do you +feel, Chunky?" + +"Shoulder aches where the gun kicked me. I didn't think a gun could +hit so hard from both ends at the same time." + +Stacy Brown worked his right arm up and down like a pump-handle, +making a wry face as he did so. + +The boys had completed their first target practice, in which Tad and +Ned had carried off even honors, with Walter Perkins a close second, +while Stacy Brown had hit pretty much everything within range except +the target itself. + +About the best they had been able to do with him was to induce him to +keep his eyes open, at least, until the first finger of his right hand +had begun to exert a gentle pressure on the trigger. Then, he would +pinch his eyelids so tightly together as to compress his forehead into +a series of small ridges. + +Their practice had lasted some two hours, and now they were once more +picking their way over the rough mountain trail, headed for Bald +Mountain, and discussing the happenings of the night and morning. + +Considerable amusement was afforded them when, on the journey, old +Bobtail, as they had named the Professor's cob, stumbled and threw its +rider over its head. + +Fortunately, Professor Zepplin was not injured. He explained that he +had had too many similar disasters while an officer in the German +army, and that he did not mind a slight mishap like that at all. He +declared that it reminded him so much of his younger days that he +really enjoyed the sensation of falling off. + +This caused the Pony Riders to shout with laughter, and Ned confided +to Tad, by whose side he was riding, that he never knew the Professor +was such a real sport. + +>From then on the afternoon passed quickly. Although the sun was +shining brightly, the air was cool and invigorating, and a gentle +breeze fanned their cheeks when the riders reached the higher places. + +At such times the boys would break into exclamations of wonder at the +gorgeous panorama which unfolded itself before them. + +"Makes a fellow feel as if he were walking on air, doesn't it?" +bubbled Stacy Brown. + +"You will be in a minute, if you don't watch out where you are going," +warned Ned, observing that the boy had unconsciously pulled his horse +too near the outer edge of the trail." Walt tried that last night, and +you know what happened to him." + +"Yes, but Chunky would not come out of it quite so well," spoke up +Tad. + +"I reckon he'd break a rock or two on the way down," grinned Ned +Rector, clucking to his pony. + +About four o'clock that afternoon Lige announced that they had arrived +at their destination. Yet not a sign of Jose and the pack train could +they find. He had not arrived. + +The faces of the Pony Riders grew long at this, for the ride had given +them an appetite that would not bear trifling with. + +"What do you suppose has happened to the pack train, Mr. Thomas?" +asked Tad. + +"Probably been delayed by a pack slipping off. But don't you +worry. Jose will be along in good time," smiled Lige. + +However, in his own mind the guide believed that, while this might be +possible, it was more likely that the cook had missed his way, and was +now wandering about the mountains. It was too late to go in search of +the missing outfit that day, so there was nothing to do but to wait +until morning, then to start out after it, in case the straggler had +not come in by then. + +Lige told the boys to stake down their live stock and make themselves +at home while he went out for an observation. In the meantime the boys +also took the opportunity to look about them. + +Their new location they found to be a sightly one. The wild and rugged +reaches of the Rockies stretched away at their feet as far as the eye +could see, the hills and low mountains rising in sheer slopes, broken +by cliffs and riven by deeply cut and gloomy gorges. + +The Pony Riders gazed upon the scene in awe --at least three of them +did. + +"Splendid, is it not?" breathed Tad, his eyes growing large with +wonder. + +"Oh, I don't know. It isn't so much," replied Chunky lightly. "I've +seen better. We've got bigger mountains in Massachusetts." + +"Humph!" grunted Ned Rector, resuming his study of the scene, its +beauties intensified by the colors in which the low-lying sun had +bathed them. + +A shot sounded off somewhere in front of and below them. + +"What's that?" exclaimed Chunky, now aroused to sudden interest. + +No one was able to answer him. + +Soon two more shots followed, and Chunky; was sure that he heard a +bullet sing by his head. + +Professor Zepplin laughed, saying it was no doubt some one hunting, +and that what the boy had imagined was a bullet was merely an echo. + +"You no doubt will hear many shots while you are in the +mountains. This is a place where people make a business of shooting, +and even yourselves will be doing some of it within a few days, if all +goes well. Perhaps the shot you heard was from Lige, trying his skill +on some bird or animal." + +When Lige returned, some little time after, the boys did not observe +that he left his rifle in the bushes at the edge of the camp. + +"Was that you shooting just now?" asked Tad. + +Instead of answering the question, however, the guide called the boys +to him. + +"I'm going to teach you how to make beds in the mountains," he +said. "We have not tried to make any like them yet ----" + +"Beds? I don't see any beds to make," objected Chunky. "Where are +they?" + +"Get your hatchets and I'll show you," grinned Lige. "We have to +discover a good many things when we are roughing it, you know." + +Fetching their hatchets from the saddle bags, the boys cut great +armfuls of pine boughs, all hands making two trips to camp and back in +order to carry enough for the purpose. But, even then, they were +mystified as to exactly what Thomas intended to do or how he would go +about it to make a bed out of the stuff they had gathered. + +Professor Zepplin watched the preparations with interest, finding much +that was new to him in the resourceful operations of the mountain +guide. + +Having heaped up a great pile of fragrant green stuff, Lige looked +about him to fix upon the best locations for the beds he was about to +make. + +"Oh, I know," exclaimed Ned. "You are going to lay the stuff into +piles so we can sleep on them." + +"Not quite," grinned Lige." Watch me." + +Carefully selecting the branches that he wanted, he stuck one after +another of them into the ground, stem down, until he had outlined a +fairly good bed. This done, he continued setting more of the green +limbs, pushing each firmly into the ground until the mass became so +thick and matted that it resembled a green hedge. + +"There," he announced. "One bed is ready for you." + +"Call that a bed?" sniffed Stacy. "Why, that wouldn't hold a +baby. He'd fall through the slats." + +"Try it. Lie down on it," smiled Lige. + +Chunky did so, gingerly, then little by little a sheepish smile crept +over his countenance. + +"Why, it does hold me up." + +"Of course it does." + +"Say, fellows, this is great. It's softer than any feather bed I ever +slept in. But it wouldn't be half so funny if a fellow made a mistake +and got a branch off a thorn bush; would it, now?" + +One after the other, the boys took turns in trying the new bed, and +each was enthusiastic over it. + +"I'll never sleep on any other kind as long as I live," decided +Ned. "I'll have a tent in the back yard and a pine bed under it. What +do you say, fellows?" + +"I have an idea," smiled the Professor, "that you will get all you +want of the experience this summer. Some other trips have been +planned for you, and you no doubt will spend many nights in the open +air before you return to your homes this fall. I'll say no more on +the subject at present." + +And Professor Zepplin steadfastly stuck to his word, leaving to their +youthful imaginations the solution of the problem that he had +presented. + +"Get busy for firewood," called Lige. + +"Why, it's almost dark," exclaimed Ned. "Where is that pack train? +What are we going to do, Professor?" + +"Ask the guide. He knows everything. He's the original wizard," +laughed the German. "What do you think about it, Lige?" + +"I might as well tell you all now--the pack train undoubtedly is +lost in the mountains. We probably shall see nothing of Jose nor the +pack train until some time to-morrow." + +"Yes; but what are we going to do?" demanded Walter. "Here we are, +without a thing to eat, or a place to sleep." + +"We have the pine beds," answered Tad. "That's a place to sleep, +anyway." + +"But we can't eat the beds," jeered Chunky. + +"If you young gentlemen will build a fire, I'll see what I can do +about getting you some supper," advised Lige." You know, we have to +get used to difficulties in the mountains. In a short time you should +be well able to take care of yourselves without any of my help." + +Lige disappeared in the bushes, returning a few moments later, +carrying a brace of some sort of animal by the hind legs. + +"What's that?" demanded Stacy Brown, his eyes growing large. + +"Jack-rabbits," answered the guide. "There are two of them. I shot +them, and now we'll eat them. I was providing a supper for you when +you heard those shots." + +The boys set up a cheer. Now that the wholesome air of the mountains +had in reality taken possession of their beings, they found themselves +able to arouse enthusiasm over almost any subject. + +Lige skilfully skinned the rabbits and dressed them. By the time he +had accomplished this the fire was burning high, and out of it he +scraped a bed of red hot coals, about which he built an oven of stones. + +"Get two sharp sticks," he directed. + +On these he spit the rabbits, thrusting them over the coals to cook, +while the boys looked on wonderingly. + +"You see," said the Professor, "it is possible for a man to find +sustenance in almost any place--that is, if he knows how." + +"I'd starve to death if I were turned loose up here," said Chunky. + +"Of course you would; and I probably should share the same fate. The +only mountain subject with which I am familiar is geology," said the +Professor. + +"And you can't eat rocks," grinned Ned. + +"Just so." + +"Now, boys, if you will go to my saddle bags you will find salt and +pepper and some hard tack. Bring it all over here, fill your folding +cups with water, and then I think we'll be ready for supper," +announced the guide, after the rabbits had been done to a rich brown. + +"Pardon me, sir, but I'm curious to know what we're going to do for +plates, knives and forks," asked Tad. + +"Do? + +"Why, my young friend, we shall do without them. If you'll watch +me carefully you will learn how." + +By Lige's direction, the boys squatted down about a flat rock, after +which the guide proceeded to carve the rabbits with his hunting-knife, +seasoning the pieces with salt and pepper, yet doing all with +tantalizing deliberation. + +The boys looked on expectantly. + +"Much as I need money, I wouldn't take four dollars and a half for my +appetite at this very moment," declared Ned Rector, earnestly. + +"It can't beat mine, fellows," laughed Walter. "I tell you, there's +nothing like falling off a mountain to give a chap a full-grown +hankering for real food." + +"I should imagine it would shake one down a bit," agreed Tad. "What do +you think about it, Chunky?" + +But Chunky's reply was not clear to them, for the greater part of his +face was buried in a flank of jack-rabbit, and he was able to talk +with his eyes alone, which at that moment were large and expressive. + +Never had a meal seemed to taste so good to these boys as did this +crude repast, served on a rock several thousand feet in the air and +with only such conveniences for eating it as nature had provided. But +good humor prevailed and everybody was happy. + +Chunky at last paused from his labor long enough to go to the spring +for a cup of water. + +"While you are up you might fetch some for the rest of us," suggested +Ned. + +So Chunky gathered up the cups and plodded to the spring, chewing +vigorously as he went. However, finding it inconvenient to carry all +the cups at one time, he left his own at the spring, returning with +those of the others, filled with cool, sparkling water. + +The boys were profuse in their thanks, to which Stacy bowed with great +ceremony and returned to the spring for more water. + +For the moment, in the conversation that followed, they forgot Clunky +entirely. But he was recalled sharply to their minds a few minutes +later. + +"Pussy, pussy, pussy!" + +Ned and Tad turned inquiringly at the sound. Lige and the Professor, +being engaged in earnest conversation at the time, had not heard Stacy +Brown's plaintive call off behind the rocks youder. + +The Pony Riders looked at each other and roared. + +"Well, what do you think of that?" laughed Ned. "That kid has gone and +picked up a cat. Who would ever think of finding a cat up here?" + +"What's that?" demanded Lige sharply, turning to them. + +"Why, Chunky's found a----" + +"Pussy, pussy, pussy! Nice pussy. Come here, pussy. That's a good +kittie. Puss, puss, puss," continued the soothing voice of the boy. + +Had Lige Thomas been projected from a huge bow-gun he probably would +not have leaped forward with much greater quickness than he did in +this instance, bowling over the Professor as he sprang by him, and +making for the spring m mighty strides. + +"Leave him alone!" he roared. + +The guide had heard and understood. He was hurrying to the rescue. + +Those by the camp fire heard two sharp, quick explosions from the +guide's revolver, followed by a squall of rage and pain and a great +floundering about in the bushes. Then the guide appeared around the +corner of a large rock, leading Chunky by one ear, the latter taking +as long strides as his short legs would permit, to relieve the strain +on the aforesaid ear. + +"Wha--what----" stammered the Professor. + +The boys had sprung to their feet in alarm at the crack of the pistol, +and stood, amazement written on their faces, as Lige and Chunky came +toward them. + +"What's the row?" asked Ned Rector in as firm a voice as he could +muster. + +"I got a pussy and he tried to shoot it," wailed Chunky. + +"Pussy! Huh! He got a bob-cat and he was trying to catch the brute, " +growled the guide. "Lucky I got there when I did." + +Stacy's eyes opened wide and his face blanched. + +"A--a bob-cat?" they gasped. + +"Yes; I put a shot into him, but it did not kill kill him! Hear him +squall?" the guide made answer. + +"Well of all the idiotic things I ever heard of!" exclaimed Ned, +gazing at Chunky in bewilderment. + +"Yes; it was all of that," grinned Lige. + + + +CHAPTER XI + + CHUNKY GETS THE CAT + +Wake up, fellows! The sun is up!" shouted Tad Butler, as Sunday +morning dawned bright and beautiful, the birds now making the +mountains ring with their joyous songs. + +The Pony Riders rose up, rubbing their eyes sleepily. + +"What time is it?" asked Ned Rector. + +"Half-past six." + +"Too early to sing. I refuse to sit on a bough and sing at any such +unearthly hour." + +"Huh! I should say so," agreed Stacy Brown, turning over and burying +his face in the fragrant green boughs of his cot. + +Still, the boys had no patience with Chunky's dislike to early +rising, even though they themselves were not averse to a morning +cat-nap. With a yell, they tumbled from their cots, descending upon +Chunky in a bunch, pulling him from his bed without regard to the +way in which they did so. His ill-natured protests went for nothing. + +"I wonder where the guide is?" asked Walter, after they had thoroughly +awakened their companion. + +"Probably gone gunning for our breakfast," answered Tad. + +"I think he has gone after the pack train," said the Professor. "He +told me last night that he should start at daybreak, and that you +would find some rabbit and hard tack for your breakfast under a flat +stone back of his cot. I am afraid you will have to be satisfied with +a cold meal this morning, unless you think you want to build a fire +and warm up the food." + +"Of course we will. Lige Thomas needn't think he's the only one in the +party who can get a meal out of nothing," answered Ned proudly, +starting off to gather sticks for the fire. + +But when they went to get the rabbit there was no rabbit. The stone +under which it had been placed was there right enough, as were several +chunks of hard tack. The stone, however, had been turned over and the +meat was nowhere to be found. + +"That settles it," said Ned ruefully. "I never had an appetite yet +that it didn't meet with the disappointment of it's young life. Now, +who do you suppose took that food!" + +"Perhaps it was another of Chunky's pussy cats," laughed Walter. + +"Don't we get anything to eat!" asked Stacy in a plaintive voice, +glancing from one to the other of his companions. + +"Yes, of course. You can go out in the bushes and browse, if you are +hungry enough," suggested Ned. "As for myself I'm going to the spring +and wash, and after that fill myself up on cold water. That may make +my stomach forget, for a while, that it has a grievance." + +"I'm going to bed," growled Stacy. + +"You'll do nothing of the sort," shouted the boys, grabbing their +roly-poly president and rushing him back and forth to wake him up +again. "No Pony Rider is allowed to sleep after sun-up." + +"Professor, I have a suggestion to make," said Tad, approaching +Professor Zepplin, who was sitting on the edge of his cot, making a +meal of a cup of water, seemingly well pleased that that much had been +left to him. + +"I'll hear it, sir." + +"Will you let me go out with my rifle to look for some game for +breakfast? Ned has three shells left in his belt. I think I shall be +able to shoot something. There's no telling when Mr. Thomas will +return with the pack." + +"I couldn't think of it, my boy." + +"I'll take care of myself, Professor." + +"No. The responsibility is too great. We have had enough trouble +already. I have not the least doubt that a resourceful young man like +yourself could take care of himself under almost any conditions. But I +do not dare take the risk. And, besides, a day's fast will do you all +good. I remember when I was an officer in the German army----" + +"Professor, may we go out and follow the trail of Chunky's pussy cat?" +interrupted Walter. "Ned has found the trail, and says he can follow +it by the blood spots. Perhaps we'll find the animal dead near by, and +the skin would be a fine trophy of our hunt in the Rockies." + +"Certainly not. This is Sunday, young gentlemen, and even in the +mountains we must preserve some sort of decorum on that day." + +"Oh, very well," answered Walter politely, covering his disappointment +with a smile. + +"All days look alike to me up here," grunted Ned. "If it wasn't that +one had a calendar he wouldn't even know when Sunday did come. Now, +would he----" + +"I've got him! I've got him!" came the sudden and startling yell from +the bushes, accompanied by a series of resounding whacks and a great +threshing about in the thick undergrowth. + +The boys paused, not realizing, at first, to whom the excited voice +belonged. + +"Come help me! I've got him!" + +"Chunky!" they groaned. "He's at it again!" + +Professor Zepplin leaped from his cot, striding off in the direction +from which Stacy Brown's triumphant voice had come, and followed by +the rest of the party on the run. All four of them crashed into the +bushes at the same instant, shouting words of warning to Stacy. + +They did not know what it all meant, but the boys were sure that he +had gotten himself into some new danger. + +Chunky had slipped away some moments before, after Ned Rector had +discovered the trail of the bob-cat. His companions, however, had not +missed him, so Stacy was free to follow his own inclinations. + +"Where are you?" cried the Professor. + +"Here! here!" + +Whack! whack! came the sound from a rapidly wielded club again, +accompanied by a vicious spitting and snarling that caused the boys to +hesitate, for a brief second, in their mad dash for the underbrush. + +As they emerged into a little open space, made so largely by the +battle that was being waged there, their eyes fairly bulged with +surprise. + +There was Stacy Brown, hatless, his face red and perspiring, and in +front of him a snarling bob-cat at bay. + +They saw at once that the animal had been wounded, two of its legs +apparently having been broken, while blood flowed freely from a wound +in its side. + +Chunky was prancing about in what appeared to be an imitation of an +Indian war dance, now and again darting in and delivering a telling +blow with the club held firmly in both hands, landing it on whatever +part of the animal's anatomy he could most easily reach. The beast was +snapping blindly at the weapon which Chunky was using with telling +effect. + +The boys in their surprise were unable to do more than stand and stare +for the moment. That Chunky Brown had had the courage to attack a +bob-cat, even though it already had been seriously wounded, passed all +comprehension. + +"Stop!" commanded the Professor, finding his voice at last. + +Whack! + +Stacy landed a blow fairly on the top of the brute's skull, causing +the animal to sway dizzily. + +Paying not the slightest heed to the Professor's stern command, the +excited boy followed up his last successful blow by planting another +in the same place. + +But the savage little beast, though probably unable to see its +enemies, was showing its yellow teeth and squalling in its deadly +anger, the jaws coming together with a snap like that from the sudden +springing of a steel trap. + +"Stand back!" ordered the Professor. "Don't touch him! Get away, +boys!" + +They were obliged to grab Chunky by the arms, fairly dragging him from +his victim, so filled was he with the fever of the chase and a resolve +to conquer his savage little enemy. + +Professor Zepplin, once they had gotten Chunky out of the way, stepped +as near to the bob-cat as he deemed prudent. Drawing his heavy army +revolver, he took careful aim, shooting the beast through the head. + +The Pony Riders uttered a triumphant shout. + +The Professor waved them back as they pressed forward, and planted +another bullet in the animal's head to make sure that it was +thoroughly finished. + +"Hooray for the president of the Pony Riders!" shouted Ned Rector. + +"Hip-hip hooray! T-i-g-e-r!" roared the boys, grabbing Chunky and +tossing him back and forth, making of him a veritable medicine ball. + +"What's the matter with Chunky?" cried Walter. + +"Chunky's all right," chorused the band. + +"Who's no tenderfoot?" + +"Chunky's Brown's no tenderfoot." + +Puffing out his cheeks, and squaring his shoulders, Stacy swaggered +over to the dead bob-cat, violently pulling its ear. + +"He tried to bite me," explained the boy. "See--he tore a lacer in +my leggin. I didn't see him till I almost stepped on him. I knew right +off that it was the pussy that Lige shot at last night." + +"What happened then?" asked Tad, with an admiring grin on his face. + +"I fetched him one on the side of the head with a club. He jumped at +me and I hit him again. About that time I called, and you fellows came +up. But I got him, didn't I, Professor?" + +"You did, my lad. But you took a great risk in attempting to do so," +smiled the Professor, picking the dead animal up and hefting it. "I +think he'll weigh about twenty pounds," he decided. "Yes; undoubtedly +it's the fellow Thomas shot last night. The brute was so badly wounded +that he was unable to drag himself far away." + +"What shall we do with him now?" asked the boys. + +"Take him to camp and leave him till Lige returns," advised the +Professor." And I think we had better tie up our young friend Stacy, +or he will be getting into more mischief than we are able to get him +out of." + +"Why can't we skin the cat?" inquired Ned. + +"I should think you would prefer to wait till the guide sees it. And, +besides, he knows better how to do that than any of the rest of us." + +"Are--are bob-cats good to eat?" asked Chunky sheepishly. + +The boys shouted. + +"Not satisfied with trying to kill the poor beast, now you want to eat +him," jeered Ned Rector. "Why, Stacy Brown, you ought to be ashamed of +yourself. No, I never heard of any one with an appetite so difficult +to satisfy that he was willing to eat cats----" + +"Yes; but this isn't a real cat," protested Stacy. + +"You would have found him real enough if he had fastened one of those +ugly claws in your flesh," laughed Tad. + +"Eat him, by all means, then," advised Ned. "Eat him raw. I wouldn't +even stop to cook the beast if I were in your place." + +Walter and Stacy picked up the dead animal, carrying it along through +the bushes, all talking loudly, the boys--though they would have +been slow to admit the fact--casting envious glances at the fat boy +and his trophy. Chunky told himself he would have something to write +to the folks back East that would make them open their eyes. + +The boys, after having reached the camp, stretched the cat out on a +flat rock. And now that the animal lay in the full light of day, the +sight of its ugly, beetling brow, thin, cruel lips and powerful teeth +made each of the three boys feel rather thankful that he had not had +the luck to come face to face with it over in the bushes. + +As for Chunky, he sat down beside the cat to enjoy the proud sense of +victory, gazing down at the trophy with fascinated eyes. Deep down in +his heart, he wondered how he ever had had the courage to attack +it. But, of course, Chunky confided nothing of this to his companions. + +"Congratulating yourself, eh!" laughed Ned Rector. + +Chunky glanced up at him solemnly. + +"At this minute I was wishing I had a piece of apple pie," he +answered, hitching his belt a little tighter. + + + +CHAPTER XII + + ROUGH RIDERS IN THE SADDLE + +The afternoon had grown old when a distant "C-oo-ee-e," told them that +Lige Thomas was on his way back to camp. + +They answered his call with a wild whoop, and were for rushing off to +meet him. But Professor Zepplin advised them to remain where they were +and get the fire going in case Lige had failed to find the pack +train. He no doubt would bring food of some kind with him. The fire +would be ready and thus no time would be lost in preparing the first +meal of the day, which, in this case, would be breakfast, dinner and +supper all in one. + +The boys awaited the guide's approach with impatience, some pacing +back and forth, while others coaxed the fire into a roaring blaze, at +the same time confiding to each other how hungry they were. + +After what had seemed an interminable time they heard Jose urging +along the lazy burros. + +It was a gladsome sound to this band of hungry boys, whose ordinarily +healthy appetites, under the bracing mountain air and the long fast, +had taken on what the Professor described as a "razor edge." + +"Now you may go," he nodded. + +With a shout, the boys dashed pell-mell to meet the pack train, and, +falling in behind the slow-moving burros, urged them on with derisive +shouts and sundry resounding slaps on the animals' flanks. + +"Had anything to eat!" asked the guide. + +"Not enough to give us indigestion," answered Ned. "Cold water is the +most nourishing thing we've touched since last night." + +"But I left you a rabbit. Didn 't you find it?" + +"We did not. It must have come to life some time during the night and +dug its way out," laughed Tad. + +"And we've got a surprise for you," announced Stacy, swelling with +pride. + +"What's it all about?" laughed the guide. + +"You'll see when you get to camp," answered Chunky. "I don't need guns +to hunt with. A stout club for mine." + +After having shown the cat to Lige and getting his promise to teach +them how to skin it, the boys set to with a will to assist in the +unpacking. While they were pitching the tents over the pine cots Jose +got out his Buzzacot range, which he started up in the open, and in a +few moments the savory odors of the cooking reached the nostrils of +the Pony Riders, drawing from them a shout of approval. + +By the time the meal was ready the tents had been pitched and the boys +had returned from the spring, rubbing their faces with their coarse +towels, their cheeks glowing and their eyes sparkling in anticipation +of the feast. + +Chunky reached the table first, greedily surveying what had been +placed on it. + +"Hooray, fellows!" he shouted. "Hot biscuit and--and honey. What do +you think of that?" + +"Honey? Why, Mr. Thomas, where did you get honey?" asked Walter. + +"Found a bee tree on my way back, and cut it down. I think you will +find there is enough of it to double you all up," grinned Lige. + +"We'll take all chances," advised Ned. "But what's this! It looks like +jam." + +"Jam?" exclaimed Chunky, stretching his neck and eyeing the dish +longingly. + +"Yes; wild plum jam," answered the guide. + +"Wow!" chuckled Stacy under his breath. + +"Now, fall to, young gentlemen," directed the Professor. "I am free to +admit that I am hungry, too. I think I shall help myself to some of +that wild plum jam and biscuit, first It reminds me of old times. We +sometimes had jam when I was with the German----" + +"Army," added Ned. + +"Yes." + +But the Professor was lost in his enjoyment of the biscuit, which he +had liberally smeared with the delicious jam. + +Chunky did even better than that. He buried his biscuit under a layer +of jam, over which he spread a thick coating of honey. + +Ned fixed him with a stern eye. + +"Remember, sir, that a certain amount of dignity befits the office of +president of the Pony Riders Club, "he said. + +Chunky colored. + +"It's good, anyway." + +"Then, I think I'll try some myself," announced Ned, helping himself +liberally to the honey and jam. "I'd lose my dignity for a mouthful +of that, any day," he decided after having sampled the combination. +"President Brown, I withdraw my criticism. I offer you my humble +apologies. You are not only the champion hunter of the Pony Riders, +but you also are the champion food selector and eater. Next thing +we know you'll be providing us with bear steak." + +"Bears, did you say?" demanded Stacy in a voice not unmixed with +awe. "Are there bears up here?" + +"I reckon there are," smiled the guide. "We are in the bear country +now. I had a tough battle with one in a cave not far from here, +several years ago. I came near losing my life too, and----" + +"A cave?" interrupted Tad. + +"Yes, the country is full of caves. Some of them are so big that +you would lose yourself in them almost at once; while others are +merely dens where bears and other animals live. Besides this, there +are many abandoned mines up the range further. All are more or less +interesting, and some, for various reasons, are dangerous to enter." + +"Shall we see any of them?" asked Tad eagerly. + +"All you want. Perhaps we may even explore some if we come across +any," said the guide. + +This announcement filled the boys with excitement. + +"What I want to know, is, when do we go hunting?" asked Ned. + +"That depends. Perhaps Tuesday. We shall need a dog. But I know an +old settler who will lend us his dog, if it is not out. Of course, +dogs can't follow the trail of an animal as well, now, as they could +with snow on the ground. But this dog, you will find, is a wonder. He +can ride a pony, or do almost anything that you might set him at." + +"I think I'll ride my own pony and let the dog walk," announced Ned. + +Supper having been finished, the party gathered about the camp fire +for their evening chat, after which, admonishing Stacy to keep within +his tent and not to go borrowing trouble, the boys turned in for a +sound sleep. + +As yet, they had been unable to attempt any fancy riding with their +ponies, owing to the rugged nature of the country through which they +had been journeying. So in the morning they asked Lige if he knew of a +place where they could do some "stunts," as Ned Rector phrased it. + +The guide said that, by making a detour in their journey that day, +they would cross table lands several acres in extent and covered with +grass. + +"And come to think of it, that will be an ideal place for us to drop +off for our noon meal," he added. "We'll let Jose go on again, and I +don't think he can lose himself so easily this time. The trail is so +plainly marked that he can't miss it." + +The boys were now all anxiety to start, while the ponies, after their +Sunday rest, were almost as full of life as were their owners. The +little animals were becoming more sure-footed every day, and Ned said +that, before the trip was finished, "Jimmie" would be able to walk a +slack rope. + +An early start was made, so that the party reached the promised table +lands shortly before ten o'clock in the forenoon. A temporary camp was +quickly pitched. + +At their urgent request, Professor Zepplin told the boys to go ahead +and enjoy themselves. + +"But be careful that you don't break your necks," he added, with a +laugh. "I guess I had better go along to see that you do not." + +They assured him that nothing was further from their intention, and +quickly casting aside guns and cartridge belts, they threw themselves +into their saddles again for a jolly romp. + +The great, green field, surrounded on all sides by tall trees, made +the place an ideal one for their purpose. + +"Tell you what let's do," suggested Tad. "Suppose we start with a +race? We'll race the length of the field and back. We'll do it three +times, and the one who wins two times out of three will be it." + +To this all agreed. Appointing Professor Zepplin as starter, the Pony +Riders lined up for the word. + +The first heat was run easily, none of the ponies being put to its +utmost speed. Walter Perkins won the heat. + +The next two heats were different. This time the battle lay between +Tad Butler and Ned Rector. It was a beautiful race, the little Indian +ponies seeming to enter thoroughly into the spirit of the contest, +stretching themselves out to their full lengths, and, with heads on a +level with their backs, fairly flew across the great plot of green. + +Up to within a moment of the finish of the second heat the two ponies +were racing neck and neck. + +Tad hitched in his saddle a little, throwing the greater part of his +weight on the stirrups. He slapped Texas sharply on the flank with the +flat of his hand. + +Texas seemed to leap clear of the ground, planting himself on all +fours just over the line, the winner by a neck. + +The third heat was merely a repetition of the second. All agreed that +Tad's superior horsemanship, alone, had won the race for him. Ned took +his defeat good-naturedly. + +By this time, the boys had come to feel fully as much at home in the +saddle as they formerly had been out of it. Even Stacy Brown, though +he did not sit his saddle with the same grace that marked the riding +of Tad Butler and Ned Rector, more practiced horsemen, was +nevertheless no mean rider. + +"We will now try some cowboy riding," announced Tad, who, as master of +horse, was supposed to direct the riding of the club. "Who of you can +pick up a hat on the run?" + +"Don't all speak at once," said Ned, after a moment's silence on the +part of the band. + +"I'll show you," promised Tad. + +Galloping into camp the boy fetched his sombrero, which he carried +well out into the field and tossed away. Then, bidding the boys ride +up near the spot to watch him, he drew off some ten rods, and, +wheeling, spurred his pony to a run. + +Tad rose in the stirrups as he neared the spot where the hat lay, +keeping his eyes fixed intently upon it. + +All at once he dropped to the saddle and slipped the left foot from +the stirrup. Grasping the pommel with the left hand, he appeared to +dive head first toward the ground. + +They saw his long hair almost brush the grass; one of his hands swept +down and up, and once more Tad Butler rose standing, in his stirrups, +uttering a cowboy yell as he waved the sombrero on high. + +The boys howled with delight--that is, all did save Stacy Brown. + +"Huh! That's nothing. I can do that myself," he grunted. "I've seen +them do that in the wild west shows too many times not to know how +myself." + +Walter smiled, with a twinkle in his eyes. + +"Why not show us, then?" he said. + +"I will," replied Chunky, confidently. + +"Got your life insured?" asked Ned. "If you haven't I would advise you +to go easy. Tad is an experienced rider." + +"Don't you worry about me, Ned Rector. Guess I know how to ride. Let +me have that hat, Tad," he demanded as the latter came trotting up to +the group. + +Stacy, his face flushed, determination plainly showing in his eyes, +stretched forth his hand for the sombrero. Riding bravely out into the +field, he tossed it to the ground. The first time he rode swiftly by +it, leaning over to look at the hat as he passed, holding to the +pommel firmly with his left hand. + +Stacy dismounted and removed the hat carefully to one side. + +"What's that for?" demanded Ned, wonderingly. + +"Hat too close to me. I couldn't get it," explained Chunky. + +The boys roared. + +"Why don't you move the pony? You don't have to move the hat, you +ninny." + +Once more Stacy approached the sombrero, his pony running well, and as +he drew near it, they saw him rise in his saddle just as Tad Butler +had done a few minutes before. + +"By George, he's going to try it," exclaimed Ned. + +"Be careful, Chunky," warned Walter. + +"He's got to learn," declared Tad. + +Then Chunky essayed the feat. + +At the moment when he freed his left foot from the stirrup, he threw +his body sharply to the right, reaching for the hat without taking the +precaution to grasp the pommel. + +As a result, instead of stopping when he reached the hat, the boy kept +on going. Fortunately, his right foot freed itself from the stirrup at +the same time, or there might have been a different ending. Chunky +turned a double somersault, lay still for a moment, then struggled up, +rubbing his body gingerly, as the rest of the party came hurrying up +to him. + +"Are you hurt?" asked Tad apprehensively. + +"No; that's the way I always get off," grinned Chunky. + + + +CHAPTER + + VISIONS OF GOLD + +After satisfying themselves that Stacy was not injured, the others of +the party each made an effort to pick up the hat, though with much +more caution than Stacy had used. + +Ned accomplished the trick the first time he tried. Walter, however, +made several attempts, instructed by Tad, before he finally caught the +knack of it. + +"That will do for one day," decided the instructor, finally. "We must +not tire out our ponies, for we still have a long jaunt ahead of us, +according to the guide." + +When they reached the camp, Stacy was still rubbing his head, much to +the amusement of his companions. The noonday lunch was a light one; +while they were eating it the ponies were tethered out on the plain to +browse on the fresh, green grass. + +Shortly after noon the party was on its way again, Lige being anxious +to reach their destination before dark. Yet the trail was so rugged +and precipitous that rapid progress was impossible. To add to this, +late in the afternoon they overtook the pack train, which they found +halted in the trail. One of the burros had gone lame, nor did Jose +know what the trouble was. He was sitting by the side of the trail +helplessly, waiting for someone to come along. + +Tad hastily slipped from his saddle, running over to the burro. + +"Which foot is he lame in?" asked the boy. + +"Donno," answered the Mexican. + +The boy led the little animal back and forth several times. + +"It's the off hind foot," he announced. + +"Off?" queried Chunky. "He doesn't seem to have a foot off." + +"No, I didn't mean that. Horsemen call the right the off side, and the +left the near one," explained Tad, picking up the beast's foot and +examining it critically. + +"He has stepped on a sharp piece of rock and driven it into the hoof," +announced the boy. "I am afraid we shall have to unload the pack and +strap him down before I can get it out." + +Tying their horses, all hands drew near to witness the proceeding, +which bade fair to be unusually interesting. However, Tad skilfully +rigged a harness out of a long piece of quarter-inch rope. This he put +on the burro, and soon had the animal on its knees, then on its +side. The rope was drawn taut so that the burro could not kick, after +which the boy cautiously cut around the sharp stone with his pocket +knife, and, after considerable effort, extracted it. + +"I'm sorry we have nothing to put in the wound. But I guess he will go +along all right. He'll be lame for the rest of the day; but we cannot +help that." + +Once more they loaded up the beast of burden and the procession +continued on its way, Lige having decided to keep the train in sight +in case it was thought advisable to stop and make camp. They had been +so delayed that it was now close to sunset. + +At dusk they were still some distance from their destination. + +"I think we bad better pull up here," suggested the guide. + +"There's a moon up there," answered Tad. "Why not go on by moonlight? +That is, of course, if you can follow the trail." + +"I could follow the trail with my eyes shut, young man," grinned the +guide. "What do you say, Professor?" + +"As you think best, Lige. I do not mind a moonlight ride." + +"Yes; let's go on," urged the boys, looking forward with keen +anticipation to traveling over the mountains by night, for this they +had not yet had an opportunity to do. + +"Very well, if your appetites will keep for another hour or so. We +should make it in an hour and a half," Lige decided, glancing about +him keenly for landmarks. "We'll try, at any rate." + +The shadows now began to close in, the gulches standing out in bold +relief, black, forbidding seas at the foot of the ridges that lay a +white wonderland in the moonlight. + +"This is great!" declared Ned enthusiastically. + +"Glorious," breathed Tad, drinking in the scene with wide open eyes, +while inhaling in long, slow breaths, the soft mountain air. "I never +saw anything more beautiful." + +Now that night had settled over the trail, the riders had to move +along more cautiously, and with tight reins, that their ponies might +not stumble and hurl the riders over their heads. Tad, with an eye to +caution, had advised them to do this. In this way the train moved on +until nearly nine o'clock, when Lige announced that they had reached +their halting place. + +The mountain top where they stopped was thickly studded with cedars +and pinyon trees, while off in the ravines slender spruces reared +their sharp points above the shadows, projecting up through the black +sea like the spars of a whole fleet of sunken schooners. + +"Old Ben Tackers lives nigh here," the guide told them. "I'll go over +and get him after supper. We can then talk with him about his dog. He +can tell us all about the game. Ben is a character. However, you +mustn't mind his blunt way of speaking. The old fellow is all right at +heart." + +Ben came over later in the evening, and the boys were much interested +in him. A thick shock of shaggy hair covered his head and face, while +through the mass of gray and brown twinkled a pair of bright, beady +eyes. Ned said they reminded him of a couple of burnt holes in a horse +blanket, + +"Any game about here, Mr. Tackers?" asked Ned after the old +mountaineer had been introduced to them. + +"For them as can see, there's things to be seen," answered Ben +enigmatically. "What do you reckon on shooting?" + +"Anything we can find to shoot at," answered Ned. + +"Beckon I'll go home and lock up my pigs, then," declared the old man +firmly. + +"Oh, it's not as bad as that, sir," hastily added Tad. "My friend, +Ned, means anything in the game line. Surely we can be trusted to tell +the difference between a bob-cat and a litter of pigs. Stacy Brown, +here, knocked out a bobcat with nothing but a club at Beaver Mountain +yesterday." + +Ben turned to look at Chunky, who, huddled on the ground, appeared not +unlike a large, round ball. + +"Huh! He ain't much to look at," grunted the old man. "I got a tame +cub over to my cabin that would be a good mate for him." + +Stacy flushed painfully. + +"Mr. Thomas was saying that you might be willing to make some +arrangement with us so we could use your dog for a few days," hinted +Professor Zepplin. + +"Eh! Dogs! Lige Thomas kin have my dogs--I've got two of them +now. No arrangement ain't necessary," growled Ben. + +"We prefer to pay for them, sir," spoke up Walter. "And perhaps you +may be able to tell us, also, where we may hope to find game?" + +"Mebby so and mebby not. I'll see Lige about that. Got that cat skin +ye was talking about?" he demanded suddenly, looking from one to the +other. + +Chunky brought it out, the old man examining it critically, nodding +his head over some thought of his own. + +"Bigger cats on Tacker's mountain," he grunted. "Want to sell it?" +Chunky shook his head. + +"Huh!" exclaimed the old man, rising and starting away. + +"What's your hurry, sir?" asked the Professor politely. + +"Must shut up the pigs. The little red-faced bear over there by the +fire might get loose with his club again," and the mountaineer strode +from the camp without another word. + +Stacy Brown hung his head in chagrin, while the boys laughed heartily +at what they considered a most excellent joke on Stacy. + +"Chatty old person, isn't he, Mr. Thomas?" grinned Ned. + +"Well, not exactly. But he's one of the best hunters on the Park +Range. Besides, he is credited with knowing more about what's hidden +under these mountains than any other man on them. But Ben doesn't care +much for money. He'll set us right about the game when the time +comes. If the game is not running he'll stay away and say +nothing. However, at the right moment, you'll see old Ben Tackers and +his dogs suddenly appearing in camp. It will do you no good to ask him +questions. He'll tell me in a word what he has to say, and I shall +have to guess the rest." + +"And you will know what he means?" asked Tad. + +"I reckon," grinned Lige. + +"In about the same way he told me to-night that there were some bad +men in these parts-- prospectors they called themselves--who were +trying to locate some sort of a claim----" + +"Claim? What kind?" asked Walter. + +"Gold." + +"Gold? Here?" spoke up the Professor sharply. + +"Mountains are full of it, if you can find it," answered Lige in an +impressive tone. + +And the boys, thrilled by the thought that perhaps fortunes in the +bright yellow metal lay beneath their feet, went to bed to dream of +buried treasures and limitless wealth. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + A NARROW ESCAPE + +The Pony Riders awoke full of enthusiasm for the work of the day. Thus +far, each day had held a new and wonderful experience for them, while +those to come were destined to be even more full of stirring +incidents. + +Most of all, the boys looked forward to the hunting trips that had +been promised. Next to that came the exploration of mountain caves. It +was enough to gladden the heart of any boy. + +Immediately they had arisen, they descended upon the guide in a body, +demanding to know if they were to hunt that day. + +"Depends upon Ben Tackers," answered Lige. "You remember what I told +you last night. He'll let us know when it's time for our little +excursion. I think we had best have another hour of target practice +this morning." + +This plan suited the boys so exactly that, after breakfast, they set +to work cleaning their rifles. A dozen rounds of ammunition were +placed in their cartridge belts, after which, the boys announced their +readiness for practice. + +"Get the ponies," directed the guide. + +"Ponies? What for? We're not going to shoot the ponies, are we?" asked +Ned Rector. + +"I wouldn't advise it," grinned the guide. "I'll show you what I want +after we have reached the range. I suppose you know that hunting in +this country is quite generally done on horseback, so you will have to +get used to that way of shooting. Also your ponies must become +accustomed to the firing from their backs. Snap shooting on horseback +is a trick you will have to learn. It may be the means of saving your +lives some time when you are after wild game." + +The boys made a rush to the spot where the ponies were staked. The +little animals looked up in mild protest as their owners hastily threw +on saddles, cinched the girths and slipped the bits into unwilling +mouths. + +Leading their ponies into camp, each boy, with gun slung over his +shoulder, stood at the left of his mount, awaiting the command of his +leader. + +"Ready," announced Tad. + +Four right hands grasped the saddle pommels, the left hands the manes. + +"Mount!" + +Four enthusiastic lads swung lightly into their saddles, gathering up +the reins, and on the alert for the next command. + +"Forward!" ordered Tad. + +The Pony Riders clucked to the little animals and in single column +filed slowly up the mountain pass. + +The place that Lige Thomas had chosen for the target work was not an +ideal one, being rough and uneven. Yet, as he explained to them, it +represented general hunting conditions in the Rockies. + +However, the boys did not care. Their ponies were sure-footed enough +now, they thought, to warrant being trusted under ordinary conditions, +while the boys themselves had no fear of their own ability to stick to +their saddles. + +Lige picked out a stump for the first target, on which he pinned a +torn piece of newspaper. + +This the boys were to shoot at with their ponies at the gallop. They +were first to ride to the upper end of the range, after which, they +were to gallop down the field, keeping to the right of the target, +firing at will at any time before reaching a certain point designated +by a handkerchief tied to a bush. + +It was a proud and happy band that thundered down the field on the +fleet-footed ponies, one at a time, discharging their weapons as they +came bravely on. + +At first the little animals objected, in no uncertain manner, to the +crashing of the heavy guns over their heads. Chunky's horse reared and +plunged until the boy was forced to drop his rifle and hang on +desperately, while the pony tore about the field. The young man +undoubtedly would have come to grief had not Tad Butler, observing +that his companion had lost control of the animal, put spurs to Texas, +and reining alongside of Stacy, grasped the pony by the bit, subduing +it only after a lively struggle. During this contest Chunky had let go +of the reins entirely, and was clinging to the pommel of the saddle +with both hands. + +"You take Texas and let me ride your pony for a couple of rounds," +suggested Tad. "I'll see if I can't trim him into shape." + +Stacy willingly relinquished his horse, and Tad, mounting the stubborn +little animal, treated the party to as entertaining a bit of +horsemanship as they ever had witnessed. After Tad had finished with +the pony the animal, thoroughly subdued, made no further objections to +the discharge of weapons all about and over him. + +"Now, go ahead, Chunky," advised Tad. "If he cuts up any more just +take a tight rein and give him the spur. But I think he'll be good +without it." + +Stacy had no further trouble with the pony after that. In fact, all +the ponies soon accustomed themselves to the noise of the firing and +the attendant excitement. + +At first none of the boys seemed able to hit even the +stump. Presently, though, little black patches began to appear on the +white paper as the marksmen dashed by, each successful shot being +greeted by a cheer of approval from the spectators. + +"Those boys have the right stuff in them," said the guide to Professor +Zepplin. "They shoot and ride like old hands already, though they +don't hit the mark every time they shoot" + +They are young Americans," smiled the Professor. "No other country in +the world produces such types. As a foreigner I can appreciate that." + +While they were talking, Tad was taking his turn at the target. + +"Just look at that boy ride. That proves it," said the Professor. + +Tad had dropped the bridle rein over the saddle bow as he neared the +shooting mark. Rising in his stirrups, riding there as if he were a +part of the animal itself, he was holding the bobbing rifle easily, +eyes fixed on the mark that hung gleaming in the sunlight. + +Suddenly the butt of the rifle sprang to his right shoulder, a flash +of smoke and flame leaped from the muzzle of the gun, and a tiny black +patch appeared, like magic, fairly in the center of the target. + +Dropping to his saddle, half-turning his body, Tad Butler sent back a +second shot hard on the report of the first one, once more planting a +leaden pellet in the now well-riddled paper. + +The boys sent up a whoop of approval. + +"I guess that will do for to-day," decided the guide. "Got any charges +left in your magazines?" + +"I have," answered Chunky. + +"Draw them, then." + +"Yes," said Ned Rector. "Even though Chunky is beginning to get his +eyes open, I don't consider myself safe so long as he has a loaded gun +in his hands. What we shall do with him when we get after real game, +and can't watch him every second, I don't know." + +"Don't you bother about me. You've got enough to do looking after +yourself," retorted Stacy sharply, much to the discomfiture of his +tormentor. + +The boys now turned campward, well satisfied with the morning's +practice and with keen appetites for the noonday meal. Nothing had +been seen of Ben Tackers, so their hopes for going hunting that day +were shattered. + +Yet they were given no opportunity to brood over their +disappointment. Professor Zepplin and Lige Thomas still had a few +surprises in store for them. Very cleverly, they had pieced these +surprises along instead of giving them all to the lads at the +beginning. Thus each day held its new interest, different from any +that had preceded it. + +"We will call this our shooting day, eh, Thomas?" smiled the Professor +significantly. + +"It has been." + +"Then, perhaps you had best get out the other implements of warfare +for our young gentlemen. It will keep them busy until supper time, +furnishing something new as well." + +With a knowing grin, Lige went to the cook tent, soon returning with +an armful. At first the boys glanced at the bundle curiously, then +with more interest as it began to assume shape and form to their eyes. + +"What---what----" stammered Tad. + +Stacy, whose eyes were wide open, was the first to recognize the +articles, and as he did so, Lige dumped them on the ground. + +"Bows and arrows," cried the boys, performing a grotesque war dance +about the weapons. + +"We'll be real Indians now, won't we?" chortled Chunky. + +"They are only playthings," sniffed Ned. "What good are they when we +have real rifles?" + +"You'll find these bows and arrows real enough," answered the +guide. "They were made by Indians, and some of them have been used by +Indians, not only for hunting, but against men as well. A shot from +one of those arrows might put an end to any one of you fully as +quickly as would a bullet from one of your thirty-eights." + +"Shall we help ourselves?" asked Ned. + +"Wait. I'll divide them according to your size and strength. These two +are war bows. I think I'll give them to Master Tad and Ned Rector. It +takes a strong arm to pull them, and you'll want to be careful which +way you shoot." + +"I'll show you fellows how to shoot," averred +Stacy. "I can beat any boy in the bunch with the bow and arrow. I +learned the trick up in New England, where I come from. My ancestors +learned it from the Indians, who used to shoot them up, and the trick +has been handed down in my family. Somebody throw up his hat and see +me pink it," he directed, stringing his bow skilfully. + +The boys could not repress a smile at Chunky's self-praise. + +"Here you go," said Ned, sending his sombrero spinning high in the +air, hoping thereby to take Stacy so much by surprise that he would be +unable to draw a bead on it. + +But Chunky demonstrated that, however slow he might be in some other +things, he could twang a bow with remarkable skill. + +Even before the hat had spent its upward flight, Stacy Brown's +bowstring sang, a slender dark streak sped through the air, its course +laid directly for the hat of which its owner was so proud. + +"Hi there! Look out! You're going to hit it!" warned Ned. + +That was exactly what Stacy had intended to do, though none had had +the slightest idea that he could shoot well enough to accomplish the +feat. + +To their astonishment, the keen-pointed arrow went fairly into the +center of the hat, coming out at the crown, its feathered butt tearing +a great rent in the peak of the sombrero as it passed through. + +Ned groaned as he witnessed the disaster that had come upon his new +hat. But he got no sympathy from the rest of the boys. + +"I'll trade with you. You can wear mine," consoled Chunky, observing +his companion's rueful countenance as he picked up the sombrero, +sorrowfully surveying the rent in its peak. "I'll do nothing of the +sort," snapped Ned. "I told you to shoot at it. It serves me right and +I'll take my medicine like a man. If it rains, I'll stuff the hole +full of leaves," he added humorously. "Then my umbrella will be just +as good as yours." + +"That's the talk," approved the boys. "Anybody else want to offer his +hat to the sacrifice!" grinned Chunky. + +"I think hereafter you had better use the blunt arrows unless you are +shooting at game," advised the guide. "Those flint arrow heads are +dangerous things for work such as yours. I'll pack them away, so there +will be no danger of an accident." + +After having practiced in camp for a time, the boys strayed off, +hoping for a chance to try their skill on some live thing. To this the +Professor made no objection, for they were now becoming so used to the +mountains as to be quite well able to take care of themselves, unless +they got too far from camp, which they were not likely to do. + +Tad soon strolled away by himself, taking a course due south by his +pocket compass. This led him directly over the range where they had +been shooting earlier in the day, and the boy smiled with pride as he +passed the target and counted up the bullet holes that his own rifle +had made. He then pressed on, intending to enter the cedar forest that +crowned a great ridge some distance beyoud him. + +Before reaching there, however, Tad sat down in a rocky basin, to +enjoy to the fullest the sense of being alone in the mountain +fastness. His quiver was full of arrows, and the strong, business-like +looking bow lay across his knees. + +"If I could see a bob-cat now, I'd have something real to interest +me," Tad confided to himself. + +But not a sign of animal life did he observe anywhere about him. + +Tad's right hand was resting on a small jagged stone beside him. It +felt cool under his touch, and, after a little, the boy carelessly +picked it up and looked at it. As he gazed, his eyes took on a +different expression. The stone, in spots, sparkled brilliantly in the +sunlight. He turned it over and over, examining it critically. + +"I wonder if it is gold?" marveled the boy, his eyes growing large +with wonder. "I'll take it back to camp and ask Lige." + +Tad scrambled to his feet, but ere he could carry out his purpose of +starting for camp, an unexpected and startling thing happened. + +There was a whir, as of some object being hurled through the air. The +boy experienced a stinging sensation on his right cheek, as the +missile grazed it, and a stone the size of a man's hand clattered to +the rocks several feet ahead of him, rolling over and over, finally +toppling from a small cliff. + +Some one had thrown the stone at him. Had it hit the boy's head fairly +it almost surely would have killed him. Tad Butler needed no other +evidence than that afforded by his own senses to tell him the missile +was intended for him. + +He whirled sharply. But not a person was in sight. All at once, +however, the keen-eyed boy discovered a slight movement in the sage +brush, a few rods to the rear of where he had been sitting. + +Like a flash he whipped a blunt arrow from the quiver. + +The bow twanged viciously, and the arrow sped straight into the sage +brush. A yell of rage and a floundering about in the bush as if +someone were running, told the boy that his shot had reached a human +mark. + +Pacing the sage, Tad had become conscious of the fact that before him +lay a large black hole in the rocks, and he dimly realized that he had +come upon a cave. But he gave the matter no further attention at that +moment, his first thought being that he must get back to camp as +quickly as possible. + +Stringing his bow, Tad hurled another arrow into the brush, then +bounded away, wondering vaguely who his mysterious enemy might be. + + + +CHAPTER XV + + THE BATTLE IN THE CAVE + +Reaching the rifle range, Tad sat down to think over the occurrences +of the past half hour. Why anyoue should wish to do him harm, he could +not understand. And, if anyoue did, why should he adopt such a +peculiar way of attack? Had it been a mountaineer, Tad was sure the +man would have used a gun instead of standing off and throwing stones +at turn like a petulant school boy. He realized too, that they had a +different mode of procedure in the mountains. + +"I'd have been as dead as Chunky's bob-cat if the stone had hit me +fairly," muttered the boy. "Anyway, I've got a chunk of something that +looks a good deal like gold, in my pocket," he added. + +Deciding to say nothing about his recent experience to his companions, +Tad strolled slowly toward camp. Yet, he had firmly made up his mind +to go back to the spot later and make sure that his suspicions were +correct. + +Most of the boys had returned by the time Tad arrived, and there was a +clamor to know the result of his hunting trip. + +"Maybe I shot a cat. But, I didn't," he grinned. + +"What's that!" demanded Ned. + +"Anyway, I've brought back a chunk of gold and discovered a +cave. That's more than the rest of you have done, I'll warrant." + +Either announcement would have been sufficient to arouse the interest +of the campers, and they crowded about Tad, demanding to know what he +meant by his mysterious words. + +"I found a cave, I tell you," he repeated. + +"Where?" asked Lige. + +Tad explained its location as well as he could. + +"And I found this chunk of gold, too," he added proudly. + +The guide took the piece of ore, examining it carefully. + +"That isn't gold," he laughed. "That is what is known as 'fools' +gold.'" + +"Scientifically known as 'iron pyrites'" explained the Professor. + +Tad's jaw fell at this shattering of his hopes. Yet, when Lige tossed +the piece of mineral on the ground, the boy picked it up and dropped +it back in his pocket. Why he did this he did not know. Perhaps it was +instinct. However, after a few moments he had forgotten all about it. + +"You must have had a fight with a bob-cat to get that fierce scratch +on your cheek," chuckled Ned Rector. "I must say that Chunky has you +beaten to a--a-- I've forgotten the word I want --when it conies +to fighting cats." + +"I have seen no cats to-day, Ned. But I have found a real cave. Will +you take us over to explore it, in the morning, Mr. Thomas? I'll show +you the biggest thing of its kind you ever have seen, if you'll go," +promised Tad, enthusiastically. + +"Providing we don't go hunting, yes, and-- and find some more fools' +gold," laughed the guide. + +Tad went to his tent, for the wound in his cheek was giving him +considerable pain, and a glance into the hand mirror showed him that +the cheek was beginning to swell. + +Taking a towel with him, the boy hurried off to a mountain rivulet, +where he bathed the wounded cheek, holding the wet towel to it to +reduce the swelling. + +Chancing to look up, he observed the guide, Lige Thomas, standing +before him, eyeing him keenly. + +"Warm, isn't?" grinned Tad. + +"Rather. Put the towel down. I want to look at that cheek." + +Tad hesitated, drew the towel away, and gazed back at the guide with a +challenge in his eyes. + +Lige examined the wound carefully. + +"How'd you get it?" he demanded, straightening up. + +"Why do you ask that? It's only a scratch." + +"Because I want to know. If you do not wish to tell me, of course I +shall not press you. However, it will be my duty to call the attention +of the Professor to it. You see, I am responsible for you boys while +you are up here, and----" + +"A stone did it," interrupted Tad, with a touch of stubbornness in his +tone. + +"A stone?" + +"Yes." + +"How?" + +"Somebody threw it at me." + +For a moment the guide gazed at Tad doubtingly. + +"I'll tell you all about it," exclaimed Tad impetuously. "But promise +me that you won't tell the boys. They'd never cease joking me about +it. I'm going back there to-morrow to see if I can find the fellow who +shied the rock at me. No; I didn't see him at all. I was sitting with +my back to him when he let fly at me. But I pinked him, +Mr. Thomas. Believe me, I did----" + +"Pinked him?" + +"Yes, I let him have an arrow full tilt, and I know it hit him, for he +yelled and ran away," explained the boy. + +"This matter must be looked into," decided Lige thoughtfully. "It +begins to look as if Ben Tackers was right about the gang after +all. No; I'll not say anything to the crowd. It would only stir them +up. We will visit the cave to-morrow, and, while the others are +amusing themselves, you and I will look the ground over a bit. I'll go +back now, and you may come along when you get ready." + +Tad remained by the stream until he heard the supper call, whereupon +he rose slowly and picked his way over the rocks to where the others +had assembled about the table in the gathering twilight. + +The boy's appetite, however, had not been affected by the experience +through which he had passed that afternoon, and he stowed away a +hearty meal, after which the evening was spent in listening to stories +of the chase related by Lige Thomas. + +There being still no sign of Ben Tackers on the following morning, a +visit to the cave was decided upon. They reached the place about nine +o'clock, guided by Tad, who took them to the hole in the rock at once. + +"I guess you boys had better fix up some torches," directed Lige. +"Sometimes there are holes within holes, in these mountains, and we +don't want to take a sudden drop down a hundred feet or so. Three +torches will be enough to light. You had better take along two or +three more in case of need." + +Before entering, the guide took the precaution of unslinging his +rifle, and, placing the boys behind him with the torches, he entered +the cave first. They were obliged to stoop to get through the +opening. Once within they followed what appeared to be a passage hewn +out of the solid rock. + +"Ah, here we are!" exclaimed Lige finally, straightening and glancing +about him curiously. + +They found themselves in a dome-like chamber, from which hung +suspended hundreds of stalactites that threw back the rays of the +torches in a thousand sparkling, scintillating points of fire. + +The Pony Riders gasped in amazement. Never had any of them seen +anything like this. + +"Wha--what is it?" breathed Tad Butler. + +"Stalactites," announced the Professor. + +"Look like icicles to me. B-r-r-r," shivered Stacy Brown. + +"It is a very common thing to find them in caves," added the +Professor. "But I never have had the pleasure of observing the +formation before." + +"I can show you some better than these," stated the guide. "I know of +a cave, not so very far from here, that is as big as a church, and a +regular picture of one, too." + +"Is this the end of the cave?" asked Ned. + +"No; there are other passages leading further into the mountain, at +the other end of the chamber there," replied Lige. + +"Are we going to explore them?" inquired Walter. + +"Yes; we can go further, if you wish. But you boys must keep a sharp +lookout where you are going. Don't fool too much. It's easy to get +into trouble here, you know." + +While Lige was speaking, Tad had edged cautiously to one side of the +chamber, where he had observed what appeared to be a small rock, +glistening in the light of the torches. He picked it up, unobserved by +the others, and dropped it into his pocket for further observation. + +The party then pushed on into the cave, one chamber leading into +another, forming a bewildering maze, the brilliant reflections almost +blinding them at times, until at last Lige Thomas was forced to admit +that he never had quite seen the like of it anywhere else in the +Rockies. + +"Didn't I tell you I'd show you the biggest thing you ever saw in your +life?" glowed Tad Butler. + +At that instant a yell of terror from Stacy Brown drew their attention +sharply from Tad, their eyes bulging with fear at what they saw before +them. + +There, sitting on its haunches, paws extended menacingly, showing its +teeth as it uttered low, angry growls of protest, was a full-grown +black bear. + +Tad Butler, indeed, had shown some of them the most surprising things +they had ever seen. Yet this was not exactly the surprise he had +planned for them, or for himself. + +The guide had put his gun down as he entered the chamber, to get one +of the stalactites for Professor Zepplin, who wished to examine it. As +a result, Lige was now some twenty-five feet away from his weapon. + +At first, with the bright reflection in his eyes, the guide was unable +to understand what it was that had caused their sudden fright. Yet the +breathless silence about him told him instantly that something serious +had happened. + +The bear had dropped to all fours and was lumbering straight toward +Stacy Brown, who stood fascinated, watching the approach of the +hideous object, whose raised upper lip showed a row of white gleaming +teeth. + +"Look out!" yelled Tad suddenly finding his voice. + +"Quick, guide!" begged the Professor, weakly. + +"What is it? Where?" snapped Lige, crouching down and shading his +eyes to protect them from the glare. + +He quickly saw what had caused the startling alarm. He saw too, the +hulking beast drawing nearer and nearer to Stacy Brown, and knew that +only some sudden shock to his mind would break the spell that seemed +to possess the boy at that moment. + +"Run!" thundered the guide. + +But Chunky stood as rigid as a statue. + +Lige sprang for his rifle. In his haste he slipped on the smooth, damp +floor and went sprawling. + +By the time he had recovered himself, the bear had ambled up to Stacy, +until the boy could feel the hot, nauseating breath beating against +his face. + +Tad Butler without regard for his own safety, leaped for the bear. But +Professor Zepplin was too quick for him. He caught Tad by the arm, +jerking him back. + +Now, at that instant, Stacy Brown did a thing that brought a groan +from each one who witnessed the daring act. + +Chunky drew back his pudgy fist and let go with all his might. + +His knuckles smote the bear fairly on the point of its nose, and the +impact sounded loud and clear in the tense stillness of the cave. + +If the Pony Riders were surprised, Bruin was even more so. With a +grunt the bear suddenly sat down on its haunches, passing its paws +over its nose, bewilderment plainly written on its countenance. Under +ordinary circumstances the boys would have laughed. But now they were +too horrified to do so. + +Chunky, either because he was emboldened by the success of his attack, +or through the excitement of the moment, picked up a rock from the +cave floor, and stepping back, hurled it with all his strength. The +stone hit the bear a glancing blow on the head, bringing from the +animal a growl of rage. Now, the brute was dangerously angered. + +It charged the party savagely, jaws wide apart, but uttering no sound, +not even a growl. By this time some one had pulled Chunky from his +perilous position and Tad and Professor Zepplin were pushing the other +boys back toward the exit with all possible haste. It all had happened +in a few seconds. Lige scrambled to his feet, rifle in hand, just in +time to see the big brute charging straight at him, as if recognizing +that in that quarter lay its gravest danger. + +There came a sudden flash of flame, a crash and a roar as if the very +mountain had been rent in twain, followed by another and still +another. + +Tad had grabbed a torch from the hands of one of his companions, the +instant Lige began to fire, and sprung back to give the guide +sufficient light to shoot by. + +In doing so, however, the boy had unwittingly placed himself in the +direst peril. + +The wounded bear was charging madly here and there, uttering terrific +growls of mingled rage and pain. But the instant its bloodshot eyes +were fixed upon the boy with the torch, the animal rose on its +haunches, and, with paws making powerful sweeps in the air, bore down +upon Tad. + +The boy was too far over in the chamber to be able to make his escape +without getting between Lige and the bear, and escape seemed well-nigh +impossible + +However, Tad did not lose his presence of mind. With a leap as +unexpected as it was surprising, he sprang straight for the savage +beast. It seemed as if he was throwing himself right into the wide +open jaws to be crushed to death. + +"Don't shoot!" he warned, leaping forward. As he did so, he lowered +the torch to the level of his own eyes, and drove it straight into the +gaping mouth of the maddened bear. Then Tad sprang lightly to one +side, throwing himself prone upon the floor. + +The great bear was not growling now, but its groans of agony as it +fought to get the deadly thing from its throat, sent a chill to the +hearts of all who heard them. + +At the instant when Tad threw himself down, Lige pulled the trigger. + +His bullet ploughed its way through the brain of the bear, relieving +its fearful sufferings. Bruin collapsed and rolled over, dead. + + + +CHAPTER XVI + + LIVE CUBS CAPTURED + +Bring torches!" shouted Lige. "Look out for yourselves! There may be +another in the cave. This is an old she bear." + +After the lights had been brought, the boys cautiously approached the +dead bear. Lige was down on his knees examining it. + +"I think we shall find something interesting here, before we have +finished," he announced. "Master Tad, as you have strong nerves, you +come along with me. The others can drag the bear out and wait for us +outside. Bring a couple of extra torches, in case we need them." + +"What are you looking for? More bear?" inquired the boy after they had +penetrated further into the cave. + +"You'll see; that is, if I find what I am looking for. Your cave is +turning out better than any of us had any idea it would. Was that some +more fools' gold you picked up back there?" + +"Oh, you saw me, did you? I don't know. It shines, and that's all I +know about it. Do you know of any place where there is real gold in +this part of the Rockies?" + +"Yes; there are some claims paying fairly well within twenty miles of +here. The Lost Claim is supposed to be somewhere in this neighborhood, +but thus far no one ever has been able to locate it. I've had +suspicions that Ben Tackers might make a close guess if he wanted to +disclose it. But old Ben wouldn't bother with the gold if it was +dumped right down in his pig sty." + +"What's the Lost Claim?" + +"It's quite a long story. I'll tell it to you, briefly, while we are +exploring the cave." + +"Then it was a real gold mine?" + +"It surely was, Master Tad. And I guess it is still. Some twenty years +ago a miner who had been born and brought up in the Park Range began +dropping down to Denver at more or less irregular intervals, where he +exchanged nuggets of pure gold and pay dust for cash. The quality of +the gold showed that it must come from a rich vein. + +"Naturally, people were curious. But to all their questions, Ab +Ferguson simply said he'd got the gold out of 'the Lost Claim.'" + +"Wonder they didn't follow him. I should think they might have located +it in that way?" wondered Tad. + +"They did. But they might as well have tried to find the pot of gold +that is said to be at one end or the other of the rainbow. Ab was too +much of an Indian to be caught that way." + +"What happened to him finally?" + +"Knocked down by a runaway team in Denver, and died three days later." + +"And he didn't tell anyoue where the Claim was?" + +"Not he. They've been looking for it ever since. But no one, so far as +I ever heard, has got anywhere near it. There's a bunch of hard +characters beating up the mountains now, hoping to get rich without +work. It's dollars to sandwiches they're hoping to find the Lost +Claim." + +"You--you don't suppose it was one of them who threw the stone at +me, do you?" asked Tad reflectively. + +"I hadn't thought of that. It may be--it may be. H-m-m-m. That's an +idea." + +"But why should they wish to harm me? I don't understand it at all." + +"No more do I, unless they found you snooping about, or thought our +party might be on the same lay they are. You know, fellows of that +kind will stop at nothing. More than one man has been killed on +nothing more than an idle suspicion, in these mountains. A lot more +will follow in the same way. But we've been warned, and it will be +well to keep a sharp lookout." + +"If they hadn't thought we were near the Lost Claim, I don't see why +they should have had any suspicions," decided Tad. + +"On general principles--that's all." + +"Did you ever try to find the Lost Claim?" + +"I? Never. What would I do with it, if I had it? I'm like Ben +Tackers--don't need any more money than I've got. More would be too +much." + +Yet Tad Butler was unable to rid his mind of the idea that somehow he +had stumbled close upon the dead miner's secret. He determined to turn +prospector at the very first opportunity. + +"Is this more fools' gold?" he asked, pointing to a thin, yellow +streak that sparkled in the rock at their right. + +"I reckon it is. It has fooled more than one prospector, and drove +some of them crazy. Take my advice and don't get the fever. Nothing +but trouble will follow you if you do. Trouble always does follow the +greed for the yellow metal." + +They had been winding out in the maze of passages, Lige, in the +meantime, keeping a sharp lookout for guide marks, now and then +gouging a niche in the wall to guide them on their return journey. + +"Watch out," he cautioned. "We are coming to something." + +Sundry soft, muffled growls led them to proceed more carefully, until, +finally, Lige directed the lad to raise the torch higher. Lige cocked +his rifle, holding it in readiness for quick action. In this manner +they crept further into the cave until Tad was suddenly startled by a +loud laugh from the guide. + +"What is it?" exclaimed the boy. + +"Just what I thought. Come here." + +At first, Tad could make nothing of what the guide was exhibiting. + +However, after a moment's peering in that direction, the boy observed +what appeared to be a round ball of fur in one corner of the +chamber. "Wha--what is it--bears?" Lige nodded, and, striding over +to the heap, he pulled it roughly apart. His act was greeted with a +series of savage snarls and growls. + +"Cubs. Four of them, and beauties, at that. I knew they were in here, +somewhere, after I had examined the mother," announced the guide +triumphantly. + +"Bear cubs? You don't mean it!" exclaimed Tad joyously. "And we can +take them with us?" + +"That's exactly what we shall do. There will be one for each of you, +and we can crate them up so they can be carried on the burros." + +"One for each of us? Won't the boys go wild when they see them? But, +how are we going to get them to camp?" + +"I'll show you." + +Taking a strip of rawhide from his pocket, Lige fashioned a collar +about the neck of each cub, leaving a leash four or five feet long to +lead the animal by. However, this was not accomplished without +vigorous protest on the part of the cubs. Tad was highly amused at +their efforts to cuff their captor with their little paws, which they +wielded with more or less skill. Yet, they were too young to be able +to make any great resistance, and the guide did not give the slightest +attention to their attempts to drive them away. + +"There," he announced, having secured the little animals. "We each +will lead two. Don't be afraid to pull, if they hold back. They'll +come along all right when they begin to choke." + +With their prizes in tow Tad and the guide retraced their steps to the +cave entrance. + +At first, looks of amazement greeted them as they emerged with their +strange captives. + +"Know what they are?" grinned Tad, proudly hauling his cubs up for +inspection. + +The boys shook their heads. + +"Bear cubs. There's one for each of us." + +"Whoop!" shouted the boys in chorus. + +"Now, we'll have a regular menagerie," exclaimed Ned. "If we could +catch a live bob-cat to go with them, wouldn't that be great?" + +"Will they bite?" asked Chunky, apprehensively edging away from one of +the animals that was playfully tugging at his leggin. + +"Not yet," answered the guide. "And you can tame them so they won't +hurt you at all. They make good pets if one begins when they are +young." + +The next half hour was spent in skinning the big mother bear, which +proceeding the boys watched with keen interest. Some of the meat they +took back to camp with them to cook for supper. + +They found old Ben Tackers there awaiting them. + +"Hullo, Ben," greeted the guide. "How's everything?" + +"Tol'ble," grunted the old mountaineer. + +"Are the dogs ready?" + +Ben nodded. + +"Start morning," he said. + +"Good," shouted the boys. + +"We couldn't imagine where you had been keeping yourself all the +time," added the Professor. "Lige went over to your cabin last night +and found it locked." + +"Been away, Ben?" asked Lige. + +"Over to Eagle Pass. Miners steal old Ben's hogs--one, two of +them. Sheriff come by-and-bye and chase bunch out. Old Ben kill them, +but Sheriff do better. Big fight when Sheriff comes." + +The boys laughed at his quaint way of expressing himself, but not +catching the full import of his words. + +Lige, on the other hand, eyed him questioningly; and, when Ben finally +left the camp in his usual abrupt fashion, the guide rose and followed +him. When Lige Thomas returned, his face wore an expression of +seriousness that amounted almost to anxiety. + +The boys were excitedly discussing their plans for the morrow. It had +been decided that the Professor should remain in camp with Jose, as, +owing to the presence of the miners in the vicinity, it was not +thought wise to leave the camp entirely alone. The four boys, with +Lige Thomas, were to make the trip, from which, in case they found the +game running, they might not return in twenty-four hours. + +Tad had been thinking deeply. After a little while be rose and walked +over to Professor Zepplin's tent. + +"May I come in?" he asked. + +"Certainly, walk right in, Tad. What is on your mind?" + +"This," answered the lad, laying on the Professor's table the chunks +of mineral that he had picked up. + +"What's this? Ah, I see. More of the iron pyrites. The metal has +driven many a poor fellow mad with anticipations of fabulous wealth," +smiled the German. + +"Are you sure it is fools' gold, Professor?" + +"Reasonably so. But you may leave it here, if you wish, and I will +examine it at my leisure. Where did you find the second piece?" + +"In the cave. There is a streak of what appears to be the same stuff, +extending around one entire chamber there. If it was gold instead +of----" + +"Pyrites," supplied the Professor. + +"Yes. It would make a man very rich, would it not?" asked Tad rising. + +"Undoubtedly," smiled the Professor, bowing the boy out courteously. + +Professor Zepplin, from the opening of his tent, watched Tad until the +latter had joined his companions, after which he pulled the flap shut, +quickly seating himself in front of his camp table. + +Having done so, he proceeded to examine the two pieces of metal under +a magnifying glass. Then with his geologist's hammer he broke off bits +of the metal, through all of which sparkled the bright yellow +particles. + +The German got out his field kit, from which he selected several +bottles with glass stoppers, arranging these on the table in front of +him. This done, he pulverized a small quantity of the rock, with +short, quick raps of the hammer, placing the powder thus made on a +plate. + +"One part nitric acid, two parts hydrochloric acid," he muttered, +pouring the desired quantities from the bottles. + +These preparations having been made, the Professor's next move was to +apply a blowpipe to some of the metal from the pulverized ore, thus +forming a small yellow button. This he dissolved in the aqua regia, +formed by the combination of the two acids, and applied the usual +chemical tests. + +As he did so, Professor Zepplin's eyes glowed with a strange light. + +He sprang up, peered cautiously from behind the tent flap, then +settled himself once more to his experiments. + +Again he went through a similar process with the powder made from +still another chunk of the ore. The same result followed. + +"Gold! Gold! Rich yellow gold!" breathed the scientist. + +He sat with head bowed, breathing heavily, his fascinated gaze fixed on +the shining metal. + +"Can it be possible!" he murmured. + +The loud laughter of the boys off by the camp fire was borne to his +ears. But Professor Zepplin did not seem to hear the sounds. He was +lost in deep thought. + + + +CHAPTER XVII + + THE PONIES STAMPEDE + +Next morning the camp was stirring as the first gray streaks appeared +on the eastern horizon. + +Each saddle bag was quickly packed with hard tack, coffee and other +necessaries which might be easily carried, the rest of the space being +taken up with cartridges and the like. Blankets were rolled, ready to +be strapped behind the saddles on the ponies' backs. + +The luggage was to be reduced to the absolute needs of the party, but +with the possibility of having to remain out over night, their +requirements were greater than if they had intended to return the same +evening. + +Before they had finished their hurried breakfast, Ben Tackers +appeared, accompanied by two vicious looking hounds, whose red eyes +and beetle brows made the boys hesitate to approach them at first. + +However, after the Pony Riders had tossed small chunks of cooked bear +meat to them, the animals, by wagging their tails, showed that nothing +need be feared from them. + +No sooner were the guns brought out than the dogs, beginning to +understand what was in the air, bounded from one to another of the +lads, barking and yelping with keen delight. + +All was activity in the camp. Ponies were quickly rubbed down, saddled +and bridled, blankets strapped on, and, at a command from Tad Butler, +the young hunters fairly threw themselves into their saddles. The +party moved off, with the enthusiastic riders waving their hats and +shouting farewells to those who had been left behind. + +Jose swung a dishpan, grinning broadly, while the Professor smiled and +nodded at the departing horsemen. In a few moments the voices of the +boys had become only a distant murmur. + +"Come into my tent a moment, Mr. Tackers," invited the Professor. + +The old mountaineer accepted the invitation apparently somewhat +grudgingly. + +"I hear considerable about gold being found in this neighborhood, +occasionally, Mr. Tackers. What has been your experience, may I ask?" + +"There's some as has found pay dirt," answered Ben. "But I reckon Ben +Tackers don't bother his head about it." + +"Hm-m-m-m," mused the Professor. "What is the nearest railroad station +to this placet" + +"Eagle Pass. 'Bout twenty miles from here, due east." + +"How long would it take you to make the trip there and back?" + +"Wouldn't make it again. Just been there. Haven't any horse." + +"I have a horse, Mr. Tackers, and I should very much like to have you +make this trip for me," announced the Professor, coming directly to +the point. "I will pay you well for your trouble, but with the +understanding that you say nothing of it to anyoue. The errand on +which I am asking you to go is a confidential one. You will not +mention it even to Lige Thomas. And, of course, it goes without saying +that I do not wish the boys to know about it, either." + +Ben peered at the Professor from behind his bushy eyebrows, with +suspicion plainly written in his beady eyes. + +"What for?" he grunted. + +"That I cannot tell you--in fact it is not necessary for you to +know. When you get there, all you will be required to do will be to +hand two packages to the express agent there, with instructions to +forward them at once to their destination, which will be Denver." + +"What'll you give?" + +"How much will you charge?" asked the Professor. + +Ben considered for a moment. + +"'Bout fifty cents, I reckon," he answered hesitatingly, as if +thinking the amount named would be too much. + +"I'll give you five times that," announced the Professor promptly. + +"No; fifty cents 'll be 'bout right." + +"How soon can you start?" + +"Now, I reckon." + +"Be ready in an hour, and I will have the packages for you. When will +you return?" + +"To-night." + +"Good. Now he off and get yourself ready. You know where my horse +is. And, by the way, I shall want you to make the trip again no later +than the day after to-morrow, as I shall expect an answer to my +message by that time. For that service I shall be glad to pay you the +same." + +"No; fifty cents will cover it all." + +"Have it your own way." + +Ben, understanding that the interview was at an end, rose and left the +tent. Professor Zepplin then took one of the ore specimens from his +pocket and packed it carefully in a small pasteboard box, wrapping and +tying the package with great care. + +Next, he wrote industriously for some twenty minutes. The letter he +sealed in a large, tough envelope, after which he leaned back, lost +in thought. + +"Things couldn't be better," he muttered. Ben, upon his return, +received the packages which he was to express, and a few moments later +had ridden from camp on old Bobtail, headed for Eagle Pass. + +"I rather think I have turned a trick that will surprise some people," +chuckled the Professor. "Perhaps I'll even surprise myself." + +Later in the morning he strolled up to the cave entrance, hammer in +hand, breaking off a bit of rock here and there, all of which he +dropped into a little leathern bag that he carried attached to his +belt. Yet the Professor wisely concluded not to take the chance of +entering the cave alone, much as he wished to do so. + +The young hunters, in the meantime, were plodding along on their +ponies on their way to the hunting grounds, which lay some ten miles +to the northward of their camp. They found rough traveling. Instead of +following the ridges, they were now moving at right angles to them, +which carried the boys over mountains, down through gulches and +ravines, over narrow, dangerous passes and rocky slopes that they +would not have believed it was possible for either man or horse to +scale. + +"Regular goats, these ponies," said Tad proudly. "Regular trick +ponies, all of them." + +"They have to be or break their necks," replied Walter. + +"Or ours," added Ned Rector. + +"I don't see any wild beasts, but I feel hungry," declared Stacy. +"My stomach tells me it's time for the 'chuck wagon,' as Lige Thomas +calls it, to drive up." + +"Tighten your belt--tighten your belt," jeered Ned. "Cheer up! +You'll be hungrier bye-and-bye." + +The boys munched their hard tack in the saddle, the guide being +anxious to get, before nightfall, to the grounds where Tackers had +advised him the bob-cats were plentiful. Already the dogs were lolling +with tongues protruding from their mouths, not being used to running +the trail in such warm weather. Now and then they would plunge into a +cool mountain stream, immersing themselves to the tips of their noses +where the water was deep enough, and sending up a shower of glistening +spray as they shook themselves free of the water after springing to +the bank again. + +It was close to the hour of sunset when the guide finally gave the +word to halt. Lige prepared the supper while the boys bathed and +rubbed down their ponies, after which they busied themselves cutting +boughs for their beds, which they now were well able to make without +assistance from their guide. + +Bronzed almost to a copper color, the lads were teeming with health +and spirits. Even Walter Perkins, for the first time in his life, felt +the red blood coursing healthfully through his veins, for he was fast +hardening himself to the rough life of the mountains. + +All were tired enough to seek their beds early. Wrapping themselves in +their blankets, they were soon asleep. + +Midnight came, and the camp fire slowly died away to a dull, lurid +pile of red hot coals that shed a flicker of light now and then, as +some charred stick flamed up and was consumed. A long, weird, wailing +cry, as of some human being in dire distress, broke on the stillness +of the night. + +The boys awoke with a start. + +"What's that?" whispered Chunky, shivering in his bed. + +"Nothing," growled Ned. "What did you wake me up for?" + +Once more the thrilling cry woke the echoes, wailing from rock to +rock, and gathering volume, until it seemed as if there were many +voices instead of only one. + +The ponies sprang to their feet with snorts of fear, while the boys, +little less startled, leaped from their beds with blanching faces. + +The guide was already on his feet, rifle in hand. + +Again the cry was repeated, this time seeming to come from directly +over their heads, somewhere up the rocky side of the gulch in which +they were encamped. + +Even horses trained to mountain work had been known to stampede under +less provocation. The frightened ponies suddenly settled back on their +haunches. There was a sound of breaking leather, as the straps with +which they were tethered parted, and the little animals were free. + +"Stop them! Stop them! Jump for them!" roared the guide. + +But his warning command had come to late. With neighs of terror, the +animals dashed straight through the camp, some leaping over the boys' +cots as they went. + +"Catch them!" thundered Lige. "It's a cougar stampeding them so he can +catch them himself." + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + + ON A PERILOUS HIDE + +"Grab him! Don't let him get by you!" + +One of the ponies swept by Tad Butler like a black projectile. The +boy's hand shot out, fastening itself in the pony's mane. + +Tad's feet left the ground instantly, his body being jerked violently +into the air, only to strike the earth again a rod further on. So +rapidly was the pony moving, that the boy was unable to pull himself +up sufficiently to mount it. + +Almost in a twinkling Tad had been lifted out of the camp and whisked +from the sight of his companions. The lad was taking what he realized +to be the most perilous ride of his life. + +As soon as he was able to get his breath, he began coaxing the pony, +but the continual bobbing of his body against the side of the +terrified animal outweighed the persuasive tones of his urging. With +each bump, the little animal, with a frightened snort, would leap into +the air and plunge ahead again. + +Tad did not know to which of the ponies he was clinging. Nor did he +find an opportunity to satisfy himself on this point. + +His flesh was torn from contact with thorns, while his face was ribbed +from the whipping it had received by being dragged through the thick +undergrowth, until tiny rivulets of blood trickled down his cheeks and +neck. + +Yet Tad Butler clung to the mane of the racing pony with desperate +courage. He had not the slightest thought of letting go until ho +should finally have subdued the animal. + +"Whoa, Texas! Whoa, Jimmie! Whoa, Jo-Jo!" he soothed, trying the name +of each of the ponies in turn. But it was all to no purpose. Finally, +the little animal slackened its speed, somewhat, as it began the +ascent of a steep rise of ground. Tad took instant advantage of the +opportunity, and, after great effort, succeeded in throwing his right +hand over the pony's back. Then his right leg was jerked up. It came +down violently on the animal's rump. + +Startled, the pony sprang forward once more, causing Tad to slide back +to his former unpleasant position. But the boy had succeeded in +getting a mane-hold with his right hand as well. This was a distinct +gain, besides relieving the fearful strain on his left hand, the +fingers of which were now cramped and numb. Hardly any sense of +feeling remained in them. Instead of being dragged along on his left +side, the plucky lad was now able, with great effort, to keep his face +to the front. + +"If I could only get my hand on his nose and pinch it now, I'd stop +him," breathed Tad Butler. + +In the meantime, excitement at the camp was at fever heat. Lige had +failed to bring down the cougar and every one of the ponies had +disappeared. + +"Bring torches!" commanded the guide calmly, not wishing to let the +boys see that he was in the least disturbed. "We must try to round up +some of the stock. One of you build up the fire." + +"But Tad?" urged Walter. "Don't you know Tad's gone? He'll be lost. We +must go after him at once." + +"That's what I want you to start the fire for--so he can see it. +He'll come back with the pony. No fear about that, for Tad Butler +is not the boy to give up until he has accomplished what he's set +out to do. One of you must remain here, though, while the rest of +us go out to look for the stock. Will you stay, Ned?" + +"I will," answered the boy, though far from relishing the task +assigned to him. + +"You have your rifle. Signal us by shooting into the air if anything +happens. But be careful. Don't get the 'buck fever' and let go at us, +or at Tad, if he should return before we get back." + +"I'll be careful," answered the boy. "Please don't worry about me. Any +danger of that cougar jumping down on me here?" he asked, glancing +apprehensively at the rocks overhead. + +"I think not. He's gone. We shall be more likely to see him than you +will. It's the ponies the brute's after. And he may have gotten one of +them before this," added the guide. + +Ned pluckily took his station just outside the circle of light formed +by the replenished fire, and sat down with rifle laid across his +knees. + +The guide, with Walter Perkins and Stacy Brown, set off at a trot in +search of the stampeded ponies. At Lige's direction they spread out so +as to cover as much ground as possible, the torches making it well +nigh impossible for any of them to get lost. + +"Call your ponies," advised the guide. "We may be able to pick up some +of them in that way after they have spent themselves." + +Yet, though the forest rang with their calls, no trace were they able +to find of the missing animals. + +"No use," announced Lige finally. "We shall only get lost +ourselves. It will be better to return to camp and wait for +daylight. If the cougar is going to eat any of them, he probably has +them by this time. However, I think my shooting has frightened him +off, and that he is several miles from here by now. That was my main +object in wasting so much ammunition on the beast." + +"Yes, but what are we going to do about Tad?" insisted Walter. + +"If he has not returned, we can do nothing more than to keep the +fire burning and discharge our guns now and then to let him know +where we are. When daylight comes, I probably shall be able to +follow his trail. But first of all we must get the ponies. We can +do nothing without them." + +"Do you think we ever shall find them?" asked Stacy. + +"I most certainly hope so. At least, I expect to get some of them. If +any are then missing, we can buy a couple at Eagle Pass, which is not +very far. But you trust Master Tad to take care of himself. He'll get +back somehow, My duty is to remain with you boys. We will look him up +together when we get something to ride on." + +The little band trudged ruefully through the dark forest on their +return to camp, guided carefully by Lige, without whom they surely +would have lost their way. + +In the meantime, Tad had been dragged over an entire mountain range, +the ranges in this case, however, being no more than a succession of +summits of low peaks. The pony had reached the top of one of these +when, without pausing in its mad course, it dashed on over the crest, +and started down the opposite side. + +All at once Tad realized that they were treading on thin air. The +meaning of it all, smote him like a blow. + +"We're over the cliff!" he groaned. + + + +CHAPTER XIX + + LOST IN THE MOUNTAINS + +Fortunately, however, their fall proved to be a very short one, though +to Tad it seemed as if they had been falling for an hour. Boy and +horse landed on a soft, mossy bank, rolling over and over, the pony +kicking and squealing with fear, until, finally, both came to a stop +at the bottom of the hill. + +Tad was unharmed, save for the unmerciful treatment he had received +during his record-breaking journey. Yet, he proposed to take no +further chances of losing his horse, if he had the good fortune to +find the animal still alive. Tad came up like a rubber ball. With a +quick leap, he threw himself fairly on the pony's side. The impact +made the little horse grunt, his feet beating a tattoo in the air in +his desperate struggles to free himself. + +"Whoa!" commanded Tad sharply, sliding forward and sitting on the +animal's head, which position he calmly maintained, until the pony, +realizing the uselessness of further opposition, lay back conquered. + +Yet the boy did not rise immediately. Instead, he patted the pony's +neck gently, speaking soothing words and calming it until the animal's +quivering muscles relaxed and it lay breathing naturally. + +"Good boy, Jimmie," he said, recognizing the pony as Ned's. "Now, +after you have rested a bit we'll see what we can do about getting +back to camp. If I'm any judge, you and I are not going to have a very +easy time of it on the back track, either, Jimmie." + +Without a compass, with only a hazy idea of the direction in which +they had been traveling, Tad's task indeed was a difficult one. + +"I think we'll walk a bit, Jimmie," he confided to the pony, and, +taking the little animal by the bridle, began leading it cautiously up +the slope, which he ascended by a roundabout course, remembering the +jump they had taken on the way down. Tad was not likely to forget +that. + +The boy's eyes were heavy for want of sleep and his wounds pained him +beyoud words. After somewhat more than an hour's journey he pulled up, +looking about him. + +"I am afraid we two pards are lost, Jimmie." + +The pony rubbed its nose against him as if in confirmation of the +lad's words. + +"And the further we go, the more we shall be lost. Jimmie, the best +thing for you and me to do will be to go to bed. Lie down, Jimmie, +that's a good boy." + +As Tad tapped the pony gently on the knees the little animal slowly +lowered himself to the ground, finally rolling over on his side with a +snort. + +"Good boy," soothed Tad. Then snuggling down, with the pony's neck for +his pillow, the bridle rein twisted about one hand, Tad went as sound +asleep as if he had not a care in the world, and without thought of +the perils which the mountains about them held. + +Yet some good fairy must have been watching over Tad Butler, for not a +sound broke the stillness until a whinny from Jimmie at last disturbed +his slumbers. + +The boy opened his eyes in amazement. It was broad daylight. + +Tad's first care was to tether the pony to a sapling, after which he +searched about until he found a mountain stream, in which he washed, +feeling greatly refreshed afterward. He then treated the pony as he +had himself, washing the animal down, and allowing it to quench it's +thirst in the stream. + +"Not much of a breakfast, is it, Jimmie? But you can help yourself to +leaves. That's where you have the best of me. Not being a horse, I +can't eat leaves. I wonder where I am!" + +Gazing about him inquiringly, the boy failed to recognize the +landscape at all. In fact, he did not believe he ever had seen it +before. When the sun rose he declared to himself that it had come +right up out of the west. What little sense of direction he might have +had left was entirely lost after this, and Tad sat down to think +matters over. + +Once he raised his head sharply and listened. He was sure that he had +heard a shot, far off toward the rising sun. + +Tad wished with all his heart, that he had his rifle with him, for he +realized that with it he might be able to attract attention. + +"I certainly cannot sit here and starve to death," he decided after +Jimmie had satisfied his own hunger from the fresh green leaves. "Come +on, Jimmie; we'll go somewhere, anyway. + +Saying which, Tad methodically patched the broken bridle rein +together, mounted the pony's bare back and set off to climb the low +mountain that loomed ahead of him. + +He had gone on thus for nearly two hours, without finding any trace of +either the camp or his late companions, when a sound off in the bushes +to the right of him caused him to pull Jimmie up sharply. Jimmie +pricked up his ears and whinnied. + +"That's strange," muttered Tad. "He wouldn't be likely to do that if +it was a wild animal over there. Judging from past experiences, he'd +run." + +Once more did Jimmie set up a loud whinny, and to Tad's surprise and +delight, the signal was answered by a similar call off in the sage +brush. + +"It's a horse. I believe it's one of the ponies," cried Tad, turning +his mount in the direction from which the sounds had seemed to come, +and galloping rapidly toward the place. Next, the boy uttered a shout +of joy. + +His delight was great, after he had penetrated the sage, to come +suddenly upon a pony contentedly munching a mouthful of green leaves, +and gazing at him with great wondering eyes. + +"Texas!" shouted the boy. + +Tad had indeed come upon his own faithful little pony. + +"Texas, you rascal, you come right here. What do you mean by running +away from me like this?" + +Texas swished his tail, shaking his head and stamping his feet as if +in mute protest at his owner's chiding. + +Yet the pony made no attempt to run away as his master rode up beside +him. Leaping to the ground, Tad petted the animal, throwing his arms +about its neck, as if he had found a long lost friend. The two ponies, +too, rubbed noses, and in other ways expressed their satisfaction at +once more being together. + +Now, reassured, and almost as well satisfied as if he had eaten a +hearty breakfast, Tad mounted his own pony, and, taking Jimmie in tow, +pressed on once more, hoping eventually to come out somewhere near the +camp. + +But the boy's companions had not been idle. Lige had prepared their +breakfast without waking them. When he called them they sprang up, +rubbing their eyes, and a few minutes later gathered around the hot +meal. + +"What is the first thing this morning?" asked Ned after learning that +Tad had not yet returned. + +"Breakfast," answered the guide. "Next, we'll look for the ponies, +then go after Master Tad." + +More fortunate in their search than they had hoped for, the party +within the hour succeeded in rounding up all the ponies save Jimmie +and Texas. One of the two they knew Tad had gone away with, so, after +a council, it was decided to take the animals they had captured and +make an effort to find Tad Butler. + +"I'm going to try an experiment," announced Lige, after they had +returned to camp with the stock. + +Calling the hounds, Ginger and Mustard, to him, the guide allowed them +to sniff the saddles and saddle cloths of Jimmie and Texas. After +that, he showed them Tad Butler's hat. + +The intelligent animals, after sniffing attentively at the articles, +looked up at the guide as much as if to say: "Well, what about it?" + +"Go after them! Fetch them, Ginger and Mustard!" he urged. + +With noisy barks, the dogs began running about the camp with noses to +the ground, sniffing at the ponies again and again, the little party +in the meantime, watching them with keen interest. + +All at once, with a deep bay, Mustard struck out for the bushes, +followed an instant later by Ginger. + +"They've got it! They've got it!" shouted Lige. "That's the way Tad +went. Now, if those brutes don't get sidetracked on the trail of a +bob-cat, we ought to round up some of our missing friends." + +Lige bade Ned to accompany him on Jo-Jo, and directed the others to +remain in camp--not to move from it until their return. Then the two +horsemen set off at a gallop, following the swiftly moving dogs. + +Lige knew that he was on the right track, for Tad, as he was dragged +through the bushes, had left a plainly marked trail--that is, plain +to the experienced eyes of the mountain guide, who nodded his head +with satisfaction as he noted the course the dogs were taking. + +Tad pulled up his pony, and, leaning forward, listened intently. + +He faintly caught the distant baying of a hound. + +Placing a hand to his mouth, he gave a long, piercing war whoop. + +The dogs' baying seemed to come nearer. Now and then, as the animals +sank into a ravine, the sound would be lost momentarily, only to be +taken up again with added force when the crest of the hill was +reached. + +Once more, Tad sent out his long, thrilling war-cry. + +It was answered by a rifle shot, but from the perplexing echoes he was +unable to place it. The ponies now pricked up their ears +inquiringly. Jimmie snorted, and, for the moment, acted as if he were +ready to bolt again. Tad slapped him smartly on the flanks, sternly +commanding him to stand still. + +"There they are!" cried the boy, as the dogs, stretched out to their +full lengths, with tails held straight out behind them, swept down a +gentle slope on the other side of the valley, and, taking the hill on +his side, rose rapidly to the pinnacle where he was sitting on his +pony. + +"Ginger! Mustard!" was the glad cry uttered by Tad Butler, as the +dogs, yelping with joy at the sound of his voice, came bounding to +him, while the ponies reared and plunged in the excess of their +excitement. + +Tad leaped from his mount, petting and fondling the hounds, hugging +them as they leaped upon him, and shouting at the top of his voice, as +he heard still another shot on the other side of the hill. + +A few moments later, he made out the figures of two horsemen on the +opposite ridge, following on in the trail of the dogs. They were Ned +Rector and the guide, Lige Thomas. + +The two set up a glad shout as they made out Tad, waving his arms and +gesticulating. + +"Come on, doggies! It's breakfast for us, now!" cried Tad, leaping to +Texas' back, leading Jimmie dashing down the hill to meet the oncoming +horsemen. + +"Hooray!" welcomed Ned Rector. + +And amid the shouts of the boys and the barking of the dogs, rescuers +and rescued drew swiftly toward each other. + + + +CHAPTER XX + + THE DOGS TREE A CAT + +Walter and Chunky finally made out Tad, tattered and torn, but riding +his pony proudly, approaching the camp. It was a warm welcome that the +two boys extended to the returning horsemen, after they had finally +dismounted and staked down their ponies. The plucky lad was kept busy +for some time telling them of his thrilling experience on the wild +ride of the night before. + +"And now, I guess we had better lay up for the day," decided the +guide. "You must be pretty well tired out after your little trip. The +rest of us didn't get much sleep last night, either." + +"No," protested Tad. "I never was more fit in my life. I am crazy to +start on our hunting trip." + +"So are we," shouted the boys in chorus. + +"All right, then. Pack up while Tad is getting something to eat. He +must have a large-sized appetite by this time," smiled Lige Thomas. + +"If I had a chunk of that bear meat that we got the other day, I'd +show you what sort of an appetite I have," laughed Tad. "There's +something about this mountain air that would lead a man to sell his +blouse for a square meal. Where's my rifle?" + +"Over there by your bunk," answered Walter. "You go ahead and +eat. We'll pack the pony for you while you are breakfasting." + +Tad did so, and an hour later the Pony Riders were once more in the +saddle. + +"I think I'll put the dogs on the trail of the fellow that upset our +plans so thoroughly last night," decided Lige. "He probably is a long +way from here by this time, but it will be a good trail to warm the +hounds up on." + +Bidding the boys draw down the valley half a mile or so, where he said +he would join them, Lige went in the opposite direction, and, picking +his way along a ledge, sent the dogs on ahead of him. The hounds soon +scented the trail, though on the bare rocks they had considerable +difficulty in picking it up. + +After watching them for a few moments, Lige urged them out into the +brush, where he thought the scent might be more marked. His judgment +was verified when, a moment later, a yelp from Mustard told him the +faithful animal had picked up the trail at last. + +Turning back, the guide hastened to the foot of the mountain, whence +he galloped down the valley to join the boys, who, having heard the +deep baying of the hounds, were restless to be off. + +"What are they doing?" called Walter, observing Lige approaching. + +"They're after the cougar. Set your horses at a gallop." + +The Pony Riders needed no urging, for they were keen for the +excitement of the chase. The hounds, by this time, had obtained quite +a lead on them, though the boys still could hear their hoarse voices. + +"They are following the ridge yet," decided Lige. "The fellow ought to +cross over pretty soon. I think if we will turn to the left, here, and +climb the mountain, we may be able to save some distance. But don't +speak to the dogs if they pass anywhere near you. It might throw them +off the scent." + +Half an hour after they had turned off, they were rewarded by seeing +the dogs racing down the opposite hill, in great leaps and bounds, +crossing the valley a short quarter of a mile ahead of the party. + +The ponies, which had been walking since they turned off, were now +sent forward at a slow gallop again, soon falling in close behind the +hounds. + +"They've got him!" cried Lige. + +"Got who?" asked Chunky. + +"I don't know. The cougar, I presume. Don't you hear them?" + +"I hear the dogs barking, that's all," replied Ned. + +"And I hear more than that," said the guide, with a peculiar +smile. "Don't you distinguish a difference in the tone of one of the +dogs' bark?" + +"No, I don't," snapped Chunky. "All barks sound alike to me." + +"Mustard is baying 'treed,'" said the guide. "Hurry, if you want to be +in at the death. If you don't the dogs either will kill him or get +killed before we can reach them." + +Putting spurs to their mounts, the hunters set off at a livelier +gallop, and soon the deep tones of the hounds began to grow +louder. Now, too, the boys were able to catch a new note--a note +almost of triumph, it seemed to them, in the dogs' hoarse baying. + +"Stick to your ponies. Don't leave them. If it's a cougar, he is +liable to stampede them again. And don't any of you shoot until I give +you the word." + +"There he is!" cried Tad, pointing to a low-spreading pinyon tree. "I +can see him moving around in the top there. May I take a shot at him, +Mr. Thomas?" + +"No; do you want to kill the dogs?" + +"The dogs?" + +"Certainly. That is one of the dogs up there. Probably Mustard," said +the guide. + +"What's that? Dogs climb trees?" demanded Chunky, laughing +uproariously. + +"Keep still! Do you want to spoil our fun?" growled Ned. + +"The idea! Dogs climb trees!" And Chunky Brown went off into a +paroxysm of silent mirth, his rotund body convulsed with merriment. + +"Mustard can climb a tree as well as you can, if not better," answered +Lige sharply. "Use your eyes, and you will see for yourself. That is +one of the dogs that you see in the tree there-- not a cougar. Ah! +There goes the other one!" he cried, pointing with his rifle. + +And, sure enough, it was. + +"It's Ginger!" exclaimed Walter in amazement. + +The hound was creeping cautiously up the sloping trunk of the +spreading tree, following in the wake of his companion, whose presence +in the tree was indicated only by the movement of the slender limbs +which he fastened upon to keep from losing his balance. + +"What are they after?' asked Ned. "Perhaps a cougar. I can't tell, +yet," replied the guide, keeping his eye fixed on the tree. + +A yelp of pain and anger followed close upon his words, and a dark +object came plunging from the tree. + +"There goes one of the dogs!" shouted Lige. "That's too bad." + +The hound had approached too close to the animal in the tree, and a +mighty paw had smitten it fairly on the nose, hurling it violently to +the ground. + +Mustard, nothing daunted, scrambled to his feet with an angry roar, +the blood trickling from his injured nose, and pluckily began digging +his claws into the bark of the pinyon tree, up which he slowly pulled +himself again. + +"Well, if that doesn't beat all!" marveled Chunky. "He is climbing +that tree!" + +"He surely is," agreed Walter, his eyes fairly bulging with surprise +at the unusual spectacle. "And there's the other one away up in the +top there. Why doesn't he fall off?" + +"He prefers to remain up a tree, I imagine," laughed Ned Rector, +without withdrawing his gaze from the unusual exhibition. + +A squall of rage from the tree top caused the boys to draw their reins +tighter, the ponies champing at their bits and pawing restlessly. The +ugly sound thrilled the lads through and through. The deep, menacing +growl of the dog that was crawling up the sloping trunk voiced his +anxiety to take part in the desperate battle that was being waged +above them. + +"Ginger's got hold of him!" shouted the guide. + +"Got hold of who?" demanded Chunky. + +"You'll see in a minute," growled Ned. + +"Look out! There he comes!" came the warning voice of the guide. +"Back, out of the way!" + +>From the dense foliage, as if suddenly projected from a great bow, +leaped the curving body of the animal that the dogs had been harassing. + +With a snarl of rage it landed lightly, almost at the feet of the +assembled Pony Riders. + +Stacy chanced to be nearest to the spot where the beast struck the +ground. As it did so, his pony rose suddenly into the air. The boy, so +intently watching the battle, had carelessly allowed his reins to drop +from his hand to the neck of his mount. + +"I'm going to fall off!" yelled Stacy, grabbing frantically for the +pommel of his saddle. + +He missed the pommel and slipped from the leather. Striking the smooth +back of the horse, he tobogganed down and over the pony's rump in a +flash, sitting down on the ground with a suddenness that caused him to +utter a loud "Ouch!" + +"He-help!" gasped the boy. + +Before the snorting pony's fore feet had touched the earth. Tad +made a grab for the bit, and was jerked from his own pony as a +result. But still he clung doggedly to his own bridle rein with one +hand, hanging to the other plunging animal with the other. + +The others of the party were having all they could do to manage their +own horses, and hence were unable to offer Tad any assistance at that +moment. So mixed in the melee of flying hoofs and plunging bodies was +Tad Butler, that for a few seconds the onlookers were quite unable to +tell which was pony and which was boy. + +Yet the lad was amply able to fight his own battles, and he was doing +so with a grim determination that knew not failure. The ponies already +were lessening their frantic efforts to get away. + +"It's a bob-cat!" shouted Lige, as soon as he had succeeded in +swinging his horse about so he could get a good view of the animal, +which was now bounding away. + +Throwing his rifle to his shoulder, the guide took a snap shot at the +fleeing cat, which now was no more than an undulating black +streak. His bullet kicked up a little cloud of dirt just behind the +bob-cat, which served only to hasten its pace. A moment more and the +little animal had plunged head first into a depression in the ground +and quickly crawled into a hole, probably its home. + +"Too bad," groaned Ned Rector. "Now, we've lost him." + +"Never mind," soothed Lige. "There are more of them in the +mountains. Besides, it's a good experience for you, before we tackle +bigger game. We'll see if we can't bag a cat before the day is over." + +Chunky pulled himself up ruefully, rubbing his body and pinching +himself to make sure that no serious damage had been done. Satisfying +himself on this point, he straightened up, gazing from one to the +other of his companions pityingly. + +"You fellows make me weary," he growled. + +"The whole bunch of you can't do with guns what I did with a little +stick. Gimme my pony." + +"It occurs to me," retorted Tad, after having subdued the ponies, +"that you weren't doing much of anything, either. If I remember +correctly, you were sitting on the ground during most of the +circus." + + + +CHAPTER XXI + + A COUGAR AT BAY + +The dogs did not succeed in picking up another trail that day, so, +late in the afternoon, the guide directed them to make camp by a +stream, under the tall, clustering spruces in a deep ravine. + +Tired from their hard run, the hounds threw themselves down by the +cool stream to satisfy their thirst. Mustard employed his time in +licking his wounded nose, where the claws of the bob-cat had raked +it. Altogether the two animals appeared more disappointed over the +loss of their quarry than did the boys themselves. While responding to +the caresses of their young masters, the dogs were irritable to the +point of snapping angrily at each other whenever they approached one +another close enough to do so. + +"They don't seem to enjoy each other's company," said Stacy, observing +the animals curiously. + +"They're always that way after a chase," answered the guide. "They +will be friendly to their masters, but extremely irritable to each +other. By to-morrow morning the hounds will be bosom friends, you will +find." + +"Humph! I wouldn't like to belong to that family," decided Chunky. + +Next morning, Lige decided that it would he best to move further north +for cougar, they having failed to strike the trail of any on the +previous day. Somehow, the dogs had lost the trail of the one that had +so recently disturbed the camp, picking up the scent of the bob-cat +instead. + +This frequently was the case, as the guide informed them while they +were riding along in the fresh morning air. The dogs had not been +freed yet, Lige leading them along by the side of his pony on a long +leash. + +Tad was trailing along a few rods to the rear. A sudden exclamation +from him caused the others to pull up sharply. + +The lad's eyes were fixed on a tree a short distance ahead of him +beneath which the party had just passed. + +"What is it?" demanded Lige in a low voice. + +As if in answer to his question, the hounds uttered a deep, menacing +growl. + +Tad made no reply, but signaled with his hand that they were to remain +quietly where they were. + +They saw him slip off the strap that held the rifle to his back and +bring the weapon around in front of him. There he paused, holding the +gun idly in one hand, his gaze still fixed on the top of the tree. + +All at once the butt of the rifle leaped to his shoulder. There was a +puff of smoke, a crash, followed by a loud squall, and a great +floundering about among the branches. + +Without lowering the weapon from his shoulder, the young hunter let go +another shot. + +The squalling ceased suddenly, but the disturbance in the tree +continued, sounding as if some heavy body were falling through the +branches. + +This proved to be the case. In a moment more the animal he had fired +at came tumbling down, landing in a quivering heap at the foot of the +tree. + +Tad lowered the muzzle of his smoking weapon, gazing in keen +satisfaction at the victim of his successful shot. + +"Good shot!" glowed Lige. "It's a cat." Yet, before he could dismount, +the hounds had wrenched themselves free and pounced upon the body of +the dead bob-cat. With savage growls they tore the sleek hide into +ribbons, on one side, and were devouring the flesh of the animal +ravenously. + +The hide was ruined. + +"Let them alone!" ordered Lige. "That's the only fun they get out of +the game. They'll be keen to get on the track of a cougar, now that +they have tasted blood." And so it proved. + +With their first big game, on this trip, at their feet, the boys were +eager to be off for the haunts of the cruel cougar. To their +disappointment, however, they were able to sight nothing more +interesting than a gaunt gray wolf, at which Ned took a long shot and +missed. + +"Might as well try to hit a razor's edge at that distance," said +Lige. "They have no flesh on them at all, to speak of, now----" + +"Will they bite?" asked Chunky innocently. "A pack of them would eat +you, bones and all, in a few moments," grinned Lige. + +Chunky shuddered. + +"But the gray wolf, when taken young, makes an ideal pet. Some of the +best cougar hounds I nave ever seen were trained wolves, working with +a pack of regular hounds, of course," he explained. Leaving the +carcass of the bob-oat for the ravens and magpies, which were already +hovering about in the tall trees awaiting their turn at it, the +hunters moved on. + +No other game being found that day, the party turned eastward, where +camp was made, this time on the flat top of a low-lying mountain. Nor +was it until late the following afternoon that the dogs appeared to +have struck a promising lead. From the way they worked Lige thought +they were trailing a black bear. + +Forcing the ponies into a brisk trot, the boys still found themselves +falling behind the hounds. Then, at the guide's suggestion, they went +in chase at a lively gallop. + +The run continued for somewhat more than two hours, until the ponies +began to lag, and until every bone in the bodies of the hunters seemed +to be crying aloud for rest. The going had been rougher than any they +had yet experienced. + +Now they found themselves in a country differing materially from any +they had yet explored. The hills were lower and thickly studded with +trees, the whole resembling an exaggerated rolling prairie. + +"They've got him this time," announced the guide. + +"Got what?" demanded Chunky. + +"We'll know soon," answered Lige directing the boys to urge their +ponies along, and at a rapid pace they came up with the hounds some +twenty minutes later. + +They were fighting some animal in a dense copse. It was a dinful +racket they made in their desperate battle. + +"It's a cougar," explained Lige. "No cat would make such a +rumpus. Look out for yourselves. I guess you had better lead the +ponies off to the right, there, and stake them securely, for we may +have a fight on our own hook before we have finished here. Hurry if +you want to see the fun." + +The boys were back in a twinkling. + +"Fix them so they can't get away?" + +"Yes." + +"Then all of you line up here on this side so we won't be shooting +each other when the brute makes his attempt at a get-away, as he +surely will, when the dogs give him a chance. Two of them can't hold +him long. We ought to have a pack." + +They could hear the battle waging desperately in the bushes, which +were being rapidly trampled down by the dogs and their victim, amid +screams of rage from the animal and menacing, deadly growls from the +hounds. + +Soon the young hunters were able to make out the combatants, as the +beast worked its way little by little to its right in an effort to +get within reaching distance of a tree that it espied near by. But +the dogs fought valiantly to outwit this very move. + +"We've got a cougar this time!" shouted Lige triumphantly. "Look out +for him!" + +They could see the fighters plainly now. It was dangerous to fire for +fear of hitting the hounds. Already they were bleeding where the fangs +or claws of the ugly beast had raked them. + +However, the dogs were working with keen intelligence. One would nip +at a flank while the other played for the head of the cougar, in hopes +of getting an opening. + +Snarling, pawing, grinning, its ugly yellow teeth showing in two +glistening rows, the beast fought savagely for its life. + +Despite the guide's warning, Tad Butler and Ned Rector had drawn +closer that they might get a better view of the sanguinary conflict. + +"I'm afraid they'll never make it," groaned Lige. "It's fearful +odds. Everybody stand ready to let him have it when he breaks +away. But keep cool. And be careful that you don't hit the dogs. Might +better let the cat get away. There he goes!" + +The huge beast leaped clear of the pocket into which the dogs had +backed him. + +"Don't shoot!" ordered the guide, observing one of the boys +swinging his rifle down on the struggling animals. + +As the big cat leaped, Mustard fastened his fangs into the beast's +left leg, and was carried along with the cougar in its mighty +spring. They could hear the hones grind as the iron jaws of the hound +shut down on them. + +With a scream of rage, the maddened animal came to a sudden stop. +Its cruel yellow head shot out, jaws wide apart, aimed straight for +Mustard, who was still hanging with desperate courage to the beast's +leg. + +Yet the momentary hesitation, the few seconds lost in stopping in +its rapid flight and reaching back for Mustard, proved the cougar's +undoing. + +With a snarl that sent a shiver up and down the backs of the Pony +Riders, Ginger threw himself at the head of the beast. The hound's +powerful jaws closed upon it with a snap. + +Over and over rolled the combatants, the dogs without a sound--the +cougar uttering muffled screams, its great paws beating the air. One +stroke reached Mustard, hurling him fully a rod away, where he fell +and lay quivering, a dull red rent appearing in his glossy coat. + +The cougar, in an effort to throw Ginger off, was shaking his head, as +a terrier would in killing a rat. + +"Ah! He can't make it," cried Lige. + +"Hang on, Ginger! Go it, Ginger!" encouraged the boys, now wild with +excitement. + +But the hound was fast losing his hold, and the hunters groaned in +sympathy with him as they observed this. + +Mustard, understanding this too, perhaps, struggled to his feet and +staggered into the arena to assist his mate, only to meet a repetition +of the calamity that had befallen him a few minutes before. Ginger's +hold was broken at last. One great paw felled him to earth, and the +cougar's yawning jaws closed over his head with crushing force. + +Tad Butler's blood was coursing through his veins madly. He could +endure it no longer. A second or so more and the faithful dog's life +would be at an end. With a cry of warning to the others not to shoot, +Tad leaped into the fray, Mustard, at the same time, hurling himself +at the beast's throat, where he fastened and clung. + +As Tad sprang forward, his hunting knife flashed from its sheath, and +with a movement so quick that the eyes of the spectators failed to +catch it, the boy drove the keen blade into the cougar's body, just +back of the right shoulder. + +At that instant the beast succeeded in freeing itself from the +weakened hounds, and, straightening up with a frightful roar, leaped +into the air, one huge paw catching Tad Butler and hurling him to the +ground. + +Tad shuddered convulsively, then lay still. + +Lige Thomas's rifle roared out a hoarse protest, and at the end of its +leap the cougar lurched forward and fell dead. + +CHAPTEE XXII + + PROFESSOR ZEPPLIN'S MYSTERIOUS FOE + +Though Tad Butler had received an ugly wound where the sharp claw of +the dying cougar had raked him from his right shoulder almost down to +the waist line, his youthful vitality enabled him to throw off the +shock of it in a very short time. + +Making sure that the beast was dead, Lige rushed to the boy's side, +and turning him over, made a hasty examination of his wounds. + +Tad was unconscious. + +"Is--is he dead?" breathed Walter, peering down into the pale face +of his friend. + +"No. He's alive, but he's had a mighty close call," answered Lige in a +relieved tone, and each of the boys muttered a prayer of thankfulness. + +"Bring me some water at once," commanded the guide. + +Ned rushed away, returning in a few moments with his sombrero +filled. In his excitement he dropped the hat in attempting to pass it +to the guide, deluging the unconscious Tad with the cold water. Tad +gasped and coughed, a liberal supply of the water having gone down +hist throat. + +"Clumsy!" growled Lige. "Get some more, but don't let go till I get +hold of the hat this time." + +By the time Ned had returned with the second hatful, Tad Butler was +regaining consciousness, and in a few moments they had him sitting up. + +The guide washed the boy's wound, and, laying on a covering of leaves, +which he secured with adhesive plaster, allowed him to stand up. + +"Well, young man, how do you feel?" he asked, with a grin. + +"I feel sore. Did he bite me?" + +"Luckily for you, he didn't. If you are going in for hand-to-hand +mix-ups I'm afraid we shall have to leave off hunting. Old and +experienced hunters have done what you did, but I must say it's the +first time I ever heard of a boy even attempting it." + +"Are the dogs dead?" asked Tad solicitously. + +"No. But, like you, they're pretty sore. You saved Ginger's life, and +I guess he knows it. You can see how he keeps crawling up to you, though +he can hardly drag his body along." + +"Good Ginger," soothed Tad, patting the wounded beast, which the hound +acknowledged by a feeble wag of its tail. + +"Now, if you boys are satisfied, I propose that we start back in the +morning," advised Lige. "It will take us well into the second day to +reach camp, and we may pick up some game on the way back. I'll skin +the cat to-night after supper, so we can take the hide back with us. I +guess you'll all agree that it belongs to Tad Butler?" smiled Lige. + +"Well, I should say it does," returned Ned earnestly. "But he's +welcome to it. If that's the way they get cougar skins, I'll roam +through life without one, and be perfectly contented with my lot." + +"Not many fellows would risk their lives for a dog," added Walter, +with glowing eyes. + +While the boys had been having such exciting times, Professor Zepplin +also had been enjoying the delights of the mountains, as well as +experiencing some of their more unpleasant features. + +The lure of the yellow metal had gotten into the Professor's veins, +immediately he had proved to his own satisfaction that that which Tad +had discovered was real gold. The German could scarcely restrain his +anxiety until the final return of Ben Tackers with the reply to the +message he had sent on to Denver. + +Ben had made the trip to Eagle Pass again on the third day, returning +some time in the night, so that the Professor did not see him until +the following day. + +In the meantime, Professor Zepplin had not been idle. He had made +frequent trips to the vicinity of the cave, bringing away with him +each time a bagful of the ore, which he had detached with his hammer +and chisel, all of which he had submitted to the blow-pipe, acid +tests, and, in most instances, with the same result that had followed +his first attempt. + +The Professor's enthusiasm now was almost too great for his +self-restraint. There could be no doubt of the correctness of his +conclusions. There must be a rich vein of ore running through the +rocks, terminating, he believed, in the cave itself. + +Finally, urged on by this same enthusiasm, Professor Zepplin ventured +in as far as the first chamber one afternoon, and what he found there +raised his hopes to the highest pitch. + +"I must be careful. I must be cautious. No one must know of my +discovery just yet," he breathed, glancing apprehensively about, as he +emerged from the cave on hands and knees. + +Yet, as he came out, the Professor failed to observe two pairs of eyes +that were watching his every movement from the rocks above the +entrance to the cave. + +Believing himself entirely alone, the Professor spread the ore he had +just gathered on the ground before him, taking up each piece of +mineral, fondling it and gazing upon it with glowing eyes. + +"Gold! Bright yellow gold! A fortune, indeed!" + +With a deep sigh of satisfaction, he gathered up the specimens, +replacing them in his bag with great care. He drew the mouth of the +bag shut, tying it securely. + +So thoroughly absorbed was he with his great discovery, that he was +all unconscious of the fact that a man had been creeping up to him +from the rear while he had been thus engaged. + +In one hand the fellow carried a stout stick, the free hand being +employed to aid him in his cat-like creeping movements. + +"I wonder if anyoue suspects," mused the scientist, sitting with a +far-away look in his eyes. "Well, we shall see. We shall----" + +The words died on the Professor's lips, as the tough stick, which had +been raised above him, was brought down with a resounding whack, +squarely on the top of his uncovered head. + +Sudden darkness overwhelmed Professor Zepplin. He sank down with a +moan, into utter oblivion. + +When finally his heavy eyelids had struggled apart, night had +fallen. At first, he could not imagine where he was nor what had +happened. Shooting pains throbbed through his head and down into his +arms and body. + +The Professor uttered a suppressed moan, closed his eyes and lay back, +vainly groping about in his disordered mind for a solution of the +mystery. + +Step by step he went back over the occurrences of the afternoon, which +gradually became clearer, until at last he reached the point where he +had finished his examination of the specimens of ore, in front of the +cave entrance. + +"And that's where I am now," decided Professor Zepplin, sitting +up. "But, what happened then? I have it. Something hit me." + +His hand instinctively went to his injured head. Then, with trembling +fingers he began searching for the bag of minerals. + +It was nowhere to be found. The Professor marveled at this for some +minutes. + +Like a blow, the answer came to him. + +"Robbed!" he exclaimed. + +Struggling to his feet, the German staggered down the rocks toward the +camp, calling for Jose with the full strength of his voice. The +Professor having been assisted to his tent and a lotion prepared for +his aching head, Jose was hurried off to the cabin of Ben Tackers with +an urgent demand for his presence. + +When Ben responded, and had listened to the full account of Professor +Zepplin's mishap, he sat grave and thoughtful. + +"Bad lot," he growled. "Ab Durkin's one of the most lawless critters +on the Park Range; and I've got all I'm goin' to stand from him. The +sheriff will settle him when he gits here----" + +"I don't care anything about the sheriff. The coward shall suffer for +this, if he is the one who attacked me. I'll drive him out myself, if +you won't help me. I'll----" + +"I'm with you all right, pardner." + +"Then, come. I'm ready now," urged the Professor rising. + +"What you going to do?" "I am going back there to take possession of +that claim. That's what I am going to do. And it will be worse for the +man who tries to stop me," declared Professor Zepplin, taking a +revolver from his kit, and examining it to see that all the chambers +were loaded. "I'd like to see this man, Ab, attempt to interfere with +my rights--I mean, interfere again." + +Yet, had he known what was in store for him, the Professor might have +hesitated before taking the step that he had determined upon. + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + + THE PONY RIDERS UNDER FIRE + +With many a whoop and hurrah, the boys dashed into the home camp in +the early forenoon of the following day. + +Lige had left them three miles down the trail, that he might make a +short cut to Eagle Pass for the purpose of getting word to the parents +of the boys, that their trip had been concluded, and asking that +directions for their further journeys might be sent to them at Denver, +where they were to travel by easy stages. + +The trail to camp being clear and easily followed, he felt no +apprehension in allowing them to go on alone. + +"Halloo the camp!" shouted Ned, hurling his sombrero on high, riding +under and deftly catching it as it descended. + +"Why, there's no one here!" exclaimed Tad Butler, looking about +inquiringly, as they rode in. + +Walter swung from his pony, and, hurrying to the tents, glanced into +each in turn. + +"That's queer. Looks as if no one had been here in a month. Well, +suppose we unpack and wait." + +"Somebody has been through these tents in a hurry," declared Tad after +having made a hasty examination on his own account. "Did you notice +that everything in the Professor's tent had been fairly turned inside +out? There are our bows and arrows lying out there near where the camp +fire was." + +Now, the boys began to feel real concern. + +"Tether the ponies and we will go out and see if we can find them," +commanded Tad Butler. + +"Shall we take our guns?" asked Stacy. + +"Better not. Take your bows and arrows if you wish. We are going on +the trail of two-footed game now, and we do not want to have guns. We +might use them and be sorry for it afterwards." + +Realizing the wisdom of his words, the boys laid aside their rifles, +grabbed up their bows and quivers, and following Tad, who immediately +struck off in the direction of the cave. Tad's own experience there +was still fresh in memory. + +At the entrance, they halted. + +"Look at that! What do you think of that?" exclaimed Tad. + +Above the entrance to the cave hung suspended a broad strip of +sheeting. On it had been scrawled, evidently with a piece of blunt +lead, the words: + + THIS CLAIM BELONGS TO AB DURKIN. KEEP OFF! + +The boys gazed at each other in amazement. + +"We'll find out whom this claim belongs to!" declared Tad sternly. +"I don't believe what that notice says at all. There is something +more to this than we know about. Who'll go into the cave with me?" + +"I will," chorused the boys. + +"Follow me, then." + +Tad moved forward, with the rest of the boys following closely behind +him. But, as they started, a revolver shot rang out and a bullet sang +by the head of Tad Butler. + +"Back to the rocks!" shouted the boy, springing from the open place +where they had been standing, at the same time urging his companions +forward. + +"What does this mean?" demanded Ned Rector. + +"I don't know. We are in for trouble. Spread out and hide behind +the boulders as well as you can, while we crawl back to camp. +Chunky, you run for Ben Tackers as fast as your fat legs will carry +you!" + +With more order than might reasonably have been expected under the +circumstances, the boys retreated rapidly, two more shots zipping over +their heads as they leaped over a projecting ledge and scurried to +cover without losing any time. + +"I guess they're trying to scare us, that's all," decided Ned. + +They could hear their unseen enemies, clambering down the rough ground +that lay on either side of the cave, evidently bent on following them, +now and then sending a bullet at one or the other of the dodging +figures of the Pony Riders. + +"Humph! Looks like it, doesn't it?" snapped Tad. + +Suddenly rising to his full height, the boy waved his sombrero and +hailed the men who bad been firing at them. + +"Hold on, there! What are you trying to do? You're shooting at us! +You had best look out what you are doing, unless you want to got into +trouble yourselves. I----" + +The answer came promptly. + +A gun barked viciously, and the plucky lad's sombrero was snipped from +his hand, with a bullet hole through its broad brim. + +Tad ducked behind a rock with amazing quickness. + +"Spread out a little more, fellows. It won't he so easy to hit us," he +commanded. "Walter, you watch out on either side of us, while Ned and +I take care of the front." + +"Wish I had my rifle. I'd show them," growled Ned. + +"I don't," snapped Tad. "We've got trouble enough as it is." + +The boys had been carrying on their conversation in low tones, that +they might not betray their positions to their enemies. + +"Get out of there, you young cubs!" suddenly roared a voice, whose +owner they could not see. "I'll l'arn ye to interfere with other +folks' business. I'll give yer five minutes to shake ther dust of this +hy'ar mounting off yer feet. If any of ye is here then, it'll be the +worse for ye. This claim belongs to Ab Durkin. Now, mosey! D'ye hear?" + +Tad Butler did hear. And now he saw as well as heard. + +Ab, confident that he had nothing to fear from the boys, had taken his +station on a large boulder, from which position he was giving his +orders to the Pony Riders. Tad, peering from behind the rock where he +had taken refuge, saw an evil face, topped by a weather-worn sombrero, +and, beyoud it, the figures of four other men whose faces he was +unable to make out. + +"I say, will ye git?" + +"No!" shouted Tad, his face flushing, as all the old fighting spirit +in him came to the surface. + +"Then, take the consequences!" + +Ab Durkin raised his revolver, peering from rock to rock, not certain +now as to the exact location of the boys. He seemed ready to fire the +instant he made out the mark he was seeking. + +Tad Butler never had been more cool in his life, and a strange sense +of elation possessed him. + +Motioning to the boys to lie low, Tad fitted an arrow to his bow, +after which he waited a few seconds, keenly watching the enemy and +measuring the distance to him, with critical eyes. + +All at once the boy's right arm drew back. There followed a sharp +twang. + +"Ouch!" + +The mountaineer leaped straight up into the air, which action was +followed by two shots in quick succession, as both of the man's +revolvers were accidentally discharged, the bullets burying themselves +harmlessly in the ground in front of him. + +Tad's arrow had sped home. Its blunt end had been driven with powerful +force, straight against the left ear of Ab Durkin, having been +deflected slightly from where Tad had intended to plant it. + +"Lie low!" commanded the boy. + +The next instant, a shower of revolver shots flattened themselves +against the rocks all about the boys. + +"Give them a volley and drop back quickly!" ordered Tad. + +Three bows twanged, and yells of rage told the boys that at least some +of their missiles had gone home. This was a different sort of warfare +from anything to which these mountaineers had been accustomed, and, +somehow, it had begun to get on their nerves, desperate men though +they were. + +"Follow me. We must change our positions again. They've got our range +now," directed Tad, and the boys, wriggling along on their stomachs, +to the left, dutifully followed their leader. + +Tad was heading for a clump of sage brush, so that their operations +might be the better masked. While he was doing so, the mountaineers, +who also had taken to cover, were bombarding the rocks from which the +Pony Riders had just made their escape. + +>From their new position the boys were overjoyed to find that their +enemies were in plain view. + +"Take careful aim, and when I count three, let go at them. See that +not one of you misses," directed the leader. + +"Ready, now! One, two, three!" + +Three bowstrings sang, and as many mountaineers, with yells of rage, +began shooting, fanning every rock and bush about them, in hopes of +driving from cover their tantalizing opponents. + +At first they were at a loss to locate the boys' new position, but, +after a little, as the arrows kept coming persistently from the sage +bush, the mountaineers' bullets began to snip the leaves over the +heads of the Pony Riders. + +"Shoot slowly, and make every shot count!" directed Tad with stern +emphasis. + +Once, a bullet grazed Tad's left cheek, and Ned Rector narrowly missed +death, escaping with the loss of a lock of hair. With rare +generalship, Tad continually changed their positions, which tactics +also were followed by the mountaineers, all the time crowding the boys +nearer and nearer to their own camp. + +Chunky had not yet returned, and Tad devoutly hoped that the boy would +not be rash enough to attempt to do so now. + +If anything, the boys thus far had the best of the battle, and +although none had sustained a serious wound, every one of the +mountaineers had marks on his body to show where blunt tipped arrows, +driven by a strong arm, had been stopped. + +Now, a new danger menaced the brave little band. Their quivers were +nearly empty. Tad, discovering it, drew his hunting knife from its +sheath, tossing it to Walter Perkins. + +"Quick! Cut some sticks and make some arrows. Don't lose a +second. Make them as straight as possible, or we shall be unable to +hit a thing." + +By the time their supply had become almost exhausted, Walter had +succeeded in turning out more than half a dozen new arrows. Yet no +sooner had they begun driving these at their enemies than the +mountaineers sent up a yell of defiance. They recognized the +predicament the boys were in. + +"Cease firing!" commanded Tad, realizing at once that their enemies +had discovered their plight. + +"Fellows, we are about at the end of our rope. Give me the +arrows. Then, you two make your get-away. But be careful not to expose +your bodies to the fire of those brutes. When you get far enough away +run for Ben Tackers' cabin. You can hide there, anyway," directed Tad +Butler. + +"Yes, but what are you going to do? You surely don't intend to remain +here?" protested Walter. + +"I'm going to cover your retreat. They'll think we have no more +ammunition left and then they'll start to rush us. That's the time +I'll surprise them. We have a few arrows left. They won't be so fast +to----" + +"See here, Tad Butler, what do you take us for?" demanded Walter, his +eyes snapping. "Do you think we are going to desert you and leave you +here, perhaps to he killed?" + +"While we run away?" added Ned. "I guess not. What breed of tenderfoot +do you think we belong to?" + +"No! We stay with you," announced Walter firmly. + +"Oh, very well. I'm sorry. Hold your arrows till you have to shoot, +but it would he much better for you to go while you have a chance." + +Recognizing the helplessness of the boys, the mountaineers began +moving on their position, revolver shots occasionally zipping against +the rocks. It was almost impossible for the boys to return the fire +with their few remaining arrows, for fear of exposing themselves to +too great danger. + +"I guess it's about up with us," said Tad, coolly stringing his last +arrow. + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + + CONCLUSION + +The faces of the three boys were pale, though a half smile played +about the lips of Tad Butler. "Lie down!" he said. + +Tad was watching the enemy from behind a rock, nervously fingering the +arrow that lay across his bow. + +At last the men had approached to within three or four rods of +them. Tad rose, not a muscle of his body appearing to quiver when they +sent a few shots at him. + +Deliberately drawing back his bowstring, the boy drove one of the +heavy missiles that Walter had cut for him full into the evil face of +Ab Durkin. They could hear the impact as the heavy stick landed. + +Ab toppled over backwards with a yell of rage. + +"That's our last shot." Tad threw down his bow, standing with folded +arms calmly facing the enemy. "Hands up!" rang the stern command. At +first, Tad thought the order was directed at himself. Then a puzzling +expression settled over his face as he saw the mountaineers suddenly +wheel, then throw their hands above their heads. + +Lige Thomas, on his way to the Pass, had not gone far before he came +up with the sheriff, to whom he explained what he had heard about the +doings of Ab Durkin and his gang. While they were conversing, the +sound of the shooting was borne faintly to them on the clear mountain +air. + +Suspecting something of the truth, Lige had wheeled his horse and +ridden back with all speed, followed by the sheriff and his little +posse. They had arrived at the moment when they were, perhaps, needed +most. + +Creeping down into an advantageous position, they had put a quick and +sudden end to the onslaught of the mountaineers, who were in no mood +for trifling with their young opponents now. + +In a few moments the sheriff had each of the five men in handcuffs, +and without having had to fire a shot. Tad, who had rushed out, +followed by his companions, explained to the posse that the Professor +and Jose were missing. He believed now that they were prisoners in the +cave. + + And there they found them--Professor Zepplin, Ben Tackers and Jose, + bound hand and foot. + +All of them bad been taken captive by the mountaineers when they +visited the cave the night before. + +Ab Durkin was fuming with rage. + +"These cayuses was stealin' my claim," he snarled. "Understand me, +they was stealin' the gold, and, when I tried to drive them off, they +sailed into us----" + +"Yes, I observed that you were shooting at three boys," retorted the +sheriff, sarcastically. + +"See, thar's my mark over that hole in the ground," continued Ab +pointing to the sign that was flapping idly in the breeze. "That's my +claim and no man ain't goin' ter take it away from me, neither." + +"My friend," retorted Professor Zepplin, stepping forward +frowning. "If I did what you deserve, I should send a bullet into your +miserable carcass. Instead I'm going to tell you about a little paper +I have here." + +All eyes instantly were centered on the Professor. + +"This little document, gentlemen, is a certificate from the register's +office at Denver, stating that the Lost Claim, which lies just within +this cave here, is the property of Herman von Zepplin. Had you +examined this neighborhood more closely you would have found my claim +stakes driven, as required by law. With the certificate is a report on +the assay of the samples of ore I sent them, showing that, while the +mine is a valuable property, it does not contain such untold wealth as +generally has been believed. However, it may give these boys a few +thousands apiece." + +"The Lost Claim! Is it possible?" breathed the boys. + +"Yes, Ben Tackers will tell you I am not mistaken. He has known this +all along. I had the mine registered in my own name as this was the +quickest way to secure it. However, Tad Butler is the rightful +owner. Immediately upon our arrival at Denver, I shall take legal +measures to transfer the property to him," announced the +Professor. Tad slowly shook his head. "It's not mine alone," he +answered, gazing at his companions, all of whom, now, were flushed +with suppressed excitement. "The Lost Claim belongs to the Pony Rider +Boys Club, of which Professor Zepplin is now a member and therefore +entitled to share equally with us. Are you willing, fellows?" + +"Yes!" they shouted, following it with three cheers and a tiger for +Professor Herman von Zepplin. + +"As for my share in the claim, Professor, I would prefer that you made +it over to my mother," said Tad, with a glad smile. "That is, if no +one in the club objects," he added. + +"Well, I guess not," replied Ned, with strong emphasis. + +Later in the day, the sheriff and his party set out for Eagle Pass +with the prisoners. Each member of the gang was sentenced to a term in +prison because of the attack on the Pony Rider Boys. + +That same day the boys began their preparations for leaving the +mountains. At Denver, where they arrived within a week, they effected +a sale of the Lost Claim, with the permission of their parents, most +of whom came on to fulfill the necessary legal requirements, and when +the transfer of the mine had been made, the Pony Rider Boys were +twenty-five thousand dollars richer, giving them exactly five thousand +dollars apiece. Tad's share was promptly turned over to his +mother. Though he did not know it, the money was deposited to his +credit in Mr. Perkins's bank. + +The exciting experiences of the Pony Rider Boys were not yet at an +end. The boys will be heard from again in another volume under the +title: "THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN TEXAS; Or, The Veiled Riddle of the +Plains." In this forthcoming volume the narrative of how the boys +learned to become young plainsmen, and the stirring account of their +experiences in the great cattle drive, will be found full of +fascination and in every detail true to the strenuous out-door life +described. + +THE END. + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of The Pony Rider Boys in the Rockie + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES *** + +This file should be named prbro10.txt or prbro10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, prbro11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, prbro10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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