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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/6814-h.zip b/6814-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..fe268ec --- /dev/null +++ b/6814-h.zip diff --git a/6814-h/6814-h.htm b/6814-h/6814-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5b00e39 --- /dev/null +++ b/6814-h/6814-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10542 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> + +<head> + +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> + +<title> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of The Curlytops at Uncle Frank's Ranch, +by Howard R. Garis +</title> + +<style type="text/css"> +body { color: black; + background: white; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +p {text-indent: 4% } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 200%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + text-align: center } + +p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 60%; + text-align: center } + +h1 { text-align: center } +h2 { text-align: center } +h3 { text-align: center } +h4 { text-align: center } +h5 { text-align: center } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; } + +p.contents {text-indent: -3%; + margin-left: 5% } + +p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; + letter-spacing: 4em ; + text-align: center } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.intro {font-size: 90% ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's The Curlytops at Uncle Frank's Farm, by Howard R. Garis + +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 Curlytops at Uncle Frank's Farm + or, Little Folks on Ponyback + +Author: Howard R. Garis + +Posting Date: March 13, 2014 [EBook #6814] +Release Date: November, 2004 +First Posted: January 27, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH *** + + + + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Charles Franks and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by +Al Haines. + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1> +<br /><br /><br /> +THE CURLYTOPS AT +<br /> +UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH +</h1> + +<p class="t3"> +OR +</p> + +<p class="t2"> +<i>Little Folks on Ponyback</i> +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +BY +</p> + +<p class="t3b"> +HOWARD R. GARIS +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +CONTENTS +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +CHAPTER +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +I <a href="#chap01">TROUBLE'S TUMBLE</a><br /> +II <a href="#chap02">NICKNACK AND TROUBLE</a><br /> +III <a href="#chap03">OFF FOR THE WEST</a><br /> +IV <a href="#chap04">THE COLLISION</a><br /> +V <a href="#chap05">AT RING ROSY RANCH</a><br /> +VI <a href="#chap06">COWBOY FUN</a><br /> +VII <a href="#chap07">BAD NEWS</a><br /> +VIII <a href="#chap08">A QUEER NOISE</a><br /> +IX <a href="#chap09">THE SICK PONY</a><br /> +X <a href="#chap10">A SURPRISED DOCTOR</a><br /> +XI <a href="#chap11">TROUBLE MAKES A LASSO</a><br /> +XII <a href="#chap12">THE BUCKING BRONCO</a><br /> +XIII <a href="#chap13">MISSING CATTLE</a><br /> +XIV <a href="#chap14">LOOKING FOR INDIANS</a><br /> +XV <a href="#chap15">TROUBLE "HELPS"</a><br /> +XVI <a href="#chap16">ON THE TRAIL</a><br /> +XVII <a href="#chap17">THE CURLYTOPS ALONE</a><br /> +XVIII <a href="#chap18">LOST</a><br /> +XIX <a href="#chap19">THE HIDDEN VALLEY</a><br /> +XX <a href="#chap20">BACK TO RING ROSY</a> +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="t2"> +THE CURLYTOPS +<br /> +AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER I +</h3> + +<h3> +TROUBLE'S TUMBLE +</h3> + +<p> +"Say, Jan, this isn't any fun!" +</p> + +<p> +"What do you want to play then, Ted?" +</p> + +<p> +Janet Martin looked at her brother, who was dressed in one of his +father's coats and hats while across his nose was a pair of +spectacles much too large for him. Janet, wearing one of her mother's +skirts, was sitting in a chair holding a doll. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I'm tired of playing doctor, Jan, and giving your make-believe +sick doll bread pills. I want to do something else," and Teddy +began taking off the coat, which was so long for him that it +dragged on the ground. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I know what we can do that'll be lots of fun!" cried Janet, +getting up from the chair so quickly that she forgot about her doll, +which fell to the floor with a crash that might have broken her head. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, my <i>dear!</i>" cried Janet, as she had often heard her mother +call when Baby William tumbled and hurt himself. "Oh, are you hurt?" +and Janet clasped the doll in her arms, and hugged it as though it +were a real child. +</p> + +<p> +"Is she busted?" Ted demanded, but he did not ask as a real doctor +might inquire. In fact, he had stopped playing doctor. +</p> + +<p> +"No, she isn't hurt, I guess," Jan answered, feeling of her doll's +head. "I forgot all about her being in my lap. Oh, aren't you going +to play any more, Ted?" she asked as she saw her brother toss the big +coat on a chair and take off the spectacles. +</p> + +<p> +"No. I want to do something else. This is no fun!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, let's make-believe you're sick and I can be a Red Cross +nurse, like some of those we saw in the drugstore window down the +street, making bandages for the soldiers. You could be a soldier, +Ted, and I could be the nurse, and I'd make some sugar pills for you, +if you don't like the rolled-up bread ones you gave my doll." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy Martin thought this over for a few seconds. He seemed to like +it. And then he shook his head. +</p> + +<p> +"No," he answered his sister, "I couldn't be a soldier." +</p> + +<p> +"Why not?" +</p> + +<p> +"'Cause I haven't got a gun and there isn't any tent." +</p> + +<p> +"We could make a tent with a sheet off the bed like we do lots of +times. Put it over a chair, you know." +</p> + +<p> +"But I haven't a gun," Teddy went on. He knew that he and Janet +could make a tent, for they had often done it before. +</p> + +<p> +"Couldn't you take a broom for a gun?" Janet asked. "I'll get it +from the kitchen." +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! What good is a broom for a gun? I want one that shoots! +Anyhow I haven't a uniform, and a soldier can't go to war without a +uniform or a sword or a gun. I'm not going to play that!" +</p> + +<p> +Janet did not know what to say for a few seconds. Truly a soldier +would not be much of one without a gun or a uniform, even if he was +in a tent. But the little girl had not given up yet. +</p> + +<p> +The day was a rainy one. There was no school, for it was Saturday, +and staying in the house was no great fun. Janet wanted her brother +to stay and play with her and she knew she must do something to make +him. For a while he had been content to play that he was Dr. +Thompson, come to give medicine to Jan's sick doll. But Teddy had +become tired of this after paying half a dozen visits and leaving +pills made by rolling bread crumbs together. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy laid aside his father's old hat and scratched his head. That +is he tried to, but his head was so covered with tightly twisted +curls that the little boy's fingers were fairly entangled in them. +</p> + +<p> +"Say!" he exclaimed, "I wish my hair didn't curl so much! It's too +long. I'm going to ask mother if I can't have it cut." +</p> + +<p> +"I wish I could have mine cut," sighed Janet. "Mine's worse to comb +than yours is, Ted." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I know. And it always curls more on a rainy day." +</p> + +<p> +Both children had the same curly hair. It was really beautiful, but +they did not quite appreciate it, even though many of their friends, +and some persons who saw them for the first time, called them +"Curlytops." Indeed the tops of their heads were very curly. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I know how we can do it!" suddenly cried Janet, just happening +to think of something. +</p> + +<p> +"Do what?" asked her brother. +</p> + +<p> +"Play the soldier game. You can pretend you were caught by the enemy +and your gun and uniform were taken away. Then you can be hurt and +I'll be the Red Cross nurse and take care of you in the tent. I'll get +some real sugar for pills, too! Nora'll give me some. She's in the +kitchen now making a cake." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe she'd give you a piece of cake, too," suggested Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe," agreed Janet. "I'll go and ask her." +</p> + +<p> +"Ask her for some chocolate," added Ted. "I guess, if I've got to be +sick, I'd like chocolate pills 'stead of sugar." +</p> + +<p> +"All right," said Janet, as she hurried downstairs from the playroom +to the kitchen. In a little while she came back with a plate on which +were two slices of chocolate cake, while on one edge of it were some +crumbs of chocolate icing. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll make pills of that after we eat the cake," Janet said. "You +can pretend the cake made you sick if you want to, Ted." +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! who ever heard of a soldier getting sick on cake? Anyhow they +don't have cake in the army—lessen they capture it from the enemy." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, you can pretend you did that," said Janet. "Now I'll put my +doll away," she went on, as she finished her piece of cake, "and well +play the soldier game. I'll get some red cloth to make the cross." +</p> + +<p> +Janet looked "sweet," as her mother said afterward, when she had +wound a white cloth around her head, a red cross, rather ragged and +crooked, being pinned on in front. +</p> + +<p> +The tent was made by draping a sheet from the bed across two chairs, +and under this shelter Teddy crawled. He stretched out on a blanket +which Janet had spread on the floor to be the hospital cot. +</p> + +<p> +"Now you must groan, Ted," she said, as she looked in a glass to see +if her headpiece and cross were on straight. +</p> + +<p> +"Groan? What for?" +</p> + +<p> +"'Cause you've Been hurt in the war, or else you're sick from the +cake." +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! a little bit of cake like <i>that</i> wouldn't make <i>me</i> sick. +You've got to give me a <i>lot</i> more if you want me to be real sick." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Teddy Martin! I'm not going to play if you make fun like that +all the while. You've got to groan and pretend you've been shot. +Never mind about the cake." +</p> + +<p> +"All right. I'll be shot then. But you've got to give me a lot of +chocolate pills to make me get better." +</p> + +<p> +"I'm not going to give 'em to you all at once, Ted Martin!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe in two doses then. How many are there?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, there's a lot. I'm going to take some myself." +</p> + +<p> +"You are not!" and Teddy sat up so quickly that he hit the top of +the sheet-tent with his head and made it slide from the chair. +</p> + +<p> +"There! Look what you did!" cried Janet. "Now you've gone and +spoiled everything!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, well, I'll fix it," said Ted, rather sorry for what he had +done. "But you can't eat my chocolate pills." +</p> + +<p> +"I can so!" +</p> + +<p> +"You cannot! Who ever heard of a nurse taking the medicine from a +sick soldier?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, anyhow—well, wouldn't you give me some chocolate candy if +you had some, and I hadn't?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Course I would, Jan. I'm not stingy!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, these pills are just like chocolate candy, and if I give 'em +all to you—" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, well, then I'll let you eat <i>some</i>," agreed Ted. "But you wanted +me to play this game of bein' a sick soldier, and if I'm sick I've got +to have the medicine." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I'll give you the most," Janet agreed. "Now you lie down and +groan and I'll hear you out on the battlefield and come and save your +life." +</p> + +<p> +So, after Janet had fixed the sheet over him again, Teddy lay back +on the blanket and groaned his very best. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, it sounds as real as anything!" exclaimed the little girl in +delight. "Do it some more, Ted!" +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon her brother groaned more loudly until Janet stopped him by +dropping two or three chocolate pills into his opened mouth. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! Gurr-r-r-r! Ugh! Say, you 'most choked me!" spluttered Ted, as +he sat up and chewed the chocolate. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I didn't mean to," said Janet as she ate a pill or two herself. +"Now you lie down and go to sleep, 'cause I've got a lot more sick +soldiers to go to see." +</p> + +<p> +"Don't give 'em any of my chocolate pills," cautioned Ted. "I need +'em all to make me get better." +</p> + +<p> +"I'll only make-believe give them some," promised Janet. +</p> + +<p> +She and her brother played this game for a while, and Teddy liked +it—as long as the chocolate pills were given him. But when Janet had +only a few left and Teddy was about to say he was tired of lying +down, someone came into the playroom and a voice asked: +</p> + +<p> +"What you doin'?" +</p> + +<p> +"Playing soldier," answered Janet. "You mustn't drop your 'g' +letters, Trouble. Mother doesn't like it." +</p> + +<p> +"I want some chocolate," announced the little boy, whose real name +was William Martin, but who was more often called Trouble—because he +got in so much of it, you know. +</p> + +<p> +"There's only one pill left. Can I give it to him, Ted?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, Janet. I've had enough. Anyhow, I know something else to play +now. It's lots of fun!" +</p> + +<p> +"What?" asked Janet eagerly. It was still raining hard and she +wanted her brother to stay in the house with her. +</p> + +<p> +"We'll play horse," went on Ted. "I'll be a bucking bronco like +those Uncle Frank told us about on his ranch. We'll make a place with +chairs where they keep the cow ponies and the broncos. I forget what +Uncle Frank called it." +</p> + +<p> +"I know," said Janet. "It's cor—corral." +</p> + +<p> +"Corral!" exclaimed Ted. "That's it! We'll make a corral of some +chairs and I'll be a bucking bronco. That's a horse that won't let +anybody ride on its back," the little boy explained. +</p> + +<p> +"I wants a wide!" said Baby William. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe I'll give you a ride after I get tired of bucking," +said Teddy, thinking about it. +</p> + +<p> +They made a ring of chairs on the playroom floor, and in this corral +Teddy crept around on his hands and knees, pretending to be a wild +Western pony. Janet tried to catch him and the children had much fun, +Trouble screaming and laughing in delight. +</p> + +<p> +At last Teddy allowed himself to be caught, for it was hard work +crawling around as he did, and rearing up in the air every now and +then. +</p> + +<p> +"Give me a wide!" pleaded Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I'll ride him on my back," offered Teddy, and his baby brother +was put up there by Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Now don't go too fast with him, pony," she said. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I wants to wide fast, like we does with Nicknack," declared +Baby William. Nicknack was the Curlytops' pet goat. +</p> + +<p> +"All right, I'll give you a fast ride," promised Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +He began crawling about the room with Trouble on his back. The baby +pretended to drive his "horse" by a string which Ted held in his +mouth like reins. +</p> + +<p> +"Go out in de hall—I wants a big wide," directed Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"All right," assented Teddy. Out into the hall he went and then +forgetting, perhaps, that he had his baby brother on his back, Teddy +began to buck—that is flop up and down. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh—oh! 'top!" begged Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"I can't! I'm a Wild-West pony," explained Ted, bucking harder than +ever. +</p> + +<p> +He hunched himself forward on his hands and knees, and before he +knew it he was at the head of the stairs. Then, just how no one could +say, Trouble gave a yell, toppled off Teddy's back and the next +instant went rolling down the flight, bump, bump, bumping at every +step. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER II +</h3> + +<h3> +NICKNACK AND TROUBLE +</h3> + +<p> +"Oh, Teddy!" screamed Janet. "Oh, Trouble!" +</p> + +<p> +Teddy did not answer at once. Indeed he had hard work not to tumble +down the stairs himself after his little brother. Ted clung to the +banister, though, and managed to save himself. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, he'll be hurt—terrible!" cried Janet, and she tried to get +past her older brother to run downstairs after Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +But Mrs. Martin, who was in the dining-room talking to Nora Jones, +the maid, heard the noise and ran out into the hall. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, children!" she cried. "Teddy—Janet—what's all that noise?" +</p> + +<p> +"It's Trouble, Mother!" announced Teddy. "I was playing bucking +bronco and—" +</p> + +<p> +"Trouble fell downstairs!" screamed Janet. +</p> + +<p> +While everyone was thus calling out at once, Baby William came +flopping head over heels, and partly sidewise, down the padded steps, +landing right at his mother's feet, sitting up as straight as though +in his high-chair. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, darling!" cried Mrs. Martin, catching the little fellow up in +her arms, "are you hurt?" +</p> + +<p> +Trouble was too much frightened to scream or cry. He had his mouth +open but no sound came from it. He was just like the picture of a +sobbing baby. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Nora!" cried Mrs. Martin, as she hurried into the dining-room +with her little boy in her arms. "Trouble fell downstairs! Get ready +to telephone for his father and the doctor in case he's badly hurt," +and then she and the maid began looking over Baby William to find out +just what was the matter with him, while Ted and Janet, much +frightened and very quiet, stood around waiting. +</p> + +<p> +And while Mrs. Martin is looking over Trouble it will be a good +chance for me to tell those of you who meet the Curlytops for the +first time in this book something about them, and what has happened +to them in the other volumes of this series. +</p> + +<p> +The first book is named "The Curlytops at Cherry Farm," and in that +I had the pleasure of telling you about Ted and Janet and Trouble +Martin and their father and mother, when they went to Grandpa +Martin's place, called Cherry Farm, which was near the village of +Elmburg, not far from Clover Lake. +</p> + +<p> +There the children found a goat, which they named Nicknack, and they +kept him as a pet. When hitched to a wagon he gave them many nice +rides. There were many cherry trees on Grandpa Martin's farm, and +when some of the other crops failed the cherries were a great help, +especially when the Lollypop Man turned them into "Chewing Cherry +Candy." +</p> + +<p> +After a good time on the farm the children had more fun when, as +told in the second book, named "The Curlytops on Star Island," they +went camping with grandpa. On Star Island in Clover Lake they saw a +strange blue light which greatly puzzled them, and it was some time +before they knew what caused it. +</p> + +<p> +The summer and fall passed and Ted and Janet went home to Cresco, +where they lived, to spend the winter. What happened then is told in +the third volume, called "The Curlytops Snowed In." The big storm was +so severe that no one could get out and even Nicknack was lost +wandering about in the big drifts. +</p> + +<p> +The Curlytops had a good time, even if they were snowed in. Now +spring had come again, and the children were ready for something +else. But I must tell you a little bit about the family, as well as +about what happened. +</p> + +<p> +You have already met Ted, Jan and Trouble. Ted's real name was +Theodore, but his mother seldom called him that unless she was quite +serious about something he had done that was wrong. So he was more +often spoken to as Ted or Teddy, and his sister Janet was called Jan. +Though oftener still they were called the "Curlytops," or, if one was +speaking to one or the other he would say "Curlytop." That was +because both Teddy and Janet had such very, very curly hair. +</p> + +<p> +Ted's and Jan's birthdays came on the same day, but they had been +born a year apart, Teddy being about seven years old and his sister a +year younger. Trouble was aged about three years. +</p> + +<p> +I have spoken of the curly hair of Teddy and Janet. Unless you had +seen it you would never have believed hair could be so curly! It was +no wonder that even strangers called the children "Curlytops." +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes, when Mother Martin was combing the hair of the children, +the comb would get tangled and she would have to pull a little to get +it loose. That is one reason Ted never liked to have his hair combed. +Janet's was a little longer than his, but just as curly. +</p> + +<p> +Trouble's real name, as I have mentioned, was William. His father +sometimes called him "A bunch of trouble," and his mother spoke of +him as "Dear Trouble," while Jan and Ted called him just "Trouble." +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Martin, whose name was Richard, shortened to Dick by his wife +(whose name was Ruth) owned a store in Cresco, which is in one of our +Eastern states. +</p> + +<p> +Nora Jones, a cheerful, helpful maid-of-all-work had been in the +Martin family a long while, and dearly loved the children, who were +very fond of her. The Martins had many relatives besides the +children's grandfather and grandmother, but I will only mention two +now. They were Aunt Josephine Miller, called Aunt Jo, who lived at +Clayton and who had a summer bungalow at Mt. Hope, near Ruby Lake. +She was a sister of Mrs. Martin's. Uncle Frank Barton owned a large +ranch near Rockville, Montana. He was Mr. Martin's uncle, but Ted and +Janet also called him their uncle. +</p> + +<p> +Now that you have met the chief members of the family, and know a +little of what has happened to them in the past you may be interested +to go back to see what the matter is with Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +His mother turned him over and over in her arms, feeling of him here +and there. Trouble had closed his mouth by this time, having changed +his mind about crying. Instead he was very still and quiet. +</p> + +<p> +"Trouble, does it hurt you anywhere?" his mother asked him anxiously. +</p> + +<p> +"No," he said. "Not hurt any place. I wants to wide on Teddy's back +some more." +</p> + +<p> +"The little tyke!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin with a sigh of relief. "I +don't believe he is hurt a bit." +</p> + +<p> +"The stairs are real soft since we put the new carpet on them," +remarked Nora. +</p> + +<p> +"They are well padded," agreed Mrs. Martin. "I guess that's what +kept him from getting hurt. It was like rolling down a feather bed. +But he might have got his arm or leg twisted under him and have +broken a bone. How did he happen to fall?" +</p> + +<p> +"We were playing Red Cross nurse," began Janet, "and Ted was a +soldier in a tent and—" +</p> + +<p> +"But how could William fall downstairs if you were playing that sort +of game?" asked her mother. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, we weren't playing it then," put in Ted. "We'd changed to +another game. I was a wild Western bronco, like those on Uncle +Frank's ranch, and I was giving Trouble a ride on my back. I gave a +jump when I was near the stairs, and I guess he must have slipped +off." +</p> + +<p> +"There isn't any guessing about it—he <i>did</i> slip off," said Mrs. +Martin with a smile, as she put Trouble in a chair, having made sure +he was not hurt, and that there was no need of telephoning for his +father or the doctor. "You must be more careful, Teddy. You might have +hurt your little brother." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes'm," Teddy answered. "I won't do it again." +</p> + +<p> +"But we want to play something," put in Janet. "It's no fun being in +the house all day." +</p> + +<p> +"I know it isn't. But I think the rain is going to stop pretty soon. +If you get your rain-coats and rubbers you may go out for a little +while." +</p> + +<p> +"Me go too?" begged Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, you may go too," agreed his mother. "You'll all sleep better +if you get some fresh air; and it's warm, even if it has been +raining." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe we can take Nicknack and have a ride!" exclaimed Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"If it stops raining," said his mother. +</p> + +<p> +Ted, Jan and Trouble ran up and down in front of the house while the +rain fell softly and the big drops dripped from the trees. Then the +clouds broke away, the sun came out, the rain stopped and with shouts +and laughter the children ran to the barn next to which, in a little +stable of his own, Nicknack, the goat, was kept. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on out, Nicknack!" cried Janet. "You're going to give us a +ride!" +</p> + +<p> +And Nicknack did, being hitched to the goat-cart in which there was +room and to spare for Janet, Ted and Trouble. Up and down the street +in front of their home the Martin children drove their pet goat. +</p> + +<p> +"Whee, this is fun!" cried Ted, as he made Nicknack run downhill +with the wagon. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Teddy Martin, don't go so fast!" begged Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"I like to go fast!" answered her brother. "I'm going to play Wild +West. This is the stage coach and pretty soon the Indians will shoot +at us!" +</p> + +<p> +"Teddy Martin! if you're going to do that I'm not going to play!" +stormed Janet. "You'll make Trouble fall out and get hurt. Come on, +Trouble! Let us get out!" she cried. Nicknack was going quite fast +down the hill. +</p> + +<p> +"Wait till we get to the bottom," shouted Ted. "G'lang there, pony!" +he cried to the goat. +</p> + +<p> +"Let me out!" screamed Janet, "I want to get out." +</p> + +<p> +At the foot of the hill Teddy stopped the goat and Janet, taking +Trouble with her, got out and walked back to the house. +</p> + +<p> +"What's the matter now?" asked Mrs. Martin from the porch where she +had come out to get a little fresh air. +</p> + +<p> +"Ted's playing Wild West in the goat-wagon," explained Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Ted! Don't be so rough!" begged his mother of her little son, +who drove up just then. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'm only playing Indians and stage coach," he said. "You've got +to go fast when the Indians are after you!" and away he rode. +</p> + +<p> +"He's awful mean!" declared Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know what's come over Ted of late," said Mrs. Martin to her +husband, who came up the side street just then from his store. +</p> + +<p> +"What's he been doing?" asked Mr. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, he's been pretending he was a bucking bronco, like those Uncle +Frank has on his ranch, and he tossed Trouble downstairs. But the +baby didn't get hurt, fortunately. Now Ted's playing Wild West +stagecoach with Nicknack and Janet got frightened and wouldn't ride." +</p> + +<p> +"Hum, I see," said Ted's father slowly. "Our boy is getting older, I +guess. He needs rougher play. Well, I think I've just the very thing +to suit him, and perhaps Janet and all of us." +</p> + +<p> +"What is it?" asked Mrs. Martin, as her husband drew a letter from +his pocket. +</p> + +<p> +"This is an invitation from Uncle Frank for all of us to come out to +his ranch in Montana for the summer," was the answer. "We have been +talking of going, you know, and now is a good chance. I can leave the +store for a while, and I think it would do us all good—the children +especially—to go West. So if you'd like it, well pack up and go." +</p> + +<p> +"Go where?" asked Ted, driving around near the veranda in time to +hear his father's last words. +</p> + +<p> +"Out to Uncle Frank's ranch," said Mr. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"How would you like that?" added his mother. +</p> + +<p> +"Could we have ponies to ride?" asked Ted. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I think so." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, what fun!" cried Janet. "I love a pony!" +</p> + +<p> +"You'd be afraid of them!" exclaimed Ted. +</p> + +<p> +"I would not! If they didn't jump up and down the way you did with +Trouble on your back I wouldn't be afraid." +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! that's the way bucking broncos always do, don't they, Daddy? +I'm going to have a bronco!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, well see when we get there," said Daddy Martin. "But since +you all seem to like it, we'll go out West." +</p> + +<p> +"Can we take Nicknack?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"You won't need him if you have a pony," his father suggested. +</p> + +<p> +"No, that's so. Hurray! What fun we'll have!" +</p> + +<p> +"Are there any Indians out there?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, a few, I guess," her father answered. "But they're docile +Indians—not wild. They won't hurt you. Now let's go in and talk +about it." +</p> + +<p> +The Curlytops asked all sorts of questions of their father about +Uncle Frank's ranch, but though he could tell them, in a general way, +what it looked like, Mr. Martin did not really know much about the +place, as he had never been there. +</p> + +<p> +"But you'll find lots of horses, ponies and cattle there," he said. +</p> + +<p> +"And can we take Nicknack with us, to ride around the ranch?" asked +Jan, in her turn. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, you won't want to do that," her father said. "You'll have +ponies to ride, I think." +</p> + +<p> +"What'll we do with Nicknack then?" asked Ted. +</p> + +<p> +"We'll have to leave him with some neighbor until we come back," +answered his father. "I was thinking of asking Mr. Newton to take +care of him. Bob Newton is a kind boy and he wouldn't harm your goat." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, Bob is a good boy," agreed Teddy. "I'd like him to have +Nicknack." +</p> + +<p> +"Then, if it is all right with Mr. Newton, well take the goat over a +few days before we leave for the West," said Mr. Martin. "Bob will +have a chance to get used to Nicknack, and Nicknack to him, before we +go away." +</p> + +<p> +"Nicknack not come wif us?" asked Trouble, not quite understanding +what the talk was about. +</p> + +<p> +"No, we'll leave Nicknack here," said his father, as he cuddled the +little fellow up in his lap. Trouble said nothing more just then but, +afterward, Ted remembered that Baby William seemed to be thinking +pretty hard about something. +</p> + +<p> +A few days later, when some of the trunks had been partly packed, +ready for the trip West, Mr. Martin came home early from the store +and said to Jan and Ted: +</p> + +<p> +"I think you'd better get your goat ready now and take him over to +Bob's house. I spoke to Mr. Newton about it, and he said there was +plenty of room in his stable for a goat Bob is delighted to have him." +</p> + +<p> +"But hell give him back to us when we come home, won't he?" asked +Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes, of course! You won't lose your goat," said her father with +a laugh. +</p> + +<p> +But when they went out to the stable to harness Nicknack to the +wagon, Ted and Janet rubbed their eyes and looked again. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, Nicknack is gone!" exclaimed Ted. +</p> + +<p> +"He is," agreed his sister. "Maybe Bob came and got him." +</p> + +<p> +"No, he wouldn't do that without telling us," went on Ted. "I wonder +where that goat is?" +</p> + +<p> +He looked around the stable yard and in the barn. No Nicknack was in +sight. +</p> + +<p> +When the Curlytops were searching they heard their mother calling to +them from the house, where their father was waiting for them to come +up with Nicknack. He was going over to Mr. Newton's with them. +</p> + +<p> +"Ho, Ted! Janet! Where are you?" called Mrs. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Out here, Mother!" Teddy answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Is Trouble there with you?" +</p> + +<p> +"Trouble? No, he isn't here!" +</p> + +<p> +"He isn't!" exclaimed his mother. "Where in the world can he be? +Nora says she saw him going out to the barn a little while ago. +Please find him!" +</p> + +<p> +"Huh!" exclaimed Ted. "Trouble is gone and so is Nicknack! I s'pose +they've gone together!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well have to look," said Janet. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER III +</h3> + +<h3> +OFF FOR THE WEST +</h3> + +<p> +The Curlytops hurried toward the house, leaving open the empty +little stable in which Nicknack was usually kept. They found their +father and their mother looking around in the yard, Mrs. Martin had a +worried air. +</p> + +<p> +"Couldn't you find him?" asked Daddy Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"We didn't look—very much," answered Teddy. "Nicknack is gone, and—" +</p> + +<p> +"Nicknack gone!" cried Mrs. Martin. "I wonder if that little tyke of +ours has gotten into trouble with him." +</p> + +<p> +"Nicknack wouldn't make any trouble," declared Jan. "He's such a +nice goat—" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I know!" said Mrs. Martin quickly. "But it looks very much as +though Trouble and Nicknack had gone off together. Is the goat's +harness in the stable?" +</p> + +<p> +"We didn't look," answered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"The wagon's gone," Janet said. "I looked under the shed for that +and it wasn't there." +</p> + +<p> +"Then I can just about guess what has happened," said Daddy Martin. +"Trouble heard as talking about taking Nicknack over to Mr. Newton's +house, where he would be kept while we are at Uncle Frank's ranch, +and the little fellow has just about taken the goat over himself." +</p> + +<p> +"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. "Trouble couldn't hitch the goat +to the wagon and drive off with him." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes he could, Mother!" said Teddy. "He's seen me and Janet +hitch Nicknack up lots of times, and he's helped, too. At first he +got the straps all crooked, but I showed him how to do it, and I +guess he could 'most hitch the goat up himself now all alone." +</p> + +<p> +"Then that's what he's done," said Mr. Martin. "Come on, Curlytops, +we'll go over to Mr. Newton's and get Trouble." +</p> + +<p> +"I hope you find him all right," said Mrs. Martin, with a sigh. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, we'll find him all right—don't worry," her husband answered. +</p> + +<p> +Laughing among themselves at the trick Trouble had played, Janet, +Teddy and Mr. Martin started for the home of Mr. Newton, which was +three or four long streets away, toward the edge of the town. +</p> + +<p> +On the way they looked here and there, in the yards of houses where +the children often went to play. +</p> + +<p> +"For," said Mr. Martin, "it might be possible that when Trouble +found he could drive Nicknack, which he could do, as the goat is very +gentle, he might have stopped on the way to play." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, he might," said Jan. "He's so cute!" +</p> + +<p> +But there was no sign of the little boy, nor the goat, either. +</p> + +<p> +Finally Mr. Newton's house was reached. Into the yard rushed Janet +and Teddy, followed by their father. Bob Newton was making a kite on +the side porch. +</p> + +<p> +"Hello, Curlytop!" he called to Ted. "Want to help me fly this? +It's going to be a dandy!" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I'll help you," agreed Ted. "But is he here?" +</p> + +<p> +"Who here?" asked Bob, in some surprise. +</p> + +<p> +"Nicknack, our goat," answered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"What! Is he lost?" exclaimed Bob in some dismay, for he was +counting on having much fun with the goat when the Curlytops went +West. +</p> + +<p> +"Nicknack—" began Ted. +</p> + +<p> +"Have you seen Trouble?" broke in Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Is he lost, too?" Bob inquired. "Say, I guess—" +</p> + +<p> +"Our goat and little boy seem to have gone off together," explained +Mr. Martin to Mrs. Newton who came out on the porch just then. "We'd +been talking before Trouble about bringing Nicknack over here, and +now that both are missing we thought maybe Baby William had brought +the goat over himself." +</p> + +<p> +"Why, no, he isn't here," said Mrs. Newton slowly. "You didn't see +anything of Trouble and the goat, did you?" she asked her son. +</p> + +<p> +"No. I've been here making the kite all morning, and I'd have seen +Nicknack all right, and Trouble, too, if they had come here." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, that's funny!" exclaimed Mr. Martin. "I wonder where he can +have gone?" +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe Nicknack ran away with him," suggested Bob. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, don't say such things!" exclaimed his mother. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't think that can have happened," returned Mr. Martin, +"Nicknack is a very gentle goat, and Trouble is used to playing with +him all alone. He never yet has been hurt. Of course we are not sure +that the two went away together. Trouble disappeared from the house, +and he was last seen going toward the stable. +</p> + +<p> +"When Ted and Jan went out to get Nicknack he was gone, too, and so +was the wagon and harness. So we just thought Trouble might have +driven his pet over here." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I think it likely that the two went away together," said Mrs. +Newton; "but they're not here. Bob, put away that kite of yours and +help Mr. Martin and the Curlytops look for Trouble. He may have gone +to Mrs. Simpson's," she went on. "He's often there you know." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, but we looked in their yard coming over," put in Ted. "Trouble +wasn't there." +</p> + +<p> +"That's strange," murmured Bob's mother. "Well, he can't be far, +that's sure, and he can't get lost. Everybody in town knows him and +the goat, and he's sure to be seen sooner or later." +</p> + +<p> +"I guess so," agreed Mr. Martin. "His mother was a little worried, +though." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I should think she would be. It's horrible to have anything +happen to your children—or fear it may. I'll take off my apron and +help you look." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, don't bother," said Mr. Martin. "We'll find him all right." But +Mrs. Newton insisted on joining the search. +</p> + +<p> +There was a barn on the Newton place—a barn in which Bob was +counting on keeping Nicknack—and this place was first searched lest, +perchance, Trouble might have slipped in there with the goat without +anyone having seen him, having come up through a back alley. +</p> + +<p> +But there was no goat inside; and Bob, the Curlytops, Mr. Martin and +Mrs. Newton came out again, and looked up and down the street. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll tell you what we'd better do," said Bob's mother. "Ted, you +come with Bob and me. You know Trouble's ways, and where he would be +most likely to go. Let Janet go with her father, and we'll go up and +down the street, inquiring in all the houses we come to. Your little +brother is sure to be near one of them." +</p> + +<p> +"That's a good idea," said Mr. Martin. "Jan, you come with me. I +expect your mother will be along any minute now. She won't wait at +home long for us if we don't come back with Trouble." +</p> + +<p> +So the two parties started on the search, one up and the other down +the street. Bob, Teddy and Mrs. Newton inquired at a number of +houses, but no one in them had seen Trouble and Nicknack that day. +Nor did Janet and her father get any trace of the missing ones. +</p> + +<p> +"I wonder where he is," murmured Teddy, and he was beginning to feel +afraid that something had happened to Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's go down the back street," suggested Bob. "You know there's +quite a lot of wagons and automobiles go along this main street where +we've been looking. Maybe if Trouble hitched up Nicknack and went for +a ride he'd turn down the back street 'cause it's quieter." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, he may have done that," agreed Mrs. Newton. +</p> + +<p> +So down the back street the three went. There were several vacant +lots on this street and as the grass in them was high—tall enough to +hide a small boy and a goat and wagon—Bob said they had better look +in these places. +</p> + +<p> +This they did. There was nothing in the first two vacant lots, but +in the third—after they had stopped at one or two houses and had not +found the missing ones—Teddy suddenly cried out: +</p> + +<p> +"Hark!" +</p> + +<p> +"What'd you hear?" asked Bob. +</p> + +<p> +"I thought I heard a goat bleating," was the answer. +</p> + +<p> +"Listen!" whispered Mrs. Newton. +</p> + +<p> +They kept quiet, and then through the air came the sound: +</p> + +<p> +"Baa-a-a-a-a!" +</p> + +<p> +"That's Nicknack!" cried Teddy, rushing forward. +</p> + +<p> +"I hope your little brother is there, too," said Mrs. Newton. +</p> + +<p> +And Trouble was. When they got to the lower end of the vacant lot +there, in a tangle of weeds, was the goat-wagon, and Nicknack was in +a tangle of harness fast to it. +</p> + +<p> +"Look at Trouble!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +There lay the little fellow, sound asleep in the goat-wagon, his +head pillowed on his arm, while Nicknack was bleating now and then +between the bites of grass and weeds he was eating. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Trouble!" cried Mrs. Newton as she took him up in her arms. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes—dis me—I's Trouble," was the sleepy response. "Oh, 'lo, +Teddy," he went on as he saw his brother. "'Lo, Bob. You come to find +me?" +</p> + +<p> +"I should say we <i>did</i>!" cried Bob. "What are you doing here?" +</p> + +<p> +"Havin' wide," was the answer. "Everybody go 'way—out West—I not +have a goat den. I no want Nicknack to go 'way." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I see what he means!" exclaimed Teddy, after thinking over what +his little brother said. "He heard us talking about bringing Nicknack +over to your house, Bob, to keep him for us. Trouble likes the goat +and I guess he didn't want to leave him behind. Maybe he thought he +could drive him away out to Montana, to Uncle Frank's ranch." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe," agreed Bob. "That'd be a long drive, though." +</p> + +<p> +"I should say so!" agreed Mrs. Newton. "But I guess you're right, +Teddy. Your little brother started off to hide the goat and wagon so +you couldn't leave it behind. He's a funny baby, all right!" +</p> + +<p> +"And look how he harnessed him!" exclaimed Bob. +</p> + +<p> +Nicknack really wasn't harnessed. The leather straps and the buckles +were all tangled up on him, but Trouble had managed to make enough of +them stick on the goat's back, and had somehow got part of the +harness fast to the wagon, so Nicknack could pull it along. +</p> + +<p> +"I had a nice wide," said Trouble, as Bob and Teddy straightened out +the goat's harness. "Den I got sleepy an' Nicknack he got hungry, so +we comed in here." +</p> + +<p> +"And we've been looking everywhere for you!" exclaimed Mrs. Newton. +"Well, I'm glad we've found you. Come along, now. Ted, you and Bob +hurry along and tell the others. Your mother'll be worried." +</p> + +<p> +And indeed Mrs. Martin was worried, especially when she met Mr. +Martin and Janet, who had not found Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +But Teddy and Bob soon met with the other searchers and told them +that Baby "William had been found. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, what will you do next?" cried Mrs. Martin, as she clasped the +little fellow in her arms. "Such a fright as you've given us!" +</p> + +<p> +"No want Nicknack to go 'way!" said Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess that's what he did it for—he thought he could hide the +goat so we wouldn't leave him behind," said Daddy Martin. "But we'll +have to, just the same. Trouble won't miss him when we get out on the +ranch." +</p> + +<p> +So the goat and wagon were left at Bob's house, and though Trouble +cried when he realized what was happening, he soon got over it. +</p> + +<p> +The next few days were filled with busy preparations toward going +West. Daddy Martin bought the tickets, the packing was completed, +last visits to their playmates were paid by Janet and Teddy, whose +boy and girl friends all said that they wished they too were going +out West to a big ranch. +</p> + +<p> +"We're going to see cowboys and Indians!" Ted told everyone. +</p> + +<p> +Then came the last day in Cresco—that is the last day for some time +for the Curlytops. The house was closed, Nora going to stay with +friends. Skyrocket, the dog, and Turnover, the cat, were sent to kind +neighbors, who promised to look after them. Bob had already started +to take care of Nicknack. +</p> + +<p> +"All aboard!" called the conductor of the train the Curlytops and +the others took. "All aboard!" +</p> + +<p> +"All aboard for the West!" echoed Daddy Martin, and they were off. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER IV +</h3> + +<h3> +THE COLLISION +</h3> + +<p> +"Won't we have fun, Jan, when we get to the ranch?" +</p> + +<p> +"I guess so, Teddy. But I don't like it about those Indians." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, didn't you hear Daddy say they were tame ones—like the kind in +the circus and Wild West show? They won't hurt you, Jan." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I don't like 'em. They've got such funny painted faces." +</p> + +<p> +"Not the tame ones, Jan. Anyhow I'll stay with you." +</p> + +<p> +The Curlytops were talking as they sat together in the railroad car +which was being pulled rapidly by the engine out toward the big West, +where Uncle Frank's ranch was. In the seat behind them was Mother +Martin, holding Trouble, who was asleep, while Daddy Martin was also +slumbering. +</p> + +<p> +It was quite a long ride from Cresco to Rockville, which was in +Montana. It would take the Curlytops about four days to make the +trip, perhaps longer if the trains were late. But they did not mind, +for they had comfortable coaches in which to travel. When they were +hungry there was the dining-car where they could get something to +eat, and when they were sleepy there was the sleeping-car, in which +the colored porter made such funny little beds out of the seats. +</p> + +<p> +Jan and Ted thought it quite wonderful. For, though they had +traveled in a sleeping-car before, and had seen the porter pull out +the seats, let down the shelf overhead and take out the blankets and +pillows to make the bed, still they never tired of watching. +</p> + +<p> +There were many other things to interest the Curlytops and Trouble +on this journey to Uncle Frank's ranch. Of course there was always +something to see when they looked out of the windows of the cars. At +times the train would pass through cities, stopping at the stations +to let passengers get off and on. But it was not the cities that +interested the children most. They liked best to see the fields and +woods through which they passed. +</p> + +<p> +In some of the fields were horses, cows or sheep, and while the +children did not see any such animals in the woods, except perhaps +where the wood was a clump of trees near a farm, they always hoped +they might. +</p> + +<p> +Very often, when the train would rattle along through big fields, +and then suddenly plunge into a forest, Jan would call: +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe we'll see one now, Ted!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, maybe so!" he would exclaim. +</p> + +<p> +Then the two Curlytops would flatten their noses against the window +and peer out. +</p> + +<p> +"What are you looking for?" asked Mother Martin, the first time she +saw the children do this. +</p> + +<p> +"Indians," answered Teddy, never turning around, for the train was +still in the wood and he did not want to miss any chance. +</p> + +<p> +"Indians!" exclaimed his mother, "Why, what in the world put into +your head the idea that we should see Indians?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, Uncle Frank said there were Indians out West, even if they +weren't wild ones," answered Teddy, "and me and Jan wants to see +some." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, you won't find any Indians around <i>here</i>," said Daddy Martin with +a laugh, as he laid aside the paper he was reading. "It is true there +are some out West, but we are not there yet, and, if we were, you +would hardly find the Indians so near a railroad." +</p> + +<p> +"Can't we ever see any?" Jan wanted to know. "I don't just like +Indians, 'cause they've always got a gun or a knife—I mean in +pictures," she hastened to add. "Course I never saw a real Indian, +'ceptin' maybe in a circus." +</p> + +<p> +"You'll see some real ones after a while," her mother told her, and +then the children stopped pressing their noses flat against the car +windows, for the train had come out of the wood and was nearing a +large city. There, Jan and Ted felt sure, no Indians would be seen. +</p> + +<p> +"But we'll keep watch," said Jan to her brother, "and maybe I'll see +an Indian first." +</p> + +<p> +"And maybe I will! We'll both watch!" he agreed. +</p> + +<p> +Something else that gave the children enjoyment was the passage +through the train, every now and then, of the boy who sold candy, +books and magazines. He would pass along between the seats, dropping +into them, or into the laps of the passengers, packages of candy, or +perhaps a paper or book. This was to give the traveler time to look +at it, and make up his or her mind whether or not to buy it. +</p> + +<p> +A little later the boy would come along to collect the things he had +left, and get the money for those the people kept for themselves. Ted +and Jan were very desirous, each time, that the boy should sell +something, and once, when he had gone through the car and had taken +in no money, he looked so disappointed that Jan whispered to her +father: +</p> + +<p> +"Won't you please buy something from him?" +</p> + +<p> +"Buy what?" asked Mr. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"A book or some candy from the newsboy," repeated the little girl. +"He looks awful sorry." +</p> + +<p> +"Hum! Well, it is too bad if he didn't sell anything," said Mr. +Martin. "I guess I can buy something. What would you like, something +to read or something to eat?" +</p> + +<p> +"Some pictures to look at," suggested Teddy. "Then we can show 'em +to Trouble. Mother just gave us some cookies." +</p> + +<p> +"Then I guess you've had enough to eat," laughed Mr. Martin. "Here, +boy!" he called. "Have you any picture books for these Curlytops of +mine?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I have some nice ones," answered the boy, and with a smile on +his face he went into the baggage car, where he kept his papers, +candy and other things, and soon came back with a gaily colored book, +at the sight of which Ted and Jan uttered sighs of delight. +</p> + +<p> +"Dat awful p'etty!" murmured Trouble, and indeed the book did have +nice pictures in it. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Martin paid for it, and then Ted and Jan enjoyed very much +looking at it, with Trouble in the seat between them. He insisted on +seeing each picture twice, the page being no sooner turned over than +he wanted it turned back again. +</p> + +<p> +But at last even he was satisfied, and then Ted and Jan went back to +their first game of looking out of the window for Indians or other +sights that might interest them. +</p> + +<p> +Trouble slipped out of his seat between his brother and sister and +went to a vacant window himself. For a time he had good fun playing +with the window catch, and Mrs. Martin let him do this, having made +sure, at first, that he could not open the sash. Then they all forgot +Trouble for a while and he played by himself, all alone in one of the +seats. +</p> + +<p> +A little later, when Teddy and Janet were tired of looking for the +Indians which they never saw, they were talking about the good times +they had had with Nicknack, and wondering if Uncle Frank would have a +goat, or anything like it, when Trouble came toddling up to their +seat. +</p> + +<p> +"What you got?" asked Teddy of his little brother, noticing that +Baby William was chewing something. "What you got, Trouble?" +</p> + +<p> +"Tandy," he said, meaning candy, of course. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, where'd you get it?" chimed in Jan. +</p> + +<p> +"Nice boy gived it to me," Trouble answered. "Here," and he held the +package out to his brother and sister. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, wasn't that good of him!" exclaimed Jan. "It's nice chocolate +candy, too. I'll have another piece, Trouble." +</p> + +<p> +They all had some and they were eating the sweet stuff and having a +good time, when they saw their father looking at them. There was a +funny smile on his face, and near him stood the newsboy, also smiling. +</p> + +<p> +"Trouble, did you open a box of candy the boy left in your seat?" +asked Mr. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, he's got some candy," answered Jan. "He said the boy gave it +to him." +</p> + +<p> +"I didn't mean for him to <i>open</i> it," the boy said. "I left it +in his seat and I thought he'd ask his father if he could have it. +But when I came to get it, why, it was gone." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, what a funny little Trouble!" laughed Mother Martin. "He +thought the boy meant to give the candy to him, I guess. Well, Daddy, +I think you'll have to pay for it." +</p> + +<p> +And so Mr. Martin did. The candy was not a gift after all, but +Trouble did not know that. However, it all came out right in the end. +</p> + +<p> +They had been traveling two days, and now, toward evening of the +second day, the Curlytops were talking together about what they would +do when they got to Uncle Frank's ranch. +</p> + +<p> +"I hope they have lots to eat there," sighed Ted, when he and Jan +had gotten off the subject of Indians. "I'm hungry right now." +</p> + +<p> +"So'm I," added his sister. "But they'll call us to supper pretty +soon." +</p> + +<p> +The children always eagerly waited for the colored waiter to come +through the coaches rumbling out in his bass voice: +</p> + +<p> +"First call fo' supper in de dinin'-car!" +</p> + +<p> +Or he might say "dinner" or "breakfast," or make it the "last call," +just as it happened. Now it was time for the first supper call, and +in a little while the waiter came in. +</p> + +<p> +"Eh? What's that? Time for supper <i>again</i>?" cried Daddy Martin, +awakening from a nap. +</p> + +<p> +Trouble stretched and yawned in his mother's arms. +</p> + +<p> +"I's hungry!" he said. +</p> + +<p> +"So'm I!" cried Ted and Jan together. +</p> + +<p> +"Shall we have good things to eat on Uncle Frank's ranch?" asked +Teddy, as they made ready to walk ahead to the dining-car. +</p> + +<p> +"Of course!" his mother laughed. "Why are you worrying about that?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I just wanted to know," Teddy answered. "We had so many good +things at Cherry Farm and when we were camping with grandpa that I +want some out on the ranch." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I think we can trust to Uncle Frank," said Mr. Martin. "But +if you get too hungry, Teddy, you can go out and lasso a beefsteak or +catch a bear or deer and have him for breakfast." +</p> + +<p> +"Is there bears out there, too?" asked Janet in a good deal of +excitement. "Bears and Indians?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, there may be a few bears here and there," her father said +with a smile, "but they won't hurt you if you don't hurt them. Now +we'll go and see what they have for supper here." +</p> + +<p> +To the dining-car they went, and as they passed through one of the +coaches on their way Teddy and Janet heard a woman say to her little +girl: +</p> + +<p> +"Look at those Curlytops, Ethel. Don't you wish you could have some +of their curl put into your hair?" +</p> + +<p> +It was evening and the sun was setting. As the train sped along the +Curlytops could look through the windows off across the fields and +woods through which they passed. +</p> + +<p> +"Isn't it just wonderful," said Mother Martin, "to think of sitting +down to a nice meal which is being cooked for us while the train goes +so fast? Imagine, children, how, years ago, the cowboys and hunters +had to go on horses all the distance out West, and carry their food +on their pony's back or in a wagon called a prairie schooner. How +much easier and quicker and more comfortable it is to travel this +way." +</p> + +<p> +"I'd like to ride on a pony," said Teddy. "I wouldn't care how slow +he went." +</p> + +<p> +"I imagine you wouldn't like it when night came," said his mother, +as she moved a plate so the waiter could set glasses of milk in front +of the children. "You wouldn't like to sleep on the ground with only +a blanket for a bed, would you?" +</p> + +<p> +"'Deed I would!" declared Teddy. "I wish I had—" +</p> + +<p> +Just then the train went around a curve, and, as it was traveling +very fast, the milk which Teddy was raising to his mouth slopped and +spilled down in his lap. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Teddy!" cried his mother. +</p> + +<p> +"I—I couldn't help it!" he exclaimed, as he wiped up as much of the +milk as he could on a napkin with which the waiter hastened to him. +</p> + +<p> +"No, we know it was the train," said Daddy Martin. "It wouldn't have +happened if you had been traveling on pony-back, and had stopped to +camp out for the night before you got your supper; would it, Ted?" he +asked with a smile. +</p> + +<p> +"No," said the little boy. "I wish we could camp out and hunt +Indians!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed his mother. "Don't get such foolish +notions in your head. Anyway there aren't any Indians to hunt on +Uncle Frank's ranch, are there, Dick?" she asked her husband. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, no, I guess not," he answered slowly. "There are some Indians +on their own ranch, or government reservation, not far from where +Uncle Frank has his horses and cattle, but I guess the Redmen never +bother anyone." +</p> + +<p> +"Can we go to see 'em?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess so," said Mr. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Me go, too! Me like engines," murmured Trouble, who had also +spilled a little milk on himself. +</p> + +<p> +"He thinks we're talking about <i>engines</i>—the kind that pull this +train!" laughed Ted. "I don't believe he ever saw a real <i>Indian."</i> +</p> + +<p> +"No, Indians do not walk the streets of Cresco," said Mrs. Martin. +"But finish your suppers, children. Others are waiting to use the +table and we must not keep them too long." +</p> + +<p> +There were many travelers going West—not all as far as the +Curlytops though—and as there was not room in the dining-car for all +of them to sit down at once they had to take turns. That is why the +waiter made one, two, and sometimes three calls for each meal, as he +went through the different coaches. +</p> + +<p> +Supper over, the Martins went back to their place in the coach in +which they had ridden all day. They would soon go into the beds, or +berths, as they are called, to sleep all night. In the morning they +would be several hundred miles nearer Uncle Frank's ranch. +</p> + +<p> +The electric lights were turned on, and then, for a while, Jan, Ted +and the others sat and talked. +</p> + +<p> +They talked about the fun they had had when at Cherry Farm, of the +good times camping with grandpa and how they were snowed in, when +they wondered what had become of the strange lame boy who had called +at Mr. Martin's store one day. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish Hal Chester could come out West with us" said Teddy, as the +porter came to tell them he would soon make up their beds. "He'd like +to hunt Indians with me." +</p> + +<p> +Hal was a boy who had been cured of lameness at a Home for Crippled +Children, not far from Cherry Farm. +</p> + +<p> +"I suppose you'll <i>dream</i> of Indians," said Teddy's mother to +him. "You've <i>talked</i> about them all day. But get ready for bed, +now. Traveling is tiresome for little folks." +</p> + +<p> +Indeed after the first day Ted and Janet found it so. They wished, +more than once, that they could get out and run about, but they could +not except when the train stopped longer than usual in some big city. +Then their father would take them to the platform for a little run up +and down. +</p> + +<p> +True they could walk up and down the aisle of the car, but this was +not much fun, as the coach swayed so they were tossed against the +sides of the seats and bruised. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll be glad when we get to Uncle Frank's ranch," said Janet as she +crawled into the berth above her mother, who slept with Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"So'll I," agreed Teddy, who climbed up the funny little ladder to +go to bed in the berth above his father. "I want a pony ride!" +</p> + +<p> +On through the night rumbled and roared the train, the whistle +sounding mournfully in the darkness as the engineer blew it at the +crossings. +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet were sleeping soundly, Janet dreaming she had a new +doll, dressed like an Indian papoose, or baby, while Ted dreamed he +was on a wild pony that wanted to roll over and over instead of +galloping straight on. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly there was a loud crash that sounded through the whole +train. The engine whistled shrilly and then came a jar that shook up +everyone. Teddy found himself rolling out of his berth and he grabbed +the curtains just in time to save himself. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Daddy!" he cried, "what's the matter?" +</p> + +<p> +"What is it?" called Jan from her berth, while women in the coach +were screaming and men ere calling to one another. +</p> + +<p> +"What is it, Dick?" cried Mrs. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"I think we've had a collision," answered her husband. +</p> + +<p> +"Did our train bunk into another?" asked Ted. +</p> + +<p> +"I'm afraid so," replied his father. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER V +</h3> + +<h3> +AT RING ROSY RANCH +</h3> + +<p> +There was so much noise in the sleeping car where the Curlytops and +others had been peacefully traveling through the night, that, at +first, it was hard to tell what had happened. +</p> + +<p> +All that anyone knew was that there had been a severe jolt—a "bunk" +Teddy called it—and that the train had come to a sudden stop. So +quickly had it stopped, in fact, that a fat man, who was asleep in a +berth just behind Mr. Martin, had tumbled out and now sat in the +aisle of the car, gazing about him, a queer look on his sleepy face, +for he was not yet fully awake. +</p> + +<p> +"I say!" cried the fat man. "Who pushed me out of bed?" +</p> + +<p> +Even though they were much frightened, Mrs. Martin and some of the +other men and women could not help laughing at this. And the laughter +did more to quiet them than anything else. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I guess no one here is much hurt—if at all," said Daddy +Martin, as he put on a pair of soft slippers he had ready in the +little hammock that held his clothes inside the berth. "I'll go and +see if I can find out what the matter is." +</p> + +<p> +"An', Daddy, bring me suffin t'eat!" exclaimed Trouble, poking his +head out between the curtains of the berth where he had been sleeping +with his mother when the collision happened. +</p> + +<p> +"There's one boy that's got sense," said a tall thin man, who was +helping the fat man to get to his feet "He isn't hurt, anyhow." +</p> + +<p> +"Thank goodness, no," said Mrs. Martin, who, as had some of the +other women, had on a dressing gown. Mrs. Martin was looking at +Trouble, whom she had taken up in her arms. "He hasn't a scratch on +him," she said, "though I heard him slam right against the side of +the car. He was next to the window." +</p> + +<p> +"It's a mercy we weren't all of us tossed out of the windows when +the train stopped so suddenly, the way it did," said a little old +woman. +</p> + +<p> +"It's a mercy, too," smiled another woman who had previously made +friends with Jan and Teddy, "that the Curlytops did not come hurtling +down out of those upper berths." +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Martin, after making sure his family was all right, partly +dressed and went out with some of the other men. The train had come +to a standstill, and Jan and Ted, looking out of the windows of their +berths, could see men moving about in the darkness outside with +flaring torches. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe it's robbers," said Teddy in a whisper. +</p> + +<p> +"Robbers don't stop trains," objected Janet +</p> + +<p> +"Yes they do!" declared her brother positively, "Train robbers do. +Don't they, Mother?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, don't talk about such things now, Teddy boy. Be thankful you +are all right and hope that no one is hurt in the collision." +</p> + +<p> +"That's what I say!" exclaimed the fat man. "So it's a collision, is +it? I dreamed we were in a storm and that I was blown out of bed." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, you fell out, which is much the same thing," said the thin +man. "Our car doesn't seem to be hurt, anyhow." +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet came out into the aisle in their pajamas. They looked +all about them but, aside from seeing a number of men and women who +were greatly excited, nothing else appeared to be the matter. Then in +came their father with some of the other men. +</p> + +<p> +"It isn't a bad collision," said Daddy Martin. "Our engine hit a +freight car that was on a side track, but too close to our rails to +be passed safely. It jarred up our engine and the front cars quite a +bit, and our engine is off the track, but no one is hurt." +</p> + +<p> +"That's good!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. "I mean that no one is hurt." +</p> + +<p> +"How are they going to get the engine back on the track?" Teddy +wanted to know. "Can't I go out and watch 'em?" +</p> + +<p> +"I want to go, too!" exclaimed Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Indeed you can't—in the dark!" exclaimed her father. "Besides, the +railroad men don't want you in the way. They asked us all to go to +our coaches and wait. They'll soon have the engine back on the rails +they said." +</p> + +<p> +Everyone was awake now, and several children in the car, like +Trouble, were hungry. The porter who had been hurrying to and fro +said he could get the children some hot milk from the dining-car, and +this he did. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the grown folks wanted coffee and sandwiches, and these +having been brought in, there was quite a merry picnic in the coach, +even if the train had been in a collision. +</p> + +<p> +Then there was much puffing and whistling of the engine. The +Curlytops, looking out of the window again, saw more men hurrying +here and there with flaring torches which flickered and smoked. These +were the trainmen helping to get the engine back on the rails, which +they did by using iron wedges or "jumpers," much as a trolley car in +your city streets is put back on the rails once it slips off. +</p> + +<p> +At last there was another "bunk" to the train, as Teddy called it. +At this several women screamed. +</p> + +<p> +"It's all right," said Daddy Martin. "They've got the engine back on +the rails and it has just backed up to couple on, or fasten itself, +to the cars again. Now we'll go forward again." +</p> + +<p> +And they did—in a little while. It did not take the Curlytops or +Trouble long to fall asleep once more, but some of the older people +were kept awake until morning, they said afterward. They were afraid +of another collision. +</p> + +<p> +But none came, and though the train was a little late the accident +really did not amount to much, though it might have been a bad one +had the freight car been a little farther over on the track so the +engine had run squarely into it. +</p> + +<p> +All the next day and night the Curlytops traveled in the train, and +though Jan and Ted liked to look out of the windows, they grew tired +of this after a while and began to ask: +</p> + +<p> +"When shall we be at Uncle Frank's ranch?" +</p> + +<p> +"Pretty soon now," said their father. +</p> + +<p> +I will not tell you all that happened on the journey to the West. +Truth to say there was not much except the collision. The Curly-tops +ate their meals, drank cupful after cupful of water, and Trouble did +the same, for children seem to get very thirsty when they +travel—much more so than at home. +</p> + +<p> +Then, finally, one afternoon, after a long stop when a new engine +was attached to the train, Daddy Martin said: +</p> + +<p> +"Well be at Rockville in an hour now. So we'd better begin to get +together our things." +</p> + +<p> +"Shall we be at Uncle Frank's ranch in an hour?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"No, but well be at Rockville. From there we go out over the +prairies in a wagon." +</p> + +<p> +"A wagon with ponies?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, real Western ponies," said her father. "Then well be at the +ranch." +</p> + +<p> +And it happened just that way. On puffed the train. Then the porter +came to help the Martin family off at Rockville. +</p> + +<p> +"Rockville! Rockville! All out for Rockville!" joked Daddy Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Hurray!" cried Teddy. "Here we are!" +</p> + +<p> +"And I see Uncle Frank!" exclaimed Janet, looking from the window +toward the station as the train slowed up to stop. +</p> + +<p> +Out piled the Curlytops, and into the arms of Uncle Frank they +rushed. He caught them up and kissed them one after the other—Teddy, +Janet and Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, well!" he cried, "I'm glad to see you! Haven't changed a bit +since you were snowed in! Now pile into the wagon and well get right +out to Circle O Ranch." +</p> + +<p> +"Where's that?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, that's the name of my ranch," said Uncle Frank. "See, there's +the sign of it," and he pointed to the flank of one of the small +horses, or ponies, hitched to his wagon. Ted and Janet saw a large +circle in which was a smaller letter O. +</p> + +<p> +"We call it Circle O," explained the ranchman. "Each place in the +West that raises cattle or horses has a certain sign with which the +animals are branded, or marked, so their owners can tell them from +others in case they get mixed up. My mark is a circle around an O." +</p> + +<p> +"It looks like a ring-around-the-rosy," said Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Say! So it does!" laughed Uncle Frank. "I never thought of that. +Ring Rosy Ranch! That isn't a half bad name! Guess I'll call mine +that after this. Come on to Ring Rosy Ranch!" he invited as he +laughed at the Curlytops. +</p> + +<p> +And the name Janet gave Uncle Frank's place in fun stuck to it, so +that even the cowboys began calling their ranch "Ring Rosy," instead +of "Circle O." +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER VI +</h3> + +<h3> +COWBOY FUN +</h3> + +<p> +Into the big wagon piled the Curlytops, Mrs. Martin and Trouble, +while Daddy Martin and Uncle Frank went to see about the baggage. +</p> + +<p> +Jan and Ted looked curiously about them. It was the first time they +had had a chance to look quietly since they had started on the +journey, for they had been traveling in the train nearly a week, it +seemed. +</p> + +<p> +What they saw was a small railroad station, set in the midst of big +rolling fields. There was a water tank near the station, and not far +from the tank was a small building in which a pump could be heard +chug-chugging away. +</p> + +<p> +"But where is the ranch?" asked Janet of her brother. "I don't see +any cows and horses." +</p> + +<p> +"Dere's horses," stated Trouble, pointing to the two sturdy ponies +hitched to the wagon. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I know" admitted Janet. "But Uncle Frank said he had more'n a +hundred horses and—" +</p> + +<p> +"And a thousand steers—that's cattle," interrupted Ted. "I don't +see any, either. Maybe we got off at the wrong station, Mother." +</p> + +<p> +"No, you're all right," laughed Mrs. Martin. "Didn't Uncle Frank +meet us and didn't Daddy tell us we'd have to drive to the ranch?" +</p> + +<p> +"What's the matter now, Curlytops?" asked their father's uncle, as +the two men came back from having seen about the baggage, which had +arrived safely. "What are you two youngsters worrying about, Teddy +and Janet?" +</p> + +<p> +"They're afraid we're at the wrong place because they can't see the +ranch," answered their mother. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, that's over among the hills," said Uncle Frank, waving his hand +toward some low hills that were at the foot of some high mountains. +"It wouldn't do," he went on, "to have a ranch too near a railroad +station. The trains might scare the horses and cattle. You will soon +be there, Curlytops. We'll begin to travel in a minute." +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet settled themselves in the seat, where they were side +by side, and looked about them. Suddenly Janet clasped her brother by +the arm and exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +"Look, Ted! Look!" +</p> + +<p> +"Where?" he asked. +</p> + +<p> +"Right over there—by the station. It's an <i>Indian</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +"A real one?" asked Teddy, who, at first, did not see where his +sister was pointing. +</p> + +<p> +"He <i>looks</i> like a real one," Janet answered. "He's <i>alive</i>, 'cause +he's moving!" +</p> + +<p> +She snuggled closer to her brother. Then Teddy saw where Janet +pointed. A big man, whose face was the color of a copper cent, was +walking along the station platform. He was wrapped in a dirty +blanket, but enough of him could be seen to show that he was a Redman. +</p> + +<p> +"Is that a <i>real</i> Indian, Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy in great +excitement. +</p> + +<p> +"What? Him? Oh, yes, he's a real Indian all right. There's a lot of +'em come down to the station to sell baskets and beadwork to the +people who go through on the trains." +</p> + +<p> +"Is he a <i>tame</i> Indian?" the little boy next wanted to know. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, he's 'tame' all right. Hi there, Running Horse!" called Uncle +Frank to the copper-faced man in the blanket, "sell many baskets to-day?" +</p> + +<p> +"Um few. No good business," answered the Indian in a sort of grunt. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, do you know him?" asked Ted in surprise. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes. Running Horse often comes to the ranch when he's hungry. +There's a reservation of the Indians not far from our place. They +won't hurt you, Jan; don't be afraid," said Uncle Frank, as he saw +that the little girl kept close to Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Was he wild once?" she asked timidly. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, yes; I guess you might have called him a wild Indian once," +her uncle admitted. "He's pretty old and I shouldn't wonder but what +he had been on the warpath against the white settlers." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh!" exclaimed Janet. "Maybe he'll get wild again!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no he won't!" laughed Uncle Frank. "He's only too glad now to +live on the reservation and sell the baskets the squaws make. The +Indian men don't like to work." +</p> + +<p> +Running Horse, which was the queer name the Indian had chosen for +himself, or which had been given him, walked along, wrapped in his +blanket, though the day was a warm one. Perhaps he thought the +blanket kept the heat out in summer and the cold in winter. +</p> + +<p> +"Get along now, ponies!" cried Uncle Frank, and the little horses +began to trot along the road that wound over the prairies like a +dusty ribbon amid the green grass. +</p> + +<p> +On the way to Ring Rosy Ranch Uncle Frank had many questions to ask, +some of the children and some of Mr. and Mrs. Martin. Together they +laughed about the things that had happened when they were all snowed +in. +</p> + +<p> +"Tell Uncle Frank of Trouble's trying to hide Nicknack away so we +wouldn't leave him behind," suggested Mrs. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Ha! Ha! That was pretty good!" exclaimed the ranchman when Ted and +Janet, by turns, had told of Trouble's being found asleep in the +goat-wagon. "Well, it's too bad you couldn't bring Nicknack with you. +He'd like it out on the ranch, I'm sure, but it would be too long a +journey for him. You'll have rides enough—never fear!" +</p> + +<p> +"Pony rides?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Pony rides in plenty!" laughed Uncle Frank. "We'll soon be there +now, and you can see the ranch from the top of the next hill." +</p> + +<p> +The prairies were what are called "rolling" lard. That is there were +many little hills and hollows, and the country seemed to be like the +rolling waves of the ocean, if they had suddenly been made still. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes the wagon, drawn by the two little horses, would be down +in a hollow, and again it would be on top of a mound-like hill from +which a good view could be had. +</p> + +<p> +Reaching the top of one hill, larger than the others, Uncle Frank +pointed off in the distance and said: +</p> + +<p> +"There's Circle O Ranch, Curlytops, or, as Jan has named it, Ring +Rosy Ranch. We'll be there in a little while." +</p> + +<p> +The children looked. They saw, off on the prairie, a number of low, +red buildings standing close together. Beyond the buildings were big +fields, in which were many small dots. +</p> + +<p> +"What are the dots?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Those are my horses and cattle—steers we call the last," explained +Uncle Frank. +</p> + +<p> +"They are eating grass to get fat You'll soon be closer to them." +</p> + +<p> +"Are the Indians near here?" Teddy inquired. +</p> + +<p> +"No, not very near. It's a day's ride to their reservation. But +don't worry about them. They won't bother you if you don't bother +them," said Uncle Frank. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy was not fully satisfied with this answer, for he hoped very +much that the Indians would "bother him"—at least, he thought that +was what he wanted. +</p> + +<p> +When the Curlytops drew closer to the ranch they could see that one +of the buildings was a house, almost like their own in the East, only +not so tall. It was all one story, as were the other buildings, some +of which were stables for the horses and some sleeping places, or +"bunk houses," for the cowboys, while from one building, as they +approached closer, there came the good smell of something cooking. +</p> + +<p> +"That's the cook's place," said Uncle Frank, pointing with his whip. +"All the cowboys love him, even if he is a Chinaman." +</p> + +<p> +"Have you a Chinese cook?" asked Mrs. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, and he's a good one," answered Uncle Frank. "Wait until you +taste how he fries chicken." +</p> + +<p> +"I hope we taste some soon," said Daddy Martin. "This ride across +the prairies has made me hungry." +</p> + +<p> +"I hungry, too!" exclaimed Trouble. "I wants bread an' milk!" +</p> + +<p> +"And you shall have all you want!" laughed the ranchman. "We've +plenty of milk." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, this is a dandy place!" exclaimed Teddy, as the wagon drove up +to the ranch house. "Well have lots of fun here, Janet!" +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe we will, if—if the Indians don't get us," she said. +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! I'm not afraid of them," boasted Teddy, and then something +happened. +</p> + +<p> +All at once there came a lot of wild yells, and sounds as if a +Fourth-of-July celebration of the old-fashioned sort were going on. +There was a popping and a banging, and then around the corner of the +house rode a lot of roughly-dressed men on ponies which kicked up a +cloud of dust. +</p> + +<p> +"Ki-yi! Ki-yi! Yippi-i-yip!" yelled the men. +</p> + +<p> +"Bang! Bang! Bang!" exploded their revolvers. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, dear!" screamed Janet. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy turned a little pale, but he did not make a sound. +</p> + +<p> +"What is it?" asked Mrs. Martin, hugging Trouble and his sister +closer to her. "Oh, what is it?" +</p> + +<p> +"Don't be afraid!" laughed Uncle Frank. "Those are the cowboys +making you welcome to Ring Rosy Ranch. That's their way of having +fun!" +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER VII +</h3> + +<h3> +BAD NEWS +</h3> + +<p> +On came the cowboys, yelling, shouting and shooting off their big +revolvers which made noises like giant firecrackers. The men, some of +whom wore big leather "pants," as Teddy said afterward, and some of +whom had on trousers that seemed to be made from the fleece of sheep, +swung their hats in the air. Some of them even stood up in their +saddles, "just like circus riders!" as Janet sent word to Aunt Jo, +who was spending the summer at Mt. Hope. +</p> + +<p> +"Are they shooting real bullets, Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy, as soon +as the noise died down a little and the cowboys were waving their +hats to the Curlytops and the other visitors to Ring Rosy Ranch. +</p> + +<p> +"Real bullets? Bless your heart, no!" exclaimed Mr. Barton. "Of +course the cowboys sometimes have real bullets in their 'guns,' as +they call their revolvers, but they don't shoot 'em for fun." +</p> + +<p> +"What makes them shoot?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, sometimes it's to scare away bad men who might try to steal +my cattle or horses, and again it's to scare the cattle themselves. +You see," explained Uncle Frank, while the cowboys jumped from their +horses and went to the bunk house to wash and get ready for supper, +"a ranch is just like a big pasture that your Grandfather Martin has +at Cherry Farm. Only my ranch is ever so much bigger than his +pastures, even all of them put together. And there are very few +fences around any of my fields, so the cattle or horses might easily +stray off, or be taken. +</p> + +<p> +"Because of that I have to hire men—cowboys they are called—to +watch my cattle and horses, to see that they do not run away and that +no white men or Indians come and run away with them. +</p> + +<p> +"But sometimes the cattle take it into their heads to run away +themselves. They get frightened—'stampeded' we call it—and they +don't care which way they run. Sometimes a prairie fire will make +them run and again it may be bad men—thieves. The cowboys have to +stop the cattle from running away, and they do it by firing revolvers +in front of them. So it wouldn't do to have real bullets in their +guns when the cowboys are firing that way. They use blank cartridges, +just as they did now to salute you when they came in." +</p> + +<p> +"Is that what they did?" asked Teddy. "Saluted us?" +</p> + +<p> +"That's it. They just thought they'd have a little fun with you—see +if they could scare you, maybe, because you're what they call a +'tenderfoot,' Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh, I wasn't afraid!" declared Teddy, perhaps forgetting a +little. "I liked it. It was like the Fourth of July!" +</p> + +<p> +"I didn't like it," said Janet, with a shake of her curly head. "And +what's a soft-foot, Uncle Frank?" +</p> + +<p> +"A soft-foot? Oh, ho! I see!" he laughed. "You mean a tenderfoot! +Well, that's what the Western cowboys call anybody from the +East—where you came from. It means, I guess, that their feet are +tender because they walk so much and don't ride a horse the way cowboys +do. You see out here we folks hardly ever walk. If we've only got what +you might call a block to go we hop on a horse and ride. So we get +out of the way of walking. +</p> + +<p> +"Now you Eastern folk walk a good bit—that is when you aren't +riding in street cars and in your automobiles, and I suppose that's +why the cowboys call you tender-feet. You don't mind, though, do you, +Teddy?" +</p> + +<p> +"Nope," he said. "I like it. But I'm going to learn to ride a pony." +</p> + +<p> +"So'm I!" exclaimed Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"I wants a wide, too!" cried Trouble. "Can't I wide, Uncle Frank? We +hasn't got Nicknack, but maybe you got a goat," and he looked up at +his father's uncle. +</p> + +<p> +"No, I haven't a goat," laughed Uncle Frank, "though there might be +some sheep on some of the ranches here. But I guess ponies will suit +you children better. When you Curlytops learn to ride you can take +Trouble up on the saddle with you and give him a ride. He's too small +to ride by himself yet." +</p> + +<p> +"I should say he was, Uncle Frank!" cried Mrs. Martin. "Don't let +<i>him</i> get on a horse!" +</p> + +<p> +"I won't," promised Mr. Barton with a laugh. But Trouble said: +</p> + +<p> +"I likes a pony! I wants a wide, Muz-zer!" +</p> + +<p> +"You may ride with me when I learn," promised Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Dat nice," responded William. +</p> + +<p> +Uncle Frank's wife, whom everyone called Aunt Millie, came out of +the ranch house and welcomed the Curlytops and the others. She had +not seen them for a number of years. +</p> + +<p> +"My, how big the children are!" she cried as she looked at Janet and +Teddy. "And here's one I've never seen," she went on, as she caught +Trouble up in her arms and kissed him. +</p> + +<p> +"Now come right in. Hop Sing has supper ready for you." +</p> + +<p> +"Hop Sing!" laughed Mother Martin. "That sounds like a new record on +the phonograph." +</p> + +<p> +"It's the name of our Chinese cook," explained Aunt Millie, "and a +very good one he is, too!" +</p> + +<p> +"Are the cowboys coming in to eat with us?" asked Teddy, as they all +went into the house, where the baggage had been carried by Uncle +Frank and Daddy Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no. They eat by themselves in their own building. Not that we +wouldn't have them, for they're nice boys, all of them, but they'd +rather be by themselves." +</p> + +<p> +"Do any Indians come in?" asked Janet, looking toward the door. +</p> + +<p> +"Bless your heart, no!" exclaimed Aunt Millie. "We wouldn't want +them, for they're dirty and not at all nice, though some of them do +look like pictures when they wrap themselves around in a red blanket +and stick feathers in their hair. We don't want any Indians. Now tell +me about your trip." +</p> + +<p> +"We were in a collision!" cried Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"In the middle of the night," added Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"An' I mos' fell out of my bed!" put in Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +Then, amid laughter, the story of the trip from the East was told. +Meanwhile Hop Sing, the Chinese cook, cried out in his funny, squeaky +voice that supper was getting cold. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, well eat first and talk afterward," said Uncle Frank, as he +led the way to the table. "Come on, folks. I expect you all have good +appetites. That's what we're noted for at Ring Rosy Ranch." +</p> + +<p> +"What's that?" asked Aunt Millie. +</p> + +<p> +"Have you given Circle O a new name?" +</p> + +<p> +"One of the Curlytops did," chuckled Uncle Frank. "They said my +branding sign looked just like a ring-round-the-rosy, so I'm going to +call the ranch that after this." +</p> + +<p> +"It's a nice name," said Aunt Millie. "And now let me see you +Curlytops—and Trouble, too—though his hair isn't frizzy like Ted's +and Janet's—let me see you eat until you get as fat as a Ring Rosy +yourselves. If you don't eat as much as you can of everything, Hop +Sing will feel as though he was not a good cook." +</p> + +<p> +The Curlytops were hungry enough to eat without having to be told +to, and Hop Sing, looking into the dining-room now and then from +where he was busy in the kitchen, smiled and nodded his head as he +said to the maid. +</p> + +<p> +"Lil' chillens eat velly good!" +</p> + +<p> +"Indeed they do eat very good," said the maid, as she carried in +more of the food which Hop Sing knew so well how to cook. +</p> + +<p> +After supper the Curlytops and the others sat out on the broad porch +of the ranch house. Off to one side were the other buildings, some +where the farming tools were kept, for Uncle Frank raised some grain +as well as cattle, and some where the cowboys lived, as well as +others where they stabled their horses. +</p> + +<p> +"I know what let's do," said Jan, when she and her brother had sat +on the porch for some time, listening to the talk of the older folks, +and feeling very happy that they were at Uncle Frank's ranch, where, +they felt sure, they could have such good times. +</p> + +<p> +"What can we do?" asked Teddy. Very often he let Jan plan some fun, +and I might say that she got into trouble doing this as many times as +her brother did. Jan was a regular boy, in some things. But then I +suppose any girl is who has two nice brothers, even if one is little +enough to be called "Baby." +</p> + +<p> +"Let's go and take a walk," suggested Jan. "My legs feel funny yet +from ridin' in the cars so much." +</p> + +<p> +"Ri-<i>ding</i>!" yelled Teddy gleefully. "That's the time you forgot your +g, Janet." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I did," admitted the little girl. "But there's so much to look +at here that it's easy to forget. My forgetter works easier than +yours does, Ted." +</p> + +<p> +"It does not!" +</p> + +<p> +"It does, too!" +</p> + +<p> +"It does not!" +</p> + +<p> +"I—say—it—does!" and Janet was very positive. +</p> + +<p> +"Now, now, children!" chided their mother. "That isn't nice. What +are you disputing about now?" +</p> + +<p> +"Jan says her forgetter's better'n mine!" cried Ted. +</p> + +<p> +"And it is," insisted Janet. "I can forget lots easier than Ted." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, forgetting isn't a very good thing to do," said Mr. Martin. +"Remembering is better." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, that's what I meant!" said Jan. "I thought it was a forgetter. +Anyhow mine's better'n Ted's!" +</p> + +<p> +"Now don't start that again," warned Mother Martin, playfully +shaking her finger at the two children. "Be nice now. Amuse +yourselves in some quiet way. It will soon be time to go to bed. You +must be tired. Be nice now." +</p> + +<p> +"Come on, let's go for a walk," proposed Jan again, and Ted, now +that the forget-memory dispute was over, was willing to be friendly +and kind and go with his sister. +</p> + +<p> +So while Trouble climbed up into his mother's lap, and the older +folks were talking among themselves, the two Curlytops, not being +noticed by the others, slipped off the porch and walked toward the +ranch buildings, out near the corrals, or the fenced-in places, where +the horses were kept. +</p> + +<p> +There were too many horses to keep them all penned in, or fenced +around, just as there are too many cattle on a cattle ranch. But the +cowboys who do not want their horses which they ride to get too far +away put them in a corral. This is just as good as a barn, except in +cold weather. +</p> + +<p> +"There's lots of things to see here," said Teddy, as he and his +sister walked along. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," she agreed. "It's lots of fun. I'm glad I came." +</p> + +<p> +"So'm I. Oh, look at the lots of ponies!" she cried, as she and Ted +turned a corner of one of the ranch buildings and came in sight of a +new corral. In it were a number of little horses, some of which hung +their heads over the fence and watched the Curlytops approaching. +</p> + +<p> +"I'd like to ride one," sighed Teddy wistfully. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, you mustn't!" cried Jan. "Uncle Frank wouldn't like it, nor +mother or father, either. You have to ask first." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I don't mean ride now," said Ted. "Anyhow, I haven't got a +saddle." +</p> + +<p> +"Can't you ride without a saddle?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, not very good I guess," Ted answered. "A horse's back has a +bone in the middle of it, and that bumps you when you don't have a +saddle." +</p> + +<p> +"How do you know?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"I know, 'cause once the milkman let me sit on his horse and I felt +the bone in his back. It didn't feel good." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe the milkman's horse was awful bony." +</p> + +<p> +"He was," admitted Ted. "But anyhow you've got to have a saddle to +ride a horse, lessen you're a Indian and I'm not." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe after a while Uncle Frank'll give you a saddle," said +Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe," agreed her brother, "Oh, see how the ponies look at us!" +</p> + +<p> +"And one's following us all around," added his sister. For the +little horses had indeed all come to the side of the corral fence +nearest the Curlytops, and were following along as the children +walked. +</p> + +<p> +"What do you s'pose they want?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe they're hungry," answered Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's pull some grass for 'em," suggested Teddy, and they did this, +feeding it to the horses that stretched their necks over the top rail +of the fence and chewed the green bunches as if they very much liked +their fodder. +</p> + +<p> +But after a while Jan and Ted tired of even this. And no wonder—there +were so many horses, and they all seemed to like the grass so +much that the children never could have pulled enough for all of them. +</p> + +<p> +"Look at that one always pushing the others out of the way," said +Janet, pointing to one pony, larger than the others, who was always +first at the fence, and first to reach his nose toward the bunches of +grass. +</p> + +<p> +"And there's a little one that can't get any," said her brother. +"I'd like to give him some, Jan." +</p> + +<p> +"So would I. But how can we? Every time I hold out some grass to him +the big horse takes it." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy thought for a minute and then he said: +</p> + +<p> +"I know what we can do to keep the big horse from getting it all." +</p> + +<p> +"What?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"We can both pull some grass. Then you go to one end of the fence, +and hold out your bunch. The big horse will come to get it and push +the others away, like he always does." +</p> + +<p> +"But then the little pony won't get any," Janet said. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes, he will!" cried Teddy. "'Cause when you're feeding the +big horse I'll run up and give the <i>little</i> horse my bunch. Then +he'll have some all by himself." +</p> + +<p> +And this the Curlytops did. When the big horse was chewing the grass +Janet gave him, Ted held out some to the little horse at the other +end of the corral, And he ate it, but only just in time, for the big +pony saw what was going on and trotted up to shove the small animal +out of the way. But it was too late. +</p> + +<p> +Then Janet and Teddy walked on a little further, until Janet said it +was growing late and they had better go back to the porch where the +others were still talking. +</p> + +<p> +Evening was coming on. The sun had set, but there was still a golden +glow in the sky. Far off in one of the big fields a number of horses +and cattle could be seen, and riding out near them were some of the +cowboys who, after their supper, had gone out to see that all was +well for the night. +</p> + +<p> +"Is all this your land, Uncle Frank!" asked Teddy as he stood on the +porch and looked over the fields. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, as far as you can see, and farther. If you Curlytops get lost, +which I hope you won't, you'll have to go a good way to get off my +ranch. But let me tell you now, not to go too far away from the +house, unless your father or some of us grown folks are with you." +</p> + +<p> +"Why?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, you <i>might</i> get lost, you know, and then—oh, well, don't go +off by yourselves, that's all," and Uncle Frank turned to answer a +question Daddy Martin asked him. +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet wondered why they could not go off by themselves as +they had done at Cherry Farm. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe it's because of the Indians," suggested Jan. +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh, I'm not afraid of them," Teddy announced. +</p> + +<p> +Just then one of the cowboys—later the children learned he was Jim +Mason, the foreman—came walking up to the porch. He walked in a +funny way, being more used to going along on a horse than on his own +feet. +</p> + +<p> +"Good evening, folks!" he said, taking off his hat and waving it +toward the Curlytops and the others. +</p> + +<p> +"Hello, Jim!" was Uncle Frank's greeting. "Everything all right?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, it isn't, I'm sorry to say," answered the foreman. "I've got +bad news for you, Mr. Barton!" +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER VIII +</h3> + +<h3> +A QUEER NOISE +</h3> + +<p> +The Curlytops looked at the ranch foreman as he said this. Uncle +Frank looked at him, too. The foreman stood twirling his big hat +around in his hand. Teddy looked at the big revolver—"gun" the +cowboys called it—which dangled from Jim Mason's belt. +</p> + +<p> +"Bad news, is it?" asked Uncle Frank. "I'm sorry to hear that. I +hope none of the boys is sick. Nobody been shot, has there, during +the celebration?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no, the boys are all right," answered the foreman. "But it's +bad news about some of your ponies—a lot of them you had out on +grass over there," and he pointed to the west—just where Ted and +Janet could not see. +</p> + +<p> +"Bad news about the ponies?" repeated Uncle Frank. "Well, now, I'm +sorry to hear that. Some of 'em sick?" +</p> + +<p> +"Not as I know of," replied Jim. "But a lot of 'em have been taken +away—stolen, I guess I'd better call it." +</p> + +<p> +"A lot of my ponies stolen?" cried Uncle Frank, jumping up from his +chair. "That is bad news! When did it happen? Why don't you get the +cowboys together and chase after the men who took the ponies?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I would have done that if I knew where to go," said the +foreman. "But I didn't hear until a little while ago, when one of the +cowboys I sent to see if the ponies were all right came in. He got +there to find 'em all gone, so I came right over to tell you." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, we'll have to see about this!" exclaimed Uncle Frank. "Who's +the cowboy you sent to see about the ponies?" +</p> + +<p> +"Henry Jensen. He just got in a little while ago, after a hard ride." +</p> + +<p> +"And who does he think took the horses?" +</p> + +<p> +"He said it looked as if the Indians had done it!" and at these +words from the foreman Ted and Janet looked at one another with +widely opened eyes. +</p> + +<p> +"Indians?" said Uncle Frank. "Why, I didn't think any of them had +come off their reservation." +</p> + +<p> +"Some of 'em must have," the foreman went on. "They didn't have any +ponies of their own, I guess, so they took yours and rode off on 'em." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, this is too bad!" said Uncle Frank in a low voice. "I guess +we'll have to get our boys together and chase after these Indians," +he went on. "Yes, that's what I'll do. I've got to get back my +ponies." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, can't I come?" cried Teddy, not understanding all that was +going on, but enough to know that his uncle was going somewhere with +the cowboys, and Teddy wanted to go, too. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'm afraid you couldn't come—Curlytop," said the foreman, +giving Teddy the name almost everyone called him at first sight, and +this was the first time Jim Mason had seen Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"No, you little folks must stay at home," added Uncle Frank. +</p> + +<p> +"Are you really going after Indians?" Teddy wanted to know. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, to find out if they took any of my ponies. You see," went on +Uncle Frank, speaking to Daddy and Mother Martin as well as to the +Curlytops, "the Indians are kept on what is called a 'reservation' +That is, the government gives them certain land for their own and +they are told they must stay there, though once in a while some of +them come off to sell blankets and bark-work at the railroad stations. +</p> + +<p> +"And, sometimes, maybe once a year, a lot of the Indians get tired +of staying on the reservation and some of them will get together and +run off. Sometimes they ride away on their own horses, and again they +may take some from the nearest ranch. I guess this time they took +some of mine." +</p> + +<p> +"And how will you catch them?" asked Mrs. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, we'll try to find out which way they went and then we'll follow +after them until we catch them and get back the ponies." +</p> + +<p> +"It's just like hide-and-go-seek, isn't it, Uncle Frank?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, something like that But it takes longer." +</p> + +<p> +"I wish I could go to hunt the Indians!" murmured Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" exclaimed his mother. "I'm <i>surprised</i> at +you!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I would like to go," he said. +</p> + +<p> +"Could I go if I knew how to ride a pony, Uncle Frank?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I don't know. I'm afraid you're too little. But, speaking of +riding a pony, to-morrow I'll have one of the cowboys start in to +teach you and Janet to ride. Now I guess I'll have to go see this +Henry Jensen and ask him about the Indians and my stolen ponies." +</p> + +<p> +"I hope he gets them back," said Teddy to his sister. +</p> + +<p> +"So do I," she agreed. "And I hope those Indians don't come here." +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! they're tame Indians!" exclaimed Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"They must be kind of wild when they steal ponies," Janet said. +</p> + +<p> +A little later the Curlytops and Trouble went to bed, for they had +been up early that day. They fell asleep almost at once, even though +their bed was not moving along in a railroad train, as it had been +the last three or four nights. +</p> + +<p> +"Did Uncle Frank find his ponies?" asked Teddy the next morning at +the breakfast table. +</p> + +<p> +"No, Curlytop," answered Aunt Millie. "He and some of the cowboys +have gone over to the field where the ponies were kept to see if they +can get any news of them." +</p> + +<p> +"Can we learn to ride a pony to-day?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"As soon as Uncle Frank comes back," answered her father. "You and +Ted and Trouble play around the house now as much as you like. When +Uncle Frank comes back he'll see about getting a pony for you to +ride." +</p> + +<p> +"Come on!" called Ted to his sister after breakfast. "We'll have +some fun." +</p> + +<p> +"I come, too!" called Trouble. "I wants a wide! I wish we had +Nicknack." +</p> + +<p> +"It would be fun if we had our goat here, wouldn't it?" asked Janet +of her brother. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, but I'd rather have a pony. I'm going to be a cowboy, and you +can't be a cowboy and ride a <i>goat</i>." +</p> + +<p> +"No, I s'pose not," said Janet. "But a goat isn't so high up as a +pony, Ted, and if you fall off a goat's back you don't hurt yourself +so much." +</p> + +<p> +"I'm not going to fall off," declared Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +The children wandered about among the ranch buildings, looking in +the bunk house where the cowboys slept. There was only one person in +there, and he was an old man to be called a "boy," thought Janet. But +all men, whether young or old, who look after the cattle on a ranch, +are called "cowboys" so age does not matter. +</p> + +<p> +"Howdy," said this cowboy with a cheerful smile, as the Curlytops +looked in at him. He was mending a broken strap to his saddle. +"Where'd you get that curly hair?" he asked. "I lost some just like +that. Wonder if you got mine?" +</p> + +<p> +Janet hardly knew what to make of this, but Teddy said: +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir. This is <i>our</i> hair. It's fast to our heads and we've +had it a long time." +</p> + +<p> +"It was always curly this way," added Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, was it? Well, then it can't be mine," said the cowboy with a +laugh. "Mine was curly only when I was a baby, and that was a good +many years ago. Are you going to live here?" +</p> + +<p> +"We're going to stay all summer," Janet said. "Do you live here?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, yes; as much as anywhere." +</p> + +<p> +"Could you show us where the Indians are that took Uncle Frank's +ponies?" Teddy demanded. +</p> + +<p> +"Wish I could!" exclaimed the cowboy. "If I knew, I'd go after 'em +myself and get the ponies back. I guess those Indians are pretty far +away from here by now." +</p> + +<p> +"Do they hide?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, they may hide away among the hills and wait for a chance to +sell the ponies they stole from your uncle. But don't worry your +curly heads about Indians. Have a good time here. It seems good to +see little children around a place like this." +</p> + +<p> +"Have you got a lasso?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"You mean my rope? Course I got one—every cowboy has," was the +answer. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish you'd lasso something," went on Teddy, who had once been to +see a Wild West show. +</p> + +<p> +"All right, I'll do a little rope work for you," said the cowboy, +with a good-natured smile. "Just wait until I mend my saddle." +</p> + +<p> +In a little while he came riding into the yard in front of the bunk +house on a lively little pony. He made the animal race up and down +and, while doing this, the cowboy swung his coiled rope, or lasso, +about his head, and sent it in curling rings toward posts and +benches, hauling the latter after him by winding the rope around the +horn of his saddle after he had lassoed them. +</p> + +<p> +"Say! that's fine!" cried Teddy with glistening eyes. "I'm going to +learn how to lasso." +</p> + +<p> +"I'll show you after a while," the cowboy offered. "You can't learn +too young. But I must go now." +</p> + +<p> +"Could I just have a little ride on your pony's back?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"To be sure you could," cried the cowboy. "Here you go!" +</p> + +<p> +He leaped from the saddle and lifted Teddy up to it, while Janet and +Trouble looked on in wonder. Then holding Ted to his seat by putting +an arm around him, while he walked beside the pony and guided it, the +cowboy gave the little fellow a ride, much to Teddy's delight. +</p> + +<p> +"Hurray!" he called to Janet "I'm learning to be a cowboy!" +</p> + +<p> +"That's right—you are!" laughed Daddy Martin, coming out just then. +"How do you like it?" +</p> + +<p> +"Dandy!" Teddy said. "Come on. Janet!" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, we ought to have let the ladies go first," said the cowboy. +"But I didn't know whether the leetle gal cared for horses," he went +on to Mr. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"I like horses," admitted Janet. "But maybe I'll fall off." +</p> + +<p> +"I won't let you," the cowboy answered, as he lifted her to the +saddle. Then he led the pony around with her on his back, and Janet +liked it very much. +</p> + +<p> +"I wants a wide, too!" cried Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"Hi! that's so! Mustn't forget you!" laughed the cowboy, and he held +Baby William in the saddle, much to the delight of that little fellow. +</p> + +<p> +"Now you mustn't bother any more," said Daddy Martin. "You children +have had fun enough. You'll have more pony-back rides later." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I'll have to go now," the cowboy said, and, leaping into the +saddle, he rode away in a cloud of dust. +</p> + +<p> +The Curlytops and Trouble wandered around among the ranch buildings. +Daddy Martin, seeing that the children were all right, left them to +themselves. +</p> + +<p> +"I'se hungry," said Trouble, after a bit. +</p> + +<p> +"So'm I," added Teddy. "Do you s'pose that funny Chinaman would give +us a cookie, Jan?" +</p> + +<p> +"Chinamen don't know how to make cookies." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe they know how to make something just as good. Let's go +around to the cook house—that's what Aunt Millie calls it." +</p> + +<p> +The cook house was easy to find, for from it came a number of good +smells, and, as they neared it, the Curlytops saw the laughing face +of the Chinese cook peering out at them. +</p> + +<p> +"Lil' gal hungly—li' boy hungly?" asked Hop Sing in his funny talk. +</p> + +<p> +"Got any cookies?" inquired Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"No glot clooklies—glot him clake," the Chinese answered. +</p> + +<p> +"What does he say?" asked Janet of her brother. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess he means cake," whispered Teddy, and that was just what Hop +Sing did mean. He brought out some nice cake on a plate and Trouble +and the Curlytops had as much as was good for them, if not quite all +they wanted. +</p> + +<p> +"Glood clake?" asked Hop Sing, when nothing but the crumbs were +left—and not many of them. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess he means was it good cake," then whispered Janet to her +little brother. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, it was fine and good!" exclaimed Teddy. "Thank you." +</p> + +<p> +"You mluch welclome—clome some mo'!" laughed Hop Sing, as the +children moved away. +</p> + +<p> +They spent the morning playing about the ranch near the house. They +made a sea-saw from a board and a barrel, and played some of the +games they had learned on Cherry Farm or while camping with Grandpa +Martin. Then dinner time came, but Uncle Frank and the cowboys did +not come back to it. +</p> + +<p> +"Won't they be hungry?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, they took some bacon, coffee and other things with them," said +Aunt Millie. "They often have to camp out for days at a time." +</p> + +<p> +"Say, I wish I could do that!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Wait until you get to be a cowboy," advised his father. +</p> + +<p> +That afternoon Trouble went to lie down with his mother to have a +nap, and Teddy and Janet wandered off by themselves, promising not to +go too far away from the house. +</p> + +<p> +But the day was so pleasant, and it was so nice to walk over the +soft grass that, before they knew it, Teddy and Janet had wandered +farther than they meant to. As the land was rolling—here hills and +there hollows—they were soon out of sight of the ranch buildings, +but they were not afraid, as they knew by going to a high part of the +prairie they could see their way back home—or they thought they +could. There were no woods around them, though there were trees and a +little stream of water farther off. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly, as the Curlytops were walking along together, they came to +a place where there were a lot of rocks piled up in a sort of +shelter. Indeed one place looked as though it might be a cave. And as +Teddy and Janet were looking at this they heard a strange noise, +which came from among the rocks. +</p> + +<p> +Both children stopped and stood perfectly still for a moment. +</p> + +<p> +"Did you hear that?" asked Jan, clasping her brother's arm. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes—I did," he answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Did—did it sound like some one groaning?" she went on. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy nodded his head to show that it had sounded that way to him. +Just then the noise came again. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh!" exclaimed Janet, starting to run. "Maybe it's an Indian! Oh, +Teddy, come on!" +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER IX +</h3> + +<h3> +THE SICK PONY +</h3> + +<p> +Teddy Martin did not run away as Jan started to leave the pile of +rocks from which the queer sound had come. Instead he stood still and +looked as hard as he could toward the hole among the stones—a hole +that looked a little like the cave on Star Island, but not so large. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on, Teddy!" begged Janet. "Please come!" +</p> + +<p> +"I want to see what it is," he answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe it's something that—that'll bite you," suggested the little +girl. "Come on!" +</p> + +<p> +Just then the noise sounded again. It certainly was a groan. +</p> + +<p> +"There!" exclaimed Janet. "I <i>know</i> it's an Indian, Ted! Maybe it's +one of the kind that took Uncle Frank's ponies. Oh, please come!" +</p> + +<p> +She had run on a little way from the pile of rocks, but now she +stood still, waiting for Teddy to follow. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on!" she begged. +</p> + +<p> +Janet did not want to go alone. +</p> + +<p> +"It can't be an Indian," said Teddy, looking around but still not +seeing anything to make that strange sound. +</p> + +<p> +"It could so be an Indian!" declared Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe a sick Indian," Teddy admitted. "And if he's as sick as +all that I'm not afraid of him! I'm going to see what it is." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried Janet, much as she sometimes heard +her mother use her brother's name. "Don't you dare!" +</p> + +<p> +"Why not?" asked Teddy, who tried to speak very bravely, though he +really did not feel brave. But he was not going to show that before +Janet, who was a girl. "Why can't I see what that is?" +</p> + +<p> +"'Cause maybe—maybe it'll—bite you!" and as Janet said this she +looked first at the rocks and then over her shoulder, as though +something might come up behind her when she least expected it. +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! I'm not afraid!" declared Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Anyhow, if it does bite me it's got to come out of the rocks first." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe it will come out." +</p> + +<p> +"If it does I can see it and run!" went on the little boy. +</p> + +<p> +"Would you run and leave me all alone?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Nope! Course I wouldn't do <i>that</i>," Teddy declared. "I'd run and I'd +help you run. But I don't guess anything'll bite me. Anyhow, Indians +don't bite." +</p> + +<p> +"How do you know?" asked Janet. "Some Indians are wild. I heard +Uncle Frank say so, and wild things bite!" +</p> + +<p> +"But not Indians," insisted Teddy. "A Indian's mouth, even if he is +wild, is just like ours, and it isn't big enough to bite. You've got +to have an awful big mouth to bite." +</p> + +<p> +"Henry Watson bit you once, I heard mother say so," declared Janet, +as she and her brother still stood by the rocks and listened again +for the funny sound to come from the stones. But there was silence. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, Henry Watson's got an awful big mouth," remarked Teddy. +"Maybe he's wild, and that's the reason." +</p> + +<p> +"He couldn't be an Indian, could he?" Janet went on. +</p> + +<p> +"Course not!" declared her brother. "He's a boy, same as I am, only +his mouth's bigger. That's why he bit me. I 'member it now." +</p> + +<p> +"Did it hurt?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Yep," answered her brother. "But I'm going in there and see what +that noise was. It won't hurt me." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy began to feel that Janet was asking so many questions in order +that he might forget all about what he intended to do. And he surely +did want to see what was in among the rocks. +</p> + +<p> +Once more he went closer to them, and then the noise sounded more +loudly than before. It came so suddenly that Teddy and Janet jumped +back, and there was no doubt but what they were both frightened. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'm not going to stay here another minute!" cried Janet. "Come +on, Ted, let's go home!" +</p> + +<p> +"No, wait just a little!" he begged. "I'll go in and come right out +again—that is if it's anything that bites. If it isn't you can come +in with me." +</p> + +<p> +"No, I'm not going to do that!" and Janet shook her head very +decidedly to say "no!" Once more she looked over her shoulder. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, you don't have to come in," Teddy said. "I'll go alone. I'm +not scared." +</p> + +<p> +Just then Janet looked across the fields, and she saw a man riding +along on a pony. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Teddy!" she called to her brother. "Here's a man! We can get +him to go in and see what it is." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy looked to where his sister pointed. Surely enough, there was a +man going along. He was quite a distance off, but the Curlytops did +not mind that. They were fond of walking. +</p> + +<p> +"Holler at him!" advised Janet. "He'll hear us and come to help us +find out what's in here." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy raised his voice in the best shout he knew how to give. He had +strong lungs and was one of the loudest-shouting boys among his chums. +</p> + +<p> +"Hey, Mister! Come over here!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +But the man kept on as if he had not heard, as indeed he had not. +For on the prairies the air is so clear that people and things look +much nearer than they really are. So, though the man seemed to be +only a little distance away, he was more than a mile off, and you +know it is quite hard to call so as to be heard a mile away; +especially if you are a little boy. +</p> + +<p> +Still Teddy called again, and when he had done this two or three +times, and Jan had helped him, the two calling in a sort of duet, +Teddy said: +</p> + +<p> +"He can't hear us." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe he's deaf, like Aunt Judy," said Janet, speaking of an +elderly woman in the town in which they lived. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, if he is, he can't hear us," said Teddy; "so he won't come to +us. I'm going in anyhow." +</p> + +<p> +"No, don't," begged Janet, who did not want her brother to go into +danger. "If he can't hear us, Teddy, we must go nearer. We can walk +to meet him." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy thought this over a minute. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," he agreed, "we can do that. But he's a good way off." +</p> + +<p> +"He's coming this way," Janet said, and it did look as though the +man had turned his horse toward the children, who stood near the pile +of rocks from which the queer noises came. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on!" decided Ted, and, taking Janet's hand, he and she walked +toward the man on the horse. +</p> + +<p> +For some little time the two Curlytops tramped over the green, +grassy prairies. They kept their eyes on the man, now and then +looking back toward the rocks, for they did not want to lose sight +either of them or of the horseman. +</p> + +<p> +"I'm going to holler again," said Teddy. "Maybe he can hear me now. +We're nearer." +</p> + +<p> +So he stopped, and putting his hands to his mouth, as he had seen +Uncle Frank do when he wanted to call to a cowboy who was down at a +distant corral, the little boy called: +</p> + +<p> +"Hi there, Mr. Man! Come here, please!" +</p> + +<p> +But the man on the horse gave no sign that he had heard. As a matter +of fact, he had not, being too far away, and the wind was blowing +from him toward Teddy and Jan. If the wind had been blowing the other +way it might have carried the voices of the children toward the man. +But it did not. +</p> + +<p> +Then Teddy made a discovery. He stopped, and, shading his eyes with +his hands, said: +</p> + +<p> +"Jan, that man's going away from us 'stid of coming toward us. He's +getting littler all the while. And if he was coming to us he'd get +bigger." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I guess he would," admitted the little girl. "He is going +away, Teddy. Oh, dear! Now he can't help us!" +</p> + +<p> +Without a word Teddy started back toward the rocks, and his sister +followed. He was close to them when Janet spoke again. +</p> + +<p> +"What are you going to do?" she asked. +</p> + +<p> +"I'm going in there and see what that noise was," Teddy replied. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, you mustn't!" she cried, hoping to turn him away. But Teddy +answered: +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I am, too! I'm going to see what it is!" +</p> + +<p> +"I'm not!" cried Janet. "I'm going home. You'd better come with me!" +</p> + +<p> +But, though she turned away and went a short distance from the rocks +in the direction she thought the ranch house of Ring Rosy Ranch +should be, she very soon stopped. She did not like going on alone. +She looked back at Ted. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy had walked a little way toward the hole in the rocks. Now he +called to his sister. +</p> + +<p> +"The noise comes from in here," he said. "It's in this little cave." +</p> + +<p> +"Are you going in?" asked Janet, trying to pretend she was not afraid. +</p> + +<p> +"I want to see what made that noise," declared Teddy. Since he and +his sister had gone camping with Grandpa Martin they were braver than +they used to be. Of course, Ted, being a year older than his sister, +was a little bolder than she was. +</p> + +<p> +Janet, not feeling that she ought to run on home and leave Teddy +there and yet not feeling brave enough to go close to the cave among +the rocks with him, hardly knew what to do. She walked back a little +way and then, suddenly, the noise came, more loudly than at first. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, there it goes again!" cried Janet, once more running back. +</p> + +<p> +"I heard it," Teddy said. "It didn't war-whoop like an Indian." +</p> + +<p> +"If he's sick he couldn't," explained Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"And if he's sick he can't hurt us," went on Teddy. "I'm going to +holler at him and see what he wants." +</p> + +<p> +"You'd better come back and tell daddy or Uncle Frank," suggested +Janet. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy rather thought so himself, but he did not like to give up once +he had started anything. He felt it would be a fine thing if he, all +alone, could find one of the Indians. +</p> + +<p> +"And maybe it is one of those who took Uncle Frank's ponies," +thought Teddy to himself. +</p> + +<p> +Again the groan sounded, this time not quite so loud, and after it +had died away Teddy called: +</p> + +<p> +"Who's in there? What's the matter with you?" +</p> + +<p> +No answer came to this. Then Ted added: +</p> + +<p> +"If you don't come out I'm going to tell my uncle on you. He owns +this ranch. Come on out! Who are you?" +</p> + +<p> +This time there came a different sound. It was one that the +Curlytops knew well, having heard it before. +</p> + +<p> +"That's a horse whinnying!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Or a pony," added Janet. "Yes, it did sound like that. Oh, Ted, +maybe it's a poor horse in there and he can't get out!" she went on. +</p> + +<p> +Again came the whinny of a horse or a pony. There was no mistake +about it this time. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on!" cried Teddy. "We've got to get him out, Janet. He's one +of Uncle Frank's cow ponies and he's hurt in that cave. We've got to +get him out!" +</p> + +<p> +"But how can you?" Janet inquired. "It's an awful little cave, and I +don't believe a pony could get in there." +</p> + +<p> +"A little pony could," said Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +Janet looked at the cave. She remembered that she had seen some +quite small ponies, not only on Ring Rosy Ranch but elsewhere. The +cave would be large enough for one of them. +</p> + +<p> +"I'm going in," said Teddy, as he stood at the mouth of the hole +among the piled-up rocks. +</p> + +<p> +"He might kick you," warned Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"If he's sick enough to groan that way he can't kick very hard," +replied Teddy. "Anyhow, I'll keep out of the way of his feet. That's +all you've got to do, Uncle Frank says, when you go around a strange +horse. When he gets to know you he won't kick." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, you'd better be careful," warned Janet again. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't you want to come in?" Teddy asked his sister. +</p> + +<p> +"I—I guess not," she answered. "I'll watch you here. Oh, maybe if +it's a pony we can have him for ours, Teddy!" she exclaimed. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe," he agreed. "I'm going to see what it is." +</p> + +<p> +Slowly he walked to the dark place amid the rocks. The whinnyings +and groanings sounded plainer to him than to Janet, and Teddy was +sure they came from a horse or a pony. As yet, though, he could see +nothing. +</p> + +<p> +Then, as the little boy stepped out of the glaring sun into the +shadow cast by the rocks, he began to see better. And in a little +while his eyes became used to the gloom. +</p> + +<p> +Then he could see, lying down on the dirt floor of the cave amid the +rocks, the form of a pony. The animal raised its head as Teddy came +in and gave a sort of whinnying call, followed by a groan. +</p> + +<p> +"Poor pony!" called Ted. "Are you hurt? I'm so sorry! I'll go get a +doctor for you!" +</p> + +<p> +"Who are you talking to?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +She had drawn nearer the cave. +</p> + +<p> +"There's a sick pony in here all right," Teddy told his sister. +"Come on in and look." +</p> + +<p> +"I—I don't b'lieve I want to." +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! he can't hurt you! He's sick!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +So, after waiting a half minute, Janet went in. In a little while +she, too, could see the pony lying down in the cave. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, the poor thing!" she cried. "Teddy, we've got to help him!" +</p> + +<p> +"Course we have," he said. "We've got to go for a doctor." +</p> + +<p> +"And get him a drink," added Janet. "When anybody's sick—a pony or +anybody—they want a drink. Let's find some water, Teddy. We can +bring it to him in our hats!" +</p> + +<p> +Then, leaving the sick pony in the cave, the Curlytops ran out to +look for water. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER X +</h3> + +<h3> +A SURPRISED DOCTOR +</h3> + +<p> +Water is not very plentiful on the prairies. In fact, it is so +scarce that often men and horses get very thirsty. But the Curlytops +were lucky in finding a spring among the rocks on Ring Rosy Ranch. It +was not a very large spring, and it was well hidden among the big +stones, which, is, perhaps, why it was not visited by many of the +ponies and cattle. They come in large numbers to every water-hole +they can find. +</p> + +<p> +Jan and Ted, having come out of the dark cave-like hole, where the +poor, sick pony lay, began their search for water, and, as I have +said, they were lucky in finding some. +</p> + +<p> +It was Jan who discovered it. As the Curlytops were running about +among the rocks the little girl stopped suddenly and called: +</p> + +<p> +"Hark, Teddy!" +</p> + +<p> +"What is it?" he asked. +</p> + +<p> +"I hear water dripping," she answered. "It's over this way." +</p> + +<p> +She went straight to the spring, following the sound of the dripping +water, and found where it bubbled up in a split in the rock. The +water fell into a little hollow, rocky basin and there was enough for +Ted and his sister to fill their hats. First they each took a drink +themselves, though, for the day was warm. +</p> + +<p> +Their hats were of felt, and would hold water quite well. And as the +hats were old ones, which had been worn in the rain more than once, +dipping them into the spring would not hurt them. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess the pony'll be awful glad to get a drink," said Jan to her +brother. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess he will," he answered, as he walked along looking carefully +where he put down his feet, for he did not want to stumble and spill +the water in his hat. +</p> + +<p> +"Look out!" exclaimed Janet, as her brother came too close to her. +"If you bump against me and make my arm jiggle you'll spill my +hatful." +</p> + +<p> +"I'll be careful," said Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +They spilled some of the water, for their hats were not as good as +pails in which to carry the pony's drink. But they managed to get to +the cave with most of it. +</p> + +<p> +"You can give him the first drink," said Teddy to his sister. "I +found him, and he's my pony, but you can give him the first drink." +</p> + +<p> +Janet felt that this was kind on Teddy's part, but still she did not +quite like what he said about the pony. +</p> + +<p> +"Is he going to be <i>all</i> yours?" she asked. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, didn't I find him?'' +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, but when I found a penny once and bought a lollypop, I gave +you half of it." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, you did," admitted Teddy, thinking of that time. "But I can't +give you half the pony, can I?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, I guess not. But you could let me ride on him." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'll do that!" exclaimed Teddy quickly. He was thinking it +would be a hard matter to divide a live pony in half. +</p> + +<p> +"Course I'll let you ride on him!" he went on. "We'll get Uncle +Frank to let us have a saddle and some of the cowboys can teach us to +ride. And I'll let you feed and water him as much as you like. I'm +going to call him Clipclap." +</p> + +<p> +"That's a funny name," remarked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"It's how his feet sound when he runs," explained Teddy. "Don't you +know—clip-clap, clip-clap!" and he imitated the sound of a pony as +best he could. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Janet. "They do go that way." +</p> + +<p> +"I haven't heard this one run," added Teddy, "'cause he's sick and +he can't gallop. But I guess his feet would make that sound, so I'm +going to call him Clipclap." +</p> + +<p> +"It's a nice name," agreed Janet. "But I guess we better give him a +drink now. He must be awful thirsty." +</p> + +<p> +"He is," said Teddy. "Hear him groan?" +</p> + +<p> +The pony was again making a noise that did sound like a groan. He +must be in pain the children thought. +</p> + +<p> +"Go on—give him your drink, Janet," urged Teddy. "Then I'll give +him mine." +</p> + +<p> +Janet was afraid no longer. She went into the cave ahead of her +brother, and as the pony was lying down Janet had to kneel in front +of him with her hat full of water—no, it was not full, for some had +spilled out, but there was still a little in it. +</p> + +<p> +The pony smelled the water when Janet was yet a little way from him, +and raised his head and part of his body by his forefeet. Though +clear, cold water has no smell to us, animals can smell it sometimes +a long way off, and can find their way to it when their masters would +not know where to go for a drink. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, see how glad he is to get it!" exclaimed Janet, as the pony +eagerly sucked up from her hat the water in it. The little animal +drank very fast, as if he had been without water a long while. +</p> + +<p> +"Now give him yours, Teddy," Janet called to her brother, and he +kneeled down and let the pony drink from his hat. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess he wants more," Janet said as the sick animal sucked up the +last drops from Teddy's hat. "It wasn't very much." +</p> + +<p> +"We'll get more!" Teddy decided. "Then we'll go for a doctor." +</p> + +<p> +"Where'll we find one?" Janet asked. +</p> + +<p> +"I know where to find him," Teddy answered. +</p> + +<p> +Once more the children went back to the spring and again they filled +their soft hats. And once more the pony greedily drank up the last +drops of water. As he finished that in Ted's hat he dropped back +again and stretched out as if very tired. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I hope he doesn't die!" exclaimed Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"So do I," added her brother. "I'd like to have a ride on him when +he gets well. Come on, we'll go find the doctor." +</p> + +<p> +Shaking the water drops from their hats the Curlytops put them on +and went out of the cave into the sunlight. Led by Teddy, Janet +followed to the top of the pile of rocks. +</p> + +<p> +"Do you see that white house over there?" asked Teddy, pointing to +one down the road that led past the buildings of Ring Rosy Ranch. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I see it," Janet answered. +</p> + +<p> +"That's the place where the doctor lives," went on Ted. +</p> + +<p> +"How do you know?" demanded Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"'Cause I heard Uncle Frank say so. Mother asked where a doctor +lived, and Uncle Frank showed her that white house. I was on the +porch and I heard him. He said if ever we needed a doctor we only had +to go there and Doctor Bond would come right away. He's the only +doctor around here." +</p> + +<p> +"Then we'd better get him for our pony Clipclap!" exclaimed Janet. +"Come on, Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +"If we had our goat-wagon we could ride," said the little boy, as +they walked along over the prairie together. "But I guess we've got +to walk now." +</p> + +<p> +"Is it very far?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"No, not very far. I've never been there, but you can easy see it." +</p> + +<p> +Truly enough the white house of Doctor Bond was in plain sight, but +on the prairies the air is so clear that distant houses look nearer +than they really are. +</p> + +<p> +So, though Ted and Janet thought they would be at the doctor's in +about ten minutes, they were really half an hour in reaching the +place. They saw the doctor's brass sign on his house. +</p> + +<p> +"I hope he's in," said Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +As it happened Doctor Bond was in, and he came to the door himself +when Teddy rang the bell, Mrs. Bond being out in the chicken part of +the yard. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, children, what can I do for you?" asked Doctor Bond with a +pleasant smile, as he saw the Curlytops on his porch. +</p> + +<p> +"If you please," began Teddy, "will you come and cure Clipclap?" +</p> + +<p> +"Will I come and cure him? Well, I will do my best. I can't be sure +I'll cure him, though, until I know what the matter is. What seems to +be the trouble?" +</p> + +<p> +"He's awful sick," said Janet, "and he groans awful." +</p> + +<p> +"Hum! He must have some pain then." +</p> + +<p> +"We gave him some cold water," added Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes? Well, maybe that was a good thing and maybe it wasn't. I can't +tell until I see him. Who did you say it was?" +</p> + +<p> +"Clipclap," replied Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Your little brother?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir. He's a pony and he's in a cave!" exclaimed Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"What? A pony?" cried the surprised doctor. "In a cave?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," went on Janet. "We gave him water in our hats, and he's going +to be Ted's and mine 'cause Ted found him. But will you please come +and cure him so we can have a ride on him? Don't let him die." +</p> + +<p> +"Well," exclaimed Doctor Bond, smiling in a puzzled way at the +children, "I don't believe I can come. I don't know anything about +curing sick ponies. You need a horse doctor for that." +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet looked at one another, not knowing what to say. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XI +</h3> + +<h3> +TROUBLE MAKES A LASSO +</h3> + +<p> +Doctor Bond must have seen how disappointed Teddy and Janet were, +for he spoke very kindly as he asked: +</p> + +<p> +"Who are you, and where are you from? Tell me about this sick pony +with the funny name." +</p> + +<p> +"He is Clipclap," answered Teddy, giving the name he had picked out +for his new pet. "And we are the Curlytops." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I can see that all right," laughed the doctor with a look at +the crisp hair of the little boy and girl. "But where do you live?" +</p> + +<p> +"At Uncle Frank's ranch," Janet answered. +</p> + +<p> +"You mean Mr. Frank Barton, of the Circle O?" the doctor inquired. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, only we call it the Ring Rosy Ranch now, and so does he," +explained Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"The Ring Rosy Ranch, is it? Well, I don't know but what that is a +good name for it. Now tell me about yourselves and this pony." +</p> + +<p> +This Teddy and Janet did by turns, relating how they had come out +West from Cresco, and what good times they were having. They even +told about having gone to Cherry Farm, about camping with Grandpa +Martin and about being snowed in. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, you have had some nice adventures!" exclaimed Doctor Bond. +"Now about this sick—" +</p> + +<p> +"Is some one ill?" enquired Mrs. Bond, coming in from the chicken +yard just then, in time to hear her husband's last words, "Who is it?" +</p> + +<p> +On the Western prairies when one neighbor hears of another's illness +he or she wants to help in every way there is. So Mrs. Bond, hearing +that some one was ill, wanted to do her share. +</p> + +<p> +"It's a pony," her husband said with a smile. +</p> + +<p> +"A pony!" she exclaimed. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, these Curlytop children found one in the cave among the rocks. +It's on Circle O Ranch—I should say Ring Rosy," and the doctor gave +Uncle Frank's place the new name. "These are Mr. Barton's nephew's +children," he went on, for Ted and Janet had told the doctor that it +was their father's uncle, and not theirs, at whose home they were +visiting. Though, as a matter of fact, Ted and Janet thought Uncle +Frank was as much theirs as he was their father's and, very likely, +Uncle Frank thought so himself. +</p> + +<p> +"Can't you come and cure the sick pony?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"He's groaning awful hard," went on Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, my dear Curlytops," said Doctor Bond with a smile, "I'd like +to come, but, as I said, I don't know anything about curing sick +horses or animals. I never studied that. It takes a doctor who knows +about them to give them the right kind of medicine." +</p> + +<p> +"I thought all medicine was alike," said Teddy. "What our doctor +gives us is always bitter." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, all medicine isn't bitter," laughed Doctor Bond, "though some +very good kinds are. However, I wouldn't know whether to give this +Clipclap pony bitter or sweet medicine." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe you could ask one of the cowboys," said Janet. "I heard Mr. +Mason—Jim, Uncle Frank calls him—telling how he cured a sick horse +once." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes, your uncle's foreman, Jim Mason, knows a lot about +horses," said Doctor Bond. +</p> + +<p> +"Then why don't you go with the children and get Jim to help you +find out what the matter is with their pony?" suggested Mrs. Bond. +"There isn't a regular veterinary around here, and they don't want to +see their pet suffer. Go along with them.'' +</p> + +<p> +"I believe I will," said Doctor Bond. "I could perhaps tell what's +the matter with the pony, and if I've got any medicine that might +cure it, Jim would know how to give it—I wouldn't." +</p> + +<p> +"We just found the pony in the cave," explained Teddy. "We were +taking a walk and we heard him groan." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I see," said Mrs. Bond. "Well, I hope the doctor can make him +well for you," she went on, as her husband hurried back into the +house to get ready for the trip. +</p> + +<p> +He had a small automobile, and in this he and the children were soon +hurrying along the road toward Ring Rosy Ranch. It was decided to go +there first instead of to the cave where the pony was. +</p> + +<p> +"We'll get Jim Mason and take him back with us," said the doctor. +</p> + +<p> +Uncle Frank and his cowboys had come back from looking after the +lost ponies, but had not found them. He, as well as Mr. and Mrs. +Martin, were very much surprised when the Curlytops came riding up to +the ranch in Doctor Bond's automobile. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, where in the world have you been?" cried Mother Martin. "We +were just beginning to get worried about you children. Where were +you?" +</p> + +<p> +"We found a pony!" cried Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"And he's sick!" added Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"And his name is Clipclap!" exclaimed the little girl. +</p> + +<p> +"And he's mine but Janet can have half of him, and we got him water +in our hats," came from Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"And we got the doctor, too!" went on his sister. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I should say you'd put in quite a busy day," chuckled Uncle +Frank. "Now let's hear more about it." +</p> + +<p> +So the Curlytops told, and Doctor Bond said, even if he was not a +horse doctor, he'd go out and look at the pony in the cave, if the +ranch foreman would come with him. +</p> + +<p> +"Of course I'll come!" cried Jim Mason. "I wouldn't want to see any +pony suffer. And I've doctored quite a few of 'em, even if I don't +know much about medicine. Come on, Curlytops!" +</p> + +<p> +Jim Mason jumped on his own swift pony, saying he could make as good +time over the rough prairie as Doctor Bond could in his automobile. +The Curlytops rode in the machine with the physician. Uncle Frank and +Daddy Martin went along, for they, too, were interested in the sick +pony. +</p> + +<p> +It did not take long to get to the cave amid the rocks. Jim Mason's +horse reached there ahead of the automobile, and the foreman had gone +into the cave and come out again by the time the Curlytops were +getting out of the machine. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, he's a pretty sick pony all right," said the foreman of the +cowboys of Ring Rosy Ranch. +</p> + +<p> +"Can you make him better?" asked Teddy anxiously. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know whether we can or not. It all depends on what sort of +medicine the doctor has for curing poison." +</p> + +<p> +"Has the pony been poisoned?" asked Uncle Frank. +</p> + +<p> +"Looks that way," replied the foreman. "I guess he must have drunk +some water that had a bit of poisoned meat in it. You see," he went +on to the doctor, Mr. Martin and the children, "we have a lot of +wolves and other pesky animals around here. They're too tricky to +catch in traps or shoot, so we poison 'em by putting a white powder +in some meat. Sometimes the wolves will drag a piece of the poisoned +meat to a spring of water, and they must have done it this time. Then +the pony drank the water and it made him sick." +</p> + +<p> +"Will he die?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I'll do my best to save him," said Doctor Bond, opening the +black case of medicines he carried. "But how can you give medicine to +a horse, Jim? You can't put it on his tongue, can you?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, but I've got a long-necked bottle on purpose for that, and it's +easy to pour it out of that bottle down a pony's throat. You mix up +the dose, Doc, and I'll give it to the little animal." +</p> + +<p> +This was done, but the Curlytops were not allowed in the cave when +the men were working over the pony. But, in a little while, the +foreman and Doctor Bond came out. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I guess your pony will get better," said the physician. "Jim +gave him the medicine that will get the poison out of him, and in a +day or so he'll be able to walk. But you'll have to leave him in the +cave until then." +</p> + +<p> +"Can't we take him home?" Teddy cried. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no!" exclaimed the foreman. "But I'll send one of the men over +with some straw to make him a soft bed, and we'll see that he has +water to drink. He won't want anything to eat until he gets better. +The doctor will come to see him to-morrow. Won't you?" he went on to +Doctor Bond. +</p> + +<p> +"Indeed I will!" promised the doctor, for he had taken a great +liking to the Curlytops. +</p> + +<p> +"Whose pony is it?" asked Daddy Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"It's mine!" exclaimed Teddy quickly. "Mine and Jan's. We found him +and his name's Clipclap." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, that's a good name for a pony," said his father. "But still I +don't know that you can claim every pony you find. This one may +belong to Uncle Frank." +</p> + +<p> +"No, it isn't one of my brand," said the owner of Ring Rosy Ranch. +"It's a strange pony that must have wandered into this cave after he +found he was poisoned. I reckon the poor thing thought he'd die in +there, and maybe he would if the children hadn't found him." +</p> + +<p> +"He couldn't have lived much longer without attention," said Doctor +Bond. +</p> + +<p> +"Then did we save his life?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"You did, by getting the doctor in time," answered his father. +</p> + +<p> +"Then can't he be our pony?" asked the little boy. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I guess he can," answered Uncle Frank. "If nobody comes to +claim him you children may have him. And if anyone does come after +him I'll give you another. I was going to give you each a pony, +anyhow, as soon as you got used to the ranch, and I'll do it. If Ted +wants to keep Clipclap, as he calls him, I'll give Janet another." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, won't I just love him!" cried the little girl. +</p> + +<p> +"And I'll love Clipclap!" said Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +There was nothing more that could be done just then for the sick +pony, so the Curlytops and the others left him in the cave. The +children were glad he did not groan any more. A little later Jim +Mason sent one of the cowboys with some clean straw to make a bed for +the little horse, and a pail of the cool, spring water was put where +the animal could reach it. +</p> + +<p> +For two days the pony stayed in the cave, and then Doctor Bond said +he was much better and could be led to the ranch. Uncle Frank took +Ted and Janet out to the rocks to bring back their pet, but he had to +walk very slowly, for he was still weak from the poison. +</p> + +<p> +"And hell have to stay in the stable for a week or so," said Jim +Mason when Clipclap was safely at the ranch. "After that he will be +strong enough to ride. While you Curlytops are waiting I'll give you +a few riding lessons." +</p> + +<p> +"And will you show me how to lasso?" begged Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, of course. You'll never be a cowboy, as you say you're going +to be, unless you can use a rope. I'll show you." +</p> + +<p> +So the children's lessons began. Uncle Frank picked out a gentle +pony for them on which to learn how to ride, and this pony was to be +Jan's. She named him Star Face, for he had a white mark, like a star, +on his forehead. +</p> + +<p> +On this pony Jan and Ted took turns riding until they learned to sit +in the saddle alone and let the pony trot along. Of course he did not +go very fast at first. +</p> + +<p> +"And I want to learn to lasso when I'm on his back," said Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"You'd first better learn to twirl the rope while you're on the +ground," said Jim Mason, and then the foreman began giving the little +boy some simple lessons in this, using a small rope, for Teddy could +not handle the big ones the cowboys used. +</p> + +<p> +In a few days Teddy could fling the coils of his rope and make them +settle over a post. Of course he had to stand quite close, but even +the cowboys, when they learned, had to do that the foreman said. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, what are you going to do now?" Teddy's father asked the +little boy one day, as he started out from the house with a small +coil of rope on one arm, as he had seen the cowboys carry their +lariats. "What are you going to do, Ted?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'm going to lasso some more," was the answer. +</p> + +<p> +"Why don't you try something else besides a post?" asked one of +Uncle Frank's men, as he, too, noticed Teddy. "Throwing a rope over a +post is all right to start, but if you want to be a real cowboy +you'll have to learn to lasso something that's running on its four +legs. That's what most of our lassoing is—roping ponies or steers, +and they don't very often stand still for you, the way the post does." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," agreed Ted, "I guess so. I'll learn to lasso something that +runs." +</p> + +<p> +His father paid little more attention to the boy, except to notice +that he went out into the yard, where he was seen, for a time, +tossing the coils of rope over the post. Then Jan came along, and, as +soon as he saw her, Teddy asked: +</p> + +<p> +"Jan, will you do something for me?" +</p> + +<p> +"What?" she inquired, not being too ready to make any promises. +Sometimes Teddy got her to say she would do things, and then, when he +had her promise, he would tell her something she did not at all want +to do. So Jan had learned to be careful. +</p> + +<p> +"What do you want to do, Teddy?" she asked. +</p> + +<p> +"Play cowboy," he answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Girls can't be cowboys," Janet said. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I don't want <i>you</i> to be one," went on Teddy. "I'll be +the cowboy." +</p> + +<p> +"Then what'll <i>I</i> be?" asked Jan. "That won't be any fun, for you to +do that and me do nothing!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I've got something for you to do," said Teddy, and he was quite +serious over it. "You see, Jan, I've got to learn to lasso something +that moves. The post won't move, but you can run." +</p> + +<p> +"Do you mean run and play tag?" Jan asked. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy shook his head. +</p> + +<p> +"You make believe you're a wild cow or a pony," he explained, "and +you run along in front of me. Then I'll throw my rope around your +head, or around your legs, and I'll pull on it and you—" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, and I'll fall down and get all dirt!" finished Jan. "Ho! I +don't call <i>that</i> any fun for me!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I won't lasso you very hard," promised Ted; "and I've got to +learn to throw my rope at something that moves, the cowboys say, else +I can't ever be a real wild-wester. Go on, Jan! Run along and let me +lasso you!" +</p> + +<p> +Jan did not want to, but Teddy teased her so hard that she finally +gave in and said she would play she was a pony for a little while. +Teddy wanted her to be a wild steer, but she said ponies could run +faster than the cattle, and Jan was a good runner. +</p> + +<p> +"And if I run fast it will be harder for you to lasso me," she said, +"and that's good practice for you, same as it is good for me when I +practice my music scales fast, only I don't do it very much." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, you run along and I'll lasso you," said Teddy. "Only we'd +better go around to the back of the house. Maybe they wouldn't like +to see me doing it." +</p> + +<p> +"Who; the cowboys?" asked his sister. +</p> + +<p> +"No, father and mother," replied Teddy. "I don't guess they'd want +me to play this game, but I won't hurt you. Come on." +</p> + +<p> +The little boy and girl—Teddy carrying his small lasso—went out to +a field not far from the house, and there they played cowboy. As they +had planned, Teddy was the cowboy and Janet the wild pony, and she +ran around until she was tired. Teddy ran after her, now and then +throwing the coil of rope at her. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes the lasso settled over her head, and then the little boy +would pull it tight, but he was careful not to pull too hard for fear +he might hurt Jan. Once the rope went around her legs, and that time +Teddy gave a sudden yank. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'm falling!" cried Jan, and she went down in a heap. +</p> + +<p> +"That's fine!" cried Teddy. "That's regular wild-wester cowboy! Do +it again, Jan!" +</p> + +<p> +"No! It hurts!" objected the little girl. "You pulled me so hard I +fell down." +</p> + +<p> +"I didn't mean to," said Teddy. "But I can lasso good, can't I?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes; pretty good," his sister agreed. "But you can't lasso me any +more. I don't want to play. I'm going to the house." +</p> + +<p> +"Did I hurt you much?" Teddy asked. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, not such an awful lot," admitted Jan. "I fell on some soft +grass, though, or you would have. Anyhow, I'm going in." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy looked a little sad for a minute, and then he cried: +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I know what I can do! You stay and watch me, Jan." +</p> + +<p> +"What are you going to do?" she asked. +</p> + +<p> +"You'll see," he answered "Here, you hold my lasso a minute." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy ran off across the field, and when he came back to where his +sister was still holding the coil of rope the Curlytop boy was +leading by a rope a little calf, one of several that were kept in the +stable and fed milk from a pail. +</p> + +<p> +"What are you going to do, Teddy Martin?" asked the little girl. +</p> + +<p> +"I'm going to play he's a wild steer," answered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried Janet, much as her mother might have +done. "You're not going to lasso <i>him,</i> are you?" +</p> + +<p> +"I am—if I can," and Teddy spoke slowly. He was not quite sure he +could. +</p> + +<p> +The calf came along easily enough, for Teddy had petted it and fed +it several times. +</p> + +<p> +"He's awful nice," said Janet. "You won't hurt him, will you?" +</p> + +<p> +"Course not!" cried Teddy. "I'll only lasso him a little. Now you +come and hold him by the rope that's on his neck, Jan. And when I +tell you to let go, why, you let go. Then he'll run and I can lasso +him. I've got to lasso something that's running, else it isn't real +wild-wester." +</p> + +<p> +Jan was ready enough to play this game. She took hold of the calf's +rope, and Teddy got his lasso ready. But just as the little fellow +was about to tell his sister to let the calf loose, along came Uncle +Frank and he saw what was going on. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, my, Teddy!" cried the ranchman. "You mustn't do that, Curlytop! +The little calf might fall and break a leg. Wait until you get bigger +before you try to lasso anything that's alive. Come on, we'll have +other fun than this. I'm going to drive into town and you Curly tops +can come with me." +</p> + +<p> +So the calf was put back in the stable, and Teddy gave up lassoing +for that day. He and Jan had fun riding to town with Uncle Frank, who +bought them some sticks of peppermint candy. +</p> + +<p> +Baby William had his own fun on the ranch. His mother took care of +him most of the time, leaving Janet and Teddy to do as they pleased. +She wanted them to learn to ride, and she knew they could not do it +and take care of their little brother. +</p> + +<p> +But Trouble had his own ways of having fun. He often watched Teddy +throwing the lasso, and one afternoon, when Ted had finished with his +rope and left it lying on a bench near the house, Trouble picked up +the noose. +</p> + +<p> +"Me lasso, too," he said to himself. +</p> + +<p> +Just what he did no one knew, but not long after Teddy had laid +aside the lariat, as the lasso is sometimes called, loud squawks, +crowings and cackles from the chicken yard were heard. +</p> + +<p> +"What in the world can be the matter with my hens?" cried Aunt Millie. +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet ran out to see. What they saw made them want to laugh, +but they did not like to do it. +</p> + +<p> +Trouble had lassoed the big rooster! +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XII +</h3> + +<h3> +THE BUCKING BRONCO +</h3> + +<p> +With a small rope around the neck of the crowing rooster—which +could not crow as loudly as it had before, because it was nearly +choked—Trouble was dragging the fowl along after him as he ran +across the yard. +</p> + +<p> +"Trouble! Trouble!" cried Aunt Millie. "What are you doing?" +</p> + +<p> +"Playin' cowboy!" was his answer. "I lasso rooster wif my rope, like +Teddy catches post." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, you mustn't do that!" cried Aunt Millie, as she ran after the +small boy and the dragging rooster. +</p> + +<p> +"Cock-a doodle-do!" crowed the rooster, or, rather, it tried to crow +that way, but it would get only about half of it out and then Trouble +would pull the rope tight about the fowl's neck and the crow would be +shut off suddenly. +</p> + +<p> +"Gid-dap, pony!" cried Baby William, trotting along on his short, +fat legs, making-believe, as he often did, that he was riding +horseback. "Gid-dap! I lasso a rooster, I did!" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, and you'll kill the poor thing if you're not careful," panted +Aunt Millie, as she raced after the little fellow and caught him. +Then she gently pulled the rooster to her by means of the rope, and +took it off the fowl's neck. +</p> + +<p> +The rooster was bedraggled from having been dragged through the dust +and the dirt, and it was so dizzy from having been whirled around by +Trouble that it could hardly stand up. +</p> + +<p> +Aunt Millie smoothed out its feathers and got it some water. The +rooster drank a little and seemed to feel better. Then it ran off to +join the other roosters and the cackling hens that had been watching +what Trouble did, doubtless wondering what had gotten into the +lassoed rooster to make it run around the way it did on the end of a +rope. But it was Baby William who made all the trouble. +</p> + +<p> +"You must never do that again," said Mrs. Martin when she came out +of the ranch house and heard what her little boy had done. "That was +very wrong, William, to lasso the poor rooster and drag it about with +a rope around its neck." +</p> + +<p> +"I not do it any more," promised Trouble. "But I want a lasso like +Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +"No, you're not big enough for that," his mother said. "You must +wait until you are a little older. Don't bother the chickens any +more." +</p> + +<p> +"No, I only get de eggs," promised Baby William. +</p> + +<p> +"And please don't lasso them, or you'll break them," put in Aunt +Millie; but Janet thought her "eyes laughed," as she later told Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"No more lasso?" asked Trouble, looking at the rope his aunt had +taken from the rooster's long neck. +</p> + +<p> +"No more lasso!" exclaimed Mrs. Barton, trying not to smile, for the +sight of the rooster, caught the way he had been, made even the older +folks want to laugh. Ted and Janet did laugh, but they did not let +Trouble see them. If he had he might have thought he had done +something smart or cute, and he would try it over again the first +chance he had. So they had to pretend to be sharp with him. The +rooster was not hurt by being lassoed. +</p> + +<p> +Afterward Trouble told how he did it. With the slip-noose of the +rope in one hand and holding the rope's end in the other, Baby +William walked quietly up behind the rooster and tossed the loop over +its head. Then he pulled it tight and started to run, as he had seen +the cow ponies galloping to pull down a horse or steer that needed to +be branded or marked with the sign of the Ring Rosy Ranch. The +rooster was very tame, often eating out of Aunt Millie's hand, so he +was not afraid to let Trouble come up quite close to him. +</p> + +<p> +One day, about a week after the Curlytops had found Clipclap in the +cave, Jim Mason said he thought the pony was well enough to be +ridden. Clipclap was brought out in the yard and Teddy and Janet went +up to him. +</p> + +<p> +The pony put his nose close to them and rubbed his head against +their outstretched hands. +</p> + +<p> +"See, he knows us!" cried Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"And I guess he's thanking us for bringing him water," added her +brother. +</p> + +<p> +"And getting the doctor to cure him of poison," went on the little +girl. "I'm glad he likes you, Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +"And your pony likes you, too, Janet," said the little boy. +</p> + +<p> +Janet's pony, Star Face, certainly seemed to like her. For he came +when she called him and took lumps of sugar from her hand. He liked +Teddy, too. In fact both ponies were very pretty and friendly and it +would be hard to say which was the better. Janet liked hers and Teddy +liked his, and that is the best thing I can say about them. +</p> + +<p> +No one came to claim Clipclap. Though Uncle Frank spoke to a number +of other ranchmen about finding the sick pony, none of them had ever +seen Clipclap before as far as they knew. If he belonged to some +other ranch it must have been far away. +</p> + +<p> +"So you may feel that it is all right for you to keep your pony, +Curlytop," said Uncle Frank to Teddy. "If anyone should, later, say +it belongs to him, and can prove it, we'll give it up, of course." +</p> + +<p> +"But I don't want to give Clipclap up!" Teddy cried. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe you won't have to," said his father. "But you must not +keep what is not yours. Anyhow, if you should have to give up +Clipclap Uncle Frank will give you another pony." +</p> + +<p> +"There couldn't be any as nice as Clipclap—not even Janet's Star +Face," declared Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +He felt bad at the thought of having to give up his pet, but there +was no need to, for as the weeks went on no one came to claim +Clipclap, and Teddy counted him as his own. +</p> + +<p> +By this time Teddy and Janet had learned to ride quite well for such +little children. They knew how to sit in a saddle, up straight like +an arrow, and not slouched down or all humped up "like a bag of +meal," as Uncle Frank was wont to say. They knew how to guide their +ponies by pulling on the reins to left or to right, according to +which way they wanted to go. +</p> + +<p> +Of course they could not ride very fast yet, and Mother Martin was +just as glad they could not, for she was afraid, if they did, they +might fall off and get hurt. But Teddy and Janet were careful, and +they knew how to sit in the saddle with their feet in the stirrups. +</p> + +<p> +"They're getting to be good little riders," said Jim Mason to Uncle +Frank one day. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll take 'em with me the next time I go for a short ride." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe we could find the bad Indians that took your horses, Uncle +Frank," said Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I wish you could," said the owner of Ring Rosy Ranch. +</p> + +<p> +The cowboys had not been able to get back the stolen horses nor find +the Indians who had run them off. Other ranches, too, had been robbed +and a number of head of horses and cattle had been driven away. +</p> + +<p> +"We've looked all over for those Indians," said Uncle Frank, "but we +can't find 'em. If you Curlytops can, I'll give you each another +pony." +</p> + +<p> +"I'd like Clipclap best though," announced Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"What could we do with two?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, every cowboy or cowgirl, for that matter, has more than one +horse when he can," said Jim Mason. "Then if one gets lame he has +another to ride. But don't you Curlytops go off by yourselves looking +for those bad Indians!" he warned them. +</p> + +<p> +"We won't," promised Teddy. "Well only go with you or Uncle Frank." +</p> + +<p> +"We don't find them," said the ranch owner. "I guess the Indians +sold the horses and cattle and then they hid themselves. Well, I hope +they don't take any more of my animals." +</p> + +<p> +But there was more trouble ahead for Uncle Frank. +</p> + +<p> +The Curlytops had a fine time on his ranch, though. When Teddy and +Janet were not riding, they were watching the cowboys at work or +play, for the men who looked after Uncle Frank's cattle had good +times as well as hard work. +</p> + +<p> +They would often come riding and swooping in from the distant fields +after their day's work, yelling and shouting as well as firing off +their big revolvers. But neither the Curlytops nor their mother were +as frightened at this play of the cowboys as they had been at first. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish I had a gun that would go bang," said Teddy one day. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried his sister, after the fashion of her +mother. "If you had I'd never go riding ponyback with you—never +again! I'd be afraid of you! So there!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, so would the Indians!" said Ted. However he knew he was too +small to have a firearm, so he did not tease for it. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes, when Uncle Frank or his foreman, Jim Mason, went on short +rides around the ranch, Teddy and Janet went with them on their +ponies. Star Pace and Clipclap were two sturdy little animals, and +were gentle with the children. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on! Let's have a race!" Ted would call. +</p> + +<p> +"All right. But don't go too fast," Janet would answer, and they +would trot off, the ponies going as fast as was safe for the children. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy generally won these races, for Janet, who was very tender-hearted, +did not like to make her pony go as fast as it could go. Often, +perhaps, if Janet had urged Star Face on she would have beaten her +brother, for Clipclap still felt a little weak, now and then, from +his illness. +</p> + +<p> +One day a cowboy came in, riding hard from a far-off part of the +ranch. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess something is the matter, Jan," said Teddy, as they saw the +horseman gallop past. +</p> + +<p> +"What?" she asked as they noticed him talking to the foreman. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe he's found the Indians that took Uncle Frank's horses," her +brother answered. +</p> + +<p> +The children drew near enough to hear what the cowboy and the +foreman were talking about. +</p> + +<p> +"More horses gone!" exclaimed Jim Mason. "Well, we'll surely have to +get after those Indians; that's all there is about it!" +</p> + +<p> +"More horses stolen?" asked Daddy Martin, coming out just then. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," answered Jim Mason. "A lot of good ones. I guess more Indians +must have run away from the reservation. We'll have to hunt them +down!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I wish I could go!" sighed Teddy. "I'd like to be an Indian +fighter." +</p> + +<p> +"You'll have to grow a lot bigger," said his uncle, with a laugh. +</p> + +<p> +Uncle Frank and some of the cowboys rode over the prairie, trying to +find the stealing Indians, but they could not. Nor could they find +the missing horses, either. +</p> + +<p> +"It's a good thing Uncle Frank has lots of cattle," said Teddy that +night when the cowboys came back to the ranch house, not having found +the horse thieves. "If he didn't have he'd be poor when the Indians +take his animals." +</p> + +<p> +"He'll be poor if the Indians keep on the way they have been doing," +said Aunt Millie. "I hope he can catch the bad men!" +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet hoped so too, but they did not see how they could +help, though Teddy wanted to. However he was kept near the house. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on and see the bucking bronco, Curlytops!" called Uncle Frank +to Teddy and Janet one day. +</p> + +<p> +"What is it?" asked the little girl. +</p> + +<p> +"A bucking bronco jumps up in the air with all four feet off the +ground at once, and comes down as stiff as a board," explained Uncle +Frank. "That isn't nice for the man that's in the saddle, though the +cowboys know how to ride most bucking broncos, that are really sort +of wild horses." +</p> + +<p> +"I'd like to see 'em!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"You may," promised his uncle. "The cowboys have a bucking bronco +out in the corral and they're taking turns trying to ride him. Come +along if you want to see the fun." +</p> + +<p> +It was fun, but some hard work, too, for one after another the +cowboys fell out of the saddle of the bucking bronco as they tried to +ride him. +</p> + +<p> +Now and then one would stay on the wild animal's back longer than +had any of his friends, not falling when the bronco leaped up in the +air and came down with his legs as stiff as those of an old fashioned +piano. +</p> + +<p> +"Ki-yi! Yippi-i-yip!" yelled the cowboys, as they dashed about on +the bucking bronco, swinging their hats or their quirts, which are +short-handled whips, in the air over their heads. +</p> + +<p> +They did not mind being thrown, and each one tried to ride the wild +bronco. None could stay in the saddle more than a few minutes at a +time though. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I guess I'll have to ride that animal myself," said Jim +Mason, when all the other cowboys had tried and had fallen or jumped +from the saddle. The foreman was a fine rider. "Yes, I guess I can +ride that bronco," he said. +</p> + +<p> +"Give the pony a chance to get his breath," suggested one of the +cowboys. "I don't reckon you can ride him though, Jim." +</p> + +<p> +"I'll try," was the answer. +</p> + +<p> +The bronco was led to a corner of the corral, or stable yard, and +tied. Then the foreman made ready to try to stay in the saddle longer +than had any of his men, for when a bronco bucks it is like trying to +hold on to a swing that is turning topsy-turvy. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly, as Teddy and Janet were looking at some of the funny +tricks the cowboys were playing on one another, Uncle Frank gave a +cry. +</p> + +<p> +"Look at Trouble!" he exclaimed. +</p> + +<p> +Baby William had crawled through the fence and was close to the +dangerous heels of the bucking bronco. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XIII +</h3> + +<h3> +MISSING CATTLE +</h3> + +<p> +For a moment none of the cowboys made a move. They were too +frightened at what might happen to Trouble. If it had been one of +their own friends who had gone into the corral where the dangerous +bronco was standing, they would have known what to do. +</p> + +<p> +They would have called for him to "Look out!" and the cowboy would +have kept away from the animal. But it was different with Trouble. To +him one horse was like another. He liked them all, and he never +thought any of them would kick or bite him. The bucking bronco was +most dangerous of all. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Trouble!" exclaimed Janet softly. +</p> + +<p> +"I—I'll get him!" whispered Teddy. "I can crawl in there and run +and get him before that bronco—" +</p> + +<p> +"You stay right where you are, Curlytop!" exclaimed Jim Mason. "We +don't want you both hurt, and if you go in there now you might start +that crazy horse to kicking. Stay where you are. I'll get Trouble for +you." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe if I called to him he'd come," said Janet. She, too, spoke in +a whisper. In fact no one had made a noise since Trouble had been +seen crawling under the corral fence, close to the bucking bronco. +</p> + +<p> +"No, don't call, Janet," said the foreman. "You might make the +bronco give a jump, and then he'd step on your little brother. That +horse is a savage one, and he's so excited now, from so many of the +cowboys having tried to ride him, that he might break loose and kick +Trouble. We've got to keep quiet." +</p> + +<p> +The cowboys seemed to know this, for none of them said a word. They +kept very still and watched Trouble. +</p> + +<p> +Baby William thought he was going to have a good time. He had +wandered out of the house when his mother was not looking. Seeing +Ted, Janet and the cowboys down by the corral, he made up his mind +that was the place for him. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe I get a horse wide," he said to himself, for he was about as +eager over horses as his sister or brother, and, so far, the only +rides he had had were when he sat in the saddle in front with them or +with his father, and went along very slowly indeed. For they dared +not let the horse go fast when Trouble was with them, and Trouble +wanted to go fast. +</p> + +<p> +"Me go get wide myse'f," he murmured, and then, when no one was +looking, he slipped under the corral fence. +</p> + +<p> +He was now toddling close to the heels of the bronco. +</p> + +<p> +"Nice horsie," said Trouble in his sweetest voice. "I get on your +back an' have nice wide!" +</p> + +<p> +Trouble always had hard work to sound the r in ride. "Wide" he +always called it. +</p> + +<p> +Nearer and nearer he came to the bronco. The animal, without turning +its head, knew that someone was coming up behind. Many a time a +cowboy had tried to fool the savage horse that way, and leap into the +saddle without being seen. But Imp, as the bronco was named, knew all +those tricks. +</p> + +<p> +He turned back his ears, and when a horse does that it is not a good +sign. Almost always it means he is going to bite or kick. +</p> + +<p> +In this case Imp would have to kick, as Trouble was too far behind +to be bitten. And Imp did not seem to care that it was a little boy +who was behind, and not a big cowboy. Imp was going to do his worst. +</p> + +<p> +But Jim Mason was getting ready to save Trouble. Going around to the +side, where he could not be seen so well, the foreman quickly leaped +over the fence. And then he ran swiftly toward Trouble, never saying +a word. +</p> + +<p> +The bronco heard the sound of running feet. He turned his head +around to see who else was coming to bother him and then, before Imp +could do anything and before Trouble could reach and put his little +hands on the dangerous heels, the foreman caught up Baby William and +jumped back with him, out of the way in case Imp should kick. +</p> + +<p> +And kick Imp did! His heels shot out as he laid his ears farther +back on his head and he gave a shrill scream, as horses can when they +are angry. +</p> + +<p> +"No you don't! Not this time!" cried Jim Mason, as he ran back to +the fence with Trouble. "And you must never go into the corral or +near horses again, Trouble! Do you hear?" and the foreman spoke to +Baby William as though very angry indeed. But he had to do this, for +the little fellow must learn not to go into danger. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't ever go in there again!" said the foreman, as he set Trouble +down on the ground in a safe place. +</p> + +<p> +"No, me not go," was the answer, and Baby William's lips quivered as +though he were going to cry. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, that's all right, old man!" said the foreman in kind tones. +For he loved children and did not even like to hurt their feelings. +"I didn't mean to scare you." +</p> + +<p> +But he had scared Trouble, or, rather the sudden catching up of the +little fellow and the pony's scream had frightened him, and Janet's +baby brother began to cry, hiding his head in her dress. +</p> + +<p> +But, after all, that was the best thing to make Trouble remember +that he must not go in the corral, and he had soon forgotten his +tears and was laughing at the funny tricks Imp cut up as Jim Mason +tried to ride him. +</p> + +<p> +The foreman, after he had carried Trouble safely out of the way, +went back in the corral and jumped on the bucking bronco's back. Then +Imp did all he could to get the man out of the saddle. +</p> + +<p> +Around and around the corral dashed the cow pony, and when he found +that Jim stuck on the horse began jumping up in the air—bucking as +the cowboys call it. Even that did not shake the foreman to the +ground. +</p> + +<p> +Then, suddenly, the horse fell down. But it was not an accident. He +did it on purpose, and then he began to roll over, thinking this, +surely, would get that man off his back. +</p> + +<p> +It did. But when Imp tried to roll over on the foreman, to hurt him, +Jim Mason just laughed and jumped out of the way. He knew Imp would +probably do this and he was ready for him. +</p> + +<p> +Jim watched Imp, and as soon as the bronco stopped rolling and stood +up again the foreman jumped into the saddle. This was too much for +Imp. He made up his mind he could not get rid of such a good rider, +so the horse settled down and galloped around the corral as he ought +to do. +</p> + +<p> +"Hurray! Jim rides him after all!" cried some of the cowboys. +</p> + +<p> +"I told you I'd stick to him" said the foreman with a laugh. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish I could ride that way," said Teddy, with a little sigh when +Jim came out of the corral and left Imp to have a rest. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe you will some day," said the foreman. "You've got a +good start, and there's no better place to learn to ride ponyback +than at Ring Rosy Ranch." +</p> + +<p> +One warm, pleasant afternoon, when they had played about the house +for some time, amusing themselves at the games they were wont to pass +the time with in the East, Jan called to her brother: +</p> + +<p> +"Let's go and take a ride on our ponies!" +</p> + +<p> +"All right," agreed Teddy. "Where'll we go?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, not very far. Mother told us we mustn't go very far when we're +alone." +</p> + +<p> +"That was before we knew how to ride," declared the little boy. "I +guess we ride good enough now to take long rides." +</p> + +<p> +"But not now," insisted Jan. "We'll only go for a little way, or I'm +not going to play." +</p> + +<p> +"All right," Teddy agreed. "We won't go very far." +</p> + +<p> +So they went out to the stable where their ponies were kept, and +there one of the cowboys kindly saddled Clipclap and Star Face for +the little Curlytops. Uncle Frank had given orders to his men that +they were to let the children have the ponies whenever it was safe to +ride, and this was one of the nicest days of the summer. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't let 'em run away with you!" laughed the cowboy, as he helped +Jan and Ted into their saddles. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Clipclap and Star Pace won't run away!" declared the little +girl. "They're too nice." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, they are nice ponies," agreed the cowboy. "Well, good-bye and +good luck." +</p> + +<p> +Biding up to the house, to tell their mother they were going for a +ride, but would keep within sight or calling distance, Ted and Jan +were soon guiding their ponies across the prairie. +</p> + +<p> +The children had soon learned to sit well in the saddles, and knew +how to guide their ponies. And the little animals were very safe. +</p> + +<p> +"Somehow or other, I don't feel at all worried here when the +children are out of my sight—I mean Teddy and Janet," said Mrs. +Martin to her husband, when the Curlytops had ridden away. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, Uncle Frank's ranch does seem a safe place for them," Mr. +Martin answered. "Lots of 'down East' people think the West is a +dangerous place. Well, maybe it is in spots, but it is very nice +here." +</p> + +<p> +On over the prairies rode Teddy and Janet. Now and then the little +girl would stop her pony and look back. +</p> + +<p> +"What are you looking for?" Teddy asked. "Do you think Trouble is +following us?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, but we mustn't go too far from the house. We must stay in sight +of it, mother said." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, we will," promised Ted. +</p> + +<p> +But, after a while, perhaps it was because it was so nice to ride +along on the ponies' backs, or because the little animals went faster +than Ted or Janet imagined—I don't know just how it did happen, but, +all at once, Jan looked back and gave a cry. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, what's the matter, Jan?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"We—we're lost!" gasped the little girl. "I can't see Uncle Frank's +house anywhere!" +</p> + +<p> +It was true enough. None of the ranch buildings were in sight, and +for a moment Ted, too, was frightened. Then as his pony moved on, a +little ahead of Jan's, the boy gave a cry of delight. +</p> + +<p> +"There it is! I can see the house!" he said. "We're not lost. We +were just down in a hollow I guess." +</p> + +<p> +And so it was. The prairies, though they look level, are made up of +little hills and valleys, or hollows. Down in between two hills one +might be very near a house and yet not see it. +</p> + +<p> +"Now we're all right," went on Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," agreed Janet "We're not lost anymore." +</p> + +<p> +So they rode on a little farther, the ponies now and then stopping +to crop a bit of the sweet grass, when, all of a sudden, Teddy, who +was still a little ahead of his sister, called: +</p> + +<p> +"Look there, Jan!" +</p> + +<p> +"Where?" +</p> + +<p> +Teddy pointed. His sister saw several men on horseback—at least +that is what they looked like—coming toward them. Something about +the figures seemed a bit strange to the children. Ted and Jan looked +at one another and then back toward the ranch houses, which, they +made sure, were not out of sight this time. +</p> + +<p> +"Are they cowboys?" asked Jan of her brother. +</p> + +<p> +"They—they don't just look like 'em," he said. "I mean like Uncle +Frank's cowboys." +</p> + +<p> +"That's what I thought," Janet added. "They look like they had +blankets on—some of 'em." +</p> + +<p> +She and Teddy sat on their ponies' backs and kept looking at the +other figures. They were coming nearer, that was sure, and as they +came closer it was more and more certain to the Curlytops that some +of the strangers on the horses were wrapped in blankets. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I know what they are!" suddenly cried Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"What?" +</p> + +<p> +"In—Indians!" faltered Janet. "Oh, Teddy, if they should be <i>wild</i> +Indians!" +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh!" exclaimed Teddy, trying to speak bravely. "Uncle Frank said +there weren't any very wild Indians near his ranch." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe these ones wasn't near the ranch before, but they're coming +near now," said Janet, so excited the words tumbled out all mixed-up +like. "I'm going home!" +</p> + +<p> +"I—I guess I'll go with you," added Teddy, as he turned his pony's +head about. "We'd better tell Uncle Frank the Indians are coming. +Maybe they want more of his horses." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, he won't let 'em have any!" cried Janet. "But they <i>are</i> Indians +sure enough!" she went on, as she took a look over her shoulder. +</p> + +<p> +And there was no doubt about it. As the group of riders came closer +to the children, whose ponies did not go as fast as the larger +horses, it was seen that they were indeed Indians, many of them +wrapped in blankets. There were men, women, boys and girls, and some +of the smaller children were carried wrapped tightly to their +mothers' backs. +</p> + +<p> +Tip to the ranch rode Teddy and Jan as fast as their ponies would +take them without tossing off the Curlytops. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Uncle Frank!" cried Teddy. "They 're coming!" +</p> + +<p> +"A lot of 'em!" shouted Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"What's that?" asked the ranchman. "Who are coming?" +</p> + +<p> +"Indians to take more of your ponies!" Teddy gasped. +</p> + +<p> +For a time there was some little excitement on the ranch, until one +of the cowboys, riding out to see the Indians, came back and said +they were not "wild" ones, but a band that went about selling baskets +and other things they made. They did no harm, and for a time camped +near the ranch, the children, even Trouble, going over to see them. +But for some time the Curlytops did not forget the fright their first +view of the Indians gave them. +</p> + +<p> +In the days that followed Teddy and Janet had many rides on Clipclap +and Star Face, their two nice ponies. Sometimes they were allowed to +go a little way over the prairies by themselves. But when they went +for a long ride Uncle Frank, Jim Mason, their father or some of the +cowboys were with them. +</p> + +<p> +"After a while maybe I'll learn how to ride so I can go off with you +and help get the Indians that stole your horses. Do you think I can, +Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy one day. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe, Curlytop. We surely must find those Indians, for I +don't like to lose all those horses. As soon as I get some of my work +done I'll have another look for them." +</p> + +<p> +And then, a few days later, more bad news came to Uncle Frank. With +his cowboys he was getting some cattle ready to ship away to a +distant city, from where they were to be sent still farther away in a +train of cattle cars, when a cowboy, who seemed much excited, came +riding up to the corral. +</p> + +<p> +He looked very tired and warm, for the weather was hot, and his +horse was covered with flecks of foam, as though it had been ridden +hard and far. +</p> + +<p> +"What's the matter, Henry?" asked Uncle Frank. +</p> + +<p> +"Indian thieves!" was the answer. "A band of the Indians have run +away with a lot of your best cattle!" +</p> + +<p> +"They have?" cried Uncle Frank. "How do you know?" +</p> + +<p> +"I saw 'em, and I chased 'em. But they got away from me. Maybe if we +start right out now we can catch 'em and get back the cattle." +</p> + +<p> +"Then we'll go!" cried Uncle Frank. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy and Janet were very much excited when they saw the cowboys +saddling their mustangs ready for the chase. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap14"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XIV +</h3> + +<h3> +LOOKING FOR INDIANS +</h3> + +<p> +"Can't we come along?" asked Teddy, as he saw Uncle Frank lead his +horse out of the corral. +</p> + +<p> +"And I want to come, too!" added Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no! We couldn't think of letting you!" answered Uncle Frank. +"Come on, boys! Get ready. We'll have to ride fast!'' +</p> + +<p> +"We can ride fast!" added Teddy. "You said, the other day, Uncle +Frank, I could ride real good!" +</p> + +<p> +"So you can, Curlytop." +</p> + +<p> +"Then why can't we come? Jan—she's a good rider, too!" +</p> + +<p> +"Why the idea of you children thinking you can go off on a hunt for +Indians!" exclaimed their mother. +</p> + +<p> +"We want to go—awful much!" Teddy murmured. +</p> + +<p> +"Not this time, Curly boy," said the ranchman. "We may have to be +out all night, and it looks like rain. You stay at home with Janet, +and I'll tell you all about it when I come back." +</p> + +<p> +"Will you, truly?" +</p> + +<p> +"Truly I will." +</p> + +<p> +"And if you get any Indians will you bring 'em here?" Teddy demanded. +</p> + +<p> +"No, don't!" cried Janet quickly. "I don't want to see any Indians." +</p> + +<p> +"But they're <i>tame</i> ones," said her brother. +</p> + +<p> +"They can't be <i>awful</i> tame, else they wouldn't run away with Uncle +Frank's cows," declared the little girl. +</p> + +<p> +"That's right!" laughed Uncle Frank. "I guess we won't bring any +Indians here, Curlytop, even if we catch 'em, which we may not do as +they have a good start of us. Anyhow we'll have to turn the Redmen +back to their reservation where they belong if we get any of them. +We'll just take my cattle and horses away, if we can, and tell the +Indians to go home and be good." +</p> + +<p> +"Will they do it?" asked Daddy Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"It's hard to say," answered Uncle Frank. "I'd like to make 'em stop +taking my animals, though. Well, I guess we'll start. We'll be back +as soon as we can." +</p> + +<p> +So he rode off with his cowboys after the Indians. The cowboy who +had ridden in with the news went back with the others to show them +where he had last seen the cattle thieves. +</p> + +<p> +He stopped at the ranch house long enough, though, to get something +to eat, and then rode away again. But he found time to talk a while +to the Curlytops. +</p> + +<p> +"Where did you see the Indians?" Teddy asked while the cowboy was +eating and Uncle Frank and the others getting ready for the chase. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I was giving my pony a drink at the spring in the rocks when I +saw the Indians across the prairie—field, I guess you'd call it back +East." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, the prairies are big fields," observed Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"So they are, Curly girl," laughed the cowboy. "Well, it was while I +was watering my horse that I saw the Indians." +</p> + +<p> +"You mean at the spring in the rocks where Jan and I found Clipclap +in the cave?" Teddy asked. +</p> + +<p> +"That's the place, Curlytop. I chased after them to see which way +they were driving off your Uncle Frank's cattle, but I saw they were +too many for me, so I came on back as fast as my horse would bring +me." +</p> + +<p> +"Was there a lot of Indians?" Teddy inquired. +</p> + +<p> +"Quite a few," answered the cowboy. "Well, now I've got to go and +help chase them," and he hurried through his meal and rode off with +Uncle Frank and the others. +</p> + +<p> +"Say, I wish we <i>could</i> go, don't you, Janet?" asked Teddy of his +sister, when they were left by themselves near the corral. +</p> + +<p> +"No, I don't! I don't want to chase Indians!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I'd chase 'em and you could watch me." +</p> + +<p> +"You're not big enough," said the little girl. "Indians are awful +big. Don't you remember the one we saw at the station?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. But maybe the ones that took Uncle Frank's ponies are little +Indians." +</p> + +<p> +"I don't care," Janet said. "I don't want to chase after any of 'em. +I don't like 'em." +</p> + +<p> +"All right—then I won't go," decided Teddy. "But let's go and take +a ride on our ponies." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I'll do that," agreed Janet, and soon, having had one of the +cowboys who had been left behind at Ring Rosy Ranch saddle Clipclap +and Star Face, the Curlytops started for their ride. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't go too far!" called Mrs. Martin after the children. +</p> + +<p> +"No, we won't," they promised. +</p> + +<p> +"I wants to go wide too!" begged Trouble. "I 'ikes a wide on a +ponyback." +</p> + +<p> +"Not now, my dear," his mother said. "We'll go in the shade and pick +flowers," and she carried him away where he would not see Teddy and +Janet go off, for that made Trouble fretful. He wanted to be with +them. +</p> + +<p> +Over the prairie rode Janet and Ted. Their ponies went slowly, for +the children had been told not to ride fast when they were alone. +But, after a while, Ted got tired of this slow motion. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's have a race, Jan!" he called. "I can beat you from here to +that hill," and he pointed to one not far away. +</p> + +<p> +"Mother said we couldn't ride fast," objected the little girl. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, we won't ride <i>very</i> fast," agreed Ted. "Come on, just a little +run." +</p> + +<p> +Janet, too, wanted to go a bit faster, and so, when her pony was in +a line with Ted's, she called sharply: +</p> + +<p> +"Gid-dap, Star Face!" +</p> + +<p> +"Gid-dap, Clipclap!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +The two ponies started to run. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'm going to beat! I'm going to beat!" Janet cried, for she saw +that Star Face was getting ahead of Clipclap. +</p> + +<p> +"No you're not!" shouted Teddy, and he touched his heel to the +pony's flank. Clipclap gave a jump forward, and then something +happened. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy took a flying leap, and right over Clipclap's head he sailed, +coming down on his hands and knees some distance off. Clipclap fell +down and rolled over in the grass while Janet kept on toward the hill +that marked the end of the race. +</p> + +<p> +The little girl reached this place first, not being able to stop her +pony when she saw what had happened to Teddy. But as soon as she +could turn around she rode back to him and asked anxiously: +</p> + +<p> +"Are you hurt, Ted?" +</p> + +<p> +"No—no. I—I guess not," he answered slowly. +</p> + +<p> +"Is Clipclap?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +The pony answered for himself by getting up, giving himself a shake +and then beginning to eat some grass. +</p> + +<p> +"What happened?" Janet questioned further. "Why didn't you come on +and race with me? I won!" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I guess you did," admitted Teddy, getting up and brushing the +dust off his clothes. "But I'd 'a' beaten you, only my pony stumbled +and he threw me over his head. I went right over his head; didn't I +Janet?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, you did, Teddy. And you looked awful funny! But I'm glad +you're not hurt." +</p> + +<p> +"So'm I." +</p> + +<p> +"What made Clipclap stumble?" asked the little girl. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess he stepped in a gopher's hole," answered her brother. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's look," proposed Janet. +</p> + +<p> +Brother and sister went to the place where Clipclap had stumbled. +There they saw a little hole in the ground. It was the front, or +maybe the back, door of the home of a little animal called a gopher, +which burrows under the earth. A gopher is a sort of squirrel-like +rat, and on the prairies they make many holes which are dangerous if +a horse suddenly steps into them. Prairie dogs are another species of +animal that burrow on the Western plains, making holes into which +horses or ponies often step, breaking their legs and throwing their +riders. +</p> + +<p> +This time nothing had happened except that Teddy and the pony had +been shaken up. The pony might have broken a leg but did not, nor was +Teddy even scratched. +</p> + +<p> +Cowboys always dread gopher and prairie dog holes, especially at +night when they can not be so easily seen. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I know what let's do!" exclaimed Janet, when she found that her +brother was all right. +</p> + +<p> +"What?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's wait here until the gopher comes up!" +</p> + +<p> +"All right. Then we'll catch him and take him home to Trouble." +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap15"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XV +</h3> + +<h3> +TROUBLE "HELPS" +</h3> + +<p> +Janet and Teddy sat beside the gopher hole, while their ponies, not +far from them, ate the sweet grass of the prairie. Clipclap and Star +Face did not wander away, even if they were not tied to a hitching +post. For Western horses and cow ponies are trained to stand where +their master leaves them, if he will but toss the reins over their +heads and let them rest on the ground. +</p> + +<p> +When a pony sees that this has been done he will never run away, +unless perhaps something frightens him very much. It may be that he +thinks, when the reins are over his head and down on the ground, they +are tied to something, so he could not run away if he wanted to. +</p> + +<p> +At any rate, Clipclap and Star Face stayed where Ted and Janet left +them, and the little Curlytops watched the gopher hole. +</p> + +<p> +"I wonder when he'll come out," said Janet after a bit. +</p> + +<p> +"Shs-s-s-s!" whispered Teddy. "Don't talk!" +</p> + +<p> +"Why not?" asked his sister. +</p> + +<p> +"'Cause you might scare him. You mustn't talk any more than if you +were fishing." +</p> + +<p> +"A gopher isn't a fish!" +</p> + +<p> +"I know it," said Teddy. "But you've got to keep quiet." +</p> + +<p> +So he and Janet remained very quiet, watching the hole. Suddenly +Janet gave Teddy a slight tap with her hand. He had looked off to see +if the ponies were all right. +</p> + +<p> +"What's the matter?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Hush!" whispered Janet. "There he is." +</p> + +<p> +She pointed to the gopher's hole. Teddy saw a tiny black nose and a +pair of sparkling eyes as a head was thrust a little way out of the +burrow. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll get him!" cried the little boy. +</p> + +<p> +With outstretched hand he made a grab toward the hole. But his +fingers only grasped a lot of dirt and stones. The gopher had dived +down back into his hole as soon as he saw Teddy's first move. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, he got away!" said Janet sorrowfully. +</p> + +<p> +"Ill get him next time," declared Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +But he did not. Three or four times more the little animal put his +small head and bright eyes out of the top of the hole, and each time +Teddy made a grab for him; but the gopher was too quick. Finally +Janet said: +</p> + +<p> +"I guess we better go home, Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +"Why?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, it's getting late, and I'm getting hungry." +</p> + +<p> +"So'm I. I'll wait until he comes up once more and then well go." +</p> + +<p> +Once more the gopher peeped up, as if wondering why in the world +those two strange children did not go away and let him alone. Ted +made a grab for him, but missed and then the little boy said: +</p> + +<p> +"Come on, Jan. Now we'll go home!" +</p> + +<p> +"And we haven't any nice little gopher to take to Trouble," said +Janet sadly. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, well, maybe it would bite him if we did catch one," reflected +her brother. "I'll take him some of these pretty stones," and he +picked up some from the ground. "He'll like to play with these." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy whistled for his pony and Clipclap came slowly up to his +little master. Janet held out a bunch of grass to Star Face and her +pony, just as he had been taught, came up to her. Teddy helped his +sister get up in the saddle. It was not hard for them, as the ponies +were small, and Jim Mason had showed them how to put one foot in the +stirrup, and then, with one hand on the saddle and the other grasping +both the bridle and the pony's mane, give a jump that carried them +up. But though Janet could mount her pony alone Teddy always helped +her when he was with her by holding the stirrup. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's have another race home," suggested Teddy, when they had +started. +</p> + +<p> +"No," answered his sister. "You might fall some more and get hurt. +We'll ride slow." +</p> + +<p> +So they did, though Teddy was anxious for a good, fast gallop. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, did you have a nice time?" asked Mother Martin, as they came +to the house after putting away their ponies. +</p> + +<p> +"We had lots of fun," answered Janet "Teddy fell off his pony—" +</p> + +<p> +"Fell off his pony!" cried her mother. +</p> + +<p> +"He threw me!" explained Ted, and then he told what had happened. +</p> + +<p> +"An' didn't you catch noffin for me?" asked Trouble, who heard his +brother telling the story of his adventure. +</p> + +<p> +"I brought you these nice stones," and Teddy took them out of his +pocket. "You can play with them, Trouble." +</p> + +<p> +Baby William laughed and sat down to play with the stones. +</p> + +<p> +"Did the cowboys come back with the Indians?" asked Teddy of Aunt +Millie when she was giving him and Janet some bread and jam to eat. +</p> + +<p> +"No, not yet, Curlytop. I expect Uncle Frank and the boys will be +gone all night." +</p> + +<p> +"Will they have a house to sleep in?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"No, unless they happen to be near one when it gets dark. But they +took their blankets with them, and it's so warm that they'll just +wrap up in them and sleep out on the prairie," said Aunt Millie. +</p> + +<p> +"Won't they be hungry?" Teddy inquired, as he took a big bite of the +bread and jam. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no! Don't you remember I told you they always take something to +eat with them when they go out this way? They are used to camping on +the prairies, and they know how to make a fire, broil the bacon and +make their coffee," answered Aunt Millie. "You need never worry about +Uncle Frank and his cowboys. They'll be all right." +</p> + +<p> +And so they were. It was not until the next afternoon that the party +which had gone out to chase the Indians came back. They were tired, +because they had ridden a good many miles, but they said they had +slept well and had had enough to eat. +</p> + +<p> +"Did you catch the Indians?" asked Teddy eagerly. +</p> + +<p> +"No, Curlytop," answered Uncle Frank. "I'm sorry to say we did not. +They got away from us." +</p> + +<p> +"Did you see them?" asked Daddy Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, but they were a long way off. Too far for us to get at them." +</p> + +<p> +"And did they have your cattle with them?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, they had a lot of my best animals. I guess they must be hiding +away somewhere among the hills and mountains. We came pretty close to +them at one time, and they suddenly disappeared. It seems as if they +must have gone into a big hole or cave. We couldn't find them." +</p> + +<p> +"Are you going to look any more?" Teddy questioned. "And if you do +go, Uncle Frank, please can't I go too?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, most likely we will have another hunt for the Indians," +answered the ranchman, "but I'm afraid we couldn't take you along, +Curlytop." +</p> + +<p> +"Why not, Uncle Frank?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, you might get hurt." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, can I see the Indians after you catch 'em?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes, I guess I can promise you <i>that</i>," and Uncle Frank smiled at +Daddy Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"And can I ask them to make me a bow and arrows?" went on Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, you can <i>ask</i> them, but I don't believe they will," Uncle +Frank replied. "These Indians aren't very nice. They're quite bad, in +fact, and we all wish they'd stay where they belong and not come off +their reservation and steal our cattle and horses." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I'm going to ask one to make me a bow and some arrows when +you catch 'em," decided Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +That afternoon Teddy saw his sister trying to do something with bits +of string and sticks in a shady spot on the porch. +</p> + +<p> +"What are you making, Jan," he asked. "A cat's cradle?" +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! you don't make a cat's cradle with sticks," said the little +girl. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I thought maybe it was a new kind, or maybe a <i>kitten's</i> +cradle," laughed Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Nope; it isn't that either," went on Janet, as she kept on twisting +the strings around the sticks. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, what <i>are</i> you making?" +</p> + +<p> +"A bow and arrow." +</p> + +<p> +"Ho! Ho!" laughed Jan's brother "You can't make a bow and arrow <i>that</i> +way. Anyhow you don't need a string for an arrow." +</p> + +<p> +"I know <i>that</i>!" Jan said. "But I'm making the bow first, and then I'm +going to make the arrow. The arrow part is what you shoot, isn't it, +Ted?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," he answered. "I'll help you, Jan. I didn't mean to laugh at +you," he went on, for he saw that Janet was very much in earnest +about what she was doing. "I know how to make a bow and arrows." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, please show me!" begged Janet. "I want to know how to shoot +like the Indians." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy, however, did not have much better luck making the bow than +his sister had had. The trouble was that the sticks Janet had picked +up were not the right kind. They would not bend, and to make a bow +that shoots arrows a piece of wood that springs, or bends, is needed. +For it is the springy action of the wood that shoots the arrow on its +way. +</p> + +<p> +After trying two or three times, each time finding something wrong, +Teddy said: +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I don't guess I can make a bow, either. Let's play something +else." +</p> + +<p> +"What'll we play?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy thought for a few moments. Playing out at Uncle Frank's ranch +was different from playing at home. In some ways it was not so easy, +for at home if the Curly-tops could not think up any way to have fun +by themselves, they could run down the street and find some other +boys and girls. But here there were no streets, and no other boys or +girls unless Teddy and Janet went a long way to look for them, and +they could not do that. +</p> + +<p> +"I know what we can do," said Teddy, after a while. "We can get some +blankets and cookies and play cowboy." +</p> + +<p> +"How can you play cowboy with cookies and blankets?" +</p> + +<p> +"I'll show you," Teddy answered, as he went into the house to get +the things he wanted. He soon came out with some old quilts and the +cookies, which were in a paper bag. +</p> + +<p> +"Now," went on Janet's brother, "We'll go off on the prairie and +make believe it's night and we have to stay out like the cowboys when +they went after Uncle Frank's horses." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, that'll be fun!" cried Janet, and then she and Ted rolled +themselves up in the old quilts and pretended to go to sleep on the +soft grass of the prairie, making believe it was night, though of +course it was not, for the sun was shining. Then they ate the +cookies, pretending they were bacon, sandwiches, cake and other +things that cowboys like. +</p> + +<p> +Two or three days later Uncle Frank and the cowboys went out again +to look for the Indians, but they did not find them. From other +ranches word came of cattle and horses that had been stolen; and more +cowboys were hired to keep watch over the animals that had to be left +out in the big fields to eat their fill of grass. No barn was large +enough to hold them. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile Teddy and Janet were learning how to ride better each day. +They could go quite fast now, though they were not allowed to make +their ponies gallop except on ground where Uncle Frank knew there +were no holes in which the animals might stumble. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes Daddy and Mother Martin went to ride with the children, +and then they had good times together, taking their lunch and staying +all day out on the prairie or in a shady grove of trees. +</p> + +<p> +One day Ted and Janet saw some cowboys driving a number of ponies to +the corral near the ranch buildings. Some of the animals were quite +wild and went racing about as though they would like to run far off +and not come back. +</p> + +<p> +But the cowboys knew how to take care of the ponies. They rode +around them, keeping them together in a bunch, and if one started to +get away the cowboys would fire their revolvers and yell, so the pony +would become frightened and turn back. +</p> + +<p> +"Did you take these ponies away from the Indians?" asked Teddy, as +he saw the little animals turned into the corral and the gate shut on +them. +</p> + +<p> +"No, these are some that have been running wild in a field away over +at the far end of my ranch," explained Uncle Frank. "I had them +brought in, as I'm going to ship some away to be sold." +</p> + +<p> +"Come on, we'll go and look at the ponies," called Ted to his +sister. "Are they very wild?" he asked Jim Mason, who had helped the +cowboys bring them to the ranch corral. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, some of 'em are pretty wild," was the answer. "We had hard +work making them come along. They want to get loose and do as they +please." +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet climbed up on the corral fence to look at the ponies. +A few were somewhat tame, and allowed the Curlytops to pat them. But +others were very wild, and ran about as though looking for a place to +jump the fence or get out through a hole. But the fence was good and +strong. It was high and had no holes in it. +</p> + +<p> +"Lots of ponies!" murmured Trouble, as he toddled after his brother +and sister to the corral. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, lots of 'em," agreed Janet. "You'll soon be a big boy and you +can have a pony to ride like brother and sister." +</p> + +<p> +"Trouble want pony now!" he exclaimed. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no, not now," Janet said as she helped him get up on the lowest +board of the fence, part of which was wooden, so he could look in +better. +</p> + +<p> +"What they run around like that for?" asked Trouble, as he saw some +of the ponies racing about the corral. +</p> + +<p> +"They want to get out," Janet answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Trouble go help," murmured the little fellow, but Janet either did +not hear what he said or she paid no attention, for just then two of +the ponies had a race together around the corral and she and Ted +wanted to see which would win. +</p> + +<p> +Trouble got down off the fence and went around to the gate. His +brother and sister did not notice him until, all at once, Janet, +missing her little brother, cried: +</p> + +<p> +"Where's Trouble?" +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know," Ted answered. "Maybe he—Oh, look, Janet!" he +suddenly cried. "The corral gate is open and all the ponies are +running out!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, that's right! They are!" Janet then screamed. "But where is +Trouble?" +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know. I guess he—Oh, there he is!" and Teddy pointed to a +spot near the gate. +</p> + +<p> +There stood Trouble between the fence and the big gate which had +swung back on its hinges. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, look at 'em run!" cried Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"They're all running out!" added Teddy excitedly. "I wonder who let +'em loose." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe it was Trouble," suggested Janet. "Oh, it <i>was!"</i> she went on. +"Trouble must have opened the gate and let the ponies loose!" +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap16"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XVI +</h3> + +<h3> +ON THE TRAIL +</h3> + +<p> +Trouble had done that very thing. The little fellow had not meant to +do any harm, and certainly thought he was doing something to help, +but really he made a great deal of work for Uncle Frank and the +cowboys. +</p> + +<p> +The corral, or yard where the half-tamed horses were kept while they +were being got ready to send away, was closed by a large gate, but +one easy to open if you knew how. All one had to do was to pull on a +little handle, which snapped a spring and the gate would swing open. +</p> + +<p> +Horses and cattle could not open the gate, for they could not reach +the handle, even if any of them had known enough to do anything like +that. +</p> + +<p> +But Trouble had watched Uncle Frank or some of the cowboys open the +gate by pulling on the handle; and now he did it himself. Then, of +course, when the ponies saw the open gate they raced out. +</p> + +<p> +"Get after 'em!" cried Uncle Frank who came galloping up on his +horse to find out what was the matter. "Get after the ponies, boys! +Round them up!" +</p> + +<p> +"Round up," is what cowboys call riding around a lot of horses or +cattle to keep the animals in one place or to drive them where they +should go. Uncle Frank wanted his cowboys to ride after the runaway +ponies and drive them back into the corral. +</p> + +<p> +As the wild little horses trotted out through the gate, behind which +Trouble stood, well out of danger, the cowboys rode after them, +yelling and shouting and shooting their revolvers. +</p> + +<p> +"What a lot of noise!" cried Janet, covering her ears with her hands +as she got down off the fence. +</p> + +<p> +"I like it!" laughed Teddy. "It's like a Wild West show!" +</p> + +<p> +Indeed it was, in a way, but it meant a lot of work for Uncle Frank +and his men. For all the ponies ran out of the corral and were +scattering over the prairie. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Trouble! did you let the horses out?" asked Janet, as her +little brother came out from behind the gate and toddled toward her +and Ted. The runaway horses were now well out of the way. "Did you +open the gate?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. I did open gate," Trouble answered, smiling. +</p> + +<p> +"What for?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Help little horses get out," said Trouble. "Them want to get out +and Trouble help them. Trouble 'ike ponies!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, but, my dear, you shouldn't have done it!" chided Mother +Martin, who had come out of the house to find out what all the +excitement was about. "That was very naughty of you. See all the work +you have made for Uncle Frank and his men." +</p> + +<p> +"Horses run out when Trouble open gate," was the only reply Baby +William made. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I know," went on his mother. "But it was wrong! You must never +again open any gates on Uncle Frank's ranch. Just think—the horses +might have stepped on you or kicked you!" +</p> + +<p> +"We didn't see him near the gate or we'd have stopped him," put in +Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"That's true," added Janet. "The first we saw was the ponies going +out, and then we saw Trouble behind the gate." +</p> + +<p> +"He didn't mean to be bad," said his mother, as she carried him back +to the house, "but he has made a lot of work. I'll have to punish him +by not letting him out to play for an hour or so. Then he'll remember +not to open gates again, whether he thinks he is helping horses or +not." +</p> + +<p> +And, though Trouble cried very hard, he was kept in the house. For, +as his mother had said, he must have something to make him remember +not to do such a thing again. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile Uncle Frank and the cowboys were busy rounding up the +runaway ponies. The little horses, tired of being cooped up in the +corral, raced about, kicking up their heels and glad to be out on the +prairie again. But the cowboys knew how to handle them. +</p> + +<p> +Around and around the drove of half-wild ponies rode the yelling and +shouting men, firing off many blank cartridges to scare the little +animals back into the corral. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the ponies, frightened by the noise, did turn back. They ran +up to the corral gate, which was still open, and sniffed at the +fence. They may have said to themselves: +</p> + +<p> +"We don't like it, being shut up in there, but maybe well have to go +back in, for we don't like being shouted at, and we don't like the +bang-bang noises like thunder." +</p> + +<p> +But, even when some of the ponies had run back as far as the corral +gate they did not go in. Once again they turned around and would have +galloped across the prairie again. But Uncle Frank shouted: +</p> + +<p> +"Get after them, boys! Drive those few in and the rest will follow +after like sheep! Get after them!" +</p> + +<p> +So the cowboys rode up on their own swift ponies, that seemed to be +having a good time, and then the other ponies nearest the corral gate +were turned in through it. Then as the rest were driven up they did +as the first ones had done and galloped back where they had been +before Trouble let them out. +</p> + +<p> +One after another the ponies ran back into the corral until every +one was there. Then Uncle Frank closed the gate, and this time he +locked it so that no one could open it without the key. But no one +would try, not even Trouble, for, crying and sobbing to be allowed to +go out and play, he had been given a lesson that he would not soon +forget. +</p> + +<p> +"I'm sorry I had to punish him," said Mother Martin to the +Curlytops, when they came in after the ponies were once more in the +corral, "but I just had to. Work on a ranch is hard enough without +little boys letting the horses run wild after they have once been +caught." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, well, no great harm was done," said Uncle Frank with a +good-natured laugh, "though it did make us ride pretty hard for a +while. Come on, Trouble, I'll take you ponyback!" +</p> + +<p> +This was what Trouble liked, and he soon dried his tears and sat on +the saddle in front of Uncle Frank as happy as could be. Janet and +Ted got out their ponies, and rode with Uncle Frank and Trouble +around the outside of the corral, looking at the little horses inside +the fence. They were quieter now, and were eating some oats the +cowboys had put out for them. +</p> + +<p> +Two or three days after this, when the ponies had been driven away +to the railroad station to be shipped to a far-off state, a cowboy +came riding in with news that he had seen a band of two or three +Indians pass along the prairie near the rocks where Teddy and Janet +had found Clipclap. +</p> + +<p> +"If we ride after them," said the cowboy, "maybe we can find where +the other Indians are, and where they have hidden your horses and +cattle, Mr. Barton." +</p> + +<p> +"That's it!" exclaimed Uncle Frank. "We'll get on the trail after +these Indians. I'm sure they must have some of my animals hidden away +in the hills, for I would have heard of it if they had sold them +around here. We'll get on the trail!" +</p> + +<p> +"What's the trail, Daddy?" asked Teddy of his father. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, it means the marks the Indians' ponies may have left in the +soft ground," said Mr. Martin. "Uncle Frank and his cowboys will try +to trail, or follow, the marks of the horses' feet, and see where the +Indians have gone." +</p> + +<p> +"Can't I come?" asked Teddy. "I can ride good now!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no indeed you can't go!" cried Mother Martin. "Are you going?" +she asked her husband. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," he answered. "I think I'll go on the trail with Uncle Frank." +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap17"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XVII +</h3> + +<h3> +THE CURLYTOPS ALONE +</h3> + +<p> +Teddy and Janet sat on a bench outside the cowboys' bunkhouse, as +their father, Uncle Frank and a number of the ranchmen rode away over +the prairies on the trail of the Indians. The Curlytops did not seem +very happy. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't you wish <i>we</i> could go, Jan?" asked Teddy, after he and his +sister had sat in silence for some time. +</p> + +<p> +"I just guess I <i>do</i>!" she exclaimed. "I can ride good, too. Almost as +good as you, Ted, and I don't see why we couldn't go!" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, you ride nice, Jan," said her brother. "But I thought you were +afraid of Indians." +</p> + +<p> +"I used to be, but I'm not any more. Anyway, if you'd stay with me I +wouldn't be. And, anyhow, Uncle Frank says the Indians won't hurt us." +</p> + +<p> +"Course they won't! I'm not afraid! I'd go on the trail after 'em if +they'd let us." +</p> + +<p> +"So would I. We could throw stones at 'em if they tried to hurt us, +Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. Or we could ride our ponies fast and get away. Uncle Frank +told me the Indians didn't have any good ponies, and that's why they +took his." +</p> + +<p> +"But we can't go," said Janet with a sigh. +</p> + +<p> +"No; we've got to stay at home." +</p> + +<p> +A little later a cowboy came limping out of the bunkhouse. His name +was Sim Body, but all his friends called him "Baldy" because he had +so little hair on his head. +</p> + +<p> +"Hello, Curlytops!" cried Baldy in a jolly voice, for he was always +good-natured. Even now he was jolly, though he had a lame foot where +a horse had stepped on it. That is why he was not on the trail after +the Indians with the other cowboys. +</p> + +<p> +"Hello," answered Teddy, but he did not speak in a jolly voice. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, what's the matter?" asked Baldy with a laugh, as he limped to +the bench and sat down near the two children. "You act as sad and +gloomy as if there wasn't a Christmas or a New Year's any more, to +say nothing of Fourth of July and birthdays! What's the matter? Seems +to me, if I had all the nice, curly hair you two have, I'd be as +happy as a horned toad and I'd go around singing all day long," and +Baldy rubbed his hand over his own smooth head and laughed. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't like my hair," grumbled Teddy. "It's always getting snarled +and the comb gets stuck in it." +</p> + +<p> +"And it does in mine, too," added Janet. "And mother pulls when she +tries to untangle it. Mine's longer than Ted's." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, and nicer, for that reason," went on Baldy. "Though I'd be +glad if I had even half of yours, Teddy. But never mind about that. I +won't take your hair, though I'd like to know what makes you both so +gloomy-like. Can't you smile?" +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet could not help laughing at Baldy, he seemed so funny. +He was a good friend of theirs. +</p> + +<p> +"We can't go on the trail after Indians," said Janet. "We want to +go, but we've got to stay here." +</p> + +<p> +"And we can ride our ponies good, too," went on Teddy. "Uncle Frank +said we could." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, you're getting to be pretty good riders," admitted Baldy. "But +that isn't saying you're big enough to go on a trail after Indians. +Of course these Indians may not be very bad, and maybe they aren't +the ones that took our horses. But riding on a trail takes a long +while, and maybe the boys will be out all night in the open. You +wouldn't like that." +</p> + +<p> +"We went camping with our grandpa once," declared Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"And we slept in a tent," added his sister. +</p> + +<p> +"And we saw a funny blue light and we thought it was a ghost but it +wasn't," continued Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Hum! A ghost, eh?" laughed Baldy. "Well, I've never been on a trail +after one of them, but I've trailed Indians—and helped catch 'em, +too." +</p> + +<p> +"How do you do it?" asked Teddy eagerly. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, you just keep on riding—following the trail you know—until +you catch up to those you're after. Sometimes you can't see any marks +on the ground and you have to guess at it." +</p> + +<p> +"And do the Indians ride on ahead and try to get away?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Indeed they do. When they know we're after 'em they ride as fast as +they can. That is, if they've done wrong, like taking horses or +cattle that aren't theirs. We just keep chasing 'em until we get +close enough to arrest 'em." +</p> + +<p> +"It's like a game of tag, isn't it?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, yes, you could call it sort of like that," admitted Baldy, +with another laugh. "But it's a kind of game of tag that little boys +and girls can't very well play." +</p> + +<p> +"Not even when they have ponies?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, of course, having a pony makes it easier to keep on the +trail. You couldn't go very far walking over the prairies—at least +none of us do. We all ride. But I'll tell you some stories about +cowboys and Indians and that will amuse you for a while. Like to hear +'em?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Very much, thank you," added Janet, a little more politely but +still just as eagerly as her brother. +</p> + +<p> +So Baldy, sitting on the bench in front of the bunkhouse and resting +his lame foot on a saddle on the ground, told the Curlytops stories +of his cowboy life—of sleeping out on the prairies keeping watch +over the cattle, of Indians or other bad men who would come and try +to steal them, and how he and his friends had to give chase to get +the steers or ponies back. +</p> + +<p> +"Did you ever get captured by the Indians?" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, yes, once I was," answered the cowboy. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, tell us about it!" begged the little Curlytop chap. "I love to +hear stories about Indians! Don't you, Jan?" +</p> + +<p> +"I like stories—yes," said the little girl. "But if you're going to +tell a story about Indians, Mr. Baldy, maybe it'll be a scary one, +and I don't like scary stories." +</p> + +<p> +"I do!" exclaimed Ted. "The scarier they are the better I like 'em!" +</p> + +<p> +Baldy laughed as he said: +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I guess, seeing as how the little lady doesn't like scary +stories, I'd better tell one that isn't. We must please the ladies, +you know, Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes, I know that," the little boy said. "But after you tell the +not-scary story, Mr. Baldy, couldn't you tell me one that is scary—a +real, terrible scary one. You can take me out behind the barn where +Jan can't hear it." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, maybe I could do that," agreed the good-natured cowboy, +laughing at the Curlytops. "Now then for the not-scary story." +</p> + +<p> +"And you don't have to take Teddy out behind the barn to tell him the +scary one," put in Janet. "You could stay here, and I could cover up +my ears with my hands when you came to the terrible parts, couldn't I? +Is there any parts in it that isn't scary? I'd like to hear <i>them</i>, +Mr. Baldy." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I guess we can fix it that way," said the cowboy. "Now the +first story I'm going to tell you, is how I was captured by the +Indians," and the children sat closer to him and waited eagerly. +</p> + +<p> +"Once upon a time," said Baldy, "a lot of Indians lived not far from +the house where I lived." +</p> + +<p> +"Weren't you afraid?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Please don't ask questions till he tells the story," begged Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"All right," agreed his sister, and Baldy went on: +</p> + +<p> +"No, I wasn't much afraid, or if I was I've forgotten it now, as it +was quite a while ago. Anyhow, one day I was out on the prairie, +picking flowers, I think, for I know I used to like flowers, and, all +of a sudden, along came a lot of Indians on horses, and one of them +picked me up and took me right away with him, on the horse in front +of him. +</p> + +<p> +"The horse was a strong one, and could easily carry both of us, and +though I wiggled around a good bit and yelled, the Indian didn't let +go of me. On and on he rode, carrying me off, and the other Indians +rode ahead of us, and on either side. I couldn't get away, no matter +how I tried. +</p> + +<p> +"After a while the Indians, who had been out hunting, came to where +their tents were. This was their camp, and then I was lifted down off +the horse and given to a squaw." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy simply had to ask some questions now. +</p> + +<p> +"A squaw is a Indian lady, isn't she?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," answered Baldy, "that's what she is." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I shouldn't think she'd want to take you," went on the little +boy. "I thought the Indian men always kept the prisoners, and you +were a prisoner, weren't you?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," answered Baldy, and there was a queer smile on his face, "but +I guess I forgot to tell you that the time I was captured by the +Indians I was a little boy, not as big as you, Curlytop. And the +reason they picked me up off the prairie was that I had wandered away +from my home and was lost. So the nice squaw kept me until one of the +Indian men had time to take me home." +</p> + +<p> +"Then didn't the Indians hurt you?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Not a bit. They were very good to me," the cowboy said. "Some of +them knew my father and mother. That's the only time I was ever +captured by the Indians, and I'm afraid it wasn't very much of a +story." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, it was <i>very</i> nice," said Teddy politely. +</p> + +<p> +"And not a bit scary, except a little teeny bit at first," added +Janet. "Can you tell us another, Mr. Baldy?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I guess I can," said the good-natured cowboy. So he told +other tales of what had happened to him on the prairies, for he had +lived in the West all his life, and knew much about it. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy and Janet were very glad to hear these stories, but listening +to them made Ted, at least, wish all the more that he could have gone +with his father and his Uncle Frank on the trail after the Indians. +</p> + +<p> +Then Baldy was called away by another cowboy, who wanted to ask him +something about a sick horse, and Teddy and Janet were called by +their mother to take care of Trouble for a while. +</p> + +<p> +It was still morning, the cowboys having ridden away before dinner. +They had taken with them enough to eat, even if they had to stay out +all night. +</p> + +<p> +"I wants a wide!" announced Trouble, when his brother and sister +came in to get him. +</p> + +<p> +"Could we give him a little ride on our ponies?" asked Teddy of his +mother. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I think so. But don't go far away from the stable. Are any of +the cowboys out there to help you saddle?" +</p> + +<p> +Saddling, which meant buckling the leather seat tightly around the +pony, was something Teddy and Janet could not yet do very well for +themselves. It takes strong fingers to tighten the straps. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, Baldy is out there," Janet said. +</p> + +<p> +"How often have I told you not to call the men by their nicknames?" +asked Mother Martin with a smile. "It isn't nice for children to do +that." +</p> + +<p> +"But, please, Mother, we don't know his other name very well," said +Teddy. "Everybody calls him Baldy." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, that's right," agreed Aunt Millie. "I do myself. I guess he +doesn't mind." +</p> + +<p> +"Very well, if he'll saddle your ponies for you, take Trouble for a +little ride," agreed Mrs. Martin. "But be careful." +</p> + +<p> +The Curlytops said they would, and they were soon taking turns +riding Trouble on the saddles in front of them. Clipclap and Star +Face liked the children and were well-behaved ponies, so there was no +danger in putting Trouble on the back of either as long as Ted or +Janet held him. +</p> + +<p> +"But don't go riding off with him on the trail after the Indians," +said Baldy, playfully shaking his finger at the Curlytops. +</p> + +<p> +"We won't!" they promised. +</p> + +<p> +Up and down on the paths among the ranch buildings rode the +children. Trouble was allowed to hold the ends of the reins, and he +thought he was guiding the ponies, but really Teddy and Janet did +that. +</p> + +<p> +But finally even such fun as riding ponyback tired Trouble. He +wanted something else to do, and said: +</p> + +<p> +"Le's go an' s'ide downhill on hay in de barn." +</p> + +<p> +Teddy and Janet knew what that meant. They had learned this kind of +fun at Grandpa Martin's Cherry Farm. Here, on Ring Rosy Ranch, there +was a large barn filled with hay, and there was plenty of room to +slide down in the mow, or place where the hay was put away. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on!" cried Janet. "Well give him a good slide, Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +A little later the Curlytops and Baby William were laughing and +shouting in the barn, rolling down and tumbling over one another, but +not getting hurt, for the hay was too soft. +</p> + +<p> +Pretty soon the dinner horn blew and, with good appetites from their +morning's fun, the children hurried in to get something to eat. +</p> + +<p> +"This is a good dinner!" announced Teddy as he passed his plate a +second time. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," agreed Mother Martin. "I hope your father and the cowboys +have as good." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, they'll have plenty—never fear!" laughed Uncle Frank's wife. +"They never go hungry when they're on the trail." +</p> + +<p> +After dinner Trouble went to sleep, as he generally did, and Teddy +and Janet were left to themselves to find amusement. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's go for another ride," suggested Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"All right," agreed Janet. +</p> + +<p> +The saddles had not been taken off their ponies. Their mother and +Aunt Millie saw them go out and, supposing they were only going to +ride around the barn and ranch buildings, as they had done before, +said nothing to them. +</p> + +<p> +But Ted was no sooner in the saddle than he turned to his sister and +said: +</p> + +<p> +"Jan, why can't we go riding the trail after the Indians?" +</p> + +<p> +"What! We two alone?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. We know the way over to the rocks where we found Clipclap in +the cave, and from there we can ride farther on, just like daddy and +Uncle Frank. Come on!" +</p> + +<p> +Janet thought for a minute. She wanted to go as much as did Teddy. +It did not seem very wrong. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, we'll ride a little way," she said. "But we've got to come +back before dark." +</p> + +<p> +"All right," agreed Teddy. "We will!" +</p> + +<p> +And the Curlytops rode away over the prairie. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap18"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XVIII +</h3> + +<h3> +LOST +</h3> + +<p> +Clipclap and Star Face, the two sturdy little ponies, trotted +bravely along, carrying Teddy and Janet on their backs. The ponies +did not wonder where they were going—they hardly ever did that. They +were satisfied to go wherever their master or mistress guided them, +for they knew the children would be good to them. +</p> + +<p> +"Do you s'pose we'll find any Indians?" asked Janet after a while. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe," answered Teddy. "Are you scared?" +</p> + +<p> +"No," replied his sister slowly. "I was just thinking maybe we could +find 'em, and get back Uncle Frank's horses, even if the cowboys +didn't." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe we could!" cried Teddy. "That would be <i>great</i>! Wouldn't +daddy be surprised!" +</p> + +<p> +"And Uncle Frank, too!" added Janet +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, and the cowboys! Then they'd think we could ride all right!" +went on Ted. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on, let's hurry! Gid-dap!" he called to Clipclap. +</p> + +<p> +"Where are we going first?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"To the rocks, where we found my pony in the cave," answered her +brother, as he patted the little animal on the neck. "The cowboy said +he saw the Indians near there." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe they're hiding in the cave," suggested Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"No, they wouldn't do that," Teddy decided, after thinking it over +awhile. +</p> + +<p> +"They'd be afraid to stay so near Uncle Frank's ranch. Anyhow the +cave isn't big enough." +</p> + +<p> +"It was big enough for Clipclap." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, but he's a little pony. Anyhow, we'll look in the cave and +then we'll ride on along the trail until we catch up to daddy and +Uncle Frank." +</p> + +<p> +"What'll they say?" +</p> + +<p> +"I guess they'll be s'prised." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe they'll make us go back." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, if they do we'll have some fun, anyhow," said Teddy, +laughing. "Gid-dap, Clipclap." +</p> + +<p> +"It's a good thing we've two ponies instead of one goat," remarked +Janet, after they had ridden on a little farther. +</p> + +<p> +"Course it is," agreed Ted. "We couldn't both ride Nicknack, though +he could pull us both in the wagon." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe he'd be afraid of Indians," suggested Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"No, I don't guess he would," answered Teddy, after some reflection. +"Nicknack's a brave goat. I like him. But I like Clipclap, too." +</p> + +<p> +"And I like Star Face," added Janet "He's an awful nice pony." +</p> + +<p> +On and on the ponies trotted, carrying the Curlytops farther and +farther from the Ring Rosy Ranch house. But the children were not +afraid. The sun was shining brightly, and they had often before +ridden this far alone. They could look back at the ranch buildings +when they got on top of the little hills with which the prairie was +dotted, and they were not lonesome. +</p> + +<p> +Off on either side they could see groups of horses or cattle that +belonged to Uncle Frank, and Ted and Janet thought there must be +cowboys with the herds. +</p> + +<p> +"I'm going to get a drink when we get to the rocks," said Janet, as +they came within sight of the pile of big stones. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. And we'll give the ponies some, too," agreed her brother. "I +guess they're thirsty." +</p> + +<p> +Indeed the little animals were thirsty, and after they had rested a +while—for Uncle Frank had told the children it was not wise to let a +horse or pony drink when it was too warm—Clipclap and Star Face had +some of the cool water that bubbled up among the rocks. +</p> + +<p> +"It tastes awful good!" exclaimed Janet, as she took some from the +cup Ted filled for her. +</p> + +<p> +After Clipclap had been found at the spring, the time he was hidden +in the cave, one of the cowboys had brought a tin cup to the spring, +leaving it there, so if anyone passed the spring it would be easy to +get a drink without having to use a hat or kneel down on the ground. +For horses and cattle there was a little rocky basin into which the +cool water flowed. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish we could take some of the water with us," said Teddy, when, +after a rest, they were ready to follow the trail again. +</p> + +<p> +"If we had a bottle, like some of the cowboys carry, we could," +remarked Janet. "Maybe we'll get awful thirsty if we ride on a long +way, Ted." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe we will, but maybe we can find another spring. I heard Uncle +Frank say there's more than one on the ranch. Come on!" +</p> + +<p> +The children took another drink, and offered some to the ponies, +each of which took a little. Then, once more, the Curlytops were on +the trail after the Indians, as they believed. +</p> + +<p> +"Which way do we go now?" asked Janet, as she watched Teddy get up +in his saddle after he had helped her mount Star Face. +</p> + +<p> +"We've got to follow the trail," Teddy answered. +</p> + +<p> +"How do we do it?" his sister inquired. +</p> + +<p> +"Well. I asked Baldy and he said just look on the ground for tracks +in the dirt. You know the kind of marks a horse's foot makes, don't +you, Jan?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, and I see some down here," and she pointed to the ground. +</p> + +<p> +"That's them!" exclaimed Teddy. "We've got to follow the marks! +That's the trail!" +</p> + +<p> +"Is this the Indians' trail?" asked the little girl, and she looked +over her shoulder, perhaps to make sure no one was following her and +her brother. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know if it's the Indians' trail, or, maybe, the marks left +by Uncle Frank and daddy," said Teddy. "Anyhow we've got to follow +the trail. That's what Baldy said." +</p> + +<p> +"He doesn't know we came off alone, does he?" asked Janet +</p> + +<p> +"No. I guess he wouldn't have let us if he did. But we won't have to +go very far, and then we'll catch up to the rest. Then they'll have +to take us with 'em." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," said Janet, and she rode along beside her brother. +</p> + +<p> +Neither of the Curlytops stopped to think that their father, Uncle +Frank and the cowboys had started off early that morning, and must +have ridden on many miles ahead. The cowboys' horses, too, could go +faster than the ponies Star Pace and Clipclap, for the larger horses +had longer legs. +</p> + +<p> +All Teddy and Janet thought of was hurrying along as fast as they +could go, in order to catch up to the Indian hunters. What would +happen after that they did not know. +</p> + +<p> +All at once, as the Curlytops were riding along, they heard what +they thought was a whistle. +</p> + +<p> +"Some one is calling us," said Janet, turning to look back. "Did you +hear that, Ted?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I heard a whistle. Maybe it's Uncle Frank, or some of the +cowboys." +</p> + +<p> +The children looked across the prairie but could see no one. They +were about to go on again when the whistle sounded once more. +</p> + +<p> +"That is some one calling us," declared Jan. "Let's see if we can't +find who it is, Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +So the children looked around again, but no one was in sight, and, +what was still stranger, the whistling sound kept up. +</p> + +<p> +"It's some one playing a joke on us, and hiding after they whistle," +said Janet. "Maybe one of the cowboys from the ranch." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe an Indian," said Ted, and then he was sorry he had said that, +for his sister looked frightened. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh!" said Janet, "if it's an Indian—" +</p> + +<p> +"I don't guess it is," Teddy hastened to say. "I guess Indians don't +whistle, anyhow." +</p> + +<p> +This made Janet feel better and once more she and her brother looked +around to see what made the queer whistling sound, that still kept +up. It was just like a boy calling to another, and Teddy was quite +puzzled over it until he suddenly saw what was doing it. +</p> + +<p> +Perched on a small mound of earth near a hole in the ground, was a +little animal, about as big as a large rat, though, as Janet said, he +was "nicer looking." And as Ted and his sister looked, they saw this +little animal move, and then they knew he it was that was whistling. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, what is it?" cried Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"I know," Teddy answered. "That's a prairie dog. Baldy told me about +them, and how they whistled when they saw any danger." +</p> + +<p> +"Is there any danger here?" asked Janet, looking around. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess the prairie dog thinks we're the danger," said Teddy. "But +we wouldn't hurt him." +</p> + +<p> +"Does he live down in that hole?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, just like a gopher," answered her brother, who had listened to +the cowboys telling about the little prairie dogs. "And sometimes +there are snakes or an owl in the same hole with the prairie dog." +</p> + +<p> +"Then I'm not going any nearer," decided Janet. "I don't mind an +owl, but I don't like snakes! Come on, Ted, let's hurry." +</p> + +<p> +As they started off, the prairie dog, which really did make a +whistling sound, suddenly darted down inside his burrow or hole. +Perhaps he thought Teddy and Janet were coming to carry him off, but +they were not. The children saw many more of the little animals as +they rode over the prairies. +</p> + +<p> +"But we must look for marks—tracks, Baldy calls them," said Teddy. +"Tracks will tell us which way the Indians went," and so the children +kept their eyes turned toward the sod as they rode along. +</p> + +<p> +For a while they could see many marks in the soft ground—the marks +of horses' feet, some shod with iron shoes and others bare, for on +the prairie grass there is not the same need of iron shoes on the +hoofs of horses as in the city, with its hard, paved streets. Then +the marks were not so plain; and pretty soon, about a mile from the +spring amid the rocks where the ground was quite hard, Teddy and +Janet could see no marks at all. +</p> + +<p> +"Which way do we go?" asked Ted's sister, as he called to his pony +to stop. "Do you know the way?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, I don't guess I do," he answered. "But anyhow we can ride along +and maybe well see 'em." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, we can do that," Janet said. +</p> + +<p> +It was still early in the afternoon, and the sun was shining +brightly. They knew they were still on Uncle Frank's ranch, and, +though they could not see the buildings any more, they could see the +place where they had had a drink at the spring. +</p> + +<p> +"All we've got to do, if we want to come back," observed Teddy, "is +ride to the rocks and then we know the way home from there." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, that's easy," Janet said. +</p> + +<p> +So they rode on and on. +</p> + +<p> +Of course the Curlytops ought not to have done what they did, but +they did not think, any more than Trouble thought when he opened the +corral gate and let out the ponies. +</p> + +<p> +But the sun did not stay high in the sky all the afternoon. +Presently the bright ball of fire began to go down in the west, and +the shadows of Teddy and Janet grew long on the prairie. They knew +what those long shadows meant—that it was getting late afternoon. +</p> + +<p> +After a while Janet turned in her saddle and looked back. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Teddy!" she cried. "I can't see the spring rocks," for that is +what the children had called the place where they had found Clipclap. +</p> + +<p> +"They're back there just the same." +</p> + +<p> +"I know. But if we can't see 'em we won't know how to ride back to +them," went on Janet. "How are we going to find our way back home, +Ted?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I can get to the rocks when I want to," he said. "Come on, +we'll ride a little bit farther and then, if we can't find daddy and +Uncle Frank, we'll go back." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, don't go much farther," said Janet, and Teddy said he would +not. +</p> + +<p> +There were many hills and hollows now, much higher and deeper ones +than those near the ranch buildings. Even from the top of one of the +high hills up which the ponies slowly climbed, the Curlytops could +not see the spring rocks. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Ted!" exclaimed Jan, "I'm afraid! I want to go back! It's going +to be night pretty soon!" +</p> + +<p> +"It won't be night for a good while," he said, "but I guess maybe +we'd better go back. I can't see daddy, Uncle Frank or the cowboys." +</p> + +<p> +He raised himself in the stirrups and looked across the prairies, +shading his eyes with his hand the way he had seen some of the +cowboys do. Nothing was in sight. +</p> + +<p> +"Come on, Jan, we'll go back," he said. +</p> + +<p> +Clipclap and Star Face were turned around. Once more off trotted the +little ponies with the Curlytops on their backs. +</p> + +<p> +The shadows grew longer. It was not so bright and nice on the +prairies now. Janet kept close to Teddy. At last she asked: +</p> + +<p> +"Do you see the rocks?" +</p> + +<p> +"Not yet," her brother answered. "But we'll soon be there." +</p> + +<p> +They did not reach them, however. On and on they rode. The sun went +down behind a bank of clouds. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, dear!" sighed Janet, "I don't like this," and her voice sounded +as if she were going to cry. +</p> + +<p> +"We'll soon be back at the rocks, and then I know the way home," +said Teddy, as bravely as he could. +</p> + +<p> +But they did not reach the rocks. Up the hollows and across the +hills they rode, over the broad prairies, but no rocks did they see. +At last the ponies began to go more slowly, for they were tired. It +grew darker. Ted looked anxiously about. Janet spoke softly to him. +</p> + +<p> +"Teddy," she asked, "are we—are we—lost?" +</p> + +<p> +For a moment Teddy did not answer. Then he replied slowly: +</p> + +<p> +"Yes—I guess we are lost, Janet!" +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap19"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XIX +</h3> + +<h3> +THE HIDDEN VALLEY +</h3> + +<p> +The Curlytops were in trouble. It was not the first time they had +been lost, no indeed! But it was the first time they could remember +being lost so far away from home, and in such a big place as a +Western prairie. They did not know what to do. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't you know the way home?" asked Janet, still keeping close to +her brother. It was getting dark, and, somehow, she felt safer near +him, even if he was only a year older than she was. +</p> + +<p> +"I'd know the way home back to the ranch house if we could find the +rocks with the cave where Clipclap was," Teddy replied. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's look for them some more," suggested Janet. "If we don't get +home pretty soon we'll be all in the dark and—and we'll have to stay +out here all alone." +</p> + +<p> +"Are you afraid?" asked Ted, looking at his sister. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. Won't you be?" +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! No!" he exclaimed, and he talked loudly, perhaps just so he +would not be afraid. You know a boy always whistles very loudly at +night when he is walking along a dark place alone. And if there are +two boys they both whistle. What girls do when they walk through a +dark place alone I do not know. Maybe they sing. +</p> + +<p> +Anyhow Teddy talked very loud, and when Janet heard him say he was +not afraid she felt better. +</p> + +<p> +"But will we have to stay out here all night?" she asked. +</p> + +<p> +"I guess so." Teddy answered. "But it'll be just like camping out. +Daddy and Uncle Frank and the cowboys are going to stay out." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, but they've got something to eat," objected Janet, "and we +haven't anything. Not even a cookie—lessen you've got one in your +pocket, Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +"No, Jan," answered her brother, after a quick search, "I haven't. I +forgot to bring any." +</p> + +<p> +"So did I," went on Janet. "I don't think I like to stay out here +alone all night if we haven't anything to eat." +</p> + +<p> +"No, it won't be much fun," agreed Teddy. "I guess maybe I can find +those rocks, Janet, and then we'll know how to get home. Come on." +</p> + +<p> +He turned his pony's head and the tired little animal walked slowly +on and Janet's Star Face followed. But the truth of the matter was, +Ted did not know in which direction to guide his little horse. He +could not remember where the rocks lay. But Janet was trusting to +him, and he felt he must do his best. +</p> + +<p> +So he kept on until it grew a little darker, and his pony was +walking so slowly that Trouble would have found it easy to have +walked almost as fast. +</p> + +<p> +"What's the matter?" asked Janet, who was riding behind her brother, +looking as hard as she could through the darkness for a sight of the +rocks, which, once they were reached, almost meant home. "What's the +matter, Ted?" +</p> + +<p> +"Matter with what, Jan?" +</p> + +<p> +"What makes the ponies go so slow?" +</p> + +<p> +"'Cause they're tired, I guess." +</p> + +<p> +"Can't you find the rocks and let them rest and get a drink? I'm +awful thirsty, Teddy!" +</p> + +<p> +"So'm I, Jan. We'll go on a little more and maybe we'll find the +rocks. Don't cry!" +</p> + +<p> +"Pooh! who's goin' to cry?" demanded Janet quickly. +</p> + +<p> +"I—I thought maybe you were," Teddy answered. +</p> + +<p> +"I am not!" and Janet was very positive about it. "But I'm tired and +hungry, and I want a drink awful bad." +</p> + +<p> +"So do I," added Teddy. "We'll go on a little more." +</p> + +<p> +So, wearily, the ponies walked on carrying the Curlytops. Ted kept +looking ahead, and to the left and right, trying to find the rocks. +But, had he only known it (which he did later) he was going away from +them all the while instead of toward them. +</p> + +<p> +All at once Clipclap stumbled and nearly fell. +</p> + +<p> +"Whoa there! Look out!" cried Teddy, reining up the head of his +animal as he had seen Uncle Frank do. "Don't fall, Clipclap!" +</p> + +<p> +"What's the matter?" asked Janet. "Did he step in a hole?" +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know. I guess he's just tired," and Teddy's voice was sad. +For he was very weary and much frightened, though he did not tell +Janet so. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, let's stop and rest," said his sister. "Do you think you can +find those rocks, Ted?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, I don't guess I can. I guess we're lost, Janet." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, dear!" she answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Now don't cry!" warned Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"I—I'm not!" exclaimed his sister. "I—I was just blowing my nose, +so there, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" +</p> + +<p> +Teddy grinned in the darkness, tired as he was. He was glad Janet +was a little angry with him. That meant she would not cry, and if his +sister started to weep Ted did not know what he would do. He might +even cry himself. He was not too big for that. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's stop and give the ponies a rest," suggested Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"All right," agreed Teddy. "And maybe they can hunt around and find +water. One of the cowboys told me his pony did that once when he +didn't know where to get a drink himself." +</p> + +<p> +"I wish Star Face could find water," went on Janet. "I'd drink some +of it, too." +</p> + +<p> +"So would I—if it was clean," said Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +Wearily the two Curlytops slipped from their saddles. The ponies +seemed glad of this, and at once began to eat the grass that grew all +about. Teddy and Janet looked at them awhile. It was not so dark but +what they could see things close to them, and the stars were +twinkling brightly overhead. +</p> + +<p> +"They don't seem very thirsty," said Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe they'll start to go after water when they've had their +supper," suggested her brother, with a sigh, which, however, Janet +did not hear. "We've got to wait—that's all." +</p> + +<p> +The Curlytops sat down on the ground and waited, while the ponies +with the reins over their heads—which was a sign that they must not +go far away—cropped the sweet grass. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish <i>we</i> could eat grass," said Janet, after a bit. +</p> + +<p> +"Why?" +</p> + +<p> +"Then we could eat it like the ponies do and not be hungry." +</p> + +<p> +"It would be a good thing," Teddy agreed. "But we can't. I chewed +some sour grass once, but I didn't swallow it." +</p> + +<p> +"I ate some watercress once at home," said Janet. "But I didn't like +it. Anyhow I don't guess watercress grows around here." +</p> + +<p> +"No," agreed Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +Then they sat and watched the ponies eating in the darkness. +Clipclap was wandering farther off than Teddy liked and he jumped up +and hurried after his animal. As he caught him Teddy saw something on +the ground a little way off. It was something round and black, and, +now that the moon had come up, he could see more plainly. +</p> + +<p> +"What's the matter, Teddy?" Janet called to him, as she saw him +standing motionless, after he had taken hold of Clipclap's bridle. +"What are you looking at?" +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know what it is," Teddy answered. "Maybe it's a prairie +dog, but he's keepin' awful still. Come and look, Janet." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I don't want to!" she exclaimed. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, come on!" urged Teddy. "It isn't moving. Maybe you can tell +what it is." +</p> + +<p> +Janet, making sure that Star Face was all right, walked over to her +brother. She, too, saw the dark object lying on a bare spot in the +prairie. It did not move. The moonlight became stronger and Janet, +becoming brave all of a sudden, went closer. +</p> + +<p> +"It's nothing but a bundle, Teddy Martin!" she exclaimed. +"Somebody has dropped a bundle." +</p> + +<p> +"They have?" Teddy cried. "Then if somebody's been past here they +can find us—or we can find them—and we aren't lost anymore!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I hope it comes true!" sighed Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Here, you hold Clipclap—he's starting to walk away"—went on +Teddy, "and I'll go see what that is." +</p> + +<p> +Janet took the pony's reins, and her brother walked toward the +bundle. He could see now that it was something wrapped in a blanket, +and as he came closer he saw that the blanket was one of the kind the +cowboys at Uncle Frank's ranch carried when they went out to spend +the night on the prairie. +</p> + +<p> +"What is it?" asked Janet, as her brother picked up the bundle and +came back toward her. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know, but it's heavy," he answered. "Well open it." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe we'd better not," cautioned Janet. "It isn't ours." +</p> + +<p> +"But we're lost," Teddy said, "and we want to be found. Maybe +there's something in this bundle to help." +</p> + +<p> +The blanket was fastened with a strap on the outside, and Teddy +managed to unbuckle this after two or three trials, Janet helping. +Then, as the moon shone down on what was in the blanket, the +Curlytops gave a cry of delight, which startled even the ponies. +</p> + +<p> +"It's something to eat!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"And to drink!" added Janet, as she picked up the canvas-covered +canteen, or water bottle, such as soldiers carry. By shaking it she +knew it was full of water. +</p> + +<p> +"Say, this is good luck!" cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +Stopping no longer to wonder who had dropped the bundle, the +Curlytops took a drink from the canteen. They had not been used to +drinking out of a bottle since they were babies, and some of the +water ran down their necks. +</p> + +<p> +But they did not mind this. And, even though the water was rather +warm, they felt much better after having had a drink. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish we could give the ponies some," said Janet. "But there isn't +very much, and they would drink this all up and not know they'd had +any." +</p> + +<p> +"Anyhow I guess they're not thirsty, or they'd try to find water +just as the cowboys said they would," added Teddy. "They can chew the +grass." +</p> + +<p> +He and Janet looked into the bundle again, and found a number of +sandwiches, together with some uncooked bacon, a little ground +coffee, a small coffee-pot and a tin cup. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, goody! We can eat the sandwiches," Janet said. +</p> + +<p> +"And in the morning, when we find a spring, we can make coffee," +added Teddy. "I know how, 'cause grandpa showed me when we were +camping on Star Island. I haven't any matches to make a fire, but +maybe I can find some." +</p> + +<p> +"Will we have to stay here all night?" asked Janet anxiously. +</p> + +<p> +"I spect so," her brother answered. "I don't know the way back to +the ranch house. We can't even find the rocks. We'll stay here all +night. It isn't cold, and now we have a blanket we can wrap up in it +like the cowboys do. And we've something to eat and drink." +</p> + +<p> +"But mother and daddy will be awful worried," said Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, they'll maybe come and find us," answered Teddy. "Look out!" +he cried. "Clipclap's going off again!" +</p> + +<p> +Indeed the little pony seemed to want to walk away, and so did Star +Face. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe they know where to go to find water," suggested Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe," agreed Ted. "Let's let 'em go, and we'll go with 'em. That +water in the canteen won't be enough till morning." +</p> + +<p> +The children ate nearly all of the sandwiches, and put away the rest +of the food in the blanket which Teddy strapped around it. Then they +mounted their ponies, Ted taking the bundle with him, and let the +animals wander which way they would. +</p> + +<p> +"They'll go to water if they're thirsty enough," Teddy said. +</p> + +<p> +"Who do you s'pose dropped that bundle?" asked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"A cowboy," her brother answered. +</p> + +<p> +"One from Ring Rosy Ranch?" +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I hope he did, and that he's around here somewhere," went on +Janet. "I'm tired of being lost!" +</p> + +<p> +"We've only just begun," Teddy said. But, truth to tell, he wished +very much that they were both safe back at the ranch house with their +mother. +</p> + +<p> +On and on over the moonlit prairies went Star Face and Clipclap. +They seemed to know where they were going and did not stop. Ted and +Janet were too tired to guide them. They were both getting sleepy. +</p> + +<p> +Pretty soon Janet saw ahead of her something glistening in the +stretch of the prairie. The moonlight seemed to sparkle on it. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, look, Ted!" she cried, pointing. +</p> + +<p> +"It's water—a little river!" he exclaimed. "The ponies have led us +to water!" +</p> + +<p> +And so the animals had. Teddy and Janet slipped from their ponies' +backs at the edge of the stream and then Star Face and Clipclap took +long drinks. Ted emptied the canteen, filled it with the cooler +water, and he and Janet drank again. Then they felt much better. +</p> + +<p> +The ponies again began to crop the grass. The Curlytops, very tired +and sleepy, felt that it would be all right to make their bed in the +blanket they had found, dropped by some passing cowboy. +</p> + +<p> +But first Ted looked around. Off to one side, and along the stream +from which they had drunk, he saw something dark looming up. +</p> + +<p> +"Look, Janet," he said. "Maybe that's a ranch house over there, and +we could go in for the night." +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe," she agreed. "Let's go to it." +</p> + +<p> +Once more they mounted their ponies. The animals did not seem so +tired now, but trotted on over the prairie. They drew nearer to the +dark blotch Teddy had noticed. +</p> + +<p> +Then, as the moon came out from behind some clouds, the Curlytops +saw that they were at the entrance to a hidden valley—a little +valley tucked away among the hills, which they would never have seen +had they not come to the stream to drink. +</p> + +<p> +The little river ran through the valley, and in the moonlight the +children could see that a fence had been made at the end nearest +them. It was a wooden fence, and not one of barbed wire, such as +there were many of on Ring Rosy Ranch. +</p> + +<p> +"This is a queer valley," said Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, and look!" exclaimed Ted, pointing. "Don't you see things +moving around in it?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," agreed Jan, as she looked. "Why, Ted!" she cried. "They're +horses—ponies—a lot of 'em!" +</p> + +<p> +"So they are!" exclaimed Ted. "Oh, we're near a ranch, Janet! Now +we're all right!" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. But maybe we're a good way from the ranch house," answered +Janet. "We maybe can't find it in the dark. Some of Uncle Frank's +ponies are five miles away from the stable, you know. Maybe we'd +better not go on any more in the dark. I'm tired!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well," agreed Teddy. "I guess we could stay here till it's morning. +We could sleep in the blanket. It's plenty big enough for us two." +</p> + +<p> +"And in the morning we can ride on and find the ranch, and the +cowboys there will take us to Ring Rosy," added Janet. "Let's do it, +Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +They looked again at the strange valley in which the horses were +moving about. Clipclap whinnied and one of the other ponies answered. +But they could not come out because of the fence, part of which was +built in and across the little river. +</p> + +<p> +Then, throwing the reins over the heads f their ponies, and knowing +the animals would not stray far, Ted and Janet, taking another drink +from the canteen, rolled up in the blanket and went to sleep on the +prairie just outside the hidden valley that held a secret of which +they did not even dream. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p><a id="chap20"></a></p> +<h3> +CHAPTER XX +</h3> + +<h3> +BACK TO RING ROSY +</h3> + +<p> +"I hope the Curlytops won't ride too far," said Mrs. Martin, coming +out into the kitchen to help with the work. +</p> + +<p> +She had just got Trouble to sleep after Teddy and Janet had brought +him in from the haymow before riding off on their ponies. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I guess they won't," Aunt Millie answered. +</p> + +<p> +But, could Mrs. Martin and Aunt Millie have seen them, they would +have been much surprised to know where the Curlytops then were. +</p> + +<p> +As you know, they were riding along the trail after the Indians. +</p> + +<p> +The hours went on until it was late afternoon. And then, when the +children did not come back, Mrs. Martin began to be alarmed. She went +to the top of a low hill not far away from the ranch house and looked +across the prairie. +</p> + +<p> +"I can't see them," she said, when she came back. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, don't worry," returned Aunt Millie. "They'll be along pretty +soon. And, anyhow, there is no danger." +</p> + +<p> +"But—the Indians?" questioned Mrs. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, they are far enough off by this time," said the ranch owner's +wife. "They won't bother the Curly tops." +</p> + +<p> +But Mother Martin did worry, and when supper time came near and +Janet and Teddy were not yet back, Aunt Millie, too, began to think +it strange. +</p> + +<p> +"What do you suppose could happen?" asked Mrs. Martin. "I wish Dick +were here." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, lots of little things might happen," said Aunt Millie. "The +children may have ridden farther than they meant to. It's such a nice +day for riding you couldn't blame them for going. Or one of their +ponies may have gone lame and have to walk slowly. That would make +them get here late." +</p> + +<p> +"Suppose they should be hurt?" asked Mother Martin, anxiously. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I don't suppose anything of the sort!" and Aunt Millie laughed. +But Mother Martin did not feel like laughing. +</p> + +<p> +At last, however, when it began to get dark and the children had not +come, even the cowboys left at the ranch—those who had not ridden on +the trail after the Indians—said it was time something was done. +</p> + +<p> +"We'll go out and find 'em," said Baldy. "The little tykes have got +lost; that's about all. We'll find 'em and bring 'em home!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I hope you can!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"Sure we will!" cried Baldy. "Won't we, boys?" +</p> + +<p> +"That's what we will!" cried the cowboys. +</p> + +<p> +The men started out over the prairie right after supper, carrying +lanterns, not so much that they needed the lights as that they might +be seen by the lost children. +</p> + +<p> +"Hello, Curlytops! where are you?" called the cowboys. +</p> + +<p> +But no one answered them. Teddy and Janet were far away. +</p> + +<p> +The cowboys rode as far as the pile of rocks where the spring +bubbled up. There Baldy, swinging his lantern to and fro, said he +thought he could see the marks of the feet of Star Face and Clipclap +among those of other ponies, but he was not sure. +</p> + +<p> +"We'll have to come back here and start out early in the morning +when we can see better," he said. +</p> + +<p> +"And what are we going to do all night?" asked another cowboy. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, we'll keep on hunting, of course. But I don't believe well +find the lost Curlytops." +</p> + +<p> +One of the men rode back to the ranch to tell Mrs. Martin that so +far, no trace of the missing children had been found. She could not +keep back her tears, but she tried to be brave. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, where can they be?" she asked. +</p> + +<p> +"They'll be all right," the cowboy said. "It's a nice warm night, +and they're brave children. Even if they had to sleep out it would +not hurt 'em. They could take the blankets that are under the ponies' +saddles and wrap up in them. They'll be all right." +</p> + +<p> +Though they were lost, the Curlytops were, at that moment, much +better off than the cowboy thought. For they had found the big +blanket and the bundle of food, and they were sleeping soundly on the +prairie. +</p> + +<p> +At first they had been a little afraid to lie down all alone out in +the night, but their ponies were with them, and Janet said it felt as +though Clipclap and Star Face were like good watch dogs. +</p> + +<p> +Then, being very tired and having had something to eat and drink, +they fell asleep. +</p> + +<p> +All night long, though, the cowboys rode over the prairie looking +for the lost ones. They shouted and called, but the Curlytops were +too far away to hear or to answer, even if they had been awake. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, now we can make a better hunt," said Baldy, when he saw the +sun beginning to rise. "Well get something to eat and start out from +the spring in the rocks. I'm almost sure the Curlytops were there." +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Martin had not slept all night, and when the cowboys came back +to breakfast she said she was going to ride with them to search for +her children. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I think it would do you good," said Aunt Millie. +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Martin had learned how to ride when a girl, and she had +practised some since coming to Ring Rosy Ranch. So she did not feel +strange in the saddle. With Baldy and the other cowboys she set off. +</p> + +<p> +They went to the spring amid the rocks and there began the search. +Over the prairie the riders spread out like a big fan, looking +everywhere for the lost ones. And when they were not found in about +an hour Baldy said: +</p> + +<p> +"Well, there's just a chance that their ponies took them to Silver +Creek." +</p> + +<p> +"Where's that?" asked Mrs. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +"It's a stream of water quite a way off," Baldy answered. "It isn't +on our ranch, and we don't very often go there. But if the Curlytops' +ponies were thirsty in the night they might go to Silver Creek, even +if Jan and Ted didn't want them to. I think the ponies went the +nearest way to water." +</p> + +<p> +"Then let us go that way!" cried Mrs. Martin. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile Teddy and Janet had awakened. They could look right into +the strange valley through which flowed Silver Creek, though they did +not then know its name. +</p> + +<p> +"And look what a lot of horses!" cried Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"And cows!" added her brother. "I wonder whose they are?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I guess they live on some ranch," Janet said. "Now if we can +find the ranch house we'll be all right." +</p> + +<p> +"We'll look for it," suggested Teddy. "But first we've got to have +breakfast. If I had a match I could make a fire and boil some coffee." +</p> + +<p> +"Let's not bother with breakfast," suggested Janet. "I'm not very +hungry. And if we find the ranch house we can get something to eat +there. Come on, Teddy." +</p> + +<p> +They got a drink at the stream, and then, rolling up what food was +left in the blanket, they got on their ponies and rode away, going +around the valley instead of into it, for Teddy saw that hills closed +it at the far end. +</p> + +<p> +"There's no ranch house in that valley," he said. +</p> + +<p> +The Curlytops had not ridden far before Janet, who had gone a little +ahead of Teddy, cried: +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, look! Here come some cowboys!" +</p> + +<p> +"I guess they belong to this ranch—the one where we saw the ponies +and cows," replied Teddy, as he saw a number of horsemen riding +toward them. The horsemen began to whoop and shout, and their horses +ran very fast toward the Curlytops. +</p> + +<p> +"There's a lady with 'em," remarked Janet. +</p> + +<p> +"They seem awful glad to meet us," went on Teddy. "Look, they're +wavin' their hats." +</p> + +<p> +And so the cowboys were. When the riders came a little nearer Teddy +and Janet rubbed their eyes in surprise. +</p> + +<p> +"Why—why!" Teddy exclaimed. "There's our own Baldy!" +</p> + +<p> +"And there's mother!" fairly shouted Janet. "Oh, Mother! Mother!" +she cried. "Oh, how glad I am!" and she made Star Face run toward the +lady on horseback. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, my dear children! Where have you been?" asked Mrs. Martin, a +little later, as she hugged first Janet and then Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"We—we got lost," Teddy answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, but you ran away, and that was not right," his mother told +him. "Where did you go?" +</p> + +<p> +"We—we went on the trail after the Indians," Teddy answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Did you find them?" asked Baldy with a smile. +</p> + +<p> +"No, but we found a lot of horses and cows back there in a little +valley with a fence," said Janet. "And we were going to ride to the +ranch house when we saw you." +</p> + +<p> +"Ranch house!" cried Baldy. "There isn't a ranch house within +fifteen miles except the one at Ring Rosy. Did you say you saw some +cows and horses!" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. In a valley," explained Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Show us where it was!" eagerly cried the cowboy, and when the +Curlytops had ridden to it, with Baldy and the others following, the +lame cowboy, whose foot was a little better, exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +"Well, if the Curlytops haven't gone and done it!" +</p> + +<p> +"Done what?" asked their mother. +</p> + +<p> +"They've found the lost cattle and horses!" +</p> + +<p> +"You mean Uncle Frank's!" asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"That's just what I mean! These are the horses and cattle the +Indians drove away. The Redmen put the animals in this valley and +made a fence at this end so they couldn't get out. They knew the +horses and cattle would have water to drink and grass to eat, and +they'd stay here a long while—until the Indians would have a chance +to drive 'em farther away and sell 'em. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, that's just what they did. I never thought of this valley, +though I saw it quite a few years ago. I've never been here since. +The Indians knew it would be a good place to hide the horses they +stole, and we might never have found 'em if it hadn't been for you +Curlytops." +</p> + +<p> +"I'm glad!" said Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"So'm I," said Janet, "and I'm hungry, too!" +</p> + +<p> +"Well, well soon have you back at Ring Rosy Ranch, where there's a +good breakfast!" laughed Baldy. "Well! Well! To think of you +Curlytops finding what we cowboys were looking all over for!" +</p> + +<p> +"And are daddy and Uncle Frank looking for these horses and cattle?" +asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. And for the Indians that took 'em. But I guess they won't find +either," Baldy answered. +</p> + +<p> +And Baldy was right. Some hours after the Curlytops were back at +Ring Rosy Ranch, in rode Uncle Frank and the others. They had not +found what they had gone after, and you can imagine how surprised +they all were when told that Ted and Janet had, by accident, found +the lost cattle and horses in the hidden valley. +</p> + +<p> +"You're regular cowboys!" cried Uncle Frank. +</p> + +<p> +"I knew they'd turn out all right when they learned to ride +ponyback!" said Daddy Martin. "Though you mustn't ride on the trail +alone after Indians again!" he said. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy and Janet told all that had happened to them, from getting +lost, to finding the blanket and going to sleep in it on the open +prairie. +</p> + +<p> +One of the cowboys with Uncle Frank had lost the blanket, and he +said he was glad he dropped it, since it gave Teddy and Janet +something to eat and something to wrap up in. +</p> + +<p> +That afternoon the stolen horses and cattle were driven in from the +hidden valley; so the Indians did not get them after all. And a +little later some soldiers came to keep guard over the Redmen so they +could not again go off their reservation to make trouble. All of +Uncle Frank's animals, except a few that the Indians had sold, were +found, and the Curlytops were the pride of Ring Rosy Ranch as long as +they remained there. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, I wonder if we'll have any more adventures," said Janet to +her brother one day, about a week after they were lost and had been +found. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I guess so," he answered. "Anyhow, we've got two nice ponies, +and we can have lots of rides. Come on, I'll race you." +</p> + +<p> +The bright summer days brought more fun to Teddy and Janet at Uncle +Frank's ranch. They rode many miles on Star Face and Clipclap, +sometimes taking Trouble with them. +</p> + +<p> +"I want to dwive," said the little fellow one day, as he sat on the +saddle in front of his brother. +</p> + +<p> +"All right, you may drive a little while," Teddy answered, and he +let Baby William hold the reins. +</p> + +<p> +"Now I a cowboy!" exclaimed the little fellow. "Gid-dap, Clipclap! I +go lasso a Injun!" +</p> + +<p> +Ted and Janet laughed at this. +</p> + +<p> +And so, leaving the Curlytops to their fun, we will say good-bye. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="finis"> +THE END +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Curlytops at Uncle Frank's Farm, by +Howard R. Garis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH *** + +***** This file should be named 6814-h.htm or 6814-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/8/1/6814/ + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Charles Franks and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. 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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 Curlytops at Uncle Frank's Farm + or, Little Folks on Ponyback + +Author: Howard R. Garis + +Posting Date: March 13, 2014 [EBook #6814] +Release Date: November, 2004 +First Posted: January 27, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH *** + + + + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Charles Franks and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by +Al Haines. + + + + + + + + + + +THE CURLYTOPS AT + +UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH + +OR + +_Little Folks on Ponyback_ + +BY + +HOWARD R. GARIS + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + +I TROUBLE'S TUMBLE + +II NICKNACK AND TROUBLE + +III OFF FOR THE WEST + +IV THE COLLISION + +V AT RING ROSY RANCH + +VI COWBOY FUN + +VII BAD NEWS + +VIII A QUEER NOISE + +IX THE SICK PONY + +X A SURPRISED DOCTOR + +XI TROUBLE MAKES A LASSO + +XII THE BUCKING BRONCO + +XIII MISSING CATTLE + +XIV LOOKING FOR INDIANS + +XV TROUBLE "HELPS" + +XVI ON THE TRAIL + +XVII THE CURLYTOPS ALONE + +XVIII LOST + +XIX THE HIDDEN VALLEY + +XX BACK TO RING ROSY + + + + +THE CURLYTOPS + +AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH + + + + +CHAPTER I + +TROUBLE'S TUMBLE + + +"Say, Jan, this isn't any fun!" + +"What do you want to play then, Ted?" + +Janet Martin looked at her brother, who was dressed in one of his +father's coats and hats while across his nose was a pair of +spectacles much too large for him. Janet, wearing one of her mother's +skirts, was sitting in a chair holding a doll. + +"Well, I'm tired of playing doctor, Jan, and giving your make-believe +sick doll bread pills. I want to do something else," and Teddy +began taking off the coat, which was so long for him that it +dragged on the ground. + +"Oh, I know what we can do that'll be lots of fun!" cried Janet, +getting up from the chair so quickly that she forgot about her doll, +which fell to the floor with a crash that might have broken her head. + +"Oh, my _dear!_" cried Janet, as she had often heard her mother +call when Baby William tumbled and hurt himself. "Oh, are you hurt?" +and Janet clasped the doll in her arms, and hugged it as though it +were a real child. + +"Is she busted?" Ted demanded, but he did not ask as a real doctor +might inquire. In fact, he had stopped playing doctor. + +"No, she isn't hurt, I guess," Jan answered, feeling of her doll's +head. "I forgot all about her being in my lap. Oh, aren't you going +to play any more, Ted?" she asked as she saw her brother toss the big +coat on a chair and take off the spectacles. + +"No. I want to do something else. This is no fun!" + +"Well, let's make-believe you're sick and I can be a Red Cross +nurse, like some of those we saw in the drugstore window down the +street, making bandages for the soldiers. You could be a soldier, +Ted, and I could be the nurse, and I'd make some sugar pills for you, +if you don't like the rolled-up bread ones you gave my doll." + +Teddy Martin thought this over for a few seconds. He seemed to like +it. And then he shook his head. + +"No," he answered his sister, "I couldn't be a soldier." + +"Why not?" + +"'Cause I haven't got a gun and there isn't any tent." + +"We could make a tent with a sheet off the bed like we do lots of +times. Put it over a chair, you know." + +"But I haven't a gun," Teddy went on. He knew that he and Janet +could make a tent, for they had often done it before. + +"Couldn't you take a broom for a gun?" Janet asked. "I'll get it +from the kitchen." + +"Pooh! What good is a broom for a gun? I want one that shoots! +Anyhow I haven't a uniform, and a soldier can't go to war without a +uniform or a sword or a gun. I'm not going to play that!" + +Janet did not know what to say for a few seconds. Truly a soldier +would not be much of one without a gun or a uniform, even if he was +in a tent. But the little girl had not given up yet. + +The day was a rainy one. There was no school, for it was Saturday, +and staying in the house was no great fun. Janet wanted her brother +to stay and play with her and she knew she must do something to make +him. For a while he had been content to play that he was Dr. +Thompson, come to give medicine to Jan's sick doll. But Teddy had +become tired of this after paying half a dozen visits and leaving +pills made by rolling bread crumbs together. + +Teddy laid aside his father's old hat and scratched his head. That +is he tried to, but his head was so covered with tightly twisted +curls that the little boy's fingers were fairly entangled in them. + +"Say!" he exclaimed, "I wish my hair didn't curl so much! It's too +long. I'm going to ask mother if I can't have it cut." + +"I wish I could have mine cut," sighed Janet. "Mine's worse to comb +than yours is, Ted." + +"Yes, I know. And it always curls more on a rainy day." + +Both children had the same curly hair. It was really beautiful, but +they did not quite appreciate it, even though many of their friends, +and some persons who saw them for the first time, called them +"Curlytops." Indeed the tops of their heads were very curly. + +"Oh, I know how we can do it!" suddenly cried Janet, just happening +to think of something. + +"Do what?" asked her brother. + +"Play the soldier game. You can pretend you were caught by the enemy +and your gun and uniform were taken away. Then you can be hurt and +I'll be the Red Cross nurse and take care of you in the tent. I'll get +some real sugar for pills, too! Nora'll give me some. She's in the +kitchen now making a cake." + +"Maybe she'd give you a piece of cake, too," suggested Teddy. + +"Maybe," agreed Janet. "I'll go and ask her." + +"Ask her for some chocolate," added Ted. "I guess, if I've got to be +sick, I'd like chocolate pills 'stead of sugar." + +"All right," said Janet, as she hurried downstairs from the playroom +to the kitchen. In a little while she came back with a plate on which +were two slices of chocolate cake, while on one edge of it were some +crumbs of chocolate icing. + +"I'll make pills of that after we eat the cake," Janet said. "You +can pretend the cake made you sick if you want to, Ted." + +"Pooh! who ever heard of a soldier getting sick on cake? Anyhow they +don't have cake in the army--lessen they capture it from the enemy." + +"Well, you can pretend you did that," said Janet. "Now I'll put my +doll away," she went on, as she finished her piece of cake, "and well +play the soldier game. I'll get some red cloth to make the cross." + +Janet looked "sweet," as her mother said afterward, when she had +wound a white cloth around her head, a red cross, rather ragged and +crooked, being pinned on in front. + +The tent was made by draping a sheet from the bed across two chairs, +and under this shelter Teddy crawled. He stretched out on a blanket +which Janet had spread on the floor to be the hospital cot. + +"Now you must groan, Ted," she said, as she looked in a glass to see +if her headpiece and cross were on straight. + +"Groan? What for?" + +"'Cause you've Been hurt in the war, or else you're sick from the +cake." + +"Pooh! a little bit of cake like _that_ wouldn't make _me_ sick. +You've got to give me a _lot_ more if you want me to be real sick." + +"Oh, Teddy Martin! I'm not going to play if you make fun like that +all the while. You've got to groan and pretend you've been shot. +Never mind about the cake." + +"All right. I'll be shot then. But you've got to give me a lot of +chocolate pills to make me get better." + +"I'm not going to give 'em to you all at once, Ted Martin!" + +"Well, maybe in two doses then. How many are there?" + +"Oh, there's a lot. I'm going to take some myself." + +"You are not!" and Teddy sat up so quickly that he hit the top of +the sheet-tent with his head and made it slide from the chair. + +"There! Look what you did!" cried Janet. "Now you've gone and +spoiled everything!" + +"Oh, well, I'll fix it," said Ted, rather sorry for what he had +done. "But you can't eat my chocolate pills." + +"I can so!" + +"You cannot! Who ever heard of a nurse taking the medicine from a +sick soldier?" + +"Well, anyhow--well, wouldn't you give me some chocolate candy if +you had some, and I hadn't?" asked Janet. + +"Course I would, Jan. I'm not stingy!" + +"Well, these pills are just like chocolate candy, and if I give 'em +all to you--" + +"Oh, well, then I'll let you eat _some_," agreed Ted. "But you wanted +me to play this game of bein' a sick soldier, and if I'm sick I've got +to have the medicine." + +"Yes, I'll give you the most," Janet agreed. "Now you lie down and +groan and I'll hear you out on the battlefield and come and save your +life." + +So, after Janet had fixed the sheet over him again, Teddy lay back +on the blanket and groaned his very best. + +"Oh, it sounds as real as anything!" exclaimed the little girl in +delight. "Do it some more, Ted!" + +Thereupon her brother groaned more loudly until Janet stopped him by +dropping two or three chocolate pills into his opened mouth. + +"Oh! Gurr-r-r-r! Ugh! Say, you 'most choked me!" spluttered Ted, as +he sat up and chewed the chocolate. + +"Oh, I didn't mean to," said Janet as she ate a pill or two herself. +"Now you lie down and go to sleep, 'cause I've got a lot more sick +soldiers to go to see." + +"Don't give 'em any of my chocolate pills," cautioned Ted. "I need +'em all to make me get better." + +"I'll only make-believe give them some," promised Janet. + +She and her brother played this game for a while, and Teddy liked +it--as long as the chocolate pills were given him. But when Janet had +only a few left and Teddy was about to say he was tired of lying +down, someone came into the playroom and a voice asked: + +"What you doin'?" + +"Playing soldier," answered Janet. "You mustn't drop your 'g' +letters, Trouble. Mother doesn't like it." + +"I want some chocolate," announced the little boy, whose real name +was William Martin, but who was more often called Trouble--because he +got in so much of it, you know. + +"There's only one pill left. Can I give it to him, Ted?" asked Janet. + +"Yes, Janet. I've had enough. Anyhow, I know something else to play +now. It's lots of fun!" + +"What?" asked Janet eagerly. It was still raining hard and she +wanted her brother to stay in the house with her. + +"We'll play horse," went on Ted. "I'll be a bucking bronco like +those Uncle Frank told us about on his ranch. We'll make a place with +chairs where they keep the cow ponies and the broncos. I forget what +Uncle Frank called it." + +"I know," said Janet. "It's cor--corral." + +"Corral!" exclaimed Ted. "That's it! We'll make a corral of some +chairs and I'll be a bucking bronco. That's a horse that won't let +anybody ride on its back," the little boy explained. + +"I wants a wide!" said Baby William. + +"Well, maybe I'll give you a ride after I get tired of bucking," +said Teddy, thinking about it. + +They made a ring of chairs on the playroom floor, and in this corral +Teddy crept around on his hands and knees, pretending to be a wild +Western pony. Janet tried to catch him and the children had much fun, +Trouble screaming and laughing in delight. + +At last Teddy allowed himself to be caught, for it was hard work +crawling around as he did, and rearing up in the air every now and +then. + +"Give me a wide!" pleaded Trouble. + +"Yes, I'll ride him on my back," offered Teddy, and his baby brother +was put up there by Janet. + +"Now don't go too fast with him, pony," she said. + +"Yes, I wants to wide fast, like we does with Nicknack," declared +Baby William. Nicknack was the Curlytops' pet goat. + +"All right, I'll give you a fast ride," promised Teddy. + +He began crawling about the room with Trouble on his back. The baby +pretended to drive his "horse" by a string which Ted held in his +mouth like reins. + +"Go out in de hall--I wants a big wide," directed Trouble. + +"All right," assented Teddy. Out into the hall he went and then +forgetting, perhaps, that he had his baby brother on his back, Teddy +began to buck--that is flop up and down. + +"Oh--oh! 'top!" begged Trouble. + +"I can't! I'm a Wild-West pony," explained Ted, bucking harder than +ever. + +He hunched himself forward on his hands and knees, and before he +knew it he was at the head of the stairs. Then, just how no one could +say, Trouble gave a yell, toppled off Teddy's back and the next +instant went rolling down the flight, bump, bump, bumping at every +step. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +NICKNACK AND TROUBLE + + +"Oh, Teddy!" screamed Janet. "Oh, Trouble!" + +Teddy did not answer at once. Indeed he had hard work not to tumble +down the stairs himself after his little brother. Ted clung to the +banister, though, and managed to save himself. + +"Oh, he'll be hurt--terrible!" cried Janet, and she tried to get +past her older brother to run downstairs after Trouble. + +But Mrs. Martin, who was in the dining-room talking to Nora Jones, +the maid, heard the noise and ran out into the hall. + +"Oh, children!" she cried. "Teddy--Janet--what's all that noise?" + +"It's Trouble, Mother!" announced Teddy. "I was playing bucking +bronco and--" + +"Trouble fell downstairs!" screamed Janet. + +While everyone was thus calling out at once, Baby William came +flopping head over heels, and partly sidewise, down the padded steps, +landing right at his mother's feet, sitting up as straight as though +in his high-chair. + +"Oh, darling!" cried Mrs. Martin, catching the little fellow up in +her arms, "are you hurt?" + +Trouble was too much frightened to scream or cry. He had his mouth +open but no sound came from it. He was just like the picture of a +sobbing baby. + +"Oh, Nora!" cried Mrs. Martin, as she hurried into the dining-room +with her little boy in her arms. "Trouble fell downstairs! Get ready +to telephone for his father and the doctor in case he's badly hurt," +and then she and the maid began looking over Baby William to find out +just what was the matter with him, while Ted and Janet, much +frightened and very quiet, stood around waiting. + +And while Mrs. Martin is looking over Trouble it will be a good +chance for me to tell those of you who meet the Curlytops for the +first time in this book something about them, and what has happened +to them in the other volumes of this series. + +The first book is named "The Curlytops at Cherry Farm," and in that +I had the pleasure of telling you about Ted and Janet and Trouble +Martin and their father and mother, when they went to Grandpa +Martin's place, called Cherry Farm, which was near the village of +Elmburg, not far from Clover Lake. + +There the children found a goat, which they named Nicknack, and they +kept him as a pet. When hitched to a wagon he gave them many nice +rides. There were many cherry trees on Grandpa Martin's farm, and +when some of the other crops failed the cherries were a great help, +especially when the Lollypop Man turned them into "Chewing Cherry +Candy." + +After a good time on the farm the children had more fun when, as +told in the second book, named "The Curlytops on Star Island," they +went camping with grandpa. On Star Island in Clover Lake they saw a +strange blue light which greatly puzzled them, and it was some time +before they knew what caused it. + +The summer and fall passed and Ted and Janet went home to Cresco, +where they lived, to spend the winter. What happened then is told in +the third volume, called "The Curlytops Snowed In." The big storm was +so severe that no one could get out and even Nicknack was lost +wandering about in the big drifts. + +The Curlytops had a good time, even if they were snowed in. Now +spring had come again, and the children were ready for something +else. But I must tell you a little bit about the family, as well as +about what happened. + +You have already met Ted, Jan and Trouble. Ted's real name was +Theodore, but his mother seldom called him that unless she was quite +serious about something he had done that was wrong. So he was more +often spoken to as Ted or Teddy, and his sister Janet was called Jan. +Though oftener still they were called the "Curlytops," or, if one was +speaking to one or the other he would say "Curlytop." That was +because both Teddy and Janet had such very, very curly hair. + +Ted's and Jan's birthdays came on the same day, but they had been +born a year apart, Teddy being about seven years old and his sister a +year younger. Trouble was aged about three years. + +I have spoken of the curly hair of Teddy and Janet. Unless you had +seen it you would never have believed hair could be so curly! It was +no wonder that even strangers called the children "Curlytops." + +Sometimes, when Mother Martin was combing the hair of the children, +the comb would get tangled and she would have to pull a little to get +it loose. That is one reason Ted never liked to have his hair combed. +Janet's was a little longer than his, but just as curly. + +Trouble's real name, as I have mentioned, was William. His father +sometimes called him "A bunch of trouble," and his mother spoke of +him as "Dear Trouble," while Jan and Ted called him just "Trouble." + +Mr. Martin, whose name was Richard, shortened to Dick by his wife +(whose name was Ruth) owned a store in Cresco, which is in one of our +Eastern states. + +Nora Jones, a cheerful, helpful maid-of-all-work had been in the +Martin family a long while, and dearly loved the children, who were +very fond of her. The Martins had many relatives besides the +children's grandfather and grandmother, but I will only mention two +now. They were Aunt Josephine Miller, called Aunt Jo, who lived at +Clayton and who had a summer bungalow at Mt. Hope, near Ruby Lake. +She was a sister of Mrs. Martin's. Uncle Frank Barton owned a large +ranch near Rockville, Montana. He was Mr. Martin's uncle, but Ted and +Janet also called him their uncle. + +Now that you have met the chief members of the family, and know a +little of what has happened to them in the past you may be interested +to go back to see what the matter is with Trouble. + +His mother turned him over and over in her arms, feeling of him here +and there. Trouble had closed his mouth by this time, having changed +his mind about crying. Instead he was very still and quiet. + +"Trouble, does it hurt you anywhere?" his mother asked him anxiously. + +"No," he said. "Not hurt any place. I wants to wide on Teddy's back +some more." + +"The little tyke!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin with a sigh of relief. "I +don't believe he is hurt a bit." + +"The stairs are real soft since we put the new carpet on them," +remarked Nora. + +"They are well padded," agreed Mrs. Martin. "I guess that's what +kept him from getting hurt. It was like rolling down a feather bed. +But he might have got his arm or leg twisted under him and have +broken a bone. How did he happen to fall?" + +"We were playing Red Cross nurse," began Janet, "and Ted was a +soldier in a tent and--" + +"But how could William fall downstairs if you were playing that sort +of game?" asked her mother. + +"Oh, we weren't playing it then," put in Ted. "We'd changed to +another game. I was a wild Western bronco, like those on Uncle +Frank's ranch, and I was giving Trouble a ride on my back. I gave a +jump when I was near the stairs, and I guess he must have slipped +off." + +"There isn't any guessing about it--he _did_ slip off," said Mrs. +Martin with a smile, as she put Trouble in a chair, having made sure +he was not hurt, and that there was no need of telephoning for his +father or the doctor. "You must be more careful, Teddy. You might have +hurt your little brother." + +"Yes'm," Teddy answered. "I won't do it again." + +"But we want to play something," put in Janet. "It's no fun being in +the house all day." + +"I know it isn't. But I think the rain is going to stop pretty soon. +If you get your rain-coats and rubbers you may go out for a little +while." + +"Me go too?" begged Trouble. + +"Yes, you may go too," agreed his mother. "You'll all sleep better +if you get some fresh air; and it's warm, even if it has been +raining." + +"Maybe we can take Nicknack and have a ride!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"If it stops raining," said his mother. + +Ted, Jan and Trouble ran up and down in front of the house while the +rain fell softly and the big drops dripped from the trees. Then the +clouds broke away, the sun came out, the rain stopped and with shouts +and laughter the children ran to the barn next to which, in a little +stable of his own, Nicknack, the goat, was kept. + +"Come on out, Nicknack!" cried Janet. "You're going to give us a +ride!" + +And Nicknack did, being hitched to the goat-cart in which there was +room and to spare for Janet, Ted and Trouble. Up and down the street +in front of their home the Martin children drove their pet goat. + +"Whee, this is fun!" cried Ted, as he made Nicknack run downhill +with the wagon. + +"Oh, Teddy Martin, don't go so fast!" begged Janet. + +"I like to go fast!" answered her brother. "I'm going to play Wild +West. This is the stage coach and pretty soon the Indians will shoot +at us!" + +"Teddy Martin! if you're going to do that I'm not going to play!" +stormed Janet. "You'll make Trouble fall out and get hurt. Come on, +Trouble! Let us get out!" she cried. Nicknack was going quite fast +down the hill. + +"Wait till we get to the bottom," shouted Ted. "G'lang there, pony!" +he cried to the goat. + +"Let me out!" screamed Janet, "I want to get out." + +At the foot of the hill Teddy stopped the goat and Janet, taking +Trouble with her, got out and walked back to the house. + +"What's the matter now?" asked Mrs. Martin from the porch where she +had come out to get a little fresh air. + +"Ted's playing Wild West in the goat-wagon," explained Janet. + +"Oh, Ted! Don't be so rough!" begged his mother of her little son, +who drove up just then. + +"Oh, I'm only playing Indians and stage coach," he said. "You've got +to go fast when the Indians are after you!" and away he rode. + +"He's awful mean!" declared Janet. + +"I don't know what's come over Ted of late," said Mrs. Martin to her +husband, who came up the side street just then from his store. + +"What's he been doing?" asked Mr. Martin. + +"Oh, he's been pretending he was a bucking bronco, like those Uncle +Frank has on his ranch, and he tossed Trouble downstairs. But the +baby didn't get hurt, fortunately. Now Ted's playing Wild West +stagecoach with Nicknack and Janet got frightened and wouldn't ride." + +"Hum, I see," said Ted's father slowly. "Our boy is getting older, I +guess. He needs rougher play. Well, I think I've just the very thing +to suit him, and perhaps Janet and all of us." + +"What is it?" asked Mrs. Martin, as her husband drew a letter from +his pocket. + +"This is an invitation from Uncle Frank for all of us to come out to +his ranch in Montana for the summer," was the answer. "We have been +talking of going, you know, and now is a good chance. I can leave the +store for a while, and I think it would do us all good--the children +especially--to go West. So if you'd like it, well pack up and go." + +"Go where?" asked Ted, driving around near the veranda in time to +hear his father's last words. + +"Out to Uncle Frank's ranch," said Mr. Martin. + +"How would you like that?" added his mother. + +"Could we have ponies to ride?" asked Ted. + +"Yes, I think so." + +"Oh, what fun!" cried Janet. "I love a pony!" + +"You'd be afraid of them!" exclaimed Ted. + +"I would not! If they didn't jump up and down the way you did with +Trouble on your back I wouldn't be afraid." + +"Pooh! that's the way bucking broncos always do, don't they, Daddy? +I'm going to have a bronco!" + +"Well, well see when we get there," said Daddy Martin. "But since +you all seem to like it, we'll go out West." + +"Can we take Nicknack?" asked Teddy. + +"You won't need him if you have a pony," his father suggested. + +"No, that's so. Hurray! What fun we'll have!" + +"Are there any Indians out there?" asked Janet. + +"Well, a few, I guess," her father answered. "But they're docile +Indians--not wild. They won't hurt you. Now let's go in and talk +about it." + +The Curlytops asked all sorts of questions of their father about +Uncle Frank's ranch, but though he could tell them, in a general way, +what it looked like, Mr. Martin did not really know much about the +place, as he had never been there. + +"But you'll find lots of horses, ponies and cattle there," he said. + +"And can we take Nicknack with us, to ride around the ranch?" asked +Jan, in her turn. + +"Oh, you won't want to do that," her father said. "You'll have +ponies to ride, I think." + +"What'll we do with Nicknack then?" asked Ted. + +"We'll have to leave him with some neighbor until we come back," +answered his father. "I was thinking of asking Mr. Newton to take +care of him. Bob Newton is a kind boy and he wouldn't harm your goat." + +"Yes, Bob is a good boy," agreed Teddy. "I'd like him to have +Nicknack." + +"Then, if it is all right with Mr. Newton, well take the goat over a +few days before we leave for the West," said Mr. Martin. "Bob will +have a chance to get used to Nicknack, and Nicknack to him, before we +go away." + +"Nicknack not come wif us?" asked Trouble, not quite understanding +what the talk was about. + +"No, we'll leave Nicknack here," said his father, as he cuddled the +little fellow up in his lap. Trouble said nothing more just then but, +afterward, Ted remembered that Baby William seemed to be thinking +pretty hard about something. + +A few days later, when some of the trunks had been partly packed, +ready for the trip West, Mr. Martin came home early from the store +and said to Jan and Ted: + +"I think you'd better get your goat ready now and take him over to +Bob's house. I spoke to Mr. Newton about it, and he said there was +plenty of room in his stable for a goat Bob is delighted to have him." + +"But hell give him back to us when we come home, won't he?" asked +Janet. + +"Oh, yes, of course! You won't lose your goat," said her father with +a laugh. + +But when they went out to the stable to harness Nicknack to the +wagon, Ted and Janet rubbed their eyes and looked again. + +"Why, Nicknack is gone!" exclaimed Ted. + +"He is," agreed his sister. "Maybe Bob came and got him." + +"No, he wouldn't do that without telling us," went on Ted. "I wonder +where that goat is?" + +He looked around the stable yard and in the barn. No Nicknack was in +sight. + +When the Curlytops were searching they heard their mother calling to +them from the house, where their father was waiting for them to come +up with Nicknack. He was going over to Mr. Newton's with them. + +"Ho, Ted! Janet! Where are you?" called Mrs. Martin. + +"Out here, Mother!" Teddy answered. + +"Is Trouble there with you?" + +"Trouble? No, he isn't here!" + +"He isn't!" exclaimed his mother. "Where in the world can he be? +Nora says she saw him going out to the barn a little while ago. +Please find him!" + +"Huh!" exclaimed Ted. "Trouble is gone and so is Nicknack! I s'pose +they've gone together!" + +"Well have to look," said Janet. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +OFF FOR THE WEST + + +The Curlytops hurried toward the house, leaving open the empty +little stable in which Nicknack was usually kept. They found their +father and their mother looking around in the yard, Mrs. Martin had a +worried air. + +"Couldn't you find him?" asked Daddy Martin. + +"We didn't look--very much," answered Teddy. "Nicknack is gone, and--" + +"Nicknack gone!" cried Mrs. Martin. "I wonder if that little tyke of +ours has gotten into trouble with him." + +"Nicknack wouldn't make any trouble," declared Jan. "He's such a +nice goat--" + +"Yes, I know!" said Mrs. Martin quickly. "But it looks very much as +though Trouble and Nicknack had gone off together. Is the goat's +harness in the stable?" + +"We didn't look," answered Teddy. + +"The wagon's gone," Janet said. "I looked under the shed for that +and it wasn't there." + +"Then I can just about guess what has happened," said Daddy Martin. +"Trouble heard as talking about taking Nicknack over to Mr. Newton's +house, where he would be kept while we are at Uncle Frank's ranch, +and the little fellow has just about taken the goat over himself." + +"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. "Trouble couldn't hitch the goat +to the wagon and drive off with him." + +"Oh, yes he could, Mother!" said Teddy. "He's seen me and Janet +hitch Nicknack up lots of times, and he's helped, too. At first he +got the straps all crooked, but I showed him how to do it, and I +guess he could 'most hitch the goat up himself now all alone." + +"Then that's what he's done," said Mr. Martin. "Come on, Curlytops, +we'll go over to Mr. Newton's and get Trouble." + +"I hope you find him all right," said Mrs. Martin, with a sigh. + +"Oh, we'll find him all right--don't worry," her husband answered. + +Laughing among themselves at the trick Trouble had played, Janet, +Teddy and Mr. Martin started for the home of Mr. Newton, which was +three or four long streets away, toward the edge of the town. + +On the way they looked here and there, in the yards of houses where +the children often went to play. + +"For," said Mr. Martin, "it might be possible that when Trouble +found he could drive Nicknack, which he could do, as the goat is very +gentle, he might have stopped on the way to play." + +"Yes, he might," said Jan. "He's so cute!" + +But there was no sign of the little boy, nor the goat, either. + +Finally Mr. Newton's house was reached. Into the yard rushed Janet +and Teddy, followed by their father. Bob Newton was making a kite on +the side porch. + +"Hello, Curlytop!" he called to Ted. "Want to help me fly this? +It's going to be a dandy!" + +"Yes, I'll help you," agreed Ted. "But is he here?" + +"Who here?" asked Bob, in some surprise. + +"Nicknack, our goat," answered Teddy. + +"What! Is he lost?" exclaimed Bob in some dismay, for he was +counting on having much fun with the goat when the Curlytops went +West. + +"Nicknack--" began Ted. + +"Have you seen Trouble?" broke in Janet. + +"Is he lost, too?" Bob inquired. "Say, I guess--" + +"Our goat and little boy seem to have gone off together," explained +Mr. Martin to Mrs. Newton who came out on the porch just then. "We'd +been talking before Trouble about bringing Nicknack over here, and +now that both are missing we thought maybe Baby William had brought +the goat over himself." + +"Why, no, he isn't here," said Mrs. Newton slowly. "You didn't see +anything of Trouble and the goat, did you?" she asked her son. + +"No. I've been here making the kite all morning, and I'd have seen +Nicknack all right, and Trouble, too, if they had come here." + +"Well, that's funny!" exclaimed Mr. Martin. "I wonder where he can +have gone?" + +"Maybe Nicknack ran away with him," suggested Bob. + +"Oh, don't say such things!" exclaimed his mother. + +"I don't think that can have happened," returned Mr. Martin, +"Nicknack is a very gentle goat, and Trouble is used to playing with +him all alone. He never yet has been hurt. Of course we are not sure +that the two went away together. Trouble disappeared from the house, +and he was last seen going toward the stable. + +"When Ted and Jan went out to get Nicknack he was gone, too, and so +was the wagon and harness. So we just thought Trouble might have +driven his pet over here." + +"Yes, I think it likely that the two went away together," said Mrs. +Newton; "but they're not here. Bob, put away that kite of yours and +help Mr. Martin and the Curlytops look for Trouble. He may have gone +to Mrs. Simpson's," she went on. "He's often there you know." + +"Yes, but we looked in their yard coming over," put in Ted. "Trouble +wasn't there." + +"That's strange," murmured Bob's mother. "Well, he can't be far, +that's sure, and he can't get lost. Everybody in town knows him and +the goat, and he's sure to be seen sooner or later." + +"I guess so," agreed Mr. Martin. "His mother was a little worried, +though." + +"Yes, I should think she would be. It's horrible to have anything +happen to your children--or fear it may. I'll take off my apron and +help you look." + +"Oh, don't bother," said Mr. Martin. "We'll find him all right." But +Mrs. Newton insisted on joining the search. + +There was a barn on the Newton place--a barn in which Bob was +counting on keeping Nicknack--and this place was first searched lest, +perchance, Trouble might have slipped in there with the goat without +anyone having seen him, having come up through a back alley. + +But there was no goat inside; and Bob, the Curlytops, Mr. Martin and +Mrs. Newton came out again, and looked up and down the street. + +"I'll tell you what we'd better do," said Bob's mother. "Ted, you +come with Bob and me. You know Trouble's ways, and where he would be +most likely to go. Let Janet go with her father, and we'll go up and +down the street, inquiring in all the houses we come to. Your little +brother is sure to be near one of them." + +"That's a good idea," said Mr. Martin. "Jan, you come with me. I +expect your mother will be along any minute now. She won't wait at +home long for us if we don't come back with Trouble." + +So the two parties started on the search, one up and the other down +the street. Bob, Teddy and Mrs. Newton inquired at a number of +houses, but no one in them had seen Trouble and Nicknack that day. +Nor did Janet and her father get any trace of the missing ones. + +"I wonder where he is," murmured Teddy, and he was beginning to feel +afraid that something had happened to Trouble. + +"Let's go down the back street," suggested Bob. "You know there's +quite a lot of wagons and automobiles go along this main street where +we've been looking. Maybe if Trouble hitched up Nicknack and went for +a ride he'd turn down the back street 'cause it's quieter." + +"Yes, he may have done that," agreed Mrs. Newton. + +So down the back street the three went. There were several vacant +lots on this street and as the grass in them was high--tall enough to +hide a small boy and a goat and wagon--Bob said they had better look +in these places. + +This they did. There was nothing in the first two vacant lots, but +in the third--after they had stopped at one or two houses and had not +found the missing ones--Teddy suddenly cried out: + +"Hark!" + +"What'd you hear?" asked Bob. + +"I thought I heard a goat bleating," was the answer. + +"Listen!" whispered Mrs. Newton. + +They kept quiet, and then through the air came the sound: + +"Baa-a-a-a-a!" + +"That's Nicknack!" cried Teddy, rushing forward. + +"I hope your little brother is there, too," said Mrs. Newton. + +And Trouble was. When they got to the lower end of the vacant lot +there, in a tangle of weeds, was the goat-wagon, and Nicknack was in +a tangle of harness fast to it. + +"Look at Trouble!" cried Teddy. + +There lay the little fellow, sound asleep in the goat-wagon, his +head pillowed on his arm, while Nicknack was bleating now and then +between the bites of grass and weeds he was eating. + +"Oh, Trouble!" cried Mrs. Newton as she took him up in her arms. + +"Yes--dis me--I's Trouble," was the sleepy response. "Oh, 'lo, +Teddy," he went on as he saw his brother. "'Lo, Bob. You come to find +me?" + +"I should say we _did_!" cried Bob. "What are you doing here?" + +"Havin' wide," was the answer. "Everybody go 'way--out West--I not +have a goat den. I no want Nicknack to go 'way." + +"Oh, I see what he means!" exclaimed Teddy, after thinking over what +his little brother said. "He heard us talking about bringing Nicknack +over to your house, Bob, to keep him for us. Trouble likes the goat +and I guess he didn't want to leave him behind. Maybe he thought he +could drive him away out to Montana, to Uncle Frank's ranch." + +"Maybe," agreed Bob. "That'd be a long drive, though." + +"I should say so!" agreed Mrs. Newton. "But I guess you're right, +Teddy. Your little brother started off to hide the goat and wagon so +you couldn't leave it behind. He's a funny baby, all right!" + +"And look how he harnessed him!" exclaimed Bob. + +Nicknack really wasn't harnessed. The leather straps and the buckles +were all tangled up on him, but Trouble had managed to make enough of +them stick on the goat's back, and had somehow got part of the +harness fast to the wagon, so Nicknack could pull it along. + +"I had a nice wide," said Trouble, as Bob and Teddy straightened out +the goat's harness. "Den I got sleepy an' Nicknack he got hungry, so +we comed in here." + +"And we've been looking everywhere for you!" exclaimed Mrs. Newton. +"Well, I'm glad we've found you. Come along, now. Ted, you and Bob +hurry along and tell the others. Your mother'll be worried." + +And indeed Mrs. Martin was worried, especially when she met Mr. +Martin and Janet, who had not found Trouble. + +But Teddy and Bob soon met with the other searchers and told them +that Baby "William had been found. + +"Oh, what will you do next?" cried Mrs. Martin, as she clasped the +little fellow in her arms. "Such a fright as you've given us!" + +"No want Nicknack to go 'way!" said Trouble. + +"I guess that's what he did it for--he thought he could hide the +goat so we wouldn't leave him behind," said Daddy Martin. "But we'll +have to, just the same. Trouble won't miss him when we get out on the +ranch." + +So the goat and wagon were left at Bob's house, and though Trouble +cried when he realized what was happening, he soon got over it. + +The next few days were filled with busy preparations toward going +West. Daddy Martin bought the tickets, the packing was completed, +last visits to their playmates were paid by Janet and Teddy, whose +boy and girl friends all said that they wished they too were going +out West to a big ranch. + +"We're going to see cowboys and Indians!" Ted told everyone. + +Then came the last day in Cresco--that is the last day for some time +for the Curlytops. The house was closed, Nora going to stay with +friends. Skyrocket, the dog, and Turnover, the cat, were sent to kind +neighbors, who promised to look after them. Bob had already started +to take care of Nicknack. + +"All aboard!" called the conductor of the train the Curlytops and +the others took. "All aboard!" + +"All aboard for the West!" echoed Daddy Martin, and they were off. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE COLLISION + + +"Won't we have fun, Jan, when we get to the ranch?" + +"I guess so, Teddy. But I don't like it about those Indians." + +"Oh, didn't you hear Daddy say they were tame ones--like the kind in +the circus and Wild West show? They won't hurt you, Jan." + +"Well, I don't like 'em. They've got such funny painted faces." + +"Not the tame ones, Jan. Anyhow I'll stay with you." + +The Curlytops were talking as they sat together in the railroad car +which was being pulled rapidly by the engine out toward the big West, +where Uncle Frank's ranch was. In the seat behind them was Mother +Martin, holding Trouble, who was asleep, while Daddy Martin was also +slumbering. + +It was quite a long ride from Cresco to Rockville, which was in +Montana. It would take the Curlytops about four days to make the +trip, perhaps longer if the trains were late. But they did not mind, +for they had comfortable coaches in which to travel. When they were +hungry there was the dining-car where they could get something to +eat, and when they were sleepy there was the sleeping-car, in which +the colored porter made such funny little beds out of the seats. + +Jan and Ted thought it quite wonderful. For, though they had +traveled in a sleeping-car before, and had seen the porter pull out +the seats, let down the shelf overhead and take out the blankets and +pillows to make the bed, still they never tired of watching. + +There were many other things to interest the Curlytops and Trouble +on this journey to Uncle Frank's ranch. Of course there was always +something to see when they looked out of the windows of the cars. At +times the train would pass through cities, stopping at the stations +to let passengers get off and on. But it was not the cities that +interested the children most. They liked best to see the fields and +woods through which they passed. + +In some of the fields were horses, cows or sheep, and while the +children did not see any such animals in the woods, except perhaps +where the wood was a clump of trees near a farm, they always hoped +they might. + +Very often, when the train would rattle along through big fields, +and then suddenly plunge into a forest, Jan would call: + +"Maybe we'll see one now, Ted!" + +"Oh, maybe so!" he would exclaim. + +Then the two Curlytops would flatten their noses against the window +and peer out. + +"What are you looking for?" asked Mother Martin, the first time she +saw the children do this. + +"Indians," answered Teddy, never turning around, for the train was +still in the wood and he did not want to miss any chance. + +"Indians!" exclaimed his mother, "Why, what in the world put into +your head the idea that we should see Indians?" + +"Well, Uncle Frank said there were Indians out West, even if they +weren't wild ones," answered Teddy, "and me and Jan wants to see +some." + +"Oh, you won't find any Indians around _here_," said Daddy Martin with +a laugh, as he laid aside the paper he was reading. "It is true there +are some out West, but we are not there yet, and, if we were, you +would hardly find the Indians so near a railroad." + +"Can't we ever see any?" Jan wanted to know. "I don't just like +Indians, 'cause they've always got a gun or a knife--I mean in +pictures," she hastened to add. "Course I never saw a real Indian, +'ceptin' maybe in a circus." + +"You'll see some real ones after a while," her mother told her, and +then the children stopped pressing their noses flat against the car +windows, for the train had come out of the wood and was nearing a +large city. There, Jan and Ted felt sure, no Indians would be seen. + +"But we'll keep watch," said Jan to her brother, "and maybe I'll see +an Indian first." + +"And maybe I will! We'll both watch!" he agreed. + +Something else that gave the children enjoyment was the passage +through the train, every now and then, of the boy who sold candy, +books and magazines. He would pass along between the seats, dropping +into them, or into the laps of the passengers, packages of candy, or +perhaps a paper or book. This was to give the traveler time to look +at it, and make up his or her mind whether or not to buy it. + +A little later the boy would come along to collect the things he had +left, and get the money for those the people kept for themselves. Ted +and Jan were very desirous, each time, that the boy should sell +something, and once, when he had gone through the car and had taken +in no money, he looked so disappointed that Jan whispered to her +father: + +"Won't you please buy something from him?" + +"Buy what?" asked Mr. Martin. + +"A book or some candy from the newsboy," repeated the little girl. +"He looks awful sorry." + +"Hum! Well, it is too bad if he didn't sell anything," said Mr. +Martin. "I guess I can buy something. What would you like, something +to read or something to eat?" + +"Some pictures to look at," suggested Teddy. "Then we can show 'em +to Trouble. Mother just gave us some cookies." + +"Then I guess you've had enough to eat," laughed Mr. Martin. "Here, +boy!" he called. "Have you any picture books for these Curlytops of +mine?" + +"Yes, I have some nice ones," answered the boy, and with a smile on +his face he went into the baggage car, where he kept his papers, +candy and other things, and soon came back with a gaily colored book, +at the sight of which Ted and Jan uttered sighs of delight. + +"Dat awful p'etty!" murmured Trouble, and indeed the book did have +nice pictures in it. + +Mr. Martin paid for it, and then Ted and Jan enjoyed very much +looking at it, with Trouble in the seat between them. He insisted on +seeing each picture twice, the page being no sooner turned over than +he wanted it turned back again. + +But at last even he was satisfied, and then Ted and Jan went back to +their first game of looking out of the window for Indians or other +sights that might interest them. + +Trouble slipped out of his seat between his brother and sister and +went to a vacant window himself. For a time he had good fun playing +with the window catch, and Mrs. Martin let him do this, having made +sure, at first, that he could not open the sash. Then they all forgot +Trouble for a while and he played by himself, all alone in one of the +seats. + +A little later, when Teddy and Janet were tired of looking for the +Indians which they never saw, they were talking about the good times +they had had with Nicknack, and wondering if Uncle Frank would have a +goat, or anything like it, when Trouble came toddling up to their +seat. + +"What you got?" asked Teddy of his little brother, noticing that +Baby William was chewing something. "What you got, Trouble?" + +"Tandy," he said, meaning candy, of course. + +"Oh, where'd you get it?" chimed in Jan. + +"Nice boy gived it to me," Trouble answered. "Here," and he held the +package out to his brother and sister. + +"Oh, wasn't that good of him!" exclaimed Jan. "It's nice chocolate +candy, too. I'll have another piece, Trouble." + +They all had some and they were eating the sweet stuff and having a +good time, when they saw their father looking at them. There was a +funny smile on his face, and near him stood the newsboy, also smiling. + +"Trouble, did you open a box of candy the boy left in your seat?" +asked Mr. Martin. + +"Yes, he's got some candy," answered Jan. "He said the boy gave it +to him." + +"I didn't mean for him to _open_ it," the boy said. "I left it +in his seat and I thought he'd ask his father if he could have it. +But when I came to get it, why, it was gone." + +"Oh, what a funny little Trouble!" laughed Mother Martin. "He +thought the boy meant to give the candy to him, I guess. Well, Daddy, +I think you'll have to pay for it." + +And so Mr. Martin did. The candy was not a gift after all, but +Trouble did not know that. However, it all came out right in the end. + +They had been traveling two days, and now, toward evening of the +second day, the Curlytops were talking together about what they would +do when they got to Uncle Frank's ranch. + +"I hope they have lots to eat there," sighed Ted, when he and Jan +had gotten off the subject of Indians. "I'm hungry right now." + +"So'm I," added his sister. "But they'll call us to supper pretty +soon." + +The children always eagerly waited for the colored waiter to come +through the coaches rumbling out in his bass voice: + +"First call fo' supper in de dinin'-car!" + +Or he might say "dinner" or "breakfast," or make it the "last call," +just as it happened. Now it was time for the first supper call, and +in a little while the waiter came in. + +"Eh? What's that? Time for supper _again_?" cried Daddy Martin, +awakening from a nap. + +Trouble stretched and yawned in his mother's arms. + +"I's hungry!" he said. + +"So'm I!" cried Ted and Jan together. + +"Shall we have good things to eat on Uncle Frank's ranch?" asked +Teddy, as they made ready to walk ahead to the dining-car. + +"Of course!" his mother laughed. "Why are you worrying about that?" + +"Oh, I just wanted to know," Teddy answered. "We had so many good +things at Cherry Farm and when we were camping with grandpa that I +want some out on the ranch." + +"Well, I think we can trust to Uncle Frank," said Mr. Martin. "But +if you get too hungry, Teddy, you can go out and lasso a beefsteak or +catch a bear or deer and have him for breakfast." + +"Is there bears out there, too?" asked Janet in a good deal of +excitement. "Bears and Indians?" + +"Well, there may be a few bears here and there," her father said +with a smile, "but they won't hurt you if you don't hurt them. Now +we'll go and see what they have for supper here." + +To the dining-car they went, and as they passed through one of the +coaches on their way Teddy and Janet heard a woman say to her little +girl: + +"Look at those Curlytops, Ethel. Don't you wish you could have some +of their curl put into your hair?" + +It was evening and the sun was setting. As the train sped along the +Curlytops could look through the windows off across the fields and +woods through which they passed. + +"Isn't it just wonderful," said Mother Martin, "to think of sitting +down to a nice meal which is being cooked for us while the train goes +so fast? Imagine, children, how, years ago, the cowboys and hunters +had to go on horses all the distance out West, and carry their food +on their pony's back or in a wagon called a prairie schooner. How +much easier and quicker and more comfortable it is to travel this +way." + +"I'd like to ride on a pony," said Teddy. "I wouldn't care how slow +he went." + +"I imagine you wouldn't like it when night came," said his mother, +as she moved a plate so the waiter could set glasses of milk in front +of the children. "You wouldn't like to sleep on the ground with only +a blanket for a bed, would you?" + +"'Deed I would!" declared Teddy. "I wish I had--" + +Just then the train went around a curve, and, as it was traveling +very fast, the milk which Teddy was raising to his mouth slopped and +spilled down in his lap. + +"Oh, Teddy!" cried his mother. + +"I--I couldn't help it!" he exclaimed, as he wiped up as much of the +milk as he could on a napkin with which the waiter hastened to him. + +"No, we know it was the train," said Daddy Martin. "It wouldn't have +happened if you had been traveling on pony-back, and had stopped to +camp out for the night before you got your supper; would it, Ted?" he +asked with a smile. + +"No," said the little boy. "I wish we could camp out and hunt +Indians!" + +"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed his mother. "Don't get such foolish +notions in your head. Anyway there aren't any Indians to hunt on +Uncle Frank's ranch, are there, Dick?" she asked her husband. + +"Well, no, I guess not," he answered slowly. "There are some Indians +on their own ranch, or government reservation, not far from where +Uncle Frank has his horses and cattle, but I guess the Redmen never +bother anyone." + +"Can we go to see 'em?" asked Teddy. + +"I guess so," said Mr. Martin. + +"Me go, too! Me like engines," murmured Trouble, who had also +spilled a little milk on himself. + +"He thinks we're talking about _engines_--the kind that pull this +train!" laughed Ted. "I don't believe he ever saw a real _Indian."_ + +"No, Indians do not walk the streets of Cresco," said Mrs. Martin. +"But finish your suppers, children. Others are waiting to use the +table and we must not keep them too long." + +There were many travelers going West--not all as far as the +Curlytops though--and as there was not room in the dining-car for all +of them to sit down at once they had to take turns. That is why the +waiter made one, two, and sometimes three calls for each meal, as he +went through the different coaches. + +Supper over, the Martins went back to their place in the coach in +which they had ridden all day. They would soon go into the beds, or +berths, as they are called, to sleep all night. In the morning they +would be several hundred miles nearer Uncle Frank's ranch. + +The electric lights were turned on, and then, for a while, Jan, Ted +and the others sat and talked. + +They talked about the fun they had had when at Cherry Farm, of the +good times camping with grandpa and how they were snowed in, when +they wondered what had become of the strange lame boy who had called +at Mr. Martin's store one day. + +"I wish Hal Chester could come out West with us" said Teddy, as the +porter came to tell them he would soon make up their beds. "He'd like +to hunt Indians with me." + +Hal was a boy who had been cured of lameness at a Home for Crippled +Children, not far from Cherry Farm. + +"I suppose you'll _dream_ of Indians," said Teddy's mother to +him. "You've _talked_ about them all day. But get ready for bed, +now. Traveling is tiresome for little folks." + +Indeed after the first day Ted and Janet found it so. They wished, +more than once, that they could get out and run about, but they could +not except when the train stopped longer than usual in some big city. +Then their father would take them to the platform for a little run up +and down. + +True they could walk up and down the aisle of the car, but this was +not much fun, as the coach swayed so they were tossed against the +sides of the seats and bruised. + +"I'll be glad when we get to Uncle Frank's ranch," said Janet as she +crawled into the berth above her mother, who slept with Trouble. + +"So'll I," agreed Teddy, who climbed up the funny little ladder to +go to bed in the berth above his father. "I want a pony ride!" + +On through the night rumbled and roared the train, the whistle +sounding mournfully in the darkness as the engineer blew it at the +crossings. + +Ted and Janet were sleeping soundly, Janet dreaming she had a new +doll, dressed like an Indian papoose, or baby, while Ted dreamed he +was on a wild pony that wanted to roll over and over instead of +galloping straight on. + +Suddenly there was a loud crash that sounded through the whole +train. The engine whistled shrilly and then came a jar that shook up +everyone. Teddy found himself rolling out of his berth and he grabbed +the curtains just in time to save himself. + +"Oh, Daddy!" he cried, "what's the matter?" + +"What is it?" called Jan from her berth, while women in the coach +were screaming and men ere calling to one another. + +"What is it, Dick?" cried Mrs. Martin. + +"I think we've had a collision," answered her husband. + +"Did our train bunk into another?" asked Ted. + +"I'm afraid so," replied his father. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +AT RING ROSY RANCH + + +There was so much noise in the sleeping car where the Curlytops and +others had been peacefully traveling through the night, that, at +first, it was hard to tell what had happened. + +All that anyone knew was that there had been a severe jolt--a "bunk" +Teddy called it--and that the train had come to a sudden stop. So +quickly had it stopped, in fact, that a fat man, who was asleep in a +berth just behind Mr. Martin, had tumbled out and now sat in the +aisle of the car, gazing about him, a queer look on his sleepy face, +for he was not yet fully awake. + +"I say!" cried the fat man. "Who pushed me out of bed?" + +Even though they were much frightened, Mrs. Martin and some of the +other men and women could not help laughing at this. And the laughter +did more to quiet them than anything else. + +"Well, I guess no one here is much hurt--if at all," said Daddy +Martin, as he put on a pair of soft slippers he had ready in the +little hammock that held his clothes inside the berth. "I'll go and +see if I can find out what the matter is." + +"An', Daddy, bring me suffin t'eat!" exclaimed Trouble, poking his +head out between the curtains of the berth where he had been sleeping +with his mother when the collision happened. + +"There's one boy that's got sense," said a tall thin man, who was +helping the fat man to get to his feet "He isn't hurt, anyhow." + +"Thank goodness, no," said Mrs. Martin, who, as had some of the +other women, had on a dressing gown. Mrs. Martin was looking at +Trouble, whom she had taken up in her arms. "He hasn't a scratch on +him," she said, "though I heard him slam right against the side of +the car. He was next to the window." + +"It's a mercy we weren't all of us tossed out of the windows when +the train stopped so suddenly, the way it did," said a little old +woman. + +"It's a mercy, too," smiled another woman who had previously made +friends with Jan and Teddy, "that the Curlytops did not come hurtling +down out of those upper berths." + +Mr. Martin, after making sure his family was all right, partly +dressed and went out with some of the other men. The train had come +to a standstill, and Jan and Ted, looking out of the windows of their +berths, could see men moving about in the darkness outside with +flaring torches. + +"Maybe it's robbers," said Teddy in a whisper. + +"Robbers don't stop trains," objected Janet + +"Yes they do!" declared her brother positively, "Train robbers do. +Don't they, Mother?" + +"Oh, don't talk about such things now, Teddy boy. Be thankful you +are all right and hope that no one is hurt in the collision." + +"That's what I say!" exclaimed the fat man. "So it's a collision, is +it? I dreamed we were in a storm and that I was blown out of bed." + +"Well, you fell out, which is much the same thing," said the thin +man. "Our car doesn't seem to be hurt, anyhow." + +Ted and Janet came out into the aisle in their pajamas. They looked +all about them but, aside from seeing a number of men and women who +were greatly excited, nothing else appeared to be the matter. Then in +came their father with some of the other men. + +"It isn't a bad collision," said Daddy Martin. "Our engine hit a +freight car that was on a side track, but too close to our rails to +be passed safely. It jarred up our engine and the front cars quite a +bit, and our engine is off the track, but no one is hurt." + +"That's good!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. "I mean that no one is hurt." + +"How are they going to get the engine back on the track?" Teddy +wanted to know. "Can't I go out and watch 'em?" + +"I want to go, too!" exclaimed Janet. + +"Indeed you can't--in the dark!" exclaimed her father. "Besides, the +railroad men don't want you in the way. They asked us all to go to +our coaches and wait. They'll soon have the engine back on the rails +they said." + +Everyone was awake now, and several children in the car, like +Trouble, were hungry. The porter who had been hurrying to and fro +said he could get the children some hot milk from the dining-car, and +this he did. + +Some of the grown folks wanted coffee and sandwiches, and these +having been brought in, there was quite a merry picnic in the coach, +even if the train had been in a collision. + +Then there was much puffing and whistling of the engine. The +Curlytops, looking out of the window again, saw more men hurrying +here and there with flaring torches which flickered and smoked. These +were the trainmen helping to get the engine back on the rails, which +they did by using iron wedges or "jumpers," much as a trolley car in +your city streets is put back on the rails once it slips off. + +At last there was another "bunk" to the train, as Teddy called it. +At this several women screamed. + +"It's all right," said Daddy Martin. "They've got the engine back on +the rails and it has just backed up to couple on, or fasten itself, +to the cars again. Now we'll go forward again." + +And they did--in a little while. It did not take the Curlytops or +Trouble long to fall asleep once more, but some of the older people +were kept awake until morning, they said afterward. They were afraid +of another collision. + +But none came, and though the train was a little late the accident +really did not amount to much, though it might have been a bad one +had the freight car been a little farther over on the track so the +engine had run squarely into it. + +All the next day and night the Curlytops traveled in the train, and +though Jan and Ted liked to look out of the windows, they grew tired +of this after a while and began to ask: + +"When shall we be at Uncle Frank's ranch?" + +"Pretty soon now," said their father. + +I will not tell you all that happened on the journey to the West. +Truth to say there was not much except the collision. The Curly-tops +ate their meals, drank cupful after cupful of water, and Trouble did +the same, for children seem to get very thirsty when they +travel--much more so than at home. + +Then, finally, one afternoon, after a long stop when a new engine +was attached to the train, Daddy Martin said: + +"Well be at Rockville in an hour now. So we'd better begin to get +together our things." + +"Shall we be at Uncle Frank's ranch in an hour?" asked Teddy. + +"No, but well be at Rockville. From there we go out over the +prairies in a wagon." + +"A wagon with ponies?" asked Janet. + +"Yes, real Western ponies," said her father. "Then well be at the +ranch." + +And it happened just that way. On puffed the train. Then the porter +came to help the Martin family off at Rockville. + +"Rockville! Rockville! All out for Rockville!" joked Daddy Martin. + +"Hurray!" cried Teddy. "Here we are!" + +"And I see Uncle Frank!" exclaimed Janet, looking from the window +toward the station as the train slowed up to stop. + +Out piled the Curlytops, and into the arms of Uncle Frank they +rushed. He caught them up and kissed them one after the other--Teddy, +Janet and Trouble. + +"Well, well!" he cried, "I'm glad to see you! Haven't changed a bit +since you were snowed in! Now pile into the wagon and well get right +out to Circle O Ranch." + +"Where's that?" asked Teddy. + +"Why, that's the name of my ranch," said Uncle Frank. "See, there's +the sign of it," and he pointed to the flank of one of the small +horses, or ponies, hitched to his wagon. Ted and Janet saw a large +circle in which was a smaller letter O. + +"We call it Circle O," explained the ranchman. "Each place in the +West that raises cattle or horses has a certain sign with which the +animals are branded, or marked, so their owners can tell them from +others in case they get mixed up. My mark is a circle around an O." + +"It looks like a ring-around-the-rosy," said Janet. + +"Say! So it does!" laughed Uncle Frank. "I never thought of that. +Ring Rosy Ranch! That isn't a half bad name! Guess I'll call mine +that after this. Come on to Ring Rosy Ranch!" he invited as he +laughed at the Curlytops. + +And the name Janet gave Uncle Frank's place in fun stuck to it, so +that even the cowboys began calling their ranch "Ring Rosy," instead +of "Circle O." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +COWBOY FUN + + +Into the big wagon piled the Curlytops, Mrs. Martin and Trouble, +while Daddy Martin and Uncle Frank went to see about the baggage. + +Jan and Ted looked curiously about them. It was the first time they +had had a chance to look quietly since they had started on the +journey, for they had been traveling in the train nearly a week, it +seemed. + +What they saw was a small railroad station, set in the midst of big +rolling fields. There was a water tank near the station, and not far +from the tank was a small building in which a pump could be heard +chug-chugging away. + +"But where is the ranch?" asked Janet of her brother. "I don't see +any cows and horses." + +"Dere's horses," stated Trouble, pointing to the two sturdy ponies +hitched to the wagon. + +"Yes, I know" admitted Janet. "But Uncle Frank said he had more'n a +hundred horses and--" + +"And a thousand steers--that's cattle," interrupted Ted. "I don't +see any, either. Maybe we got off at the wrong station, Mother." + +"No, you're all right," laughed Mrs. Martin. "Didn't Uncle Frank +meet us and didn't Daddy tell us we'd have to drive to the ranch?" + +"What's the matter now, Curlytops?" asked their father's uncle, as +the two men came back from having seen about the baggage, which had +arrived safely. "What are you two youngsters worrying about, Teddy +and Janet?" + +"They're afraid we're at the wrong place because they can't see the +ranch," answered their mother. + +"Oh, that's over among the hills," said Uncle Frank, waving his hand +toward some low hills that were at the foot of some high mountains. +"It wouldn't do," he went on, "to have a ranch too near a railroad +station. The trains might scare the horses and cattle. You will soon +be there, Curlytops. We'll begin to travel in a minute." + +Ted and Janet settled themselves in the seat, where they were side +by side, and looked about them. Suddenly Janet clasped her brother by +the arm and exclaimed: + +"Look, Ted! Look!" + +"Where?" he asked. + +"Right over there--by the station. It's an _Indian_!" + +"A real one?" asked Teddy, who, at first, did not see where his +sister was pointing. + +"He _looks_ like a real one," Janet answered. "He's _alive_, 'cause +he's moving!" + +She snuggled closer to her brother. Then Teddy saw where Janet +pointed. A big man, whose face was the color of a copper cent, was +walking along the station platform. He was wrapped in a dirty +blanket, but enough of him could be seen to show that he was a Redman. + +"Is that a _real_ Indian, Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy in great +excitement. + +"What? Him? Oh, yes, he's a real Indian all right. There's a lot of +'em come down to the station to sell baskets and beadwork to the +people who go through on the trains." + +"Is he a _tame_ Indian?" the little boy next wanted to know. + +"Oh, he's 'tame' all right. Hi there, Running Horse!" called Uncle +Frank to the copper-faced man in the blanket, "sell many baskets to-day?" + +"Um few. No good business," answered the Indian in a sort of grunt. + +"Oh, do you know him?" asked Ted in surprise. + +"Oh, yes. Running Horse often comes to the ranch when he's hungry. +There's a reservation of the Indians not far from our place. They +won't hurt you, Jan; don't be afraid," said Uncle Frank, as he saw +that the little girl kept close to Teddy. + +"Was he wild once?" she asked timidly. + +"Why, yes; I guess you might have called him a wild Indian once," +her uncle admitted. "He's pretty old and I shouldn't wonder but what +he had been on the warpath against the white settlers." + +"Oh!" exclaimed Janet. "Maybe he'll get wild again!" + +"Oh, no he won't!" laughed Uncle Frank. "He's only too glad now to +live on the reservation and sell the baskets the squaws make. The +Indian men don't like to work." + +Running Horse, which was the queer name the Indian had chosen for +himself, or which had been given him, walked along, wrapped in his +blanket, though the day was a warm one. Perhaps he thought the +blanket kept the heat out in summer and the cold in winter. + +"Get along now, ponies!" cried Uncle Frank, and the little horses +began to trot along the road that wound over the prairies like a +dusty ribbon amid the green grass. + +On the way to Ring Rosy Ranch Uncle Frank had many questions to ask, +some of the children and some of Mr. and Mrs. Martin. Together they +laughed about the things that had happened when they were all snowed +in. + +"Tell Uncle Frank of Trouble's trying to hide Nicknack away so we +wouldn't leave him behind," suggested Mrs. Martin. + +"Ha! Ha! That was pretty good!" exclaimed the ranchman when Ted and +Janet, by turns, had told of Trouble's being found asleep in the +goat-wagon. "Well, it's too bad you couldn't bring Nicknack with you. +He'd like it out on the ranch, I'm sure, but it would be too long a +journey for him. You'll have rides enough--never fear!" + +"Pony rides?" asked Teddy. + +"Pony rides in plenty!" laughed Uncle Frank. "We'll soon be there +now, and you can see the ranch from the top of the next hill." + +The prairies were what are called "rolling" lard. That is there were +many little hills and hollows, and the country seemed to be like the +rolling waves of the ocean, if they had suddenly been made still. + +Sometimes the wagon, drawn by the two little horses, would be down +in a hollow, and again it would be on top of a mound-like hill from +which a good view could be had. + +Reaching the top of one hill, larger than the others, Uncle Frank +pointed off in the distance and said: + +"There's Circle O Ranch, Curlytops, or, as Jan has named it, Ring +Rosy Ranch. We'll be there in a little while." + +The children looked. They saw, off on the prairie, a number of low, +red buildings standing close together. Beyond the buildings were big +fields, in which were many small dots. + +"What are the dots?" asked Janet. + +"Those are my horses and cattle--steers we call the last," explained +Uncle Frank. + +"They are eating grass to get fat You'll soon be closer to them." + +"Are the Indians near here?" Teddy inquired. + +"No, not very near. It's a day's ride to their reservation. But +don't worry about them. They won't bother you if you don't bother +them," said Uncle Frank. + +Teddy was not fully satisfied with this answer, for he hoped very +much that the Indians would "bother him"--at least, he thought that +was what he wanted. + +When the Curlytops drew closer to the ranch they could see that one +of the buildings was a house, almost like their own in the East, only +not so tall. It was all one story, as were the other buildings, some +of which were stables for the horses and some sleeping places, or +"bunk houses," for the cowboys, while from one building, as they +approached closer, there came the good smell of something cooking. + +"That's the cook's place," said Uncle Frank, pointing with his whip. +"All the cowboys love him, even if he is a Chinaman." + +"Have you a Chinese cook?" asked Mrs. Martin. + +"Yes, and he's a good one," answered Uncle Frank. "Wait until you +taste how he fries chicken." + +"I hope we taste some soon," said Daddy Martin. "This ride across +the prairies has made me hungry." + +"I hungry, too!" exclaimed Trouble. "I wants bread an' milk!" + +"And you shall have all you want!" laughed the ranchman. "We've +plenty of milk." + +"Oh, this is a dandy place!" exclaimed Teddy, as the wagon drove up +to the ranch house. "Well have lots of fun here, Janet!" + +"Maybe we will, if--if the Indians don't get us," she said. + +"Pooh! I'm not afraid of them," boasted Teddy, and then something +happened. + +All at once there came a lot of wild yells, and sounds as if a +Fourth-of-July celebration of the old-fashioned sort were going on. +There was a popping and a banging, and then around the corner of the +house rode a lot of roughly-dressed men on ponies which kicked up a +cloud of dust. + +"Ki-yi! Ki-yi! Yippi-i-yip!" yelled the men. + +"Bang! Bang! Bang!" exploded their revolvers. + +"Oh, dear!" screamed Janet. + +Teddy turned a little pale, but he did not make a sound. + +"What is it?" asked Mrs. Martin, hugging Trouble and his sister +closer to her. "Oh, what is it?" + +"Don't be afraid!" laughed Uncle Frank. "Those are the cowboys +making you welcome to Ring Rosy Ranch. That's their way of having +fun!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +BAD NEWS + + +On came the cowboys, yelling, shouting and shooting off their big +revolvers which made noises like giant firecrackers. The men, some of +whom wore big leather "pants," as Teddy said afterward, and some of +whom had on trousers that seemed to be made from the fleece of sheep, +swung their hats in the air. Some of them even stood up in their +saddles, "just like circus riders!" as Janet sent word to Aunt Jo, +who was spending the summer at Mt. Hope. + +"Are they shooting real bullets, Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy, as soon +as the noise died down a little and the cowboys were waving their +hats to the Curlytops and the other visitors to Ring Rosy Ranch. + +"Real bullets? Bless your heart, no!" exclaimed Mr. Barton. "Of +course the cowboys sometimes have real bullets in their 'guns,' as +they call their revolvers, but they don't shoot 'em for fun." + +"What makes them shoot?" asked Janet. + +"Well, sometimes it's to scare away bad men who might try to steal +my cattle or horses, and again it's to scare the cattle themselves. +You see," explained Uncle Frank, while the cowboys jumped from their +horses and went to the bunk house to wash and get ready for supper, +"a ranch is just like a big pasture that your Grandfather Martin has +at Cherry Farm. Only my ranch is ever so much bigger than his +pastures, even all of them put together. And there are very few +fences around any of my fields, so the cattle or horses might easily +stray off, or be taken. + +"Because of that I have to hire men--cowboys they are called--to +watch my cattle and horses, to see that they do not run away and that +no white men or Indians come and run away with them. + +"But sometimes the cattle take it into their heads to run away +themselves. They get frightened--'stampeded' we call it--and they +don't care which way they run. Sometimes a prairie fire will make +them run and again it may be bad men--thieves. The cowboys have to +stop the cattle from running away, and they do it by firing revolvers +in front of them. So it wouldn't do to have real bullets in their +guns when the cowboys are firing that way. They use blank cartridges, +just as they did now to salute you when they came in." + +"Is that what they did?" asked Teddy. "Saluted us?" + +"That's it. They just thought they'd have a little fun with you--see +if they could scare you, maybe, because you're what they call a +'tenderfoot,' Teddy." + +"Pooh, I wasn't afraid!" declared Teddy, perhaps forgetting a +little. "I liked it. It was like the Fourth of July!" + +"I didn't like it," said Janet, with a shake of her curly head. "And +what's a soft-foot, Uncle Frank?" + +"A soft-foot? Oh, ho! I see!" he laughed. "You mean a tenderfoot! +Well, that's what the Western cowboys call anybody from the +East--where you came from. It means, I guess, that their feet are +tender because they walk so much and don't ride a horse the way cowboys +do. You see out here we folks hardly ever walk. If we've only got what +you might call a block to go we hop on a horse and ride. So we get +out of the way of walking. + +"Now you Eastern folk walk a good bit--that is when you aren't +riding in street cars and in your automobiles, and I suppose that's +why the cowboys call you tender-feet. You don't mind, though, do you, +Teddy?" + +"Nope," he said. "I like it. But I'm going to learn to ride a pony." + +"So'm I!" exclaimed Janet. + +"I wants a wide, too!" cried Trouble. "Can't I wide, Uncle Frank? We +hasn't got Nicknack, but maybe you got a goat," and he looked up at +his father's uncle. + +"No, I haven't a goat," laughed Uncle Frank, "though there might be +some sheep on some of the ranches here. But I guess ponies will suit +you children better. When you Curlytops learn to ride you can take +Trouble up on the saddle with you and give him a ride. He's too small +to ride by himself yet." + +"I should say he was, Uncle Frank!" cried Mrs. Martin. "Don't let +_him_ get on a horse!" + +"I won't," promised Mr. Barton with a laugh. But Trouble said: + +"I likes a pony! I wants a wide, Muz-zer!" + +"You may ride with me when I learn," promised Janet. + +"Dat nice," responded William. + +Uncle Frank's wife, whom everyone called Aunt Millie, came out of +the ranch house and welcomed the Curlytops and the others. She had +not seen them for a number of years. + +"My, how big the children are!" she cried as she looked at Janet and +Teddy. "And here's one I've never seen," she went on, as she caught +Trouble up in her arms and kissed him. + +"Now come right in. Hop Sing has supper ready for you." + +"Hop Sing!" laughed Mother Martin. "That sounds like a new record on +the phonograph." + +"It's the name of our Chinese cook," explained Aunt Millie, "and a +very good one he is, too!" + +"Are the cowboys coming in to eat with us?" asked Teddy, as they all +went into the house, where the baggage had been carried by Uncle +Frank and Daddy Martin. + +"Oh, no. They eat by themselves in their own building. Not that we +wouldn't have them, for they're nice boys, all of them, but they'd +rather be by themselves." + +"Do any Indians come in?" asked Janet, looking toward the door. + +"Bless your heart, no!" exclaimed Aunt Millie. "We wouldn't want +them, for they're dirty and not at all nice, though some of them do +look like pictures when they wrap themselves around in a red blanket +and stick feathers in their hair. We don't want any Indians. Now tell +me about your trip." + +"We were in a collision!" cried Janet. + +"In the middle of the night," added Teddy. + +"An' I mos' fell out of my bed!" put in Trouble. + +Then, amid laughter, the story of the trip from the East was told. +Meanwhile Hop Sing, the Chinese cook, cried out in his funny, squeaky +voice that supper was getting cold. + +"Well, well eat first and talk afterward," said Uncle Frank, as he +led the way to the table. "Come on, folks. I expect you all have good +appetites. That's what we're noted for at Ring Rosy Ranch." + +"What's that?" asked Aunt Millie. + +"Have you given Circle O a new name?" + +"One of the Curlytops did," chuckled Uncle Frank. "They said my +branding sign looked just like a ring-round-the-rosy, so I'm going to +call the ranch that after this." + +"It's a nice name," said Aunt Millie. "And now let me see you +Curlytops--and Trouble, too--though his hair isn't frizzy like Ted's +and Janet's--let me see you eat until you get as fat as a Ring Rosy +yourselves. If you don't eat as much as you can of everything, Hop +Sing will feel as though he was not a good cook." + +The Curlytops were hungry enough to eat without having to be told +to, and Hop Sing, looking into the dining-room now and then from +where he was busy in the kitchen, smiled and nodded his head as he +said to the maid. + +"Lil' chillens eat velly good!" + +"Indeed they do eat very good," said the maid, as she carried in +more of the food which Hop Sing knew so well how to cook. + +After supper the Curlytops and the others sat out on the broad porch +of the ranch house. Off to one side were the other buildings, some +where the farming tools were kept, for Uncle Frank raised some grain +as well as cattle, and some where the cowboys lived, as well as +others where they stabled their horses. + +"I know what let's do," said Jan, when she and her brother had sat +on the porch for some time, listening to the talk of the older folks, +and feeling very happy that they were at Uncle Frank's ranch, where, +they felt sure, they could have such good times. + +"What can we do?" asked Teddy. Very often he let Jan plan some fun, +and I might say that she got into trouble doing this as many times as +her brother did. Jan was a regular boy, in some things. But then I +suppose any girl is who has two nice brothers, even if one is little +enough to be called "Baby." + +"Let's go and take a walk," suggested Jan. "My legs feel funny yet +from ridin' in the cars so much." + +"Ri-_ding_!" yelled Teddy gleefully. "That's the time you forgot your +g, Janet." + +"Yes, I did," admitted the little girl. "But there's so much to look +at here that it's easy to forget. My forgetter works easier than +yours does, Ted." + +"It does not!" + +"It does, too!" + +"It does not!" + +"I--say--it--does!" and Janet was very positive. + +"Now, now, children!" chided their mother. "That isn't nice. What +are you disputing about now?" + +"Jan says her forgetter's better'n mine!" cried Ted. + +"And it is," insisted Janet. "I can forget lots easier than Ted." + +"Well, forgetting isn't a very good thing to do," said Mr. Martin. +"Remembering is better." + +"Oh, that's what I meant!" said Jan. "I thought it was a forgetter. +Anyhow mine's better'n Ted's!" + +"Now don't start that again," warned Mother Martin, playfully +shaking her finger at the two children. "Be nice now. Amuse +yourselves in some quiet way. It will soon be time to go to bed. You +must be tired. Be nice now." + +"Come on, let's go for a walk," proposed Jan again, and Ted, now +that the forget-memory dispute was over, was willing to be friendly +and kind and go with his sister. + +So while Trouble climbed up into his mother's lap, and the older +folks were talking among themselves, the two Curlytops, not being +noticed by the others, slipped off the porch and walked toward the +ranch buildings, out near the corrals, or the fenced-in places, where +the horses were kept. + +There were too many horses to keep them all penned in, or fenced +around, just as there are too many cattle on a cattle ranch. But the +cowboys who do not want their horses which they ride to get too far +away put them in a corral. This is just as good as a barn, except in +cold weather. + +"There's lots of things to see here," said Teddy, as he and his +sister walked along. + +"Yes," she agreed. "It's lots of fun. I'm glad I came." + +"So'm I. Oh, look at the lots of ponies!" she cried, as she and Ted +turned a corner of one of the ranch buildings and came in sight of a +new corral. In it were a number of little horses, some of which hung +their heads over the fence and watched the Curlytops approaching. + +"I'd like to ride one," sighed Teddy wistfully. + +"Oh, you mustn't!" cried Jan. "Uncle Frank wouldn't like it, nor +mother or father, either. You have to ask first." + +"Oh, I don't mean ride now," said Ted. "Anyhow, I haven't got a +saddle." + +"Can't you ride without a saddle?" asked Janet. + +"Well, not very good I guess," Ted answered. "A horse's back has a +bone in the middle of it, and that bumps you when you don't have a +saddle." + +"How do you know?" asked Janet. + +"I know, 'cause once the milkman let me sit on his horse and I felt +the bone in his back. It didn't feel good." + +"Maybe the milkman's horse was awful bony." + +"He was," admitted Ted. "But anyhow you've got to have a saddle to +ride a horse, lessen you're a Indian and I'm not." + +"Well, maybe after a while Uncle Frank'll give you a saddle," said +Janet. + +"Maybe," agreed her brother, "Oh, see how the ponies look at us!" + +"And one's following us all around," added his sister. For the +little horses had indeed all come to the side of the corral fence +nearest the Curlytops, and were following along as the children +walked. + +"What do you s'pose they want?" asked Teddy. + +"Maybe they're hungry," answered Janet. + +"Let's pull some grass for 'em," suggested Teddy, and they did this, +feeding it to the horses that stretched their necks over the top rail +of the fence and chewed the green bunches as if they very much liked +their fodder. + +But after a while Jan and Ted tired of even this. And no wonder--there +were so many horses, and they all seemed to like the grass so +much that the children never could have pulled enough for all of them. + +"Look at that one always pushing the others out of the way," said +Janet, pointing to one pony, larger than the others, who was always +first at the fence, and first to reach his nose toward the bunches of +grass. + +"And there's a little one that can't get any," said her brother. +"I'd like to give him some, Jan." + +"So would I. But how can we? Every time I hold out some grass to him +the big horse takes it." + +Teddy thought for a minute and then he said: + +"I know what we can do to keep the big horse from getting it all." + +"What?" asked Janet. + +"We can both pull some grass. Then you go to one end of the fence, +and hold out your bunch. The big horse will come to get it and push +the others away, like he always does." + +"But then the little pony won't get any," Janet said. + +"Oh, yes, he will!" cried Teddy. "'Cause when you're feeding the +big horse I'll run up and give the _little_ horse my bunch. Then +he'll have some all by himself." + +And this the Curlytops did. When the big horse was chewing the grass +Janet gave him, Ted held out some to the little horse at the other +end of the corral, And he ate it, but only just in time, for the big +pony saw what was going on and trotted up to shove the small animal +out of the way. But it was too late. + +Then Janet and Teddy walked on a little further, until Janet said it +was growing late and they had better go back to the porch where the +others were still talking. + +Evening was coming on. The sun had set, but there was still a golden +glow in the sky. Far off in one of the big fields a number of horses +and cattle could be seen, and riding out near them were some of the +cowboys who, after their supper, had gone out to see that all was +well for the night. + +"Is all this your land, Uncle Frank!" asked Teddy as he stood on the +porch and looked over the fields. + +"Yes, as far as you can see, and farther. If you Curlytops get lost, +which I hope you won't, you'll have to go a good way to get off my +ranch. But let me tell you now, not to go too far away from the +house, unless your father or some of us grown folks are with you." + +"Why?" asked Janet. + +"Well, you _might_ get lost, you know, and then--oh, well, don't go +off by yourselves, that's all," and Uncle Frank turned to answer a +question Daddy Martin asked him. + +Ted and Janet wondered why they could not go off by themselves as +they had done at Cherry Farm. + +"Maybe it's because of the Indians," suggested Jan. + +"Pooh, I'm not afraid of them," Teddy announced. + +Just then one of the cowboys--later the children learned he was Jim +Mason, the foreman--came walking up to the porch. He walked in a +funny way, being more used to going along on a horse than on his own +feet. + +"Good evening, folks!" he said, taking off his hat and waving it +toward the Curlytops and the others. + +"Hello, Jim!" was Uncle Frank's greeting. "Everything all right?" + +"No, it isn't, I'm sorry to say," answered the foreman. "I've got +bad news for you, Mr. Barton!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A QUEER NOISE + + +The Curlytops looked at the ranch foreman as he said this. Uncle +Frank looked at him, too. The foreman stood twirling his big hat +around in his hand. Teddy looked at the big revolver--"gun" the +cowboys called it--which dangled from Jim Mason's belt. + +"Bad news, is it?" asked Uncle Frank. "I'm sorry to hear that. I +hope none of the boys is sick. Nobody been shot, has there, during +the celebration?" + +"Oh, no, the boys are all right," answered the foreman. "But it's +bad news about some of your ponies--a lot of them you had out on +grass over there," and he pointed to the west--just where Ted and +Janet could not see. + +"Bad news about the ponies?" repeated Uncle Frank. "Well, now, I'm +sorry to hear that. Some of 'em sick?" + +"Not as I know of," replied Jim. "But a lot of 'em have been taken +away--stolen, I guess I'd better call it." + +"A lot of my ponies stolen?" cried Uncle Frank, jumping up from his +chair. "That is bad news! When did it happen? Why don't you get the +cowboys together and chase after the men who took the ponies?" + +"Well, I would have done that if I knew where to go," said the +foreman. "But I didn't hear until a little while ago, when one of the +cowboys I sent to see if the ponies were all right came in. He got +there to find 'em all gone, so I came right over to tell you." + +"Well, we'll have to see about this!" exclaimed Uncle Frank. "Who's +the cowboy you sent to see about the ponies?" + +"Henry Jensen. He just got in a little while ago, after a hard ride." + +"And who does he think took the horses?" + +"He said it looked as if the Indians had done it!" and at these +words from the foreman Ted and Janet looked at one another with +widely opened eyes. + +"Indians?" said Uncle Frank. "Why, I didn't think any of them had +come off their reservation." + +"Some of 'em must have," the foreman went on. "They didn't have any +ponies of their own, I guess, so they took yours and rode off on 'em." + +"Well, this is too bad!" said Uncle Frank in a low voice. "I guess +we'll have to get our boys together and chase after these Indians," +he went on. "Yes, that's what I'll do. I've got to get back my +ponies." + +"Oh, can't I come?" cried Teddy, not understanding all that was +going on, but enough to know that his uncle was going somewhere with +the cowboys, and Teddy wanted to go, too. + +"Oh, I'm afraid you couldn't come--Curlytop," said the foreman, +giving Teddy the name almost everyone called him at first sight, and +this was the first time Jim Mason had seen Teddy. + +"No, you little folks must stay at home," added Uncle Frank. + +"Are you really going after Indians?" Teddy wanted to know. + +"Yes, to find out if they took any of my ponies. You see," went on +Uncle Frank, speaking to Daddy and Mother Martin as well as to the +Curlytops, "the Indians are kept on what is called a 'reservation' +That is, the government gives them certain land for their own and +they are told they must stay there, though once in a while some of +them come off to sell blankets and bark-work at the railroad stations. + +"And, sometimes, maybe once a year, a lot of the Indians get tired +of staying on the reservation and some of them will get together and +run off. Sometimes they ride away on their own horses, and again they +may take some from the nearest ranch. I guess this time they took +some of mine." + +"And how will you catch them?" asked Mrs. Martin. + +"Oh, we'll try to find out which way they went and then we'll follow +after them until we catch them and get back the ponies." + +"It's just like hide-and-go-seek, isn't it, Uncle Frank?" asked Janet. + +"Yes, something like that But it takes longer." + +"I wish I could go to hunt the Indians!" murmured Teddy. + +"Why, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" exclaimed his mother. "I'm _surprised_ at +you!" + +"Well, I would like to go," he said. + +"Could I go if I knew how to ride a pony, Uncle Frank?" + +"Well, I don't know. I'm afraid you're too little. But, speaking of +riding a pony, to-morrow I'll have one of the cowboys start in to +teach you and Janet to ride. Now I guess I'll have to go see this +Henry Jensen and ask him about the Indians and my stolen ponies." + +"I hope he gets them back," said Teddy to his sister. + +"So do I," she agreed. "And I hope those Indians don't come here." + +"Pooh! they're tame Indians!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"They must be kind of wild when they steal ponies," Janet said. + +A little later the Curlytops and Trouble went to bed, for they had +been up early that day. They fell asleep almost at once, even though +their bed was not moving along in a railroad train, as it had been +the last three or four nights. + +"Did Uncle Frank find his ponies?" asked Teddy the next morning at +the breakfast table. + +"No, Curlytop," answered Aunt Millie. "He and some of the cowboys +have gone over to the field where the ponies were kept to see if they +can get any news of them." + +"Can we learn to ride a pony to-day?" asked Janet. + +"As soon as Uncle Frank comes back," answered her father. "You and +Ted and Trouble play around the house now as much as you like. When +Uncle Frank comes back he'll see about getting a pony for you to +ride." + +"Come on!" called Ted to his sister after breakfast. "We'll have +some fun." + +"I come, too!" called Trouble. "I wants a wide! I wish we had +Nicknack." + +"It would be fun if we had our goat here, wouldn't it?" asked Janet +of her brother. + +"Yes, but I'd rather have a pony. I'm going to be a cowboy, and you +can't be a cowboy and ride a _goat_." + +"No, I s'pose not," said Janet. "But a goat isn't so high up as a +pony, Ted, and if you fall off a goat's back you don't hurt yourself +so much." + +"I'm not going to fall off," declared Teddy. + +The children wandered about among the ranch buildings, looking in +the bunk house where the cowboys slept. There was only one person in +there, and he was an old man to be called a "boy," thought Janet. But +all men, whether young or old, who look after the cattle on a ranch, +are called "cowboys" so age does not matter. + +"Howdy," said this cowboy with a cheerful smile, as the Curlytops +looked in at him. He was mending a broken strap to his saddle. +"Where'd you get that curly hair?" he asked. "I lost some just like +that. Wonder if you got mine?" + +Janet hardly knew what to make of this, but Teddy said: + +"No, sir. This is _our_ hair. It's fast to our heads and we've +had it a long time." + +"It was always curly this way," added Janet. + +"Oh, was it? Well, then it can't be mine," said the cowboy with a +laugh. "Mine was curly only when I was a baby, and that was a good +many years ago. Are you going to live here?" + +"We're going to stay all summer," Janet said. "Do you live here?" + +"Well, yes; as much as anywhere." + +"Could you show us where the Indians are that took Uncle Frank's +ponies?" Teddy demanded. + +"Wish I could!" exclaimed the cowboy. "If I knew, I'd go after 'em +myself and get the ponies back. I guess those Indians are pretty far +away from here by now." + +"Do they hide?" asked Teddy. + +"Yes, they may hide away among the hills and wait for a chance to +sell the ponies they stole from your uncle. But don't worry your +curly heads about Indians. Have a good time here. It seems good to +see little children around a place like this." + +"Have you got a lasso?" asked Teddy. + +"You mean my rope? Course I got one--every cowboy has," was the +answer. + +"I wish you'd lasso something," went on Teddy, who had once been to +see a Wild West show. + +"All right, I'll do a little rope work for you," said the cowboy, +with a good-natured smile. "Just wait until I mend my saddle." + +In a little while he came riding into the yard in front of the bunk +house on a lively little pony. He made the animal race up and down +and, while doing this, the cowboy swung his coiled rope, or lasso, +about his head, and sent it in curling rings toward posts and +benches, hauling the latter after him by winding the rope around the +horn of his saddle after he had lassoed them. + +"Say! that's fine!" cried Teddy with glistening eyes. "I'm going to +learn how to lasso." + +"I'll show you after a while," the cowboy offered. "You can't learn +too young. But I must go now." + +"Could I just have a little ride on your pony's back?" asked Teddy. + +"To be sure you could," cried the cowboy. "Here you go!" + +He leaped from the saddle and lifted Teddy up to it, while Janet and +Trouble looked on in wonder. Then holding Ted to his seat by putting +an arm around him, while he walked beside the pony and guided it, the +cowboy gave the little fellow a ride, much to Teddy's delight. + +"Hurray!" he called to Janet "I'm learning to be a cowboy!" + +"That's right--you are!" laughed Daddy Martin, coming out just then. +"How do you like it?" + +"Dandy!" Teddy said. "Come on. Janet!" + +"Yes, we ought to have let the ladies go first," said the cowboy. +"But I didn't know whether the leetle gal cared for horses," he went +on to Mr. Martin. + +"I like horses," admitted Janet. "But maybe I'll fall off." + +"I won't let you," the cowboy answered, as he lifted her to the +saddle. Then he led the pony around with her on his back, and Janet +liked it very much. + +"I wants a wide, too!" cried Trouble. + +"Hi! that's so! Mustn't forget you!" laughed the cowboy, and he held +Baby William in the saddle, much to the delight of that little fellow. + +"Now you mustn't bother any more," said Daddy Martin. "You children +have had fun enough. You'll have more pony-back rides later." + +"Yes, I'll have to go now," the cowboy said, and, leaping into the +saddle, he rode away in a cloud of dust. + +The Curlytops and Trouble wandered around among the ranch buildings. +Daddy Martin, seeing that the children were all right, left them to +themselves. + +"I'se hungry," said Trouble, after a bit. + +"So'm I," added Teddy. "Do you s'pose that funny Chinaman would give +us a cookie, Jan?" + +"Chinamen don't know how to make cookies." + +"Well, maybe they know how to make something just as good. Let's go +around to the cook house--that's what Aunt Millie calls it." + +The cook house was easy to find, for from it came a number of good +smells, and, as they neared it, the Curlytops saw the laughing face +of the Chinese cook peering out at them. + +"Lil' gal hungly--li' boy hungly?" asked Hop Sing in his funny talk. + +"Got any cookies?" inquired Teddy. + +"No glot clooklies--glot him clake," the Chinese answered. + +"What does he say?" asked Janet of her brother. + +"I guess he means cake," whispered Teddy, and that was just what Hop +Sing did mean. He brought out some nice cake on a plate and Trouble +and the Curlytops had as much as was good for them, if not quite all +they wanted. + +"Glood clake?" asked Hop Sing, when nothing but the crumbs were +left--and not many of them. + +"I guess he means was it good cake," then whispered Janet to her +little brother. + +"Yes, it was fine and good!" exclaimed Teddy. "Thank you." + +"You mluch welclome--clome some mo'!" laughed Hop Sing, as the +children moved away. + +They spent the morning playing about the ranch near the house. They +made a sea-saw from a board and a barrel, and played some of the +games they had learned on Cherry Farm or while camping with Grandpa +Martin. Then dinner time came, but Uncle Frank and the cowboys did +not come back to it. + +"Won't they be hungry?" asked Teddy. + +"Oh, they took some bacon, coffee and other things with them," said +Aunt Millie. "They often have to camp out for days at a time." + +"Say, I wish I could do that!" cried Teddy. + +"Wait until you get to be a cowboy," advised his father. + +That afternoon Trouble went to lie down with his mother to have a +nap, and Teddy and Janet wandered off by themselves, promising not to +go too far away from the house. + +But the day was so pleasant, and it was so nice to walk over the +soft grass that, before they knew it, Teddy and Janet had wandered +farther than they meant to. As the land was rolling--here hills and +there hollows--they were soon out of sight of the ranch buildings, +but they were not afraid, as they knew by going to a high part of the +prairie they could see their way back home--or they thought they +could. There were no woods around them, though there were trees and a +little stream of water farther off. + +Suddenly, as the Curlytops were walking along together, they came to +a place where there were a lot of rocks piled up in a sort of +shelter. Indeed one place looked as though it might be a cave. And as +Teddy and Janet were looking at this they heard a strange noise, +which came from among the rocks. + +Both children stopped and stood perfectly still for a moment. + +"Did you hear that?" asked Jan, clasping her brother's arm. + +"Yes--I did," he answered. + +"Did--did it sound like some one groaning?" she went on. + +Teddy nodded his head to show that it had sounded that way to him. +Just then the noise came again. + +"Oh!" exclaimed Janet, starting to run. "Maybe it's an Indian! Oh, +Teddy, come on!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE SICK PONY + + +Teddy Martin did not run away as Jan started to leave the pile of +rocks from which the queer sound had come. Instead he stood still and +looked as hard as he could toward the hole among the stones--a hole +that looked a little like the cave on Star Island, but not so large. + +"Come on, Teddy!" begged Janet. "Please come!" + +"I want to see what it is," he answered. + +"Maybe it's something that--that'll bite you," suggested the little +girl. "Come on!" + +Just then the noise sounded again. It certainly was a groan. + +"There!" exclaimed Janet. "I _know_ it's an Indian, Ted! Maybe it's +one of the kind that took Uncle Frank's ponies. Oh, please come!" + +She had run on a little way from the pile of rocks, but now she +stood still, waiting for Teddy to follow. + +"Come on!" she begged. + +Janet did not want to go alone. + +"It can't be an Indian," said Teddy, looking around but still not +seeing anything to make that strange sound. + +"It could so be an Indian!" declared Janet. + +"Well, maybe a sick Indian," Teddy admitted. "And if he's as sick as +all that I'm not afraid of him! I'm going to see what it is." + +"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried Janet, much as she sometimes heard +her mother use her brother's name. "Don't you dare!" + +"Why not?" asked Teddy, who tried to speak very bravely, though he +really did not feel brave. But he was not going to show that before +Janet, who was a girl. "Why can't I see what that is?" + +"'Cause maybe--maybe it'll--bite you!" and as Janet said this she +looked first at the rocks and then over her shoulder, as though +something might come up behind her when she least expected it. + +"Pooh! I'm not afraid!" declared Teddy. + +"Anyhow, if it does bite me it's got to come out of the rocks first." + +"Well, maybe it will come out." + +"If it does I can see it and run!" went on the little boy. + +"Would you run and leave me all alone?" asked Janet. + +"Nope! Course I wouldn't do _that_," Teddy declared. "I'd run and I'd +help you run. But I don't guess anything'll bite me. Anyhow, Indians +don't bite." + +"How do you know?" asked Janet. "Some Indians are wild. I heard +Uncle Frank say so, and wild things bite!" + +"But not Indians," insisted Teddy. "A Indian's mouth, even if he is +wild, is just like ours, and it isn't big enough to bite. You've got +to have an awful big mouth to bite." + +"Henry Watson bit you once, I heard mother say so," declared Janet, +as she and her brother still stood by the rocks and listened again +for the funny sound to come from the stones. But there was silence. + +"Well, Henry Watson's got an awful big mouth," remarked Teddy. +"Maybe he's wild, and that's the reason." + +"He couldn't be an Indian, could he?" Janet went on. + +"Course not!" declared her brother. "He's a boy, same as I am, only +his mouth's bigger. That's why he bit me. I 'member it now." + +"Did it hurt?" asked Janet. + +"Yep," answered her brother. "But I'm going in there and see what +that noise was. It won't hurt me." + +Teddy began to feel that Janet was asking so many questions in order +that he might forget all about what he intended to do. And he surely +did want to see what was in among the rocks. + +Once more he went closer to them, and then the noise sounded more +loudly than before. It came so suddenly that Teddy and Janet jumped +back, and there was no doubt but what they were both frightened. + +"Oh, I'm not going to stay here another minute!" cried Janet. "Come +on, Ted, let's go home!" + +"No, wait just a little!" he begged. "I'll go in and come right out +again--that is if it's anything that bites. If it isn't you can come +in with me." + +"No, I'm not going to do that!" and Janet shook her head very +decidedly to say "no!" Once more she looked over her shoulder. + +"Well, you don't have to come in," Teddy said. "I'll go alone. I'm +not scared." + +Just then Janet looked across the fields, and she saw a man riding +along on a pony. + +"Oh, Teddy!" she called to her brother. "Here's a man! We can get +him to go in and see what it is." + +Teddy looked to where his sister pointed. Surely enough, there was a +man going along. He was quite a distance off, but the Curlytops did +not mind that. They were fond of walking. + +"Holler at him!" advised Janet. "He'll hear us and come to help us +find out what's in here." + +Teddy raised his voice in the best shout he knew how to give. He had +strong lungs and was one of the loudest-shouting boys among his chums. + +"Hey, Mister! Come over here!" cried Teddy. + +But the man kept on as if he had not heard, as indeed he had not. +For on the prairies the air is so clear that people and things look +much nearer than they really are. So, though the man seemed to be +only a little distance away, he was more than a mile off, and you +know it is quite hard to call so as to be heard a mile away; +especially if you are a little boy. + +Still Teddy called again, and when he had done this two or three +times, and Jan had helped him, the two calling in a sort of duet, +Teddy said: + +"He can't hear us." + +"Maybe he's deaf, like Aunt Judy," said Janet, speaking of an +elderly woman in the town in which they lived. + +"Well, if he is, he can't hear us," said Teddy; "so he won't come to +us. I'm going in anyhow." + +"No, don't," begged Janet, who did not want her brother to go into +danger. "If he can't hear us, Teddy, we must go nearer. We can walk +to meet him." + +Teddy thought this over a minute. + +"Yes," he agreed, "we can do that. But he's a good way off." + +"He's coming this way," Janet said, and it did look as though the +man had turned his horse toward the children, who stood near the pile +of rocks from which the queer noises came. + +"Come on!" decided Ted, and, taking Janet's hand, he and she walked +toward the man on the horse. + +For some little time the two Curlytops tramped over the green, +grassy prairies. They kept their eyes on the man, now and then +looking back toward the rocks, for they did not want to lose sight +either of them or of the horseman. + +"I'm going to holler again," said Teddy. "Maybe he can hear me now. +We're nearer." + +So he stopped, and putting his hands to his mouth, as he had seen +Uncle Frank do when he wanted to call to a cowboy who was down at a +distant corral, the little boy called: + +"Hi there, Mr. Man! Come here, please!" + +But the man on the horse gave no sign that he had heard. As a matter +of fact, he had not, being too far away, and the wind was blowing +from him toward Teddy and Jan. If the wind had been blowing the other +way it might have carried the voices of the children toward the man. +But it did not. + +Then Teddy made a discovery. He stopped, and, shading his eyes with +his hands, said: + +"Jan, that man's going away from us 'stid of coming toward us. He's +getting littler all the while. And if he was coming to us he'd get +bigger." + +"Yes, I guess he would," admitted the little girl. "He is going +away, Teddy. Oh, dear! Now he can't help us!" + +Without a word Teddy started back toward the rocks, and his sister +followed. He was close to them when Janet spoke again. + +"What are you going to do?" she asked. + +"I'm going in there and see what that noise was," Teddy replied. + +"Oh, you mustn't!" she cried, hoping to turn him away. But Teddy +answered: + +"Yes, I am, too! I'm going to see what it is!" + +"I'm not!" cried Janet. "I'm going home. You'd better come with me!" + +But, though she turned away and went a short distance from the rocks +in the direction she thought the ranch house of Ring Rosy Ranch +should be, she very soon stopped. She did not like going on alone. +She looked back at Ted. + +Teddy had walked a little way toward the hole in the rocks. Now he +called to his sister. + +"The noise comes from in here," he said. "It's in this little cave." + +"Are you going in?" asked Janet, trying to pretend she was not afraid. + +"I want to see what made that noise," declared Teddy. Since he and +his sister had gone camping with Grandpa Martin they were braver than +they used to be. Of course, Ted, being a year older than his sister, +was a little bolder than she was. + +Janet, not feeling that she ought to run on home and leave Teddy +there and yet not feeling brave enough to go close to the cave among +the rocks with him, hardly knew what to do. She walked back a little +way and then, suddenly, the noise came, more loudly than at first. + +"Oh, there it goes again!" cried Janet, once more running back. + +"I heard it," Teddy said. "It didn't war-whoop like an Indian." + +"If he's sick he couldn't," explained Janet. + +"And if he's sick he can't hurt us," went on Teddy. "I'm going to +holler at him and see what he wants." + +"You'd better come back and tell daddy or Uncle Frank," suggested +Janet. + +Teddy rather thought so himself, but he did not like to give up once +he had started anything. He felt it would be a fine thing if he, all +alone, could find one of the Indians. + +"And maybe it is one of those who took Uncle Frank's ponies," +thought Teddy to himself. + +Again the groan sounded, this time not quite so loud, and after it +had died away Teddy called: + +"Who's in there? What's the matter with you?" + +No answer came to this. Then Ted added: + +"If you don't come out I'm going to tell my uncle on you. He owns +this ranch. Come on out! Who are you?" + +This time there came a different sound. It was one that the +Curlytops knew well, having heard it before. + +"That's a horse whinnying!" cried Teddy. + +"Or a pony," added Janet. "Yes, it did sound like that. Oh, Ted, +maybe it's a poor horse in there and he can't get out!" she went on. + +Again came the whinny of a horse or a pony. There was no mistake +about it this time. + +"Come on!" cried Teddy. "We've got to get him out, Janet. He's one +of Uncle Frank's cow ponies and he's hurt in that cave. We've got to +get him out!" + +"But how can you?" Janet inquired. "It's an awful little cave, and I +don't believe a pony could get in there." + +"A little pony could," said Teddy. + +Janet looked at the cave. She remembered that she had seen some +quite small ponies, not only on Ring Rosy Ranch but elsewhere. The +cave would be large enough for one of them. + +"I'm going in," said Teddy, as he stood at the mouth of the hole +among the piled-up rocks. + +"He might kick you," warned Janet. + +"If he's sick enough to groan that way he can't kick very hard," +replied Teddy. "Anyhow, I'll keep out of the way of his feet. That's +all you've got to do, Uncle Frank says, when you go around a strange +horse. When he gets to know you he won't kick." + +"Well, you'd better be careful," warned Janet again. + +"Don't you want to come in?" Teddy asked his sister. + +"I--I guess not," she answered. "I'll watch you here. Oh, maybe if +it's a pony we can have him for ours, Teddy!" she exclaimed. + +"Maybe," he agreed. "I'm going to see what it is." + +Slowly he walked to the dark place amid the rocks. The whinnyings +and groanings sounded plainer to him than to Janet, and Teddy was +sure they came from a horse or a pony. As yet, though, he could see +nothing. + +Then, as the little boy stepped out of the glaring sun into the +shadow cast by the rocks, he began to see better. And in a little +while his eyes became used to the gloom. + +Then he could see, lying down on the dirt floor of the cave amid the +rocks, the form of a pony. The animal raised its head as Teddy came +in and gave a sort of whinnying call, followed by a groan. + +"Poor pony!" called Ted. "Are you hurt? I'm so sorry! I'll go get a +doctor for you!" + +"Who are you talking to?" asked Janet. + +She had drawn nearer the cave. + +"There's a sick pony in here all right," Teddy told his sister. +"Come on in and look." + +"I--I don't b'lieve I want to." + +"Pooh! he can't hurt you! He's sick!" cried Teddy. + +So, after waiting a half minute, Janet went in. In a little while +she, too, could see the pony lying down in the cave. + +"Oh, the poor thing!" she cried. "Teddy, we've got to help him!" + +"Course we have," he said. "We've got to go for a doctor." + +"And get him a drink," added Janet. "When anybody's sick--a pony or +anybody--they want a drink. Let's find some water, Teddy. We can +bring it to him in our hats!" + +Then, leaving the sick pony in the cave, the Curlytops ran out to +look for water. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A SURPRISED DOCTOR + + +Water is not very plentiful on the prairies. In fact, it is so +scarce that often men and horses get very thirsty. But the Curlytops +were lucky in finding a spring among the rocks on Ring Rosy Ranch. It +was not a very large spring, and it was well hidden among the big +stones, which, is, perhaps, why it was not visited by many of the +ponies and cattle. They come in large numbers to every water-hole +they can find. + +Jan and Ted, having come out of the dark cave-like hole, where the +poor, sick pony lay, began their search for water, and, as I have +said, they were lucky in finding some. + +It was Jan who discovered it. As the Curlytops were running about +among the rocks the little girl stopped suddenly and called: + +"Hark, Teddy!" + +"What is it?" he asked. + +"I hear water dripping," she answered. "It's over this way." + +She went straight to the spring, following the sound of the dripping +water, and found where it bubbled up in a split in the rock. The +water fell into a little hollow, rocky basin and there was enough for +Ted and his sister to fill their hats. First they each took a drink +themselves, though, for the day was warm. + +Their hats were of felt, and would hold water quite well. And as the +hats were old ones, which had been worn in the rain more than once, +dipping them into the spring would not hurt them. + +"I guess the pony'll be awful glad to get a drink," said Jan to her +brother. + +"I guess he will," he answered, as he walked along looking carefully +where he put down his feet, for he did not want to stumble and spill +the water in his hat. + +"Look out!" exclaimed Janet, as her brother came too close to her. +"If you bump against me and make my arm jiggle you'll spill my +hatful." + +"I'll be careful," said Teddy. + +They spilled some of the water, for their hats were not as good as +pails in which to carry the pony's drink. But they managed to get to +the cave with most of it. + +"You can give him the first drink," said Teddy to his sister. "I +found him, and he's my pony, but you can give him the first drink." + +Janet felt that this was kind on Teddy's part, but still she did not +quite like what he said about the pony. + +"Is he going to be _all_ yours?" she asked. + +"Well, didn't I find him?'' + +"Yes, but when I found a penny once and bought a lollypop, I gave +you half of it." + +"Yes, you did," admitted Teddy, thinking of that time. "But I can't +give you half the pony, can I?" + +"No, I guess not. But you could let me ride on him." + +"Oh, I'll do that!" exclaimed Teddy quickly. He was thinking it +would be a hard matter to divide a live pony in half. + +"Course I'll let you ride on him!" he went on. "We'll get Uncle +Frank to let us have a saddle and some of the cowboys can teach us to +ride. And I'll let you feed and water him as much as you like. I'm +going to call him Clipclap." + +"That's a funny name," remarked Janet. + +"It's how his feet sound when he runs," explained Teddy. "Don't you +know--clip-clap, clip-clap!" and he imitated the sound of a pony as +best he could. + +"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Janet. "They do go that way." + +"I haven't heard this one run," added Teddy, "'cause he's sick and +he can't gallop. But I guess his feet would make that sound, so I'm +going to call him Clipclap." + +"It's a nice name," agreed Janet. "But I guess we better give him a +drink now. He must be awful thirsty." + +"He is," said Teddy. "Hear him groan?" + +The pony was again making a noise that did sound like a groan. He +must be in pain the children thought. + +"Go on--give him your drink, Janet," urged Teddy. "Then I'll give +him mine." + +Janet was afraid no longer. She went into the cave ahead of her +brother, and as the pony was lying down Janet had to kneel in front +of him with her hat full of water--no, it was not full, for some had +spilled out, but there was still a little in it. + +The pony smelled the water when Janet was yet a little way from him, +and raised his head and part of his body by his forefeet. Though +clear, cold water has no smell to us, animals can smell it sometimes +a long way off, and can find their way to it when their masters would +not know where to go for a drink. + +"Oh, see how glad he is to get it!" exclaimed Janet, as the pony +eagerly sucked up from her hat the water in it. The little animal +drank very fast, as if he had been without water a long while. + +"Now give him yours, Teddy," Janet called to her brother, and he +kneeled down and let the pony drink from his hat. + +"I guess he wants more," Janet said as the sick animal sucked up the +last drops from Teddy's hat. "It wasn't very much." + +"We'll get more!" Teddy decided. "Then we'll go for a doctor." + +"Where'll we find one?" Janet asked. + +"I know where to find him," Teddy answered. + +Once more the children went back to the spring and again they filled +their soft hats. And once more the pony greedily drank up the last +drops of water. As he finished that in Ted's hat he dropped back +again and stretched out as if very tired. + +"Oh, I hope he doesn't die!" exclaimed Janet. + +"So do I," added her brother. "I'd like to have a ride on him when +he gets well. Come on, we'll go find the doctor." + +Shaking the water drops from their hats the Curlytops put them on +and went out of the cave into the sunlight. Led by Teddy, Janet +followed to the top of the pile of rocks. + +"Do you see that white house over there?" asked Teddy, pointing to +one down the road that led past the buildings of Ring Rosy Ranch. + +"Yes, I see it," Janet answered. + +"That's the place where the doctor lives," went on Ted. + +"How do you know?" demanded Janet. + +"'Cause I heard Uncle Frank say so. Mother asked where a doctor +lived, and Uncle Frank showed her that white house. I was on the +porch and I heard him. He said if ever we needed a doctor we only had +to go there and Doctor Bond would come right away. He's the only +doctor around here." + +"Then we'd better get him for our pony Clipclap!" exclaimed Janet. +"Come on, Teddy." + +"If we had our goat-wagon we could ride," said the little boy, as +they walked along over the prairie together. "But I guess we've got +to walk now." + +"Is it very far?" asked Janet. + +"No, not very far. I've never been there, but you can easy see it." + +Truly enough the white house of Doctor Bond was in plain sight, but +on the prairies the air is so clear that distant houses look nearer +than they really are. + +So, though Ted and Janet thought they would be at the doctor's in +about ten minutes, they were really half an hour in reaching the +place. They saw the doctor's brass sign on his house. + +"I hope he's in," said Teddy. + +As it happened Doctor Bond was in, and he came to the door himself +when Teddy rang the bell, Mrs. Bond being out in the chicken part of +the yard. + +"Well, children, what can I do for you?" asked Doctor Bond with a +pleasant smile, as he saw the Curlytops on his porch. + +"If you please," began Teddy, "will you come and cure Clipclap?" + +"Will I come and cure him? Well, I will do my best. I can't be sure +I'll cure him, though, until I know what the matter is. What seems to +be the trouble?" + +"He's awful sick," said Janet, "and he groans awful." + +"Hum! He must have some pain then." + +"We gave him some cold water," added Teddy. + +"Yes? Well, maybe that was a good thing and maybe it wasn't. I can't +tell until I see him. Who did you say it was?" + +"Clipclap," replied Teddy. + +"Your little brother?" + +"No, sir. He's a pony and he's in a cave!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"What? A pony?" cried the surprised doctor. "In a cave?" + +"Yes," went on Janet. "We gave him water in our hats, and he's going +to be Ted's and mine 'cause Ted found him. But will you please come +and cure him so we can have a ride on him? Don't let him die." + +"Well," exclaimed Doctor Bond, smiling in a puzzled way at the +children, "I don't believe I can come. I don't know anything about +curing sick ponies. You need a horse doctor for that." + +Ted and Janet looked at one another, not knowing what to say. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +TROUBLE MAKES A LASSO + + +Doctor Bond must have seen how disappointed Teddy and Janet were, +for he spoke very kindly as he asked: + +"Who are you, and where are you from? Tell me about this sick pony +with the funny name." + +"He is Clipclap," answered Teddy, giving the name he had picked out +for his new pet. "And we are the Curlytops." + +"Yes, I can see that all right," laughed the doctor with a look at +the crisp hair of the little boy and girl. "But where do you live?" + +"At Uncle Frank's ranch," Janet answered. + +"You mean Mr. Frank Barton, of the Circle O?" the doctor inquired. + +"Yes, only we call it the Ring Rosy Ranch now, and so does he," +explained Teddy. + +"The Ring Rosy Ranch, is it? Well, I don't know but what that is a +good name for it. Now tell me about yourselves and this pony." + +This Teddy and Janet did by turns, relating how they had come out +West from Cresco, and what good times they were having. They even +told about having gone to Cherry Farm, about camping with Grandpa +Martin and about being snowed in. + +"Well, you have had some nice adventures!" exclaimed Doctor Bond. +"Now about this sick--" + +"Is some one ill?" enquired Mrs. Bond, coming in from the chicken +yard just then, in time to hear her husband's last words, "Who is it?" + +On the Western prairies when one neighbor hears of another's illness +he or she wants to help in every way there is. So Mrs. Bond, hearing +that some one was ill, wanted to do her share. + +"It's a pony," her husband said with a smile. + +"A pony!" she exclaimed. + +"Yes, these Curlytop children found one in the cave among the rocks. +It's on Circle O Ranch--I should say Ring Rosy," and the doctor gave +Uncle Frank's place the new name. "These are Mr. Barton's nephew's +children," he went on, for Ted and Janet had told the doctor that it +was their father's uncle, and not theirs, at whose home they were +visiting. Though, as a matter of fact, Ted and Janet thought Uncle +Frank was as much theirs as he was their father's and, very likely, +Uncle Frank thought so himself. + +"Can't you come and cure the sick pony?" asked Teddy. + +"He's groaning awful hard," went on Janet. + +"Well, my dear Curlytops," said Doctor Bond with a smile, "I'd like +to come, but, as I said, I don't know anything about curing sick +horses or animals. I never studied that. It takes a doctor who knows +about them to give them the right kind of medicine." + +"I thought all medicine was alike," said Teddy. "What our doctor +gives us is always bitter." + +"Well, all medicine isn't bitter," laughed Doctor Bond, "though some +very good kinds are. However, I wouldn't know whether to give this +Clipclap pony bitter or sweet medicine." + +"Maybe you could ask one of the cowboys," said Janet. "I heard Mr. +Mason--Jim, Uncle Frank calls him--telling how he cured a sick horse +once." + +"Oh, yes, your uncle's foreman, Jim Mason, knows a lot about +horses," said Doctor Bond. + +"Then why don't you go with the children and get Jim to help you +find out what the matter is with their pony?" suggested Mrs. Bond. +"There isn't a regular veterinary around here, and they don't want to +see their pet suffer. Go along with them.'' + +"I believe I will," said Doctor Bond. "I could perhaps tell what's +the matter with the pony, and if I've got any medicine that might +cure it, Jim would know how to give it--I wouldn't." + +"We just found the pony in the cave," explained Teddy. "We were +taking a walk and we heard him groan." + +"Oh, I see," said Mrs. Bond. "Well, I hope the doctor can make him +well for you," she went on, as her husband hurried back into the +house to get ready for the trip. + +He had a small automobile, and in this he and the children were soon +hurrying along the road toward Ring Rosy Ranch. It was decided to go +there first instead of to the cave where the pony was. + +"We'll get Jim Mason and take him back with us," said the doctor. + +Uncle Frank and his cowboys had come back from looking after the +lost ponies, but had not found them. He, as well as Mr. and Mrs. +Martin, were very much surprised when the Curlytops came riding up to +the ranch in Doctor Bond's automobile. + +"Well, where in the world have you been?" cried Mother Martin. "We +were just beginning to get worried about you children. Where were +you?" + +"We found a pony!" cried Janet. + +"And he's sick!" added Teddy. + +"And his name is Clipclap!" exclaimed the little girl. + +"And he's mine but Janet can have half of him, and we got him water +in our hats," came from Teddy. + +"And we got the doctor, too!" went on his sister. + +"Well, I should say you'd put in quite a busy day," chuckled Uncle +Frank. "Now let's hear more about it." + +So the Curlytops told, and Doctor Bond said, even if he was not a +horse doctor, he'd go out and look at the pony in the cave, if the +ranch foreman would come with him. + +"Of course I'll come!" cried Jim Mason. "I wouldn't want to see any +pony suffer. And I've doctored quite a few of 'em, even if I don't +know much about medicine. Come on, Curlytops!" + +Jim Mason jumped on his own swift pony, saying he could make as good +time over the rough prairie as Doctor Bond could in his automobile. +The Curlytops rode in the machine with the physician. Uncle Frank and +Daddy Martin went along, for they, too, were interested in the sick +pony. + +It did not take long to get to the cave amid the rocks. Jim Mason's +horse reached there ahead of the automobile, and the foreman had gone +into the cave and come out again by the time the Curlytops were +getting out of the machine. + +"Well, he's a pretty sick pony all right," said the foreman of the +cowboys of Ring Rosy Ranch. + +"Can you make him better?" asked Teddy anxiously. + +"I don't know whether we can or not. It all depends on what sort of +medicine the doctor has for curing poison." + +"Has the pony been poisoned?" asked Uncle Frank. + +"Looks that way," replied the foreman. "I guess he must have drunk +some water that had a bit of poisoned meat in it. You see," he went +on to the doctor, Mr. Martin and the children, "we have a lot of +wolves and other pesky animals around here. They're too tricky to +catch in traps or shoot, so we poison 'em by putting a white powder +in some meat. Sometimes the wolves will drag a piece of the poisoned +meat to a spring of water, and they must have done it this time. Then +the pony drank the water and it made him sick." + +"Will he die?" asked Janet. + +"Well, I'll do my best to save him," said Doctor Bond, opening the +black case of medicines he carried. "But how can you give medicine to +a horse, Jim? You can't put it on his tongue, can you?" + +"No, but I've got a long-necked bottle on purpose for that, and it's +easy to pour it out of that bottle down a pony's throat. You mix up +the dose, Doc, and I'll give it to the little animal." + +This was done, but the Curlytops were not allowed in the cave when +the men were working over the pony. But, in a little while, the +foreman and Doctor Bond came out. + +"Well, I guess your pony will get better," said the physician. "Jim +gave him the medicine that will get the poison out of him, and in a +day or so he'll be able to walk. But you'll have to leave him in the +cave until then." + +"Can't we take him home?" Teddy cried. + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed the foreman. "But I'll send one of the men over +with some straw to make him a soft bed, and we'll see that he has +water to drink. He won't want anything to eat until he gets better. +The doctor will come to see him to-morrow. Won't you?" he went on to +Doctor Bond. + +"Indeed I will!" promised the doctor, for he had taken a great +liking to the Curlytops. + +"Whose pony is it?" asked Daddy Martin. + +"It's mine!" exclaimed Teddy quickly. "Mine and Jan's. We found him +and his name's Clipclap." + +"Well, that's a good name for a pony," said his father. "But still I +don't know that you can claim every pony you find. This one may +belong to Uncle Frank." + +"No, it isn't one of my brand," said the owner of Ring Rosy Ranch. +"It's a strange pony that must have wandered into this cave after he +found he was poisoned. I reckon the poor thing thought he'd die in +there, and maybe he would if the children hadn't found him." + +"He couldn't have lived much longer without attention," said Doctor +Bond. + +"Then did we save his life?" asked Teddy. + +"You did, by getting the doctor in time," answered his father. + +"Then can't he be our pony?" asked the little boy. + +"Yes, I guess he can," answered Uncle Frank. "If nobody comes to +claim him you children may have him. And if anyone does come after +him I'll give you another. I was going to give you each a pony, +anyhow, as soon as you got used to the ranch, and I'll do it. If Ted +wants to keep Clipclap, as he calls him, I'll give Janet another." + +"Oh, won't I just love him!" cried the little girl. + +"And I'll love Clipclap!" said Teddy. + +There was nothing more that could be done just then for the sick +pony, so the Curlytops and the others left him in the cave. The +children were glad he did not groan any more. A little later Jim +Mason sent one of the cowboys with some clean straw to make a bed for +the little horse, and a pail of the cool, spring water was put where +the animal could reach it. + +For two days the pony stayed in the cave, and then Doctor Bond said +he was much better and could be led to the ranch. Uncle Frank took +Ted and Janet out to the rocks to bring back their pet, but he had to +walk very slowly, for he was still weak from the poison. + +"And hell have to stay in the stable for a week or so," said Jim +Mason when Clipclap was safely at the ranch. "After that he will be +strong enough to ride. While you Curlytops are waiting I'll give you +a few riding lessons." + +"And will you show me how to lasso?" begged Teddy. + +"Yes, of course. You'll never be a cowboy, as you say you're going +to be, unless you can use a rope. I'll show you." + +So the children's lessons began. Uncle Frank picked out a gentle +pony for them on which to learn how to ride, and this pony was to be +Jan's. She named him Star Face, for he had a white mark, like a star, +on his forehead. + +On this pony Jan and Ted took turns riding until they learned to sit +in the saddle alone and let the pony trot along. Of course he did not +go very fast at first. + +"And I want to learn to lasso when I'm on his back," said Teddy. + +"You'd first better learn to twirl the rope while you're on the +ground," said Jim Mason, and then the foreman began giving the little +boy some simple lessons in this, using a small rope, for Teddy could +not handle the big ones the cowboys used. + +In a few days Teddy could fling the coils of his rope and make them +settle over a post. Of course he had to stand quite close, but even +the cowboys, when they learned, had to do that the foreman said. + +"Well, what are you going to do now?" Teddy's father asked the +little boy one day, as he started out from the house with a small +coil of rope on one arm, as he had seen the cowboys carry their +lariats. "What are you going to do, Ted?" + +"Oh, I'm going to lasso some more," was the answer. + +"Why don't you try something else besides a post?" asked one of +Uncle Frank's men, as he, too, noticed Teddy. "Throwing a rope over a +post is all right to start, but if you want to be a real cowboy +you'll have to learn to lasso something that's running on its four +legs. That's what most of our lassoing is--roping ponies or steers, +and they don't very often stand still for you, the way the post does." + +"Yes," agreed Ted, "I guess so. I'll learn to lasso something that +runs." + +His father paid little more attention to the boy, except to notice +that he went out into the yard, where he was seen, for a time, +tossing the coils of rope over the post. Then Jan came along, and, as +soon as he saw her, Teddy asked: + +"Jan, will you do something for me?" + +"What?" she inquired, not being too ready to make any promises. +Sometimes Teddy got her to say she would do things, and then, when he +had her promise, he would tell her something she did not at all want +to do. So Jan had learned to be careful. + +"What do you want to do, Teddy?" she asked. + +"Play cowboy," he answered. + +"Girls can't be cowboys," Janet said. + +"Well, I don't want _you_ to be one," went on Teddy. "I'll be +the cowboy." + +"Then what'll _I_ be?" asked Jan. "That won't be any fun, for you to +do that and me do nothing!" + +"Oh, I've got something for you to do," said Teddy, and he was quite +serious over it. "You see, Jan, I've got to learn to lasso something +that moves. The post won't move, but you can run." + +"Do you mean run and play tag?" Jan asked. + +Teddy shook his head. + +"You make believe you're a wild cow or a pony," he explained, "and +you run along in front of me. Then I'll throw my rope around your +head, or around your legs, and I'll pull on it and you--" + +"Yes, and I'll fall down and get all dirt!" finished Jan. "Ho! I +don't call _that_ any fun for me!" + +"Well, I won't lasso you very hard," promised Ted; "and I've got to +learn to throw my rope at something that moves, the cowboys say, else +I can't ever be a real wild-wester. Go on, Jan! Run along and let me +lasso you!" + +Jan did not want to, but Teddy teased her so hard that she finally +gave in and said she would play she was a pony for a little while. +Teddy wanted her to be a wild steer, but she said ponies could run +faster than the cattle, and Jan was a good runner. + +"And if I run fast it will be harder for you to lasso me," she said, +"and that's good practice for you, same as it is good for me when I +practice my music scales fast, only I don't do it very much." + +"Well, you run along and I'll lasso you," said Teddy. "Only we'd +better go around to the back of the house. Maybe they wouldn't like +to see me doing it." + +"Who; the cowboys?" asked his sister. + +"No, father and mother," replied Teddy. "I don't guess they'd want +me to play this game, but I won't hurt you. Come on." + +The little boy and girl--Teddy carrying his small lasso--went out to +a field not far from the house, and there they played cowboy. As they +had planned, Teddy was the cowboy and Janet the wild pony, and she +ran around until she was tired. Teddy ran after her, now and then +throwing the coil of rope at her. + +Sometimes the lasso settled over her head, and then the little boy +would pull it tight, but he was careful not to pull too hard for fear +he might hurt Jan. Once the rope went around her legs, and that time +Teddy gave a sudden yank. + +"Oh, I'm falling!" cried Jan, and she went down in a heap. + +"That's fine!" cried Teddy. "That's regular wild-wester cowboy! Do +it again, Jan!" + +"No! It hurts!" objected the little girl. "You pulled me so hard I +fell down." + +"I didn't mean to," said Teddy. "But I can lasso good, can't I?" + +"Yes; pretty good," his sister agreed. "But you can't lasso me any +more. I don't want to play. I'm going to the house." + +"Did I hurt you much?" Teddy asked. + +"Well, not such an awful lot," admitted Jan. "I fell on some soft +grass, though, or you would have. Anyhow, I'm going in." + +Teddy looked a little sad for a minute, and then he cried: + +"Oh, I know what I can do! You stay and watch me, Jan." + +"What are you going to do?" she asked. + +"You'll see," he answered "Here, you hold my lasso a minute." + +Teddy ran off across the field, and when he came back to where his +sister was still holding the coil of rope the Curlytop boy was +leading by a rope a little calf, one of several that were kept in the +stable and fed milk from a pail. + +"What are you going to do, Teddy Martin?" asked the little girl. + +"I'm going to play he's a wild steer," answered Teddy. + +"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried Janet, much as her mother might have +done. "You're not going to lasso _him,_ are you?" + +"I am--if I can," and Teddy spoke slowly. He was not quite sure he +could. + +The calf came along easily enough, for Teddy had petted it and fed +it several times. + +"He's awful nice," said Janet. "You won't hurt him, will you?" + +"Course not!" cried Teddy. "I'll only lasso him a little. Now you +come and hold him by the rope that's on his neck, Jan. And when I +tell you to let go, why, you let go. Then he'll run and I can lasso +him. I've got to lasso something that's running, else it isn't real +wild-wester." + +Jan was ready enough to play this game. She took hold of the calf's +rope, and Teddy got his lasso ready. But just as the little fellow +was about to tell his sister to let the calf loose, along came Uncle +Frank and he saw what was going on. + +"Oh, my, Teddy!" cried the ranchman. "You mustn't do that, Curlytop! +The little calf might fall and break a leg. Wait until you get bigger +before you try to lasso anything that's alive. Come on, we'll have +other fun than this. I'm going to drive into town and you Curly tops +can come with me." + +So the calf was put back in the stable, and Teddy gave up lassoing +for that day. He and Jan had fun riding to town with Uncle Frank, who +bought them some sticks of peppermint candy. + +Baby William had his own fun on the ranch. His mother took care of +him most of the time, leaving Janet and Teddy to do as they pleased. +She wanted them to learn to ride, and she knew they could not do it +and take care of their little brother. + +But Trouble had his own ways of having fun. He often watched Teddy +throwing the lasso, and one afternoon, when Ted had finished with his +rope and left it lying on a bench near the house, Trouble picked up +the noose. + +"Me lasso, too," he said to himself. + +Just what he did no one knew, but not long after Teddy had laid +aside the lariat, as the lasso is sometimes called, loud squawks, +crowings and cackles from the chicken yard were heard. + +"What in the world can be the matter with my hens?" cried Aunt Millie. + +Ted and Janet ran out to see. What they saw made them want to laugh, +but they did not like to do it. + +Trouble had lassoed the big rooster! + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE BUCKING BRONCO + + +With a small rope around the neck of the crowing rooster--which +could not crow as loudly as it had before, because it was nearly +choked--Trouble was dragging the fowl along after him as he ran +across the yard. + +"Trouble! Trouble!" cried Aunt Millie. "What are you doing?" + +"Playin' cowboy!" was his answer. "I lasso rooster wif my rope, like +Teddy catches post." + +"Oh, you mustn't do that!" cried Aunt Millie, as she ran after the +small boy and the dragging rooster. + +"Cock-a doodle-do!" crowed the rooster, or, rather, it tried to crow +that way, but it would get only about half of it out and then Trouble +would pull the rope tight about the fowl's neck and the crow would be +shut off suddenly. + +"Gid-dap, pony!" cried Baby William, trotting along on his short, +fat legs, making-believe, as he often did, that he was riding +horseback. "Gid-dap! I lasso a rooster, I did!" + +"Yes, and you'll kill the poor thing if you're not careful," panted +Aunt Millie, as she raced after the little fellow and caught him. +Then she gently pulled the rooster to her by means of the rope, and +took it off the fowl's neck. + +The rooster was bedraggled from having been dragged through the dust +and the dirt, and it was so dizzy from having been whirled around by +Trouble that it could hardly stand up. + +Aunt Millie smoothed out its feathers and got it some water. The +rooster drank a little and seemed to feel better. Then it ran off to +join the other roosters and the cackling hens that had been watching +what Trouble did, doubtless wondering what had gotten into the +lassoed rooster to make it run around the way it did on the end of a +rope. But it was Baby William who made all the trouble. + +"You must never do that again," said Mrs. Martin when she came out +of the ranch house and heard what her little boy had done. "That was +very wrong, William, to lasso the poor rooster and drag it about with +a rope around its neck." + +"I not do it any more," promised Trouble. "But I want a lasso like +Teddy." + +"No, you're not big enough for that," his mother said. "You must +wait until you are a little older. Don't bother the chickens any +more." + +"No, I only get de eggs," promised Baby William. + +"And please don't lasso them, or you'll break them," put in Aunt +Millie; but Janet thought her "eyes laughed," as she later told Teddy. + +"No more lasso?" asked Trouble, looking at the rope his aunt had +taken from the rooster's long neck. + +"No more lasso!" exclaimed Mrs. Barton, trying not to smile, for the +sight of the rooster, caught the way he had been, made even the older +folks want to laugh. Ted and Janet did laugh, but they did not let +Trouble see them. If he had he might have thought he had done +something smart or cute, and he would try it over again the first +chance he had. So they had to pretend to be sharp with him. The +rooster was not hurt by being lassoed. + +Afterward Trouble told how he did it. With the slip-noose of the +rope in one hand and holding the rope's end in the other, Baby +William walked quietly up behind the rooster and tossed the loop over +its head. Then he pulled it tight and started to run, as he had seen +the cow ponies galloping to pull down a horse or steer that needed to +be branded or marked with the sign of the Ring Rosy Ranch. The +rooster was very tame, often eating out of Aunt Millie's hand, so he +was not afraid to let Trouble come up quite close to him. + +One day, about a week after the Curlytops had found Clipclap in the +cave, Jim Mason said he thought the pony was well enough to be +ridden. Clipclap was brought out in the yard and Teddy and Janet went +up to him. + +The pony put his nose close to them and rubbed his head against +their outstretched hands. + +"See, he knows us!" cried Janet. + +"And I guess he's thanking us for bringing him water," added her +brother. + +"And getting the doctor to cure him of poison," went on the little +girl. "I'm glad he likes you, Teddy." + +"And your pony likes you, too, Janet," said the little boy. + +Janet's pony, Star Face, certainly seemed to like her. For he came +when she called him and took lumps of sugar from her hand. He liked +Teddy, too. In fact both ponies were very pretty and friendly and it +would be hard to say which was the better. Janet liked hers and Teddy +liked his, and that is the best thing I can say about them. + +No one came to claim Clipclap. Though Uncle Frank spoke to a number +of other ranchmen about finding the sick pony, none of them had ever +seen Clipclap before as far as they knew. If he belonged to some +other ranch it must have been far away. + +"So you may feel that it is all right for you to keep your pony, +Curlytop," said Uncle Frank to Teddy. "If anyone should, later, say +it belongs to him, and can prove it, we'll give it up, of course." + +"But I don't want to give Clipclap up!" Teddy cried. + +"Well, maybe you won't have to," said his father. "But you must not +keep what is not yours. Anyhow, if you should have to give up +Clipclap Uncle Frank will give you another pony." + +"There couldn't be any as nice as Clipclap--not even Janet's Star +Face," declared Teddy. + +He felt bad at the thought of having to give up his pet, but there +was no need to, for as the weeks went on no one came to claim +Clipclap, and Teddy counted him as his own. + +By this time Teddy and Janet had learned to ride quite well for such +little children. They knew how to sit in a saddle, up straight like +an arrow, and not slouched down or all humped up "like a bag of +meal," as Uncle Frank was wont to say. They knew how to guide their +ponies by pulling on the reins to left or to right, according to +which way they wanted to go. + +Of course they could not ride very fast yet, and Mother Martin was +just as glad they could not, for she was afraid, if they did, they +might fall off and get hurt. But Teddy and Janet were careful, and +they knew how to sit in the saddle with their feet in the stirrups. + +"They're getting to be good little riders," said Jim Mason to Uncle +Frank one day. + +"I'll take 'em with me the next time I go for a short ride." + +"Maybe we could find the bad Indians that took your horses, Uncle +Frank," said Teddy. + +"Well, I wish you could," said the owner of Ring Rosy Ranch. + +The cowboys had not been able to get back the stolen horses nor find +the Indians who had run them off. Other ranches, too, had been robbed +and a number of head of horses and cattle had been driven away. + +"We've looked all over for those Indians," said Uncle Frank, "but we +can't find 'em. If you Curlytops can, I'll give you each another +pony." + +"I'd like Clipclap best though," announced Teddy. + +"What could we do with two?" asked Janet. + +"Oh, every cowboy or cowgirl, for that matter, has more than one +horse when he can," said Jim Mason. "Then if one gets lame he has +another to ride. But don't you Curlytops go off by yourselves looking +for those bad Indians!" he warned them. + +"We won't," promised Teddy. "Well only go with you or Uncle Frank." + +"We don't find them," said the ranch owner. "I guess the Indians +sold the horses and cattle and then they hid themselves. Well, I hope +they don't take any more of my animals." + +But there was more trouble ahead for Uncle Frank. + +The Curlytops had a fine time on his ranch, though. When Teddy and +Janet were not riding, they were watching the cowboys at work or +play, for the men who looked after Uncle Frank's cattle had good +times as well as hard work. + +They would often come riding and swooping in from the distant fields +after their day's work, yelling and shouting as well as firing off +their big revolvers. But neither the Curlytops nor their mother were +as frightened at this play of the cowboys as they had been at first. + +"I wish I had a gun that would go bang," said Teddy one day. + +"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried his sister, after the fashion of her +mother. "If you had I'd never go riding ponyback with you--never +again! I'd be afraid of you! So there!" + +"Well, so would the Indians!" said Ted. However he knew he was too +small to have a firearm, so he did not tease for it. + +Sometimes, when Uncle Frank or his foreman, Jim Mason, went on short +rides around the ranch, Teddy and Janet went with them on their +ponies. Star Pace and Clipclap were two sturdy little animals, and +were gentle with the children. + +"Come on! Let's have a race!" Ted would call. + +"All right. But don't go too fast," Janet would answer, and they +would trot off, the ponies going as fast as was safe for the children. + +Teddy generally won these races, for Janet, who was very tender-hearted, +did not like to make her pony go as fast as it could go. Often, +perhaps, if Janet had urged Star Face on she would have beaten her +brother, for Clipclap still felt a little weak, now and then, from +his illness. + +One day a cowboy came in, riding hard from a far-off part of the +ranch. + +"I guess something is the matter, Jan," said Teddy, as they saw the +horseman gallop past. + +"What?" she asked as they noticed him talking to the foreman. + +"Maybe he's found the Indians that took Uncle Frank's horses," her +brother answered. + +The children drew near enough to hear what the cowboy and the +foreman were talking about. + +"More horses gone!" exclaimed Jim Mason. "Well, we'll surely have to +get after those Indians; that's all there is about it!" + +"More horses stolen?" asked Daddy Martin, coming out just then. + +"Yes," answered Jim Mason. "A lot of good ones. I guess more Indians +must have run away from the reservation. We'll have to hunt them +down!" + +"Oh, I wish I could go!" sighed Teddy. "I'd like to be an Indian +fighter." + +"You'll have to grow a lot bigger," said his uncle, with a laugh. + +Uncle Frank and some of the cowboys rode over the prairie, trying to +find the stealing Indians, but they could not. Nor could they find +the missing horses, either. + +"It's a good thing Uncle Frank has lots of cattle," said Teddy that +night when the cowboys came back to the ranch house, not having found +the horse thieves. "If he didn't have he'd be poor when the Indians +take his animals." + +"He'll be poor if the Indians keep on the way they have been doing," +said Aunt Millie. "I hope he can catch the bad men!" + +Ted and Janet hoped so too, but they did not see how they could +help, though Teddy wanted to. However he was kept near the house. + +"Come on and see the bucking bronco, Curlytops!" called Uncle Frank +to Teddy and Janet one day. + +"What is it?" asked the little girl. + +"A bucking bronco jumps up in the air with all four feet off the +ground at once, and comes down as stiff as a board," explained Uncle +Frank. "That isn't nice for the man that's in the saddle, though the +cowboys know how to ride most bucking broncos, that are really sort +of wild horses." + +"I'd like to see 'em!" cried Teddy. + +"You may," promised his uncle. "The cowboys have a bucking bronco +out in the corral and they're taking turns trying to ride him. Come +along if you want to see the fun." + +It was fun, but some hard work, too, for one after another the +cowboys fell out of the saddle of the bucking bronco as they tried to +ride him. + +Now and then one would stay on the wild animal's back longer than +had any of his friends, not falling when the bronco leaped up in the +air and came down with his legs as stiff as those of an old fashioned +piano. + +"Ki-yi! Yippi-i-yip!" yelled the cowboys, as they dashed about on +the bucking bronco, swinging their hats or their quirts, which are +short-handled whips, in the air over their heads. + +They did not mind being thrown, and each one tried to ride the wild +bronco. None could stay in the saddle more than a few minutes at a +time though. + +"Well, I guess I'll have to ride that animal myself," said Jim +Mason, when all the other cowboys had tried and had fallen or jumped +from the saddle. The foreman was a fine rider. "Yes, I guess I can +ride that bronco," he said. + +"Give the pony a chance to get his breath," suggested one of the +cowboys. "I don't reckon you can ride him though, Jim." + +"I'll try," was the answer. + +The bronco was led to a corner of the corral, or stable yard, and +tied. Then the foreman made ready to try to stay in the saddle longer +than had any of his men, for when a bronco bucks it is like trying to +hold on to a swing that is turning topsy-turvy. + +Suddenly, as Teddy and Janet were looking at some of the funny +tricks the cowboys were playing on one another, Uncle Frank gave a +cry. + +"Look at Trouble!" he exclaimed. + +Baby William had crawled through the fence and was close to the +dangerous heels of the bucking bronco. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MISSING CATTLE + + +For a moment none of the cowboys made a move. They were too +frightened at what might happen to Trouble. If it had been one of +their own friends who had gone into the corral where the dangerous +bronco was standing, they would have known what to do. + +They would have called for him to "Look out!" and the cowboy would +have kept away from the animal. But it was different with Trouble. To +him one horse was like another. He liked them all, and he never +thought any of them would kick or bite him. The bucking bronco was +most dangerous of all. + +"Oh, Trouble!" exclaimed Janet softly. + +"I--I'll get him!" whispered Teddy. "I can crawl in there and run +and get him before that bronco--" + +"You stay right where you are, Curlytop!" exclaimed Jim Mason. "We +don't want you both hurt, and if you go in there now you might start +that crazy horse to kicking. Stay where you are. I'll get Trouble for +you." + +"Maybe if I called to him he'd come," said Janet. She, too, spoke in +a whisper. In fact no one had made a noise since Trouble had been +seen crawling under the corral fence, close to the bucking bronco. + +"No, don't call, Janet," said the foreman. "You might make the +bronco give a jump, and then he'd step on your little brother. That +horse is a savage one, and he's so excited now, from so many of the +cowboys having tried to ride him, that he might break loose and kick +Trouble. We've got to keep quiet." + +The cowboys seemed to know this, for none of them said a word. They +kept very still and watched Trouble. + +Baby William thought he was going to have a good time. He had +wandered out of the house when his mother was not looking. Seeing +Ted, Janet and the cowboys down by the corral, he made up his mind +that was the place for him. + +"Maybe I get a horse wide," he said to himself, for he was about as +eager over horses as his sister or brother, and, so far, the only +rides he had had were when he sat in the saddle in front with them or +with his father, and went along very slowly indeed. For they dared +not let the horse go fast when Trouble was with them, and Trouble +wanted to go fast. + +"Me go get wide myse'f," he murmured, and then, when no one was +looking, he slipped under the corral fence. + +He was now toddling close to the heels of the bronco. + +"Nice horsie," said Trouble in his sweetest voice. "I get on your +back an' have nice wide!" + +Trouble always had hard work to sound the r in ride. "Wide" he +always called it. + +Nearer and nearer he came to the bronco. The animal, without turning +its head, knew that someone was coming up behind. Many a time a +cowboy had tried to fool the savage horse that way, and leap into the +saddle without being seen. But Imp, as the bronco was named, knew all +those tricks. + +He turned back his ears, and when a horse does that it is not a good +sign. Almost always it means he is going to bite or kick. + +In this case Imp would have to kick, as Trouble was too far behind +to be bitten. And Imp did not seem to care that it was a little boy +who was behind, and not a big cowboy. Imp was going to do his worst. + +But Jim Mason was getting ready to save Trouble. Going around to the +side, where he could not be seen so well, the foreman quickly leaped +over the fence. And then he ran swiftly toward Trouble, never saying +a word. + +The bronco heard the sound of running feet. He turned his head +around to see who else was coming to bother him and then, before Imp +could do anything and before Trouble could reach and put his little +hands on the dangerous heels, the foreman caught up Baby William and +jumped back with him, out of the way in case Imp should kick. + +And kick Imp did! His heels shot out as he laid his ears farther +back on his head and he gave a shrill scream, as horses can when they +are angry. + +"No you don't! Not this time!" cried Jim Mason, as he ran back to +the fence with Trouble. "And you must never go into the corral or +near horses again, Trouble! Do you hear?" and the foreman spoke to +Baby William as though very angry indeed. But he had to do this, for +the little fellow must learn not to go into danger. + +"Don't ever go in there again!" said the foreman, as he set Trouble +down on the ground in a safe place. + +"No, me not go," was the answer, and Baby William's lips quivered as +though he were going to cry. + +"Well, that's all right, old man!" said the foreman in kind tones. +For he loved children and did not even like to hurt their feelings. +"I didn't mean to scare you." + +But he had scared Trouble, or, rather the sudden catching up of the +little fellow and the pony's scream had frightened him, and Janet's +baby brother began to cry, hiding his head in her dress. + +But, after all, that was the best thing to make Trouble remember +that he must not go in the corral, and he had soon forgotten his +tears and was laughing at the funny tricks Imp cut up as Jim Mason +tried to ride him. + +The foreman, after he had carried Trouble safely out of the way, +went back in the corral and jumped on the bucking bronco's back. Then +Imp did all he could to get the man out of the saddle. + +Around and around the corral dashed the cow pony, and when he found +that Jim stuck on the horse began jumping up in the air--bucking as +the cowboys call it. Even that did not shake the foreman to the +ground. + +Then, suddenly, the horse fell down. But it was not an accident. He +did it on purpose, and then he began to roll over, thinking this, +surely, would get that man off his back. + +It did. But when Imp tried to roll over on the foreman, to hurt him, +Jim Mason just laughed and jumped out of the way. He knew Imp would +probably do this and he was ready for him. + +Jim watched Imp, and as soon as the bronco stopped rolling and stood +up again the foreman jumped into the saddle. This was too much for +Imp. He made up his mind he could not get rid of such a good rider, +so the horse settled down and galloped around the corral as he ought +to do. + +"Hurray! Jim rides him after all!" cried some of the cowboys. + +"I told you I'd stick to him" said the foreman with a laugh. + +"I wish I could ride that way," said Teddy, with a little sigh when +Jim came out of the corral and left Imp to have a rest. + +"Well, maybe you will some day," said the foreman. "You've got a +good start, and there's no better place to learn to ride ponyback +than at Ring Rosy Ranch." + +One warm, pleasant afternoon, when they had played about the house +for some time, amusing themselves at the games they were wont to pass +the time with in the East, Jan called to her brother: + +"Let's go and take a ride on our ponies!" + +"All right," agreed Teddy. "Where'll we go?" + +"Oh, not very far. Mother told us we mustn't go very far when we're +alone." + +"That was before we knew how to ride," declared the little boy. "I +guess we ride good enough now to take long rides." + +"But not now," insisted Jan. "We'll only go for a little way, or I'm +not going to play." + +"All right," Teddy agreed. "We won't go very far." + +So they went out to the stable where their ponies were kept, and +there one of the cowboys kindly saddled Clipclap and Star Face for +the little Curlytops. Uncle Frank had given orders to his men that +they were to let the children have the ponies whenever it was safe to +ride, and this was one of the nicest days of the summer. + +"Don't let 'em run away with you!" laughed the cowboy, as he helped +Jan and Ted into their saddles. + +"Oh, Clipclap and Star Pace won't run away!" declared the little +girl. "They're too nice." + +"Yes, they are nice ponies," agreed the cowboy. "Well, good-bye and +good luck." + +Biding up to the house, to tell their mother they were going for a +ride, but would keep within sight or calling distance, Ted and Jan +were soon guiding their ponies across the prairie. + +The children had soon learned to sit well in the saddles, and knew +how to guide their ponies. And the little animals were very safe. + +"Somehow or other, I don't feel at all worried here when the +children are out of my sight--I mean Teddy and Janet," said Mrs. +Martin to her husband, when the Curlytops had ridden away. + +"Yes, Uncle Frank's ranch does seem a safe place for them," Mr. +Martin answered. "Lots of 'down East' people think the West is a +dangerous place. Well, maybe it is in spots, but it is very nice +here." + +On over the prairies rode Teddy and Janet. Now and then the little +girl would stop her pony and look back. + +"What are you looking for?" Teddy asked. "Do you think Trouble is +following us?" + +"No, but we mustn't go too far from the house. We must stay in sight +of it, mother said." + +"Well, we will," promised Ted. + +But, after a while, perhaps it was because it was so nice to ride +along on the ponies' backs, or because the little animals went faster +than Ted or Janet imagined--I don't know just how it did happen, but, +all at once, Jan looked back and gave a cry. + +"Why, what's the matter, Jan?" asked Teddy. + +"We--we're lost!" gasped the little girl. "I can't see Uncle Frank's +house anywhere!" + +It was true enough. None of the ranch buildings were in sight, and +for a moment Ted, too, was frightened. Then as his pony moved on, a +little ahead of Jan's, the boy gave a cry of delight. + +"There it is! I can see the house!" he said. "We're not lost. We +were just down in a hollow I guess." + +And so it was. The prairies, though they look level, are made up of +little hills and valleys, or hollows. Down in between two hills one +might be very near a house and yet not see it. + +"Now we're all right," went on Teddy. + +"Yes," agreed Janet "We're not lost anymore." + +So they rode on a little farther, the ponies now and then stopping +to crop a bit of the sweet grass, when, all of a sudden, Teddy, who +was still a little ahead of his sister, called: + +"Look there, Jan!" + +"Where?" + +Teddy pointed. His sister saw several men on horseback--at least +that is what they looked like--coming toward them. Something about +the figures seemed a bit strange to the children. Ted and Jan looked +at one another and then back toward the ranch houses, which, they +made sure, were not out of sight this time. + +"Are they cowboys?" asked Jan of her brother. + +"They--they don't just look like 'em," he said. "I mean like Uncle +Frank's cowboys." + +"That's what I thought," Janet added. "They look like they had +blankets on--some of 'em." + +She and Teddy sat on their ponies' backs and kept looking at the +other figures. They were coming nearer, that was sure, and as they +came closer it was more and more certain to the Curlytops that some +of the strangers on the horses were wrapped in blankets. + +"Oh, I know what they are!" suddenly cried Janet. + +"What?" + +"In--Indians!" faltered Janet. "Oh, Teddy, if they should be _wild_ +Indians!" + +"Pooh!" exclaimed Teddy, trying to speak bravely. "Uncle Frank said +there weren't any very wild Indians near his ranch." + +"Maybe these ones wasn't near the ranch before, but they're coming +near now," said Janet, so excited the words tumbled out all mixed-up +like. "I'm going home!" + +"I--I guess I'll go with you," added Teddy, as he turned his pony's +head about. "We'd better tell Uncle Frank the Indians are coming. +Maybe they want more of his horses." + +"Oh, he won't let 'em have any!" cried Janet. "But they _are_ Indians +sure enough!" she went on, as she took a look over her shoulder. + +And there was no doubt about it. As the group of riders came closer +to the children, whose ponies did not go as fast as the larger +horses, it was seen that they were indeed Indians, many of them +wrapped in blankets. There were men, women, boys and girls, and some +of the smaller children were carried wrapped tightly to their +mothers' backs. + +Tip to the ranch rode Teddy and Jan as fast as their ponies would +take them without tossing off the Curlytops. + +"Oh, Uncle Frank!" cried Teddy. "They 're coming!" + +"A lot of 'em!" shouted Janet. + +"What's that?" asked the ranchman. "Who are coming?" + +"Indians to take more of your ponies!" Teddy gasped. + +For a time there was some little excitement on the ranch, until one +of the cowboys, riding out to see the Indians, came back and said +they were not "wild" ones, but a band that went about selling baskets +and other things they made. They did no harm, and for a time camped +near the ranch, the children, even Trouble, going over to see them. +But for some time the Curlytops did not forget the fright their first +view of the Indians gave them. + +In the days that followed Teddy and Janet had many rides on Clipclap +and Star Face, their two nice ponies. Sometimes they were allowed to +go a little way over the prairies by themselves. But when they went +for a long ride Uncle Frank, Jim Mason, their father or some of the +cowboys were with them. + +"After a while maybe I'll learn how to ride so I can go off with you +and help get the Indians that stole your horses. Do you think I can, +Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy one day. + +"Well, maybe, Curlytop. We surely must find those Indians, for I +don't like to lose all those horses. As soon as I get some of my work +done I'll have another look for them." + +And then, a few days later, more bad news came to Uncle Frank. With +his cowboys he was getting some cattle ready to ship away to a +distant city, from where they were to be sent still farther away in a +train of cattle cars, when a cowboy, who seemed much excited, came +riding up to the corral. + +He looked very tired and warm, for the weather was hot, and his +horse was covered with flecks of foam, as though it had been ridden +hard and far. + +"What's the matter, Henry?" asked Uncle Frank. + +"Indian thieves!" was the answer. "A band of the Indians have run +away with a lot of your best cattle!" + +"They have?" cried Uncle Frank. "How do you know?" + +"I saw 'em, and I chased 'em. But they got away from me. Maybe if we +start right out now we can catch 'em and get back the cattle." + +"Then we'll go!" cried Uncle Frank. + +Teddy and Janet were very much excited when they saw the cowboys +saddling their mustangs ready for the chase. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +LOOKING FOR INDIANS + + +"Can't we come along?" asked Teddy, as he saw Uncle Frank lead his +horse out of the corral. + +"And I want to come, too!" added Janet. + +"Oh, no! We couldn't think of letting you!" answered Uncle Frank. +"Come on, boys! Get ready. We'll have to ride fast!'' + +"We can ride fast!" added Teddy. "You said, the other day, Uncle +Frank, I could ride real good!" + +"So you can, Curlytop." + +"Then why can't we come? Jan--she's a good rider, too!" + +"Why the idea of you children thinking you can go off on a hunt for +Indians!" exclaimed their mother. + +"We want to go--awful much!" Teddy murmured. + +"Not this time, Curly boy," said the ranchman. "We may have to be +out all night, and it looks like rain. You stay at home with Janet, +and I'll tell you all about it when I come back." + +"Will you, truly?" + +"Truly I will." + +"And if you get any Indians will you bring 'em here?" Teddy demanded. + +"No, don't!" cried Janet quickly. "I don't want to see any Indians." + +"But they're _tame_ ones," said her brother. + +"They can't be _awful_ tame, else they wouldn't run away with Uncle +Frank's cows," declared the little girl. + +"That's right!" laughed Uncle Frank. "I guess we won't bring any +Indians here, Curlytop, even if we catch 'em, which we may not do as +they have a good start of us. Anyhow we'll have to turn the Redmen +back to their reservation where they belong if we get any of them. +We'll just take my cattle and horses away, if we can, and tell the +Indians to go home and be good." + +"Will they do it?" asked Daddy Martin. + +"It's hard to say," answered Uncle Frank. "I'd like to make 'em stop +taking my animals, though. Well, I guess we'll start. We'll be back +as soon as we can." + +So he rode off with his cowboys after the Indians. The cowboy who +had ridden in with the news went back with the others to show them +where he had last seen the cattle thieves. + +He stopped at the ranch house long enough, though, to get something +to eat, and then rode away again. But he found time to talk a while +to the Curlytops. + +"Where did you see the Indians?" Teddy asked while the cowboy was +eating and Uncle Frank and the others getting ready for the chase. + +"Oh, I was giving my pony a drink at the spring in the rocks when I +saw the Indians across the prairie--field, I guess you'd call it back +East." + +"Well, the prairies are big fields," observed Janet. + +"So they are, Curly girl," laughed the cowboy. "Well, it was while I +was watering my horse that I saw the Indians." + +"You mean at the spring in the rocks where Jan and I found Clipclap +in the cave?" Teddy asked. + +"That's the place, Curlytop. I chased after them to see which way +they were driving off your Uncle Frank's cattle, but I saw they were +too many for me, so I came on back as fast as my horse would bring +me." + +"Was there a lot of Indians?" Teddy inquired. + +"Quite a few," answered the cowboy. "Well, now I've got to go and +help chase them," and he hurried through his meal and rode off with +Uncle Frank and the others. + +"Say, I wish we _could_ go, don't you, Janet?" asked Teddy of his +sister, when they were left by themselves near the corral. + +"No, I don't! I don't want to chase Indians!" + +"Well, I'd chase 'em and you could watch me." + +"You're not big enough," said the little girl. "Indians are awful +big. Don't you remember the one we saw at the station?" + +"Yes. But maybe the ones that took Uncle Frank's ponies are little +Indians." + +"I don't care," Janet said. "I don't want to chase after any of 'em. +I don't like 'em." + +"All right--then I won't go," decided Teddy. "But let's go and take +a ride on our ponies." + +"Yes, I'll do that," agreed Janet, and soon, having had one of the +cowboys who had been left behind at Ring Rosy Ranch saddle Clipclap +and Star Face, the Curlytops started for their ride. + +"Don't go too far!" called Mrs. Martin after the children. + +"No, we won't," they promised. + +"I wants to go wide too!" begged Trouble. "I 'ikes a wide on a +ponyback." + +"Not now, my dear," his mother said. "We'll go in the shade and pick +flowers," and she carried him away where he would not see Teddy and +Janet go off, for that made Trouble fretful. He wanted to be with +them. + +Over the prairie rode Janet and Ted. Their ponies went slowly, for +the children had been told not to ride fast when they were alone. +But, after a while, Ted got tired of this slow motion. + +"Let's have a race, Jan!" he called. "I can beat you from here to +that hill," and he pointed to one not far away. + +"Mother said we couldn't ride fast," objected the little girl. + +"Well, we won't ride _very_ fast," agreed Ted. "Come on, just a little +run." + +Janet, too, wanted to go a bit faster, and so, when her pony was in +a line with Ted's, she called sharply: + +"Gid-dap, Star Face!" + +"Gid-dap, Clipclap!" cried Teddy. + +The two ponies started to run. + +"Oh, I'm going to beat! I'm going to beat!" Janet cried, for she saw +that Star Face was getting ahead of Clipclap. + +"No you're not!" shouted Teddy, and he touched his heel to the +pony's flank. Clipclap gave a jump forward, and then something +happened. + +Teddy took a flying leap, and right over Clipclap's head he sailed, +coming down on his hands and knees some distance off. Clipclap fell +down and rolled over in the grass while Janet kept on toward the hill +that marked the end of the race. + +The little girl reached this place first, not being able to stop her +pony when she saw what had happened to Teddy. But as soon as she +could turn around she rode back to him and asked anxiously: + +"Are you hurt, Ted?" + +"No--no. I--I guess not," he answered slowly. + +"Is Clipclap?" asked Janet. + +The pony answered for himself by getting up, giving himself a shake +and then beginning to eat some grass. + +"What happened?" Janet questioned further. "Why didn't you come on +and race with me? I won!" + +"Yes, I guess you did," admitted Teddy, getting up and brushing the +dust off his clothes. "But I'd 'a' beaten you, only my pony stumbled +and he threw me over his head. I went right over his head; didn't I +Janet?" + +"Yes, you did, Teddy. And you looked awful funny! But I'm glad +you're not hurt." + +"So'm I." + +"What made Clipclap stumble?" asked the little girl. + +"I guess he stepped in a gopher's hole," answered her brother. + +"Let's look," proposed Janet. + +Brother and sister went to the place where Clipclap had stumbled. +There they saw a little hole in the ground. It was the front, or +maybe the back, door of the home of a little animal called a gopher, +which burrows under the earth. A gopher is a sort of squirrel-like +rat, and on the prairies they make many holes which are dangerous if +a horse suddenly steps into them. Prairie dogs are another species of +animal that burrow on the Western plains, making holes into which +horses or ponies often step, breaking their legs and throwing their +riders. + +This time nothing had happened except that Teddy and the pony had +been shaken up. The pony might have broken a leg but did not, nor was +Teddy even scratched. + +Cowboys always dread gopher and prairie dog holes, especially at +night when they can not be so easily seen. + +"Oh, I know what let's do!" exclaimed Janet, when she found that her +brother was all right. + +"What?" asked Teddy. + +"Let's wait here until the gopher comes up!" + +"All right. Then we'll catch him and take him home to Trouble." + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +TROUBLE "HELPS" + + +Janet and Teddy sat beside the gopher hole, while their ponies, not +far from them, ate the sweet grass of the prairie. Clipclap and Star +Face did not wander away, even if they were not tied to a hitching +post. For Western horses and cow ponies are trained to stand where +their master leaves them, if he will but toss the reins over their +heads and let them rest on the ground. + +When a pony sees that this has been done he will never run away, +unless perhaps something frightens him very much. It may be that he +thinks, when the reins are over his head and down on the ground, they +are tied to something, so he could not run away if he wanted to. + +At any rate, Clipclap and Star Face stayed where Ted and Janet left +them, and the little Curlytops watched the gopher hole. + +"I wonder when he'll come out," said Janet after a bit. + +"Shs-s-s-s!" whispered Teddy. "Don't talk!" + +"Why not?" asked his sister. + +"'Cause you might scare him. You mustn't talk any more than if you +were fishing." + +"A gopher isn't a fish!" + +"I know it," said Teddy. "But you've got to keep quiet." + +So he and Janet remained very quiet, watching the hole. Suddenly +Janet gave Teddy a slight tap with her hand. He had looked off to see +if the ponies were all right. + +"What's the matter?" asked Teddy. + +"Hush!" whispered Janet. "There he is." + +She pointed to the gopher's hole. Teddy saw a tiny black nose and a +pair of sparkling eyes as a head was thrust a little way out of the +burrow. + +"I'll get him!" cried the little boy. + +With outstretched hand he made a grab toward the hole. But his +fingers only grasped a lot of dirt and stones. The gopher had dived +down back into his hole as soon as he saw Teddy's first move. + +"Oh, he got away!" said Janet sorrowfully. + +"Ill get him next time," declared Teddy. + +But he did not. Three or four times more the little animal put his +small head and bright eyes out of the top of the hole, and each time +Teddy made a grab for him; but the gopher was too quick. Finally +Janet said: + +"I guess we better go home, Teddy." + +"Why?" + +"Oh, it's getting late, and I'm getting hungry." + +"So'm I. I'll wait until he comes up once more and then well go." + +Once more the gopher peeped up, as if wondering why in the world +those two strange children did not go away and let him alone. Ted +made a grab for him, but missed and then the little boy said: + +"Come on, Jan. Now we'll go home!" + +"And we haven't any nice little gopher to take to Trouble," said +Janet sadly. + +"Oh, well, maybe it would bite him if we did catch one," reflected +her brother. "I'll take him some of these pretty stones," and he +picked up some from the ground. "He'll like to play with these." + +Teddy whistled for his pony and Clipclap came slowly up to his +little master. Janet held out a bunch of grass to Star Face and her +pony, just as he had been taught, came up to her. Teddy helped his +sister get up in the saddle. It was not hard for them, as the ponies +were small, and Jim Mason had showed them how to put one foot in the +stirrup, and then, with one hand on the saddle and the other grasping +both the bridle and the pony's mane, give a jump that carried them +up. But though Janet could mount her pony alone Teddy always helped +her when he was with her by holding the stirrup. + +"Let's have another race home," suggested Teddy, when they had +started. + +"No," answered his sister. "You might fall some more and get hurt. +We'll ride slow." + +So they did, though Teddy was anxious for a good, fast gallop. + +"Well, did you have a nice time?" asked Mother Martin, as they came +to the house after putting away their ponies. + +"We had lots of fun," answered Janet "Teddy fell off his pony--" + +"Fell off his pony!" cried her mother. + +"He threw me!" explained Ted, and then he told what had happened. + +"An' didn't you catch noffin for me?" asked Trouble, who heard his +brother telling the story of his adventure. + +"I brought you these nice stones," and Teddy took them out of his +pocket. "You can play with them, Trouble." + +Baby William laughed and sat down to play with the stones. + +"Did the cowboys come back with the Indians?" asked Teddy of Aunt +Millie when she was giving him and Janet some bread and jam to eat. + +"No, not yet, Curlytop. I expect Uncle Frank and the boys will be +gone all night." + +"Will they have a house to sleep in?" asked Janet. + +"No, unless they happen to be near one when it gets dark. But they +took their blankets with them, and it's so warm that they'll just +wrap up in them and sleep out on the prairie," said Aunt Millie. + +"Won't they be hungry?" Teddy inquired, as he took a big bite of the +bread and jam. + +"Oh, no! Don't you remember I told you they always take something to +eat with them when they go out this way? They are used to camping on +the prairies, and they know how to make a fire, broil the bacon and +make their coffee," answered Aunt Millie. "You need never worry about +Uncle Frank and his cowboys. They'll be all right." + +And so they were. It was not until the next afternoon that the party +which had gone out to chase the Indians came back. They were tired, +because they had ridden a good many miles, but they said they had +slept well and had had enough to eat. + +"Did you catch the Indians?" asked Teddy eagerly. + +"No, Curlytop," answered Uncle Frank. "I'm sorry to say we did not. +They got away from us." + +"Did you see them?" asked Daddy Martin. + +"Yes, but they were a long way off. Too far for us to get at them." + +"And did they have your cattle with them?" + +"Yes, they had a lot of my best animals. I guess they must be hiding +away somewhere among the hills and mountains. We came pretty close to +them at one time, and they suddenly disappeared. It seems as if they +must have gone into a big hole or cave. We couldn't find them." + +"Are you going to look any more?" Teddy questioned. "And if you do +go, Uncle Frank, please can't I go too?" + +"Well, most likely we will have another hunt for the Indians," +answered the ranchman, "but I'm afraid we couldn't take you along, +Curlytop." + +"Why not, Uncle Frank?" + +"Oh, you might get hurt." + +"Well, can I see the Indians after you catch 'em?" + +"Oh, yes, I guess I can promise you _that_," and Uncle Frank smiled at +Daddy Martin. + +"And can I ask them to make me a bow and arrows?" went on Teddy. + +"Yes, you can _ask_ them, but I don't believe they will," Uncle +Frank replied. "These Indians aren't very nice. They're quite bad, in +fact, and we all wish they'd stay where they belong and not come off +their reservation and steal our cattle and horses." + +"Well, I'm going to ask one to make me a bow and some arrows when +you catch 'em," decided Teddy. + +That afternoon Teddy saw his sister trying to do something with bits +of string and sticks in a shady spot on the porch. + +"What are you making, Jan," he asked. "A cat's cradle?" + +"Pooh! you don't make a cat's cradle with sticks," said the little +girl. + +"Well, I thought maybe it was a new kind, or maybe a _kitten's_ +cradle," laughed Teddy. + +"Nope; it isn't that either," went on Janet, as she kept on twisting +the strings around the sticks. + +"Well, what _are_ you making?" + +"A bow and arrow." + +"Ho! Ho!" laughed Jan's brother "You can't make a bow and arrow _that_ +way. Anyhow you don't need a string for an arrow." + +"I know _that_!" Jan said. "But I'm making the bow first, and then I'm +going to make the arrow. The arrow part is what you shoot, isn't it, +Ted?" + +"Yes," he answered. "I'll help you, Jan. I didn't mean to laugh at +you," he went on, for he saw that Janet was very much in earnest +about what she was doing. "I know how to make a bow and arrows." + +"Oh, please show me!" begged Janet. "I want to know how to shoot +like the Indians." + +Teddy, however, did not have much better luck making the bow than +his sister had had. The trouble was that the sticks Janet had picked +up were not the right kind. They would not bend, and to make a bow +that shoots arrows a piece of wood that springs, or bends, is needed. +For it is the springy action of the wood that shoots the arrow on its +way. + +After trying two or three times, each time finding something wrong, +Teddy said: + +"Oh, I don't guess I can make a bow, either. Let's play something +else." + +"What'll we play?" asked Janet. + +Teddy thought for a few moments. Playing out at Uncle Frank's ranch +was different from playing at home. In some ways it was not so easy, +for at home if the Curly-tops could not think up any way to have fun +by themselves, they could run down the street and find some other +boys and girls. But here there were no streets, and no other boys or +girls unless Teddy and Janet went a long way to look for them, and +they could not do that. + +"I know what we can do," said Teddy, after a while. "We can get some +blankets and cookies and play cowboy." + +"How can you play cowboy with cookies and blankets?" + +"I'll show you," Teddy answered, as he went into the house to get +the things he wanted. He soon came out with some old quilts and the +cookies, which were in a paper bag. + +"Now," went on Janet's brother, "We'll go off on the prairie and +make believe it's night and we have to stay out like the cowboys when +they went after Uncle Frank's horses." + +"Oh, that'll be fun!" cried Janet, and then she and Ted rolled +themselves up in the old quilts and pretended to go to sleep on the +soft grass of the prairie, making believe it was night, though of +course it was not, for the sun was shining. Then they ate the +cookies, pretending they were bacon, sandwiches, cake and other +things that cowboys like. + +Two or three days later Uncle Frank and the cowboys went out again +to look for the Indians, but they did not find them. From other +ranches word came of cattle and horses that had been stolen; and more +cowboys were hired to keep watch over the animals that had to be left +out in the big fields to eat their fill of grass. No barn was large +enough to hold them. + +Meanwhile Teddy and Janet were learning how to ride better each day. +They could go quite fast now, though they were not allowed to make +their ponies gallop except on ground where Uncle Frank knew there +were no holes in which the animals might stumble. + +Sometimes Daddy and Mother Martin went to ride with the children, +and then they had good times together, taking their lunch and staying +all day out on the prairie or in a shady grove of trees. + +One day Ted and Janet saw some cowboys driving a number of ponies to +the corral near the ranch buildings. Some of the animals were quite +wild and went racing about as though they would like to run far off +and not come back. + +But the cowboys knew how to take care of the ponies. They rode +around them, keeping them together in a bunch, and if one started to +get away the cowboys would fire their revolvers and yell, so the pony +would become frightened and turn back. + +"Did you take these ponies away from the Indians?" asked Teddy, as +he saw the little animals turned into the corral and the gate shut on +them. + +"No, these are some that have been running wild in a field away over +at the far end of my ranch," explained Uncle Frank. "I had them +brought in, as I'm going to ship some away to be sold." + +"Come on, we'll go and look at the ponies," called Ted to his +sister. "Are they very wild?" he asked Jim Mason, who had helped the +cowboys bring them to the ranch corral. + +"Yes, some of 'em are pretty wild," was the answer. "We had hard +work making them come along. They want to get loose and do as they +please." + +Ted and Janet climbed up on the corral fence to look at the ponies. +A few were somewhat tame, and allowed the Curlytops to pat them. But +others were very wild, and ran about as though looking for a place to +jump the fence or get out through a hole. But the fence was good and +strong. It was high and had no holes in it. + +"Lots of ponies!" murmured Trouble, as he toddled after his brother +and sister to the corral. + +"Yes, lots of 'em," agreed Janet. "You'll soon be a big boy and you +can have a pony to ride like brother and sister." + +"Trouble want pony now!" he exclaimed. + +"Oh, no, not now," Janet said as she helped him get up on the lowest +board of the fence, part of which was wooden, so he could look in +better. + +"What they run around like that for?" asked Trouble, as he saw some +of the ponies racing about the corral. + +"They want to get out," Janet answered. + +"Trouble go help," murmured the little fellow, but Janet either did +not hear what he said or she paid no attention, for just then two of +the ponies had a race together around the corral and she and Ted +wanted to see which would win. + +Trouble got down off the fence and went around to the gate. His +brother and sister did not notice him until, all at once, Janet, +missing her little brother, cried: + +"Where's Trouble?" + +"I don't know," Ted answered. "Maybe he--Oh, look, Janet!" he +suddenly cried. "The corral gate is open and all the ponies are +running out!" + +"Oh, that's right! They are!" Janet then screamed. "But where is +Trouble?" + +"I don't know. I guess he--Oh, there he is!" and Teddy pointed to a +spot near the gate. + +There stood Trouble between the fence and the big gate which had +swung back on its hinges. + +"Oh, look at 'em run!" cried Janet. + +"They're all running out!" added Teddy excitedly. "I wonder who let +'em loose." + +"Maybe it was Trouble," suggested Janet. "Oh, it _was!"_ she went on. +"Trouble must have opened the gate and let the ponies loose!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +ON THE TRAIL + + +Trouble had done that very thing. The little fellow had not meant to +do any harm, and certainly thought he was doing something to help, +but really he made a great deal of work for Uncle Frank and the +cowboys. + +The corral, or yard where the half-tamed horses were kept while they +were being got ready to send away, was closed by a large gate, but +one easy to open if you knew how. All one had to do was to pull on a +little handle, which snapped a spring and the gate would swing open. + +Horses and cattle could not open the gate, for they could not reach +the handle, even if any of them had known enough to do anything like +that. + +But Trouble had watched Uncle Frank or some of the cowboys open the +gate by pulling on the handle; and now he did it himself. Then, of +course, when the ponies saw the open gate they raced out. + +"Get after 'em!" cried Uncle Frank who came galloping up on his +horse to find out what was the matter. "Get after the ponies, boys! +Round them up!" + +"Round up," is what cowboys call riding around a lot of horses or +cattle to keep the animals in one place or to drive them where they +should go. Uncle Frank wanted his cowboys to ride after the runaway +ponies and drive them back into the corral. + +As the wild little horses trotted out through the gate, behind which +Trouble stood, well out of danger, the cowboys rode after them, +yelling and shouting and shooting their revolvers. + +"What a lot of noise!" cried Janet, covering her ears with her hands +as she got down off the fence. + +"I like it!" laughed Teddy. "It's like a Wild West show!" + +Indeed it was, in a way, but it meant a lot of work for Uncle Frank +and his men. For all the ponies ran out of the corral and were +scattering over the prairie. + +"Oh, Trouble! did you let the horses out?" asked Janet, as her +little brother came out from behind the gate and toddled toward her +and Ted. The runaway horses were now well out of the way. "Did you +open the gate?" + +"Yes. I did open gate," Trouble answered, smiling. + +"What for?" asked Teddy. + +"Help little horses get out," said Trouble. "Them want to get out +and Trouble help them. Trouble 'ike ponies!" + +"Oh, but, my dear, you shouldn't have done it!" chided Mother +Martin, who had come out of the house to find out what all the +excitement was about. "That was very naughty of you. See all the work +you have made for Uncle Frank and his men." + +"Horses run out when Trouble open gate," was the only reply Baby +William made. + +"Yes, I know," went on his mother. "But it was wrong! You must never +again open any gates on Uncle Frank's ranch. Just think--the horses +might have stepped on you or kicked you!" + +"We didn't see him near the gate or we'd have stopped him," put in +Teddy. + +"That's true," added Janet. "The first we saw was the ponies going +out, and then we saw Trouble behind the gate." + +"He didn't mean to be bad," said his mother, as she carried him back +to the house, "but he has made a lot of work. I'll have to punish him +by not letting him out to play for an hour or so. Then he'll remember +not to open gates again, whether he thinks he is helping horses or +not." + +And, though Trouble cried very hard, he was kept in the house. For, +as his mother had said, he must have something to make him remember +not to do such a thing again. + +Meanwhile Uncle Frank and the cowboys were busy rounding up the +runaway ponies. The little horses, tired of being cooped up in the +corral, raced about, kicking up their heels and glad to be out on the +prairie again. But the cowboys knew how to handle them. + +Around and around the drove of half-wild ponies rode the yelling and +shouting men, firing off many blank cartridges to scare the little +animals back into the corral. + +Some of the ponies, frightened by the noise, did turn back. They ran +up to the corral gate, which was still open, and sniffed at the +fence. They may have said to themselves: + +"We don't like it, being shut up in there, but maybe well have to go +back in, for we don't like being shouted at, and we don't like the +bang-bang noises like thunder." + +But, even when some of the ponies had run back as far as the corral +gate they did not go in. Once again they turned around and would have +galloped across the prairie again. But Uncle Frank shouted: + +"Get after them, boys! Drive those few in and the rest will follow +after like sheep! Get after them!" + +So the cowboys rode up on their own swift ponies, that seemed to be +having a good time, and then the other ponies nearest the corral gate +were turned in through it. Then as the rest were driven up they did +as the first ones had done and galloped back where they had been +before Trouble let them out. + +One after another the ponies ran back into the corral until every +one was there. Then Uncle Frank closed the gate, and this time he +locked it so that no one could open it without the key. But no one +would try, not even Trouble, for, crying and sobbing to be allowed to +go out and play, he had been given a lesson that he would not soon +forget. + +"I'm sorry I had to punish him," said Mother Martin to the +Curlytops, when they came in after the ponies were once more in the +corral, "but I just had to. Work on a ranch is hard enough without +little boys letting the horses run wild after they have once been +caught." + +"Oh, well, no great harm was done," said Uncle Frank with a +good-natured laugh, "though it did make us ride pretty hard for a +while. Come on, Trouble, I'll take you ponyback!" + +This was what Trouble liked, and he soon dried his tears and sat on +the saddle in front of Uncle Frank as happy as could be. Janet and +Ted got out their ponies, and rode with Uncle Frank and Trouble +around the outside of the corral, looking at the little horses inside +the fence. They were quieter now, and were eating some oats the +cowboys had put out for them. + +Two or three days after this, when the ponies had been driven away +to the railroad station to be shipped to a far-off state, a cowboy +came riding in with news that he had seen a band of two or three +Indians pass along the prairie near the rocks where Teddy and Janet +had found Clipclap. + +"If we ride after them," said the cowboy, "maybe we can find where +the other Indians are, and where they have hidden your horses and +cattle, Mr. Barton." + +"That's it!" exclaimed Uncle Frank. "We'll get on the trail after +these Indians. I'm sure they must have some of my animals hidden away +in the hills, for I would have heard of it if they had sold them +around here. We'll get on the trail!" + +"What's the trail, Daddy?" asked Teddy of his father. + +"Oh, it means the marks the Indians' ponies may have left in the +soft ground," said Mr. Martin. "Uncle Frank and his cowboys will try +to trail, or follow, the marks of the horses' feet, and see where the +Indians have gone." + +"Can't I come?" asked Teddy. "I can ride good now!" + +"Oh, no indeed you can't go!" cried Mother Martin. "Are you going?" +she asked her husband. + +"Yes," he answered. "I think I'll go on the trail with Uncle Frank." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE CURLYTOPS ALONE + + +Teddy and Janet sat on a bench outside the cowboys' bunkhouse, as +their father, Uncle Frank and a number of the ranchmen rode away over +the prairies on the trail of the Indians. The Curlytops did not seem +very happy. + +"Don't you wish _we_ could go, Jan?" asked Teddy, after he and his +sister had sat in silence for some time. + +"I just guess I _do_!" she exclaimed. "I can ride good, too. Almost as +good as you, Ted, and I don't see why we couldn't go!" + +"Yes, you ride nice, Jan," said her brother. "But I thought you were +afraid of Indians." + +"I used to be, but I'm not any more. Anyway, if you'd stay with me I +wouldn't be. And, anyhow, Uncle Frank says the Indians won't hurt us." + +"Course they won't! I'm not afraid! I'd go on the trail after 'em if +they'd let us." + +"So would I. We could throw stones at 'em if they tried to hurt us, +Teddy." + +"Yes. Or we could ride our ponies fast and get away. Uncle Frank +told me the Indians didn't have any good ponies, and that's why they +took his." + +"But we can't go," said Janet with a sigh. + +"No; we've got to stay at home." + +A little later a cowboy came limping out of the bunkhouse. His name +was Sim Body, but all his friends called him "Baldy" because he had +so little hair on his head. + +"Hello, Curlytops!" cried Baldy in a jolly voice, for he was always +good-natured. Even now he was jolly, though he had a lame foot where +a horse had stepped on it. That is why he was not on the trail after +the Indians with the other cowboys. + +"Hello," answered Teddy, but he did not speak in a jolly voice. + +"Why, what's the matter?" asked Baldy with a laugh, as he limped to +the bench and sat down near the two children. "You act as sad and +gloomy as if there wasn't a Christmas or a New Year's any more, to +say nothing of Fourth of July and birthdays! What's the matter? Seems +to me, if I had all the nice, curly hair you two have, I'd be as +happy as a horned toad and I'd go around singing all day long," and +Baldy rubbed his hand over his own smooth head and laughed. + +"I don't like my hair," grumbled Teddy. "It's always getting snarled +and the comb gets stuck in it." + +"And it does in mine, too," added Janet. "And mother pulls when she +tries to untangle it. Mine's longer than Ted's." + +"Yes, and nicer, for that reason," went on Baldy. "Though I'd be +glad if I had even half of yours, Teddy. But never mind about that. I +won't take your hair, though I'd like to know what makes you both so +gloomy-like. Can't you smile?" + +Ted and Janet could not help laughing at Baldy, he seemed so funny. +He was a good friend of theirs. + +"We can't go on the trail after Indians," said Janet. "We want to +go, but we've got to stay here." + +"And we can ride our ponies good, too," went on Teddy. "Uncle Frank +said we could." + +"Yes, you're getting to be pretty good riders," admitted Baldy. "But +that isn't saying you're big enough to go on a trail after Indians. +Of course these Indians may not be very bad, and maybe they aren't +the ones that took our horses. But riding on a trail takes a long +while, and maybe the boys will be out all night in the open. You +wouldn't like that." + +"We went camping with our grandpa once," declared Teddy. + +"And we slept in a tent," added his sister. + +"And we saw a funny blue light and we thought it was a ghost but it +wasn't," continued Teddy. + +"Hum! A ghost, eh?" laughed Baldy. "Well, I've never been on a trail +after one of them, but I've trailed Indians--and helped catch 'em, +too." + +"How do you do it?" asked Teddy eagerly. + +"Well, you just keep on riding--following the trail you know--until +you catch up to those you're after. Sometimes you can't see any marks +on the ground and you have to guess at it." + +"And do the Indians ride on ahead and try to get away?" asked Janet. + +"Indeed they do. When they know we're after 'em they ride as fast as +they can. That is, if they've done wrong, like taking horses or +cattle that aren't theirs. We just keep chasing 'em until we get +close enough to arrest 'em." + +"It's like a game of tag, isn't it?" asked Janet. + +"Well, yes, you could call it sort of like that," admitted Baldy, +with another laugh. "But it's a kind of game of tag that little boys +and girls can't very well play." + +"Not even when they have ponies?" asked Teddy. + +"Well, of course, having a pony makes it easier to keep on the +trail. You couldn't go very far walking over the prairies--at least +none of us do. We all ride. But I'll tell you some stories about +cowboys and Indians and that will amuse you for a while. Like to hear +'em?" + +"Oh, yes!" cried Teddy. + +"Very much, thank you," added Janet, a little more politely but +still just as eagerly as her brother. + +So Baldy, sitting on the bench in front of the bunkhouse and resting +his lame foot on a saddle on the ground, told the Curlytops stories +of his cowboy life--of sleeping out on the prairies keeping watch +over the cattle, of Indians or other bad men who would come and try +to steal them, and how he and his friends had to give chase to get +the steers or ponies back. + +"Did you ever get captured by the Indians?" asked Teddy. + +"Well, yes, once I was," answered the cowboy. + +"Oh, tell us about it!" begged the little Curlytop chap. "I love to +hear stories about Indians! Don't you, Jan?" + +"I like stories--yes," said the little girl. "But if you're going to +tell a story about Indians, Mr. Baldy, maybe it'll be a scary one, +and I don't like scary stories." + +"I do!" exclaimed Ted. "The scarier they are the better I like 'em!" + +Baldy laughed as he said: + +"Well, I guess, seeing as how the little lady doesn't like scary +stories, I'd better tell one that isn't. We must please the ladies, +you know, Teddy." + +"Oh, yes, I know that," the little boy said. "But after you tell the +not-scary story, Mr. Baldy, couldn't you tell me one that is scary--a +real, terrible scary one. You can take me out behind the barn where +Jan can't hear it." + +"Well, maybe I could do that," agreed the good-natured cowboy, +laughing at the Curlytops. "Now then for the not-scary story." + +"And you don't have to take Teddy out behind the barn to tell him the +scary one," put in Janet. "You could stay here, and I could cover up +my ears with my hands when you came to the terrible parts, couldn't I? +Is there any parts in it that isn't scary? I'd like to hear _them_, +Mr. Baldy." + +"Well, I guess we can fix it that way," said the cowboy. "Now the +first story I'm going to tell you, is how I was captured by the +Indians," and the children sat closer to him and waited eagerly. + +"Once upon a time," said Baldy, "a lot of Indians lived not far from +the house where I lived." + +"Weren't you afraid?" asked Janet. + +"Please don't ask questions till he tells the story," begged Teddy. + +"All right," agreed his sister, and Baldy went on: + +"No, I wasn't much afraid, or if I was I've forgotten it now, as it +was quite a while ago. Anyhow, one day I was out on the prairie, +picking flowers, I think, for I know I used to like flowers, and, all +of a sudden, along came a lot of Indians on horses, and one of them +picked me up and took me right away with him, on the horse in front +of him. + +"The horse was a strong one, and could easily carry both of us, and +though I wiggled around a good bit and yelled, the Indian didn't let +go of me. On and on he rode, carrying me off, and the other Indians +rode ahead of us, and on either side. I couldn't get away, no matter +how I tried. + +"After a while the Indians, who had been out hunting, came to where +their tents were. This was their camp, and then I was lifted down off +the horse and given to a squaw." + +Teddy simply had to ask some questions now. + +"A squaw is a Indian lady, isn't she?" + +"Yes," answered Baldy, "that's what she is." + +"Well, I shouldn't think she'd want to take you," went on the little +boy. "I thought the Indian men always kept the prisoners, and you +were a prisoner, weren't you?" + +"Yes," answered Baldy, and there was a queer smile on his face, "but +I guess I forgot to tell you that the time I was captured by the +Indians I was a little boy, not as big as you, Curlytop. And the +reason they picked me up off the prairie was that I had wandered away +from my home and was lost. So the nice squaw kept me until one of the +Indian men had time to take me home." + +"Then didn't the Indians hurt you?" asked Janet. + +"Not a bit. They were very good to me," the cowboy said. "Some of +them knew my father and mother. That's the only time I was ever +captured by the Indians, and I'm afraid it wasn't very much of a +story." + +"Oh, it was _very_ nice," said Teddy politely. + +"And not a bit scary, except a little teeny bit at first," added +Janet. "Can you tell us another, Mr. Baldy?" + +"Well, I guess I can," said the good-natured cowboy. So he told +other tales of what had happened to him on the prairies, for he had +lived in the West all his life, and knew much about it. + +Teddy and Janet were very glad to hear these stories, but listening +to them made Ted, at least, wish all the more that he could have gone +with his father and his Uncle Frank on the trail after the Indians. + +Then Baldy was called away by another cowboy, who wanted to ask him +something about a sick horse, and Teddy and Janet were called by +their mother to take care of Trouble for a while. + +It was still morning, the cowboys having ridden away before dinner. +They had taken with them enough to eat, even if they had to stay out +all night. + +"I wants a wide!" announced Trouble, when his brother and sister +came in to get him. + +"Could we give him a little ride on our ponies?" asked Teddy of his +mother. + +"Yes, I think so. But don't go far away from the stable. Are any of +the cowboys out there to help you saddle?" + +Saddling, which meant buckling the leather seat tightly around the +pony, was something Teddy and Janet could not yet do very well for +themselves. It takes strong fingers to tighten the straps. + +"Yes, Baldy is out there," Janet said. + +"How often have I told you not to call the men by their nicknames?" +asked Mother Martin with a smile. "It isn't nice for children to do +that." + +"But, please, Mother, we don't know his other name very well," said +Teddy. "Everybody calls him Baldy." + +"Yes, that's right," agreed Aunt Millie. "I do myself. I guess he +doesn't mind." + +"Very well, if he'll saddle your ponies for you, take Trouble for a +little ride," agreed Mrs. Martin. "But be careful." + +The Curlytops said they would, and they were soon taking turns +riding Trouble on the saddles in front of them. Clipclap and Star +Face liked the children and were well-behaved ponies, so there was no +danger in putting Trouble on the back of either as long as Ted or +Janet held him. + +"But don't go riding off with him on the trail after the Indians," +said Baldy, playfully shaking his finger at the Curlytops. + +"We won't!" they promised. + +Up and down on the paths among the ranch buildings rode the +children. Trouble was allowed to hold the ends of the reins, and he +thought he was guiding the ponies, but really Teddy and Janet did +that. + +But finally even such fun as riding ponyback tired Trouble. He +wanted something else to do, and said: + +"Le's go an' s'ide downhill on hay in de barn." + +Teddy and Janet knew what that meant. They had learned this kind of +fun at Grandpa Martin's Cherry Farm. Here, on Ring Rosy Ranch, there +was a large barn filled with hay, and there was plenty of room to +slide down in the mow, or place where the hay was put away. + +"Come on!" cried Janet. "Well give him a good slide, Teddy." + +A little later the Curlytops and Baby William were laughing and +shouting in the barn, rolling down and tumbling over one another, but +not getting hurt, for the hay was too soft. + +Pretty soon the dinner horn blew and, with good appetites from their +morning's fun, the children hurried in to get something to eat. + +"This is a good dinner!" announced Teddy as he passed his plate a +second time. + +"Yes," agreed Mother Martin. "I hope your father and the cowboys +have as good." + +"Oh, they'll have plenty--never fear!" laughed Uncle Frank's wife. +"They never go hungry when they're on the trail." + +After dinner Trouble went to sleep, as he generally did, and Teddy +and Janet were left to themselves to find amusement. + +"Let's go for another ride," suggested Teddy. + +"All right," agreed Janet. + +The saddles had not been taken off their ponies. Their mother and +Aunt Millie saw them go out and, supposing they were only going to +ride around the barn and ranch buildings, as they had done before, +said nothing to them. + +But Ted was no sooner in the saddle than he turned to his sister and +said: + +"Jan, why can't we go riding the trail after the Indians?" + +"What! We two alone?" + +"Yes. We know the way over to the rocks where we found Clipclap in +the cave, and from there we can ride farther on, just like daddy and +Uncle Frank. Come on!" + +Janet thought for a minute. She wanted to go as much as did Teddy. +It did not seem very wrong. + +"Well, we'll ride a little way," she said. "But we've got to come +back before dark." + +"All right," agreed Teddy. "We will!" + +And the Curlytops rode away over the prairie. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +LOST + + +Clipclap and Star Face, the two sturdy little ponies, trotted +bravely along, carrying Teddy and Janet on their backs. The ponies +did not wonder where they were going--they hardly ever did that. They +were satisfied to go wherever their master or mistress guided them, +for they knew the children would be good to them. + +"Do you s'pose we'll find any Indians?" asked Janet after a while. + +"Maybe," answered Teddy. "Are you scared?" + +"No," replied his sister slowly. "I was just thinking maybe we could +find 'em, and get back Uncle Frank's horses, even if the cowboys +didn't." + +"Maybe we could!" cried Teddy. "That would be _great_! Wouldn't +daddy be surprised!" + +"And Uncle Frank, too!" added Janet + +"Yes, and the cowboys! Then they'd think we could ride all right!" +went on Ted. + +"Come on, let's hurry! Gid-dap!" he called to Clipclap. + +"Where are we going first?" asked Janet. + +"To the rocks, where we found my pony in the cave," answered her +brother, as he patted the little animal on the neck. "The cowboy said +he saw the Indians near there." + +"Maybe they're hiding in the cave," suggested Janet. + +"No, they wouldn't do that," Teddy decided, after thinking it over +awhile. + +"They'd be afraid to stay so near Uncle Frank's ranch. Anyhow the +cave isn't big enough." + +"It was big enough for Clipclap." + +"Yes, but he's a little pony. Anyhow, we'll look in the cave and +then we'll ride on along the trail until we catch up to daddy and +Uncle Frank." + +"What'll they say?" + +"I guess they'll be s'prised." + +"Maybe they'll make us go back." + +"Well, if they do we'll have some fun, anyhow," said Teddy, +laughing. "Gid-dap, Clipclap." + +"It's a good thing we've two ponies instead of one goat," remarked +Janet, after they had ridden on a little farther. + +"Course it is," agreed Ted. "We couldn't both ride Nicknack, though +he could pull us both in the wagon." + +"Maybe he'd be afraid of Indians," suggested Janet. + +"No, I don't guess he would," answered Teddy, after some reflection. +"Nicknack's a brave goat. I like him. But I like Clipclap, too." + +"And I like Star Face," added Janet "He's an awful nice pony." + +On and on the ponies trotted, carrying the Curlytops farther and +farther from the Ring Rosy Ranch house. But the children were not +afraid. The sun was shining brightly, and they had often before +ridden this far alone. They could look back at the ranch buildings +when they got on top of the little hills with which the prairie was +dotted, and they were not lonesome. + +Off on either side they could see groups of horses or cattle that +belonged to Uncle Frank, and Ted and Janet thought there must be +cowboys with the herds. + +"I'm going to get a drink when we get to the rocks," said Janet, as +they came within sight of the pile of big stones. + +"Yes. And we'll give the ponies some, too," agreed her brother. "I +guess they're thirsty." + +Indeed the little animals were thirsty, and after they had rested a +while--for Uncle Frank had told the children it was not wise to let a +horse or pony drink when it was too warm--Clipclap and Star Face had +some of the cool water that bubbled up among the rocks. + +"It tastes awful good!" exclaimed Janet, as she took some from the +cup Ted filled for her. + +After Clipclap had been found at the spring, the time he was hidden +in the cave, one of the cowboys had brought a tin cup to the spring, +leaving it there, so if anyone passed the spring it would be easy to +get a drink without having to use a hat or kneel down on the ground. +For horses and cattle there was a little rocky basin into which the +cool water flowed. + +"I wish we could take some of the water with us," said Teddy, when, +after a rest, they were ready to follow the trail again. + +"If we had a bottle, like some of the cowboys carry, we could," +remarked Janet. "Maybe we'll get awful thirsty if we ride on a long +way, Ted." + +"Maybe we will, but maybe we can find another spring. I heard Uncle +Frank say there's more than one on the ranch. Come on!" + +The children took another drink, and offered some to the ponies, +each of which took a little. Then, once more, the Curlytops were on +the trail after the Indians, as they believed. + +"Which way do we go now?" asked Janet, as she watched Teddy get up +in his saddle after he had helped her mount Star Face. + +"We've got to follow the trail," Teddy answered. + +"How do we do it?" his sister inquired. + +"Well. I asked Baldy and he said just look on the ground for tracks +in the dirt. You know the kind of marks a horse's foot makes, don't +you, Jan?" + +"Yes, and I see some down here," and she pointed to the ground. + +"That's them!" exclaimed Teddy. "We've got to follow the marks! +That's the trail!" + +"Is this the Indians' trail?" asked the little girl, and she looked +over her shoulder, perhaps to make sure no one was following her and +her brother. + +"I don't know if it's the Indians' trail, or, maybe, the marks left +by Uncle Frank and daddy," said Teddy. "Anyhow we've got to follow +the trail. That's what Baldy said." + +"He doesn't know we came off alone, does he?" asked Janet + +"No. I guess he wouldn't have let us if he did. But we won't have to +go very far, and then we'll catch up to the rest. Then they'll have +to take us with 'em." + +"Yes," said Janet, and she rode along beside her brother. + +Neither of the Curlytops stopped to think that their father, Uncle +Frank and the cowboys had started off early that morning, and must +have ridden on many miles ahead. The cowboys' horses, too, could go +faster than the ponies Star Pace and Clipclap, for the larger horses +had longer legs. + +All Teddy and Janet thought of was hurrying along as fast as they +could go, in order to catch up to the Indian hunters. What would +happen after that they did not know. + +All at once, as the Curlytops were riding along, they heard what +they thought was a whistle. + +"Some one is calling us," said Janet, turning to look back. "Did you +hear that, Ted?" + +"Yes, I heard a whistle. Maybe it's Uncle Frank, or some of the +cowboys." + +The children looked across the prairie but could see no one. They +were about to go on again when the whistle sounded once more. + +"That is some one calling us," declared Jan. "Let's see if we can't +find who it is, Teddy." + +So the children looked around again, but no one was in sight, and, +what was still stranger, the whistling sound kept up. + +"It's some one playing a joke on us, and hiding after they whistle," +said Janet. "Maybe one of the cowboys from the ranch." + +"Maybe an Indian," said Ted, and then he was sorry he had said that, +for his sister looked frightened. + +"Oh!" said Janet, "if it's an Indian--" + +"I don't guess it is," Teddy hastened to say. "I guess Indians don't +whistle, anyhow." + +This made Janet feel better and once more she and her brother looked +around to see what made the queer whistling sound, that still kept +up. It was just like a boy calling to another, and Teddy was quite +puzzled over it until he suddenly saw what was doing it. + +Perched on a small mound of earth near a hole in the ground, was a +little animal, about as big as a large rat, though, as Janet said, he +was "nicer looking." And as Ted and his sister looked, they saw this +little animal move, and then they knew he it was that was whistling. + +"Oh, what is it?" cried Janet. + +"I know," Teddy answered. "That's a prairie dog. Baldy told me about +them, and how they whistled when they saw any danger." + +"Is there any danger here?" asked Janet, looking around. + +"I guess the prairie dog thinks we're the danger," said Teddy. "But +we wouldn't hurt him." + +"Does he live down in that hole?" asked Janet. + +"Yes, just like a gopher," answered her brother, who had listened to +the cowboys telling about the little prairie dogs. "And sometimes +there are snakes or an owl in the same hole with the prairie dog." + +"Then I'm not going any nearer," decided Janet. "I don't mind an +owl, but I don't like snakes! Come on, Ted, let's hurry." + +As they started off, the prairie dog, which really did make a +whistling sound, suddenly darted down inside his burrow or hole. +Perhaps he thought Teddy and Janet were coming to carry him off, but +they were not. The children saw many more of the little animals as +they rode over the prairies. + +"But we must look for marks--tracks, Baldy calls them," said Teddy. +"Tracks will tell us which way the Indians went," and so the children +kept their eyes turned toward the sod as they rode along. + +For a while they could see many marks in the soft ground--the marks +of horses' feet, some shod with iron shoes and others bare, for on +the prairie grass there is not the same need of iron shoes on the +hoofs of horses as in the city, with its hard, paved streets. Then +the marks were not so plain; and pretty soon, about a mile from the +spring amid the rocks where the ground was quite hard, Teddy and +Janet could see no marks at all. + +"Which way do we go?" asked Ted's sister, as he called to his pony +to stop. "Do you know the way?" + +"No, I don't guess I do," he answered. "But anyhow we can ride along +and maybe well see 'em." + +"Yes, we can do that," Janet said. + +It was still early in the afternoon, and the sun was shining +brightly. They knew they were still on Uncle Frank's ranch, and, +though they could not see the buildings any more, they could see the +place where they had had a drink at the spring. + +"All we've got to do, if we want to come back," observed Teddy, "is +ride to the rocks and then we know the way home from there." + +"Yes, that's easy," Janet said. + +So they rode on and on. + +Of course the Curlytops ought not to have done what they did, but +they did not think, any more than Trouble thought when he opened the +corral gate and let out the ponies. + +But the sun did not stay high in the sky all the afternoon. +Presently the bright ball of fire began to go down in the west, and +the shadows of Teddy and Janet grew long on the prairie. They knew +what those long shadows meant--that it was getting late afternoon. + +After a while Janet turned in her saddle and looked back. + +"Oh, Teddy!" she cried. "I can't see the spring rocks," for that is +what the children had called the place where they had found Clipclap. + +"They're back there just the same." + +"I know. But if we can't see 'em we won't know how to ride back to +them," went on Janet. "How are we going to find our way back home, +Ted?" + +"Oh, I can get to the rocks when I want to," he said. "Come on, +we'll ride a little bit farther and then, if we can't find daddy and +Uncle Frank, we'll go back." + +"Well, don't go much farther," said Janet, and Teddy said he would +not. + +There were many hills and hollows now, much higher and deeper ones +than those near the ranch buildings. Even from the top of one of the +high hills up which the ponies slowly climbed, the Curlytops could +not see the spring rocks. + +"Oh, Ted!" exclaimed Jan, "I'm afraid! I want to go back! It's going +to be night pretty soon!" + +"It won't be night for a good while," he said, "but I guess maybe +we'd better go back. I can't see daddy, Uncle Frank or the cowboys." + +He raised himself in the stirrups and looked across the prairies, +shading his eyes with his hand the way he had seen some of the +cowboys do. Nothing was in sight. + +"Come on, Jan, we'll go back," he said. + +Clipclap and Star Face were turned around. Once more off trotted the +little ponies with the Curlytops on their backs. + +The shadows grew longer. It was not so bright and nice on the +prairies now. Janet kept close to Teddy. At last she asked: + +"Do you see the rocks?" + +"Not yet," her brother answered. "But we'll soon be there." + +They did not reach them, however. On and on they rode. The sun went +down behind a bank of clouds. + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Janet, "I don't like this," and her voice sounded +as if she were going to cry. + +"We'll soon be back at the rocks, and then I know the way home," +said Teddy, as bravely as he could. + +But they did not reach the rocks. Up the hollows and across the +hills they rode, over the broad prairies, but no rocks did they see. +At last the ponies began to go more slowly, for they were tired. It +grew darker. Ted looked anxiously about. Janet spoke softly to him. + +"Teddy," she asked, "are we--are we--lost?" + +For a moment Teddy did not answer. Then he replied slowly: + +"Yes--I guess we are lost, Janet!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE HIDDEN VALLEY + + +The Curlytops were in trouble. It was not the first time they had +been lost, no indeed! But it was the first time they could remember +being lost so far away from home, and in such a big place as a +Western prairie. They did not know what to do. + +"Don't you know the way home?" asked Janet, still keeping close to +her brother. It was getting dark, and, somehow, she felt safer near +him, even if he was only a year older than she was. + +"I'd know the way home back to the ranch house if we could find the +rocks with the cave where Clipclap was," Teddy replied. + +"Let's look for them some more," suggested Janet. "If we don't get +home pretty soon we'll be all in the dark and--and we'll have to stay +out here all alone." + +"Are you afraid?" asked Ted, looking at his sister. + +"Yes. Won't you be?" + +"Pooh! No!" he exclaimed, and he talked loudly, perhaps just so he +would not be afraid. You know a boy always whistles very loudly at +night when he is walking along a dark place alone. And if there are +two boys they both whistle. What girls do when they walk through a +dark place alone I do not know. Maybe they sing. + +Anyhow Teddy talked very loud, and when Janet heard him say he was +not afraid she felt better. + +"But will we have to stay out here all night?" she asked. + +"I guess so." Teddy answered. "But it'll be just like camping out. +Daddy and Uncle Frank and the cowboys are going to stay out." + +"Yes, but they've got something to eat," objected Janet, "and we +haven't anything. Not even a cookie--lessen you've got one in your +pocket, Teddy." + +"No, Jan," answered her brother, after a quick search, "I haven't. I +forgot to bring any." + +"So did I," went on Janet. "I don't think I like to stay out here +alone all night if we haven't anything to eat." + +"No, it won't be much fun," agreed Teddy. "I guess maybe I can find +those rocks, Janet, and then we'll know how to get home. Come on." + +He turned his pony's head and the tired little animal walked slowly +on and Janet's Star Face followed. But the truth of the matter was, +Ted did not know in which direction to guide his little horse. He +could not remember where the rocks lay. But Janet was trusting to +him, and he felt he must do his best. + +So he kept on until it grew a little darker, and his pony was +walking so slowly that Trouble would have found it easy to have +walked almost as fast. + +"What's the matter?" asked Janet, who was riding behind her brother, +looking as hard as she could through the darkness for a sight of the +rocks, which, once they were reached, almost meant home. "What's the +matter, Ted?" + +"Matter with what, Jan?" + +"What makes the ponies go so slow?" + +"'Cause they're tired, I guess." + +"Can't you find the rocks and let them rest and get a drink? I'm +awful thirsty, Teddy!" + +"So'm I, Jan. We'll go on a little more and maybe we'll find the +rocks. Don't cry!" + +"Pooh! who's goin' to cry?" demanded Janet quickly. + +"I--I thought maybe you were," Teddy answered. + +"I am not!" and Janet was very positive about it. "But I'm tired and +hungry, and I want a drink awful bad." + +"So do I," added Teddy. "We'll go on a little more." + +So, wearily, the ponies walked on carrying the Curlytops. Ted kept +looking ahead, and to the left and right, trying to find the rocks. +But, had he only known it (which he did later) he was going away from +them all the while instead of toward them. + +All at once Clipclap stumbled and nearly fell. + +"Whoa there! Look out!" cried Teddy, reining up the head of his +animal as he had seen Uncle Frank do. "Don't fall, Clipclap!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Janet. "Did he step in a hole?" + +"I don't know. I guess he's just tired," and Teddy's voice was sad. +For he was very weary and much frightened, though he did not tell +Janet so. + +"Well, let's stop and rest," said his sister. "Do you think you can +find those rocks, Ted?" + +"No, I don't guess I can. I guess we're lost, Janet." + +"Oh, dear!" she answered. + +"Now don't cry!" warned Teddy. + +"I--I'm not!" exclaimed his sister. "I--I was just blowing my nose, +so there, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" + +Teddy grinned in the darkness, tired as he was. He was glad Janet +was a little angry with him. That meant she would not cry, and if his +sister started to weep Ted did not know what he would do. He might +even cry himself. He was not too big for that. + +"Let's stop and give the ponies a rest," suggested Janet. + +"All right," agreed Teddy. "And maybe they can hunt around and find +water. One of the cowboys told me his pony did that once when he +didn't know where to get a drink himself." + +"I wish Star Face could find water," went on Janet. "I'd drink some +of it, too." + +"So would I--if it was clean," said Teddy. + +Wearily the two Curlytops slipped from their saddles. The ponies +seemed glad of this, and at once began to eat the grass that grew all +about. Teddy and Janet looked at them awhile. It was not so dark but +what they could see things close to them, and the stars were +twinkling brightly overhead. + +"They don't seem very thirsty," said Janet. + +"Maybe they'll start to go after water when they've had their +supper," suggested her brother, with a sigh, which, however, Janet +did not hear. "We've got to wait--that's all." + +The Curlytops sat down on the ground and waited, while the ponies +with the reins over their heads--which was a sign that they must not +go far away--cropped the sweet grass. + +"I wish _we_ could eat grass," said Janet, after a bit. + +"Why?" + +"Then we could eat it like the ponies do and not be hungry." + +"It would be a good thing," Teddy agreed. "But we can't. I chewed +some sour grass once, but I didn't swallow it." + +"I ate some watercress once at home," said Janet. "But I didn't like +it. Anyhow I don't guess watercress grows around here." + +"No," agreed Teddy. + +Then they sat and watched the ponies eating in the darkness. +Clipclap was wandering farther off than Teddy liked and he jumped up +and hurried after his animal. As he caught him Teddy saw something on +the ground a little way off. It was something round and black, and, +now that the moon had come up, he could see more plainly. + +"What's the matter, Teddy?" Janet called to him, as she saw him +standing motionless, after he had taken hold of Clipclap's bridle. +"What are you looking at?" + +"I don't know what it is," Teddy answered. "Maybe it's a prairie +dog, but he's keepin' awful still. Come and look, Janet." + +"Oh, I don't want to!" she exclaimed. + +"Oh, come on!" urged Teddy. "It isn't moving. Maybe you can tell +what it is." + +Janet, making sure that Star Face was all right, walked over to her +brother. She, too, saw the dark object lying on a bare spot in the +prairie. It did not move. The moonlight became stronger and Janet, +becoming brave all of a sudden, went closer. + +"It's nothing but a bundle, Teddy Martin!" she exclaimed. +"Somebody has dropped a bundle." + +"They have?" Teddy cried. "Then if somebody's been past here they +can find us--or we can find them--and we aren't lost anymore!" + +"Oh, I hope it comes true!" sighed Janet. + +"Here, you hold Clipclap--he's starting to walk away"--went on +Teddy, "and I'll go see what that is." + +Janet took the pony's reins, and her brother walked toward the +bundle. He could see now that it was something wrapped in a blanket, +and as he came closer he saw that the blanket was one of the kind the +cowboys at Uncle Frank's ranch carried when they went out to spend +the night on the prairie. + +"What is it?" asked Janet, as her brother picked up the bundle and +came back toward her. + +"I don't know, but it's heavy," he answered. "Well open it." + +"Maybe we'd better not," cautioned Janet. "It isn't ours." + +"But we're lost," Teddy said, "and we want to be found. Maybe +there's something in this bundle to help." + +The blanket was fastened with a strap on the outside, and Teddy +managed to unbuckle this after two or three trials, Janet helping. +Then, as the moon shone down on what was in the blanket, the +Curlytops gave a cry of delight, which startled even the ponies. + +"It's something to eat!" cried Teddy. + +"And to drink!" added Janet, as she picked up the canvas-covered +canteen, or water bottle, such as soldiers carry. By shaking it she +knew it was full of water. + +"Say, this is good luck!" cried Teddy. + +Stopping no longer to wonder who had dropped the bundle, the +Curlytops took a drink from the canteen. They had not been used to +drinking out of a bottle since they were babies, and some of the +water ran down their necks. + +But they did not mind this. And, even though the water was rather +warm, they felt much better after having had a drink. + +"I wish we could give the ponies some," said Janet. "But there isn't +very much, and they would drink this all up and not know they'd had +any." + +"Anyhow I guess they're not thirsty, or they'd try to find water +just as the cowboys said they would," added Teddy. "They can chew the +grass." + +He and Janet looked into the bundle again, and found a number of +sandwiches, together with some uncooked bacon, a little ground +coffee, a small coffee-pot and a tin cup. + +"Oh, goody! We can eat the sandwiches," Janet said. + +"And in the morning, when we find a spring, we can make coffee," +added Teddy. "I know how, 'cause grandpa showed me when we were +camping on Star Island. I haven't any matches to make a fire, but +maybe I can find some." + +"Will we have to stay here all night?" asked Janet anxiously. + +"I spect so," her brother answered. "I don't know the way back to +the ranch house. We can't even find the rocks. We'll stay here all +night. It isn't cold, and now we have a blanket we can wrap up in it +like the cowboys do. And we've something to eat and drink." + +"But mother and daddy will be awful worried," said Janet. + +"Well, they'll maybe come and find us," answered Teddy. "Look out!" +he cried. "Clipclap's going off again!" + +Indeed the little pony seemed to want to walk away, and so did Star +Face. + +"Maybe they know where to go to find water," suggested Janet. + +"Maybe," agreed Ted. "Let's let 'em go, and we'll go with 'em. That +water in the canteen won't be enough till morning." + +The children ate nearly all of the sandwiches, and put away the rest +of the food in the blanket which Teddy strapped around it. Then they +mounted their ponies, Ted taking the bundle with him, and let the +animals wander which way they would. + +"They'll go to water if they're thirsty enough," Teddy said. + +"Who do you s'pose dropped that bundle?" asked Janet. + +"A cowboy," her brother answered. + +"One from Ring Rosy Ranch?" + +"Maybe." + +"Oh, I hope he did, and that he's around here somewhere," went on +Janet. "I'm tired of being lost!" + +"We've only just begun," Teddy said. But, truth to tell, he wished +very much that they were both safe back at the ranch house with their +mother. + +On and on over the moonlit prairies went Star Face and Clipclap. +They seemed to know where they were going and did not stop. Ted and +Janet were too tired to guide them. They were both getting sleepy. + +Pretty soon Janet saw ahead of her something glistening in the +stretch of the prairie. The moonlight seemed to sparkle on it. + +"Oh, look, Ted!" she cried, pointing. + +"It's water--a little river!" he exclaimed. "The ponies have led us +to water!" + +And so the animals had. Teddy and Janet slipped from their ponies' +backs at the edge of the stream and then Star Face and Clipclap took +long drinks. Ted emptied the canteen, filled it with the cooler +water, and he and Janet drank again. Then they felt much better. + +The ponies again began to crop the grass. The Curlytops, very tired +and sleepy, felt that it would be all right to make their bed in the +blanket they had found, dropped by some passing cowboy. + +But first Ted looked around. Off to one side, and along the stream +from which they had drunk, he saw something dark looming up. + +"Look, Janet," he said. "Maybe that's a ranch house over there, and +we could go in for the night." + +"Maybe," she agreed. "Let's go to it." + +Once more they mounted their ponies. The animals did not seem so +tired now, but trotted on over the prairie. They drew nearer to the +dark blotch Teddy had noticed. + +Then, as the moon came out from behind some clouds, the Curlytops +saw that they were at the entrance to a hidden valley--a little +valley tucked away among the hills, which they would never have seen +had they not come to the stream to drink. + +The little river ran through the valley, and in the moonlight the +children could see that a fence had been made at the end nearest +them. It was a wooden fence, and not one of barbed wire, such as +there were many of on Ring Rosy Ranch. + +"This is a queer valley," said Janet. + +"Yes, and look!" exclaimed Ted, pointing. "Don't you see things +moving around in it?" + +"Yes," agreed Jan, as she looked. "Why, Ted!" she cried. "They're +horses--ponies--a lot of 'em!" + +"So they are!" exclaimed Ted. "Oh, we're near a ranch, Janet! Now +we're all right!" + +"Yes. But maybe we're a good way from the ranch house," answered +Janet. "We maybe can't find it in the dark. Some of Uncle Frank's +ponies are five miles away from the stable, you know. Maybe we'd +better not go on any more in the dark. I'm tired!" + +"Well," agreed Teddy. "I guess we could stay here till it's morning. +We could sleep in the blanket. It's plenty big enough for us two." + +"And in the morning we can ride on and find the ranch, and the +cowboys there will take us to Ring Rosy," added Janet. "Let's do it, +Teddy." + +They looked again at the strange valley in which the horses were +moving about. Clipclap whinnied and one of the other ponies answered. +But they could not come out because of the fence, part of which was +built in and across the little river. + +Then, throwing the reins over the heads f their ponies, and knowing +the animals would not stray far, Ted and Janet, taking another drink +from the canteen, rolled up in the blanket and went to sleep on the +prairie just outside the hidden valley that held a secret of which +they did not even dream. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +BACK TO RING ROSY + + +"I hope the Curlytops won't ride too far," said Mrs. Martin, coming +out into the kitchen to help with the work. + +She had just got Trouble to sleep after Teddy and Janet had brought +him in from the haymow before riding off on their ponies. + +"Oh, I guess they won't," Aunt Millie answered. + +But, could Mrs. Martin and Aunt Millie have seen them, they would +have been much surprised to know where the Curlytops then were. + +As you know, they were riding along the trail after the Indians. + +The hours went on until it was late afternoon. And then, when the +children did not come back, Mrs. Martin began to be alarmed. She went +to the top of a low hill not far away from the ranch house and looked +across the prairie. + +"I can't see them," she said, when she came back. + +"Oh, don't worry," returned Aunt Millie. "They'll be along pretty +soon. And, anyhow, there is no danger." + +"But--the Indians?" questioned Mrs. Martin. + +"Oh, they are far enough off by this time," said the ranch owner's +wife. "They won't bother the Curly tops." + +But Mother Martin did worry, and when supper time came near and +Janet and Teddy were not yet back, Aunt Millie, too, began to think +it strange. + +"What do you suppose could happen?" asked Mrs. Martin. "I wish Dick +were here." + +"Oh, lots of little things might happen," said Aunt Millie. "The +children may have ridden farther than they meant to. It's such a nice +day for riding you couldn't blame them for going. Or one of their +ponies may have gone lame and have to walk slowly. That would make +them get here late." + +"Suppose they should be hurt?" asked Mother Martin, anxiously. + +"Oh, I don't suppose anything of the sort!" and Aunt Millie laughed. +But Mother Martin did not feel like laughing. + +At last, however, when it began to get dark and the children had not +come, even the cowboys left at the ranch--those who had not ridden on +the trail after the Indians--said it was time something was done. + +"We'll go out and find 'em," said Baldy. "The little tykes have got +lost; that's about all. We'll find 'em and bring 'em home!" + +"Oh, I hope you can!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. + +"Sure we will!" cried Baldy. "Won't we, boys?" + +"That's what we will!" cried the cowboys. + +The men started out over the prairie right after supper, carrying +lanterns, not so much that they needed the lights as that they might +be seen by the lost children. + +"Hello, Curlytops! where are you?" called the cowboys. + +But no one answered them. Teddy and Janet were far away. + +The cowboys rode as far as the pile of rocks where the spring +bubbled up. There Baldy, swinging his lantern to and fro, said he +thought he could see the marks of the feet of Star Face and Clipclap +among those of other ponies, but he was not sure. + +"We'll have to come back here and start out early in the morning +when we can see better," he said. + +"And what are we going to do all night?" asked another cowboy. + +"Well, we'll keep on hunting, of course. But I don't believe well +find the lost Curlytops." + +One of the men rode back to the ranch to tell Mrs. Martin that so +far, no trace of the missing children had been found. She could not +keep back her tears, but she tried to be brave. + +"Oh, where can they be?" she asked. + +"They'll be all right," the cowboy said. "It's a nice warm night, +and they're brave children. Even if they had to sleep out it would +not hurt 'em. They could take the blankets that are under the ponies' +saddles and wrap up in them. They'll be all right." + +Though they were lost, the Curlytops were, at that moment, much +better off than the cowboy thought. For they had found the big +blanket and the bundle of food, and they were sleeping soundly on the +prairie. + +At first they had been a little afraid to lie down all alone out in +the night, but their ponies were with them, and Janet said it felt as +though Clipclap and Star Face were like good watch dogs. + +Then, being very tired and having had something to eat and drink, +they fell asleep. + +All night long, though, the cowboys rode over the prairie looking +for the lost ones. They shouted and called, but the Curlytops were +too far away to hear or to answer, even if they had been awake. + +"Well, now we can make a better hunt," said Baldy, when he saw the +sun beginning to rise. "Well get something to eat and start out from +the spring in the rocks. I'm almost sure the Curlytops were there." + +Mrs. Martin had not slept all night, and when the cowboys came back +to breakfast she said she was going to ride with them to search for +her children. + +"Yes, I think it would do you good," said Aunt Millie. + +Mrs. Martin had learned how to ride when a girl, and she had +practised some since coming to Ring Rosy Ranch. So she did not feel +strange in the saddle. With Baldy and the other cowboys she set off. + +They went to the spring amid the rocks and there began the search. +Over the prairie the riders spread out like a big fan, looking +everywhere for the lost ones. And when they were not found in about +an hour Baldy said: + +"Well, there's just a chance that their ponies took them to Silver +Creek." + +"Where's that?" asked Mrs. Martin. + +"It's a stream of water quite a way off," Baldy answered. "It isn't +on our ranch, and we don't very often go there. But if the Curlytops' +ponies were thirsty in the night they might go to Silver Creek, even +if Jan and Ted didn't want them to. I think the ponies went the +nearest way to water." + +"Then let us go that way!" cried Mrs. Martin. + +Meanwhile Teddy and Janet had awakened. They could look right into +the strange valley through which flowed Silver Creek, though they did +not then know its name. + +"And look what a lot of horses!" cried Janet. + +"And cows!" added her brother. "I wonder whose they are?" + +"Oh, I guess they live on some ranch," Janet said. "Now if we can +find the ranch house we'll be all right." + +"We'll look for it," suggested Teddy. "But first we've got to have +breakfast. If I had a match I could make a fire and boil some coffee." + +"Let's not bother with breakfast," suggested Janet. "I'm not very +hungry. And if we find the ranch house we can get something to eat +there. Come on, Teddy." + +They got a drink at the stream, and then, rolling up what food was +left in the blanket, they got on their ponies and rode away, going +around the valley instead of into it, for Teddy saw that hills closed +it at the far end. + +"There's no ranch house in that valley," he said. + +The Curlytops had not ridden far before Janet, who had gone a little +ahead of Teddy, cried: + +"Oh, look! Here come some cowboys!" + +"I guess they belong to this ranch--the one where we saw the ponies +and cows," replied Teddy, as he saw a number of horsemen riding +toward them. The horsemen began to whoop and shout, and their horses +ran very fast toward the Curlytops. + +"There's a lady with 'em," remarked Janet. + +"They seem awful glad to meet us," went on Teddy. "Look, they're +wavin' their hats." + +And so the cowboys were. When the riders came a little nearer Teddy +and Janet rubbed their eyes in surprise. + +"Why--why!" Teddy exclaimed. "There's our own Baldy!" + +"And there's mother!" fairly shouted Janet. "Oh, Mother! Mother!" +she cried. "Oh, how glad I am!" and she made Star Face run toward the +lady on horseback. + +"Oh, my dear children! Where have you been?" asked Mrs. Martin, a +little later, as she hugged first Janet and then Teddy. + +"We--we got lost," Teddy answered. + +"Yes, but you ran away, and that was not right," his mother told +him. "Where did you go?" + +"We--we went on the trail after the Indians," Teddy answered. + +"Did you find them?" asked Baldy with a smile. + +"No, but we found a lot of horses and cows back there in a little +valley with a fence," said Janet. "And we were going to ride to the +ranch house when we saw you." + +"Ranch house!" cried Baldy. "There isn't a ranch house within +fifteen miles except the one at Ring Rosy. Did you say you saw some +cows and horses!" + +"Yes. In a valley," explained Teddy. + +"Show us where it was!" eagerly cried the cowboy, and when the +Curlytops had ridden to it, with Baldy and the others following, the +lame cowboy, whose foot was a little better, exclaimed: + +"Well, if the Curlytops haven't gone and done it!" + +"Done what?" asked their mother. + +"They've found the lost cattle and horses!" + +"You mean Uncle Frank's!" asked Teddy. + +"That's just what I mean! These are the horses and cattle the +Indians drove away. The Redmen put the animals in this valley and +made a fence at this end so they couldn't get out. They knew the +horses and cattle would have water to drink and grass to eat, and +they'd stay here a long while--until the Indians would have a chance +to drive 'em farther away and sell 'em. + +"Yes, that's just what they did. I never thought of this valley, +though I saw it quite a few years ago. I've never been here since. +The Indians knew it would be a good place to hide the horses they +stole, and we might never have found 'em if it hadn't been for you +Curlytops." + +"I'm glad!" said Teddy. + +"So'm I," said Janet, "and I'm hungry, too!" + +"Well, well soon have you back at Ring Rosy Ranch, where there's a +good breakfast!" laughed Baldy. "Well! Well! To think of you +Curlytops finding what we cowboys were looking all over for!" + +"And are daddy and Uncle Frank looking for these horses and cattle?" +asked Teddy. + +"Yes. And for the Indians that took 'em. But I guess they won't find +either," Baldy answered. + +And Baldy was right. Some hours after the Curlytops were back at +Ring Rosy Ranch, in rode Uncle Frank and the others. They had not +found what they had gone after, and you can imagine how surprised +they all were when told that Ted and Janet had, by accident, found +the lost cattle and horses in the hidden valley. + +"You're regular cowboys!" cried Uncle Frank. + +"I knew they'd turn out all right when they learned to ride +ponyback!" said Daddy Martin. "Though you mustn't ride on the trail +alone after Indians again!" he said. + +Teddy and Janet told all that had happened to them, from getting +lost, to finding the blanket and going to sleep in it on the open +prairie. + +One of the cowboys with Uncle Frank had lost the blanket, and he +said he was glad he dropped it, since it gave Teddy and Janet +something to eat and something to wrap up in. + +That afternoon the stolen horses and cattle were driven in from the +hidden valley; so the Indians did not get them after all. And a +little later some soldiers came to keep guard over the Redmen so they +could not again go off their reservation to make trouble. All of +Uncle Frank's animals, except a few that the Indians had sold, were +found, and the Curlytops were the pride of Ring Rosy Ranch as long as +they remained there. + +"Well, I wonder if we'll have any more adventures," said Janet to +her brother one day, about a week after they were lost and had been +found. + +"Oh, I guess so," he answered. "Anyhow, we've got two nice ponies, +and we can have lots of rides. Come on, I'll race you." + +The bright summer days brought more fun to Teddy and Janet at Uncle +Frank's ranch. They rode many miles on Star Face and Clipclap, +sometimes taking Trouble with them. + +"I want to dwive," said the little fellow one day, as he sat on the +saddle in front of his brother. + +"All right, you may drive a little while," Teddy answered, and he +let Baby William hold the reins. + +"Now I a cowboy!" exclaimed the little fellow. "Gid-dap, Clipclap! I +go lasso a Injun!" + +Ted and Janet laughed at this. + +And so, leaving the Curlytops to their fun, we will say good-bye. + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Curlytops at Uncle Frank's Farm, by +Howard R. Garis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH *** + +***** This file should be named 6814.txt or 6814.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/8/1/6814/ + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Charles Franks and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. 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Garis + +Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6814] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on January 27, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH *** + + + + +Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +THE CURLYTOPS AT + +UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH + +OR + +_Little Folks on Ponyback_ + +BY + +HOWARD R. GARIS + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + +I TROUBLE'S TUMBLE + +II NICKNACK AND TROUBLE + +III OFF FOR THE WEST + +IV THE COLLISION + +V AT RING ROSY RANCH + +VI COWBOY FUN + +VII BAD NEWS + +VIII A QUEER NOISE + +IX THE SICK PONY + +X A SURPRISED DOCTOR + +XI TROUBLE MAKES A LASSO + +XII THE BUCKING BRONCO + +XIII MISSING CATTLE + +XIV LOOKING FOR INDIANS + +XV TROUBLE "HELPS" + +XVI ON THE TRAIL + +XVII THE CURLYTOPS ALONE + +XVIII LOST + +XIX THE HIDDEN VALLEY + +XX BACK TO RING ROSY + + + + +THE CURLYTOPS + +AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH + + + + +CHAPTER I + +TROUBLE'S TUMBLE + + +"Say, Jan, this isn't any fun!" + +"What do you want to play then, Ted?" + +Janet Martin looked at her brother, who was dressed in one of his +father's coats and hats while across his nose was a pair of +spectacles much too large for him. Janet, wearing one of her mother's +skirts, was sitting in a chair holding a doll. + +"Well, I'm tired of playing doctor, Jan, and giving your make-believe +sick doll bread pills. I want to do something else," and Teddy +began taking off the coat, which was so long for him that it +dragged on the ground. + +"Oh, I know what we can do that'll be lots of fun!" cried Janet, +getting up from the chair so quickly that she forgot about her doll, +which fell to the floor with a crash that might have broken her head. + +"Oh, my _dear!_" cried Janet, as she had often heard her mother +call when Baby William tumbled and hurt himself. "Oh, are you hurt?" +and Janet clasped the doll in her arms, and hugged it as though it +were a real child. + +"Is she busted?" Ted demanded, but he did not ask as a real doctor +might inquire. In fact, he had stopped playing doctor. + +"No, she isn't hurt, I guess," Jan answered, feeling of her doll's +head. "I forgot all about her being in my lap. Oh, aren't you going +to play any more, Ted?" she asked as she saw her brother toss the big +coat on a chair and take off the spectacles. + +"No. I want to do something else. This is no fun!" + +"Well, let's make-believe you're sick and I can be a Red Cross +nurse, like some of those we saw in the drugstore window down the +street, making bandages for the soldiers. You could be a soldier, +Ted, and I could be the nurse, and I'd make some sugar pills for you, +if you don't like the rolled-up bread ones you gave my doll." + +Teddy Martin thought this over for a few seconds. He seemed to like +it. And then he shook his head. + +"No," he answered his sister, "I couldn't be a soldier." + +"Why not?" + +"'Cause I haven't got a gun and there isn't any tent." + +"We could make a tent with a sheet off the bed like we do lots of +times. Put it over a chair, you know." + +"But I haven't a gun," Teddy went on. He knew that he and Janet +could make a tent, for they had often done it before. + +"Couldn't you take a broom for a gun?" Janet asked. "I'll get it +from the kitchen." + +"Pooh! What good is a broom for a gun? I want one that shoots! +Anyhow I haven't a uniform, and a soldier can't go to war without a +uniform or a sword or a gun. I'm not going to play that!" + +Janet did not know what to say for a few seconds. Truly a soldier +would not be much of one without a gun or a uniform, even if he was +in a tent. But the little girl had not given up yet. + +The day was a rainy one. There was no school, for it was Saturday, +and staying in the house was no great fun. Janet wanted her brother +to stay and play with her and she knew she must do something to make +him. For a while he had been content to play that he was Dr. +Thompson, come to give medicine to Jan's sick doll. But Teddy had +become tired of this after paying half a dozen visits and leaving +pills made by rolling bread crumbs together. + +Teddy laid aside his father's old hat and scratched his head. That +is he tried to, but his head was so covered with tightly twisted +curls that the little boy's fingers were fairly entangled in them. + +"Say!" he exclaimed, "I wish my hair didn't curl so much! It's too +long. I'm going to ask mother if I can't have it cut." + +"I wish I could have mine cut," sighed Janet. "Mine's worse to comb +than yours is, Ted." + +"Yes, I know. And it always curls more on a rainy day." + +Both children had the same curly hair. It was really beautiful, but +they did not quite appreciate it, even though many of their friends, +and some persons who saw them for the first time, called them +"Curlytops." Indeed the tops of their heads were very curly. + +"Oh, I know how we can do it!" suddenly cried Janet, just happening +to think of something. + +"Do what?" asked her brother. + +"Play the soldier game. You can pretend you were caught by the enemy +and your gun and uniform were taken away. Then you can be hurt and +I'll be the Red Cross nurse and take care of you in the tent. I'll get +some real sugar for pills, too! Nora'll give me some. She's in the +kitchen now making a cake." + +"Maybe she'd give you a piece of cake, too," suggested Teddy. + +"Maybe," agreed Janet. "I'll go and ask her." + +"Ask her for some chocolate," added Ted. "I guess, if I've got to be +sick, I'd like chocolate pills 'stead of sugar." + +"All right," said Janet, as she hurried downstairs from the playroom +to the kitchen. In a little while she came back with a plate on which +were two slices of chocolate cake, while on one edge of it were some +crumbs of chocolate icing. + +"I'll make pills of that after we eat the cake," Janet said. "You +can pretend the cake made you sick if you want to, Ted." + +"Pooh! who ever heard of a soldier getting sick on cake? Anyhow they +don't have cake in the army--lessen they capture it from the enemy." + +"Well, you can pretend you did that," said Janet. "Now I'll put my +doll away," she went on, as she finished her piece of cake, "and well +play the soldier game. I'll get some red cloth to make the cross." + +Janet looked "sweet," as her mother said afterward, when she had +wound a white cloth around her head, a red cross, rather ragged and +crooked, being pinned on in front. + +The tent was made by draping a sheet from the bed across two chairs, +and under this shelter Teddy crawled. He stretched out on a blanket +which Janet had spread on the floor to be the hospital cot. + +"Now you must groan, Ted," she said, as she looked in a glass to see +if her headpiece and cross were on straight. + +"Groan? What for?" + +"'Cause you've Been hurt in the war, or else you're sick from the +cake." + +"Pooh! a little bit of cake like _that_ wouldn't make _me_ sick. +You've got to give me a _lot_ more if you want me to be real sick." + +"Oh, Teddy Martin! I'm not going to play if you make fun like that +all the while. You've got to groan and pretend you've been shot. +Never mind about the cake." + +"All right. I'll be shot then. But you've got to give me a lot of +chocolate pills to make me get better." + +"I'm not going to give 'em to you all at once, Ted Martin!" + +"Well, maybe in two doses then. How many are there?" + +"Oh, there's a lot. I'm going to take some myself." + +"You are not!" and Teddy sat up so quickly that he hit the top of +the sheet-tent with his head and made it slide from the chair. + +"There! Look what you did!" cried Janet. "Now you've gone and +spoiled everything!" + +"Oh, well, I'll fix it," said Ted, rather sorry for what he had +done. "But you can't eat my chocolate pills." + +"I can so!" + +"You cannot! Who ever heard of a nurse taking the medicine from a +sick soldier?" + +"Well, anyhow--well, wouldn't you give me some chocolate candy if +you had some, and I hadn't?" asked Janet. + +"Course I would, Jan. I'm not stingy!" + +"Well, these pills are just like chocolate candy, and if I give 'em +all to you--" + +"Oh, well, then I'll let you eat _some_," agreed Ted. "But you wanted +me to play this game of bein' a sick soldier, and if I'm sick I've got +to have the medicine." + +"Yes, I'll give you the most," Janet agreed. "Now you lie down and +groan and I'll hear you out on the battlefield and come and save your +life." + +So, after Janet had fixed the sheet over him again, Teddy lay back +on the blanket and groaned his very best. + +"Oh, it sounds as real as anything!" exclaimed the little girl in +delight. "Do it some more, Ted!" + +Thereupon her brother groaned more loudly until Janet stopped him by +dropping two or three chocolate pills into his opened mouth. + +"Oh! Gurr-r-r-r! Ugh! Say, you 'most choked me!" spluttered Ted, as +he sat up and chewed the chocolate. + +"Oh, I didn't mean to," said Janet as she ate a pill or two herself. +"Now you lie down and go to sleep, 'cause I've got a lot more sick +soldiers to go to see." + +"Don't give 'em any of my chocolate pills," cautioned Ted. "I need +'em all to make me get better." + +"I'll only make-believe give them some," promised Janet. + +She and her brother played this game for a while, and Teddy liked it +--as long as the chocolate pills were given him. But when Janet had +only a few left and Teddy was about to say he was tired of lying +down, someone came into the playroom and a voice asked: + +"What you doin'?" + +"Playing soldier," answered Janet. "You mustn't drop your 'g' +letters, Trouble. Mother doesn't like it." + +"I want some chocolate," announced the little boy, whose real name +was William Martin, but who was more often called Trouble--because he +got in so much of it, you know. + +"There's only one pill left. Can I give it to him, Ted?" asked Janet. + +"Yes, Janet. I've had enough. Anyhow, I know something else to play +now. It's lots of fun!" + +"What?" asked Janet eagerly. It was still raining hard and she +wanted her brother to stay in the house with her. + +"We'll play horse," went on Ted. "I'll be a bucking bronco like +those Uncle Frank told us about on his ranch. We'll make a place with +chairs where they keep the cow ponies and the broncos. I forget what +Uncle Frank called it." + +"I know," said Janet. "It's cor--corral." + +"Corral!" exclaimed Ted. "That's it! We'll make a corral of some +chairs and I'll be a bucking bronco. That's a horse that won't let +anybody ride on its back," the little boy explained. + +"I wants a wide!" said Baby William. + +"Well, maybe I'll give you a ride after I get tired of bucking," +said Teddy, thinking about it. + +They made a ring of chairs on the playroom floor, and in this corral +Teddy crept around on his hands and knees, pretending to be a wild +Western pony. Janet tried to catch him and the children had much fun, +Trouble screaming and laughing in delight. + +At last Teddy allowed himself to be caught, for it was hard work +crawling around as he did, and rearing up in the air every now and +then. + +"Give me a wide!" pleaded Trouble. + +"Yes, I'll ride him on my back," offered Teddy, and his baby brother +was put up there by Janet. + +"Now don't go too fast with him, pony," she said. + +"Yes, I wants to wide fast, like we does with Nicknack," declared +Baby William. Nicknack was the Curlytops' pet goat. + +"All right, I'll give you a fast ride," promised Teddy. + +He began crawling about the room with Trouble on his back. The baby +pretended to drive his "horse" by a string which Ted held in his +mouth like reins. + +"Go out in de hall--I wants a big wide," directed Trouble. + +"All right," assented Teddy. Out into the hall he went and then +forgetting, perhaps, that he had his baby brother on his back, Teddy +began to buck--that is flop up and down. + +"Oh--oh! 'top!" begged Trouble. + +"I can't! I'm a Wild-West pony," explained Ted, bucking harder than +ever. + +He hunched himself forward on his hands and knees, and before he +knew it he was at the head of the stairs. Then, just how no one could +say, Trouble gave a yell, toppled off Teddy's back and the next +instant went rolling down the flight, bump, bump, bumping at every +step. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +NICKNACK AND TROUBLE + + +"Oh, Teddy!" screamed Janet. "Oh, Trouble!" + +Teddy did not answer at once. Indeed he had hard work not to tumble +down the stairs himself after his little brother. Ted clung to the +banister, though, and managed to save himself. + +"Oh, he'll be hurt--terrible!" cried Janet, and she tried to get +past her older brother to run downstairs after Trouble. + +But Mrs. Martin, who was in the dining-room talking to Nora Jones, +the maid, heard the noise and ran out into the hall. + +"Oh, children!" she cried. "Teddy--Janet--what's all that noise?" + +"It's Trouble, Mother!" announced Teddy. "I was playing bucking +bronco and--" + +"Trouble fell downstairs!" screamed Janet. + +While everyone was thus calling out at once, Baby William came +flopping head over heels, and partly sidewise, down the padded steps, +landing right at his mother's feet, sitting up as straight as though +in his high-chair. + +"Oh, darling!" cried Mrs. Martin, catching the little fellow up in +her arms, "are you hurt?" + +Trouble was too much frightened to scream or cry. He had his mouth +open but no sound came from it. He was just like the picture of a +sobbing baby. + +"Oh, Nora!" cried Mrs. Martin, as she hurried into the dining-room +with her little boy in her arms. "Trouble fell downstairs! Get ready +to telephone for his father and the doctor in case he's badly hurt," +and then she and the maid began looking over Baby William to find out +just what was the matter with him, while Ted and Janet, much +frightened and very quiet, stood around waiting. + +And while Mrs. Martin is looking over Trouble it will be a good +chance for me to tell those of you who meet the Curlytops for the +first time in this book something about them, and what has happened +to them in the other volumes of this series. + +The first book is named "The Curlytops at Cherry Farm," and in that +I had the pleasure of telling you about Ted and Janet and Trouble +Martin and their father and mother, when they went to Grandpa +Martin's place, called Cherry Farm, which was near the village of +Elmburg, not far from Clover Lake. + +There the children found a goat, which they named Nicknack, and they +kept him as a pet. When hitched to a wagon he gave them many nice +rides. There were many cherry trees on Grandpa Martin's farm, and +when some of the other crops failed the cherries were a great help, +especially when the Lollypop Man turned them into "Chewing Cherry +Candy." + +After a good time on the farm the children had more fun when, as +told in the second book, named "The Curlytops on Star Island," they +went camping with grandpa. On Star Island in Clover Lake they saw a +strange blue light which greatly puzzled them, and it was some time +before they knew what caused it. + +The summer and fall passed and Ted and Janet went home to Cresco, +where they lived, to spend the winter. What happened then is told in +the third volume, called "The Curlytops Snowed In." The big storm was +so severe that no one could get out and even Nicknack was lost +wandering about in the big drifts. + +The Curlytops had a good time, even if they were snowed in. Now +spring had come again, and the children were ready for something +else. But I must tell you a little bit about the family, as well as +about what happened. + +You have already met Ted, Jan and Trouble. Ted's real name was +Theodore, but his mother seldom called him that unless she was quite +serious about something he had done that was wrong. So he was more +often spoken to as Ted or Teddy, and his sister Janet was called Jan. +Though oftener still they were called the "Curlytops," or, if one was +speaking to one or the other he would say "Curlytop." That was +because both Teddy and Janet had such very, very curly hair. + +Ted's and Jan's birthdays came on the same day, but they had been +born a year apart, Teddy being about seven years old and his sister a +year younger. Trouble was aged about three years. + +I have spoken of the curly hair of Teddy and Janet. Unless you had +seen it you would never have believed hair could be so curly! It was +no wonder that even strangers called the children "Curlytops." + +Sometimes, when Mother Martin was combing the hair of the children, +the comb would get tangled and she would have to pull a little to get +it loose. That is one reason Ted never liked to have his hair combed. +Janet's was a little longer than his, but just as curly. + +Trouble's real name, as I have mentioned, was William. His father +sometimes called him "A bunch of trouble," and his mother spoke of +him as "Dear Trouble," while Jan and Ted called him just "Trouble." + +Mr. Martin, whose name was Richard, shortened to Dick by his wife +(whose name was Ruth) owned a store in Cresco, which is in one of our +Eastern states. + +Nora Jones, a cheerful, helpful maid-of-all-work had been in the +Martin family a long while, and dearly loved the children, who were +very fond of her. The Martins had many relatives besides the +children's grandfather and grandmother, but I will only mention two +now. They were Aunt Josephine Miller, called Aunt Jo, who lived at +Clayton and who had a summer bungalow at Mt. Hope, near Ruby Lake. +She was a sister of Mrs. Martin's. Uncle Frank Barton owned a large +ranch near Rockville, Montana. He was Mr. Martin's uncle, but Ted and +Janet also called him their uncle. + +Now that you have met the chief members of the family, and know a +little of what has happened to them in the past you may be interested +to go back to see what the matter is with Trouble. + +His mother turned him over and over in her arms, feeling of him here +and there. Trouble had closed his mouth by this time, having changed +his mind about crying. Instead he was very still and quiet. + +"Trouble, does it hurt you anywhere?" his mother asked him anxiously. + +"No," he said. "Not hurt any place. I wants to wide on Teddy's back +some more." + +"The little tyke!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin with a sigh of relief. "I +don't believe he is hurt a bit." + +"The stairs are real soft since we put the new carpet on them," +remarked Nora. + +"They are well padded," agreed Mrs. Martin. "I guess that's what +kept him from getting hurt. It was like rolling down a feather bed. +But he might have got his arm or leg twisted under him and have +broken a bone. How did he happen to fall?" + +"We were playing Red Cross nurse," began Janet, "and Ted was a +soldier in a tent and--" + +"But how could William fall downstairs if you were playing that sort +of game?" asked her mother. + +"Oh, we weren't playing it then," put in Ted. "We'd changed to +another game. I was a wild Western bronco, like those on Uncle +Frank's ranch, and I was giving Trouble a ride on my back. I gave a +jump when I was near the stairs, and I guess he must have slipped +off." + +"There isn't any guessing about it--he _did_ slip off," said Mrs. +Martin with a smile, as she put Trouble in a chair, having made sure +he was not hurt, and that there was no need of telephoning for his +father or the doctor. "You must be more careful, Teddy. You might have +hurt your little brother." + +"Yes'm," Teddy answered. "I won't do it again." + +"But we want to play something," put in Janet. "It's no fun being in +the house all day." + +"I know it isn't. But I think the rain is going to stop pretty soon. +If you get your rain-coats and rubbers you may go out for a little +while." + +"Me go too?" begged Trouble. + +"Yes, you may go too," agreed his mother. "You'll all sleep better +if you get some fresh air; and it's warm, even if it has been +raining." + +"Maybe we can take Nicknack and have a ride!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"If it stops raining," said his mother. + +Ted, Jan and Trouble ran up and down in front of the house while the +rain fell softly and the big drops dripped from the trees. Then the +clouds broke away, the sun came out, the rain stopped and with shouts +and laughter the children ran to the barn next to which, in a little +stable of his own, Nicknack, the goat, was kept. + +"Come on out, Nicknack!" cried Janet. "You're going to give us a +ride!" + +And Nicknack did, being hitched to the goat-cart in which there was +room and to spare for Janet, Ted and Trouble. Up and down the street +in front of their home the Martin children drove their pet goat. + +"Whee, this is fun!" cried Ted, as he made Nicknack run downhill +with the wagon. + +"Oh, Teddy Martin, don't go so fast!" begged Janet. + +"I like to go fast!" answered her brother. "I'm going to play Wild +West. This is the stage coach and pretty soon the Indians will shoot +at us!" + +"Teddy Martin! if you're going to do that I'm not going to play!" +stormed Janet. "You'll make Trouble fall out and get hurt. Come on, +Trouble! Let us get out!" she cried. Nicknack was going quite fast +down the hill. + +"Wait till we get to the bottom," shouted Ted. "G'lang there, pony!" +he cried to the goat. + +"Let me out!" screamed Janet, "I want to get out." + +At the foot of the hill Teddy stopped the goat and Janet, taking +Trouble with her, got out and walked back to the house. + +"What's the matter now?" asked Mrs. Martin from the porch where she +had come out to get a little fresh air. + +"Ted's playing Wild West in the goat-wagon," explained Janet. + +"Oh, Ted! Don't be so rough!" begged his mother of her little son, +who drove up just then. + +"Oh, I'm only playing Indians and stage coach," he said. "You've got +to go fast when the Indians are after you!" and away he rode. + +"He's awful mean!" declared Janet. + +"I don't know what's come over Ted of late," said Mrs. Martin to her +husband, who came up the side street just then from his store. + +"What's he been doing?" asked Mr. Martin. + +"Oh, he's been pretending he was a bucking bronco, like those Uncle +Frank has on his ranch, and he tossed Trouble downstairs. But the +baby didn't get hurt, fortunately. Now Ted's playing Wild West +stagecoach with Nicknack and Janet got frightened and wouldn't ride." + +"Hum, I see," said Ted's father slowly. "Our boy is getting older, I +guess. He needs rougher play. Well, I think I've just the very thing +to suit him, and perhaps Janet and all of us." + +"What is it?" asked Mrs. Martin, as her husband drew a letter from +his pocket. + +"This is an invitation from Uncle Frank for all of us to come out to +his ranch in Montana for the summer," was the answer. "We have been +talking of going, you know, and now is a good chance. I can leave the +store for a while, and I think it would do us all good--the children +especially--to go West. So if you'd like it, well pack up and go." + +"Go where?" asked Ted, driving around near the veranda in time to +hear his father's last words. + +"Out to Uncle Frank's ranch," said Mr. Martin. + +"How would you like that?" added his mother. + +"Could we have ponies to ride?" asked Ted. + +"Yes, I think so." + +"Oh, what fun!" cried Janet. "I love a pony!" + +"You'd be afraid of them!" exclaimed Ted. + +"I would not! If they didn't jump up and down the way you did with +Trouble on your back I wouldn't be afraid." + +"Pooh! that's the way bucking broncos always do, don't they, Daddy? +I'm going to have a bronco!" + +"Well, well see when we get there," said Daddy Martin. "But since +you all seem to like it, we'll go out West." + +"Can we take Nicknack?" asked Teddy. + +"You won't need him if you have a pony," his father suggested. + +"No, that's so. Hurray! What fun we'll have!" + +"Are there any Indians out there?" asked Janet. + +"Well, a few, I guess," her father answered. "But they're docile +Indians--not wild. They won't hurt you. Now let's go in and talk +about it." + +The Curlytops asked all sorts of questions of their father about +Uncle Frank's ranch, but though he could tell them, in a general way, +what it looked like, Mr. Martin did not really know much about the +place, as he had never been there. + +"But you'll find lots of horses, ponies and cattle there," he said. + +"And can we take Nicknack with us, to ride around the ranch?" asked +Jan, in her turn. + +"Oh, you won't want to do that," her father said. "You'll have +ponies to ride, I think." + +"What'll we do with Nicknack then?" asked Ted. + +"We'll have to leave him with some neighbor until we come back," +answered his father. "I was thinking of asking Mr. Newton to take +care of him. Bob Newton is a kind boy and he wouldn't harm your goat." + +"Yes, Bob is a good boy," agreed Teddy. "I'd like him to have +Nicknack." + +"Then, if it is all right with Mr. Newton, well take the goat over a +few days before we leave for the West," said Mr. Martin. "Bob will +have a chance to get used to Nicknack, and Nicknack to him, before we +go away." + +"Nicknack not come wif us?" asked Trouble, not quite understanding +what the talk was about. + +"No, we'll leave Nicknack here," said his father, as he cuddled the +little fellow up in his lap. Trouble said nothing more just then but, +afterward, Ted remembered that Baby William seemed to be thinking +pretty hard about something. + +A few days later, when some of the trunks had been partly packed, +ready for the trip West, Mr. Martin came home early from the store +and said to Jan and Ted: + +"I think you'd better get your goat ready now and take him over to +Bob's house. I spoke to Mr. Newton about it, and he said there was +plenty of room in his stable for a goat Bob is delighted to have him." + +"But hell give him back to us when we come home, won't he?" asked +Janet. + +"Oh, yes, of course! You won't lose your goat," said her father with +a laugh. + +But when they went out to the stable to harness Nicknack to the +wagon, Ted and Janet rubbed their eyes and looked again. + +"Why, Nicknack is gone!" exclaimed Ted. + +"He is," agreed his sister. "Maybe Bob came and got him." + +"No, he wouldn't do that without telling us," went on Ted. "I wonder +where that goat is?" + +He looked around the stable yard and in the barn. No Nicknack was in +sight. + +When the Curlytops were searching they heard their mother calling to +them from the house, where their father was waiting for them to come +up with Nicknack. He was going over to Mr. Newton's with them. + +"Ho, Ted! Janet! Where are you?" called Mrs. Martin. + +"Out here, Mother!" Teddy answered. + +"Is Trouble there with you?" + +"Trouble? No, he isn't here!" + +"He isn't!" exclaimed his mother. "Where in the world can he be? +Nora says she saw him going out to the barn a little while ago. +Please find him!" + +"Huh!" exclaimed Ted. "Trouble is gone and so is Nicknack! I s'pose +they've gone together!" + +"Well have to look," said Janet. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +OFF FOR THE WEST + + +The Curlytops hurried toward the house, leaving open the empty +little stable in which Nicknack was usually kept. They found their +father and their mother looking around in the yard, Mrs. Martin had a +worried air. + +"Couldn't you find him?" asked Daddy Martin. + +"We didn't look--very much," answered Teddy. "Nicknack is gone, and--" + +"Nicknack gone!" cried Mrs. Martin. "I wonder if that little tyke of +ours has gotten into trouble with him." + +"Nicknack wouldn't make any trouble," declared Jan. "He's such a +nice goat--" + +"Yes, I know!" said Mrs. Martin quickly. "But it looks very much as +though Trouble and Nicknack had gone off together. Is the goat's +harness in the stable?" + +"We didn't look," answered Teddy. + +"The wagon's gone," Janet said. "I looked under the shed for that +and it wasn't there." + +"Then I can just about guess what has happened," said Daddy Martin. +"Trouble heard as talking about taking Nicknack over to Mr. Newton's +house, where he would be kept while we are at Uncle Frank's ranch, +and the little fellow has just about taken the goat over himself." + +"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. "Trouble couldn't hitch the goat +to the wagon and drive off with him." + +"Oh, yes he could, Mother!" said Teddy. "He's seen me and Janet +hitch Nicknack up lots of times, and he's helped, too. At first he +got the straps all crooked, but I showed him how to do it, and I +guess he could 'most hitch the goat up himself now all alone." + +"Then that's what he's done," said Mr. Martin. "Come on, Curlytops, +we'll go over to Mr. Newton's and get Trouble." + +"I hope you find him all right," said Mrs. Martin, with a sigh. + +"Oh, we'll find him all right--don't worry," her husband answered. + +Laughing among themselves at the trick Trouble had played, Janet, +Teddy and Mr. Martin started for the home of Mr. Newton, which was +three or four long streets away, toward the edge of the town. + +On the way they looked here and there, in the yards of houses where +the children often went to play. + +"For," said Mr. Martin, "it might be possible that when Trouble +found he could drive Nicknack, which he could do, as the goat is very +gentle, he might have stopped on the way to play." + +"Yes, he might," said Jan. "He's so cute!" + +But there was no sign of the little boy, nor the goat, either. + +Finally Mr. Newton's house was reached. Into the yard rushed Janet +and Teddy, followed by their father. Bob Newton was making a kite on +the side porch. + +"Hello, Curlytop!" he called to Ted. "Want to help me fly this? +It's going to be a dandy!" + +"Yes, I'll help you," agreed Ted. "But is he here?" + +"Who here?" asked Bob, in some surprise. + +"Nicknack, our goat," answered Teddy. + +"What! Is he lost?" exclaimed Bob in some dismay, for he was +counting on having much fun with the goat when the Curlytops went +West. + +"Nicknack--" began Ted. + +"Have you seen Trouble?" broke in Janet. + +"Is he lost, too?" Bob inquired. "Say, I guess--" + +"Our goat and little boy seem to have gone off together," explained +Mr. Martin to Mrs. Newton who came out on the porch just then. "We'd +been talking before Trouble about bringing Nicknack over here, and +now that both are missing we thought maybe Baby William had brought +the goat over himself." + +"Why, no, he isn't here," said Mrs. Newton slowly. "You didn't see +anything of Trouble and the goat, did you?" she asked her son. + +"No. I've been here making the kite all morning, and I'd have seen +Nicknack all right, and Trouble, too, if they had come here." + +"Well, that's funny!" exclaimed Mr. Martin. "I wonder where he can +have gone?" + +"Maybe Nicknack ran away with him," suggested Bob. + +"Oh, don't say such things!" exclaimed his mother. + +"I don't think that can have happened," returned Mr. Martin, +"Nicknack is a very gentle goat, and Trouble is used to playing with +him all alone. He never yet has been hurt. Of course we are not sure +that the two went away together. Trouble disappeared from the house, +and he was last seen going toward the stable. + +"When Ted and Jan went out to get Nicknack he was gone, too, and so +was the wagon and harness. So we just thought Trouble might have +driven his pet over here." + +"Yes, I think it likely that the two went away together," said Mrs. +Newton; "but they're not here. Bob, put away that kite of yours and +help Mr. Martin and the Curlytops look for Trouble. He may have gone +to Mrs. Simpson's," she went on. "He's often there you know." + +"Yes, but we looked in their yard coming over," put in Ted. "Trouble +wasn't there." + +"That's strange," murmured Bob's mother. "Well, he can't be far, +that's sure, and he can't get lost. Everybody in town knows him and +the goat, and he's sure to be seen sooner or later." + +"I guess so," agreed Mr. Martin. "His mother was a little worried, +though." + +"Yes, I should think she would be. It's horrible to have anything +happen to your children--or fear it may. I'll take off my apron and +help you look." + +"Oh, don't bother," said Mr. Martin. "We'll find him all right." But +Mrs. Newton insisted on joining the search. + +There was a barn on the Newton place--a barn in which Bob was +counting on keeping Nicknack--and this place was first searched lest, +perchance, Trouble might have slipped in there with the goat without +anyone having seen him, having come up through a back alley. + +But there was no goat inside; and Bob, the Curlytops, Mr. Martin and +Mrs. Newton came out again, and looked up and down the street. + +"I'll tell you what we'd better do," said Bob's mother. "Ted, you +come with Bob and me. You know Trouble's ways, and where he would be +most likely to go. Let Janet go with her father, and we'll go up and +down the street, inquiring in all the houses we come to. Your little +brother is sure to be near one of them." + +"That's a good idea," said Mr. Martin. "Jan, you come with me. I +expect your mother will be along any minute now. She won't wait at +home long for us if we don't come back with Trouble." + +So the two parties started on the search, one up and the other down +the street. Bob, Teddy and Mrs. Newton inquired at a number of +houses, but no one in them had seen Trouble and Nicknack that day. +Nor did Janet and her father get any trace of the missing ones. + +"I wonder where he is," murmured Teddy, and he was beginning to feel +afraid that something had happened to Trouble. + +"Let's go down the back street," suggested Bob. "You know there's +quite a lot of wagons and automobiles go along this main street where +we've been looking. Maybe if Trouble hitched up Nicknack and went for +a ride he'd turn down the back street 'cause it's quieter." + +"Yes, he may have done that," agreed Mrs. Newton. + +So down the back street the three went. There were several vacant +lots on this street and as the grass in them was high--tall enough to +hide a small boy and a goat and wagon--Bob said they had better look +in these places. + +This they did. There was nothing in the first two vacant lots, but +in the third--after they had stopped at one or two houses and had not +found the missing ones--Teddy suddenly cried out: + +"Hark!" + +"What'd you hear?" asked Bob. + +"I thought I heard a goat bleating," was the answer. + +"Listen!" whispered Mrs. Newton. + +They kept quiet, and then through the air came the sound: + +"Baa-a-a-a-a!" + +"That's Nicknack!" cried Teddy, rushing forward. + +"I hope your little brother is there, too," said Mrs. Newton. + +And Trouble was. When they got to the lower end of the vacant lot +there, in a tangle of weeds, was the goat-wagon, and Nicknack was in +a tangle of harness fast to it. + +"Look at Trouble!" cried Teddy. + +There lay the little fellow, sound asleep in the goat-wagon, his +head pillowed on his arm, while Nicknack was bleating now and then +between the bites of grass and weeds he was eating. + +"Oh, Trouble!" cried Mrs. Newton as she took him up in her arms. + +"Yes--dis me--I's Trouble," was the sleepy response. "Oh, 'lo, +Teddy," he went on as he saw his brother. "'Lo, Bob. You come to find +me?" + +"I should say we _did_!" cried Bob. "What are you doing here?" + +"Havin' wide," was the answer. "Everybody go 'way--out West--I not +have a goat den. I no want Nicknack to go 'way." + +"Oh, I see what he means!" exclaimed Teddy, after thinking over what +his little brother said. "He heard us talking about bringing Nicknack +over to your house, Bob, to keep him for us. Trouble likes the goat +and I guess he didn't want to leave him behind. Maybe he thought he +could drive him away out to Montana, to Uncle Frank's ranch." + +"Maybe," agreed Bob. "That'd be a long drive, though." + +"I should say so!" agreed Mrs. Newton. "But I guess you're right, +Teddy. Your little brother started off to hide the goat and wagon so +you couldn't leave it behind. He's a funny baby, all right!" + +"And look how he harnessed him!" exclaimed Bob. + +Nicknack really wasn't harnessed. The leather straps and the buckles +were all tangled up on him, but Trouble had managed to make enough of +them stick on the goat's back, and had somehow got part of the +harness fast to the wagon, so Nicknack could pull it along. + +"I had a nice wide," said Trouble, as Bob and Teddy straightened out +the goat's harness. "Den I got sleepy an' Nicknack he got hungry, so +we comed in here." + +"And we've been looking everywhere for you!" exclaimed Mrs. Newton. +"Well, I'm glad we've found you. Come along, now. Ted, you and Bob +hurry along and tell the others. Your mother'll be worried." + +And indeed Mrs. Martin was worried, especially when she met Mr. +Martin and Janet, who had not found Trouble. + +But Teddy and Bob soon met with the other searchers and told them +that Baby "William had been found. + +"Oh, what will you do next?" cried Mrs. Martin, as she clasped the +little fellow in her arms. "Such a fright as you've given us!" + +"No want Nicknack to go 'way!" said Trouble. + +"I guess that's what he did it for--he thought he could hide the +goat so we wouldn't leave him behind," said Daddy Martin. "But we'll +have to, just the same. Trouble won't miss him when we get out on the +ranch." + +So the goat and wagon were left at Bob's house, and though Trouble +cried when he realized what was happening, he soon got over it. + +The next few days were filled with busy preparations toward going +West. Daddy Martin bought the tickets, the packing was completed, +last visits to their playmates were paid by Janet and Teddy, whose +boy and girl friends all said that they wished they too were going +out West to a big ranch. + +"We're going to see cowboys and Indians!" Ted told everyone. + +Then came the last day in Cresco--that is the last day for some time +for the Curlytops. The house was closed, Nora going to stay with +friends. Skyrocket, the dog, and Turnover, the cat, were sent to kind +neighbors, who promised to look after them. Bob had already started +to take care of Nicknack. + +"All aboard!" called the conductor of the train the Curlytops and +the others took. "All aboard!" + +"All aboard for the West!" echoed Daddy Martin, and they were off. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE COLLISION + + +Won't we have fun, Jan, when we get to the ranch?" + +"I guess so, Teddy. But I don't like it about those Indians." + +"Oh, didn't you hear Daddy say they were tame ones--like the kind in +the circus and Wild West show? They won't hurt you, Jan." + +"Well, I don't like 'em. They've got such funny painted faces." + +"Not the tame ones, Jan. Anyhow I'll stay with you." + +The Curlytops were talking as they sat together in the railroad car +which was being pulled rapidly by the engine out toward the big West, +where Uncle Frank's ranch was. In the seat behind them was Mother +Martin, holding Trouble, who was asleep, while Daddy Martin was also +slumbering. + +It was quite a long ride from Cresco to Rockville, which was in +Montana. It would take the Curlytops about four days to make the +trip, perhaps longer if the trains were late. But they did not mind, +for they had comfortable coaches in which to travel. When they were +hungry there was the dining-car where they could get something to +eat, and when they were sleepy there was the sleeping-car, in which +the colored porter made such funny little beds out of the seats. + +Jan and Ted thought it quite wonderful. For, though they had +traveled in a sleeping-car before, and had seen the porter pull out +the seats, let down the shelf overhead and take out the blankets and +pillows to make the bed, still they never tired of watching. + +There were many other things to interest the Curlytops and Trouble +on this journey to Uncle Frank's ranch. Of course there was always +something to see when they looked out of the windows of the cars. At +times the train would pass through cities, stopping at the stations +to let passengers get off and on. But it was not the cities that +interested the children most. They liked best to see the fields and +woods through which they passed. + +In some of the fields were horses, cows or sheep, and while the +children did not see any such animals in the woods, except perhaps +where the wood was a clump of trees near a farm, they always hoped +they might. + +Very often, when the train would rattle along through big fields, +and then suddenly plunge into a forest, Jan would call: + +"Maybe we'll see one now, Ted!" + +"Oh, maybe so!" he would exclaim. + +Then the two Curlytops would flatten their noses against the window +and peer out. + +"What are you looking for?" asked Mother Martin, the first time she +saw the children do this. + +"Indians," answered Teddy, never turning around, for the train was +still in the wood and he did not want to miss any chance. + +"Indians!" exclaimed his mother, "Why, what in the world put into +your head the idea that we should see Indians?" + +"Well, Uncle Frank said there were Indians out West, even if they +weren't wild ones," answered Teddy, "and me and Jan wants to see +some." + +"Oh, you won't find any Indians around _here_," said Daddy Martin with +a laugh, as he laid aside the paper he was reading. "It is true there +are some out West, but we are not there yet, and, if we were, you +would hardly find the Indians so near a railroad." + +"Can't we ever see any?" Jan wanted to know. "I don't just like +Indians, 'cause they've always got a gun or a knife--I mean in +pictures," she hastened to add. "Course I never saw a real Indian, +'ceptin' maybe in a circus." + +"You'll see some real ones after a while," her mother told her, and +then the children stopped pressing their noses flat against the car +windows, for the train had come out of the wood and was nearing a +large city. There, Jan and Ted felt sure, no Indians would be seen. + +"But we'll keep watch," said Jan to her brother, "and maybe I'll see +an Indian first." + +"And maybe I will! We'll both watch!" he agreed. + +Something else that gave the children enjoyment was the passage +through the train, every now and then, of the boy who sold candy, +books and magazines. He would pass along between the seats, dropping +into them, or into the laps of the passengers, packages of candy, or +perhaps a paper or book. This was to give the traveler time to look +at it, and make up his or her mind whether or not to buy it. + +A little later the boy would come along to collect the things he had +left, and get the money for those the people kept for themselves. Ted +and Jan were very desirous, each time, that the boy should sell +something, and once, when he had gone through the car and had taken +in no money, he looked so disappointed that Jan whispered to her +father: + +"Won't you please buy something from him?" + +"Buy what?" asked Mr. Martin. + +"A book or some candy from the newsboy," repeated the little girl. +"He looks awful sorry." + +"Hum! Well, it is too bad if he didn't sell anything," said Mr. +Martin. "I guess I can buy something. What would you like, something +to read or something to eat?" + +"Some pictures to look at," suggested Teddy. "Then we can show 'em +to Trouble. Mother just gave us some cookies." + +"Then I guess you've had enough to eat," laughed Mr. Martin. "Here, +boy!" he called. "Have you any picture books for these Curlytops of +mine?" + +"Yes, I have some nice ones," answered the boy, and with a smile on +his face he went into the baggage car, where he kept his papers, +candy and other things, and soon came back with a gaily colored book, +at the sight of which Ted and Jan uttered sighs of delight. + +"Dat awful p'etty!" murmured Trouble, and indeed the book did have +nice pictures in it. + +Mr. Martin paid for it, and then Ted and Jan enjoyed very much +looking at it, with Trouble in the seat between them. He insisted on +seeing each picture twice, the page being no sooner turned over than +he wanted it turned back again. + +But at last even he was satisfied, and then Ted and Jan went back to +their first game of looking out of the window for Indians or other +sights that might interest them. + +Trouble slipped out of his seat between his brother and sister and +went to a vacant window himself. For a time he had good fun playing +with the window catch, and Mrs. Martin let him do this, having made +sure, at first, that he could not open the sash. Then they all forgot +Trouble for a while and he played by himself, all alone in one of the +seats. + +A little later, when Teddy and Janet were tired of looking for the +Indians which they never saw, they were talking about the good times +they had had with Nicknack, and wondering if Uncle Frank would have a +goat, or anything like it, when Trouble came toddling up to their +seat. + +"What you got?" asked Teddy of his little brother, noticing that +Baby William was chewing something. "What you got, Trouble?" + +"Tandy," he said, meaning candy, of course. + +"Oh, where'd you get it?" chimed in Jan. + +"Nice boy gived it to me," Trouble answered. "Here," and he held the +package out to his brother and sister. + +"Oh, wasn't that good of him!" exclaimed Jan. "It's nice chocolate +candy, too. I'll have another piece, Trouble." + +They all had some and they were eating the sweet stuff and having a +good time, when they saw their father looking at them. There was a +funny smile on his face, and near him stood the newsboy, also smiling. + +"Trouble, did you open a box of candy the boy left in your seat?" +asked Mr. Martin. + +"Yes, he's got some candy," answered Jan. "He said the boy gave it +to him." + +"I didn't mean for him to _open_ it," the boy said. "I left it +in his seat and I thought he'd ask his father if he could have it. +But when I came to get it, why, it was gone." + +"Oh, what a funny little Trouble!" laughed Mother Martin. "He +thought the boy meant to give the candy to him, I guess. Well, Daddy, +I think you'll have to pay for it" + +And so Mr. Martin did. The candy was not a gift after all, but +Trouble did not know that. However, it all came out right in the end. + +They had been traveling two days, and now, toward evening of the +second day, the Curlytops were talking together about what they would +do when they got to Uncle Frank's ranch. + +"I hope they have lots to eat there," sighed Ted, when he and Jan +had gotten off the subject of Indians. "I'm hungry right now." + +"So'm I," added his sister. "But they'll call us to supper pretty +soon." + +The children always eagerly waited for the colored waiter to come +through the coaches rumbling out in his bass voice: + +"First call fo' supper in de dinin'-car!" + +Or he might say "dinner" or "breakfast," or make it the "last call," +just as it happened. Now it was time for the first supper call, and +in a little while the waiter came in. + +"Eh? What's that? Time for supper _again_?" cried Daddy Martin, +awakening from a nap. + +Trouble stretched and yawned in his mother's arms. + +"I's hungry!" he said. + +"So'm I!" cried Ted and Jan together. + +"Shall we have good things to eat on Uncle Frank's ranch?" asked +Teddy, as they made ready to walk ahead to the dining-car. + +"Of course!" his mother laughed. "Why are you worrying about that?" + +"Oh, I just wanted to know," Teddy answered. "We had so many good +things at Cherry Farm and when we were camping with grandpa that I +want some out on the ranch." + +"Well, I think we can trust to Uncle Frank," said Mr. Martin. "But +if you get too hungry, Teddy, you can go out and lasso a beefsteak or +catch a bear or deer and have him for breakfast." + +"Is there bears out there, too?" asked Janet in a good deal of +excitement. "Bears and Indians?" + +"Well, there may be a few bears here and there," her father said +with a smile, "but they won't hurt you if you don't hurt them. Now +we'll go and see what they have for supper here." + +To the dining-car they went, and as they passed through one of the +coaches on their way Teddy and Janet heard a woman say to her little +girl: + +"Look at those Curlytops, Ethel. Don't you wish you could have some +of their curl put into your hair?" + +It was evening and the sun was setting. As the train sped along the +Curlytops could look through the windows off across the fields and +woods through which they passed. + +"Isn't it just wonderful," said Mother Martin, "to think of sitting +down to a nice meal which is being cooked for us while the train goes +so fast? Imagine, children, how, years ago, the cowboys and hunters +had to go on horses all the distance out West, and carry their food +on their pony's back or in a wagon called a prairie schooner. How +much easier and quicker and more comfortable it is to travel this +way." + +"I'd like to ride on a pony," said Teddy. "I wouldn't care how slow +he went." + +"I imagine you wouldn't like it when night came," said his mother, +as she moved a plate so the waiter could set glasses of milk in front +of the children. "You wouldn't like to sleep on the ground with only +a blanket for a bed, would you?" + +"'Deed I would!" declared Teddy. "I wish I had--" + +Just then the train went around a curve, and, as it was traveling +very fast, the milk which Teddy was raising to his mouth slopped and +spilled down in his lap. + +"Oh, Teddy!" cried his mother. + +"I--I couldn't help it!" he exclaimed, as he wiped up as much of the +milk as he could on a napkin with which the waiter hastened to him. + +"No, we know it was the train," said Daddy Martin. "It wouldn't have +happened if you had been traveling on pony-back, and had stopped to +camp out for the night before you got your supper; would it, Ted?" he +asked with a smile. + +"No," said the little boy. "I wish we could camp out and hunt +Indians!" + +"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed his mother. "Don't get such foolish +notions in your head. Anyway there aren't any Indians to hunt on +Uncle Frank's ranch, are there, Dick?" she asked her husband. + +"Well, no, I guess not," he answered slowly. "There are some Indians +on their own ranch, or government reservation, not far from where +Uncle Frank has his horses and cattle, but I guess the Redmen never +bother anyone." + +"Can we go to see 'em?" asked Teddy. + +"I guess so," said Mr. Martin. + +"Me go, too! Me like engines," murmured Trouble, who had also +spilled a little milk on himself. + +"He thinks we're talking about _engines_--the kind that pull this +train!" laughed Ted. "I don't believe he ever saw a real _Indian."_ + +"No, Indians do not walk the streets of Cresco," said Mrs. Martin. +"But finish your suppers, children. Others are waiting to use the +table and we must not keep them too long." + +There were many travelers going West--not all as far as the +Curlytops though--and as there was not room in the dining-car for all +of them to sit down at once they had to take turns. That is why the +waiter made one, two, and sometimes three calls for each meal, as he +went through the different coaches. + +Supper over, the Martins went back to their place in the coach in +which they had ridden all day. They would soon go into the beds, or +berths, as they are called, to sleep all night. In the morning they +would be several hundred miles nearer Uncle Frank's ranch. + +The electric lights were turned on, and then, for a while, Jan, Ted +and the others sat and talked. + +They talked about the fun they had had when at Cherry Farm, of the +good times camping with grandpa and how they were snowed in, when +they wondered what had become of the strange lame boy who had called +at Mr. Martin's store one day. + +"I wish Hal Chester could come out West with us" said Teddy, as the +porter came to tell them he would soon make up their beds. "He'd like +to hunt Indians with me." + +Hal was a boy who had been cured of lameness at a Home for Crippled +Children, not far from Cherry Farm. + +"I suppose you'll _dream_ of Indians," said Teddy's mother to +him. "You've _talked_ about them all day. But get ready for bed, +now. Traveling is tiresome for little folks." + +Indeed after the first day Ted and Janet found it so. They wished, +more than once, that they could get out and run about, but they could +not except when the train stopped longer than usual in some big city. +Then their father would take them to the platform for a little run up +and down. + +True they could walk up and down the aisle of the car, but this was +not much fun, as the coach swayed so they were tossed against the +sides of the seats and bruised. + +"I'll be glad when we get to Uncle Frank's ranch," said Janet as she +crawled into the berth above her mother, who slept with Trouble. + +"So'll I," agreed Teddy, who climbed up the funny little ladder to +go to bed in the berth above his father. "I want a pony ride!" + +On through the night rumbled and roared the train, the whistle +sounding mournfully in the darkness as the engineer blew it at the +crossings. + +Ted and Janet were sleeping soundly, Janet dreaming she had a new +doll, dressed like an Indian papoose, or baby, while Ted dreamed he +was on a wild pony that wanted to roll over and over instead of +galloping straight on. + +Suddenly there was a loud crash that sounded through the whole +train. The engine whistled shrilly and then came a jar that shook up +everyone. Teddy found himself rolling out of his berth and he grabbed +the curtains just in time to save himself. + +"Oh, Daddy!" he cried, "what's the matter?" + +"What is it?" called Jan from her berth, while women in the coach +were screaming and men ere calling to one another. + +"What is it, Dick?" cried Mrs. Martin. + +"I think we've had a collision," answered her husband. + +"Did our train bunk into another?" asked Ted. + +"I'm afraid so," replied his father. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +AT RING ROSY RANCH + + +There was so much noise in the sleeping car where the Curlytops and +others had been peacefully traveling through the night, that, at +first, it was hard to tell what had happened. + +All that anyone knew was that there had been a severe jolt--a "bunk" +Teddy called it--and that the train had come to a sudden stop. So +quickly had it stopped, in fact, that a fat man, who was asleep in a +berth just behind Mr. Martin, had tumbled out and now sat in the +aisle of the car, gazing about him, a queer look on his sleepy face, +for he was not yet fully awake. + +"I say!" cried the fat man. "Who pushed me out of bed?" + +Even though they were much frightened, Mrs. Martin and some of the +other men and women could not help laughing at this. And the laughter +did more to quiet them than anything else. + +"Well, I guess no one here is much hurt--if at all," said Daddy +Martin, as he put on a pair of soft slippers he had ready in the +little hammock that held his clothes inside the berth. "I'll go and +see if I can find out what the matter is." + +"An', Daddy, bring me suffin t'eat!" exclaimed Trouble, poking his +head out between the curtains of the berth where he had been sleeping +with his mother when the collision happened. + +"There's one boy that's got sense," said a tall thin man, who was +helping the fat man to get to his feet "He isn't hurt, anyhow." + +"Thank goodness, no," said Mrs. Martin, who, as had some of the +other women, had on a dressing gown. Mrs. Martin was looking at +Trouble, whom she had taken up in her arms. "He hasn't a scratch on +him," she said, "though I heard him slam right against the side of +the car. He was next to the window." + +"It's a mercy we weren't all of us tossed out of the windows when +the train stopped so suddenly, the way it did," said a little old +woman. + +"It's a mercy, too," smiled another woman who had previously made +friends with Jan and Teddy, "that the Curlytops did not come hurtling +down out of those upper berths." + +Mr. Martin, after making sure his family was all right, partly +dressed and went out with some of the other men. The train had come +to a standstill, and Jan and Ted, looking out of the windows of their +berths, could see men moving about in the darkness outside with +flaring torches. + +"Maybe it's robbers," said Teddy in a whisper. + +"Robbers don't stop trains," objected Janet + +"Yes they do!" declared her brother positively, "Train robbers do. +Don't they, Mother?" + +"Oh, don't talk about such things now, Teddy boy. Be thankful you +are all right and hope that no one is hurt in the collision." + +"That's what I say!" exclaimed the fat man. "So it's a collision, is +it? I dreamed we were in a storm and that I was blown out of bed." + +"Well, you fell out, which is much the same thing," said the thin +man. "Our car doesn't seem to be hurt, anyhow." + +Ted and Janet came out into the aisle in their pajamas. They looked +all about them but, aside from seeing a number of men and women who +were greatly excited, nothing else appeared to be the matter. Then in +came their father with some of the other men. + +"It isn't a bad collision," said Daddy Martin. "Our engine hit a +freight car that was on a side track, but too close to our rails to +be passed safely. It jarred up our engine and the front cars quite a +bit, and our engine is off the track, but no one is hurt." + +"That's good!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. "I mean that no one is hurt." + +"How are they going to get the engine back on the track?" Teddy +wanted to know. "Can't I go out and watch 'em?" + +"I want to go, too!" exclaimed Janet. + +"Indeed you can't--in the dark!" exclaimed her father. "Besides, the +railroad men don't want you in the way. They asked us all to go to +our coaches and wait. They'll soon have the engine back on the rails +they said." + +Everyone was awake now, and several children in the car, like +Trouble, were hungry. The porter who had been hurrying to and fro +said he could get the children some hot milk from the dining-car, and +this he did. + +Some of the grown folks wanted coffee and sandwiches, and these +having been brought in, there was quite a merry picnic in the coach, +even if the train had been in a collision. + +Then there was much puffing and whistling of the engine. The +Curlytops, looking out of the window again, saw more men hurrying +here and there with flaring torches which flickered and smoked. These +were the trainmen helping to get the engine back on the rails, which +they did by using iron wedges or "jumpers," much as a trolley car in +your city streets is put back on the rails once it slips off. + +At last there was another "bunk" to the train, as Teddy called it. +At this several women screamed. + +"It's all right," said Daddy Martin. "They've got the engine back on +the rails and it has just backed up to couple on, or fasten itself, +to the cars again. Now we'll go forward again." + +And they did--in a little while. It did not take the Curlytops or +Trouble long to fall asleep once more, but some of the older people +were kept awake until morning, they said afterward. They were afraid +of another collision. + +But none came, and though the train was a little late the accident +really did not amount to much, though it might have been a bad one +had the freight car been a little farther over on the track so the +engine had run squarely into it. + +All the next day and night the Curlytops traveled in the train, and +though Jan and Ted liked to look out of the windows, they grew tired +of this after a while and began to ask: + +"When shall we be at Uncle Frank's ranch?" + +"Pretty soon now," said their father. + +I will not tell you all that happened on the journey to the West. +Truth to say there was not much except the collision. The Curly-tops +ate their meals, drank cupful after cupful of water, and Trouble did +the same, for children seem to get very thirsty when they travel-- +much more so than at home. + +Then, finally, one afternoon, after a long stop when a new engine +was attached to the train, Daddy Martin said: + +"Well be at Rockville in an hour now. So we'd better begin to get +together our things." + +"Shall we be at Uncle Frank's ranch in an hour?" asked Teddy. + +"No, but well be at Rockville. From there we go out over the +prairies in a wagon." + +"A wagon with ponies?" asked Janet. + +"Yes, real Western ponies," said her father. "Then well be at the +ranch." + +And it happened just that way. On puffed the train. Then the porter +came to help the Martin family off at Rockville. + +"Rockville! Rockville! All out for Rockville!" joked Daddy Martin. + +"Hurray!" cried Teddy. "Here we are!" + +"And I see Uncle Frank!" exclaimed Janet, looking from the window +toward the station as the train slowed up to stop. + +Out piled the Curlytops, and into the arms of Uncle Frank they +rushed. He caught them up and kissed them one after the other--Teddy, +Janet and Trouble. + +"Well, well!" he cried, "I'm glad to see you! Haven't changed a bit +since you were snowed in! Now pile into the wagon and well get right +out to Circle O Ranch." + +"Where's that?" asked Teddy. + +"Why, that's the name of my ranch," said Uncle Frank. "See, there's +the sign of it," and he pointed to the flank of one of the small +horses, or ponies, hitched to his wagon. Ted and Janet saw a large +circle in which was a smaller letter O. + +"We call it Circle O," explained the ranchman. "Each place in the +West that raises cattle or horses has a certain sign with which the +animals are branded, or marked, so their owners can tell them from +others in case they get mixed up. My mark is a circle around an O." + +"It looks like a ring-around-the-rosy," said Janet. + +"Say! So it does!" laughed Uncle Frank. "I never thought of that. +Ring Rosy Ranch! That isn't a half bad name! Guess I'll call mine +that after this. Come on to Ring Rosy Ranch!" he invited as he +laughed at the Curlytops. + +And the name Janet gave Uncle Frank's place in fun stuck to it, so +that even the cowboys began calling their ranch "Ring Rosy," instead +of "Circle O." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +COWBOY FUN + + +Into the big wagon piled the Curlytops, Mrs. Martin and Trouble, +while Daddy Martin and Uncle Frank went to see about the baggage. + +Jan and Ted looked curiously about them. It was the first time they +had had a chance to look quietly since they had started on the +journey, for they had been traveling in the train nearly a week, it +seemed. + +What they saw was a small railroad station, set in the midst of big +rolling fields. There was a water tank near the station, and not far +from the tank was a small building in which a pump could be heard +chug-chugging away. + +"But where is the ranch?" asked Janet of her brother. "I don't see +any cows and horses." + +"Dere's horses," stated Trouble, pointing to the two sturdy ponies +hitched to the wagon. + +"Yes, I know" admitted Janet. "But Uncle Frank said he had more'n a +hundred horses and--" + +"And a thousand steers--that's cattle," interrupted Ted. "I don't +see any, either. Maybe we got off at the wrong station, Mother." + +"No, you're all right," laughed Mrs. Martin. "Didn't Uncle Frank +meet us and didn't Daddy tell us we'd have to drive to the ranch?" + +"What's the matter now, Curlytops?" asked their father's uncle, as +the two men came back from having seen about the baggage, which had +arrived safely. "What are you two youngsters worrying about, Teddy +and Janet?" + +"They're afraid we're at the wrong place because they can't see the +ranch," answered their mother. + +"Oh, that's over among the hills," said Uncle Frank, waving his hand +toward some low hills that were at the foot of some high mountains. +"It wouldn't do," he went on, "to have a ranch too near a railroad +station. The trains might scare the horses and cattle. You will soon +be there, Curlytops. We'll begin to travel in a minute." + +Ted and Janet settled themselves in the seat, where they were side +by side, and looked about them. Suddenly Janet clasped her brother by +the arm and exclaimed: + +"Look, Ted! Look!" + +"Where?" he asked. + +"Right over there--by the station. It's an _Indian_!" + +"A real one?" asked Teddy, who, at first, did not see where his +sister was pointing. + +"He _looks_ like a real one," Janet answered. "He's _alive_, 'cause +he's moving!" + +She snuggled closer to her brother. Then Teddy saw where Janet +pointed. A big man, whose face was the color of a copper cent, was +walking along the station platform. He was wrapped in a dirty +blanket, but enough of him could be seen to show that he was a Redman. + +"Is that a _real_ Indian, Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy in great +excitement. + +"What? Him? Oh, yes, he's a real Indian all right. There's a lot of +'em come down to the station to sell baskets and beadwork to the +people who go through on the trains." + +"Is he a _tame_ Indian?" the little boy next wanted to know. + +"Oh, he's 'tame' all right. Hi there, Running Horse!" called Uncle +Frank to the copper-faced man in the blanket, "sell many baskets to-day?" + +"Um few. No good business," answered the Indian in a sort of grunt. + +"Oh, do you know him?" asked Ted in surprise. + +"Oh, yes. Running Horse often comes to the ranch when he's hungry. +There's a reservation of the Indians not far from our place. They +won't hurt you, Jan; don't be afraid," said Uncle Frank, as he saw +that the little girl kept close to Teddy. + +"Was he wild once?" she asked timidly. + +"Why, yes; I guess you might have called him a wild Indian once," +her uncle admitted. "He's pretty old and I shouldn't wonder but what +he had been on the warpath against the white settlers." + +"Oh!" exclaimed Janet. "Maybe he'll get wild again!" + +"Oh, no he won't!" laughed Uncle Frank. "He's only too glad now to +live on the reservation and sell the baskets the squaws make. The +Indian men don't like to work." + +Running Horse, which was the queer name the Indian had chosen for +himself, or which had been given him, walked along, wrapped in his +blanket, though the day was a warm one. Perhaps he thought the +blanket kept the heat out in summer and the cold in winter. + +"Get along now, ponies!" cried Uncle Frank, and the little horses +began to trot along the road that wound over the prairies like a +dusty ribbon amid the green grass. + +On the way to Ring Rosy Ranch Uncle Frank had many questions to ask, +some of the children and some of Mr. and Mrs. Martin. Together they +laughed about the things that had happened when they were all snowed +in. + +"Tell Uncle Frank of Trouble's trying to hide Nicknack away so we +wouldn't leave him behind," suggested Mrs. Martin. + +"Ha! Ha! That was pretty good!" exclaimed the ranchman when Ted and +Janet, by turns, had told of Trouble's being found asleep in the goat +-wagon. "Well, it's too bad you couldn't bring Nicknack with you. He'd +like it out on the ranch, I'm sure, but it would be too long a +journey for him. You'll have rides enough--never fear!" + +"Pony rides?" asked Teddy. + +"Pony rides in plenty!" laughed Uncle Frank. "We'll soon be there +now, and you can see the ranch from the top of the next hill." + +The prairies were what are called "rolling" lard. That is there were +many little hills and hollows, and the country seemed to be like the +rolling waves of the ocean, if they had suddenly been made still. + +Sometimes the wagon, drawn by the two little horses, would be down +in a hollow, and again it would be on top of a mound-like hill from +which a good view could be had. + +Reaching the top of one hill, larger than the others, Uncle Frank +pointed off in the distance and said: + +"There's Circle O Ranch, Curlytops, or, as Jan has named it, Ring +Rosy Ranch. We'll be there in a little while." + +The children looked. They saw, off on the prairie, a number of low, +red buildings standing close together. Beyond the buildings were big +fields, in which were many small dots. + +"What are the dots?" asked Janet. + +"Those are my horses and cattle--steers we call the last," explained +Uncle Frank. + +"They are eating grass to get fat You'll soon be closer to them." + +"Are the Indians near here?" Teddy inquired. + +"No, not very near. It's a day's ride to their reservation. But +don't worry about them. They won't bother you if you don't bother +them," said Uncle Frank. + +Teddy was not fully satisfied with this answer, for he hoped very +much that the Indians would "bother him"--at least, he thought that +was what he wanted. + +When the Curlytops drew closer to the ranch they could see that one +of the buildings was a house, almost like their own in the East, only +not so tall. It was all one story, as were the other buildings, some +of which were stables for the horses and some sleeping places, or +"bunk houses," for the cowboys, while from one building, as they +approached closer, there came the good smell of something cooking. + +"That's the cook's place," said Uncle Frank, pointing with his whip. +"All the cowboys love him, even if he is a Chinaman." + +"Have you a Chinese cook?" asked Mrs. Martin. + +"Yes, and he's a good one," answered Uncle Frank. "Wait until you +taste how he fries chicken." + +"I hope we taste some soon," said Daddy Martin. "This ride across +the prairies has made me hungry." + +"I hungry, too!" exclaimed Trouble. "I wants bread an' milk!" + +"And you shall have all you want!" laughed the ranchman. "We've +plenty of milk." + +"Oh, this is a dandy place!" exclaimed Teddy, as the wagon drove up +to the ranch house. "Well have lots of fun here, Janet!" + +"Maybe we will, if--if the Indians don't get us," she said. + +"Pooh! I'm not afraid of them," boasted Teddy, and then something +happened. + +All at once there came a lot of wild yells, and sounds as if a +Fourth-of-July celebration of the old-fashioned sort were going on. +There was a popping and a banging, and then around the corner of the +house rode a lot of roughly-dressed men on ponies which kicked up a +cloud of dust. + +"Ki-yi! Ki-yi! Yippi-i-yip!" yelled the men. + +"Bang! Bang! Bang!" exploded their revolvers. + +"Oh, dear!" screamed Janet. + +Teddy turned a little pale, but he did not make a sound. + +"What is it?" asked Mrs. Martin, hugging Trouble and his sister +closer to her. "Oh, what is it?" + +"Don't be afraid!" laughed Uncle Frank. "Those are the cowboys +making you welcome to Ring Rosy Ranch. That's their way of having +fun!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +BAD NEWS + + +On came the cowboys, yelling, shouting and shooting off their big +revolvers which made noises like giant firecrackers. The men, some of +whom wore big leather "pants," as Teddy said afterward, and some of +whom had on trousers that seemed to be made from the fleece of sheep, +swung their hats in the air. Some of them even stood up in their +saddles, "just like circus riders!" as Janet sent word to Aunt Jo, +who was spending the summer at Mt. Hope. + +"Are they shooting real bullets, Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy, as soon +as the noise died down a little and the cowboys were waving their +hats to the Curlytops and the other visitors to Ring Rosy Ranch. + +"Real bullets? Bless your heart, no!" exclaimed Mr. Barton. "Of +course the cowboys sometimes have real bullets in their 'guns,' as +they call their revolvers, but they don't shoot 'em for fun." + +"What makes them shoot?" asked Janet. + +"Well, sometimes it's to scare away bad men who might try to steal +my cattle or horses, and again it's to scare the cattle themselves. +You see," explained Uncle Frank, while the cowboys jumped from their +horses and went to the bunk house to wash and get ready for supper, +"a ranch is just like a big pasture that your Grandfather Martin has +at Cherry Farm. Only my ranch is ever so much bigger than his +pastures, even all of them put together. And there are very few +fences around any of my fields, so the cattle or horses might easily +stray off, or be taken. + +"Because of that I have to hire men--cowboys they are called--to +watch my cattle and horses, to see that they do not run away and that +no white men or Indians come and run away with them. + +"But sometimes the cattle take it into their heads to run away +themselves. They get frightened--'stampeded' we call it--and they +don't care which way they run. Sometimes a prairie fire will make +them run and again it may be bad men--thieves. The cowboys have to +stop the cattle from running away, and they do it by firing revolvers +in front of them. So it wouldn't do to have real bullets in their +guns when the cowboys are firing that way. They use blank cartridges, +just as they did now to salute you when they came in." + +"Is that what they did?" asked Teddy. "Saluted us?" + +"That's it. They just thought they'd have a little fun with you--see +if they could scare you, maybe, because you're what they call a +'tenderfoot,' Teddy." + +"Pooh, I wasn't afraid!" declared Teddy, perhaps forgetting a +little. "I liked it. It was like the Fourth of July!" + +"I didn't like it," said Janet, with a shake of her curly head. "And +what's a soft-foot, Uncle Frank?" + +"A soft-foot? Oh, ho! I see!" he laughed. "You mean a tenderfoot! +Well, that's what the Western cowboys call anybody from the East-- +where you came from. It means, I guess, that their feet are tender +because they walk so much and don't ride a horse the way cowboys do. +You see out here we folks hardly ever walk. If we've only got what +you might call a block to go we hop on a horse and ride. So we get +out of the way of walking. + +"Now you Eastern folk walk a good bit--that is when you aren't +riding in street cars and in your automobiles, and I suppose that's +why the cowboys call you tender-feet. You don't mind, though, do you, +Teddy?" + +"Nope," he said. "I like it. But I'm going to learn to ride a pony." + +"So'm I!" exclaimed Janet. + +"I wants a wide, too!" cried Trouble. "Can't I wide, Uncle Frank? We +hasn't got Nicknack, but maybe you got a goat," and he looked up at +his father's uncle. + +"No, I haven't a goat," laughed Uncle Frank, "though there might be +some sheep on some of the ranches here. But I guess ponies will suit +you children better. When you Curlytops learn to ride you can take +Trouble up on the saddle with you and give him a ride. He's too small +to ride by himself yet." + +"I should say he was, Uncle Frank!" cried Mrs. Martin. "Don't let +_him_ get on a horse!" + +"I won't," promised Mr. Barton with a laugh. But Trouble said: + +"I likes a pony! I wants a wide, Muz-zer!" + +"You may ride with me when I learn," promised Janet. + +"Dat nice," responded William. + +Uncle Frank's wife, whom everyone called Aunt Millie, came out of +the ranch house and welcomed the Curlytops and the others. She had +not seen them for a number of years. + +"My, how big the children are!" she cried as she looked at Janet and +Teddy. "And here's one I've never seen," she went on, as she caught +Trouble up in her arms and kissed him. + +"Now come right in. Hop Sing has supper ready for you." + +"Hop Sing!" laughed Mother Martin. "That sounds like a new record on +the phonograph." + +"It's the name of our Chinese cook," explained Aunt Millie, "and a +very good one he is, too!" + +"Are the cowboys coming in to eat with us?" asked Teddy, as they all +went into the house, where the baggage had been carried by Uncle +Frank and Daddy Martin. + +"Oh, no. They eat by themselves in their own building. Not that we +wouldn't have them, for they're nice boys, all of them, but they'd +rather be by themselves." + +"Do any Indians come in?" asked Janet, looking toward the door. + +"Bless your heart, no!" exclaimed Aunt Millie. "We wouldn't want +them, for they're dirty and not at all nice, though some of them do +look like pictures when they wrap themselves around in a red blanket +and stick feathers in their hair. We don't want any Indians. Now tell +me about your trip." + +"We were in a collision!" cried Janet. + +"In the middle of the night," added Teddy. + +"An' I mos' fell out of my bed!" put in Trouble. + +Then, amid laughter, the story of the trip from the East was told. +Meanwhile Hop Sing, the Chinese cook, cried out in his funny, squeaky +voice that supper was getting cold. + +"Well, well eat first and talk afterward," said Uncle Frank, as he +led the way to the table. "Come on, folks. I expect you all have good +appetites. That's what we're noted for at Ring Rosy Ranch." + +"What's that?" asked Aunt Millie. + +"Have you given Circle O a new name?" + +"One of the Curlytops did," chuckled Uncle Frank. "They said my +branding sign looked just like a ring-round-the-rosy, so I'm going to +call the ranch that after this." + +"It's a nice name," said Aunt Millie. "And now let me see you +Curlytops--and Trouble, too--though his hair isn't frizzy like Ted's +and Janet's--let me see you eat until you get as fat as a Ring Rosy +yourselves. If you don't eat as much as you can of everything, Hop +Sing will feel as though he was not a good cook." + +The Curlytops were hungry enough to eat without having to be told +to, and Hop Sing, looking into the dining-room now and then from +where he was busy in the kitchen, smiled and nodded his head as he +said to the maid. + +"Lil' chillens eat velly good!" + +"Indeed they do eat very good," said the maid, as she carried in +more of the food which Hop Sing knew so well how to cook. + +After supper the Curlytops and the others sat out on the broad porch +of the ranch house. Off to one side were the other buildings, some +where the farming tools were kept, for Uncle Frank raised some grain +as well as cattle, and some where the cowboys lived, as well as +others where they stabled their horses. + +"I know what let's do," said Jan, when she and her brother had sat +on the porch for some time, listening to the talk of the older folks, +and feeling very happy that they were at Uncle Frank's ranch, where, +they felt sure, they could have such good times. + +"What can we do?" asked Teddy. Very often he let Jan plan some fun, +and I might say that she got into trouble doing this as many times as +her brother did. Jan was a regular boy, in some things. But then I +suppose any girl is who has two nice brothers, even if one is little +enough to be called "Baby." + +"Let's go and take a walk," suggested Jan. "My legs feel funny yet +from ridin' in the cars so much." + +"Ri-_ding_!" yelled Teddy gleefully. "That's the time you forgot your +g, Janet." + +"Yes, I did," admitted the little girl. "But there's so much to look +at here that it's easy to forget. My forgetter works easier than +yours does, Ted." + +"It does not!" + +"It does, too!" + +"It does not!" + +"I--say--it--does!" and Janet was very positive. + +"Now, now, children!" chided their mother. "That isn't nice. What +are you disputing about now?" + +"Jan says her forgetter's better'n mine!" cried Ted. + +"And it is," insisted Janet. "I can forget lots easier than Ted." + +"Well, forgetting isn't a very good thing to do," said Mr. Martin. +"Remembering is better." + +"Oh, that's what I meant!" said Jan. "I thought it was a forgetter. +Anyhow mine's better'n Ted's!" + +"Now don't start that again," warned Mother Martin, playfully +shaking her finger at the two children. "Be nice now. Amuse +yourselves in some quiet way. It will soon be time to go to bed. You +must be tired. Be nice now." + +"Come on, let's go for a walk," proposed Jan again, and Ted, now +that the forget-memory dispute was over, was willing to be friendly +and kind and go with his sister. + +So while Trouble climbed up into his mother's lap, and the older +folks were talking among themselves, the two Curlytops, not being +noticed by the others, slipped off the porch and walked toward the +ranch buildings, out near the corrals, or the fenced-in places, where +the horses were kept. + +There were too many horses to keep them all penned in, or fenced +around, just as there are too many cattle on a cattle ranch. But the +cowboys who do not want their horses which they ride to get too far +away put them in a corral. This is just as good as a barn, except in +cold weather. + +"There's lots of things to see here," said Teddy, as he and his +sister walked along. + +"Yes," she agreed. "It's lots of fun. I'm glad I came." + +"So'm I. Oh, look at the lots of ponies!" she cried, as she and Ted +turned a corner of one of the ranch buildings and came in sight of a +new corral. In it were a number of little horses, some of which hung +their heads over the fence and watched the Curlytops approaching. + +"I'd like to ride one," sighed Teddy wistfully. + +"Oh, you mustn't!" cried Jan. "Uncle Frank wouldn't like it, nor +mother or father, either. You have to ask first." + +"Oh, I don't mean ride now," said Ted. "Anyhow, I haven't got a +saddle." + +"Can't you ride without a saddle?" asked Janet. + +"Well, not very good I guess," Ted answered. "A horse's back has a +bone in the middle of it, and that bumps you when you don't have a +saddle." + +"How do you know?" asked Janet. + +"I know, 'cause once the milkman let me sit on his horse and I felt +the bone in his back. It didn't feel good." + +"Maybe the milkman's horse was awful bony." + +"He was," admitted Ted. "But anyhow you've got to have a saddle to +ride a horse, lessen you're a Indian and I'm not." + +"Well, maybe after a while Uncle Frank'll give you a saddle," said +Janet. + +"Maybe," agreed her brother, "Oh, see how the ponies look at us!" + +"And one's following us all around," added his sister. For the +little horses had indeed all come to the side of the corral fence +nearest the Curlytops, and were following along as the children +walked. + +"What do you s'pose they want?" asked Teddy. + +"Maybe they're hungry," answered Janet. + +"Let's pull some grass for 'em," suggested Teddy, and they did this, +feeding it to the horses that stretched their necks over the top rail +of the fence and chewed the green bunches as if they very much liked +their fodder. + +But after a while Jan and Ted tired of even this. And no wonder-- +there were so many horses, and they all seemed to like the grass so +much that the children never could have pulled enough for all of them. + +"Look at that one always pushing the others out of the way," said +Janet, pointing to one pony, larger than the others, who was always +first at the fence, and first to reach his nose toward the bunches of +grass. + +"And there's a little one that can't get any," said her brother. +"I'd like to give him some, Jan." + +"So would I. But how can we? Every time I hold out some grass to him +the big horse takes it." + +Teddy thought for a minute and then he said: + +"I know what we can do to keep the big horse from getting it all." + +"What?" asked Janet. + +"We can both pull some grass. Then you go to one end of the fence, +and hold out your bunch. The big horse will come to get it and push +the others away, like he always does." + +"But then the little pony won't get any," Janet said. + +"Oh, yes, he will!" cried Teddy. "'Cause when you're feeding the +big horse I'll run up and give the _little_ horse my bunch. Then +he'll have some all by himself." + +And this the Curlytops did. When the big horse was chewing the grass +Janet gave him, Ted held out some to the little horse at the other +end of the corral, And he ate it, but only just in time, for the big +pony saw what was going on and trotted up to shove the small animal +out of the way. But it was too late. + +Then Janet and Teddy walked on a little further, until Janet said it +was growing late and they had better go back to the porch where the +others were still talking. + +Evening was coming on. The sun had set, but there was still a golden +glow in the sky. Far off in one of the big fields a number of horses +and cattle could be seen, and riding out near them were some of the +cowboys who, after their supper, had gone out to see that all was +well for the night. + +"Is all this your land, Uncle Frank!" asked Teddy as he stood on the +porch and looked over the fields. + +"Yes, as far as you can see, and farther. If you Curlytops get lost, +which I hope you won't, you'll have to go a good way to get off my +ranch. But let me tell you now, not to go too far away from the +house, unless your father or some of us grown folks are with you." + +"Why?" asked Janet. + +"Well, you _might_ get lost, you know, and then--oh, well, don't go +off by yourselves, that's all," and Uncle Frank turned to answer a +question Daddy Martin asked him. + +Ted and Janet wondered why they could not go off by themselves as +they had done at Cherry Farm. + +"Maybe it's because of the Indians," suggested Jan. + +"Pooh, I'm not afraid of them," Teddy announced. + +Just then one of the cowboys--later the children learned he was Jim +Mason, the foreman--came walking up to the porch. He walked in a +funny way, being more used to going along on a horse than on his own +feet. + +"Good evening, folks!" he said, taking off his hat and waving it +toward the Curlytops and the others. + +"Hello, Jim!" was Uncle Frank's greeting. "Everything all right?" + +"No, it isn't, I'm sorry to say," answered the foreman. "I've got +bad news for you, Mr. Barton!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A QUEER NOISE + + +The Curlytops looked at the ranch foreman as he said this. Uncle +Frank looked at him, too. The foreman stood twirling his big hat +around in his hand. Teddy looked at the big revolver--"gun" the +cowboys called it--which dangled from Jim Mason's belt. + +"Bad news, is it?" asked Uncle Frank. "I'm sorry to hear that. I +hope none of the boys is sick. Nobody been shot, has there, during +the celebration?" + +"Oh, no, the boys are all right," answered the foreman. "But it's +bad news about some of your ponies--a lot of them you had out on +grass over there," and he pointed to the west--just where Ted and +Janet could not see. + +"Bad news about the ponies?" repeated Uncle Frank. "Well, now, I'm +sorry to hear that. Some of 'em sick?" + +"Not as I know of," replied Jim. "But a lot of 'em have been taken +away--stolen, I guess I'd better call it." + +"A lot of my ponies stolen?" cried Uncle Frank, jumping up from his +chair. "That is bad news! When did it happen? Why don't you get the +cowboys together and chase after the men who took the ponies?" + +"Well, I would have done that if I knew where to go," said the +foreman. "But I didn't hear until a little while ago, when one of the +cowboys I sent to see if the ponies were all right came in. He got +there to find 'em all gone, so I came right over to tell you." + +"Well, we'll have to see about this!" exclaimed Uncle Frank. "Who's +the cowboy you sent to see about the ponies?" + +"Henry Jensen. He just got in a little while ago, after a hard ride." + +"And who does he think took the horses?" + +"He said it looked as if the Indians had done it!" and at these +words from the foreman Ted and Janet looked at one another with +widely opened eyes. + +"Indians?" said Uncle Frank. "Why, I didn't think any of them had +come off their reservation." + +"Some of 'em must have," the foreman went on. "They didn't have any +ponies of their own, I guess, so they took yours and rode off on 'em." + +"Well, this is too bad!" said Uncle Frank in a low voice. "I guess +we'll have to get our boys together and chase after these Indians," +he went on. "Yes, that's what I'll do. I've got to get back my +ponies." + +"Oh, can't I come?" cried Teddy, not understanding all that was +going on, but enough to know that his uncle was going somewhere with +the cowboys, and Teddy wanted to go, too. + +"Oh, I'm afraid you couldn't come--Curlytop," said the foreman, +giving Teddy the name almost everyone called him at first sight, and +this was the first time Jim Mason had seen Teddy. + +"No, you little folks must stay at home," added Uncle Frank. + +"Are you really going after Indians?" Teddy wanted to know. + +"Yes, to find out if they took any of my ponies. You see," went on +Uncle Frank, speaking to Daddy and Mother Martin as well as to the +Curlytops, "the Indians are kept on what is called a 'reservation' +That is, the government gives them certain land for their own and +they are told they must stay there, though once in a while some of +them come off to sell blankets and bark-work at the railroad stations. + +"And, sometimes, maybe once a year, a lot of the Indians get tired +of staying on the reservation and some of them will get together and +run off. Sometimes they ride away on their own horses, and again they +may take some from the nearest ranch. I guess this time they took +some of mine." + +"And how will you catch them?" asked Mrs. Martin. + +"Oh, we'll try to find out which way they went and then we'll follow +after them until we catch them and get back the ponies." + +"It's just like hide-and-go-seek, isn't it, Uncle Frank?" asked Janet. + +"Yes, something like that But it takes longer." + +"I wish I could go to hunt the Indians!" murmured Teddy. + +"Why, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" exclaimed his mother. "I'm _surprised_ at +you!" + +"Well, I would like to go," he said. + +"Could I go if I knew how to ride a pony, Uncle Frank?" + +"Well, I don't know. I'm afraid you're too little. But, speaking of +riding a pony, to-morrow I'll have one of the cowboys start in to +teach you and Janet to ride. Now I guess I'll have to go see this +Henry Jensen and ask him about the Indians and my stolen ponies." + +"I hope he gets them back," said Teddy to his sister. + +"So do I," she agreed. "And I hope those Indians don't come here." + +"Pooh! they're tame Indians!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"They must be kind of wild when they steal ponies," Janet said. + +A little later the Curlytops and Trouble went to bed, for they had +been up early that day. They fell asleep almost at once, even though +their bed was not moving along in a railroad train, as it had been +the last three or four nights. + +"Did Uncle Frank find his ponies?" asked Teddy the next morning at +the breakfast table. + +"No, Curlytop," answered Aunt Millie. "He and some of the cowboys +have gone over to the field where the ponies were kept to see if they +can get any news of them." + +"Can we learn to ride a pony to-day?" asked Janet. + +"As soon as Uncle Frank comes back," answered her father. "You and +Ted and Trouble play around the house now as much as you like. When +Uncle Frank comes back he'll see about getting a pony for you to +ride." + +"Come on!" called Ted to his sister after breakfast. "We'll have +some fun." + +"I come, too!" called Trouble. "I wants a wide! I wish we had +Nicknack." + +"It would be fun if we had our goat here, wouldn't it?" asked Janet +of her brother. + +"Yes, but I'd rather have a pony. I'm going to be a cowboy, and you +can't be a cowboy and ride a _goat_." + +"No, I s'pose not," said Janet. "But a goat isn't so high up as a +pony, Ted, and if you fall off a goat's back you don't hurt yourself +so much." + +"I'm not going to fall off," declared Teddy. + +The children wandered about among the ranch buildings, looking in +the bunk house where the cowboys slept. There was only one person in +there, and he was an old man to be called a "boy," thought Janet. But +all men, whether young or old, who look after the cattle on a ranch, +are called "cowboys" so age does not matter. + +"Howdy," said this cowboy with a cheerful smile, as the Curlytops +looked in at him. He was mending a broken strap to his saddle. +"Where'd you get that curly hair?" he asked. "I lost some just like +that. Wonder if you got mine?" + +Janet hardly knew what to make of this, but Teddy said: + +"No, sir. This is _our_ hair. It's fast to our heads and we've +had it a long time." + +"It was always curly this way," added Janet. + +"Oh, was it? Well, then it can't be mine," said the cowboy with a +laugh. "Mine was curly only when I was a baby, and that was a good +many years ago. Are you going to live here?" + +"We're going to stay all summer," Janet said. "Do you live here?" + +"Well, yes; as much as anywhere." + +"Could you show us where the Indians are that took Uncle Frank's +ponies?" Teddy demanded. + +"Wish I could!" exclaimed the cowboy. "If I knew, I'd go after 'em +myself and get the ponies back. I guess those Indians are pretty far +away from here by now." + +"Do they hide?" asked Teddy. + +"Yes, they may hide away among the hills and wait for a chance to +sell the ponies they stole from your uncle. But don't worry your +curly heads about Indians. Have a good time here. It seems good to +see little children around a place like this." + +"Have you got a lasso?" asked Teddy. + +"You mean my rope? Course I got one--every cowboy has," was the +answer. + +"I wish you'd lasso something," went on Teddy, who had once been to +see a Wild West show. + +"All right, I'll do a little rope work for you," said the cowboy, +with a good-natured smile. "Just wait until I mend my saddle." + +In a little while he came riding into the yard in front of the bunk +house on a lively little pony. He made the animal race up and down +and, while doing this, the cowboy swung his coiled rope, or lasso, +about his head, and sent it in curling rings toward posts and +benches, hauling the latter after him by winding the rope around the +horn of his saddle after he had lassoed them. + +"Say! that's fine!" cried Teddy with glistening eyes. "I'm going to +learn how to lasso." + +"I'll show you after a while," the cowboy offered. "You can't learn +too young. But I must go now." + +"Could I just have a little ride on your pony's back?" asked Teddy. + +"To be sure you could," cried the cowboy. "Here you go!" + +He leaped from the saddle and lifted Teddy up to it, while Janet and +Trouble looked on in wonder. Then holding Ted to his seat by putting +an arm around him, while he walked beside the pony and guided it, the +cowboy gave the little fellow a ride, much to Teddy's delight. + +"Hurray!" he called to Janet "I'm learning to be a cowboy!" + +"That's right--you are!" laughed Daddy Martin, coming out just then. +"How do you like it?" + +"Dandy!" Teddy said. "Come on. Janet!" + +"Yes, we ought to have let the ladies go first," said the cowboy. +"But I didn't know whether the leetle gal cared for horses," he went +on to Mr. Martin. + +"I like horses," admitted Janet. "But maybe I'll fall off." + +"I won't let you," the cowboy answered, as he lifted her to the +saddle. Then he led the pony around with her on his back, and Janet +liked it very much. + +"I wants a wide, too!" cried Trouble. + +"Hi! that's so! Mustn't forget you!" laughed the cowboy, and he held +Baby William in the saddle, much to the delight of that little fellow. + +"Now you mustn't bother any more," said Daddy Martin. "You children +have had fun enough. You'll have more pony-back rides later." + +"Yes, I'll have to go now," the cowboy said, and, leaping into the +saddle, he rode away in a cloud of dust. + +The Curlytops and Trouble wandered around among the ranch buildings. +Daddy Martin, seeing that the children were all right, left them to +themselves. + +"I'se hungry," said Trouble, after a bit. + +"So'm I," added Teddy. "Do you s'pose that funny Chinaman would give +us a cookie, Jan?" + +"Chinamen don't know how to make cookies." + +"Well, maybe they know how to make something just as good. Let's go +around to the cook house--that's what Aunt Millie calls it." + +The cook house was easy to find, for from it came a number of good +smells, and, as they neared it, the Curlytops saw the laughing face +of the Chinese cook peering out at them. + +"Lil' gal hungly--li' boy hungly?" asked Hop Sing in his funny talk. + +"Got any cookies?" inquired Teddy. + +"No glot clooklies--glot him clake," the Chinese answered. + +"What does he say?" asked Janet of her brother. + +"I guess he means cake," whispered Teddy, and that was just what Hop +Sing did mean. He brought out some nice cake on a plate and Trouble +and the Curlytops had as much as was good for them, if not quite all +they wanted. + +"Glood clake?" asked Hop Sing, when nothing but the crumbs were left +--and not many of them. + +"I guess he means was it good cake," then whispered Janet to her +little brother. + +"Yes, it was fine and good!" exclaimed Teddy. "Thank you." + +"You mluch welclome--clome some mo'!" laughed Hop Sing, as the +children moved away. + +They spent the morning playing about the ranch near the house. They +made a sea-saw from a board and a barrel, and played some of the +games they had learned on Cherry Farm or while camping with Grandpa +Martin. Then dinner time came, but Uncle Frank and the cowboys did +not come back to it. + +"Won't they be hungry?" asked Teddy. + +"Oh, they took some bacon, coffee and other things with them," said +Aunt Millie. "They often have to camp out for days at a time." + +"Say, I wish I could do that!" cried Teddy. + +"Wait until you get to be a cowboy," advised his father. + +That afternoon Trouble went to lie down with his mother to have a +nap, and Teddy and Janet wandered off by themselves, promising not to +go too far away from the house. + +But the day was so pleasant, and it was so nice to walk over the +soft grass that, before they knew it, Teddy and Janet had wandered +farther than they meant to. As the land was rolling--here hills and +there hollows--they were soon out of sight of the ranch buildings, +but they were not afraid, as they knew by going to a high part of the +prairie they could see their way back home--or they thought they +could. There were no woods around them, though there were trees and a +little stream of water farther off. + +Suddenly, as the Curlytops were walking along together, they came to +a place where there were a lot of rocks piled up in a sort of +shelter. Indeed one place looked as though it might be a cave. And as +Teddy and Janet were looking at this they heard a strange noise, +which came from among the rocks. + +Both children stopped and stood perfectly still for a moment. + +"Did you hear that?" asked Jan, clasping her brother's arm. + +"Yes--I did," he answered. + +"Did--did it sound like some one groaning?" she went on. + +Teddy nodded his head to show that it had sounded that way to him. +Just then the noise came again. + +"Oh!" exclaimed Janet, starting to run. "Maybe it's an Indian! Oh, +Teddy, come on!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE SICK PONY + + +Teddy Martin did not run away as Jan started to leave the pile of +rocks from which the queer sound had come. Instead he stood still and +looked as hard as he could toward the hole among the stones--a hole +that looked a little like the cave on Star Island, but not so large. + +"Come on, Teddy!" begged Janet. "Please cornel" + +"I want to see what it is," he answered. + +"Maybe it's something that--that'll bite you," suggested the little +girl. "Come on!" + +Just then the noise sounded again. It certainly was a groan. + +"There!" exclaimed Janet. "I _know_ it's an Indian, Ted! Maybe it's +one of the kind that took Uncle Frank's ponies. Oh, please come!" + +She had run on a little way from the pile of rocks, but now she +stood still, waiting for Teddy to follow. + +"Come on!" she begged. + +Janet did not want to go alone. + +"It can't be an Indian," said Teddy, looking around but still not +seeing anything to make that strange sound. + +"It could so be an Indian!" declared Janet. + +"Well, maybe a sick Indian," Teddy admitted. "And if he's as sick as +all that I'm not afraid of him! I'm going to see what it is." + +"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried Janet, much as she sometimes heard +her mother use her brother's name. "Don't you dare!" + +"Why not?" asked Teddy, who tried to speak very bravely, though he +really did not feel brave. But he was not going to show that before +Janet, who was a girl. "Why can't I see what that is?" + +"'Cause maybe--maybe it'll--bite you!" and as Janet said this she +looked first at the rocks and then over her shoulder, as though +something might come up behind her when she least expected it. + +"Pooh! I'm not afraid!" declared Teddy. + +"Anyhow, if it does bite me it's got to come out of the rocks first." + +"Well, maybe it will come out." + +"If it does I can see it and run!" went on the little boy. + +"Would you run and leave me all alone?" asked Janet. + +"Nope! Course I wouldn't do _that_," Teddy declared. "I'd run and I'd +help you run. But I don't guess anything'll bite me. Anyhow, Indians +don't bite." + +"How do you know?" asked Janet. "Some Indians are wild. I heard +Uncle Frank say so, and wild things bite!" + +"But not Indians," insisted Teddy. "A Indian's mouth, even if he is +wild, is just like ours, and it isn't big enough to bite. You've got +to have an awful big mouth to bite." + +"Henry Watson bit you once, I heard mother say so," declared Janet, +as she and her brother still stood by the rocks and listened again +for the funny sound to come from the stones. But there was silence. + +"Well, Henry Watson's got an awful big mouth," remarked Teddy. +"Maybe he's wild, and that's the reason." + +"He couldn't be an Indian, could he?" Janet went on. + +"Course not!" declared her brother. "He's a boy, same as I am, only +his mouth's bigger. That's why he bit me. I 'member it now." + +"Did it hurt?" asked Janet. + +"Yep," answered her brother. "But I'm going in there and see what +that noise was. It won't hurt me." + +Teddy began to feel that Janet was asking so many questions in order +that he might forget all about what he intended to do. And he surely +did want to see what was in among the rocks. + +Once more he went closer to them, and then the noise sounded more +loudly than before. It came so suddenly that Teddy and Janet jumped +back, and there was no doubt but what they were both frightened. + +"Oh, I'm not going to stay here another minute!" cried Janet. "Come +on, Ted, let's go home!" + +"No, wait just a little!" he begged. "I'll go in and come right out +again--that is if it's anything that bites. If it isn't you can come +in with me." + +"No, I'm not going to do that!" and Janet shook her head very +decidedly to say "no!" Once more she looked over her shoulder. + +"Well, you don't have to come in," Teddy said. "I'll go alone. I'm +not scared." + +Just then Janet looked across the fields, and she saw a man riding +along on a pony. + +"Oh, Teddy!" she called to her brother. "Here's a man! We can get +him to go in and see what it is." + +Teddy looked to where his sister pointed. Surely enough, there was a +man going along. He was quite a distance off, but the Curlytops did +not mind that. They were fond of walking. + +"Holler at him!" advised Janet. "He'll hear us and come to help us +find out what's in here." + +Teddy raised his voice in the best shout he knew how to give. He had +strong lungs and was one of the loudest-shouting boys among his chums. + +"Hey, Mister! Come over here!" cried Teddy. + +But the man kept on as if he had not heard, as indeed he had not. +For on the prairies the air is so clear that people and things look +much nearer than they really are. So, though the man seemed to be +only a little distance away, he was more than a mile off, and you +know it is quite hard to call so as to be heard a mile away; +especially if you are a little boy. + +Still Teddy called again, and when he had done this two or three +times, and Jan had helped him, the two calling in a sort of duet, +Teddy said: + +"He can't hear us." + +"Maybe he's deaf, like Aunt Judy," said Janet, speaking of an +elderly woman in the town in which they lived. + +"Well, if he is, he can't hear us," said Teddy; "so he won't come to +us. I'm going in anyhow." + +"No, don't," begged Janet, who did not want her brother to go into +danger. "If he can't hear us, Teddy, we must go nearer. We can walk +to meet him." + +Teddy thought this over a minute. + +"Yes," he agreed, "we can do that. But he's a good way off." + +"He's coming this way," Janet said, and it did look as though the +man had turned his horse toward the children, who stood near the pile +of rocks from which the queer noises came. + +"Come on!" decided Ted, and, taking Janet's hand, he and she walked +toward the man on the horse. + +For some little time the two Curlytops tramped over the green, +grassy prairies. They kept their eyes on the man, now and then +looking back toward the rocks, for they did not want to lose sight +either of them or of the horseman. + +"I'm going to holler again," said Teddy. "Maybe he can hear me now. +We're nearer." + +So he stopped, and putting his hands to his mouth, as he had seen +Uncle Frank do when he wanted to call to a cowboy who was down at a +distant corral, the little boy called: + +"Hi there, Mr. Man! Come here, please!" + +But the man on the horse gave no sign that he had heard. As a matter +of fact, he had not, being too far away, and the wind was blowing +from him toward Teddy and Jan. If the wind had been blowing the other +way it might have carried the voices of the children toward the man. +But it did not. + +Then Teddy made a discovery. He stopped, and, shading his eyes with +his hands, said: + +"Jan, that man's going away from us 'stid of coming toward us. He's +getting littler all the while. And if he was coming to us he'd get +bigger." + +"Yes, I guess he would," admitted the little girl. "He is going +away, Teddy. Oh, dear! Now he can't help us!" + +Without a word Teddy started back toward the rocks, and his sister +followed. He was close to them when Janet spoke again. + +"What are you going to do?" she asked. + +"I'm going in there and see what that noise was," Teddy replied. + +"Oh, you mustn't!" she cried, hoping to turn him away. But Teddy +answered: + +"Yes, I am, too! I'm going to see what it is!" + +"I'm not!" cried Janet. "I'm going home. You'd better come with me!" + +But, though she turned away and went a short distance from the rocks +in the direction she thought the ranch house of Ring Rosy Ranch +should be, she very soon stopped. She did not like going on alone. +She looked back at Ted. + +Teddy had walked a little way toward the hole in the rocks. Now he +called to his sister. + +"The noise comes from in here," he said. "It's in this little cave." + +"Are you going in?" asked Janet, trying to pretend she was not afraid. + +"I want to see what made that noise," declared Teddy. Since he and +his sister had gone camping with Grandpa Martin they were braver than +they used to be. Of course, Ted, being a year older than his sister, +was a little bolder than she was. + +Janet, not feeling that she ought to run on home and leave Teddy +there and yet not feeling brave enough to go close to the cave among +the rocks with him, hardly knew what to do. She walked back a little +way and then, suddenly, the noise came, more loudly than at first. + +"Oh, there it goes again!" cried Janet, once more running back. + +"I heard it," Teddy said. "It didn't war-whoop like an Indian." + +"If he's sick he couldn't," explained Janet. + +"And if he's sick he can't hurt us," went on Teddy. "I'm going to +holler at him and see what he wants." + +"You'd better come back and tell daddy or Uncle Frank," suggested +Janet. + +Teddy rather thought so himself, but he did not like to give up once +he had started anything. He felt it would be a fine thing if he, all +alone, could find one of the Indians. + +"And maybe it is one of those who took Uncle Frank's ponies," +thought Teddy to himself. + +Again the groan sounded, this time not quite so loud, and after it +had died away Teddy called: + +"Who's in there? What's the matter with you?" + +No answer came to this. Then Ted added: + +"If you don't come out I'm going to tell my uncle on you. He owns +this ranch. Come on out! Who are you?" + +This time there came a different sound. It was one that the +Curlytops knew well, having heard it before. + +"That's a horse whinnying!" cried Teddy. + +"Or a pony," added Janet. "Yes, it did sound like that. Oh, Ted, +maybe it's a poor horse in there and he can't get out!" she went on. + +Again came the whinny of a horse or a pony. There was no mistake +about it this time. + +"Come on!" cried Teddy. "We've got to get him out, Janet. He's one +of Uncle Frank's cow ponies and he's hurt in that cave. We've got to +get him out!" + +"But how can you?" Janet inquired. "It's an awful little cave, and I +don't believe a pony could get in there." + +"A little pony could," said Teddy. + +Janet looked at the cave. She remembered that she had seen some +quite small ponies, not only on Ring Rosy Ranch but elsewhere. The +cave would be large enough for one of them. + +"I'm going in," said Teddy, as he stood at the mouth of the hole +among the piled-up rocks. + +"He might kick you," warned Janet. + +"If he's sick enough to groan that way he can't kick very hard," +replied Teddy. "Anyhow, I'll keep out of the way of his feet. That's +all you've got to do, Uncle Frank says, when you go around a strange +horse. When he gets to know you he won't kick." + +"Well, you'd better be careful," warned Janet again. + +"Don't you want to come in?" Teddy asked his sister. + +"I--I guess not," she answered. "I'll watch you here. Oh, maybe if +it's a pony we can have him for ours, Teddy!" she exclaimed. + +"Maybe," he agreed. "I'm going to see what it is." + +Slowly he walked to the dark place amid the rocks. The whinnyings +and groanings sounded plainer to him than to Janet, and Teddy was +sure they came from a horse or a pony. As yet, though, he could see +nothing. + +Then, as the little boy stepped out of the glaring sun into the +shadow cast by the rocks, he began to see better. And in a little +while his eyes became used to the gloom. + +Then he could see, lying down on the dirt floor of the cave amid the +rocks, the form of a pony. The animal raised its head as Teddy came +in and gave a sort of whinnying call, followed by a groan. + +"Poor pony!" called Ted. "Are you hurt? I'm so sorry! I'll go get a +doctor for you!" + +"Who are you talking to?" asked Janet. + +She had drawn nearer the cave. + +"There's a sick pony in here all right," Teddy told his sister. +"Come on in and look." + +"I--I don't b'lieve I want to." + +"Pooh! he can't hurt you! He's sick!" cried Teddy. + +So, after waiting a half minute, Janet went in. In a little while +she, too, could see the pony lying down in the cave. + +"Oh, the poor thing!" she cried. "Teddy, we've got to help him!" + +"Course we have," he said. "We've got to go for a doctor." + +"And get him a drink," added Janet. "When anybody's sick--a pony or +anybody--they want a drink. Let's find some water, Teddy. We can +bring it to him in our hats!" + +Then, leaving the sick pony in the cave, the Curlytops ran out to +look for water. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A SURPRISED DOCTOR + + +Water is not very plentiful on the prairies. In fact, it is so +scarce that often men and horses get very thirsty. But the Curlytops +were lucky in finding a spring among the rocks on Ring Rosy Ranch. It +was not a very large spring, and it was well hidden among the big +stones, which, is, perhaps, why it was not visited by many of the +ponies and cattle. They come in large numbers to every water-hole +they can find. + +Jan and Ted, having come out of the dark cave-like hole, where the +poor, sick pony lay, began their search for water, and, as I have +said, they were lucky in finding some. + +It was Jan who discovered it. As the Curlytops were running about +among the rocks the little girl stopped suddenly and called: + +"Hark, Teddy!" + +"What is it?" he asked. + +"I hear water dripping," she answered. "It's over this way." + +She went straight to the spring, following the sound of the dripping +water, and found where it bubbled up in a split in the rock. The +water fell into a little hollow, rocky basin and there was enough for +Ted and his sister to fill their hats. First they each took a drink +themselves, though, for the day was warm. + +Their hats were of felt, and would hold water quite well. And as the +hats were old ones, which had been worn in the rain more than once, +dipping them into the spring would not hurt them. + +"I guess the pony'll be awful glad to get a drink," said Jan to her +brother. + +"I guess he will," he answered, as he walked along looking carefully +where he put down his feet, for he did not want to stumble and spill +the water in his hat. + +"Look out!" exclaimed Janet, as her brother came too close to her. +"If you bump against me and make my arm jiggle you'll spill my +hatful." + +"I'll be careful," said Teddy. + +They spilled some of the water, for their hats were not as good as +pails in which to carry the pony's drink. But they managed to get to +the cave with most of it. + +"You can give him the first drink," said Teddy to his sister. "I +found him, and he's my pony, but you can give him the first drink." + +Janet felt that this was kind on Teddy's part, but still she did not +quite like what he said about the pony. + +"Is he going to be _all_ yours?" she asked. + +"Well, didn't I find him?'' + +"Yes, but when I found a penny once and bought a lollypop, I gave +you half of it." + +"Yes, you did," admitted Teddy, thinking of that time. "But I can't +give you half the pony, can I?" + +"No, I guess not. But you could let me ride on him." + +"Oh, I'll do that!" exclaimed Teddy quickly. He was thinking it +would be a hard matter to divide a live pony in half. + +"Course I'll let you ride on him!" he went on. "We'll get Uncle +Frank to let us have a saddle and some of the cowboys can teach us to +ride. And I'll let you feed and water him as much as you like. I'm +going to call him Clipclap." + +"That's a funny name," remarked Janet. + +"It's how his feet sound when he runs," explained Teddy. "Don't you +know--clip-clap, clip-clap!" and he imitated the sound of a pony as +best he could. + +"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Janet. "They do go that way." + +"I haven't heard this one run," added Teddy, "'cause he's sick and +he can't gallop. But I guess his feet would make that sound, so I'm +going to call him Clipclap." + +"It's a nice name," agreed Janet. "But I guess we better give him a +drink now. He must be awful thirsty." + +"He is," said Teddy. "Hear him groan?" + +The pony was again making a noise that did sound like a groan. He +must be in pain the children thought. + +"Go on--give him your drink, Janet," urged Teddy. "Then I'll give +him mine." + +Janet was afraid no longer. She went into the cave ahead of her +brother, and as the pony was lying down Janet had to kneel in front +of him with her hat full of water--no, it was not full, for some had +spilled out, but there was still a little in it. + +The pony smelled the water when Janet was yet a little way from him, +and raised his head and part of his body by his forefeet. Though +clear, cold water has no smell to us, animals can smell it sometimes +a long way off, and can find their way to it when their masters would +not know where to go for a drink. + +"Oh, see how glad he is to get it!" exclaimed Janet, as the pony +eagerly sucked up from her hat the water in it. The little animal +drank very fast, as if he had been without water a long while. + +"Now give him yours, Teddy," Janet called to her brother, and he +kneeled down and let the pony drink from his hat. + +"I guess he wants more," Janet said as the sick animal sucked up the +last drops from Teddy's hat. "It wasn't very much." + +"We'll get more!" Teddy decided. "Then we'll go for a doctor." + +"Where'll we find one?" Janet asked. + +"I know where to find him," Teddy answered. + +Once more the children went back to the spring and again they filled +their soft hats. And once more the pony greedily drank up the last +drops of water. As he finished that in Ted's hat he dropped back +again and stretched out as if very tired. + +"Oh, I hope he doesn't die!" exclaimed Janet. + +"So do I," added her brother. "I'd like to have a ride on him when +he gets well. Come on, we'll go find the doctor." + +Shaking the water drops from their hats the Curlytops put them on +and went out of the cave into the sunlight. Led by Teddy, Janet +followed to the top of the pile of rocks. + +"Do you see that white house over there?" asked Teddy, pointing to +one down the road that led past the buildings of Ring Rosy Ranch. + +"Yes, I see it," Janet answered. + +"That's the place where the doctor lives," went on Ted. + +"How do you know?" demanded Janet. + +"'Cause I heard Uncle Frank say so. Mother asked where a doctor +lived, and Uncle Frank showed her that white house. I was on the +porch and I heard him. He said if ever we needed a doctor we only had +to go there and Doctor Bond would come right away. He's the only +doctor around here." + +"Then we'd better get him for our pony Clipclap!" exclaimed Janet. +"Come on, Teddy." + +"If we had our goat-wagon we could ride," said the little boy, as +they walked along over the prairie together. "But I guess we've got +to walk now." + +"Is it very far?" asked Janet. + +"No, not very far. I've never been there, but you can easy see it." + +Truly enough the white house of Doctor Bond was in plain sight, but +on the prairies the air is so clear that distant houses look nearer +than they really are. + +So, though Ted and Janet thought they would be at the doctor's in +about ten minutes, they were really half an hour in reaching the +place. They saw the doctor's brass sign on his house. + +"I hope he's in," said Teddy. + +As it happened Doctor Bond was in, and he came to the door himself +when Teddy rang the bell, Mrs. Bond being out in the chicken part of +the yard. + +"Well, children, what can I do for you?" asked Doctor Bond with a +pleasant smile, as he saw the Curlytops on his porch. + +"If you please," began Teddy, "will you come and cure Clipclap?" + +"Will I come and cure him? Well, I will do my best. I can't be sure +I'll cure him, though, until I know what the matter is. What seems to +be the trouble?" + +"He's awful sick," said Janet, "and he groans awful." + +"Hum! He must have some pain then." + +"We gave him some cold water," added Teddy. + +"Yes? Well, maybe that was a good thing and maybe it wasn't. I can't +tell until I see him. Who did you say it was?" + +"Clipclap," replied Teddy. + +"Your little brother?" + +"No, sir. He's a pony and he's in a cave!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"What? A pony?" cried the surprised doctor. "In a cave?" + +"Yes," went on Janet. "We gave him water in our hats, and he's going +to be Ted's and mine 'cause Ted found him. But will you please come +and cure him so we can have a ride on him? Don't let him die." + +"Well," exclaimed Doctor Bond, smiling in a puzzled way at the +children, "I don't believe I can come. I don't know anything about +curing sick ponies. You need a horse doctor for that." + +Ted and Janet looked at one another, not knowing what to say. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +TROUBLE MAKES A LASSO + + +Doctor Bond must have seen how disappointed Teddy and Janet were, +for he spoke very kindly as he asked: + +"Who are you, and where are you from? Tell me about this sick pony +with the funny name." + +"He is Clipclap," answered Teddy, giving the name he had picked out +for his new pet. "And we are the Curlytops." + +"Yes, I can see that all right," laughed the doctor with a look at +the crisp hair of the little boy and girl. "But where do you live?" + +"At Uncle Frank's ranch," Janet answered. + +"You mean Mr. Frank Barton, of the Circle O?" the doctor inquired. + +"Yes, only we call it the Ring Rosy Ranch now, and so does he," +explained Teddy. + +"The Ring Rosy Ranch, is it? Well, I don't know but what that is a +good name for it. Now tell me about yourselves and this pony." + +This Teddy and Janet did by turns, relating how they had come out +West from Cresco, and what good times they were having. They even +told about having gone to Cherry Farm, about camping with Grandpa +Martin and about being snowed in. + +"Well, you have had some nice adventures!" exclaimed Doctor Bond. +"Now about this sick--" + +"Is some one ill?" enquired Mrs. Bond, coming in from the chicken +yard just then, in time to hear her husband's last words, "Who is it?" + +On the Western prairies when one neighbor hears of another's illness +he or she wants to help in every way there is. So Mrs. Bond, hearing +that some one was ill, wanted to do her share. + +"It's a pony," her husband said with a smile. + +"A pony!" she exclaimed. + +"Yes, these Curlytop children found one in the cave among the rocks. +It's on Circle O Ranch--I should say Ring Rosy," and the doctor gave +Uncle Frank's place the new name. "These are Mr. Barton's nephew's +children," he went on, for Ted and Janet had told the doctor that it +was their father's uncle, and not theirs, at whose home they were +visiting. Though, as a matter of fact, Ted and Janet thought Uncle +Frank was as much theirs as he was their father's and, very likely, +Uncle Frank thought so himself. + +"Can't you come and cure the sick pony?" asked Teddy. + +"He's groaning awful hard," went on Janet. + +"Well, my dear Curlytops," said Doctor Bond with a smile, "I'd like +to come, but, as I said, I don't know anything about curing sick +horses or animals. I never studied that. It takes a doctor who knows +about them to give them the right kind of medicine." + +"I thought all medicine was alike," said Teddy. "What our doctor +gives us is always bitter." + +"Well, all medicine isn't bitter," laughed Doctor Bond, "though some +very good kinds are. However, I wouldn't know whether to give this +Clipclap pony bitter or sweet medicine." + +"Maybe you could ask one of the cowboys," said Janet. "I heard Mr. +Mason--Jim, Uncle Frank calls him--telling how he cured a sick horse +once." + +"Oh, yes, your uncle's foreman, Jim Mason, knows a lot about +horses," said Doctor Bond. + +"Then why don't you go with the children and get Jim to help you +find out what the matter is with their pony?" suggested Mrs. Bond. +"There isn't a regular veterinary around here, and they don't want to +see their pet suffer. Go along with them.'' + +"I believe I will," said Doctor Bond. "I could perhaps tell what's +the matter with the pony, and if I've got any medicine that might +cure it, Jim would know how to give it--I wouldn't." + +"We just found the pony in the cave," explained Teddy. "We were +taking a walk and we heard him groan." + +"Oh, I see," said Mrs. Bond. "Well, I hope the doctor can make him +well for you," she went on, as her husband hurried back into the +house to get ready for the trip. + +He had a small automobile, and in this he and the children were soon +hurrying along the road toward Ring Rosy Ranch. It was decided to go +there first instead of to the cave where the pony was. + +"We'll get Jim Mason and take him back with us," said the doctor. + +Uncle Frank and his cowboys had come back from looking after the +lost ponies, but had not found them. He, as well as Mr. and Mrs. +Martin, were very much surprised when the Curlytops came riding up to +the ranch in Doctor Bond's automobile. + +"Well, where in the world have you been?" cried Mother Martin. "We +were just beginning to get worried about you children. Where were +you?" + +"We found a pony!" cried Janet. + +"And he's sick!" added Teddy. + +"And his name is Clipclap!" exclaimed the little girl. + +"And he's mine but Janet can have half of him, and we got him water +in our hats," came from Teddy. + +"And we got the doctor, too!" went on his sister. + +"Well, I should say you'd put in quite a busy day," chuckled Uncle +Frank. "Now let's hear more about it." + +So the Curlytops told, and Doctor Bond said, even if he was not a +horse doctor, he'd go out and look at the pony in the cave, if the +ranch foreman would come with him. + +"Of course I'll come!" cried Jim Mason. "I wouldn't want to see any +pony suffer. And I've doctored quite a few of 'em, even if I don't +know much about medicine. Come on, Curlytops!" + +Jim Mason jumped on his own swift pony, saying he could make as good +time over the rough prairie as Doctor Bond could in his automobile. +The Curlytops rode in the machine with the physician. Uncle Frank and +Daddy Martin went along, for they, too, were interested in the sick +pony. + +It did not take long to get to the cave amid the rocks. Jim Mason's +horse reached there ahead of the automobile, and the foreman had gone +into the cave and come out again by the time the Curlytops were +getting out of the machine. + +"Well, he's a pretty sick pony all right," said the foreman of the +cowboys of Ring Rosy Ranch. + +"Can you make him better?" asked Teddy anxiously. + +"I don't know whether we can or not. It all depends on what sort of +medicine the doctor has for curing poison." + +"Has the pony been poisoned?" asked Uncle Frank. + +"Looks that way," replied the foreman. "I guess he must have drunk +some water that had a bit of poisoned meat in it. You see," he went +on to the doctor, Mr. Martin and the children, "we have a lot of +wolves and other pesky animals around here. They're too tricky to +catch in traps or shoot, so we poison 'em by putting a white powder +in some meat. Sometimes the wolves will drag a piece of the poisoned +meat to a spring of water, and they must have done it this time. Then +the pony drank the water and it made him sick." + +"Will he die?" asked Janet. + +"Well, I'll do my best to save him," said Doctor Bond, opening the +black case of medicines he carried. "But how can you give medicine to +a horse, Jim? You can't put it on his tongue, can you?" + +"No, but I've got a long-necked bottle on purpose for that, and it's +easy to pour it out of that bottle down a pony's throat. You mix up +the dose, Doc, and I'll give it to the little animal." + +This was done, but the Curlytops were not allowed in the cave when +the men were working over the pony. But, in a little while, the +foreman and Doctor Bond came out. + +"Well, I guess your pony will get better," said the physician. "Jim +gave him the medicine that will get the poison out of him, and in a +day or so he'll be able to walk. But you'll have to leave him in the +cave until then." + +"Can't we take him home?" Teddy cried. + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed the foreman. "But I'll send one of the men over +with some straw to make him a soft bed, and we'll see that he has +water to drink. He won't want anything to eat until he gets better. +The doctor will come to see him to-morrow. Won't you?" he went on to +Doctor Bond. + +"Indeed I will!" promised the doctor, for he had taken a great +liking to the Curlytops. + +"Whose pony is it?" asked Daddy Martin. + +"It's mine!" exclaimed Teddy quickly. "Mine and Jan's. We found him +and his name's Clipclap." + +"Well, that's a good name for a pony," said his father. "But still I +don't know that you can claim every pony you find. This one may +belong to Uncle Frank." + +"No, it isn't one of my brand," said the owner of Ring Rosy Ranch. +"It's a strange pony that must have wandered into this cave after he +found he was poisoned. I reckon the poor thing thought he'd die in +there, and maybe he would if the children hadn't found him." + +"He couldn't have lived much longer without attention," said Doctor +Bond. + +"Then did we save his life?" asked Teddy. + +"You did, by getting the doctor in time," answered his father. + +"Then can't he be our pony?" asked the little boy. + +"Yes, I guess he can," answered Uncle Frank. "If nobody comes to +claim him you children may have him. And if anyone does come after +him I'll give you another. I was going to give you each a pony, +anyhow, as soon as you got used to the ranch, and I'll do it. If Ted +wants to keep Clipclap, as he calls him, I'll give Janet another." + +"Oh, won't I just love him!" cried the little girl. + +"And I'll love Clipclap!" said Teddy. + +There was nothing more that could be done just then for the sick +pony, so the Curlytops and the others left him in the cave. The +children were glad he did not groan any more. A little later Jim +Mason sent one of the cowboys with some clean straw to make a bed for +the little horse, and a pail of the cool, spring water was put where +the animal could reach it. + +For two days the pony stayed in the cave, and then Doctor Bond said +he was much better and could be led to the ranch. Uncle Frank took +Ted and Janet out to the rocks to bring back their pet, but he had to +walk very slowly, for he was still weak from the poison. + +"And hell have to stay in the stable for a week or so," said Jim +Mason when Clipclap was safely at the ranch. "After that he will be +strong enough to ride. While you Curlytops are waiting I'll give you +a few riding lessons." + +"And will you show me how to lasso?" begged Teddy. + +"Yes, of course. You'll never be a cowboy, as you say you're going +to be, unless you can use a rope. I'll show you." + +So the children's lessons began. Uncle Frank picked out a gentle +pony for them on which to learn how to ride, and this pony was to be +Jan's. She named him Star Face, for he had a white mark, like a star, +on his forehead. + +On this pony Jan and Ted took turns riding until they learned to sit +in the saddle alone and let the pony trot along. Of course he did not +go very fast at first. + +"And I want to learn to lasso when I'm on his back," said Teddy. + +"You'd first better learn to twirl the rope while you're on the +ground," said Jim Mason, and then the foreman began giving the little +boy some simple lessons in this, using a small rope, for Teddy could +not handle the big ones the cowboys used. + +In a few days Teddy could fling the coils of his rope and make them +settle over a post. Of course he had to stand quite close, but even +the cowboys, when they learned, had to do that the foreman said. + +"Well, what are you going to do now?" Teddy's father asked the +little boy one day, as he started out from the house with a small +coil of rope on one arm, as he had seen the cowboys carry their +lariats. "What are you going to do, Ted?" + +"Oh, I'm going to lasso some more," was the answer. + +"Why don't you try something else besides a post?" asked one of +Uncle Frank's men, as he, too, noticed Teddy. "Throwing a rope over a +post is all right to start, but if you want to be a real cowboy +you'll have to learn to lasso something that's running on its four +legs. That's what most of our lassoing is--roping ponies or steers, +and they don't very often stand still for you, the way the post does." + +"Yes," agreed Ted, "I guess so. I'll learn to lasso something that +runs." + +His father paid little more attention to the boy, except to notice +that he went out into the yard, where he was seen, for a time, +tossing the coils of rope over the post. Then Jan came along, and, as +soon as he saw her, Teddy asked: + +"Jan, will you do something for me?" + +"What?" she inquired, not being too ready to make any promises. +Sometimes Teddy got her to say she would do things, and then, when he +had her promise, he would tell her something she did not at all want +to do. So Jan had learned to be careful. + +"What do you want to do, Teddy?" she asked. + +"Play cowboy," he answered. + +"Girls can't be cowboys," Janet said. + +"Well, I don't want _you_ to be one," went on Teddy. "I'll be +the cowboy." + +"Then what'll _I_ be?" asked Jan. "That won't be any fun, for you to +do that and me do nothing!" + +"Oh, I've got something for you to do," said Teddy, and he was quite +serious over it. "You see, Jan, I've got to learn to lasso something +that moves. The post won't move, but you can run." + +"Do you mean run and play tag?" Jan asked. + +Teddy shook his head. + +"You make believe you're a wild cow or a pony," he explained, "and +you run along in front of me. Then I'll throw my rope around your +head, or around your legs, and I'll pull on it and you--" + +"Yes, and I'll fall down and get all dirt!" finished Jan. "Ho! I +don't call _that_ any fun for me!" + +"Well, I won't lasso you very hard," promised Ted; "and I've got to +learn to throw my rope at something that moves, the cowboys say, else +I can't ever be a real wild-wester. Go on, Jan! Run along and let me +lasso you!" + +Jan did not want to, but Teddy teased her so hard that she finally +gave in and said she would play she was a pony for a little while. +Teddy wanted her to be a wild steer, but she said ponies could run +faster than the cattle, and Jan was a good runner. + +"And if I run fast it will be harder for you to lasso me," she said, +"and that's good practice for you, same as it is good for me when I +practice my music scales fast, only I don't do it very much." + +"Well, you run along and I'll lasso you," said Teddy. "Only we'd +better go around to the back of the house. Maybe they wouldn't like +to see me doing it." + +"Who; the cowboys?" asked his sister. + +"No, father and mother," replied Teddy. "I don't guess they'd want +me to play this game, but I won't hurt you. Come on." + +The little boy and girl--Teddy carrying his small lasso--went out to +a field not far from the house, and there they played cowboy. As they +had planned, Teddy was the cowboy and Janet the wild pony, and she +ran around until she was tired. Teddy ran after her, now and then +throwing the coil of rope at her. + +Sometimes the lasso settled over her head, and then the little boy +would pull it tight, but he was careful not to pull too hard for fear +he might hurt Jan. Once the rope went around her legs, and that time +Teddy gave a sudden yank. + +"Oh, I'm falling!" cried Jan, and she went down in a heap. + +"That's fine!" cried Teddy. "That's regular wild-wester cowboy! Do +it again, Jan!" + +"No! It hurts!" objected the little girl. "You pulled me so hard I +fell down." + +"I didn't mean to," said Teddy. "But I can lasso good, can't I?" + +"Yes; pretty good," his sister agreed. "But you can't lasso me any +more. I don't want to play. I'm going to the house." + +"Did I hurt you much?" Teddy asked. + +"Well, not such an awful lot," admitted Jan. "I fell on some soft +grass, though, or you would have. Anyhow, I'm going in." + +Teddy looked a little sad for a minute, and then he cried: + +"Oh, I know what I can do! You stay and watch me, Jan." + +"What are you going to do?" she asked. + +"You'll see," he answered "Here, you hold my lasso a minute." + +Teddy ran off across the field, and when he came back to where his +sister was still holding the coil of rope the Curlytop boy was +leading by a rope a little calf, one of several that were kept in the +stable and fed milk from a pail. + +"What are you going to do, Teddy Martin?" asked the little girl. + +"I'm going to play he's a wild steer," answered Teddy. + +"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried Janet, much as her mother might have +done. "You're not going to lasso _him,_ are you?" + +"I am--if I can," and Teddy spoke slowly. He was not quite sure he +could. + +The calf came along easily enough, for Teddy had petted it and fed +it several times. + +"He's awful nice," said Janet. "You won't hurt him, will you?" + +"Course not!" cried Teddy. "I'll only lasso him a little. Now you +come and hold him by the rope that's on his neck, Jan. And when I +tell you to let go, why, you let go. Then he'll run and I can lasso +him. I've got to lasso something that's running, else it isn't real +wild-wester." + +Jan was ready enough to play this game. She took hold of the calf's +rope, and Teddy got his lasso ready. But just as the little fellow +was about to tell his sister to let the calf loose, along came Uncle +Frank and he saw what was going on. + +"Oh, my, Teddy!" cried the ranchman. "You mustn't do that, Curlytop! +The little calf might fall and break a leg. Wait until you get bigger +before you try to lasso anything that's alive. Come on, we'll have +other fun than this. I'm going to drive into town and you Curly tops +can come with me." + +So the calf was put back in the stable, and Teddy gave up lassoing +for that day. He and Jan had fun riding to town with Uncle Frank, who +bought them some sticks of peppermint candy. + +Baby William had his own fun on the ranch. His mother took care of +him most of the time, leaving Janet and Teddy to do as they pleased. +She wanted them to learn to ride, and she knew they could not do it +and take care of their little brother. + +But Trouble had his own ways of having fun. He often watched Teddy +throwing the lasso, and one afternoon, when Ted had finished with his +rope and left it lying on a bench near the house, Trouble picked up +the noose. + +"Me lasso, too," he said to himself. + +Just what he did no one knew, but not long after Teddy had laid +aside the lariat, as the lasso is sometimes called, loud squawks, +crowings and cackles from the chicken yard were heard. + +"What in the world can be the matter with my hens?" cried Aunt Millie. + +Ted and Janet ran out to see. What they saw made them want to laugh, +but they did not like to do it. + +Trouble had lassoed the big rooster! + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE BUCKING BRONCO + + +With a small rope around the neck of the crowing rooster--which +could not crow as loudly as it had before, because it was nearly +choked--Trouble was dragging the fowl along after him as he ran +across the yard. + +"Trouble! Trouble!" cried Aunt Millie. "What are you doing?" + +"Playin' cowboy!" was his answer. "I lasso rooster wif my rope, like +Teddy catches post." + +"Oh, you mustn't do that!" cried Aunt Millie, as she ran after the +small boy and the dragging rooster. + +"Cock-a doodle-do!" crowed the rooster, or, rather, it tried to crow +that way, but it would get only about half of it out and then Trouble +would pull the rope tight about the fowl's neck and the crow would be +shut off suddenly. + +"Gid-dap, pony!" cried Baby William, trotting along on his short, +fat legs, making-believe, as he often did, that he was riding +horseback. "Gid-dap! I lasso a rooster, I did!" + +"Yes, and you'll kill the poor thing if you're not careful," panted +Aunt Millie, as she raced after the little fellow and caught him. +Then she gently pulled the rooster to her by means of the rope, and +took it off the fowl's neck. + +The rooster was bedraggled from having been dragged through the dust +and the dirt, and it was so dizzy from having been whirled around by +Trouble that it could hardly stand up. + +Aunt Millie smoothed out its feathers and got it some water. The +rooster drank a little and seemed to feel better. Then it ran off to +join the other roosters and the cackling hens that had been watching +what Trouble did, doubtless wondering what had gotten into the +lassoed rooster to make it run around the way it did on the end of a +rope. But it was Baby William who made all the trouble. + +"You must never do that again," said Mrs. Martin when she came out +of the ranch house and heard what her little boy had done. "That was +very wrong, William, to lasso the poor rooster and drag it about with +a rope around its neck." + +"I not do it any more," promised Trouble. "But I want a lasso like +Teddy." + +"No, you're not big enough for that," his mother said. "You must +wait until you are a little older. Don't bother the chickens any +more." + +"No, I only get de eggs," promised Baby William. + +"And please don't lasso them, or you'll break them," put in Aunt +Millie; but Janet thought her "eyes laughed," as she later told Teddy. + +"No more lasso?" asked Trouble, looking at the rope his aunt had +taken from the rooster's long neck. + +"No more lasso!" exclaimed Mrs. Barton, trying not to smile, for the +sight of the rooster, caught the way he had been, made even the older +folks want to laugh. Ted and Janet did laugh, but they did not let +Trouble see them. If he had he might have thought he had done +something smart or cute, and he would try it over again the first +chance he had. So they had to pretend to be sharp with him. The +rooster was not hurt by being lassoed. + +Afterward Trouble told how he did it. With the slip-noose of the +rope in one hand and holding the rope's end in the other, Baby +William walked quietly up behind the rooster and tossed the loop over +its head. Then he pulled it tight and started to run, as he had seen +the cow ponies galloping to pull down a horse or steer that needed to +be branded or marked with the sign of the Ring Rosy Ranch. The +rooster was very tame, often eating out of Aunt Millie's hand, so he +was not afraid to let Trouble come up quite close to him. + +One day, about a week after the Curlytops had found Clipclap in the +cave, Jim Mason said he thought the pony was well enough to be +ridden. Clipclap was brought out in the yard and Teddy and Janet went +up to him. + +The pony put his nose close to them and rubbed his head against +their outstretched hands. + +"See, he knows us!" cried Janet. + +"And I guess he's thanking us for bringing him water," added her +brother. + +"And getting the doctor to cure him of poison," went on the little +girl. "I'm glad he likes you, Teddy." + +"And your pony likes you, too, Janet," said the little boy. + +Janet's pony, Star Face, certainly seemed to like her. For he came +when she called him and took lumps of sugar from her hand. He liked +Teddy, too. In fact both ponies were very pretty and friendly and it +would be hard to say which was the better. Janet liked hers and Teddy +liked his, and that is the best thing I can say about them. + +No one came to claim Clipclap. Though Uncle Frank spoke to a number +of other ranchmen about finding the sick pony, none of them had ever +seen Clipclap before as far as they knew. If he belonged to some +other ranch it must have been far away. + +"So you may feel that it is all right for you to keep your pony, +Curlytop," said Uncle Frank to Teddy. "If anyone should, later, say +it belongs to him, and can prove it, we'll give it up, of course." + +"But I don't want to give Clipclap up!" Teddy cried. + +"Well, maybe you won't have to," said his father. "But you must not +keep what is not yours. Anyhow, if you should have to give up +Clipclap Uncle Frank will give you another pony." + +"There couldn't be any as nice as Clipclap--not even Janet's Star +Face," declared Teddy. + +He felt bad at the thought of having to give up his pet, but there +was no need to, for as the weeks went on no one came to claim +Clipclap, and Teddy counted him as his own. + +By this time Teddy and Janet had learned to ride quite well for such +little children. They knew how to sit in a saddle, up straight like +an arrow, and not slouched down or all humped up "like a bag of +meal," as Uncle Frank was wont to say. They knew how to guide their +ponies by pulling on the reins to left or to right, according to +which way they wanted to go. + +Of course they could not ride very fast yet, and Mother Martin was +just as glad they could not, for she was afraid, if they did, they +might fall off and get hurt. But Teddy and Janet were careful, and +they knew how to sit in the saddle with their feet in the stirrups. + +"They're getting to be good little riders," said Jim Mason to Uncle +Frank one day. + +"I'll take 'em with me the next time I go for a short ride." + +"Maybe we could find the bad Indians that took your horses, Uncle +Frank," said Teddy. + +"Well, I wish you could," said the owner of Ring Rosy Ranch. + +The cowboys had not been able to get back the stolen horses nor find +the Indians who had run them off. Other ranches, too, had been robbed +and a number of head of horses and cattle had been driven away. + +"We've looked all over for those Indians," said Uncle Frank, "but we +can't find 'em. If you Curlytops can, I'll give you each another +pony." + +"I'd like Clipclap best though," announced Teddy. + +"What could we do with two?" asked Janet. + +"Oh, every cowboy or cowgirl, for that matter, has more than one +horse when he can," said Jim Mason. "Then if one gets lame he has +another to ride. But don't you Curlytops go off by yourselves looking +for those bad Indians!" he warned them. + +"We won't," promised Teddy. "Well only go with you or Uncle Frank." + +"We don't find them," said the ranch owner. "I guess the Indians +sold the horses and cattle and then they hid themselves. Well, I hope +they don't take any more of my animals." + +But there was more trouble ahead for Uncle Frank. + +The Curlytops had a fine time on his ranch, though. When Teddy and +Janet were not riding, they were watching the cowboys at work or +play, for the men who looked after Uncle Frank's cattle had good +times as well as hard work. + +They would often come riding and swooping in from the distant fields +after their day's work, yelling and shouting as well as firing off +their big revolvers. But neither the Curlytops nor their mother were +as frightened at this play of the cowboys as they had been at first. + +"I wish I had a gun that would go bang," said Teddy one day. + +"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried his sister, after the fashion of her +mother. "If you had I'd never go riding ponyback with you--never +again! I'd be afraid of you! So there!" + +"Well, so would the Indians!" said Ted. However he knew he was too +small to have a firearm, so he did not tease for it. + +Sometimes, when Uncle Frank or his foreman, Jim Mason, went on short +rides around the ranch, Teddy and Janet went with them on their +ponies. Star Pace and Clipclap were two sturdy little animals, and +were gentle with the children. + +"Come on! Let's have a race!" Ted would call. + +"All right. But don't go too fast," Janet would answer, and they +would trot off, the ponies going as fast as was safe for the children. + +Teddy generally won these races, for Janet, who was very tender-hearted, +did not like to make her pony go as fast as it could go. Often, +perhaps, if Janet had urged Star Face on she would have beaten her +brother, for Clipclap still felt a little weak, now and then, from +his illness. + +One day a cowboy came in, riding hard from a far-off part of the +ranch. + +"I guess something is the matter, Jan," said Teddy, as they saw the +horseman gallop past. + +"What?" she asked as they noticed him talking to the foreman. + +"Maybe he's found the Indians that took Uncle Frank's horses," her +brother answered. + +The children drew near enough to hear what the cowboy and the +foreman were talking about. + +"More horses gone!" exclaimed Jim Mason. "Well, we'll surely have to +get after those Indians; that's all there is about it!" + +"More horses stolen?" asked Daddy Martin, coming out just then. + +"Yes," answered Jim Mason. "A lot of good ones. I guess more Indians +must have run away from the reservation. We'll have to hunt them +down!" + +"Oh, I wish I could go!" sighed Teddy. "I'd like to be an Indian +fighter." + +"You'll have to grow a lot bigger," said his uncle, with a laugh. + +Uncle Frank and some of the cowboys rode over the prairie, trying to +find the stealing Indians, but they could not. Nor could they find +the missing horses, either. + +"It's a good thing Uncle Frank has lots of cattle," said Teddy that +night when the cowboys came back to the ranch house, not having found +the horse thieves. "If he didn't have he'd be poor when the Indians +take his animals." + +"He'll be poor if the Indians keep on the way they have been doing," +said Aunt Millie. "I hope he can catch the bad men!" + +Ted and Janet hoped so too, but they did not see how they could +help, though Teddy wanted to. However he was kept near the house. + +"Come on and see the bucking bronco, Curlytops!" called Uncle Frank +to Teddy and Janet one day. + +"What is it?" asked the little girl. + +"A bucking bronco jumps up in the air with all four feet off the +ground at once, and comes down as stiff as a board," explained Uncle +Frank. "That isn't nice for the man that's in the saddle, though the +cowboys know how to ride most bucking broncos, that are really sort +of wild horses." + +"I'd like to see 'em!" cried Teddy. + +"You may," promised his uncle. "The cowboys have a bucking bronco +out in the corral and they're taking turns trying to ride him. Come +along if you want to see the fun." + +It was fun, but some hard work, too, for one after another the +cowboys fell out of the saddle of the bucking bronco as they tried to +ride him. + +Now and then one would stay on the wild animal's back longer than +had any of his friends, not falling when the bronco leaped up in the +air and came down with his legs as stiff as those of an old fashioned +piano. + +"Ki-yi! Yippi-i-yip!" yelled the cowboys, as they dashed about on +the bucking bronco, swinging their hats or their quirts, which are +short-handled whips, in the air over their heads. + +They did not mind being thrown, and each one tried to ride the wild +bronco. None could stay in the saddle more than a few minutes at a +time though. + +"Well, I guess I'll have to ride that animal myself," said Jim +Mason, when all the other cowboys had tried and had fallen or jumped +from the saddle. The foreman was a fine rider. "Yes, I guess I can +ride that bronco," he said. + +"Give the pony a chance to get his breath," suggested one of the +cowboys. "I don't reckon you can ride him though, Jim." + +"I'll try," was the answer. + +The bronco was led to a corner of the corral, or stable yard, and +tied. Then the foreman made ready to try to stay in the saddle longer +than had any of his men, for when a bronco bucks it is like trying to +hold on to a swing that is turning topsy-turvy. + +Suddenly, as Teddy and Janet were looking at some of the funny +tricks the cowboys were playing on one another, Uncle Frank gave a +cry. + +"Look at Trouble!" he exclaimed. + +Baby William had crawled through the fence and was close to the +dangerous heels of the bucking bronco. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MISSING CATTLE + + +For a moment none of the cowboys made a move. They were too +frightened at what might happen to Trouble. If it had been one of +their own friends who had gone into the corral where the dangerous +bronco was standing, they would have known what to do. + +They would have called for him to "Look out!" and the cowboy would +have kept away from the animal. But it was different with Trouble. To +him one horse was like another. He liked them all, and he never +thought any of them would kick or bite him. The bucking bronco was +most dangerous of all. + +"Oh, Trouble!" exclaimed Janet softly. + +"I--I'll get him!" whispered Teddy. "I can crawl in there and run +and get him before that bronco--" + +"You stay right where you are, Curlytop!" exclaimed Jim Mason. "We +don't want you both hurt, and if you go in there now you might start +that crazy horse to kicking. Stay where you are. I'll get Trouble for +you." + +"Maybe if I called to him he'd come," said Janet. She, too, spoke in +a whisper. In fact no one had made a noise since Trouble had been +seen crawling under the corral fence, close to the bucking bronco. + +"No, don't call, Janet," said the foreman. "You might make the +bronco give a jump, and then he'd step on your little brother. That +horse is a savage one, and he's so excited now, from so many of the +cowboys having tried to ride him, that he might break loose and kick +Trouble. We've got to keep quiet." + +The cowboys seemed to know this, for none of them said a word. They +kept very still and watched Trouble. + +Baby William thought he was going to have a good time. He had +wandered out of the house when his mother was not looking. Seeing +Ted, Janet and the cowboys down by the corral, he made up his mind +that was the place for him. + +"Maybe I get a horse wide," he said to himself, for he was about as +eager over horses as his sister or brother, and, so far, the only +rides he had had were when he sat in the saddle in front with them or +with his father, and went along very slowly indeed. For they dared +not let the horse go fast when Trouble was with them, and Trouble +wanted to go fast. + +"Me go get wide myse'f," he murmured, and then, when no one was +looking, he slipped under the corral fence. + +He was now toddling close to the heels of the bronco. + +"Nice horsie," said Trouble in his sweetest voice. "I get on your +back an' have nice wide!" + +Trouble always had hard work to sound the r in ride. "Wide" he +always called it. + +Nearer and nearer he came to the bronco. The animal, without turning +its head, knew that someone was coming up behind. Many a time a +cowboy had tried to fool the savage horse that way, and leap into the +saddle without being seen. But Imp, as the bronco was named, knew all +those tricks. + +He turned back his ears, and when a horse does that it is not a good +sign. Almost always it means he is going to bite or kick. + +In this case Imp would have to kick, as Trouble was too far behind +to be bitten. And Imp did not seem to care that it was a little boy +who was behind, and not a big cowboy. Imp was going to do his worst. + +But Jim Mason was getting ready to save Trouble. Going around to the +side, where he could not be seen so well, the foreman quickly leaped +over the fence. And then he ran swiftly toward Trouble, never saying +a word. + +The bronco heard the sound of running feet. He turned his head +around to see who else was coming to bother him and then, before Imp +could do anything and before Trouble could reach and put his little +hands on the dangerous heels, the foreman caught up Baby William and +jumped back with him, out of the way in case Imp should kick. + +And kick Imp did! His heels shot out as he laid his ears farther +back on his head and he gave a shrill scream, as horses can when they +are angry. + +"No you don't! Not this time!" cried Jim Mason, as he ran back to +the fence with Trouble. "And you must never go into the corral or +near horses again, Trouble! Do you hear?" and the foreman spoke to +Baby William as though very angry indeed. But he had to do this, for +the little fellow must learn not to go into danger. + +"Don't ever go in there again!" said the foreman, as he set Trouble +down on the ground in a safe place. + +"No, me not go," was the answer, and Baby William's lips quivered as +though he were going to cry. + +"Well, that's all right, old man!" said the foreman in kind tones. +For he loved children and did not even like to hurt their feelings. +"I didn't mean to scare you." + +But he had scared Trouble, or, rather the sudden catching up of the +little fellow and the pony's scream had frightened him, and Janet's +baby brother began to cry, hiding his head in her dress. + +But, after all, that was the best thing to make Trouble remember +that he must not go in the corral, and he had soon forgotten his +tears and was laughing at the funny tricks Imp cut up as Jim Mason +tried to ride him. + +The foreman, after he had carried Trouble safely out of the way, +went back in the corral and jumped on the bucking bronco's back. Then +Imp did all he could to get the man out of the saddle. + +Around and around the corral dashed the cow pony, and when he found +that Jim stuck on the horse began jumping up in the air--bucking as +the cowboys call it. Even that did not shake the foreman to the +ground. + +Then, suddenly, the horse fell down. But it was not an accident. He +did it on purpose, and then he began to roll over, thinking this, +surely, would get that man off his back. + +It did. But when Imp tried to roll over on the foreman, to hurt him, +Jim Mason just laughed and jumped out of the way. He knew Imp would +probably do this and he was ready for him. + +Jim watched Imp, and as soon as the bronco stopped rolling and stood +up again the foreman jumped into the saddle. This was too much for +Imp. He made up his mind he could not get rid of such a good rider, +so the horse settled down and galloped around the corral as he ought +to do. + +"Hurray! Jim rides him after all!" cried some of the cowboys. + +"I told you I'd stick to him" said the foreman with a laugh. + +"I wish I could ride that way," said Teddy, with a little sigh when +Jim came out of the corral and left Imp to have a rest. + +"Well, maybe you will some day," said the foreman. "You've got a +good start, and there's no better place to learn to ride ponyback +than at Ring Rosy Ranch." + +One warm, pleasant afternoon, when they had played about the house +for some time, amusing themselves at the games they were wont to pass +the time with in the East, Jan called to her brother: + +"Let's go and take a ride on our ponies!" + +"All right," agreed Teddy. "Where'll we go?" + +"Oh, not very far. Mother told us we mustn't go very far when we're +alone." + +"That was before we knew how to ride," declared the little boy. "I +guess we ride good enough now to take long rides." + +"But not now," insisted Jan. "We'll only go for a little way, or I'm +not going to play." + +"All right," Teddy agreed. "We won't go very far." + +So they went out to the stable where their ponies were kept, and +there one of the cowboys kindly saddled Clipclap and Star Face for +the little Curlytops. Uncle Frank had given orders to his men that +they were to let the children have the ponies whenever it was safe to +ride, and this was one of the nicest days of the summer. + +"Don't let 'em run away with you!" laughed the cowboy, as he helped +Jan and Ted into their saddles. + +"Oh, Clipclap and Star Pace won't run away!" declared the little +girl. "They're too nice." + +"Yes, they are nice ponies," agreed the cowboy. "Well, good-bye and +good luck." + +Biding up to the house, to tell their mother they were going for a +ride, but would keep within sight or calling distance, Ted and Jan +were soon guiding their ponies across the prairie. + +The children had soon learned to sit well in the saddles, and knew +how to guide their ponies. And the little animals were very safe. + +"Somehow or other, I don't feel at all worried here when the +children are out of my sight--I mean Teddy and Janet," said Mrs. +Martin to her husband, when the Curlytops had ridden away. + +"Yes, Uncle Frank's ranch does seem a safe place for them," Mr. +Martin answered. "Lots of 'down East' people think the West is a +dangerous place. Well, maybe it is in spots, but it is very nice +here." + +On over the prairies rode Teddy and Janet. Now and then the little +girl would stop her pony and look back. + +"What are you looking for?" Teddy asked. "Do you think Trouble is +following us?" + +"No, but we mustn't go too far from the house. We must stay in sight +of it, mother said." + +"Well, we will," promised Ted. + +But, after a while, perhaps it was because it was so nice to ride +along on the ponies' backs, or because the little animals went faster +than Ted or Janet imagined--I don't know just how it did happen, but, +all at once, Jan looked back and gave a cry. + +"Why, what's the matter, Jan?" asked Teddy. + +"We--we're lost!" gasped the little girl. "I can't see Uncle Frank's +house anywhere!" + +It was true enough. None of the ranch buildings were in sight, and +for a moment Ted, too, was frightened. Then as his pony moved on, a +little ahead of Jan's, the boy gave a cry of delight. + +"There it is! I can see the house!" he said. "We're not lost. We +were just down in a hollow I guess." + +And so it was. The prairies, though they look level, are made up of +little hills and valleys, or hollows. Down in between two hills one +might be very near a house and yet not see it. + +"Now we're all right," went on Teddy. + +"Yes," agreed Janet "We're not lost anymore." + +So they rode on a little farther, the ponies now and then stopping +to crop a bit of the sweet grass, when, all of a sudden, Teddy, who +was still a little ahead of his sister, called: + +"Look there, Jan!" + +"Where?" + +Teddy pointed. His sister saw several men on horseback--at least +that is what they looked like--coming toward them. Something about +the figures seemed a bit strange to the children. Ted and Jan looked +at one another and then back toward the ranch houses, which, they +made sure, were not out of sight this time. + +"Are they cowboys?" asked Jan of her brother. + +"They--they don't just look like 'em," he said. "I mean like Uncle +Frank's cowboys." + +"That's what I thought," Janet added. "They look like they had +blankets on--some of 'em." + +She and Teddy sat on their ponies' backs and kept looking at the +other figures. They were coming nearer, that was sure, and as they +came closer it was more and more certain to the Curlytops that some +of the strangers on the horses were wrapped in blankets. + +"Oh, I know what they are!" suddenly cried Janet. + +"What?" + +"In--Indians!" faltered Janet. "Oh, Teddy, if they should be _wild_ +Indians!" + +"Pooh!" exclaimed Teddy, trying to speak bravely. "Uncle Frank said +there weren't any very wild Indians near his ranch." + +"Maybe these ones wasn't near the ranch before, but they're coming +near now," said Janet, so excited the words tumbled out all mixed-up +like. "I'm going home!" + +"I--I guess I'll go with you," added Teddy, as he turned his pony's +head about. "We'd better tell Uncle Frank the Indians are coming. +Maybe they want more of his horses." + +"Oh, he won't let 'em have any!" cried Janet. "But they _are_ Indians +sure enough!" she went on, as she took a look over her shoulder. + +And there was no doubt about it. As the group of riders came closer +to the children, whose ponies did not go as fast as the larger +horses, it was seen that they were indeed Indians, many of them +wrapped in blankets. There were men, women, boys and girls, and some +of the smaller children were carried wrapped tightly to their +mothers' backs. + +Tip to the ranch rode Teddy and Jan as fast as their ponies would +take them without tossing off the Curlytops. + +"Oh, Uncle Frank!" cried Teddy. "They 're coming!" + +"A lot of 'em!" shouted Janet. + +"What's that?" asked the ranchman. "Who are coming?" + +"Indians to take more of your ponies!" Teddy gasped. + +For a time there was some little excitement on the ranch, until one +of the cowboys, riding out to see the Indians, came back and said +they were not "wild" ones, but a band that went about selling baskets +and other things they made. They did no harm, and for a time camped +near the ranch, the children, even Trouble, going over to see them. +But for some time the Curlytops did not forget the fright their first +view of the Indians gave them. + +In the days that followed Teddy and Janet had many rides on Clipclap +and Star Face, their two nice ponies. Sometimes they were allowed to +go a little way over the prairies by themselves. But when they went +for a long ride Uncle Frank, Jim Mason, their father or some of the +cowboys were with them. + +"After a while maybe I'll learn how to ride so I can go off with you +and help get the Indians that stole your horses. Do you think I can, +Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy one day. + +"Well, maybe, Curlytop. We surely must find those Indians, for I +don't like to lose all those horses. As soon as I get some of my work +done I'll have another look for them." + +And then, a few days later, more bad news came to Uncle Frank. With +his cowboys he was getting some cattle ready to ship away to a +distant city, from where they were to be sent still farther away in a +train of cattle cars, when a cowboy, who seemed much excited, came +riding up to the corral. + +He looked very tired and warm, for the weather was hot, and his +horse was covered with flecks of foam, as though it had been ridden +hard and far. + +"What's the matter, Henry?" asked Uncle Frank. + +"Indian thieves!" was the answer. "A band of the Indians have run +away with a lot of your best cattle!" + +"They have?" cried Uncle Frank. "How do you know?" + +"I saw 'em, and I chased 'em. But they got away from me. Maybe if we +start right out now we can catch 'em and get back the cattle." + +"Then we'll go!" cried Uncle Frank. + +Teddy and Janet were very much excited when they saw the cowboys +saddling their mustangs ready for the chase. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +LOOKING FOR INDIANS + + +"Can't we come along?" asked Teddy, as he saw Uncle Frank lead his +horse out of the corral. + +"And I want to come, too!" added Janet. + +"Oh, no! We couldn't think of letting you!" answered Uncle Frank. +"Come on, boys! Get ready. We'll have to ride fast!'' + +"We can ride fast!" added Teddy. "You said, the other day, Uncle +Frank, I could ride real good!" + +"So you can, Curlytop." + +"Then why can't we come? Jan--she's a good rider, too!" + +"Why the idea of you children thinking you can go off on a hunt for +Indians!" exclaimed their mother. + +"We want to go--awful much!" Teddy murmured. + +"Not this time, Curly boy," said the ranchman. "We may have to be +out all night, and it looks like rain. You stay at home with Janet, +and I'll tell you all about it when I come back." + +"Will you, truly?" + +"Truly I will." + +"And if you get any Indians will you bring 'em here?" Teddy demanded. + +"No, don't!" cried Janet quickly. "I don't want to see any Indians." + +"But they're _tame_ ones," said her brother. + +"They can't be _awful_ tame, else they wouldn't run away with Uncle +Frank's cows," declared the little girl. + +"That's right!" laughed Uncle Frank. "I guess we won't bring any +Indians here, Curlytop, even if we catch 'em, which we may not do as +they have a good start of us. Anyhow we'll have to turn the Redmen +back to their reservation where they belong if we get any of them. +We'll just take my cattle and horses away, if we can, and tell the +Indians to go home and be good." + +"Will they do it?" asked Daddy Martin. + +"It's hard to say," answered Uncle Frank. "I'd like to make 'em stop +taking my animals, though. Well, I guess we'll start. We'll be back +as soon as we can." + +So he rode off with his cowboys after the Indians. The cowboy who +had ridden in with the news went back with the others to show them +where he had last seen the cattle thieves. + +He stopped at the ranch house long enough, though, to get something +to eat, and then rode away again. But he found time to talk a while +to the Curlytops. + +"Where did you see the Indians?" Teddy asked while the cowboy was +eating and Uncle Frank and the others getting ready for the chase. + +"Oh, I was giving my pony a drink at the spring in the rocks when I +saw the Indians across the prairie--field, I guess you'd call it back +East." + +"Well, the prairies are big fields," observed Janet. + +"So they are, Curly girl," laughed the cowboy. "Well, it was while I +was watering my horse that I saw the Indians." + +"You mean at the spring in the rocks where Jan and I found Clipclap +in the cave?" Teddy asked. + +"That's the place, Curlytop. I chased after them to see which way +they were driving off your Uncle Frank's cattle, but I saw they were +too many for me, so I came on back as fast as my horse would bring +me." + +"Was there a lot of Indians?" Teddy inquired. + +"Quite a few," answered the cowboy. "Well, now I've got to go and +help chase them," and he hurried through his meal and rode off with +Uncle Frank and the others. + +"Say, I wish we _could_ go, don't you, Janet?" asked Teddy of his +sister, when they were left by themselves near the corral. + +"No, I don't! I don't want to chase Indians!" + +"Well, I'd chase 'em and you could watch me." + +"You're not big enough," said the little girl. "Indians are awful +big. Don't you remember the one we saw at the station?" + +"Yes. But maybe the ones that took Uncle Frank's ponies are little +Indians." + +"I don't care," Janet said. "I don't want to chase after any of 'em. +I don't like 'em." + +"All right--then I won't go," decided Teddy. "But let's go and take +a ride on our ponies." + +"Yes, I'll do that," agreed Janet, and soon, having had one of the +cowboys who had been left behind at Ring Rosy Ranch saddle Clipclap +and Star Face, the Curlytops started for their ride. + +"Don't go too far!" called Mrs. Martin after the children. + +"No, we won't," they promised. + +"I wants to go wide too!" begged Trouble. "I 'ikes a wide on a +ponyback." + +"Not now, my dear," his mother said. "We'll go in the shade and pick +flowers," and she carried him away where he would not see Teddy and +Janet go off, for that made Trouble fretful. He wanted to be with +them. + +Over the prairie rode Janet and Ted. Their ponies went slowly, for +the children had been told not to ride fast when they were alone. +But, after a while, Ted got tired of this slow motion. + +"Let's have a race, Jan!" he called. "I can beat you from here to +that hill," and he pointed to one not far away. + +"Mother said we couldn't ride fast," objected the little girl. + +"Well, we won't ride _very_ fast," agreed Ted. "Come on, just a little +run." + +Janet, too, wanted to go a bit faster, and so, when her pony was in +a line with Ted's, she called sharply: + +"Gid-dap, Star Face!" + +"Gid-dap, Clipclap!" cried Teddy. + +The two ponies started to run. + +"Oh, I'm going to beat! I'm going to beat!" Janet cried, for she saw +that Star Face was getting ahead of Clipclap. + +"No you're not!" shouted Teddy, and he touched his heel to the +pony's flank. Clipclap gave a jump forward, and then something +happened. + +Teddy took a flying leap, and right over Clipclap's head he sailed, +coming down on his hands and knees some distance off. Clipclap fell +down and rolled over in the grass while Janet kept on toward the hill +that marked the end of the race. + +The little girl reached this place first, not being able to stop her +pony when she saw what had happened to Teddy. But as soon as she +could turn around she rode back to him and asked anxiously: + +"Are you hurt, Ted?" + +"No--no. I--I guess not," he answered slowly. + +"Is Clipclap?" asked Janet. + +The pony answered for himself by getting up, giving himself a shake +and then beginning to eat some grass. + +"What happened?" Janet questioned further. "Why didn't you come on +and race with me? I won!" + +"Yes, I guess you did," admitted Teddy, getting up and brushing the +dust off his clothes. "But I'd 'a' beaten you, only my pony stumbled +and he threw me over his head. I went right over his head; didn't I +Janet?" + +"Yes, you did, Teddy. And you looked awful funny! But I'm glad +you're not hurt." + +"So'm I." + +"What made Clipclap stumble?" asked the little girl. + +"I guess he stepped in a gopher's hole," answered her brother. + +"Let's look," proposed Janet. + +Brother and sister went to the place where Clipclap had stumbled. +There they saw a little hole in the ground. It was the front, or +maybe the back, door of the home of a little animal called a gopher, +which burrows under the earth. A gopher is a sort of squirrel-like +rat, and on the prairies they make many holes which are dangerous if +a horse suddenly steps into them. Prairie dogs are another species of +animal that burrow on the Western plains, making holes into which +horses or ponies often step, breaking their legs and throwing their +riders. + +This time nothing had happened except that Teddy and the pony had +been shaken up. The pony might have broken a leg but did not, nor was +Teddy even scratched. + +Cowboys always dread gopher and prairie dog holes, especially at +night when they can not be so easily seen. + +"Oh, I know what let's do!" exclaimed Janet, when she found that her +brother was all right. + +"What?" asked Teddy. + +"Let's wait here until the gopher comes up!" + +"All right. Then we'll catch him and take him home to Trouble." + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +TROUBLE "HELPS" + + +Janet and Teddy sat beside the gopher hole, while their ponies, not +far from them, ate the sweet grass of the prairie. Clipclap and Star +Face did not wander away, even if they were not tied to a hitching +post. For Western horses and cow ponies are trained to stand where +their master leaves them, if he will but toss the reins over their +heads and let them rest on the ground. + +When a pony sees that this has been done he will never run away, +unless perhaps something frightens him very much. It may be that he +thinks, when the reins are over his head and down on the ground, they +are tied to something, so he could not run away if he wanted to. + +At any rate, Clipclap and Star Face stayed where Ted and Janet left +them, and the little Curlytops watched the gopher hole. + +"I wonder when he'll come out," said Janet after a bit. + +"Shs-s-s-s!" whispered Teddy. "Don't talk!" + +"Why not?" asked his sister. + +"'Cause you might scare him. You mustn't talk any more than if you +were fishing." + +"A gopher isn't a fish!" + +"I know it," said Teddy. "But you've got to keep quiet." + +So he and Janet remained very quiet, watching the hole. Suddenly +Janet gave Teddy a slight tap with her hand. He had looked off to see +if the ponies were all right. + +"What's the matter?" asked Teddy. + +"Hush!" whispered Janet. "There he is." + +She pointed to the gopher's hole. Teddy saw a tiny black nose and a +pair of sparkling eyes as a head was thrust a little way out of the +burrow. + +"I'll get him!" cried the little boy. + +With outstretched hand he made a grab toward the hole. But his +fingers only grasped a lot of dirt and stones. The gopher had dived +down back into his hole as soon as he saw Teddy's first move. + +"Oh, he got away!" said Janet sorrowfully. + +"Ill get him next time," declared Teddy. + +But he did not. Three or four times more the little animal put his +small head and bright eyes out of the top of the hole, and each time +Teddy made a grab for him; but the gopher was too quick. Finally +Janet said: + +"I guess we better go home, Teddy." + +"Why?" + +"Oh, it's getting late, and I'm getting hungry." + +"So'm I. I'll wait until he comes up once more and then well go." + +Once more the gopher peeped up, as if wondering why in the world +those two strange children did not go away and let him alone. Ted +made a grab for him, but missed and then the little boy said: + +"Come on, Jan. Now we'll go home!" + +"And we haven't any nice little gopher to take to Trouble," said +Janet sadly. + +"Oh, well, maybe it would bite him if we did catch one," reflected +her brother. "I'll take him some of these pretty stones," and he +picked up some from the ground. "He'll like to play with these." + +Teddy whistled for his pony and Clipclap came slowly up to his +little master. Janet held out a bunch of grass to Star Face and her +pony, just as he had been taught, came up to her. Teddy helped his +sister get up in the saddle. It was not hard for them, as the ponies +were small, and Jim Mason had showed them how to put one foot in the +stirrup, and then, with one hand on the saddle and the other grasping +both the bridle and the pony's mane, give a jump that carried them +up. But though Janet could mount her pony alone Teddy always helped +her when he was with her by holding the stirrup. + +"Let's have another race home," suggested Teddy, when they had +started. + +"No," answered his sister. "You might fall some more and get hurt. +We'll ride slow." + +So they did, though Teddy was anxious for a good, fast gallop. + +"Well, did you have a nice time?" asked Mother Martin, as they came +to the house after putting away their ponies. + +"We had lots of fun," answered Janet "Teddy fell off his pony--" + +"Fell off his pony!" cried her mother. + +"He threw me!" explained Ted, and then he told what had happened. + +"An' didn't you catch noffin for me?" asked Trouble, who heard his +brother telling the story of his adventure. + +"I brought you these nice stones," and Teddy took them out of his +pocket. "You can play with them, Trouble." + +Baby William laughed and sat down to play with the stones. + +"Did the cowboys come back with the Indians?" asked Teddy of Aunt +Millie when she was giving him and Janet some bread and jam to eat. + +"No, not yet, Curlytop. I expect Uncle Frank and the boys will be +gone all night." + +"Will they have a house to sleep in?" asked Janet. + +"No, unless they happen to be near one when it gets dark. But they +took their blankets with them, and it's so warm that they'll just +wrap up in them and sleep out on the prairie," said Aunt Millie. + +"Won't they be hungry?" Teddy inquired, as he took a big bite of the +bread and jam. + +"Oh, no! Don't you remember I told you they always take something to +eat with them when they go out this way? They are used to camping on +the prairies, and they know how to make a fire, broil the bacon and +make their coffee," answered Aunt Millie. "You need never worry about +Uncle Frank and his cowboys. They'll be all right." + +And so they were. It was not until the next afternoon that the party +which had gone out to chase the Indians came back. They were tired, +because they had ridden a good many miles, but they said they had +slept well and had had enough to eat. + +"Did you catch the Indians?" asked Teddy eagerly. + +"No, Curlytop," answered Uncle Frank. "I'm sorry to say we did not. +They got away from us." + +"Did you see them?" asked Daddy Martin. + +"Yes, but they were a long way off. Too far for us to get at them." + +"And did they have your cattle with them?" + +"Yes, they had a lot of my best animals. I guess they must be hiding +away somewhere among the hills and mountains. We came pretty close to +them at one time, and they suddenly disappeared. It seems as if they +must have gone into a big hole or cave. We couldn't find them." + +"Are you going to look any more?" Teddy questioned. "And if you do +go, Uncle Frank, please can't I go too?" + +"Well, most likely we will have another hunt for the Indians," +answered the ranchman, "but I'm afraid we couldn't take you along, +Curlytop." + +"Why not, Uncle Frank?" + +"Oh, you might get hurt." + +"Well, can I see the Indians after you catch 'em?" + +"Oh, yes, I guess I can promise you _that_," and Uncle Frank smiled at +Daddy Martin. + +"And can I ask them to make me a bow and arrows?" went on Teddy. + +"Yes, you can _ask_ them, but I don't believe they will," Uncle +Frank replied. "These Indians aren't very nice. They're quite bad, in +fact, and we all wish they'd stay where they belong and not come off +their reservation and steal our cattle and horses." + +"Well, I'm going to ask one to make me a bow and some arrows when +you catch 'em," decided Teddy. + +That afternoon Teddy saw his sister trying to do something with bits +of string and sticks in a shady spot on the porch. + +"What are you making, Jan," he asked. "A cat's cradle?" + +"Pooh! you don't make a cat's cradle with sticks," said the little +girl. + +"Well, I thought maybe it was a new kind, or maybe a _kitten's_ +cradle," laughed Teddy. + +"Nope; it isn't that either," went on Janet, as she kept on twisting +the strings around the sticks. + +"Well, what _are_ you making?" + +"A bow and arrow." + +"Ho! Ho!" laughed Jan's brother "You can't make a bow and arrow _that_ +way. Anyhow you don't need a string for an arrow." + +"I know _that_!" Jan said. "But I'm making the bow first, and then I'm +going to make the arrow. The arrow part is what you shoot, isn't it, +Ted?" + +"Yes," he answered. "I'll help you, Jan. I didn't mean to laugh at +you," he went on, for he saw that Janet was very much in earnest +about what she was doing. "I know how to make a bow and arrows." + +"Oh, please show me!" begged Janet. "I want to know how to shoot +like the Indians." + +Teddy, however, did not have much better luck making the bow than +his sister had had. The trouble was that the sticks Janet had picked +up were not the right kind. They would not bend, and to make a bow +that shoots arrows a piece of wood that springs, or bends, is needed. +For it is the springy action of the wood that shoots the arrow on its +way. + +After trying two or three times, each time finding something wrong, +Teddy said: + +"Oh, I don't guess I can make a bow, either. Let's play something +else." + +"What'll we play?" asked Janet. + +Teddy thought for a few moments. Playing out at Uncle Frank's ranch +was different from playing at home. In some ways it was not so easy, +for at home if the Curly-tops could not think up any way to have fun +by themselves, they could run down the street and find some other +boys and girls. But here there were no streets, and no other boys or +girls unless Teddy and Janet went a long way to look for them, and +they could not do that. + +"I know what we can do," said Teddy, after a while. "We can get some +blankets and cookies and play cowboy." + +"How can you play cowboy with cookies and blankets?" + +"I'll show you," Teddy answered, as he went into the house to get +the things he wanted. He soon came out with some old quilts and the +cookies, which were in a paper bag. + +"Now," went on Janet's brother, "We'll go off on the prairie and +make believe it's night and we have to stay out like the cowboys when +they went after Uncle Frank's horses." + +"Oh, that'll be fun!" cried Janet, and then she and Ted rolled +themselves up in the old quilts and pretended to go to sleep on the +soft grass of the prairie, making believe it was night, though of +course it was not, for the sun was shining. Then they ate the +cookies, pretending they were bacon, sandwiches, cake and other +things that cowboys like. + +Two or three days later Uncle Frank and the cowboys went out again +to look for the Indians, but they did not find them. From other +ranches word came of cattle and horses that had been stolen; and more +cowboys were hired to keep watch over the animals that had to be left +out in the big fields to eat their fill of grass. No barn was large +enough to hold them. + +Meanwhile Teddy and Janet were learning how to ride better each day. +They could go quite fast now, though they were not allowed to make +their ponies gallop except on ground where Uncle Frank knew there +were no holes in which the animals might stumble. + +Sometimes Daddy and Mother Martin went to ride with the children, +and then they had good times together, taking their lunch and staying +all day out on the prairie or in a shady grove of trees. + +One day Ted and Janet saw some cowboys driving a number of ponies to +the corral near the ranch buildings. Some of the animals were quite +wild and went racing about as though they would like to run far off +and not come back. + +But the cowboys knew how to take care of the ponies. They rode +around them, keeping them together in a bunch, and if one started to +get away the cowboys would fire their revolvers and yell, so the pony +would become frightened and turn back. + +"Did you take these ponies away from the Indians?" asked Teddy, as +he saw the little animals turned into the corral and the gate shut on +them. + +"No, these are some that have been running wild in a field away over +at the far end of my ranch," explained Uncle Frank. "I had them +brought in, as I'm going to ship some away to be sold." + +"Come on, we'll go and look at the ponies," called Ted to his +sister. "Are they very wild?" he asked Jim Mason, who had helped the +cowboys bring them to the ranch corral. + +"Yes, some of 'em are pretty wild," was the answer. "We had hard +work making them come along. They want to get loose and do as they +please." + +Ted and Janet climbed up on the corral fence to look at the ponies. +A few were somewhat tame, and allowed the Curlytops to pat them. But +others were very wild, and ran about as though looking for a place to +jump the fence or get out through a hole. But the fence was good and +strong. It was high and had no holes in it. + +"Lots of ponies!" murmured Trouble, as he toddled after his brother +and sister to the corral. + +"Yes, lots of 'em," agreed Janet. "You'll soon be a big boy and you +can have a pony to ride like brother and sister." + +"Trouble want pony now!" he exclaimed. + +"Oh, no, not now," Janet said as she helped him get up on the lowest +board of the fence, part of which was wooden, so he could look in +better. + +"What they run around like that for?" asked Trouble, as he saw some +of the ponies racing about the corral. + +"They want to get out," Janet answered. + +"Trouble go help," murmured the little fellow, but Janet either did +not hear what he said or she paid no attention, for just then two of +the ponies had a race together around the corral and she and Ted +wanted to see which would win. + +Trouble got down off the fence and went around to the gate. His +brother and sister did not notice him until, all at once, Janet, +missing her little brother, cried: + +"Where's Trouble?" + +"I don't know," Ted answered. "Maybe he--Oh, look, Janet!" he +suddenly cried. "The corral gate is open and all the ponies are +running out!" + +"Oh, that's right! They are!" Janet then screamed. "But where is +Trouble?" + +"I don't know. I guess he--Oh, there he is!" and Teddy pointed to a +spot near the gate. + +There stood Trouble between the fence and the big gate which had +swung back on its hinges. + +"Oh, look at 'em run!" cried Janet. + +"They're all running out!" added Teddy excitedly. "I wonder who let +'em loose." + +"Maybe it was Trouble," suggested Janet. "Oh, it _was!"_ she went on. +"Trouble must have opened the gate and let the ponies loose!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +ON THE TRAIL + + +Trouble had done that very thing. The little fellow had not meant to +do any harm, and certainly thought he was doing something to help, +but really he made a great deal of work for Uncle Frank and the +cowboys. + +The corral, or yard where the half-tamed horses were kept while they +were being got ready to send away, was closed by a large gate, but +one easy to open if you knew how. All one had to do was to pull on a +little handle, which snapped a spring and the gate would swing open. + +Horses and cattle could not open the gate, for they could not reach +the handle, even if any of them had known enough to do anything like +that. + +But Trouble had watched Uncle Frank or some of the cowboys open the +gate by pulling on the handle; and now he did it himself. Then, of +course, when the ponies saw the open gate they raced out. + +"Get after 'em!" cried Uncle Frank who came galloping up on his +horse to find out what was the matter. "Get after the ponies, boys! +Round them up!" + +"Round up," is what cowboys call riding around a lot of horses or +cattle to keep the animals in one place or to drive them where they +should go. Uncle Frank wanted his cowboys to ride after the runaway +ponies and drive them back into the corral. + +As the wild little horses trotted out through the gate, behind which +Trouble stood, well out of danger, the cowboys rode after them, +yelling and shouting and shooting their revolvers. + +"What a lot of noise!" cried Janet, covering her ears with her hands +as she got down off the fence. + +"I like it!" laughed Teddy. "It's like a Wild West show!" + +Indeed it was, in a way, but it meant a lot of work for Uncle Frank +and his men. For all the ponies ran out of the corral and were +scattering over the prairie. + +"Oh, Trouble! did you let the horses out?" asked Janet, as her +little brother came out from behind the gate and toddled toward her +and Ted. The runaway horses were now well out of the way. "Did you +open the gate?" + +"Yes. I did open gate," Trouble answered, smiling. + +"What for?" asked Teddy. + +"Help little horses get out," said Trouble. "Them want to get out +and Trouble help them. Trouble 'ike ponies!" + +"Oh, but, my dear, you shouldn't have done it!" chided Mother +Martin, who had come out of the house to find out what all the +excitement was about. "That was very naughty of you. See all the work +you have made for Uncle Frank and his men." + +"Horses run out when Trouble open gate," was the only reply Baby +William made. + +"Yes, I know," went on his mother. "But it was wrong! You must never +again open any gates on Uncle Frank's ranch. Just think--the horses +might have stepped on you or kicked you!" + +"We didn't see him near the gate or we'd have stopped him," put in +Teddy. + +"That's true," added Janet. "The first we saw was the ponies going +out, and then we saw Trouble behind the gate." + +"He didn't mean to be bad," said his mother, as she carried him back +to the house, "but he has made a lot of work. I'll have to punish him +by not letting him out to play for an hour or so. Then he'll remember +not to open gates again, whether he thinks he is helping horses or +not." + +And, though Trouble cried very hard, he was kept in the house. For, +as his mother had said, he must have something to make him remember +not to do such a thing again. + +Meanwhile Uncle Frank and the cowboys were busy rounding up the +runaway ponies. The little horses, tired of being cooped up in the +corral, raced about, kicking up their heels and glad to be out on the +prairie again. But the cowboys knew how to handle them. + +Around and around the drove of half-wild ponies rode the yelling and +shouting men, firing off many blank cartridges to scare the little +animals back into the corral. + +Some of the ponies, frightened by the noise, did turn back. They ran +up to the corral gate, which was still open, and sniffed at the +fence. They may have said to themselves: + +"We don't like it, being shut up in there, but maybe well have to go +back in, for we don't like being shouted at, and we don't like the +bang-bang noises like thunder." + +But, even when some of the ponies had run back as far as the corral +gate they did not go in. Once again they turned around and would have +galloped across the prairie again. But Uncle Frank shouted: + +"Get after them, boys! Drive those few in and the rest will follow +after like sheep! Get after them!" + +So the cowboys rode up on their own swift ponies, that seemed to be +having a good time, and then the other ponies nearest the corral gate +were turned in through it. Then as the rest were driven up they did +as the first ones had done and galloped back where they had been +before Trouble let them out. + +One after another the ponies ran back into the corral until every +one was there. Then Uncle Frank closed the gate, and this time he +locked it so that no one could open it without the key. But no one +would try, not even Trouble, for, crying and sobbing to be allowed to +go out and play, he had been given a lesson that he would not soon +forget. + +"I'm sorry I had to punish him," said Mother Martin to the +Curlytops, when they came in after the ponies were once more in the +corral, "but I just had to. Work on a ranch is hard enough without +little boys letting the horses run wild after they have once been +caught." + +"Oh, well, no great harm was done," said Uncle Frank with a good +-natured laugh, "though it did make us ride pretty hard for a while. +Come on, Trouble, I'll take you ponyback!" + +This was what Trouble liked, and he soon dried his tears and sat on +the saddle in front of Uncle Frank as happy as could be. Janet and +Ted got out their ponies, and rode with Uncle Frank and Trouble +around the outside of the corral, looking at the little horses inside +the fence. They were quieter now, and were eating some oats the +cowboys had put out for them. + +Two or three days after this, when the ponies had been driven away +to the railroad station to be shipped to a far-off state, a cowboy +came riding in with news that he had seen a band of two or three +Indians pass along the prairie near the rocks where Teddy and Janet +had found Clipclap. + +"If we ride after them," said the cowboy, "maybe we can find where +the other Indians are, and where they have hidden your horses and +cattle, Mr. Barton." + +"That's it!" exclaimed Uncle Frank. "We'll get on the trail after +these Indians. I'm sure they must have some of my animals hidden away +in the hills, for I would have heard of it if they had sold them +around here. We'll get on the trail!" + +"What's the trail, Daddy?" asked Teddy of his father. + +"Oh, it means the marks the Indians' ponies may have left in the +soft ground," said Mr. Martin. "Uncle Frank and his cowboys will try +to trail, or follow, the marks of the horses' feet, and see where the +Indians have gone." + +"Can't I come?" asked Teddy. "I can ride good now!" + +"Oh, no indeed you can't go!" cried Mother Martin. "Are you going?" +she asked her husband. + +"Yes," he answered. "I think I'll go on the trail with Uncle Frank." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE CURLYTOPS ALONE + + +Teddy and Janet sat on a bench outside the cowboys' bunkhouse, as +their father, Uncle Frank and a number of the ranchmen rode away over +the prairies on the trail of the Indians. The Curlytops did not seem +very happy. + +"Don't you wish _we_ could go, Jan?" asked Teddy, after he and his +sister had sat in silence for some time. + +"I just guess I _do_!" she exclaimed. "I can ride good, too. Almost as +good as you, Ted, and I don't see why we couldn't go!" + +"Yes, you ride nice, Jan," said her brother. "But I thought you were +afraid of Indians." + +"I used to be, but I'm not any more. Anyway, if you'd stay with me I +wouldn't be. And, anyhow, Uncle Frank says the Indians won't hurt us." + +"Course they won't! I'm not afraid! I'd go on the trail after 'em if +they'd let us." + +"So would I. We could throw stones at 'em if they tried to hurt us, +Teddy." + +"Yes. Or we could ride our ponies fast and get away. Uncle Frank +told me the Indians didn't have any good ponies, and that's why they +took his." + +"But we can't go," said Janet with a sigh. + +"No; we've got to stay at home." + +A little later a cowboy came limping out of the bunkhouse. His name +was Sim Body, but all his friends called him "Baldy" because he had +so little hair on his head. + +"Hello, Curlytops!" cried Baldy in a jolly voice, for he was always +good-natured. Even now he was jolly, though he had a lame foot where +a horse had stepped on it. That is why he was not on the trail after +the Indians with the other cowboys. + +"Hello," answered Teddy, but he did not speak in a jolly voice. + +"Why, what's the matter?" asked Baldy with a laugh, as he limped to +the bench and sat down near the two children. "You act as sad and +gloomy as if there wasn't a Christmas or a New Year's any more, to +say nothing of Fourth of July and birthdays! What's the matter? Seems +to me, if I had all the nice, curly hair you two have, I'd be as +happy as a horned toad and I'd go around singing all day long," and +Baldy rubbed his hand over his own smooth head and laughed. + +"I don't like my hair," grumbled Teddy. "It's always getting snarled +and the comb gets stuck in it." + +"And it does in mine, too," added Janet. "And mother pulls when she +tries to untangle it. Mine's longer than Ted's." + +"Yes, and nicer, for that reason," went on Baldy. "Though I'd be +glad if I had even half of yours, Teddy. But never mind about that. I +won't take your hair, though I'd like to know what makes you both so +gloomy-like. Can't you smile?" + +Ted and Janet could not help laughing at Baldy, he seemed so funny. +He was a good friend of theirs. + +"We can't go on the trail after Indians," said Janet. "We want to +go, but we've got to stay here." + +"And we can ride our ponies good, too," went on Teddy. "Uncle Frank +said we could." + +"Yes, you're getting to be pretty good riders," admitted Baldy. "But +that isn't saying you're big enough to go on a trail after Indians. +Of course these Indians may not be very bad, and maybe they aren't +the ones that took our horses. But riding on a trail takes a long +while, and maybe the boys will be out all night in the open. You +wouldn't like that." + +"We went camping with our grandpa once," declared Teddy. + +"And we slept in a tent," added his sister. + +"And we saw a funny blue light and we thought it was a ghost but it +wasn't," continued Teddy. + +"Hum! A ghost, eh?" laughed Baldy. "Well, I've never been on a trail +after one of them, but I've trailed Indians--and helped catch 'em, +too." + +"How do you do it?" asked Teddy eagerly. + +"Well, you just keep on riding--following the trail you know--until +you catch up to those you're after. Sometimes you can't see any marks +on the ground and you have to guess at it." + +"And do the Indians ride on ahead and try to get away?" asked Janet. + +"Indeed they do. When they know we're after 'em they ride as fast as +they can. That is, if they've done wrong, like taking horses or +cattle that aren't theirs. We just keep chasing 'em until we get +close enough to arrest 'em." + +"It's like a game of tag, isn't it?" asked Janet. + +"Well, yes, you could call it sort of like that," admitted Baldy, +with another laugh. "But it's a kind of game of tag that little boys +and girls can't very well play." + +"Not even when they have ponies?" asked Teddy. + +"Well, of course, having a pony makes it easier to keep on the +trail. You couldn't go very far walking over the prairies--at least +none of us do. We all ride. But I'll tell you some stories about +cowboys and Indians and that will amuse you for a while. Like to hear +'em?" + +"Oh, yes!" cried Teddy. + +"Very much, thank you," added Janet, a little more politely but +still just as eagerly as her brother. + +So Baldy, sitting on the bench in front of the bunkhouse and resting +his lame foot on a saddle on the ground, told the Curlytops stories +of his cowboy life--of sleeping out on the prairies keeping watch +over the cattle, of Indians or other bad men who would come and try +to steal them, and how he and his friends had to give chase to get +the steers or ponies back. + +"Did you ever get captured by the Indians?" asked Teddy. + +"Well, yes, once I was," answered the cowboy. + +"Oh, tell us about it!" begged the little Curlytop chap. "I love to +hear stories about Indians! Don't you, Jan?" + +"I like stories--yes," said the little girl. "But if you're going to +tell a story about Indians, Mr. Baldy, maybe it'll be a scary one, +and I don't like scary stories." + +"I do!" exclaimed Ted. "The scarier they are the better I like 'em!" + +Baldy laughed as he said: + +"Well, I guess, seeing as how the little lady doesn't like scary +stories, I'd better tell one that isn't. We must please the ladies, +you know, Teddy." + +"Oh, yes, I know that," the little boy said. "But after you tell the +not-scary story, Mr. Baldy, couldn't you tell me one that is scary--a +real, terrible scary one. You can take me out behind the barn where +Jan can't hear it." + +"Well, maybe I could do that," agreed the good-natured cowboy, +laughing at the Curlytops. "Now then for the not-scary story." + +"And you don't have to take Teddy out behind the barn to tell him the +scary one," put in Janet. "You could stay here, and I could cover up +my ears with my hands when you came to the terrible parts, couldn't I? +Is there any parts in it that isn't scary? I'd like to hear _them_, +Mr. Baldy." + +"Well, I guess we can fix it that way," said the cowboy. "Now the +first story I'm going to tell you, is how I was captured by the +Indians," and the children sat closer to him and waited eagerly. + +"Once upon a time," said Baldy, "a lot of Indians lived not far from +the house where I lived." + +"Weren't you afraid?" asked Janet. + +"Please don't ask questions till he tells the story," begged Teddy. + +"All right," agreed his sister, and Baldy went on: + +"No, I wasn't much afraid, or if I was I've forgotten it now, as it +was quite a while ago. Anyhow, one day I was out on the prairie, +picking flowers, I think, for I know I used to like flowers, and, all +of a sudden, along came a lot of Indians on horses, and one of them +picked me up and took me right away with him, on the horse in front +of him. + +"The horse was a strong one, and could easily carry both of us, and +though I wiggled around a good bit and yelled, the Indian didn't let +go of me. On and on he rode, carrying me off, and the other Indians +rode ahead of us, and on either side. I couldn't get away, no matter +how I tried. + +"After a while the Indians, who had been out hunting, came to where +their tents were. This was their camp, and then I was lifted down off +the horse and given to a squaw." + +Teddy simply had to ask some questions now. + +"A squaw is a Indian lady, isn't she?" + +"Yes," answered Baldy, "that's what she is." + +"Well, I shouldn't think she'd want to take you," went on the little +boy. "I thought the Indian men always kept the prisoners, and you +were a prisoner, weren't you?" + +"Yes," answered Baldy, and there was a queer smile on his face, "but +I guess I forgot to tell you that the time I was captured by the +Indians I was a little boy, not as big as you, Curlytop. And the +reason they picked me up off the prairie was that I had wandered away +from my home and was lost. So the nice squaw kept me until one of the +Indian men had time to take me home." + +"Then didn't the Indians hurt you?" asked Janet. + +"Not a bit. They were very good to me," the cowboy said. "Some of +them knew my father and mother. That's the only time I was ever +captured by the Indians, and I'm afraid it wasn't very much of a +story." + +"Oh, it was _very_ nice," said Teddy politely. + +"And not a bit scary, except a little teeny bit at first," added +Janet. "Can you tell us another, Mr. Baldy?" + +"Well, I guess I can," said the good-natured cowboy. So he told +other tales of what had happened to him on the prairies, for he had +lived in the West all his life, and knew much about it. + +Teddy and Janet were very glad to hear these stories, but listening +to them made Ted, at least, wish all the more that he could have gone +with his father and his Uncle Frank on the trail after the Indians. + +Then Baldy was called away by another cowboy, who wanted to ask him +something about a sick horse, and Teddy and Janet were called by +their mother to take care of Trouble for a while. + +It was still morning, the cowboys having ridden away before dinner. +They had taken with them enough to eat, even if they had to stay out +all night. + +"I wants a wide!" announced Trouble, when his brother and sister +came in to get him. + +"Could we give him a little ride on our ponies?" asked Teddy of his +mother. + +"Yes, I think so. But don't go far away from the stable. Are any of +the cowboys out there to help you saddle?" + +Saddling, which meant buckling the leather seat tightly around the +pony, was something Teddy and Janet could not yet do very well for +themselves. It takes strong fingers to tighten the straps. + +"Yes, Baldy is out there," Janet said. + +"How often have I told you not to call the men by their nicknames?" +asked Mother Martin with a smile. "It isn't nice for children to do +that." + +"But, please, Mother, we don't know his other name very well," said +Teddy. "Everybody calls him Baldy." + +"Yes, that's right," agreed Aunt Millie. "I do myself. I guess he +doesn't mind." + +"Very well, if he'll saddle your ponies for you, take Trouble for a +little ride," agreed Mrs. Martin. "But be careful." + +The Curlytops said they would, and they were soon taking turns +riding Trouble on the saddles in front of them. Clipclap and Star +Face liked the children and were well-behaved ponies, so there was no +danger in putting Trouble on the back of either as long as Ted or +Janet held him. + +"But don't go riding off with him on the trail after the Indians," +said Baldy, playfully shaking his finger at the Curlytops. + +"We won't!" they promised. + +Up and down on the paths among the ranch buildings rode the +children. Trouble was allowed to hold the ends of the reins, and he +thought he was guiding the ponies, but really Teddy and Janet did +that. + +But finally even such fun as riding ponyback tired Trouble. He +wanted something else to do, and said: + +"Le's go an' s'ide downhill on hay in de barn." + +Teddy and Janet knew what that meant. They had learned this kind of +fun at Grandpa Martin's Cherry Farm. Here, on Ring Rosy Ranch, there +was a large barn filled with hay, and there was plenty of room to +slide down in the mow, or place where the hay was put away. + +"Come on!" cried Janet. "Well give him a good slide, Teddy." + +A little later the Curlytops and Baby William were laughing and +shouting in the barn, rolling down and tumbling over one another, but +not getting hurt, for the hay was too soft. + +Pretty soon the dinner horn blew and, with good appetites from their +morning's fun, the children hurried in to get something to eat. + +"This is a good dinner!" announced Teddy as he passed his plate a +second time. + +"Yes," agreed Mother Martin. "I hope your father and the cowboys +have as good." + +"Oh, they'll have plenty--never fear!" laughed Uncle Frank's wife. +"They never go hungry when they're on the trail." + +After dinner Trouble went to sleep, as he generally did, and Teddy +and Janet were left to themselves to find amusement. + +"Let's go for another ride," suggested Teddy. + +"All right," agreed Janet. + +The saddles had not been taken off their ponies. Their mother and +Aunt Millie saw them go out and, supposing they were only going to +ride around the barn and ranch buildings, as they had done before, +said nothing to them. + +But Ted was no sooner in the saddle than he turned to his sister and +said: + +"Jan, why can't we go riding the trail after the Indians?" + +"What! We two alone?" + +"Yes. We know the way over to the rocks where we found Clipclap in +the cave, and from there we can ride farther on, just like daddy and +Uncle Frank. Come on!" + +Janet thought for a minute. She wanted to go as much as did Teddy. +It did not seem very wrong. + +"Well, we'll ride a little way," she said. "But we've got to come +back before dark." + +"All right," agreed Teddy. "We will!" + +And the Curlytops rode away over the prairie. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +LOST + + +Clipclap and Star Face, the two sturdy little ponies, trotted +bravely along, carrying Teddy and Janet on their backs. The ponies +did not wonder where they were going--they hardly ever did that. They +were satisfied to go wherever their master or mistress guided them, +for they knew the children would be good to them. + +"Do you s'pose we'll find any Indians?" asked Janet after a while. + +"Maybe," answered Teddy. "Are you scared?" + +"No," replied his sister slowly. "I was just thinking maybe we could +find 'em, and get back Uncle Frank's horses, even if the cowboys +didn't." + +"Maybe we could!" cried Teddy. "That would be _great_! Wouldn't +daddy be surprised!" + +"And Uncle Frank, too!" added Janet + +"Yes, and the cowboys! Then they'd think we could ride all right!" +went on Ted. + +"Come on, let's hurry! Gid-dap!" he called to Clipclap. + +"Where are we going first?" asked Janet. + +"To the rocks, where we found my pony in the cave," answered her +brother, as he patted the little animal on the neck. "The cowboy said +he saw the Indians near there." + +"Maybe they're hiding in the cave," suggested Janet. + +"No, they wouldn't do that," Teddy decided, after thinking it over +awhile. + +"They'd be afraid to stay so near Uncle Frank's ranch. Anyhow the +cave isn't big enough." + +"It was big enough for Clipclap." + +"Yes, but he's a little pony. Anyhow, we'll look in the cave and +then we'll ride on along the trail until we catch up to daddy and +Uncle Frank." + +"What'll they say?" + +"I guess they'll be s'prised." + +"Maybe they'll make us go back." + +"Well, if they do we'll have some fun, anyhow," said Teddy, +laughing. "Gid-dap, Clipclap." + +"It's a good thing we've two ponies instead of one goat," remarked +Janet, after they had ridden on a little farther. + +"Course it is," agreed Ted. "We couldn't both ride Nicknack, though +he could pull us both in the wagon." + +"Maybe he'd be afraid of Indians," suggested Janet. + +"No, I don't guess he would," answered Teddy, after some reflection. +"Nicknack's a brave goat. I like him. But I like Clipclap, too." + +"And I like Star Face," added Janet "He's an awful nice pony." + +On and on the ponies trotted, carrying the Curlytops farther and +farther from the Ring Rosy Ranch house. But the children were not +afraid. The sun was shining brightly, and they had often before +ridden this far alone. They could look back at the ranch buildings +when they got on top of the little hills with which the prairie was +dotted, and they were not lonesome. + +Off on either side they could see groups of horses or cattle that +belonged to Uncle Frank, and Ted and Janet thought there must be +cowboys with the herds. + +"I'm going to get a drink when we get to the rocks," said Janet, as +they came within sight of the pile of big stones. + +"Yes. And we'll give the ponies some, too," agreed her brother. "I +guess they're thirsty." + +Indeed the little animals were thirsty, and after they had rested a +while--for Uncle Frank had told the children it was not wise to let a +horse or pony drink when it was too warm--Clipclap and Star Face had +some of the cool water that bubbled up among the rocks. + +"It tastes awful good!" exclaimed Janet, as she took some from the +cup Ted filled for her. + +After Clipclap had been found at the spring, the time he was hidden +in the cave, one of the cowboys had brought a tin cup to the spring, +leaving it there, so if anyone passed the spring it would be easy to +get a drink without having to use a hat or kneel down on the ground. +For horses and cattle there was a little rocky basin into which the +cool water flowed. + +"I wish we could take some of the water with us," said Teddy, when, +after a rest, they were ready to follow the trail again. + +"If we had a bottle, like some of the cowboys carry, we could," +remarked Janet. "Maybe we'll get awful thirsty if we ride on a long +way, Ted." + +"Maybe we will, but maybe we can find another spring. I heard Uncle +Frank say there's more than one on the ranch. Come on!" + +The children took another drink, and offered some to the ponies, +each of which took a little. Then, once more, the Curlytops were on +the trail after the Indians, as they believed. + +"Which way do we go now?" asked Janet, as she watched Teddy get up +in his saddle after he had helped her mount Star Face. + +"We've got to follow the trail," Teddy answered. + +"How do we do it?" his sister inquired. + +"Well. I asked Baldy and he said just look on the ground for tracks +in the dirt. You know the kind of marks a horse's foot makes, don't +you, Jan?" + +"Yes, and I see some down here," and she pointed to the ground. + +"That's them!" exclaimed Teddy. "We've got to follow the marks! +That's the trail!" + +"Is this the Indians' trail?" asked the little girl, and she looked +over her shoulder, perhaps to make sure no one was following her and +her brother. + +"I don't know if it's the Indians' trail, or, maybe, the marks left +by Uncle Frank and daddy," said Teddy. "Anyhow we've got to follow +the trail. That's what Baldy said." + +"He doesn't know we came off alone, does he?" asked Janet + +"No. I guess he wouldn't have let us if he did. But we won't have to +go very far, and then we'll catch up to the rest. Then they'll have +to take us with 'em." + +"Yes," said Janet, and she rode along beside her brother. + +Neither of the Curlytops stopped to think that their father, Uncle +Frank and the cowboys had started off early that morning, and must +have ridden on many miles ahead. The cowboys' horses, too, could go +faster than the ponies Star Pace and Clipclap, for the larger horses +had longer legs. + +All Teddy and Janet thought of was hurrying along as fast as they +could go, in order to catch up to the Indian hunters. What would +happen after that they did not know. + +All at once, as the Curlytops were riding along, they heard what +they thought was a whistle. + +"Some one is calling us," said Janet, turning to look back. "Did you +hear that, Ted?" + +"Yes, I heard a whistle. Maybe it's Uncle Frank, or some of the +cowboys." + +The children looked across the prairie but could see no one. They +were about to go on again when the whistle sounded once more. + +"That is some one calling us," declared Jan. "Let's see if we can't +find who it is, Teddy." + +So the children looked around again, but no one was in sight, and, +what was still stranger, the whistling sound kept up. + +"It's some one playing a joke on us, and hiding after they whistle," +said Janet. "Maybe one of the cowboys from the ranch." + +"Maybe an Indian," said Ted, and then he was sorry he had said that, +for his sister looked frightened. + +"Oh!" said Janet, "if it's an Indian--" + +"I don't guess it is," Teddy hastened to say. "I guess Indians don't +whistle, anyhow." + +This made Janet feel better and once more she and her brother looked +around to see what made the queer whistling sound, that still kept +up. It was just like a boy calling to another, and Teddy was quite +puzzled over it until he suddenly saw what was doing it. + +Perched on a small mound of earth near a hole in the ground, was a +little animal, about as big as a large rat, though, as Janet said, he +was "nicer looking." And as Ted and his sister looked, they saw this +little animal move, and then they knew he it was that was whistling. + +"Oh, what is it?" cried Janet. + +"I know," Teddy answered. "That's a prairie dog. Baldy told me about +them, and how they whistled when they saw any danger." + +"Is there any danger here?" asked Janet, looking around. + +"I guess the prairie dog thinks we're the danger," said Teddy. "But +we wouldn't hurt him." + +"Does he live down in that hole?" asked Janet. + +"Yes, just like a gopher," answered her brother, who had listened to +the cowboys telling about the little prairie dogs. "And sometimes +there are snakes or an owl in the same hole with the prairie dog." + +"Then I'm not going any nearer," decided Janet. "I don't mind an +owl, but I don't like snakes! Come on, Ted, let's hurry." + +As they started off, the prairie dog, which really did make a +whistling sound, suddenly darted down inside his burrow or hole. +Perhaps he thought Teddy and Janet were coming to carry him off, but +they were not. The children saw many more of the little animals as +they rode over the prairies. + +"But we must look for marks--tracks, Baldy calls them," said Teddy. +"Tracks will tell us which way the Indians went," and so the children +kept their eyes turned toward the sod as they rode along. + +For a while they could see many marks in the soft ground--the marks +of horses' feet, some shod with iron shoes and others bare, for on +the prairie grass there is not the same need of iron shoes on the +hoofs of horses as in the city, with its hard, paved streets. Then +the marks were not so plain; and pretty soon, about a mile from the +spring amid the rocks where the ground was quite hard, Teddy and +Janet could see no marks at all. + +"Which way do we go?" asked Ted's sister, as he called to his pony +to stop. "Do you know the way?" + +"No, I don't guess I do," he answered. "But anyhow we can ride along +and maybe well see 'em." + +"Yes, we can do that," Janet said. + +It was still early in the afternoon, and the sun was shining +brightly. They knew they were still on Uncle Frank's ranch, and, +though they could not see the buildings any more, they could see the +place where they had had a drink at the spring. + +"All we've got to do, if we want to come back," observed Teddy, "is +ride to the rocks and then we know the way home from there." + +"Yes, that's easy," Janet said. + +So they rode on and on. + +Of course the Curlytops ought not to have done what they did, but +they did not think, any more than Trouble thought when he opened the +corral gate and let out the ponies. + +But the sun did not stay high in the sky all the afternoon. +Presently the bright ball of fire began to go down in the west, and +the shadows of Teddy and Janet grew long on the prairie. They knew +what those long shadows meant--that it was getting late afternoon. + +After a while Janet turned in her saddle and looked back. + +"Oh, Teddy!" she cried. "I can't see the spring rocks," for that is +what the children had called the place where they had found Clipclap. + +"They're back there just the same." + +"I know. But if we can't see 'em we won't know how to ride back to +them," went on Janet. "How are we going to find our way back home, +Ted?" + +"Oh, I can get to the rocks when I want to," he said. "Come on, +we'll ride a little bit farther and then, if we can't find daddy and +Uncle Frank, we'll go back." + +"Well, don't go much farther," said Janet, and Teddy said he would +not. + +There were many hills and hollows now, much higher and deeper ones +than those near the ranch buildings. Even from the top of one of the +high hills up which the ponies slowly climbed, the Curlytops could +not see the spring rocks. + +"Oh, Ted!" exclaimed Jan, "I'm afraid! I want to go back! It's going +to be night pretty soon!" + +"It won't be night for a good while," he said, "but I guess maybe +we'd better go back. I can't see daddy, Uncle Frank or the cowboys." + +He raised himself in the stirrups and looked across the prairies, +shading his eyes with his hand the way he had seen some of the +cowboys do. Nothing was in sight. + +"Come on, Jan, we'll go back," he said. + +Clipclap and Star Face were turned around. Once more off trotted the +little ponies with the Curlytops on their backs. + +The shadows grew longer. It was not so bright and nice on the +prairies now. Janet kept close to Teddy. At last she asked: + +"Do you see the rocks?" + +"Not yet," her brother answered. "But we'll soon be there." + +They did not reach them, however. On and on they rode. The sun went +down behind a bank of clouds. + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Janet, "I don't like this," and her voice sounded +as if she were going to cry. + +"We'll soon be back at the rocks, and then I know the way home," +said Teddy, as bravely as he could. + +But they did not reach the rocks. Up the hollows and across the +hills they rode, over the broad prairies, but no rocks did they see. +At last the ponies began to go more slowly, for they were tired. It +grew darker. Ted looked anxiously about. Janet spoke softly to him. + +"Teddy," she asked, "are we--are we--lost?" + +For a moment Teddy did not answer. Then he replied slowly: + +"Yes--I guess we are lost, Janet!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE HIDDEN VALLEY + + +The Curlytops were in trouble. It was not the first time they had +been lost, no indeed! But it was the first time they could remember +being lost so far away from home, and in such a big place as a +Western prairie. They did not know what to do. + +"Don't you know the way home?" asked Janet, still keeping close to +her brother. It was getting dark, and, somehow, she felt safer near +him, even if he was only a year older than she was. + +"I'd know the way home back to the ranch house if we could find the +rocks with the cave where Clipclap was," Teddy replied. + +"Let's look for them some more," suggested Janet. "If we don't get +home pretty soon we'll be all in the dark and--and we'll have to stay +out here all alone." + +"Are you afraid?" asked Ted, looking at his sister. + +"Yes. Won't you be?" + +"Pooh! No!" he exclaimed, and he talked loudly, perhaps just so he +would not be afraid. You know a boy always whistles very loudly at +night when he is walking along a dark place alone. And if there are +two boys they both whistle. What girls do when they walk through a +dark place alone I do not know. Maybe they sing. + +Anyhow Teddy talked very loud, and when Janet heard him say he was +not afraid she felt better. + +"But will we have to stay out here all night?" she asked. + +"I guess so." Teddy answered. "But it'll be just like camping out. +Daddy and Uncle Frank and the cowboys are going to stay out." + +"Yes, but they've got something to eat," objected Janet, "and we +haven't anything. Not even a cookie--lessen you've got one in your +pocket, Teddy." + +"No, Jan," answered her brother, after a quick search, "I haven't. I +forgot to bring any." + +"So did I," went on Janet. "I don't think I like to stay out here +alone all night if we haven't anything to eat." + +"No, it won't be much fun," agreed Teddy. "I guess maybe I can find +those rocks, Janet, and then we'll know how to get home. Come on." + +He turned his pony's head and the tired little animal walked slowly +on and Janet's Star Face followed. But the truth of the matter was, +Ted did not know in which direction to guide his little horse. He +could not remember where the rocks lay. But Janet was trusting to +him, and he felt he must do his best. + +So he kept on until it grew a little darker, and his pony was +walking so slowly that Trouble would have found it easy to have +walked almost as fast. + +"What's the matter?" asked Janet, who was riding behind her brother, +looking as hard as she could through the darkness for a sight of the +rocks, which, once they were reached, almost meant home. "What's the +matter, Ted?" + +"Matter with what, Jan?" + +"What makes the ponies go so slow?" + +"'Cause they're tired, I guess." + +"Can't you find the rocks and let them rest and get a drink? I'm +awful thirsty, Teddy!" + +"So'm I, Jan. We'll go on a little more and maybe we'll find the +rocks. Don't cry!" + +"Pooh! who's goin' to cry?" demanded Janet quickly. + +"I--I thought maybe you were," Teddy answered. + +"I am not!" and Janet was very positive about it. "But I'm tired and +hungry, and I want a drink awful bad." + +"So do I," added Teddy. "We'll go on a little more." + +So, wearily, the ponies walked on carrying the Curlytops. Ted kept +looking ahead, and to the left and right, trying to find the rocks. +But, had he only known it (which he did later) he was going away from +them all the while instead of toward them. + +All at once Clipclap stumbled and nearly fell. + +"Whoa there! Look out!" cried Teddy, reining up the head of his +animal as he had seen Uncle Frank do. "Don't fall, Clipclap!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Janet. "Did he step in a hole?" + +"I don't know. I guess he's just tired," and Teddy's voice was sad. +For he was very weary and much frightened, though he did not tell +Janet so. + +"Well, let's stop and rest," said his sister. "Do you think you can +find those rocks, Ted?" + +"No, I don't guess I can. I guess we're lost, Janet." + +"Oh, dear!" she answered. + +"Now don't cry!" warned Teddy. + +"I--I'm not!" exclaimed his sister. "I--I was just blowing my nose, +so there, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" + +Teddy grinned in the darkness, tired as he was. He was glad Janet +was a little angry with him. That meant she would not cry, and if his +sister started to weep Ted did not know what he would do. He might +even cry himself. He was not too big for that. + +"Let's stop and give the ponies a rest," suggested Janet. + +"All right," agreed Teddy. "And maybe they can hunt around and find +water. One of the cowboys told me his pony did that once when he +didn't know where to get a drink himself." + +"I wish Star Face could find water," went on Janet. "I'd drink some +of it, too." + +"So would I--if it was clean," said Teddy. + +Wearily the two Curlytops slipped from their saddles. The ponies +seemed glad of this, and at once began to eat the grass that grew all +about. Teddy and Janet looked at them awhile. It was not so dark but +what they could see things close to them, and the stars were +twinkling brightly overhead. + +"They don't seem very thirsty," said Janet. + +"Maybe they'll start to go after water when they've had their +supper," suggested her brother, with a sigh, which, however, Janet +did not hear. "We've got to wait--that's all." + +The Curlytops sat down on the ground and waited, while the ponies +with the reins over their heads--which was a sign that they must not +go far away--cropped the sweet grass. + +"I wish _we_ could eat grass," said Janet, after a bit. + +"Why?" + +"Then we could eat it like the ponies do and not be hungry." + +"It would be a good thing," Teddy agreed. "But we can't. I chewed +some sour grass once, but I didn't swallow it." + +"I ate some watercress once at home," said Janet. "But I didn't like +it. Anyhow I don't guess watercress grows around here." + +"No," agreed Teddy. + +Then they sat and watched the ponies eating in the darkness. +Clipclap was wandering farther off than Teddy liked and he jumped up +and hurried after his animal. As he caught him Teddy saw something on +the ground a little way off. It was something round and black, and, +now that the moon had come up, he could see more plainly. + +"What's the matter, Teddy?" Janet called to him, as she saw him +standing motionless, after he had taken hold of Clipclap's bridle. +"What are you looking at?" + +"I don't know what it is," Teddy answered. "Maybe it's a prairie +dog, but he's keepin' awful still. Come and look, Janet." + +"Oh, I don't want to!" she exclaimed. + +"Oh, come on!" urged Teddy. "It isn't moving. Maybe you can tell +what it is." + +Janet, making sure that Star Face was all right, walked over to her +brother. She, too, saw the dark object lying on a bare spot in the +prairie. It did not move. The moonlight became stronger and Janet, +becoming brave all of a sudden, went closer. + +"It's nothing but a bundle, Teddy Martin!" she exclaimed. +"Somebody has dropped a bundle." + +"They have?" Teddy cried. "Then if somebody's been past here they +can find us--or we can find them--and we aren't lost anymore!" + +"Oh, I hope it comes true!" sighed Janet. + +"Here, you hold Clipclap--he's starting to walk away"--went on +Teddy, "and I'll go see what that is." + +Janet took the pony's reins, and her brother walked toward the +bundle. He could see now that it was something wrapped in a blanket, +and as he came closer he saw that the blanket was one of the kind the +cowboys at Uncle Frank's ranch carried when they went out to spend +the night on the prairie. + +"What is it?" asked Janet, as her brother picked up the bundle and +came back toward her. + +"I don't know, but it's heavy," he answered. "Well open it." + +"Maybe we'd better not," cautioned Janet. "It isn't ours." + +"But we're lost," Teddy said, "and we want to be found. Maybe +there's something in this bundle to help." + +The blanket was fastened with a strap on the outside, and Teddy +managed to unbuckle this after two or three trials, Janet helping. +Then, as the moon shone down on what was in the blanket, the +Curlytops gave a cry of delight, which startled even the ponies. + +"It's something to eat!" cried Teddy. + +"And to drink!" added Janet, as she picked up the canvas-covered +canteen, or water bottle, such as soldiers carry. By shaking it she +knew it was full of water. + +"Say, this is good luck!" cried Teddy. + +Stopping no longer to wonder who had dropped the bundle, the +Curlytops took a drink from the canteen. They had not been used to +drinking out of a bottle since they were babies, and some of the +water ran down their necks. + +But they did not mind this. And, even though the water was rather +warm, they felt much better after having had a drink. + +"I wish we could give the ponies some," said Janet. "But there isn't +very much, and they would drink this all up and not know they'd had +any." + +"Anyhow I guess they're not thirsty, or they'd try to find water +just as the cowboys said they would," added Teddy. "They can chew the +grass." + +He and Janet looked into the bundle again, and found a number of +sandwiches, together with some uncooked bacon, a little ground +coffee, a small coffee-pot and a tin cup. + +"Oh, goody! We can eat the sandwiches," Janet said. + +"And in the morning, when we find a spring, we can make coffee," +added Teddy. "I know how, 'cause grandpa showed me when we were +camping on Star Island. I haven't any matches to make a fire, but +maybe I can find some." + +"Will we have to stay here all night?" asked Janet anxiously. + +"I spect so," her brother answered. "I don't know the way back to +the ranch house. We can't even find the rocks. We'll stay here all +night. It isn't cold, and now we have a blanket we can wrap up in it +like the cowboys do. And we've something to eat and drink." + +"But mother and daddy will be awful worried," said Janet. + +"Well, they'll maybe come and find us," answered Teddy. "Look out!" +he cried. "Clipclap's going off again!" + +Indeed the little pony seemed to want to walk away, and so did Star +Face. + +"Maybe they know where to go to find water," suggested Janet. + +"Maybe," agreed Ted. "Let's let 'em go, and we'll go with 'em. That +water in the canteen won't be enough till morning." + +The children ate nearly all of the sandwiches, and put away the rest +of the food in the blanket which Teddy strapped around it. Then they +mounted their ponies, Ted taking the bundle with him, and let the +animals wander which way they would. + +"They'll go to water if they're thirsty enough," Teddy said. + +"Who do you s'pose dropped that bundle?" asked Janet. + +"A cowboy," her brother answered. + +"One from Ring Rosy Ranch?" + +"Maybe." + +"Oh, I hope he did, and that he's around here somewhere," went on +Janet. "I'm tired of being lost!" + +"We've only just begun," Teddy said. But, truth to tell, he wished +very much that they were both safe back at the ranch house with their +mother. + +On and on over the moonlit prairies went Star Face and Clipclap. +They seemed to know where they were going and did not stop. Ted and +Janet were too tired to guide them. They were both getting sleepy. + +Pretty soon Janet saw ahead of her something glistening in the +stretch of the prairie. The moonlight seemed to sparkle on it. + +"Oh, look, Ted!" she cried, pointing. + +"It's water--a little river!" he exclaimed. "The ponies have led us +to water!" + +And so the animals had. Teddy and Janet slipped from their ponies' +backs at the edge of the stream and then Star Face and Clipclap took +long drinks. Ted emptied the canteen, filled it with the cooler +water, and he and Janet drank again. Then they felt much better. + +The ponies again began to crop the grass. The Curlytops, very tired +and sleepy, felt that it would be all right to make their bed in the +blanket they had found, dropped by some passing cowboy. + +But first Ted looked around. Off to one side, and along the stream +from which they had drunk, he saw something dark looming up. + +"Look, Janet," he said. "Maybe that's a ranch house over there, and +we could go in for the night." + +"Maybe," she agreed. "Let's go to it." + +Once more they mounted their ponies. The animals did not seem so +tired now, but trotted on over the prairie. They drew nearer to the +dark blotch Teddy had noticed. + +Then, as the moon came out from behind some clouds, the Curlytops +saw that they were at the entrance to a hidden valley--a little +valley tucked away among the hills, which they would never have seen +had they not come to the stream to drink. + +The little river ran through the valley, and in the moonlight the +children could see that a fence had been made at the end nearest +them. It was a wooden fence, and not one of barbed wire, such as +there were many of on Ring Rosy Ranch. + +"This is a queer valley," said Janet. + +"Yes, and look!" exclaimed Ted, pointing. "Don't you see things +moving around in it?" + +"Yes," agreed Jan, as she looked. "Why, Ted!" she cried. "They're +horses--ponies--a lot of 'em!" + +"So they are!" exclaimed Ted. "Oh, we're near a ranch, Janet! Now +we're all right!" + +"Yes. But maybe we're a good way from the ranch house," answered +Janet. "We maybe can't find it in the dark. Some of Uncle Frank's +ponies are five miles away from the stable, you know. Maybe we'd +better not go on any more in the dark. I'm tired!" + +"Well," agreed Teddy. "I guess we could stay here till it's morning. +We could sleep in the blanket. It's plenty big enough for us two." + +"And in the morning we can ride on and find the ranch, and the +cowboys there will take us to Ring Rosy," added Janet. "Let's do it, +Teddy." + +They looked again at the strange valley in which the horses were +moving about. Clipclap whinnied and one of the other ponies answered. +But they could not come out because of the fence, part of which was +built in and across the little river. + +Then, throwing the reins over the heads f their ponies, and knowing +the animals would not stray far, Ted and Janet, taking another drink +from the canteen, rolled up in the blanket and went to sleep on the +prairie just outside the hidden valley that held a secret of which +they did not even dream. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +BACK TO RING ROSY + + +"I hope the Curlytops won't ride too far," said Mrs. Martin, coming +out into the kitchen to help with the work. + +She had just got Trouble to sleep after Teddy and Janet had brought +him in from the haymow before riding off on their ponies. + +"Oh, I guess they won't," Aunt Millie answered. + +But, could Mrs. Martin and Aunt Millie have seen them, they would +have been much surprised to know where the Curlytops then were. + +As you know, they were riding along the trail after the Indians. + +The hours went on until it was late afternoon. And then, when the +children did not come back, Mrs. Martin began to be alarmed. She went +to the top of a low hill not far away from the ranch house and looked +across the prairie. + +"I can't see them," she said, when she came back. + +"Oh, don't worry," returned Aunt Millie. "They'll be along pretty +soon. And, anyhow, there is no danger." + +"But--the Indians?" questioned Mrs. Martin. + +"Oh, they are far enough off by this time," said the ranch owner's +wife. "They won't bother the Curly tops." + +But Mother Martin did worry, and when supper time came near and +Janet and Teddy were not yet back, Aunt Millie, too, began to think +it strange. + +"What do you suppose could happen?" asked Mrs. Martin. "I wish Dick +were here." + +"Oh, lots of little things might happen," said Aunt Millie. "The +children may have ridden farther than they meant to. It's such a nice +day for riding you couldn't blame them for going. Or one of their +ponies may have gone lame and have to walk slowly. That would make +them get here late." + +"Suppose they should be hurt?" asked Mother Martin, anxiously. + +"Oh, I don't suppose anything of the sort!" and Aunt Millie laughed. +But Mother Martin did not feel like laughing. + +At last, however, when it began to get dark and the children had not +come, even the cowboys left at the ranch--those who had not ridden on +the trail after the Indians--said it was time something was done. + +"We'll go out and find 'em," said Baldy. "The little tykes have got +lost; that's about all. We'll find 'em and bring 'em home!" + +"Oh, I hope you can!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. + +"Sure we will!" cried Baldy. "Won't we, boys?" + +"That's what we will!" cried the cowboys. + +The men started out over the prairie right after supper, carrying +lanterns, not so much that they needed the lights as that they might +be seen by the lost children. + +"Hello, Curlytops! where are you?" called the cowboys. + +But no one answered them. Teddy and Janet were far away. + +The cowboys rode as far as the pile of rocks where the spring +bubbled up. There Baldy, swinging his lantern to and fro, said he +thought he could see the marks of the feet of Star Face and Clipclap +among those of other ponies, but he was not sure. + +"We'll have to come back here and start out early in the morning +when we can see better," he said. + +"And what are we going to do all night?" asked another cowboy. + +"Well, we'll keep on hunting, of course. But I don't believe well +find the lost Curlytops." + +One of the men rode back to the ranch to tell Mrs. Martin that so +far, no trace of the missing children had been found. She could not +keep back her tears, but she tried to be brave. + +"Oh, where can they be?" she asked. + +"They'll be all right," the cowboy said. "It's a nice warm night, +and they're brave children. Even if they had to sleep out it would +not hurt 'em. They could take the blankets that are under the ponies' +saddles and wrap up in them. They'll be all right." + +Though they were lost, the Curlytops were, at that moment, much +better off than the cowboy thought. For they had found the big +blanket and the bundle of food, and they were sleeping soundly on the +prairie. + +At first they had been a little afraid to lie down all alone out in +the night, but their ponies were with them, and Janet said it felt as +though Clipclap and Star Face were like good watch dogs. + +Then, being very tired and having had something to eat and drink, +they fell asleep. + +All night long, though, the cowboys rode over the prairie looking +for the lost ones. They shouted and called, but the Curlytops were +too far away to hear or to answer, even if they had been awake. + +"Well, now we can make a better hunt," said Baldy, when he saw the +sun beginning to rise. "Well get something to eat and start out from +the spring in the rocks. I'm almost sure the Curlytops were there." + +Mrs. Martin had not slept all night, and when the cowboys came back +to breakfast she said she was going to ride with them to search for +her children. + +"Yes, I think it would do you good," said Aunt Millie. + +Mrs. Martin had learned how to ride when a girl, and she had +practised some since coming to Ring Rosy Ranch. So she did not feel +strange in the saddle. With Baldy and the other cowboys she set off. + +They went to the spring amid the rocks and there began the search. +Over the prairie the riders spread out like a big fan, looking +everywhere for the lost ones. And when they were not found in about +an hour Baldy said: + +"Well, there's just a chance that their ponies took them to Silver +Creek." + +"Where's that?" asked Mrs. Martin. + +"It's a stream of water quite a way off," Baldy answered. "It isn't +on our ranch, and we don't very often go there. But if the Curlytops' +ponies were thirsty in the night they might go to Silver Creek, even +if Jan and Ted didn't want them to. I think the ponies went the +nearest way to water." + +"Then let us go that way!" cried Mrs. Martin. + +Meanwhile Teddy and Janet had awakened. They could look right into +the strange valley through which flowed Silver Creek, though they did +not then know its name. + +"And look what a lot of horses!" cried Janet. + +"And cows!" added her brother. "I wonder whose they are?" + +"Oh, I guess they live on some ranch," Janet said. "Now if we can +find the ranch house we'll be all right." + +"We'll look for it," suggested Teddy. "But first we've got to have +breakfast. If I had a match I could make a fire and boil some coffee." + +"Let's not bother with breakfast," suggested Janet. "I'm not very +hungry. And if we find the ranch house we can get something to eat +there. Come on, Teddy." + +They got a drink at the stream, and then, rolling up what food was +left in the blanket, they got on their ponies and rode away, going +around the valley instead of into it, for Teddy saw that hills closed +it at the far end. + +"There's no ranch house in that valley," he said. + +The Curlytops had not ridden far before Janet, who had gone a little +ahead of Teddy, cried: + +"Oh, look! Here come some cowboys!" + +"I guess they belong to this ranch--the one where we saw the ponies +and cows," replied Teddy, as he saw a number of horsemen riding +toward them. The horsemen began to whoop and shout, and their horses +ran very fast toward the Curlytops. + +"There's a lady with 'em," remarked Janet. + +"They seem awful glad to meet us," went on Teddy. "Look, they're +wavin' their hats." + +And so the cowboys were. When the riders came a little nearer Teddy +and Janet rubbed their eyes in surprise, + +"Why--why!" Teddy exclaimed. "There's our own Baldy!" + +"And there's mother!" fairly shouted Janet. "Oh, Mother! Mother!" +she cried. "Oh, how glad I am!" and she made Star Face run toward the +lady on horseback. + +"Oh, my dear children! Where have you been?" asked Mrs. Martin, a +little later, as she hugged first Janet and then Teddy. + +"We--we got lost," Teddy answered. + +"Yes, but you ran away, and that was not right," his mother told +him. "Where did you go?" + +"We--we went on the trail after the Indians," Teddy answered. + +"Did you find them?" asked Baldy with a smile. + +"No, but we found a lot of horses and cows back there in a little +valley with a fence," said Janet. "And we were going to ride to the +ranch house when we saw you." + +"Ranch house!" cried Baldy. "There isn't a ranch house within +fifteen miles except the one at Ring Rosy. Did you say you saw some +cows and horses!" + +"Yes. In a valley," explained Teddy. + +"Show us where it was!" eagerly cried the cowboy, and when the +Curlytops had ridden to it, with Baldy and the others following, the +lame cowboy, whose foot was a little better, exclaimed: + +"Well, if the Curlytops haven't gone and done it!" + +"Done what?" asked their mother. + +"They've found the lost cattle and horses!" + +"You mean Uncle Frank's!" asked Teddy. + +"That's just what I mean! These are the horses and cattle the +Indians drove away. The Redmen put the animals in this valley and +made a fence at this end so they couldn't get out. They knew the +horses and cattle would have water to drink and grass to eat, and +they'd stay here a long while--until the Indians would have a chance +to drive 'em farther away and sell 'em. + +"Yes, that's just what they did. I never thought of this valley, +though I saw it quite a few years ago. I've never been here since. +The Indians knew it would be a good place to hide the horses they +stole, and we might never have found 'em if it hadn't been for you +Curlytops." + +"I'm glad!" said Teddy. + +"So'm I," said Janet, "and I'm hungry, too!" + +"Well, well soon have you back at Ring Rosy Ranch, where there's a +good breakfast!" laughed Baldy. "Well! Well! To think of you +Curlytops finding what we cowboys were looking all over for!" + +"And are daddy and Uncle Frank looking for these horses and cattle?" +asked Teddy. + +"Yes. And for the Indians that took 'em. But I guess they won't find +either," Baldy answered. + +And Baldy was right. Some hours after the Curlytops were back at +Ring Rosy Ranch, in rode Uncle Frank and the others. They had not +found what they had gone after, and you can imagine how surprised +they all were when told that Ted and Janet had, by accident, found +the lost cattle and horses in the hidden valley. + +"You're regular cowboys!" cried Uncle Frank. + +"I knew they'd turn out all right when they learned to ride +ponyback!" said Daddy Martin. "Though you mustn't ride on the trail +alone after Indians again!" he said. + +Teddy and Janet told all that had happened to them, from getting +lost, to finding the blanket and going to sleep in it on the open +prairie. + +One of the cowboys with Uncle Frank had lost the blanket, and he +said he was glad he dropped it, since it gave Teddy and Janet +something to eat and something to wrap up in. + +That afternoon the stolen horses and cattle were driven in from the +hidden valley; so the Indians did not get them after all. And a +little later some soldiers came to keep guard over the Redmen so they +could not again go off their reservation to make trouble. All of +Uncle Frank's animals, except a few that the Indians had sold, were +found, and the Curlytops were the pride of Ring Rosy Ranch as long as +they remained there. + +"Well, I wonder if we'll have any more adventures," said Janet to +her brother one day, about a week after they were lost and had been +found. + +"Oh, I guess so," he answered. "Anyhow, we've got two nice ponies, +and we can have lots of rides. Come on, I'll race you." + +The bright summer days brought more fun to Teddy and Janet at Uncle +Frank's ranch. They rode many miles on Star Face and Clipclap, +sometimes taking Trouble with them. + +"I want to dwive," said the little fellow one day, as he sat on the +saddle in front of his brother. + +"All right, you may drive a little while," Teddy answered, and he +let Baby William hold the reins. + +"Now I a cowboy!" exclaimed the little fellow. "Gid-dap, Clipclap! I +go lasso a Injun!" + +Ted and Janet laughed at this. + +And so, leaving the Curlytops to their fun, we will say good-bye. + + +THE END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Curlytops at Uncle Frank's Ranch +by Howard R. 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