Frank Gee Patchin

“ Fortunately the rancher's feet still clung to the stirrups, but his head was hanging so low that it appeared to be bumping along the ground with every leap of his pony, which was headed straight for the lines of the enemy.
"Oh, why won't they see him!" groaned the lad. "I can't stand it to sit here doing nothing and see a man lose his life that way—if he's not dead already."
Tad, acting upon a sudden resolve, shook out his reins, gave the pony a quick pressure with the spurs. ”

“ Zepplin.
"Wait," warned Tad. "He won't get out right away. See, he has pulled the tent down about him."
"Yes, he's having the time of his life," nodded Ned. "I hope he never gets out. If we had our guns now!"
And, indeed, Mr. Bruin was having his own troubles. Angry snarls and growls could be heard under the heaving canvas as the black bear plunged helplessly about, twisting the tent about him in his desperate struggles to free himself.
They could hear the clatter of the tinware as he threshed about, and the crash and bang of other articles belonging to their equipment. ”

“ Wish I'd never joined this mutton outfit," he growled.
"Then why did you?" asked Tad, smiling broadly.
"Why? I joined because I could get more pay. That's why. What you suppose I joined for?"
"I thought perhaps you preferred sheep," answered the lad meekly.
"Like them—like mutton?" snarled Old Hicks, hurling his frying-pan angrily into the chuck wagon. "Between sheep and had Injuns, give me the Injun every time. Why, every time I have to cook one it makes me sick; it does." ”

“ Pink-eye had discovered the presence of strangers now and with a snort he changed his position by again leaping to one side. Tad heard the man strike the ground with a grunt. He took a turn of the lariat around the saddle pommel, drawing it taut.
"Who are you!" demanded the lad.
A snarl of rage and a struggle over there on the ground was his only answer.
"Get up, if you don't want to be dragged. If you make a loud noise it will be the worse for you," announced the boy sternly.
He clucked to the pony, which started forward suddenly, throwing a strain upon the rope. ”

“ It had all happened so quickly that they had not succeeded in getting a good look at their tormentor.
"It's a boy!" roared Bluff. "Catch him. No, shoot! Don't let him get away!"
"Where is he!"
"I don't know. Fan the bushes, fan everything. We've got to get him!"
"Keep it up. Do you see him?"
"No."
As Tad heard the bullets snipping the leaves over his head, he instinctively ducked and, turning sharply to the left, skulked through the trees. By the flickering light of the camp fire he had seen something that gave him a sudden idea.
"Watch out. There he is?" ”

“ Tad Butler, you could keep on walking all day. Don't be silly," he said to himself encouragingly.
The tinkling bell was now a certainty.
"I know what it is!" exclaimed the lad joyously. "It's sheep! I've heard them before. I'm near sheep and that means there will be men around. It's sheepmen that I am looking for now."
With hat in hand, the boy dashed off down the mountain side, leaping lightly from rock to rock, his red neck-handkerchief streaming in the breeze behind him, as he followed an oblique course toward the foothills. ”

“ Tad laughed, and stepping quickly to one side, thrust a foot between the bully's legs as he passed. Bob landed flat on his face in the dust of the street.
The cowboys set up a roar of delight. It was sport, no matter who got the worst of it.
"Give them room," shouted some one, as the men closed quickly about the combatants. "Let the kids fight it out."
These tactics were so new to Bob, that he did not know just what had happened to him. And when he had scrambled to his feet, he met the laughing face of Tad Butler, which enraged him past all control. This was exactly what Tad wanted. ”

“ With a yell of defiance he leaped into the saddle and dug his fist into the animal's side, uttering a shrill, "yip-yip!"
The pony, responding to the demands of its rider, sprang away through the forest, putting the lad in imminent peril of being swept off by low hanging limbs.
"He's getting away. He's got one of the ponies. Give it to him now, but don't hit the rest of the cayuses!" yelled the leader in high excitement.
Tad had it in mind to liberate the other animals and start them off on a stampede. It was the fault of the outlaw cowboys that he did not. ”

“ The boys watched the intelligent animals, as of their own accord they rounded up a bunch here and there that they had observed straying from the main herd, working the sheep back to their fellows quietly and without in the least appearing to disturb them.
"What kind of sheep is that over there?" asked Chunky, pointing.
"That's no sheep. That's Billy," answered Mr. Simms.
"Who's he?"
"The goat. You've no doubt heard of a bell wether?"
"I have," spoke up Tad.
"That's what Billy is. He leads the sheep. They will follow a leader almost anywhere. ”

“ I've got to get up and cook the breakfast, and it wasn't my turn at all. It was Tad's turn."
"Yab-hum," yawned Stacy, "I'm awful sleepy."
"So am I," answered Ned, uttering a long-drawn yawn.
"See here, Master Ned. Get out of those wet pajamas, rub yourself down thoroughly and put on a dry suit. I can't have you all sick on my hands to-morrow," commanded the Professor.
"Don't worry about us," laughed Ned. "It takes more than a bath in a cold creek to lay us up, eh, Tad?" ”

“ The animals had been left bridled and saddled, the saddle girths having been loosened. These the boys tightened and prepared to mount when Tad happened to think of something.
"Hold my pony, Ned. I want to get something from the tent."
Tad returned a moment later with his lariat, which he coiled carefully and hung to the saddle horn, Ned Rector observing him with an amused smile.
"If you can't shoot them you're going to rope them, eh?"
"A rope is always a good thing to have with you. You don't think so, but it is. Never know what minute you are going to need it badly." ”

“ I promise you you will get all the outdoor life you want."
"Well, I don't know," said Tad doubtfully. "I don't just like sheep."
Mr. Simms laughed.
"You've been with a cattle outfit. I can see that. You have learned to hate sheep and for no reason—no good reason whatever. Sheep are a real pleasure to manage. Besides, they are wholesome, intelligent little animals. The cattle men resent their being on the range for the reason that the sheep crop down the grass so close that the cattle are unable to get enough. They try to drive us off." ”

“ The lad's head was thrown slightly forward, his chin protruding stubbornly, and as he listened there was borne to his ears another sound. It was as if something was approaching with a soft tread. He could hear it distinctly.
"Whatever that thing is, it has four feet," decided the lad quickly. "It's not a man, that is sure."
Instinctively he permitted his left hand to drop to the pommel of the saddle so that he might not be unseated in case Pink-eye should take sudden alarm and leap to one side. The reins were lightly bunched in the left, Tad's right hanging idly at his side. ”

“ Three rifle shots rang out in quick succession, and the boys imagined they could hear the bullets sing over their heads.
"Hi-yi-yip—yah-hi-yah!"
"They're gaining on us. They're gaining, Phil. Ride for your life!"
The shrill yells of the Indians sounded much closer. The boys believed that their enemies had picked up the trail.
"We have got to do something, and do it quick. We've got to outwit them," shouted Tad.
"What—what"——
"I'll tell you. When we think they are getting too near, I'll pull over by you and take you on my pony. We'll send the other one flying on while we turn off," decided Tad. ”

“ You say your friend chased a bear out!"
The lad nodded.
Luke shook his head.
"Bad. Can he shoot?"
"Oh, yes. But he had only a revolver—a heavy thirty-eight calibre that belongs to Professor Zepplin."
"Nice toy to hunt bears with," laughed the foreman. "Bear's probably cleaned him up. I'll get a man I know and I'll go back with you myself. We can run down the trail easily enough, but it will need two trailers, one to follow the pony and the other the bear after their trails separate," the foreman informed them wisely.
"Do—do—you think he has been killed?" stammered Ned. ”

“ I heard that the cowmen all through here are stirred up. It isn't any one man or set of men that's doing it. We have received threats from different sources if we allow the sheep to stray from our own ranch," answered Mr. Simms, with serious face.
"And you have decided——?"
"To go on."
"Hello, is this your son, Philip?" asked Tad, as a slender, pale-faced boy came toward them.
"Yes, this is Phil. Come here, Phil and meet my young friends."
The Pony Rider Boys took to the lad at once. ”

“ The boys, when Professor Zepplin called their attention to the lateness of the hour, made haste to pitch their tents, while Mr. Simms, with Phil and the sheepmen, looked on approvingly.
"You boys go at it like troopers," he smiled. "You'll have to pitch your own, too, after to-day, Philip."
"We'll help him," chorused the boys. "We've got to do something to earn our board," said Ned.
"If we eat all the time the way we have tonight, there won't be many sheep left to graze by the time we've finished the trip," laughed Walter.
"Somebody has to eat the cook's share," interrupted Larue. ”

“ What do you say to the sheep idea?"
"Will you let us think it over, Mr. Simms!" asked Walter.
"Why, certainly. You will have plenty of time to visit the Rosebud Mountains as well. I have arranged for a guide. You will find him at the edge of the foothills where he lives. You can't miss him. When do you plan to start?" asked the banker.
"We thought we should like to get away today," replied Tad.
"I see you are not losing any time, young men. We may be able to fix you up so you can start this afternoon. You will want to camp out, I imagine, and not make the journey in one day." ”

“ Do you cook Indians?" asked Stacy, who had been an interested listener to the conversation.
"Wha—wha—cook Indians? No! I cook mutton. What do you take me for?"
"I—I—I didn't know," muttered Stacy meekly. "Thought I heard you say you did."
"You got another think coming," growled the cook, limping away. "Come over here and take a sniff at this kettle?" he called, turning back to Tad.
The lad did so.
"Smells fine, doesn't it?"
"I think so. What is it, mutton?"
"Boiled mutton. I kin smell the wool. Bah."
"Do you cook them with the wool on?" asked Chunky, edging nearer the kettle. ”

“ Simms anxiously.
"Have you anyone that you could send to Forsythe at once with an urgent message for your husband?" he asked.
"There is no one. The herders would not dare to leave their flocks—that is not until the sheep were safe in their corral to-night."
"That will be too late. I'll have to go myself. Have you a spare pony that I could ride!"
"Of course. That is if you can rope one out of the pen and saddle it yourself."
"Certainly. I can do that," said the boy quickly. "But I shall probably ride him pretty hard and fast. I do not think Mr. Simms will object when he learns my reasons." ”

“ Mr. Simms regarded him with serious face.
"You young men are having plenty of excitement, I must say. Yes, you are right. Something must have happened to Master Tad. He looks to me like a boy who could be relied upon to look out for himself pretty well, however," added the banker.
"He is. We were afraid that perhaps he might have gotten into trouble with the bear."
"Quite likely. Do you plan on going back with the guide that we get for you?"
"Certainly."
"Then you will need a fresh, pony. I will have one brought around for you when you are ready to start. ”

“ You couldn't stay on any kind of horse for long at a time. Why, you'd fall off one of those wooden horses that they have in harness shops," announced Ned Rector witheringly.
"I can ride as well as you can," retorted the fat boy, looking his tormentor straight in the eyes.
"Chunky means business when he looks at you that way," laughed
Walter. "Better keep away from him, Ned."
"Think I'll take the pink-eyed one," decided Tad. "Pink-eye. That will be a good name for him. Got a rope?" ”

“ Fighting each other!" Luke indulged in more hilarity.
"You heard nothing, of course—they said nothing about our herd——"
"No, but it was plain that they had no love for you, Mr. Simms. It was the boy who roped Philip, though. I do not think the men would have done anything like that."
"It's all the same. It shows the feeling that exists. Nothing will ever wipe that out except a good whipping. It's coming to them and they are going to get it."
"You think then—you believe they have not given up their plan of attacking the sheep?" asked Tad. ”