he cowboy. "I don't want you to do
that. I don't want you to ride and tell any one I'm here. I'd rather
you'd get my horse for me yourself. Just ride your horse across the
bridge and get mine."

"I haven't a horse. I have one of Uncle Fred's ponies," said Russ. "And
my brother Laddie's got a pony, too. But I can't go across the bridge.
Mother said I wasn't to. But I'll ride to Three Star Ranch----"

"Are you from Three Star Ranch?" asked the cowboy quickly.

"Yes," answered Russ.

"Oh!" and the cowboy seemed much surprised. "Well, I guess I'd better
get my own horse then," he said. "I guess no one from Three Star Ranch
would want to help me if they knew what I'd done. Ride along, boy--Russ
you said your name was, didn't you? Ride along, and I'll see if I can't
crawl over and get my own horse."

Russ did not know what to do. He wanted to help the cowboy, who seemed
in much pain, but the little boy was not going to cross the bridge when
his mother had told him not to.

"Hey!" called Laddie. "Come on, Russ. I'm tired of holding your pony."

"All right," said Russ. "I'm coming. We have to ride back and ask Mother
if we can cross the bridge to catch that horse!" and he pointed to the
cowboy's animal, still cropping grass on the other side of the creek.

"No, don't bother about me," said the man in the grass. "I'll get my own
horse. Always be a good boy and mind your mother. Then you won't get
into trouble. I wish I had minded mine. Maybe I wouldn't be here now.
Ride on home, but don't say anything about me."

Russ turned back to join Laddie. As he did so he saw the cowboy try to
rise up and walk. But the man, as soon as he put one leg to the ground,
uttered a loud cry and fell back. Then he lay very still and quiet.

"What's the matter with him?" asked Laddie, in a low voice.

"I don't know," answered Russ. "But I guess we'd better ride back and
tell Daddy or Uncle Fred. They'll know what to do. We can't cross the
bridge, but we can go for help. Come on!"

Russ got on his pony again, and he and Laddie rode away as fast as they
could, leaving the cowboy very still and quiet, lying in the long grass
at the end of the bridge.

Meanwhile something was going on back at the Three Star Ranch house.
Uncle Fred and Daddy Bunker, who had been out riding on the plains, came
galloping back.

"Where are Russ and Laddie?" asked their father of his wife.

"They went for a ride down by the creek," she answered. "They said