beast will go the distance," she answered, giving the
little gray a clip with her quirt, and galloping ahead of Ted, who was
not slow to follow.

As they proceeded the ground became more and more broken.

"I believe there is a bit of 'bad land' over there," said Ted, pointing
forward.

Still they saw no cattle, although Colonel Billings had told him that
morning that his greatest herd, the one he wished the boys to examine
with the view to purchase, lay in the big west pasture.

But all they could see so far was the broad stretch of green prairie and
the low line of the rough land in the distance. Not a living thing was
in sight.

The only movement was the flying shadows of the white clouds over the
prairie, and the waving of the deep, rich grass when a vagrant breeze
swept by.

But suddenly Ted pulled in his pony, and shaded his eyes with his hand,
staring into the west.

"What is it?" asked Stella, reining in.

"I thought I saw something red shoot across the horizon to the west,
where you see those gray rocks," answered Ted.

"A cow--or, perhaps, the dangerous red bull," laughed Stella.

"Nothing like that. It wasn't the right color. Did you ever see a
scarlet cow?"

"Never did."

"Well, the thing I saw was scarlet, and it was not shaped like a cow."

He was still looking intently into the west.

"There it is again!" he exclaimed, unlimbering his field glasses.

After a moment of intense scrutiny, he raised the glasses suddenly to
his eyes.

"By Jove!" he cried, "it's a motor car, and I believe it's 118."

"Impossible!" cried Stella.

"No, entirely possible," said Ted intensely. "Don't you see if it was
this fellow Checkers who got the machine from the agent by false
pretenses he would take it as far away from town as possible?"

"Yes, I see that."

"Then which direction would he take if, as I think, he is in league with
the train-robbing syndicate, which we have persuaded ourselves to think
made their headquarters at Green River, but in this direction? We have
learned that others of those we believe to be in it are to be the guests
of this ranch, and--"

"I see. He could not well bring the red car to the ranch house."

"That's it."

"Then where do you suppose he's going with it?"

"There's no better place to hide it than in those very 'bad lands,' if I
am guessing right, at the rough land yonder."

"True. What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to find that red car and my f