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," answer
|