" 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