ried Teddy. "'Cause when you're feeding the big
horse I'll run up and give the _little_ horse my bunch. Then he'll have
some all by himself."

And this the Curlytops did. When the big horse was chewing the grass
Janet gave him, Ted held out some to the little horse at the other end
of the corral. And he ate it, but only just in time, for the big pony
saw what was going on and trotted up to shove the small animal out of
the way. But it was too late.

Then Janet and Teddy walked on a little further, until Janet said it was
growing late and they had better go back to the porch where the others
were still talking.

Evening was coming on. The sun had set, but there was still a golden
glow in the sky. Far off in one of the big fields a number of horses and
cattle could be seen, and riding out near them were some of the cowboys
who, after their supper, had gone out to see that all was well for the
night.

"Is all this your land, Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy as he stood on the
porch and looked over the fields.

"Yes, as far as you can see, and farther. If you Curlytops get lost,
which I hope you won't, you'll have to go a good way to get off my
ranch. But let me tell you now, not to go too far away from the house,
unless your father or some of us grown folks are with you."

"Why?" asked Janet.

"Well, you _might_ get lost, you know, and then--oh, well, don't go off
by yourselves, that's all," and Uncle Frank turned to answer a question
Daddy Martin asked him.

Ted and Janet wondered why they could not go off by themselves as they
had done at Cherry Farm.

"Maybe it's because of the Indians," suggested Jan.

"Pooh, I'm not afraid of them," Teddy announced.

Just then one of the cowboys--later the children learned he was Jim
Mason, the foreman--came walking up to the porch. He walked in a funny
way, being more used to going along on a horse than on his own feet.

"Good evening, folks!" he said, taking off his hat and waving it toward
the Curlytops and the others.

"Hello, Jim!" was Uncle Frank's greeting. "Everything all right?"

"No, it isn't, I'm sorry to say," answered the foreman. "I've got bad
news for you, Mr. Barton!"

CHAPTER VIII

A QUEER NOISE

The Curlytops looked at the ranch foreman as he said this. Uncle Frank
looked at him, too. The foreman stood twirling his big hat around in his
hand. Teddy looked at the big revolver--"gun" the cowboys called
it--which dangled from Jim Mason's belt.