er his own fleeing
burro, and then after Toady's, now far in advance of Susie's little
animal, remarked, "Well, the old thing has got _some_ ginger in him
after all! Do you suppose I can ever catch him?"

"I'll help," quickly volunteered Tabitha, trying hard to suppress her
mirth, so meek and woebegone was the tumbled figure standing in the
roadway; and with a nimble spring she landed beside him, tethering her
burro to a yucca, growing close at hand. Mercedes and the twins
followed her example, but it was a lively chase they had before the
unruly animal was finally captured, and the party continued its
journey, reaching their destination without further mishap.

Gloriana was disappointed at first, as she looked about her while her
companions were dismounting, for she had expected to see a canyon like
those lovely spots hidden among the San Bernardino hills; but this
place was no different from the rocky, barren mountains surrounding
Silver Bow. However, there was little time for lamentations, for with
surprising ingenuity, Mr. Catt had arranged a delightful program for
the two days the young folks were in camp, and not a moment of the
brief holiday was dull even for Rosslyn and Janie. So it was with
reluctant hearts that the party mounted their burros Monday morning for
their return trip.

"Where are the boys?" inquired Mercedes curiously, as she sprang nimbly
into her saddle and gathered up the reins ready to start.

"Susie isn't here, either," said Tabitha, pausing in her task of
packing to count noses. "They must be in the tent. I saw them not
very long ago. Dad, are the boys ready?"

"Haven't seen them," he answered emerging from one of the tents with a
light grip and dumping it into the back of the buckboard.

"I saw Billiard and Toady whispering something to Susie just as the
wagon drove up," tattled Inez, provoked to think she had not been
included in the secret, "and they all ran off that way." She pointed
up the mountainside, where the mesquite and cacti grew thickest, and
huge boulders made climbing difficult.

"What in the world possessed them to go off like that?" fretted
Tabitha, impatient at the unexpected delay.

"Bet I know," Irene piped up. "They prob'ly went for a last look at
the puppies."

"Puppies!" cried the others in amazement. "Where are there any puppies
about here?"

"Quite a piece up there on the other side,--they weren't going to tell
the rest of us, but I happened to f