trifle chilled.

There was no further alarm that night. The expected prowler did not show
up, much to the satisfaction of all concerned; and morning found them in
good shape. Moses was already whinnying as to remind them that horses
got hungry. Apparently the old reprobate never knew what a close call he
had had; left to his own resources, morning might not have been so calm
for him, if he lived to see the sun rise at all. And as Toby wisely
said, horse doctors must be as "scarce as hens' teeth" up in the Pontico
Hills district.

Somehow the adventure of the night seemed to appear even more comical
when viewed in the broad light of day. Toby in particular laughed every
time he thought of old Moses standing there, monarch of all he surveyed,
and trying to gulp the oats down like mad, as though he feared it was
too good a thing to last.

"Do you know," Toby observed, as they sat at breakfast that morning,
"Moses actually seemed to have tears in his eyes when Jack here forced
him to leave the end of the wagon. Why, that was the one grand
opportunity of his life to stuff--a regular Thanksgiving jamboree spread
out before him. He kept turning his head and looking back as if he had
lost his best friend. If he'd been going to the execution block I don't
think he could have shown more regret. Poor old chap, it was almost
cruel to cheat him out of his feast."

Then they turned their thoughts to other subjects, because, as Jack
wisely said, while this escapade on the part of Moses may have been a
great event in his life, it was only an episode with them.

"How shall we spend today?" Jack asked.

"Well, since you want to know my opinion," spoke up Toby, briskly, "I've
got my mouth made up for another mess of those fine and frisky Paradise
River bass; and I'd like a whole lot to have one of you fellows go over
with me."

"How about you, Steve?" queried Jack, turning to the partner of his
previous day's long trip.

"Reckon I'd be wise to lay off a spell, because, to tell you the truth
that heel did give me a mite of bother, especially on the return trip.
You go with Toby, Jack, and take your camera along. He says there are
some dandy things you might want to snap off between here and the river.
And in case either of you hook a four-pound bass you can get a picture
of the fight that will be worth seeing, as well as of the beauty after
he's landed. I mean to get over there later and try my luck, don't
forget, Toby, so leave