was so screamingly funny that the girls
had all they could do to keep their hilarity from making them
conspicuous.

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson at a table for two across the aisle smiled
indulgently at their charges, and once Mrs. Nelson met her husband's
glance and chuckled fondly.

"Pretty nice set of girls?" she said softly.

"Pretty nice!" Mr. Nelson agreed.

"I'm beginning to wish we were at Gold Run now," confided Mollie, after
dining. She and Amy had slipped into the seat opposite Betty and Grace.

"Oh, I think it's all fun," cried Betty, for she was always the last of
the Outdoor Girls to feel tired. "We change at Chicago to-morrow
afternoon," she added. "And then two more nights on the train, and then
Gold Run!"

"Oh, that sounds good," cried Mollie, adding eagerly: "Tell me, Betty,
shall we be able to choose any horse we want for our own particular
mount?"

"Oh, yes," said Betty, adding with a smile: "It will be interesting to
see the kind of horse each one of you will choose. Amy will like the
gentle one, Grace will choose hers for its looks and yours will be the
most vicious one in the pack, Mollie."

"Well, I like that!" said Mollie unperturbed. "She wants to kill me off
even before I get there."

"Pack?" murmured Amy. "Is a 'pack' of horses right?" But no one answered
her.

"I wonder," mused Grace dreamily, "if there will be a tan one--all tan,
you know, without even a spot of any other color----"

"Oh, of course," laughed Betty. "If we haven't an all tan one in the
corrals at Gold Run, we'll send to the nearest ranch and have one
imported for you. Don't worry your little head about that."

A little while after that they stopped at a water station, and most of
the passengers got off to stretch their cramped limbs. And, as the
conductor informed them that they would be there for fifteen minutes at
least, the girls followed the general example.

However, in their enthusiasm at finding the good old solid earth under
their feet once more, they wandered too far, and the warning toot of the
starting train found them quite a distance from the platform.

They had not earned the title of Outdoor Girls for nothing, however, and
by sprinting for all they were worth they were able to make the last car
just in the nick of time.

"Whew, that was a close call," said Betty as they made their way,
panting, through to their own car, where Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were
looking frantically for them. "No more water stat