painfully raised himself to a
sitting position in his saddle. But the pain was too great, and he
slowly and painfully slid to the ground. But the backs of his legs were
so seamed with welts that he could not walk.

He was, indeed, an object for pity, but he had been defeated, and not
only that, but had been whipped on the most shameful spot, in Indian
fighting, and his friends would have none of him.

When he looked toward them for sympathy they only pointed the finger of
scorn at him, and laughed.

Now Ted rode out in front of the boys, and, raising his voice, said to
the Indians:

"Go back to your village. Do not come to my ranch again. Next time it
will be something worse than quirts with which we fight, and dead men,
instead of squaws with sore legs, will be the result. Go!"

The old medicine man turned his pony toward the mountains, and in a
guttural voice gave the command.

Without a word, and without looking back, the Indians started on their
way, Crazy Cow following dejectedly on foot, leading his pony.

He had been conquered and humiliated, but his heart burned with hatred
for the young white chief who had been the cause of it.

When the Indians were out of sight, Ted returned to the boys.

"Well, that's over for the present," he said.

"Yes, but we'll have trouble with those fellows later, you may be sure,"
said Ben. "Look out for a ball or a knife in the back from Crazy Cow."

"I don't fear him as much as I do the cunning and treachery of that old
villain, Flying Sun, who plans these raids and lets the young men
execute them while he stays back in a safe place."

"What interests me more than anything else just now is Stella and Bud. I
propose that we drop everything else and hunt for them. You know that
since the appearance of the man without a face, and now this encounter
with the Indians, to say nothing of sending Sol Flatbush's body home on
his horse, the members of the Whipple gang will be pretty keen after
every member of our party."

"True, Ben. We must be very careful of Stella from now on. I would not
have taken this ranch had I known that it was menaced by such a gang of
thieves as seems to be in the mountains."

"Where had we better scout?" asked Ben.

"Do you think Bud and Stella went farther west?"

"Yes. As we started away from the ranch house I heard Bud say to Stella,
'When the gang came out of the corral just before daylight I saw that
most of them headed into the west. If w