excavations imagine I am
after gold. That is far from the truth, for----"

"It is far more valuable than gold!" exclaimed Professor Blair.

"Eh--well, yes, in a way," said the chief, as Bud caught a look of
warning flashed at the man who had ridden for help. "But that is
neither here nor there," went on Professor Wright. "The point of the
matter is that I had to discharge the leader of my uneducated helpers
because he persisted in trying to find out what we were after. He took
some of the men with him, necessitating the hiring of others. Then the
climax came this afternoon, when, unexpectedly, we were attacked. In
my wanderings I had seen your ranch buildings, and I ventured to hope
you would send us help when I dispatched my assistant to you."

"Wa'al, we did what we could," said Slim. "Of course you know your own
business best, but I wouldn't take any chances with Greasers. They may
come back, if you have any valuables here."

"We have," said Professor Wright, with a glance at the tent, the flaps
of which he had tightly closed. "But I do not fancy they will again
attack us soon. We wounded some of them before you came, and we shall
now be on our guard. If I can have the antiseptics for those two men,
I shall be grateful."

"I'll send 'em over later," promised Slim, and then he called to the
cowboys: "Don't 'pear to be much further need of us, boys. Let's mosey
back!"

And while the cavalcade was on the trail leading to Diamond X ranch,
Bud's cousins had a chance to tell him how it was they had come West so
unexpectedly.

They had long been promised by their parents that they might spend a
summer in the great open, but, for one reason or another, the visit had
been postponed from time to time.

But about a week back Mr. Shannon found that his business called him to
South America. He decided to take his wife with him, and this would
break up their home for the time being.

"So he decided to let us hit the train for here," explained Nort, whose
name, as you may have guessed, was Norton. "We didn't take time to
write--just packed up and came on," he added.

"We did telegraph," said Dick. "But we knew we could find you, whether
you met us or not, Bud."

"I never got your message, and I don't believe dad did, either,"
remarked the young rancher. "But he may have for all that. He's been
terrible busy lately, arranging for a big shipment of steers, and our
telephone has been out of order, so ma