an eye open for you,
though. I hope you had a nice trip."

"We have had a lovely trip, Mr.--Todd," said Jessie. She could not quite
bring herself to drop the mister.

"I've heard of you," said Dave to the cowboy. "My sister told me how you
taught her to ride and do a lot of things. I hope you'll take me and my
chums in hand, too, when we get settled at Star Ranch."

"Ride, don't you?"

"Oh, yes, but not in the fashion that cowboys can," said Dave, and then
he invited Sid Todd to sit down with them, which the cowboy did. He was
a man of about forty, tall and leathery. His eyes were bubbling over
with good humor, but they could become very stern when the occasion
demanded it. Laura had become well acquainted with him during her former
visit to the ranch, and knew that the Endicotts trusted him implicitly.
While he had taught her how to ride, cowgirl fashion, she had taken a
number of snapshot photographs for him, to be sent to some relative in
the South, and for these he had been very grateful.

"We want to do a lot of riding, and a lot of hunting and fishing, too,"
said the senator's son. "Do you think we'll have a chance for much
sport?"

"I dunno," answered Sid Todd, dryly. "Might be the game will hear of
your coming and move on to the next State," and his eyes twinkled over
his little joke.

"I'd like to see some kind of a round-up," said Phil. "Will there be one
while we are here?"

"Might be, Mr.--I didn't quite catch your handle."

"Phil Lawrence. Just call me Phil."

"I will if you'll call me Todd, or Sid. I can't git used to this mister
business nohow. Besides, the boys would have the laugh on me, if they
heard you a-mistering me all the time."

"All right, Sid it is," said Dave. "And I'm Dave."

"And I am Roger," added the senator's son.

"About that round-up," continued the cowboy. "Might see something of the
sort, for Mr. Endicott is goin' to sell some cattle the end of the
month, and they'll be driven off to another range. But you'll see enough
of cattle anyway, before you go home, if you are going to stay a month
or six weeks."

"Any fishing?" queried the shipowner's son.

"Yes, plenty of fishing, back in the mountains. One place there you can
catch a barrel or two of fish in ten minutes--if you've got lines
enough," and once more Sid Todd chuckled at his joke.

It was a three hours' run to Bramley, for the train stopped at many
little stations and at some crossings where there were no