Co. had no
firearms along, and could not put the injured cows out of their
misery.

"Now, let's get out of here," urged Dick at last. "We can't do
any good here, and this is no pleasant sight to gaze upon."

"It seems too bad to leave all this prime roast beef on the ground,
doesn't it?" hinted Tom. "And we fellows have such good appetites."

"The cattle are not ours," Dick rejoined. "We have no right to
help ourselves to any cuts of meat from the dead animals."

So they returned to the camp, which they found, of course, quite
undisturbed.

It so happened that the four members of the party who had proposed
going to other scenes for the forenoon forgot their projects.

CHAPTER VIII

VISITORS FOR THE FEAST

Bang! bang! sounded in the direction of the burned-over clearing.

"Let's go over and see what that means," proposed Tom.

He jumped up, ready to sprint over to the clearing.

"If you want advice," Dick offered, "I'd say to wait until the
shooting is over. You might stop a stray bullet not intended
for us."

"But what can the shooting mean" wondered Greg.

"When anyone is turning bullets loose," remarked Darry, "I'm not
too inquisitive."

So the boys waited until the firing had ceased. Then they heard
what sounded like the noise of a horse moving through the brush.

"Hello, there!" called Dick.

"Hello, yourself!" came the answer, and a mounted man rode into
view. He did not look especially ugly or dangerous; his garb
was plainly intended for the saddle. As he came into sight the
man slipped a heavy automatic revolver into a saddle holster.

"What was up?" inquired Dick, rising and going forward to meet
the newcomer.

"Stampede," replied the other briefly.

"We know something about that," Dick rejoined.

"Do you know anything about the burning of the clearing?" asked
the horseman, reining up and eyeing the lads keenly.

"Yes, sir; we fired the grass," Prescott acknowledged.

"To break the stampede?"

"No, sir; to save our camp, which would have been destroyed."

"Shake," invited the stranger, riding forward and bending over
to hold out his hand. "Your fire cost us a few cattle, but I
reckon it saved the destruction of a lot more, for there would
have been many of 'em killed if they had charged on into the deeper
forest."

"Then the stampede has been stopped?" asked Prescott.

"Yes; two of my men followed the parted trails, and came back
to report the two herds hal