Part 16 (2/2)

”Then we don't know it,” retorted Ned. ”I know the trail. I could go back over it with my eyes shut. Why would that not be the idea, Professor? Why not let me ride back to Forsythe? Mr. Simms would give us some one who knew the foothills and mountains and I could bring him back.”

”Let me see, how far is it?” mused the Professor.

”Thirty miles, he said.”

”Why, it would take you couple of days to make that and back.”

”You try me and see. I can get a fresh pony to come back with, and if I do not return with the guide, what difference does it make?

He's the one you want. But never fear, I'll be back with him between now and morning if I have no bad luck,” urged the lad earnestly.

”I am half inclined to agree to your plan. If I were sure that you knew the way----”

”It is not possible to get lost. We have the compa.s.ses and we know the direction in which Forsythe lies. All we have to do is to travel in an opposite direction from that by which we came.”

”Supposing we all go!” suggested Walter.

”Wouldn't do at all,” answered the Professor, with an emphatic shake of the head. ”Some one must remain here in case Tad returns. That boy will get back somehow. I feel sure of that. He is resourceful and strong. And besides, he has my revolver. No; more than one on the trip would be apt to delay rather than to help. Master Ned, you may go.” ”Good!” shouted the lad. Bad-eye looked up almost resentfully as the boy approached him on the run, threw on the saddle and cinched the girths.

The hits were slipped into the animal's mouth, and, placing his left foot in the stirrup, Ned threw himself into the saddle.

”I'm ready now,” he said, his eyes sparkling with antic.i.p.ation, as he rode up to the little group.

”I'll show you that I'm not a tenderfoot even if I am from Missouri,” he laughed.

”Be careful,” warned Professor Zepplin.

”Don't worry about me, and, Chunky, you look out for bears. If Tad should come in within the next half hour or so, you can fire off your rifles to let me know. Then I'll turn about and come back. Good-bye, all.”

”Good-bye and good luck,” they shouted.

Giving a gentle pressure to the spurs, Ned Rector started off on his long ride at a brisk gallop. Within a short time the lad had the satisfaction of finding that he was emerging from the foothills. He then pulled up the pony and consulted his compa.s.s. ”Five points north of east. The Professor said that should take me back. Besides I remember that we came this way yesterday. I'm going to save some time by fording that fork without going the roundabout way we took before.”

Ned galloped on again. Had it not been for his anxiety over Tad, he would have enjoyed his ride to the fullest. The morning was glorious; the sun had not yet risen high enough to make the heat uncomfortable; birds were singing and in spots where the sun had not yet penetrated a heavy dew was glistening on foliage and gra.s.s.

Ned drew a long breath, drinking in the delicious air.

”This is real,” he said. ”Nothing artificial about this. I wish I might stay here always.”

The lad did not think of the deep snows and biting cold of the northern winters there, winters so severe that hundreds of head of sheep and cattle frequently perished from the killing weather. He saw nature only in her most peaceful mood.

He had ridden on for something more than two hours, when he came to the East Fork, where they had had such an exciting experience two nights before. After a few moments' riding along the bank he discovered the spot where they had made their camp on the opposite side.

”I'm going to take a chance and ford right here,” he decided. ”No, I guess my mission is too important to take the risk. If I should get caught in there I should at least be delayed. There's somebody else who must be considered. That's Tad.”

Half a mile above, the lad found a place that he felt safe in trying. Luckily he got across without mishap. He had found a rocky bar without being aware of it, and the water while swift was shallow enough so that by slipping his feet from the stirrups and holding them up, he was able to ford the stream without even getting them damp.

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