Part 25 (2/2)

They were closing in on the mysterious camp

CHAPTER XXIV

THE FIGHT

The boy ranchers, uished from Bud, felt that they were on theirput to a severe test They had ridden out from the mysterious camp of the professors, and now they were to ride back to it, leading the raiding party True, they had coht, and under the stress of excitement, so that it was not easy to determine the trail back

But as the boys rode alone, each at the head of a cavalcade that was beginning to diverge, they felt the full ood-- to the rendezvous of the cattle rustlers

It was dick who proved the lucky one this ti thepast a water hole, stopped suddenly

”The trail goes in that way,” he said ”I' out, to get a drink”

”Are you sure he stopped here?” asked Babe, ith dick's party

”Positive! He stopped in such a hurry that I slid off and fell, and this excited hi him”

In an instant one of the cowboys was out of his saddle and looking carefully at the ground

”The kid's right!” he exclaimed ”There's been some sort of a fracas here”

In that country, where rains were infrequent, and travel light, round

”I'm sure it was here,” declared dick, ”and we came out that way” He pointed toward some distant hills

”Well, we'll take a chance on it,” said Babe ”Light a fire, fellows”

In a few , and two of the cowboys, holding a blanket over it, moved the cloth to one side at intervals, so that puffs of the dark vapor arose and floated upward

”That'll call 'e operations, at the sanals from Nort's party

”Won't the rustlers see these and skip out?” asked dick, as the smoke puffs went up thick and fast

”Don't believe so,” spoke Babe ”If they do see 'em they'll only think they're ca-up,” grimly commented Snake Purdee ”But of course these fellows may be on the lookout Can't hardly expect much else after they come to know that their prisoners have skipped, and the Greaser has gone back to his baby days, eating paregoric! Oh, my spurs! That was slick!”

”There they are!” suddenly cried dick, as he descried other s up, about threeones the members of the other party

”dick says this is the trail in,” re our hero's reasons for his stateht,” assented Nort ”We did coht then! Go to it, boys!” commanded Mr Merkel, and the party rode off