"I didn't believe it much. But I do now, 'cause you're angels!"
And he nodded his head earnestly, to show that he meant what he said.
"And now, ho, for the boundless West!" cried Dave, when the party was on
its way to the depot. "Now for the plains and the mountains, the canyons
and the rivers, the cattle and the broncos, the campfires and the
cowboys, and the lasso and the rifle, the----"
"Hello, Dave is wound up!" interrupted the senator's son.
"Must have some of that ranch air in his lungs already," added Phil. "I
suppose the first thing you'll want to do will be to break in a bronco,
ride a couple of hundred miles, and lasso a couple of dozen buffaloes."
"Sure thing," answered Dave. "Then we'll build a roaring campfire, cook
a ten-pound bear steak and eat it, shoot half a dozen Apache Indians,
find a few fifteen-pound nuggets of gold, and--wake up and find the
mince pie you had for supper didn't agree with you." And this unexpected
ending brought forth a roar of laughter, in which even Mr. Porter
joined.
"You won't find it so exciting as all that at Star Ranch," said Laura,
after the others had quieted down. "But I think you'll be able to put in
the time doing one thing or another."
"I reckon we'll hunt up some excitement," said the senator's son.
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