They started in a bunch, but gradually drifted into pairs, Dave riding
beside Jessie, Roger escorting Laura, and Phil taking the lead with
Belle. The senator's son and Dave's sister had become very "chummy," and
it can be said that Phil and Belle were fully as attentive to one
another as the occasion warranted. All told stories and sang, and the
boys whistled.
Half an hour of riding brought them to the edge of a woods, and here
they had to proceed in single file, or "Indian fashion," as Belle
expressed it.
"By the way, are there any Indians around here?" asked Jessie, timidly.
"A few, and they are very peaceable," answered the ranch owner's
daughter. "Our only enemies are the cattle- and horse-thieves."
They were passing through some dense underbrush when Belle suddenly
called a halt. The trail was very narrow, and on either side grew dense
clumps of trees.
"Somebody is coming," announced the girl.
"On this trail?" asked Laura.
"Yes."
"We'll have some fun passing each other, especially if it's a fat man,"
remarked Roger, dryly, and this caused a laugh.
They waited, and presently saw a boy approaching on horseback, followed
by a lean-looking man who wore a tattered cowboy dress and a
much-battered sombrero.
"It's Link Merwell!" exclaimed Phil.
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