"
"Are you sure of the trail?" asked Belle.
"Oh, yes, that's easy," answered Phil.
Without another word the two chums started off in the direction of the
ranch house, so many miles distant. The others, watched them out of
sight, and then turned and walked up the river bank toward the shack
Belle had mentioned.
CHAPTER XVIII
OUT IN THE WIND AND RAIN
"Dave, what do you suppose those six horses were worth?" questioned
Phil, as the two youths hurried along the back trail on a dog-trot,--the
same dog-trot they used when on a cross-country run at Oak Hall.
"At least two thousand dollars, Phil," was the reply. "The horse I used
was a dandy, and so was that Belle had--and yours was a good one, too."
"What do you suppose those horse-thieves will do with them?"
"Drive them a long distance, hide them for a while, and then, when they
get the chance, sell them. Of course they don't expect to get full value
for them, but they'll get a neat sum."
"You don't suppose this can be a trick of Link Merwell's?"
"I thought of that, but I don't think so. Taking a horse in this section
of the country is a serious business. Why, they used to hang
horse-thieves, and even now a ranchman wouldn't hesitate to shoot at a
fellow who had his horse and was making off with it.
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