u."

"Oh, won't that be fun!" cried Rose.

But when they reached the field where the ponies had been left a sad
surprise awaited them. Neither of the two little creatures were to be
seen, and there was no sign of Margy or the queer Indian carriage
either.

"Oh, they--they're gone!" gasped Russ.

"Both ponies!" added Laddie.

"And where's Margy?" asked Rose, holding the piece of pie in her hand.

"She's gone, too," said Russ. "Oh, dear!"

"Maybe the Indians came and took her," said Laddie.

"I don't see any Indians," and Russ shook his head.

"But maybe they rode off with her."

"Or maybe the bad men that took Uncle Fred's cattle came and took the
ponies and Margy," said Rose. "Oh, what are we going to do?"

"We must tell Uncle Fred!" exclaimed Russ.

"He's away off at the far end of the ranch," said Rose. "He rode over
with some of the cowboys when I was making my pie."

"Is Mother or Daddy back?" asked Laddie.

"No, not yet," Rose answered. "Oh, dear! Mother will say it is my fault,
for she told me to watch Margy, but I forgot when I was making my pie."

The pie seemed to give Russ an idea.

"We'll tell Bill Johnson," he said. "Bill used to be a cowboy, if he is
a cook now, and he'll know how to find anybody the Indians have taken.
We'll go and tell Bill Johnson."

So back to the ranch house rushed the children, bursting in on Bill
Johnson with an excited story about the missing ponies and Margy.

"Ponies gone out of the big field, eh?" asked Bill. "Well, I expect you
left the bars down, didn't you--the place where you made a hole in the
fence to drive the ponies in from the corral? Did you leave the bars
down?"

"I guess we did," admitted Russ.

"Come on with me," said Bill with a laugh. "I guess I can find the
ponies for you."

"But we want Margy, too!" said Rose.

"Yes, I guess I can find her also."

Bill Johnson led the way to the corral, where the ponies were kept, and
there, among their fellows, were the two missing ones. And, best of all,
the sticks were still fast to the one Russ had ridden, and Margy was
just awakening and was still in her place in the bag between the poles.

"Oh, Margy!" cried Rose, "I brought you some pie."

"I had a nice ride," said Margy, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Russ
gave me a nice ride, and we played Indian, and I went to sleep."

"Yes, and while you slept," said Bill, "the two ponies took a notion
they wanted to go back with the others in the c