s who
got Dad's papers, hoping thus to be able to claim a lot of land for
their woolly feeders, but Professor Wright had no hand in it."

Billee's only answer was a sniff.

However, as the boy ranchers rode along in the darkness they realized
that they could have had no better companion than Old Billee Dobb, for
his very vindictiveness, though it might be wrongly directed, made him
eager to keep after the robbers. That Professor Wright was other than
he claimed to be, none of the boys doubted for a moment.

But who was behind the plot which had just succeeded so well? That was
a question which needed answering.

The ranch buildings of Diamond X were soon left behind in the darkness,
their pleasant glow fading as the four horsemen of the prairies rode
along in silence, looking, as best they could under the faint glow of
the moon for the outlines of other horsemen to be shown on the horizon
as they topped some rise in the undulating ground.

In general the boy ranchers and Billee were following the trail on
which Slim and the cowboys had started after the shots were fired--the
trail that was crossed by Professor Wright, causing the pursuers to
turn back.

"It would have been better if some of us had kept on when we had the
start," commented Nort when, after an hour's ride nothing had been seen.

"Yes, it would," agreed Billee.

"But we didn't know, then, that there had been a robbery," went on Nort.

"That's right," assented Bud. "We just thought it was an ordinary
bunch of cattle or horse thieves, and if they had been there would have
been nothing else to worry about, as we drove them off."

"Well, we may get 'em yet, but 'tisn't very likely," said Billee.

And as the night wore on and they kept their slow pace over the plains,
this prediction seemed about to be borne out.

The boys and Billee had stopped at ranch houses here and there to make
inquiries about some fleeing band of horsemen, but no one had seen
them. The proprietors of most of the ranches were over at Diamond X
and had not yet returned. Some of them had telephoned to their foremen
or other members of the ranch households, telling about the robbers and
saying that Bud and his companions might call.

But beyond this no trace was found of the robbers.

It was long past midnight when Old Billee pulled his horse to a stop,
and "slumped" from the saddle.

"What's the matter?" asked Bud. "See some sign?" By this he intended
to ask if the