he Indians. The Curlytops did not seem very
happy.

"Don't you wish _we_ could go, Jan?" asked Teddy, after he and his
sister had sat in silence for some time.

"I just guess I _do_!" she exclaimed. "I can ride good, too. Almost as
good as you, Ted, and I don't see why we couldn't go!"

"Yes, you ride nice, Jan," said her brother. "But I thought you were
afraid of Indians."

"I used to be, but I'm not any more. Anyway, if you'd stay with me I
wouldn't be. And, anyhow, Uncle Frank says the Indians won't hurt us."

"Course they won't! I'm not afraid! I'd go on the trail after 'em if
they'd let us."

"So would I. We could throw stones at 'em if they tried to hurt us,
Teddy."

"Yes. Or we could ride our ponies fast and get away. Uncle Frank told me
the Indians didn't have any good ponies, and that's why they took his."

"But we can't go," said Janet with a sigh.

"No; we've got to stay at home."

A little later a cowboy came limping out of the bunkhouse. His name was
Sim Body, but all his friends called him "Baldy" because he had so
little hair on his head.

"Hello, Curlytops!" cried Baldy in a jolly voice, for he was always
good-natured. Even now he was jolly, though he had a lame foot where a
horse had stepped on it. That is why he was not on the trail after the
Indians with the other cowboys.

"Hello," answered Teddy, but he did not speak in a jolly voice.

"Why, what's the matter?" asked Baldy with a laugh, as he limped to the
bench and sat down near the two children. "You act as sad and gloomy as
if there wasn't a Christmas or a New Year's any more, to say nothing of
Fourth of July and birthdays! What's the matter? Seems to me, if I had
all the nice, curly hair you two have, I'd be as happy as a horned toad
and I'd go around singing all day long," and Baldy rubbed his hand over
his own smooth head and laughed.

"I don't like my hair," grumbled Teddy. "It's always getting snarled and
the comb gets stuck in it."

"And it does in mine, too," added Janet. "And mother pulls when she
tries to untangle it. Mine's longer than Ted's."

"Yes, and nicer, for that reason," went on Baldy. "Though I'd be glad if
I had even half of yours, Teddy. But never mind about that. I won't take
your hair, though I'd like to know what makes you both so gloomy-like.
Can't you smile?"

Ted and Janet could not help laughing at Baldy, he seemed so funny. He
was a good friend of theirs.

"We can't go on the trail after Indian