ank again. Then they felt much better.

The ponies again began to crop the grass. The Curlytops, very tired and
sleepy, felt that it would be all right to make their bed in the blanket
they had found, dropped by some passing cowboy.

But first Ted looked around. Off to one side, and along the stream from
which they had drunk, he saw something dark looming up.

"Look, Janet," he said. "Maybe that's a ranch house over there, and we
could go in for the night."

"Maybe," she agreed. "Let's go to it."

Once more they mounted their ponies. The animals did not seem so tired
now, but trotted on over the prairie. They drew nearer to the dark
blotch Teddy had noticed.

Then, as the moon came out from behind some clouds, the Curlytops saw
that they were at the entrance to a hidden valley--a little valley
tucked away among the hills, which they would never have seen had they
not come to the stream to drink.

The little river ran through the valley, and in the moonlight the
children could see that a fence had been made at the end nearest them.
It was a wooden fence, and not one of barbed wire, such as there were
many of on Ring Rosy Ranch.

"This is a queer valley," said Janet.

"Yes, and look!" exclaimed Ted, pointing. "Don't you see things moving
around in it?"

"Yes," agreed Jan, as she looked. "Why, Ted!" she cried. "They're
horses--ponies--a lot of 'em!"

"So they are!" exclaimed Ted. "Oh, we're near a ranch, Janet! Now we're
all right!"

"Yes. But maybe we're a good way from the ranch house," answered Janet.
"We maybe can't find it in the dark. Some of Uncle Frank's ponies are
five miles away from the stable, you know. Maybe we'd better not go on
any more in the dark. I'm tired!"

"Well," agreed Teddy. "I guess we could stay here till it's morning. We
could sleep in the blanket. It's plenty big enough for us two."

"And in the morning we can ride on and find the ranch, and the cowboys
there will take us to Ring Rosy," added Janet. "Let's do it, Teddy."

They looked again at the strange valley in which the horses were moving
about. Clipclap whinnied and one of the other ponies answered. But they
could not come out because of the fence, part of which was built in and
across the little river.

Then, throwing the reins over the heads of their ponies, and knowing
the animals would not stray far, Ted and Janet, taking another drink
from the canteen, rolled up in the blanket and went to sleep on the
prairie just