have thousands of heads of cattle?"

"How about horses, Spouter? We'll have enough mounts, sha'n't we?"

"Any good hunting or fishing?"

"Stop! Stop! What are you trying to do?" spluttered Spouter. "Trying to
drown me in a flood of questions? Why don't you ask one thing at a
time?"

"Well, where is the ranch and how are we going to get to it?" questioned
Jack.

"And how big is it?" put in Fred.

And then came another flood of questions until poor Spouter placed his
hands to his ears in dismay.

"I can't answer everything at once," he said finally. "So you'd better
let me tell what I know in my own way. Big Horn Ranch is located out in
Montana, and it comprises a thousand acres or more--how large I don't
exactly know. To get there you journey by rail to a little jumping-off
place called Four Rocks, and then you have to ride or drive to the ranch,
which is four or five miles away. The nearest town of any size is Arrow
Junction, which is quite a distance off."

"How is it your dad bought a place like that?" broke in Gif. "I didn't
know he was interested in ranches."

"Oh, he has always liked outdoor life--you all know that. And this ranch
came to him in rather an unexpected way. There were two brothers who were
interested in a speculation in which my dad was interested, too. My dad
advanced a lot of money to these brothers, and as they couldn't pay up in
cash they asked him if he wouldn't take the ranch off their hands by
allowing them an additional thirty thousand dollars. So he made a trip
out there in company with another man who knew all about ranches and then
he concluded to buy, and did so. So now we own Big Horn Ranch, and the
family expects to spend a large part of each summer there."

"And your father said we could all go out there with you?" questioned
Randy.

"Yes. He told me to invite you four Rovers and also Gif. And that isn't
all," went on Spouter. "He's invited all your folks out there, too. He's
going to make a great big house-party of it!"

"Our folks!" exclaimed Fred. "What do you mean? They can't all go. Uncle
Dick is just back from Texas, and somebody has got to look after the
offices in New York."

"It has been arranged that your father and mother are to go along first,
Fred, and later on Randy and Andy's father and mother are to come out.
Then, when they go back to New York, it's possible that Jack's folks will
come West before the season is over. Gif's folks have not decided on what