.

"Be ready to give it to 'em," breathed Horace, at the same time
unslinging his rifle.

But before he could get it to his shoulder the head of the horse
came into view and the next instant the head and shoulders of a man.

In a flash the chums seized their rifles.

The horseman was only about one hundred yards away, and as he
caught sight of the rifles pointed toward him he pulled his pony to
its haunches.

"Throw up your hands!" yelled Horace. "If you make a move, we'll
drop you. You are a prisoner of the Half-Moon Ranch!"

As the horseman heard the name he shouted:

"Steady, there! I'm Jim Jeffreys. What are you up to, anyhow?"

"Who's Jim Jeffreys?" demanded Larry of Horace.

"He's one of our neighbors, if it's him."

"Well, don't you know? Can't you recognize him?"

Having recovered from his fright, the boy stared at the man who had
caused it and then announced:

"Yes, it is Jim."

"It's a pity you couldn't have recognized him before!" snapped Tom
as he and his brother lowered their rifles.

CHAPTER XVI

WHAT JEFFREYS KNEW

Jeffreys, as soon as he understood his identity had been
established, leaped his pony toward the boys and was soon beside
them.

"You are a fine lot to be packing rifles!" he snorted, his anger
rising as the danger passed. "You may think it's a good joke to
cover anybody you meet on the plains, but some one may turn the
joke on you by firing before you get your aim. You aren't what you
call 'quick on the trigger.'"

"Which is fortunate for you--in this case," declared Larry,
resenting the manner and tone of the stranger.

The sight of the two serious-faced boys, whose eyes showed them to
be keen and alert, brought Jeffreys to his senses.

"I reckon you're right," he exclaimed. "But what's up, Horace? If
you and your friends are out for a little excitement, just take my
tip and turn your attention to jumping a coyote or you may----"

"We are not after excitement," retorted the boy from the Half-Moon
Ranch. "We don't have to go looking for it. We've got all we
want. Some of Megget's gang have raided our herd."

"No? It must have been them I saw over near the hills early this
morning."

"Where were they?" "Which way were they going?" "How many were
there of them?" demanded the lads, each one asking a question.

"It was just after sun-up. I was too far away to recognize the
cattle, but I counted four men. As they only had about fifty head
with