les their eyes
glowing with excitement and anticipation.

Bob Stallings, the foreman, was the first to greet them.

"Fellows, this is the bunch I've been telling you about," was Bob's
introduction. "Where's Lumpy?" he demanded, glancing about him with a
scowl.

"Lumpy's over behind the chuck wagon," answered the cowboy of whom the
question had been asked.

"Lumpy!" bellowed the foreman.

The fellow with whom Tad Butler had had such an unpleasant meeting,
earlier in the day, came forward reluctantly, a sudden scowl on his
face.

"Lumpy, this is Tad Butler. Stick out your fist and shake hands with
him!"

Lumpy did so.

"Howd'y," he growled, but scarcely loud enough for any save Tad to hear.

The lad smiled up at him good-naturedly.

"You and I bumped ponies this morning, I guess," said Tad. "Maybe I was
to blame after all. I'll apologize, anyway, and I hope there will be no
hard feelings."

"Lumpy!" warned Stallings when he noticed that the cowpuncher had made
no reply to Tad's apology.

"No hard feelings," grunted Lumpy Bates.

He was about to turn away and again seek the seclusion of the chuck
wagon, as the cook wagon was called by the cow boys, when Chunky came
rolling along. In the excitement of the meeting the boys had forgotten
all about him. The Pony Riders swung their sombreros and gave three
cheers for Chunky Brown as he dashed up.

Chunky took off his sombrero and waved it at them.

Just then Chunky met with one of those unfortunate accidents that were
always occurring to him. His galloping pony put a forefoot into a gopher
hole, going down in a heap.

Chunky, however, kept on.

When the accident happened he was almost upon the waiting cowboys, his
intention having been to pull his pony up sharply to show off his
horsemanship, then drop off and make them a sweeping bow.

Stacy Brown was possessed of the true dramatic instinct, yet few things
ever came off exactly as he had planned them.

As he shot over the falling pony's head, his body described a half curve
in the air, his own head landing fairly in the pit of Lumpy Bates's
stomach.

Cowboy and Pony Rider went over in a struggling heap, with the Pony
Rider uppermost.

Stacy had introduced himself to the cowboys in a most unusual manner,
and to the utter undoing of one of them, for the boy's head had for the
moment, knocked all the breath out of the surly Lumpy Bates.

CHAPTER III

PUTTING THE COWS TO BED

The cowpunch