ep with your boots on. That's the way I'm going to do it, to-night."

The cowboy did this very thing, but within an hour he found himself
alone, the others having turned in one by one.

"Where are your beds?" asked Stacy after the foreman had urged the boys
to get to sleep.

"Beds?" grunted Big-foot. "Anywhere--everywhere. Our beds, on the
plains, are wherever we happen to pull our boots off."

"You will find your stuff rolled up under the chuck wagon, boys," said
Stallings. "I had Pong get out the blankets for you, seeing that you
have only your slickers with you."

The lads found that a pair of blankets had been assigned to each of
them, with an ordinary wagon sheet doubled for a tarpaulin. These they
spread out on the ground, using boots wrapped in coats for pillows.

Stacy Brown proved the only grumbler in the lot, declaring that he could
not sleep a wink on such a bed as that.

In floundering about, making up his bunk, the lad had fallen over two
cowboys and stepped full on the face of a third.

Instantly there was a chorus of yells and snarls from the disturbed
cowpunchers, accompanied by dire threats as to what they would do to the
gopher did he ever disturb their rest in that way again.

This effectually quieted the boy for the night, and the camp settled
down to silence and to sleep.

The horses of the outfit, save those that were on night duty and two or
three others that had developed a habit of straying, had been turned
loose early in the evening, for animals on the trail are seldom staked
down. For these, a rope had been strung from a rear wheel of the wagon
and another from the end of the tongue, back to a stake driven in the
ground, thus forming a triangular corral. Besides holding the
untrustworthy horses, it afforded a temporary corral for catching a
change of mounts.

In spite of their hard couches the Pony Riders slept soundly, even
Professor Zepplin himself never waking the whole night through. Ned
Rector had come up smiling when awakened for his trick on the third
guard. With Stacy Brown, however, severe measures were necessary when
one of the returning guard routed him out at half-past three in the
morning.

Stacy grumbled, turned over and went to sleep again.

The guard chanced to be Lumpy Bates, and he administered, what to him,
was a gentle kick, to hurry the boy along.

"Ouch!" yelled Chunky, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Keep still, you baby!" growled the cowman. "Do you