first of the
frightened horses.

Meanwhile the girls had bathed away the stains of their adventure, and
after a hearty meal cooked by an over solicitous "Miz Cummins" and
served by a frankly envious and inquisitive Lizzie, they felt
considerably more like their old self-confident selves.

However, they begged not to have to go to bed, as Mrs. Nelson anxiously
suggested, until the boys had returned with their horses.

"I'm beginning to get dreadfully worried," Betty confessed after an
interval of staring out into the darkness. They were on the biggest of
the many porches boasted by the quaint old ranch house, waiting eagerly
for the first sound that would announce the return of Andy and the
others with their horses.

"I'd never get over it if anything happened to Old Nick," said Mollie,
taking up Betty's theme. "Maybe we'd better borrow some other horses
from the corral and follow them."

"You'll do nothing of the kind," said Mr. Nelson, his voice sounding
unusually stern there in the darkness. "I am going to keep my eye on you
for the rest of to-day, at least!"

And so they contented themselves as well as they could with waiting and
finally were rewarded by the regular beat of galloping horses in the
distance.

"They're coming!" cried Betty, springing to her feet, then turned to her
father pleadingly: "You won't mind if we go down to meet them, will you,
Dad?" she asked. "They are our chums, you know--the horses, I mean."

Mr. Nelson nodded, and down the steps the girls sprang, racing out to
meet that sound of galloping hoofs which was coming ever nearer. A few
minutes later they were caressing the nervous animals that had gone with
them into the very shadow of death, rubbing their noses, laughing and
crying over them and calling them endearing names till it's a wonder the
cowboys, who stood by, grinning sympathetically, did not turn green with
envy.

"Some anymiles do have all the luck," said one of them.

After that the girls and their horses were almost inseparable. If left
to themselves, the latter would follow the girls around like dogs. Even
"Old Nick," who had been the most difficult to understand and win, now
was devoted to Mollie. She was the only one who could quiet him, and
though there were some who did not care to ride him because of his
skittishness, he was never anything but gentle and docile with her.

As the days passed the girls became more and more interested in Meggy
Higgins until the l