rs to their
horses, the four lads dashed down the mountain road upon their
self-appointed mission, which was by no means the first daring
adventure in which they had engaged; for the stories of the
doings of the three American lads in the quartette have furnished
interesting reading for thousands of American boys.

It is because of their numerous adventures and their skill as
horsemen that the trio has become known as the Broncho Rider
Boys. Their names are Donald Mackay, Adrian Sherwood and William
Stonewall Jackson Winkle, better known as "Broncho Billie." This
latter name was given him some two years before when he went to
visit his cousin Donald at the latter's home on the Keystone
Ranch in Wyoming. It was not given him because he was such an
expert rider, but because he could fall from his broncho pony
easier than any boy in that section. Rotund in appearance, he was
as jolly as he was fat, and his chief failing was his appetite.
No matter what the hour, no one ever mentioned eats that Billie
was not hungry.

When he first came West he was supposed to be in poor health. It
speedily developed that such was not the case. He was simply
hungry. Months in the open air had enabled him to eat without
fear and he was now about the most robust specimen of boy that
any one ever saw.

Donald, the oldest of the trio, was one of those level-headed
chaps who had a knack of doing the right thing at the right time.
His judgment had been proven good in many a tight place and under
many thrilling conditions. As a result, he was generally looked
up to as a leader by the others, although it must be admitted
that Adrian was also a lad of sense and plenty of nerve.

Adrian was the owner of a large Wyoming ranch, and one of the
books which has proved most interesting to American boys is known
as The Broncho Rider Boys on the Wyoming Trail, a story of how
Adrian saved his property from being taken away from him by a
dishonest uncle.

About a year previous to the time this story opens, these three
boys had been on a trip along the Rio Grande, when they fell in
with Capt. June Peak and a company of Texas Rangers, who had been
detailed to keep watch of the actions of a band of cattle
smugglers. Sent across the river into Mexican territory on a
secret mission, the Broncho Rider Boys had the good fortune to
rescue Pedro Sanchez, the fourth member of the quartette, from
the hands of a band of ruffians. Pedro turned out to be the son
o