ery dear to him.

"Thar come a messenger to the ranch a while ago, an' somethin' he
fetched along with him, 'peared to excite the boss right from the word
go," Ted admitted.

"A messenger, Ted?" the boy echoed, wonderingly.

"Never seen him afore, an' think he kim from town," the new arrival went
on to say. "Leastwise, he looked like a stray maverick, an' had a
b'iled shirt, with a collar that I reckoned sure would choke him. Atween
you an' me I tried to get him to chuck the same; but he only grinned,
an' allowed he could stand it."

"Oh! a messenger from town, was it?" said Frank, with a relieved look.
"Then the chances are it must have been some business connected with a
shipment of cattle. Perhaps the railroad has had a bad wreck, and wants
to settle for that last bunch we sent away."

But Ted shook his head in the negative.

"'T'wan't no railroad man; that I know," he affirmed, positively.
"'Sides, the boss was holdin' of a bottle in his hand, an' seemed to set
a heap of store by it."

"A bottle, Ted?" cried Frank, deeply interested.

"That's what," replied the cowboy, energetically. "But jest why he
should reckon such a thing wuth shucks I can't tell ye. But he sent me
out to bring you back to the ranch house like two-forty. I seen that he
was plumb locoed, and some excited by the news, whatever it might be."

Frank looked at his chum in a puzzled way, and shook his head.

"I don't seem able to make head or tail of this business, Bob," he
remarked; "but there's only one thing to be done, and that's to romp
home on the gallop. So away we go with a rush. Who's after me! Hi! get
long, Buckskin! It's a race for a treat of oats as a prize! Here you
are, Bob; hit up the pace!"

With the words Frank gave his horse free rein, and went tearing over the
level plain, headed as straight for the distant ranch as though he were
a bird far up in the clear air, and could see to make a direct line "as
the crow flies!"

And after a time, in the distance, they saw the whitewashed outbuildings
of Circle Ranch. Frank never viewed the familiar and dearly loved scene
with more anxiety than he did now; but so far as he could see there did
not appear to be anything out of the ordinary taking place around the
ranch house.

"Looks all right, Bob!" exclaimed Frank, as though a great load had been
taken from his heart.

The sudden coming of Ted Conway, with that queer message that meant a
hurried return, had mystified the boy