spluttered and crisped for a moment, Ned bit it off, and went
to masticating it. The cooking continued rapidly enough to keep his jaws
going, and was a good arrangement, for it prevented his eating too fast,
and gave him the fullest enjoyment imaginable of the meal. All of an
hour was occupied in this way, during which Ned was in as happy a frame
of mind as can be conceived. For the first half of the time he seemed to
be growing more hungry with each mouthful he swallowed. Then came a
standstill, and soon he began to gain upon it, the end being that he
thoroughly satisfied that appetite which at one time had seemed
unappeasable. With no further necessity of thinking of the wants of the
inner man, the lad began to debate as to what he should do to get out of
the rather unpleasant position in which he was placed. There he was, his
horse gone, his two friends missing, and himself still a long distance
from home. He knew not in what direction to turn to reach Fort Havens,
and, even if he did, he had little assurance of ever reaching it.
Indeed, with the exception of the rather important fact that he had
secured possession of a rifle and some ammunition, it may be said that
his position was very similar to what it was before he came across Dick
Morris and Tom Hardynge.

CHAPTER XXVI.

CAPTURING A MUSTANG.

It struck Ned that there was something very strange in the continued
absence of the two hunters.

In thinking over the particulars of that rather curious buffalo hunt, he
could not believe it possible that he was more than two miles from where
he had made his start after the creature, and where he separated from
them. All three were upon the easterly side of the herd, so that the
trail made by his own animal could not have been obliterated by the
hoofs of the buffaloes, and nothing could be easier than to follow it.
Where, then, were they? What was the cause of their absence? These were
questions which he asked himself again and again, and which he was
unable to answer in any manner satisfactory to himself.

Suddenly it occurred to him that by climbing one of the trees near at
hand, he might extend his view, and perhaps gain a portion of the
knowledge he was so desirous of obtaining. He acted upon the thought at
once, and, selecting the tallest, first concealed his rifle, and then
climbed to the very topmost branches. There he was rewarded by a
magnificent view, and one which promised him some of the results h