s and tried to get 'em, but I was suspicious
all along."

"But where are they now?" asked Joe, peering out into the darkness. "I
can't see a thing, and our animals seem to be all there."

"The beggars dropped down, and are hiding," said the cowboy. "They
didn't like the quick way I fired on 'em, I guess; though, land knows! I
don't want to hurt any of 'em if I can help it. They don't know just
what to do, and they're biding their time."

"Did they get any of our horses--or things?" asked Blake, anxiously, his
thoughts on the valuable films.

"Not as yet," replied Hank. "But this thing isn't over with. They'll
come back, once they decide it's worth while. We've got to get ready for
'em."

"How?" asked Blake.

"Well, we've got to pile our stuff up as a sort of shelter, and then
we've got to bring in the animals. It won't do to have the imps run off
with 'em, and that's what they're aiming to do."

"But won't it be risky to go out there in the darkness to bring in the
ponies and burros?" asked Joe. "You say the Indians are concealed out
there."

"So I believe they are," replied Hank. "But I fancy my shooting drove
'em back a bit, even though I did fire in the air, or so high over their
heads that they couldn't be harmed. So I guess we can make a move out
there without getting hurt. Anyhow, it's got to be done, and, as I know
more about such business than you boys, having been at it longer, I'll
just attend to that. You'd better make the best sort of breastworks you
can. For, though I don't believe these beggars will actually shoot to
hurt, still it's best to be on the safe side. Be cautious, now."

And, while Hank is thus preparing to secure the pack and saddle animals,
and the boys to gather the boxes and bales into a compact mass, I will
take just a few moments to tell you more about the moving picture lads
than I have yet done.

In the first book of this series, entitled "The Moving Picture Boys; Or,
The Perils of a Great City Depicted," I introduced to you Joe Duncan and
Blake Stewart. At that time they lived in the village of Fayetteburg, in
the central part of New York State. Blake worked on the farm of his
uncle, Jonathan Haverstraw, while Joe was hired boy for Zachariah
Bradley. And it happened that they both lost their places at the same
time.

Blake's uncle decided to retire to a Home for the Aged, and Mr. Bradley
said he could no longer afford to pay Joe any wages. The boys did not
know what to do