a share in whatever trouble was before the brave Ranger
captain. Chunky had taken to the bush. The others were lying flat
on the ground.

As the captain ran he let go two more shots. This time there was no
answering yell from the bushes. But he distinctly heard a crashing
in there and drove in two more shots. He charged the bushes utterly
regardless of the peril to himself, with Tad Butler close behind him.
Tad had his revolver in hand, but he was cool headed enough not to
indulge in any indiscriminate firing.

It was evident that either more than one man had been in the attacking
party or else one who had been wounded had not been badly enough hurt
to prevent his getting away. Not a sign of a human being was the
Ranger able to find, though his keen eyes soon picked up the trail.
He followed it a short distance, finally having reached soft ground,
getting down on his knees and examining it critically.

When he looked up he found Tad standing over him.

"I thought I told you to stay back, young man?" he said sharply.

"I don't like to stay back when there's anything going on. What do
you find?"

"There were two of them. Here's where they mounted their ponies. I
wish I knew who they are. You see those fellows are watching."

"Watching you?"

"No. They came here to clean out the Pony Rider Boys, I reckon,"
laughed the Ranger. "They didn't expect to find me here. But when
they saw me they couldn't let the opportunity go without taking a pot
shot at me. I moved---I stretched---just at the right second, or I'd
have been a dead man before now."

"The cowards!" breathed Tad, his eyes glowing angrily.

"Oh, yes, they're all of that. They shoot when the other fellow isn't
looking, and they shoot to kill. But we might as well go back. I
could follow them, but it hardly is worth while. They will be hidden
long before we can run them down. They'll leave a blind trail pretty
soon after they get far enough away to make it safe for them to stop
and cover their tracks."

"But, will they not come back again?" urged Butler.

"Not to-night. They know I am on my guard now. They will put off
their attack on you until some other time. Lucky I chanced to be here
when they first came. I hope they don't take the alarm and keep away
from you now."

Butler grinned. He hoped so too, though the others of his party might
not share this hope with him, especially Professor Zepplin who was
getting rather more exc