nybody hurt?" he questioned, as he ran forward.

"Roger got his ankle twisted, running away from the steer," answered
Dave.

"What did the critter do?" went on the cowboy, and Phil and the others
told their story, to which Sid Todd listened with interest. The other
cowboys also came up, to look the fallen steer over.

"He sure is a crazy one," said Yates. "If I was the boss, I'd shoot
him."

"I'll report about him as soon as I get back," answered Todd. "Say, you
had a nerve to take hold of this lasso," he went on to Phil.

"Dave told me to do it," was the answer of the shipowner's son. "It was
easy enough--when I was on horseback. I shouldn't have done it if I had
been on foot."

"Not much--unless you're a staving good runner," said Yates, with a
grin.

The steer was too exhausted to make further resistance just then, and
the cowboys had but little trouble in taking the lasso from his foreleg.

"He'll be all right after a bit," said Todd, in answer to a question
from Dave. "But I think myself he isn't just O. K. in his head, and the
next time we want some fresh meat we might as well kill him off and be
done with it."

The cowboy insisted upon looking at Roger's ankle. The member was
somewhat swollen, but the senator's son said it would not bother him to
ride home. In a little while they were off in a bunch. When quite a
distance from the ravine they gazed back and saw that the steer had
gotten up and was grazing as if nothing out of the ordinary had
happened.

"Well, we have put in a rather strenuous day for a starter," remarked
Dave, when they came in sight of the ranch home. "If this keeps up----"

"But it won't," interrupted Phil. "I reckon some days will be dull
enough."

The girls were awaiting their return, and they listened with keen
attention to what the boys had to tell.

"You must bathe your ankle with liniment," cried Belle. "I'll get some
for you," and soon she presented Roger with the stuff. He did as
directed, and soon the swollen member felt far more comfortable. During
the evening the senator's son took it easy on the wide veranda and in
the sitting-room.

"I wish I had seen the race!" cried Jessie, smiling at Dave. "Some day
you'll have to have another and let us girls look on."

"What's the matter with you girls having a race?" queried Dave. "That
would be dead loads of fun--for us boys."

"Belle would be sure to win--she can ride like the wind," answered
Laura.

As soon as it g