tethered in a new place, so that they could
crop the luxurious grass.

"I can tell you one thing, life in the open air gives one a great
appetite," remarked the senator's son, as he smacked his lips over a
particularly dainty portion of trout.

"As if there was ever anything the matter with Roger's appetite," cried
Phil.

"How about yourself, Phil?" questioned Dave, with a grin.

"Oh, I reckon I can get away with my share," answered the shipowner's
son calmly, as he reached for another portion of the fish.

As there was no hurry, the boys and girls took their time over the meal,
and many were the stories told and the jokes cracked while the food was
disappearing.

"If only some of the Oak Hall boys could see us now!" cried Dave.
"Wouldn't they envy us!"

"They certainly would," answered Roger.

"And what of the girls at home?" asked Jessie. "I rather think they'd
like to be in our place."

"Crumville seems a long way off, doesn't it?" said Laura.

Besides the fish, they had chicken sandwiches, cake, pie, and half a
dozen other things to eat, and coffee, and water from a sparkling spring
to drink. When they had finished, they took it easy for a while, and
then fished some more, and went strolling.

"I think we had better be thinking of returning," said Belle, at length.
"It is a long ride back, remember, and unless I am mistaken there is a
storm coming up."

"A storm!" cried Jessie. "Oh, I hope not!"

"We don't want to get wet," added Laura.

"I don't think the storm will come right away. But I don't like the
looks of the clouds yonder."

"They certainly do look bad," remarked Dave, casting his eyes in the
direction to which Belle pointed. "It didn't look like rain this
morning."

"It may be more wind than rain, Dave. Sometimes we have great windstorms
around Star Ranch."

They were quite a distance up the river shore when Belle called
attention to the clouds. They had gone up to get a view of a small but
picturesque waterfall, and Laura had taken several snapshots, with the
boys and girls in the foreground, seated on a fallen tree trunk. Now all
started back in the direction of the temporary camp.

"Say, Roger, you help the girls pack up," said Dave. "Phil and I can
get the horses ready. Be sure to see that the fire is out, too," he
called back.

"All right," answered the senator's son. "The fire is out--I saw to that
before," he added.

The horses had been tethered at some distance from the