must have a bang-up crowd,"
and he smiled broadly. Then he clapped Jack on his shoulder. "I thank
you from the bottom of my heart for what you did for us. It was a nervy
thing to do--to risk your lives in that river. I shall never forget it.
If I were a rich man I'd want to reward you, but I must admit I'm just
about as poor as they make 'em."

"We don't want any reward," answered Jack. "I'm glad to be of service to
you."

"I guess we're all glad," added Randy, and the others nodded.

Then the young cadets introduced themselves and the man and the boy did
the same. The man said his name was John Franklin.

"This is my son Phil," he added. "We don't belong around here--that is,
not exactly. You see, I used to own a farm which was mostly in Texas and
partly in Oklahoma, a pretty big farm, though it wasn't very productive.
Some oil sharpers came along and made a sort of three-cornered deal, the
particulars of which I need not give you, but as a consequence almost
before I knew it I was done out of my farm and had next to no money in
my pocket. Then I came up here expecting to see some friends who might
help me in fighting those rascals, but the friends had moved away, and
nobody knew where to, so I was almost stranded. Then Phil and I got work
up in the woods, cutting timber and doing other odd jobs, and we had
steady employment until this rainy season set in."

"So you came all the way from Texas, did you?" said Randy to Phil
Franklin, with a smile. "It's a pretty long distance."

"Oh, we got sick of it down there after dad was done out of his farm by
those oil sharpers," answered Phil Franklin.

"Did they find oil on your farm?" questioned Fred.

"No. That is, they hadn't up to the time we left. You know it takes a
lot of time and money to sink an oil well. But they did us out of our
farm, and that's bad enough."

"Some day, if I ever get on my feet again, I'm going back to Texas and
have it out with those rascals," announced John Franklin. "They claimed
that their dealings with me were perfectly legal, but I don't look at it
that way. However, boys, that affair has nothing to do with you. As I
said before, I wish I could reward you, but all I can do is to give you
my very best thanks."

"And you can bet I'm thankful, too!" added Phil Franklin earnestly.

"Isn't it rather strange that you should be up here in such a storm as
this?" questioned the man from Texas.

"We got tired of staying indoors on account