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F.

      The Boy Ranchers; Or, Solving the Mystery at Diamond X

      THE BOY RANCHERS

      CHAPTER I

      "SOME RIDIN'!"

      Two riders slumped comfortably in their saddles as the ponies slowly ambled along. The sun was hot, and the dust stifling, a cloud of it forming a floating screen about the horsemen and progressing with them down the trail.

      One of the riders, a tall, lanky and weather-beaten cowboy, taking a long breath, raised his voice in what he doubtless intended to be a song.

      It was, however, more a cry of anguish as he bellowed forth:

      "Leave me alone with a rope an' a saddle,

      Fold my spurs under my haid!

      Give me a can of them sweet, yaller peaches,

      'Cause why? My true-love is daid!"

      "Bad as all that; is it, Slim?" asked the other, who, now that he had partly emerged from the cloud of dust, could be seen as a lad of about sixteen. He, like the other, older rider, was attired cowboy fashion.

      "Eh? What's that, Bud?" inquired the lanky one, seeming to arouse as if from a day dream. "See suthin'?"

      "Nope. I was just sort of remarking about that sad song, and – "

      "Oh, shucks! That wa'n't sad!" declared Slim Degnan, foreman of the

      Diamond X ranch. "Guess I wa'n't really payin' much attention to what

      I was singin', but if you want a real sad lament – "

      "No, I don't!" laughed Bud Merkel, whose father was the owner of Diamond X ranch. "Not that I blame you for feeling sort of down and out," he added.

      "Oh, I don't feel bad, Bud!" came the hasty rejoinder. "We did have more'n a ride than I figgered on, but I don't aim to put up no kick. It's all in the day's work. You don't seem to mind it."

      "I should say not! We had a bully time. I'd spend another night out in the open if we had to. I like it!"

      "Yes, you seem to take to it like a duck does to water," added Slim. "But it's a shame to mention ducks in the same chapter with this atmosphere! Zow hippy! But it's hot an' dusty an' thirsty! Come along there, you old hunk of jerked beef!" he added to his pony, giving a gentle reminder with the spurs and pulling on the reins. The pony made a feeble attempt to increase its gait, but it was no more than an attempt.

      The animal that was ridden by Bud – a pinto – started to follow the example of the other.

      "Regular mud-turtle gallop," commented the foreman.

      "They'll go faster when they top the rise, and see the corral," commented Bud.

      "An' smell water! That's what I want, a long, sizzling, sozzling drink of water!" cried Slim, whose name fitted him better than did his clothes. Then he broke forth again with:

      "Oh, leave me alone with a rope an' a saddle – "

      Slowly the riders plodded along. The sun seemed to grow more hot and the dust more thick. As they approached a hill, beyond which lay the corral and ranch buildings of Diamond X, Bud drew rein, thus halting his pony.

      "Let's give 'em a breather before we hit the hill," he suggested to the foreman.

      "I'm agreeable, son," was the foreman's easy comment as he slung one leg over the saddle and sat sideways.

      Slim Degnan and Bud had ridden off to look for a break in one of the many long lines of wire fences that kept the stock of Diamond X somewhat within bounds, and it had taken longer to locate and repair the break than they had counted on.

      They had been obliged to remain out all night – not that this was unusual, only they had not exactly prepared for it – and, in consequence, did not have all the ordinary comforts. But, as Bud had said, he had not minded it. However, the ponies were rather used up, and the riders in the same condition, and it was with equal feelings of relief that they came within sight of the last hill that lay between them and the ranch.

      "Well, might as well mosey along," spoke Slim, at length. "Sooner we get some water inside us, an' th' ponies, th' better we'll all be."

      "I reckon," agreed Bud. "But I don't believe Zip Foster could have done the job any quicker than we did."

      "Who?" queried Slim, with a quizzical look at his companion.

      "Zip Foster," answered Bud.

      "Never heard of him. What outfit does he ride for?" asked the foreman, but he saved Bud the embarrassment of answer by suddenly rising in his saddle and looking off in the distance.

      Bud had his own reasons for not answering that seemingly natural question, and he was glad of the diversion, though he was not at once aware of what had caused it. But he followed the direction of the foreman's gaze, and, like him, saw arising in the still air, about two miles away, a thin thread of smoke – a mere wisp, as though it had dangled down from some fleecy cloud. But the smoke was ascending and was not the beginning of a fog descending.

      "Can't be any of our boys," murmured Slim. "They aren't out on round-up yet. An' it's too early for grub."

      "Indians?" questioned Bud. Sometimes the bucks from a neighboring reservation felt the call of the wild, and slipped out to have a forbidden feast on some cattleman's stock, only to be brought up with a round turn by the government soldiers.

      "Don't think so," remarked Slim. "They don't have much chance t' practice their wiles, but, with all that, they know enough not t' make a fire that smokes. Must be some strangers. If it's any of them ornery sheep men," he exclaimed, "I'd feel like – "

      "They wouldn't dare!" exclaimed Bud, for being the son of a cattle-ranchman he had come to dislike and despise the sheep herders, whose flocks ate so closely as to ruin the feeding range for steers. The sheep would crop grass down to the very roots, setting back its growth for many months.

      "No, I don't reckon it would be sheepers," murmured Slim. "Wa'al, mebby they know at the ranch. We'll be headin' home now, I guess. Come on there, you old tumble-bug!" he called to his horse, and then he raised his voice and roared:

      "Leave me alone with a rope an' a saddle,

      Fold my spurs under my haid!

      Give me a can of them sweet, yaller peaches,

      'Cause why? My true-love is daid!"

      Slim's horse started off on a lope, freshened by the rest, and Bud's followed. They topped the rise, and, then as the animals came within sight and smell of their stables, and caught the whiff of ever-welcome water, they dashed down the slope toward the green valley in which nestled the corral and buildings of Diamond X ranch.

      "If I wasn't so doggoned tired," said Slim to Bud as they prepared to pull up on reaching the corral, "I'd ride over after supper, and see what that smoke was. I don't perzactly like it."

      "Maybe I'll go," offered Bud. "If it should happen to be sheepers, dad'll want to know it."

      "He shore will, son. But – Zow hippy! What's going on here?" cried Slim. He pointed toward the corral of the ranch – a fenced-off field where the cowboys kept their string of ponies when the animals were not in use. Here, too, spare animals were held against the time of need.

      Just now a crowd of cowboys surrounded this corral. Some were perched on the rails of the fence, and others leaned over. Some were swinging their hats as though in encouragement, and one was rapidly emptying his gun on the defenseless air, which was further torn and shattered by wild yells.

      As the two wayfarers neared the corral, there dashed from among the cattle punchers surrounding it an exceedingly fat cowboy, whose face, wreathed in smiles, was also wet with perspiration. He swung his hat around in a circle and yelled shrilly:

      "Some ridin', boys! Some ridin'! Go to it!"

      "What's the matter, Babe?" asked Slim, of his assistant who had thus given vent to his feelings.

      "Go look! It's so good I don't want to spoil it!"

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