The Pony Rider Boys in Texas Part 45

"Old man," began Stallings, slapping Tad on the shoulder, "come along with me. We'll lead our ponies back to camp and talk. I presume you are aching to know what all this mystery means?" laughed the foreman.

"Naturally, I am a bit curious," admitted Tad.

"It means, Pinto, that not only have you rendered a great service to Mr.

Miller and his herd, but you have done other things as well."

"I've mixed things up pretty well, I guess."

"No. You have solved a riddle, and made me the happiest man in the Lone Star State. Miss Brayton and I have known each other almost since childhood. When I was in Yale----"

"You a college man!" exclaimed Tad in surprise.

"Yes. We were engaged. My people were quite wealthy; but, in a panic, some years ago, father lost everything, dying soon after. Miss Brayton's family then refused their consent to our marriage. I determined to seek my fortune in the growing West. My full name is Robert Stallings Hamilton, though I never had used the middle name until I adopted it when I became a cowboy. But to return to Miss Brayton. Ruth was taken to Europe, and then sent to her uncle here. Her trouble preyed on her mind to such an extent that she grew 'queer.' She had heard that I was a cattle man, somewhere in the West. Strangely enough, when in her moods, she developed a strong antipathy to herds of cattle. Whenever a herd was near, Ruth would slip from the house and steal away to them in the night, A stampede usually followed. It's a wonder she wasn't shot.

Whether or not she caused these intentionally, Ruth does not know----"

"And that is the mystery?" asked Tad.

"Yes."

"It is the strangest story I ever heard," said the boy quietly.

"What I was about to say, is that the herd will go on without me.

Colonel McClure is sending his own foreman through with it instead. Ruth and I are to be married at once, and we shall go to my little ranch in Montana."

In view of the fact that Stallings was severing his connection with the herd, Professor Zepplin decided to do likewise.

Next morning, at sunrise, Bob Stallings, with Miss Ruth, by his side, both radiantly happy, rode out to the camp. The Pony Rider Boys had packed their kits and loaded their belongings on their ponies.

Regretfully they bade good-bye to the cowmen.

Tad's parting with Big-foot was most trying. In the short time they had been together, a strong affection had grown up between the two. The plainsman had been quick to perceive Tad's manly qualities, and the boy, in his turn, had been won by the big, generous nature of the man. They parted, each vowing that they must see each other again.

As the great herd moved slowly northward, three cheers were proposed for Bob Stallings and Miss Brayton. This the cowboys gave with a will, adding a tiger for the Pony Rider Boys.

The trail wagon, pulling out at the same time, held a grinning Chinaman, huddled in the rear.

"Good-bye, Pong!" shouted the lads.

"Allee samee," chuckled the cook, shaking hands with himself enthusiastically.

And here for a time we will take leave of the Pony Rider Boys, whose further exciting experiences will be chronicled in the next volume, ent.i.tled: "The Pony Rider Boys in Montana; Or, the Mystery of the Old Custer Trail." This will be a story of adventure, full of absorbing interest and thrilling incidents. The reader will then go over the same trails that General Custer rode in the wilder days.

The End.

The Motor Boat Club Series By H. Irving Hanc.o.c.k

The keynote of these books is manliness. The stories are wonderfully entertaining, and they are at the same time sound and wholesome. The plots are ingenious, the action swift, and the moral tone wholly healthful. No boy will willingly lay down an unfinished book in this series, at the same time he will form a taste for good literature and the glory of right living.

The Motor Boat Club of the Kennebec; Or, The Secret of Smugglers' Island.

The Motor Boat Club at Nantucket; Or, The Mystery of the Dunstan Heir.

The Motor Boat Club off Long Island; Or, A Daring Marine Game at Racing Speed.

The Motor Boat Club and the Wireless; Or, The Dot, Dash and Dare Cruise.

The Motor Boat Club in Florida; Or, Laying the Ghost of Alligator Swamp.

The Motor Boat Club at the Golden Gate; Or, A Thrilling Capture in the Great Fog.

SUBMARINE BOYS SERIES

By Victor G. Durham

These splendid books for boys and girls deal with life aboard submarine torpedo boats, and with the adventures of the young crew, who, by degrees, become most expert in this most wonderful and awe-inspiring field of modern naval practice. The books are written by an expert and possess, in addition to the author's surpa.s.sing knack of story-telling, a great educational value for all young readers.

The Submarine Boys on Duty; Or, Life on a Diving Torpedo Boat.

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The Submarine Boys' Lightning Cruise; Or, The Young Kings of the Deep.

The Submarine Boys for the Flag; Or, Deeding Their Lives to Uncle Sam.

PONY RIDER BOYS SERIES

By Frank Gee Patchin

These tales may be aptly described as those of a new Cooper. As the earlier novelist depicted the first days of the advancing frontier, so does Mr. Patchin deal charmingly and realistically with what is left of the strenuous outdoor West of the twentieth century. In every sense they belong to the best cla.s.s of books for boys.

The Pony Rider Boys in the Rockies; Or, The Secret of the Lost Claim.

The Pony Rider Boys in Texas; Or, The Veiled Riddle of the Plains.