BACK TO RING ROSY
"I hope the Curlytops won't ride too far," said Mrs. Martin, coming out
into the kitchen to help with the work.
She had just got Trouble to sleep after Teddy and Janet had brought him
in from the haymow before riding off on their ponies.
"Oh, I guess they won't," Aunt Millie answered.
But, could Mrs. Martin and Aunt Millie have seen them, they would have
been much surprised to know where the Curlytops then were.
As you know, they were riding along the trail after the Indians.
The hours went on until it was late afternoon. And then, when the
children did not come back, Mrs. Martin began to be alarmed. She went to
the top of a low hill not far away from the ranch house and looked
across the prairie.
"I can't see them," she said, when she came back.
"Oh, don't worry," returned Aunt Millie. "They'll be along pretty soon.
And, anyhow, there is no danger."
"But--the Indians?" questioned Mrs. Martin.
"Oh, they are far enough off by this time," said the ranch owner's wife.
"They won't bother the Curlytops."
But Mother Martin did worry, and when supper time came near and Janet
and Teddy were not yet back, Aunt Millie, too, began to think it
strange.
"What do you suppose could happen?" asked Mrs. Martin. "I wish Dick were
here."
"Oh, lots of little things might happen," said Aunt Millie. "The
children may have ridden farther than they meant to. It's such a nice
day for riding you couldn't blame them for going. Or one of their ponies
may have gone lame and have to walk slowly. That would make them get
here late."
"Suppose they should be hurt?" asked Mother Martin, anxiously.
"Oh, I don't suppose anything of the sort!" and Aunt Millie laughed. But
Mother Martin did not feel like laughing.
At last, however, when it began to get dark and the children had not
come, even the cowboys left at the ranch--those who had not ridden on
the trail after the Indians--said it was time something was done.
"We'll go out and find 'em," said Baldy. "The little tykes have got
lost; that's about all. We'll find 'em and bring 'em home!"
"Oh, I hope you can!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin.
"Sure we will!" cried Baldy. "Won't we, boys?"
"That's what we will!" cried the cowboys.
The men started out over the prairie right after supper, carrying
lanterns, not so much that they needed the lights as that they might be
seen by the lost children.
"Hello, Curlytops! where are you?" called the cowboys.
But no one answered them. Teddy and Janet were far away.
The cowboys rode as far as the pile of rocks where the spring bubbled
up. There Baldy, swinging his lantern to and fro, said he thought he
could see the marks of the feet of Star Face and Clipclap among those
of other ponies, but he was not sure.
"We'll have to come back here and start out early in the morning when we
can see better," he said.
"And what are we going to do all night?" asked another cowboy.
"Well, we'll keep on hunting, of course. But I don't believe we'll find
the lost Curlytops."
One of the men rode back to the ranch to tell Mrs. Martin that so far,
no trace of the missing children had been found. She could not keep back
her tears, but she tried to be brave.
"Oh, where can they be?" she asked.
"They'll be all right," the cowboy said. "It's a nice warm night, and
they're brave children. Even if they had to sleep out it would not hurt
'em. They could take the blankets that are under the ponies' saddles and
wrap up in them. They'll be all right."
Though they were lost, the Curlytops were, at that moment, much better
off than the cowboy thought. For they had found the big blanket and the
bundle of food, and they were sleeping soundly on the prairie.
At first they had been a little afraid to lie down all alone out in the
night, but their ponies were with them, and Janet said it felt as though
Clipclap and Star Face were like good watch dogs.
Then, being very tired and having had something to eat and drink, they
fell asleep.
All night long, though, the cowboys rode over the prairie looking for
the lost ones. They shouted and called, but the Curlytops were too far
away to hear or to answer, even if they had been awake.
"Well, now we can make a better hunt," said Baldy, when he saw the sun
beginning to rise. "Well get something to eat and start out from the
spring in the rocks. I'm almost sure the Curlytops were there."
Mrs. Martin had not slept all night, and when the cowboys came back to
breakfast she said she was going to ride with them to search for her
children.
"Yes, I think it would do you good," said Aunt Millie.
Mrs. Martin had learned how to ride when a girl, and she had practised
some since coming to Ring Rosy Ranch. So she did not feel strange in the
saddle. With Baldy and the other cowboys she set off.
They went to the spring amid the rocks and there began the search. Over
the prairie the riders spread out like a big fan, looking everywhere for
the lost ones. And when they were not found in about an hour Baldy said:
"Well, there's just a chance that their ponies took them to Silver
Creek."
"Where's that?" asked Mrs. Martin.
"It's a stream of water quite a way off," Baldy answered. "It isn't on
our ranch, and we don't very often go there. But if the Curlytops'
ponies were thirsty in the night they might go to Silver Creek, even if
Jan and Ted didn't want them to. I think the ponies went the nearest way
to water."
"Then let us go that way!" cried Mrs. Martin.
Meanwhile Teddy and Janet had awakened. They could look right into the
strange valley through which flowed Silver Creek, though they did not
then know its name.
"And look what a lot of horses!" cried Janet.
"And cows!" added her brother. "I wonder whose they are?"
"Oh, I guess they live on some ranch," Janet said. "Now if we can find
the ranch house we'll be all right."
"We'll look for it," suggested Teddy. "But first we've got to have
breakfast. If I had a match I could make a fire and boil some coffee."
"Let's not bother with breakfast," suggested Janet. "I'm not very
hungry. And if we find the ranch house we can get something to eat
there. Come on, Teddy."
They got a drink at the stream, and then, rolling up what food was left
in the blanket, they got on their ponies and rode away, going around the
valley instead of into it, for Teddy saw that hills closed it at the far
end.
"There's no ranch house in that valley," he said.
The Curlytops had not ridden far before Janet, who had gone a little
ahead of Teddy, cried:
"Oh, look! Here come some cowboys!"
"I guess they belong to this ranch--the one where we saw the ponies and
cows," replied Teddy, as he saw a number of horsemen riding toward them.
The horsemen began to whoop and shout, and their horses ran very fast
toward the Curlytops.
"There's a lady with 'em," remarked Janet.
"They seem awful glad to meet us," went on Teddy. "Look, they're wavin'
their hats."
And so the cowboys were. When the riders came a little nearer Teddy and
Janet rubbed their eyes in surprise.
"Why--why!" Teddy exclaimed. "There's our own Baldy!"
"And there's mother!" fairly shouted Janet. "Oh, Mother! Mother!" she
cried. "Oh, how glad I am!" and she made Star Face run toward the lady
on horseback.
"Oh, my dear children! Where have you been?" asked Mrs. Martin, a little
later, as she hugged first Janet and then Teddy.
"We--we got lost," Teddy answered.
"Yes, but you ran away, and that was not right," his mother told him.
"Where did you go?"
"We--we went on the trail after the Indians," Teddy answered.
"Did you find them?" asked Baldy with a smile.
"No, but we found a lot of horses and cows back there in a little valley
with a fence," said Janet. "And we were going to ride to the ranch house
when we saw you."
"Ranch house!" cried Baldy. "There isn't a ranch house within fifteen
miles except the one at Ring Rosy. Did you say you saw some cows and
horses?"
"Yes. In a valley," explained Teddy.
"Show us where it was!" eagerly cried the cowboy, and when the Curlytops
had ridden to it, with Baldy and the others following, the lame cowboy,
whose foot was a little better, exclaimed:
"Well, if the Curlytops haven't gone and done it!"
"Done what?" asked their mother.
"They've found the lost cattle and horses!"
"You mean Uncle Frank's?" asked Teddy.
"That's just what I mean! These are the horses and cattle the Indians
drove away. The Redmen put the animals in this valley and made a fence
at this end so they couldn't get out. They knew the horses and cattle
would have water to drink and grass to eat, and they'd stay here a long
while--until the Indians would have a chance to drive 'em farther away
and sell 'em.
"Yes, that's just what they did. I never thought of this valley, though
I saw it quite a few years ago. I've never been here since. The Indians
knew it would be a good place to hide the horses they stole, and we
might never have found 'em if it hadn't been for you Curlytops."
"I'm glad!" said Teddy.
"So'm I," said Janet, "and I'm hungry, too!"
"Well, we'll soon have you back at Ring Rosy Ranch, where there's a good
breakfast!" laughed Baldy. "Well! Well! To think of you Curlytops
finding what we cowboys were looking all over for!"
"And are daddy and Uncle Frank looking for these horses and cattle?"
asked Teddy.
"Yes. And for the Indians that took 'em. But I guess they won't find
either," Baldy answered.
And Baldy was right. Some hours after the Curlytops were back at Ring
Rosy Ranch, in rode Uncle Frank and the others. They had not found what
they had gone after, and you can imagine how surprised they all were
when told that Ted and Janet had, by accident, found the lost cattle and
horses in the hidden valley.
"You're regular cowboys!" cried Uncle Frank.
"I knew they'd turn out all right when they learned to ride ponyback!"
said Daddy Martin. "Though you mustn't ride on the trail alone after
Indians again!" he said.
Teddy and Janet told all that had happened to them, from getting lost,
to finding the blanket and going to sleep in it on the open prairie.
One of the cowboys with Uncle Frank had lost the blanket, and he said he
was glad he dropped it, since it gave Teddy and Janet something to eat
and something to wrap up in.
That afternoon the stolen horses and cattle were driven in from the
hidden valley; so the Indians did not get them after all. And a little
later some soldiers came to keep guard over the Redmen so they could not
again go off their reservation to make trouble. All of Uncle Frank's
animals, except a few that the Indians had sold, were found, and the
Curlytops were the pride of Ring Rosy Ranch as long as they remained
there.
"Well, I wonder if we'll have any more adventures," said Janet to her
brother one day, about a week after they were lost and had been found.
"Oh, I guess so," he answered. "Anyhow, we've got two nice ponies, and
we can have lots of rides. Come on, I'll race you."
The bright summer days brought more fun to Teddy and Janet at Uncle
Frank's ranch. They rode many miles on Star Face and Clipclap, sometimes
taking Trouble with them.
"I want to dwive," said the little fellow one day, as he sat on the
saddle in front of his brother.
"All right, you may drive a little while," Teddy answered, and he let
Baby William hold the reins.
"Now I a cowboy!" exclaimed the little fellow. "Gid-dap, Clipclap! I go
lasso a Injun!"
Ted and Janet laughed at this.
And so, leaving the Curlytops to their fun, we will say good-bye.
THE END
THE CURLYTOPS SERIES
By HOWARD R. GARIS
Author of the famous "Bedtime Animal Stories"
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full color._
_Price per volume, 65 cents postpaid_
_Stories for children by the best author of books for little people._
1. THE CURLYTOPS AT CHERRY FARM
_or Vacation Days in the Country_
A tale of happy vacation days on a farm. The Curlytops have
exciting adventures.
2. THE CURLYTOPS ON STAR ISLAND
_or Camping out with Grandpa_
The Curlytops were delighted when grandpa took them to camp
on Star Island. There they had great fun and a real mystery.
3. THE CURLYTOPS SNOWED IN
_or Grand Fun with Skates and Sleds_
Winter was a jolly time for the Curlytops, with their skates
and sleds, on the lakes and hills.
4. THE CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH
_or Little Folks on Pony Back_
Out West on their uncle's ranch they have a wonderful time
among the cowboys and on pony back.
5. THE CURLYTOPS AT SILVER LAKE
_or On the Water with Uncle Ben_
The Curlytops camp out with Uncle Ben on the shores of a
beautiful lake.
6. THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PETS
_or Uncle Toby's Strange Collection_
When an old uncle leaves them to care for his collection of
pets, they get up a circus for charity.
BROTHER AND SISTER SERIES
By JOSEPHINE LAWRENCE
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_
_Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid_
_Brother and Sister are the youngest of a large family of children and
because they are so eager to do as the others do, Roddy and Betty
sometimes tumble into a peck of mischief._
_These books will appeal especially to boys and girls from four to eight
years old._
1. BROTHER AND SISTER
Brother and Sister are busy and happy all of the time and
make friends easily. They learn that some children have less
of the good things than they and set out to help them.
2. BROTHER AND SISTER'S SCHOOLDAYS
Brother and Sister attend the Ridgeway public school where
their little, poor friend Mickey Gaffney is also a pupil.
Brother and Mickey try to find a missing gem which their
teacher loses from her ring which gets them into trouble
with the janitor.
3. BROTHER AND SISTER'S HOLIDAYS
Thanksgiving Day at their grandmother's house was lots of
fun for Brother and Sister; also their Christmas time, when
they helped the "poor people" for miles around.
4. BROTHER AND SISTER'S VACATION
Many strange things happen to Brother and Sister while
spending their vacation off in the woods. A most interesting
story for children.
THE BILLY BUNNY BOOKS
By DAVID CORY
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated in colors_
_Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid_
_Fascinating stories about a little rabbit whose exciting adventures in
the Friendly Forest and the Pleasant Meadow will delight every child._
1. BILLY BUNNY AND THE FRIENDLY ELEPHANT
Billy Bunny's uncle, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot, is the owner of
a circus. The big elephant becomes the friend of the little
rabbit and they have many strange adventures together.
2. BILLY BUNNY AND DADDY FOX
This old robber is on the watch to catch the little rabbit,
who has to use his wits to escape from the crafty old fox.
3. BILLY BUNNY AND UNCLE BULL FROG
Uncle Bull Frog sits all day on his log in the Old Mill Pond
catching flies, and telling Billy Bunny interesting stories.
4. BILLY BUNNY AND UNCLE LUCKY LEFTHINDFOOT
"Uncle Lucky," as he is called, because he is very rich,
owns a Luckymobile, in which he takes Billy Bunny out for a
drive almost every day.
5. BILLY BUNNY AND ROBBIE REDBREAST
Billy Bunny gets into trouble with nearly all of his
woodland neighbors but they make up and become friends
again. Robbie Redbreast has his troubles but they are only
little ones.
6. BILLY BUNNY AND TIMMIE CHIPMUNK
Billy Bunny has many adventures with his friends of the
field and forest. Timmie Chipmunk was often unlucky but he
was smart enough to escape most of his dangers.
THE RUBY AND RUTHY SERIES
By MINNIE E. PAULL
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid._
_Four bright and entertaining stories told in Mrs. Paull's happiest
manner are among the best stories ever written for young girls, and
cannot fail to interest any between the ages of eight and fifteen
years._
RUBY AND RUTHY
Ruby and Ruthie were not old enough to go to school, but
they certainly were lively enough to have many exciting
adventures, that taught many useful lessons needed to be
learned by little girls.
RUBY'S UPS AND DOWNS
There were troubles enough for a dozen grown-ups, but Ruby
got ahead of them all, and, in spite of them, became a
favorite in the lively times at school.
RUBY AT SCHOOL
Ruby had many surprises when she went to the impossible
place she heard called a boarding school, but every
experience helped to make her a stronger-minded girl.
RUBY'S VACATION
This volume shows how a little girl improves by having
varieties of experience both happy and unhappy, provided she
thinks and is able to use her good sense. Ruby lives and
learns.
_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue._
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York