CHAPTER XV

The boys knew how Columbus felt when his sailors raised the cry of "Land!"

There was a jubilant shout as they lifted their heads and followed the direction of George's pointing finger.

There was no doubt of it. There, in a sheltered spot in the lee of a little hill, was a great fire whose flames rose high into the gathering darkness. As they drew nearer, they could see a number of figures moving about in the firelight.

"Let's make a break for it," cried Bob.

"We can't get there too soon!" exclaimed Frank.

They were starting to run when Sammy called a halt.

"Wait a minute, fellows," he said. "I'm just as crazy to get near that fire as you are. But how do we know who those people are? What are they doing out here in the open? They may be outlaws or robbers for all we know."

"I don't care if they are," said Bob, desperately. "They can rob me of all I've got if they'll only let me get warm by their fire."

But George had been somewhat impressed by what Sammy had said and he stopped them.

"It won't do any harm to be careful," he said. "My father says it is always better to be safe than sorry. We'll creep up on them until we can see what kind of people they are."

It was hard to be careful when warmth and shelter seemed so near, but they did as George directed and stopped just outside the circle of the firelight, where they could see without being seen.

If the party was a criminal one, it was certainly a happy one. The boys could hear the members joking and laughing. There seemed to be about a dozen people in the group, and two of them were women. Bits of song and laughter floated out to the boys and the smell of steaming coffee and sizzling bacon made their mouths water.

Suddenly Sammy clutched George's arm.

"They're the fellows we saw chasing the man that day," he said in a hoarse whisper.

"And there's the fellow they hung on the cottonwood tree!" exclaimed Bob.

"Maybe it's his ghost," said Frank, with a feeble attempt at humor that did not hide altogether the shaking of his voice.

Sammy was about to reply when the fire suddenly flared up and brought the boys plainly into the zone of light.

There was a chorus of exclamations from the party around the fire, and several of the men started up and ran in the direction of the boys.

For a moment the boys hardly knew whether to stand or run, but while they were debating the matter the men had come up and surrounded them.

THE MEN CAME UP AND SURROUNDED THEM.

"Why, it's only a bunch of kids," said one of them. "And wet through to the skin."

"What on earth are you youngsters doing out on the prairie on a night like this?" asked another.

"Poor little bedraggled chaps," said a third in a deep, kindly voice. "Come right over here to the fire and let us dry you out."

Although these men might have been steeped in crime, there was nothing to indicate that they had anything but the kindliest feeling toward boys, and the forlorn wanderers followed them without much misgiving to the warm and cheery fire.

Here they were immediately surrounded and plied with questions. But the man who seemed to be the leader insisted that before the boys answered any questions they should be thoroughly warmed and fed.

This suited the boys to a dot. They were given seats near the fire and supplied with all the bacon and eggs they could eat and all the milk they could drink. Under this treatment their spirits revived. What a contrast between now and an hour ago when they were wandering over the cold, wet prairie!

"I don't believe they're outlaws," whispered Bob to Sammy.

"Maybe not," agreed Sammy, whose beliefs died hard. "If they are, they've got kind hearts, anyway."

"Now," said the leader, coming up to where the lads were sitting and dropping down beside them in friendly fashion, "tell us where you live and what has brought you out on the prairie to-night."

"We're stopping at Bar-Z ranch," said George.

"We came from the East and we're spending our vacation here," volunteered Frank.

"We went out for a ride to-day and our horses were scared by the thunder and lightning and ran away from us," added Sammy.

"And we've been wandering around trying to find our way home ever since," explained Bob.

"Well now, that's too bad," said the leader, while the rest of his party, who were listening eagerly, murmured their sympathy. "I'll get word to your folks right away so that they won't be worried about you. You can stay with us to-night and we'll see that you get home safe in the morning."

"But say!" he continued, as a thought struck him, "why was it that you were hiding out there when we caught sight of you? I'd have thought you'd have made a bee line to the fire the minute you saw it."

The boys looked at each other rather confusedly.

"Come," laughed the man with some curiosity, "tell us why you didn't make a break for the fire right away."

"Well, you see," began Sammy, with some embarrassment, "we weren't quite sure just who you were. You see we saw you chasing a man the other day and then we saw you had caught him and were getting ready to hang him and—and——"

"And what?" asked the leader with amusement in his eyes, while stifled laughs rose from others of his party.

"Well," said Sammy, in desperation, trying to tell the truth and yet be polite to his hosts, "we thought you were lynchers and maybe outlaws and——"

But here Sammy was stopped by a roar of laughter that rose from all members of the party. They choked and slapped each other on the back, and one or two of them rolled over and over in vain efforts to control their mirth.

"I'm going to strike the director for a raise in salary," cried one.

"We're too good for this business," chuckled another.

"Don't let any one ever tell me again that my acting isn't true to life," laughed a third.

The boys were bewildered and inclined to be offended.

"I don't see anything to laugh about," said Sammy.

This set the men off again until the leader silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"It's this way, my boy," he said kindly. "We're part of a moving picture company that has its headquarters about twenty miles from here. This special lot of us have been taking films over in this direction. One of our plays calls for the villain to steal a girl and ride off with her. The rest chase him and catch him and are supposed to lynch him. All this was acted on the day that you saw us. It must have been pretty true to life for you to be taken in by it. You were so excited watching us that you didn't notice the camera man. There he is now."

He pointed to one of the men whom Sammy recognized as one whom he had seen on the train near Grand Forks the day of their arrival.

"Yes," said this man as he smiled at Sammy. "All you saw that day of the chase is right here in this friend of mine." And he pointed to the camera box which Sammy had been so sure was an infernal machine.

"Stung again!" muttered Sammy to himself.

"That day we 'hanged' Tom," said the leader, "was the same day on which we found that mess of fish on the river bank. They had just been caught and were perfectly fresh. I tell you we had a glorious fish fry that afternoon. I wonder—I wonder——" and he smiled at the boys.

"So that is where our fish went," grinned George.

Just then there was a noise of hoofs and into the zone of light rode Mr. Claxton with half a dozen of his cowboys. They had been hunting for the boys and the light had attracted them.

The delight of Mr. Claxton in finding the boys safe and sound was only equaled by their own. The leader of the motion picture company received his new guests cordially and pressed hot coffee upon them. This they were very glad to take after their bleak ride, and half an hour was spent in pleasant conversation. Then the boys were taken up on the horses behind the cowboys and with a hearty farewell to their kindly hosts the homeward journey was begun. Mrs. Claxton mothered them and even cried over them a little, for she had been greatly alarmed by their absence.

A few days more and their vacation was at an end. The boys would have only too glad to stay longer, but schooldays were coming and they had to go. They had had a happy time on the ranch, and when at last they said good-bye to their kindly host and hostess it was with the hope on both sides that they would soon meet again. They had a cordial parting from all the cowboys, too, and the last thing that Hank Thompson did when he said good-bye at the train was to put into Sammy's hand the bunch of rattles that he had dried and cured for him.

"Well," said Bob, as they settled down in their seats for the long ride home, "we've had lots of good times in our lives but this beats them all."

And with this pleasant memory of a glorious Summer we will say good-bye to the Fairview boys.

THE END

Illustrated. Price, per volume, 75 cents, postpaid.

FAIRVIEW BOYS AFLOAT AND ASHOREOr, The Young Crusoes of Pine Island

FAIRVIEW BOYS ON EAGLE MOUNTAINOr, Sammy Brown's Treasure Hunt

FAIRVIEW BOYS AND THEIR RIVALSOr, Bob Bouncer's Schooldays

FAIRVIEW BOYS AT CAMP MYSTERYOr, The Old Hermit and His Secret

FAIRVIEW BOYS AT LIGHTHOUSE COVEOr, Carried Out to Sea

FAIRVIEW BOYS ON A RANCHOr, Riding with the Cowboys

CHARLES E. GRAHAM & COMPANY

Fairview Boys on a Ranch

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