As for Jack he could not bear to let his father out of his sight. Mr. Ranger, too, wanted to be with his son all the while. The return of the exile had such a good effect on Mr. Lantry that he recovered much sooner than the doctor had expected, having regained his senses from the delirium, the day after Mr. Ranger reached the ranch. The old man was given some shares in the mine, enough to keep him comfortably.
Then it was that the boys really began to enjoy life. The long sunny days on the plains, riding here and there, soon restored Mr. Ranger to ruddy health, and the physician pronounced him almost cured of his heart ailment.
The boys spent happy hours on the ranch, entering into friendly contests in everything from roping a steer to saddling a frisky horse. The cowboys could not show them enough attention, and Cactus Ike even apologized to Jack for the trick he played on him. Jack forgave him, and said it had probably learned him more about a horse in ten minutes than he could otherwise have picked up in a week.
It was some time after this, when, as they were all seated on the porch, one warm evening, that Jack remarked:
"Well, we'll have to be getting back east, soon."
"How good that sounds," said Mr. Ranger. "I was afraid I might never see the east again. Yes, we must go back soon. I am anxious to see my sisters."
"Sorry to have you go," said Mr. Kent. "There's no place like the west."
"Perhaps not, for a young man," Mr. Ranger admitted, "but I'm getting old."
"I wonder if we'll ever again have adventures like those we experienced out here," said Nat "Lannigan's lassoes! But we certainly had some sport!"
"Maybe not the same kind, but I s'pose they'll be just as exciting,"
Jack remarked. "We seem to run into 'em."