The next day Ned, Bob and Jerry set off alone to see what they could find. They went to the place of the last disappearance of the cattle and investigated as best they could. But they came to the same baffling end as before.
“I wonder if there could be a way of getting the steers over the mountain?” suggested Ned.
“Of course not!” scoffed Jerry. “But it sure is a puzzle.”
“Well, let’s stop, build a fire and have something to eat,” proposed Bob.
“His favorite remedy for all troubles,” laughed Jerry.
A week or more passed, and though no trace of the thieves was discovered, no more cattle were stolen. The boys kept up their search for clues, but without avail, and several times the cowboys laughed openly at them.
“They make me mad!” cried Ned. “You’d think we were a lot of children.”
“We ought to give ’em a surprise—startle ’em—get up some sensation to show we can do something,” declared Bob.
A cowboy came in with the mail, and among the letters for the boys was a postal. At the reading of it Ned gave a cry of delight.