“Why, I think Blackbird is the finest horse on the ranch,” declared Gif.
“He certainly is a splendid nag,” answered Spouter. “And my dad thinks a great deal of him.”
The horse in question was a three-year-old, shining black in color, with a peculiar diamond-shaped spot of white on his forehead and a similar spot on his chest. Because of these spots some of the cowboys often referred to him as Two-spot.
“I suppose those horses are worth some money,” remarked Fred.
“Indeed they are!” declared Spouter. “I heard my father say he wouldn’t take four hundred dollars for Blackbird. And the other animals must be worth at least a hundred and fifty dollars apiece. You know they always had pretty good horses on this ranch.”
“I certainly hope they get some trace of the horses,” said Jack.
But this hope was not fulfilled. Jackson and those with him came back disappointed, saying that they had found no trace of the animals.
About a week later came another surprise. The young folks, including the girls, had gone off to the woods for the best part of the day, and when they returned, much to their astonishment, they saw seated in rocking chairs on the veranda Ruth and May.
“My goodness!” screamed Mary. “Ruth and May! Glory hallelujah! How in the world did you get here?”
“And you never let us know!” wailed Martha, as she bounced up the steps to embrace her school chums.