"That will do, boys. We will be on our way now," said the Professor, having regained his composure.
"Are you going to leave the weapons of those men here, Tad?" asked Walter.
"Yes, but I'm going to fix them so they won't be of much use to their owners," replied Tad.
The lad, after drawing the charges from the guns, hammered them over a rock until the barrels of the rifles were bent and twisted and the butts broken, rendering the weapons utterly useless. He then took apart the revolvers and after damaging the parts so that the pistols could not be used heaped the remains of the mountaineers' arsenal on the rock over which he had broken them.
"I guess those guns won't do any damage," grinned the Pony Rider Boy. "I'm ready for the hike now, fellows."
The hike began at once. Even Chops, who had fled at the first indication of trouble, now came out from his hiding place and, mounting his horse, joined the procession.
"I reckon we've given those fellows a scare that will last them for a time," announced Tad, after they had traveled a short distance from the scene of the conflict. "But it was only a near fight after all. They hoped to frighten us. I don't believe they intended to do us harm."
"Yes, and I am surprised at you, Professor," reproved Stacy.
"Why?"
"I never knew you were such a savage. Why, if we hadn't restrained you, you would have hurt somebody. Don't ever let me hear you advising me to control my temper."