"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."