“I sent Buck Miller with Tex to act as escort to them, and Tex is to ride back and let me know about what time they will get here so I can have a warm dinner ready for them,” she announced.
Mason suddenly remembered a pair of field glasses that he had brought with him from New York. Going to his room he brought them down and handed them to Josephine with the remark:
“See if you can make out any object with these glasses.”
She took the field glasses and carefully adjusted them to her vision,
“Thank you, these are just the thing,” she said, delighted with the view she obtained with them. “I can make out a rider heading this way and I think it is Tex. Yes, it is Tex, I can tell by the way he rides; I’m going in and hustle Pomp up with the dinner.”
She handed the field glasses to Ethel and disappeared in the house. Tex soon afterward rode up and reported that Scotty would arrive in about an hour. Ethel carried the news to Josephine while Mason went to the corral with Tex to look at a vicious horse the latter was breaking. The time passed rapidly and when Mason started for the house to join the girls, Scotty was driving in with his passengers.
Half an hour later it was a jolly party that sat down at the dinner table to do justice to Pomp’s masterful cooking. After the meal the party sat on the porch until dusk, while Josephine entertained her guests with the thrilling story of her capture and escape from the bandits.
As it had been a hard day for all, the party was preparing to break up for the night, when Josephine’s sharp ears caught the sound of horses’ hoofbeats coming toward the house.
“Wonder who it can be,” she queried, trying to peer into the gloom. “All our cowboys are in the bunk-house by this time.”
A moment later a figure appeared from out of the night and rode slowly toward them.