“No!â€� Mr. Manley said with finality. “You’re too good a man to lose. You get back into the house. Anyway, we have to keep some men here. Teddy, Roy, Nick, Pop, Jim, Bug Eye an’ I will do the chasin’. The rest of you punchers hang around here. Can’t tell but that Fr—I mean the thieves who stole the flivver—may have done it to draw us away from the X Bar X. We have to keep our heads up. They’re not goin’ to pull off any more robberies if I can help it! Climb aboard your broncs, boys, an’ let’s go! Nick, get a mount for Bug Eye.â€�

Without stopping to change their resplendent attire for something more serviceable, the X Bar X punchers whom Mr. Manley had named flung themselves on to their horses. White shirt fronts stuck out grotesquely from vivid-colored vests. Green ties flaunted free in the night wind. “City trousers� tickled the horses’ sides. Yet from each belt hung a heavy revolver.

“Step on it!� Mr. Manley yelled as they swept out of the yard. “All you’ve got, boys! Don’t waste any time! We’ll get those rustlers, or know the reason why! No slip-ups this time!�

Across the moonlit range the riders galloped. Men and boys leaned forward in their saddles. On each face was a look of grim determination.

CHAPTER XVIII
THE MAN WITH THE SCAR

High above the riders, the full moon shone, a white orb set in the velvet blackness of the sky, lighting the scene with a silvery radiance. Soon the buildings of the X Bar X were left behind and the horsemen raced swiftly over the open range. Bug Eye was in the lead, and he made straight for the spot where he had been held up.

Teddy and Roy were riding side by side, a short distance behind their father.

“If we’re able to trail the thieves, we may find out something about our horses!� Teddy yelled to his brother.

“Hope so,� Roy returned. “It’ll be a good night’s work if we do.�

On and on they rode. There was little time for conversation, as the ponies were flashing along at their best speed. They came to an up grade, at the top of which was Sanborn’s Point. As they neared their destination, Mr. Manley called to Teddy: