"Oh, I'll be back by noon," was the answer.
So Bud rode away, singing the Cowboy's Lament, and idly flipping the end of his lariat.
Noon came almost before Nort and Dick realized it, so busy were they, and when Fah Moo cried: "Klum an' glit it!" which was the signal for dinner, Nort exclaimed:
"Bud isn't back yet!"
"No," said Dick. "Maybe he found the herd farther off than he counted on. But he'll be along before we finish."
However, Bud did not show up, and when all the cowboys had eaten, and the afternoon began to wane without the return of the ranch owner's son, his cousins looked at each other with anxious faces.
"Where do you reckon he is?" asked Dick.
"That's hard to say, but——"
"Say, let's ride out that way!" interrupted Dick. "We've finished here and——"
He did not complete the sentence, but his brother knew what was implied. Accordingly a little later, saying nothing to the other hands, the two saddled their ponies and started out on the trail to that part of the ranch situated near Smugglers' Glen, where the original bunch of cattle were grazing.