“Take that, Missouri!” Jim would cry, flipping a stone at the leader.
“Here’s one for you, Pike County!” laughed Juarez, aiming at the second target.
So they kept it up, thus getting even for all the trouble the runaways had made them, which was considerable. After a while they reached the top of the ridge, expecting to find Jo, Tom and Jeems waiting for them. But there was no sign of them anywhere.
“What do you suppose has become of them?” inquired Juarez.
“Maybe that mysterious stranger has stolen them,” suggested Jim.
“Let’s see if we cannot find their tracks,” said Juarez. This was done without difficulty.
“Here’s a track that looks like a gorilla’s,” remarked Jim, inspecting the dust of the trail.
“Must be Jeems’,” grinned Juarez.
“These other tootsie tracks are Tommy’s and Jo’s, I reckon,” said Jim.