But you'll have to do quite a bit of riding to get there and back by nightfall." "Well, we may as well get used to it," answered Phil.

"I expect to about live in the saddle while I am here." Todd had several things to attend to before starting, so they did not leave the stables until nearly three o'clock.

Dave was mounted on the steed he had so admired, and the others had equally good horses.
"Shall we take our guns ?" asked Roger.
"What for ?" asked the cowboy.
"Oh, I thought we might get the chance to shoot something." "We'll not have much time to look for game," answered Sid Todd.
"However, if you want to take your shootin' irons, there ain't no objections." So each of the lads provided himself with a shotgun.

Todd carried a pistol, of the "hoss" variety and nearly two feet long, the same being deposited in the holster of his saddle.
The course was to the westward, to the foothills of the distant mountains.

Here, the cowboy explained, was a treacherous ravine, the sides overgrown with a tangle of low bushes.