The X Bar X boys on the ranch

Two boys loped along the winding, dusty road on the way to Eagles. One of them, astride a white-faced mustang, was leading a third horse, a bay, which, though riderless, was sad...

“Now, I don’t know,” Teddy replied slowly. “They’ve got some good punchers over on the 8 X 8. Way I figure it, those rustlers are mighty clever. They ride into a herd at night,...

Roy craned his neck forward, eyes wide. Mr. Manley stood with hands on hips, legs spread, staring intently at the vacant hitching rail. The corncob pipe drooped at a downward an...

As the automobile careened along the dusty road, a strained silence settled over the occupants. The only sounds were the muffled exhaust of the motor and the squeaking and groan...

A cowboy was running toward them. His wide hat was held in his hand, disclosing a head almost without hair. His face was lined with wrinkles. He wore a blue denim shirt. Wide tr...

When Mr. Manley entered Rimor’s he looked sharply about him. After the bright sunshine of the street, the subdued light in the restaurant, due to shaded windows, caused the catt...

Mr. Manley and the others did not hear Teddy’s yell. They were a good distance away and this, with the creaking of saddles, the beating of the horses’ feet on the hard ground of...

The woods echoed with the crack of the rifles as Roy and Teddy opened fire on the rattlesnakes. The horses were prancing about in a frenzy of fear, and it was almost impossible...

As Teddy Manley rolled and tumbled down the incline, sudden stabs of searing, burning pain shot through his body. There was one thought paramount in his mind--that he must stop...

When Roy Manley turned his horse up the mountain, he determined to find that spring, and find it quick. Haste was imperative, for Mr. Manley and the others had no means of knowi...

Teddy Manley’s breath caught in his throat as he stood, his back to the wall, arms outstretched, watching the mountain lion. The only thing moving on that rocky plateau was the...

The cowboys, Roy and Teddy among them, were sprawled in lazy attitudes just outside the bunk-house. Several days had passed since they had ridden after the horse thieves--days o...

Leaving the horses to drink their fill at the watering trough, Roy and Teddy hurried over towards the car, which had come to a stop near the entrance to the ranch house.

“Here is where the bronco-busters do their stuff,” announced Teddy, when they came to the corral. “Rad Sell, who’s out on the range just at present, is one of the best leather-s...

Sensing the reason behind her father’s suggestion, Belle led the way toward the side of the ranch house. Gus turned in his saddle and watched the three girls depart. When they w...

As manager of the entertainment, Roy had to see to it that the floor was prepared, the furniture moved, and everything made ready for the great occasion. Although Gus Tripp, bec...

Bug Eye drank in great gulps, grunting with satisfaction. When he had finished he leaned back in his chair and looked at the ring of anxious faces. Even the orchestra had desert...

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 wer...

It was not fright that held Roy motionless, but a realization of the hopelessness of resistance. A slight tightening of the crooked finger that touched the trigger would send a...

Roy’s breakfast was flavored with the tale of his moonlight ride to Harver’s Gully. Between bites he told the story of his meeting with Froud and of the rustler’s strange insist...

The next morning Peter Ball sent a car for Nell and Ethel, and, together with Bug Eye, the girls went back to the 8 X 8. Roy and Teddy were sorry to see them go, as was Belle Ad...

“Yes--right away! Can’t afford to lose any more time. The bunch from 8 X 8 is due any minute now, an’ we’re goin’ to start from here. We’ll work in shifts--one gang take the tra...

Pulling their hats further down on their heads to keep the rain out of their eyes, the two boys directed their ponies toward the cabin. The horses were twitching nervously every...

The man looked at the two boys with dull eyes. He opened his mouth as though to speak, then put his hand to his head. He swayed uncertainly for a moment, gave a little cough, an...

The first stars were peeping from a cloud-strewn sky when Roy and Teddy rode into the yards of the X Bar X. Without waiting to tie up their horses, they rushed into the house. M...