our camp."

"That will do, youngster. If you talk any more about ghosts, I'll
make you ride back to the ranch in the dark. If you keep on,
you'll work yourself up so you'll think every sound you hear is a
Spaniard from the mine, and there will be no sleep for any of us."

This command had the desired effect, and Horace gave up the attempt
of trying to frighten his friends.

For a time the darkness grew more and more intense till it was all
the riders could do to make out the forms of one another. But at
last the clouds passed over, revealing the stars, and soon the moon
rose, full and brilliant, changing the swaying grass into a seeming
sea of silver with its light.

In wonder the brothers gazed at the transformation and Larry said:

"I wish the plains could be like this always. They don't seem half
so terrible."

But the boys soon had other things to think about. They were so
close to the mountains that they could see the great cliffs
glistening in the moonlight above the trees from which they rose,
sheer.

"I don't wonder they say these mountains are haunted," exclaimed
Tom. "I can almost believe I see men moving along the top of that
middle cliff."