their heads, dead or alive, and I guess they've reached the end of their
rope in more senses than one."

He passed on and the boys relaxed in their seats. They were still under
the nervous strain of the stirring scene in which they had been the chief
actors. Tom's breath was coming fast and his eyes were shining.

Bert looked at him for a moment and then nudged Dick.

"Didn't I hear some one say a little while ago," he asked slyly, "that in
this little old United States there was too much civilization?"

"Yes," replied Dick, still quoting, "nothing ever happens nowadays."




CHAPTER II

The Ranch in the Rockies


With a great roar and rattle and clangor of bells, the train drew up at
the little station where the boys were to descend. Their long rail
journey of nearly three thousand miles was over, but they still had a
forty-mile drive before they would reach the ranch.

For a half hour previous they had been gathering their traps together and
saying good-by to their friends on the train. These last included all of
the travelers, who, since the capture of the robbers, had insisted on