"It seems fairly simple to me," spoke up Tad. "The mountains run in a
southeasterly direction. If we follow that direction we are bound to
come out somewhere--"

"In Arkansas or the Indian Territory or some other place," cut in Ned
Rector.

"As I understand it," went on Tad, not heeding the interruption,
"these gorges or canyons in the Ozark range follow the same general
direction. We have one right here by us, and we have the sun above
us. Between the two we should be able to find our way."

"That sounds promising, Master Tad. You are a level-headed young man,
even if you do take long chances and do foolish things now and again.
I shall adopt your suggestion and we'll be off at once."

They were forced to pack some of their belongings on the back of
Professor Zepplin's mount, while each of the two mules was subjected
to an additional load.

When the packing had been finished there was little room for anyone to
ride, so Tad took one of the mules, Ned Rector the other, leading them
by short ropes, and started off followed by Walter and Stacy on foot,
with the Professor riding his own pony.

The boys moved away with broad grins on their faces as they thought of
the spectacle they were creating. Yet there was none to watch their
undignified progress. However, leading a mule and riding a pony were
two distinctly different operations. The boys were in a hurry and the