"Pack pony, him gone Happy Hunting Ground."

"You don't mean he has been killed?"

The guide nodded with emphasis, at the same time bringing the palms of
his hands sharply together to convey the impression that the mule had
hit the rocks below so hard that he would never rise of his own accord
again.

"Now we are in a fix," said Ned.

"I guess we had better make Chunky walk and use his pony for packing
the outfit," suggested Walter.

"Yes, but we have little or no outfit to pack," answered Tad. "Most
of it is down there with the dead mule; how far I don't know."

The Pony Rider Boys gasped. This, indeed, was a serious situation.



CHAPTER III

A DARING PROPOSAL


For a full moment the boys looked at each other doubtfully. Professor
Zepplin was the first to break the silence.