"Chunky's and Tad's."

"Is it possible?" sputtered the Professor, striding to the place where
their stock had been tethered.

"Yes, they've broken away," he decided, observing that a piece of
stake rope belonging to each had been broken short off. "Look around,
boys. They cannot be far away. Probably got hungry and concluded to
look for some tender bushes to browse on."

The boys, thus encouraged, hastened to begin their search for the
missing stock.

"They went this way," shouted Ned.

All hands hurried to him.

"Yes, there's their tracks," agreed the Professor. "Now follow them,
but look out that you do not get lost."

Instead, a few moments afterward, they lost the trail. It disappeared
from before them as utterly as if the ponies had walked on air from
that point on. No amount of searching brought it to view again, and
after more than an hour of persistent effort, the Professor called the
hunt off, and the crestfallen party returned to camp.

"What are we going to do?" asked Stacy dolefully.

"I know what you are going to do," returned Ned.