play, for the men who looked after Uncle Frank's cattle had good
times as well as hard work.

They would often come riding and swooping in from the distant fields
after their day's work, yelling and shouting as well as firing off
their big revolvers. But neither the Curlytops nor their mother were
as frightened at this play of the cowboys as they had been at first.

"I wish I had a gun that would go bang," said Teddy one day.

"Oh, The-o-dore Mar-tin!" cried his sister, after the fashion of her
mother. "If you had I'd never go riding ponyback with you--never
again! I'd be afraid of you! So there!"

"Well, so would the Indians!" said Ted. However he knew he was too
small to have a firearm, so he did not tease for it.

Sometimes, when Uncle Frank or his foreman, Jim Mason, went on short
rides around the ranch, Teddy and Janet went with them on their
ponies. Star Pace and Clipclap were two sturdy little animals, and
were gentle with the children.

"Come on! Let's have a race!" Ted would call.

"All right. But don't go too fast," Janet would answer, and they
would trot off, the ponies going as fast as was safe for the children.

Teddy generally won these races, for Janet, who was very tender-hearted,
did not like to make her pony go as fast as it could go. Often,
perhaps, if Janet had urged Star Face on she would have beaten her