away from here by now."

"Do they hide?" asked Teddy.

"Yes, they may hide away among the hills and wait for a chance to
sell the ponies they stole from your uncle. But don't worry your
curly heads about Indians. Have a good time here. It seems good to
see little children around a place like this."

"Have you got a lasso?" asked Teddy.

"You mean my rope? Course I got one--every cowboy has," was the
answer.

"I wish you'd lasso something," went on Teddy, who had once been to
see a Wild West show.

"All right, I'll do a little rope work for you," said the cowboy,
with a good-natured smile. "Just wait until I mend my saddle."

In a little while he came riding into the yard in front of the bunk
house on a lively little pony. He made the animal race up and down
and, while doing this, the cowboy swung his coiled rope, or lasso,
about his head, and sent it in curling rings toward posts and
benches, hauling the latter after him by winding the rope around the
horn of his saddle after he had lassoed them.

"Say! that's fine!" cried Teddy with glistening eyes. "I'm going to
learn how to lasso."