Don't go riding at them like a pack of Indians or you will have all
the stampede you want to see," exclaimed Ned. "My, but they surely are
restless!" This last remark was caused by some of the steers which
raised their heads at the approach of the riders, then turned and dashed
back to the body of the herd. "Oh, dear! I'm afraid we've started them,"
said Horace. "Pull in your horses!" commanded Ned. "The main bunch is
all right. If we come up to them slow, there won't be any trouble."
Obeying instantly, the boys reined their horses to a walk and reached
the pool without causing further alarm among the cattle. "So this is
where the ghosts live, is it?" asked Tom, gazing from a little knoll at
a placid body of water about one hundred feet long by twice as many
wide, surrounded by reeds. "Maybe you won't laugh so much to-night,"
declared their friend and then, because he did not like to be joked
about his belief that the place was haunted, he added: "Come on, let's
see if we can find which direction father and the boys took." The chance
to try if they could track any one on the prairie appealed to the
others, and they started to ride around the pool. "I can see where they
had a camp fire!" cried Tom, pointing toward a pile of white ashes.
"Here's where the grass is all tramped down. Look, there's a regular
path right for the mountains." "No, this is the way they went, to the
south, here," returned Larry
