When they had heard his story about the man with the silver face and his
crew, and the fact that they had taken Stella away with them, the boys
waited only long enough to make a fire to thaw out Bud, and to make some
coffee, and took up the broad trail.
When they came to the deserted camp they were almost sure that Stella
had gone on with her captors, and were about to follow the trail.
Had they done so, Stella would have perished in the woods. But Ted had
one of his "hunches" that Stella was not far away, and rode around the
camp in a wide circle.
He was soon rewarded by finding the prints of Stella's shoes in the
snow, and, concluding that she had in some manner escaped from her
captors, he called the boys together and started on her trail.
They had not gone far when they, too, heard the howls of the wolf pack,
and knew that Stella was in great danger.
Presently they came upon Stella's message in the snow and obeyed her
injunction to hurry.
They had been compelled to leave their horses at the camp, for the
forest was too dense to permit them to ride.
When Stella told them of her adventure and about Silver Face and the
stolen cattle, they decided to push forward on the trail, and, if
possible, regain their stolen property.
At the camp they remounted, and, having to ride double where Bud and
Stella were concerned, made but slow progress.
Pages:
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127