They finished the bag of gum drops, Fatty eating his share, and then Teddy, taking a string from his pocket, began passing it around the Nolan boy’s waist. “What are you trying to do, lasso me?” laughed the stout lad. “No,” said Teddy, “I was just trying to measure to see if those gum drops had made84 you any fatter. I don’t believe they have. Not yet, anyway,” he ended with a laugh in which the others joined. 84 “Oh, I guess candy doesn’t work that fast on me,” said Fatty. Besides making Teddy more thirsty, the gum drops also increased the thirst of the other boys. So, after waiting a little while to rest, they went to the spring. Fatty Nolan acted as guide. “I guess maybe that man with the lasso has gotten away from us,” Teddy said as they neared the spring. “Well, if we don’t find him today we may tomorrow,” said Dick. “It’s getting too hot to hurry much.” As Fatty had said, there were two springs in a little glade not far from where Teddy and his chums had sat down to rest. The larger water hole was rather muddy, and all about it were the hoof-marks of cattle. But farther up, amid a little group of trees and85 bushes, was a small spring. It bubbled out of the rocks into a natural rock basin. 85 Stretching out on the ground, the boys took turns drinking the clear, cold water. Teddy took two drinks. “Oh, that’s good!” he exclaimed as he rose to wipe off his lips. “Water always tastes twice as good after you’ve been eating candy,” he added. The boys stood silent for a moment near the spring. They were wondering what to do next. Suddenly, from over the tops of some bushes behind them, a rope came circling through the air. The loop of a lasso fell over Teddy and, a moment later, he was pulled backward off his feet, falling on a bunch of leaves. 86 CHAPTER X THE PICNIC LUNCH THE PICNIC LUNCH Surprise, for a few seconds, kept the boys from saying a word. Teddy, himself, was not only astonished, but the breath was somewhat jolted out of him so he could not have said anything even if he had wished to.
Prev.
Back
Top