rtner in the ranch venture. Eagerly they looked over his shoulder while he examined the st

at had reflected the moonlight, thus attracting Bud's attention to it. In addition there

the single tube was a bright metal disk. The whole formed a strange object, picked up as it w

said he was going to send to Kansas City for a flute he could play on. This must be part of it! He dropped it here; though that couldn't 'a' been h

instrument!" declare

's

hen?" asked the w

hoscope," de

play one of them!" exclaimed Bud. "He mus

ghing. "This is a stethoscope-it's what a doctor li

ed Bud, "at least not since I can

ick. You remember Dr. Thompson using one of

e for it besides plain stethoscope," d

ember, now. I thought I'd never be able to say those wor

" asked Bud, as he again took the instrumen

e time. And stethoscope comes from two Greek words, stethos, the breast, and skopen, to view. It means, literally, to view inside the chest, but of course the doctors who us

d, indicating the shiny disk of meta

our heart," Dick answered. "Sometimes the doctor puts it

oc. Tunison dropped it!" he went on, referring to the local veterinarian. "Shucks no! Cow docto

germs which caused the epidemic outbre

ed in Dick. "What's become of Pocut Pete?" h

l Pinzo was a notorious Mexican half-breed who, more than once, had made trouble for the boy ranchers. Hank Fisher was the owner of Double Z ranch, adjoining that of Square M, one of Mr. Merkel's, and also adjoining Happy Valley. Pocut Pete

went on Nort, as Bud turned toward his po

t's look around a little more. I'm not at all satisfied with this. I sure saw, some o

neaking around here dropped it," spoke Nort. "We've been away fo

keying around here as we rode back

distant howl of a coyote, and the splash of the water into the reservoir. All the stock had been driven away from

p," said Bud, when a thorough search

signs of an attempt having been ma

p here in the morning," he went on as he thrust the stethoscope into his pock

eaches, the boys, having picketed their horses, turned in, rolled up in their blankets, and were aslee

entrance than their own and, their ponies' feet marks, until Bud, with an exclamation

" he declared. "And they stood in this one

ey be spying o

rette stubs are fresh, and were dropped last night, or yesterday. None of us use 'em, and though some of our c

as some one here las

red Bud. "Let's take anothe

its heavy padlock having been tampered with. Nor were there any marks tending to show

down to the tents. "Hello," he suddenly added, as he gazed off up

oach of the solitary horseman, an

Buck T

ort of camp cook and ranch hand by Bud's father, later being transf

!" asked Bud as the Indian, a superb horseman, drew rein

u bad news!" half

ered Bud. "Is it

s all same. You see anybody out here?" and he slip