Cowboy Dave

Cowboy Dave (Or The Round-Up
at Rolling River)

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cowboy Dave, by Frank V. Webster
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Title: Cowboy Dave
Author: Frank V. Webster
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year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on November 20,
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, COWBOY
DAVE ***

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COWBOY DAVE
OR
THE ROUND-UP AT ROLLING RIVER
BY FRANK V. WEBSTER
AUTHOR OF "ONLY A FARM BOY," "BOB THE CASTAWAY,"
"COMRADES OF THE SADDLE," "AIRSHIP ANDY," "TOM
TAYLOR AT WEST POINT," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED

BOOKS FOR BOYS By FRANK V. WEBSTER
ONLY A FARM BOY TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY THE BOY
FROM THE RANCH THE YOUNG TREASURER HUNTER BOB,
THE CASTAWAY THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE THE
NEWSBOY PARTNERS THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES THE
TWO BOY GOLD MINERS JACK, THE RUNAWAY COMRADES
OF THE SADDLE THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL THE
HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS BOB CHESTER'S GRIT AIRSHIP ANDY
DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER DICK, THE BANK BOY BEN
HARDY'S FLYING MACHINE THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS
HARRY WATSON'S HIGH SCHOOL DAYS THE BOY SCOUTS
OF LENOX TOM TAYLOR AT WEST POINT COWBOY DAVE
THE BOYS OF THE BATTLESHIP JACK OF THE PONY
EXPRESS

COWBOY DAVE

CONTENTS
I. AFTER STRAY CATTLE II. THE TAUNT III. A CONFESSION
IV. A SMALL STAMPEDE V. TREACHERY VI. A CRY FOR HELP
VII. THE RESCUE VIII. MR. BELLMORE IX. DAVE MEETS LEN
X. DAVE WONDERS XI. HAZARDOUS WORK XII. THE FIGHT
XIII. SOME NEWS XIV. A WARNING XV. RETALIATION XVI.
UNAVAILING EFFORTS XVII. THE ROUND-UP XVIII. A
MIDNIGHT BLAZE XIX. FIGHTING FIRE XX. THE CHASE XXI.
THE ESCAPE XXII. TANGLES XXIII. THE CLUE XXIV.
BROTHERS XXV. THE NEW RANCH

[Illustration: HE WHEELED AND RODE STRAIGHT AT THE
ONCOMING STEERS]

CHAPTER I
AFTER STRAY CATTLE
"Hi! Yi! Yip!"
"Woo-o-o-o! Wah! Zut!"
"Here we come!"
What was coming seemed to be a thunderous cloud of dust, from the
midst of which came strange, shrill sounds, punctuated with sharp cries,
that did not appear to be altogether human.
The dust-cloud grew thicker, the thunder sounded louder, and the yells
were shriller.
From one of a group of dull, red buildings a sun-bronzed man stepped
forth.
He shaded his eyes with a brown, powerful hand, gazed for an instant
toward the approaching cloud of animated and vociferous dust and,
turning to a smiling Chinese who stood near, with a pot in his hand,

remarked in a slow, musical drawl:
"Well Hop Loy, here they are, rip-roarin' an' snortin' from th'
round-up!"
"Alle samee hungly, too," observed the Celestial with unctious
blandness.
"You can sure make a point of that Hop Loy," went on the other.
"Hungry is their middle name just now, and you'd better begin t' rustle
th' grub, or I wouldn't give an empty forty-five for your pig-tail."
"Oi la!" fairly screamed the Chinese, as, with a quick gesture toward
his long queue, he scuttled toward the cook house, which stood in the
midst of the other low ranch buildings. "Glub leady alle samee light
now!" Hop Loy cried over his shoulder.
"It better be!" ominously observed Pocus Pete, foreman of the Bar U
ranch, one of the best-outfitted in the Rolling River section. "It better
be! Those boys mean business, or I miss my guess," the foreman went
on. "Hard work a-plenty, I reckon. Wonder how they made out?" he
went on musingly as he started back toward the bunk house, whence he
had come with a saddle strap to which he was attaching a new buckle.
"If things don't take a turn for th' better soon, there won't any of us
make out," and, with a gloomy shake of his head, Pocus Pete, to give
him the name he commonly went by, tossed the strap inside