The Pony Rider Boys in the Grand Canyon

The Pony Rider Boys in the Grand Canyon?by Frank Gee Patchin

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by Frank Gee Patchin This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Pony Rider Boys in the Grand Canyon The Mystery of Bright Angel Gulch
Author: Frank Gee Patchin
Release Date: July 22, 2004 [EBook #12997]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE GRAND CANYON ***

Produced by Jim Ludwig

THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON or The Mystery of Bright Angel Gulch
by Frank Gee Patchin

CONTENTS
CHAPTERS
I. Westward Ho! II. A View of the Promised Land III. Tenderfeet Show Their Skill IV. A Night in the Crater V. Tad Lend a Helping Hand VI. A Sight that Thrilled VII. On the Rim of Eternity VIII. The City in the Skies IX. Chunky Wants to go Home X. Escape is Wholly Cut Off XI. A Trying time XII. Braving the Roaring Colorado XIII. A Battle Mightily Waged XIV. The Dogs Pick up a Trail XV. The Mystery of the Rifle XVI. A New Way to Hunt Lions XVII. The Whirlwind Ball of Yellow XVIII. The Unwilling Guest Departs XIX. The Fat Boy Does a Ghost Dance XX. In the Home of the Havasupais XXI. Chunky Gets a Turkish Bath XXII. A Magical Cure XXIII. Stacy as an Indian Fighter XXIV. Conclusion
CHAPTER I
WESTWARD, HO!
"Ow, Wow, Wow, Wow! Y-E-O-W!"
Tad Butler, who was industriously chopping wood at the rear of the woodshed of his home, finished the tough, knotted stick before looking up.
The almost unearthly chorus of yells behind him had not even startled the boy or caused him to cease his efforts until he had completed what he had set out to do. This finished, Tad turned a smiling face to the three brown-faced young men who were regarding him solemnly.
"Haven't you fellows anything to do?" demanded Tad.
"Yes, but we have graduated from the woodpile," replied Ned Rector.
"I got my diploma the first time I ever tried it," added Chunky Brown, otherwise and more properly known as Stacy Brown. "Cut a slice of my big toe off. They gave me my diploma right away. You fellows are too slow."
"Come in the house, won't you? Mother'll be glad to see you," urged Tad.
"Surely we will," agreed Walter Perkins. "That's what we came over to do."
"Oh, it is, eh?"
"Didn't think we came over to help you chop wood, did you?" demanded Chunky indignantly.
"Knowing you as I do, I hadn't any such idea," laughed Tad. "But come in."
The boys filed in through the wood house, reaching the sitting room by way of the kitchen. Tad's mother gave them a smiling welcome, rising to extend a warm, friendly hand to each.
"Sit down, Mrs. Butler," urged Walter.
"Yes, we will come to you," added Ned.
"We haven't lost the use of our legs yet, Mrs. Butler," declared the fat Chunky, growing very red in the face as he noted the disapproving glances directed at him by his companions.
"I hope you won't mind Chunky, Mrs. Butler," said Ned apologetically. "You know he has lived among savages lately, and-----"
"Yes, ma'am, Ned and I have been constant companions for---how long has it been, boys?"
"Shut up!" hissed Ned Rector in the fat boy's ear. "I'll whale you when we get outside, if you make any more such breaks."
"Never mind, boys; Stacy and myself are very old, old friends," laughed Mrs. Butler.
"Yes, ma'am, about a hundred years old, more or less. Oh, I beg your pardon. I didn't mean it just that way," stammered Chunky, coloring again and fumbling his cap awkwardly.
"Now you have said it," groaned Walter.
"Go way back in the corner out of sight and sit down before I start something," commanded Ned. "You must excuse us, Mrs. Butler. It is as Chunky has said. We are all savages---some of us more so than others, some less."
"It is unnecessary to make apologies. You are just a lot of healthy young men, full of life and spirits." Mrs. Butler patted Tad affectionately on the head. "Tad knows what I think of you all and how appreciative we both are over what Mr. Perkins has done for us. Now that I have had a little money left me, I am glad that Tad is able to spend more time with you in the open. I presume you will soon be thinking of another trip."
"We're always thinking of that, Mrs. Butler," interrupted Ned. "And we couldn't think of a trip without thinking of Tad. A trip without Tad would be like---like-----"
"A dog's tail wagging down the street without the dog," interjected the solemn voice of