Three Young Ranchmen

by Ralph Bonehill

Three Young Ranchmen

Or

Daring Adventures in the
Great West

By

Captain Ralph Bonehill

Author of
"A Sailor Boy with Dewey" "For
the Liberty of Texas," "The
Young Bandmaster," etc.

Illustrated

New York and Boston

H. M. Caldwell Company

Publishers

Copyright, 1901
By the Saalfield Publishing Company

HORSE AND YOUTH WENT PLUNGING HEADLONG.

PREFACE

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"Three Young Ranchmen" relates the adventures of three brothers, Allen, Chetwood and Paul Winthrop, who are left to shift for themselves upon a lonely ranch home situated in the mountainous region of the beautiful State of Idaho, near one of the numerous branches of the Salmon River.

The lads, although sturdy and brave, have no easy time making a living, and among other troubles, they are visited by horse thieves, and also by a crafty prospector who wishes to take their claim away from them. In the meantime an uncle of the lads has gone off to visit the city, and he disappears entirely, adding to the complexity of the situation. What the boys did to straighten out the trouble is told in the chapters which follow

In writing this story I have tried to give my boy readers a fair idea of life on a ranch of to-day, as well as of life in the wild mountains of Idaho, with some idea of the ranch hands and miners to be met with in these localities. The tale has been drawn as true to nature as possible, and I trust its reading will prove both entertaining and useful.

Captain Ralph Bonehill.

CONTENTS

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	PAGE
CHAPTER I.
An Unpleasant Discovery	11
CHAPTER II.
Allen on the Trail	21
CHAPTER III.
A Dangerous Situation	27
CHAPTER IV.
The Man in the Sink Hole	33
CHAPTER V.
Good Cause for Alarm	41
CHAPTER VI.
From One Peril to Another	51
CHAPTER VII.
The Cave in the Mountain	59
CHAPTER VIII.
Into a Snake's Nest	67
CHAPTER IX.
A Visitor at the Ranch	76
CHAPTER X.
The Captain's Setback	84
CHAPTER XI.
Ike Watson's Arrival	93
CHAPTER XII.
The Boys Talk It over	101
CHAPTER XIII.
Caught in a Cyclone	108
CHAPTER XIV.
Another Surprise	117
CHAPTER XV.
At Dottery's Ranch	127
CHAPTER XVI.
An Encounter in the Dark	134
CHAPTER XVII.
Something About a Letter	145
CHAPTER XVIII.
Allen Changes His Plans	154
CHAPTER XIX.
Along the Water Course	162
CHAPTER XX.
Moving Against Captain Grady	173
CHAPTER XXI.
Shooting a Grizzly Bear	179
CHAPTER XXII.
An Important Capture	185
CHAPTER XXIII.
News of Importance	191
CHAPTER XXIV.
Something About Barnaby Winthrop	197
CHAPTER XXV.
Fighting a Wolverine	204
CHAPTER XXVI.
Disappearance of Slavin	211
CHAPTER XXVII.
Allen Shows His Bravery	218
CHAPTER XXVIII.
A Buffalo Stampede	225
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Long Lost Found	234
CHAPTER XXX.
Together at Last—Conclusion	241

ILLUSTRATIONS

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	OPP. PAGE
Horse and Youth Went Plunging Headlong	Frontispiece
The Man Caught the End of the Gun	40
Vainly He Put Out His Hands to Stay His Progress	55
Holding the Snake, He Leaped Out of the Circle of Reptiles	70
The Three Young Ranchmen Talked It Over	103