Chapter I: Front Matter

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GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS AT CIRCLE O RANCH

GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS AT CIRCLE O RANCH

by

JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER

Author of The High School Girls Series, The College Girls Series, The
Grace Harlowe Overseas Series, Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders
on the Old Apache Trail, Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders on
the Great American Desert, Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders
Among the Kentucky Mountaineers, Grace Harlowe’s Overland
Riders in the Great North Woods, Grace Harlowe’s
Overland Riders in the High Sierras, Grace Harlowe’s
Overland Riders in the Yellowstone National
Park, Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders in the
Black Hills, etc., etc.

Illustrated

Philadelphia Henry Altemus Company

Copyrighted, 1923, by Howard E. Altemus

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

Chapter I—Peace in the Coso Valley

Stacy’s dream is interpreted. Jim-Sam proves to
be a problem. A guide that could howl like a coyote.
“Mules, like some fellers, is contrary critters.” Sam’s
whiskers are expressive. A peace that was rudely
broken.

Chapter II—On the Road to Trouble

The Overlanders prepare for defense. Stacy’s weapon
a tent stake. Emma Dean in the toils. The shot
that stopped the roper. “Let ’em have it!” yells the
guide. All because of the fat boy’s dream. The
alarm.

Chapter III—An Invitation to Move

“Sit tight!” orders Hippy. A caller who threatened
trouble. Sam Conifer passes the lie. “I reckon I’d
kill ye whar ye stand!” Hands flash to weapons.
The stranger is ordered out of camp. When brains
were mixed.

Chapter IV—At the “Circle O” Ranch

Camp made in the foothills of the Cosos. “The Old
Man wants ter know what ye are doin’ heah!” The
Overlanders are again ordered to get out. Emma
explains the “imponderable something.” The dance
in the bunk-house. A bullet parts Sam Conifer’s
whiskers.

Chapter V—Overlanders Suffer a Loss

“Shoot, Sam! Shoot, I tell you!” A mysterious
shot is fired. Jim finds a trail. A “lovely party”
spoiled. The Overland Riders find their ponies missing.
Distress at the Circle O. Jim-Sam blame each
other.

Chapter VI—Rustlers Are Hard Pressed

A question of mules. Emma Dean looks for dreams.
Sam exchanges shots with a prowler. Stacy Brown
believes in safety first. Ranchers engage the rustlers
in a lively battle. Lieutenant Wingate wages an
unequal fight and loses.

Chapter VII—A Fight to a Finish

“Give ’em the rifles!” yells Two-gun Pete. The
end of the battle. An Overlander is found seriously
wounded. Tom bears bad news to his companions.
Elfreda gives first aid. Cowpunchers look on in
open-mouthed wonder.

Chapter VIII—The “Dude” Makes Good

Hippy is complimented by Two-gun Pete. “What’s
a hoss when it comes to a scrap?” What Hippy
Wingate dreamed. Grace Harlowe’s pony is recovered.
Ranchers help the Overlanders to move.
Judy Hornby makes an exciting entrance.

Chapter IX—Judy Speaks Out

The mountain girl wants to know what love is. Judy
tries poulticing for a sick heart. “If I could talk
like that I’d be a real lady.” Overland girls give helpful
advice. A word that drove a mustang to desperation.

Chapter X—The Round-up

“Pap sure was a scream,” declares Judy. The Overland
Riders witness a thrilling round-up. Stacy Brown
gets into new difficulties. J. Elfreda is accused of
frightening a wild steer to death. Bad news from
up the valley.

Chapter XI—Hippy Defends the Ranch

Lieutenant Wingate’s suspicions aroused. Two
ruffians are neatly trapped. The ranch-house under
rifle fire. A ruse that succeeded. “I’ve got to take
a chance.” Rifle bullets rip through the old house.
Disaster again overtakes the Overland Rider.

Chapter XII—At the Last Moment

An alarm scatters the mountain ruffians. “Hit the
trail! Hit it hard!” Cowpunchers find the ranch-house
on fire. A dramatic scene in Joe Bindloss’s
home. Captives give sullen replies. “The herd’s
stampeded an’ Pop’s been shot!” cries Idaho Jones.

Chapter XIII—An Overlander Is Missing

Hippy at last regains consciousness. Lieutenant
Wingate relates the story of the attack on the ranch-house.
Cowboys howl when they hear the news. Stacy Brown mysteriously
disappears. “The prisoners have got away!”

Chapter XIV—The Lost Trail

Malcolm Hornby refuses Joe Bindloss’s request.
“Pap’s got an awful grouch today.” Jim fails to
follow Chunky’s trail. The search is given up for
the night. Judy acts strangely. “Something has
happened to Jim!” Sam Conifer meets disaster.

Chapter XV—Clews That Were Loaded

The old guide finds the trail and a bullet finds him.
Stacy and Jim are among the missing. Two-gun
Pete makes a strange discovery. The mystery of
the carrier pigeons. Birds for a pie. “Wal, I’ll be
shot!” exclaims Joe Bindloss.

Chapter XVI—The Carrier Pigeons’ Flight

Chunky writes a letter for the Rustlers. “This
suspense is killing me!” cries Emma. High ransom
is demanded for the fat boy. How to follow the
trail of a bird. The “dove of peace” is liberated.
“I’ve got it!” shouts Sam Conifer.

Chapter XVII—Stacy Decides to Leave

How the Overland boy was captured. Mountain
ruffians make desperate plans. Money that came
down from the skies. “Put up yer hands, young
feller!” The fat boy in the toils. Stacy Brown finds
himself under arrest as a horse thief.

Chapter XVIII—Trouble at Red Gulch

Carrier pigeons point the way. The guide smells
smoke. Sam Conifer stalks the rustlers to their
lair. “Brown’ll be a dead dude by mornin’!” A
thunderbolt is hurled at the mountain ruffians.
Plotters get a rude surprise.

Chapter XIX—A Duel in the Dark

The magician’s wand. “Yer too yellow to draw!”
Sam reveals his identity to Mexican Charley. Six to
one. The outlaw takes a chance and loses. When the
light was shot out. “That’s what I calls a low-down
trick!”

Chapter XX—Stacy Wields a Club

The fat boy’s story is not believed. “All hoss thieves is
liars!” A barn his prison cell. “Heah’s yer chuck.
I hope it chokes ye!” Ordered to leave for prison.
Chunky turns the tables on his jailer and compliments
himself.

Chapter XXI—Judy Brings Tidings

A mysterious shot. Pete gets a bullet hole through
his hat. No trace of the missing Jim. Judy takes
her time in telling bad news. “Sam’s been killed
and Tom and Hippy wounded!” announces the
mountain girl.

Chapter XXII— Riders of the Night

Overland girls go in search of the missing ones.
Judy Hornby leads the way. The mountain cabin
found to be empty. Bindloss reads the trail. Startled
by the sound of shots. The worst is feared. “Fire!
They’ve set the grass on fire!”

Chapter XXIII—Racing with Death

Ponies become frantic with fear. Overland Riders feel
the thrill of the moment. “Faster!” cries the mountain
girl. Rifle shots sound nearer. A scene that
startled the Riders. The duel. A bandit meets his
reward.

Chapter XXIV—Farewell to the Cosos

Judy Hornby finds a new “Pap.” Stacy Brown
still stalked by trouble. “This feller is a hoss thief!”
When Judy’s dreams came true.

GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS AT CIRCLE O RANCH