“You are almost human at times, Stacy.  I’m free to admit that,” laughed Tad.  “Yes, this is just what we want.”

Chunky inflated his chest, and, with hands clasped behind his back, walked to the window and gazed out into the street, nodding patronizingly now and then to persons passing who had bowed to him.  In his own estimation, Stacy was the most important person in Chillcothe.  So confident was he of this that several persons in the community had come almost to believe it themselves.  Chunky, by his dignified and important bearing, had hopes of converting others to this same belief.  As for his three companions—–­well, a journey without Stacy Brown would be a tame and uneventful journey at best.

The greater part of the afternoon was devoted to making plans for the coming trip, each having his suggestions to make or his criticism to offer of the suggestions of others.  Though the arguments of the Pony Riders at times became quite heated, the friendship they held for each other was never really strained.  They were bound together by ties that would endure for many years to come.

Each day thereafter, during their stay at home, they met for consultation, and when two weeks later they had assembled at the railroad station in Chillicothe, clad in their khaki suits, sombreros, each with a red bandanna handkerchief tied carelessly about his neck, they presented an imposing appearance and were the centre of a great crowd of admiring boys and smiling grown-ups.  There were many exciting experiences ahead of the Pony Rider Boys as well as a series of journeys that would linger in memory the rest of their lives.

CHAPTER II

A VIEW OF THE PROMISED LAND

For nearly three days the Pony Rider Boys had been taking their ease in a Pullman sleeping car, making great inroads on the food served in the dining car.

It had been a happy journey.  The boys were full of anticipation of what was before them.  At intervals during the day they would study their maps and enter into long discussions with Professor Zepplin, the grizzled, stern-looking man who in so many other journeys had been their guardian and faithful companion.  The Professor had joined them at St. Louis, where the real journey had commenced.

All that day they had been racing over baked deserts, a cloud of dust sifting into the car and making life miserable for the more tender passengers, though the hardy Pony Riders gave no heed to such trivial discomforts as heat and dust.  They were used to that sort of thing.  Furthermore, they expected, ere many more days had passed, to be treated to discomforts that were real.

Suddenly the train dashed from the baked desert into a green forest.  The temperature seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.  Everyone drew a long breath, faces were pressed against windows and expressions of delight were heard in many parts of the sleeper.