The road was so sandy that the rain had not made much difference with it, and we were soon again moving on at a good rate.  We were travelling in a direction a little north of west, and from one to half a dozen miles south of the Niobrara River.  It would have been nearer to have kept north of the river, but we were prevented by the Sioux and Ponca Indian reservations, through which no one was allowed to go.  Our intention was to cross to the north of the river at Grand Rapids and get into the Keya Paha country, about which we heard a great deal, keep Straight west, and, after crossing the river twice more, reach Fort Niobrara and the town of Valentine, beyond which were the Sand Hills.  This route would keep us all the time from twenty to thirty miles north of the railroad.

[Illustration:  Anti-Hourse-Thieves]

We had not gone far this morning when we met two men on horseback riding side by side.  They looked like farmers, only we noticed that each carried a big revolver in a belt and one of them a gun.  They simply said “Good-morning,” and passed on.  In about half an hour we met another pair similarly mounted and armed, and in another half-hour still two more.

“Must be a wedding somewhere, or a Sunday—­school picnic,” said Jack.

“But why do they all have the guns?” asked Ollie, innocently.

“Oh, I don’t know,” answered Jack.  “Varmints about, I suppose.”

In a few minutes we came to a man working beside the road, and asked him what it all meant.  He looked around in a very mysterious manner, and then half whispered the one word “Vigilantees!” with a strong accent on each syllable.

“Oh!” said Jack, “vigilance committee.”

“Correct,” returned the man.

“After horse-thieves, I suppose?” went on Jack.

“Exactly,” replied the man.  “Stole two horses at Black Bird last night at ten o’clock.  Holt County Anti-Horse-thief Association after ’em this morning at four.  That’s the way we do business in this country!”

We drove on, and Jack said: 

“What the Association wants to do is to buy Old Blacky and put him in a pasture for bait.  In the morning the members can go out and gather up a wagon-load of disabled horse-thieves that have tried to steal him in the night and got kicked over the fence.”

We either met or saw a dozen other men on horseback, always in pairs; but whether or not they caught the thief we never heard.

[Illustration:  Jack Shoots a Grouse]

So far we had had very poor luck in finding game; but in the afternoon of this day Jack shot a grouse, and we camped rather earlier than usual, so that he might have ample time to cook it.  There were also the plums and grapes to stew.  We made our camp not far from a house, and, after a vast amount of extremely serious labor on the part of the cook, had a very good supper.