"No danger," whiffed the other over his shoulder, for he was advancing steadily and cautiously; "those who ought to know say that snakes never move around during the night." A soft sound like escaping steam told how greatly relieved Lanky felt; for from early childhood his one horror had been serpents of any kind. He had even been known to make a wry face when impaling an angleworm on his hook, as if it reminded him of his pet aversion. Frank stuck to his original belief that the mysterious prowler was heading for the horse corral, and he shaped his course so as to come upon this fenced-in enclosure somewhere near the gate. The stockade was of such a height that even a prize jumper among the broncos could never get its forelegs across the upper bar. Besides this, in order to further insure the safekeeping of the restless ponies, a hedge of thorny Osage orange had been cultivated, the mature trees giving the animals considerable shelter from the scorching rays of an August sun. Every dozen feet or so Frank would come to a pause, and at such times seemed to be using both eyes and ears to discover any unusual movement or sound around the corral. "You were right, Frank," whispered Lanky, catching hold of his companion's arm with his fingers and pinching harder than he intended. "I just glimpsed the fellow going inside. He's left the gate wide open too! Listen to the ponies snort and plunge, will you?" "Get a move on, Lanky! We ought to be nearer the gate, so as to turn the horses back if they try to break loose." Lanky was only too willing, since such a move promised to bring them to close grips with the possible horse-thief should the fellow start to rush from the corral after securing a mount. The confusion inside the pen grew rapidly worse. "He's trying to rope a pony he's picked out as a prize!" breathed the excited Lanky. "We'd have him in a nice trap if we closed the gate of the corral and whooped for the boys to come on the jump!" suggested Frank, spurred on by the apparent necessity of doing something speedily. "Good idea, too!" the other burst out, no longer caring who heard his voice, for the matter had by then about reached the crisis. "Quick! He's coming full tilt, Lanky! Swing the heavy gate around this way and let me fasten it!" It might have turned out better, if only they had conceived it a few seconds sooner. As it was, the rushing pony, urged on by savage kicks from a pair of spurred heels, was bearing down straight upon the two boys. "Look out, Frank!" shrilled Lanky, as he saw a towering form between his eyes and the bright moon. At the same time he ducked in hopes of getting out of the way of the bronco's furious rush. The frightened animal, seeing some moving object in its path, sheered to one side. That saved Lanky from the full force of a collision; but even as it was he received a push that sent him sprawling headlong to the ground.