Produced by Janet Kegg, Matthew Wheaton and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Hopalong Cassidy BY Clarence E. Mulford Author of The BAR-20 THREE, "TEX", Etc. GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers By arrangement with A. C. McClurg & Co. COPYRIGHT BY A. C. MCCLURG & CO. 1910 Published March 12, 1910 Second Edition, March 19, 1910 Third Edition, March 26, 1910 Fourth Edition, May 28, 1910 Fifth Edition, July 9, 1910 Sixth Edition, January 28, 1911 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London _All Rights Reserved_ _Affectionately Dedicated to My Father_ CONTENTS CHAPTER I. ANTONIO'S SCHEME II. MARY MEEKER RIDES NORTH III. THE ROUNDUP IV. IN WEST ARROYO V. HOPALONG ASSERTS HIMSELF VI. MEEKER IS TOLD VII. HOPALONG MEETS MEEKER VIII. ON THE EDGE OF THE DESERT IX. ON THE PEAK X. BUCK VISITS MEEKER XI. THREE IS A CROWD XII. HOBBLE BURNS AND SLEEPERS XIII. HOPALONG GROWS SUSPICIOUS XIV. THE COMPROMISE XV. ANTONIO MEETS FRIENDS XVI. THE FEINT XVII. PETE IS TRICKED XVIII. THE LINE HOUSE RE-CAPTURED XIX. ANTONIO LEAVES THE H2 XX. WHAT THE DAM TOLD XXI. HOPALONG RIDES SOUTH XXII. LUCAS VISITS THE PEAK XXIII. HOPALONG AND RED GO SCOUTING XXIV. RED'S DISCOMFITURE XXV. ANTONIO'S REVENGE XXVI. FRISCO VISITS EAGLE XXVII. SHAW HAS VISITORS XXVIII. NEVADA JOINS SHAW XXIX. SURROUNDED XXX. UP THE WALL XXXI. FORTUNE SNICKERS AT DOC XXXII. NATURE TAKES A HAND XXXIII. DOC TRAILS XXXIV. DISCOVERIES XXXV. JOHNNY TAKES THE HUT XXXVI. THE LAST NIGHT XXXVII. THEIR LAST FIGHT XXXVIII. A DISAGREEABLE TASK XXXIX. THIRST XL. CHANGES XLI. HOPALONG'S REWARD HOPALONG CASSIDY CHAPTER I ANTONIO'S SCHEME The raw and mighty West, the greatest stage in all the history of the world for so many deeds of daring which verged on the insane, was seared and cross-barred with grave-lined trails and dotted with presumptuous, mushroom towns of brief stay, whose inhabitants flung their primal passions in the face of humanity and laughed in condescending contempt at what humanity had to say about it. In many localities the real bad-man, the man of the gun, whose claims to the appellation he was ready to prove against the rancorous doubting of all comers, made history in a terse and business-like way, and also made the first law for the locality--that of the gun.