THE AUTHOR Rutherford Montgomery would rather write than do anything else in the world. Most of his books are about animals and the wilderness he knows so well. As a boy, Mr. Montgomery would listen to the tales told by hunters, and his favorite sport then and now is going into the woodland and sitting quietly on a log, observing the children of the wild. He is a watcher, not a hunter. Mr. Montgomery was born in North Dakota, and taught school for ten years in Wyoming and Colorado after graduating from Colorado Agricultural College. He saw service in the United States Flying Corps in World War I. Later, he was a county judge in Colorado and held state offices there. He now lives in Los Gatos, California. * * * Other Books by Rutherford Montgomery Broken Fang[A] Gray Wolf[A] White Mountaineer McGonigle’s Lake Yellow Eyes[A] Kildee House Big Brownie Ghost Town Adventure[A] [A] _Available from Scholastic Book Services_ MIDNIGHT RUTHERFORD MONTGOMERY =SBS= SCHOLASTIC BOOK SERVICES New York Toronto London Auckland Sydney To Earl Hammock who knows the value of the lonesome places This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not be resold, lent, or otherwise circulated in any binding or cover other than that in which it is published--unless prior written permission has been obtained from the publisher--and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Copyright 1940 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Illustrations copyright 1949 by Pocket Books, Inc. This edition is published by Scholastic Book Services, a division of Scholastic Magazines, Inc., by arrangement with Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. 8th Printing November 1969 Printed in the U.S.A. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1. Pals 1 2. Wild Horse 10 3. Horse Thief 20 4. Desert Winter 25 5. Wild-Horse Drive 36 6. Midnight 45 7. The Way of the High Country 62 8. The Strong Survive 75 9. Prisoner 87 10. Escape 94 11. New Trails 108 12. Doom of the Band 120 13. Tex Takes the Trail 140 14. Beside the Castle Rocks 147 15. Home to Stay 151 [Illustration: Midnight tried to whirl but the ledge was too narrow.] 1. Pals