E-text prepared by Steven desJardins, Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/) TED STRONG IN MONTANA Or With Lariat and Spur by EDWARD C. TAYLOR Author of the Ted Strong Stories 1915 CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE BIG SNOW. CHAPTER II. THE LONG TOM RANCH. CHAPTER III. THE SIGN-CAMP GHOST. CHAPTER IV. THE BIG COON TREE. CHAPTER V. THE PHANTOM LINE RIDER. CHAPTER VI. CAUGHT IN THE ACT. CHAPTER VII. A NIGHT RAID. CHAPTER VIII. THE WAR PARTY. CHAPTER IX. A BATTLE OF QUIRTS. CHAPTER X. SILVER FACE. CHAPTER XI. LOST IN THE WILDERNESS. CHAPTER XII. WHO WHIPPLE WAS. CHAPTER XIII. AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. CHAPTER XIV. CHRISTMAS AT BUBBLY WELL. CHAPTER XV. THE THUGGEE CORD. CHAPTER XVI. A LETTER FROM THE DEAD. CHAPTER XVII. BESIEGED. CHAPTER XVIII. TED SAVES THE HOUSE. CHAPTER XIX. HELEN MOWBRAY'S WILL. CHAPTER XX. KNIFE AND FANG. CHAPTER XXI. 'WARE THE GRAY WOLVES. CHAPTER XXII. THE WOLFSKIN. CHAPTER XXIII. BAGGING THE GRAY WOLVES. CHAPTER XXIV. WHITE FANG LEADS HOME. CHAPTER XXV. TED'S INDEPENDENCE. CHAPTER XXVI. A COMPROMISE. CHAPTER XXVII. THE BEEF ISSUE. CHAPTER XXVIII. A SLAP ON THE FACE. CHAPTER XXIX. RUNNING BEAR'S SQUAW. CHAPTER XXX. "THE WOOFER" APPEARS. CHAPTER XXXI. SINGING BIRD'S SECRET. CHAPTER XXXII. A NIGHT CHASE. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE LOCOED STEER. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE BOBWHITE'S CALL. CHAPTER XXXV. A DUEL WITH LARIATS. CHAPTER XXXVI. THE MOTHER LODE. CHAPTER I. THE BIG SNOW. "We're going to have snow to-night!" Ted Strong, leader of the broncho boys, was sitting on the back of Sultan, his noble little black stallion, on the ridge of a prairie swell, looking at a lowering sky. Out of the northwest a chilling wind, damp and raw, was sweeping dull-gray clouds before it. Ted had addressed his remark to Bud Morgan, his chum and able lieutenant, who threw a glance at the clouds and grunted. "I reckon we be," he muttered, "an' I'm free ter say I'm dern sorry ter hear it." "It's hard luck," resumed Ted. "If we had got away a week earlier, or hadn't been held up by the high water at Poplar Fork, we would have been at the ranch now, and settled for the winter." "Thar's no telling whar an 'if' won't land yer sometimes. If we hadn't started we wouldn't hev been here at all. But here we aire, an' we'll hev ter git out o' it." "Think we better push on, or make camp?" asked Ted. "Got ter make camp fer ther night somewhere," answered Bud. "But I wisht ther storm hed held off till ter-morrer this time; we'd hev been within hootin' distance o' ther Long Tom Ranch." "Suppose we push on a few hours more. We can camp down in the dark if we must. If the snow gets deep before ye reach the high ground you know what it means."