“No,” said Teddy, “I was just trying to measure to see if those gum drops had made you any fatter. I don’t believe they have. Not yet, anyway,” he ended with a laugh in which the others joined. “Oh, I guess candy doesn’t work that fast on me,” said Fatty. Besides making Teddy more thirsty, the gum drops also increased the thirst of the other boys. So, after waiting a little while to rest, they went to the spring. Fatty Nolan acted as guide. “I guess maybe that man with the lasso has gotten away from us,” Teddy said as they neared the spring. “Well, if we don’t find him today we may tomorrow,” said Dick. “It’s getting too hot to hurry much.” As Fatty had said, there were two springs in a little glade not far from where Teddy and his chums had sat down to rest. The larger water hole was rather muddy, and all about it were the hoof-marks of cattle. But farther up, amid a little group of trees and bushes, was a small spring. It bubbled out of the rocks into a natural rock basin. Stretching out on the ground, the boys took turns drinking the clear, cold water. Teddy took two drinks. “Oh, that’s good!” he exclaimed as he rose to wipe off his lips. “Water always tastes twice as good after you’ve been eating candy,” he added. The boys stood silent for a moment near the spring. They were wondering what to do next. Suddenly, from over the tops of some bushes behind them, a rope came circling through the air. The loop of a lasso fell over Teddy and, a moment later, he was pulled backward off his feet, falling on a bunch of leaves. CHAPTER X THE PICNIC LUNCH Surprise, for a few seconds, kept the boys from saying a word. Teddy, himself, was not only astonished, but the breath was somewhat jolted out of him so he could not have said anything even if he had wished to. Joe, Dick and Fatty Nolan were the first to speak and they all shouted, together: “Who did that?” By this time Teddy had managed to scramble to his feet. He loosened the loop of the lasso and slipped it over his head, letting the coils fall to the ground. Then he, too, demanded: “Who did that?” There was no answer. Teddy picked up the rope and pulled on it. The far end came snaking over the ground out of the bushes. “Why, there’s no one there!” exclaimed Dick. “No one has hold of the rope!” “But somebody must have thrown this lasso!” declared Joe. “And they gave it a good yank, too, after they lassoed me,” said Teddy. “I was pulled right off my feet! I’m going to find out who’s playing tricks!” Teddy was about to pull all the rope toward him, in coils at his feet, when Fatty Nolan called: “Don’t do that!” “Why not?” Teddy asked. “Because,” answered the fat boy, “if you pull in all the rope you won’t be able to see where it ends. Leave it lying there and we can trail it to the far end and see who lassoed you.”