The boys laughed and again wrapped up in their blankets, after Dick had secured his horse with the others. A dim light was now showing in the east, indicating that morning was not far off. But it was cold and cheerless, even with the fire, for it was not a very large blaze, and Dick was glad to follow the example of his brother and cousin and roll up for a final doze before daylight. "Well, now we'll see what happens," commented Nort, as they were preparing a simple breakfast, over the replenished campfire. "Think we might catch 'em to-day, Billee?" "It all depends," was the old cow puncher's answer. "We can't spend too much time chasin' these scamps. There's work to be done at the ranch. Hang that perfesser, anyhow!" "Why?" asked Bud. "Well, if he hadn't crossed the trail last night when we fust started out, we'd a' had them as we was after by now!" declared Billee. "Maybe and maybe not," remarked Bud. "It wasn't the professor's fault, anyhow. He just got lost." "Well, he picked a mighty inconvenient time to do it in," snapped Old Billee, who was always a bit raspy before breakfast. The sun soon shone warm and glorious, a little too glorious in fact, for it was very hot after 9 o'clock when the trail was again taken up. Daylight did not make the "signs" any more plain--in fact, there was absolutely no trail to follow. All they could do was to keep on, making inquiries here and there at different ranches about suspicious characters. "We haven't seen any signs of the professor's party," remarked Nort, when they stopped at noon for a "snack." "No, I fancy they're off in the other direction," remarked Bud. "They will probably be at the ranch when we get back." "Speaking of getting back, I don't see much use in keeping on," commented Billee. "Those rascals have given us the slip." "Guess we might as well hit the back trail," agreed Bud. "Dad will have to tell Hank Fowler about this, and Hank can rustle up a posse and see what he can do." Hank Fowler was the local sheriff and on him, and such men as he might swear in as deputies, devolved the duty of looking after law and order in that part of the west where Diamond X was located, not far from the Mexican border. The boy ranchers and Billee kept on for another mile, to top a certain high piece of land, over which they could have a good view, as they thought from this vantage point they might see some signs to guide them. But from the eminence they only viewed an endless rolling prairie with here and there a clump of trees. They saw bands of roving cattle and a few horses--their own stock or that of some neighbor, and Billee decided that nothing could be gained by going any farther along the cold trail.