“What’s that I see over there?” he suddenly asked himself, shading his eyes from the glare of the sand by holding one trembling hand above them. “Moving figures, eh? Now, I wonder if they’re Injuns, and p’raps them same hostile young Apache bucks we had trouble with before. Well, here’s my faithful Marlin ready for business as always. It kept me from being made a supper for them wolves, and I reckon now it ought to do the same—but hello! seems to me I ought to recognize the way them fellers ride! Glory hallelujah! if it ain’t my bully chums, for sure; and say, if that ain’t Jupiter trailing along after ’em, I’ll eat my hat! Oh! joy unbounded; for now I don’t have to starve to death.” That was his first thought, and seemed to afford him the most consolation; for in the mind of Billie there could not be a more terrible fate meted out to any mortal here below than having to go without his regular meals; which proved that the fat boy was not made out of the same stuff as the suffragettes over the sea. Swiftly the two others bore down upon him, swinging their hats above their heads, just as cowboys always will when excited, and giving vent to the wildest cheers. Billie grinned with happiness as they came closer and closer. He even began to champ his teeth, as though desiring to make sure that his jaws were still capable of doing their customary duty, before starting in to make up for lost time. “Hurray for Billie!” cried Adrian, as he drew in his reeking pony close by. “He’s all wool and a yard wide, sure he is; and his pards are proud of him,” Donald shouted. “Here, give us your hand, Billie; this is the biggest round-up ever. We were afraid you’d come into a peck of trouble; but we ought to have known you better than that. Ain’t he just the jim-dandy fellow, Adrian? Full-fledged by now, and taking nobody’s dust. Yes, I say with you, hurray for Broncho Billie!” But the wanderer, though undoubtedly gratified by this expression of confidence shown by his chums only stretched out his hands and exclaimed: “Food! gimme something to eat, fellows, because I’m starving!” CHAPTER XIV. THE ZUNI SNAKE CATCHER. Whatever the other boys may have thought about it, knowing that Billie could not have gone a great while without food, they understood his weakness too well to make any remark. Fortunately they had something along with them; for as cowboys Donald and Adrian had long ago learned to always look ahead, since no one could tell when he would need food when abroad on the range. And so they quickly thrust into Billie’s eager hands quite a quantity of stuff. He ate like a hungry wolf, while his chums sat there in their saddles, and waited patiently for him to take the first savage edge off his appetite. Billie was mumbling to himself meanwhile, just as a starving boy might when food has come into his possession. In imagination he had been pretty far gone; but it was all right now; and soon Billie was feeling himself again.