Fred Garrison had a friend who came from Skemport and wanted to visit him. The others were willing, and Fred went off with Tom and Sam as soon as the boat was tied up. When they came back, late in the evening, the others were told that the friend had invited all hands to visit a large stock farm in that vicinity the next afternoon to look at the horses there. "That will be nice!" cried Dora. "I love a good horse." Two large carriages were hired for the purpose, and Aleck was allowed to drive one, a man from the local livery stable driving the other. "How soon will you be back?" sang out Captain Starr after them. "Can't say exactly," replied Dick. The distance to the stock farm was three miles, but it was quickly covered, and once there the Rovers and their friends were made to feel perfectly at home. "I'd like to go horseback riding on one of those horses," said Dora, after inspecting a number of truly beautiful steeds. "You shall," said the owner of the stock farm; and a little later Dora, Nellie, Dick, and Tom were in the saddle and off for a gallop of several miles, never once speculating on how that ride was to end. CHAPTER XXI THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE HOUSEBOAT Never was a girl more light-hearted than was Dora when in the saddle on the Kentucky thoroughbred. And her cousin was scarcely less elated. "Let us have a little race, Nellie," cried Dora. "It will be lots of fun." "Oh, we don't want the horses to run away," answered Nellie. "I don't think they will run away." The race was started, and to give the girls a chance, Dick and Tom dropped to the rear. Soon a turn of the road hid the two girls from view. "Wait a minute--there is something wrong with my saddle," said Tom, a moment later, and he came to a halt and slipped to the ground. Dick would have preferred going on, but did not wish to leave his brother alone, so he also halted. A buckle had broken and it took some time to repair the damage, so Tom could continue his ride. "The girls have disappeared," said Dick, on making the turn ahead in the road. They came to a spot where the road divided into three forks and halted in perplexity. "Well, this is a nuisance," declared Tom, after scratching his head. "I suppose they thought we were watching them." "More than likely." "Which road shall we take?" "Bless me if I know." "Well, we can't take all three." They stared at the hoofprints in the road, but there were too many of them to make anything of the marks. "Stumped!" remarked Tom, laconically. "Let us wait a while. Perhaps, when the girls see we are not following, they will turn back." "All right; but we've made a fine pair of escorts, haven't we, Dick?" "We are not responsible for that buckle breaking." "That's so, too." They waited for several minutes, but the girls did not appear. "Supposing I take to one road and you to the other?" said Dick. "If you see them, whistle." "What about the third road?" And Tom grinned.