[Illustration: When the rifle spoke the huge head of the buffalo was almost under Poke’s belly] THE TRAIL BOYS OF THE PLAINS OR THE HUNT FOR THE BIG BUFFALO BY JAY WINTHROP ALLEN ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER S. ROGERS NEW YORK GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY Copyright, 1915. GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. Table of Contents I—SOMETHING ABOUT A BUFFALO II—AT THE SILENT SUE III—THE LAME INDIAN IV—THE ROCKING STONE V—THE BEARS’ DEN VI—IN THE OLD TUNNEL VII—THE RESCUE—AND AFTERWARD VIII—CHET SHOOTS A HAWK IX—ON THE TRAIL TO GRUB STAKE X—MR. HAVENS HAS A VISITOR XI—THE FIRST ADVENTURE XII—A MAVERICK XIII—“THE DOG SOLDIERS” XIV—THE WARNING XV—“WHAT WON’T BE LED MUST BE DRIVEN” XVI—THE WOLF RING XVII—A MYSTERY XVIII—ROYAL GAME XIX—A FRUITLESS CHASE XX—A MIDNIGHT ALARM XXI—A STARTLING DISCOVERY XXII—AFTER THE THIEVES XXIII—THE FIRST BUFFALO XXIV—TIT FOR TAT XXV—CHET’S DETERMINATION XXVI—“THE KING OF THEM ALL” XXVII—DIG’S GREAT IDEA XXVIII—GREAT LUCK XXIX—PLENTY OF EXCITEMENT XXX—HOW IT ENDED Illustrations When the rifle spoke the huge head of the buffalo was almost under Poke’s belly Dig spurred his horse over to the place and leaped down to give his chum a helping hand Then Chet saw the bear—a big black fellow, standing erect They fairly “wolfed” the venison steaks CHAPTER I—SOMETHING ABOUT A BUFFALO “Do you really suppose such a buffalo exists?” queried Chet Havens, who was braiding a whiplash. “You’ve got me there, boy,” said his chum, Dig Fordham, trying for the hundredth time to carve his initials in the adamantine surface of the old horse-block, and with a dull jackknife. “By the last hoptoad that was chased out of Ireland! wouldn’t it be just the Jim-dandy adventure, Chet, if we could go out after this herd and capture the king of them all? It would be _great_!” “It would be great enough, all right,” admitted Chet, nodding. “But it would be some contract to capture such a bull. According to all accounts he must be as strong as an elephant and almost as big.”