At least ten trains were moving slowly into Oklahoma. There were faces at every window of every car. Men clung to the platforms between the cars, and as many men as could find room there were sitting on the tops of the cars. Even as Mindy watched, a sack came sailing through an open window. A moment later, the man who had thrown his provisions out jumped through the same window and landed on his feet. But another face appeared at once. Plainly, there were as many people in each car as could possibly be squeezed into such a conveyance. Mindy stopped Thunder at the little station. The agent in charge looked tired, but he smiled when he saw Mindy. "Hello there, young lady," he said. "Hello," said Mindy. "Gee! That's a lot of trains!" "There were fifteen," the man said. "All of them made up at Arkansas City, up in Kansas. But they came the sixty miles through the Cherokee Strip to line up at the border just before noon." "Where are all the people going?" Mindy inquired. "Most of them are headed for Guthrie to stake city lots," the man said. "But some are jumping off to stake homesteads all the way between here and Guthrie. What can I do for you, young lady?" Mindy gave the man her message, paid for it, and thanked him. Mounting Thunder, she rode at a swift clip back to the Simpsons' wagon. Looking very worried, her mother met her. "Mindy!" Mrs. Simpson exclaimed. "Thank God! You're all right!" "Why, of course, Mother," Mindy said. "We thought you'd take a work horse!" Mrs. Simpson said. "The one you took is an outlaw!" "Outlaw?" Mindy questioned. "Why, Thunder's the gentlest pony I ever saw!" "Only with you then!" said Gramps. "Pete has all he can do to handle Thunder when he's saddled, and you rode him bareback! Nobody else in the world could have done that! You certainly have a way with horses!" Mindy patted Thunder's neck. "He knew I'd never hurt him, so he wouldn't hurt me either." She looked around the camp, then asked the question she had hoped she'd not have to ask. "Didn't Cindy and Alec come back?" "Not yet," said Mrs. Simpson. "Don't you worry, Mother," Mindy said. "They'll come." But even as she spoke, she wished she could believe it herself. CHAPTER SEVEN _Wild Ride_ Nimble-footed as a deer, the roan pony Cindy rode responded instantly to the lightest touch of the reins. Cindy leaned forward in the saddle, giving all her attention to the task at hand and driven by just one thought. Her father must have his gun. Without it, he might run afoul of very grave danger. She peered through the haze of dust that had been churned up by thousands of pounding feet ahead, and tried to see the pair she sought. They were nowhere in sight, and she hadn't the faintest idea in which direction they were going. But she must find them.