Jack Ranger's Gun Club: or, From Schoolroom to Camp and Trail

“Yes, we’re here,” said Jack. “Did you and Long Gun get along all right?”

“Sure’syou’reafoothigh.”

“Well, we’ll soon begin packing for home – ”

“Home? You mean Pryor’s Gap, I guess,” exclaimed Nat. “You’re not going without seeing Mabel; are you?”

“That’s none of your affair,” retorted Jack, his face reddening under his tan.

“We ought to have one more hunt before we go,” said Sam.

“That’s what,” put in Bony, and Jack agreed.

They spent two days more tramping over the mountains after game. Will killed a fair-sized bear, Nat got a large deer, and Jack bowled over a great ram, that had a fine pair of horns, which our hero declared he was perfectly satisfied with, as they would appropriately fill a certain space on the wall of his room.

“And now,” he said, as they were gathered around the camp fire that night, “I think the outing of our gun club is almost at an end.”

“Got to go to Pryor’s Gap yet!” murmured Nat from the shadows, and the rest of them laughed.

The next day Long Gun started on his horse to take word to Tanker Ike that the boys were ready to come back. He was gone two days, which the lads put in by packing up, and taking little trips, not far from their camp. The third day the Indian returned with the freight wagon, driven by Ike, who also brought along an extra horse for Will.

“Well!” he exclaimed, “you certainly had great luck,” and he looked at the collection of skins and horns. “But it’s about time to go back. There’s a big storm coming, and it’ll be here soon.”

“We must take plenty of water this time, so if a tank springs a leak on the desert we won’t get thirsty,” said Sam.

“We’re not going to cross the desert,” spoke Jack.

“Why not?”

“Because we’re going back by way of Pryor’s Gap,” explained Jack boldly, and he did not heed the shouts of laughter that greeted his announcement. “We promised to call on Mr. Pierce, you know,” he added.

“Oh, yes, Mr. Pierce, with the accent on the Mister,” shouted Nat, and then he dodged behind the wagon to get out of Jack’s reach.

Two days later they were at Pryor’s Gap, and Mr. Pierce was glad to see them. He insisted that they stay several days at his house, to which Jack agreed. But his host did not see much of our hero, for, somehow, there were many sights of interest about the Gap, and no one seemed able to point them out to Jack, save a certain brown-eyed maiden – but there, what’s the use of rubbing it in?

“Well, I hope you lads will come camping out here again, soon,” said Mr. Pierce, as the members of the gun club prepared to take their leave.

“I hope we can,” said Jack. “We have enjoyed the hospitality of you and your daughter very much.”

“Especially the daughter,” put in Nat, in a voice intended only for Jack’s ear. “You old duffer, you monopolized her.”

“Humph!” exclaimed Jack. “Who had a better right?”

“Good-by, boys!” called Mr. Pierce.

“Good-by,” chorused the members of Jack Ranger’s gun club.

“Good-by,” spoke Mabel, with a blush, but she only looked at Jack. “Come again.”

“We will,” said our hero decidedly, as he held her hand at parting a little longer than perhaps was strictly necessary. But, as we asked before, what’s the use of rubbing it in?

“We certainly had a great time,” observed Will, as they started off from Pryor’s Gap.

“The best ever,” agreed the others.

“I wonder what we’ll do next year,” spoke Sam.

But what they did will be told in the next volume of this series, to be entitled “Jack Ranger’s Treasure Box; or, The Outing of the Schoolboy Yachtsmen.” In that story we shall meet all our old friends again and learn the particulars of a most unusual mystery, and how it was solved.

A few days later the boys were in a train that was swiftly taking them back East, and to Washington Hall, which institution, as Jack learned in a letter from his father, that was waiting for him at Denver, had been repaired, and was ready for the students.

“Oh, dear, to think of going back to studies again,” sighed Nat, as he thought of the fun they had had.

“Never mind, we’ll have some sport yet,” consoled Jack. “Professors Socrat and Garlach are still available.”

“Yes, and think of the experience we have had,” said Will.

“Oh, well, we always have some sort of queer experience when we go out with Jack Ranger,” added Nat. “All out for Pryor’s Gap,” he shouted, as the train pulled into a station. Then he ducked down behind a seat to escape a wad of paper that Jack threw at him.

THE END