The Sky Phantom by Carolyn G. Keene Read Free Book Online

engraving apparatus out here!”
    “You’re absolutely right,” Pop agreed.
    Once again each member of the group took a turn studying the oddly formed characters, but still no one could venture a guess as to what they meant.
    “Let’s get on with our search!” George suggested impatiently.
    Nancy put the medal in her pocket and once more the searchers separated, each one scanning the ground carefully for further bits of evidence.
    “There must be something around here,” Range murmured.
    The search lasted nearly an hour before anyone made a discovery. Chuck and Bess had found some indistinct hoofprints that did not belong to any of the group’s ponies. They called the others to look at them.
    After Nancy had examined the marks she commented, “These weren’t made by our ponies. They’re too faint and indistinct. They must have been here for a while and been partially obliterated by rain or dust.”
    “We’ll follow them,” Pop decided. “They may be a clue.”
    He asked Nancy to lead off, saying, “You have a detective’s eye. If these prints lead somewhere, you’ll be the one to find the place. I’m convinced of that.”
    Nancy blushed a little at the compliment. “I’m sure all you ranchers could do the same thing,” she said, smiling. “And as for Bess and George, I think you’ll find them pretty good detectives in their own right.”
    All of them laughed and made a little bow, then saddled their horses and rode off at a brisk clip.
    Though a little hard to follow, there were still enough footprints intact to lead the group to a hill not far away. It had a rocky slope.
    Conversation had ceased and it seemed as if there was not a sound except the plodding of the walking ponies.
    Suddenly Nancy reined in sharply. “Listen!” she called out.
    The others pulled up abruptly and remained silent. Somewhere off in the distance they could hear a faint whinny.
    “Could that be Ben Rall’s pony?” Range asked.
    “I hope so!” Bess said in a rising tone. “If Ben’s there, we ought to punish him for rolling that tree down the hillside at us.”
    Pop Hamilton had another idea. He urged his mount to get closer to the sound. The others raced after him. A few minutes later he stopped her and asked the young people to listen. The whinny was definitely louder.
    “That sounds like Major!” he said, excited.
    Guided by the whinnies that finally became almost frantic, the group was led to a natural stone stable. Everyone dismounted and rushed inside.
    There stood the stolen palomino!
    The animal began to prance around, although he could not get loose. A heavy chain had been attached to his halter and then secured to a spike set deep into the rock.
    “Major!” Pop exclaimed.
    Bess rushed up and said, “Major, you poor fellow! I hope you haven’t been mistreated!”
    Again and again the beautiful pony nuzzled Pop. It seemed as if he could not get enough affection from the master he loved. Each of the girls and the two cowboys went up to pat Major. Aside from looking a little thin, the animal seemed to be in good condition.
    “Now we can start for home,” Pop said, beaming happily.
    “Aren’t we going to try to find the thief?” Nancy asked.
    The rancher said he thought that would be like hunting for a needle in a haystack. “Most likely the culprit saw or heard us coming and hurried away from here.”
    The young detective and her friends did not agree. One by one they gave Pop reasons why the thief might be hiding in the area—in a cave, perhaps.
    George said, “Unless he has another pony, how could he get away from here?”
    “Maybe,” said Bess, “if Ben Rall is the thief, he’s off riding his own pony.”
    Pop listened to all the arguments, then said to Nancy, “Let’s have your opinion of the whole thing.”
    “I’m beginning to think it was not Ben Rall who stole Major,” she replied. “It’s possible that whoever did it is connected in some way with Roger Paine’s plane. There’s