# Three Young Ranchmen

Three Young Ranchmen
Or
Daring Adventures in the Great West
By
Captain Ralph Bonehill
Author of "A Sailor Boy with Dewey" "For the Liberty of Texas," "The Young Bandmaster," etc.
Illustrated
New York and Boston
H. M. Caldwell Company
Publishers
Copyright, 1901 By the Saalfield Publishing Company
HORSE AND YOUTH WENT PLUNGING HEADLONG.
PREFACE
"Three Young Ranchmen" relates the adventures of three brothers, Allen, Chetwood and Paul Winthrop, who are left to shift for themselves upon a lonely ranch home situated in the mountainous region of the beautiful State of Idaho, near one of the numerous branches of the Salmon River.
The lads, although sturdy and brave, have no easy time making a living, and among other troubles, they are visited by horse thieves, and also by a crafty prospector who wishes to take their claim away from them. In the meantime an uncle of the lads has gone off to visit the city, and he disappears entirely, adding to the complexity of the situation. What the boys did to straighten out the trouble is told in the chapters which follow
In writing this story I have tried to give my boy readers a fair idea of life on a ranch of to-day, as well as of life in the wild mountains ​of Idaho, with some idea of the ranch hands and miners to be met with in these localities. The tale has been drawn as true to nature as possible, and I trust its reading will prove both entertaining and useful.
Captain Ralph Bonehill.
CONTENTS
| | PAGE |
| CHAPTER I. |
| An Unpleasant Discovery | 11 |
| CHAPTER II. |
| Allen on the Trail | 21 |
| CHAPTER III. |
| A Dangerous Situation | 27 |
| CHAPTER IV. |
| The Man in the Sink Hole | 33 |
| CHAPTER V. |
| Good Cause for Alarm | 41 |
| CHAPTER VI. |
| From One Peril to Another | 51 |
| CHAPTER VII. |
| The Cave in the Mountain | 59 |
| CHAPTER VIII. |
| Into a Snake's Nest | 67 |
| CHAPTER IX. |
| A Visitor at the Ranch | 76 |
| CHAPTER X. |
| The Captain's Setback | 84 |
| CHAPTER XI. |
| Ike Watson's Arrival | 93 ​ |
| CHAPTER XII. |
| The Boys Talk It over | 101 |
| CHAPTER XIII. |
| Caught in a Cyclone | 108 |
| CHAPTER XIV. |
| Another Surprise | 117 |
| CHAPTER XV. |
| At Dottery's Ranch | 127 |
| CHAPTER XVI. |
| An Encounter in the Dark | 134 |
| CHAPTER XVII. |
| Something About a Letter | 145 |
| CHAPTER XVIII. |
| Allen Changes His Plans | 154 |
| CHAPTER XIX. |
| Along the Water Course | 162 |
| CHAPTER XX. |
| Moving Against Captain Grady | 173 |
| CHAPTER XXI. |
| Shooting a Grizzly Bear | 179 |
| CHAPTER XXII. |
| An Important Capture | 185 |
| CHAPTER XXIII. |
| News of Importance | 191 |
| CHAPTER XXIV. |
| Something About Barnaby Winthrop | 197 |
| CHAPTER XXV. |
| Fighting a Wolverine | 204 ​ |
| CHAPTER XXVI. |
| Disappearance of Slavin | 211 |
| CHAPTER XXVII. |
| Allen Shows His Bravery | 218 |
| CHAPTER XXVIII. |
| A Buffalo Stampede | 225 |
| CHAPTER XXIX. |
| The Long Lost Found | 234 |
| CHAPTER XXX. |
| Together at Last—Conclusion | 241 |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| | OPP. PAGE |
| Horse and Youth Went Plunging Headlong | Frontispiece |
| The Man Caught the End of the Gun | 40 |
| Vainly He Put Out His Hands to Stay His Progress | 55 |
| Holding the Snake, He Leaped Out of the Circle of Reptiles | 70 |
| The Three Young Ranchmen Talked It Over | 103 |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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