“All right.  If by any good luck I happen to run across your brother, you can depend on it I’ll do my best to make him write.  But how am I to know him among the thousands of people I meet?” remarked Frank as he was about to turn away.

“Well, he has—­”

Just then some one pounced on Frank, and dragged him off, so that he never really knew how he was to recognize this wandering brother of Hank Brady in case he should meet him.

The train was almost due, and general good-bys were quickly said.  Such a chattering as ensued, which kept up until the four chums climbed into the car that was to take them to the nearest city, where they would board the through train for the Northwest.

After the last glimpse of their loved ones had been lost by a sudden bend in the road, they settled down to making themselves comfortable.  It was expected that they would make connection in St. Paul with the western through train bound for Seattle.  Then would begin the grandest ride on the whole American continent, over boundless plains, and finally up into the majestic mountains.

Day and night they would be carried swiftly onward across the many miles of entrancing scenery.  Wonderful sights would fall to their portion.

St. Paul was reached in due season, and once more they started forth, this time headed west, with the hunting-land beckoning them on.

“Tell me about this, will you!” remarked Jerry, after they had crossed the broad prairies and were climbing the tremendous heights that lie like a barrier between the center of the continent and the Pacific Slope.  “How much more of it do we have before us, Frank?  I’m getting so filled with wonder and awe that my tongue is getting into a rut with saying ‘Ah!’ so much.”

“Less than a day will see us through now.  Once we get over this range there lies a long valley, and in that is where Martin Mabie has his ranch.”

“Then we’ll do our hunting along the sides of the mountains?” suggested Will, who had used up nearly half his supply of films already, taking views of the wonderful things they saw on the trip.

“That’s my impression, from what he wrote,” replied Frank.

“And he also said game was fairly plentiful, if I remember aright,” remarked Jerry.

“Well, he did say that they had been so busy of late on the ranch that no one had had time for hunting, and consequently the game had not been bothered very much; which, I suppose, amounts to the same thing.”

“H’m!  I hope he won’t be so rushed with work that he can’t take the time to go with us.  Half of the fun would be lost if Mr. Mabie couldn’t be along; for Jesse says he is the most entertaining man alive,” grunted Bluff.

“Oh, you forget that he said by the time we got there the work would slacken up, and he promised himself a vacation, just to renew his old pleasure of camping out in the wilderness, away from all mankind,” laughed Frank.