"I never want to see that fellow again," said Dave. But this wish was not to be fulfilled, as we shall learn in the next volume of this series, to be entitled, "Dave Porter at Star Ranch; or, The Cowboy's Secret." In that volume we shall meet many of our friends again, and learn what Link Merwell did when he and Dave met once more on the boundless prairies and in the mountain canyons.
That evening the students held a grand celebration, which lasted far into the night. Bonfires were lit and the lads danced around and sang songs to their hearts' content. Shadow told half a dozen of his best stories, and two of the students distinguished themselves by giving all their schoolbooks to the flames. It was a time none of them ever forgot.
"And now for home," said Dave, the next day. "Home, and the boundless West."
And here let us leave him, and say good-by.
1. Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible.
2. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors.
3. The following two illustrations listed in the Index of Illustrations are missing from the original book used to prepare this e-book:
3.1. "The big snowball hit the craft and bowled it over," - Page 52. 3.2. "Dave pointed out the form of the sleep-walker," - Page 164.
4. The original Illustrations include the page number in the captions. These have been removed as each page is numbered in the righthand margin.