That's their way of having
fun!"
CHAPTER VII
BAD NEWS
On came the cowboys, yelling, shouting and shooting off their big
revolvers which made noises like giant firecrackers. The men, some of
whom wore big leather "pants," as Teddy said afterward, and some of
whom had on trousers that seemed to be made from the fleece of sheep,
swung their hats in the air. Some of them even stood up in their
saddles, "just like circus riders!" as Janet sent word to Aunt Jo,
who was spending the summer at Mt. Hope.
"Are they shooting real bullets, Uncle Frank?" asked Teddy, as soon
as the noise died down a little and the cowboys were waving their
hats to the Curlytops and the other visitors to Ring Rosy Ranch.
"Real bullets? Bless your heart, no!" exclaimed Mr. Barton. "Of
course the cowboys sometimes have real bullets in their 'guns,' as
they call their revolvers, but they don't shoot 'em for fun."
"What makes them shoot?" asked Janet.
"Well, sometimes it's to scare away bad men who might try to steal
my cattle or horses, and again it's to scare the cattle themselves.
You see," explained Uncle Frank, while the cowboys jumped from their
horses and went to the bunk house to wash and get ready for supper,
"a ranch is just like a big pasture that your Grandfather Martin has
at Cherry Farm. Only my ranch is ever so much bigger than his
pastures, even all of them put together.
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