Alden the Pony Express rider : or, Racing for life Part 2

As the emigrant train advances toward the Laramie Range and South Pass, Alden and Jethro become involved in another dangerous hunting incident, and Alden is separated from his companions and forced to cross the rugged country alone in search of a nearby Pony Express mail station. After evading pursuers and fording an icy stream, he gains a deeper understanding of the duty and sacrifice required of the riders who protect the mail and learns at the station that Ross has already ridden west carrying the pouches. When the riderless pony arrives safely with the mail and Ross is believed to have been killed, Alden bitterly regrets his anger and desire for revenge, while Jethro finally reveals that their original quarrel began through his own carelessness and that Ross had actually tried to apologize. Clinging to the slight possibility that Ross may still be alive, Alden and Jethro pledge to search for the missing rider, and the novel closes by leading directly into their next perilous adventure.