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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Cowmen and Rustlers, by Edward S. Ellis
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Cowmen and Rustlers
+
+Author: Edward S. Ellis
+
+Release Date: February 27, 2004  [eBook #11337]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COWMEN AND RUSTLERS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Dave Morgan, Josephine Paolucci, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+COWMEN AND RUSTLERS
+
+A Story of the Wyoming Cattle Ranges
+
+BY
+
+EDWARD S. ELLIS
+
+AUTHOR OF "LOG CABIN SERIES," "BOONE AND KENTON SERIES," ETC.
+
+WITH FOUR FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS BY W.M. CARY
+
+MCMIV
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+CHAPTER
+
+     I. A MERRY GROUP
+
+    II. A WARNING FROM THE WOODS
+
+   III. THE FLIGHT OVER THE ICE
+
+    IV. THE REPORT OF GUNS
+
+     V. LOOKING SOUTHWARD
+
+    VI. COWMEN AND RUSTLERS
+
+   VII. THE WARNING
+
+  VIII. GOOD-BY
+
+    IX. A SUMMONS AND A REPLY
+
+     X. A HOT PURSUIT
+
+    XI. A STRANGE DIVERSION
+
+   XII. THE BACK TRAIL
+
+  XIII. A CONSULTATION
+
+   XIV. UNWELCOME CALLERS
+
+    XV. THE "DOG INDIANS"
+
+   XVI. AN UNPLEASANT VISIT
+
+  XVII. A DELICATE SITUATION
+
+ XVIII. A MISCALCULATION
+
+   XIX. THE BURNED RANCH
+
+    XX. THE TRUCE
+
+   XXI. A MESSENGER IN HASTE
+
+  XXII. IMPORTANT TIDINGS
+
+ XXIII. AT BAY
+
+  XXIV. THE PRIMITIVE FORT
+
+   XXV. THE FLAG or TRUCE
+
+  XXVI. THE UNDERGROUND MISSIVE
+
+ XXVII. ON PAROLE
+
+XXVIII. THE FINAL SUMMONS
+
+  XXIX. A STRANGE OCCURRENCE
+
+   XXX. THE MISSING ONE
+
+  XXXI. WHY IT WAS DONE
+
+ XXXII. THE HOSTAGE
+
+XXXIII. THE PRISONER
+
+ XXXIV. OUT IN THE NIGHT
+
+  XXXV. CONCLUSION
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+"FIRED TWO MORE BARRELS"
+
+"COMING STRAIGHT TOWARD HIM"
+
+"A MASS OF BLAZING EMBERS"
+
+"CHALLENGED ON THE EDGE OF THE CAMP"
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+A MERRY GROUP.
+
+
+The Whitney household, in the western part of Maine, was filled with
+sunshine, merriment and delight, on a certain winter evening a few
+years ago.
+
+There was the quiet, thoughtful mother, now past her prime, but with
+many traces of the beauty and refinement that made her the belle
+of the little country town until Hugh Whitney, the strong-bearded
+soldier, who had entered the war as private and emerged therefrom
+with several wounds and with the eagles of a colonel on his shoulder,
+carried her away from all admirers and made her his bride.
+
+Hugh had been absent a couple of weeks in Montana and Wyoming, whither
+he was drawn by a yearning of many years' standing to engage in the
+cattle business. He had received some tuition as a cowboy on the
+Llano Estacada, and the taste there acquired of the free, wild life,
+supplemented, doubtless, by his experience during the war, was held in
+restraint for a time only by his marriage.
+
+The absence of the father was the only element lacking to make the
+household one of the happiest in that section of Maine; but the letter
+just received from him was so cheerful and affectionate that it added
+to the enjoyment of the family.
+
+The two principal factors in this jollity were the twins and only
+children, Fred and Jennie, seventeen on their last birthday, each
+the picture of health, bounding spirits, love and devotion to
+their parents and to one another. They had been the life of the
+sleighing-parties and social gatherings, where the beauty of the
+budding Jennie attracted as much admiration as did that of her mother
+a score of years before, but the girl was too young to care for any
+of the ardent swains who were ready to wrangle for the privilege of a
+smile or encouraging word. Like a good and true daughter she had no
+secrets from her mother, and when that excellent parent said, with a
+meaning smile, "Wait a few years, Jennie," the girl willingly promised
+to do as she wished in that as in every other respect.
+
+Fred was home for the Christmas holidays, and brought with him
+Monteith Sterry, one year his senior. Sterry lived in Boston, where he
+and Fred Whitney were classmates and warm friends. Young Whitney had
+spent several Sundays with Sterry, and the latter finally accepted the
+invitation to visit him at his home down in Maine.
+
+These two young men, materially aided by Jennie, speedily turned the
+house topsy-turvy. There was no resisting their overrunning spirits,
+though now and then the mother ventured on a mild protest, but the
+smile which always accompanied the gentle reproof betrayed the truth,
+that she was as happy as they in their merriment, with which she would
+not have interfered for the world.
+
+That night the full, round moon shone from an unclouded sky, and the
+air was crisp and clear. There was not much snow on the ground, and
+the ice on the little river at the rear of the house was as smooth as
+a polished window-pane. For nearly two score miles this current,
+which eventually found its way into the Penobscot, wound through the
+leafless woods, past an occasional opening, where, perhaps, the humble
+cabin of some backwoodsman stood.
+
+It was an ideal skating rink, and the particular overflow of spirits
+on that evening was due to the agreement that it was to be devoted to
+the exhilarating amusement.
+
+"We will leave the house at 8 o'clock," said Fred at the supper table,
+"and skate to the mouth of Wild Man's Creek and back."
+
+"How far is that?" inquired Monteith Sterry.
+
+"About ten miles."
+
+Pretty Jennie's face took on a contemptuous expression.
+
+"Not a bit more; we shall be only fairly started when we must turn
+back."
+
+"Well, where do you want to go, sister?"
+
+"We shouldn't think of stopping until we reach Wolf Glen."
+
+"And may I inquire the distance to that spot?" asked Sterry again.
+
+"Barely five miles beyond Wild Man's Creek," said she.
+
+Those were not the young men to take a "dare" from a girl like her.
+It will be admitted that thirty miles is a pretty good spurt for a
+skater, but the conditions could not have been more favourable.
+
+"It's agreed, then," remarked Sterry, "that we will go to Wolf Glen,
+and then, and then--"
+
+"And then what?" demanded Jennie, turning toward him.
+
+"Why not keep on to Boston and call on my folks?"
+
+"If you will furnish the ice we will do so."
+
+"I couldn't guarantee ice all the way, but we can travel by other
+means between the points, using our skates as the chance offers."
+
+"Or do as that explorer who is to set out in search of the north
+pole--have a combination skate and boat, so when fairly going we can
+keep straight on."
+
+"I will consent to that arrangement on one condition," interposed the
+mother, so seriously that all eyes were turned wonderingly upon her.
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"That you return before the morrow."
+
+The countenances became grave, and turning to Sterry, on her right,
+Jennie asked, in a low voice:
+
+"Is it safe to promise that?"
+
+"Hardly. Let us leave the scheme until we have time in which fully to
+consider it."
+
+"You will start, as I understand, at eight," remarked the mother,
+speaking now in earnest. "You can readily reach Wolf Glen within a
+couple of hours. There you will rest a while and return as you choose.
+So I will expect you at midnight."
+
+"Unless something happens to prevent."
+
+The words of Monteith Sterry were uttered jestingly, but they caused a
+pang to the affectionate parent as she asked:
+
+"What could happen, Monteith?"
+
+Fred took it upon himself to reply promptly:
+
+"Nothing at all."
+
+"Is the ice firm and strong?"
+
+"It will bear a locomotive; I never saw it finer; the winter has not
+been so severe as some we have known, but it has got there all the
+same; Maine can furnish the Union with all the ice she will want next
+summer."
+
+"There may be air-holes."
+
+"None that we cannot see; they are few and do not amount to anything."
+
+Here Sterry spoke with mock gravity.
+
+"The name, Wolf Glen, is ominous."
+
+"We have wolves and bears and other big game in this part of the
+State, but not nearly as many as formerly. It hardly pays to hunt
+them."
+
+"I hope we shall meet a few bears or wolves," said Jennie, with her
+light laugh.
+
+"And why?" demanded the shocked mother.
+
+"I would like a race with them; wouldn't it be fun!"
+
+"Yes," replied Sterry, "provided we could outskate them."
+
+"I never knew that wild animals skate."
+
+"They can travel fast when they take it into their heads to turn
+hunter. I suppose many of the bears are hibernating, but the
+wolves--if there are any waiting for us--will be wide awake and may
+give us the roughest kind of sport."
+
+Fred Whitney knew his mother better than did his friend and understood
+the expression on her face. So did Jennie, and the couple had such
+sport of their Boston visitor that the cloud quickly vanished and
+Monteith felt a trifle humiliated at his exhibition of what might
+be considered timidity. Nevertheless he quietly slipped his loaded
+revolver in the outer pocket of his heavy coat just before starting
+and when no one was watching him.
+
+Precisely at eight o'clock the three friends, warmly and conveniently
+clad, with their keen-edged skates securely fastened, glided
+gracefully up-stream, the mother standing on the porch of her home and
+watching the figures as they vanished in the moonlight.
+
+She was smiling, but in her heart was a misgiving such as she had not
+felt before, when her children were starting off for an evening's
+enjoyment. The minute they were beyond sight she sighed, and,
+turning about, resumed her seat by the table in the centre of the
+sitting-room, where, as the lamplight fell upon her pale face, she
+strove to drive away the disquieting thoughts that would not leave
+her.
+
+It was a pleasing sight as the three young people, the picture of
+life, health and joyous spirits, side by side, laughing, jesting, and
+with never a thought of danger, moved out to the middle of the river
+and then sped toward its source, with the easy, beautiful movement
+which in the accomplished skater is the ideal of grace. The motion
+seemingly was attended with no effort, and could be maintained for
+hours with little fatigue.
+
+The small river, to which allusion has been made, was one hundred
+yards in width at the point where they passed out upon its surface.
+This width naturally decreased as they ascended, but the decrease was
+so gradual that at Wolf Glen, fifteen miles away, the breadth
+was fully three-fourths of the width opposite the Whitney home.
+Occasionally, too, the channel widened to double or triple its usual
+extent, but those places were few in number, and did not continue
+long. They marked a shallowing of the current and suggested in
+appearance a lake.
+
+There were other spots where this tributary itself received others.
+Sometimes the open space would show on the right, and further on
+another on the left indicated where a creek debouched into the stream,
+in its search for the ocean, the great depository of most of the
+rivers of the globe.
+
+The trees, denuded of vegetation, projected their bare limbs into the
+crystalline air, and here and there, where they leaned over the banks,
+were thrown in relief against the moonlit sky beyond. The moon itself
+was nearly in the zenith, and the reflected gleam from the glassy
+surface made the light almost like that of day. Along the shore,
+however, the shadows were so gloomy and threatening that Monteith
+Sterry more than once gave a slight shudder and reached his mittened
+hand down to his side to make sure his weapon was in place.
+
+The course was sinuous from the beginning, winding in and out so
+continuously that the length of the stream must have been double that
+of the straight line extending over the same course. Some of these
+turnings were abrupt, and there were long, sweeping curves with a view
+extending several hundred yards.
+
+They were spinning around one of these, when Sterry uttered an
+exclamation:
+
+"I'm disappointed!"
+
+"Why?" inquired Jennie, at his elbow.
+
+"I had just wrought myself up to the fancy that we were pioneers, the
+first people of our race to enter this primeval wilderness, when lo!"
+
+He extended his arm up-stream and to the right, where a star-like
+twinkle showed that a dwelling stood, or some parties had kindled a
+camp-fire.
+
+"Quance, an old fisherman and hunter, lives, there," explained Fred,
+"as I believe he has done for fifty years."
+
+"Would you like to make a call on him?" asked Jennie.
+
+"I have no desire to do so; I enjoy this sport better than to sit by
+the fire and listen to the most entertaining hunter. Isn't that he?"
+
+The cabin was several rods from the shore, the space in front being
+clear of trees and affording an unobstructed view of the little log
+structure, with its single door and window in front, and the stone
+chimney from which the smoke was ascending. Half-way between the cabin
+and the stream, and in the path connecting the two, stood a man with
+folded arms looking at them. He was so motionless that he suggested a
+stump, but the bright moonlight left no doubt of his identity.
+
+"Holloa, Quance!" shouted Fred, slightly slackening his speed and
+curving in toward shore.
+
+The old man made no reply. Then Jennie's musical voice rang out on the
+frosty air, but still the hunter gave no sign that he knew he had been
+addressed. He did not move an arm nor stir.
+
+"I wonder whether he hasn't frozen stiff in that position," remarked
+Sterry. "He may have been caught in the first snap several weeks ago
+and has been acting ever since as his own monument."
+
+At the moment of shooting out of sight around the curve the three
+glanced back. The old fellow was there, just as they saw him at first.
+They even fancied he had not so much as turned his head while they
+were passing, but was still gazing at the bank opposite him, or, what
+was more likely, peering sideways without shifting his head to any
+extent.
+
+The occurrence, however, was too slight to cause a second thought.
+
+They were now fairly under way, as may be said, being more than a mile
+from their starting-point. They were proceeding swiftly but easily,
+ready to decrease or increase their speed at a moment's notice.
+Sometimes they were nigh enough to touch each other's hands, and again
+they separated, one going far to the right, the other to the left,
+while the third kept near the middle of the stream. Then two would
+swerve toward shore, or perhaps it was all three, and again it was
+Jennie who kept the farthest from land, or perhaps a fancy led her to
+skim so close that some of the overhanging limbs brushed her face.
+
+"Look out; there's an air-hole!" called the brother, at the moment the
+three reunited after one of these excursions.
+
+"What of it!" was her demand, and instead of shooting to the right or
+left, she kept straight on toward the open space.
+
+"Don't try to jump it!" cautioned Sterry, suspecting her purpose;
+"it's too wide."
+
+"No doubt it is for you."
+
+The daring words were on her lips, when she rose slightly in the air
+and skimmed as gracefully as a bird across the space of clear water.
+She came down seemingly without jar, with the bright blades of steel
+ringing over the crystal surface, and without having fallen a foot to
+the rear of her companions.
+
+"That was foolish," said her brother, reprovingly; "suppose the ice
+had given away when you struck it again?"
+
+"What's the use of supposing what could not take place?"
+
+"The air-hole might have been wider than you suppose."
+
+"How could that be when it was in plain sight? If it had been wider,
+why I would have jumped further, or turned aside like my two gallant
+escorts. Stick to me and I'll take care of you."
+
+There was no dashing the spirits of the girl, and Sterry broke into
+laughter, wondering how it would be with her if actual danger did
+present itself.
+
+Occasionally the happy ones indulged in snatches of song and fancy
+skating, gliding around each other in bewildering and graceful curves.
+The three were experts, as are nearly all people in that section of
+the Union. Any one watching their exhibitions of skill and knowing the
+anxiety of the mother at home would have wondered why she should feel
+any misgiving concerning them.
+
+True, there were wild animals in the forests, and at this season
+of the year, when pressed by hunger, they would attack persons if
+opportunity presented; but could the fleetest outspeed any one of
+those three, if he or she chose to put forth the utmost strength and
+skill possessed?
+
+"Look!"
+
+It was Jennie who uttered the exclamation, and there was good cause
+for it. She was slightly in advance, and was rounding another of the
+turns of the stream, when she caught sight of a huge black bear, who,
+instead of staying in some hollow tree or cave, sucking his paw the
+winter through, was lumbering over the ice in the same direction with
+themselves.
+
+He was near the middle of the frozen current, so that it was prudent
+for them to turn to the right or left, and was proceeding at an easy
+pace, as if he was out for a midnight stroll, while he thought over
+matters. Though one of the stupidest of animals, he was quick to hear
+the noise behind him and looked back to learn what it meant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+A WARNING FROM THE WOODS.
+
+
+Monteith Sterry began drawing the mitten from his right hand with the
+intention of using his revolver on the bear, when he checked himself
+with the thought:
+
+"Better to wait until I need it; the most of this excursion is still
+before us."
+
+The lumbering brute came to a stop, with his huge head turned, and
+surveyed the approaching skaters. Had they attempted to flee, or had
+they come to a halt, probably he would have started after them. As it
+was he swung half-way round, so that his side was exposed. He offered
+a fine target for Sterry's weapon, but the young man still refrained
+from using it.
+
+"It isn't well to go too near him," remarked Fred Whitney, seizing the
+arm of his sister and drawing her toward the shore on the left.
+
+"I don't mean to," replied the bright-witted girl, "but if we turn
+away from him too soon he will be able to head us off; he mustn't
+suspect what we intend to do."
+
+"There's sense in that," remarked Sterry, "but don't wait too long."
+
+The three were skating close together, with their eyes on the big
+creature, who was watching them sharply.
+
+"Now!" called Fred, in a low, quick voice.
+
+He had not loosened his grip of his sister's arm, so that when he made
+the turn she was forced to follow him. The moment was well chosen, and
+the three swung to one side as if all were controlled by the single
+impulse.
+
+Bruin must have been astonished; for, while waiting for his supper
+to drop into his arms, he saw it leaving him. With an angry growl he
+began moving toward the laughing party.
+
+The tinge of anxiety which Fred Whitney felt lasted but a moment. He
+saw that they could skate faster than the bear could travel; and, had
+it been otherwise, no cause for fear would have existed, for, with the
+power to turn like a flash, it would have been the easiest thing in
+the world to elude the efforts of the animal to seize them.
+
+They expected pursuit, and it looked for a minute as if they were
+not to be disappointed. The animal headed in their direction with
+no inconsiderable speed, but, with more intelligence than his kind
+generally display, he abruptly stopped, turned aside, and disappeared
+in the wood before it could be said the race had really begun.
+
+Jennie was the most disappointed of the three, for she had counted
+upon an adventure worth the telling, and here it was nipped in the
+bud. She expressed her regret.
+
+"There's no helping it," said Monteith, "for I can think of no
+inducement that will bring him back; but we have a good many miles
+before us, and it isn't likely that he's the only bear in this part of
+Maine."
+
+"There's some consolation in that," she replied, leading the way back
+toward the middle of the course; "if we see another, don't be so
+abrupt with him."
+
+The stream now broadened to nearly three times its ordinary extent,
+so that it looked as if they were gliding over the bosom of some lake
+lagoon instead of a small river. At the widest portion, and from the
+furthest point on the right, twinkled a second light, so far back
+among the trees that the structure from whence it came was out of
+sight. They gave it little attention and kept on.
+
+Sterry took out his watch. The moonlight was so strong that he saw the
+figures plainly. It lacked a few minutes of nine.
+
+"And yonder is the mouth of Wild Man's Creek," said Fred; "we have
+made pretty good speed."
+
+"Nothing to boast of," replied Jennie; "if it were not for fear of
+distressing mother, I would insist that we go ten or fifteen miles
+further before turning back."
+
+Since plenty of time was at command, they continued their easy pace,
+passing over several long and comparatively straight stretches of
+frozen water, around sharp bends, beyond another expansion of the
+stream, in front of a couple of natural openings, and finally, while
+it lacked considerable of ten o'clock, they rounded to in front of
+a mass of gray towering rocks on the right bank of the stream, and,
+skating close into shore, sat down on a bowlder which obtruded several
+feet above the ice.
+
+They were at the extremity of their excursion. These collective rocks
+bore the name of Wolf Glen, the legend being that at some time in the
+past a horde of wolves made their headquarters there, and, when the
+winters were unusually severe, held the surrounding country in
+what might be called a reign of terror. They had not yet wholly
+disappeared, but little fear of them was felt.
+
+The friends could not be called tired, though, after skating fifteen
+miles, the rest on the stone was grateful.
+
+They sat for half an hour chatting, laughing, and as merry as when
+they started from home. The sky was still unclouded, but the moon had
+passed beyond the zenith. A wall of shadow was thrown out from one of
+the banks, except for occasional short distances, where the course of
+the stream was directly toward or from the orb.
+
+When Sterry again glanced at his watch it was a few minutes past ten.
+They had rested longer than any one suspected.
+
+"Mother won't look for us before midnight," remarked Fred, "and we can
+easily make it in that time."
+
+"She was so anxious," said the sister, who, despite her
+light-heartedness, was more thoughtful than her brother, "that I would
+like to please her by getting back sooner than she expects."
+
+"We have only to keep up this pace to do it," said Monteith, "for we
+have been resting fully a half hour--"
+
+He paused abruptly. From some point in the wintry wilderness came a
+dismal, resounding wail, apparently a mile distant.
+
+"What is that?" asked Monteith, less accustomed to the Maine woods
+than his companions.
+
+"It is the cry of a wolf," replied Fred; "I have heard it many times
+when hunting alone or with father."
+
+"It isn't the most cheerful voice of the night," commented the young
+Bostonian, who, as yet never dreamed of connecting it with any peril
+to themselves. And then he sang:
+
+  Yes, the war whoop of the Indian may produce a pleasant thrill
+  When mellowed by the distance that one feels increasing still;
+  And the shrilling of the whistle from the engine's brazen snout
+  May have minor tones of music, though I never found it out.
+
+The verse was hardly finished when the howl was repeated.
+
+"It is hard to tell from what point it comes," observed Fred, "but I
+think it is on the right shore as we go back."
+
+"Do you imagine it is far from the river?" inquired Monteith.
+
+"I think not, but I may be mistaken."
+
+"I am quite sure Fred is right," said his sister; "and, more than
+that, that particular wolf isn't a great way off. I wonder whether he
+has scented our trail?"
+
+Before any comment could be made upon this remark, a second, third,
+fourth, and fully a half-dozen additional howls rang through the
+forest arches. They came from the left shore, and apparently were
+about as far off as the cry first heard.
+
+"They are answers," said Fred, in a low voice, in which his companions
+detected a slight tremor.
+
+It was at this moment that the first fear thrilled all three. The
+cries might mean nothing, but more likely they meant a good deal. The
+wolf is one of the fiercest of American wild animals when suffering
+from hunger, though a coward at other times, and a horde of them are
+capable of attacking the most formidable denizens of the woods.
+
+The fact that they were between the skaters and home, and at no great
+distance from the course they must follow to reach there, was cause
+for fear. It was almost certain that in some way the keen-scented
+creatures had learned there was game afoot that night for them, and
+they were signalling to each other to gather for the feast.
+
+Fred and Monteith were not specially frightened on their own account,
+for, if the worst should come, they could take to the trees and wait
+for help. They might make a sturdy fight, and perhaps, with anything
+like a show, could get away from them without taking to such a refuge.
+
+But it was the presence of Jennie that caused the most misgiving.
+True, she was as swift and skilful a skater as either, but that of
+itself was not likely to save her.
+
+But she was the coolest of all, now that the danger assumed a reality.
+
+The lightness and gayety that had marked the three from the moment
+of leaving home had gone. They were thoughtful, the very opposite in
+their mood to that of a few minutes before.
+
+"I wish I had brought my pistol," said Fred.
+
+"I have mine," observed Monteith; "a good Smith & Wesson, and each of
+the five chambers is loaded."
+
+"Thank fortune for that; have you any extra cartridges?"
+
+"Not one."
+
+"Your pistol may be the means of saving us."
+
+"Why do you speak that way?" asked Jennie; "I never knew you were
+scared so easily."
+
+"I am sorry you are with us, sister; my alarm is on your account."
+
+"I do not see why I am not as safe as either of you; neither can skate
+faster than I."
+
+"If we are to escape by that means, your chances are as good as ours;
+but those creatures have a fearful advantage over us, because we must
+run the gauntlet."
+
+"We are not so certain of that; if we hasten, we may pass the
+danger-point before they discover us."
+
+For the first time since leaving home the three did their best.
+Separated from each other by just enough space to give play to
+the limbs, they sped down the icy river with the fleetness of the
+hurricane, their movements almost the perfect counterpart of each
+other.
+
+First on the right foot, they shot well toward the shore on that side,
+then bending gracefully to the left, the weight was thrown on that
+limb, the impetus being imparted to the body without any apparent
+effort, after the manner of a master of the skater's art. These,
+sweeping forward, were many rods in length, the polished steel
+frequently giving out a metallic ring as it struck the flinty ice. Now
+and then, too, a resounding creak sped past, and might have alarmed
+them had they not understood its nature. It indicated no weakness of
+the frozen surface, but was caused by the settling of the crystal
+floor as the water flowed beneath.
+
+For a few minutes these were the only noises that broke the impressive
+stillness. The three had begun to hope that the ominous sounds would
+be heard no more, and that the wolves were too far from the river to
+discover them until beyond reach.
+
+If they could once place themselves below the animals they need not
+fear, for they could readily distance them. Should the speed of the
+pursuers become dangerous, a sharp turn or change in the course would
+throw them off and give the fugitives an advantage that would last for
+a long time. But they dreaded the appearance of a whole pack of the
+brutes in front, thus shutting off their line of flight homeward.
+True, in that case they could turn about and flee up stream, but the
+risk of encountering others attracted by the cries would be great, and
+perhaps leave their only recourse to a flight into the woods.
+
+The thoughts of each turned to the nearest hunter's cabin, although it
+was several miles distant, and probably beyond reach.
+
+It was strange that, having emitted so many signals, the wolves should
+become suddenly quiescent.
+
+No one spoke, but as they glided swiftly forward they peered along the
+gleaming surface in search of that which they dreaded to see.
+
+They approached one of those long, sweeping bends to which allusion
+has been made. Jennie had already proven that neither of her
+companions could outspeed her. They were doing their utmost, but she
+easily held her own with less effort than they showed.
+
+In truth, she was slightly in advance as they began following the
+curve of the river, her head, like each of the others, bent forward,
+to see whither they were going.
+
+"They are there!"
+
+It was she who uttered the exclamation which sent a thrill through
+both. They asked for no explanation, for none was needed, and an
+instant later they were at her side, she slightly slackening her pace.
+
+The sight, while alarming, was not all that Fred and Monteith
+anticipated.
+
+Three or four gaunt animals were trotting along the ice near the left
+shore, but no others were visible.
+
+"Keep in the middle while I take a turn that way," said Monteith,
+sheering in the direction named.
+
+Brother and sister did not read the meaning of this course, nor could
+they detect its wisdom. But they obeyed without question.
+
+Young Sterry hoped by making what might look like an attack upon the
+famishing beasts to scare them off for a few minutes, during which the
+three, and especially Jennie, could reach a point below them. With the
+brutes thus thrown in the rear, it might be said the danger would be
+over.
+
+Now, as every one knows, the wolf is a sneak, and generally will run
+from a child if it presents a bold front; but the animal becomes very
+dangerous when pressed by hunger.
+
+Monteith Sterry's reception was altogether different from what he
+anticipated. When the half-dozen wolves saw him speeding toward them
+they stopped their trotting, and, like the bear, looked around, as not
+understanding what it meant.
+
+"Confound them! Why don't they take to the woods?" he muttered. He had
+removed the mitten from his right hand, which grasped his revolver.
+"This isn't according to Hoyle."
+
+He shied a little to the right, with a view of preventing a collision
+with the creatures, and the moment he was close enough, let fly with
+one chamber at the nearest.
+
+Accidentally he nipped the wolf, which emitted a yelping bark, leaped
+several feet in the air, then limped into the woods, as he had learned
+enough of the interesting stranger.
+
+That was just what the youth had hoped to do, and the success of his
+scheme would have been perfect had the others imitated their wounded
+companion, but they did not.
+
+Without paying any attention to Sterry they broke into a gallop toward
+the middle of the river, their course such as to place them either in
+advance of Fred and Jennie Whitney or to bring all together.
+
+Greatly alarmed for his friends, Monteith did an unnecessary thing
+by shouting (for the couple could not fail to see their danger), and
+fired two more barrels of his pistol. Neither shot took effect, nor
+did the wolves give them any heed, but they and the skaters converged
+with perilous swiftness.
+
+Forgetful of his own danger, Monteith shouted again:
+
+"Look out! Why don't you change your course?"
+
+Neither replied, but it was absurd for the panic-stricken youth to
+suppose they did not understand the situation and were shaping their
+movements accordingly.
+
+Having observed the wolves as soon as Sterry, they never lost sight
+of them for a second. Every action was watched, and the curious
+proceeding noted the instant made.
+
+Fred and Jennie continued gliding straight forward, as if they saw
+them not, and a collision appeared inevitable. At the moment when
+Monteith's heart stood still, the couple turned almost at right angles
+to the left--that is, in exactly the opposite direction from the
+course of the wolves--and in a second they were fifty feet nearer that
+shore than the brutes. Then followed another quick turn, and they were
+gliding with arrowy speed straight down stream. They had simply passed
+around the animals, who, detecting the trick, made their limbs rigid
+and slid over the ice, with their claws scratching it, until able to
+check their speed to allow them to turn and resume the pursuit.
+
+Sterry was on the point of uttering a shout of exultation and
+admiration at the clever manoeuvre, when Jennie cried out; and well
+might she do so, for fifty yards beyond, and directly in their path,
+the ice seemed suddenly to have become alive with the frightful
+creatures, who streamed from the woods on both sides, ravenous, fierce
+and unrestrainable in their eagerness to share in the expected feast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE FLIGHT OVER THE ICE.
+
+
+The same minute that Monteith Sterry saw the new peril which
+threatened them all he darted out beside the brother and sister, who
+had slackened their pace at sight of the wolves in front.
+
+"What shall we do?" asked Fred; "we cannot push on; let's go up
+stream."
+
+"You cannot do that," replied Jennie, "for they are gathering behind
+us."
+
+A glance in that direction showed that she spoke the truth. It looked
+as if a few minutes would bring as many there as in advance.
+
+"We shall have to take to the woods," said Fred, "and there's little
+hope there."
+
+"It won't do," added the sister, who seemed to be thinking faster than
+either of her companions. "The instant we start for the shore they
+will be at our heels. Make as if we were going to run in close to the
+right bank, so as to draw them after us; then turn and dash through
+them."
+
+The manoeuvre was a repetition of the one she and her brother had
+executed a few minutes before, and was their only hope.
+
+"I will take the lead with my pistol," said Monteith, "while you keep
+as close to me as you can."
+
+Every second was beyond value. The wolves were not the creatures to
+remain idle while a conference was under way. At sight of the three
+figures near the middle of the course they rent the air with howls,
+and came trotting toward them with that light, springy movement shown
+by a gaunt hound, to whom the gait is as easy as a walk.
+
+Monteith Sterry shot forward on his right foot, his revolver, with its
+two precious charges, tightly gripped in his naked hand.
+
+This was to be called into play only in the last extremity. The
+killing of a couple of wolves from such a horde could produce no
+effect upon the rest, unless perhaps to furnish some of them a lunch,
+for one of the curious traits of the _lupus_ species is that they are
+cannibals, so to speak.
+
+His hope was that the flash and report of the weapon would frighten
+the animals into opening a path for a moment, through which the
+skaters could dart into the clear space below.
+
+Having started, Monteith did not glance behind him. Fred and his
+sister must look out for themselves. He had his hands more than full.
+
+With a swift, sweeping curve he shot toward the bank, the brutes
+immediately converging to head him off. The slight, familiar scraping
+on the ice told him that Fred and Jennie were at his heels. He kept on
+with slackening speed until close to the shore, and it would not do to
+go any further. An overhanging limb brushed his face.
+
+But his eye was on the wolves further out in the stream. The place was
+one of the few ones where the course was such that no shadow was along
+either bank. The moment most of the creatures were drawn well over
+toward the right shore, Sterry did as his friends did awhile before,
+skimming abruptly to the left and almost back over his own trail, and
+then darting around the pack. The line was that of a semicircle, whose
+extreme rim on the left was several rods beyond the last of the wolves
+swarming to the right.
+
+"Now!" called Sterry at the moment of turning with all the speed at
+his command.
+
+Critical as was the moment, he flung one glance behind him. Fred and
+Jennie were almost nigh enough to touch him with outstretched hand. No
+need of shouting any commands to them, for they understood what he was
+doing, or rather trying to do.
+
+Young Sterry, as I have said, had cleared the horde of wolves, making
+the turn so quickly that they slid a rod or more over the ice before
+able to check themselves and change their own course.
+
+The stratagem seemed as successful as the other, but it was too soon
+to congratulate themselves. At the moment when everything promised
+well, the most enormous wolf he had ever seen bounded from under the
+trees on the left bank and galloped directly for him.
+
+He was so far in advance that the only way of dodging him was by
+another sharp turn in his course. To do this, however, would bring him
+so near the other brutes that they were almost certain to leap upon
+every one of the party.
+
+"Use your revolver!" called Fred from the rear.
+
+Monteith had already decided that this was an exigency demanding one
+of the remaining charges, and he partly raised the weapon in front of
+him.
+
+Meanwhile, the huge wolf had stopped on seeing that the procession was
+coming in a straight line for him. The youth moderated his speed still
+more, that he might perfect his aim.
+
+He was in the act of levelling his pistol, when the animal advanced
+quickly a couple of steps and made a tremendous leap at his throat.
+The act was unexpected, but at the instant of his leaving the ice
+Monteith let fly with one chamber at him.
+
+The success was better than he had a right to expect, for the leaden
+pellet bored its way through the skull of the wolf, who, with a
+rasping yelp, made a sidelong plunge, as if diving off a bank into the
+water, and, striking on the side of his head, rolled over on his back,
+with his legs vaguely kicking at the moon, and as powerless to do harm
+as a log of wood.
+
+Brief as was the halt, it had given the leading brutes of the main
+body time to come up. They were fearfully near, when the scent of
+blood and the sight of their fallen comrade suggested to the foremost
+that a meal was at their disposal. They flew at the huge fellow and
+rended him to shreds and fragments in a twinkling.
+
+The only way of escape was still in front, and, with the utmost
+energy, power, and skill at his command, Monteith Sterry darted ahead.
+His crouching body, the head well in advance, somewhat after the
+manner of a racing bicyclist on the home-stretch, his compressed lips,
+his flashing eyes, with every muscle tense, were proof that he knew it
+had now become a struggle of life and death.
+
+If he allowed one of those wolves to approach nigh enough to leap upon
+him, he would be borne to the earth like a flash and share the fate
+of the victim of his pistol. They were near, for he could hear that
+multitudinous pattering on the ice, when the din of their cries
+permitted it, and they were running fast.
+
+But, he reasoned, if they were so close to him they must be still
+closer to the brother and sister, whose peril, therefore, was
+correspondingly greater. He looked around. He was farther from the
+horde than he supposed, but Fred and Jennie were not directly behind
+him, as he had thought.
+
+At the moment an awful thrill shot through him; he caught a glimpse
+of Fred close in shore and going like the wind. The couple were still
+preserved from the fangs of the wolves, but only heaven knew how long
+it would last.
+
+A short distance ahead an opening showed where a creek put in from the
+woods and hills. Monteith gave it only a glance when he skimmed past
+at the same furious pace as before. It looked as if there was hope at
+last, for the brutes first seen were all at the rear. If new danger
+came, it would be from others that ran out on the ice in front.
+
+"It seems to me that all the wolves in Maine are on this little
+river," was his thought, "but there may be a few left that will try to
+get into our path."
+
+A wild cry came from his friends and he glanced toward them. Not only
+that, but believing his help was needed, he sheered over to them as
+quickly as he could.
+
+The course of the river had changed, so that a ribbon of shadow
+extended along that bank, partially obscuring the form of Fred
+Whitney, who seemed to cling to it as if therein lay his safety.
+
+The brutes were now so far to the rear that there was little to be
+feared from them, though they still kept up the pursuit, and while
+able to follow in a straight line were doing so with more speed than
+would be expected.
+
+It struck Sterry that his friend was not skating with his utmost
+skill. He was alarmed.
+
+"What's the matter, Fred?" he called, drawing quickly near him.
+
+"O, Jennie! Jennie! What will become of her?"
+
+Fred Whitney, it was now apparent, was alone.
+
+Forgetful of the savage brutes, Monteith Sterry slackened his pace,
+and in a scared voice demanded:
+
+"What has become of her? Where is she?"
+
+"She darted into the mouth of that creek."
+
+"Why didn't you follow?"
+
+"I could not; it was done in a flash; she called to me to keep on and
+said something else which I could not catch."
+
+"But," continued the wondering Monteith, "how could she do it when she
+was at your side?"
+
+"She fell a little to the rear and made a lightning turn. I attempted
+to follow, but it seemed half the pack were in my path, and it was
+certain death. I was frantic for the moment, and even now do not
+understand what it all meant."
+
+"What a woeful mistake!" wailed Monteith; "the chances are a thousand
+to one that she is lost."
+
+"I think," said the brother, half beside himself, "that it may have
+been a good thing, but--"
+
+A peculiar cry behind them caused Monteith to turn his head. The
+wolves had gained so fast during the last few minutes that one of them
+was in the act of springing on Fred Whitney.
+
+"Stoop, quick!" shouted his companion.
+
+Fred bent low in the nick of time, and the gaunt, lank body shot over
+his head, landing on the ice in front. Before he could gather himself
+a bullet from the revolver was driven into his vitals and he rolled
+over and over, snapping and yelping in his death-throes.
+
+The skaters swerved aside enough to avoid him, and the next instant
+were skimming over the ice at their utmost speed.
+
+It was not a moment too soon, for the halt was well-nigh fatal; but
+they could travel faster than the animals, and steadily drew away from
+them until, ere long, they were safe, so far as those creatures were
+concerned. They continued the pursuit, however, being a number of rods
+to the rear and in plain sight of the fugitives, who looked back,
+while speeding forward with undiminished swiftness.
+
+But the couple could not continue their flight, knowing nothing of the
+missing one. The wolves were between them and her, and Monteith Sterry
+had fired the last shot in his revolver.
+
+"How far back does that tributary reach?" he asked.
+
+"I never learned, but probably a good way."
+
+"Its breadth is not half of this."
+
+"No; nothing like it."
+
+"What has become of her?"
+
+"Alas! alas! What shall I answer?"
+
+"But, Fred, she is not without hope; she can skate faster than either
+of us, and I am sure none of them was in front of her on the creek or
+she would not have made the turn she did."
+
+"If the creek extends for several miles, that is with enough width to
+give her room, she will outspeed them; but how is she to get back?"
+
+"What need that she should? When they are thrown behind she can take
+off her skates and continue homeward through the woods, or she may
+find her way back to the river and rejoin us."
+
+"God grant that you are right; but some of the wolves may appear in
+front of her, and then--"
+
+"Don't speak of it! We would have heard their cries if any of them had
+overtaken her."
+
+No situation could be more trying than that of the two youths, who
+felt that every rod toward home took them that distance farther from
+the beloved one whose fate was involved in awful uncertainty.
+
+"This won't do," added Monteith, after they had skated some distance
+farther; "we are now so far from the animals that they cannot trouble
+us again; we are deserting her in the most cowardly manner."
+
+"But what shall we do? What _can_ we do?"
+
+"You know something of this part of the country; let's take off our
+skates and cut across the creek; she may have taken refuge in the limb
+of a tree and is awaiting us."
+
+"Isn't some one coming up stream?" asked Fred, peering forward, where
+the straight stretch was so extensive that the vision permitted them
+to see unusually far.
+
+"It may be another wolf."
+
+"No; it is a person. Perhaps Quance has been drawn from his home by
+the racket. He is a great hunter. I hope it is he, for he can give us
+help in hunting for Jennie--"
+
+Monteith suddenly gripped the arm of his friend.
+
+"It is not a man! It is a woman!"
+
+"Who can it be? Not Jennie, surely--"
+
+"Hurry along! You are no skaters at all!"
+
+It was she! That was her voice, and it was her slight, girlish figure
+skimming like a swallow toward them.
+
+Within the following minute Fred Whitney clasped his beloved sister in
+his arms, both shedding tears of joy and gratitude.
+
+Jennie had had a marvellous experience, indeed. Controlled by an
+intuition or instinct which often surpasses reason, she was led to
+dart aside into the smaller stream at the critical moment when the
+fierce wolves were so near that escape seemed impossible. She had
+fallen slightly to the rear, and a single terrified glance showed her
+a beast in the act of leaping at her. Her dart to the left was only
+the effort to elude him for that instant, and she was not aware of the
+mouth of the creek until she had entered it. Then, seeing that it was
+altogether too late to rejoin her brother, she had no course left but
+to continue the flight which, until then, she had not intended.
+
+The words which she called to Fred, that were not understood by him,
+were to the effect that she would try to rejoin him farther down the
+stream, with whose many turnings she was more familiar than he.
+
+She ascended the tributary with all the wonderful skill at her
+command. Not only the brute that was on the point of leaping at her,
+but three others, turned as soon as they could poise themselves and
+went after her at their utmost bent.
+
+But her change of direction was a most fortunate action. As in the
+case of the abrupt darting aside, when on the surface of the larger
+stream, it placed her considerably in advance of the nearest pursuers.
+Add to this her power of outspeeding them when the chance was equal,
+and it will be seen that her only danger was from the front.
+
+The creek was so narrow that if any of the wolves appeared before
+her she would be lost, for there was not room to manoeuvre as on the
+larger stream.
+
+But she met none. The first signals had drawn them to the river, and
+if there were any near, they and she were mutually unaware of it.
+
+As her brother had said, she was more acquainted with this section
+than he. She knew at what points the river and its tributary curved so
+as to bring them near each other. Reaching that place, she buried the
+heels of her skate-runners in the ice, sending the particles about
+her in a misty shower, and quickly came to a halt. Then, standing
+motionless, she listened.
+
+In the distance sounded the howling of the animals so repeatedly
+disappointed of their prey, but none was nigh enough to cause her
+misgiving.
+
+"I hope no harm has come to Fred or Monteith," she murmured. "Both can
+skate fast enough to leave the wolves behind; they would have done so
+at once if they had not been bothered by having me with them. Now they
+ought to be able to take care of themselves."
+
+She sat down on the bank and removed her skates. The slight layer of
+snow on the leaves caused no inconvenience, for she was well shod, and
+the walk was not far. Her fear was that some of the wolves might sneak
+up unseen. Often she stopped and listened, but when half the distance
+was passed, without any alarm from that source, she believed nothing
+was to be feared. A little farther and she reached the main stream,
+the distance passed being so much less than was necessary for her
+escorts that she knew that she was in advance of them, even if they
+had continued their flight without interruption.
+
+Her club skates were securely refastened, and then she listened again.
+
+The cries of the brutes were few and distant and could not cause
+alarm.
+
+Hark! A familiar sound reached her. She recognized it as made by
+skates gliding over the ice. Rising to her feet, she remarked, with a
+smile:
+
+"I think I will give them a surprise." And she did. The meeting was a
+happy one, and before the stroke of midnight all three were at home,
+where they found the mother anxiously awaiting their return and
+greatly relieved to learn that despite their stirring experience no
+harm had befallen any member of the little party.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE REPORT OF GUNS.
+
+
+And now comes a change of scene and incident.
+
+Hugh Whitney returned to his Maine home a few weeks after the stirring
+adventures of his children and Monteith Sterry with the wolves. He
+was so pleased with the western country that he made his decision to
+remove thither. He met with no difficulty in selling at a fair price
+his little property in the Pine-Tree State, and with a portion of the
+proceeds he bought a ranch near the headwaters of Powder River, to
+which place he removed, with his family, in the spring of 1890,
+directly after the incidents related in the preceding chapters.
+
+One of the pleasures of this radical change of residence and
+occupation was that it was pleasing to his son Fred and his twin
+sister Jennie, now about nineteen years of age.
+
+Whether the wife shared in the desire to make her home in that new
+country, or whether she expressed the wish to do so because she saw it
+would gratify her husband, cannot be said with certainty. There was no
+doubt, however, about the eagerness with which the brother and sister
+took part in the removal.
+
+Young, ardent, and of sturdy frame, with all the natural yearning of
+imaginative youth for adventure, the prospect was an inviting one to
+them. Their father's glowing accounts of the magnificent scenery, its
+vast resources and limitless possibilities, caused a yearning on their
+part probably deeper than his own.
+
+It is rare that such expectations are fully realized in this life. It
+cannot be said that those of the brother and sister found more than
+a partial fulfilment, but, though the fateful day came when they
+regretted the change beyond the power of language to express, yet it
+was many months before it dawned upon them.
+
+Hugh Whitney's herd of cattle numbered several thousand, and, on the
+day when we take up the eventful history of the family, they were
+grazing on the open ranges along the spurs of the Big Horn Mountains.
+
+The two cowmen engaged by Whitney to assist him in the duty of looking
+after his property were Budd Hankinson and Grizzly Weber. They were
+veterans in the business, brave and true and tried. Under their
+tuition, and that of his father, Fred Whitney became a skilful
+horseman and rancher. He learned to lasso and bring down an obdurate
+steer, to give valuable help in the round-ups, to assist in branding
+the registered trademark of his father on the haunches of his animals.
+
+This brand consisted of a cross, with two stars above, one below, the
+initial letter of his given name on the left, and that of his surname
+on the right. When this was burned into the flesh of the yearlings,
+it identified his property, no matter where wandering, and the honest
+rancher would no more disturb it than he would enter another's home
+and rob him of his clothing.
+
+The first year was an enjoyable one to Jennie. Her father presented
+her with an excellent animal, of which she became very fond. A good
+horsewoman when in Maine, in Wyoming she acquired a skill which
+compelled the admiration of the cowmen themselves.
+
+"She's struck her callin'," remarked Budd Hankinson one day, while
+watching her speeding like a courser across the open country.
+
+"What is that?" asked the father, who was proud of his children, and
+especially of the pretty daughter.
+
+"Why, riding hosses like a streak of lightnin'," was the somewhat
+indefinite response.
+
+"What particular profession can she fill by dashing over the country
+in that style?" continued the parent with a smile.
+
+"Why, showing other persons how it is done. I've no doubt, colonel,
+that she could make good wages in breaking broncos and teaching young
+women like her how to ride in the right style; I advise you to think
+about it."
+
+"I will do so," replied the parent, with so much gravity that the
+cowman never suspected his sincerity, but felt the satisfaction of
+believing he had given his employer a valuable "pointer."
+
+Another pleasure which followed the removal of the Whitneys to Wyoming
+was that their friend Monteith Sterry followed them within a few
+months. He had shown some signs of running down in health while
+attending the high school in Boston, despite the fact that he was one
+of the best athletes in the institution; but he readily persuaded his
+wealthy father that a few months' experience in the bracing northwest
+would do him more good than anything and everything else in the world.
+
+That he might have some pretext other than the one which could not
+wholly deceive the Whitneys, he engaged to serve the Live Stock
+Association, which was beginning to have trouble with the rustlers.
+Matters were not only going wrong, but were rapidly getting worse in
+Wyoming, and they were glad to secure the services of such a daring
+and honest youth, who seemed rather to welcome the fact that he could
+perform his duties faithfully only at personal risk to himself.
+
+It need not be explained how it came about that young Sterry found it
+necessary to give a great deal of his attention to that section of
+Wyoming in which the Whitneys lived. There appeared to be more need of
+it there than in any of the other neighborhoods where the outlook was
+really threatening.
+
+The natural consequence was that he became a frequent visitor at the
+home of his former friend, though he found other acquaintances engaged
+in the cattle business who were glad to have him take shelter under
+their roofs. Sometimes he engaged in hunting with them, and several
+times Fred Whitney and Jennie joined him. There was a spice of peril
+in these excursions which rendered them fascinating to all three.
+
+The particular day to which we refer was a mild afternoon in May,
+1892. Jennie was helping her mother with her household duties in their
+home, where they had lived since coming from their native State. The
+building was one of the long, low wooden structures common in that
+section, to which the fashions of the older civilization have not yet
+penetrated. It possessed all the comforts they required, though it
+took some time for the brother and sister to accustom themselves to
+the odd style of architecture.
+
+Jennie, as usual, was in high spirits. She had been out for a ride
+during the forenoon, and was now trying to make up for it by taking
+the burden of most of the work upon her comely shoulders.
+
+In the middle of one of her snatches of song she abruptly paused with
+the question:
+
+"Did you hear that, mother?"
+
+"No; to what do you refer?"
+
+"The sound of rifle-firing; something is wrong on the range."
+
+The two paused and listened, looking in each other's pale countenances
+as they did so.
+
+"It _is_ rifle-firing!" said Mrs. Whitney in a scared voice; "what can
+it mean?"
+
+"Trouble with the rustlers," replied Jennie, hurrying through the
+open door to the outside that she might hear the better. Her mother
+followed, and the two stood side by side, listening and peering
+across the wide stretch of undulating plain in the direction of the
+mountains, whose wooded crests were outlined against the clear spring
+sky.
+
+There could be no mistaking the alarming sounds. They were made by
+rifles, fired sometimes in quick succession, often mingling with each
+other, and then showing comparatively long intervals between the
+discharges of the weapons.
+
+"Father said the rustlers were becoming bolder," remarked Jennie, "and
+there was sure to be trouble with them before long."
+
+"It has come," was the comment of the parent, "and who shall tell the
+result?"
+
+"It cannot last long, mother."
+
+"A few minutes is a good while at such a time. A score of shots have
+already been fired, and some of them must have done execution."
+
+"Father, Fred and our two men are unerring shots."
+
+"And so are they," responded the mother, referring to the rustlers,
+who have made so much trouble for the cattlemen of Wyoming.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+LOOKING SOUTHWARD.
+
+
+Mrs. Whitney and her daughter Jennie stood at the door of their ranch
+listening, with rapidly beating hearts, to the sounds of rifle-firing
+from the direction of the cattle-range where the beloved husband and
+son were looking after their property.
+
+Three shots came in quick succession; then, after the interval of a
+full minute, two more followed, and then all was still.
+
+Mother and daughter maintained their listening attitude a while
+longer, but nothing more reached their ears.
+
+"It is over," said the parent in an undertone.
+
+Aye, the conflict was over. One party was beaten off, but which? And
+how many brave men, the finest horsemen and rifle-shots in the world,
+lay on the green sward, staring, with eyes that saw not, at the blue
+sky, or were being borne away by their comrades on the backs of their
+tough ponies?
+
+A brief space and the story would be told.
+
+Jennie Whitney shaded her eyes with her hand and gazed to the
+southward for the first sight of returning friends, whose coming could
+not be long delayed.
+
+The mother was straining her vision in the same direction, watching
+for that which she longed and yet dreaded to see. But years had
+compelled her to use glasses, and her eyes were not the equal of
+those bright orbs of Jennie. She would be the first to detect the
+approaching horsemen.
+
+A good field-glass was in the house, but neither thought of it; their
+attention was too deeply absorbed.
+
+"It is time they appeared," remarked Mrs. Whitney, her heart sinking
+under the dreadful fear of the possible reason why they remained
+invisible.
+
+Suppose there was none to appear!
+
+But those keen eyes of the maiden have detected something, and she
+starts and peers more intently than before.
+
+Far to the southward, in the direction of the mountain spurs, and on
+the very boundary of her vision, a black speck seems to be quivering
+and flickering, so indistinct, so impalpable, that none but the
+experienced eye can guess its nature.
+
+But the eye which is studying it is an experienced one. Many a time it
+has gazed across the rolling prairie, and identified the loved father
+and brother before another could discover a person at all.
+
+"Some one is coming," she says to her mother.
+
+"Some one!" is the alarmed response; "are there no more?"
+
+"There may be, but this one is in advance."
+
+"But why should he be in advance of the rest?" is the query, born of
+the fear in the heart of the parent.
+
+"It is not mine to answer for the present; he may be better mounted
+and is coming for--for--"
+
+"For what?"
+
+"Help."
+
+"Help! What help can we give them?"
+
+"We have a gun in the house, and there is plenty of ammunition."
+
+"That means they have suffered--have been defeated. Look closely,
+Jennie; do you see no others?"
+
+She has been searching for them from the first. The approaching
+horseman is now fully defined against the dark-green of the mountains,
+and the country for half a mile is in clear view.
+
+Over this broad expanse Jennie Whitney's eyes rove, and her heart
+seems to stand still as she answers:
+
+"He is alone; I see no others."
+
+"Then he brings evil tidings! Our people have been defeated; more than
+one has fallen."
+
+The approaching horseman was riding furiously. His fleet animal was
+on a dead run, his neck outstretched, mane and tail streaming as he
+thundered through the hurricane created by his own tremendous speed.
+
+The man who sat in the saddle was a perfect equestrian, as are all the
+cowmen and rustlers of the West. He leaned forward, as if he would
+help his horse to reach his goal at the earliest instant. His
+broad-brimmed hat fitted so well that it kept its place on his head
+without any fastening; but his own long, dark locks fluttered over his
+brawny shoulders, while the trusty Winchester was held in a firm grasp
+across the saddle in front, where it could be used on the second
+needed.
+
+Jennie Whitney was studying him closely, for he must be father,
+brother, or one of the two hired men. She was praying that he was a
+relative, but it was not so.
+
+The mother could now distinguish the horseman plainly, though not as
+much so as her daughter.
+
+"I think it is father," she said, speaking her hope rather than her
+conviction.
+
+"No; it is not he," replied the daughter.
+
+"Then it is Fred."
+
+"No; you are mistaken; it is Budd."
+
+"Alas and alas! why should it be he, and neither my husband nor son?"
+wailed the parent.
+
+Jennie was right. The man was the veteran cowboy, Budd Hankinson,
+who had whirled the lasso on the arid plains of Arizona, the Llano
+Estacado of Texas and among the mountain ranges of Montana; who had
+fought Apaches in the southwest, Comanches in the south and Sioux
+in the north, and had undergone hardships, sufferings, wounds and
+privations before which many a younger man than he had succumbed.
+
+No more skilful and no braver ranchman lived.
+
+Budd had a way of snatching off his hat and swinging it about his head
+at sight of the ladies. It was his jocular salutation to them, and
+meant that all was well.
+
+But he did not do so now. He must have seen the anxious mother and
+daughter almost as soon as they discerned him. Jennie watched for the
+greeting which did not come.
+
+"Something is amiss," was her conclusion.
+
+The hoofs of the flying horse beat the hard ground with a regular
+rhythm, and he thundered forward like one who knew he was bringing
+decisive tidings which would make the hearts of the listeners stand
+still.
+
+The black eyes of the cowman were seen gleaming under his hat-rim as
+he looked steadily at the couple, against whom his horse would dash
+himself the next minute, like a thunderbolt, unless checked.
+
+No fear, however, of anything like that. He rounded to in front of
+the women, and halted with a suddenness that would have flung a less
+skilful rider over his head, but which hardly caused Budd Hankinson a
+jar.
+
+He read the questioning eyes, and before the words could shape
+themselves on the pallid lips he called out:
+
+"The mischief is to pay!"
+
+"What is it, Budd?" asked Jennie, she and her mother stepping close to
+his box-stirrup.
+
+"We have had a fight with the rustlers--one of the worst I ever
+seed--there was eight of 'em."
+
+"Was anybody--hurt?" faltered the mother.
+
+"Wal, I reckon; three of them rustlers won't rustle again very soon,
+onless that bus'ness is carried on below, where they've gone; two
+others have got holes through their bodies about the size of my hat."
+
+"But--but were any of our people injured?" continued the parent, while
+Jennie tried to still the throbbing of her heart until the answer
+came.
+
+"Wal, yes," replied Budd, removing his hat and passing his
+handkerchief across his forehead, as though the matter was of slight
+account; "I'm sorry to say some of us got it in the neck."
+
+"Who--who--how was it? Don't trifle!"
+
+"Wal, you see Zip Peters rode over from Capt. Whiting's to tell us
+about the rustlers, and he hadn't much more'n arriv, when along come
+the others behind him with one of our branded steers. I made them give
+him up, and then the fight was on. Zip got a piece of lead through
+the body and the arm, and went out of the saddle without time to say
+good-by. My hip was grazed twice, but it didn't amount to nothin'; I'm
+as good as ever. Grizzly lost a piece of his ear, but he bored the
+rustler through that done it, so that account was squared."
+
+"Then father and Fred were not hurt?" gasped Jennie, clasping her
+hands and gazing inquiringly into the face of the messenger.
+
+"Wal," he replied, with the same exasperating coolness he had shown
+after his first exclamation, "I wish I could say that, but it ain't
+quite so good."
+
+"What--what of my husband?" demanded Mrs. Whitney, stepping so close
+that she laid her hand on the knee of the sturdy horseman; "tell me
+quick; and what of Fred, my son?"
+
+"Fred fought like a house afire; he killed one of the rustlers, but
+his horse was shot and Fred got it through the arm, which ended his
+power to do much fighting, but he laid down behind his hoss and kept
+it up like the trump he is."
+
+"Then he isn't badly injured?"
+
+"Bless your heart! of course not; he will be all right in a few days;
+his arm wants a little nursing, that's all. In the midst of the rumpus
+who should ride up but Mont Sterry, as he had heard the firing, and
+the way he sailed in was beautiful to behold. It reminded me of the
+times down in Arizona when Geronimo made it so lively. He hadn't much
+chance to show what he could do, for the rustlers found they had
+bitten off more than they could chaw, and they skyugled after he had
+dropped one."
+
+The wife and mother drew a sigh of relief, but the daughter was far
+from satisfied. A dreadful fear in her heart had not yet been quelled.
+
+Her quick perceptions noticed that Budd had said nothing more about
+her father than to mention the fact that he had been wounded. The
+mother, in her distress and anxiety, caught at a hope as an assurance
+which the daughter could not feel.
+
+At the same time Jennie saw that, despite the apparent nonchalance
+of the messenger and his assumed gayety, he was stirred by some deep
+emotion.
+
+"He is keeping back something, because he fears to tell it," was her
+correct conclusion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+COWMEN AND RUSTLERS.
+
+
+Jennie Whitney saw something else, which almost made her heart stop
+beating.
+
+To the southward, whence Budd Hankinson had ridden, several horsemen
+were in sight, coming from the direction of the cattle-ranges. They
+were approaching at a walk, something they would not do unless serious
+cause existed.
+
+The messenger had been sent ahead to break the news to the sad and
+anxious hearts.
+
+"Budd," she said, "you have not told us about father."
+
+"Why, yes, my dear," interposed her mother, as if to shut out all evil
+tidings; "nothing has happened to him."
+
+"Wal, I'm sorry to say that he has been hurt worse than Fred," was the
+alarming response, accompanied by a deep sigh.
+
+"How bad? How much worse? Tell us, tell us," insisted the wife.
+
+"Thar's no use of denyin' that he got it bad; fact is he couldn't have
+been hit harder."
+
+The distressed fellow was so worked up that he turned his head and
+looked over his shoulder, as if to avoid those yearning eyes fixed
+upon him. That aimless glance revealed the approaching horsemen and
+nerved him with new courage.
+
+"Now, Mrs. Whitney and Jennie, you must be brave. Bear it as he would
+bear the news about you and Fred if he was--alive!"
+
+A shriek accompanied the words of the cowman, and Jennie caught her
+mother in time to save her from falling. Her own heart was breaking,
+but she did her utmost, poor thing, to cheer the one to whom the
+sunlight of happiness could never come again.
+
+"There, mother, try to bear it. We have Fred left to us, and I am with
+you. God will not desert us."
+
+Hugh Whitney had never spoken after that first interchange of volleys
+with the rustlers. He died bravely at the post of duty and was
+tenderly borne homeward, where he was given a decent burial, his grave
+bedewed not only by the tears of the stricken widow and children, but
+by those of the stern, hardy cowmen to whom he had been an employer as
+kind and indulgent as he was brave.
+
+A few paragraphs are necessary to explain the incidents that follow.
+
+Wherever cattlemen have organized outfits and located ranches
+cattle-thieves have followed, and fierce fighting has resulted. These
+men are known as "rustlers." The late troubles caused cattle and
+horse-thieves to unite against the legitimate owners, and the name now
+includes both classes of evil-doers. The troubles in Wyoming were the
+results of the efforts of the Wyoming State Live Stock Association to
+put a check upon rustlers who are tempted to steal by the vast profits
+afforded.
+
+At the time the Association was formed the rustlers were few in
+number, and confined their acts to branding the mavericks or unbranded
+yearlings with their own brands. They did not act in concert, and
+since the laws of the State require every brand to be registered, in
+order to establish ownership, the rustlers had as much right to their
+own brands as the legitimate cowmen. As long as the mavericks were not
+openly branded there was no means of stopping them.
+
+It happens quite often that the round-up fails to gather in all the
+cattle. The mavericks are allowed to go to the outfit with whose
+cattle they have run, and that outfit puts its own brand on them.
+
+The rustlers grew more daring as their numbers increased, and, instead
+of confining their operations to the mavericks, began altering brands.
+Not only that, but they were often bold enough to leave the old brand
+and burn a new one and forge a bill of sale.
+
+The rustlers were generally the owners of small ranches, or cowboys
+who had a few head of cattle on the range or running with some
+rancher's stock. The Association made a rule that no cow outfit should
+employ a cowman that had been guilty of branding a maverick, or of
+helping the rustlers, or of working with or for them. A blacklist was
+kept of such cowmen, with the result that a good many were unable to
+get employment from the Association outfits and were compelled to
+become rustlers themselves.
+
+The association of rustlers became desperate because of the serious
+check given them by the Live Stock Association, which placed its
+inspectors at all the cattle-markets, Omaha, Chicago, St. Louis,
+Kansas City and St. Paul. Every shipment of cattle was closely
+inspected, and if it came from a rustler he was obliged to prove his
+title to each steer, or they were confiscated and the proceeds sent to
+the owner of the brand. Sometimes a legal proof of ownership would not
+be accepted, for the owners were determined to stamp out the rustling
+business.
+
+Deprived by this means of a market for their hoof cattle, the rustlers
+were compelled to butcher their cattle or drive to Montana. The latter
+recourse was not only difficult and dangerous, but there was no
+certainty of a market when accomplished, as the Live Stock Association
+kept a vigilant watch on all Wyoming cattle.
+
+The other scheme was unsatisfactory, but it was all that was left to
+the rustlers. They employed a number of butchers at Buffalo to do
+their killing for them, but even then they were not sure of always
+getting their meat marketed.
+
+In the summer of 1891 the rustlers ran waggons openly on all the
+three great round-ups, and worked the round-up just as if they were a
+regular Association outfit. They also gathered in all the mavericks,
+and no one dared interfere.
+
+It should be added that no more dangerous set of men can be found
+anywhere than the Wyoming rustlers. No living being excels them in
+horsemanship. The bucking pony is as a child in their hands. There
+is not one among them who cannot rope, throw, tie and brand a steer
+single-handed. They include the best riders and the best shots in the
+cattle business. They do not know what fear is, and in the year named
+became strong enough to elect one of their own number sheriff.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE WARNING.
+
+
+The full moon was shining on the second night succeeding the conflict
+which Budd Hankinson described between the rustlers and the cowmen of
+Whitney's ranch. The man that had fallen was laid away in a grave back
+of the house, and mother, son and daughter mourned him with a sorrow
+that was soothed by the consciousness that he had been a good husband
+and father in every sense of the word.
+
+On this night, before the hour was late, three persons were seated in
+the balmy air on the outside of the dwelling, talking together in low
+tones.
+
+They were Fred Whitney, whose bandaged arm rested in a sling, Monteith
+Sterry, and Jennie Whitney. The memory of the recent affliction
+suffered in the death of the father naturally subdued the voices and
+tinged the words with a seriousness that would not have been felt at
+other times.
+
+Young Sterry, as already stated, had accepted an engagement with
+the Live Stock Association, which required him to investigate the
+operations of the rustlers over a large portion of Wyoming and
+Montana, and to report at regular intervals to his superior officers.
+
+This was perilous business, but Sterry set about the work with a
+vigour, directness and intelligence that were felt over an extent of
+territory numbering hundreds of square miles, and made him a marked
+man by the rustlers, who are always quick to identify their friends
+and enemies. It seemed to make little difference, however, to him, who
+loved the excitement. He was a capital pistol and rifle-shot, a fine
+horseman, and as devoid of fear as the men against whom he directed
+his movements.
+
+Unconsciously Monteith Sterry brought a grievous peril upon his
+friends, who held him in so high regard. Hated intensely by the
+rustlers, they were not long in learning that he spent a great deal
+of his time at the Whitneys. They came to be regarded, therefore, as
+aiders and abettors of his. This enmity was emphasized by the attack
+of which an account has been given.
+
+"I think, Fred," said his sister, oppressed by the shadow that had
+fallen across the threshold, "we ought to sell out and leave this
+country."
+
+"Why?" he gently asked.
+
+"Because not only of what happened yesterday, but of the certainty
+that such attacks will be repeated."
+
+"What reason have you to fear their repetition?" asked Monteith.
+
+"Matters are growing worse between the cowmen and the rustlers; I have
+heard our men talk, and you have said so yourself."
+
+"I cannot deny it," replied their visitor, thoughtfully smoking his
+cigar. He would have been pleased had her brother, now the head of the
+little household, decided to make his home once more in the East, for
+then he would take up the study of his profession of law and be placed
+where he could often meet them.
+
+"It would be cowardly to sell out and abandon the country through
+fear of those men," said the brother, to whom the proposition was not
+pleasant.
+
+"But suppose you should be their next victim?" suggested Jennie, with
+a shudder.
+
+"I don't think I shall be a victim," he quietly responded; "this wound
+won't bother me long, and with Budd and Grizzly to help, we can laugh
+at all the rustlers in the country."
+
+"It is hardly a matter of courage," ventured Sterry, "for no one
+knowing you or your sister would question your bravery, but it is
+rather the peace of mind of your mother and her. It will be a
+long time, if ever, before your parent recovers from the shock of
+yesterday. No matter how confident and plucky you may be, Fred, you
+know it is no guarantee against a bullet from one of those scamps at
+five hundred or a thousand yards. I shudder to think of what might
+happen."
+
+Fred turned and looked full in the handsome face of the fellow beside
+him.
+
+"It strikes me that you are showing little faith in your own words.
+Why do you remain where you are a marked man when there is no need of
+it, and where your personal danger is certainly as great as mine?"
+
+This _argumentum ad hominem_ was so unexpected that Sterry was
+embarrassed for the moment, but found voice to reply:
+
+"I have no mother and sister dependent on me, as you have."
+
+"But you have brothers, sisters, father and mother, and therefore the
+more to mourn if you should fall. The fact is, Mont, I feel that it
+is a duty you owe to them to give up the dangerous calling you have
+adopted. You not only do not need it, but are squandering time that
+ought to be given to the study of your profession, and you have become
+so feared and hated by the rustlers that they will go to any length to
+'remove' you."
+
+"The more cause, therefore, why I should stay," responded the other.
+
+"A poor argument--"
+
+The discussion was interrupted by the sound of a horse's hoofs. Some
+one was riding toward them on a gallop, and speedily loomed to view
+in the bright moonlight. The three instinctively ceased speaking and
+gazed curiously at the horseman, who reined up in front of where they
+were sitting.
+
+Hospitality is limitless in the West, and, before the stranger had
+halted, Fred Whitney rose from his chair and walked forward to welcome
+him.
+
+The man was in the costume of a cowboy, with rifle, revolver and all
+the paraphernalia of the craft.
+
+"Is your name Whitney?" asked the horseman, speaking first.
+
+"It is; what can I do for you?"
+
+"Do you know Mont Sterry?"
+
+"He is a particular friend of mine," replied Whitney, refraining from
+adding that he was the young man sitting a few paces away with his
+sister and hearing every word said.
+
+"Well, there's a letter for him; if I knew where to find him I would
+deliver it myself. Will you hand it to him the next time you meet
+him?"
+
+As he spoke he leaned forward from his saddle and handed a sealed
+envelope to Fred Whitney, who remarked, as he accepted it:
+
+"I will do as you wish; I expect to see him soon; won't you dismount
+and stay over night with us?"
+
+"No; I have business elsewhere," was the curt answer, as the fellow
+wheeled and spurred off on a gallop.
+
+Budd Hankinson and Grizzly Weber, the two hired men, were absent,
+looking after the cattle, for the rustler is a night hawk who often
+gets in the best part of his work between the set and rise of sun.
+
+Mrs. Whitney was sitting in the gloom, alone in her sorrow. Jennie
+wished to stay with her, but the mother gently refused, saying she
+preferred to have none with her. No light was burning in the building,
+and that night the weather was unusually mild.
+
+Mont Sterry accepted the paper from the hand of his friend and
+remarked, with a smile:
+
+"I suspect what it is. When the rustlers don't like a man they have a
+frank way of telling him so, supplemented by a little good advice, I
+fancy I have been honoured in a similar way."
+
+He deliberately tore open the envelope, while Jennie and her brother
+looked curiously at him. The moonlight, although strong, was not
+sufficiently so to show the words, which were written in lead-pencil.
+Fred Whitney, therefore, struck a match and held it in front of the
+paper, while the recipient read in a low voice, loud enough, however,
+to be heard in the impressive hush:
+
+    "MONT STERRY: If you stay in the Powder River country twenty-four
+    hours longer you are a dead man. Over fifty of us rustlers have
+    sworn to shoot you on sight, whether it is at Fort McKinley,
+    Buffalo, or on the streets of Cheyenne. I have persuaded the
+    majority to hold off for the time named, but not one of them will
+    do so an hour longer, nor will I ask them to do so. We are bound
+    to make an honest living, and it is weak for me to give you this
+    warning, but I do it, repeating that if you are within reach
+    twenty-four hours from the night on which this is handed to
+    Whitney I will join them in hunting you down, wherever you may be.
+
+    "LARCH CADMUS."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+GOOD-BYE.
+
+
+Monteith Sterry read the "warning" through in a voice without the
+slightest tremor. Then he quietly smoked his cigar and looked off in
+the moonlight, as though thinking of something of a different nature.
+
+It was natural that Jennie Whitney should be more impressed by the
+occurrence, with the memory of the recent tragedy crushing her to the
+earth. She exclaimed:
+
+"Larch Cadmus! Why, Fred, he has visited our house several times; he
+was here last week."
+
+"Yes," replied her brother; "he has often sat at our table; and, by
+the way, he is a great admirer of yours."
+
+"Nonsense!" was the response; "why do you say that?"
+
+"It may be nonsense, but it is true, nevertheless. Your mother noticed
+it; and, that there might be no mistake, Larch had the impudence to
+tell me so himself."
+
+"I never liked him; he is a bad man," said Jennie, much to the relief
+of Sterry, who felt a little uncomfortable. "I did not know he
+belonged to the rustlers."
+
+"He was a cowboy until last fall. He had a quarrel with Col. Ringgold
+and went off with the others, and has been on the blacklist ever
+since."
+
+"Why didn't he bring the message himself," continued the sister,
+"instead of sending it?"
+
+"He did," was the significant reply of the brother.
+
+"What! That surely was not he?"
+
+"It was. I knew his voice the moment he spoke; those whiskers were
+false; he didn't want to be recognized, and I thought it as well to
+humor his fancy, but I could not be mistaken."
+
+"Now that I recall it, his voice _did_ resemble Cadmus'," said the
+sister, more thoughtfully.
+
+"Of course, and I can tell you something more; he was among the
+rustlers with whom we had the fight yesterday. He did his best to kill
+me, and came pretty near succeeding. It wasn't he, however, who put
+the bullet through my arm, for I dropped that fellow."
+
+"You frighten me!" was all that Jennie Whitney could say.
+
+Sterry still smoked in silence. He was thinking hard, but it was his
+turn to be startled by the next remark.
+
+"Larch Cadmus hates you, Mont, not so much because you are the enemy
+of all rustlers, but more because he believes my sister holds you in
+higher esteem than she does him."
+
+Sterry was clever enough to parry this compliment with considerable
+skill.
+
+"For the same reason he is jealous of every gentleman whom Miss
+Whitney has ever met, for it would be a sorry tribute to any man's
+worth if he did not stand higher in her regard than Larch Cadmus."
+
+"Well spoken!" said the young lady, relieved from what threatened to
+become an embarrassing situation for her.
+
+Had her brother chosen he might have expressed what was in his mind,
+but he had the good taste to refrain. None knew better than he the
+deep, tender affection existing between his friend and his sister,
+though it had not yet reached the point of avowal and confession.
+
+"Well, Mont, what are you going to do about it?" asked Whitney.
+
+By way of reply, the latter twisted the "warning" into the form of a
+lamplighter. Then he applied a match to one corner, and held the paper
+until it had burned to the last fragment.
+
+"That's my opinion of Mr. Larch Cadmus and his gang, and I shall pay
+the same attention to them."
+
+"You are not wise," ventured Jennie, who, with the awful memory of
+the preceding day upon her, could not but shudder at the peril to her
+friend, who had never been quite so near to her as during the last few
+hours, when he showed so much tender sympathy for her and her mother
+and brother in the depth of their desolation and woe.
+
+"I thank you," he said, with the same manly frankness he had always
+shown; "I have no desire to appear as a boaster or to make light of
+danger, but one of the truest adages is that it is not the barking dog
+that does the biting."
+
+"Don't make the mistake of supposing it is not so in this case," said
+Whitney, "and none should know it better than you."
+
+"I do not underestimate the courage of those fellows; they will shrink
+at nothing, but there is no more excuse for my running away upon
+receiving such a warning than there would be for all the inhabitants
+of Wyoming to leave the State at such a command."
+
+"The case is not parallel," was the comment of Fred Whitney.
+
+"Bear in mind that if I stay, as I intend to do, I do not mean to sit
+down and wait for those rustlers to pick me off. I count on having
+something to say and do in the matter; but, friends, I must bid you
+good-night."
+
+"What do you mean?" asked the astonished Fred Whitney.
+
+"I must leave," replied Sterry, rising to his feet; "I have already
+staid too long."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+A SUMMONS AND A REPLY.
+
+
+Brother and sister were astounded. The hour was late, and they had
+been urging their guest to remain several days with them. He had not
+consented, nor had he refused, from which they were confident he would
+stay.
+
+And now he announced his intention of departing at once, riding out
+into the night--whither?
+
+They protested, but he replied so earnestly that an urgent necessity
+existed that they refrained. He gave no hint of the reason for his
+strange action, and they could not ask it. His fleet mare, which
+had been allowed to graze on the succulent grass at the rear of the
+building with the other horses, was brought forward and saddled and
+bridled, and he quickly vaulted upon her back.
+
+"Remember me to your mother; it is not worth while to disturb her; I
+hope soon to be with you again."
+
+He leaned over and pressed the hand of Fred Whitney, and then, raising
+his hat with his left hand, extended the right to Jennie.
+
+Fred made an excuse to move away a few paces, for he understood the
+situation.
+
+"Good-by," Sterry said in a voice just low enough to reach the dear
+one, as he pressed the delicate hand which rested so trustingly in his
+own.
+
+"Good-by," she answered. "I am sorry you are going."
+
+"So am I, but it is better that I should leave. As I said, I trust
+soon to see you again. Do you know why I hope Fred will decide to
+return to the East with you and your mother?"
+
+"I suppose because we shall all be safer there;" and then she added,
+forgetting her sorrow for the moment, "that is if we do not go skating
+to Wolf Glen."
+
+"It is not necessary to remove as far as Maine, but father insists
+that I am wasting time here, when I ought to be home studying my
+profession."
+
+"And he is right, Monteith."
+
+"But," he replied in a low voice, "before I go back I want to make
+sure that you will do the same. There, good-by again."
+
+He replaced his hat, wheeled and dashed across the prairie without
+another word.
+
+Jennie stood gazing in the direction taken by him for some time after
+he had disappeared in the gloom of the night. Then she turned to speak
+to her brother, but he had passed within the house. She resumed her
+seat, knowing he would soon return.
+
+Fifteen minutes and more went by and she was still alone.
+
+Sh! Was she mistaken, or was that the faint sound of a horse's hoofs
+in the distance?
+
+She turned her head and listened. The murmur of voices, as her brother
+and mother talked in low tones, did not disturb her, and the almost
+inaudible lowing of the cattle on the distant ranges was but a part of
+silence itself.
+
+Hardly a breath of air was stirring, but all knew the eccentric way
+in which sound is sometimes carried by it. Suddenly the reports of
+rifle-firing were heard, faint but distinct, and lasting several
+minutes. Then other and different noises reached her, still faint but
+clear.
+
+Her power of hearing, like her vision, was exceptionally strong. It
+was that which enabled her to tell that the last sounds were not made
+by a single animal, but by several going at a high rate of speed.
+These, with the reports of rifles, made her certain that the rustlers
+had attacked Sterry.
+
+Meanwhile the young man found matters exceedingly lively.
+
+The reception of the "warning" through the hands of Fred Whitney was
+proof that his enemies knew he was frequently at his house. Their
+messenger had gone thither to deliver it. Young Whitney had slain one
+of their number, and though the law-breakers themselves had suffered
+the most, they felt bitter resentment toward the family.
+
+If Sterry remained with them they would have trouble. He was satisfied
+that Larch Cadmus recognized him, as he sat in front of the rancher's
+house, and would not forget to tell it to his comrades, who would
+speedily make the place a visit. He believed they were likely to do it
+before the rise of the morrow's sun.
+
+If the Whitneys were attacked, his presence would add to the defensive
+strength, but such an attack would not be made if he was not there.
+Desperate and defiant as the rustlers had been, it would be an
+injustice to represent them as capable of such wantonness.
+
+He felt, therefore, that it was his duty to leave the ranch without
+delay, thus removing an element of grave danger. It would have been
+hardly wise to make this explanation to them, though he believed Fred
+suspected it.
+
+Turning his back, therefore, upon the dearest spot in all the West
+to him, he set his mare Queenie on an easy, swift gallop, heading
+southward toward the ranges where the cattle of the Whitneys were
+grazing.
+
+Sterry, in one sense, was without a home as long as he remained
+in Wyoming or Montana, while in another sense he was the owner of
+numberless dwelling-places or "headquarters." He may be likened to a
+commercial traveller in a vast and sparsely-settled region, where he
+is well known and welcomed by the inhabitants.
+
+The ranchmen who knew him--and there were few who did not--were his
+friends, for he was working in their interests. At whichever cabin he
+drew rein he was certain of a hospitable reception.
+
+With no clearly defined idea of where he would spend the remaining
+hours of the night, he turned the nose of Queenie toward the ranges,
+among the mountain spurs.
+
+Grizzly Weber and Budd Hankinson would stay near the cattle for an
+indefinite time, and he was debating whether to join them or to ride
+on to the ranch of Dick Hawkridge, a number of miles to the northeast,
+when his meditations were broken in upon in the most startling manner.
+
+During those perilous times, the lonely horseman, in a dangerous
+region, relies much on his intelligent steed for warning. While
+Monteith Sterry could do a great deal of thinking in the saddle,
+he was too alert to drop into a brown study that would divert his
+thoughts from his surroundings.
+
+He was no more than a mile from the Whitney ranch when his mare
+pricked up her ears, gave an almost inaudible whinny, and slightly
+slackened her pace.
+
+That meant that she scented danger, and her rider was on the _qui
+vive_.
+
+He tightened the rein and drew her to a full stop. She turned her head
+to the right and looked steadily in that direction, with her pretty
+ears thrown forward. This meant that whatever impended was coming from
+that point of the compass.
+
+But the keen eyes of Mont Sterry could not penetrate the moonlight
+sufficiently far to detect anything. He was out of the saddle in a
+twinkling, and tried a trick learned from the old hunters. He pressed
+one ear against the ground, which, as all know, is a much better
+conductor of sound than the air.
+
+This told the story he anticipated. The faint but distinct clamping of
+horses' hoofs was heard. The number was indefinite, but, somewhat to
+his surprise, none of them was running or loping; all were moving on a
+walk.
+
+The noise was so clear that when he rose to his feet and looked off to
+the right he expected to see the animals and their riders, and he was
+not disappointed.
+
+On the outer margin of the field of vision the outlines of several
+horsemen assumed shape. They were approaching, and one of their steeds
+emitted a whinny, as a salutation to the motionless Queenie, who had
+shifted her pose so as to face that point of the compass.
+
+"Sh!" whispered Sterry to her.
+
+But there was no call for the warning; she was too well trained to
+betray her master, and remained mute.
+
+But it was inevitable that if the young man could discern the figures
+of the approaching horsemen, they must also see him. He leaped into
+the saddle and turned away.
+
+He knew instinctively they were rustlers, and he was almost equally
+certain they were hunting for him. There were at least three; and,
+well aware of their character, he was only prudent in shying off, with
+the intention of avoiding them altogether.
+
+But they were not the men to be bluffed in that fashion. They were
+"out" for the inspector, and did not intend that such an opportunity
+should slip by unchallenged.
+
+"Hello, pard!" called one of the trio, "where from and where going?"
+
+This was a pointed demand, to which Mont Sterry made an equally
+pointed response.
+
+"That is my own business; I will attend to it, and you may attend to
+yours."
+
+All this time he was keeping watch of their movements. Their horses
+were still walking, but they were now coming straight toward him. At a
+touch of the rein Queenie headed directly away, and her gait was about
+the same. She acted as though she shared the thoughts of her master,
+who shrank from sending her off on a flying run, as would have been
+more prudent for him to do.
+
+A brave man dislikes to flee, even when his better judgment tells him
+it is the only wise thing to do.
+
+The night was so still that Sterry plainly heard the words of the men
+when talking to each other in an ordinary conversational tone.
+
+"I believe that's him," said one of them, eagerly.
+
+"It sounded like his voice, but he wouldn't leave the Whitneys at this
+time of night when she's there."
+
+"He's too free with his tongue, anyway; we'll make him show up."
+
+"Say, you! hold on a minute. Do you know anything about Mont Sterry?
+We're looking for him."
+
+"I am Mont Sterry," was the defiant response. "What do you propose to
+do about it?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+A HOT PURSUIT.
+
+
+It may be said Mont Sterry answered his own question at the moment of
+asking it, for, bringing his Winchester to his shoulder, he let fly at
+the rustlers, and then with a word and touch of the spur sent Queenie
+bounding away with arrowy swiftness.
+
+Unquestionably it was a daring act on his part, but there was wisdom
+in it. He knew those men were seeking his life, and would shoot him,
+as they had threatened to do, on sight. When they met, it would be a
+question simply as to which got the drop on the other.
+
+They were preparing to make a rush at him, and while he had no fear
+of a contest of speed between Queenie and any animal that "wore
+horse-hair," they were altogether too near at the beginning of the
+contest, and the chance of using their rifles was too much against
+him.
+
+The crack of the Winchester accompanying his sharp reply, with the
+whistle of the bullet about their heads, gave them a momentary shock,
+which delayed the pursuit for a few precious seconds.
+
+This was the object of the fugitive, for, while that brief interval
+was thrown away by them, he improved it to the utmost. At such crises
+a few rods count immensely, and they were made to count on the side of
+Mont Sterry.
+
+They were insufficient, however, to take him beyond peril. Men like
+those horsemen are quick to recover from a surprise, and it would have
+seemed that Sterry was hardly started in his flight when they were
+speeding after him. He heard their maledictions and knew that the
+struggle for life was on.
+
+Comparatively brief as had been the time spent in the West by Sterry,
+he had not neglected his education along the lines indispensable to
+those following his manner of living. At the moment of giving Queenie
+rein he flung himself forward on her neck, hugging it close and
+uttering an involuntary prayer that the bullets might pass harmlessly
+by him and his horse.
+
+There were enough of the missiles to kill several men, but the chance
+for aiming was so poor that even such fine marksmen as the rustlers
+had little chance. The mare was only dimly discernible, and she, like
+their own horses, was going at full speed.
+
+Had the sun been shining the result must have been widely different.
+
+The encounter with these men was so unexpected and the several changes
+of direction by Queenie so sudden and unavoidable that Sterry was not
+given a chance to take his bearings. The one object was to get as far
+from them as possible in the quickest time in which it could be done.
+
+When that distance became a safe one it would be soon enough to give
+attention to the points of the compass.
+
+Nobly did Queenie do her duty. She had carried her master out of many
+a peril, and she could be counted on to do it as long as the ability
+remained with her. Sterry's anxiety was really more on her account
+than on his own. He knew there was little danger of himself being
+struck by the bullets of the rustlers, who, as I have shown, had no
+possible chance of taking any sort of aim, but she was a conspicuous
+target, which it would seem they ought to hit with little difficulty.
+
+Often must a person in the situation of Sterry leave everything to his
+horse. He did not seek to guide Queenie, but sat, or rather lay, in
+the saddle and on her neck, as she skimmed like a swallow over the
+undulating prairie.
+
+Strange imaginings were in the brain of the young man during those
+few minutes. He listened to each shot of the Winchesters, and then,
+instead of feeling any apprehension for himself, waited for the
+dreaded evidence that his horse had been struck.
+
+The skilful railway engineer, sitting in his cab, with his hand on the
+throttle, can discover, on the instant, the slightest disarrangement
+in the mass of intricate mechanism over which he holds control. His
+highly trained senses enable him to feel it like a flash. So it was
+that Mont Sterry would have detected any injury to his horse as
+quickly as she herself. No matter if but the abrasion of the skin, the
+puncture of the flesh, or the nipping of an ear, she would betray it
+involuntarily.
+
+If she were wounded and should fall, the situation of her rider would
+be well-nigh hopeless. He could only throw himself behind her body and
+have it out with his enemies. Such a defence has been successfully
+made many a time by white men against Indians; but Sterry would not
+be fighting Crows nor Sioux, but those of his own race and blood, as
+brave and skilful as he.
+
+"Thank God!" he murmured, after each shot, as the splendid play of the
+machinery under him continued without a break or tremor; "she was not
+hit that time. She is running at her best."
+
+Once his heart stood still, for she seemed to quiver through her body,
+as if involuntarily shrinking from the prick of a sword.
+
+In his alarm, Sterry rose to an upright posture in the saddle, and
+leaning to the right and left, and looking forward and behind him,
+searched for the wound. He hardly expected to see it, for it would
+have been beyond his sight in any one of a dozen different portions of
+the body.
+
+But if in one of the limbs, it would quickly show in the gait of the
+animal.
+
+"No," he murmured, "there is no change of pace; it could not have been
+much, and it may be she was not hit at all."
+
+The rustlers fired two shots at this moment, when the horseman was
+more of a target than his animal, but he gave no heed to that; it was
+she for whom he felt concern.
+
+A glance backward brought a thrill of hope. The distance between him
+and his pursuers had perceptibly increased. Queenie was showing her
+heels to those who dared dispute with her the supremacy of fleetness.
+She would soon leave them out of sight, unless it should prove she was
+disabled by some of the shots.
+
+All would have gone well but for the appearance of a new danger of
+which he did not dream.
+
+Suddenly Queenie emitted her faint, familiar whinny, and swerved to
+the left. She had scented a new peril.
+
+In the gloom almost directly ahead loomed the figures of other
+horsemen bearing down upon the fugitive. They might be friends, and
+they might be enemies, but it would not do to take chances. Without
+an instant's hesitation Sterry wheeled to the left and spoke to his
+horse:
+
+"Now, Queenie, do your best."
+
+The mare responded with the same gameness she always showed; but the
+situation had suddenly become so grave that Monteith Sterry assuredly
+would have been overwhelmed and cut off but for one of the most
+extraordinary occurrences that ever came to any person in the
+extremity of danger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+A STRANGE DIVERSION.
+
+
+It was the wonderful sagacity of the little mare which intervened at
+this crisis in the fate of her rider.
+
+She was no more than fairly stretched away on a dead run from the new
+peril when she shot into an arroya or depression in the prairie. Such
+a depression suggests the dry bed of a stream through which the water
+may not have flowed for years. It is sometimes a few feet only in
+width, and again it may be a number of rods. The rich, alluvial soil
+often causes a luxuriant growth of grass, cottonwood or bush, which
+affords the best of grazing and refuge for any one when hard pressed
+by the enemy.
+
+The arroya into which Queenie plunged had gently sloping sides, and
+was perhaps fifty feet wide. The bottom was covered not only with
+grass, but with the thin undergrowth to which allusion has been made,
+and which was so frail in character that it offered no impediment to
+the passage of a running horse.
+
+Sterry's expectation was that his mare would shoot across the
+depression and up the other bank with the least possible delay; but of
+her own accord, and without suggestion from him, she turned abruptly
+to the left and dropped to a walk.
+
+He was astounded, and was on the point of speaking impatiently to her
+as he jerked the bridle-rein, when the occurrence already referred to
+took place, and made the action of the animal seem like an inspiration
+or instinct approaching the height of reason.
+
+At the moment she made the sharp turn to the left, another horseman
+galloped up the opposite slope and off upon the prairie. By an amazing
+coincidence it happened that he was in the arroya, and in the act of
+crossing in the same direction with the fugitive, when the furious
+plunge of the mare sent his own bounding up the farther bank.
+
+Sterry caught the situation like a flash. Before Queenie had gone more
+than a half-dozen rods he brought her to a standstill. They resembled
+an equestrian statue, so motionless were they for a full minute.
+
+The converging parties of pursuers could plainly see the second
+horseman speeding away from the other side, and inevitably concluded
+that he was the inspector whom they wanted. They were after him
+hot-footed on the instant.
+
+This man was Ira Inman, a well-known rustler, and the intimate friend
+of Larch Cadmus. When he saw himself pursued by a half-dozen of
+his friends he reined up, and calmly but wonderingly awaited their
+arrival, which took place within the next few seconds.
+
+"Up with your hands! Quick about it, too! You're the man we want!"
+
+"Wal," replied the leader, surveying them with a grin, and paying no
+heed to their fierce commands, "now that you've got me, what are you
+going to do with me?"
+
+If there ever were a set of dumbfounded men, they were the rustlers
+who closed about the leader and recognized him in the moonlight. The
+remarks that followed his identification were as ludicrous as they
+were vigourous.
+
+The majority believed he had played a trick on them in pretending to
+be Mont Sterry, whom all were so anxious to bring down; but there
+were one or two who were not satisfied. They knew the voice of the
+inspector, which in no way resembled the gruff tones of Inman. Then,
+their leader was not given to practical jokes.
+
+"What set you to hunting me so hard?" he asked, after the first flurry
+was over.
+
+"We're looking for Mont Sterry."
+
+"Wal, what made you take me for him? Do I look like him in the
+moonlight?"
+
+"But you said you were, and fired at us," explained one.
+
+"Fired at you? Said I was that chap? What in the mischief are you
+driving at?"
+
+One, who suspected the truth, now interposed.
+
+"We did meet Sterry and hailed him; you must have heard our guns; he
+dashed into the arroya; we saw you gallop out on t'other side, and
+took you for him."
+
+"Ah, I understand it all now," replied Inman; "I had ridden down there
+on my way back from a little scout, when a horseman dashed into the
+slope behind me like a thunderbolt. My horse was so scared that he
+went up the other side on the jump, and before I could turn around to
+find out what it all meant, you lunkheads came down on me with the
+request to oblige you by throwing up my hands, which I will see you
+hanged before I'll do."
+
+"But where is he? What has become of him?" asked several, looking
+around, as thought they expected to see the young man ride forward and
+surrender himself.
+
+"Wal, calling to mind the kind of horse he rides, I should say he is
+about a half-mile off by this time, laughing to find out how cleverly
+he has fooled you chaps."
+
+"It looks as if you was in the same boat, Inman," retorted one of the
+chagrined party.
+
+"I wasn't chasing Sterry."
+
+"He seemed to be chasing you, for you came out of the arroya ahead of
+him."
+
+"If he was chasing me," replied the leader, who felt that the laugh
+was on his companions, "he would have followed me out; but I don't see
+anything of him;" and he, too, stared around, as though not sure the
+man would not do the improbable thing named.
+
+"It was a blamed cute trick, any way you look at it," remarked one of
+the party. "It was queer that you should have been there, Inman, just
+at the minute needed. But for that, we would have had him, sure."
+
+"Wal, you can make up your mind that we have him as good as catched
+already. He can't get out of the country without some of the boys
+running against him, and the first rustler that catches sight of Mr.
+Sterry will drop him in his tracks."
+
+"If he gets the chance to do it," was the wise comment of another.
+"That fellow is quick on the shoot and isn't afraid of any of us."
+
+"He ain't the first one that's made that mistake, only to find himself
+rounded up at last. Larch Cadmus' idea of 24 hours' notice don't go
+down with this crowd, eh?"
+
+And the crowd unanimously responded in the negative.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE BACK TRAIL.
+
+
+Mont Sterry had wisdom enough to turn to the fullest account the
+remarkable advantage gained through the sagacity of his mare.
+
+His pursuers, in their haste to head him off, had dashed across the
+arroya at a point only a short distance above where he entered and
+their leader emerged from it. They were sure to discover the truth in
+a short time.
+
+Waiting, therefore, only until they had passed beyond, he rode his
+horse a few rods along the depression, and then left it on the same
+side by which he had ridden into it.
+
+Unconsciously he fell into an error of which he was not dreaming. In
+the short distance passed, the arroya made a sweeping curve, and he
+had repeatedly changed his own course since leaving the Whitney ranch.
+Thus it was almost inevitable that he should get the points of the
+compass mixed, and that he should follow a route widely different from
+the one intended.
+
+Had he paused long enough to note the position of the full moon in the
+heavens, or the towering Big Horn Mountains, he would have gained an
+approximate idea of where he was; but, despite his experience in the
+West, he galloped forward at an easy canter, with never a suspicion of
+the blunder he was making.
+
+He was on the alert for rustlers, and kept glancing to the right and
+left, and to the front and rear. As has been shown, he had little fear
+of being overtaken in a chase where he was given an equal chance with
+his pursuers, but his narrow escape rendered him more apprehensive
+than usual.
+
+"I thought of staying with Weber and Hankinson to-night," he mused,
+"but I think it hardly prudent. The rustlers may pay them a visit, and
+my presence will only make matters worse; and yet those fellows don't
+want to start up a band of regulators who will shoot them down without
+mercy, and that's just what will take place if they carry their
+outrages too far."
+
+"My death won't bring the regulators into existence," he grimly
+reflected, "for one man, more or less, doesn't count; but there is
+much bitter feeling in the country."
+
+Once he thought he caught the sounds of horses' feet on the prairie,
+and checked his mare to listen, but she gave no evidence of
+suspicion--a thing she was sure to do, if the cause existed.
+
+Sterry was so well satisfied by this fact that he did not dismount to
+test the matter as before. He rode on, however, and held her down to a
+walk.
+
+His eventless course had continued some minutes before a thought came
+to him of the direction he was following, with the possibility that he
+was wrong.
+
+"I wonder if we are on the right track, Queenie?" he said, addressing
+his animal, as was his custom when they were alone. "It would be
+strange if we didn't drift away from our bearings. Hello! that can't
+be Dick Hawkridge's ranch; we haven't gone far enough for that; but
+what the mischief can it be, unless a fire that some one has started
+in the open?"
+
+The starlike twinkle of a point of light suddenly shone out directly
+in advance. It puzzled him by appearing only for a moment, when it
+vanished as quickly as it entered his field of vision.
+
+This fact suggested that it was within some dwelling and had been
+extinguished, or was shut from sight by being moved past a window or
+open door to another point in the interior.
+
+"We are so near, Queenie, we may as well go farther," he added, not
+unmindful of his danger from those who were making such a hot search
+for him. He kept his horse on a walk, maintaining a keen watch between
+the dainty ears that were already pricked up as if she knew something
+was likely to happen quite soon.
+
+Advancing in this deliberate fashion, the outline of one of those
+long, low wooden structures so common in the West was gradually defied
+in the moonlight, and he knew he was approaching the home of some
+ranchman.
+
+But whose? was the question that perplexed him. He recalled that some
+of his travelling had been done at a high rate of speed, but the
+distance between the Whitney and Hawkridge ranches was fully a dozen
+miles, and he was sure that that space had not been covered by him
+since bidding his friends good-by earlier in the evening, especially
+as he had not followed a direct course.
+
+"Can it be?" he exclaimed, with a sudden suspicion. "Yes, by gracious!
+What a blunder!"
+
+The exclamation was caused by the sight of a young man, with one arm
+in a sling, who came forward to welcome him.
+
+He had returned to the Whitney home, which he supposed was miles away,
+and this was his old friend Fred, who came smilingly forward and said,
+as he recognized him:
+
+"I am glad, indeed, to see you, Mont; we heard the sound of the firing
+and feared that something had happened to you."
+
+"Nothing at all, thank you, and nothing to Queenie--but that reminds
+me," he added, slipping out of the saddle; "she acted once as though
+she had been hit, though it wasn't bad enough to show itself in her
+gait."
+
+The two made a hasty examination but discovered nothing; proof that,
+as her owner said, the wound, if any, was too slight to trouble her.
+
+"Fred, what do you think of my coming back to you in this fashion?"
+abruptly asked Sterry, with a laugh, looking around in his friend's
+face.
+
+"The most sensible thing you could have done; it redeems your
+foolishness in leaving us as you did."
+
+"But my return was involuntary."
+
+"How was that?"
+
+"I thought I was miles distant, and had no idea of my location until I
+caught the outlines of your house; I assure you I contemplated no such
+performance as this."
+
+"Well, you're here, so what's the use of talking unless you mean to
+mount your mare and try it again."
+
+"Hardly that; I have too much mercy on her."
+
+The couple walked past the dwelling to the rude but roomy shelter at
+the rear where the horses were sometimes placed when not in use, or
+when the severity of the weather made the protection necessary. There
+the saddle, bridle and trappings were removed from the mare, and she
+was made comfortable. Then the two returned to their seats at the
+front of the building, to smoke and chat a few minutes before retiring
+for the night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+A CONSULTATION.
+
+
+That mysterious warm-air current known as the Chinook wind steals
+through the depressions of the Rocky Mountains, at certain seasons
+of the year, from the mild surface of the Pacific, and tempers the
+severity of the winters in some portions of Montana, Wyoming, and
+the great West to a degree that renders them milder than many places
+farther south.
+
+It was early in the month of May, when even in the Middle States it is
+not often comfortable to remain seated out of doors after the close of
+day, but Sterry and Whitney found it pleasant to occupy their chairs
+in front of the building, with no other protection then their own warm
+garments.
+
+Whitney's wound was doing so well that he expressed himself ashamed
+to wear his arm in a sling. He freed it from the support, moved it
+readily about, and declared that after the next morning he would no
+longer shirk duty.
+
+In one sense, Monteith Sterry was disappointed. He hoped they would be
+joined by Jennie, from whom he parted earlier in the evening, but he
+reflected that the hour was late, and she probably felt that her duty
+was with her sorrowing mother.
+
+"She belongs there," he concluded, "and I respect her for doing her
+duty."
+
+But she heard the murmur of voices after they had talked a few
+minutes, and appeared at the outer door, where she greeted her friend
+and listened with an intensity of interest that may be imagined to
+his account of his brush with the rustlers. Although she had become
+accustomed to danger during her life in the West, there could be no
+mistaking her solicitude for him. She said little, however, and,
+excusing herself, bade the two good-night.
+
+"I tell you," said her brother, when she was gone, "if you stay, or
+rather attempt to stay, in this section, Mont, it is suicide--nothing
+more nor less."
+
+"Well, I know times are likely to be warm, but, hang it, I can't bear
+the thought of being run out of Wyoming. It's a mighty big State, and
+there ought to be room enough for me."
+
+"You persist in treating it lightly, but it is no trifling matter;
+you have been warned; were shot at, when we had our flurry with the
+rustlers; and, even while attempting to ride across the country,
+had the narrowest escape of your life--an escape so curious that it
+couldn't be repeated in a hundred years."
+
+"It's the unexpected that happens."
+
+"Not so often as the expected. Mont, what made you leave us so
+abruptly to-night?"
+
+"O, I can hardly tell," replied the other, carelessly flinging one leg
+over the other and puffing at his cigar, as though the matter was of
+no importance.
+
+"I know; you believed that if you stayed here you would increase the
+peril to us."
+
+"You've hit it exactly; that was it."
+
+"What sort of friends do you take us to be?"
+
+"That isn't it; rather, what sort of friend would I be, thus knowingly
+to place you and your mother and sister in danger? If those rustlers
+knew where I am, a dozen would be here before sunrise."
+
+"What of it? We are ready for them."
+
+"That's a poor answer to my statement; you had enough of that woeful
+business yesterday; they hold me in such hatred that they would burn
+down your place, if they could reach me in no other way."
+
+"And yet you propose to stay in Wyoming and have it out with them?"
+
+"I haven't said that," remarked Sterry, more thoughtfully; "I may soon
+leave for a more civilized section, much as I hate to play the seeming
+coward; but what you said about my parents, brothers and sisters at
+home, gave me something to think over while riding across the prairie
+to-night."
+
+"I shall hate to lose your company, for it is like old times to
+talk over our school days, but I would not be a friend to allow my
+selfishness to stand in the way of your good."
+
+Sterry smoked a moment in silence, and then flung away his cigar and
+turned abruptly on his companion.
+
+"Fred, if you could have prevented what took place yesterday by
+sacrificing every dollar of the property you have in Wyoming, you
+would have done it."
+
+"Yes, God knows I would have done it a thousand times over; mother
+will never recover from the blow."
+
+"And yet you may be the next to fall during this frightful state of
+affairs. If the situation of your mother and sister is so sad because
+of the loss of the head of the household, what will it be if you
+should be taken?"
+
+"I appreciate your kindness, Mont, but you put the case too strongly;
+in one sense we all stand in danger of sudden death every day. I might
+live to threescore and ten in Wyoming, and be killed in a railroad
+accident or some other way the first day I left it. There is no
+particular enmity between the rustlers and me; that brush yesterday
+was one of those sudden outbursts that was not premeditated by them."
+
+"It didn't look that way to me."
+
+"You were not there when it opened. They were driving a lot of
+mavericks toward their ranch down the river, when Budd Hankinson saw
+a steer among them with our brand. You know it--a sort of cross with
+father's initials. Without asking for its return, Budd called them a
+gang of thieves, cut out the steer and drove him toward our range. If
+he had gone at the thing in the right way there would have been no
+trouble, but his ugly words made them mad, and the next thing we were
+all shooting at each other."
+
+"You inflicted more harm than they, and they won't forget it."
+
+"I don't want them to forget it," said Fred, bitterly, "but they won't
+carry their enmity to the extent of making an unprovoked attack on me
+or any of my people."
+
+"Possibly not, but you don't want to bank on the theory."
+
+"You must not forget," continued the practical Whitney, "that all we
+have in the world is invested in this business, and it would be a
+sacrifice for us to sell out and move eastward, where I would be
+without any business."
+
+"You could soon make one for yourself."
+
+"Well," said Whitney, thoughtfully, "I will promise to turn it over
+in my mind; the associations, however, that will always cling to this
+place, and particularly my sympathy for mother and Jennie, will be the
+strongest influences actuating me, provided I decide to change."
+
+Mont Sterry experienced a thrill of delight, for he knew that when
+a man talks in that fashion he is on the point of yielding. He
+determined to urge the matter upon Jennie, and there was just enough
+hope in his heart that the prospect of being on the same side of the
+Mississippi with him would have some slight weight.
+
+"I am glad to hear you speak thus, for it is certain there will be
+serious trouble with the rustlers."
+
+"All which emphasizes what I said earlier in the evening about your
+duty to make a change of location."
+
+The proposition, now that there was reason to believe that Fred
+Whitney had come over to his way of thinking, struck Sterry more
+favourably than before. In fact he reflected, with a shudder, what a
+dismal, unattractive section this would be, after the removal of his
+friends.
+
+"I shall not forget your words; what you said has great influence with
+me, and you need not be surprised if I bid adieu to Wyoming within a
+week or a few days."
+
+"It can't be too soon for your own safety, much as we shall regret to
+lose your company."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+UNWELCOME CALLERS.
+
+
+Although Budd Hankinson and Grizzly Weber were removed from the scene
+of the events described, the night was not to pass without their
+becoming actors in some stirring incidents.
+
+Ordinarily they would have spent the hours of darkness at the ranch of
+their employer, for the immense herds of cattle, as a rule, required
+no looking after. The ranges over which they grazed were so extensive
+that they were left to themselves, sometimes wandering for many miles
+from the home of their owner. They might not be seen for days and
+weeks. Their brands and the universal respect in which such proof of
+proprietorship was held prevented, as a rule, serious loss to the
+owners.
+
+But the date will be recognized by the reader as one of a peculiarly
+delicate nature, when men were obliged to look more closely after
+their rights than usual.
+
+The couple, therefore, rode behind the cattle to the foothills, along
+which they were expected to graze for an indefinite time. Hustlers
+were abroad, and the occurrences of the previous day had inflamed the
+feeling between them and the cowmen. It was not unlikely that, having
+been beaten off, some of them might take the means of revenging
+themselves by stealing a portion of the herd.
+
+Budd and Weber dismounted after reaching the foothills, and, without
+removing the saddles from their horses, turned them loose to graze for
+themselves. No fear of their wandering beyond recall. A signal would
+bring them back the moment needed.
+
+The hardy ranchers seated themselves with their backs against a broad,
+flat rock, which rose several feet above their heads. The bits were
+slipped from the mouths of their horses, so as to allow them to crop
+the succulent grass more freely, while the men gave them no attention,
+even when they gradually wandered beyond sight in the gloom.
+
+"Times are getting lively in these parts," remarked Weber, as he
+filled his brierwood and lit it; "this thing can't go on forever; the
+rustlers or cowmen have got to come out on top, and I'm shot if one
+can tell just now which it will be."
+
+"There can only be one ending," quietly replied his companion, whose
+pipe, being already lit, was puffed with the deliberate enjoyment of a
+veteran; "the rustlers may stir things up, and I s'pose they've got to
+get worse before they get better, but what's the use? It's like a mob
+or a riot; the scamps have things their own way at first, but they
+knuckle under in the end."
+
+"I guess you're right; that was bad business yesterday; I shouldn't
+wonder if it ended in the young folks moving East again with their
+mother, whose heart is broke by the death of her husband."
+
+"The younker is too plucky a chap to light out 'cause the governor has
+been sent under; he's had better luck than most tenderfeet who come
+out here and start in the cattle bus'ness; he done well last year, and
+if the rustlers let him alone, he'll do a good deal better this year;
+he may move, but he ain't agoin' to let them chaps hurry him, you can
+make up your mind to that."
+
+The couple smoked a minute or two in silence. Then Weber, without
+removing his pipe from between his lips, uttered the words:
+
+"Budd, something's going to happen powerful soon."
+
+Hankinson, also keeping his pipe between his lips, turned his head and
+looked wonderingly at his friend. He did not speak, but the action
+told his curiosity; he did not understand the words.
+
+"I mean what I say," added Weber, shaking his head; "I know it."
+
+"What do you mean? Something happens every night and every day."
+
+"That isn't what I'm driving at; something's going to happen afore
+daylight; you and me ain't through with this work."
+
+Hankinson was still dissatisfied. He took his pipe from his mouth,
+and, looking sideways at his friend, asked:
+
+"Can't you come down to facts and let a fellow know what you're
+driving at?"
+
+"I don't exactly know myself, but I feel it in my left leg."
+
+At this strange remark the other laughed heartily and silently. He had
+little patience with superstition. He knew his friend held peculiar
+whims in that respect. Weber expected something in the nature of
+scoffing and was prepared for it. He spoke doggedly:
+
+"It has never deceived me. Six years ago, when we was trying to round
+up Geronimo and his Apache imps, ten of us camped in the Moggollon
+Mountains. Hot! Well, you never knowed anything like it. All day long
+the metal of our guns would blister our naked hands; we didn't get a
+drop of water from sunup till sundown; we was close on to the trail of
+the varmints, and we kept at it by moonlight till our horses gave out
+and we tumbled out among the rocks so used up that we could hardly
+stand. Our lieutenant was a bright young chap from South Car'lina that
+had come out of West Point only that summer, but he was true blue and
+warn't afeared of anything. We all liked him. I had seen him fight
+when a dozen of the Apaches thought they had us foul, and I was proud
+of him. He belonged to a good family, though that didn't make him any
+better than anyone else, but he treated us white.
+
+"So when we went into camp, I goes to him and I says, says I,
+'Lieutenant, there's going to be trouble.' He looked up at me in his
+pleasant way and asks, 'What makes you think so, Grizzly?' The others
+was listening, but I didn't mind that, and out with it. ''Cause,' says
+I, 'my left leg tells me so.'
+
+"'And how does your leg tell you?' he asked again, with just a faint
+smile that wasn't anything like the snickers and guffaws of the other
+chaps. 'Whenever a twitch begins at the knee and runs down to my
+ankle,' says I, 'that is in the left leg, and then keeps darting back
+and forth and up and down, just as though some one was pricking it
+with a needle, do you know what it says?'
+
+"'I'm sure I don't, but I'd like to know.'
+
+"'Injins! Varmints! They're nigh you; look out!'
+
+"Wal, instead of j'ining the others in laughing at me, he says; just
+as earnest-like as if it was the colonel that had spoke, 'If that's
+the case, Grizzly, why we'll look out; you have been in this business
+afore I was born and I am glad you told me. I didn't s'pose any of 'em
+was within miles of us, but it's easy to be mistaken.'
+
+"Wal, to make a long story short we didn't any of us go to sleep; the
+boys laughed at what I said, but the way the lieutenant acted showed
+'em he believed me, and that was enough. The Apaches come down on us
+that night and wiped out two of the boys. If the lieutenant hadn't
+showed his good sense by believing what I told him, there wouldn't
+have been one of us left."
+
+Budd Hankinson then crossed his legs, extended on the ground as they
+were, shoved his sombrero back on his head, with his Winchester
+resting against the rock behind him, and smoked his pipe after the
+manner of a man who is pondering a puzzling question. The latter
+assumed much the same position, but, having said sufficient, was not
+disposed to speak until after the other had given his opinion.
+
+"Grizzly, when your leg warns you like that, does it speak plain
+enough to tell you the sort of danger that's coming? Does it say what
+hour; where the trouble is to come from, and who them that make the
+trouble will be?"
+
+"No!" replied the other, contemptuously; "how could a fellow's leg do
+that?"
+
+"How could it do anything 'cept help tote him around when he wanted it
+to?"
+
+"I've just explained, that twitching is a warning--that's all. I
+'spose the leg thinks that's enough; so it is."
+
+"There ain't any Apaches or Comanches in this part of the world."
+
+"But there's rustlers, and where's the ch'ice?"
+
+"Wal, Grizzly, all I've got to say is let 'em come; it ain't the
+first time we've seen 'em, and we're ginerally ready for 'em. We was
+yesterday, and I reckon we'll get there, all the same, to-night or
+to-morrow morning."
+
+Grizzly Weber felt it his duty to be more explicit.
+
+"The night I was telling you about down in Arizona wasn't the only
+time my leg signaled to me. While it allers means that something is
+going to come, it doesn't always mean it'll amount to much. It has
+happened that only a slight flurry follored. That may be the case
+to-night."
+
+"What's to be done? Are we to set here on the ground and wait for it?
+I was going to take turns with you watching, but I guess we hadn't
+better go to sleep yet."
+
+"You can sleep till near morning if you like, and when I want to lay
+down I'll wake you, but afore you do that I'll take a look around."
+
+Weber rose to his feet, yawned, stretched his long, muscular arms,
+looked about him and listened. The moonlight enabled him to see only a
+comparatively short distance in any direction. Near-by were the forms
+of several cattle stretched upon the ground and sleeping. One or two
+were still chewing their cuds, but the scene was suggestive of rest
+and quiet, the reverse of what he told his friend was coming.
+
+The horses had drifted too far off to be visible, but it was certain
+they were within signal distance. Rocks, stunted undergrowth, bushes,
+and the rich, luxuriant grass met the eye everywhere. Thousands of
+cattle were scattered over an area of many acres, and, unless molested
+by dishonest persons, would be within ready reach when the time for
+the round-up arrived. Neither eye nor ear could detect anything of the
+peril which the rancher believed impended with the same faith that he
+believed the sun would rise on the following morning.
+
+That faith could not be shaken by the profound quiet. Without speaking
+again to his friend he strolled toward the north, that is parallel
+with the spur along whose slope the cattle were grazing. As he moved
+forward they were continually in sight. Most of them were lying on
+the ground, but a few were on their feet, browsing and acquiring the
+luscious plumpness which has made that section one of the most famous
+grazing regions of the Union. They paid no attention to the rancher
+while making his way around, among and past them. They were too
+accustomed to the sight of the sturdy cattleman to be disturbed by
+him.
+
+An eighth of a mile from the rock where he had left his comrade, Weber
+once more paused. Nothing as yet had come to confirm that peculiar
+warning described, but his faith knew no weakening on that account.
+
+From a long way came the sound of rifle-firing, sometimes rapid, and
+sometimes consisting of dropping shots.
+
+"They're at it somewhere," muttered the rancher; "it doesn't come from
+the ranch, so I guess the folks are all right."
+
+The reports were too far off for him to feel any interest in them;
+that which was foretold by the twitching of his limb must come much
+closer to answer the demands of the occasion.
+
+Weber resumed his walk around and among the prostrate animals. He was
+on the alert, glancing to the right and left, and speculating as to
+the nature of the "trouble" that could not be far off.
+
+Through the impressive stillness he caught a subdued sound which
+caused him again to stop in his walk and listen. His keen vision could
+discover nothing, nor was he certain of the nature of the disturbance.
+
+He knelt down and pressed his ear to the ground. That told the story;
+several hundred of the herd were in motion and moving away from him.
+They would not do this of their own accord, and the rancher translated
+its meaning at once; they were being driven off.
+
+He broke into a loping trot toward the threatened point, holding his
+Winchester ready for instant use. As he was likely to need his horse,
+he placed his fingers between his lips and emitted the whistle by
+which he was accustomed to summon the faithful beast. Then he sent out
+a different call. That was for the listening ears of Budd Hankinson,
+who would be sure to hasten to his comrade.
+
+But Weber did not wait for man or animal. They could come as fast as
+they chose. The case was too urgent to admit of delay.
+
+He believed the moving cattle were hardly a furlong distant, but they
+were not only going at a rapid pace, but were moving directly away
+from where the rancher had halted.
+
+He could run as swiftly and as long as an Indian, but the course was
+difficult, and he believed the cattle were going so fast that he was
+gaining little if anything on them. When he had run a short way he
+stopped and glanced impatiently back in the gloom.
+
+"Why doesn't Cap hurry?" he muttered, referring to his horse; "he must
+have heard my call, and he never lets it pass him. Budd, too, don't
+want to break his neck trying to overtake me."
+
+His impatience made him unjust. Neither man nor beast had had time to
+come up, even though each had set out at their best speed the moment
+they heard the signal. They would be on hand in due course, unless
+prevented.
+
+Weber called them again, with a sharp, peremptory signal, which could
+not fail to apprise both of the urgency of the case. Then, afraid of
+losing any advantage, he pushed after the fleeing cattle. The figures
+of the sleeping animals around him grew fewer in number. By and by
+none was to be seen. He had passed the outer boundary of those that
+were left, and was now tramping over the section from which they had
+been stampeded or driven by the rustlers.
+
+He dropped to the ground again. But it was only to use the earth as a
+medium of hearing. The multitudinous trampings became distinct once
+more. The cattle were running, proof that the thieves were pressing
+them hard and were in fear of pursuit.
+
+Leaping up again, the rancher peered backward in the moonlight.
+Something took shape, and he identified the figure of a man
+approaching. The Winchester was grasped and half aimed, so as to be
+ready for instant use.
+
+But it was his friend, who was coming on the run. Budd Hankinson had
+heard the call, and obeyed it with surprising promptness.
+
+"What's up?" he asked, as he halted, breathing not a whit faster
+because of his unusual exertion.
+
+"They're running off some of the cattle; where's the hosses?"
+
+"Hanged if I know! I called to Dick the minute I started, but he
+didn't show up; I don't know were he is."
+
+"I whistled for Cap at the same time I did for you; he ought to
+be here first. I wonder if they've stolen him?" added Weber,
+affrightedly.
+
+"No, they wouldn't have come that close; they didn't have the chance;
+but it gets me."
+
+With that he sent out the signal once more. Budd did the same, and
+then they broke into their swift, loping trot after the fleeing
+animals, both in an ugly mood.
+
+They were at great disadvantage without their own horses when it was
+clear the rustlers were mounted. But, though on foot, the ranchers
+could travel faster than the gait to which the cattle had been forced.
+They increased their speed, and it was quickly evident they were
+gaining on the rogues.
+
+It was not long before they discerned the dark bodies galloping off in
+alarm. Almost at the same moment the ranchers saw the outlines of
+two horsemen riding from right to left, and goading the cattle to an
+injuriously high pace. Grizzly Weber, who was slightly in advance,
+turned his head and said, in excitement:
+
+"Budd, they're not rustlers; they're Injins!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE "DOG INDIANS."
+
+
+Weber was right in his declaration that the parties who were
+stampeding a part of the herd were Indians. They were two in number,
+both superbly mounted, and dashing back and forth with great
+swiftness, as they urged the animals to a frantic flight. They knew
+the danger of pursuit and the value of time.
+
+The rancher, who shouted to his companion, was a few paces in advance
+at the exciting moment he made the discovery. The sight so angered him
+that he stopped abruptly and brought his rifle to his shoulder, with
+the intention of shooting the marauder from his horse.
+
+This would have been done the next instant but for the exclamation of
+Grizzly Weber. Despite the noise and confusion, the Indian heard him
+and saw his danger. Before the rancher could sight his weapon the
+thief seemed to plunge headlong over the further side of his steed;
+but instead of doing so he resorted to the common trick of his people,
+all of whom are unsurpassable horsemen. He flung himself so far over
+that nothing of his body remained visible. The horse himself became
+the shield between him and the white man. The redskin was in the
+saddle, but he would have been just as expert had he been riding
+bareback.
+
+Weber muttered his disappointment, but held his rifle ready to fire
+the instant he caught sight of any part of the fellow's person. At any
+rate, a recourse was open to him; he could shoot the horse, and thus
+place his enemy on the same footing with himself. He decided to do so.
+
+The hurly-burly was bewildering. The cattle were bellowing in
+affright, galloping frenziedly before the two horsemen, dashing back
+and forth among them at the rear like two lunatics, and goading them
+to desperate haste.
+
+At the instant the Indian whom Grizzly Weber selected as his man
+eluded his fatal aim, his horse was running diagonally. This could not
+be continued without the abandonment of the herd. He must wheel, to
+come back behind the fleeing cattle. The rancher waited for that
+moment, prepared to fire the instant any tangible part of the body of
+the rogue was revealed by the moonlight.
+
+But an astonishing exploit prevented the shot. The savage wheeled,
+just as was anticipated, but, in the act of doing so, threw himself
+for a second time over the side of his horse, so as to interpose his
+body. He did it with such inimitable dexterity that the rancher was
+baffled.
+
+All this took place in a twinkling, as may be said; but, brief as
+was the time, it caused Weber to lose valuable ground. The horse was
+growing dimmer in the gloom, and, unless checked, would quickly be
+beyond reach of the Winchester still levelled at him. Nothing was
+easier than to drive a bullet through his brain and then have it out
+with the Indian. Possibly the single bullet would end the career of
+both.
+
+Budd Hankinson called out something, but Grizzly Weber did not catch
+it. With grim resolution he sighted as best he could in the moonlight
+at the galloping steed, and then with a shiver lowered his weapon
+undischarged, awed by the sudden discovery of the deed he had come
+within a hair of committing.
+
+The erratic motions of the Indian and his horse entangled both with
+the flying cattle. All at once the nimble steed became so crowded on
+every side that his only escape from being gored to death was by a
+tremendous bound which he made over the back of a terrified steer who
+lowered his head for the purpose of driving his horns into his body.
+He made the leap with amazing skill and grace.
+
+As he went up in the air, with the Indian clinging to his side,
+the astonishing leap was executed with perfect ease, precision and
+perfectness, his figure rising above the mass of struggling animals
+and standing out for a moment in clear relief.
+
+That one glimpse of the outlines of the splendid horse, together with
+the brilliancy of the performance itself, told Grizzly Weber that
+the steed was his own Cap. The owner had by a hair escaped sending
+a bullet through the brain of the animal whom he loved as his own
+brother.
+
+Grizzly was stupefied for an instant. Then, knowing that Cap had been
+duped by some conjuration, he sent out the familiar signal with a
+sharp distinctness that rose above the din and racket, which, to
+ordinary ears, would have been overwhelming.
+
+The result was remarkable, and approached the ridiculous. Cap heard
+the call, and instantly turned to obey it. The Indian on his back
+strove furiously to prevent and to keep him at his work. Cap fought
+savagely, flinging his head aloft, rearing, plunging, and refusing
+to follow the direction toward which the redskin twisted his head
+by sheer strength. It was a strife between rider and steed, and the
+latter made no progress in either direction while keeping up the
+fight, which was as fierce as it was brief.
+
+The Indian could not force the horse to obey him, and the efforts of
+Cap to reach his master were defeated by the wrenching at the bit. It
+looked as if the horse had been seized with the frenzy that possessed
+every one, and was fighting and struggling aimlessly and accomplishing
+nothing.
+
+But Grizzly Weber was not the one to stand idly by and allow this
+extraordinary contest to go on. Nothing intervened between him and the
+daring marauder, and he dashed toward him.
+
+The redskin's audacity, nimbleness and self-possession excited the
+admiration of Grizzly Weber, angered though he was at the trick played
+on him. The rider knew the risk of keeping up the fight with the
+obdurate beast, for the master was sure to arrive on the spot within
+a few seconds. Before the rancher could reach him he went from the
+saddle as if shot out of a gun.
+
+Freed from his incubus, Cap emitted a joyful whinny and trotted toward
+his master.
+
+"You rascal!" exclaimed the delighted rancher, vaulting upon his back
+in a twinkling. "Now we'll settle with the chap that tried to part you
+and me."
+
+All this consumed but a few moments. The Indian could not have gone
+far. He would not dash among the cattle, who, now that they were
+stampeded, were as dangerous as so many wild beasts. He had hardly
+time to conceal himself, and Grizzly was certain that he had him.
+
+All the same, however, the cowman made a miscalculation. When he
+wheeled Cap about to run down the daring redskin he was nowhere to be
+seen. There were no trees near, but there were boulders, rocks and
+depressions, with the rich grass everywhere, and the dusky thief was
+as safe as if beyond the Assinaboine, in British territory.
+
+"I'm glad of it," thought Weber, a moment later; "a redskin that can
+show such a performance as that desarves to save his scalp."
+
+In the dizzying flurry Grizzly had no time to think of his companion,
+who had enough to attend to his own matters. He now looked around for
+him, but he, too, was invisible.
+
+"I wonder whether he got his horse back, for Dick must have been
+stole, the same as was Cap."
+
+And, grateful for having regained possession of his horse, he patted
+the silken neck of the noble animal.
+
+Grizzly's years of experience with cattle apprised him of a gratifying
+truth. The course of the stampeded herd was changing. Instead of
+fleeing away from the main body they were veering around, so that, if
+the change of course continued, they would return to the neighbourhood
+from which they started.
+
+Panic-smitten cattle are not apt to do a thing of that kind of their
+own accord. Some cause, and a strong one, too, must have effected this
+diversion in the line of flight. All at once, above the din, sounded
+the penetrating voice of a man, who was striving with herculean energy
+to change the course of the wild animals.
+
+One sound of that voice was sufficient to identify it as Budd
+Hankinson's. He must have played his cards well to have done all this
+in so brief a space of time.
+
+And such had been the case beyond a doubt. Budd suspected from the
+first what did not enter Grizzly's mind until it flashed upon him
+as described. The fact that neither of their horses appeared when
+summoned convinced Budd that they had been stolen. True, even in that
+case they would have obeyed the signal, had they been near enough, and
+had the circumstances allowed them to identify it; but, although
+not far off, the noise immediately around them shut out the call of
+Grizzly from their ears, until he repeated it, as has been told.
+
+Hankinson anticipated his friend in this act. In his case, the thief
+in the saddle of Dick gave it up at once. He leaped off, and whisked
+out of sight. It was then Budd called to Grizzly that the thieves had
+their horses; but the other did not catch his words, and, therefore,
+gave them no further heed.
+
+The instant Budd's feet were in the stirrups he set his horse bounding
+along the side of the herd, with the purpose of checking the stampede
+by changing its course. Grizzly understood matters and set off after
+him, leaving to the sagacious Cap to thread his way to the other side
+of the running cattle.
+
+In the course of a few minutes the ranchers opened communication and
+pushed their work with a vigor which brought good results. The cattle
+were tired. They had been on their feet most of the day while grazing,
+were growing fat, and naturally were indisposed to severe exertion.
+Their pace dropped to a walk, and sooner than would have been
+supposed, the fright passed off. The herders kept them moving until
+close to the main herd, where they were allowed to rest. Budd and
+Grizzly dismounted once more, turning their horses loose, and seated
+themselves on the ground. The night, as will be remembered, was mild,
+and they did not need their blankets to make them comfortable.
+
+"Wal," was the smiling remark of Grizzly, as he began refilling his
+pipe, "my leg didn't deceive me this time."
+
+"No, I'll own up it played square; but, Grizzly, if we've got to fight
+the red varmints as well as rustlers, there will be some lively fun in
+Wyoming and Montana before the thing is over."
+
+"The Injins won't take a hand in this. You know who them two thieves
+were, don't you?"
+
+"A couple of 'dog Injins,' of course."
+
+"There isn't anybody else that's got anything to do with this; it's
+sort of queer--that is, it has struck me so two or three times--that
+the Injins have tramps among 'em the same as white folks. They call
+'em 'dog Injins,' I s'pose, 'cause they don't claim any particular
+tribe, but tramp back and forth over the country, slipping off their
+reservations whenever they get a chance."
+
+"Yes, there are plenty of 'em," assented Budd; "we've met 'em before;
+you'll find 'em as far north as the Saskatchewan and as low down as
+the Rio Grande. But I say, Grizzly, they were two slick ones; I never
+seen finer work."
+
+"Nor me either; if they had been satisfied with taking our hosses we'd
+never seen 'em agin. Gracious!" added the rancher, "for myself, I'd
+rather lost half the herd than Cap."
+
+"It seems to me," said Budd, after smoking a moment in silence, "that
+although them 'dog Injins' was pretty smart in getting out of the way
+when we come down on 'em, they weren't smart in trying to run off the
+cattle. They must have known we'd find it out at daylight and would be
+after 'em hot-footed."
+
+Grizzly had been puzzling over the same phase of the question. The
+'dog Indian' is a vagabond, who, belonging to some particular tribe,
+as of necessity must be the case, affiliates with none, but goes
+whithersoever his will leads him, provided he is not prevented.
+Sometimes they remain on the reservation for weeks and months, as
+orderly, industrious and well-behaved as the best of the red men. Then
+they disappear, and may not turn up for a long time. In truth, they
+are as likely not to turn up at all, but to lead their wandering,
+useless lives just as the vagrants do in civilized communities.
+
+Surely the couple who had played their parts in the incidents of the
+night must have known that nothing could be gained by stampeding a
+part of Whitney's herd. The cattle were branded, and could not be
+disposed of for that reason. Besides, a couple of Indians in charge of
+several hundred cattle would be objects of suspicion themselves, and
+certain to be called to account. They could make no common cause with
+the rustlers, for the latter would have naught to do with them.
+
+More than likely Grizzly Weber hit the truth when he said:
+
+"It was a piece of pure deviltry on their part. When they got into the
+saddles they felt safe. Instead of making off with the hosses, they
+thought they would stir up a little fun by stampeding the cattle.
+After injuring 'em by rapid driving for a good many miles they would
+have paid no more attention to 'em, and let us find 'em as best we
+could."
+
+"Yes," assented Budd, "they bit off more'n they could chaw, and so
+lost the hosses. But, Grizzly, have you noticed there's been several
+guns shot off around the country to-night?"
+
+"Yas," replied the other, indifferently; "I've heard 'em several
+times, but I haven't obsarved any coming from the house; it must be
+that some of the boys are having fun to-night instead of sleeping like
+lambs, as they ought to do."
+
+"And there'll be more of it to-morrow, but that's what we've got to
+expect at all times. I'm going to sleep; call me when you want me."
+
+Budd spread the blanket, which he had taken from the back of his
+horse, on the ground and lay down. Hardly five minutes passed when
+he was wrapped in sound slumber. To prevent himself from becoming
+unconscious, Grizzly rose and walked slowly around and among the herd.
+He had no thought of anything further occurring, for the 'dog Indians'
+would be certain to keep away from that neighbourhood after what had
+occurred. He did not feel easy, however, concerning his friends at the
+ranch. He knew trouble was at hand, and he would have been glad if
+the mother and daughter were removed beyond danger. The sounds of
+rifle-firing and the bright glow in the horizon, made by a burning
+building, confirmed his misgivings as to what a few days or hours were
+sure to bring forth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+AN UNPLEASANT VISIT.
+
+
+IT will be recalled that during these incidents Monteith Sterry and
+Fred Whitney were sitting at the front of the long, low building,
+which was the home of the latter, discussing the incidents of the
+last day or two, as well as the matter of Whitney removing, with
+his family, to the East, in order to prevent any addition to the
+affliction they had just suffered.
+
+Besides this, Whitney had turned on his young friend, and impressed
+upon him that he, too, was incurring unjustifiable risk by remaining
+in Wyoming during the inflamed state of public feeling. There was much
+less excuse in the case of Sterry than of his host. He ought to be at
+home prosecuting the study of his profession, as his parents wished
+him to do. His health was fully restored, and it cannot be denied that
+he was wasting his precious days. He was fond of his father, mother,
+brothers and sisters, and it would grieve them beyond expression if he
+should uselessly sacrifice himself.
+
+"Yes," he replied, "I cannot deny the truth of what you say, Fred. I
+ought to leave this part of the country."
+
+"Of course; you're not needed; your future has been mapped for you,
+and it is hard to make up lost time."
+
+"We found that out at the high school," returned Mont, with a light
+laugh; "but the pearl of great price, in a worldly sense, is good
+health, and I have been repaid in securing it."
+
+"And having secured it, it remains--Mont," added his companion
+abruptly, but without the slightest change of tone, "don't stop to ask
+me why, but step quickly through the door and into the house, and keep
+out of sight for a few minutes."
+
+"I understand," said Sterry, obeying without an instant's hesitation.
+
+The prompt, unquestioning compliance with the request of Fred Whitney
+showed that Monteith Sterry understood the reason that it was made of
+him.
+
+The truth was, that during the last few minutes the young men were
+talking in front of the house, each descried something suspicious on
+the broad plain. They instinctively lowered their voices, and though
+neither made reference to it, both gave more attention to it than to
+their own words.
+
+They heard nothing of the tramp of horses, but saw the shadowy
+figures of several men hovering on what may be termed the line of
+invisibility. Sometimes they were distinguished quite clearly, and
+then seemed to vanish; but the youths could not be mistaken.
+
+A number of persons were out there, not mounted, but on foot, and
+moving about, without approaching any closer, for the space of several
+minutes. It looked as if they were reconnoitering the house from a
+distance and debating the best manner of procedure.
+
+The suspicions of the friends were the same. They were rustlers
+looking for the inspector.
+
+Mont Sterry would have preferred to stay where he was and have it out
+with them, but the circumstances were so peculiar that he could not
+refuse to do as his comrade requested.
+
+The cause of Whitney's wish was the abrupt increasing distinctness
+of the figures, proof that they had reached a decision and were
+approaching the house.
+
+They speedily came into plain sight, four men, in the garb of cowmen,
+and they were rustlers beyond question.
+
+Conscious that they were seen, they now advanced directly, as if
+coming from a distance, though the fact that they were on foot showed
+that such was not the case.
+
+With feelings which it would be hard to describe, Fred Whitney
+recognized the first as Larch Cadmus, wearing the same whiskers as
+before. Had he been thoughtful enough to disguise his voice the young
+man would not have suspected his identity.
+
+The moon had worked around into that quarter of the heavens that its
+light shone on the figure of Fred, who rose to his feet, as was his
+custom, and advanced a few paces to meet the newcomers.
+
+"Good evening!" he said. "How happens it that you are afoot at this
+time of night?"
+
+"Our horses ain't fur off," replied Cadmus; "the rest of the boys
+didn't think it worth while to trouble you."
+
+"What do you mean by troubling me?" asked Fred, though he understood
+the meaning.
+
+"We're on an unpleasant errand," continued Cadmus, acting as the
+spokesman of the party, the others remaining in the background and
+maintaining silence.
+
+"Shall I bring chairs for you? It is so unusually mild to-night that
+I am sitting out doors from choice, and I do not wish to disturb my
+mother and sister, who retired some time ago."
+
+"No, we'll stand," was the curt response. "Whitney, as I suppose it
+is, are you accustomed to sit out here alone?"
+
+"Not when I can have company."
+
+"Were you alone before we came up?"
+
+"When you were here earlier in the evening, as you saw for yourself, I
+had my sister and a friend."
+
+"Exactly; who was that friend?"
+
+"Mont Sterry, the gentleman who is on a little tour through some
+parts of Wyoming and Montana to try to help make you fellows behave
+yourselves."
+
+"Yes; wal, we're looking for him."
+
+"Why do you come here?"
+
+"Because he spends a good deal of his time here; he seems to be
+interested in Miss Whitney."
+
+"Well, if he is, that is no business of yours," retorted Fred, angered
+by the reference to his sister.
+
+"Perhaps not, but it would be well for you to keep a civil tongue in
+your head, Fred Whitney; we're not in a pleasant mood to-night, for
+we've had trouble."
+
+"It matters not to me what trouble you've had; you have no right to
+name any member of my family. They are in affliction; my father was
+shot down by your gang yesterday, and, though we made several of you
+fellows bite the dust, the whole of them weren't worth his little
+finger."
+
+"We'll let them matters drop; I told you we're looking for Mont
+Sterry, and we're going to have him."
+
+"And I ask you again, why do you come here after him? I don't deny
+that he was with me, but he left fully two hours ago."
+
+"We know that; he gave us the slip, but we believe he came back."
+
+"And I ask what reason you have for such belief; why did he bid us
+good-by and ride away? I know that he had not the slightest intention
+of returning for several days," said Fred, sticking to the technical
+truth.
+
+"We don't care what his intention was, he did come back."
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"He was sitting in that chair alongside of you less than ten minutes
+ago; you were smoking and talking, though you didn't speak loud enough
+for us to catch your words."
+
+"Where is the proof, Larch Cadmus, of what you say?"
+
+Without noticing this penetration of his disguise, the rustler turned
+and spoke to the nearest of his companions:
+
+"Spark Holly, how was it?"
+
+"I seen 'em both and heard 'em talking," was the prompt response of
+the individual appealed to.
+
+"Are your eyes better than the others'?" asked Fred.
+
+"They don't have to be," replied Cadmus, speaking for him. "While we
+stayed in front of the house, Spark stole round to the rear, where
+none of your family seen him. He got to the corner and had a good look
+at both of you."
+
+"Does he know Sterry?" inquired Fred, purposely raising his voice,
+that his friend, standing a few feet away within the house, should not
+miss a word.
+
+"He don't know him, but I do, and the description Spark gives fits the
+man we're after to a T. We want him."
+
+"But the notice you gave Sterry allowed him twenty-four hours' grace.
+Why do you ask for him now?"
+
+"Them was my sentiments, but when I joined the party under Inman, a
+little while ago, he told me the boys had reconsidered that matter,
+and decided that after what Sterry has done, and tried to do, I hadn't
+any right to make the promise."
+
+"That may be their decision, but it cannot affect yours; you are bound
+by the pledge you made in writing to him."
+
+Larch Cadmus, like his companions, was growing impatient. He said:
+
+"I haven't come here to argue the matter with you; I've come after my
+man, and am going to have him."
+
+"And I repeat what I said: he left more than two hours ago, and you
+have no business to come here."
+
+"Do you mean to tell me he isn't in the house?" demanded Cadmus, with
+rising temper.
+
+"I refuse to answer, but I do say that neither you nor any of your
+gang shall enter my home, where are my mother and sister, their hearts
+stricken by your murderous doings of yesterday, except over my dead
+body."
+
+"We don't like to disturb the ladies," said Cadmus, "but we mean
+business; we have promised the boys to bring back that fellow; but
+I'll make a proposition."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"If you will say that Mont Sterry is not in there, we'll go away
+without disturbing any one; we'll take your word."
+
+"I recognize no right of yours to question me," was the scornful reply
+of Fred Whitney.
+
+"Boys," said Cadmus, turning again to his companions, "that's only
+another way of owning up that the coward is hiding here, afraid to
+meet us; he's our game."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+A DELICATE SITUATION.
+
+
+Few men possessed more courage than Fred Whitney, and he was
+thoroughly aroused.
+
+Sitting in front of his own home during the evening, it naturally
+happened that he was without any weapon at immediate command. His
+Winchester and revolvers, his inseparable companions, during those
+stirring times, whenever away from home, were inside. It need not be
+said that every one of the rustlers had his "guns" in his possession,
+so he was a single, defenceless man against four armed ones.
+
+Nevertheless, he strode forward in front of the open door, determined
+to make good his threat.
+
+"You talk of cowards," he said; "you are four, and each has his
+pistols and rifle; I have none and one arm is wounded, but I defy
+you!"
+
+"Come, come," said the leader, "this will do you no good; we're bound
+to have that man, and if he won't come out we must go after him. If
+you stand in the way we'll pitch you aside. We don't want to hurt
+you."
+
+"Advance at your peril--"
+
+"Fred, move a little to the left--that will do. I've got a bead on him
+now."
+
+It was the voice of Mont Sterry, a few feet away, in the darkness of
+the room. The muzzle of his rifle, however, projected just enough
+to reflect the moonlight, and it was leveled at the breast of Larch
+Cadmus.
+
+"One step," added Sterry, "and you're a dead man."
+
+"Larch Cadmus," said Fred, thrilled by the occurrence, "for we
+recognize you despite those whiskers, I never knew Mont Sterry to
+break his word!"
+
+Language cannot do justice to the situation. At the very moment the
+miscreant was about to advance to hurl Whitney from his path he was
+confronted by the muzzle of a loaded rifle, held by a man who was in
+deadly earnest, and who realized he was at bay.
+
+The startled ruffian recoiled a step and stared into the darkened
+room, as if he failed to grasp the situation.
+
+"Not a step in any direction," said Sterry, warningly; "if you attempt
+to retreat, advance, or move aside, I'll fire."
+
+It would be a rash thing for any one to deny that the young inspector
+had secured the "drop" on Larch Cadmus.
+
+But the man was accustomed to violence, and it took him but a minute
+to rally.
+
+"Pretty well done, I'll own," he said, with a forced laugh; "but what
+good is it going to do you? There are three more of us here and a
+half-dozen hardly a hundred yards away."
+
+"And what good will they do you?"
+
+"Spark," said Cadmus, "slip back to the boys and give 'em the tip;
+we'll see about this thing."
+
+"The moment Spark or either of the other two stirs I'll let the
+moonlight through _you!_ I'm going to keep my gun pointed right at
+you, Mr. Cadmus. If those fellows think I'm worth more than you, they
+have a chance to prove it, for only one of them has to take the first
+step to leave, when I'll press this trigger just a little harder than
+now. More than that, if one of them shouts, whistles, or makes any
+kind of a signal, I'll do as I threaten. If any man doesn't think so,
+let him make the trial."
+
+"Well, I'll be hanged!" muttered Larch Cadmus; "this _is_ a go!"
+
+Judging from the new turn of affairs, it looked as if a single
+individual had the "drop" on four others.
+
+It struck Larch Cadmus that this was a good occasion for something in
+the nature of a compromise.
+
+"See here, Sterry," he said, assuming an affected jocularity which
+deceived no one, "I'll own you've played it on me mighty fine. But you
+can't stand there all night with your Winchester p'inted at me, and
+bime-by I'll git tired; can't we fix the matter up some way?"
+
+"Fred," said Sterry, with the same coolness shown from the first,
+"slip through the door; you know where your gun is; stoop a little,
+so I won't have to shift my aim; when that is done we'll talk about
+compromise."
+
+Fred Whitney, as quick as his companion to "catch on," did instantly
+what was requested. He dodged into the darkened apartment, with which,
+of course, he was so familiar that he needed the help of no light to
+find his weapon.
+
+Had Larch Cadmus been as subtle as his master, perhaps he might have
+prevented this by ordering one of his men to cover Whitney with his
+gun, though it is more than probable that Sterry still would have
+forced the leading rustler to his own terms.
+
+But there was one among the four with the cunning of a fox; he was
+Spark Holly, who had located the inspector when in front of the house.
+
+At the moment Cadmus was brought up all standing, as may be said,
+Holly stood so far to one side that he was not in the young man's
+field of vision. He, like his two companions, could have slipped off
+at any moment without danger to himself, but it would have been at the
+cost of their leader's life; nor could they shift their position and
+raise a weapon to fire into the room, where there was a prospect
+of hitting the daring youth at bay, without precipitating that
+catastrophe.
+
+The instant, however, Fred Whitney turned his back on the rustlers,
+Holly saw his opportunity. He vanished.
+
+The others, more sluggish than he, held their places, dazed,
+wondering, stupefied, and of no more account than so many logs of
+wood.
+
+Shrewd enough to do this clever thing, Spark Holly was too cautious to
+spoil it by allowing his movement to be observed. Had he darted over
+the plain in front of the house, Mont Sterry would have seen the
+fleeing figure, understood what it meant, and, carrying out his
+threat, shot down Larch Cadmus.
+
+Holly lost no time in dodging behind the structure, moving with the
+stealth of an Indian in the stillness of the night. Then he made a
+circuit so wide that, as he gradually described a half-circle and came
+round to the point whence he had first advanced to the dwelling, he
+was so far off that the keenest vision from the interior could not
+catch a glimpse of him.
+
+Certain of this, he ran only a short distance, when he came up with
+the half-dozen mounted rustlers of whom Cadmus had spoken, and who
+were wondering at the unaccountable delay.
+
+The messenger quickly made everything plain, and they straightway
+proceeded to take a hand in the business.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+A MISCALCULATION.
+
+
+Larch Cadmus was well fitted to act the leader of so desperate a
+company of men. He was chagrined beyond measure at the manner in which
+the tables had been turned on him, but, like all such persons, when
+caught fairly, he knew how to accept the situation philosophically.
+
+None understood better than he that the individual who held that
+Winchester levelled would press the trigger on the first provocation.
+He was the one that had sent the warning, and the other was the one
+that had received it. The twenty-four hours' truce had been ended by
+the words and action of Cadmus himself, and his chief wonder, now that
+Fred Whitney was with him, was that Monteith Sterry should show any
+mercy to his persecutor; had the situations been reversed, the course
+also would have been different.
+
+But the ruffian was on the alert. He noticed the guarded movement of
+Spark Holly at the moment Whitney entered his home, and he needed no
+one to tell him what it meant.
+
+He had slipped off to bring help and it would not take him long to do
+it, though Cadmus might well feel uneasy over what would take place
+when Sterry should learn the trick played on him.
+
+It may be that a person's senses are keener in situations of grave
+peril than at other times, for, calculating as clearly as he could the
+period it would take his comrade to reach the horsemen, only a short
+way back on the prairie, Cadmus heard sounds which indicated their
+approach, though they must remain invisible for several minutes.
+
+"Wal," said he, in his off-hand manner, directly after Whitney had
+whisked into the house, "now that you're together, how long do you
+mean to keep this thing up?"
+
+"We're through," was the response.
+
+"What do you mean?" asked the surprised fellow.
+
+"You can go away as soon as you please. Mont Sterry doesn't care
+anything more about you, but I'll keep you covered as long as you are
+in sight, and if you or any of your men try any deception you'll take
+the consequences."
+
+With a moment's hesitation, doubtless caused by distrust of his
+master, Cadmus began edging to one side. A few steps were enough to
+take him out of range of that dreaded weapon, and then his demeanour
+changed.
+
+"That was a good trick of yours, Mont Sterry, but it won't do you a
+bit of good."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Here come the rest of the boys, and if you think you can hold them
+up, why try it."
+
+At that moment the horsemen assumed form in the gloom and approached
+the house in a diagonal direction. Encouraged by their presence, Larch
+Cadmus once more moved toward the open door and resumed the position
+of leader.
+
+"Now, my fine fellow, we summon you to surrender," he called in his
+brusquest voice and manner.
+
+The reply was striking. A young man stepped from the door and advanced
+to meet the horsemen. There was an instant when Cadmus believed his
+victim had come forth to give himself up as commanded, but one glance
+showed that it was Fred Whitney. He calmly awaited the coming of the
+mounted men, saluted them, and said:
+
+"You have come for Mont Sterry, and Cadmus there assures me that if
+I give him my word that he is not in my house he will accept the
+statement; do you agree to it?"
+
+"How's that, Larch?" asked Ira Inman, turning toward him.
+
+"Them was my words, but--"
+
+"Well, then, I have to say that Mont Sterry is not in my house; the
+only persons there are my mother and sister."
+
+"But I seen him, and he got the drop on me--how's that?"
+
+"Yes," replied Whitney, enjoying his triumph, "he was there a few
+minutes ago, and he _did_ get the drop on you and the rest of your
+fellows; but I took his place; he went out of the back door, mounted
+his mare, and if there's any of you that think you can overhaul him,
+you can't start a moment too soon."
+
+No man who heard these words doubted their truth. They told such a
+straightforward tale that they could not be questioned. They would
+have been zanies had they believed that, with the back door at command
+and the certain approach of his enemies, Sterry had waited for them to
+attack him.
+
+True, he and his friend would have held a strong position, in which
+they could have made it warm for the others, but the ultimate
+advantage must have been on the side of the assailants.
+
+The laugh was on Cadmus, and those were the men who, in their chagrin,
+vented their feelings upon him. The worst of it was, he was as angry
+as they; but he might well ask how he could have helped himself, and
+whether any one of them would have done any better.
+
+The foxy Holly, at a whispered word from Inman, darted around the end
+of the building and entered the stables. A brief examination showed
+that no animals, all being known to him, except those belonging to
+Whitney, were there.
+
+Had any doubt remained, it was removed by his sense of hearing.
+Without the intervention of the dwelling to obstruct the sound, he
+caught the faint, rhythmic beating of the earth, barely audible and
+gradually growing fainter in the distance. It was just such a sound as
+is made by a horse going at a leisurely, sweeping gallop, and that was
+the explanation he gave it.
+
+Mont Sterry was safe beyond pursuit, for there was no horse in the
+company that could overtake him. Spark Holly returned to the party in
+front and made his report.
+
+It may be said the report was accepted and placed on file for future
+reference.
+
+It was characteristic of those men, too, that they did not delay
+their own actions, now that their business may be said to have been
+finished.
+
+"Well," said Inman, "that isn't the first time that fellow gave us the
+slip to-night. The way he did it before was mighty clever, but I don't
+see that he deserves any credit for fooling Cadmus, for any one would
+have known enough to do that. But remember that Mr. Mont Sterry is
+still in Wyoming, and we are not through with him yet."
+
+"And there ain't any twenty-four hours' truce," added Cadmus.
+
+"After what has taken place, there's little fear of Sterry making any
+mistake on that point," said Whitney, who was so pleased over the
+outcome of matters that he could speak in gentler terms than he would
+have used had the circumstances been different.
+
+It would seem strange that these men, who but a brief time before were
+so hostile to the single person now in their power, should converse
+without the least offensive action; but most, if not all, of the
+doings of the men concerned in the late troubles in that section were
+in hot blood, and would not have occurred had time been taken for
+thought and consideration.
+
+Inman and his brother rustlers wheeled about and rode off in the
+direction whence they came. Their movements indicated that they had
+no intention of following Sterry, since the course taken by him was
+almost directly the opposite; but Whitney was not fully satisfied. He
+remained in front of his home, listening in the stillness of the night
+to the sounds made by the hoofs of the galloping horses.
+
+Gradually they grew fainter, until, had there been any air stirring,
+or had the tension of hearing been less, he would have heard nothing;
+but, when the noises were hovering close to inaudibility, they
+continued thus. They neither increased nor diminished, but remaining
+the same, steadily shifted the direction whence they came.
+
+Instead of keeping to the westward, as they had been for a long
+time, they worked around to the north and east. Then the decrease in
+distinctness of sound was so rapid that it was quickly lost.
+
+The truth was evident: the rustlers had started in pursuit of Sterry,
+though why they should have taken so much pains to conceal the fact
+from Fred Whitney was more than he could understand.
+
+"They may overtake him," thought the young man as he turned to enter
+the house, "but it will not be right away."
+
+A light foot-fall sounded in the darkness of the room.
+
+"Is that you, Jennie?" he asked in a guarded undertone.
+
+"Yes, brother; have they gone?"
+
+"Some time ago. Is mother asleep?"
+
+"She was asleep before they came, utterly worn out. I am glad she
+knows nothing of the cause of their visit. And what of Monteith?"
+
+"He is many miles away, and still riding hard."
+
+"Will they pursue him?"
+
+"Let them do so if they wish, they will have a fine time overtaking
+him," was the light reply of the brother, who, leaning over in the
+gloom, affectionately kissed his sister good-night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE BURNED RANCH.
+
+
+Meanwhile Monteith Sterry was making the best of his opportunity.
+
+It was no great exploit for him to slip out of the back door, when he
+found his enemies gathering in front; but, had he not been convinced
+that the movement was in the interests of his friends, as well as
+himself, he would not have made it.
+
+His flight was at a moderate pace for several hundred yards, by which
+time he considered himself safe from pursuit and gave his mare free
+rein. Her speed was rapid, but she was capable of maintaining it for
+hours without fatigue.
+
+Sterry's intention was to make his way to the ranch of his friend,
+Dick Hawkridge, which lay to the westward. He began veering in that
+direction, so that it may be said that while Inman and his band were
+riding toward him, he was approaching them. Two causes, however,
+prevented a meeting of the parties.
+
+Sterry was much further out than the rustlers, and in the darkness
+they could see nothing, if indeed they could hear anything of each
+other. Then he had not ridden far when he was checked by an unexpected
+sight.
+
+A bright red glow appeared to the northward in the sky. It was too
+vivid, distinct and near for him to mistake its nature. It was a
+burning building, the flames showing so strongly that, aware as he was
+of the deceptive nature of such a light, he knew it was no more than a
+mile away. He turned the head of his mare in that direction.
+
+"Things seem to be stirring to-night," was his thought as he galloped
+forward, with his gaze fixed on the burning structure. "That may be
+an accident, but such accidents are not common in this part of the
+world."
+
+His supposition was that it was the work of the rustlers, but he was
+mistaken.
+
+The building was similar to that occupied by the Whitneys, though
+somewhat smaller, and burned so fast that when he reached the spot it
+was a mass of blazing embers, with hardly a semblance of the original
+structure remaining.
+
+The sight was interesting of itself, but the attention of Sterry was
+riveted by the figure of a man lying motionless on the ground, only
+a few paces in front of where the door had been. His nerveless right
+hand still grasped the Winchester with which he had evidently made a
+sturdy fight when stricken down.
+
+Sterry did not dismount, but, sitting in the saddle, looked on the
+sorrowful sight as revealed by the glow of the burning building. He
+was saddened that such things should be.
+
+Little time, however, was given him for gloomy reverie, when Queenie
+sniffed the air and turned her head a little to one side. Looking in
+that direction, the rider saw the figure of a horseman assume shape in
+the glow as his animal advanced at a slow step. He must have detected
+Sterry before the latter saw him, and was studying him with close
+attention, his rifle supported across his saddle in front, ready for
+instant use.
+
+Reading his suspicion, the young man called out:
+
+"Come on, partner! You and I cannot be enemies at such a time as
+this."
+
+The salutation reassured the other, who increased his pace.
+
+Before he reached Sterry the latter half-regretted his action, for
+he recognized the man as Duke Vesey, one of the most notorious of
+rustlers and a bitter personal enemy. But a certain chivalry rules
+among such people, and after the greeting of Sterry to Vesey there was
+little danger of the latter taking unfair advantage of it.
+
+"This is bad business," remarked the younger, pointing to the figure
+on the ground.
+
+A hard look crossed the face of the rustler and his thin lips
+compressed as he shook his head.
+
+"Yes, that's what's left of Jack Perkins; he was my pard."
+
+"How did it happen?"
+
+"How did it happen! A pretty question for you to ask. He was killed by
+the stockmen less than an hour ago."
+
+"But they didn't ride hither and shoot him down, I am sure."
+
+"I don't know what you can be sure of," said Vesey, ominously. "Jack
+and I were riding along peaceable like, when we heard horsemen behind
+us. We didn't pay any attention to them till we got home and Jack
+slipped off his horse. I concluded to stay in the saddle until the
+fellows came up and I had a talk with them. They were Capt. Asbury and
+his stockmen, and the first thing they called out was an order for us
+to throw up our hands.
+
+"Well," continued Vesey, grimly, "we aren't in that kind of business,
+and the next thing the guns were popping all around us. Jack had
+nerve. I wish the poor fellow had stayed in the saddle; but his horse
+scooted off, and he stood right there where he fell, without a leaf to
+shelter him, and pumped the lead into those stockmen, who were mean
+enough to shoot the brave fellow in his tracks without giving him a
+chance for life."
+
+"You told me they ordered him to surrender before the firing began."
+
+"So they did, that they might shoot him down the easier. I had a hot
+chase with them, and it was a pretty close call for me; but they
+didn't keep up the hunt for long. You would think," added Vesey,
+bitterly, "that they would have been satisfied with dropping poor
+Jack, without burning down our home; but that is the style of the
+stockmen."
+
+Here was a representative of each of the factions, or associations, so
+hostile to each other. The rustler knew Monteith Sterry, and must
+have felt a consuming resentment toward him. His words and manner
+indicated, too, that he was not averse to a quarrel. He had fought the
+stockmen more than once, and, with the memory of the recent collision
+and the advantages on the other side, he welcomed the chance of a
+conflict on anything like equal terms.
+
+Monteith did not stand in any personal fear of the famous rustler, and
+was fully armed and on the alert. Without seeming to do so, he kept a
+watch on the man, but he disliked the thought of a personal encounter
+with him. The scene, the surroundings, and his own nature, revolted,
+and he resolved to submit to all that it was possible to bear before
+falling back on the last resort.
+
+"No doubt," said Sterry, "there has been injustice on both sides, and
+stockmen as well as rustlers have done things for which there is no
+justification; I hope the trouble will soon end."
+
+"It will end as soon as we get justice."
+
+"Yes," Sterry could not help retorting, "for if justice were done to
+you rustlers none would be left. However," he hastened to add, "there
+is no reason why you and I should quarrel, Vesey; I had no share in
+the death of your friend; and if the case is as you represent it, he
+was more sinned against than sinning."
+
+"Of course you had no share in that simply because you wasn't here,
+but you have been concerned in other affairs like this where some of
+the rustlers have gone down."
+
+"It is quite possible I have," coolly replied Sterry, "inasmuch as
+when a man is attacked it is his duty to defend himself. I have not
+yet been convinced that I ought to stand up and allow others to do as
+they please when weapons were in my hands."
+
+"You have no business in Wyoming anyway," said Vesey, angrily; "you
+have been sent here by the Association to do its underhand work."
+
+"Duke Vesey," said Sterry, "you are a man of too much education to
+talk in that way. If you and I quarrel, it will be your fault, but
+don't fancy that I hold you in any fear. Good-night."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE TRUCE.
+
+
+It was a dignified proceeding on the part of Monteith Sterry, and
+the rustler possessed enough gentlemanly instinct to appreciate the
+feelings of the young man, who had attested his courage too often for
+any one to question it. But at the moment of wheeling his mare to ride
+off both caught the sound of approaching horsemen, and Sterry checked
+his animal.
+
+"Who are they?" he asked, glancing at the rustler.
+
+"How should I know? They may be some of your folks."
+
+"They are as likely to be yours. I don't think, Duke, it is wise for
+us to stay here where we offer such inviting targets, for whoever the
+party may be, one of us is sure to be an enemy."
+
+Monteith Sterry moved away from the area of illumination as he spoke,
+Vesey keeping close to his side.
+
+"Is it understood, Duke," asked the younger, "there's a truce between
+you and me?"
+
+"Of course; if you know anything about Duke Vesey, you know he's
+square. If they happen to be some of our boys, I won't take any
+advantage of you, nor let them, if I can help it."
+
+"And if they are Capt. Asbury and others, I will reciprocate."
+
+Enough was said. Enemies though the men were, no bosom friends could
+have been more in unison for the time. Ready to shoot each other on
+sight less than an hour before, and as they were liable to be within
+the following hour, they were equally ready to risk their lives, if
+necessary, to carry out the pledge just exchanged.
+
+They had to ride but a short way when the gloom became deep enough to
+protect them against the sight of the horsemen who were approaching
+from the opposite direction.
+
+Six men rode into view, halting on the spot vacated by the couple
+just before, the one at the head being recognized in the glow of the
+burning ruins as Capt. Asbury, with whom the affray had taken place a
+short time previous. Sterry knew each, as did his companion.
+
+"All the party do not seem to be there," remarked Sterry.
+
+"They are not," replied Vesey; "three are missing."
+
+"I wonder if anything can have happened to them?"
+
+"Accidents are liable to take place in this part of the world--"
+
+"Hands up!" was the startling command that broke upon the couple at
+that moment, from a point directly behind them.
+
+The truth was, Sterry and Vesey had been seen by the horsemen as they
+stole away in the gloom. Capt. Asbury, suspecting they were rustlers,
+sent three of his men out beyond them on foot, and they did their part
+so well that they came up without alarming either of their horses, who
+ordinarily would have detected them.
+
+"I've been trapped!" muttered Vesey, savagely, glancing at the
+figures, standing but a short way off in the moonlight, with their
+Winchesters levelled.
+
+"Never mind," said Sterry, quickly, "up with your hands, as I do, or
+we'll both catch it; I'll stand by you."
+
+The rustler was wise enough to obey, with only a momentary hesitation.
+Had he not done so, he would never have had a second chance, for the
+stockmen were very much in earnest.
+
+The footmen came forward with their weapons at a level, for they were
+too prudent to give their prisoners a chance.
+
+"How are you, Hendricks?" asked Sterry, with a laugh, as the trio
+joined them.
+
+The man addressed peered closely in his face, suspecting, and yet not
+convinced of his identity until after a minute or two.
+
+"Well, I'll be hanged!" he exclaimed; "is that you, Mont?"
+
+"I have a suspicion that it is," was the reply of Sterry, laughing
+quite heartily as he lowered his hands.
+
+"Who is your friend?" he asked, moving around to gain a better view of
+the rustler.
+
+"Ah, that's the man we're looking for," added Hendricks a moment
+later; "he's Duke Vesey, the partner of the late Jack Perkins."
+
+"You are right," Sterry hastened to say, "but he is under the
+protection of a flag of truce."
+
+"A flag of truce!" repeated the other; "where is it?"
+
+"I gave him my pledge to shield him against you folks, as he agreed to
+do if your party had proven to be his friends."
+
+"Well, that's a queer state of affairs," laughed the other, not
+forgetting to keep guard of the prisoner, who was permitted to lower
+his hands. The other stockmen were equally alert, now that there was
+but one man to watch, so that Vesey was really as helpless as though
+deprived of all his weapons.
+
+"I do not see what is so queer about it," replied Sterry, warmly; "we
+heard you coming and moved off out of sight. Before doing so Vesey
+pledged himself to stand by me against any of his friends, if it
+became necessary, and I promised to do the same for him. The issue
+shows that it is my privilege to keep my promise--that's all."
+
+It was plain that Hendricks felt himself in a quandary. He had been
+sent out to capture the two men under the supposition that they were
+rustlers. It was proved that one of them was the very individual whom
+Capt. Asbury was anxious to secure. To release him after taking him
+prisoner would place his captor in anything but a pleasant situation
+with his leader.
+
+Suspecting his dilemma, Sterry said:
+
+"You can readily arrange it by taking me in as prisoner and allowing
+Vesey to go."
+
+"That is all well enough, but it will put me in a hole that I don't
+intend to be put in. Capt. Asbury is the boss of this business; you
+two can ride up to him and make your report; that will place the
+responsibility where it belongs."
+
+This seemed reasonable, but Sterry felt uneasy. He knew the violent
+temper of Capt. Asbury, and feared he would refuse to acknowledge
+the agreement as binding upon him. On the other hand, Sterry was
+determined to stand by his pledge to the last.
+
+"I can't consent to that," he said.
+
+"You've got to," replied Hendricks; "it is idle to suppose that any
+such bargain as you may choose to make can be binding on others who
+were not present when it was made, and therefore were not parties to
+it."
+
+"That is one way of putting it, but the promise is binding on me, and
+as true as I am a living man I will fight to the death against you and
+the whole party before this person shall suffer because of his faith
+in my word."
+
+"Very well, then, fight it is; he has got to surrender to Capt. Asbury
+and await what he is willing to do with him."
+
+"Duke," said Sterry, turning to the rustler, "it's two of us against
+three, and you and I have been there before."
+
+But on the verge of the explosion the rustler came to the rescue.
+
+"There's no need of any row, Sterry; I'll surrender and take my
+chances."
+
+And to settle the dispute he struck his horse into a gallop, and
+before the surprise was over rode up to the group, who were gazing
+wonderingly off in the gloom, whence came the sound of voices.
+
+Sterry and the footmen were but a brief space behind them. While the
+astonished captain and his companions were looking around for an
+explanation, Mont Sterry made it in as brief and pointed words as were
+at his command.
+
+Capt. Asbury fixed his gray eyes upon the handsome countenance of the
+young man during the few minutes he was speaking, and Sterry saw,
+despite the forceful terms in which he stated the agreement, that the
+leading stockman was angry.
+
+"I've no objection," he remarked, striving to control his voice, which
+was tremulous with anger, "if you choose to play the woman, but I
+don't see what I've got to do with it."
+
+"Vesey surrendered under my promise that he should be protected; had
+he not believed that promise he would not have surrendered."
+
+"But would have been shot down where he sat in the saddle. Had he been
+beyond reach and come in under such a pledge, the case would have been
+altogether different; but as it is--"
+
+The fateful words were interrupted by a rush and dash. Attention had
+been diverted for the moment from the prisoner to the one who was
+pleading for him and to him who held his fate in his hands. The
+observant Vesey saw the inevitable trend of events, and, taking
+advantage of the chance, was off like a thunderbolt.
+
+The parting glimpse showed him leaning forward on his horse, who was
+plunging at utmost speed straight away in the gloom. A half dozen
+shots were sent after him and something like pursuit was attempted,
+but brief as was the start gained it was sufficient, and he was soon
+beyond all danger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+A MESSENGER IN HASTE.
+
+
+The daring escape of the prisoner did not tend to improve the temper
+of Capt. Asbury, and he indulged in a number of emphatic expressions,
+during which Monteith Sterry was dignified enough to hold his peace.
+
+But the leader of the stockmen quickly recovered his self-poise and
+accepted the matter as one of the peculiar incidents liable to take
+place at any time.
+
+His version of the difficulty with the rustlers differed from that
+given by Vesey. They rode up to the house, not knowing who dwelt
+there, and were received with a shot, which, fortunately, did no
+damage. Duke Vesey was at the rear, near the structure in which the
+horses were stabled, when he hurriedly mounted and dashed off, just as
+he had recently done. He did not make a fight like his companion, who,
+as was represented, stood his ground. He was repeatedly summoned to
+surrender, but paid no heed to it, and it became a choice whether to
+shoot him down or allow him to empty the saddles.
+
+While Sterry could not feel so well disposed toward Vesey after
+hearing this account, he did not regret the part he had acted, and he
+was also suspicious that Capt. Asbury had tinged his version with a
+little romance.
+
+The incident itself was of small moment, but the consequences were
+likely to be far-reaching and important. One of the rustlers had
+fallen and his companion had escaped. His story of the fight would
+place the blame wholly upon the stockmen and inflame the feeling
+between the rustlers and ranchmen, already at a dangerous intensity.
+
+Capt. Asbury was out with his men for the purpose of arresting several
+of the most notorious of the offenders against the law. Those rustlers
+were sufficiently powerful to make trouble. If they were given time to
+organize they could sweep the captain and his little party from the
+earth. There was reason to believe they would do that very thing,
+now that Duke Vesey was at liberty to spread his account of the last
+outrage.
+
+Capt. Asbury held a brief consultation with his men, all, including
+Sterry, taking part. The consensus of opinion was that they ought to
+effect a junction with some of the larger parties of stockmen known to
+be abroad, or withdraw to some safe point like Buffalo, Riverside, or
+the nearest military station.
+
+Ira Inman, Larch Cadmus and the others were on the "war-path," and at
+no great distance. Morning would probably find them in sight, if the
+stockmen should stay where they were.
+
+Capt. Asbury decided to ride to the westward, in the hope of effecting
+a junction with friends or of reaching a point where they would be
+secure against their assailants.
+
+The night was well advanced, but their horses had done comparatively
+little travelling and were capable of a good deal more. The captain
+took the lead, holding only occasional converse with his men as he
+swung along at an easy pace; but he, like the rest, was on the lookout
+for danger, which was liable to approach from any point of the
+compass.
+
+A marked change showed itself in the temperature. The weather, as will
+be remembered, had been unusually mild earlier in the evening, but
+it now became sharp and chilly, as though the breath from the snowy
+mountain crests was wafted down upon them.
+
+In a valley-like depression, an hour later, where there was an
+abundance of grass, beside a flowing stream of water, the party went
+into camp, with a couple of their number on guard, just as they would
+have done if in a hostile country--which in point of fact was the
+case.
+
+The night passed, however, without any disturbance, and all were astir
+before sunrise. The men were provided with several days' rations,
+while the succulent grass afforded the animals all the food they
+needed, so there was no trouble on that score.
+
+Capt. Asbury and Monteith Sterry mounted their horses and rode to the
+crest of the nearest elevation, which was fully 100 feet in height and
+commanded a wide sweep of country. The morning was clear and bright,
+and the first glance they cast to the northward revealed a stirring
+sight. A horseman was less than a half-mile away, and riding at
+headlong speed, as if in the extremity of mortal fright.
+
+"What can it mean?" asked the puzzled leader; "no one is pursuing him,
+and I see no cause for his panic."
+
+"I suspect," replied Sterry, thoughtfully, "that he is a messenger
+bringing important tidings to you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+IMPORTANT TIDINGS.
+
+
+It seemed strange that the messenger, if such he was, should know the
+right course to follow in order to reach the camp of Capt. Asbury, for
+he was riding directly toward it, and that, too, at the highest speed
+of which his horse was capable.
+
+But Monteith Sterry had noted a fact which escaped the captain, though
+he was an observant man. The horseman was not approaching the camp at
+the moment the couple reached the crest of the elevation and began
+scrutinizing the surrounding country; he was going at right angles to
+it, but (as it afterward proved) he carried a glass, with which, at
+that moment, he was also scanning the horizon for something he was
+very anxious to find.
+
+Fortunately he caught sight of the couple, and though he could not be
+assured of their identity at so great a distance, the suspicion of
+the truth as to Capt. Asbury caused him to put his animal to his best
+speed.
+
+In a brief time he rode up. While some rods away he recognized the
+captain and saluted him. A little nearer approach and he identified
+Sterry, who was astonished beyond measure to discover that he was his
+old friend, Dick Hawkridge, toward whose ranch he had ridden on the
+preceding evening.
+
+"You're out early, Dick," was the salutation of Sterry, as his old
+friend reined up beside him and extended his hand.
+
+"And are riding hard," added Capt. Asbury, who liked the young man.
+
+"I ride hard," replied Hawkridge, gravely, "because there is need of
+it; I was looking for you."
+
+"And why looking for me?" inquired the captain.
+
+"Because you and your men are in great peril."
+
+"Ah. What might be its nature?"
+
+"From the rustlers."
+
+"I was trying to persuade myself that it was they who were in peril
+from us, but you put it differently."
+
+"It might be as you wish if you had twenty-five or fifty men; but with
+less than a dozen, and more than twice that number looking for you,
+discretion is the better part of valor."
+
+"Tell me, Hawkridge, how all this interesting information came to
+you," continued Capt. Asbury.
+
+"My ranch is not far to the northward, my cattle are ranging among the
+foothills of the Big Horn Mountains, and all my hands are with them. I
+sat up late last night, going over my accounts and trying to get them
+into shape, and it was past midnight when two rustlers rode up. I
+supposed they meant to stay all night and invited them in. I have
+never had any trouble with them, and they had two purposes in
+calling. One was to give me a little advice, and the other to secure
+information."
+
+"Their advice, I suppose, was that you cast in your fortunes with
+them, and take up the business of branding mavericks and altering
+other brands."
+
+"Hardly that, but it was that I should keep out of the trouble, for
+there are going to be ugly times. Now you know that, however much I
+may wish to let things proceed smoothly, I will never identify myself
+with the law-breakers. I gave my callers to understand that, and I
+think they respect my position.
+
+"It seems to me," added Hawkridge, thoughtfully, "that there have been
+some woeful mistakes made. The Cattle Association have organized
+an expedition to rid Johnson, Natroma and Converse Counties of
+cattle-thieves, as they call them. They have imported twenty-five
+picked men from Texas, every one of whom is a fighter and dead shot,
+with Capt. Smith, an ex-U.S. marshal, as their leader. One of the
+party may be taken as a type of the rest. He is Scott Davis, once a
+guard on the Deadwood coach, and he carries a gun with twenty notches
+on the stock, each representing the death of a road-agent or other
+outlaw.
+
+"The expedition left Cheyenne some days ago and is somewhere in this
+section. Strong as it is, it is doomed to defeat, for I don't care
+how brave and skilful those fellows are, they are no more so than the
+rustlers, who far outnumber them.
+
+"However, it isn't that which concerns you and me just now, though it
+may do so later. The rustlers have learned that you are out with a
+small party, and they are after you."
+
+Capt. Asbury was a brave man, and he did not start on hearing this
+announcement, for he had been expecting it from the first; but he
+was prudent as well as daring, and he knew his young friend did not
+underestimate the danger of himself and companions.
+
+"Have they learned anything about last night's doings?" asked Sterry.
+
+"That's what started me off after you in such a hurry. My callers
+stayed more than two hours, and were about leaving when who should
+ride up but Duke Vesey, with his story of the killing of his comrade,
+Jack Perkins, by you and your men."
+
+"I suppose he called it a murder," remarked Capt. Asbury,
+sarcastically.
+
+"Yes, the worst kind, too. I knew he was drawing a long bow, but he
+will tell it to others, and it will spread like wildfire. He was
+looking for Ira Inman, Larch Cadmus and his party. There are more of
+them than you and others are aware of, riding up and down the country,
+ripe for any mischief. From what I know, Inman and a dozen of the most
+desperate rustlers are in the neighborhood, and as the two fellows who
+were at my ranch volunteered to help Vesey find them they will do it
+pretty soon, if they have not already done so. Vesey declared it as
+his belief that you would be discovered not far from his burned home,
+so as soon as they left I mounted my best horse and started to give
+you warning."
+
+"I appreciate your kindness, Hawkridge; how did you know the right
+direction?"
+
+"I knew the course to Vesey's ranch, and was speeding that way when
+I caught sight of you and Sterry on the top of this hill. I took a
+squint through my glass, was pretty sure who it was, and then came
+like mad. I didn't suspect it was you though, Mont, until I almost ran
+against you."
+
+"Did Vesey say anything about me?" asked Sterry, with a meaning glance
+at the captain.
+
+"He said you had acted like a white man in some dispute, but he didn't
+give the particulars and I didn't question him. He is intensely bitter
+against the captain and his party, and declares that not one of them
+shall get out of the country alive; and, captain, Duke Vesey is a man
+of his word."
+
+"Then I suppose I may consider myself disposed of," replied Asbury,
+with a laugh.
+
+"Not as bad as that, but it depends upon yourself."
+
+"What do you advise?"
+
+"Start southward at once with your men; if you meet the Texans and
+their friends, join them if you choose; it will make their strength so
+much the greater, and they need it all. If you fail to meet them,
+keep on till you cross the Platte and strike Fort Fetterman. In other
+words, captain, you have no business to be where you are."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+AT BAY.
+
+
+Capt. Asbury drew a cigar from his pocket and lit it, first offering
+one to each of his companions. He puffed in silence for a minute or
+two, evidently absorbed in thought. He was a veteran of the civil war,
+and had learned to be cool in dangerous crises.
+
+"Hawkridge," he remarked, removing his cigar, "you are right in the
+main, although not wholly so."
+
+"I await correction."
+
+"Doubtless it is all true what you say about the festive rustlers
+roaming up and down the land seeking whom they may devour, but you
+forget that, leaving out the quarter of a hundred from the Lone Star
+State, there are also other bands of stockmen abroad. Now, if we could
+effect a junction with one or two of those companies, why, you'll
+admit, the aspect of affairs will be changed."
+
+"Unquestionably; but consider how slight the chance--"
+
+"On the contrary, I think the prospect is good. Now, if you'll be kind
+enough to level your glass to the eastward, possibly you will observe
+something interesting."
+
+Both young men quickly turned their heads in the direction indicated,
+and there, sure enough, was descried a body of horsemen, probably a
+mile distant, approaching on a gallop.
+
+Hawkridge levelled his glass. While thus engaged, Capt. Asbury
+signalled to his men to mount and be ready to move on a moment's call.
+
+It was well to be ready for any emergency.
+
+Dick Hawkridge studied the horsemen closely for some minutes without
+speaking. Then, with his eye still at the glass, he repeated slowly,
+as if to himself:
+
+"There are thirteen of them, and the spotted horse at the head I am
+sure belongs to Ira Inman; the whole party are rustlers."
+
+He lowered the binocular and looked at the captain, adding:
+
+"I suspected it; their party is but a little stronger than yours, for
+Mont and I will stand with you, but it seems to me it would be foolish
+to risk a fight in the open."
+
+"I am willing to retreat, but I don't intend to be run out of Wyoming
+by all the rustlers between Sheridan and Cheyenne. I am willing,
+however," he added, with a smile, "to make a strategical movement to
+the rear until we strike some place where there's a show for defence;
+do you know of any such place?"
+
+"My house is well fitted for that, and is not far off."
+
+"All right; lead on."
+
+By this time the rest of the party had ridden to the top of the hill,
+where the situation was quickly made clear to them. They looked off at
+the party of rustlers, and several expressed the wish that the captain
+would stay and fight them; but he replied that they were quite certain
+to get enough of fighting before they were many days older, and he
+followed Hawkridge.
+
+At sight of the flight, the rustlers uttered tantalizing shouts
+and discharged their Winchesters in the air. At the same time they
+increased the speed of their animals; but, as they were no better
+mounted than the stockmen, there was little chance of overtaking them.
+
+The surface was undulating, the ground being well covered with verdure
+even thus early in the spring. Sometimes pursuers and fugitives were
+out of sight of each other for a minute or two, but not long enough to
+affect the situation.
+
+The course was northwest, and Hawkridge was hopeful that they would
+reach his ranch in an hour or a little more. And this they probably
+would have done had they not been interrupted, or rather checked,
+by the unexpected appearance of a third company of horsemen, almost
+directly in front of the stockmen.
+
+"It may be they are friends," said Capt. Asbury, instantly bringing
+his horse down to a walk, as did the others.
+
+But the hope was delusive. A brief scrutiny of the strangers through
+the glass by Dick Hawkridge left no doubt that they, too, were
+rustlers, probably engaged on the same errand as Inman and his men.
+
+This, of course, overthrew the plan of taking refuge at the ranch of
+Hawkridge, with a view of defending themselves, for to push on insured
+a collision with the party in front. They seemed to be about as
+numerous as Inman's company, and as the latter were sure to arrive
+before anything could be accomplished by the most spirited attack on
+the rustlers, it would have been folly to incur such a risk.
+
+The most obvious course was to turn to the left, with no special
+object except to reach some place that could be used as a means of
+defence. In a country with such a varied surface it ought not to take
+long to find a refuge.
+
+Dick Hawkridge, when leading the way to his home, acted as guide, and
+now that the change was made he continued to do so because of his
+familiarity with the country. Beside him rode his friend, Mont Sterry,
+with Capt. Asbury and the rest following in loose order.
+
+It was an interesting question as to how Inman and the others would
+act upon meeting, and the stockmen watched for the junction.
+
+At the moment the abrupt turn was made in the course of the fugitives
+the two parties of rustlers did not see each other, a precipitous
+ridge preventing. They must have been puzzled, therefore, to
+understand the cause of the sudden change in the line of flight.
+
+The mystery, however, was speedily cleared up, and the rustlers
+greeted each other with ringing cheers, adding a few derisive shouts
+to the fleeing stockmen. They were seen to mingle for a short time
+only, while they discussed the situation. Then the company, increased
+to more than a score, galloped after the cattlemen.
+
+A fight was inevitable, for the flight and pursuit could not continue
+indefinitely. Brave and confident, the rustlers were ardent for the
+opportunity, while Capt. Asbury and his men were equally eager to
+come upon some place which would do something toward equalizing the
+strength of the combatants.
+
+It was humiliating thus to flee before the very men whom he had set
+out to arrest, but what veteran has not been obliged to do humiliating
+things in the course of his career?
+
+"This flight can't continue much longer," quietly remarked Monteith
+Sterry to Hawkridge, at his side.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"The men are dissatisfied and are unwilling to keep it up. We have let
+those fellows approach so near that their bullets come uncomfortably
+close.
+
+"Capt. Asbury is growing impatient; I shouldn't wonder if he gives the
+order to stop and have it out with them. It will be warm work if we
+do, but over that next ridge I think we shall gain sight of a good
+place for making a stand."
+
+Something in the appearance of the surroundings was familiar to
+Sterry, but he could not identify them.
+
+Just then two of the rustlers fired their guns, and the pinge of one
+of the bullets was plainly heard. Sterry looked around and saw Capt.
+Asbury compress his lips and shake his head; he did not like the way
+things were going. A crisis was at hand.
+
+The top of the ridge being attained, all saw a large structure below,
+and not far off.
+
+"Do you recognize it?" asked Hawkridge, with a smile.
+
+"No--why, yes; is it possible?"
+
+"You ought to know it, for, if I am not mistaken, you are considerably
+interested in one member of the family."
+
+"I never supposed we were so near Fred Whitney's home," was the amazed
+comment of Sterry, who was in doubt whether, under the circumstances,
+he ought to be pleased or not.
+
+"There's where we'll make a stand," called out Capt. Asbury, "and let
+the music begin."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE PRIMITIVE FORT.
+
+
+"Move a little lively, boys," added the captain, spurring his horse
+to a faster gait; "there'll be some shooting, and they're closer than
+they ought to be."
+
+By a providential coincidence, the whole party of rustlers halted
+before ascending the ridge, which would give them a view of the
+building in which the stockmen were about to make a stand. They
+probably saw the impossibility of overtaking the fugitives by a direct
+pursuit, and paused to decide upon some different course of action.
+
+This was proven by what they did a few minutes later, for they
+separated into two divisions, one turning to the right and the other
+to the left. They seemed to think that the course of their enemies
+must change soon, in which case there was a chance of heading them off
+and bringing them between two fires. The rustlers were more familiar
+with the country than the stockmen, and, had the chase continued, it
+is likely it would have resulted as they expected.
+
+But, strangely enough, these people forgot the Whitney home, upon
+which it may be said the horsemen stumbled the next moment.
+
+Down the ridge rode the dozen or more, Hawkridge, Sterry and Capt.
+Asbury at the head, with the others almost upon their heels. In the
+brisk morning air the frightened Jennie Whitney hastened to the door
+and gazed wonderingly upon the party.
+
+She recognized the handsome youth, who doffed his hat, a courtesy
+instantly imitated by Hawkridge, the captain, and then the rest of the
+men, as they halted in front of the door, where stood the pale and
+startled mother, at a loss to understand the meaning of the strange
+sight.
+
+"Good-morning!" called Sterry. "Where's Fred?"
+
+"He's on the range with the men, looking after the cattle."
+
+"And are you and your mother alone?"
+
+"We are the only ones in the house. What is the meaning of all this?"
+she asked, looking with astonishment at the horsemen.
+
+"We are pursued by a company of rustlers," replied Hawkridge; "they
+are directly behind us; I started to lead our friends to my ranch, but
+they headed us off, and we were compelled to apply here for shelter."
+
+"You are welcome," Mrs. Whitney hastened to say; "dismount and come in
+as soon as you can."
+
+Sterry, Hawkridge and Capt. Asbury thanked her simultaneously. Time
+was beyond value. They expected every instant to hear the crack of the
+rifles and the shouts of their enemies on the crest of the ridge, and
+could not comprehend why they were delayed.
+
+They dashed to the structure at the rear and a short distance from
+the dwelling, into which they ran their horses, slipped off their
+trappings, and hurried back to the house.
+
+Every one was inside and not a shot fired, nor was a rustler seen. It
+was beyond explanation.
+
+But the stockmen were wise enough to turn to the best account the
+grace thus given to them.
+
+They stationed themselves at the front and rear doors and windows with
+loaded weapons, on the alert to wing the first rustler who showed
+himself.
+
+Sterry found time to exchange a few words with Jennie and her mother.
+
+"It is too bad," he said, "to put you to this trouble and danger; but
+the rustlers outnumber us more than two to one, and it was the only
+hope that offered itself."
+
+"And glad am I that it _did_ present itself. O, if my poor husband had
+been here when they attacked him!"
+
+"When do you expect the return of Fred?"
+
+"Not before night, and the hands may not come with him. He does not
+dream of anything like this."
+
+"Nor did we, a little while ago. Had any other refuge presented itself
+we would have seized it; but I never suspected we were near your home
+until we came over the ridge and saw it but a few rods away."
+
+"But, where are they?" asked the wondering Jennie.
+
+"That's something I don't understand, for they were near enough for
+their bullets to whistle about our ears."
+
+"They have seen where you took shelter and are afraid to attack you."
+
+"That may be; but why don't they show themselves?"
+
+At this moment Capt. Asbury approached. Repeating his regrets that
+they should place their friends in such danger, he said:
+
+"As there is no saying how long we shall have to stay here, we ought
+to learn the nature of our defences. Our horses are in the stables,
+where, if the rustlers choose, they can get them, and they will be
+pretty sure to choose to do it. They can steal to the rear of the
+sheds and take them out without risk. Now, Mrs. Whitney, we have
+enough rations with us to last, in a pinch, for three or four days;
+how are you fixed?"
+
+"We have but a small quantity of food in the house--none worth
+mentioning."
+
+"No matter how slight, it is worth mentioning. Under the
+circumstances, I think we can say we are provisioned for the whole
+time of the siege, which must be over in less than a week."
+
+"But how will it end?" asked the lady.
+
+The captain shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Take no thought of the morrow; but what worries me is the question of
+water--how about that?"
+
+A hurried examination disclosed that there was not quite two pailfuls
+in the house. Even that was more than usual. The small stream from
+which the supply was obtained was beyond the stables in which the
+horses were sheltered. Water from that source was out of the question
+while the siege continued.
+
+Several of the men had a small quantity in their canteens, but,
+inasmuch as no such contingency as this was anticipated, little
+preparation had been made.
+
+Still Capt. Asbury expressed himself gratified at the result of his
+investigation. The weather was so cool that a moderate amount of
+the precious fluid would prevent suffering, and he decided that,
+dispensing with what ordinarily was used for cooking purposes, they
+could get along quite well for three days, and possibly longer.
+
+The lower part of the flat building consisted of two parts, used
+respectively for the kitchen and the dining and sitting-room. There
+were four apartments above--one for the parents, one each for the son
+and daughter, and one for visitors. These, of course, would be held
+sacred for the members of the family, while the others found sleep, as
+opportunity presented, below stairs.
+
+There were windows on all sides of the house; and the structure, while
+not strong, was, of course, bullet-proof.
+
+Before all this was ascertained the rustlers showed themselves. But
+instead of appearing on the ridge, over which the cattlemen had
+ridden, half of them showed themselves on the other side, having
+circled around back of the stables.
+
+A moment later the rest were observed on top of the ridge. Thus, with
+the exception of the broad level plain stretching in the direction of
+the Big Horn Mountains, it may be said that the ranch was surrounded
+by the rustlers, who held the stockmen at bay.
+
+What would be the result? None could foresee.
+
+Hawkridge drew Sterry aside and said, in a guarded undertone:
+
+"There is only one thing to be feared."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"It is easy for them to burn this building."
+
+"Do you think they will do that, when they know a couple of women are
+inside?"
+
+"It doesn't follow that there is any necessity of their being burned,
+nor indeed of any of us suffering from fire. When you touch off a barn
+the rats get out, and that's what we shall have to do."
+
+"But they will give us a chance, first."
+
+"Yes, a chance to surrender, and we might have done that without
+putting ourselves to all this trouble."
+
+"And suppose we _do_ surrender, after making the best fight we
+can--what are likely to be the terms offered?"
+
+"They will treat the majority, including myself, as prisoners of war;
+but Capt. Asbury, and probably you, will be excepted--he because
+of the killing of Perkins last night, and you because you have
+disregarded the warning to leave the country when ordered to do so."
+
+"All of which is mighty interesting to the captain and myself,"
+remarked Sterry, with little evidence of fear; "but we will hope for
+better things."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE FLAG OF TRUCE.
+
+
+In one important respect the combatants showed commendable discretion.
+Although there had been considerable firing on the part of the
+rustlers, none of the cattlemen were hurt. It is not unlikely that the
+bullets were intended to frighten them, since such excellent marksmen
+otherwise could not have discharged their weapons without execution.
+
+Capt. Asbury and his men had not returned a shot. When their enemies
+appeared on more than one side of the building it would have been easy
+to pick off several without risk to those sheltered within the house,
+but he gave orders that nothing of that sort should be done.
+
+The bitterness between the parties was already intense. There were
+hot-heads on both sides eager to open the lamentable conflict, but
+were it done, there was no saying where it would end. It was wise,
+therefore, that the leaders forbore from active hostilities at this
+early stage of the business.
+
+From the front of the structure the plain stretched in the direction
+of the Big Horn Mountains. It was across this that Jennie Whitney
+descried, two days before, the return of her friends with the body of
+her father. She now ascended to the second story and peered long and
+frequently in the same direction, in the hope of catching sight of her
+brother.
+
+Meanwhile Capt. Asbury disposed of the members of his party as best
+he could. They needed no instructions from him to avoid in every way
+possible annoying the ladies, who were considerate and kind.
+
+About midday, excitement was caused among the besieged by the
+appearance of a flag of truce. A man rode over the ridge, down which
+the cattlemen had come in such haste, holding a white handkerchief
+fluttering over his head. His horse walked slowly and the rider
+kept his gaze on the front of the house, as though in doubt of the
+reception awaiting him. A hundred feet away he came to a halt, still
+flourishing the peace signal above his hat.
+
+Capt. Asbury was the first to discover the messenger and hurriedly
+arranged for the interview.
+
+"Inasmuch as that fellow is neither Inman, Cadmus, nor anyone of the
+leaders, it is not the thing for me to meet him."
+
+"You have recognized him?" was the inquiring remark of Hawkridge,
+glancing with a smile at the officer.
+
+"No. Who is he?"
+
+"Duke Vesey, who does not feel particularly amiable toward you."
+
+"I will meet him," volunteered Monteith Sterry. The captain shook his
+head.
+
+"While that fellow is friendly to you, perhaps, others of the company
+are very resentful; it isn't best to tempt them. Hawkridge, you are
+the best one to act."
+
+"Very well; I will do so."
+
+The horseman had come to a stop and was gazing fixedly at the
+building, as if waiting for a response to his advance.
+
+Jennie Whitney descended the stairs at this moment.
+
+"I think I see Fred coming," she said, with some agitation; "will they
+do him any harm?"
+
+"No," replied Sterry, "they have nothing against him."
+
+"But the other day--" she ventured, doubtfully.
+
+"Was a scrimmage, likely to take place at any time; that is ended, but
+they will probably hold him prisoner."
+
+During this brief conversation a brisk search was going on among the
+three men for a white pocket-handkerchief. None of them possessed such
+an article, the hue in each case being different. Hawkridge appealed
+to Miss Whitney, and she produced a linen handkerchief of snowy
+whiteness.
+
+"Just the thing," he said, drawing back the door sufficiently to allow
+him to pass out. "I don't think I will be detained long. It is
+understood," he added, turning to the captain, "that we don't consider
+the question of surrender under any terms."
+
+"It will be better to report, and then decide what to do."
+
+Hawkridge bowed and passed out. He waved the spotless linen in front
+of his face as he walked toward the horseman, and both smiled when
+they recognized each other.
+
+"Well, Duke, what is it?" asked the footman, as though he were asking
+an ordinary question of a friend.
+
+"I reckon you can guess. Since the two companies came together Ira
+Inman is at the head of the army. Some of the boys are wild to begin
+shooting, and they'll do it pretty soon. Before that, Inman decided to
+offer you folks a chance to give in. That's my business."
+
+"You simply demand our surrender, as I understand it?"
+
+"You've guessed it the first time," replied Vesey, with a nod of his
+head.
+
+"What terms do you offer?"
+
+"You'll be treated as prisoners of war; but," added the rustler, "it
+is hardly right to say that. It's Inman's idea to hold you as hostages
+for the right treatment of any of our boys that may fall into the
+hands of the stockmen."
+
+"That is quite different. Let me ask, Duke, whether this treatment is
+guaranteed to all of our folks?"
+
+"I wish I could say it was, Dick, but I can't; Inman makes two
+exceptions--Capt. Asbury and Mont Sterry. That Sterry showed himself
+so much of a man and was so square toward me when I was caught that I
+would do anything I could for him. I appealed to Inman to let up on
+him, but he won't; some of the boys are so mad they will shoot him on
+sight."
+
+"And Capt. Asbury?"
+
+Vesey's face became hard.
+
+"He ought to be hanged because of the way he acted last night."
+
+"But what is proposed to do with him and Sterry?"
+
+"Give them a fair trial."
+
+Hawkridge shook his head with a meaning smile.
+
+"It won't work, Duke; there isn't a man in our company who would
+consent to anything of the kind. There could be but one issue to such
+a trial, and it would be nothing less than the betrayal of our leader
+or a comrade by us."
+
+"Inman declares he will burn down the house if you refuse his terms."
+
+"Let him try it as soon as he pleases; you can tell him for Capt.
+Asbury that his terms are rejected."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE UNDERGROUND MISSIVE.
+
+
+Dick Hawkridge, standing on the ground, looked up in the bronzed face
+of Duke Vesey, sitting in the saddle.
+
+At every window on the lower floor were faces watching the two men
+that had thus met under a flag of truce. From the ridge on the right,
+and the undulating ground to the left, peered the rustlers, intensely
+interested in the actions of the couple, whose words were spoken in
+tones too low to reach the ears of any on either side. No actors ever
+had a more attentive audience than they.
+
+When Hawkridge announced to Vesey that his proffer was rejected (for
+it was useless to report first to Capt. Asbury, as he had been told to
+do), the horseman said:
+
+"Dick, you would have been a cur to accept such terms, though I would
+do anything to even matters with that Asbury; but I want to get a
+message to Mont Sterry."
+
+"You can trust me to carry it."
+
+"It is for him alone; I have it in writing. Well, good-by."
+
+He leaned over from the saddle and extended his hand. As Hawkridge
+took it he felt something in his palm.
+
+"I understand," he said; "it shall be delivered."
+
+No one watching the couple, as nearly all were doing, suspected this
+little by-play. They saluted, and Vesey spurred his pony to a gallop,
+passing up the ridge and joining his friends to report, while
+Hawkridge was admitted through the door, which was immediately closed
+and secured behind him.
+
+To the captain and the others who crowded around he quickly told what
+had passed.
+
+"Your order was to let you know the terms before giving an answer," he
+added, addressing the leader, "but you see it wasn't necessary."
+
+A buzz of commendation left no doubt of the wisdom of his course.
+
+"But what about his threat to burn the building?" asked Sterry,
+addressing no one in particular.
+
+"He will do it, or at least will try it," replied Hawkridge, "for he
+doesn't intend any one shall have time to interfere, as may be the
+case if he delays too long."
+
+"To set fire to the house," remarked the captain, who had given much
+thought to the question, "they must first reach it, and that manoeuvre
+will prove a costly one to them. I suspect that some other firing will
+take place about that time--eh, boys?"
+
+The response revealed the feelings of the men, who were chafing under
+their restraint.
+
+"But, surely," continued Sterry, "they do not mean to burn the
+building while Mrs. Whitney and her daughter are within?"
+
+"As was said some time ago," replied Hawkridge, "that makes little
+difference, since it is not to be supposed that even we will stay
+inside during the conflagration. The firing is meant to drive us out,
+and it will do it."
+
+"But there must be considerable shooting, and the ladies will be in
+danger."
+
+"I think Inman will order us to send them out, so as to prevent harm
+to them."
+
+"If they were Sioux or Crows they might launch burning arrows and
+fire-balls; but they can't do that, and will have to run some risk in
+getting the flames under way."
+
+"There are signs of a storm, and if the night proves dark it will be
+much in their favor and against us."
+
+"Suppose they fire the stables," suggested one of the men.
+
+"They are too far off to place us in danger, unless a strong wind
+should blow directly this way."
+
+"Well, boys," said Capt. Asbury, hopefully, "the thing isn't through
+yet. I think Inman will give us another message before opening the
+ball, so you may rest easy until he makes his next move."
+
+Meanwhile Hawkridge had managed to deliver the little twist of paper,
+placed in his hand by Vesey. Inasmuch as the matter had been managed
+with so much care, he deemed it right that no one should see the
+transfer to his friend.
+
+Sterry was surprised and glanced down at the object, but, quick to
+catch on, closed his palm again and took part in the conversation. It
+was some minutes before he gained a chance to examine the contents
+unobserved. When he did so, they proved so important that he called
+Hawkridge and the captain aside and showed the letter to them. Each
+read it in turn, the contents being as follows:
+
+    "FRIEND STERRY: You acted square with me, and I will do the same
+    with you. Inman doesn't expect you folks to accept his terms, for
+    if you do it will be good-by to yourself and Capt. Asbury. It
+    would suit me very well to see him go, as he will if we get a
+    chance at him, but I can't bear the idea of anything bad happening
+    to you after the way you stood by me last night when that Asbury
+    meant to shoot me.
+
+    "So my advice is this: Get out of where you are and leave as fast
+    as you know how. Queer advice, you'll think, but I'll show you how
+    you can follow it. A friend of mine, whom we can both trust, and
+    I, will be on watch to-night at the stables. It looks as if it is
+    going to be as dark as a wolf's mouth.
+
+    "It won't do to move before 10 o'clock. When everything is ready I
+    will light a cigarette and flirt the match around my head once, as
+    if to put it out. That will mean that the way is open. Steal out
+    of the back door and dodge to the stables; your mare will be
+    ready, and when another chance opens you can make a break. No one
+    can overtake you, and I don't think it will be suspected who you
+    are.
+
+    "If you succeed, I hope you will have sense enough to stay out of
+    Wyoming, at least until this flurry is over. If you are detected
+    while trying to reach the stables you can dart back, for I don't
+    think anyone will shoot at you, since we have orders not to do
+    that until after you folks begin the rumpus.
+
+    "Inman means to set fire to the house to-night. He won't be able
+    to hold back the boys much longer. When ready, he will send word
+    and ask the two ladies to come out to him, where he will hold them
+    beyond reach of fire and bullet. He expects there will be the
+    hottest kind of shooting, and it will be a bad thing for you
+    folks. Capt. Asbury may as well make his will, for I'm not the
+    only one that will lay for him.
+
+    "Don't forget my directions. It will not be before 10 o'clock, and
+    may be a little later. Don't let any one see this, and don't drop
+    a hint to Asbury. It is meant for your good, and you will act like
+    a sensible man.
+
+    "D.V."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ON PAROLE.
+
+
+A new matter of interest claimed the immediate attention of the
+defenders within the home of ranchman Whitney.
+
+It will be remembered that the sister had reported the approach of a
+horseman, whom she believed to be her brother. The rider was now in
+plain sight, and a brief scrutiny through the glass by Hawkridge
+removed all doubt; she was right.
+
+He was coming at an easy, swinging gallop, straight toward his home.
+He must have seen the rustlers while yet a considerable way off, for
+he quickened the pace of his animal, stirred by a natural anxiety for
+his loved ones and by a curiosity to know the meaning of the strange
+condition of affairs.
+
+Had he understood matters fully, while yet at a distance, he would
+have avoided a mistake which occasioned him and his friends intense
+regret, and which proved irreparable.
+
+He did not cease his advance until within a hundred yards, when the
+cattlemen, who were watching his every movement, saw him bring his
+horse to a sudden halt. At the same moment a couple of rustlers moved
+into view, their guns held so as to cover him. He sat motionless until
+they came up, one on either side, when he was seen to be conversing
+earnestly with them.
+
+"They have made him prisoner," remarked Hawkridge, "just as I was sure
+they would."
+
+"Will they do him harm?" asked Mrs. Whitney, who, with Jennie, had
+descended the stairs and stood with the group near the front door.
+
+"No," was Hawkridge's reassuring reply; "he must see the uselessness
+of resistance, and we are not fighting Indians who learned warfare
+from the late lamented Sitting Bull."
+
+It was noticed that Fred Whitney, despite the wound of a couple of
+days before, no longer wore his arm in a sling. As he had said, he was
+ashamed to do so.
+
+Brave as was the young man, he had judgment. He knew that he was at
+the mercy of a score of rustlers, and quickly learned the situation.
+Capt. Asbury, Monteith Sterry, Dick Hawkridge and a number of
+cattlemen were besieged in his home.
+
+While he was holding earnest converse with his captors one of them
+turned and addressed Inman, who was out of sight of the besieged,
+because of the intervening ridge. His reply caused Whitney to dismount
+and walk in that direction, he, too, passing out of the field of
+vision.
+
+He was invisible for perhaps ten minutes, when he was seen coming
+over the ridge toward his own door, but without his Winchester or
+revolvers. A moment later he was admitted. He kissed his mother and
+sister and grasped the hands of his friends, who crowded around to
+congratulate him and hear what he had to say.
+
+"They told me everything," he replied, looking into the glowing faces,
+and smiling at the anxiety depicted on several. "I have made a woeful
+mistake, boys."
+
+"How's that?" asked several in the same breath.
+
+"Hankinson and Weber have moved several miles further into the
+mountains, so nothing will be seen of them for several days, and
+perhaps not for a week. The trouble with the rustlers makes it
+necessary that we should keep closer watch than usual upon the stock,
+and it is understood that they are not to leave the cattle until they
+get word from me. So, as I said, they are out of the question."
+
+"Is that the mistake you refer to?" asked Sterry.
+
+"I wish it was; but a couple of hours ago, Hankinson, who had ridden
+a considerable distance beyond the grazing grounds, came in with the
+report that a large body of men were camped in a valley a mile or so
+further on. There must be fifty at least."
+
+Capt. Asbury emitted a low whistle.
+
+"Rustlers again! By and by we'll have all there are in Wyoming
+swarming about this house."
+
+"No; Budd visited them, and found they were cattlemen on the hunt for
+rustlers. Had he known of Inman's party out here he would have given
+them a pointer, but of course he doesn't dream of anything of the
+kind. Now, the mistake I made is this: When I saw the horsemen
+gathered about the buildings and ridge, I ought to have wheeled and
+ridden as hard as I could to the stockmen. They would have been here
+before night and wound up this business in a jiffy. But I kept on and
+rode right into the trap set for me, and can do nothing."
+
+No one could question the justice of Whitney's self-condemnation, but
+there was no help for it.
+
+"How is it you were allowed to join us?" asked Capt. Asbury.
+
+"I am here under parole; you see they took my horse, rifle and pistols
+from me. I would not have been allowed to come to you except upon my
+pledge to return within fifteen minutes."
+
+"And what will they do with you, my boy?" asked his mother, alarmed by
+the information.
+
+"Nothing, so long as I remain a model prisoner; but how are you fixed
+for defence?"
+
+He was quickly made acquainted with the situation of affairs.
+
+"Ah," he added, with a sigh, "if there was some way of getting word to
+the stockmen; but I see none."
+
+"They will not be likely to give you a chance?"
+
+Fred shook his head.
+
+"I'm afraid I overdid the thing. I asked them to be allowed to go back
+to my cattlemen, but they would not listen to it. They acted as if
+they were suspicious, and told me I must stay with them until the
+trouble ended, which they assured me would be soon."
+
+Sterry glanced significantly at Asbury and Hawkridge. He recalled that
+singular message from Duke Vesey. If all went well, it might contain a
+shadow of hope. It was deemed best, however, to make no reference
+to it, even for the benefit of Whitney, who was questioned until he
+described as exactly as he could the location of the cattlemen.
+
+The grace had expired. No one thought of advising Whitney to disregard
+his parole, and no urging could have induced him to do it. He
+affectionately kissed and embraced mother and sister, warmly shook the
+hands of his friends again, assured them of his hope that all would
+come out right, and then, passing through the door, was seen to walk
+up the ridge and pass over the summit, to take his place among his
+captors, there to await their pleasure.
+
+"Sterry," said Asbury, drawing him and Hawkridge aside, "you were
+saying awhile ago that nothing could induce you to accept the offer of
+Vesey to slip out in the darkness of the night."
+
+"No; as he presented it, such a flight would have been a piece of
+cowardice altogether different from my flight last night. It would
+have weakened your defensive force and helped no one but me."
+
+"Now, however, it wears a different aspect."
+
+"Yes, it looks providential, and promises to open the way for the
+escape of all. I hardly think," added Sterry, with a smile, "that
+with all of Vesey's gratitude to me he would do what he intends if he
+foresaw the probable consequences, for it means nothing less than the
+overthrow of Inman's plans."
+
+"And the baffling of his charitable intentions concerning myself,"
+grimly added the captain.
+
+"It seems to me we forgot one phase of the business," remarked
+Hawkridge, "and that is the fact that the chances of failure are a
+hundredfold greater than those of success."
+
+His companions looked questioningly at him.
+
+"Perhaps it will not be difficult for Vesey to secure the placing of
+himself and friend at the stables, as he promises to do, but it seems
+unlikely that, with a dark night and the temptation for some of us
+to try to get away, they will be the only couple that will be on the
+lookout at that time. But, supposing they are," added Hawkridge,
+"Sterry will have to mount his horse and ride off. There will be some
+of the rustlers beyond him, and how can he pass them unchallenged?"
+
+"If it proves too risky to try on horseback I can do it on foot,"
+replied Sterry; "in the darkness I will be taken for one of them, and,
+if questioned, can throw them off their guard. The tramp to where the
+stockmen are in camp I judge to be little if any more than five miles,
+and it won't take me long to travel that after getting clear of these
+people."
+
+"I have a strong belief that the whole scheme is doomed to failure,"
+said Hawkridge, and Capt. Asbury agreed with him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE FINAL SUMMONS.
+
+
+Now came hours of wearisome waiting, especially to the besieged, who
+found in their close quarters little freedom of movement. Some of the
+men stretched out on the lower floor and slept; others talked and
+engaged in games of chance, while a desultory watch was maintained,
+through the doors and windows, upon the rustlers, several of whom were
+continually in sight.
+
+Before the afternoon had half passed all doubt of the coming darkness
+was removed. The sky became heavily clouded, the air was raw and
+chilly, and no moon was visible.
+
+Several distant rifle-shots were heard an hour later, but no one
+could conjecture or discover the explanation. Probably they signified
+nothing.
+
+Fred Whitney showed himself on top of the ridge once, and waved his
+hand in salutation to his friends. This was done to reassure his
+mother and sister, who were anxious, despite what he had said to them.
+
+Many longing glances were cast across the broad plain in the direction
+of the mountains. Like shipwrecked mariners scanning the horizon for
+the rescuing sail, the besieged were hopeful that some good fortune
+would bring the strong body of stockmen that way; but the vision was
+rewarded by no such welcome sight.
+
+Capt. Asbury received a shock just before night closed in. So many
+hours had passed without the exchange of a shot that both parties
+exposed themselves freely. Had they chosen, a good many might have
+been picked off; but the general understanding that the hour had not
+yet come for action, threatened, at times, to change the impending
+tragedy into a most ordinary situation.
+
+Capt. Asbury was sitting by one of the front windows, smoking his
+briarwood, and looking nowhere in particular, when he saw a man
+kneeling on top of the ridge and carefully sighting his gun at him.
+Before the fellow could secure an aim the officer moved quickly back
+out of sight, and he vanished.
+
+"I have no doubt it was Duke Vesey," he thought; "what a pity I did
+not shoot him last night."
+
+He judged it not worth while to tell any of the rest of the incident,
+but he took care not to tempt the fellow again by a second exposure to
+his aim.
+
+But for this prompt action on the part of the leader, a frightful
+conflict must have been precipitated. The shooting of the captain
+would cause retaliation on the part of the stockmen, and it would
+instantly become a question as to which could do the most execution.
+
+The occurrence was startling enough of itself, but Capt. Asbury
+quickly recovered, only to find himself troubled by another matter,
+which was more serious.
+
+It was the doubt whether the intended crime of Vesey was solely of his
+own responsibility. Was it not likely that he had received permission
+from Inman to end the suspense by shooting the captain of the
+stockmen? The captain knew that he was as much detested by the leading
+rustlers as by Vesey. Probably the men were growing too impatient to
+be restrained much longer.
+
+The suspicion appeared more reasonable from the fact that, the leader
+once "removed," there would remain but the single exception to those
+guaranteed honorable treatment. Surrender, therefore, would be more
+probable.
+
+No single shot could do so much to aid the rustlers as that which came
+near being made.
+
+"This strained situation can't last much longer; I believe it will be
+settled before the rise of to-morrow's sun."
+
+Monteith Sterry secured more than one chance of a few words with
+Jennie. The sense of danger naturally draws persons closer together,
+though the incentive was hardly needed in their case.
+
+"Monteith," said she, as they sat apart by themselves, with the shadow
+of the coming night gradually closing around, "what is to be the end
+of all this?"
+
+"I will tell you what I think," he replied, and thereupon read in a
+guarded voice the letter received from Duke Vesey, after which they
+burned it, that it might not fall into hands that could injure the
+sender.
+
+"You can see that we are going to be favoured with a very dark night,
+and Vesey is so anxious to befriend me that I am sure he will find the
+way, though Hawkridge and the captain are less confident."
+
+"But suppose they recognize you?"
+
+"They can't do that in the darkness, and my rustling friend will not
+draw me into a peril that is greater than that of staying here."
+
+"I feel as do Mr. Hawkridge and Capt. Asbury," she said, unable to
+share his ardour.
+
+"Then do you wish me to stay here?"
+
+"I think it is safer."
+
+"And go up in flame and smoke?"
+
+"Won't you be willing to share the risk with me?" she asked, entering
+into his half-jocose vein.
+
+"But the rustlers will save you that risk; they will give you a good
+point of observation, from which you can have a fine view of the
+scene."
+
+"Suppose mother and I refuse to leave?"
+
+"I am certain you will not do that," said Sterry, gravely, "for you
+will be in great danger under any circumstances."
+
+"But if we remain they may not try to fire the house."
+
+He shook his head.
+
+"Dismiss all idea of that; do not fancy, because hours have passed
+without the exchange of a shot, that there is any friendship between
+the parties. By and by a gun will be fired; somebody will be hurt, and
+then they will be at it like so many tigers. No, Jennie," he added,
+"when the warning comes for you and your mother to withdraw you must
+do so, not only for your own sake, but for ours."
+
+"And how yours?"
+
+"We--that is, the men--can fight much better when your presence causes
+them no anxiety."
+
+"But, tell me, do not Capt. Asbury and the rest feel hopeful of
+beating off the rustlers?"
+
+"Of course they will make a brave fight, and there is a chance of
+their success, but I shudder when I think of what the cost will be to
+both sides. How much better if all this can be averted."
+
+"True, indeed! And if I could be assured that you would succeed in
+reaching the camp of the cattlemen, I would bid you Godspeed."
+
+"I certainly will never reach it by staying here, and I think if my
+chances were doubly less they ought to be taken for the sake of the
+good that will come to all."
+
+At this juncture, Capt. Asbury, sitting near the window, called out:
+
+"Here's a visitor!"
+
+In the gloom he was not clearly visible, even though he was seen to
+advance, and heard to knock on the door. But when the latter was
+opened, Fred Whitney stepped inside.
+
+Here the gathering darkness was more pronounced, for it was not deemed
+prudent to have a light.
+
+"Inman has sent me with his ultimatum," said the messenger; "he says
+he has given you abundant time to think over the matter, and wants
+your decision."
+
+"What are his terms?" asked Capt. Asbury.
+
+"The same as before."
+
+"He promises to treat all of us as prisoners of war, with the
+exception of Sterry and myself. We are guaranteed a trial, which is
+another way of saying we shall be shot. I will allow my men to vote on
+the question," added the leader.
+
+The indignant protests, however, compelled the officer to recall his
+harsh remark.
+
+"Of course I knew that would be your reply," Fred hastened to say;
+"and it is what Inman and Cadmus expect. I have been sent to bring my
+mother and sister out of the house, for the rustlers intend to attack
+you before morning. That means, too, that they intend to burn it."
+
+The three defenders who were in the secret saw the danger in which
+this placed Sterry's intended flight.
+
+If the attack were made before 10 o'clock, there could be no possible
+opportunity for his getting away. Some means, therefore, must be
+found for deferring the assault until after that hour, if it could be
+accomplished without arousing the suspicions of the rustlers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+A STRANGE OCCURRENCE.
+
+
+"Do you know," inquired Sterry, "how soon it is contemplated making
+the attack?"
+
+"I have not heard Inman or Cadmus say, but from the talk of the men I
+judge it will be quite soon."
+
+"Probably within a couple of hours?" "Sooner than that--by 9 o'clock
+at the latest."
+
+It was the mother who now spoke: "Suppose Jennie and I decline to
+leave the house?"
+
+"That has been considered," replied the son, "and I am sorry to say
+it will make no difference. The rustlers are in an uglier mood than
+before--wrathful because they have been kept idle so long. They can
+claim that they have given you ample notice, and if you refuse to come
+out they cannot be held blamable for the consequences."
+
+This would never do, and Hawkridge interposed:
+
+"If the attack cannot be prevented, Fred, it must be delayed."
+
+"On what grounds?"
+
+"Any that you can think of; they must not disturb us until near
+midnight."
+
+"But I shall have to give a reason; I am as anxious as you to do my
+utmost, but I do not see how I can do anything."
+
+The quick wit of Jennie came to the rescue.
+
+"Tell Capt. Inman and Larch Cadmus for me that we have a number of
+articles we wish to save from destruction; ask them in the name of
+mother and myself to give us time in which to gather them together."
+
+Fred was silent for a moment.
+
+"At least it will do no harm to try it, even though I do not believe
+it will be of any use."
+
+"Ask them to make it between 11 and 12; we will then have time to
+collect all we want--in fact a good deal more time than is necessary."
+
+"I do not see the need of this," replied the brother, who, it need not
+be repeated, had no knowledge of what was in the minds of the few;
+"I think I can say that if I do not return in the course of ten or
+fifteen minutes, you may consider your prayer granted."
+
+Bidding them good-by once more, he passed out of the door and
+disappeared in the darkness, which had now fully descended and shut
+from sight the impatient rustlers.
+
+It was a peculiar situation in which the defenders, including the
+mother and sister, dreaded the return of the head of the household,
+but the front of the dwelling was watched with an intensity of
+interest it would be hard to describe.
+
+"By gracious! there he is!" exclaimed Dick Hawkridge, hardly ten
+minutes after Fred's departure; "it's no use."
+
+A shadowy figure was observed moving across the dark space in front,
+but while they were waiting for him to enter the door, which was
+unfastened to admit him, he passed on and vanished in the gloom
+without checking his motion or speaking.
+
+"That wasn't Fred," whispered Jennie; "I know his walk too well."
+
+"It makes no difference," replied Sterry, "you can depend that he will
+soon put in an appearance."
+
+But the slow minutes dragged along and nothing was seen of him. By and
+by a faint hope began to form that the urgent request of the ladies
+had been conceded, for they insisted that they could see no reason why
+it should not be.
+
+A full hour passed, and, when it was after 9 o'clock, all doubt was
+removed. The attack would not be made until close upon midnight.
+Monteith Sterry would be given the chance, provided Duke Vesey showed
+the way for him.
+
+The crisis was so near that it was deemed best to let all know what
+was in contemplation. Capt. Asbury, therefore, explained it to the
+men, as the daughter had explained to the mother.
+
+"Those fellows can't be trusted," the leader added; "they may seek to
+give the impression that the delay has been granted, while preparing
+to assail us when least expected. The night is dark, as you see, and
+favourable to their plans. Keep the closest watch possible on all
+sides of the house, for to set fire to it they must approach near
+enough to touch the building."
+
+"Suppose we catch sight of some one stealing up?" asked one of the
+cattlemen.
+
+"Challenge him, and if he does not give a satisfactory response,
+fire."
+
+"What will be a satisfactory response?"
+
+"The voice of Fred Whitney, and I may say of Duke Vesey, or the
+announcement that the individual is the bearer of a message for us. In
+the latter case, of course, he will approach from the front. When you
+shoot, too, boys, you mustn't throw away any shots, for this isn't
+going to be child's play."
+
+"We understand that," was the significant response of a couple of the
+stockmen.
+
+It was now growing so late that Sterry placed himself near the rear
+door to watch for the expected signal from Vesey, feeling, as the
+minutes passed, a nervousness greater than at any time before.
+
+Since no light burned in the house, the only means of determining the
+hour was by striking a match and holding it in front of a watch. Hope
+became high when 10 o'clock was at hand.
+
+Sterry half expected, in case everything promised well, that Vesey
+would manage to give something in the nature of a preliminary signal,
+but the closest scrutiny showed nothing of the kind.
+
+Capt. Asbury, who maintained his place near one of the front windows,
+close to the door, suddenly called:
+
+"Come here a moment, Sterry."
+
+The young man stepped hastily across the room.
+
+"You have everything clear in your mind?" was the question which
+struck the young man as slightly inopportune.
+
+"Yes; as clear as I can have; why do you ask?"
+
+"I wanted to be certain, for your task is a delicate one; we will
+hold the door ajar a little while after you go, so that if anything
+happens, such as their recognizing you, you will be able to dash back.
+You know it won't do for you to be identified."
+
+"I understand," replied Sterry, who felt that he ought to be at his
+post.
+
+He hastily stepped back, and as he did so was surprised to find the
+door drawn open several inches.
+
+"What does that mean?" he asked of the several gathered around in the
+darkness, whose faces he could not see.
+
+"Why," replied Hawkridge, "what does it mean, indeed? I thought you
+passed out just now."
+
+"You see I did not. Why do you make such a remark?"
+
+"Some one went out," was the amazing declaration.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+THE MISSING ONE.
+
+
+Monteith Sterry was astounded by the declaration of Dick Hawkridge
+that some one had passed through the rear door while he was talking
+with Capt. Asbury.
+
+"Who was it?" demanded he.
+
+"I told you we thought it was you," replied his friend.
+
+"But you know it wasn't," he replied, impatiently.
+
+"Then I have no idea who it was."
+
+"Some one has taken advantage of the moment I spent with the
+captain--I wonder if he had anything to do with it," he added, growing
+unjustly suspicious in his resentment.
+
+He strode across the room; and, knowing where the leader was,
+demanded:
+
+"What is the meaning of this, Capt. Asbury?"
+
+"The meaning of what?"
+
+"While I was talking a few seconds with you some person slipped out of
+the back door; do you know anything of it?"
+
+"It is beyond my comprehension," replied the leader in a voice which
+removed all distrust of him.
+
+And forgetful, in his excitement, of his duty at the front, he stepped
+hastily to the rear, where most of the men had crowded, despite the
+orders for them to maintain a strict watch.
+
+"I heard you and the captain speaking," said Hawkridge, in
+explanation, "but your voices were so low that I would not have
+identified them anywhere. Supposing you to be where you really were,
+I stepped to the rear window here and peered out in the gloom where I
+knew the stable to be--"
+
+"Did you see anything?" interrupted Sterry.
+
+"Not a sign of the signal. While I was straining my eyes to pierce
+the darkness the door was drawn inward slightly, and a figure moved
+quickly across the space toward the stables."
+
+"You could not identify it?"
+
+"Of course not, for you see how dark it is, and there was no light; in
+fact, I hardly saw it before it vanished."
+
+"It is as I supposed," added Sterry, angrily. "Some one fancied he had
+a better chance by slipping off than in remaining here, and has looked
+after his own safety. I wish I knew who it was."
+
+"We can soon find out," remarked Capt. Asbury; "our men are not too
+numerous for me to forget their names and voices."
+
+He raised his tones and summoned them.
+
+"I don't believe they will attempt to fire the house as long as the
+ladies are with us," he exclaimed; "some one of our party has been
+cowardly enough to sneak off. As I call your names, answer."
+
+He proved the truth of what he said. He had eight companions, not
+counting Hawkridge and Sterry. With little hesitation, for his memory
+was instantly prompted by others, he pronounced each name, and to
+every one came the prompt, unmistakable response of the owner.
+
+"One of those rustlers has managed to get in here undiscovered,"
+was the next theory of Sterry, whose temper did not improve at the
+unaccountable turn of affairs. "I don't see why Inman and the rest
+delay their attack, when we are only children in their hands; they can
+do with us as they please--"
+
+All started, for at that moment a sharp rap sounded on the door.
+Before opening it, Capt. Asbury called out:
+
+"Who's there?"
+
+"It is I--Fred Whitney--let me in, quick!"
+
+He was admitted without an instant's delay, while all crowded around
+in the darkness.
+
+"Well, you can imagine what I have come for. I made known the request
+of mother and Jennie, but Inman and Cadmus would not think of granting
+it at first. I told Cadmus that it was your special request, Jennie,
+adding a little ornamentation of my own, such as that you knew that
+when he learned how much it could please you, he could not refuse. I
+hope I did right, did I not, sister?"
+
+In the slight laugh which followed this question, the reply of the
+young lady was not heard, and her brother continued:
+
+"Well, I put it so strong that Cadmus fell in with me and persuaded
+Inman to do the same. They agreed to wait until 10 o'clock, but no
+longer; so you see I did not accomplish all that I hoped, but it was
+better than nothing. If I am not mistaken it is past 10 now."
+
+"Not more than a few minutes."
+
+"Well, at any rate, the time is up, and they have sent me to notify
+you that they will wait no longer. I suppose that you, mother and
+Jennie, have got together all that you can take away. As I have to
+escort you back, I will carry the things, unless you smuggle in some
+of the bedsteads."
+
+"Then it is the intention to attack as soon as the ladies are fairly
+out of the way?" was the inquiring remark of Capt. Asbury.
+
+"You may depend that it won't be delayed ten minutes."
+
+"Do you know whether they will begin by shooting or trying to set fire
+to the building?"
+
+"They haven't given me their confidence, but I don't see why they
+should expect to accomplish as much with their guns as they could have
+done during the day time. They will set fire to the place, no doubt."
+
+"It may be well to impress upon those people that we are guarding
+every side, and the first rustler of whom we catch a glimpse will be
+riddled."
+
+"They are prepared for that, of course; be careful, friends, and don't
+expose yourselves more than you are obliged to, for there will be no
+let-up after the ball opens. I wish I could stay with you and help you
+out. I have been on the watch, ever since it grew dark, to steal off
+and make a run to the stockmen's camp, but I couldn't gain the first
+chance."
+
+"I am afraid it is too late, anyway," said the captain, "for they are
+so far away that it will be over before they could arrive."
+
+"Well, mother," said Fred, fearing that he was staying too long, "you
+and Jennie are ready, so let's go. Confound it! we must have a light
+for a few minutes; I know where there's a candle."
+
+He ignited a match and quickly found a candle. This was lit and held
+above his head, so that he could look into the faces around him.
+
+"There is no danger of their taking advantage of this until I leave,"
+he explained, "and you can blow it out before that. I see you are
+there, mother; call Jennie down and let her join us."
+
+"Jennie is not in the house!" was the reply, which fairly took away
+the breath of all.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+WHY IT WAS DONE.
+
+
+The yellow reflection of the candle lit up a group of wondering faces
+that were turned upon the mother, who stood in the middle of the room.
+Her countenance was pale, for she had passed through a great deal
+during the last half-hour, to say nothing of that which preceded it.
+
+Before any one could frame the questions in his mind, she explains:
+
+"I am not sure I have done right, but Jennie's departure was with
+my consent. She and I talked it over and discussed it in all its
+bearings, so far as we could see them, and she finally persuaded me
+that it was the right thing for her to do."
+
+She paused, as if expecting some comment, but even Fred was silent;
+and still standing, with the candle held aloft, he kept his wondering
+gaze upon his parent.
+
+"In the first place, Jennie convinced me that Monteith would only go
+to his own death by venturing out; at any rate, it would so result if
+he did not receive the signal from Mr. Vesey."
+
+As she paused the amazed Sterry asked:
+
+"But why did she think I would venture unless I got the sign from
+Vesey?"
+
+"Because you told her so. You were so confident, when she expressed
+her misgivings, that you said you would wait a few minutes after 10
+o'clock and then try it, even if no signal appeared."
+
+"You are correct; I _did_ tell her that."
+
+"I consented to her plan on condition that if Mr. Vesey signalled you
+should go and she should stay; if he did not do so, she was to venture
+alone."
+
+"Why didn't she consult with me?" asked Sterry; "I could have given
+her some suggestions."
+
+"Ah, what a question, Mont!" said Fred Whitney, with a smile, as he
+comprehended the plan; "we know what suggestions you would have given
+her."
+
+"True enough; she never would have made the attempt," he responded.
+
+"And," said Mrs. Whitney, "your friend has not called to you."
+
+"Which reminds me," exclaimed Sterry, stepping to the rear window and
+peering out. But everything in the direction of the stables was as
+dark and silent as the tomb.
+
+"So you see that if you had followed the directions of Mr. Vesey,"
+continued Mrs. Whitney, "no messenger would have left this place for
+the camp of the stockmen."
+
+"I recall how closely she questioned me as to my idea of the course to
+take to reach the spot. I wanted to gain her confidence and told
+her everything, never suspecting that she entertained any such wild
+scheme."
+
+"For which you cannot be blamed," remarked her brother; "but I don't
+understand how she expected to slip off unobserved."
+
+"Nor do I," added Sterry, with a meaning glance at Capt. Asbury.
+
+"I assure you I am innocent of complicity in the matter, for I would
+have opposed as strongly as any of you."
+
+"It was that single difficulty which puzzled her," said the mother,
+"but Providence opened the way. While she stood trembling, with her
+cloak wrapped about her, Capt. Asbury called Monteith. I whispered to
+her 'Now!' and drew back the door. She stepped through, and was gone
+before any one, excepting myself, suspected anything."
+
+"But what reason can she have for believing Vesey will favour her
+plan?" asked Sterry, feeling an admiration for the daring young woman.
+"He will be as much amazed as any one."
+
+"The rustlers have notified us to leave the building, but have not
+said that they have a preference of one door over the other. If she
+finds herself confronted by strangers, she can easily explain who
+she is and say that her mother will soon join her. Can there be
+any objection to such a course, or is she likely to suffer on that
+account?"
+
+Who could reply unfavourably to this question? The rustlers would
+simply conduct her to a place of safety, there to await the coming of
+her parent. Failure could bring no embarrassment to Jennie Whitney.
+
+"The great difficulty, after all," remarked Capt. Asbury, "as it
+occurs to me, is that if your estimable daughter presents herself
+before Mr. Duke Vesey, he will refuse his help. What reason can she
+give that will induce him to aid her to pass beyond the camp?"
+
+"I can think of none, but Jennie is hopeful that if she can see him
+alone he will permit her to do as she wishes."
+
+"Does she contemplate walking the half-dozen miles or so to the camp
+of the cattlemen?" asked Sterry, in dismay.
+
+"O, no; she expects to ride Mr. Sterry's mare."
+
+"But--but--" stammered Monteith.
+
+"She thought of all that," smiled the mother; "she took her saddle
+with her."
+
+"Well, I'll be hanged if this isn't a little ahead of anything of
+which I ever heard or read!" was the only comment Monteith Sterry
+could make, as the full scheme unrolled before him.
+
+"Jennie may fail," continued the proud parent, "but if she does, her
+situation and that of all of us will be no worse than before. If she
+fails, then you, too, Mr. Sterry, would have failed and lost your life
+without helping us."
+
+"I am not prepared to admit that, but my part in the business seems to
+have passed beyond discussion."
+
+Mrs. Whitney was about to continue her words when she ceased and
+faintly asked for a glass of water. Fred set down the candle and
+sprang to her help ahead of anyone, holding the glass, which was
+instantly brought, to her lips.
+
+The poor woman had undergone great trials, as will be admitted,
+during the past few days. The excitement had sustained her until now
+something in the nature of a reaction came. Helping her to a chair,
+Fred affectionately fanned her, and did what he could to make her
+rally.
+
+He was thus engaged when a second knock startled all. Capt. Asbury
+wheeled and demanded:
+
+"Who's there?"
+
+"Duke Vesey, under a flag of truce."
+
+No name could have astonished the cattlemen more. This was the man
+whom Sterry had expected to meet, and in whose care it was supposed
+Jennie Whitney had placed herself.
+
+Instead of that, he was asking admittance.
+
+"Your flag will be respected," said Capt. Asbury, drawing back the
+bolts of the door, which was next swung inward a few inches.
+
+The rustler stepped within, saying:
+
+"I have been sent by Capt. Inman to inquire the meaning of the absence
+of Fred Whitney, who was sent here a considerable time ago."
+
+"_That_ is the cause of the delay," replied the captain, pointing to
+where the young rancher was doing his utmost to revive his mother.
+
+The captain thought himself justified in turning the incident to
+account.
+
+"She may not live more than half an hour. I suppose, under the
+circumstances, you folks won't vote to hang her son on his return,
+though it would be in keeping with your style of business."
+
+"No; we leave that work to such as shoot down men before their homes,
+as was done last night. I didn't expect anything like this," he added
+more gently; "I will go back and report. I was told to bring the
+ladies, and as I can't take the elder just now, I suppose it's best to
+leave both till I learn what Capt. Inman wishes."
+
+Monteith Sterry caught a significant glance of Vesey, while speaking,
+but was utterly unable to interpret it. He, however, removed to that
+side of the room, so as to place himself near him. Still the rustler
+made no other sign. Too many eyes were upon him.
+
+One of Capt. Asbury's most noticeable points was his ability to "catch
+on" to a situation like the present. He saw the look given by the
+visitor, and translated it as meaning that he wished to make some
+communication to the other.
+
+"Sterry," said the captain in his most rasping manner, "this is
+the fellow you were so tender on last night, and I suppose he will
+reciprocate when he gets a chance to draw a bead on you. I will leave
+to you the happiness of escorting him through the door, for the
+pleasure would quite overwhelm me."
+
+"I am willing to act the gentleman at any time," replied Sterry,
+quickly seizing the opportunity of bringing himself near enough to
+hear what Vesey said without any one else noting it. As he was passing
+out the rustler remarked, in a quick undertone:
+
+"I did my best, old fellow, but it won't work; they suspect something,
+and wouldn't let me go near the stable after dark. Sorry, but it's no
+use."
+
+"But I thank you all the same," guardedly responded Sterry.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+THE HOSTAGE.
+
+
+Despite the alarm caused by the sudden illness of Mrs. Whitney, it was
+quickly apparent that nothing serious was the matter with her.
+
+She had succumbed temporarily to the intense strain to which she
+had been subjected, and, under the considerate attention shown her,
+speedily rallied, declaring herself, within five minutes after the
+departure of Vesey, as well as ever.
+
+"No one can rejoice more than I," observed Capt. Asbury; "and, since
+it is so trifling, you will not misunderstand me when I say that your
+illness seems to have been providential."
+
+Fred and the rest looked inquiringly at the leader.
+
+"The man who was here has gone back with the report of what he saw,
+and I think my words will cause him to represent the case--well,"
+added the captain, with a smile, "as it appeared at that moment. That
+will secure further delay."
+
+"But what can it all amount to?" asked Fred in turn; "they may give
+you a half-hour or so, but that does not count."
+
+"If your estimable mother could manage to--ah--look desperately ill
+when the messenger returns, why, it might help matters."
+
+But the good woman shook her head. Appreciating the gravity of the
+situation, she could not be a party to such a deception, even though
+beneficent results might follow.
+
+"He saw me as I was, and thus he must see me when he comes again. My
+conscience would not permit it otherwise."
+
+"You are right, Mrs. Whitney, and I beg your pardon," replied the
+captain.
+
+Meanwhile, Monteith Sterry was thinking hard. Begging the indulgence
+of the others, he drew Capt. Asbury aside.
+
+"I have decided upon an attempt," said he abruptly, "which you must
+not forbid, even though your judgment may condemn it."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"I am going to try to get away."
+
+"How?" was the surprised question; "what chance have you of
+succeeding, when every side of the house is watched?"
+
+"Vesey told me, just as he was leaving, that he was not allowed to
+take his place as guard at the stables, which explains why he failed
+to give me the signal."
+
+"He is unaware of what Miss Whitney has done?"
+
+"I do not know of a surety, for he made no reference to it, but you
+heard his remark, which indicates that he is ignorant."
+
+"Sterry," said the captain impressively, "the only friend you have
+among the rustlers is that same Vesey, and I place less faith in
+him than you do; yet you propose this wild scheme, without even the
+doubtful help of that man, and still expect me to approve it."
+
+"You put it truthfully; I will only say that in the darkness I hope to
+be taken for one of them."
+
+"And if you are?"
+
+"I will work my way beyond the lines, and then make for the camp of
+the stockmen."
+
+"On foot or horseback?"
+
+"I can hardly expect to obtain a horse, but let me once gain the
+chance, and I will show some sprinting."
+
+"You ignore the services of Miss Whitney?"
+
+"It was a brave and characteristic deed, but a woman acts from
+intuition rather than reason. There is not a shadow of hope that she
+will accomplish anything."
+
+"In my judgment, the prospect is as favourable for her as for you."
+
+"Well," replied Sterry, "I rather expected you to talk that way, so
+your condemnation is discounted. I intend to pass out of the rear door
+within the next three minutes; I wish you to hold it, ready to open in
+the event of my deciding on a hasty return. If such return does not
+follow in the course of a quarter of an hour, you may conclude that I
+won't be back."
+
+"I have already concluded that," was the significant comment.
+
+The candle diffused enough illumination to show the anxious faces
+turned toward the couple as they walked back from the corner to which
+they had withdrawn for their brief consultation.
+
+In the fewest words possible the captain explained the decision of the
+young man. He frankly stated that he did not believe there was any
+hope of success, but Sterry was firm in his resolution, and he would
+not interpose his authority. Fred Whitney was about to protest, but
+the expression of his friend's face showed that it would be useless,
+and he forebore.
+
+Mont peered through the window, near the rear door, and, so far as he
+could judge, everything was favourable. Then he faced about, smiled,
+and without a word waved his friends good-by.
+
+The door was drawn inward just enough to permit the passage of his
+body, and the next instant he had vanished.
+
+Capt. Asbury sprang to the window and looked after him, but quick
+as he was, the time was sufficient for the youth to disappear as
+completely as though he were a dozen miles distant.
+
+"If I may be allowed," said the captain, in his most suave manner,
+"I would suggest, Mr. Whitney, that you assist your mother to her
+apartment up stairs. She is in need of rest, and can obtain it there
+much better than here."
+
+The good woman glanced suspiciously at the man, half doubting
+the disinterestedness of his counsel, but he looked so grave and
+solicitous that she was sure she did him injustice. While she was
+hesitating, Fred added:
+
+"It is good advice, mother; you can lie down, and when it is necessary
+I will call you. Come, please."
+
+She could not decline, and the stalwart son, who seemed to have
+forgotten all about his wounded arm, almost carried her up the short
+stairs and to her room. He was so familiar with the interior that he
+needed no light, and deposited her as gently as an infant on the bed,
+kissed her an affectionate good-night, and promised to listen and come
+to her on hearing the slightest movement in her apartment.
+
+"How does she seem to be?" asked Capt. Asbury, as Fred came down the
+stairs.
+
+"As well as ever; but the little rest will be grateful. She has had
+enough to try the strongest person within the last few days."
+
+"True indeed. I presume Vesey will soon be back with some ugly message
+from Inman and Cadmus, but we have delayed matters so long that
+I'm hopeful of keeping it up a while longer. Suppose, when this
+enterprising rustler shows himself, you allow me to do the talking,
+Fred. There is a good deal, you know, in the way you put things."
+
+"I understand," replied the other, with a smile. "It will come,
+perhaps, more appropriately from you than me."
+
+It was apparent from the manner of the captain that he felt
+considerable hope of success through the efforts of Miss Whitney or
+Sterry, or both. Time was the great factor. It would seem that
+three or four hours ought to bring the cattlemen, if either of the
+messengers succeeded in getting through the lines. While there was
+little doubt of the ability of the besieged being able to stand off
+their assailants for a much longer time, yet there was every reason to
+strain to the utmost the fortunate delay already secured.
+
+A conflict was certain to result in a number of deaths to each
+side. Not only that, but it would intensify the bitterness already
+prevailing through many portions of Wyoming and Montana between the
+cowmen and rustlers, and postpone and increase the difficulty of the
+adjustment of the quarrel.
+
+A full half-hour passed, during which the captain kept his place at
+the rear door, ready to admit Sterry should he make a dash for it. He
+did not appear, and when the fastenings of the structure were returned
+to their place the leader's heart was more hopeful than ever. He had
+just made a remark to that effect when a knocking was heard again on
+the front door, accompanied by Duke Vesey's announcement that it was
+himself who claimed admission.
+
+The captain drew back the fastenings and the rustler stepped inside,
+his face showing great agitation.
+
+"This is a fine state of things," he said, addressing young Whitney,
+Hawkridge and the captain.
+
+"To what do you refer?" asked Whitney.
+
+"You sent Mont Sterry out awhile ago, and the rustlers have caught
+him; he's in their hands and will be shot at daybreak. Capt. Inman
+sent me to you with that message, and to say that the fight will open
+in a few minutes. You can't play your tricks any longer on us."
+
+It was apparent that Duke Vesey was in a rage over the mishap that had
+befallen his friend.
+
+Capt. Asbury quietly placed himself between the fellow and the door by
+which he had entered.
+
+"What is the meaning of that?" demanded the rustler, turning his head;
+"I'm here under a flag of truce."
+
+"Where is it? You haven't shown any, and you can't. I shall hold you
+as a hostage for the safety of Mont Sterry; whatever harm is visited
+upon _him_ shall descend upon _your_ head!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+THE PRISONER.
+
+
+It may be said that Monteith Sterry's main hope for the success of his
+perilous scheme lay in its boldness.
+
+It was not to be supposed that the rustlers, surrounding the besieged
+on every hand, would forget the probability of just such an attempt as
+he made. The stockmen could not expect to slip away one by one, or in
+a body; nor was there anything to tempt such an effort, even if it
+offered a fair prospect of success; for, of necessity, they would have
+to depart on foot, and with the coming of daylight their situation
+would be worse than now, with a strong shelter above and around them.
+
+But it was known among the defenders that two of their number were
+doomed, if they fell into the hands of the rustlers. It was probable,
+therefore, that one or both of these individuals would try to get
+away.
+
+Whether or not the leaders held any distrust of Vesey cannot be known;
+but his little scheme for befriending Monteith Sterry was nipped in
+the bud by his being retained at the front of the building, where, as
+has been shown, he acted as the bearer of messages between Inman and
+Capt. Asbury.
+
+There were men closely watching the building from the moment darkness
+closed over the scene. Had Sterry attempted to steal along the side of
+the house and then dodge away, he would have been detected and halted
+at once. On the contrary, he moved with his usual gait in a diagonal
+direction toward the stables. His object was to learn the likeliest
+method of leaving the place.
+
+He had perhaps walked fifty feet, when some one advanced from the
+gloom and called, in an undertone:
+
+"Halloo, who is that?"
+
+"It's I, Smith; who are you?"
+
+The name, of course, was a venture, but it was not uncommon, as the
+reader knows, and more likely to be right than any other. The best of
+it was, it seemed to satisfy the other, who, without announcing his
+own, asked:
+
+"What are you doing?"
+
+"I've been looking around to see what I could learn."
+
+"Anything new?"
+
+"No, not as far as I can discover; they seem to have a light burning
+in there, but are waiting for us."
+
+"I wonder they didn't give you a shot; Vesey says they are desperate,
+and he brought back word that they would shoot the first of us seen
+prowling about the place. I wonder you didn't catch it."
+
+"I took good care. When do you suppose the fight will open?"
+
+"Pretty soon; I s'pose you are as tired of this dallying as the rest
+of us."
+
+"Well, it strikes me as best to wait until sure everything is ready."
+
+Sterry was anxious to end this pointless conversation, for the
+stranger had approached quite near and peered into his face, as though
+not free from suspicion. The darkness was deep, but on the other side
+of the ridge a small fire was burning, from fragments brought from the
+stables. Of this the adventurer meant to keep clear at all hazards.
+More than one rustler knew him intimately, and it might be that he to
+whom he was talking was an old acquaintance and enemy.
+
+How Sterry longed for the presence of Vesey!
+
+In a natural manner he sauntered up the ridge, as if his intention
+was to return to the camp-fire, that being the course most likely to
+dissipate any misgiving on the part of the other.
+
+The latter made no response, and Sterry kept on, thinking:
+
+"I'm rid of him, any way, and ought to have less trouble with others
+that may wish to ask questions."
+
+But, glancing over his shoulder, he was startled to observe that
+the man, instead of moving off, as he had supposed, was standing
+motionless in the gloom, as if studying him.
+
+"By gracious!" concluded the youth, "he must have noticed my voice,
+for, not knowing Smith, how could I imitate it?"
+
+The situation would have made any one uneasy, but he did not hasten
+nor retard his footsteps until he reached the top of the ridge, and
+was able to observe the camp-fire clearly.
+
+It was small, as has been said, but five or six figures were
+lolling about it, smoking, talking, and passing the dismal hours as
+inclination prompted. Other forms were moving hither and thither, some
+of them quite close to where Sterry had halted, though none paid him
+any attention.
+
+The young man was looking for an opening by which he could make his
+way beyond the lines without attracting attention. The best prospect
+seemed to be the stretch of prairie extending from the front of the
+house toward the Big Horn Mountains.
+
+"No one appears to be on the lookout there--"
+
+At that instant each arm was tightly gripped, and the man with whom he
+had exchanged words but a few minutes before said:
+
+"Mr. Smith, please go with us to the fire; my friend here is Smith,
+and he is the only one in our party with that name; maybe you are his
+double."
+
+It was useless to resist, and Sterry replied:
+
+"You know there are several Smiths in this country, and I ought to
+have the privilege of wearing the name without objection."
+
+"We'll soon see," replied the first captor.
+
+Within the next minute Sterry was marched in front of the camp-fire,
+where the full glare fell upon his countenance.
+
+Then a howl of exultation went up, for more than half of the rustlers
+in the group recognized him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+OUT IN THE NIGHT.
+
+
+Enough has been already told for the reader to understand the scheme
+which Jennie Whitney, with the help of her mother, attempted to carry
+out for the benefit of the besieged cattlemen.
+
+With her cloak around her shoulders and her saddle supported on one
+arm, she passed quickly from the rear of her home to the stables, only
+a short distance away. She had been on the alert for the signal of
+Duke Vesey, and, seeing it not, was prepared to encounter some one
+else.
+
+In this she was not disappointed, for at the moment of catching sight
+of the dark mass where the horses were sheltered the figure of a man
+loomed into view as though he had risen from the ground. She stopped
+short, and observed, dimly, the forms of two others just behind him.
+
+"Halloo!" exclaimed the nearest, "how is this?"
+
+With peculiar emotions the young lady recognized the voice of Larch
+Cadmus. She hoped this was a favourable omen, and was quick to turn it
+to account.
+
+"Larch, is that you?" she asked, peering forward as if uncertain of
+his identity.
+
+"I declare, it is Miss Jennie!" he exclaimed, coming forward; "how is
+it you are alone?"
+
+"Mother did not wish to come with me," replied the daughter, trying
+to avoid the necessity of direct deceit. "She will probably leave the
+house pretty soon."
+
+The fellow was plainly embarrassed, despite the protecting gloom which
+concealed his features. Jennie knew him to be one of her most ardent
+admirers, though she had never liked him. Her hopes were now based
+upon making use of his regard for her.
+
+"You have come out, Jennie, I suppose," said he, offering his hand,
+which she accepted, "so as not to be in the house when the--ah,
+trouble begins."
+
+"O, I know it will be dreadful; I want to go as far away as I can--do
+you blame me, Larch?"
+
+"Not at all--not at all; and I hope, Jennie, you don't blame me for
+all that your folks have suffered."
+
+"Why, Larch, why should I blame you?" asked the young lady, coming
+fearfully near a fiction in making the query, for she knew many
+good reasons for censuring him in her heart. "But how soon do you
+intend--that is, how soon do the rest of your folks intend to attack
+the cowmen?"
+
+"We--that is, they--expected to do so long ago, but there have been
+all sorts of delays; it will come pretty soon now."
+
+"Where are you to place mother and me?"
+
+"Over the ridge, yonder; you will be out of danger; you need fear
+nothing; why should you, for your mother will be with you and your
+brother will be with us, so that he can take no part in the fight."
+
+He made no reference to Mont Sterry, and she was too wise to let fall
+a hint of her anxiety concerning him.
+
+"But, Larch, suppose, when you set fire to the house, as I heard your
+folks intended, our people rush out and attack you?"
+
+"Do they intend to do that?" he asked.
+
+"I am sure I don't know; but you can see, if they do, the shooting
+will be going on all around mother and me."
+
+"You can pass farther out on the plain or take shelter in the stable,
+among the horses."
+
+"But that may be too late," interposed Jennie, in well-feigned alarm.
+
+"You can take refuge here now."
+
+"I can't bear to stay in the stable, for the horses will become
+terrified when the shooting begins; they may break loose and prove
+more dangerous than the flying bullets."
+
+There was sense in this objection, and the rustler saw it. He was
+anxious to propitiate the young woman, whom he admired so ardently.
+
+"Well, my dear, what would you like to do?"
+
+"Now, Larch, you won't laugh at me if I tell you," she replied, in her
+most coquettish manner.
+
+"Laugh at you!" he protested; "this is no time for laughing; it was a
+shame that those people should turn your house into a fort, when it
+could do them no good. Tell me what you want and it shall be done, if
+it is in my power."
+
+"Thanks! You are very kind, and I shall never forget this favour; I
+want to mount one of the best horses in the stable and ride out so far
+that I am sure to be beyond reach of danger."
+
+The proposition staggered the rustler--so much so that it did not
+occur to him, just then, that the daughter appeared a great deal more
+anxious to look after her own safety than her mother's.
+
+"You have a horse in the stable, haven't you?"
+
+"Yes, Jack is there, and he is a splendid fellow; he is the one I
+want."
+
+"But the saddle?"
+
+"I have it with me; here it is; you and I will adjust it together."
+
+And the impulsive miss placed the saddle in his grasp before he knew
+it. She certainly was rushing things. It must be admitted, too, that
+she showed fine discretion. There was but one way of handling Mr.
+Larch Cadmus, and she was using that way.
+
+He turned about and walked to the door of the stable.
+
+"Jack is in the second stall," she said, pausing at the entrance, "and
+his bridle is on the hook near his head."
+
+The gloom was impenetrable, but a couple of matches gave Cadmus all
+the light needed, and a minute later he brought forth the fine animal,
+who whinnied with pleasure at recognizing his mistress, despite the
+gloom.
+
+Jennie gave what help she could in saddling and bridling him, the
+other two men standing a little way off in silence. She kept up an
+incessant chatter, repeating her thanks to Cadmus for his kindness,
+and binding him more completely captive every minute.
+
+But the rustler was inclined to be thoughtful, for before the animal
+was ready he began to feel misgivings as to the prudence of what he
+was doing. There was something odd, too, about the young lady mounting
+her pony, riding alone out on the plain, and leaving her mother
+behind. Then, too, she had emerged from the rear instead of the front
+of the house, as he judged from her line of approach.
+
+Could there be any ulterior purpose in all this? If she would only
+cease her chatting for a minute or two he might figure out the
+problem, but the trouble was, nothing could stop her. In fact he
+didn't wish her to stop, for that voice was the most musical one to
+which he could listen, and he would have been glad had it sounded for
+hours in his ears.
+
+He managed to drift dangerously near the truth.
+
+"Can it be that she intends to ride away for help?" he reflected. "It
+has that look; but no, it is hardly that, for there isn't any help
+within reach that I know of. She might find it in the course of a day
+or two, but this affair will be over before daylight--I beg pardon,
+what was it you said, Jennie?"
+
+"Why, Larch, I'm tempted to pull your ears; you are a fine gallant;
+here I have been standing full ten seconds, waiting for you to help me
+on the horse, and you have paid me no attention."
+
+"It _was_ rude, my dear; I hope you will pardon me," he replied,
+stepping quickly forward, "but I am very absent-minded to-night."
+
+"I will pardon you, of course, for you have been so good and nice that
+it would be ungrateful for me to be impatient."
+
+He took the Cinderella-like foot in his broad palm and cleverly
+assisted her in the saddle. While he helped to adjust the reins, her
+tongue rattled on harder than ever.
+
+"How far, Larch, will it be necessary for me to ride so as to be
+sure--mind you, sure--of being out of the way when this awful business
+opens?"
+
+"Well, I should say a hundred yards or so will be enough--"
+
+"Mercy! do you think so? I ought to go two or three times as far as
+that; you won't object, will you? and when the shooting _does_ begin,
+I can hurry Jack farther off."
+
+"Do as you think best; but it seems to me, Jennie, that you are
+forgetting your mother--"
+
+"O, no; when Fred brings her out--maybe he has done so now--tell her
+the direction I have gone and she will understand. Which is the best
+course for me to take? I guess it don't make any difference, so I will
+go this way."
+
+Through all this apparently aimless chatter, Miss Jennie Whitney was
+using her wits. She knew a long ride was before her, and everything
+would be ruined if she lost her way. There was no moon or stars to
+give guidance, and she therefore carefully took her bearings while the
+chance was hers.
+
+"I suppose it's all the same which course you follow, but I fear I am
+doing wrong in allowing you to ride off--"
+
+"Now, don't spoil everything by regretting the handsome way in which
+you have indulged my whim; I think I will ride over the ridge to the
+left--"
+
+"Hold on, Jennie, until I can speak to Inman; he may object--"
+
+"You can speak to him after I am gone; good-night, Larch, and many
+thanks again for your kindness."
+
+She rode off with her intelligent Jack on a walk until she was clear
+of the camp, when she touched him into an easy gallop.
+
+Larch Cadmus stood looking into the gloom where she had vanished,
+almost before he comprehended her intention.
+
+"Well, she's a puzzle!" he exclaimed to his two companions, who came
+forward; "I don't know what to make of her. What do you suppose she
+meant by that, boys?"
+
+"It's easy enough to see," replied one of them, with a laugh; "she's
+gone off after help."
+
+"Do you think so?" asked the startled Cadmus; "where can she get it?"
+
+"She may bring back their hands."
+
+"There are only two of them," said Larch, much relieved, "and they
+won't amount to anything in the rumpus. You don't imagine that she
+knows of any larger force anywhere in the neighbourhood?"
+
+"She can't know of any, for there ain't any," was the clincher of the
+rustler; "or, if there is, she can't get it here in time to do Asbury
+and the rest any good."
+
+Cadmus was relieved by the words of his friend. Enough misgivings,
+however, remained to make him say:
+
+"There are so many moving about that her departure don't seem to be
+noticed; I'll take it as a favour if you don't mention it to any one,
+for now that she is gone I am sure I never should have allowed it."
+
+The couple gave the promise, though their belief was that nothing
+serious would follow.
+
+Leaving the two to keep watch at the stables, Cadmus sauntered to
+where Inman was seated near the camp-fire, smoking a pipe. A little
+inquiry disclosed that neither the leader nor any of his companions
+had noticed the departure of the young lady.
+
+It was some time after this that Duke Vesey brought the report of Mrs.
+Whitney's illness as an explanation of her son's delay in returning to
+the camp of the rustlers.
+
+Exasperated, and suspecting a pretense, Inman consented to a brief
+postponement of the attack.
+
+The next startling occurrence was the capture of Monteith Sterry while
+trying to steal through the lines. As we have shown, he was identified
+the instant he was brought into the reflection of the firelight,
+and such precautions were taken that escape by him was out of the
+question.
+
+When their impatience could stand it no longer, Vesey was sent to
+Capt. Asbury with the message which he delivered. Instead of his
+returning with a reply, Fred Whitney came back, bringing the
+announcement that Vesey had entered the house without claiming the
+protection of a truce, and after telling what he was directed to tell
+about Monteith Sterry, Capt. Asbury had directed Whitney to notify
+Capt. Inman that he would retain Vesey as a hostage, guaranteeing that
+whatever harm was visited upon Sterry should descend upon the head of
+Vesey.
+
+This message, as may be supposed, caused consternation for some
+minutes in the camp of the rustlers. The feeling was quickly succeeded
+by exasperation. Had Inman and Cadmus been given the opportunity, no
+doubt they could have made a good argument to prove that, inasmuch
+as Vesey had passed back and forth several times after his first
+announcement of a flag of truce, and its acceptance by the besieged
+cowmen, it was not required by the law of nations that he should
+proclaim the fact while continuing to act as messenger between the
+hostiles.
+
+On the other hand, the truth remained that he had entered the house
+of the rancher with weapons in his hands and without any claim of
+immunity from harm.
+
+The question was such a nice one, capable of so many finely-drawn
+theories, that it is useless to discuss it here. Whatever decision we
+might reach, we could not feel assured we were right.
+
+The hard fact confronted the rustlers that one of their principal
+men was in the power of the cowmen and was held as a hostage for the
+safety of the detested Monteith Sterry, who had been warned that he
+would be shot on sight by any rustler who gained the chance.
+
+The unexpected phase of the situation caused a long and angry
+discussion between Capt. Ira Inman and his leaders, to which, as may
+be supposed, Fred Whitney and Monteith Sterry paid close attention.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+"Now, Jack, do your best, for everything depends on you."
+
+Jennie Whitney looked around in the darkness and saw the glimmer of
+the rustlers' camp-fire, fully two hundred yards to the rear, with the
+shadowy figures moving to and fro.
+
+"They may change their minds," she added, recalling the words of Larch
+Cadmus, "and decide to bring me back. Let them do it if they can!"
+
+The intelligent pony acted as if he understood what was expected
+of him. With a light whinny at the pleasure he felt because of the
+opportunity of stretching out his beautiful limbs he broke into a
+swift canter, heading straight for the point where his rider believed
+the friendly camp was to be found.
+
+She held the reins loose, knowing the danger of attempting to guide
+him where it was impossible to keep the points of the compass in mind.
+The way was smooth and even, although there is always danger in
+going at such speed in the night. She deemed the stake warranted it,
+however, and did not check the rapid pace.
+
+Night on every hand and not a shining star overhead. If she could find
+the party of stockmen in time, so as to bring them back to her home,
+their strength would overawe the rustlers, and the whole difficulty
+could be arranged without the conflict which she looked upon with
+unspeakable dread.
+
+"It will save him, too," she added, hesitating to pronounce the name
+that was in her heart, which would have throbbed more painfully had
+she known that in a brief while he would be helpless in the power of
+the men eager for his life. "I am glad he did not venture out of the
+house, when his friend could have done him no good. What will he think
+of me on learning what I have done? He will say that I am rash and
+foolish, and perhaps I am; will he suspect that it was to save him
+that I undertook this errand, which, after all, is attended with no
+risk to me worth mentioning?"
+
+These were pleasant musings, but the task before her was too serious
+and made too close demands on her mental and physical energies for her
+to indulge in them. The delightful reverie could be deferred to a more
+convenient season.
+
+Jennie Whitney had lived long enough in the West to understand that in
+times like the present it is safer to depend on the instinct of one's
+heart than upon one's reason. It seemed now and then that Jack was
+following the wrong direction, but she was wise in not interfering.
+
+The gloom was so deep that she could see barely a few paces beyond the
+pointed ears in front, but when the ground showed an abrupt rise she
+recalled the location and knew he had followed the exact course she
+desired.
+
+She pulled slightly on the reins and he dropped to a walk. At the same
+moment something dark moved aside, the pony diverting his own steps to
+avoid it. She experienced a slight shock of fright, but recognized
+the object as one of the cattle probably belonging to their own herd.
+Others showed dimly here and there as the horse carefully picked his
+way forward.
+
+"Halloo, who's that?" called a gruff voice from the darkness, the hail
+proving more startling than the first surprise.
+
+"It is I, Jennie Whitney," replied the young lady, "and I am searching
+for help."
+
+"Well, I'll be hanged! What's up, Miss Jennie?"
+
+It was Budd Hankinson who came forward on foot, his figure appearing
+of gigantic proportions in the gloom. He was more alarmed than she, as
+he had warrant for being, knowing, as he did, that some extraordinary
+cause must have brought the girl to this place alone at that hour of
+the night.
+
+She quickly told her story, explaining that Fred was held a prisoner
+by the rustlers, else he would have hastened back to secure the
+assistance for which she was looking.
+
+"You're a brave girl," said the honest fellow, as he laid his hand on
+the reins of the pony; "there are mighty few that would have done what
+you've done to-night."
+
+"Never mind about that, Budd, but tell me what to do."
+
+"Why, you mustn't do anything; I'll do the rest."
+
+"No, you may help me, but what is it to be?"
+
+"Luck's running your way, Jennie; the stockmen have moved their camp
+since Fred left this morning."
+
+"Mercy! I thought I had only two or three miles farther to go."
+
+"Their camp isn't more'n half a mile off, right over the swell yonder;
+we'll be there in a jiffy."
+
+"And you will go with me?"
+
+"Wal, I reckon; what sort of a chap do you take me for?"
+
+"Where is Weber?"
+
+"Three miles to the south, which is in t'other direction; we won't
+have time to look him up, and it wouldn't do any good if we did. We
+made a change of grazing grounds, as I s'pose Fred told you, but some
+of the cattle strayed off here and I was looking 'em up when I heard
+your pony."
+
+"Where's your horse?"
+
+"Not far; wait here and I'll be right back."
+
+He was gone but a few minutes, when he returned in the saddle.
+
+"It won't do to go too fast," he explained, moving forward with his
+animal on a walk, "but we can keep beside each other."
+
+Riding thus carefully, he questioned her about the stirring incidents
+at the house, and she gave him the particulars. The sagacious fellow
+had seen before this how matters stood between her and Monteith
+Sterry, and he knew her anxiety, but his good taste prevented any
+reference to it further than to say:
+
+"I hope Mont will be too wise to try to slip out of the house, for if
+he does he's sure to be grabbed up by them, and they won't give him a
+chance for his life."
+
+"Do you think he will make the attempt, Budd?"
+
+"No, now that he knows you have started, for you've got a mighty sight
+better chance to succeed than he could have. Of course he has too much
+sense for anything of the kind."
+
+It was well that neither of them suspected the truth.
+
+"There they are!"
+
+They had reached the top of the elevation, and saw before them
+the twinkling lights of several camp-fires. The stockmen, fully
+understanding the nature of the work they had undertaken, conducted
+themselves like a force invading a hostile country. Regular sentinels
+were stationed, to prevent the insidious approach of an enemy.
+
+The couple rode down the hill, and, as they expected, were challenged
+on the edge of the camp. Inasmuch as Budd had visited the men during
+the day and formed numerous acquaintances, he had little difficulty in
+making himself known. All, excepting the guards, had retired for the
+night, but the visitor was conducted to the place where Maj. Sitgraves
+was asleep, Jennie remaining on the outskirts with one of the
+sentinels, who treated her with all courtesy.
+
+Maj. Sitgraves was a brave man, who had only to hear the story brought
+to him by the honest cowboy to understand the urgency of the case. It
+was now near midnight, and the attack at the ranch was liable to be
+made at any moment. The stockmen could not reach the scene of danger
+too soon.
+
+Almost instantly the camp was astir. It looked as if the men had
+received orders to attack a force of Indians, whose location was just
+made known to them, and, in point of fact, the situation was somewhat
+similar, for a brisk fight appeared inevitable. Three rustlers whom
+the major was particularly anxious to arrest were Ira Inman, Larch
+Cadmus and Duke Vesey, and he especially wanted the first two. They
+were with the party not far off, and, aside from the call for help of
+the imperilled stockmen, the prospect of capturing those fellows was
+sufficient warrant for a prompt movement.
+
+Within half an hour after Jennie Whitney's meeting with Budd Hankinson
+the party of half a hundred were galloping westward, she riding at
+the head, with Maj. Sitgraves and Budd, who acted as guide to the
+expedition.
+
+Hope arose with every rod advanced, for if fighting had begun the
+reports of the guns would be heard, but the listening ears failed to
+catch the first hostile sound from the Whitney ranch. By and by a
+point was reached which would have shown them the flash of the guns,
+but the gloom remained impenetrable.
+
+The twinkling camp-fire, at the base of the ridge, gave just the
+guidance needed, and, with Budd Hankinson's intimate knowledge of the
+country, enabled the force to tell exactly where they were.
+
+Maj. Sitgraves decided to defer his attack until daylight, unless
+the safety of the beleaguered cattlemen should force him to assault
+sooner. In the darkness, with the open country around, and the
+excellent animals at the command of the rustlers, most of them would
+escape upon learning the strength of the assailants. At the earliest
+dawn the stockmen could be so placed that, as the commander believed,
+nearly if not quite all of the law-breakers would be corralled.
+
+Accordingly, a halt was made while yet a considerable way off, and
+Budd Hankinson went forward on foot to reconnoitre. Upon his report
+must depend the action of the stockmen.
+
+The fellow was gone more than three-quarters of an hour, and when he
+came back he brought astounding news.
+
+Not a solitary rustler was to be found anywhere near the ranch.
+
+Hardly able to credit the fact, Budd picked his way to the building,
+knocked, and was admitted. There the amazing truth was made known.
+Capt. Ira Inman and all his men had been gone for an hour, and were
+probably miles distant at that moment.
+
+The detention of Duke Vesey as a hostage for the safety of Monteith
+Sterry proved the key to the whole situation. When Inman learned how
+he had been outwitted he was enraged to the point of ordering an
+attack at once, with the resolve to give mercy to no one. He even
+threatened to visit his fury upon Fred Whitney, who had shown such
+punctilious regard for his parole, for it would seem that under the
+circumstances he would have been warranted in staying behind with his
+friends.
+
+But before taking so rash a step, the cooler judgment of the leader
+came to his rescue--He placed a high value on Duke Vesey, who had been
+associated with him in several dangerous enterprises, and he knew that
+any harm done to Sterry would recoil on him, just as the grim Capt.
+Asbury had threatened.
+
+After prolonged discussion with Cadmus and others, it was decided to
+offer to exchange Sterry for Vesey. The proposition was accepted,
+and the exchange faithfully made, though considerable more delay was
+involved.
+
+But while it was under way Inman learned of Jennie Whitney's flight
+toward the Big Horn Mountains. Keener of wit than Larch Cadmus, he
+suspected the truth at once, though he knew nothing of the proximity
+of the stockmen.
+
+Before making the attack and attempt to burn the building he sent
+out two of his best mounted men in the direction taken by her, to
+investigate. They did so with such skill that neither Budd Hankinson
+nor any of the stockmen suspected them. They returned with news of the
+approach of a body too powerful for them to think of combating. They
+therefore fled in the darkness, the promptness of the leaders probably
+hastened by the knowledge that they were the parties for whom the
+stockmen were looking.
+
+And so ended the campaign. The situation had been critical for a long
+time, and there were moments, time and again, when the most trifling
+incident intervened to avert a fearful conflict between men of the
+same race and blood; but all had now passed, and it may be said that
+not so much as a hostile shot had been exchanged.
+
+The main events of the troubles in Wyoming between the cowmen and
+rustlers are too well remembered to require recital at our hands. The
+expedition referred to in another place left Cheyenne in April for
+Nolan's Ranch, a hundred or more miles distant. Within the following
+month, the Sixth U.S. Cavalry brought all of them back to Cheyenne as
+prisoners of war, thus saving them from extermination at the hands of
+the indignant rustlers, who had them hemmed in on all sides.
+
+Fred Whitney sold out his ranch, near the headwaters of Powder River,
+and moved eastward. He was not actuated by fear, for it will be
+conceded that he proved his courage, but he desired to take his loved
+mother and sister away from the sorrowful memories that must always
+cling to the place.
+
+It will not surprise the reader to learn, further, that Monteith
+Sterry found it quite convenient to make his home in the same
+neighborhood with the Whitneys, and it was but a short time after this
+removal eastward that a most pleasing incident occurred in the lives
+of the young man and Miss Whitney, of the nature of which we are sure
+the reader does not need to be told.
+
+
+
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