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diff --git a/old/56154-8.txt b/old/56154-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9615785..0000000 --- a/old/56154-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9214 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Man From Bar 20, by Clarence E. Mulford - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Man From Bar 20 - A Story of the Cow Country - -Author: Clarence E. Mulford - -Illustrator: Frank E. Schoonover - -Release Date: December 10, 2017 [EBook #56154] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN FROM BAR 20 *** - - - - -Produced by Carlos Colón, the New York Public Library and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - Transcriber's Notes: - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by - =equal signs=. - - Small uppercase have been replaced with regular uppercase. - - Blank pages have been eliminated. - - Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the - original. - - - - -[Illustration: Ackerman's gun had him covered as soon as his head showed - [_Page 153_]] - - - - - - - The MAN From - BAR 20 - - A Story of the Cow Country - - - By CLARENCE E. MULFORD - - AUTHOR OF - - "Bar 20," "Bar 20 Days," - "Hopalong Cassidy," Etc. - - - [Illustration] - - - With Frontispiece - By FRANK E. SCHOONOVER - - - A. L. BURT COMPANY - - Publishers New York - - Published by arrangement with A. C. MCCLURG & COMPANY - - - - - - - Copyright - A. C. McClurg & Co. - 1918 - - Published, May, 1918 - - _Copyrighted in Great Britain_ - - - - - - - Affectionately Dedicated - to - E. V. A. - - - - - -CONTENTS - - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. A Stranger Comes to Hastings 1 - - II. A Question of Identity 14 - - III. The Wisdom of the Frogs 25 - - IV. A Feint 35 - - V. Preparations 51 - - VI. A Moonlight Reconnaissance 59 - - VII. A Council of War 72 - - VIII. Fleming Is Shown 84 - - IX. A Skirmish in the Night 97 - - X. A Change of Base 121 - - XI. Nocturnal Activities 128 - - XII. Yeasty Suspicion 139 - - XIII. An Observant Observer 148 - - XIV. The End of a Trail 166 - - XV. Blindman's Buff 187 - - XVI. The Science of Sombreros 198 - - XVII. Treed 215 - - XVIII. At Bay 226 - - XIX. An Unwelcome Visitor 252 - - XX. A Past Master Draws Cards 269 - - XXI. Scouting as a Fine Art 290 - - XXII. "Two Ijuts" 299 - - XXIII. "All but th' Cows" 312 - - - - - -The Man From Bar-20 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -A STRANGER COMES TO HASTINGS - - -A horseman rode slowly out of a draw and up a steep, lava-covered -ridge, singing "The Cowboy's Lament," to the disgust of his horse, -which suddenly arched its back and stopped the song in the twenty-ninth -verse. - -"Dearly Beloved," grinned the rider, after he had quelled the trouble, -"yore protest is heeded. 'Th' Lament' ceases, instanter; an' while you -crop some of that grass, I'll look around and observe th' scenery, -which shore is scrambled. Now, them two buttes over there," leaning -forward to look around a clump of brush, "if they ain't twins, I'll -eat--" - -He ducked and dismounted in one swift movement to the vengeful tune -of a screaming bullet over his head, slapped the horse and jerked his -rifle from its scabbard. As the horse leaped down the slope of the -ridge there was no sign of any living thing to be seen on the trail. -A bush rustled near the edge of a draw, a peeved voice softly cursed -the cacti and Mexican locust; and a few minutes later the shadow of -a black lava bowlder grew suddenly fatter on one side. The cause of -this sudden shadow growth lay prone under the bulging side of the -great rock, peering out intently between two large stones; and flaming -curiosity consumed his soul. A stranger in a strange land, who rode -innocently along a free trail and minded his own business, merited no -such a welcome as this. His promptness of action and the blind luck in -that bending forward at the right instant were all that saved his life; -and his celerity of movement spoke well for his reflexes, for he had -found himself fattening the shadow of the bowlder almost before he had -fully realized the pressing need for it. - -Minute after minute passed before his searching eyes detected anything -concerned with the unpleasant episode, and then he sensed rather than -saw a slight movement on the mottled, bowlder-strewn slope of a distant -butte. A bush moved gently, and that was all. - -To cross the intervening chaos of rocks and brush, pastures and draws -would take him an hour if it were done as caution dictated, and by -that time the chase would be useless. So he waited until the sun was -two hours higher, pleasantly anticipating a stealthy reconnaissance -by his unknown enemy to observe the dead. He had dropped into high -grass and brush when he left the saddle and there was no way that the -marksman could be certain of the results of his shot except by closer -examination. But the man in ambush had no curiosity, to his target's -regret; and the target, despairing of being honored by a visit, finally -gave up the vigil. After a silent interval a soft whistle from a -thicket, well back in a draw, caused the grazing horse to lift his -head, throw its ears forward and walk sedately toward the sound. - -"Dearly Beloved," said a low voice from the thicket, "come closer. That -was a two-laigged skunk, an' his eyes are good. Likewise he is one -plumb fine shot." - -Ever since he had listened to the marriage ceremony which had -subjugated his friend Hopalong for the rest of that man's natural life, -the phrase "Dearly Beloved" had stuck in his memory; and in his use of -it the words took the place of humorous profanity. - -Mounting, he rode on again, but kept off all skylines, favored the -rough going away from the trail, and passed to the eastward of all -the obstructions he met; and his keen eyes darted from point to point -unceasingly, not giving up their scrutiny of the surroundings until he -saw in the distance a little town, which he knew was Hastings. - - * * * * * - -In the little cow-town of Hastings the afternoon sun drove the shadows -of the few buildings farther afield and pitilessly searched out every -defect in the cheap and hastily constructed frame buildings, showed -the hair-line cracks in the few adobes, where an occasional frost -worked insidious damage to the clay, and drew out sticky, pungent beads -of rosin from the sun-bleached and checked pine boards of the two-story -front of the one-story building owned and occupied by "Pop" Hayes, -proprietor of one of the three saloons in the town. The two-story front -of Pop's building displayed two windows painted on the warped boards -too close to the upper edge, the panes a faded blue, where gummy pine -knots had not stained them yellow; and they were framed by sashes of a -hideous red. - -Inside the building Pop dozed in his favorite position, his feet -crossed on a shaky pine table and his chair tipped back against the -wall. Slow hoof-beats, muffled by the sand, sounded outside, followed -by the sudden, faint jingling of spurs, the sharp creak of saddle gear -and the soft thud of feet on the ground. Pop's eyes opened and he -blinked at the bright rectangle of sunny street framed by his doorway, -where a man loomed up blackly, and slowly entered the room. - -"Howd'y, Logan," grunted Pop, sighing. His feet scraped from the table -and thumped solidly on the floor in time with the thud of the chair -legs, and he slowly arose, yawning and sighing wearily while he waited -to see which side of the room would be favored by the newcomer. Pop -disliked being disturbed, for by nature he was one who craved rest, -and he could only sleep all night and most of the day. Rubbing the -sleep out of his eyes he yawned again and looked more closely at the -stranger, a quick look of surprise flashing across his face. Blinking -rapidly he looked again and muttered something to himself. - -The newcomer turned his back to the bar, took two long steps and -peered into the battered showcase on the other side of the room, where -a miscellaneous collection of merchandise, fly-specked and dusty, -lay piled up in cheerful disorder under the cracked and grimy glass. -Staring up at him was a roughly scrawled warning, in faded ink on -yellowed paper: "Lean on yourself." The collection showed Mexican -holsters, army holsters, holsters with the Lone Star; straps, buckles, -bone rings, star-headed tacks, spurs, buttons, needles, thread, knives; -two heavy Colt's revolvers, piles of cartridges in boxes, a pair of -mother-of-pearl butt plates showing the head of a long-horned steer; -pipes, tobacco of both kinds, dice, playing cards, harmonicas, cigars -so dried out that they threatened to crumble at a touch; a patented -gun-sight with Wild Bill Hickok's picture on the card which held -it; oil, corkscrews, loose shot and bullets; empty shells, primers, -reloading tools; bar lead, bullet molds--all crowded together as they -had been left after many pawings-over. Pop was wont to fretfully damn -the case and demand, peevishly, to know why "it" was always the very -last thing he could find. Often, upon these occasions, he threatened -to "get at it" the very first chance that he had; but his threats were -harmless. - -The stranger tapped on the glass. "Gimme that box of .45's," he -remarked, pointing. "No, no; not that one. This _new_ box. I'm shore -particular about little things like that." - -Pop reluctantly obeyed. "Why, just th' other day I found a box of -ca'tridges I had for eleven years; an' they was better'n them that they -sells nowadays. That's one thing that don't spoil." He looked up with -shrewdly appraising eyes. "At fust glance I thought you was Logan. You -shore looks a heap like him: dead image," he said. - -"Yes? Dead image?" responded the stranger, his voice betraying nothing -more than a polite, idle curiosity; but his mind flashed back to the -trail. "Hum. He must have a lot of friends if he looks like me," he -smiled quizzically. - -Pop grinned: "Well, he's got some as is; an' some as ain't," he replied -knowingly. "An' lemme tell you they both runs true to form. You don't -have to copper no bets on either bunch, not a-tall." - -"Sheriff, or marshal?" inquired the stranger, turning to the bar. "It's -plenty hot an' dusty," he averred. "You have a life-saver with me." - -"Might as well, I reckon," said Pop, shuffling across the room with -a sudden show of animation, "though my life ain't exactly in danger. -Nope; he ain't no sheriff, _or_ marshal. We ain't got none, 'though I -ain't sayin' we couldn't keep one tolerable busy while he lived. I've -thought some of gettin' th' boys together to elect me sheriff; an' -cussed if I wouldn't 'a' done it, too, if it wasn't for th' ridin'." - -"Ridin'?" inquired the stranger with polite interest. - -"It shakes a man up so; an' I allus feels sorry for th' hoss," -explained the proprietor. - -The stranger's facial training at the great American game was all that -saved him from committing a breach of etiquette. "Huh! Reckon it does -shake a man up," he admitted. "An' I never thought about th' cayuse; -no, sir; not till this minute. Any ranches in this country?" - -"Shore; lots of 'em. You lookin' for work?" - -"Yes; I reckon so," answered the stranger. - -"Well, if you don't look out sharp you'll shore find some." - -"A man's got to eat more or less regular; an' cow-punchers ain't no -exception," replied the stranger, his soft drawl in keeping with his -slow, graceful movements. - -Pop, shrewd reader of men that he was, suspected that neither of those -characteristics was a true index to the man's real nature. There was an -indefinable something which belied the smile--the eyes, perhaps, steel -blue, unwavering, inscrutable; or a latent incisiveness crouching just -beyond reach; and there was a sureness and smoothness and minimum of -effort in the movements which vaguely reminded Pop of a mountain lion -he once had trailed and killed. He was in the presence of a dynamic -personality which baffled and disturbed him; and the two plain, heavy -Colt's resting in open-top holsters, well down on the stranger's -thighs, where his swinging hands brushed the well-worn butts, were -signs which even the most stupid frontiersman could hardly overlook. -Significant, too, was the fact that the holsters were securely tied -by rawhide thongs, at their lower ends, to the leather chaps, this to -hold them down when the guns were drawn out. To the initiated the signs -proclaimed a gunman, a two-gun man, which was worse; and a red flag -would have had no more meaning. - -"Well," drawled Pop, smiling amiably, "as to work, I reckon you can -find it if you knows it when you sees it; an' don't close yore eyes. -I'll deal 'em face up, an' you can take yore choice," he offered, -wiping his lips on the edge of the bar towel, both the action and the -towel itself being vociferously described by his saddle-sitting friends -as affectations, for everybody knew that a sleeve or the back of a -hand was the natural thing. "Now, there's th' Circle S; but I dunno as -they needs any more men. They could get along with less if them they -has would work. Smith, of th' Long T, over in th' southwest, could -easy use more men; but he's so close an' all-fired pe-nurious that I -dunno as he'd favor th' idear. He's a reg'lar genius for savin' money, -Smith is. He once saved a dollar out of three cents, an' borrowed them -of me to start with. Then there's th' CL, over east in th' Deepwater -Valley. You might get something there; an' Logan's a nice man to work -for, for a few days. He allus gives his men at least two hours sleep a -night, averagin' it up; but somehow they're real cheerful about it, an' -they all swears by him 'stead of at him. Reckon mebby it's th' wages -he pays. He's got th' best outfit of th' three. But, lemme tell you, -it's a right lively place, th' CL; an' you don't have to copper _that_, -neither. Th' cards is all spread out in front of you--take yore choice -an' foller yore nat'ral bend." - -"Logan," mused the stranger. "Didn't you say something about him -before?" he asked curiously. - -"I did," grunted Pop. "You've got a mem'ry near as bad as Ol' Hiram -Jones. Hiram, he once--" - -"I thought so," interposed the cow-puncher hastily. "What kind of a -ranch is th' CL?" - -"Well, it was th' fust to locate in these parts, an' had its pick; -an', nat'rally, it picked th' valley of th' Deepwater. Funny Logan -ain't found no way to make th' river work; it wouldn't have to sleep at -all, 'cept once in a while in th' winter, when it freezes over for a -spell. It'd be a total loss then; mebby that's why he ain't never tried. - -"But takin' a second holt," he continued, frowning with deep thought; -"I dunno as I'd work for him, if I was you. You looks too much like -him; an' you got a long life of piety an' bad whiskey ahead of you, -mebby. An', come to think of it, I dunno as I'd stay very long around -these parts, neither; an' for th' same reason. Now you have a drink -with me. It shore is th' hottest spring I've seen in fifty year," he -remarked, thereby quoting himself for about that period of time. Each -succeeding spring and summer was to him hotter than any which had gone -before, which had moved Billy Atwood to remark that if Pop only lived -long enough he would find hell a cool place, by comparison, when he -eventually arrived there. - -"Sic 'em, Towser!" shrilled a falsetto voice from somewhere. "I'll eat -his black heart!" Then followed whistling, clucking, and a string of -expletives classical in its completeness. "Andy wants a drink! Quick!" - -A green object dropped past the stranger's face, thumped solidly on the -pine bar, hooked a vicious-looking beak on the edge of the counter, -and swore luridly as its crafty nip missed the stranger's thumb. - -The puncher swiftly bent his sinewy forefinger, touched it with his -thumb, and let it snap forward. The parrot got it on an eye and -staggered, squawking a protest. - -Pop was surprised and disappointed, for most strangers showed some -signs of being startled, and often bought the drinks to further prove -that the joke was on them. This capable young man carelessly dropped -his great sombrero over Andrew Jackson and went right on talking as -though nothing unusual had occurred. It appeared that the bird was also -surprised and disappointed. The great hat heaved and rocked, bobbed -forward, backward, and sideways, and then slid jerkily along the bar, -its hidden locomotive force too deeply buried in thought and darkness -to utter even a single curse. Reaching the edge of the bar the big -hat pushed out over it, teetered a moment and then fell to the floor, -where Andrew Jackson, recovering his breath and vocabulary at the same -instant, filled the room with shrill and clamorous profanity. - -The conversation finished to his satisfaction, the stranger glanced -down at his boot, where the ruffled bird was delivering tentative -frontal and flank attacks upon the glittering, sharp-toothed spur, -whose revolving rowel had the better of the argument. Andrew sensed -the movement, side-stepped clumsily and cocked an evil eye upward. - -"You should 'a' taught him to swear in th' deaf an' dumb alphabet," -commented the puncher, grinning at the bird's gravity. "Does he drink?" -he asked. - -"Try him, an' see," suggested Pop, chuckling. He reached for a bottle -and clucked loudly. - -Andrew shook himself energetically, and then proceeded to go up the -puncher's chaps by making diligent use of beak and claws. Reaching the -low-hung belt, he hooked his claws into it and then looked evilly and -suspiciously at the strange, suddenly extended forefinger. Deciding to -forego hostilities, he swung himself upon it and was slowly lifted up -to the bar. - -Pop was disappointed again, for it was the bird's invariable custom to -deftly remove a portion of strange forefingers so trustingly offered. -He could crack nuts in his crooked beak. Andy shook himself violently, -craned his neck and hastened to bend it over the rim of the glass. - -The stranger watched him in frank disgust and shrugged his shoulders -eloquently. "So all you could teach him was vile cuss words an' to like -whiskey, huh?" he muttered. "He's got less sense than I thought he -had," he growled, and, turning abruptly, went swiftly out to his horse. - -Pop stared after him angrily and slapped the bird savagely. Emptying -the liquor upon the floor, he shuffled quickly to the door and shook -his fist at the departing horseman. - -"Don't you tell Logan that _I_ sent you!" he shouted belligerently. - -The stranger turned in his saddle, grinning cheerfully, and favored his -late host with a well-known, two-handed nose signal. Then he slapped -the black horse and shot down the street without another backward -glance. - -Pop, arms akimbo, watched him sweep out of sight around a bend. - -"Huh!" he snorted. "Wonder what yo're doin' down here? Galivantin' -around th' country, insultin' honest, hard-workin' folks, an' wearin' -two guns, low down an' tied! I reckon when you learns th' lay of th' -country, if you stays long enough, you'll wind up by joinin' that -gang up in th' Twin Buttes country. I allus like to see triggers on -six-shooters, _I_ do." He had not noticed the triggers, but that was no -bar to his healthy imagination. Shuffling back to his seat, he watched -the indignant Andy pecking at a wet spot on the floor. - -"So you didn't chaw his finger, huh?" he demanded, in open and frank -admiration of the bird's astuteness. "Strikes me you got a hull lot of -wisdom, my boy. Some folks says a bird ain't got no brains; but lemme -tell you that you've got a danged good instinct." - - - - -CHAPTER II - -A QUESTION OF IDENTITY - - -Meanwhile the stranger was loping steadily eastward, and he arrived at -the corral of the CL ranch before sundown, nodding pleasantly to the -man who emerged from it: "Howd'y," he said. "I'm lookin' for Logan." - -The CL man casually let his right hand lay loosely near the butt of his -Colt: "Howd'y," he nodded. "Yo're lookin' right at him." - -"Do you need any more punchers?" asked the stranger. - -"H'm," muttered the foreman. "Might use one. If it's you, we'll talk -money on pay-day. I'll know more about you then." - -A puncher, passing the corral, noticed the two guns, frowned slightly -and entered the enclosure, and leaned alertly against the palisade, -where a crack between two logs served him as a loophole. - -The two-gun man laughed with genuine enjoyment at the foreman's way of -hiring men. "That's fair," he replied; "but what's th' high an' low -figgers? I like to know th' limit of any game I sets in." - -Logan shrugged his shoulders. "Forty is th' lowest I'd offer a white -man; an' he wouldn't draw that more'n a month. Any man as ain't worth -more is in our way. It's a waste of grub to feed him. Th' sky is th' -high limit--but you've got to work like h--l to pass th' clouds." - -"I'm some balloon," laughed the stranger. "Where's the grub shack?" - -"Hold on, young man! We ain't got that far, yet. Where are you from, -an' what have you been doin' with yore sweet young life?" - -The stranger's face grew grave and his eyes narrowed a trifle. - -"Some folks allow that's a leadin' question. It ain't polite." - -"I allow that, too. An' I'm aimin' to make it a leadin' question, -'though I ain't lackin' in politeness, nor tryin' to rile you. You -don't have to answer. Th' wide world, full of jobs, is all around you." - -The newcomer regarded him calmly for a moment, and suddenly smiled. - -"Yore gall is refreshin'," he grinned. "I'm from th' Bar-20, Texas. -I'm five feet ten; weigh a hundred an' sixty; blue eyes, brown hair; -single an' sober, now an' always. I writes left-handed; eat an' shoot -with both; wears pants, smokes tobacco, an' I'm as handy a cow-puncher -as ever threw a rope. Oh, yes; modesty is one of my glarin' faults; you -might say my only glarin' fault. Some people call me 'Dearly Beloved'; -others, other things; but I answer to any old handle at grub pile. My -name is Johnny Nelson an' I never had no other, 'cept 'Kid,' to my -friends. I'm thirty years old, minus some. An'--oh, yes; I'm from th' -Tin Cup, Montanny. I get things twisted at times, an' this shore looks -like one of 'em." - -"Of course," grunted Logan, his eyes twinkling. "That's easy. Th' two -ranches, bein' so close together, would bother a man. Sorta wander off -one onto th' other, an' have to stop to think which one yo're workin' -for. They should mark th' boundaries plainer--or put up a fence." - -Johnny flushed. "I allus say Bar-20 when I speaks off-hand an' have -more on my mind than my hair. That man in th' corral divides my -attention. He flusters me. You see, I was cussed near born on th' old -Bar-20--worked there ever since I was a boy. That crack in th' wall is -big enough for two men to use. Thank you, friend: you near scared me to -death," he chuckled as the suspicious watcher emerged and started for -the bunk-house. - -"You look so much like th' boss, I couldn't help watchin' you," grinned -the puncher over his shoulder. - -Logan grunted something, and then nodded at the stranger. - -"Cut it loose," he encouraged. "I don't get a chance like this every -day, my observant friend. I allus reckoned I could cover ground purty -well, but I'll be hanged if I can spread myself so I can work in Texas -an' Montanny at th' same time. You got me beat from soda to hock. Yo're -goin' to be a real valuable man, which I can see plain. Comin' down to -cases, you ain't really a cow-puncher; yo're a whole cussed outfit, -barrin' th' chuck waggin an' th' cook. I have great hopes for you. Tell -me about it." - -Johnny swung a leg over the pommel and smiled down at the man who was -grinning up at him. - -"Of course," he replied, "it ain't none of yore business, which we both -admits. We just can't do any business on any other understandin'. But I -waives that: an' here goes. - -"I worked with the Bar-20 till Buck went up to run th' Tin Cup. -Cow-thieves kept him so busy that our new foreman went up to help him. -He stayed there. Red got lonesome for Hoppy, and shore follered. Skinny -was lost without th' pair of 'em, so he up an' follered Red. Lanky, -missin' Skinny, got plumb restless an' takes th' trail a month later. -Then a railroad crosses our ranch an' begins layin' out two towns, so -Pete gets on his hind laigs, licks a section boss, an' chases after -Lanky. I'm gettin' lonesomer and lonesomer all th' time, but I manages -to stick on th' job by pullin' leather, because I was drawin' down a -foreman's pay. That ranch had five foremen in three months; an' they -was all good ones, 'cept, mebby, me. But when I saw barbed wire on th' -sidin', fence posts along th' right of way, sheep on th' hills, an' -plows plumb ruinin' good grass land, I hunts up that same section boss, -licks him again in mem'ry of Pete, packed my war bag, an' loped north -after Pete. Th' old ranch has gone plumb to h--l!" - -Logan, a scowl on his face, rubbed the butt of his Colt and swore -softly. "It'll be that way all over th' range, some day. Go on." - -"Well, up on th' Tin Cup, Buck got married. Hoppy had been before he -left Texas. Tex Ewalt's gettin' th' disease now. He quit drinkin', -card playin', an' most everything worth doin'. He ain't fit company -for a sheep no more. Not knowing he was framin' up th' play, I loafed -along an' didn't propose quick enough. That's once more he saved my -life. Th' air's plumb full of matrimony on th' Tin Cup. There was two -black-eyed sisters in Twin River--Lanky takes one an' Skinny th' other. -They tossed for choice. Pete, who was matrimony galled, raised such a -ruction at th' doin's that there just wasn't no livin' with him. His -disposition was full of sand cracks, an' he'd ruther fight than eat. We -pulled off a couple of hummers, me an' him. - -"Every time I'd try to get some of my friends to go to town for a -regular, old time, quiet evenin' I found I didn't have no friends left; -an' th' wimmin all joined hands an' made me feel like a brand-blotter. -I was awful popular, _I_ was! Ever try to argue with a bunch of wimmin? -It's like a dicky bird chirpin' in a cyclone; he can't even hear -hisself! - -"We had a cook once, on th' Bar-20, that would run an' grab a gun if -he saw a coyote ten miles away. That's th' way they acted about me, -all but Mary, who is Mrs. Hopalong. She had th' idea she could make me -all over again; an' I wouldn't a-cared if she hadn't kept tryin' all -th' time. At first all my ex-friends would sneak around an' sort of -apologize to me for th' way their wives acted; an' then, d--d if they -didn't get to sidin' in with th' wives! Whenever I wandered into sight -th' wimmin would cluck to their worse halves, an' scold me like I was -a chicken hawk. An' I had lots of advice, too. It was just like my -shadow, only it worked nights, too. Nobody called me 'Kid' or 'Johnny' -no more. Them days was past. I was _that_ Johnny Nelson: know what I -mean? - -"Red did sneak off to town with me twice--an' drank ginger-ale, an' -acted about as free an' happy as a calf with a red-hot old brandin' -iron over his flank. He wouldn't play faro because he only had two -dollars, an' reckoned he might need it for somethin' before pay-day -come around again. That was on pay-day, too! An' that was Red, _Red -Connors_! Great polecats! Why, there was a time when Red--oh, what's -th' use! - -"Hopalong--you call him that now when his wife's around!--he was -something on some board, or something; an' he said he had to set a good -example. Wouldn't even play penny ante! Think of it! There was a time -when a camel, with all his stummicks, an' a Gatlin' gun on his back, -couldn't a follered th' example _he_ set. I was just as happy as a -bobcat in a trap--an' about as peaceful. There wasn't nothin' I could -do, if I stayed up there, but get married; an' that was like hangin' -myself to keep from gettin' shot. Then, one day, Mrs. Hopalong caught -me learnin' William, Junior, how to chew tobacco. As if a five-year-old -kid hadn't ought to get some manly habits! An', say! You ought to see -that kid! If he won't bust his daddy's records for h--l-raisin' I miss -my guess; unless they plumb spoils him in th' bringin' up. Well, she -caught me learnin' him; but like th' boundin' jack rabbit I'm hard to -catch. An' here I am." - -Logan's grin threatened his ears. "I'm glad of it," he laughed. -"There's something in yore face I like--mebby it's th' tobacco. Thanks; -I will; I'm all out of it right now. How did you come to pick us out to -land on? Pop recommend us to you?" - -"Now don't blame me for that," rejoined Johnny. "Anyhow, he took it -back later. As to stoppin' in this country, th' idea suddenly whizzed -my way at them twin buttes north of town. I like this range. Things -sort of start themselves, an' there's music in th' air. It reminds me -of th' Bar-20, in th' old days. A man won't grow lazy down here; he'll -keep jumpin'. An' I found a trace of lead at that funny-lookin' ridge -east of them freak buttes; but I couldn't find where it come from. -If I had, I'd 'a' salted th' mine with a Sharp's Special. You see, -I'm ambidextrous--ain't that a snorter of a word?--an' when I ain't -punchin' cows with one hand, I'm prospectin' with th' other. Somebody -down here is plumb careless with his gun--an' he's got a good gun, too. -He's too cussed familiar on short acquaintance. But it's too bad I look -like you, 'though that's why I'm offerin' you my valuable services." - -"I reckon it's a cross I got to stagger under," replied Logan, the -smile gone from his face; "but I'll try to live it down. An' somehow my -trusting nature leans toward you, though it shouldn't. Yo're a two-gun -man, which acts like yeast in th' suspicious mind. I've seen 'em -before; an' you looks most disconcertin' capable. Then you says Bar-20, -an' Hopalong, an' Red Connors, an' th' others. You talk like you knew -'em intimate. I've heard of 'em, all of 'em. Like th' moon, you shine -in reflected light. I've heard of you, too; I'm surprised you ain't in -jail. Now then: If you are _that_ Johnny Nelson, of _that_ outfit, an' -you can prove it, I yearns to weep on yore bosom; if you ain't, then -I'll weep on yore grave. Th' question of identity is a ticklish one. -It makes me that nervous I want to look under th' bed. As a two-gun -man, unknown, yo're about as welcome on this ranch, right now, as a -hydrophoby skunk; but as Johnny Nelson, of that old Bar-20, yo're worth -fifty a month to me, as a starter, with ten dollars extra for each -six-gun. But I've just simply got to have proof about who you are, an' -where you come from. Let's pause for an inspiration." - -Johnny grinned. "I don't blame you; for I've had a sample of something -already. An' I've got a tail holt on an inspiration. You hunt up that -pen you've had since Adam was a boy; find th' ink that you put away -last summer so you'd know where it was when you wanted it in a hurry; -an' then, in thirty minutes' hard labor you'll have something like this: - - - "'Mr. William Cassidy, Senior, Tin Cup, Twin Rivers, Montanny: - Dear Sir: A nice lookin' young man wants to take seventy dollars a - month away from me, as a starter. His undershirt is red, with th' - initials "WC" worked near th' top buttonhole in pretty blue silk - thread. He wants Pete to send him that eight dollars that Pete - borrowed to buy William, Junior, a .22 rifle to bust windows with. - Tell Red his pants wear well. Does William, Junior, chew tobacco? - He has been shot at already. What is this young man's name? Did he - work on th' old Bar-20 with you? Yours truly, Logan.' - - -"Exhibit 1: Th' red undershirt. Hoppy has even more of 'em than -Buck, 'though Rose is comin' along fast. Mary branded 'em all so she -could pick 'em out of th' wash. It helped me pick this one off th' -clothes-line, because me an' Hoppy wears th' same size. Exhibit 2: -A scab on my off ear. William, Junior, was shootin' at a calf an' -I stopped him. He's a spunky little cuss, all right; but they'll -spoil him yet. An' Pete never did have any sense, anyhow. Th' poor -kid is shootin' blanks now, an' blamin' it on th' gun. An' it was a -mean trick, too. That hit about th' tobacco will get under Hoppy's -scalp--he'll answer right quick. You might say to tell William, Junior, -that I ain't forgot my promise, an' that I'll send him a shotgun just -as soon as he gets big enough to tote it around." - -"I'll shore send it," laughed Logan, whose imagination was running -wild. "But outside of the identity you suits me right down to the -ground. If Hopalong Cassidy says yo're all right I'll back you to my -last dollar. You mentioned hearin' music in th' air. It was a tunin' -up. Will you stay for th' dance?" - -"Sweet bells of joy!" exclaimed Johnny, leaving the saddle as though -shot out by a spring. "From wimmin', barb wire, sheep an' railroad -towns, to this! I can go to town with th' boys once more! I can cuss -out loud an' swagger around regardless! An' some mangey gent is -careless with his gun! You can lose me just as easy as a cow can lose a -tick. I feel right at home." - -"All right, then. Strip off yore saddle and turn that fine cayuse -loose," replied Logan, chuckling. He hoped that he might be able to -coax the new man to swap horses. "Th' cook's callin' his hogs, so let's -go feed." - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE WISDOM OF THE FROGS - - -For two weeks Johnny rode range with the outfit and got familiar with -the ranch. There was one discovery which puzzled him and seemed to -offer an explanation for the shot on the trail: He had found the ruins -of a burned homestead on the northern end of the ranch and he guessed -that it had been used by "nesters;" and the evicted squatters might -have mistaken him for Logan. His thoughts constantly turned to the man -who had shot at him, and to the country around Twin Buttes; and often -he sat for minutes, stiffly erect in his saddle, staring at the two -great buttes, eager to explore the country surrounding them and to pay -his debt. - -From where he rode, facing westward, he could see the Deepwater, cold -at all seasons of the year. Flowing swiftly, it gurgled and swished -around bowlders of lava and granite and could be forded in but one -place in thirty miles, where it spread out over a rocky, submerged -plateau on the trail between the CL and Hastings, and where it grew -turbulent and frothy with wrath as it poured over the up-thrust ledges. -Along its eastern bank lay the ranch, in the valley of the Deepwater, -and beyond it a short distance stood the Barrier, following it mile -after mile and curving as it curved. - -The Barrier, well named, was a great ledge of limestone, up-flung -like a wall, sheer, smooth and only occasionally broken by narrow -crevices which ran far back and sloped gradually upward, rock-strewn, -damp, cool, and wild. It stretched for miles to Johnny's right and -left, a wall between the wild tumble of the buttes and the smooth, -gently rolling, fertile plain, which, beginning at the river, swept -far to the eastward behind him, where it eventually became lost in the -desert wastes. On one side of the rampart lay the scurrying river and -the valley of the Deepwater, rolling, sparsely timbered and heavily -grassed, placid, peaceful, restful; on the other, seeming to leap -against the horizon, lay the grandeur of chaos, wild and forbidding. - -Highest above all that jagged western skyline, shouldering up above -all other buttes and plateaus, Twin Buttes peremptorily challenged -attention. Remarkably alike from all sides, when viewed from the CL -ranch-house they seemed to have been cast in the same mold; and the two -towering, steep-sided masses with their different colored strata stood -high above the Barrier and the chaos behind it like concrete examples -of eternity. - -Twin Buttes were the lords of their realm, and what a realm it was! -Around them for miles great buttes rose solidly upward, naked on their -abrupt sides except for an occasional, straggling bush or dwarfed pine -or fir which here and there held precarious footholds in cracks and -crevices or on the more secure placement of a ledge. Deep draws choked -with brush lay between the more rolling hills along the eastern edge -of the watershed where the Barrier stood on guard, and rich patches of -heavy grass found the needed moisture in them. On the slopes of the -hills were great forests of yellow pine, a straggling growth of fir -crowning their tops. Farther west, where the massive buttes reared -aloft, the deep canyons were of two kinds. The first, wide, with -sloping banks of detritus, were covered with pine forests and torn with -draws; the second, steep-walled, were great, narrow chasms of wind- -and water-swept rock, bare and awe inspiring. They sloped upward to -the backbone of the watershed and had humble beginnings in shallow, -basin-like arroyos, which gradually became boxes in the rock formation -as the level sloped downward. - -But the chaos stopped at the Barrier, which marked the breaking of -stratum upon stratum of the earth's crust. Ages ago there had been a -mighty struggle here between titanic forces. To the west the earth's -crust, battered into buttes, canyons, draws, and great plateaus, -had held out with a granite stubbornness and strength defying the -seething powers below it; but the limestone and the sandstone, weaker -brothers, betrayed by the treachery of the shales, had given under the -great strain and parted. The western portion had held its own; but the -eastern section had dropped down into the heaving turmoil and formed -the floor of the valley of the Deepwater. And as if in compensation, -the winds of the ages, still battling with the stubborn buttes, had -robbed them of soil and deposited it in the valley. - -One evening, when Johnny rode in for supper, Logan met him at the -corral and held out his hand. - -"Shake, Nelson," he smiled. "Crosby went to town today and brought me a -letter from th' Tin Cup. After you have fed up, come around to my room -an' see me. I want to hold a right lively pow-wow with you." - -"Shore enough!" laughed Johnny, an expectant grin on his face. "Bet he -laid me out from soda to hock, tail to bit, th' old pirate!" - -"Well, you've got a terrible reputation, young man. Go an' feed." - -Johnny was the first at the table that night, and the first away from -it by a wide margin. Rolling a cigarette, he lit it and hastened to -Logan's quarters, where he found the foreman contentedly smoking. - -"Come in an' set down," invited the foreman. "We're goin' to do a lot -of talkin'; it's due to be a long session. There's th' letter." - -Johnny read it: - - - "Mr. John C. Logan. Dear Sir: I take my pen in hand to answer your - letter of recent date. Pete paid Red the 8 dollars to even up for - the pants, but nobody paid me for the shirt, ask him why he took - the best one. William, Junior, hates tobacco. We was scared hed - die. He swears most suspicious like Johnny Nelson. I hid the gun - in the storeroom. It cost me $12 damages the first week, besides - a calf. Can you use Pete Wilson? I'll pay 1/2 his wages the first - 6 months. I'd ruther have boils than him. He's worse since Johnny - left. Don't let Johnny come north again, and God have mercy on your - soul. He's easy worth $70, if you are in trouble. If you ain't - in trouble he'll get you there. Excuse pensil. Yours truly, Wm. - Cassidy, Senior. P. S. His old job is waiting for him and he can - have the shirt. It must be near wore out anyhow. Tell him it only - costs 2 cents to write me a letter, but I bet hell freezes before I - get one. William, Junior, raised the devil when he missed Johnny. - Yes, he worked on the Bar-20. If he sends the kid a shotgun, I'll - come down and bust his neck. Excuse pensil." - - -Johnny looked steadily out of the door, ashamed to let Logan see his -face, for homesickness is no respecter of age. He gulped and felt like -a sick calf. Logan smiled at him through the gloom and chuckled, and at -the sound the puncher stiffened and turned around with a fine attempt -at indifference. - -The foreman nodded at the letter. "Keep it if you wants. They must be -a purty fine bunch, them fellers. I never knowed any of 'em, but I've -heard a lot about 'em. 'Youbet' Somes used to drop in here once in a -while, an' he knowed 'em all. I ain't seen Youbet for quite a spell -now." - -Johnny managed to relax his throat. "Finest outfit that ever -wore pants," he blurted. "Youbet's dead. Went out fightin' seven -sheep-herders in a saloon, but he got three of 'em. Hoppy met up with -two of th' others th' next summer an' had words with 'em. Th' other -two are still livin', I reckon." He thought for a moment and growled: -"It's th' wimmin that done it. You wouldn't believe how that crowd has -changed! D--n it, why can't a man keep his friends?" - -The foreman puffed slowly and made no answer beyond a grunt of -understanding. Johnny folded the letter carefully and put it in his -pocket. "What's th' cow business comin' to, anyhow?" he demanded. -"Wimmin, railroads, towns, sheep, wire--" he despaired of words and -glared at the inoffensive corral. - -"An' rustlers," added Logan. - -"They're only an incident," retorted Johnny. "They can be licked, like -a disease; but th' others--oh, what's th' use!" - -"Yo're right," replied Logan; "but it's the rustlers that have got me -worried. I ain't thinkin' about th' others very much, yet." - -Johnny turned like a flash. He wanted action, action that would take -his thoughts into other channels. The times were out of joint and he -wanted something upon which to vent his spleen. He had been waiting for -that word to come from Logan, waiting for days. And he had a score of -his own to pay, as well. - -"Rustlers!" he exulted. "I knowed it! I've knowed it for a week, an' -I'm tired of ridin' around like a cussed fool. I know th' job _I_ want! -What about 'em?" - -Logan closed the door by a push of his foot, refilled and lit his -pipe, and for two hours the only light the room knew was the soft -glow of the pipe and the firey ends of the puncher's cigarettes, -while Logan unfolded his troubles to eager ears. The cook sang in the -kitchen as he wrestled his dishes and pans, and then the noise died -out. Laughter and words and the thumping of knuckles on a card table -came from the bunkroom, and grew silent. A gray coyote slid around the -corral, sniffing suspiciously, and at some faint noise faded into the -twilight, and from a distant rise howled mournfully at the moon. From a -little pond in the corral came the deep-throated warning of the frogs, -endless, insistent, untiring: "Go 'round! Go 'round! Knee deep! Knee -deep! Go 'round! Go 'round! Go 'round!" - -The soft murmur of voices in the foreman's room suddenly ceased, and a -chair scraped over the sandy floor. The door creaked a protest as it -swung slowly inward and a gray shape suddenly took form against the -darkness of the room, paused on the threshold and then Logan stepped -out into the moonlight and knocked his pipe against his boot heel. A -second figure emerged and joined him, tossing away a cigarette. - -The foreman yawned and shook his head. "I didn't know how to get 'em, -Nelson," he said again. "I wasn't satisfied to stop th' rustlin'. I -wanted to wipe 'em out an' get back my cows; but I didn't have men -enough to go about it right, an' that cussed Barrier spoiled every -plan." - -"Yes," said the puncher. "But it's funny that none of th' boys, -watchin' nights, never got a sign of them fellers. They must be slick. -Well, all right; there'll have to be another plan tried, an' that'll be -_my_ job. I told you that I found traces of lead over near Twin Buttes? -Well, I'm goin' prospectin', an' try to earn that seventy dollars a -month. Any time you see a green bush lyin' at th' foot of th' Barrier, -just north of Little Canyon, keep th' boys from ridin' near there that -same night. I may have some business there an' I shore don't want to be -shot at when I can't shoot back. It's too cussed bad Hoppy an' Red are -married." - -Logan laughed: "Then don't you make that mistake some day! But what -about that feller Pete Wilson that Cassidy wants to get rid of?" - -"Don't you worry about me gettin' married!" snorted Johnny. "I saw too -much of it. An' as for Pete, he's too happy wallerin' in his misery. -Anyhow, he wouldn't leave Hoppy an' th' boys; an' they wouldn't let -him go. You couldn't drag him off the Tin Cup with a rope. Then we've -settled it, huh? I'm to leave you tomorrow, with hard words?" - -"Hard words ain't necessary. I know every man that works for me an' -they'll stick, an' keep their mouths shut. Now, I warn you again: I -wouldn't give a dollar, Mex., for yore life if you go through with your -scheme. An' it'll be more dangerous because you look like me, an' have -worked for me. You can give it up right now an' not lose anythin' in my -opinion. Think it over tonight." - -Johnny laughed and shook his head. - -"Well," said the foreman, "I'm lettin' you into a bad game, with th' -cards stacked against you; but I'll come in after you when you say th' -word; an' th' outfit'll be at my back." - -"I know that," smiled Johnny. "I'll be under a handicap, keepin' under -cover an' not doin' any shootin'; but If I make a gun-play they'll -begin to do some figgerin'. Gosh, I'm sleepy. Reckon I'll hunt my bunk. -Good night." - -"No gun-play," growled Logan. "You know what I want. How many they are, -where they round up my cows, an' when they will be makin' a raid, so I -can get 'em red-handed. _We_'ll do the fightin'. Good night." - -They shook hands and parted, Johnny entering the house, Logan wandering -out to the corral, where he sat on a stump for an hour or more and -slowly smoked his pipe. When he finally arose he found that it was out, -and cold, much to his surprise. - -"Go 'round! Go 'round!" said the pond. "Better go 'round! Go 'round!" - -Logan turned and sighed with relief at a problem solved. "Yo're a right -smart frog, Big Mouth," he grinned. "'Go 'round' is th' medicine; an' -I've got th' doctor to shove it down their throats! There's a roundup -due in th' Twin Buttes, an' it's started now." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A FEINT - - -Pop Hayes sighed, raised his head and watched the door as hoof-beats -outside ceased abruptly. - -"Dearly Beloved!" said an indignant voice. "If you tries any more -of yore tricks I'll gentle you with th' butt of a six-gun, you -barrel-bellied cow! Oh, _that's_ it, huh? I savvy. You yearns for that -shade. Go to it, Pepper." - -"'Dearly Beloved'!" snorted Pop in fine disgust. "You'd think it was a -weddin' tower! Who th' devil ever heard a cayuse called any such a name -as that?" he indignantly demanded of Andrew Jackson; but Andrew paid no -attention to him. The bird's head was cocked on one side and he sidled -deliberately toward the door. - -A figure jumped backward past the door, followed by a pair of hoofs, -which shot into sight and out again. Andy stopped short and craned his -neck, his beady eyes glittering with quick suspicion. - -"I can shore see where you an' me has an argument," said the voice -outside. "If you make any more plays like that I'll just naturally kick -yore ribs in. G'wan, now; I ain't got no sugar, you old fool!" And the -smiling two-gun man stepped into the room, with a wary and affectionate -backward glance. "Hello, Pop!" he grinned. "You old Piute, you owes me -a drink!" - -"Like h--l I do!" retorted Pop with no politeness, sitting up very -straight in his chair. - -"You shore do!" rejoined Johnny firmly. "Didn't you tell me that th' CL -was a nice ranch to work for?" - -"Yo're loco! I didn't say nothin' of th' kind!" snapped Pop -indignantly. "I said they'd work you nigh to death; _that's_ what I -said!" - -"Oh; was that it?" asked Johnny dubiously. "I ain't nowise shore about -it; but we'll let it go as it lays. Then I owe you a drink; so it's all -th' same. Yo're a real prophet." - -Pop hastily shuffled to his appointed place and performed the honors -gracefully. "So you went an' got a job over there, huh?" he chuckled. -"An' now yo're all through with 'em? Well, I _will_ say that you stuck -it out longer than some I knows of. Two weeks with Logan is a long -time." - -"It's so long that I've aged considerable," admitted Johnny, smiling -foolishly. "But I'm cured. I'm cured of punchin' cows for anybody, -for a while. Seems to me that all I've done, all my life, was to play -guardian, to fool cows. I've had enough for a while. Th' last two weeks -plumb cured me of punchin'." - -He looked down and saw Andy, feathers ruffled, squaring off for -another go at the spur, stooped suddenly, scooped the squawking bird -into his hand, tossed it into the air, caught it, and quickly shoved it -headfirst into a pocket. Andy swore and backed and wriggled, threatened -to eat his black heart and to do other unkind and reprehensible things. -Giving a desperate heave he plopped out of the pocket and struck the -floor with a thud. Shaking himself, he screamed profane defiance at -the world at large and then made his clumsy and comical way up the -chaps and finally roosted on the butt of one of the six-guns, where he -clucked loudly and whistled. - -Johnny gave a peculiar whistle in reply, and almost instantly Pop let -out a roar and jumped toward the door to drive back a black horse that -was coming in. - -"Get out of here!" he yelled pugnaciously. Pepper bared her teeth and -slowly backed out again. Turning, Pop glared at the puncher. "Did you -see that? Mebby Andy ain't th' only animal that drinks," he jabbed, -remembering a former conversation. - -Johnny laughed and scratched the bird, which stood first on one foot -and then on the other, foolish with ecstatic joy. - -Pop regarded the bird with surprise. "Well, if that don't beat all!" he -marveled. "There ain't another man can do that, 'cept me, an' get off -with a whole hand. Andy'll miss you, I reckon." - -"He won't miss me much," responded Johnny, comfortably seating himself -in Pop's private chair. "I ain't leavin' th' country." - -"You won't have to. There's other ranches, where they treats punchers -better'n cows. There's another chair, over there." - -"No more ranches for me," replied Johnny, ignoring the hint. "I'm -through punchin', I tell you. I'm goin' to play a while for a change." - -"Gamblin's bad business," replied Pop, turning to get the cards. - -"Mebby some gamblin' is; but there's some as ain't," grinned Johnny. "I -ain't meanin' cards." - -"Oh," said Pop, disappointed. "What you mean--shootin' craps?" - -"Nope; I'm goin' prospectin'; an' if that ain't gamblin' then I never -saw anythin' that was." - -Pop straightened up and stared. "Prospectin?" he demanded, -incredulously. "Regular prospectin'? Well, I'll be cussed! If yo're -goin' to do it around here, lemme tell you it won't be no gamble. It'll -be a dead shore loss. A flea couldn't live on what you'll earn on that -game in this country." - -"Well, I ain't aimin' to support no flea, unless Andy leaves me one," -laughed Johnny, again scratching the restless bird. "But I'm tired of -cows, an' I might as well amuse myself prospectin' as any other way. -I like this country an' I'm goin' to stay a while. Besides, when I -was a kid I shore wanted to be a pirate; then when I got older I saw a -prospector an' hankered to be one. I can't be a pirate, but I'm goin' -to be a prospector. When my money is gone I'll guard cows again." - -"Lord help us!" muttered Pop. "Yo're plumb loco." - -"How can I be plumb an' loco at th' same time?" - -"Andy!" snapped Pop. "Come away from there! Lord knows you ain't got no -sense, but there ain't no use riskin' yore instinct!" - -Johnny laughed. "Leavin' jokes aside, me an' Pepper are goin' off by -ourselves an' poke around pannin' th' streams an' bustin' nuggets off -th' rocks till we get a fortune or our grub runs out. We can have a -good time, an'--hey! You got any fishhooks?" - -"Fishhooks nothin'!" snorted Pop. "Lot of call _I_ got for fishhooks. -Why, I ain't heard th' word for ten years. Say!" he grinned sheepishly. -"Mebby you'll get lonesome. Now, if we went off together, with some -fishhooks--but, shucks! I can't leave this here business." - -Johnny hid his relief. "That's th' worst of havin' a business. You -certainly can't go off an' let everythin' go to smash." - -"Cuss th' luck!" growled Pop. "Gosh, I'm all het up over it! I ain't -done no fishin' since I was a kid, an' there must be lots of trout in -these streams." Then he brightened a little. "But I dunno. You look -too cussed much like Logan to be real comfortable company for _me_. I -reckon I'll pay attention to business." - -Johnny showed a little irritation. "There you go again! You do a lot -of worryin' about my looks. If they don't suit you, start right in an' -change 'em!" - -"There _you_ go!" snapped Pop disgustedly. "On th' prod th' first -thing! You'd show more common sense if _you_ did some of th' worryin'. -But then, I reckon it'll be all right if you does yore prospectin' an' -fishin' south of here." - -"No, sir! I'm goin' to do it north of here, in th' Twin Buttes country." - -Pop's expression baffled description, and his Adam's apple bobbed up -and down like a monkey on a stick. "Good Lord! You stick to Devil's -Gap, an' south of there!" - -Johnny's eyes narrowed and he sat up very straight. "This is a free -country an' I goes where I please. It's a habit of mine. I said north, -an' that's where I'm goin'. I wasn't so set on it before; but now I'm -as set as a Missouri mule." - -Pop growled. "There ain't no chance of you havin' _my_ company; an' you -leave th' name an' address of yore next of kin before you starts." - -Johnny laughed derisively. "I ain't worryin'. An' now let's figger -out what a regular prospector needs. Bein' new at th' game I reckon I -better get some advice. What I'm dubious about are th' proper things to -pry th' nuggets loose with, an' hoist 'em on my cayuse," he grinned. -"Ought to have a pick, shovel, gold pan for placer fussin'--'gold pan' -sounds regular, don't it?--an' some sacks to tie it up in. A dozen'll -do for a starter. I can allus come back for more." - -"Or you can borrow a chuck waggin; that would be handy because it would -make it easy to get yore body out, 'though I reckon they'll just bury -you an' let it go that way." - -"They? Meanin' who?" - -"I ain't got a word to say." - -"There's some consolation in that," jeered Johnny. - -"Yo're a fool!" snorted Pop heatedly. - -"An' so that's went an' follered me down here, too," sighed Johnny. -"A man can't get away from some things. Well, let's get back on th' -trail. All th' prospectors I ever saw wore cowhide boots, with low, -flat heels. Somehow I can't see myself trampin' around with these I'm -wearin'; an' they're too expensive to wear 'em out that way. What else? -Need any blastin' powder?" - -"Cussed if I wouldn't grub-stake you if you wasn't goin' up there," -grinned Pop. "It takes a fool for luck; an' it'll be just like you to -fall down a canyon an' butt th' dirt off'n a million dollar nugget. I -got a notion to do it anyhow." - -"You needn't get no notions!" retorted Johnny. "I'm goin' to hog it. -Prospectors never get grub-staked unless they're busted; an' I ain't -got there yet. Oh, yes; I got to get them fishhooks--you see, I ain't -aimin' to cripple my back workin' hard _all_ th' time. I'll fill a -sack in th' mornin', eat my dinner an' rest all afternoon. Next day -I'll fill another sack, an' so on. Now, what am I goin' to get for my -outfit? I'll need a lot of things." - -"Go see Charley James, acrost th' street. He keeps th' general store; -an' he's got more trash than anybody I ever saw." - -"Mebby he can tell me what I need," suggested Johnny, hopefully. - -As Pop started to answer, the doorway darkened and a man stepped into -the room. Pop's face paled and he swiftly moved to one side, out of -range. The newcomer glanced at Johnny, swore under his breath and his -hand streaked to his holster. It remained there, for he discovered that -he was glaring squarely down a revolver barrel. - -"Let loose of it!" snapped Johnny. "Now, then: What's eatin' you?" - -"Why--why, I mistook you for somebody else!" muttered the other. -"Comin' in from th' sunlight, sudden like, I couldn't see very well. -My mistake, Stranger. What'll you have?" - -Johnny grunted skeptically. "Yo're shore you can see all right now?" - -"It's all right, Nelson," hastily interposed the anxious proprietor, -nodding emphatic assurance. "It's all right!" - -"My mistake, Mr. Nelson," smiled the stranger. "I shouldn't 'a' been so -hasty--but I was fooled. Yore looks are shore misleadin'." - -"They suits me. What's wrong about 'em?" demanded Johnny. - -"There you go again!" snorted Pop in quick disgust. "A gent makes a -mistake, says he didn't mean no harm in it, an' you goes on th' prod! -Didn't I _tell_ you that yore looks would get you into trouble? Didn't -I?" - -"Oh! Is _that_ it?" He arose and slipped the gun back into its holster. -"I'll take th' same, Stranger." - -"Now yo're gettin' some sense," beamed Pop, smiling with relief. "Mr. -Nelson, shake han's with Tom Quigley. Here's luck." - -"Fill 'em again," grinned Johnny. "Not that I hankers for th' kind of -liquor you sells, but because we has to do th' best we can with what's -pervided." - -"Pop's sellin' better liquor than he used to," smiled Quigley. "Am I to -thank you for th' improvement?" - -"I refuse to accept th' responsibility," laughed Johnny. - -"Well, he had some waggin varnish last year, an' for a long time we was -puzzled to know what he did with it. One day, somebody said his whiskey -tasted like a pine knot: an' then we knew th' answer." - -"You both can go to th' devil," grinned Pop. - -"Aimin' to make a long stay with us, Mr. Nelson?" asked Quigley. - -"That all depends on how soon I gets all th' gold out of this country." - -"Ah! Prospectin'?" - -"Startin' tomorrow, I am: if this varnish don't kill me. - -"There ain't never been none found around here, 'though I never could -understand why. There was a couple of prospectors here some years -ago, an' they worked harder for nothin' than anybody I ever saw. They -covered th' ground purty well, but they was broke about th' time they -started south of town, an' had to clear out. They claimed there was pay -dirt down there, but they couldn't get a grub-stake on th' strength of -that, so they just had to quit." - -"That's where it is if it's any place," said Pop hurriedly. "Th' -river's workin' day an' night, pilin' it ag'in them rock ledges above -th' ford; an' it's been doin' it since th' world began." - -Johnny shook his head. "Mebby; but there ain't no way to get it, unless -you can drain th' river. I want shallow water--little streams, where -there's sand an' gravel bars an' flats. I'm aimin' to work north of -here." - -Quigley forced a smile and shook his head. "I'm afraid you'll waste -yore time. I've been all through that section, in fact I live up there, -an' some of my men have fooled around lookin' for color. There ain't a -sign of it anywhere." - -"Well, I'm aimin' to go back north when I get tired of prospectin'," -replied Johnny, grinning cheerfully; "an' I figgers I can prospect -around an' gradually work up that way, toward Hope. I'll drop in an' -see you if I run acrost yore place. I reckon prospectin' is a lonesome -game." - -"Didn't you ever try it before?" asked Quigley in surprise. - -"This is my first whirl at it," reluctantly admitted Johnny. "I'm a -cow-puncher, got tired of th' north ranges an' drifted down here. An' I -might 'a' stayed a cow-puncher, only I got a job on th' CL an' worked -there for th' last two weeks; an' I got a-plenty. It soured me of -punchin'. Outside of bein' cussed suspicious, that man Logan is loco. I -don't mind bein' suspected a little at first; but I ain't goin' to work -like a fool when there ain't no call for it. I might 'a' stuck it out, -at that, only for a fool notion of his. That's where I cut loose." - -Quigley looked curious. "New notion?" - -"Yes," laughed Johnny contemptuously. "He got th' idea that th' night -air, close to th' river, ain't healthy for th' cows! Told us to drive -all of 'em back from th' river every evenin' before we rode in. I -said as how we ought to blanket 'em, an' build fires under 'em. I -reckon mebby I was a mite sarcastic, at that. Well, anyhow; we had an -argument, an' I drew my pay an' quit." - -Pop let out a howl. "Good Lord!" he snorted. "Evenin' air too wet for -cows! Drive 'em back every night! An' lemme tell you that outfit's just -foolish enough to do it, too. He-he-he!" - -Quigley laughed, and then looked at the proprietor: "Pop, we ain't -forgettin'. We both has bought, an' it usually goes th' rounds before -it stops." - -"Oh, I'll set 'em up," growled Pop. - -"You ranchin', Mr. Quigley?" asked Johnny. - -"Well, I am, an' I ain't," answered Quigley. "I'm farmin' an' ranchin' -both, on a small scale. I got a few head, but not enough to give me -much bother. We sort of let 'em look after themselves." - -"Oh," said Johnny regretfully. "I thought mebby if I got tired of -prospectin', an' short of cash, that I might get a job with you." - -"I ain't got cows enough to keep me busy," explained Quigley. "We let -'em wander, an' get 'em as we need 'em. Well," he said, turning as if -to leave, "I'm sorry about that fool break of mine, Mr. Nelson; an' to -prove it I'm goin' to give you some real good advice: Keep away from -th' Twin Buttes country. So long, boys." - -Johnny looked after him, and then faced Pop, shrugging his shoulders. -"I don't quite get th' drift of that," he said slowly; "but he ought to -know th' country he lives in. I'll try Devil's Gap first; but I got a -cussed strong notion not to!" - -Pop sighed with relief. "Let's go over an' see what Charley's got for -yore kit," he suggested. - -Charley James was playing solitaire on a box laid across a nail keg and -he smiled a welcome as they entered. - -"Charley," said Pop. "This cow-puncher's aimin' to change his spots. -He's a amatchure prospector an' wants us to pick out his outfit." - -"I can believe that he's an amatchure if he's goin' to try it in this -part of th' country," smiled Charley. "Nobody's ever tried it down here -before." - -Johnny was about to mention the two prospectors referred to by Mr. -Quigley, but thought better of it. - -"Oh, it's been tried," said Pop casually. "But they didn't stay long. -What you got in that line, Charley?" - -"I ain't shore; but first you want an axe. Come on; we'll saunter -aroun' an' pick things out as they hit our eye. Here's th' axe--double -bitted, six-pounder." - -"Too big," chuckled Pop. "There ain't none of them there redwood trees -out here; they're in Californy." - -"Huh!" grunted Charley. "Mebbyso; but that's a good axe." - -"Pop's right; it's too heavy," decided Johnny. "An' I don't want it -double bitted because I may want to drive stakes with it." - -"All right," said Charley, who had hoped to at last get rid of the big -axe. "Here's a three-pounder--'Little Gem'--an' it shore is. All right; -now for th' next article." - -In half an hour the outfit was assembled and they were turning to leave -the store when Johnny suddenly grabbed his companions. "What about some -fishhooks?" he demanded anxiously. - -Charley rubbed his head reflectively. "I think mebby I got some; don't -remember throwin' 'em away. There was some with feathers, an' some -without; plain hooks, an' flies. Brought 'em with me when I first came -out here, an' never used 'em. Ought to have some line, too; an' a reel -somewheres. I'll hunt 'em up an' put 'em with yore duffle. You can cut -yoreself a pole. They'll be a little present from me." - -"Thank you," beamed Johnny, and forthwith Pop dragged them to his place -of business. - -Johnny left the following morning, and one week later he returned, -trudging along beside his loaded horse, and he was the owner of a -generous amount of gold, the treasure of a "pocket" upon which he had -blundered. He determined to keep this a secret, for if he let it be -known that he had found "color," what excuse could he offer for leaving -that field? It fit too well into his plans to be revealed. - -Pop grinned a welcome: "Have any luck?" - -"Fishin', yes," laughed Johnny. "Bet I moved ten acres of gravel. I -wasted a week; now I'm goin' north." - -Pop frowned. "I reckon you'll have yore own way; but put in yore time -fishin' an' prospectin', an' mind yore own business." - -"Shore," said Johnny. "Look here," unrolling a bundle and producing -two of the gold sacks, which were heavy and bulging. Pop stared, -speechless, until his new friend opened one of them and dumped four -dressed trout on the bar. - -"Slip 'em in a fryin' pan with some bacon," grinned Johnny. - -"Get 'em in th' river?" demanded Pop incredulously. - -"You know that draw runnin' east from th' Gap--th' one with them two -dead pines leanin' against each other?" - -"Yes; 'tain't more'n a mile from th' ford!" - -"I found 'em up there, hidin' in a bush." - -"Reckon you think that's funny," grunted Pop. "Why them's _brook_ -trout! I ain't had any since I was a boy. Th' devil with business! I'm -goin' fishin' one day a week. Now where you goin'?" - -"Got some for Charley," laughed Johnny from the door. - -Charley looked up from his eternal solitaire: "Hello, Nelson!" - -"Look what I got," exulted Johnny, extending the bag. - -"God help us!" exclaimed Charley. "Did you--did you--" - -"I did. Brook trout, Pop says. Prospectin' ain't nothin' compared to -fishin'. Pop's goin' one day a week, an' after you eat these mebby -you'll be with him." - -"Pop can't put on no airs with me," chuckled Charley. "If he can afford -to close up, so can I. But you shouldn't 'a' poked no bulgin' gold sack -at me like that! It was a shock. Come on; let's take somethin' for it." -He grabbed the fish and led the way across the street; and for the -rest of the afternoon three happy men discussed prospecting and trout -fishing, but the latter was by far the more important. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -PREPARATIONS - - -The next morning Johnny said good-bye to Pop and walked by Pepper's -side, watching the big pack on her back, while Pop, shaking his head, -entered his place of business and forthwith began work on a crude sign -which, one day a week, would hang on his locked front door. - -Well to the north of Hastings, Johnny came to a brook flowing through -a deep ravine, and, forsaking the trail, followed the little stream -westward and evening found him encamped in a small clearing. He spent -several days here, panning the stream and fishing during daylight, and -scouting in his moccasins at night. He paid a visit to Little Canyon -and explored the valley he was in, and at the head of the valley he -found a deep-walled pasture above a short, narrow canyon. Deciding to -erect a cabin at the canyon entrance as a monument to the innocence of -his activities, he prospected a sand bar near by and rediscovered the -gold which he had found at Devil's Gap, which served as an excellent -excuse for locating there permanently; and after a week of hard work, -the cabin became a reality. - -His every movement had been made upon the supposition that he was -being watched; and the supposition became a fact when he discovered -boot-prints along the opposite bank of the creek. These promised him -a trail by which he could easily locate the rustlers' ranch, and at -daylight the next morning he was following them and finally reached a -great ridge, which he ascended with caution. - -Below him was a deep valley, through which a stream moved sluggishly, -and at the upper end was a narrow canyon, not more than ten paces wide, -through which the stream escaped from another valley above. Twin Buttes -were several miles to the east of him, lying a mile or more north of -the valley. He looked through the deep canyon and at the corner of a -stone house at its other end, and as he watched he saw several men come -into view. One of them motioned toward the south and paused to speak to -his companions, whereupon Johnny wriggled down the slope and set out -for his camp. - -Back again in his own valley, he built a sapling fence across the -little canyon, cut a pile of firewood near by, and then rode to -Hastings, where he nearly gave Charley heart failure by displaying -a pleasing amount of virgin gold. He did not see Pop because on the -saloon door he found a sign reading: "Back at 4 P. M." - -It was a very cheerful cow-puncher who rode to the new cabin that -evening, for he was matching his wits against those of his natural -enemies, he was playing a lone hand in his own way against odds, and -the game was only beginning. - -In perfect condition, virile, young, enduring, he had serene confidence -in his ability to take care of himself. He admitted but one master in -the art of gun-play, and that man had been his teacher and best friend -for years. Even now Hopalong could beat him on the draw, but barely, -and he could roll his two guns forward, backward and "mixed;" but he -could shoot neither faster nor straighter than his pupil. - -Johnny could not roll a gun because he never had tried very hard to -master that most difficult of all gun-play, regarding it as an idle -accomplishment, good only for exhibition purposes, and, while awe -inspiring, Johnny had no yearning for it. He clove to strict utility -and did not care to call attention to his wooden-handled, flare-butt -Frontiers. There was no ornamentation on them, no ivory, inlay, or -engraving. The only marks on their heavy, worn frames were a few dents. -He had such a strong dislike for fancy guns that the sight of ivory -grips made his lips curl, and such things as pearl handles filled him -with grieving contempt for the owner. - -He never mentioned his guns to any but his closest friends, and they -were as unconscious a part of him as his arms or his legs. And it -was his creed that no man but himself should touch them, his friends -excepted. He wore them low because utility demanded it; and to so wear -them, and to tie them down besides, was in itself a responsibility, for -there were men who would not be satisfied with the quiet warning. - -In other things, from routine ranch work to man-hunting, from roping -and riding to rifle shooting, the old outfit of the Bar-20 had been his -teachers and they had taken him in hand at an early age. His rifle he -had copied from Hopalong; but Red had taught him the use of it, and to -his way of thinking Red Connors was without a peer in the use of the -longer weapon. - -Johnny was a genius with his six-guns, one of those few men produced in -a generation; and he did not belong to the class of fancy gun-workers -who shine at exhibitions and fall short when lead is flying and the -nerves are sorely tried. He shot from his hips by instinct, and that is -the real test of utility. Had he turned his talents to ends which lay -outside the law he would have become the most dangerous and the most -feared man in the cow-country. - -John Logan awoke with a start, sat up suddenly in his bunk and grunted -a profane query as his hand closed over his Colt. - -"It's Nelson," softy said a voice from outside the window. "Don't make -so much noise," it continued, as its owner dropped a handful of pebbles -on the ground. "I wanted you awake before I showed myself. Never -like to walk into a man's room in th' dark, when he's asleep an' not -expectin' visitors. 'Specially when he's worryin' about rustlers. It -ain't allus healthy." - -"All right," growled the foreman, "but you don't have to throw 'em; you -can toss 'em, easy, from there. I've got a welt on my head as big as -a chew of tobacco. I'm shore glad you couldn't find nothin' out there -that was any bigger. You comin' in or am I comin' out?" - -The door squeaked open and squeaked shut and then a chair squeaked. - -"You got a musical room," observed Johnny, chuckling softly. "Yore bunk -squeaked, too, when you sat up." - -"It was a narrow squeak for you," grunted Logan, reluctantly putting -down the Colt. "If I'd seen a head I'd 'a' let drive on suspicion. I -was havin' a cussed bad dream an' was all het up. My cows was goin' up -Little Canyon in whole herds an' I couldn't seem to stop 'em nohow." - -"Keepin' my head out of trouble is my long suit," chuckled Johnny. "An' -there ain't none of yore cows goin' up Little Canyon--not till I steal -some of 'em. Been wonderin' where I was an' what I was doin'?" - -"Not very much," answered the foreman. "Got a match? We been gettin' -our mail reg'lar every week, an' th' boys allus drop in for a drink at -Pop's; an' they're good listeners. Say! What th' h--l is this I hears -about puttin' blankets on my cows an' shovin' 'em into th' river every -night? Well, that can wait. You've shore made an impression on Ol' Pop -Hayes. Th' old Piute can't talk about nothin' but you. Every time th' -boys drop in there they get fed up on you. Of course they don't show -much interest in yore doin's; an' they don't have to. They says yo're -a d--d quitter, an' stuff like that, an' Pop gets riled up an' near -scalps 'em. What you been doin' to get him so friendly? I never thought -he'd be friendly, like that, to anythin' but a silver dollar." - -"I don't know--just treat him decent," replied Johnny. - -"Huh! I been treatin' him decent for ten years, an' he still thinks -I'm some kind of an unknown animal. If he saw me dyin' in th' street -he wouldn't drag me five feet, unless I was blockin' his door; but -he's doin' a lot of worryin' about you, all right. What you been doin' -besides courtin' Pop an' Andy Jackson, washin' gravel an' ketchin' -fish?" - -Johnny laughed. "I've been playin' cautious--an' right now I ain't -shore that I've fooled 'em a whole lot. Here, lemme tell you th' whole -thing--" and he explained his activities since leaving the CL. - -At its conclusion Logan grunted. "You got nerve an' patience; an' mebby -you got brains. If you can keep 'em from bein' shot out of yore head, -you have. An' you say they ain't usin' Little Canyon? I know they ain't -usin' it now; but was they?" - -"Not since th' frost come out of th' ground," replied Johnny. "I can't -tell you about what they _are_ doin' because I'm just beginnin' to get -close to 'em. Th' next time you see me I may know somethin'. Now you -listen to me," and he gave the foreman certain instructions, which -Logan repeated over after him. "Now, then: I want about sixty feet of -rope strong enough to hold me, an' I want a short, straight iron." - -"Come with me," ordered the foreman, slipping on his clothes; and in -ten minutes they emerged from the blacksmith shop, which also was a -storeroom, and Johnny carried a coil of old but strong rope and an iron -bar. - -"I never thought I'd be totin' a runnin' iron," he chuckled. "If -my friends could only see me now! Johnny Nelson, cow-thief an' -brand-blotter!" - -"You needn't swell up," growled Logan. "You ain't th' only one in this -country right now." - -"Well," said Johnny, "go back an' finish yore dream--mebby you can find -out how to make them cows come back through Little Canyon." - -"Yo're goin' to do that," responded Logan; "an' _I'm_ goin' to close -that window in case _you_ come back. I ain't forgot nothin' you -said--an' if we don't see one of yore signs for a period of five days, -we'll comb yore valley an' th' whole Twin Buttes country. So long!" - -Johnny melted into the dark, a low whistle sounded and in a few minutes -Logan heard the rhythmic drumming of hoofs, rapidly growing fainter. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -A MOONLIGHT RECONNAISSANCE - - -The evening following his visit to the CL, Johnny went to bed early but -not to sleep. For several hours he lay thinking and listening, and then -he arose and put on his moccasins, threw on his shoulder Logan's rope, -now knotted every foot of its length, slipped out of the cabin and -was swallowed up in the darkness along the base of the rocky wall. To -cover the few yards between the cabin and the narrow crevice took ten -minutes, and to go softly up the crevice took twice as long. - -Reaching the top he listened intently, and then moved slowly and -silently to a small clump of pines growing close to the rim of the -steep wall enclosing the walled-in pasture, at a point where it was so -sheer and smooth that he believed it would not be watched. Fastening -one end of the rope to a tree, he lowered the rest of it over the wall -and went down. Pausing again to listen, he made his way to a line of -stones which lay across the creek, crossed with dry feet, and reached -the northern wall of the pasture. This could be climbed at half a dozen -places and he soon was up it and on his way north. After colliding with -several bowlders and tripping twice he waited until the moon arose and -then went on again at a creditable speed. - -The crescent moon had risen well above the tops of Twin Buttes when -a man in moccasins moved cautiously across a high plateau some miles -north of Nelson's creek and finally dropped to all fours and proceeded -much more slowly. From all fours to stomach was his next choice and -he wriggled toward the edge of the plateau, pausing every foot or so -to remove loose stones. These he put aside before going on again, for -there is no telling where a rolling pebble will stop, or the noise it -may make, when the edge of a mesa wall is but a few feet away. Coming -to within an arm's length of the edge, he first made sure that the -rim was solid rock and free from dirt and pebbles; and then, hitching -forward slowly, he peered down into the deep valley. - -Its immensity amazed him, for upon the occasion of his former -reconnaissance he had viewed it from the outside; and as a picture -of his own pasture flashed into his mind he snorted softly at the -contrast, for where he had acres, this great "sink" had square miles. -It was wider than his own was long, and it stretched away in the faint -moonlight until its upper reaches were lost to his eyes. It was large -enough to hold one great butte in its middle, and perhaps there were -more; and from where he lay he judged the wall below him dropped -straight down for three hundred feet. - -"There ain't no line ridin' here, unless th' cows grow wings," he -muttered. - -To the south of him were four lighted windows near the forbidding -blackness of the entrance canyon, and from their spacing he deduced -two houses. And across from the windows he could make out a vague -quadrangle, which experience told him was the horse corral. As if to -confirm his judgment there came from it at that moment a shrill squeal -and the sound of hoofs on wood, muffled by the distance. And from the -corral extended a faint line which ran across the valley and became -lost in the darkness near the opposite cliff. This he knew to be a -fence. - -"If this valley ends like it begins, three or four men can handle an -awful lot of cows, 'cept at drive time," he soliloquized, and then -listened intently to the sound of distant voices. - - - _... many happy hours away,_ - _A sittin' an a singin' by a little cottage do-o-r._ - _Where lived my darlin' Nel-lie Gr-a-ay,_ - - -came floating faintly from far below him. - -He peered in the direction of the singing and barely made out a moving -blot well out in the valley. As it came steadily nearer, the blot -resolved itself into several dots, and the chorus had greater volume. -It appeared that the group was harmonizing. - -"You'll be doin' somethin' more than sittin' an' singin' at yore little -cottage door one of these days," grunted Johnny savagely. It was his -rebuff to the thought which came to him of how long it had been since -he had ruined the silence in company with his friends. "That first -feller is purty good; but one of 'em shore warbles like a sick calf." - -Several other dots arose suddenly from the earth and lumbered sleepily -away as the horsemen approached them. - -"There's some of Logan's cows, I reckon," grunted the watcher grimly. -"Wish I could see better. I've got to do my prospectin' in daylight; -an' I got to find some way to ride over here--waste too much time on -foot." - -More squealing came from the corral and grew in volume as other -horses joined in it. From the noise it appeared to be turning into -a free-for-all. A door in one of the distant houses suddenly opened -and framed a rectangular patch of light, dull and yellow; and from it -emerged a bright little light which swung in short, jerky arcs close -to the ground and went rapidly toward the corral. Soon thereafter the -squealing ceased and a moment later the little light went bobbing back -again, blotted out in rhythmic dashes by the swinging legs beside it. - -"Big Jerry fightin' again," laughed one of the horsemen during a pause -in the singing. Johnny barely was able to hear him. - - - _Oh my darlin' Nellie Gra-a-y, they have taken her awa-a-y;_ - _An' I'll never see my darlin' any more_--ANY MORE! - - -rumbled the harmonizers, bursting into a thundering perpetration on the -repetition of the last two words. - -"Th' farther off they get th' better they sound," growled Johnny as the -harmonizers were swallowed up in the darkness near the opposite cliff. -"They'd sound better at about ten miles." - -Lying comfortably on his stomach, his head out over the rim of the -wall, he was lost in thought when a sudden, startled snort behind him -nearly caused him to go over the edge. A contortionist hardly could -have changed ends quicker than he did; he simply went up in the air -and when he came down again he was on hands and knees, one foot where -his head had been. But he did not stop there; indeed, he did not even -pause there, for he kept on moving until he was on his feet, his knees -bent and his head thrust forward, and each hand, without conscious -direction, held a gun. And almost instantly they chocked back into the -holsters. - -A gray shape was backing slowly into the shadows of a bowlder, two -green eyes boring through the gloom, and Johnny's hair became ambitious. - -"I dassn't shoot, I dassn't run, an' I can't back up! All right; when -in doubt try a bluff; but I shore hopes it's th' bluffin' kind!" - -He emitted a throaty, ferocious snarl, dropped the tips of his fingers -to the earth and started for the bowlder and the green eyes, on a -series of back-humping, awkward jumps, like a weak-kneed calf cavorting -playfully. Another snort, curious, incredulous, frightened, came from -the bowlder and a great gray wolf backed off hastily, but with a -hesitating uncertainty which was not as reassuring as might be hoped -for. - -Johnny let out another snarl, more terrifying than the first, humped -his back energetically, waved his legs, and then with a low-toned but -blood-curdling shriek, leaped at the wavering cow-killer. The gray -silhouette lengthened and vanished, simply melting into the darkness as -though it had urgent business elsewhere. - -Johnny arose, a rock in his hand, and sighed with relief; and his -ambitious hair settled back again into its accustomed place while the -prickling along his spine died out. - -"Holy smoke! What if it had been half-starved, or a grizzly! Blast -you!" he growled, shaking a vengeful fist at the presumed locality of -the wolf. - -"You just come snortin' around _my_ valley! I'll shoot yore insides all -over th' landscape!" - -Hanging onto the rock, he readjusted his belts and went nearer the -entrance canyon to get a closer view of the houses and surroundings. -When again he looked over the edge of the precipice he was directly -over the corral and across from the houses, which the rays of the moon, -slanting through a break in the opposite cliff, now faintly revealed. - -There were three houses and they were low, long and narrow, and built -of stone, with the customary adobe roofs; and they were built in -echelon, the three end walls appearing as one from the canyon. He -nodded appreciatively, for it required no great imagination to see, -in his mind's eye, the loopholes which undoubtedly ornamented that -end of the houses. The narrow canyon, straight as an arrow and fully -half a mile long, lay at almost perfect right angles to the three -walls. A handful of determined men, cool and accurate, in those houses -could hold the canyon against great odds while their food, water and -ammunition held out. Moving his head, he caught a sudden glint, and -peered intently to discover what had caused it. He moved again until -he saw it the second time, and then he knew. A small trickle of water -flowed from a spring back near the great wall, and it passed under one -corner of each house. - -"That's purty good!" he ejaculated in ungrudging admiration. He was -something of a strategist himself and he was not slow to pay respect to -the handiwork of genius when he saw it. "Built 'em like steps so as to -cover th' canyon from all three houses; an' diverted that little stream -so they could get water without showing themselves. No matter which -side of them houses is rushed, there is allus three walls to face. -Th' only weak spots are th' north an' south corners. If they ain't -loopholed a good man could sneak right up to th' corner of th' end -houses; but what he'd do after he got there, I don't know." - -He studied the problem in silence and then nodded his head: "Huh! Them -walls don't overhang, an' so they can't shoot down close to 'em. Mebby -I've found th' weak spot--but I'll have to get a whole lot closer than -I am now before I'm shore of it. An' that can wait." - -He wriggled back from the wall and arose. "Seen all I can at night. -Don't even know if these fellers _are_ rustlin'. Bein' suspicious an' -bein' shore ain't th' same. But th' next time I come up here I won't -leave until I am shore, not if it takes all summer. Logan said to be -shore to find out how many there are, their trail from his ranch an' -th' place where they operates on th' CL. Says he's got to get 'em -actually stealin' his cows on his ranch. Says he ain't got no friends -out here and that th' other ranches acts like they was sort of on th' -side of th' thieves. That's a h--l of a note, that is! Buck, an' Hoppy, -an' us: we never gave a whoop where we found rustlers if they had our -cows; an' we never gave two whoops in h--l what th' rest of th' country -thought about it. Times have changed. Imagine us askin' anybody if we -could shoot rustlers! Huh!" - -He started back the way he had come up, and reached his own valley -without incident; but when he wriggled toward the wall he was puzzled, -and worried. There was the clump of pines up above him, ghostly in the -faint moonlight; but he could see no rope. Thankful that he had been -cautious in crossing the valley, he wriggled a little closer and then -started back over his trail, recrossed the valley, climbed the other -wall in the shelter offered by a crevice and slipped along the great -ridge. All he cared about now was to get back into the cabin without -being seen. All kinds of conjectures ran through his head concerning -the absence of the rope, and while he thrashed them out he kept going -ahead, careful to take full advantage of the wealth of cover at hand. - -His senses were keyed to their highest pitch of efficiency and at times -he concentrated on one of them at the expense of the others. While he -used his eyes constantly, it was in his ears that he placed the most -confidence. The man who does the moving about is at a disadvantage, -which he keenly realized. - -He did not mind so much being away from the cabin if he could make it -appear to be innocent; and to that end he moved steadily toward the -Hastings trail. His horse was not to be seen, and that worried him. It -could have strayed, for he had neither picketed nor hobbled it, but he -feared that it had not strayed. - -Passing his old camp site he heard a noise, and flattened himself on -the ground. It came again and from the edge of the clearing where he -had spent his first few nights in the valley. Anyone foolish enough to -make a noise, under the circumstances, was foolish enough to be stalked -by any man who had good sense; and he proceeded to do the stalking. - -It took him quite a while to get around back of the place where his -tent had stood, but when he finally got there he was repaid for his -time and trouble. It was not the direction from which he would be -expected, if the rustlers' suspicions were aroused; and there was a -certain twisting path through the brush which was devoid of twigs and -sticks. - -Foot by foot he crept forward until he could see the big bowlder in -the clearing, and then he paused as the sound was heard again, and he -tried to classify it. A twig snapped, and then another sound made him -nod quickly. It was a horse; that was certain; but could it be Pepper? -While he pondered and listened to the slow, interrupted steps, a dark -shape moved out from the deep shadows of the trees, pricked its ears, -stretched out its head toward him, nickered softly and slowly advanced. - -He stared in amazement, for while it was Pepper, the saddle was on her -back; and when he had left the cabin the saddle was inside. But, was -it, though? In a moment his mind had marshaled in review before him all -his acts of the previous day; all but one. Had he unsaddled the horse -when he had ridden back from the upper end of his little valley? Of -course he had; why should he have neglected to do such a thing as that? -But, perhaps he hadn't. He swore under his breath and backed away, for -the horse was coming nearer all the time. It was his saddle; he could -tell that easily. And then all of his doubts cleared in a flash. When -he had ridden in from the pasture he had started to remove the saddle, -but when he thought of his boiling pots he had pushed the end of the -cinch strap back under the little holding strap, and he had not shoved -it home. Right now that cinch end should be sticking out in a loop. -Craning his neck and shifting silently he managed to see it; and a -chuckle escaped from him. He whistled softly, so softly that anyone a -hundred feet away could not have heard it; but the horse heard it and -nickered again. What fools these men were! Did her master think that -she had to hear a whistle to know that he was about, when the wind was -right and he was so close? - -Pepper was a well-trained, intelligent animal, and Johnny knew it -better than anyone else; and Pepper had a strong aversion to strangers, -which he also knew; and knowing that, he was instantly assured that -there were no strangers in the immediate vicinity because Pepper was -thoroughly at her ease. The black head thrust forward into his face -and the bared teeth snapped at him, whereupon he playfully cuffed the -velvety nozzle. Pepper forthwith swung her head suddenly and knocked -off her master's hat, and pretended to be in a fine rage. - -"You old coyote!" chuckled Johnny, cuffing her again. "Cussed if you -ain't th' most no-account old fool I ever saw. But I ought to be kicked -from here to Hastings an' back again for leavin' that saddle on you -all afternoon an' night. Will some sugar square it? Hey! Get out of my -pocket--it's in th' shack," he laughed. And there was a note in his -laughter that a horse of Pepper's intelligence might easily understand. - -Mounting, he rode across the clearing, and when he reached the water -course he followed it to his cabin. Pepper had given him the card he -needed now for, in the saddle and careless of being seen, which was his -best play, dangerous as it might be, he was riding home from an evening -spent in Hastings. As to answering any questions about the dangling -rope, he either would inform the curious that it was none of their -business, or lie; and whether the lie would be a humorous exaggeration -which could not possibly be believed, or adroit, plausible, and -convincing would be a matter of mood. - -Whistling softly he rode across the little plateau, stripped the saddle -from Pepper, who waited until he returned with some sugar, and lit the -lantern. Pepper was not the only member of that partnership whose nose -was useful; and the faint odor of a vile, frontier cigar had lingered -after its possessor had departed. - -"Huh! We must 'a' swapped ends tonight; but I'll bet he's doin' more -wonderin' than me. He thinks he's got a lead, findin' that rope. I know -he didn't see me put it there, or go down it; an' I'll bet he don't -know that I came back to it. He can watch an' be cussed." - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -A COUNCIL OF WAR - - -Clearing away the breakfast pans the following morning, Johnny did some -soliloquizing. - -"This is a nice little shack, but I ain't stuck on it a whole lot. Now -that I've built it, I've got to use it or tip off my hand; an' as long -as I use it they know where to find me. I've got to come back to it. -At th' worst I can hold it against them for five days; an' then th' -outfit'll be up here an' drive 'em off. But if it comes to trouble they -won't let me get to it; they'll pick me off when I'm outside. They're -gettin' more suspicious all th' time, too, judgin' from that missin' -rope an' th' smell of that cigar. Nope; I don't like this shack a -little bit. An' some night when I'm sneakin' back to it, suppose one of -'em is in it, waitin' for me? That wouldn't be nice. First chance I get -I'll tote my tarpaulin an' some supplies out of here an' cache 'em some -place not too far away." - -Going into the little valley he was greatly surprised to see the rope -hanging as he had left it, but he did not give it a second glance, and -acted as though he was ignorant that it had been removed. He busied -himself carrying firewood from the pile and heaping it up in the -center of a cleared space, ready to be lit later on, and then removed -the two saplings which made the gate to his rough fence and swung them -aside so that they formed a V-shaped approach to the opening. Having -performed these mysterious rites he passed the cabin, climbed up the -crevice, recovered the rope, and returned. Carrying it into the house -he carelessly closed the door behind him, went swiftly to the loose -log in the rear wall and removed the things he had hidden behind it, -rolling them up in the tarpaulin. Then he picked ravelings from an -empty salt sack, tied them together and rolled them in the dirt on the -floor until they matched it in color. After filling the water pails and -chopping some firewood he took the gold pan and his rod and sought the -creek, where he spent the rest of the day working and fishing. - -Darkness found his supper dishes washed and put away, and, kneeling by -the door, he stretched a string of weak ravelings across the opening, -six inches above the sill. Cord not only would have been too prominent, -but too strong; a foot would break the ravelings and never feel the -contact. Whistling to Pepper, he took his saddle and the tarpaulin, -stepped high over the door sill and in a few minutes was riding down -the valley. Just before he came to the Hastings trail he threw the -tarpaulin far into the brush without slowing the horse, and then, -crossing the trail, plunged into the sloping draw which eventually -became Little Canyon. - -Pepper gingerly picked her way down the rough canyon trail without any -directions from her rider, crossed the level, bowlder-strewn flat to -the river, and stopped at the water's edge. - -The Deepwater gurgled and swished, cold, swift, deep, and black, and -Johnny shivered in anticipation of the discomforts due to be his for -the next few hours. Unbuckling his belts, he slung them around his -neck, and in his hat he placed the contents of his pockets. Giving -Pepper a friendly and encouraging slap, he urged her into the river, a -task which she did not like; but she overcame her prejudices against -ice water and plunged in, swimming with powerful strokes. Emerging on -the other bank they cantered briskly to the faintly beaten trail where -Billy Atwood spent so many hours, and along it until a small, isolated -clump of trees loomed up. There was a stump among them and on this -Johnny placed a stone. Then he waited, shivering, until the moon came -up. - -A black blot arose hastily from the earth and became a cow. Two more -near it also arose, and the three lumbered off clumsily, driven in the -right direction by a horse that knew her work. It was her firm belief -that cows had been put on earth to be bossed by her, and no matter how -quickly they swerved she was always at the right place at the right -time and kept them going as her master wished. She neither hurried them -too fast nor pressed them too closely, for she knew that when a range -cow is pushed too hard it is likely to go "on the prod" and change -instantly from an easy-going, docile victim to a stubborn, vicious -quadruped with no sense whatever and a strong yearning to use its horns. - -It did not take long to get six cows to the edge of the Deepwater; but -it took two hours of careful but hard riding, perseverance and profuse -profanity to get them into the water. It was no one-man job, and with -a horse that had less training than Pepper it might have proved to be -an impossibility; but at last one cow preferred the water to being -made a fool of, and when it went in the others reluctantly followed. -Scrambling out on the farther bank they doubtless were congratulating -themselves upon having escaped a pest, when the pest itself emerged -behind them and drove them slowly but steadily toward Little Canyon. -In it they went, and up it; and as they paused on the main trail to -determine which way to go, the pest arrived and decided the question -for them, drove them across it and into a small valley; and as day -broke, six unhurried, placid cows wandered slowly into the crooked -canyon and through the opening in the fence. - -Having changed the brands from the original CL to an equally sprawling -GB, he returned to the cabin, unsaddled, and entered, stepping high -over the sill. No one was there and nothing had been disturbed, but -when he looked for the thread he found it snapped and lying on the -floor. - -Starting a brisk fire he hung his wet clothes before it on crude -tripods made of sticks, hastily ate a substantial breakfast, fastened -the shutter of the window, hung the gold pan over the closed door to -serve as an alarm if anyone should enter, and in a few minutes was -asleep. - -Across the creek, high up on the great ridge, a man lay behind a -bowlder, a rifle in his hands, and he kept close watch on the cabin. -Waiting a reasonable length of time, he finally arose, waved his hand -and settled down again, the rifle covering the cabin door. In the -pasture another man emerged from a thicket and hurried toward the -canyon, swearing softly when he saw the changed brands. It took no -second sight to tell him what the original brand had been. Emerging -from the canyon he paused, glanced up at his friend, who made a -significant sign, debated something in his mind, and then, pulling out -a notebook, scrawled something in it and tore out the page. Creeping -softly he reached the cabin door, stuck the page on it and then -hurried away to join his friend. They climbed the ridge and hastened -northward, conversing with animation. - -When they reached the canyon leading to their ranch a tall, rangy man -advanced to meet them. "Well," he said, smiling: "what did you find out -about the rope? An' what kept you so long?" - -"We found out a-plenty," growled Ackerman angrily. "That feller ain't -no prospector. I've said so all along. He don't know enough about -prospectin' to earn a livin' on th' top of a pile of gold!" - -His companion nodded quickly. "Jim's right; he's a rustler. Doin' it -single-handed, on a small scale." - -"_I_ ain't nowise shore that rustlin' is his game, neither," said -Ackerman. "If he is he's a new hand at it. I could rebrand them cows -in just about half th' time it took him, an' do a better job. He's -dangerous; an' he should 'a' been shot long before this. I can get him -today," he urged. - -"I don't doubt that; but I wouldn't do it," smiled Quigley. "An' I hope -_yo're_ shore he ain't Logan." - -Jim swore. "Yes; but if he keeps on rustlin' he'll have Logan after -him. An' that'll mean that we'll have to look sharp, an' mebby fight. -You let me get him, Tom." - -Quigley shook his head. "'Tain't necessary. All we got to do is let -him know he ain't wanted. Steal his cows, burn his cabin; an' shoot -near him a couple of times, until he realizes how easy we can shoot -_through_ him. But I ain't shore I want him drove away." - -"Huh!" ejaculated Ackerman. - -"Huh!" repeated Fleming foolishly. - -"Well," drawled Quigley, "for one thing Logan's purty shore to begin -missin' cows before long. What puzzles me is that he ain't missed 'em -long ago. Then he'll begin watchin' his range nights." - -"But he won't watch up there," interrupted Fleming. "He don't know -about that ford." - -"There's only two breaks in th' Barrier," continued Quigley, ignoring -the interruption, "that are near Nelson's valley; an' they're th' -first places Logan'll watch. They're Big an' Little Canyons. Some fine -night Nelson will get caught or followed. Bein' a stranger, an' once -workin' for th' CL, Logan will think he's got th' rustlers. He'll find -signs that'll make him look in Nelson's pasture--if they ain't there -naturally we'll put 'em there. They'll find his cabin an' his rebranded -herd. When they go back again they'll reckon that th' rustlin' is all -over; an' we'll still be in th' game, lettin' up a little for a while, -an' be better off than ever. Savvy my drift?" - -Ackerman shook his head savagely. "With them six cows, an' Logan -missin' hundreds?" he sarcastically demanded. - -Quigley smiled patronizingly. "Findin' only a few won't mean nothin', -except that he's driven off th' rest every time he has got a few -together, an' sold 'em. Now if you was to take that notebook that's -stickin' out of yore pocket, an' write in it some words an' figgers -showin' that he's sold so many cows, an' what he got for 'em each time, -it might help. We'll know when Logan's due, an' we can drop that book -where he'll find it. You never want to kill anythin' till yo're shore -it ain't goin' to be useful. There's one thing I'm set on: there ain't -going to be no unnecessary killin'." - -Ackerman laughed grimly. "Well, anyhow; I've started things. I left a -note on his door tellin' him what to do." - -"What did you write?" demanded Quigley. - -Ackerman told him defiantly. "An' what's more," he added, "I'm goin' to -do some pot-shootin' before long." - -"Well," replied Quigley, "I'd rather drive him out, an' then watch him -for a while. I ain't shore he can't be scared. Do you think he suspects -he's bein' watched?" - -"I don't think so," answered Fleming. - -"I know he does!" snapped Ackerman. "Why does he paw around that gravel -bed an' pertend that he's found gold in it? There ain't no gold there!" - -Quigley laughed. "He found gold, all right. Charley James saw it: an' -he got it right there. He wanted Charley to take it in pay. I don't -doubt that you know somethin' about prospectin' but 'gold is where it's -found.'" - -Ackerman thrust his head forward. "Gold in that gravel! H--l!" - -"Charley saw it," grunted Quigley. - -"Charley be d--d!" snorted Ackerman. He looked closely at Quigley and -suddenly demanded: "What makes you so set ag'in us shootin' him?" - -Quigley regarded him evenly. "There was a lot of talk when Porter was -found dead. I told you all at th' time. Four men have got curious, come -up in these hills an' never went out again. Twin Buttes has a bad name; -an' th' next dead man that's blamed on us is goin' to make a lot more -talk an' may stir up trouble. - -"Now then: Pop knows that Nelson's up here, an' that means that -everybody knows it. He saw me reach for my gun, an' heard me tell him -to keep out of here. An' let me tell you Pop knows more about us than -he lets on; an' he's as venomous as a snake when he gets riled. An' he -ain't th' only one that knows things. - -"Now we'll add it up: If we can scare Nelson away, or discourage him, -he'll quit of his own accord; an' he won't talk because he knows that -somebody knows he's been rustlin'." He turned on his heel. "Am I plain -enough?" - -"Wait a minute," called Ackerman. "That feller has got me worried. -Mebby it would be reckless to let him disappear up here; but suppose I -go on a spree in town when he's there? It's easy to start a fight with -a gunman, because he's got to toe th' mark. I can do th' job open an' -above board, an' make it natural; an' that will keep us clear." - -"Jim," smiled Quigley, "I don't want to lose you; an' if you pick a -square fight with that man, th' even break that you demand in yore -personal quarrels, we _will_ lose you. I looked down his gun, an' I -tell you that I didn't see him move. He's a _gun_ man!" - -Ackerman laughed. "We won't say anythin' about _that_. But if he did -get th' worst of it in an even break an' a personal quarrel, would it -hurt us up here? That's all I want to know." - -Quigley thought deeply and made a slow and careful reply. "If it wasn't -bungled I don't see how it could. You'd have to rile him subtle, make -him declare war an' be th' injured party yoreself; an' you'd want -witnesses. But don't you do it, Jim; not nohow. I got a feelin' that -he's th' best man with a Colt in this section. Yo're a wizard with a -six-gun; but you ain't good enough for him. When he's around yo're in -th' little boy's class; an' I ain't meanin' no offense to you, neither." - -Ackerman, hands on hips, stared at Quigley's back as he walked away. -"Th' h--l you say!" he snorted wrathfully. "'Little boy's class,' huh?" -He wheeled and turned a scowling face to his friend Fleming. "Did you -hear that? I calls that rubbin' it in! I got a notion to take that -feller's two guns away from him an' make Tom eat 'em! D--d if I don't, -too! You ride to town with me an' I'll show you somethin' you won't -never forget!" - -It may not be out of place here to say that the time soon came when he -did show Fleming something; and that Fleming never did forget it. - -Mr. Quigley smiled grimly as he entered the house, for it was his -opinion that Mr. Ackerman had no peer in his use and abuse of Mr. -Colt's most famous invention. He hardly could ask Mr. Ackerman to -sally forth and engage in a personal duel with a common enemy, for it -would smack too much of asking a friend to do his fighting for him. He -believed that leadership is best based when it rests upon the respect -of those led. He had no doubt about the outcome of such a duel, for -he implicitly believed that the stranger, despite his vaunting two -guns, had as much chance against Mr. Ackerman's sleight-of-hand as an -enraged rattler had against a cool and businesslike king snake. The -appropriateness of the simile made him smile, because the rattler is -heavily armed and calls attention to the fact, while the king snake is -modest, unassuming, and sounds no war-cry. Two guns meant nothing to -Mr. Quigley, because he knew that one was entirely sufficient in the -hand of the right man. - -He had carefully pointed out the way for Mr. Ackerman to proceed -in such a situation, and then warned him in an irritating way not -to go ahead. So now he sighed with relief at a problem solved, for -his knowledge of Mr. Ackerman's character was based upon accurate -observations extending over a long period of time. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -FLEMING IS SHOWN - - -Johnny got up at noon, and when he saw the sign on his door its single -word "Vamose" told him that the valley and the cabin were of no further -use to him; that the time for subterfuge and acting a part was past. -That the rustlers were not certain of his intentions was plain, for -otherwise there would have been a bullet instead of a warning; and he -was mildly surprised that they had not ambushed him to be on the safe -side. - -It now remained for him to open the war, and warn them further; or -to pretend to obey the mandate and seek new fields of observation. -Pride and anger urged the former; common sense and craftiness, the -latter; and since he had not accomplished his task he decided to -swallow his anger and move. Had he been only what he pretended to be, -Nelson's creek would have seen some stirring times. As a sop to his -pride he printed a notice on a piece of Charley's wrapping paper and -fastened it on the door. Its three, short words made a concise, blunt -direction as to a certain journey, popularly supposed to be the more -heavily traveled trail through the spirit world. Packing part of his -belongings on Pepper, he found room to sit in the saddle, and started -off for an afternoon in Hastings, after which he would return to the -cabin to spend the night and to get the rest of his effects. - -When he rode into town he laughed outright at the sign on Pop's door, -and he laughed harder when he saw another on Charley's door; and -leaving his things behind Pop's saloon, he pushed on to Devil's Gap. -At the ford he met the two happy anglers returning and they paused in -mid-stream to hold up their catch. - -"You come back with us," grinned Pop. "We'll pool th' fish an' have a -three-corner meal. Where was you goin'?" - -"To find you," chuckled Johnny. "I'm surprised at th' way you both -neglects business." - -"Comin' from you that makes me laugh," snorted Pop. - -Charley grinned. "Did you see that whoppin' big feller I got? Bet it'll -go three pounds." - -"Lucky if it's half that," grunted Pop. "If I'd 'a' got that one _I_ -had hold of, we'd 'a' had a three-pounder, or mebby a four-pounder." - -Charley snorted. "Who ever heard of a four-pound brook trout? Been a -brown, now, it might 'a' been that big." - -"Why, I caught 'em up to eight pounds, back East, when I was a kid!" -retorted Pop. - -"Yo're a squaw's dog liar!" snapped Charley. "Eight-pound brook trout! -You must 'a' snagged a turtle, or an old boot full of mud!" - -"Bet you five dollars!" retorted Pop, bristling. - -"How you goin' to prove it?" jeered Charley. "Call th' dead back to -life to lie for you?" - -"Reckon I can't prove it," regretted Pop. "But when a man hangs around -with a liar he shore gets th' name, too." - -"Nobody never called me a liar an' got off without a hidin'!" snapped -Charley. "I may be sixty years old, but I can lick you an' yore whole -fambly if you gets too smart!" - -Pop drew rein, his chin whiskers bobbing up and down. "I'm older'n that -myself; but I don't need no relations to help me lick you! Get off that -hoss, if you dares!" - -"Here! Here!" interposed Johnny. "What's th' use of you two old friends -mussin' each other up? Come on! I'm in a hurry! I'm hungry!" - -"I won't go a step till he says I ain't no liar!" snapped Charley. - -"I won't go till he says I caught a eight-pound brook trout!" - -"Mebby he did--how do _I_ know what he did when he was a boy?" growled -Charley, full of fight. "But I ain't no liar, an' that's flat!" - -"Who said you was, you old fool?" asked Pop heatedly. - -"You did!" - -"I didn't!" - -"You did!" - -"Yo're a liar!" - -"Yo're another!" - -"Get off that hoss!" - -"You ain't off yore own yet!" - -Johnny was holding his sides and Pop wheeled on him savagely. "What th' -h--l _you_ laughin' at?" - -"That's what _I_ want to know!" blazed Charley. - -"Come on, Charley!" shouted Pop. "We'll eat them fish ourselves. It's -a fine how-dy-do when age ain't respected no more. An' th' next time -you goes around callin' folks liars," he said, shaking a trembling fist -under Johnny's nose, "you needn't foller _us_ to do it on!" - -Down the trail they rode, angrily discussing Johnny, the times, and the -manners of the younger generation. - -When Johnny arrived at the saloon and tried the door he found it -locked. He could hear footsteps inside and he stepped back, chuckling, -to wait until Pop had forgiven him; but after a few minutes he gave it -up and went around to try the window of a side room. - -"What you think yo're doin'?" inquired a calm voice behind him. - -He wheeled and saw a man regarding him with level gaze, and across the -street was a second, who sat on one horse and held fast to another. - -"Tryin' to get in for a treat," grinned Johnny, full of laughter. "Had -a spat with Pop an' Charley, an' cussed if they ain't locked me out!" - -The stranger showed no answering smile. "That so?" he sneered. "Reckon -you better come along with me, 'round front, till I hears what Hayes -has to say about it. _I_ don't believe he's home." - -Johnny's expression changed from a careless grin to an ominous frown. -"If you do any walkin' you'll do it alone." - -Several people had been drawn to the scene and took in the proceedings -with eager eyes and ears, but were careful to keep to one side. Jim -Ackerman had a reputation which made such a location very much a part -of discretion; and the two-gun man had been well discussed by Pop. - -"I finds you tryin' a man's window," said Ackerman. "So I stopped to -ask about it. As long as I've took this much trouble I'll go through -with it. You comin' peaceful, or must I drag you around?" - -"Mebby that's a job you'd like to tackle?" replied Johnny. - -"I'm aimin' to be peaceful," rejoined Ackerman, his voice as smooth as -oil; "but I allus aim to do what I say. You comin' with me?" - -"If yo're aimin' to be peaceful, yo're plumb cross-eyed," retorted -Johnny, slouching away from the wall. - -Quick steps sounded within the building and a frightened, high-pitched -voice could be heard, "Couple of bobcats lookin' for holts," it said. -"That feller Nelson is pickin' on somebody else." - -The window raised and Pop stuck his angry face out to see what was -going on; and his wrinkled countenance paled suddenly when he saw -Ackerman, and the look in his eyes. He had a trout in one hand and a -bloody knife in the other, and both fell to the ground. - -"Jumpin' mavericks!" he whispered. "It's Ackerman! What's wrong, Jim?" -he quavered. - -"You saved us a walk," replied Ackerman, not taking his eyes from the -flushed face of his enemy. "I caught _him_ tryin' to open that window." - -Charley thrust his head out as Pop replied. "We was playin' a joke on -him. It's all right, Jim. Much obliged for yore unusual interest." - -"Well, I'm glad of _that_," smiled Ackerman; "but he looked -_suspicious_ an' I reckoned I ought to drag him around an' show you -what I _found_ tryin' to bust in. But if you _say_ it's all right, why -I reckon it _is_!" - -"I reckon it ain't!" snapped Johnny, enraged at his humiliating -position and at the way Ackerman accented his words. "An' if that -itchin' _trigger_-finger of _yourn_ wants to get _busy_ it has my -permission," he mimicked "Pop," he said, sharply, "who _is_ this -buzzard?" - -"No need to get riled over a thing like that," faltered Pop. - -"Shut yore trap!" snapped Charley, battle in his eyes. "That's -Ackerman, relative of Quigley's; th' best six-gun man in th' country." - -"Thanks," growled Johnny, staring through narrowed lids at Ackerman, -who stood alert, his lips twitching with contempt. "When a dog pesters -me I kick him; if he snaps at me I shoot him. I'm goin' to kick you -to yore cayuse an' yore friend." He had been sliding forward while he -spoke and now they stood face to face, an arm's length apart. - -Ackerman suddenly made two lightning-like movements. His left hand -leaped out to block his enemy's right in its draw, while his own right -flashed down to his gun. As his fingers closed on the butt, Johnny's -heavy Colt by some miracle of speed jabbed savagely into the pit of -the scheming man's stomach with plenty of strength behind it, and -Ackerman doubled up like a jackknife, his breath jolted out of him with -a loud grunt. Johnny's right hand smacked sharply on his enemy's cheek, -left vivid finger marks, which flashed white and then crimson, and -continued on down; and when it stopped a plain, Frontier Colt peeked -coyly from his hip at the surprised and chagrined gentleman across -the street, who had been instructed to remain a noncombatant; and had -no intention, whatsoever, of disobeying Ackerman's emphatic order. To -reveal his status he quickly raised his hands and clasped them on the -top of his hat, which is a more comfortable position than holding them -stiffly aloft. - -Ackerman was dazed and sick, for the solar plexus is a peculiarly -sensitive spot, and his hands instinctively had forsaken offense and -spasmodically leaped to the agonized nerve center. - -"Turn around!" snapped Johnny viciously. "_Pronto!_ There's dust on th' -seat of yore pants." - -Ackerman groaned and obeyed, and the hurtling impact of a boot drove -him to his hands and knees. - -"Get agoin'!" ordered Johnny, aflame with anger, slipping the right -hand gun back into its holster and motioning with the other. - -Ackerman, his eyes blazing, started on his humble journey, assisted -frequently by the boot; and having crossed the street, he paused. - -"Get up on that cayuse!" crisply ordered Johnny, making motions which -increased the mounted man's uneasiness. - -The further Ackerman had crawled the angrier he had become, and tears -of rage streaked the dust on his face. At Johnny's last command and the -kick which accompanied it, his good sense and all thought of safety -left him. He arose with a spring, a berserker, trembling with rage, -and reached for his gun with convulsive speed while looking into his -enemy's weapon with unseeing eyes. There was a flash, a roar, and a -cloud of smoke at Johnny's hip, and a glittering six-shooter sprang -into the air, spinning rapidly. Ackerman did not feel the shock which -numbed his hand, but leaped forward straight at his enemy's throat. -Johnny swerved quickly and his right hand swung up in a short, vicious -arc. Ackerman, too crazed to avoid it, took the blow on the point of -his jaw and dropped like a stone. - -Johnny stepped back and looked evilly at the man on the horse. - -"Gimme yore gun, butt first. Thanks. You work for Quigley?" - -The other nodded slowly. - -"Friend of this hombre?" - -"Yes; sort of." - -"Then why didn't you cut in?" - -"Why, I--I--" the other hesitated, and stopped. - -"Spit it!" - -"Well, I wasn't supposed to," coldly replied the horseman. - -"Then it was talked over?" - -"Not particular. Jim does his own fightin', hisself." - -"Good thing for Jim, an' you, too," retorted Johnny. "When it's crowded -I can't allus be polite. Who put that sign on my door?" - -"What sign?" - -"_I_'m askin' _you_ questions!" snapped Johnny, his eyes blazing anew. - -"Dunno nothin' about it," answered the other. - -"I reckon yo're a practiced liar," retorted Johnny. "But it don't make -no difference. I'm leavin' th' valley, for I can't fight pot-shooters -an' do any work at th' same time. Quigley don't own this country, an' -you tell him that while he's boss of that little valley, _I_'m boss in -this town. If him or any of his men come to town while I'm here I'll -shoot 'em down like I would a snake. That means one at a time or all -together; an' if he don't believe me, you tell him I'll be here all -day tomorrow. There ain't no bushes in town, an' none of yore gang can -fight without 'em. Now you say to him that I don't want no remarks made -about what I was doin' up there--you savvy that? If I hear of any I'll -slip up there some night an' blow him all over his shirt. An' d--n you, -I mean it!" - -Ackerman stirred and sat up, looking around in a dazed way. When his -eyes fell on Johnny they lost their puzzled look and blazed again with -rage. He reached swiftly to his holster, found it empty, and shrugged -his shoulders. - -Johnny regarded him coldly. "Get on that cayuse, an' start goin'. This -town ain't big enough for both of us at once." - -Ackerman silently obeyed, but his face was distorted with passion. When -he had clawed himself into the saddle he looked down on the grim master -of the situation. - -"Words are foolish," he whispered. "We'll meet again!" - -Johnny nodded. "I reckon so. Everybody plays their cards accordin' to -their own judgment. Just now I got a high straight flush, so you hit -th' trail, _pronto_!" - -He stepped aside to get out of the dust-cloud which suddenly swirled -around him, and watched it roll northward until the dim figures in it -were lost to sight around a bend. The slouch went out of his bearing as -he straightened up and slid his gun into its holster, and walking over -to Ackerman's glittering six-shooter he picked it up and sneered at it. - -"I ain't surprised," he laughed, eying the ivory handle and the ornate -engraving. Wheeling abruptly he glanced carelessly at the grinning -audience and strode to the door of Pop's saloon. - -"I'll be d--d!" sputtered Pop, his eyes still bulging. - -"Reckon you will," laughed Johnny, "unless you mends yore sinful ways." - -"What you been doin' to make Jim Ackerman pick a fight with you?" -demanded Pop, recovering his faculties and his curiosity at the same -instant. - -"Here's his gun; an' here's his friend's," said Johnny. "Keep 'em for -'em. They plumb went off without 'em." - -Pop openly admired Ackerman's weapon. "Bet that cost a heap," he -remarked. "Ain't she a beauty?" He rubbed energetically at a leaden -splotch on the cylinder. - -"It was in good company," replied Johnny. - -"You got to look out for him," Pop warned. "He's a bad Injun." Then he -grinned suddenly. "But he come d--d near bein' a _good_ Injun!" - -"Hey!" called a peeved voice from within. "If you reckon I'm goin' to -clean all these fish myself, you better copper yore bets." Footsteps -approached the door and Charley roughly elbowed Pop aside. "That means -you, too, Nelson," he growled. "What you mean, hangin' back at th' -ford? Figger we'd have 'em all cleaned before you arrove? Well, if -you aim to eat any of 'em, you grab holt of a knife an' get busy!" He -shuffled back into the room again, muttering: "Cripes! I'm fish from -my head to my heels, an' bloody as a massacre. An' what's more, I ain't -goin' to clean another d--d one, not nohow!" - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -A SKIRMISH IN THE NIGHT - - -Saying good night to his two friends, Johnny rode north along the -trail, but he had not ridden more than half way to the mouth of his -valley when he swung Pepper into an arroyo which he knew led to the -south side of the butte behind his cabin. While heavily fringed with -brush and trees it was open enough along the dry bed of the stream to -permit him to push on at fair speed, and while there were rocks and -bowlders in plenty, Pepper easily avoided them in the soft moonlight -and went on with confidence. At last, reaching a fork, he chose the -right-hand lead and pushed on more slowly for a few minutes, and then, -picketing the horse, he slipped out of his chaps and boots and put on -the pair of moccasins which had been hidden under the saddle flaps. -Taking the rifle from the long scabbard, he slung it across his back -and slipped noiselessly up the ravine. - -Half an hour later he stopped suddenly and sniffed, and then glanced -quickly around him. The smoke was very faint, but it was something -to think about because it meant either men close at hand or a forest -fire. Going on again, even more slowly, he began to take advantage of -cover, and as he proceeded the smoke became steadily stronger. A sudden -suspicion made him set his jaws, for he was going straight up wind and -toward his cabin. Stopping a moment to consider, he turned sharply to -his left and went on again, a Colt swinging loosely in his left hand. -Anything close enough to be seen plainly would be near enough for the -Colt, and in such poor light the six-shooter was more accurate in his -hands than a rifle. - -The only things about him which he could hear were the holsters, which -rubbed very softly as he walked, but the sound would not carry for -any distance. Having gone around the little valley near his cabin, -he crawled along below the ragged skyline of the ridge and reached a -point close to the cabin, when he suddenly dropped to his stomach and -flattened himself to the earth. - -Some restless, gambling soul could not do without a cigarette and -he had detected its faint odor in time. Turning his head slowly, he -sniffed deeply and swore under his breath, for he was going partly with -the wind, which meant that the smoker must be somewhere behind him. -Then a gentle breeze, creeping along the ridge in a back-draft, brought -to him the strong and pungent odor of the fire; and he nodded in quick -understanding. - -The back-draft told him that the smoker was in front of him and -cleared up one danger; but it also had blotted out the odor of the -cigarette, and as he started forward again he put his faith in his -eyes and ears. Slowly he moved along, a few feet at a time, and then -he caught the brief and fragrant odor again. Worming around a great, -up-thrust slab of lava he stopped suddenly and held his breath. A speck -of fire, faint through the clinging ashes, moved in a swift, short arc, -became brighter and moved back again, a gleaming dot of red. He could -see the hand and part of the arm of the man who had just knocked the -ashes from a cigarette in a characteristic and thoughtless gesture. He -was sitting just around the corner of a huge bowlder not far away, his -back to it, and a dull gleam of reflected moonlight revealed the end of -his rifle. - -From where he now lay Johnny could see the smoldering ruins of his -cabin, where the flames were low and the flying sparks but few. A -little current of air fanned the ashes for a few minutes and sent the -sparks swirling and dancing, and the flickering, ghostly flames licking -upward with renewed life. The increased light, fitful as it had been, -brought a smile to his face; for he had caught sight of a pair of -spurred boots projecting beyond a rock not far from the glowing embers. - -"Ah, th' devil!" muttered the man near him. "I'm goin' home. He's -scared out." - -The speaker arose and stretched, and grumblingly leaned over to pick -up his sombrero, the moon lighting his hair; and he suddenly crumpled -forward and sprawled out without a groan as Johnny's Colt struck his -head. - -The owner of the spurred boots, down behind the rock near the cabin, -wriggled backward and looked up to see what had made the noise, caught -sight of a dim, ghostly figure moving past a bowlder and called up to -it. - -"Come on, Ben; let's get goin'. Where's Fleming? - -"Thanks to my fool idea of strategy," said a peeved voice high above -the cabin, "which I borrowed from our doughty friend, Mr. Ackerman, I'm -up here, smoked up like a ham. I ain't stuck on this. Shootin' a good -man from ambush never did set well on my stummick. Reckon Ben's asleep, -like a reg'lar sentry; he didn't have th' cussed smoke to make things -interestin' for him. Hey, Ben!" he called, wearily. - -"No use yellin'," warned Spurred Boots earnestly. "He ain't asleep. I -just saw him move. Up to some of his fool jokes, I reckon; an' it's -a d--d poor time to play 'em. I'm a little nervous, an' might shoot -without askin' any questions. Comin' down?" - -"Yo're just whistlin' I am," growled Fleming. "It's all fool nonsense, -us three watchin' an' waitin' to shoot that feller. When he finds -his shack burned an' his rustlin' business busted up, he'll move out -without us pluggin' him. D--n it! Didn't he say he was done? But you -just listen to th' mockin' bird: If there's any shootin' to be done, -he'll do his little, two-handed share. I've been eddicated today; done -had a superstition knocked sprawlin'. An' so did Jim get eddicated. -He made his play for that feller's right hand, when d--d if he ain't -left-handed. It made Jim near sick; for a minute I was scared he'd lose -his dinner. An' I allus believed left-handed men came in third by two -lengths; but lawsy me! What? I'm insulted! I said lawsy." - -"You shore can talk!" admired Spurred Boots. "Sometimes a cussed lot -too much. What in blazes is Ben doin'?" he asked petulantly, stiffly -arising and working his arms and legs. - -"Fixin' to jump out on us from behind a rock, an' yell 'Boo!'" grunted -Fleming. "Ben, he's an original feller; allus was, even as a kid. D--n -these thorns." A thin stream of profanity came from the crevice and -Fleming slid down the rest of the way and rolled out into the circle -of illumination. "Just like water down a chute, or a merry-hearted -bowlder down a hill. Roll, Jordan, roll. Was you askin' about Benjamin, -th' catcher of lightning? Benjamin Franklin Gates, his name is; an' -he's done gone home. He's a sensible feller, B. F. G. is; but only in -spots, little spots, widely spaced." - -"You talk as much as Jim Howard's wife," grumbled Spurred Boots. "Jim -he said--" - -"Of course he did! Wasn't it awful?" interposed Fleming. "It was just -like a man. But I think it was me that told you that story; so we'll -let it keep its secret. As I was sayin', getting in my words edgeways -like, but shore gettin' 'em in: Ben has pulled th' picket stake, an' -like th' Arabs, done went." - -"You mean Arapahoes." - -"Did I? I allus call 'em that for short. Have mercy, Jehovah!" - -"I saw him move just before I spoke," replied Spurred Boots positively. -"But that was a long time ago, before th' deluge, of words," he jabbed -ironically. - -"Cease; spare thy whacks. An' where th' h--l did you ever hear of th' -deluge? Some Old Timer tell you about it?" responded Fleming. "I been -seein' things, too. All kinds of things. Some had tails but no legs; -some had legs but no tails; an' to make a short tale shorter, that was -a ghost what you saw. A wild, woopin', woppin' ghost. Come on, Nat; -let's flit." - -"Then my ghost lit a cigarette a long time back," retorted Nat -Harrison. "An' then it said 'flop.' Do they smoke cigarettes?" he -demanded with great sarcasm. - -"Some does; an' some smokes hops; an' some smokes dried loco weed," -grinned Fleming. "That was a spark what you saw, an' th' musical flop -was a trout fish turnin' cartwheels on th' water. One of them sparks -plumb lit on th' back of my neck, an' I cussed near jumped over th' -edge an' made a 'flop' of my own for myself. An' it's a blamed long -walk home," he sighed. - -"There's th' lightnin's play-fellow now! See him, up there?" demanded -Harrison. "Must 'a' been off scoutin'. Hey, Ben! Wait for us--be right -up." - -Fleming glanced up as another vagrant breeze fanned the embers, and he -forthwith did several things at once, and did them quite well. Sending -Harrison plunging down behind a rock by one great shove, he jumped for -another and fired as he moved. "Ben h--l!" he shouted, firing again. -"I've seen that hombre before today. Keep yore head down, an' get busy!" - -Two alert and attentive young men gave keen scrutiny to the ridge and -wondered what would happen next. Thirty minutes went by, and then -Harrison rolled over and over, laughing uproariously. - -"Cussed if it ain't funny!" he gurgled. "'Some smoke cigarettes, some -smokes hops, an' some smokes dried loco weed!' Ha-ha-ha! An' I reckon -yo're still seein' them woopin' woops." - -"You'll see somethin' worse if you moves out into sight," retorted -Fleming. "That ghost that _I_ just saw was a human that ain't got to -th' ghost state yet. If you don't believe me, you ask Ackerman, if -you've got th' nerve." - -Harrison rose nonchalantly and sauntered over toward the embers. "Come -on, Art; I'm cussed near asleep," he yawned. - -"You acts like you was plumb asleep, an' walkin' in it," snapped -Fleming angrily. "But it's a good idea," he admitted ironically. "You -stay right there an' draw his fire, an' I'll pull at his flash. You -make a good decoy, naturally; it comes easy to you. A decoy is an -imitation. Stand still, now, so he can line up his sights on you. _I_'m -all ready." - -Harrison grinned and waved his hand airily. "There ain't no human up -there," he placidly remarked. "An' I don't care if Benjamin F. is -there: she goes as she lays. What you saw was a bear or a lobo or a -cougar come up to see th' fire, an' hear you orate from th' mountain -top. They'll go long ways to see curious things. In th' book, on page -eighteen, it says that they has great streaks of humor, an' a fittin' -sense of th' ridiculous. Animals are awful curious about little things. -An' on page thirty-one it says they has a powerful sense of smell; an' -you know you was up purty high. An' I ain't lookin' forward with joy -unconfined to gropin' along no moonlit trail with th' boss of th' wolf -tribe, or other big varmits sneakin' around. I might step on a tail an' -loosen things up considerable. They're hell on wheels when you steps on -their tails, poor things." - -"La! La!" said Fleming sympathetically. "Just because you have got yore -head out of th' window it don't say you ain't goin' to get no cinder in -yore eye. A lead cinder. Lemme tell you that animal wore pants an' a -big sombrero. I tell you I _saw_ him!" - -"It was one of them sparks," grunted the other, enjoying himself. "One -of 'em that plumb lit on th' back of yore neck. A spark is a little -piece of burnin' wood which soars like th' eagle, an' when it comes -down makes sores like th' devil. Te-de-dum-dum! Howsomeever, if yo're -goin' with me, yo're goin' to start right now--I've done it already," -and he walked slowly toward the creek. - -Fleming arose and hesitated, scanning the ridge with searching eyes. -Then he stepped out and followed his friend, who already was across the -creek and climbing the steep bank. - -After reaching the top of the steep part of the ridge he glanced -about over the great slope and then paused for breath and reflection, -peering curiously toward the tree-shaded hollow where he had seen the -much-debated movement. Obeying a sudden impulse he drew his gun and -went cautiously forward, bent low and taking full advantage of the -cover. A deep groan at his side made him jump and step back. Cautiously -peering over a large rock he started in sudden surprise, swearing under -his breath. Benjamin Franklin Gates, neatly trussed and gagged, lay -against the rock on its far side, and his baleful eyes spoke volumes. -There came a soft step behind Fleming and he wheeled like a flash, his -upraised gun cutting down swiftly, and came within an ace of pulling -the trigger at Harrison, who writhed sideways and snarled at him. Then -Harrison also saw the bound figure on the ground and swore with depth, -feeling, and vigor. - -"Smokes dried loco weed!" he jeered sarcastically, his voice barely -audible. "I feels uncomfortable, entirely too present," he whispered, -sinking quietly to the ground. - -"Which is unanimous," remarked Fleming, with simple emphasis. "Ben, he -ain't sayin' nothin'," he added cheerfully. - -An angry gurgle came from the bound figure and it rolled over to face -them. Harrison grinned at it. "Under other circumstances I could enjoy -this unusual situation," he remarked softly. - -"Face to face with Ben, an' him not sayin' a word," marveled Fleming, -his eyes busy with the rock-strewn slope. "But I can almost hear him -think. Twinkle, twinkle, little star--wonder where Mr. Two-gun Nelson -is located at this short, brief, an' interestin' second?" - -Another gurgle slobbered from the bound man and his heels thumped the -ground. - -"Hark!" said Harrison, tensely. "I hears me a noise!" - -"I hears me it, too," said Fleming. "But not a word; not a soft, harsh, -lovin', long, short, or profane word. Not even a syllable. Not even -th' front end of a syllable. All is silent; all but that mysterious -drummin' noise. An' if it was farther away I'd be quite restless." - -A coughing gurgle and a choked snort came from the base of the rock, -and then a louder, more persistent drumming. - -"An' you said Benjamin had done snuk home," accused Harrison. "I'm -surprised at you. He's been here all th' time. How could he snuk when -he's hog-tied, which is appropriate? Gurgle, gurgle, little man--I'll -untie you if I can." He bent over, cut loose the gag, slashed the belt -from the trussed feet and severed the neckerchief from the crossed -wrists. "There! There! Not so loud!" he gently chided. - -"Blankety dashed blank blank!" said Ben Gates. "Dashed blankety dashed -blank blank! What th' h--l you want to cut that belt for, you dashed -dashed blankety blank of a dash! Three dollars done gone to th' devil! -Just because you got a blankety-blank knife do you have to slash every -dashed-dashed thing you see!" - -"Sh!" whispered Fleming. "We know yo're grateful; but what happened?" -he breathed, too busy to look around. - -"Shut yore face!" ordered Harrison, trying in vain to stare through -a great, black lava bowlder which lay on the other side of a small -clearing. - -"Dashed blank!" said Benjamin. "It's been shut enough, you d--d -pie-faced doodle-bug!" - -"Yes; yes; we know," soothed Fleming; "but what happened?" - -"Leaned over to get my blankety-blank hat and a dashed tree fell on -my blank head!" He felt of the afore-mentioned head with a light and -tender touch; and the generous bump made him swear again. - -"It's that prospectin' rustler," enlightened Fleming, gratis, as he -peered into the shadows behind him. - -"No!" said Gates. "I reckoned it was General Grant an' th' Army of th' -Potomac! Dead shore it wasn't Columbus?" he sneered. - -"It was not Columbus, Benjamin," said Fleming. "Columbus discovered -America in 1492 or 1942--some time around there. Ain't you heard about -it yet? An' somehow I feels like a calf bein' drug to th' brandin' -fire. I feels that I'm goin' to get somethin' soon; an' I ain't shore -just what it's goin' to be." - -"You'll get it, all right," cheered Harrison, anger in his voice -withal. "It'll be a snub-nosed .45, if you don't shut up yore trap. You -ain't openin' no Fourth of July celebration, or runnin' for Congress." - -Ben felt for his gun and cursed peevishly. "My guns are gone: lend me -one of yourn!" he said. - -"Th' gentleman has quite a collection," chuckled Harrison. "Three Colts -an' a Winchester. Good pickin', says he. Good enough, says I. True, -says he; but, he says, I have hopes of more. Ta-ta! jeers I." - -"Shut _yore_ face!" growled Fleming, writhing. - -"I want a gun, an' I wants it now!" blazed Gates, pugnaciously. - -"Fair sir, how many guns do you think we pack?" demanded Harrison. - -"You got a rifle an' a Colt!" snapped Gates. "I wants one of 'em!" - -"He only wants one of 'em," said Fleming. - -"I was scared you'd be a hog," said Harrison. "Here; take this -Winchester, an' _keep_ it. Bein' generous is all right; but it has its -limits." - -Gates gripped the weapon affectionately and sat up. "No use of stayin' -here like we done took root," he said, rising to his feet. "We wants -to spread out. Mebby he's still hangin' around." - -"Yes; an' shoot each other," growled Harrison. "I'm goin' to spread -out, all right; an' when I quits spreadin' I'll be in my little bunk. -He's a mile away by now; but if he ain't, don't you let him have that -gun; he's got enough now." - -He stopped suddenly, and their hair arose on their heads as a -long-drawn, piercing scream rang out. It sounded like a woman in mortal -agony and it came from the ridge above them. From the upper end of -the rock-walled pasture below came a howl, deep, long-drawn, evil, -threatening. They turned searching eyes toward the nearer sound and saw -a crescent bulk silhouetted against the moon. It lay in the top of a -blasted pine, and as they looked, it raised its chunky head and neck -and screamed an answering challenge to the lobo wolf in the canyon. - -Ben moved swiftly, and a spurt of flame split the night, crashing -echoes returning in waves. The crescent silhouette in the tree-top -leaped convulsively and crashed to the ground, breaking off the -dead limbs in its fall, and then there ensued a spitting, snarling, -thrashing turmoil as the great panther scored the earth in its agony. - -Ben's friends forsook him as though he were a leper and melted into the -shadows, cursing him from A to Z. They wanted no ringing notice of -their presence broadcasted, and the flash and roar of the heavy rifle -had done just that. - -As they faded into the darker shadows farther back a crashing sounded -in the brush and they peered forth to see the great panther plunging -and writhing through the bushes, smashing its way through the oak brush -in desperate plunges. Reaching the edge of a small clearing it gave -one convulsive leap, another harrowing scream and thudded against a -bowlder, where it suddenly relaxed and lay quiet. - -"There's near a quart of corn juice up in my bunk, an' I'm goin' for -it," said Harrison, moving swiftly up the rough trail. "I need it, an' -I need it bad!" - -"That cat's mate ain't fur away," remarked Fleming thoughtfully. "It's -due hereabouts right soon. I'm stickin' closer than a brother, Nat. -Lead me to th' fluid which consoleth, arouseth anger and dulleth pain; -blaster of homes, causer of--of--headaches, d--n it! Ben, he's a great -hunter, a wild, untamed, ferocious slayer of varmints; he can stay here -an' argue with th' inquirin' mate, if he wants, while we wafts yonder -an' hence. It won't be draped up in no tree, neither; somehow I can -just see it sniffin' at th' beloved dead an' then soft-footin' through -th' brush, over th' ridges an' around th' bowlders, its whiskers -bristlin', its wicked little ears pointed back, an' its long, generous -tail goin' jerk-jerk, tremble-tremble. Lovely picture. Fascinatin' -picture. It is lookin' real hard for th' misguided son-of-a-gun that -killed its tuneful mate. Nice kitty; pretty kitty; lovely kitty! I -votes, twice, for that whiskey. I votes three times for that whiskey. -Lead th' way, Nat; an' for my sake keep yore eyes peeled." - -Quick, heavy steps behind them made them jump for cover, turning as -they jumped, and to peer anxiously back along the trail. - -Ben walked into sight, the rifle held loosely in front of him as he -peered into the shadows. "You acts like you has springs in yore laigs," -he derisively remarked. - -"An' you acts like you had sour dough for brains," courteously retorted -Harrison. "An' it's so sour it's moldy. Go away from here!" - -"Yo're a great little, two-laigged success," sneered Fleming. "Reg'lar -Dan'l Boone. I hopes if any gent ever trails me for my scalp it will be -you. You wants to buy yoreself a big tin whistle an' a bass drum when -you go out ambushin'!" - -"I claims that was a good shot," complacently replied Ben. "What with -it bein' near dark, an' a strange gun, an' my head most splittin', -I holds it was. Must 'a' been to make you long-winded ijuts so d--d -jealous." - -"Trouble is, yore head didn't split enough," grumbled Harrison -pleasantly. "It should 'a' been split from topknot to chin. Next time -_I_ goes man-huntin', _you_ stays home with yore pretty picture books." - -"Suits me," grunted Ben placidly. "Yore company hurts my ears, offends -my nose, an' shocks my eyes. An' as for th' excitement, why I done got -enough of that to--_look out_!" he yelled, firing without raising the -gun to his shoulder. - -An answering flash split the darkness between two bowlders further -up the slope and Ben pitched sideways. His companions fired as if by -magic; the instant return fire sent Harrison reeling backward. He -tripped on a root and fell sprawling, the gun flying from his hand. -Fleming leaped toward a huge rock, firing as he jumped, and slid behind -the cover, where he sighed, and groped for his gun with trembling -hands. Groans and muttered curses came from the trail, and Fleming, -raising himself to a sitting position, his back against a rock, saw -Harrison dragging himself toward his gun and a clump of brush. - -"You stay where you are," said an ominous voice, "an' put up yore -hands!" - -Lying in a patch of moonlight, Harrison could do nothing but obey; but -Fleming nerved himself and picked up his gun, still able to fight and -only waiting for his enemy to show himself. Several minutes passed and -then a hand darted over the rock and wrenched Fleming's gun out of the -weak hand that held it. - -"You ain't goin' to get hurt no more if you acts sensible," said the -new owner of the gun. "Where you hit?" - -"Thigh an' shoulder," muttered Fleming weakly. - -The stranger fell to work swiftly and deftly and in a short time he -arose and moved toward the two men in the clearing. "You'll be all -right after yore friends get you home," he said over his shoulder. -Reaching the two figures on the trail he first took their guns and then -looked them over. - -"This feller with th' lump on his head is my old friend, th' smoker," -said Johnny. "He's got a crease in his scalp. Barrin' a little blood -an' a big headache, he'll be all right after a while. Where'd I get -you?" he demanded of Harrison. - -"Arm," grunted Harrison. "Through th' flesh. I done tripped an' -fell--must 'a' near busted a rock with my fool head when I lit," he -said, as if to explain his subsequent inaction. "We reckoned you'd left -th' country till we found th' package you tied up an' left." - -"I come back for th' rest of my stuff," replied Johnny. "I was scared -to come up th' valley." - -"You acts like you'd scare easy," admitted Harrison. "I'm sorry you -ain't got more nerve," he grinned despite the pain in his arm. - -"Here," said Johnny, squatting beside him, "lemme tie up that arm. I -wasn't aimin' to shoot nobody till I was cornered," he grinned. "I -heard what you fellers said, back in th' valley, an' that's why. I was -plumb peaceful, tryin' to slip away, when that gent up an' let drive at -me. Bein' in a pocket made by them fool bowlders I couldn't get out, so -I had to cut down on you with both hands. Th' dark shadows helped me a -lot; you couldn't see what you was shootin' at. An' anyhow, I owe him -somethin'. I was under that tree when he up an' dumped that pleasant -cougar down on top of me, right in my arms. Never was more surprised in -all my life. An' to make matters worse, this is my best pair of pants." - -"Show 'em to me!" begged Harrison. - -Johnny stepped back for inspection and waved his hands at the trousers; -and Harrison had to laugh at what he saw. What was left of them formed -a very short kilt, and the underwear was torn into bloody strips. - -Harrison wept. - -"I'm pullin' my stakes," continued Johnny pleasantly. "This layout is -too excitin' for a man of my bashful an' retirin' disposition. You can -tell Quigley he don't have to set no more ambushes in that valley, an' -also that th' first time I meet him I'm goin' to smoke him up with both -hands. I'm honin' for to get a look at him, just a quick glance. Give -my regards to yore friend Ackerman; his gun, an' that other feller's, -is with Pop Hayes; but mebby they ought to wait till I leave th' -country before they go in for 'em." - -He turned on his heel and walked slowly away, with a pronounced limp, -a present from the cougar. When he reached the edge of the clearing he -paused and faced about. - -"You two fellers will be all right in a little while, an' if you can't -get yore friend home, you can send them that can. I'll take yore -six-guns along with me so there won't be no accidents; but I'll leave -this rifle over here on this rock, empty. Th' cartridges are on th' -ground on th' other side of th' rock. That cougar's mate is some het up -about now, I reckons, an' you may need it. Better not come for it for a -couple of minutes. There's been enough shootin' already. _Adios_," and -he was gone as silently as a shadow. - -Harrison sat cross-legged and waited considerable more than two minutes -and then walked slowly toward the rifle. As he picked it up there came -a haunting scream and a rolling fusillade of shots from the south. Then -a distant voice called faintly. - -"I got th' mate, an' lost th' rest of my pants. _Adios!_" - -"I'll be d--d!" grunted Harrison, going toward his friend at the rock. -"That feller is one cheerful hombre; an' a white man, too. If I was -Quigley, I'll bet four bits I wouldn't show my face in Hastings till -he was a long way off. No, ma'am; not a-tall. Here, Art; you take th' -gun till I go back an' see how Dan'l Boone is comin' along. He's a -rip-snortin', high-class success, _he_ is! I'll bet you he'll _brag_ -about droppin' that cougar, you just wait an' see. _Hello_, you wild -jackass! How you feel!" - -"You can go to h--l" snorted the man with the creased scalp, sitting -up. "An' I don't care a cuss when you starts, or how you goes. I'm fond -of excitement, thrive on it an' get fat; but I serves notice, here an' -now, that I'm quittin'. Any man that takes th' trail with you two fools -is a bigger fool. Great guns! I won't have no head left after a while!" - -"You never did have one that amounted to anythin'," said Harrison -cheerfully. "I admit that it's a handy place to hang a hat, but when -that is said, th' story is ended. Amen. You set right where you are -till you are able to walk, an' then we'll get Art home." - -"Takin' Art home is what we should 'a' done long ago; we're doin' this -thing backwards, th' d--n fool!" moaned Ben. "We'd 'a' been home long -ago if it wasn't for him." - -"Huh?" muttered Harrison. "Well, I'll be d--d! Say! If it wasn't for -you pluggin' that cat we'd 'a' been home, whole an' happy, sleepin' -th' sleep of th' innercent. When you got that bright idea, you shore -touched off a-plenty. He was pullin' his stakes, aimin' to get out -peaceful, when you dumped that panther right down plumb around his -neck! Man! Man! But I wish I'd 'a' seen that! Benjamin, if you only -knowed what I'm thinkin' about you! Words ain't capable of revealin' my -thoughts; they fall far short; an' if I used enough words I'd strain -my vo--vocabulary, till it never would be any good any more. An' I can -only swear in English, Spanish, Navajo, an' Ute. An education must be a -grand thing." - -"Th' breaks was ag'in us," explained Benjamin. - -"Lord, please hold me back!" prayed Harrison. - -Well to the south of them a limping cow-puncher, with no trousers at -all now, and blood-soaked strips of underwear pasted to his torn and -bleeding legs, pushed doggedly toward his horse, swearing at almost -every painful step and avoiding all kinds of brush as he painstakingly -held to the middle of the dried bed of the creek. His shirt tail, cut -into ragged strips, flapped in the cold breeze where not held down -by the weight of the sagging belts and holsters; and in his hands he -carried the captured Colts. - -Reaching his horse he fastened the extra weapons to his saddle, -carefully drew on his chaps, coiled up the picket rope and climbed -gingerly astride. - -"Come on, Pepper!" he growled "Pull out of this. I got a pair of pants -wrapped up in that tarpaulin at th' mouth of th' valley; an' I wants -'em bad. You shore missed somethin' this evenin', you lucky old cow!" - -When day broke it revealed a shivering, grumbling cow-puncher washing -his cuts and gashes in the cold, pure water of Nelson's creek. Retiring -to the pebbly bank, he tore up a clean shirt and used it all for -bandages, after which he carefully drew on a pair of clean underdrawers -and covered them with a pair of well-worn trousers. The chaps came -next as a protection against whipping branches and clinging brush. -Rolling up the tarpaulin he fastened it behind his saddle and, mounting -stiffly, started for Hastings. - -Some hours later he lolled at ease and related to the grinning -proprietor the strange and exciting occurrences of the night. Pop was -swung from one extreme to the other as the tale unfolded, while Andrew -Jackson chuckled, whistled, and laughed until the narrator's scratching -fingers lulled him into a deep and soul-stirring ecstasy. - -"You shore started some fireworks," chuckled Pop when the tale was -finished. "An' yo're cussed lucky, too. When Ackerman showed his hand -yesterday I knowed trouble was fixin' to ride you to a frazzled finish. -Now what d--d fool thing are you goin' to do?" he demanded anxiously. - -"I'm goin' to keep out of that valley," reluctantly answered Johnny. -"It ain't got no charms for me no more. They've burned my cabin, an' I -reckon I got all th' gold there was, anyhow. When my legs get well I'm -goin' to try it again somewhere else. Twin Buttes are too unlucky for -me." - -"Now yo're shoutin'," beamed Pop. "You just set around here an' take -things easy for a few days, while me an' Charley fixes that tarp so -it'll be a pack cover an' a tent that is one. No prospector wants to -build a shack unless winter ketches him in th' hills or he finds a -rich strike. Me an' you an' Charley will go fishin' a few days from -now an' have a reg'lar rest. I'm all tired out, too. Business is shore -confinin'." He looked Johnny over and chuckled. "Cussed if I wouldn't -'a' give six pesos, U. S., to 'a' seen that cougar a-fannin' you! -He-he-he!" - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A CHANGE OF BASE - - -Johnny, upon leaving Hastings, struck south from it and spent the night -west of the Circle S after a journey of twenty miles on foot. Pepper -was again a pack horse, and the diamond hitch which held the bulging -tarpaulin in place would have dispelled any doubt as to Johnny's -abilities to cut loose from civilization and thrive in the lonely -places. And he had cut loose when he placed a note under a rock behind -a certain tree near the ford; for when "Hen" Crosby, riding for the -mail, saw the agreed-upon sign on the tree, it would not be long before -Logan had the note. - -Following the line of least resistance, the second day found him -bearing westerly, and the next three days found him crowding the pack -on Pepper's back and riding due north through a country broken, wild, -and without a trail. The way was not as difficult as it might have been -because the valleys joined one another, and through them all flowed -creeks, which made a trail that left no tracks. To an experienced man -who had plenty of time the difficulties were more often avoided than -conquered. - -At noon of the fifth day he drove Pepper slantingly up the wall of a -crumbling butte, and, reaching the top, looked around for his bearings. -They were easily found, for Twin Buttes looked too much alike, even -from the rear, to be easily mistaken; and they loomed too high to -be overlooked. Almost on a direct line with the Twins lay Quigley's -cabins, a matter of fifteen miles from him; which he decided was too -far. That distance covered twice daily would take up too much time. -Returning to the valley he built a fire, had dinner, and, hanging the -edible supplies on tree limbs for safety, whistled Pepper to him and -departed toward the Twins. - -Two hours later he left the horse in a deep draw and crawled up the -eastern bank. Crossing a bowlder-strewn plateau he not long afterward -wriggled to the edge of Quigley's valley and looked down into it. - -The size of the enclosed range amazed him, for it was fully thirteen -miles long, eight miles across at its widest, the northern end, and -three miles wide at the middle, where massive cliffs jutted far out -from each side. - -The more he saw of it the better he liked it. The grass was better and -thicker than even that in the prized and fought-for valley of the old -Bar-20. He judged it to contain about eighty square miles and believed -that it could feed two hundred cows to the mile. The main stream, which -he named Rustler Creek, flowed through a deep ravine and was fed, in -the valley alone, by six smaller creeks. There was a sizable swamp and -six lakes, one of them nearly a mile long. It was singularly free from -bowlders and rocks except at a place near the upper wall, where a great -collection of them extended out from a broken cliff. - -Except at three places the canyons which cut into the cliffs were -blind alleys and he could see that two of them had narrow waterfalls -at their upper ends. The three open canyons were the only places where -cattle could leave the great "sink," as Johnny called it; and they were -strongly fenced. The first was the entrance canyon, near the houses; -the second was a deep, steep walled defile at the northwest corner of -the range, and it led into another, but smaller valley, also heavily -grassed. Through it ran a small stream which joined Rustler Creek at -the swamp. The third canyon, at the northeast corner of the valley, -was wide enough to let Rustler Creek flow through it and leave room -for the passing of cattle; and judging by the gates in the heavy fence -which crossed it, Johnny knew this to be the exit through which the -drive herds went. Where that drive trail led to he did not know, but he -believed it to pass well to the west of Hope. - -Taking it all in all, it was the most perfect range he ever had -seen. Rich in grass so heavy and thick as to make him wonder at it, -naturally irrigated, blessed with natural reservoirs, surrounded by a -perpendicular wall of rock which at some places attained a height of -three hundred feet, the water courses lined with timber, its arroyos -and draws heavily wooded, and with but three places, easily closed -and guarded, where cattle could get out, it made the Tin Cup and the -Bar-20, large as they were, look like jokes. Its outfit could laugh at -rustlers, droughts, and blizzards, grow fat and lazy and have neither -boundary disputes nor range wars to bother them. There were no brands -of neighboring ranches to complicate the roundups and not a cow would -be lost through straying or theft. - -Having located the valley, he slipped away, mounted his horse and rode -back the way he had come, looking for a good place to pitch his camp. -Five miles from the valley he found it--a cave-like recess under the -towering wall of a butte, half way up the wooded slope which lay at the -foot of the wall. From it he could command all approaches for several -hundred yards, while his tarpaulin would be screened by bowlders and -trees. It was high enough for purposes of observation, but not so high -that the smoke from his fire would have density enough when it reached -the top of the butte to be seen for any distance. A spring close by -formed pools in the hollows of the rocks below him. The great buttes -lying to the east of the fire would screen its light from any wandering -member of Quigley's outfit. - -"This is it," he grunted. "We'll locate here tomorrow." - -The following day, having put his new camp to rights, he rode up the -western slope of the great plateau which hemmed in Quigley's ranch, -picketed his horse in a clearing, and after a cautious reconnaissance -on foot he reached the edge of the cliffs, and the valley lay before -him. Cattle grazed near a little lake, but at that distance he could -not read the brands. He first had to find out if any of the outfit -ever rode along the top of the cliffs, and he struck straight back to -cross any such trails. By evening he had covered the western side of -the ranch without finding a hoof-print, or a way up the sheer walls -where a horseman could reach the top. There were several places where -a cool-headed man could climb up, and at one of these Johnny found -several burned matches. - -The next day was spent on the plateau north of the ranch, and the -third and fourth days found him examining the eastern side; and it was -here that he found signs of riders. There were three blind canyons on -this side, and the middle one had a good trail running up its northern -wall, and it appeared to be used frequently. At the top it divided, one -branch running north and the other south. It was the only place on that -side of the valley where a horseman could get out. - -Now that he had become familiar with his surroundings he began his -real work. If Quigley had rustled, the operations could be divided -into two classes: past operations, now finished; or present operations -which were to continue. It was possible that enough cattle had been -stolen in the past so that the natural increase would satisfy a man -of modest ambitions. In this case his danger would decrease as time -passed and eventually he would have a well-stocked range and be above -suspicion. If he were avaricious the rustling would continue, if only -spasmodically, until he had made all the money he wanted or until his -operations became known. - -Johnny early had discovered that Quigley's brand was QE and this -increased his suspicions, for the E could not be explained. Logan's -brand was childishly simple to change: The C could become an O, Q, G, -or wagon-wheel; the L would make an E, Triangle, Square, or a 4. - -Satisfied that the foundation of Quigley's brand had been the CL, -Johnny had to discover if Logan's cattle still were being taken to -swell the Quigley herds. Logan's inaction and his easy-going way of -running his ranch jarred Johnny, for the foreman had confessed that for -the last few years the natural increase, figured in the fall roundups, -had not tallied with the number of calves branded each preceding -spring. But Logan was not altogether to blame, because the Barrier had -given him a false security and there was nothing to fear from other -directions. It was the last spring roundup and its tally sheets which -had stirred him; and a close study of his drive-herd records and the -use of the factor of natural increase suddenly brought to his mind a -startling suspicion. Even then he wavered, fearing that he was allowing -an old and bitter grudge to sway him unduly; and before he had time to -make any real investigations, Johnny had appeared and demanded a job. - -Among Quigley's cattle the proportion of calves to cows was so small -that Johnny could not fail to notice it. He was satisfied that the QE, -so prominently displayed, originally had been CL, but when he caught -sight of a crusty old steer near the mouth of the second canyon all -doubts were removed. While the mark was an old one, the rebranding had -been done carelessly. The segment which closed the original C had not -been properly joined to the old brand, and there was a space between -the ends of the two marks where they overlapped. A look at the ears -made him smile grimly, for Logan's shallow V notch had become a rounded -scallop; and there was no honest reason why Quigley should notch the -ears of his cows when there was no chance of them getting mixed up with -the cattle of any other ranch. The scallop had been made simply to cut -out the telltale V notch. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -NOCTURNAL ACTIVITIES - - -Light gleamed from Quigley's ranch-houses and an occasional squeal came -from the corral, suggesting that "Big Jake" was getting up steam for -more deviltry. Occasionally a shadow passed across the lighted patches -of ground below the windows and the low song of Rustler Creek could -be heard as it swirled into the long, black canyon. Save for the glow -of the windows and the rectangles of light below them everything was -wrapped in darkness, and the canyon, the range, and the rims of the -cliffs were hidden. - -"_A miner, 'forty-niner, and his daughter, Clementine_," came from the -middle house as Art Fleming dolefully made known the sorrowful details -of Clementine's passing out. He put his heart into it because he had -troubles of his own, for which he frankly and profanely gave Ben Gates -due discredit. - -Ben, tiring of the dirge, heaved a boot with a snap-shooter's judgment -and instantly forsook the heavy inhospitality of the house for the -peace and freedom of the great outdoors. He plumped down on a bench and -immediately arose therefrom. - -"Look where yo're settin', you blunderin' jackass!" snarled a hostile -voice from the same bench. "Yo're as big a nuisance as a frisky bummer -in a night herd!" - -"A bull's eye for Mr. Harrison," chanted the man inside. - -"You two buzzards are about as cheerful an' pleasant as a rattler in -August," snapped Gates belligerently. "Like two old wimmin, you are, -_both_ of you! Settin' around in everybody's way, tellin' yore troubles -over an' over again till everybody wishes Nelson had done a better -job. How'd _I_ know you was sprawled out, takin' up all th' room? -You reminds me of a fool dog that sets around stickin' its tail in -everybody's way, an' then howls blue murder when it's stepped on. Think -yo're th' only people on this ranch that has any troubles?" - -"A miss for Mr. Gates," said the irritated voice within the house. "An' -if he will stick his infected head in that door, just for one, two, -three, he'll have more troubles," prophesied Mr. Fleming, facing the -opening with a boot nicely balanced in his upraised hand. "If it wasn't -for him, we--" - -"Shut up! _Shut up!_" yelled Gates, enraged in an instant "If you says -that much more I'll bust yore fool neck! For G--d's sake, is that all -you know, Andrew Jackson?" - -"If it wasn't for you," said the man on the bench very deliberately -as his hand closed over a piece of firewood, "I said, -if--it--wasn't--for--you, we'd be ridin' with the boys tonight, instead -of stayin' around these houses like three sick babies." - -"Another bull's eye for Mr. Harrison," said the man inside. - -Gates wheeled with an oath. "An' if it wasn't for _you_ sound asleep -in th' valley; an' Fleming sound asleep up on that butte, I wouldn't -'a' been lammed on th' head an' tied up like a sack! It's purty cussed -tough when a man with nothin' worse than a scalp wound has to lay up -this way!" - -"Bull's eye for Mr. Gates," announced the man in the cabin, with great -relish. - -"If you'd been wide awake yoreself," retorted Harrison, "you wouldn't -'a' been tied up! You didn't even squawk when he hit you, so we'd know -he was around. Was you tryin' to keep it a secret?" he demanded with -withering sarcasm. "An' as for them bandages, how did _I_ know th' dog -had been sleepin' on 'em? Cookie gave 'em to me!" - -"Bull's eye for Mr. Harrison," said Fleming. "But he was awake," he -continued with vast conviction. "He was wide awake. He ain't got no -more sense awake than he has asleep. When he's got his boots on, his -brains are cramped an' suffocated." - -"You got him figgered wrong," said Harrison. "His brains are only -suffocated when he sets down." - -While the little comedy was being enacted at the bunk-houses, the main -body of rustlers followed Quigley down the steeply sloping bottom of a -concealed crevice miles north of the ranch-house of the CL. The five -men emerged quietly and paused on the edge of the curving Deepwater, -and then slowly followed their leader into the icy stream. The current, -weakened by a widening of the river at this point, still flowed with -sufficient strength to make itself felt and the slowly moving horses -leaned against it as they filed across the secret ford. Reaching the -farther bank the second and third men rode quietly to right and left, -rapidly becoming vague and then lost to sight. The three remaining -riders sat quietly in their saddles for what, to them, seemed to be -a long time. Suddenly a low whistle sounded on the left, followed -instantly by another on the right; and like released springs the -rustlers leaped into action. - -Vague, ghostly figures moved over the open plain, finding cows with -uncanny directness and certainty. Two riders held the nucleus of -the little herd, which grew steadily as lumbering cows, followed -inexorably by skilled riders, pushed out of the darkness. There was -no conversation, no whistling now, nor singing, but a silence which, -coupled to the ghost-like action and the dexterous swiftness, made the -drama seem unreal. - -There came an abrupt change. The two men riding herd saw no more -looming cattle or riders, which seemed to be a matter of significance -to them, for they faced southward, guns in hand, and pushed slowly back -along the flanks of the little herd. Peering into the shrouding gray -darkness, tense and alert, eyes and ears straining to read the riddle, -they waited like sooty statues for whatever might occur, rigid and -unmoving. - -A sudden thickening in the night. A figure seemed to flow from -indefinable density to the outlines of a mounted man. A low voice, -profanely irritant, spoke reassuringly and grew silent as the rider -oozed back into the effacing night. - -"Shore," muttered a herder, relaxing and slipping his gun into its -holster. He moved forward swiftly and turned back a venturesome cow. -His companion, growling but relieved, shrugged his shoulders and -settled back to wait. - -Minutes passed and then another lumbering blot emerged out of the -dark, became a cow, and found reassurance in numbers as it willingly -joined the herd. The escorting rider kept on, pushed back his sombrero -and growled: "They're scattered to h--l an' gone tonight; but," he -grudgingly admitted, "they acts plumb do-cile. S'long." - -Another wait, long and fruitless, edged anew the nerves of the herders. -Then Quigley, Ackerman, and Purdy moved out of the obscurity of the -night and took up positions around the herd, urging it forward. When -they had it started on its way, Ackerman dropped back and became lost -to sight, engaged in his characteristic patrolling, suspicious and -malevolent. - -The little herd, skilfully guided over clean patches of rock which led -deviously to the water's edge and left no signs on its hard surface, at -last reached the river, where a shiver of hesitancy rippled through it -and where the rear cows pushed solidly against the front rank, which -appeared to be calling upon its inherent obstinacy. The craft and -diplomacy of Quigley's long experience won out and the uncertain front -rank slowly and grudgingly entered the stream, the others following -without noticeable hesitation. As the last cow crossed and scrambled -up the western bank, Ackerman rode down to the water's edge, pushed in -and crossed silently, only the lengthening ripple on the black surface -telling of his progress. As he climbed out he squirmed in his wet -clothes and swore from sudden anger, which called forth a low ripple -of laughter from the base of the Barrier, where the others took their -discomforts lightly. - -"Scared you'll shrink, Jim?" softly said an ironic voice. - -"Or dissolve, like sugar?" inquired another scoffingly. - -"Sugar?" jeered a third. "Huh! He's about as sweet as a hunk of alum!" - -Ackerman's retort caused grins to bloom unseen, and the miseries of wet -clothes and chilled bodies were somewhat relieved by the thought that -Ackerman felt them the most. - -Up the crevice in orderly array, docile as sheep, climbed the cattle, -and when they reached the top of the plateau they moved along stolidly -under guidance and finally gained the outer valley leading to the QE -by a trail west of and parallel to the one which showed the way to -Hastings. - - * * * * * - -Back on the QE, Fleming and his friends, having awakened the cook at an -unseemly hour by their noise, finally turned in and found some trouble -in getting to sleep, thanks to the energetic efforts of the boss of -the kitchen, who most firmly believed in the Mosaic Law, and had the -courage of his convictions. But things finally quieted down and peace -descended upon the ranch. - -Outside the bunk-house and behind it, a blot on the ground stirred -restlessly and slowly resolved itself into a man arising. He moved -cautiously along the wall toward the lighted cook shack and then sank -down again, hand on gun, as the door opened. - -Cookie threw out a pan of water, scowled up at the starry sky and then -peered intently at a chicken-coop, visible in the straggling light -from the door, from which a sleepy cackle suddenly broke the silence. -Muttering suspiciously he reached behind him and then slipped swiftly -toward the shack, a shotgun in his hands. Going around the coop he -stood up and shook his fist at the darkness. - -"You can dig up my traps, an' smell out my strych-nine, but you can't -dodge these buckshot if ever I lays th' sights on you. Dawg-gone you, I -owes you a-plenty!" he growled. Striking a match he looked in the coop -and around it. "Had two dozen as nice pullets as anybody ever saw, only -three weeks ago; an' now I only got sixteen left. _There_, blast you!" -he swore, as the second match revealed the telltale tracks. "There they -are! O, Lord! Just let me get my gun on that thievin' ki-yote! Just -once!" - -He stared around belligerently and went slowly back to the house, -swearing and grumbling under his breath. It is the cook's fate to be -the sworn enemy of all coyotes, and let it be said without shame to him -that he seldom is a victor in that game of watchfulness and wits. And -also let it be said that often with tears of rage and mortification, -and words beyond repetition, he pays unintentional tribute to the -uncanny cunning of the four-legged thieves. With guns, dogs, traps, -and poison is he armed, but it availeth him naught. And as bad as the -defeat are the knowing grins of the rest of the outfit who, while -openly cheering on the doughty cook, are ready to wager a month's -wages on the coyote. - -The man on the ground moved again, this time toward the canyon, and -soon was feeling his way along the great eastern wall. Reaching the -other end, he stopped a moment to listen, and then went on again, -groping along by the edge of the stream until he stumbled over a dead -branch, which he picked up. Then feeling for and finding a certain -rock, he stepped on it and with his foot felt for and found another, -which was partly submerged in the creek; and by means of this and -others he crossed dry-shod to the opposite bank, using the branch as a -staff. - -Daylight was near when Johnny wriggled to the edge of the cliff -opposite the houses and hid behind a fringe of grass on the rim. An -hour passed and then his keen ears caught distant sounds. Below him the -cook was rearranging his traps and swearing at the cleverness of his -four-footed enemy. Suddenly he arose and hastened to the kitchen to -serve a hot breakfast to the men who soon drove a bunch of cattle out -of the canyon and into the small corral. - -While the others hastened in for their breakfast, Quigley and Ackerman -loitered at the corral. - -"Purty good for five men, with one of 'em playin' sentry," said -Quigley. "We'd do better if we didn't have to scout around first." - -"Scoutin's necessary," replied Ackerman. "It's too wide open. This -bunch ain't worth gettin' wet for. That river's cussed cold!" - -Quigley chuckled. "Huh! I've swum it when th' ice was comin' down." - -"You did," retorted Ackerman. "That was th' night Logan burned our -houses. You had to swim an' freeze, or stay out an' get shot. You went -in _pronto_, that night!" - -"You beat me in by forty yards, an' out by sixty!" snapped Quigley. - -Ackerman ignored the remark. "Not satisfied with nestin' on a man's -range, you had to start a little herd. We didn't bring no cows with us, -nor buy any afterward--but what's th' use? Let's eat," and he led the -way toward the cook shack. - -Johnny waited a few minutes and then, returning to his horse, started -for his camp. He was puzzled, for no place near Big or Little Canyons -was devoid of shelter, and he knew of no other places where cattle -could pass the Barrier. He had noticed that the backs of the cows were -dry, which meant that they had forded the river, and he was certain -that the crossing had not been made at the ford near Devil's Gap. He -had to learn the location of the place they visited and that unknown -ford; and he wanted to learn the date of their next raid. - -"We'll have to trail 'em, Pepper," he growled. "An' then bust all -runnin' records to get Logan an' th' boys. Get agoin'; I'm sleepy." - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -YEASTY SUSPICION - - -Ackerman walked to the small corral, where two straight irons were in -a fire and where three men were cinching up in preparation. Fleming, -Harrison, and Gates, lolling on the ground, kept up a running fire of -comment, and Ackerman stopped and looked down at them. - -"Three cheerful fools," he grinned. - -"Here's Little Jimmy," remarked Fleming; "an' by all th' Roman gods, -he's actually grinnin'! Look, fellers! Behold an' ponder! Mr. Ackerman -wears a smile!" - -"Sick?" solicitously inquired Harrison. - -"Drunk?" suspiciously questioned Gates. - -"Three children," grunted Ackerman, "An' scabby. Two sentries an' a -hunter." - -Holbrook poked the fire. "Kit Carson, Dan'l Boone, an' Californy Joe. -Three scouts. Th' ambushin' trio." - -"Faith, Hope, an' Charity," chuckled Purdy. - -"You called it," grinned Holbrook. - -"If Custer had only had 'em," said Ackerman, "there'd been no -massacre." - -"Huh!" grunted Gates. "What could I do, with them two fools herdin' -with me?" - -"Not so much herdin' with you, as tryin' to herd you," said Harrison -blithely. - -Gates sought escape by creating a diversion, and shouted: "Hey, look at -him!" and pointing at the cook, who staggered past under a great load -of saplings and poles. - -"Hey, Cookie!" he shouted stentoriously. "Why don't you put them birds -in th' house nights, an' sleep in th' coop, yoreself?" - -"Or give him some of that there strych-nine that we got for you?" -yelled Sanford. "There's a lot of it left," he chuckled, remembering -the cook's futile rage when he had found the poisoned carcass half -covered over with dirt. - -The cook, his glistening face crimson, carefully lowered the forward -end of the poles to the ground, eased them upright with his shoulder -and wiped the perspiration from his face with a grimy sleeve. Turning -a red countenance toward his grinning friends he started to speak, -muttered something, spat forcibly, shouldered carefully under his load -again and staggered away with as much dignity as he could command. - -"That's right, Cookie," commended Gates. "Don't you waste no words on -'em a-tall. They're a lazy, worthless, shiftless lot. If they wasn't -they'd help you tote them trees. But I wish you'd tell me what yo're -aimin' to do, because if yo're goin' to rig up a scaffold for that -ki-yote, I want to be around when he's hung." He turned and surveyed -the group. "You ought to be ashamed of yoreselves, lettin' him tote -that load hisself. He works harder than any man on this ranch, an' I -can prove it. I can prove it by him. What with buildin' stockades an' -scaffolds, diggin' holes for his traps, poisonin' baits, an' settin' up -nights with his shotgun, he's a hard workin' member of this outfit. He -ain't got no time to set around an' loaf all day like some I could name -if I had a mind to." - -"Hard workin'!" snorted Purdy. "That ain't work; that's fun! He's as -happy doin' that as others is playin' cards or somethin'. He'd get -mopey if that ki-yote died. A man allus works harder at his fun than he -does at his work. Allus!" - -"Shore!" grunted Holbrook. "I've seen men so lazy that they growled -because th' sun kept 'em movin' to stay in th' shade; but show 'em a -month's good huntin' an' they'd come to life quick! They'll climb an' -hoof it all day to get a shot at somethin'; but if their wife asked 'em -to rustle a bucket of water you could hear 'em holler, clear over in -th' next county." - -"Would you look at him settin' them poles!" chuckled Gates. "He's shore -goin' down to bed-rock!" - -Holbrook pulled an iron out of the fire, glanced at it, shoved it back -again and arose. "Let her go," he said. - -At the word two men vaulted into their saddles and rode into the -corral. A cow blundered out and was deftly turned toward the fire, and -at the right instant a rope shot through the air, straightened and grew -taut; and the cow, thrown heavily, was hog-tied, branded, its ears cut -to conform to the QE notch, and released in a remarkably short time. -Arising it waved its lowered head from side to side and started to -charge Holbrook. Gates stepped quickly forward, kicked a spurt of dirt -in its face and a clever cow-pony sent it lumbering out through the -gate in the fence and onto the range. - -"Maverick," grunted Holbrook, waiting for the next. "Logan shore is -careless in his calf roundups. That's four of 'em we got in th' last -two raids. Reckon he thinks brandin' is more or less unnecessary, th' -way he's located. An' d--d if here don't come another! Nope; it's a -sleeper. Somebody took th' trouble to cut th' notch." - -Ackerman did his share of the work, silent and preoccupied, and when -the last cow had been turned onto the range he wheeled abruptly, looked -around, and walked over to Quigley, who was approaching. - -"I reckon I better go off on a little scout," he said. "I ain't -satisfied about Nelson; an' th' more I mills it over, th' less -satisfied I am. You can grin; but I'm tellin' you it ain't no grinnin' -matter!" he snapped, eying the group. "I'm tellin' you what I'm goin' -to do, an' that's all." - -"That's for you to say," smiled Quigley. "Nobody's goin' to try to stop -you; but we reckon yo're only makin' trouble for yoreself. He's quit -th' Twin Buttes country. I understand he's prospectin' south of town." - -"He ain't prospectin' none," retorted Ackerman. "An' he wasn't -prospectin' up here, neither; he was runnin' a bluff, an' makin' it -stick. _I_ looked into that gravel bed!" - -Fleming laughed. "He was coverin' his rustlin' operations. His real -prospectin' was to be done with a rope an' a runnin' iron." - -"Yes," grunted Sanford; "an' now he's doin' th' same thing down south, -I'll bet. Th' Circle S has got a lot of sleepers an' mavericks runnin' -on their out-lyin' range. Holmes has been threatenin' for two years to -round 'em all up; but when he's ready, th' Long T ain't; an' t'other -way around." - -"Our friend is goin' to set right down on a rattler if he starts -rustlin' down there," grinned Purdy. "Them two ranches are wide awake. -I know, because I've looked 'em over." - -"He'll tackle th' job," said Harrison; "because he's somethin' of a -pinwheel hisself." - -"That's how I figger it," said Holbrook quickly. "A burned child loves -th' fire, if it's stubborn. Let him alone; don't stir him up. We don't -want him up here, an' that's our limit. What he does down there ain't -no game for us to horn into. Let 'em fiddle an' dance an' be d--d." - -Ackerman regarded them pityingly and shrugged his shoulders. "I pass! -Ain't there no way to get it through yore heads that I don't believe -he's interested in anythin' but _us_? It's like drillin' in granite. I -hammer an' hammer, twist th' drill an' hammer some more; an' after hard -work all I got is a little hole, with a cussed sight more granite below -it! I feel like rammin' in a charge of powder an' blowin' it to h--l -an' gone. _Look_ at me! _Listen!_ Put away yore marbles, an' _think!_" - -"Why don't you fellers listen?" grinned Fleming. - -"Just because he went south don't say he _stayed_ there," hammered -Ackerman. "He wasn't scared away; not by a d--d sight. _I_ know that. -Fleming, Gates, an' Harrison know it. We _all_ know it. He went south. -But he can turn, can't he? If he can't, he's in a h--l of a fix! No -tellin' where he'll end up--Patagonia, mebby. All right, he can turn. -It's only a question of _where_! He's goin' to turn; an' when he -does, _I_'m goin' to be there an' see him do it. I'm goin' to make it -my business to find him, watch him, an' trail him. If he turns north -I'm goin' to _get_ him. An' if you'll take any advice from me, you'll -all begin to take long rides, north, east, south, an' west; mostly -southwest an' west. You'll ride in pairs, an' you'll keep yore fool -eyes open. Th' time has passed for loafin' around here, shootin' craps -an' swappin' lies. Yo're smokin' on an open powder keg; an' _d--n you_, -you ain't got sense enough to know it!" He raised his clenched fists. -"I _mean_ it! D--n--you--you--ain't--got--sense--enough--to--know--it!" - -Quigley laughed, although uneasily; for Ackerman's earnestness carried -unrest with it. "Jim, Jim," he said kindly, "we've been up here a long -time; an' we've given these hills a name that guards 'em for us. Them -that bothered us disappeared; an' th' lesson was learned." - -"Was it?" shouted Ackerman. "_He_ didn't learn it! _He_ come up here, -plump in th' face of yore warnin', in spite of what he had heard in -Hastings! _Why?_ Because it's his _business_ to come! Because he's -_paid_ to come! _He_ ain't one of them Hastings loafers! _He_ ain't -no sleepy puncher, satisfied to draw down his pay, an' th' h--l with -th' ranch! I tell you you never _saw_ a man like him before. Can't you -see it? Logan found out that he was a _real_ man, a gun man, an' not -scared of h--l an' high water. Then he quits Logan, an' comes up here. -Can't you _see_ it? _Can't_ you? _Think_, d--n it; THINK!" - -"I did; have been, an' am," snapped Quigley angrily. "Thinkin' is one -thing; goin' loco, another. _I_ think yo're a d--d fool!" - -Ackerman threw up his hands in a helpless gesture. "All right; have -it yore own way. I give it up. I pass before th' draw. But I ain't -swallerin' no pap an' gazin' at th' moon. I'm goin' to keep my eyes on -Nelson." - -"You want to; he's a bad hombre," said Fleming uneasily. - -Ackerman wheeled and smiled at the speaker. "He is; an' he's a d--d -_good_ man. I takes off my hat to him; an' I wish to heaven we had a -few Nelsons up here; this ranch would _hum_. An' you'd 'a' done better -if you'd follered yore own advice. I won't make th' same mistake twice. -Th' minute he makes a false move I'll plug him. I underrated him -before; now I'm goin' to overrate him, to be on th' safe side. But you -ain't got a thing to say: three to one, an' you let him make fools out -of you!" - -"I admits it," said Fleming. "An' that's why I'm tellin' you to look -out for him. He's as quiet as a flea; an' as harmless as blastin' -powder. I wish you luck." - -"I ain't so harmless myself," retorted Ackerman. "An' now I know what -I'm buckin'. You'll see me when you see me; I'm preparin' to be gone a -month or more." - -They watched him enter the bunk-house, and when he came out again he -had his saddle and a blanket roll; and when he rode into the canyon -without a backward glance or a parting word he had his slicker, a -generous supply of food, and plenty of ammunition. - -Quigley watched him until he rode out of sight beyond the canyon, and -turned toward his outfit, shaking his head. "He's so all-fired set on -it that I'm gettin' a little restless myself. Jim ain't no fool; an' he -don't often shy at a shadow. It won't do us no harm, anyhow; an' we can -take turns at it. I'll start it off by takin' one side tomorrow, an' -Holbrook can take th' other. Later on we'll figger it out an' arrange -th' shifts. Mebby he's right." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -AN OBSERVANT OBSERVER - - -Jim Ackerman strode into Pop Hayes' saloon, where he found the -proprietor and Charley James squabbling acrimoniously over the value of -a cribbage hand. - -"Not satisfied with gettin' a twenty-four hand," snorted Charley, "he -tries to make it twenty-seven, shovin' 'em around like he was playin' -three-card monte! You old fool! You've counted them runs once more'n -you oughter; but I don't care how much you mills 'em; it's twenty-four!" - -"I ain't done no more countin' than they'll stand!" - -"I dunno what _they'll_ stand; but I knows what _I_'ll stand. It's -twenty-four!" - -"Soon as you gets two bits up," sneered Pop, "you lose yore nerve. You -can play all day for fun, an' never loose a yelp; but when you've got -money up you acts like you was stabbed!" - -"That so? You forget how to count when there's money up!" - -"When yo're winnin' everything is lovely; but when yo're losin' you go -on th' prod!" - -"You don't have to go; yo're allus rarin' around on yore hind laigs, -a-pawin' th' air an' snortin'. Leave it to Ackerman. I dare you!" - -"I'll leave it to anybody but you. You hadn't ought to even play for -th' drinks. Jim, look at that twenty-seven hand an' tell that fool what -it counts, will you?" - -Ackerman moved it around and grinned. "Fifteen eight; two pairs is -twelve, an' four runs of three makes that twenty-seven hand count just -twenty-four. An' it's a cussed good hand, top; you shore knows how to -discard." - -Charley nodded emphatically. "There! I told you so!" - -Pop raised his hands helplessly to heaven. "How much longer have I got -to keep th' peace? Two more like you an' Charley an' this country would -go plumb to th' dogs! Yo're two fools." - -"Now who's stabbed?" jeered Charley. "You can get more out of one -crib hand than most folks can find in two. 'Four, five, six,'" he -mimicked. "Why don't you shift 'em around an' work six, five, four; an' -five, six, four; an' four, six, five? A genius like you ought to get -thirty-six out of a twenty-four hand an' never turn a hair. I'm such a -stranger to a hand like that that I'd be satisfied with twenty-four. I -ain't no genius at figgers." - -"If I told you what you are, you'd get insulted!" - -"Anybody that could insult you could make cows live on malpais an' get -fat," sneered Charley. "I've done called you a liar, an' a cheat, an' a -thief--" - -"Hey! Stop that!" interposed Ackerman. "Quit it; an' have a drink with -me. You'd let a man die of thirst, _I_ believes." - -Pop shuffled around behind the bar and sullenly produced the bottle and -the glasses. "I know, Jim," he apologized; "but you don't know how my -patience gets tried!" - -Charley snorted. "If they ever tries yore patience they'll lynch it. -Here's how, _Jim_." - -"Good luck," said Jim, tossing off the drink. - -Charley, walking back toward the card table, caught sight of the -well-loaded horse outside; and Pop, taking advantage of the situation, -reached swiftly under the bar and slid two Colts toward Ackerman, who -frowned and pushed them back. "Some other time," he growled. "Ain't -goin' back right away." He pushed his hat back on his head. "Any news?" - -"There ain't never any news in this place," answered the proprietor. -"But I hear as how th' Circle S has fired Long Pete Carson for stayin' -drunk. Long Pete was all het up over it an' lets drive at Holmes. Bein' -unsteady he missed Dick an' nicked Harry Kane. Then Dick took th' gun -away from him an' give him a beatin'. Dick's hands are shore eddicated. -Th' Long T near lost three hosses in that quicksand near Big Bend; -an' Smith come near goin' with 'em. An' that Nelson is prospectin' -somewhere near th' Circle S, if he ain't left th' country." - -"What makes you think that he's mebby left th' country?" inquired -Ackerman casually. - -"He had his spirit busted when his cabin burned. Said this country was -too full of dogs for a white man to live in. But I reckon he'll work -around th' Circle S or th' Long T a while before he quits for good." - -Charley turned and grunted derisively. "That's all you know about it. -He crossed the river near th' Circle S, over Rocky Ford, an' went to -Bitter Creek hills." - -"How'd you know he did?" demanded Pop. - -"I was told by th' man that saw him do it." - -"Who was that?" asked Pop, indignant because he had not been told about -it before. - -"Yo're a reg'lar old woman," jeered Charley. "You can guess it." - -"Funny he didn't tell me," sighed Pop. - -"Mebby he reckoned it was his own business," retorted Charley. "Mebby -he knowed you'd blurt it out to everybody you saw." - -"I keep things under my belt!" - -"Yes; food an' likker," chuckled Charley, enjoying himself. "If nobody -come around for you to tell yore gossip to, cussed if you wouldn't tell -it to th' sky, night an' mornin', like a ki-yote." - -"So he's still prospectin'," laughed Ackerman. "He'll starve to death." - -"I ain't so shore about that," said Charley. "He weighed his gold on my -scales an' it was one pound an' eleven ounces. It was all gold, too; I -saw it." - -"He-he-he!" chuckled Pop. "If yore scales said one eleven he only had -about half a pound. Them scales are worse than a cold deck." - -"That's a lie; an' you know it! Them scales are honest!" - -"Then they ain't 'pervious to their 'sociations," grinned Pop. He -reached behind him, picked up a package and turned to Ackerman. "Did -you say you was goin' near th' Circle S?" he inquired. - -"He did not," said Charley gleefully. "Didn't I say you was an old -woman?" - -Ackerman laughed, winked at Charley and went out; and the two cronies -listened to the rapidly dying hoof-beats. - -Pop wheeled and glared at his friend. "Now you've done it! Ain't you -got no sense, tellin' _him_ where Nelson is?" - -"If I had much I wouldn't hang out with you," grinned Charley. "But -I got a little; an' if he crosses th' river he won't find Nelson. A -Circle S puncher saw him hoofin' it into th' southwest. _Quien sabe?_" - -"Sometimes you do have a spark of common sense," said Pop. "Sort of a -glimmer. It's real noticeable in you when it shows at all, just like a -match looks prominent in th' dark. Pick up them cards an' don't do no -more fancy countin'." - -"Countin' wouldn't do me no good while yo're multiplyin'. Get agoin'; I -got to get my four bits back before I go home." - -Well to the south of the two friends in Hastings, Jim Ackerman loped -steadily ahead, debating several things; and as he neared the Circle -S range a man suddenly arose from behind a rock. There was nothing -threatening about this gentleman except, perhaps, his sudden and -unexpected appearance; but Ackerman's gun had him covered as soon as -his head showed. - -"Turn it off me," said the man behind the rock, a note of pained injury -in his voice. "My intentions are honorable; an' plumb peaceful. Yo're -most scandalous suspicious." - -Ackerman smiled grimly. "Mebby I am; but habit is strong. An' one of -my worst habits is suspicion. What's th' idea of this jack-in-th'-box -proceedin' of yourn? You've shore got funny ways; an' plumb dangerous -ones." - -"Reckon mebby it does look that way," said the man behind the rock. -"I neglects caution. I should 'a' covered you first an' then popped -up. That shows how plumb innercent an' peaceful I am. Yore name's Jim -Ackerman, ain't it?" - -"You can't allus tell," replied Ackerman. - -"That's where yo're figgerin' wrong. I can allus tell. Havin' told me -yore name, I'll tell you mine. I'm Pete Carson, known hereabouts an' -elsewhere as Long Pete. Some calls me Long-winded Pete; but it's all -th' same to me. Pint that a little mite more to th' sky; thank you, -sir. I was punchin' for th' Circle S, but th' Circle S punched me; -then it fired me. I've got to eat, so I got to work. Th' Long T ain't -hirin'; an' I'd starve before I'd work for Logan. I ain't no slave, not -me. - -"I'm settin' there in th' sun whittlin' a stick an' arguin' with -myself. I was gettin' th' worst of it when I hears yore noble cayuse. -Not bein' curious I riz up instanter an' looked plumb into yore -gun--just a little mite higher; ah, much obliged." - -"What's all this to me?" demanded Ackerman impatiently. - -"That's what I'm aimin' to find out I saw you comin'--up a little more; -thank you. Then I think I got a new chance. I want a job an' I want it -bad. Hold it in yore left hand: yore right hand is tired, an' saggin'. -Any chance for a close-mouthed man up yore way? One that does as he's -told, asks no questions, an' ain't particular what kind of a job it is? -Better let me hold that; I can see yo're gettin' tired. Thank you, -sir. I'm desperate, an' I'm hungry. What you say? Speak right out--I'm -a grand listener." - -Ackerman grunted. "Huh! I ain't got nothin' to say about hirin' th' men -where I work. As a matter of fact we ain't got work enough for another -man. An' I reckon you don't understand nothin' about farmin', even in a -small way; but if yo're hungry, why, I can fix that right soon. Got a -cayuse?" - -Pete nodded emphatically. "I allus manage to keep a cayuse, no matter -how bad things busts; a cayuse, my saddle, an' a gun. Why?" - -"Climb onto it an' come along with me. I'm aimin' to make camp as soon -as I run across water. That's a purty good animal you got." - -"Yes; looks good," grunted Long Pete; "but it ain't. It's a deceivin' -critter. I'm yore scout. There's a crick half a mile west of here. I'm -that famished I'm faint. Just a little more an' I'd 'a' cooked me a -square meal off of one of th' yearlin's that wander on th' edge of th' -range. That was what I was thinkin' over when I heard you." - -"You shouldn't do a thing like that!" exclaimed Ackerman severely. -"Besides, you shouldn't talk about it. An' if you _do_ it you'll get -shot or lynched." - -"A man does lots of things he shouldn't. An' as for talkin', I'm th' -most safe talker you ever met. I allus know where I'm talkin', what -I'm talkin' about, an' who I'm talkin' to. Now, as I figger it, I'd -rather get shot or lynched than starve in a land of beef. What do I -care about killin' another man's cows? I'm plumb sick of workin' on -a string that some bull-headed foreman can break; an' I'm most awful -sick of workin' for wages. _I_ ain't no hired man, d--n it! What I -wants is an equal share in what I earns. An' you can believe me, Mister -Man, I ain't noways particular what th' work is. I never did have no -respect for a man that gambled for pennies. No tin-horn never amounted -to nothin'. He can't lose much; but yo're cussed right he can't _win_ -much, neither. If th' stakes are high an' th' breaks anywhere near -equal, I'll risk my last dollar or my last breath. - -"As to what I am, you lissen to me: When I'm sober I stays strictly -sober, for months at a time; an' when I'm drunk I like ways stays drunk -for days at a time. I ain't like some I knows of, half drunk most of -th' time an' never really sober. Me, I just serves notice that I'm -goin' off on a bender, an' I goes. An' when I comes back I'm sober all -th' way through. Here's th' crick. An' I never get drunk when there's -work to be did. You can put up that Colt now an' watch me get a fire -goin' that won't show a light for any distance or throw much smoke. I -tell you I know my business." - -Ackerman unpacked and turned the horses loose to graze, and by the time -he was ready to start cooking, Long Pete had a fire going in a little -hollow near the water. - -"Now you just set down an' watch me cavort an' prance," quoth Long -Pete pleasantly. "Reckon mebby you might not move fast enough for my -empty belly. Chuck me that flour bag--I'm a reg'lar cook, _I_ am. You -just set there an' keep right on thinkin' about me; weigh me calm an' -judicial." - -Ackerman smiled, leaned back against his saddle and obeyed his verbose -companion, pondering over what his deft guest had said. He knew of Long -Pete by hearsay, and he now marshaled the knowledge in slow and orderly -review before his mind. - -The cook handed him a pan, a tin cup, and a knife, fork, and spoon. -Then he waved at the pan. "Take all you want of this grub, an' -take it now. This bein' a one-man outfit I'll eat off th' cookin' -utensils--utensils sounds misleadin', don't it?--somethin' like tonsils -or a disease. Now I warn you: dig in deep an' take all you kin eat, -for there won't be no second helpin' after I gets _my_ holt. Want yore -coffee now?" - -"Later, I reckon," smiled Ackerman. "You shore can cook. Better take -th' cup first if you wants yore coffee now. I'll use it later." - -"Soon as we open one of them cans I'll have a cup of my own, an' we're -goin' to open one tomorrow," grinned Long Pete, opening his pocketknife -and attacking the frying pan. When the pan had been cleaned of the last -morsel Pete emptied the cup, washed it in the creek, refilled it and -handed it to his companion. Rolling a cigarette with one hand, he lit -it, inhaled deeply and blew a cloud of smoke toward the sky. - -"Cuss me if that don't hit me plumb center," he chuckled. "An' plumb -center is th' place for it. I'd ruther eat my own cookin' in th' open, -than feed in th' house after some dirty cook got through messin' with -th' grub. At first I thought you was another prospector; but when I -looked close I saw that you didn't have th' rest of th' outfit. Now -don't you say nothin'. I ain't lookin' for no information; I'm givin' -it. You see, I shoots off my mouth regardless, for I'm a great talker -when I'm sober; an' tight as a fresh-water clam when I'm drunk. A -whiskered old ram of a sky-pilot once told me that I was th' most -garrulous man he'd ever met up with. After I let him up he explained -what garrulous means; an' th' word sort of stuck in my memory. I know -it stuck in his; he'll never forget it." - -Ackerman coughed up some coffee. "He won't," he gasped. "But what--made -you think--I might be prospectin'?" - -"Just a little superstition of mine," explained Long Pete. "There's -some coffee runnin' down yore neck. You never ought to laugh when yo're -drinkin'. Good thing it wasn't whiskey. Things allus comes in bunches. -That purty near allus holds good, as mebby you've noticed. I have. I -saw one prospector, a cow-puncher gone loco, hoofin' it in th' dirt -alongside his loaded cayuse. Of th' two I thinks most of th' cayuse. It -was a black, of thoroughbred strain, steppin' high an' disdainful, with -more intelligence blazin' out of its big eyes than its master ever had. -So when I sees you ridin' along with a big pack I reckoned mebby that -you must 'a' eat some of th' same weed an' had got th' same kind of -hallucernations. They's different kinds, you know. But this is once th' -rule fails. There won't be no bunch of prospectors, an' I know why; but -that's a secret. There won't be no third." - -Ackerman looked keenly at him through narrowed lids, speculating, -wondering, puzzled. Then he leaned back and yawned. "_Is_ there a -prospector down here?" he asked incredulously. "You don't mean it." - -Long Pete coolly looked him over from boots to sombrero. "I'm duly -grateful for this sumptious feed, an' I know what is th' custom when -you breaks bread with a man; but I _do_ mean it; an' I don't lie even -when my words are ramblin' free. I reckon, mebby, you ought to remember -that. We'll sort of get along better, day after day." - -"No offense! I was just surprised. Which way was th' fool headin'?" - -"Mebby I am a little too touchy. We all have our faults. He was -headin' th' same as us because we're on his trail, right now. I sort -of follered it here to keep my hand in. You never can tell when yo're -goin' to need th' practice. Our fire is built on th' ashes of hisn. His -fire an' smoke was well hid, too. What a two-gun cow-puncher, with a -Tin Cup cayuse like that, wants to go hoofin' off on a fool's errand -for, is more than I can figger out. But two heads are better than one; -an' a man hears an awful lot of talkin' up in Old Pop Hayes' place. -Queer old polecat, Pop is." - -Ackerman stared thoughtfully into the fire for a few moments. Then he -looked squarely and long into Pete's placid, unwavering eyes, and what -he saw there must have pleased and piqued him. - -"Pete, yore habit of usin' words reminds me of a gravel bed I once -panned. It was a big bed an' I panned a terrible lot of gravel; but -you'd 'a' been surprised if you knew how much gold there was in it. -I was a rich man until I hit town." He waved his hands expressively. -"You've said a whole lot, but it pans out strong. Anybody that won't -listen to you is a fool. Let's have a pow-wow, without hurtin' any -feelin's. Speak plain; keep cool. What you say?" - -Pete waited until he rolled another cigarette and drew in another -lungful of smoke. Then he recrossed his long legs, hitched comfortably -against his saddle, and nodded. - -"Meanin' to swap ideas an' personal opinions, ask questions regardless, -an' if things don't come out like we'd mebby like 'em, keep our mouths -shut afterwards an' not hold no hard feelin's?" - -"Just that," Ackerman acquiesced. "Just what was you aimin' at in yore -talk?" - -Pete scrutinized the fire. "Well, I hit what I was aimin' at--you -allus do with a scatter gun. An' for th' ease of my conscience, an' -th' rest of my calloused soul, let me confess that I had a gun on you -while I was talkin' to you. One arm was folded across behind my back -an' a little old Colt was squeezin' against my side an' th' other arm, -lookin' right at you. Carelessness ain't no sin of mine; I got enough -without it. But, shakin' some of th' gravel out, let's see what I got. - -"I wants a job. It's funny how many times I've wanted a job, an' then -threw it sprawlin' after I got it. Bein' desperate, I was aimin' to -stick you up an' take your outfit. Then when you got near an' I saw who -it was, I knowed I'd have to shoot to kill; an' first, too. That's why -I didn't tackle that other feller, too. An' just then my perverted mind -says two an' two is four. An' it most generally is. Then I knowed you -needed me. So I let th' gun slip an' got real friendly. But, as I was -sayin', I want a job. Now you pay attention. - -"We knows what's rumored around about Twin Buttes; an' we knows who -lives up there; an' we knows there ain't never been no farm products -come out of that section. That's th' biggest mistake you fellers ever -made; you should 'a' run a garden. Likewise, we knows that tin-horns -don't gamble with things that belong to other people, if th' other -people packs guns. An' 'specially they don't gamble with no cows an' -hosses. 'Tain't popular, an' folks don't like it. A tin-horn ain't man -enough to risk a bullet or a rope. Now then, you just let me draw you -th' picture of a dream I've often had. - -"I can see a bunch of husky cow-punchers, among which I see myself, an' -we're punchin' cows that we never bought. We're poolin' our winnin's -an' sharin' th' risks. I can even see me rustlin' cows, an' there's -men with me that I could name if my memory wasn't so bad. There's a -big rock wall, an' a deep, swift river that's so d--d cold it fair -hurts. An' somewhere back in th' buttes, which is in a section plumb -fatal to strangers, all but one, is a little ranch, with a drive trail -leadin' north or west. That's th' dream. Ain't it h--l what fool ideas -go trompin' an' rampagin' through a man's mind when he's asleep, -'specially if he ain't satisfied to work for wages? Did you ever have -any?" - -Ackerman grinned to hide his surprise. "Yo're a grand dreamer, Pete. -I've had dreams somethin' like that, myself; an' so far's I'm concerned -yourn can come true; but I only got one vote. An' as I ain't goin' back -for some time, I don't know just what to say." - -"Not knowin' what to say never bothered me," chuckled Long Pete. "I can -talk th' spots off a poker deck; I'll show you how, some day. But as -long as you mentioned dreams, it reminds me of another I've had. Not -long ago, neither. I saw a two-gun prospector leavin' an unpleasant -location. He was a _reg'lar_ two-gun man; a wise feller could just see -it a-stickin' out all over him. I kept right on bein' hungry. Then, -quite a little later I saw another man, a cow-puncher, ridin' along his -trail; an' he had so much grub it fair dazzled me. An' bein' friendly, -in my dream, I up an' tells th' second man where th' other feller was -headin'. An' if th' dream hadn't 'a' stopped there I could 'a' told -him which way th' two-gun prospector an' his black, Tin Cup cayuse -went on th' mornin' follerin' th' day I saw him. Funny how things like -that will stick in a man's memory. An' I've heard tell that lots of -people believes in dreams, too. Seems like you only got to know how -to figger 'em to learn a lot of useful an' plumb interestin' things. -A fortune-teller told me that. Why, once I dreamed that I had shot a -feller that had been pesterin' me; an' when I got sober, d--d if I -hadn't, too!" - -Ackerman slammed his sombrero on the ground and leaned quickly forward -over the fire. "Pete, I ain't got much money with me--didn't expect to -have no call to use it. I ain't got enough for wages for any length of -time; but I've got grub, plenty of it. An' if you wants to make that -first dream of yourn come true, you stick to me an' with me, come what -may, an' I'll see you a member of a little ranch back in some buttes, -or we'll d--d well know th' reason why. We need brains up there. Are -you in?" - -"Every d--d chip; from my hat to my worn-out boots; from soda to hock," -grinned Long Pete. "You got your cayuse, yore shootin' irons, an' th' -grub; I got my cayuse, mean as it is, my guns, an' a steady-workin' -appetite. Pass them pans over; allus like to wash things up as soon -as they've been used. It'll be yore job next meal. I believe in equal -work. Better hang up that pack--there's ants runnin' around here." - -"Yo're a better cook than me," said Ackerman cheerfully, as he obeyed. -"You do th' cookin' an' leave th' cleanin' up to me. I'd rather wrastle -dirty pans than eat my own cookin' any day. That fair?" - -"As a new, unmarked deck," replied Long Pete contentedly. "An' while -we're talkin' about washin' pans, I want to say that that two-gun -hombre went due north, ridin' plumb up th' middle of this here crick. -An' since yo're trailin' him, I reckon he kept goin' right on north. I -allus like to guess when I don't know." - -"Yo're a d--d good guesser," grinned Ackerman. "Let's roll up in th' -blankets early tonight an' get an early start in th' mornin'." - -"Keno. That suits me, for if there is one thing that I can do well, -it's rollin' up in a blanket. I should 'a' been a cocoon." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE END OF A TRAIL - - -Johnny ducked down behind a bowlder, for a horseman, sharply -silhouetted against the crimson glow of the sunset, rode parallel to -the edge of the cliff; and, judging from the way he was scrutinizing -the ground, he was looking for tracks. While he searched, another -horseman rode from the north and joined him. They made a splendid -picture, rugged, lean, hard; their sharply-cut profiles, the jaunty -set of the big sombreros, their alert and wiry cow-ponies, silhouetted -against the crimson and gold sky; but to the hidden watcher there was -no poetry, no art, in the picture, for to him it was a thing of danger, -a menace. Their voices, carelessly raised, floated to him distinctly. - -"Find anythin'?" asked Ben Gates ironically. - -"Just what I reckoned I'd find, which was nothin'," answered Harrison. -"Ackerman's loco. But I reckon it's better than loafin' around down -below. I was gettin' plumb fed up on that." - -"It's all cussed nonsense. Nelson's cleared out for good. He ain't no -fool; an' there's too many of us." - -"Seen th' others?" - -"Only when they left. They ought to be ridin' back purty soon I reckon. -This finishes this side, don't it?" - -"Yes; they'll comb th' west side tomorrow; an' then take th' north -end. Ridin' in daylight ain't so bad; but I got a fine chance seein' -anythin' at night. An' I hope he _has_ cleared out; a man on a bronc -looks as big as a house." - -"Don't ride at all; lay up somewhere near th' canyon, trail an' let -_him_ do th' movin'. But, h--l! He's gone out of this country." - -"That's just what I was aimin' to do. I could ride within ten feet of a -man in th' dark, with all th' cover there is up here, an' not see him. -Don't you worry about yore Uncle Nat; he's shore growed up. But it's -all fool nonsense, just th' same." - -"Oh, well; it'll make things pleasanter down below," grinned Gates. -"It'll stop th' arguin'. Quigley's gettin' near as nervous as Ackerman. -He's gettin' scared of shadows since Jim laced it into him. Well, I'm -goin' on; if I meets Holbrook I'll tell him to take th' south end. So -long." - -They separated and went their respective ways, and while Johnny watched -them he suddenly heard a murmur of voices below him, and he squirmed -between two big bowlders as the sounds came nearer. - -"Well, we've shore combed this side," said one of the newcomers. "An' -that ends part of a fool's errand." - -"We shore have," grunted another. "An' it did us good, too. We all have -been gettin' too cussed lazy for any account. I reckon a certain amount -of work is th' best friend a man has got." - -"Mebby; anyhow, I know that my appetite is standin' on its hind laigs -yellin' for help," laughed the third. "An' we have th' satisfaction of -knowin' everythin' is all right out here. Cussed if I couldn't eat a -raw skunk!" - -"But that ain't what I'm drivin' at," said the first speaker, his voice -growing fainter as they rode on. "I claims if he is workin' for th' CL -he only has to get one look in our valley to tell him all he wants to -know. If he's up here, or has been up here, that would be enough. He -wouldn't stay here day after day like a dead dog in a well." - -As the words died out in the distance Johnny started to slip out from -between the bowlders, when a sharp _spang!_ rang out at a rock near his -waist, and a whining scream soared skyward. An opening made by a split -in the bowlder had partly revealed his moving body to a pair of very -keen eyes on the lookout for just such a sign. A second later the flat -report of the shot cracked against his ears, but he was on the other -side of the bowlders and leaping down the steep hillside when he heard -it. As he cleared a big rock he landed almost upon a slinking coyote, -which instantly destroyed distance at an unbelievable speed. It shot -up the hill, over the crest, and sped like an arrow of haze across the -open table-land. Another shot rang out and a laughing voice shouted -greeting. - -"Hi-yi! Who-o-p-e-e-e! Scoot, you streak of lightnin'! Cookie's layin' -for you with nine buckshot in each barrel. But I'm a drunk Injun if you -didn't fool me." - -A peeved voice raised loudly in the twilight. "Hey! D--n you! Look out -where yo're shootin'! That slug ricochetted plumb between our heads! -Ain't you got no sense a-tall?" - -"That's right! Start kickin'!" retorted Gates at the top of his voice, -"Didn't you ever hear a slug before? Don't you know that th' slug you -can hear is past you?" - -"That so? How'd _you_ like to listen to one _now_?" angrily shouted the -objector. "How do _I_ know that th' _next_ one is goin' past?" - -"Ah, go to h--l!" jeered Gates. "Little things make big bumps on _you_, -you sage hen!" - -"_Little_ things!" roared a second voice. "_Little_ things! Would you -_lissen_ to him? It sounded like a train of cars to me, d--d if it -didn't!" - -"Thinks he's treed another cougar," laughed a third voice. - -The three appeared upon the plateau and rode toward the disgruntled -marksman, their hands up over their heads in mock anxiety and -surrender. Down from the north rolled a swift, rhythmic drumming, and -Harrison, eagerly alert, his rifle balanced in his hands, slid to a -dusty stop. - -"What is it?" he demanded. - -"Reckon it was Cookie's pet ki-yote," grinned Gates. "There ain't -nothin' with wings, even, can beat 'em. He just melted." - -"Yo're a d--d fool!" swore Harrison angrily. - -"Huh! I could 'a' told you that long ago," observed Purdy. "You just -catchin' on?" - -"I saw somethin' move," retorted Gates. "It slid past that crack an' -th' sun caught it purty fair, so I let drive. How th' devil do you -suppose _I_ knowed it was a ki-yote? Think I'm one of them mejums an' -has second sight?" - -"Never!" chuckled Fleming. "People make mistakes, but th' man don't -live, free an' unrestrained, that would think you had second sight. -He might even be doubtful about th' first sight. You want to practice -second _look_. Look twice, pray, an' then count ten, Dan'l, old -trapper." - -"He oughta be penned up nights," growled Sanford. "He's a cussed sight -more dangerous than a plague." - -Another rider joined them from the south. "Dan'l Boone at it again?" he -asked, grinning. - -"He is!" snapped Purdy. - -Harrison quieted his horse. "You fellers take him home with you, an' -keep him there. He shoots at anythin' that moves! I'm goin' to take -root right here till he gets down below. Mebby he might take me for -somethin' suspicious." - -"If I'd 'a' got that chicken-thief," placidly remarked Gates, "I'd 'a' -slipped it into Cookie's coop tonight, cussed if I wouldn't!" - -"You keep away from his coop," warned Fleming, with a solemn shake of -his head. "He's another that shoots at anythin' that moves." - -Holbrook looked at Harrison. "You takin' th' north end tonight?" - -"Yes; but I'm stayin' right here till Davy Crockett gets down on th' -range. Don't you move, Frank; he'll likely blow you apart if you do." - -"Glad he ain't ridin' in yore place. Good night, fellers." - -The group split up and four of the riders rode toward the canyon trail. - -"Take th' lead. Art," said Purdy. "You know that ledge better'n we do." - -Holbrook and Harrison watched them disappear, consulted a few moments -and then separated. - -At the bottom of the steep eastern bank of the plateau, Johnny, a vague -blur in the fading light, hastened stealthily into the brush. When -assured that he was safe from observation he swung north and made the -best time possible in the darkness over such ground, eager to reach his -horse, which was picketed more than a mile away. - -"Huh!" he grunted. "So they're combin' th' country an' patrolin'. -Hereafter an' henceforth I've got to play Injun for all I'm worth. -An' if they comb th' west side tomorrow I've got to move my camp at -daylight." - -To the southwest of the rustlers' ranch Ackerman and his new friend -had sworn day after day, for they found no tracks to follow. After -riding up several creeks to their head-waters they gave up such careful -searching and went blindly ahead in the direction Ackerman thought -their enemy would take; and the ashes of dead camp-fires from time to -time told them that they had decided right. - -At last they came to a point due west of the little valley of the -burned cabin, and Ackerman did not choose to pass the stream which -flowed from that direction. As the day was about done they camped on -the bank of the little tributary and planned the next day's work. -Arising early the following morning Ackerman divided the supplies and -gave part of them to Long Pete. - -"Well," he said, smiling grimly; "here's where we separate. We're north -of Twin Buttes, an' that means we are about even with th' south end of -our ranch. He could 'a' turned off any place from here on because when -he got this far he had just about arrived. - -"Now I reckon I better keep on follerin' th' big creek, for I got a -feelin' that I know purty well just about where he's located. But we -can't overlook no bets. You foller this crick to th' end, or till you -see where he left it. An' you meet me tonight, if you can, at th' south -end of that big butte up there, th' one with th' humpback. - -"I've told you he's dangerous, chain-lightnin' with his guns; an' I'm -tellin' you now to make shore you won't forget it. If you run across -him, shoot first, as soon as you see him. You can't beat him on th' -draw; an' while I don't like to shoot a man that way, I'm swallerin' my -pride in this case because he's a spy, or else he'd never ride up th' -cricks for forty miles. I never heard of anybody bein' so cautious an' -patient _all_ th' time. We got to get him; if we don't there'll be h--l -to pay." - -"Don't you get no gray hair about me," growled Long Pete. "I know what -it means, d--n him!" A smile flitted across his face. "But I shore -has to laugh at th' son-of-a-gun! An' me thinkin' he was a prospector, -an' loco! I'd feel ashamed of myself if I really _did_ think he was a -prospector. You see, I've seen prospectors before. You mustn't mind -me makin' a break like that once in a while; I've had to fool so many -folks I can't sort of get my bearin's now. I'd be prouder of gettin' a -man like him than anythin' I ever done. Did you gimme plenty of grub? -All right; I'm movin' on now. So long." - -"So long; an' good luck," replied Ackerman, going north along the creek. - -Long Pete rode carefully up his own watery way, thoroughly alert and -closely scrutinizing both banks. - -"Settin' on a cayuse, out here, don't set well on my stummick," he -muttered uneasily. "I'd mebby be more prominent cavortin' around on a -mountain top, or ridin' upside down on th' under side of a cloud, but I -ain't hankerin' after no prominence. Nope; I'm a shrinkin' wiolet. An' -_splash! splash!_ says th' bronc. _Splash! splash!_ reg'lar as a watch, -for th' whole wide world to hear, observe, an' think about. Long Pete, -yo're a fool. Long Pete, yo're several, all kinds of fools. What you -should oughta do is picket th' bronc an' perceed with more caution, on -yore belly like a silent worm, or at least on yore kneecaps an' han's, -like a--like a--a--who th' h--l cares what? Day after day we been -temptin' Providence. 'Hurry up!' says he. 'Hurry be d--d!' thought I. -But we hurried. Yes sir. But it must be did. D--n th' _must_. All my -sinful life there was a _must_ or a _mustn't_. It's a _must-y_ world. -He-he! That ain't a bad one, or I'm a liar! - -"All serene. Both banks lovely. Lush grass an' mosquitoes an' _flies_. -_Splash! Splash!_ _Ker_-splash! _Ker_-splash! Slop inter it, bronc. -Don't mind my stummick. Keep lungin' on, pluggin' right ahead, stubborn -as th' workin's of hell. _Long Pete! Long Pete! Ker-splash! Here's Long -Pete!_ Tell him, bronc; grease th' chute for yore boss. Even th' frogs -got more sense; they shut up when they hears us. It's a gamble, bronc; -a toss-up. Our friend, Mr. James Ackerman, says: 'Here, Long Pete. We -done reached th' partin' of th' ways. He could 'a' left th' crick any -place, now. Over east yonder is where he was burned out. You take that -way, an' I'll go on north where I reckon I know mebby where he oughta -be.' That's what he _said_, bronc. But what he kept a damp, dark, deep -secret was: 'But I know he ain't. He's east, where he knows th' lay of -th' land. Where he feels at home. An' anyhow, Long Pete, you know too -d--d much about our affairs.' He's a friend of ours, bronc; we know -that--but he's a better friend of hisself. - -"We must watch both banks, bronc; watch 'em close. All right; but this -time we'll just bust h--l out of Mr. Must. We'll square up, right now, -for th' way Mr. Must has horned inter our affairs all our fool life. -Come on; get out of this! That's right. Now you stand there an' drip. -I'm going to travel humble an' quiet. I don't want no fife an' drum to -lead _me_ to war; no ma'am; not a-tall." - -Long Pete's low, muttered chatter ceased as he wriggled through the -cover. Minutes passed as he went ahead, glancing continually at the -banks of the small creek for the telltale signs. He wormed around -some scattered bowlders and came to the edge of a small, rock-floored -clearing, where he paused. - -A movement half-way up on a mesa close by caught his eye, and he backed -over his trail, wriggled around the little clearing and began to stalk -that particular mesa ledge. Yard after yard was put behind him, nearer -and nearer he approached the ledge and a nest of bowlders three hundred -yards from it. The bowlders were his objective, for, once among them, -he would have the view he wished. Leading to them was a brush-covered -ridge and toward this he cautiously advanced, rifle at the ready and -every sense alert. But he never reached it. - -Behind him and two hundred yards to his right a man slowly arose from -behind a rock and, resting a rifle on the bulwark, took slow and -careful aim at the gray shirt crawling close to the ridge. There was a -flash, a puff of smoke, a sharp report. Pete, a look of great surprise -on his face, tried to rise and turn to pay his debt, crumpled suddenly -and lay inert, sprawled grotesquely on the ground. - -The man behind the rock mechanically reloaded and walked slowly toward -his victim, waving his sombrero in a short arc. On his face was an -expression of triumphant joy. Up on the ledge of the mesa wall another -man arose, acknowledged the signal and began to climb down the wall as -hurriedly as safety would permit. When he reached the prostrate figure -he found the successful marksman standing like a man in a trance, a -look of blank wonderment on his face, his lower jaw sagging loosely. - -"Good for you!" said the man from above; and then he paused. "What's -th' matter?" A ghastly suspicion flashed into his mind and he leaped -forward to see who the victim was. He arose relieved, but as surprised -as his companion. "Lord! I was scared you'd got one of th' boys, from -th' way you looked! Who th' devil is _this_ feller? An' what's he doin' -up _here_? I've seen him before; who th' devil _is_ he?" - -The other drew a long breath. "It's Long Pete, of th' Circle S; but -what he's doin' up here is past me. Look at his shirt, his hat, an' say -he don't look like Nelson from th' back! He only wears one gun, but I -couldn't see that; th' grass an' brush hid it. But, just th' same, he -was stalkin' you! If you'd 'a' shoved up yore head, he'd 'a' drilled -it, _shore_!" - -"But why should he stalk _me_?" demanded Harrison. "He didn't have -no business up here; he didn't have no reason to sneak along, an' -he didn't have no call to stalk me! Say! Mebby he's throwed in with -Nelson! If he has, mebby his outfit has throwed in, too! Mebby they're -up here strong, an' closin' in from all directions, for a show-down! We -better warn th' boys, an' get back to Quigley; an' d--d quick!" - -"Go ahead," said Gates. "I'll get his cayuse an' foller close. Where's -Art an' Frank?" - -"They went on north--I'm off after 'em," snapped Harrison. "Let his -cayuse be. You hot-foot it to Quigley!" - -"Come on!" growled Gates, wheeling. "They may be on both sides of th' -ranch!" - -Jim Ackerman, riding slowly along the bank of the main creek, saw -everything that could be seen by a man with keen eyes; and he felt -nervous. There was cover all about him, good cover; and any of it might -be sheltering the man he was hunting. There was no sense for him to -ride along the bank, an inviting target that a boy hardly could miss; -there was no sense in riding at all; so he picketed his horse and went -ahead on foot. - -Gaining Humpback Butte, the meeting place he had mentioned to Long -Pete, he worked along its eastern base, noiselessly, cautiously, -alertly; and he stopped suddenly as he caught sight of the ashes of -a dead fire; stopped and looked and listened and sniffed. It did not -smell like a fire that had been dead very long, he thought; and then a -playful little whirlwind, simulating ferocity, spun across the partly -covered ashes and caught up a bit of charcoal which glowed suddenly as -if winking about what it knew and could tell. - -Ackerman flitted back into the brush and when he again reached the -side of the butte he was north of the camp, and had viewed it from all -angles. Pausing for a moment he started back again, on a longer radius, -and soon found Pepper's newly made tracks in a moist patch of sand, and -hurried along the trail until he saw where it entered the creek. No -need for him to wonder which way the submerged and obliterated trail -led; for it must lead north. Otherwise he would have met his enemy. -Swearing in sudden exultation he whirled and ran at top speed to gain -his horse. - -Ackerman knew Humpback Butte and its surrounding valley and canyons -as he knew the QE ranch, for he had spent days hunting all over that -country; and he knew that the great slopes of the valley grew steadily -steeper as they reached northward until they became sheer cliffs -without a single way up their walls that a horse could master. A mile -above Humpback Butte the walls curved inward until only a scant six -hundred yards lay between them; and on the southern side of the eastern -cliff, which jutted out into the valley, hidden behind an out-thrust -point, was a narrow canyon leading into the valley which formed the -northwestern outlet of the QE ranch. For nearly five miles north of -Humpback Butte extended the valley, now a great, wide canyon; and not -one of the several blind canyons in its great walls gave a way out. -Anyone passing the hidden canyon would hunt in vain for an exit and -have to return again. - -Reaching his horse, Ackerman mounted and rode north at top speed, -guiding the animal over grass as he threaded his way in and out among -the obstructions. Speed was the pressing need now, for if he could -gain the hidden canyon before his enemy found it on his return, he had -him trapped. There was an up-thrust mass of rock, covered with brush -and scrub timber, which lay before the entrance of the canyon; once up -on that he could command both the canyon and the valley, the greatest -range not over five hundred yards. - -Dismounting in a thicket close to the entrance, he slipped to the -canyon and looked for tracks. Finding none he clambered up on the mass -of rock and searched the valley for sight of Nelson. For a quarter -of a mile he could follow the winding creek and he watched for a few -minutes, studying the whole width of the valley. - -"I've beat him; an' he ain't come back yet," he chuckled grimly. "I got -five minutes to look in th' canyon an' be dead shore!" - -For a hundred yards the little creek flowed along the north wall of the -canyon and he wasted no time on it; any man who would ride for forty -miles in creeks would not forsake the water for a mere hundred yards. -Running at top speed he dashed around a bend, eager for what he would -find. There was a six-foot drop in the bottom of the canyon, and a -small waterfall, where a rider would be forced to forsake the creek to -climb the ridge. A quick glance at a wide belt of sand running out from -the ledge at a place where it had crumbled into a steep slope told him -that no one had passed that way, and he wheeled and ran back to gain -the great pile of rock outside. - -"Got you!" he panted triumphantly. "Yo're a clever man, Mr. Nelson; but -you can't beat a stacked deck. Here's where I pay for a certain day in -Hastings!" - -As he reached the mouth of the canyon he heard a crashing in the -brush near where he had left his horse and he dove into cover like a -frightened rabbit. The crashing continued and then he heard the animal -tearing off leaves, and the swish of the released branches. As he -slipped forward, cursing under his breath, the horse emerged and walked -slowly up on a ridge, where it paused to look calmly around. - -"D--n you!" raged Ackerman, leaping forward. "I'll learn you to stay -where I put you! H--l of a cow-pony _you_ are!" - -Grabbing the reins he kicked the horse on the ribs and dragged it back -into the thicket, where he tied it short to a tree. As soon as the -knots were drawn tight he scurried along the ridge, slipped through a -clump of scattered brush and climbed frantically up the side of the -mass of rock. A swift glance about reassured him, and, settling behind -a rock, he patted his rifle and softly laughed. - -An hour passed, and then suddenly he heard a plunging in the thicket -below him. Pivoting like a flash, he faced about and threw himself -flat on the ground, his rifle cuddled against his cheek. To his utter -amazement his own horse walked into view again, the broken reins -dangling and dragging along the ground. A gust of rage swept over him -and he came within a hair of shooting the animal; only the need for -silence kept his tightening trigger-finger from pressing that last -hundredth of an inch. White with rage, choking with curses, he writhed -behind his breastwork, for the horse was on the ridge again, a bold, -skyline target for any eye within a mile. - -"Th' journey home will be yore last!" he gritted furiously, slipping -down the steep incline as rapidly as he dared. "We'll see if you can -bust my rope, doubled twice! If you strain at th' rig _I_'m goin' to -fix, you'll choke yoreself to death, d--n you!" - -Driving it back into the thicket he fastened it to a sapling with the -lariat, doubled twice; and the noose around the animal's neck was a -cleverly tied slip-knot. - -"Now, d--n you!" he blazed, kicking the horse savagely. "Take _that_, -an' _that_, an' _that_!" - -Reaching up to readjust the rope he suddenly froze in his tracks as a -crisp voice hailed him. - -"Keep 'em up!" said Johnny, stepping into view. "Turn around--_keep 'em -up_!" - -Cool as ice and perfectly composed, Ackerman slowly obeyed and scowled -into the muzzle of a leveled Colt, waiting for his chance. - -"A man that treats a cayuse like that ain't hardly worth a bullet," -said Johnny. "If you'd 'a' looked at them reins you'd 'a' seen th' -knife-pricks." - -Ackerman smiled grimly with understanding, but made no answer. - -"Sorry that human ramrod ain't with you," continued Johnny. "If I'd -knowed he was a friend of yourn I'd 'a' stopped him cold down south of -Hastings." - -Ackerman scowled. "Talk's cheap. Th' man with th' drop can find a lot -to say, if he's a tin-horn." - -Johnny slipped the Colt into its holster and slowly raised his hands -even with his shoulders. "I want you to have an even break," he -muttered. "But I ain't goin' to stay here till that Circle S puncher -blunders onto us. I'll wait one minute. It's yore play." - -"I've been waitin' for a chance like this," said Ackerman. "Remember -how you kicked me? I allus pay my debts. Th' next time--" He sprang -aside with pantherish speed and the heavy Colt glinted as it leaped -from his holster and flashed in an eye-baffling arc. A spurt of flame -flashed from his hip and a rolling cloud of smoke half hid him as he -pitched forward on his face. - -Johnny staggered and stepped back out of the smoke-cloud which swirled -around him and fogged his vision. A trickle of blood oozed down his -cheek and gathered in his three-days beard. Peering at the huddled -figure, he pushed his gun back into its holster and wiped the blood -from his face. - -"There ain't many as good as you with a gun, Ackerman," he muttered. -"Well, I got to get out of here. Them shots will shore call some of th' -others; an' I'd rather let 'em guess than know." - -He sprinted to Ackerman's horse, released it and stripped it of saddle -and bridle, turning it loose to freedom and good grass; and then, -slinging the pack of supplies on his back, hastened to his own horse -and rode away. - -All day long Pepper moved ahead as fast as the country would permit, -first north, then east, and finally south; and when she was stopped in -mid-afternoon she was under the frowning wall of the southern Twin, -three miles east of Quigley's stone houses and less than half a mile -from the trail used by the rustlers when they rode abroad. - -The very audacity of his choice of a camp site tended to make it -secure; and it was in the section combed by the rustlers only the day -before; it was under the most prominent landmark for miles around and -practically under the nose of the QE outfit. His camp-fire and its -almost invisible streamer of smoke from carefully selected dry wood -was screened on the south and east by the great side of the southern -Twin, and on the north and west by the bulk of the northern Twin; and -by the time the filmy vapor reached the tops of those towering walls it -would have become as invisible as the air of which it was a part. And -because of the tumbled chaos of rock, ridge, arroyos, bowlders, shrubs, -and trees, the little tent easily could be overlooked by anyone passing -within twenty feet. - -It had been his intention the day before to watch that out-bound trail -in hope of following the next raiding party and learning what Logan -wanted to know; but now he was forced to change his plans. - -"All right," he muttered as he finished putting the new camp to rights. -"As long as you know I'm here, an' are huntin' me down, it's time I -showed my teeth. I'm goin' gunnin': it's a game two can play." - -Having had his supper and lashed a small pack of food and ammunition on -his back, he led Pepper farther down the chasm between the two buttes -and let her graze where she pleased, knowing that she would not stray -far. Then he plunged into the tangled cover and headed toward the -entrance canyon of the QE ranch. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -BLINDMAN'S BUFF - - -It was nearly dark when he came to the long slope leading to the -plateau behind the QE ranch-houses and he went on with infinite -caution, at last looking down upon the buildings, which showed no -lights. - -Had they gone on another raid and had he missed the opportunity of -trailing them? He shook his head. There would be no more raids until -they were sure that no one was watching them. Suddenly he grinned. -The Circle S puncher, when last seen, was going straight toward the -ranch-houses. It was simple now. Having been told all that the Circle S -man knew, they knew that only one man was watching them and would plan -accordingly. - -"Layin' low an' settin' traps for me," he grunted. "Bet th' three -canyons are guarded--an' that trail down th' blind canyon farther along -this wall. That's th' easiest for me, so I'll slip up there an' look -around; but first I'll take a look down in th' main canyon." - -A short time later he peered over the rim of the chasm and chuckled, -for a small fire, cunningly placed so as not to shine in the eyes of -anyone in the houses, burned at the base of the great wall and made -sufficient light to show a watching marksman every rock and hollow -across that part of the canyon. - -"They can set in th' house at a loophole an' keep a good watch," he -muttered. "There ain't a man livin' could cross that patch of light. -An' if they're guardin' one end they're guardin' th' others--an' I'll -exchange compliments with one bunch." - -Squirming back from the edge he started north, and he stopped only when -the plashing of water told him that he was near his objective. - -"If _I_ was watchin' that trail I'd stay down below," he thought "It -would be near th' narrowest part of the ledge an' where nobody could -shoot down on me. I know th' place, too; glad I learned th' lay of th' -land around this sink." - -He crept forward confidently, his rifle strapped across his back, for -he decided to depend on his Colts. Reaching the head of the trail he -dropped to all fours and crept onto it; instantly a flash split the -darkness ten feet below him, the bullet ripping through his sombrero. -He did not reply, but wriggled against the base of the wall, where an -out-cropping stratum of rock gave him shelter. As he settled down he -heard a sound above him and a pebble clicked at his side and bounced -out into the chasm. - -Here was a pleasant situation, he thought. They were guarding the top -of the trail when they should have been guarding the bottom. There was -an outlaw below him and another above him, and at the first streak of -dawn he would find himself in a bad fix. Glancing up at the sky he saw -that the ledge protected him from the man above; but it would take the -man above only half an hour to run back along the canyon, round its -upper end and appear, ready for business, on the farther side, in which -case a certain member of the CL outfit would be neatly picked off at -the first blush of daylight. - -"I was hell-bent to get down here," he soliloquized in great disgust; -"an' now I'm hell-bent to get back again. What business have they got -to watch _this_ end?" - -He looked back up the trail and could see nothing. Then he held out his -hand and could not see that. "That fool didn't see me; he _heard_ me! -I'm glad I didn't shoot back. He'll wait a while, doubt his ears an' -think mebby that he's loco." - -But Ben Gates, firing on a guess, thought he saw what he fired at when -the flash of his gun lit up the trail in front of him. True, the smoke -interfered; but Gates was backing both his eyes and his ears. - -Johnny waited half an hour, and then grew anxious. His enemies were not -doing anything, but appeared to be copying the patience of the noble -red men, and waiting for dawn. - -"Cuss th' dawn!" mused Johnny fretfully. "If th' feller below still -thinks he heard me, th' feller up above may get dubious an' reckon his -friend pulled at nothin'; an' he's th' man I got to gamble with an' th' -sooner th' better." - -He wriggled backward an inch at a time until he had gained a few yards -and then he softly turned around. Another pebble fell on the ledge -close to the place he had just evacuated. The instant he heard it he -moved a little more rapidly because he was now east of the man above. -A soft shuffle came to his ears and he swore under his breath when the -sounds stopped at the head of the trail. The man above was now east of -him, and painfully alert. - -Slowly arising, Johnny hugged the wall and felt it over carefully. -There were knobs and slight footholds and small cracks in it, and he -took the only way open to him, desperate as it was. He judged the rim -to be thirty feet above him, and setting his jaws he started to climb -it. The shuffling again was heard and it now passed to the west of him. - -"Cuss him!" gritted Johnny. "He acts like he don't know what to do with -hisself. Why th' devil can't he stay where he belongs?" - -Stepping back on the trail again Johnny stooped over and ran silently -toward its upper end, thankful that he was wearing moccasins; and he -had come within ten feet of it when the shuffling sound again passed -him, eastward bound. - -"There!" grumbled Johnny. "I _knowed_ it. He acts like a bobcat in a -cage. All right, d--n you! I'll give you some music to shuffle to!" - -Finding several pebbles, he threw them, one at a time, over the rim and -about over the place where he had found shelter. A muttered expletive -came from above and the shuffling went rapidly toward the sounds. Below -him on the trail he heard a slight stir, but ignored it as he sprinted -up the trail, silent as a ghost, and gained the shelter of a bowlder. -Here he waited, grim and relentless, for the sentry's return. - -Shuffle Foot was peeved, and cared not a whit who knew it. Just because -he was hitched to a fool was no reason why he should endure asinine -practical joking; so he peered over the canyon's rim and spoke softly: - -"What th' h--l do you think yo're doin'?" - -The silence below was unbroken; but the astonished Mr. Gates longed -passionately for the power of thought transmission. It was all right -for Nat Harrison to go wandering around and braying like a jackass; he -wasn't lying almost nose to nose with the most capable two-gun man that -had ever cursed the Twin Buttes country. - -"'Sleep?" queried Harrison. "What did you shoot at; 'nother ki-yote?" -Receiving no answer he became exasperated. "If it was anybody but you -I'd pay some attention to it. First you shoots a cougar out of a tree -when we're all holdin' our breath to keep quiet. Then you let drive at -a measly ki-yote, which you opined was a he-man. Next you plugs Long -Pete, thinkin' he was Nelson. An' now what do you think you see? If I -poke my head out far enough, even though I'm _talkin'_ to you, I'll bet -you'd let loose at it, thinkin' th' Lord only knows what. Why don't -you _say_ something? Do you think we're playin' some kid's game, where -th' feller that keeps still longest gets th' apple? Did you make that -noise?" - -Gates writhed in impotent rage; but he suffered in silence, which only -increased the pressure of his anger. - -"Mebby you done shot yoreself," suggested Harrison hopefully. "Didn't -see somethin' down by yore feet, an' shoot off yore toes, did you? -What's th' matter with yore mouth? You can use it enough, th' Lord -knows when nobody wants to hear it. _Say_ somethin', you locoed -polecat." - -The pause was fruitless, and he continued, cheerfully: - -"Mebby he's clubbed you again," he said. "Clubbed yore stone head with -th' butt of his gun an' gagged you with yore own handkerchief; yore -very much-soiled handkerchief. But I hardly reckon he did, because any -blow heavy enough to send a shock through that head of yourn would 'a' -been heard at th' houses, an' I didn't hear nothin' like that. Goin' to -say somethin'?" - -Harrison chuckled, and tried again: "Well, if you ain't talkin' I'll -bet yo're thinkin'. Bet yo're wishin' I'd find a million dollars, get -elected president of th' country an' not have nothin' to worry about -all th' rest of my life. Ain't you, Dan'l Boone? - -"You must be scared 'most to death," he continued after a pause. "Any -time you can't find a chance to talk you shore are in a bad fix. I'm -beginnin' to lose my temper. You make me plumb disgusted, you do. What -th' devil do you think _I_ was doin' out here all night? Think anybody -got past me to go down there for _you_ to shoot at? If there's anybody -down there he come up from below an' crawled over you before you woke -up." - -Suddenly he cocked his head on one side and listened as a low gurgle -sounded in the canyon. - -"Cuss my fool hide!" he whispered. "Mebby he _did_ see something! Mebby -somebody come _up_ th' trail, tryin' to get out of th' valley before -daylight! Mebby it wasn't Ben at all that did th' shootin'! Hey, Ben; -_Ben!_ For heaven's sake, _say_ something, _any_thing!" - -Gates, stung into a blinding rage which swept aside every thought -of caution, did say something. Nature seemed to shrink from the -stream of throbbing profanity which came shouting up out of the black -canyon, whose granite walls flung it back and forth until the chasm -reverberated with it. - -Harrison listened, entranced, his open mouth, refusing to shut, -testifying to the great awe which held him spellbound. Never in all -his sinful life had he heard such a masterpiece of invective, epithet, -and profane invocation. The words seemed to be alive and writhing with -venom; he almost could hear them crackle in the air. He heard himself -called everything uncomplimentary which a frontier vocabulary saved -for just such situations. He heard his ancestors described back to -the time of Adam; sweeping up to the present, himself, his relatives, -his ambitions, habits, and personal belongings were dissected by the -man below. And then his future and the prophesied future abode of his -spirit were probed and riddled and described by a furious, vitriolic -tongue. His hair, eyes, ears, nose, gait, and manners were gathered up -and torn apart for microscopic examination and the descriptions were -shouted at the top of his companion's voice, which bellowed and boomed, -rasped and coughed, screeched and shrilled down in the blackness -forty feet below him. Then there fell a sudden calm, a silence which -seemed doubly silent, unreal, because of the contrast. A convulsive, -retching, strangling fit of coughing broke it, and then a hoarse, -rasping voice asked mildly, anxiously, a mild question: - -"Is there anything I forgot?" - -Johnny, standing up behind the smaller bowlder that he might not lose a -word or an inflection of the masterpiece, lost in admiration, forgetful -of purpose and the situation, danced gleefully and gave a joyous shout: -"Not a cussed thing!" - -Harrison fired at the sound, and a sharp, lurid flash replied to his -own. He staggered back as he fired again, and an answering flash -doubled him up. Gamely he pulled the trigger again and two spurts of -flame, so close to each other that they seemed almost to merge, sent -him staggering and reeling toward the edge of the canyon. Tripping over -an inequality in the earth he threw out his arms, fought to regain his -balance and with a sob plunged over the wall into the darkness below. - -Down on the trail Gates muttered in sudden horror as he felt the wind -of the hurtling body, and he leaned against the wall, white, sick, -shaken. A muffled, sickening sound came up from the pit, and Gates -dropped to his hands and knees, not daring to stand erect. - -"Nat!" he cried. "_Nat!_ Was that you? _Nat! Nat!_" - -At the top of the trail a rapier-like flash of fire split the -darkness, and then a series of lurid spurts of flame stabbed in short -jets, rapidly, regular as the ticking of a clock, marking the place -where two heavy guns crashed and jumped as they poured forth a stream -of lead down the narrow rock shelf that formed the precarious trail. -The canyon roared in one prolonged reverberation and the bullets whined -and spatted and screamed in high falsetto as they cleared the wall or -struck it to glance out into the valley below. - -Gates, on his hands and knees, shaken, sick with horror, crept slowly -downward, oblivious to the crashing, rolling thunder and the flying -lead. - -"I didn't mean it, Nat!" he muttered over and over again. "I didn't -mean it; not a word of it!" - -A sharp _spang!_ sounded on a rock close to his head and a hot splinter -of lead cut through his cheek. He stopped and spat it out, his nerve -returning as a cold rage swept over and steadied him. Jerking his gun -loose he emptied it up the trail, and, methodically reloading, emptied -it again, slowly, deliberately, moving it a little at each shot so -as to cover a short arc. Another spurt stabbed the darkness above, -and his gun, again refilled, replied to it. Again the canyon sent -roaring echoes crashing from wall to wall as flash answered flash. -Then suddenly the gun below grew silent, and the guns above spat twice -spitefully without a reply, and they, too, ceased. - -Gates stirred and slowly raised himself on an elbow, groping blindly -for his gun. His trembling hand struck it blunderingly and knocked it -over the edge of the trail as his numbed fingers sought to close over -it. Dazed, racked with pain, he sobbed senseless curses as he slowly -dragged himself down the trail, desperately anxious to reach his -picketed horse before his reeling senses left him. - -After an unmeasured interval, as vague and unreal as an elusive dream, -he stumbled over the picket rope and sprawled full length. Arousing -himself he felt along it and managed to loosen it from around the rock -which served as a picket pin; and then, slowly, by a great effort he -crawled along the rope and staggered to his feet to grasp the pommel of -his saddle, where he clung and rested for a moment. - -The restless horse, scenting blood, tossed its head and moved forward; -but Gates, by a great, supreme effort, crawled heavily into the saddle -and bound himself there with his lariat. Then, spurring clumsily, he -started the animal toward the ranch-houses, fighting desperately to -keep his wandering senses. - -An hour later two men stole to the door of the end house and listened, -questioning each other. Actuated by a common impulse they slipped out -toward the corral, gun in hand, and found Gates, unconscious and weak, -but alive, huddled forward on the horse's neck. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE SCIENCE OF SOMBREROS - - -Johnny rubbed his eyes and sat up, wondering. It was still dark, but a -grayness in the east told of approaching daylight. He was puzzled, for -it had been mid-forenoon when he had gone to sleep. Unrolling stiffly -from the blanket, he sat up to listen and to peer about him. From his -thicket he could see the tent, with the soles of his boots and part -of his blanket showing. Arising he stretched and flexed his muscles -to ease the ache of them, and then approached the ashes of the fire, -and found them and the ground underneath to be stone cold. Rubbing his -eyes, he laughed suddenly: he had slept for nearly twenty hours! - -"Shore made up for th' sleep I been missin'!" he grunted. "An' ain't I -hungry!" - -Having eaten a hearty breakfast he scouted along his back trail, acting -upon the assumption that the Circle S puncher might have gone back -again, picked it up and followed it. Reassured as to that he started -back to camp, and on the way topped a little rise and caught sight of -Pepper grazing in the narrow canyon. - -"That won't do, at all," he muttered, thoughtfully. "She's a dead -give-away--an' now I can't take no chances." - -Returning to his camp he packed up food and spare ammunition, and -then, hurrying down the canyon, whistled to the horse, who followed -him closely, as he searched in vain for a safe place to put her. He -was growing impatient, when he chanced to look closely at the face -of the southern Twin, and then nodded quickly. If there was water on -its top, that was the place for the horse. Half an hour later, after -some careful climbing, he reached the high plateau, dropped the reins -down before Pepper's eyes and made a swift examination of the top of -the butte. His hopes were rewarded, as he had expected them to be, -for in a deep bowl-like depression lying at the foot of a high steep -ridge he found a large pool, the level of which was considerably -below the high-water mark on the wall. This meant concentration due -to evaporation, and he tasted the water to be sure that it was fit to -drink. Whistling Pepper to him, he picketed her so that she could reach -the edge of the pool and range over enough grass to satisfy her needs, -cached the pack and departed. - -When he reached the canyon he went around the butte and started for his -camp along its southern side, critically examining the sheer wall as -he fought the brush and the loose shale under his feet. There was one -place where he thought it possible for a cool-headed, experienced man -to climb to the top, if he put his mind to the task and took plenty of -time. Giving it no further thought he plunged on, glad that the horse -was out of the sight of any scouting rustler and picketed so she could -not get near the edge, where she would have shown up sharply against -the sky, visible for miles. - -Swinging past his camp and turning to the south he cautiously crossed -the rustlers' main trail and climbed the wall behind it, and as he -went forward he tried to figure out what his enemies thought of the -situation. If they believed that several enemies opposed them they -would be likely to stay in the houses, or not stray far from them; but -if they thought only one man fought them they would most certainly take -the field after him. Such was his summing up; and, bearing in mind that -Long Pete, when last seen by him, was headed toward the houses, he took -full advantage of the cover afforded. - -Approaching the cliff by a roundabout way, he at last wriggled to the -edge and peered over. A gun-barrel projected from the crack of the door -in the last house; a man lay behind a bowlder on the cliff across the -valley, facing eastward; and almost directly below him a sombrero moved -haltingly as its wearer slowly climbed up the cliff at one of the few -places where it could be scaled. - -"They've figgered right," thought Johnny; "an' they're goin' to make -things whiz for me. Red Shirt, over there, must be a thousand yards -away; but this sink is deceivin'." - -He looked down at the climber, who was about half way up the bluff. -"Huh! I don't want to shoot him without givin' him a chance; but he -just can't come up. Le's see: one, two, three; an' one in th' house, -wounded, is four. There's a couple more somewhere, layin' low I reckon, -waitin' for me to move across their sights." - -He looked across at Red Shirt and grinned. "He's layin' on th' wrong -side of that rock an' don't know it. I'll tell him, an' get rid of that -climber at th' same time. Hope he busts his neck gettin' down." - -Wriggling back from the edge so that the man in the house could not -locate him by the smoke, he took deliberate aim at Red Shirt and gently -squeezed the trigger. Red Shirt soared into the air and dove over the -bowlder headfirst and with undignified speed. - -"Knowed it was deceivin'," growled Johnny. "Shot plumb over him. Can't -be more'n eight hundred yards. An' that's a fool color of a shirt to -wear on a job like this." - -Johnny's shirt had been blue, a long time back; but now its color -hardly could be described by a single adjective. Sun, wind, and strong -lye soap had taken their toll; and it had not been washed since he had -left his little valley. - -Wriggling back to the patch of grass, a quick glance below showed the -climber frantically descending; and the man in the house was making -lots of smoke on a gamble. Across the valley a gray-white cloud puffed -out above the big rock and a little spurt of sand forty feet to -Johnny's left told him that Red Shirt, too, was guessing. - -"Must 'a' been asleep not to see my smoke," muttered Johnny. - -More smoke rolled up from the bowlder and soon some pebbles not ten -feet away from him scattered suddenly, while a high-pitched whine -soared skyward. - -"He's pluggin' at every bit of cover he can see," mused Johnny, -wriggling back behind a rock. "An' he'll prospect that bunch of -grass--_knowed it_! He can shoot," he exclaimed in ungrudging praise; -"an' he's got th' range figgered to a foot. An' he's workin' steady -from th' north to th' south; an' when he tries for that clump of brush -over there he's got to show his head an' shoulder." - -A puff of dust and sand fifty feet to his right told him to get ready; -and then a bowlder south of the sand-puff said _spat_! - -Johnny lowered his rear sight and cuddled the stock of the heavy -Sharp's to his cheek. Slowly a red dot moved up in front of his sights -and he again squeezed the trigger, and again missed. But he had no way -of knowing that Art Fleming was spitting sand and that his eyes had not -escaped the little shower. - -"I got to guess too much," swore Johnny. "That front sight hides him. I -wonder how many times I was goin' to file it sharp?" - -As he reloaded, his sombrero suddenly tugged at his scalp and a flat -report sounded behind him. He quickly rolled into a shallow depression -and another bullet sprayed him with sand. - -"Repeater," he growled. "I got as much sense as a sheep-herder!" - -There now was plenty of cover between him and Repeater, but there was -still too little distance between him and Fleming; and the latter was a -disconcertingly good shot. Two quick reports sounded from the house and -Johnny smiled; the man at the door was seeing things, and backing his -imagination with lead. - -Johnny was watching a ridge behind him. "Me an' Repeater are goin' to -argue," he remarked, and almost fired when a sombrero slowly arose on -the skyline. - -"Cussed near bit," he chuckled; "but you got to have yore head in that -bonnet before I lets drive." - -A matted tuft of grass on the top of the ridge moved so gently that -only a very observant eye would have detected it. Johnny's Sharp's -roared, and instantly was answered from a point a yard away from the -stirring clump of grass, the bullet fanning his face. - -"Yo're too cussed tricky," grunted Johnny; "but I got a few of my own." - -Leaving his rifle lying so that its barrel barely projected into sight, -he slipped into a gulley and crept toward the west, a Colt in his hand. - -Repeater again stirred the grass tuft, and then he found a rock about -the size of a man's head and pushed it up to the skyline of the ridge. -Nothing happened. "If my hair wasn't so red," he murmured, "I'd take a -peek. It's an awful cross for a man to bear." - -He was a cheerful cattle-thief and did not get easily discouraged. -Also, he was something of a genius, as he proved by putting his -sombrero on the rock and raising the decoy high enough in the grass for -the hat brim to show. - -"Shoot, cuss you!" he grunted, leveling his rifle; and then as the -uneventful seconds passed he grew fault-finding and used bad language. -Suddenly a suspicion flashed across his mind. - -"That would fool a man with second sight," he muttered. "Somethin's -plumb wrong; an' I think I better move. That bowlder over there looks -good." And as he crawled behind it a pair of keen eyes barely caught -sight of his disappearing heel. - -"That man's got th' right to wear expensive hats," grinned Johnny, -squatting behind a great mass of lava; and his grin widened as he -glimpsed the sombrero-topped rock. "Yes, sir: he's got a head worth -'em; an' if I don't watch him close I'll grab holt of th' wrong end of -somethin'." - -Across the valley Fleming, having cleared his eyes of sand, was rapidly -recovering his normal vision and was preparing with cheerful optimism -to bombard everything which looked capable of sheltering his enemy, -when a movement north of and far behind the suspected area acted upon -him galvanically. He threw the rifle to his shoulder without elevating -the sight, raised it instinctively to the angle of maximum range and -squeezed the trigger. He did not expect a hit, and he did not get one; -but he caused his friendship to be strongly doubted. - -Repeater ducked, and when his face bobbed up again it wore an -expression of outraged trust, and he raised a belligerent fist and -muttered profanely in hot censure of the distant experimenter. Fleming, -chuckling at his friend Sanford's anxiety, raised his sombrero and -waved it, seeming to regard this as ample reparation. - -"He's gettin' as bad as Gates," growled Sanford, eying a leaden -splotch on a bowlder a foot above his head; "but he can shoot like th' -hinges of h--l with that blasted Sharp's." - -He suddenly leaped closer to the bowlder and behind its sheltering -bulge, for Fleming, having apologized, fired again. The marksman was -frantically waving his sombrero, seemingly indicating a southerly -direction. - -Sanford scowled at him. "Does he want me to go south, or does he mean -that that feller is south of me?" - -Fleming, with no regard for the cost of Sharp's Specials, fired again -and Sanford heard the slobbering, wheezing hum of a nearly spent bullet -turning end over end in the air and trying to ricochet after it struck. - -"He's shootin' south of me," said Sanford; "an' I stays here. Somethin' -tells me that th' feller that does th' movin' is goin' to die. No -red-head ever made a handsome corpse, an' bein' th' red-head which I -mentions, I'm goin' to stick to this hunk of granite like a tick to a -cow." - -Johnny, hands on hips, was glaring defiance at the cheerful -spendthrift, sorry that he had left his rifle behind. He regarded -Fleming as a meddlesome busybody who took delight in revealing his -every movement. Also, the optimist was a good shot; but he derived no -satisfaction from the fact that the closest bullet had been a ricochet, -for a key-holing slug makes an awful mess if it lands. - -"I'll bust yore neck!" quoth Johnny, shaking a fist at the persistent -nuisance; and then he jumped aside as a sudden sharp _spat!_ came from -the bowlder. "You can shoot near as good as Red Connors; but if he was -here he'd show you what that little difference means." He raised his -voice: "Hey, Repeater! Who is that fool?" - -Sanford laughed softly and made no answer; but he carelessly showed a -shirt sleeve, and when he jerked it back under cover it needed a patch. - -"What th' h--l you doin'?" demanded Sanford heatedly. - -"Who's Red Shirt?" - -"Ackerman." - -"Then he's better with a Sharp's than a Colt." - -"That's a Spencer carbine." - -Johnny laughed derisively: "If it is he'll strain it." - -"It's a Winchester," chuckled Sanford. - -"Yo're a liar!" - -"Yo're another! She's a single-shot, .40-90." - -"Then he's changed guns. He had a Winchester repeater in Hastings. I -saw it." - -"You'll see too much some day. You'll see a slug in yore eye." - -"I'm waitin'," replied Johnny, and ducked. Fleming was getting good -again, and Johnny was glad that he could not see where his bullets were -landing, for as it was he was shooting by guess. - -"He'll get you yet," encouraged Sanford. - -"Think I'm goin' to wait for it?" indignantly demanded Johnny. - -"Gimme a look at you," urged Sanford genially. - -"Stand up an' take it," retorted Johnny. - -"Reckon I'm scared to?" - -There was no reply, for Johnny had slipped away and was running at top -speed along a gully, where he was out of sight of the hard-working -Fleming. A few minutes later he had reached his rifle and was cuddling -it against his cheek; and he was causing Sanford a great amount of -mental anguish and wriggling progress. - -"Some people calls this strategy," muttered Johnny, "but I calls it -common sense." - -Raising his head cautiously he looked across the valley but saw no -sign of Fleming; and he figured that it would be an hour before that -interesting person could cross the valley and get close enough to be -a menace. What concerned him most were the two rustlers' friends, -who must certainly have heard the shooting. Out of deference to the -curiosity of those individuals he crawled into a partly filled-in -crevice, whose sides were steep rock and whose floor was several feet -below the level of the surrounding plateau. - -Peering out from between two rocks he saw Sanford's sombrero disappear -from the ridge, and then it cautiously arose again; and Johnny's eyes -narrowed, for he knew the numerous uses of sombreros. - -"Keep stickin' it up," he muttered. "An when I get tired shootin' at it -you'll stick yore head in it an' get a good look around. Most generally -when a man pokes up an empty hat th' crown don't tip back as it rises; -it just comes up level. An honest hat slants back more an' more as it -comes up. 'Cause why? Why, 'cause. 'Cause a man uses his neck to raise -his head with. Now, if he kept his neck stiff an' raised his whole -body, from th' knees up, plumb straight in th' air, then th' hat would -come up level. An' I asks you, Ladies an' Gents, if a man layin' down -behind a little ridge can raise his whole body stiff an' straight, -plumb up an' down? No, ma'am; he can't. He raises his soiled an' -leathery neck, an' th' top of th' useful sombrero just naturally leans -backward; just like that. - -"Look, Mister; there it comes again; an' it don't tip back at all. I -shall ignore it, deliberate an' cold. But when it tips back, lifelike -an' natural, like a' honest hat should, then I'll pay attention to it, -me an' my little Sharp's Special. - -"Oh, I've done made a study of appearin' hats. I'm a reg'lar -he-milliner. It was Red Connors an' Hoppy that directed my great -intelligence to that important science. Tex Ewalt knowed about it, -too. Tex was eddicated, he was. He said it is in th' little things -that genius showed. He said somethin' about genius payin' attention to -details, an' havin' infernal patience. Now, Ladies an' Gents, a hat is -a detail; an' right now I've got th' infernal patience. Lookee! There -she comes again! Level as a table. So, you see; I'm a genius. An' ain't -he a persistent cuss? He's got infernal patience, too; but he ain't no -genius. He ain't strong on details." - -He looked around and grinned. Another hat, to the west of him, was in -plain sight. - -"Huh! Two hats in sight are two corners of a triangle; an' sometimes -th' most dangerous corner is th' third, where there ain't no hat. -Somewhere east of me there's a feller sneakin' up; an' he's th' feller -I got to ventilate with my long-distance ventilator. An' mebby th' -second hat's boss is circlin' around bare-headed; but it is still a -triangle. Mebby it's a four or five or six cornered triangle. An' me, -I'm all alone; so I'll crawl east an' hunt for company." - -He dropped the monologue and took up the science of wriggling swiftly -and silently; and when he stopped he was in the middle of a nest of -rocks and bowlders at the base of a great pile of them. - -The second hat still could be seen, but he gave most of his attention -to the opposite direction. - -"If I'm wrong, why did Number Two stick up his hat? I'll bet a peso -that him, or Red Shirt, or their friends are stalkin' me from th' east. -An' I'll bet two pesos that I'll cure him of such pranks. There's only -two ways of explainin' that second hat. One is that th' owner is loco. -Th' other is that he left his sign hangin' up to show me where he -ain't. Th' other is that he left it so I'd think he wasn't there, but -he is. An' th' other is that he figgered I'd think he left it to show -me where he ain't an' that I'd think he was, so he moved on an' ain't -there at all. Jumpin' mavericks! It makes my head ache. Havin' settled -it with only four ways left to guess, I'll stay pat, right here, an' -let them do th' openin'." - -The shadows were growing longer and reaching out from bowlders and -brush like dark fingers of destiny, and the sun hung over the western -buttes and set them afire with brilliant colors. A lizard flashed -around a rock, regarded the prone and motionless figure with frank -suspicion until a slight movement sent it scurrying back again. - -To the left a bush trembled slightly and he covered a rain-worn crease -which cut through the top of a ditch bank. To the right a pebble -clicked and behind him came the faint snapping of a twig. - -"_Three_ of 'em stalkin' me!" he muttered angrily. "I got to shoot on -sight an' not waste a shot. An' they knowed where I was, judgin' from -th' way they're closin' in on that crevice." - -In front of him a red line showed and, rising steadily into view, -became the back of a bare head. Then, very slowly, a brown neck pushed -up, followed by the shoulders. Johnny picked up a small rock and arose -to a squatting position. - -Sanford was now on his toes, crouching, the tips of his left hand -fingers on the ground, while in his other hand, held shoulder high, -poised a Colt, ready for that quick, chopping motion which many men -affected. - -Johnny took careful aim and threw the stone. Sanford jumped when the -missile struck near him, and wheeled like a flash, the Colt swinging -down. He saw a squatting figure, a dull glint of metal and a spurt -of flame. Johnny wriggled swiftly back among the rocks and awaited -developments. - -"They don't know who fired," he mused, "an' they dassn't ask." - -If it had been a miss the silence would have been unbroken, as before, -until a second shot shattered it; and if it had killed the rustler the -silence also would remain unbroken; but if Sanford had scored a kill he -instantly would have made it known. Being uncertain they were sure to -investigate. - -"Cuss it, there's at least two left; an' there may be four or five," -grumbled Johnny. "I stay right here till dark." - -Suddenly he heard a soft, rubbing sound, and he guessed that someone -wearing leather chaps was crawling along the rocky ground behind -the pile of bowlders which sheltered him. The sound grew softer and -died out, and a panic-stricken lizard flitted around a rock, stopped -instantly as it caught sight of him, wheeled and darted between two -stones. Johnny smiled grimly and waited, the gun poised in his hand. -Again the rubbing sounded, this time a little nearer, and he softly -pushed himself further back among the bowlders. Something struck his -left hand holster and he glanced quickly backward, and paled suddenly -as he saw the copperhead wrestling to get its fangs loose. He drew in -his breath sharply and his hand darted back and down, gripping behind -the vicious, triangular, burnished head; and instantly a three-foot, -golden-brown, blotched band writhed around his wrist and arm, seeming -to flow beneath its skin. Jerking his hand forward again he broke the -reptile's neck, tore it from his arm, shoved it back among the rocks, -picked up the Colt again, and waited. - -There sounded, clear and sharp, a sudden whirring rattle and the -rubbing sound grew instantly louder. Again the fear-inspiring warning -sounded and he heard pebbles rolling, where a creeping rustler made -frantic efforts to get back where he suddenly felt that he belonged. A -rattlesnake ready for war is not a pleasant thing to crawl onto. - -"This is a devil of a place!" muttered Johnny, cold chills running -along his spine. "It's a reg'lar den! As soon as that cow-thief gets -far enough away, that rattler will slip in among these rocks--an' my -laigs ain't goin' to be back there when he arrives!" - -He wriggled softly out of the narrow opening and found more comfort on -a wider patch of ground, where he could sit on his feet. As he settled -back he saw the rattler slipping among the stones at his left. - -"It all belongs to you an' yore friends," muttered Johnny, getting off -his feet. "I'll risk th' bullets, cussed if I won't!" And he forthwith -crawled toward the side where he had heard the rubbing sounds. - -The shadows were gone, merged into the dusk which was rapidly settling -over the plateau, and he had to wait only a little longer to be covered -by darkness; but he preferred to do his waiting at a point distant -from a snakes' den. Creeping along the edge of the bowlder pile, alert -both for snakes and rustlers, he at last reached the southern end and -stopped suddenly. A leather-covered leg was disappearing around a dense -thicket, and he darted to the shelter of a gully to wait until darkness -would hide him on his return to camp. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -TREED - - -Johnny awakened at the shot and softly rolled out of his blanket. The -fire was nearly out, but an occasional burst of flame from the end of -the last stick served to show him the outlines of the little tent and -the glistening hobnails in the soles of the protruding boots. A bush -stirred and a careless step snapped a twig with a report startlingly -loud in the night. A voice some distance behind him called out to a -figure which appeared like a ghost upon the edge of the little clearing. - -"Get him, Purdy?" - -Boots scraped on stone at his right and another voice raised out of the -dark. "If he didn't, there'd be some cussed rapid shootin' about now!" - -"Course I got him!" snorted Purdy. - -Johnny cautiously backed out of the thicket while the men behind him -crashed through the brush and swore at the density of the growth. - -The man at the end of the clearing stopped and stood quietly regarding -the vague boots, his rifle at the ready. Somehow he did not feel that -everything was as it should be. The boots appeared to be in the same -position as when he had espied them a moment before. He must have -made a lucky brain or heart shot, or--. He raised his hand swiftly and -backed into the oak brush again, where Mexican locust in the high grass -stabbed him mercilessly. Again his rifle spoke. The boots did not move. - -"You got him th' first time," laughed Fleming, walking rapidly toward -the tent; but he was not confident enough in his claim to put up his -Colt. - -"Shore," endorsed Holbrook. "It was good judgment, an' good luck." - -Fleming, Colt ready, leaned swiftly over, grasped a boot and gave a -strong pull--and went down on his back, the Colt exploding and flying -one way while the boot, showering pebbles and small bits of rock, -soared aloft and went the other way. - -"D--n him!" swore Purdy, diving back into the brush and giving no -thought to the thorns. "Cover, fellers! Quick!" he cried. - -His warning was hardly needed, for Holbrook had dived headfirst into -a matted thicket and landed on some locust with but little more that -passing knowledge of its presence. Fleming bounded to his feet, scooped -up his Colt on the run and jumped into another thicket, unmindful at -first of the peculiar odor which assailed his nostrils. He had no time, -then, to think about skunks, or whether or not they were hydrophobic. - -The silence was deep and unbroken, except for an occasional faint swish -or scrape, for three men had settled down where they had landed, there -to remain until daylight, not far off, came to help them. - -Out of the clearing a small, striped animal moved leisurely and -defiantly, tainting the air, and entered the tent. It instantly became -the cynosure of three pairs of anxious eyes, for while August was a -long way off, three worried punchers found small satisfaction in that. -They would sooner face an angry silver-tip, or a cougar with young, -than to intrude upon the vision of that insignificant but odorous -"'phoby cat." Each of them knew of instances, related by others, -where men bitten by a skunk had gone raving mad; but none of them, -personally, ever had seen any such case; and none of them had any -intention of letting the other two see any such a shocking spectacle in -the immediate future. - -The little animal emerged from the tent and appeared to be undecided as -to which way to go; and no roulette ball ever possessed the fascination -nor furnished the thrills that took hold of the three staring watchers. -It took a few steps one way and a few steps the other, and then started -straight for the thicket where Art Fleming shuddered and swore under -his breath. Two sighs arose on the air concurrent with the cursing. - -"Just my cussed luck!" gritted Fleming. "Get out of here, cuss you!" -he whispered fiercely, and raised his Colt. No sane man, with his -firm beliefs regarding skunks, would hesitate when forced to choose -between probable death from a bullet or certain and horrible death from -hydrophobia. The skunk reached the edge of the thicket, five feet from -the perspiring puncher, and was blown into a mass of reeking flesh. - -Fleming groaned miserably. "They shore dies game!" he swore, -half-nauseated. "They're cussed strong finishers! Why couldn't he 'a' -headed for one of th' others? I got to move, right now." - -He did so, slowly, cautiously, painfully; but the scent moved with -him. He stopped, mopped his face, and then held his hand away from -him. His sleeve, vest, and sombrero proclaimed their presence with an -enthusiastic strength and persistence. - -"Cussed if he didn't _hit_ me! An' I might just as well go back to th' -ranch, so far's huntin' Nelson is concerned. He could smell me a day -before he caught sight of me!" A sickly grin slipped over his face, for -he was blessed with a keen sense of humor. "Won't Gates an' Quigley be -indignant when I odors in upon 'em!" - -Purdy rolled his head in silent mirth, one hand over his nose; and -Holbrook alternately chuckled and swore, wishing that the soft wind -would shift and spare him. - -"Laugh!" blazed Fleming, angry, ashamed, and disgusted, removing his -vest and throwing it into the clearing. His sombrero followed it and -then there was a ripping sound and a red flannel shirt sleeve joined -the other cast-offs. The little, persistent flame on the stick blazed -higher and revealed the collection of personal effects. - -"If he peels off th' rest of his shirt an' shucks his pants, he'll -smell near as bad," chuckled Purdy gleefully. - -"Dan'l Boone Number Two!" said Holbrook, tears in his eyes. "But I -shore wish he had enticed it off aways before he shot it!" - -Dawn stole from the east and the magnificent sunrise passed unnoticed. -Fleming, sullen, angry, odorous, trudged doggedly to his horse, which -regarded him with evil eyes, mounted and rode away at a gallop in his -desire to create a breeze; and in this the horse needed no urging. Back -in the canyon Purdy and Holbrook scouted diligently, but with caution, -covering ground slowly and thoroughly as they advanced. - -Under a tangled thicket near the camp there was a sudden movement, and -Johnny, hands and face covered with blood from the scratches of thorns, -slowly emerged and followed the scouting rustlers at a distance. -Satisfied that they would not return he circled swiftly to the south of -the camp and caught a glimpse of Fleming as that unfortunate plodded -dejectedly over a distant ridge on his way to his horse. - -Johnny watched for a moment, and then, turning hastily, slipped back -to the camp, where he collected what he could carry, packed it into -blankets, put on the well-worn, heavy boots, fastened the pack on his -back and dashed into the cover again, desperately anxious to gain his -objective. - -He knew what would happen. As soon as Fleming reached the ranch-houses -he would reclothe himself and return with those of his friends who were -able to accompany him; and it would not be long before the Twin Buttes -section would be thoroughly combed. He could not hide his trail, so it -were wise to lead them to a place they could not search. - -Slipping on the treacherous malpais and loose stones, fighting through -the torturing locust and cactus hidden in the grass, he pushed through -matted thickets of oak brush and manzanito by main strength, savagely -determined to gain his goal well in advance of the creeping, cautious -cattle-thieves who crept, foot by foot, down the canyon on the other -side of the butte. - -A black bear lumbered out of his way and sat down to watch him pass, -the little eyes curious and unblinking. Several white-tailed deer shot -up a slope ahead of him in unbelievable leaps and at a remarkable -speed. He leaped over a fallen pine trunk and his heavy bootheel -crushed a snake which rattled and struck at the same instant; but the -heavy boots and the trousers tucked within them made the vicious fangs -harmless. Flies swarmed about him and yellow-jackets stung him as he -squashed over a muddy patch of clay. A grinning coyote slunk aside -to give him undisputed right-of-way, while high up on the slope a -silver-tip grizzly stopped his foraging long enough to watch him pass. - -For noise he cared nothing; the up-flung butte reared its rocky walls -between him and his enemies; and he plunged on, all his energies -centered on speed, regardless of the stings and the sweat which -streamed down him, tinged with blood from the mass of smarting -scratches. Malpais, cunningly hidden in the grass, pressed painfully -against the worn, thin soles of his boots and hurt him cruelly as he -slipped and floundered. He staggered and slipped more frequently now, -and the pack on his back seemed to have trebled in weight; his breath -came in great, sobbing gulps and the blood pulsed through his aching -temples like hammer blows, while a hot, tight band seemed to encircle -his parched throat; but he now was in sight of his goal. - -Beginning at a rock slide, a mass of treacherous broken rock and shale -in which he sank to his ankles at every plunging step, a faint zigzag -line wandered up the southern face of the butte. He did not know that -it could be mastered, but he did not have time to gain the easier -trail, up which he had led his horse. Struggling up the shale slope, -slipping and floundering in the treacherous footing, he flung himself -on the rock ledge which slanted sharply upward. - -Resting until his head cleared, he began a climb which ever after -existed in his memory as a vague but horrible nightmare. Rattlesnakes -basked in the sun, coiling swiftly and sounding their whirring alarm -as he neared them; but blindly thrown rocks mashed them and sent them -writhing over the edge to whirl to destruction in the valley below. -Treacherous, rotten ledges crumbled as he put his weight on them, -and he saved himself time and time again only by an intuitive leap -nearly as dangerous as the peril he avoided. At many places the ledge -disappeared, and it was only by desperate use of fingers and toes that -he managed to pass the gaps, spread-eagled against the cliff while -he moved an inch at a time, high above the yawning depths, to the -beginning of a new ledge. - -Scrawny, hardy shrubs, living precariously in cracks and on ledges, and -twisted roots found his grip upon them. At one place a flue-like crack -in the wall, a "chimney," was the only way to proceed, and he climbed -it, back and head against one side, knees and hands against the other, -the strain making him faint and dizzy. Below him lay the tree-tops, -dwarfed, a blur to his throbbing eyes. - -A ledge of rock upon which he momentarily rested his weight detached -itself and plunged downward a sheer three hundred feet, crashing -through the underbrush and scrub timber before it burst apart. On hands -and knees he crossed a muddy spot, where a thin trickle of water, no -wider than his thumb, spread out and made the ledge slippery before -it was sucked in by the sun-baked rocks. A swarm of yellow-jackets, -balancing daintily on the wet rock, attacked him viciously when he -disturbed them. He struck at them blindly, instinctively shielding his -eyes, and arose to his feet as he groped onward. - -The pack on his back, aside from its weight, was a thing of danger, -for several times it thrust against the wall and lost him his balance, -threatening him with instant destruction; but each time he managed to -save himself by a frantic twist and plunge to his hands and knees, -clawing at the precarious footing with fingers and toes. - -At one place he lay prostrate for several minutes before his will, -shaking off the lethargy which numbed him, sent him on again. And the -spur which awakened his dulled senses proved that his frantic haste was -justified; for a sharp, venomous whine overhead was followed by the -flat impact of lead on rock, and a handful of shale and small bits of -stone showered down upon him. The faint, whip-like report in the valley -did not penetrate his roaring ears, for now all he could think of was -the edge of the butte fifty feet above him. - -Never had such a distance seemed so great, so impossible to master. -It seemed as though ages passed before he clawed at the rim and flung -himself over it in one great, despairing effort and fell, face down and -sprawling, upon the carpet of grass and flowers. Down in the valley -the persistent reports ceased, but he did not know it; and an hour -passed before he sat up and looked around, dazed and faint. Arising, -he staggered to the pool where Pepper waited for him at the end of her -taut picket rope. - -The water was bitter from concentration, but it tasted sweeter to him -than anything he ever had drunk. He dashed it over his face, unmindful -of the increased smarting of the stings and scratches. Resting a few -minutes, he went to the top of the easier trail, up which he had led -the horse, and saw a man creeping along it near the bottom; but the -rustler fled for shelter when Johnny's Sharp's suggested that the trail -led to sudden death. - -Having served the notice he lay quietly resting and watching. The heat -of the canyon was gone and he reveled in the crisp coolness of the -breeze which fanned him. As he rested he considered the situation, -and found it good. He was certain that no man would be fool enough -to attempt the way he had come while an enemy occupied the top of -the butte; the trail up the north side could easily be defended; the -other Twin, easy rifle range away, was lower than the one he occupied -and would not be much of a menace if he were careful; he had water in -plenty, food and ammunition for two weeks, and there was plenty of -water and grass for the horse. - -Safe as the butte was, he cheerfully damned the necessity which had -driven him out of the canyon: the question of sleep. Dodging and -outwitting four men during his waking hours would not have been an -impossible task; but it only would have been a matter of time before -they would have caught him asleep and helpless. - -Returning to the pool, he saw how closely Pepper had cropped the grass -within the radius of the picket rope, changed the stake and then built -a fire, worrying about the scarcity of fuel. Since he could not afford -to waste the wood he cooked a three-days supply of food. - -Eating a hearty meal, he made mud-plasters and applied them to -the swollen stings, binding them in place by strips torn from an -undershirt, and then he sought the shade of the ledge by the pool for -a short sleep, which he would have to snatch at odd times during the -day so as to be awake all night, which would be the time of greatest -danger. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -AT BAY - - -It was late in the afternoon when he awakened from a sleep which had -been sound despite the stings. Removing the plasters he made a tour of -the plateau, satisfying himself that there was really only one way up -and that the rustlers were not trying to get to him. Returning to the -camp, he filled a hollow in the rock floor with water, bathed, put on -his other change of clothes, and then made a supper of cold beans and -bacon. Filling another hollow, he pushed his soiled clothes in it to -soak over night. - -When he passed a break in the rampart-like wall near the top of the -trail, which at that point shot up several feet above the top of the -butte, a bullet screamed past his head, so close that he felt the wind -of it. Peering cautiously across the canyon he saw a thin cloud of -smoke lazily rising over the top of a huge, black lava bowlder on the -crest of the other butte. A head was just disappearing and he jerked -his rifle to his shoulder and fired. - -"Five hundred an' a little more," he muttered. "I got it now, you -wall-eyed thief!" - -Another puff of smoke burst out from the lower edge of the lava -bowlder, the bullet striking the rampart below him. His reply was -instantaneous, and was directed at a light spot which ducked instantly -out of sight, just a little too quickly to be hit by the bullet, which -tossed a fine spray of dust into the air and put a leaden streak where -the face had been. He fired again, this time at the other side of the -bowlder, where he thought he saw another moving white spot, and he -thought right. - -After a quick glance down the trail, Johnny took a position a hundred -yards to the left, trying to find a place where he could catch a -glimpse of the hostile marksman. But Fleming had a torn and bloody ear -and a great respect for the man on the southern Twin, and henceforth -became wedded to caution. Curiosity was all very well, but his was -thoroughly satisfied, and discretion meant a longer life of sinful -activities. - -"I had my look, three of 'em," growled Fleming. "An' three looks are -enough for any man," he added quizzically, binding up his bloody ear -with a soiled and faded neckerchief, which should have given him -blood-poisoning, but did not. - -"Now that we got him treed, there ain't no use goin' on th' rampage an' -gettin' all shot up tryin' to get him. All we got to do is wait, an' -get him when he has to come down. It'll be plumb easy when he makes his -break. A man like him is too cussed handy with his gun for anybody to -go an' get reckless with. If we keep one man near th' bottom of that -trail, he's our meat. I don't know how he ever got up that scratch on -th' wall; but I'll bet there ain't a man livin' that can go _down_ it." - -Johnny grew tired of watching for Fleming, and wriggling back to where -he could safely get on his feet he arose and made the rounds again. -When he reached the place where he had floundered over the edge to -safety he critically examined the faint trail from cover, and the more -he saw of it the more he regarded his ascent as a miracle. - -"Only a fool would 'a' tried it," he grinned. "It's somethin' a man can -do once in a hundred times; only he's got to make it th' very first -time, or th' other ninety-nine will shore be lost. I'll never forget -it, not never." - -Watching a while, he wondered if it were guarded, and grinned at the -foolishness of the idea; but he slowly pushed his sombrero out around a -rock to find out. An angry _spang!_ and a wailing in the sky told him -the answer. The flat report in the valley became a mutter along the -distant hills. - -"Good shootin'," he grunted. "Glad you was out of breath, or excited, -or somethin' this mornin'." - -Back at the top of the other trail he found two large rocks lying close -together near the edge, and he crawled behind them and peered out -through the narrow opening for a closer look at the canyon. - -It was a chaos, dotted with bowlders of granite, sandstone, and lava, -some of them as large as small houses, their tops on a level with the -tops of the nearest trees. It was cut by rock ridges, great backbones -of stone that defied Time; and dotted with heavily wooded draws which -extended up to the foot of the great pile of detritus embracing the -foot of the buttes. Down its lowest levels ran a zigzag streak of -bright, clean rock, the water-swept path of the torrents sent roaring -down by melting snows and an occasional cloud-burst. Several pools, -fed by a dark trickle of water from the springs back in the upper -reaches, could be seen. Of timber there was plenty, heavy growths -of pine extending from the edge of the creek bed to the edge of the -detritus, with here and there an opening made by the avalanches which -had cut into the greenery for short distances. At other places even the -stubborn pines could not find a grip, and a thinning out of the growth -let him see the rocky skeleton below; but these were so few that he -easily memorized their positions. Trouble would come a-winging to any -careless rustler who blundered out onto any of them. - -The opposite butte took his attention and he marveled at it. Under its -lava cap and the great layer of the limestones was a greater layer of -clay and shale and the softer sandstones. These had been harassed and -battered by the winds and rains and frosts of ages and the resulting -erosion had chiseled out wonderful bits of natural sculpturing. At one -place he could see, and with no very great strain upon his imagination, -part of a massive building with its great buttresses, where a harder, -more enduring streak of rock had offered greater resistance to the -everlasting assaults. - -Farther to the right was a wonderful collection of columns and -pinnacles, and some of the openings between them ran back until -shrouded in darkness; great caverns in which houses could be built. - -As the sun sank lower the shadow effect was beautiful, and even -Johnny's practical mind was impressed by it. The color effect he had -seen before--the streaks of black, gray, red, green, maroon, and white. -Bits of crystal and quartz were set afire by the sun's slanting rays -and some of them almost dazzled him. - -To the west the sky was a blaze of color and the lengthening shadows -made an ever-changing picture. Below him the dusk was beginning to -shroud the bottom of the canyon, creeping higher and higher as the -minutes passed. To see better, he wriggled closer to the edge, and a -venomous whine passed over his head to die out swiftly in the air. - -"Huh!" he grunted. "Fine target I must 'a' been for that thief down -there, with such a sky behind me. I've got to remember things up here, -or I'll lose my rememberer. I'm on a skyline that _is_ a skyline. An' I -ain't goin' to answer every fool that cuts loose at me, neither. I got -plenty of cartridges, but I won't have if I start gettin' foolish with -'em. An' before dark I'm goin' to rustle me a blanket; it's gettin' -cooler by jumps." - -He made another visit to the south side of the butte for a glance down -the trail of misery, and then dismissed it from his mind. In view of -his experiences with it in daylight, he knew that no human being could -climb it in the dark. - -"It's as safe, day _an'_ night, as if Red or Hoppy was layin' right -here--an' that's plenty good enough for me," he smiled. "William, -Junior's, bobcat kitten won't never grow big enough to climb that -place--an' it's th' only thing on earth that he can't climb, blast him!" - -Returning to his camp he had a drink and a smoke, and then, taking up -a blanket and a pan of cold beans, he went to the head of the trail, -there to keep a long and wearisome vigil. - -Darkness had descended when he reached his chosen spot, and wrapping -the blanket around him he sat down cross-legged, laid his rifle near -him, and leaned back against a rock to watch the trail and wait for -daylight. Faint, long-drawn, quavering, came the howl of a wolf, and -from a point below him in the blackness of the canyon a cougar screamed -defiance. He was surprised by the clearness with which occasional -sounds came up to him, for he distinctly heard the crack of dead wood -where some careless foot trod, and he heard a voice ask who had the -second shift on the south side of the butte. - -"Turn in," came the answer. "We ain't watchin' that side no more. You -relieve me at midnight, an' don't forget it!" - -For some time he had been hearing strange, dragging sounds which seemed -to come from the foot of the trail; and had been fooled into believing -that an attack was under way. Then several low crashes gave him the -distance, and he again leaned back against the rock, slipping the Colt -into its holster. - -A tiny point of light sprang up in the darkness, whisked behind a -bowlder as he reached for his rifle, and grew rapidly brighter. Then it -soared into the air and curved toward the foot of the trail, and almost -instantly became a great, leaping flame which soon lit up the trail, -the towering walls of the buttes, and the glistening bowlders in the -canyon. - -He stared at it and then laughed. "They ain't satisfied with watchin' -th' trail an' listenin' with both ears, but they has to light it up! -There ain't no danger whatever of me tryin' to get down now; an' I'd -like to see anybody try to get up it while that fire's burnin'! -They're shore kind to me." - -"You be careful an' keep it out of th' brush," warned a faint -voice. "If she catches, this canyon will be a little piece of h--l. -Everythln's so dry it rustles." - -"Ain't you turned in yet?" demanded the guard. "You never mind about -th' fire. You get to sleep; an' you get awake again at twelve." - -"Huh!" came the laughing retort. "We can _all_ go to sleep while -_that's_ blazin'. Go gnaw yore bone an' quit growlin'." - -Johnny laughed loudly, derisively. "I may set it on fire myself!" he -jeered. "An' if I don't, th' rainy season is purty near due--an' when -it comes you'll need a boat. Fine lot of man-hunters you are. All you -can shoot is boots an' skunks!" - -A flash split the darkness, and the canyon tossed the report from side -to side as though loath to let it die. When the reverberations softened -to a rolling mutter he jeered the marksman and called him impolite -names. The angry retort was quite as discourteous and pleased him -greatly. - -An hour passed, and then Johnny arose and crept softly down the trail, -hugging the rock wall closely. When he reached a small pile of broken -branches, caught in a fissure, he gathered an armful and carried them -up on the butte. Firewood was too scarce for him to neglect any -opportunities. A second trip enabled him to find a few scattered pieces -and they were added to his store. Then he went to his horse, removed -the picket rope, and going to the edge of the cliff at a spot over the -trail he tied one end of the rope around a rock and lowered the rest of -it over the rim. Another trip down the trail was necessary to make the -free end fast to a dead fir that lay along the wall, and having tied it -securely he slipped back to the plateau, hurried to the rope and pulled -on it in vain. Try as he might he could raise only one end of the log. - -"Cuss it!" he grunted; then he grinned and whistled a clear note. A few -minutes passed and soft hoof-beats came slowly nearer. Then a black -bulk loomed up beside him and nuzzled his neck. "I forgot th' saddle," -he said. "You wait here, Dearly Beloved," and he slipped away, the -horse following him. - -They returned together and Johnny made the line fast to the pommel of -the saddle, took hold of it himself to show his good will, and spoke to -the horse. - -"Oh, you don't know nothin' about haulin', huh?" he grunted, dropping -the rope and taking the reins. "Come on, now--easy does it. Easy! Easy! -Keep it there--th' cussed thing's got stuck on th' edge." In a moment -he returned. "All right! _Over_ she comes." - -The man at the foot of the trail hurled more wood on the fire and then -tried a few shots when the noise above caught his ear. Then as the -flames shot up he grunted a profane question and stared at the animated -tree trunk which climbed sheer cliffs in the dark. - -"Well, I'm cussed!" he grumbled. "Firewood! An' me lettin' him get down -there to tie that rope!" - -Johnny peered over the rim and noticed that the flashes came from one -place, and getting his rifle he kicked a few rocks over and fired -instantly at the answering flash. Two guns in the canyon awakened the -echoes and he stepped back to let the whining lead pass over his head. - -"There I go!" he snorted. "Wastin' cartridges already! But I -wish--gosh! _I_ got it!" - -Grinning with elation he felt his way along the butte until he was -directly over the fire, where he stopped and began to search for rocks -and stones, and he did not cease until he had quite a pile of them. -Approaching the rim he peered over cautiously and searched the canyon -within the radius of the firelight, but without avail. He noticed, -however, that there seemed to be a nest of rocks and bowlders on the -outer edge of the circle of illumination and he surmised that it was -there the guards were lying. He heaved a big stone and watched it -whiz through the lighted arc. It fell short and he tried again. The -second rock struck solidly and made quite a noise, and choice bits of -profane inquiry floated up to him. Several more rocks evoked a sudden -scrambling and more profanity, and a lurid bayonet of fire flashed -from a dark spot. - -"Now he's took to heavin' rocks!" growled a peeved, angry voice. "D--d -if he ain't th' meanest cuss I ever saw!" - -Johnny threw a few more missiles and a deep curse replied from the -pit. Close to the edge of the wall was a large rock, nicely balanced. -It was the size of a small trunk, and a grin crept across his face as -he walked over to it. Putting his shoulder, all his wiry strength, and -plenty of grunts into the task, he started it rocking more and more, -and, catching it at the right instant, he pushed it over and rolled it -to the edge, where it threatened to settle back and remain; but another -great effort rolled it slowly over the edge and it disappeared as if -by magic. Striking a sharp bulge in the great wall when about half way -down, it bounced out in an arc; and when it struck the bowlder pile it -was a real success, judging from the noise it made. The canyon roared -and seemed to shudder as the crash boomed out; and the huge missile, -shattering into hundreds of fragments, lavishly distributed itself -through the brush and among the bowlders like a volley of grape. - -Deep curses roared from the canyon and several flashes of flame darted -out. - -"Lay on yore stummicks, fightin' mosquitoes, an' heavin' wood on that -fire at long range, huh?" jeered Johnny, throwing another rock. "These -are better at night than cartridges, an' they won't run out. I'll give -you some real troubles. I only wish I had a bag of yellow-jackets to -drop!" - -Another jet of flame stabbed upward, but from a new place, farther -back; and a voice full of wrath and pain described the man on the -butte, and with a fertile imagination. - -"What's th' matter with _you_? An' what's all th' hellaballo?" -indignantly demanded another and more distant voice. "How can a man -sleep in such a blasted uproar?" - -"Shut up!" roared Purdy with heat. "Who cares whether you sleep or not? -He cut my head an' near busted my arm with his d--d rocks! Mebby you -think they ain't makin' good time when they get down here! Only hope he -stumbles an' follers 'em!" - -"He's a lucky fool," commented Fleming, serene in the security of his -new position. "Luckiest dog I ever saw." - -"Lucky!" snorted Purdy. "_Lucky!_ Anybody else would 'a' been picked -clean by th' ki-yotes before now. For a cussed fool playin' a lone hand -he's doin' real well. But we got th' buzzard where we want him!" - -"Lone hand nothin'," grunted Fleming. "Didn't he have that drunken Long -Pete helpin' him?" - -Purdy growled in his throat and gently rubbed his numbed arm. "There's -another. It just missed th' fire. Say! _That's_ what he's aimin' at!" - -"Mebby he is," snorted Fleming; "but if he is he's got a cussed bad -aim. Judgin' from where they landed, I bets he was aimin' 'em all at -me. I got four bits that says he wasn't aimin' at no fire when he thrun -them little ones. One of 'em come so close to my head that I could hear -th' white-winged angels a-singin'." - -"'White-winged angels a-singin'!'" snorted Purdy. "H--l of a chance -_you_'ll ever have of hearin' white angels sing. Yore spiritual ears'll -hear steam a-sizzlin', an' th' moans of th' damned; an' yore spiritual -red nose will smell sulphur till th' stars drop out." - -"I'm backin' Purdy," said the distant voice. "They don't let no skunk -perfume get past th' Golden Gates." - -"They won't let any of you in hell," jeered a clear voice from above. -"You'll swing between th' two worlds like pendulums in eternity. -Cow-thieves are barred." - -A profane duet was his answer, and he listened closely as Holbrook's -voice was heard. "Say!" he growled, killing mosquitoes with both -hands and sitting up behind his bowlder. "Can't you hold yore pow-wow -somewhere else? Want him to heave rocks all night? How can I sleep -with all that racket goin' on? Yo're near as bad as these singin' -blood-suckers; an' who was it that kicked me in th' ribs just now?" - -"If you wouldn't sprawl out in a natural path an' take up th' earth you -wouldn't get kicked in th' ribs!" snapped Fleming. - -"Yo're a fine pair of doodle-bugs," sneered Holbrook, sighing wearily -as he arose. He lowered his voice. "Here he is over this end of th' -trail an' givin' you a fine chance to sneak up an' bushwhack him; an' -all you do is dodge rocks, cuss yore fool luck, an' kick folks in th' -ribs. Don't you know an opportunity when you see one?" - -"Is _this_ an opportunity?" mumbled Purdy sarcastically, rubbing his -arm and fighting mosquitoes. - -"With that fire showing up everything for rods?" softly asked Fleming -with heavy irony. "Who's been puttin' loco weed in _yore_ grub?" - -"'Tain't loco weed," growled Purdy. "It's redeye. He drinks it like it -was water." - -"No such luck," retorted Holbrook; "not while yo're around. It ain't -no opportunity if yo're aimin' to have a pe-rade past th' fire," he -continued in a harsh whisper; "but it shore was a good one if you had -cut down through th' canyon a couple of rods below th' end of th' -trail, an' then climbed up to it an' stuck close to th' wall. You could -'a' been up there now, a-layin' for him when he went back on guard. -It's cussed near as simple as you are." - -"You must 'a' read that in that joke book what come with th' last -bottle of liniment," derided Purdy. "Fine, healthy target a man would -make if he didn't get over th' top in time! Lovely job! You must think -he's a fool." - -"Don't be too sarcastic with him, Purdy," chuckled Fleming. "He does -real well for a man that thinks with his feet." - -"You fellers make me tired!" muttered Holbrook in sudden decision as -another rock flew into pieces on a bowlder and rattled through the -brush. "I'd just as soon get shot on a good gamble as die from these -whinin' leeches. I'm all bumps, an' every bump itches like blazes. -I never thought there was so many of 'em on earth. You watch me go -up there--an' cover me if you can. Jeer at him an' keep him up there -heavin' rocks as long as you can." - -"Watch you?" grunted Purdy. "That's just what I'm aimin' to do. I'm -aimin' to watch _you_ do it. We don't have to take chances like that. -His grub will run out an' make him come down. Time is no object to us. -We can afford to wait." - -"You can't do it, Frank," said Fleming, dogmatically, ducking low as -another rock smashed itself to pieces against a bowlder. - -"Huh!" snorted Holbrook, picking up his rifle and departing. - -His friends chose their positions judiciously and shouted insults at -the man on the butte; and after a few minutes they saw Holbrook, bent -double, dart swiftly across a little open space, disappear into the -brush and emerge into sight again, vague and shadowy, near the base of -the wall a dozen yards below the end of the trail. He crept slowly over -a patch of detritus which sloped up to the wall, and began his climb, -which was not as easy a task as he had believed. - -The wall, eroded where rotting stone had crumbled away in layers, -was a series of curving bulges, each capped by and ending in an -out-thrust ledge. He forsook his rifle on the second ledge and went -slowly, doggedly upward, but despite all his care to make no noise, he -dislodged pebbles and chunks of rotten stone and shale which lay thick -upon the rocky shelves. When half way up he paused to search out hand -and foot holds and became suddenly enraged at the amount of time he -was consuming; and he realized, uneasily, that he had heard no more -crashing rocks. The knowledge sent caution to the winds and drove him -at top speed, and it also robbed him of some of the jaunty assurance -which had urged him to his task. Fear of the ridicule and the jeers -of his sarcastic friends now became a more compelling motive than the -hope of success; and he writhed and stretched, twisted, clawed, and -scrambled upward with an angry, savage determination which he would -have characterized as "bull-headed" in anyone else. Then another -smashing rock revived his hopes and made him strain with renewed -strength. - -At last his fingers gripped the crumbling sandstone of the trail's edge -and by a fine display of strength and agility he swung himself over -it and rolled swiftly across the slanting ledge to the base of the -wall, where he arose to his feet and leaped up the precarious path. -The ascent was twelve hundred feet long and it swept upward at a grade -which defied anyone to dash along it for any distance. Walking rapidly -would have taxed to the utmost a man in the pink of condition; and his -pedal exercise for years had been mostly confined to walking to his -horse. - -The footing was far from satisfactory and demanded close scrutiny in -daylight, while in the dark it was a desperate gamble except when -attempted at a snail's pace. Ridges, crevices, stones, pebbles, drifts -of shale and rotten stone, treacherous in their obedience to the law -of gravity when the pressure of a foot started them sliding toward the -edge of the abyss; places where the soft sandstone had split in great -masses and dropped into the canyon, taking parts of the trail with them -and leaving only broken, narrow ledges of the same rotten stone, all -these conspired to make him use up precious minutes. - -Below him to his right lay a sheer drop of two hundred feet; above him -towered the massive wall; behind him and unable to help him, were -his friends, and the fire, which was not bright enough to let him see -the footing, but too bright for his safety in another way; before him -stretched the heart-breaking trail, steep, seemingly interminable, -leading to the top of the butte, where the silence was ominous, for -somewhere up there was an expert shot defending his life. He had heard -no more crashing rocks, and the insults of his friends had not been -answered; and to hear such an answer or the crash of a rock he would -have given his season's profits. - -He paused for breath more frequently with each passing minute and his -feet were like weights of lead, the muscles in his legs aching and -nearly unresponsive. He was paying for the speed he had made in the -beginning. - -The great wall curved slightly outward now and he hugged it closely -as he groped onward, and soon emerged from its shadow to become -silhouetted against the fire below. And then a spurt of flame split the -darkness above him and a shriek passed over his head and died out below -as the roar of the heavy rifle awoke crashing echoes in the canyon. - -Below him lurid jets of fire split the darkness and singing lead -winged through the air with venomous whines, which arose to a high -pitch as they passed him and died out in the sky. He knew that his -friends were firing well away from the wall, but he cursed them for -the mistakes they might make. Another flash blazed above him, and the -sound of the lead and the roar of the gun told him that his enemy was -now using a Colt. Ordinarily this would have given him a certain amount -of satisfaction, for everyone knows that while a rifle is effective at -such a range, a hit with a revolver is largely a matter of luck; but as -he leaped back into a handy recess a second bullet from the Colt struck -the generous slack of his trousers and burned a welt on that portion of -his anatomy where sitting in a saddle would irritate the most. It was a -lucky shot, but Holbrook was too much of a pessimist at that moment to -derive any satisfaction from the knowledge. - -"I'm in a h--l of a pickle!" he growled as the shadows of the recess -folded about him. "I can't go up, an' I can't go down--I can't even -_sit_ down. I got to wait till that fire dies out--an' suppose they -don't let it die? Five minutes more an' I would have won out." - -"Hey, Frank! Are you all right?" asked a voice. - -"That's Fleming, th' fool," growled Holbrook. "I suppose he wants me to -step out on th' edge of the platform an' speak a piece for him." - -A laugh rang out at the head of the trail. "Answer th' gentleman," said -Johnny in a low voice, fully appreciating Holbrook's feelings. "Don't -it beat all how some folks allus pick th' wrong time in their yearnin' -for conversation? I've been there; more'n once. You promise to go down -an' give him a lickin' an' I won't pull a trigger on you while yo're on -th' trail!" - -"Hey, Frank! _Oh_, Frank!" persisted Fleming. - -"Tell him to shut up," chuckled Johnny. "Here, I'll do it for you: -Hello!" he shouted. "Hello, you loquacious fool! Frank says for you to -shut up!" - -Fleming's retort was unkind. - -"Frank says he ain't smelled no skunk since he left th' canyon!" jeered -Johnny. "Don't you get up-wind of me!" - -Fleming's retort was even more unkind. - -"Hey!" yelled Purdy, cheerfully "You ought to 'a' heard what Quigley -said when Art odored into th' house! Dan'l Boone was scared it would -get in his wounds an' poison him to death." - -"Yo're a sociable ki-yote!" jeered Fleming. - -Johnny laughed. "I'm that sociable I carries callin' cards, like you -read about in th' mail-order catalogues. They're snub-nosed an' covered -with grease, which I mostly rubs off because of th' sand stickin' to -it. I'm 'most as sociable as th' dogs that drove me out of my valley, -burned my cabin, stole my cows, an' put me out of th' game. I'm 'most -as sociable as th' three skunks that laid for me that night. I told -Quigley in Pop Hayes' saloon what I'd do if I was pestered; an' I've -been doin' it. An' I ain't through yet, neither. Here's one of my cards -now," he jeered, sending a .45 down the trail to let Holbrook know that -he was not forgotten. - -"You stopped my play, an' stole my cows," he said. "So I'm goin' to -take all them that you got in yore sink. When I gets through _I'll_ be -th' owner of th' QE ranch, all by myself; an' there won't be none of -you left to bother me. Hoggin' a free country is a game two can play -at, an' you shore got a good pupil when you taught me th' game. I'm -aimin' to set up a record for th' cow-country. I never heard tell of a -man shootin' off a whole outfit an' takin' their ranch; but that's just -what _I'm_ goin' to do unless you fellers get out of th' country while -you can." - -Jeering laughter and ridicule answered him; and then Purdy had an -inspiration and voiced it with unnecessary vigor and quite a little -pride. - -"Hey, Frank!" he yelled. "If yo're all right, heave a rock over th' -edge!" - -There was a moment's silence and then a faint crash sounded in the -canyon. - -"There," called Johnny pleasantly. "Does that satisfy you, or shall I -heave another?" - -Fluent swearing came from below, in which Holbrook fervently joined, -_sotto voce_, and he heaved another rock. - -Johnny laughed loudly. "There's another in case you didn't hear th' -first. I'm tellin' you about it because I don't want to deceive you. -Mebby one of you fellers would like to sneak up here an' drag yore -friend down?" - -Holbrook reviewed the situation and could not see that he gained -anything by keeping silent. - -"_I_ heaved them rocks!" he shouted savagely. "I'm all right. Now you -put out that fire an' gimme a chance. I don't want to stay up here -forever!" - -"All right, Frank," called a new voice, which Johnny recognized as -belonging to Quigley. - -"Shore," jeered Johnny. "Run out an' kick it apart an' smother it with -sand," he invited, reaching for his rifle. "But you want to do a good -job. An' if he's still there at daylight you won't have to bother about -him no more. I mean business now. I gave three of you thieves yore -lives th' night you burned my cabin; but I'm shootin' on sight now." - -"You got too cussed much to say!" snapped Holbrook angrily. - -"An' I'll have more to say if yo're there at sunup," retorted Johnny. -"An' lemme tell you, fire or no fire, you ain't down in th' canyon yet!" - -Holbrook laughed. "You'll be as savin' of yore cartridges as you are of -yore grub. How long do you reckon you can hold out?" he sneered. - -"It only takes four bullets to clear a way for me," retorted Johnny. - -New sounds came from the canyon. Rock after rock curved into the arc -of illumination and landed in the fire, knocking it apart and sending -blazing sticks flying toward the wall of the butte. Quigley warned his -men to be careful and not set the brush on fire. There was a sudden -puff of steam and the light dimmed quickly. Several other hatfuls of -water turned the blazing embers into a black, smoking mass, where only -an occasional red speck showed in the darkness. - -The trail was blotted out and Johnny sent a .45 whining along it. A -flash from below replied to him and he listened for a sound which -would tell him that Holbrook had started on the return trip. But that -individual, boots in hand, made no noise as he slipped along the -wall. Coming to another recess, he sought its shelter, tied the boots -together with his neckerchief, slung them over his shoulder and started -down again. - -Quigley ordered his companions not to shoot. "You might get Frank; an' -he's in danger enough as it is. Yore flash will give that coyote a fair -idea of where th' trail is." - -"Did you hear what that ki-yote said about takin' our ranch?" asked -Purdy. - -Quigley laughed. "Yes; an' I admire his gall. He's got three of us, if -he got Ackerman; but we wasn't awake to his game then." Another flash -came from the top of the butte, and he growled when he heard the spat -of the bullet. "He ain't lost th' trail yet, but he's puttin' 'em high." - -"He'd be a handy man to have around," said Fleming. "I wonder if he'd -'a' throwed in with us, 'stead of rustlin' by hisself?" - -"I'd 'a' found that out if Ackerman hadn't 'a' been so dead set ag'in -him," grunted Quigley, not refusing to take credit for an idea that was -not his own. "I wonder," he mused. - -"Offer him a share," suggested Purdy. "If we change our minds later, -that's _our_ business. We're losin' a lot of time with him; too much." - -There was a sudden rattle of shale and pebbles, low-voiced profanity -and a crash of breaking branches. "Cuss them rotten ledges!" said a -voice not far distant. "An' d--n these cactus an' locusts! I owe him -more than he can ever square up, blast his hide!" - -"Thank th' Lord," muttered Quigley in sudden relief. - -"But mebby he _is_ workin' for Logan," objected Fleming. "Hey, Frank! -Over here." - -"If he is it's about time for th' CL to hunt him up," Purdy growled -anxiously. "We'd shore be in a fix if they caught us down here!" - -"CL or no CL, we stays!" snapped Holbrook, rounding a bowlder and -swearing at every step. "We got him now; an' we ain't goin' to let him -go!" - -"Shore!" endorsed Quigley. "They drove me off th' range; but I'll stay -in these hills if I dies for it. Once we get this feller out of th' way -an' get back to th' ranch we can put up an awful fight from th' houses, -if we're forced to. They're stocked good enough to last us six fellers -over four months. It's a show-down for me, come what might; but any man -can take his share of th' money an' get away, if he wants." - -Growls answered him, and he laughed. "That's th' way! Well, Frank; now -what do you think of th' grand opportunity?" - -"It was there; I started too late!" snapped Holbrook angrily. "If Art -an' Purdy had any sense, one of 'em would 'a' jumped for that trail -when th' first rock came down, instead of duckin' around these bowlders -like a pair of sage hens. I didn't wake up till th' show was 'most -over; an' I got within a hundred yards at that. Five minutes more an' -I'd 'a' been layin' behind a rock waitin' for him to come back. It -would 'a' been all over by now." - -"Well, don't try it again," said Quigley. "He's got all th' best of it -up there. We'll give him a week for his grub to peter out before we -force things. An' there ain't no use of all of us stayin' out here. -This is th' only way he can come down. Two of us out here is plenty, -takin' turns watchin' th' trail. An' if you keep a fire burnin' you -both could almost sleep nights. He'd never tackle it. Purdy, you an' -Art clear out for th' ranch at daylight. Me an' Holbrook will stay here -tomorrow an' tomorrow night, when you fellers can relieve us. I'd feel -better, anyhow, if there was somebody besides Ben an' th' cook in them -houses. You can't tell what might happen. It'll be light in an hour, so -I'll go over an' start some breakfast." - -"Say, Tom," said Fleming. "Make yore camp up on th' other Twin, an' get -out of this cussed hole with its heat an' its pests. Th' man off guard -could get a real sleep up there. But, of course, you'll have to do th' -cookin' down here, where there's water handy." - -"See about that later," answered Quigley. "Anyhow, we can sleep up -there without shiftin' th' camp," and he disappeared in the darkness. - -Fleming rolled a cigarette by sense of touch and thoughtlessly struck -a match. _Spang!_ said a bowlder at his side. _Ping-ing-ing-g-g!_ sang -the ricochet down the canyon. - -"Put it out!" yelled Holbrook, diving for cover. - -"You d--d fool!" sputtered Purdy from behind a pile of rocks. - -"Beats all how careless a feller will get," laughed Fleming as he slid -behind a rock. "I plumb forgot!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -AN UNWELCOME VISITOR - - -Dawn broke, and as the light increased Holbrook saw a column of smoke -arising from the southern Twin like a faint streamer of gauze. A -slender pole raised and stood erect, and his suspicious mind sought a -reason for it. - -"Wonder if he's tryin' to signal somebody? Long Pete! I reckon he don't -know Pete's dead. He'll not see _him_ this side of h--l," he muttered, -settling in a more comfortable position to go to sleep. - -The pole swayed as a rope shot over it and grew taut, and then a faded -shirt, heavy with water, came into view and sagged the rope. - -Holbrook grinned and picked up his rifle. "Gettin' th' wash out early. -An' he must have plenty of water, to waste it like that." - -He raised the sight a little and tried again. "Can't tell where they're -goin'," he grumbled, and tried the third time. The edge of the shirt -flopped inward as the garment momentarily assumed the general shape of -a funnel. - -"He ain't th' only ki-yote that can shoot," chuckled the marksman. -"Fleming couldn't 'a' done any better'n that. Bet he's mad. Serves him -right for havin' two. He ain't no better than me, an' I only got one, -since Ackerman took my other one. Cuss it!" he swore, blinking rapidly -and spitting as a sharp _spat!_ sent sand into his face. - -He shifted, wiped his lips, and peered out at a spot on the other butte -where a cloud of smoke spread out along the ground. Then he poked his -sombrero over the breastwork and wriggled it on a stick, but waited in -vain for the expected shot. - -"He ain't bitin' today; an' he's savin' his cartridges. Well, _I_ got -plenty; so here goes for that shirt again." - -Again the inoffensive garment flopped; and then a singing bullet passed -squarely through Holbrook's expensive sombrero. - -"You stay down from up there!" grunted Holbrook at the hat. "Plumb -center! I got a lot of respect for that hombre. He got th' best of -th' swap, too. I spoiled a worn-out shirt, an' he ventilated a twenty -dollar Stetson. He owes me a couple more shots!" - -The next shot missed, but the second turned the shirt into another -funnel. - -"Hey!" shouted an angry voice. "What you think yo're doin'?" - -Holbrook's grin turned into a burst of laughter as the pole swiftly -descended, and he again poked up his hat, hoping for a miss and another -wasted cartridge; but, failing to draw a shot, he gave it up and -crawled back to a safer and more comfortable place where he lay down to -get some sleep. - -Johnny, full of wrath, worked along the edge of the butte in a vain -endeavor to catch sight of his enemy, and he took plenty of time in his -efforts to be cautious. Any man who could hit a shirt plumb center and -nearly every time, at that distance, shooting across a deceptive canyon -and against the sky, was no one to get careless with. After waiting a -while without hearing any more from his humorous enemy, he looked down -each trail and then went to the other end of the butte. - -Not far from him a slender column of smoke arose from a box-like -depression which lay beyond a high ridge and was well protected from -his rifle. Peering cautiously over the rim of the butte, his head -hidden in a tuft of grass, he critically examined the canyon, bowlder -by bowlder, ridge by ridge. A puff of smoke spurted from a pile of -rocks and a malignant whine passed over his head. Wriggling back, he -hurried to another point fifty yards to his right, where he again crept -to the edge and looked down. Another puff of smoke and a bloody furrow -across his cheek told him that the marksman had good eyes and knew how -to shoot. Johnny drove a Sharp's Special into the middle of the smoke -and heard an angry curse follow it. - -"Hey, Nelson!" called a peeved voice from the rocks. "Nelson!" - -"What you belly-achin' about?" demanded Johnny insolently. - -"How'd you like to join us instead of fightin' us?" - -"Yo're loco!" retorted Johnny. "Can't you think of anything better'n -that? I cut my eye-teeth long ago." - -"I mean it," said Quigley, earnestly. "Mean it all th' way through. We -talked it over last night. It's poor business fightin' each other when -we might be workin' together. Laugh if you want to; but lemme tell you -it ain't as foolish as you think. It's a lazy, independent life; an' -there's good money in it. You'd do better with us than you'd 'a' done -alone." - -"I've shore fooled 'em!" chuckled Johnny softly. Aloud he said: "I -can't trust you, not after what's happened." - -"I reckon you _are_ suspicious; an' nobody can blame you," replied -Quigley. "But I mean it." - -"Why didn't you make this play when I was in my valley, pannin' gold -an' gettin' a little herd together?" demanded Johnny. "_You_ knowed I -wasn't after no gold; an' you knowed what I _was_ after. But no; you -was hoggin' th' earth an' too cussed mean to give a man a chance, an' -make another split in yore profits. You burned--oh, what's th' use? If -you want my answer, stick yore head out an' I'll give it to you quick!" - -"I know we acted hasty," persisted Quigley; "but some of us was ag'in -it. Three of 'em are dead now; Ackerman's missin'. We'll give you th' -share of one of 'em in th' herd that we got now; an' an equal share of -what we get from now on. That's fair; an' it more than makes up for -yore cabin an' them six cows. As far as _they_ are concerned, we'll -give you all of what they bring. How about it?" - -"Reckon it's too late," replied Johnny. "I ain't takin' nobody's share. -I'm aimin' to take th' whole layout, lock, stock, an' barrel. Why -should I give you fellers any share in it? What'll you give me if I let -you all clear out now?" - -"What you mean?" demanded Quigley. - -"Just what I said," retorted Johnny. "There's six of you now. It ought -to be worth something to you fellers to be allowed to stay alive. I'll -throw off half for th' wounded men--let 'em off at half price. What are -you fellers willin' to pay me if I let you leave th' country with a -cayuse apiece an' all yore personal belongin's?" - -"This ain't no time for jokin'!" snapped Quigley angrily. - -"I ain't jokin' a bit! I'll have yore skins pegged out to dry before I -get through with you. Yo're a bunch of sap-headed jackasses, with no -more sense than a sheep-herder. I'm 'most ashamed to get you; but I'm -stranglin' my shame. You pore mutton-heads!" - -Quigley's language almost seared the vegetation and he was threatened -with spontaneous combustion. When he paused for breath he swung his -rifle up and pulled the trigger, almost blind with rage. Johnny's -answering shot ripped through his forearm and he felt the awful -sickness which comes when a bone is scraped. Half fainting, Quigley -dropped his rifle and leaned back against a rock, regarding the numbed -and bleeding arm with eyes which saw the landscape turning over and -over. Gathering his senses by a great effort of will, he steadied -himself and managed to make and apply a rough bandage with the clumsy -aid of one hand and his teeth. - -"I'll give you till tomorrow mornin' to make me an offer," shouted -Johnny; "but don't get reckless before then, because th' temptation -shore will be more than I can stand. Think it over." - -"D--n his measly hide!" moaned Quigley, his anger welling up anew. -"Give him our ranch, an' cows, an' _pay_ him to _let_ us leave th' -country! Six of us! Six gun-fightin', law-breakin' cattle-liftin' -cow-punchers; sane, healthy, an' as tough as rawhide rope, payin' -_him_, a lone man up a tree, to let us leave th' country! All right, -you conceited pup; you'll pay, an' pay well, for that insult!" - -He still was indulging in the luxury of an occasional burst of -profanity when Holbrook approached the bowlders on his hands and knees. - -"I'm still hungry; an' I can't sleep unless I'm full of grub," -apologized the rustler. "An' I heard shootin'. What's th' matter, Tom? -Yore language ain't fit for innercent ears!" - -"Matter?" roared Quigley, going off in another flight of oratory. -"Matter?" he shouted. "Look at this arm! An' listen to what that ---- ----- carrion-eatin' squaw's dog of a ---- ---- had th' ---- ---- gall -to say!" - -As the recital unfolded Holbrook leaned back against a rock and laughed -until the tears washed clean furrows through the dust and dirt on his -face; and the more he laughed the more his companion's anger arose. -Finally Quigley could stand it no longer, and he loosed a sudden -torrent of verbal fire upon his howling friend. - -Holbrook feebly wiped his eyes with the backs of his dusty hands, -which smeared the dirt over the wet places and gave him a grotesque -appearance. - -"Why shouldn't I laugh?" he choked, and then became indignant. "Why -shouldn't I?" he demanded. "I've laughed at yore jokes, Fleming's -stories, Cookie's cookin', an' Dan'l Boone's windy lies; an' now when -something funny comes along you want me to be like th' chief mourner -at a funeral! I'm forty years old an' I've met some stuck-up people -in my life; but that fool up there has got more gall an' conceit than -anybody I ever even heard tell of! I'm glad _I_ didn't hear him say it, -or I shore would 'a' laughed myself plumb to death. Did you ever hear -anything like it: drunk or sober, _did_ you?" - -"No, I didn't!" snapped Quigley. "An' if you've got all over yore -nonsense, suppose you take a look at my arm, an' fix this bandage -right!" - -"Sorry, Tom," answered Holbrook quickly; "but I was near keeled over. -Here, gimme that arm; an' when I get it fixed right, you make a -bee-line for th' ranch. There ain't no use of you stayin' out here with -an arm like that. Good Lord! He shore made a mess of it! Them slugs of -his are awful; an' that gun is th' worst _I_ ever went up ag'in. _I_ -want that rifle; an' I speaks for it here an' now. When we get him, I -get th' gun." - -"It's yourn," groaned Quigley. "Gimme a drink of whiskey before I start -out. But I don't like to leave you to handle this alone. I can stick it -out." - -"It's a one-man job until somebody comes out," responded Holbrook. -"All I got to do is lay low an' not let him come down that trail. A -ten-year-old kid can do that durin' daylight. But you ain't goin' to -go till you feel a little better," he ordered, producing a flask. "You -wait a while--th' sun won't be hot for a couple of hours yet. An' would -you look at th' mosquitoes! They must 'a' smelled th' blood. Here, wrap -yore coat around it or they'll pump it full of pizen." - -Two hours later, Quigley having departed for the ranch, Holbrook lay -on the top of the northern Twin, glad to have escaped from the attacks -of the winged pests which had driven him out of the canyon; and hoping -that his enemy would try to take advantage of the situation, if he -knew of it, and try to escape. He had decided that he could guard the -trail as well from the top of the butte as he could from the canyon, -for the whole length of the steeply sloping path lay before him. Cool -breezes played about him, there were neither flies, mosquitoes, nor -yellow-jackets to plague him, and the opposite butte and the whole -canyon lay under his eyes. And he also had better protection than the -canyon afforded, for there was always present a vague uneasiness, no -matter how well hidden he might be, while his good-shooting enemy was -five hundred feet above him. Food and water were close to his hand -and he enjoyed a smoke as he lazily sprawled behind his protecting -breastwork of rocks and set himself the task of keeping awake and -alert. - -He had seen no sign of his enemy, although he had closely scrutinized -every foot of the opposite butte. Quigley, he thought, must have -reached the ranch by that time and no doubt Fleming or Purdy was on the -way to relieve him. As he glanced along the canyon in the direction -that his friend would appear he saw a movement of the brush near the -bottom of the much watched trail and he slid his rifle through an -opening between the rocks covering the center of the disturbance. - -It was too early for Fleming or Purdy, he reflected; and his eyes -narrowed as he wondered if it could be some friend of the man he was -watching. - -The bushes moved again and a grizzled head thrust out into view, slowly -followed by a pair of massive shoulders as a great silver-tip grizzly -pushed out into the little clearing where the guarding fire had been, -and slowly turned its head from side to side, sniffing suspiciously. -Satisfied that there was nothing to fear, it crossed the clearing and -ripped the bark off of a dead and fallen tree trunk, licking up the -grubs and the scurrying insects. Shredding the bark and thoroughly -cleaning up the last of the grubs, it sat down and lazily regarded the -towering butte. - -Holbrook watched it with interest, for there was something almost human -in the great bear's actions, a comical gravity and a deftness of paws -which brought a grin to his face. - -The bear arose clumsily, scratched itself, and proceeded toward the -trail in that awkward, lumbering way which conveys such a vivid -impression of tremendous strength and power. Holbrook knew that the -lazy, clumsy shuffling, the indolent thrust of the rounded shoulders -and the slow, deliberate reaching of the great legs, the forefeet -flipping quickly forward, hid an amazing, deceptive quickness and -agility, and a devastating strength. Sleepy, peaceful, and good natured -as the beast appeared, its temper was always on edge and its heart knew -nothing of fear when that temper was aroused; and he also knew that the -vitality in that grub, insect, and berry-fed body was almost beyond -belief, that a clean, heart shot would not stop it instantly. - -The animal waddled onto the trail and paused to turn over a rock, -licked up a few scurrying bugs and waddled on again, the great -shoulders rising and falling with each deliberate step. A pause, and -the red tongue wiped out a procession of hard-working ants, and again -it lumbered upward. - -"Nelson is due to have company; an' plenty of it!" chuckled Holbrook; -"an' if he slides any lead into th' wrong place under that flea-bitten -hide he'll find that butte is a cussed lot smaller than he ever thought -it was. Ah-ha! Cussed if th' yellow-jackets ain't declarin' war on him! -Just wait till his snout gets well stung, an' he'll be ready an' eager -to fight anything that lives!" - -The bear was moving swiftly now, but pausing frequently to scrape his -smarting snout with one paw or the other, and it was beginning to show -signs of irritation as the swarming yellow-jackets warmed to the attack. - -"Gettin' riled more every minute!" grinned Holbrook. "I'd hate to run -foul of him now! Mr. Nelson shore is goin' to have a grand an' busy -little seance up there, unless that Sharp's of his gets home plumb -center th' first crack. He'll mebby wish it was a repeater. That old -varmint must be nine feet long, an' just plumb full of rage. I can -imagine them wicked little eyes of hisn gettin' redder an' redder -every minute. An' one swipe of them paws would cave in th' side of -th' biggest steer on th' range. It's a cussed good thing grizzlies -ain't got th' speed an' habits of mountain lions--they'd be th' most -dangerous things on earth if they had." - -The bear sat down suddenly and dragged himself a few feet, and then ran -on at top speed. - -Holbrook roared with laughter. "Ho! Ho! Ho! This is goin' to be as -much fun as a circus! D--d if I'd miss it for a week's pay! Go on. Old -Timer; steam up!" - -Free at last from the stinging attacks of the yellow-jackets, the -great bear suddenly stopped, squatted back on his haunches and rubbed -his head and snout with both paws; and then, looking across the canyon -at the place the laughter was coming from, slouched back on four legs -and waddled rapidly upward, his huge body twisting ponderously at -each step. Reaching the top he paused while he surveyed his immediate -vicinity, looked back down the trail, glanced across the canyon again, -and then slowly disappeared among the rocks and bowlders. - -Holbrook shifted his rifle to a more comfortable position across his -knees and leaned forward expectantly, grinning in keen anticipation, -his cigarette cold and forgotten between his lips. It was just possible -that there might be more in the coming show for him than amusement, -for Mr. Nelson, intent, very, very intent, upon his part of a game of -tag among the bowlders, might forget for a moment and carelessly show -himself long enough to become a promising target. - -"Wonder how much he'll take, purty soon, to _let_ Ol' Silver-tip leave -th' country along with us?" he chuckled. "I wish Tom was here!" - -Johnny opened his eyes at Pepper's snort and glanced at the horse, -which trembled in every limb and whose big eyes were ablaze with -terror. She had jerked the picket rope loose from under the rock which -had held it, but was rigid with fear. Sitting bolt upright as he -jerked out a Colt, Johnny glanced in the direction of Pepper's stare -and then left the blanket to take care of itself. Twenty paces distant -was the Sharp's, loaded and lying on a rock, and he hotly cursed the -stupidity and carelessness which had caused him to go to sleep so far -away from the weapon. It was the first time such a thing had happened -in weeks, and he instantly resolved that it never would happen again. -Between him and the rifle was the biggest, meanest looking grizzly it -ever had been his misfortune to face. - -The unwelcome visitor had finished a pan of beans and a pan of rice -and had its nose jammed in the last can of sugar that Johnny owned. -Observing his unwilling host's acrobatic leap and the flying blanket, -the huge animal pushed the sugar can from its swollen nose with a -cunningly curved paw, and heaved itself onto its four legs, regarding -the puncher with a frankly curious and belligerent stare. The little -eyes were wicked and bloodshot and one of them was nearly closed from -the stings of the yellow-jackets. Altogether it was as unpleasant a -sight as anyone would care to look upon at such close range. - -Behind Johnny was the rock wall, rising fifteen feet above the bottom -of the little rock basin, and it curved slightly outward at the top. On -one side were scattered several great bowlders, and he kept these in -mind as he glanced quickly behind him at the wall, which was smooth and -devoid of hand-holds. - -He had killed a grizzly with a six-shooter, but no such an animal as -the one facing him; and a Colt was not a weapon to be eagerly used, -especially at such close quarters, where a sudden rush might be fatal -to the user. He knew the thickness of the bone over the little brain, -and keenly realized the smallness of the eyes as a target in the slowly -moving head; if he could maneuver the animal to give him a heart shot -he would have a fair chance. - -"G'wan away from here!" he ordered peremptorily, with an assurance in -his voice which he did not feel. "Pull your stakes, you big tramp, or -I'll bust yore neck!" - -Bruin refused to heed him; instead, the animal shuffled forward, its -head wagging, and Johnny also stepped forward, on his toes, yelled -loudly and waved his arms. Bruin paused and looked him over. Johnny -side-stepped toward the rifle, but the bear pivoted quickly, swung -around and declared its intentions with a low but entirely sufficient -growl. - -Johnny figured quickly. He might beat his visitor to the gun, but he -strongly doubted if he would lead by a margin large enough to have -time to swing the weapon to his shoulder and obtain the nicety of aim -necessary to stop his pursuer as suddenly as the occasion demanded. -The bowlders remained as his other alternative, and as the bear took -its second step, which was the beginning of the rush, Johnny made a -very creditable leap in the direction of the bowlders, gained the first -by ten feet to spare, vaulted the second, dashed around the third and -streaked up the slope leading to the top of the rocky wall behind the -pool. - -As he gained the top a bullet hummed past his head, but it received -no recognition from him, for the bear also was hustling up the slope, -thoroughly aroused and abrim with energy and ambition. Jerking out his -Colts, he emptied one of them into the rushing animal as he leaped -aside to get behind another bowlder. The bear slowed for an instant -as the six heavy slugs ripped into it, and then, loosing a roar that -awoke the echoes, it gathered speed and slid around the rock, clawing -desperately to make a short turn. Johnny emptied his second gun into -the enraged animal as he dodged around another rock, and then, dropping -both Colts into their holsters, he sprinted for the top of the wall as -Holbrook's second bullet loosened a heel and almost threw him. - -Reaching the edge he launched himself from it, recovered his balance -like an acrobat and dashed for his rifle as the grizzly, reaching the -edge, checked himself barely in time and hunted hurriedly for a way -to get down the wall. Giving it up in an instant, the animal drew up -its forelegs with a pivoting swing, and started at full speed along -the edge, to go down the way it had come up. This exposed its left -side, and the Sharp's, already at Johnny's shoulder, steadied upon -the vital spot as he timed the swing of the great foreleg. There was -a sharp roar, and an ounce and a quarter of lead smashed through skin -and flesh, squarely into the animal's heart. The great beast collapsed, -slid around and raised its head; but again the heavy rifle spoke and -the massive head dropped limply, for the stopping power of a Sharp's -Special is tremendous. - -Johnny jerked out the smoking shell, slid another great cartridge into -place, and then sat down on the rock, wiping his face with his sleeve. - -"Hey!" called a distant voice. "Want any help with th' varmints?" - -Johnny grabbed his rifle and slipped to the edge of the butte. Holbrook -called again, carelessly exposing his shoulder; and then cursed the -bullet which grooved it. - -"Can I do anything more for _you_?" jeered Johnny. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -A PAST MASTER DRAWS CARDS - - -Back on the CL the foreman was worried about his new, two-gun man, and -had almost made up his mind to order the outfit into the saddle and to -lead it up into the Twin Buttes country to aid Johnny. While he was -turning the matter over in his mind he entered the bunk-house and saw -Luke Tedrue, the oldest man on the ranch, dressed in a clean shirt, new -trousers, and a pair of new boots. Luke looked surprisingly clean and -he was busily engaged in cleaning and oiling the parts of an old .44 -caliber Remington six-shooter, one of those early models which had been -transformed from its original cap-and-ball class into a weapon shooting -center-fire cartridges. It had been the butt of many joking remarks and -the old man cherished it, and had defended it in many a hot, verbal -skirmish. Considering its age and use it was in a remarkably fine state -of preservation. - -Luke had played many parts in his day, for he had been a hunter, -frontiersman, scout, pony-express rider, miner, and cavalryman, and as -an Indian fighter he had admitted but few masters. Tough, wiry, shrewd, -enduring, of flawless courage and bulldog tenacity of purpose, he had -behind him long years of experience; and his appearance of age was as -deceptive as the pose of a basking rattler. - -The lessons of such a long, precarious, and daring life as he had led -were not easily ignored, and now as a cow-puncher, riding out his -declining days on the range, there were certain habits which clung to -him with the strength of instinct. One of these was his faith in a -weapon almost universally condemned on the range. It mattered nothing -to him that times and conditions had changed; he had proved its worth -in years of fighting, and now he refused to lay it aside. There had -been a day when Bowie's terrible weapon had entered largely into the -life of the long frontier. - -Logan, worried and preoccupied as he was, could not keep from smiling -at the old man's patient labor. - -"Luke, you waste more time an' elbow grease on that worn-out old relic -than most people do with _real_ guns. Th' whole outfit, put together, -don't pamper their six-guns th' way you do that contraption. Why don't -you throw it away an' get a _good_ gun?" - -Luke snorted, and screwed the walnut butt-plates into place. Then he -slipped the cylinder into position, slid the pin through it, swung up -the old ramrod lever and snapped it into its catch under the barrel. -Spinning the cylinder, he weighed the heavy weapon affectionately, and -looked up. - -Luke grunted. "Huh! Mebby that's why old Betsy is a better gun today -than any in this outfit. Why should I get a new one? This old Rem. has -been a cussed good friend of mine. She's never balked nor laid down, -an' she puts 'em where she's pointed. An old friend like her ain't -goin' to rust if I can help it." - -"Rust?" inquired Logan, chuckling. "Why, there ain't been enough -moisture in th' air lately to rust anything, let alone any gun that's -as full of grease an' oil as that contraption. Wait till th' rainy -season hits us before you worry about rust. An' what are you all -dressed up for? When I saw you this mornin' you was th' dirtiest man -on th' ranch; an' now you fair shines! Ain't aimin' to go an' hitch up -with no female, are you?" - -Luke shoved home the last greasy cartridge, snapped shut the hinged -flange, laid the gun aside, and pointed to a pile of wet clothing on -the floor near his bunk. - -"There ain't no female livin' can put a rope on me no more," he -grinned. "See them clothes? I done fell in th' crick. Some slab-sided -nuisance shifted th' planks an' was too lazy to put 'em back right. -They tip sideways. I got half way acrost an' up she turns. Lost my -balance an' lit belly-whopper. But I put 'em back just like I found -'em." - -"An' you'll get an innercent man." - -"There ain't none in this outfit," grunted Luke. He searched the -foreman's face with shrewd eyes. "John, worryin' never did help a man. -Get shet of it, or it'll get shet of you." - -"Easy said, Ol' Timer; but it ain't so easy done," replied Logan. - -Luke kicked his wet holster toward the clothes and took down one -belonging to someone else, and calmly appropriated it, belt and all. - -"Two most generally splits a load about in half," he observed, shoving -the gun into the sheath. "An' it allus helps a lot to talk things over -with somebody." - -"Well, I ain't heard a word from Nelson since he left that note tellin' -me where he was goin' an' for me not to bother about our five-day -arrangement; an' he shore started off to wrastle with trouble." - -"Huh!" snorted Luke grimly. "Dunno as I'd do much worryin' about him. -Real active, capable hombre, he is. Chain lightnin', an' an eye like a -hawk. A few years more an' he'll steady down an' get sensible. Lord, -what a fool _I_ was at his age! Beats all how young men ever live long -enough to become old ones." - -"But he's been gone a month," replied Logan. "It's been two weeks since -I heard from him, an' longer. He's playin' a lone hand ag'in them -fellers, an' it ain't no one-man job, not by a d--d sight! He was to -find out certain things an' then come back here an' report. Why ain't -he got back?" - -"Busy, mebby," grunted Luke. "I have an idea th' job would keep one man -purty tolerable busy, with one thing an' another turning up. He don't -want to get seen an' tip off his hand; an' keepin' under cover takes -time." - -"I should 'a' taken th' outfit up there an' combed th' hills, -regardless what anybody said about squarin' up old scores." - -"What you should 'a' done, an' what you _did_ do don't track," replied -Luke. "An' I ain't shore that you oughta 'a' busted loose like that -a-tall. It's a good thing most generally to know where yo're goin' to -light before you jump. What you should 'a' done was to 'a' sent me up -there, either alone or with him. 'Tain't too late to deal me a hand. -Where'd he say he was goin'?" - -"West of Twin Buttes. But if you go it'll be a one-man job again, an' I -don't like it." - -"Uh-huh!" chuckled Luke. "That's just what it is; an' I _do_ like it. I -drove stage, carried dispatches through Injun country, an' was th' boss -scout for th' two best army officers that ever fit Injuns. Reckon mebby -if th' Injuns couldn't lift my scalp, no gang of thievin' cow-punchers -can skin it off. An' I'm cussed tired of punchin' cows. I ain't no -puncher by nature, hopes, or inclinations. I'm a scout, _I_ am; an' -I'm goin' up there somewhere west of th' Twins an' find Nelson, if he's -still alive, get them facts an' bring 'em back." - -"I don't like th' idea," muttered Logan. - -"Huh! I ain't got them fool notions that Nelson has. I ain't no -Christian when I'm on a war trail. He worries about givin' th' other -feller an even break; but I worries if I lets him have it. Greasers, -thieves, an' Injuns--they're all alike; an' they don't get no even -break from me if I can help it. I puts th' worryin' right up to them. -I'll bet he's alive, an' workin' all th' time; but he ain't got no -chance to get quick results; an' it's his own handicappin', too. When -a man's scoutin' around a whole passel of rustlers, a gun has got its -limits. Gimme a pair of moccasins an' ol' Colonel Bowie." - -"I likes you purty much; but d--d if I thinks much of any man that uses -a knife!" - -Luke laughed grimly and got the knife from his bunk. "There he is. He -don't make a man no deader than a bullet; an' he don't make no noise. -There ain't nothin' handier in a mix-up--an' a good man can drive it -straight as any bullet, too. I'm gettin' het up considerable about all -this palaver about this knife an' me; an' I'm goin' to lick th' next -man that rides me about it. It's a' honest weapon. It was ground out -of a two-inch hoof file, an' when it cuts through th' air it takes -considerable to stop it. When I was younger I could send it so far into -a two-inch plank that you could feel th' pint of it on th' other side. -Just feel th' heft an' balance of that blade!" - -"Feel it yoreself!" snapped Logan. "That ain't fair fightin'; an' if -you don't like that, you can start in here an' now an' lick me." - -"I never said I was a fair fighter," grinned Luke, slipping the weapon -into a scabbard sewed to the inside of his boot; "but old as I am, I -can put yore shoulders in th' dust. We'll argue instead. Them fellers -ain't fair fighters; they dassn't be even if they wanted to be; an' -when I'm tanglin' up with 'em I ain't polite a-tall. I just fights, -knife, gun, teeth, hands, feet, an' head, any way as comes handy. -That's why I'm still alive, too. Now I'm goin' up somewhere west of -th' Buttes an' look around from there; an' Colonel Bowie goes with me, -right where he is. Tell th' cook to give me what grub I wants. An' I -reckon I better take Nelson some ca'tridges an' tobacco." - -"Tell him yoreself; an' if he won't do it, I'll tell you who moved th' -planks," grinned Logan. "But I hate to see you go alone." - -"An' I'd hate to have anybody along," grunted Luke. "I'll be busy -enough takin' care of myself without botherin' with a fool puncher." - -The old scout sauntered into the kitchen. "Mat, you sage hen; th' next -time you shifts them planks, put a stone under th' edges that don't -touch th' ground. You near drownded me in three inches of water an' a -foot of mud. Now you gimme a chunk of bacon, couple pounds of flour, -three pounds of beans, couple of pounds of that rice, 'though I ain't -real fascinated by it, couple handfuls of coffee, handful of salt, -an' a pound of tobacco. I may be gone a couple of months an' get real -hungry. Nope; no canned grub. I want this fryin' pan, that tin cup, an' -a fork." - -He sniffed eagerly and strode to a covered pan. "Beans, ready cooked! -Mat, you was hidin' them! Dump some of 'em into a cloth--now I won't -have to cook my first couple of meals. Stick all th' stuff in a sack, -them on top," and he hurried out. - -Fifteen minutes later Logan entered Mat's domain. "Where's Luke? What, -already? Must 'a' been scared I'd change my mind. Why, he left his pipe -an' smokin' behind," pointing at the table. - -Mat grinned. "He says a smoker can't smell, an' gets smelled. An' he -says for somebody to go up to Little Canyon for his bronc. He's leavin' -it there tonight, hobbled. An' take that pipe out of here; I don't want -them beans ruined." - -Luke was crossing the CL range at a gallop, anxious to cross the -river and get past the Hope-Hastings trail before dark. Reaching the -Deepwater he forced his indignant horse into it and emerged, chilled, -on the farther bank. Hobbling the animal, he put his boots on the -saddle, slipped on a pair of moccasins, fastened the pack on his back -and swung into the canyon, his mind busily forming a mental map of the -country. - -Placing Hope at one end and Hastings at the other, he connected them by -the trail, putting in the Deepwater, the Barrier, and Twin Buttes. - -"They comes to Hastings 'stead of Hope, which says Hastings is nearest. -He said west of Twin Buttes. Then I'll start at th' Buttes an' go west -till I find his trail; an' if I don't find it, I'll circle 'round till -I finds _something_! I'd know that black cayuse's tracks in a hundred. - -"Logan sent Nelson up here because nobody knowed him an' that he was -workin' for us. Huh! What good will it do 'em to know a man if they -never see him? An' they won't see me, 'less I wants 'em to. That water -feels colder than it ought to--reckon I'm gettin' old. I shore ain't as -young as I uster be. Got to move lively to get thawed out an' dry these -clothes." - -Crossing the main trail after due observation, he saw an old and -well-worn trail leading westward into a deep valley. - -"Huh! Hit it first shot. You just can't beat luck!" - -Choosing the cover along one side of the smaller trail, he melted into -it and plunged westward, swinging along with easy, lazy strides that -covered ground amazingly and with a minimum of effort. His long legs -swung free from his hips, the hips rolling into the movement; his knees -were rather stiff and as his feet neared the ground at the end of each -stride he pushed them ahead a little more before they touched. This was -where the swaying hips gave him an added thrust of inches. And like all -natural, sensible walkers, his toes turned in. - -Night was coming on when he neared Twin Buttes and a rifle shot in -their direction drew a chuckle from him. Throwing off the pack he ate -his fill of Mat's cooked beans, shoved the wrapped-up remainder into -his shirt, hid the pack and slipped into the deeper shadows, his rifle -on his back, the old Remington in one hand and Colonel Bowie lying -along the other, its handle up his sleeve and the keen point extending -beyond his fingers. - -A coyote might have heard him moving, but the task was beyond human -ears; and after a few minutes he stopped suddenly and sniffed. The -faint odor of a fire told him that he was getting close to a camp, and -a moment later a distant flare lit up the tree-tops in the canyon -proper. Looking down he noticed the buckle of his belt, thought that -it was too bright, and wrapped a bandanna handkerchief around it. -Slipping the six-shooter into its holster he moved forward again, bent -over, going swiftly and silently, his feet avoiding twigs, branches, -and pebbles as though he had eyes in his toes. Rounding the southern -Twin he melted into the darkness at the side of a bowlder and peered -cautiously over the rock. - -A great, crackling fire sent its flames towering high in the air from -a little clearing at the lower end of a path which went up the side of -the butte and became lost in the darkness. Examining the scene with -shrewd, keen, and appraising eyes, he waited patiently. A burst of fire -darted from the top of the northern Twin and a strange voice jeered -softly in the distance. From the top of the southern butte came an -answering jeer in a voice which he instantly recognized. - -"Treed, by G-d!" he chuckled gleefully. "Reckon he'll be tickled to see -me. Wonder how long he's been up there?" - -A piece of wood curved into the circle of illumination and landed on -the blazing fire, sending a stream of sparks soaring up the mesa wall. - -"There's Number Two," soliloquized Luke cheerfully, "feedin' th' fire -an' watchin' th' trail. Cuss him for a fool! Some of them sparks will -get loose, an' hell will be a nice, quiet place compared to this -canyon. Well, now I got to rustle around an' locate 'em all; an' this -ain't no place or time for no shootin', neither." - -Half an hour later Fleming tossed more wood on the fire and settled -back to fight mosquitoes. A glittering streak shot through the air and -he crumpled without a sound. A shadow moved and a silent form wriggled -through the brush and among the bowlders and retrieved the knife, took -the dead man's weapons and wriggled back again. It slipped noiselessly -across the canyon, searched along the base of the northern Twin, found -the wide, up-slanting trail and flitted along it, pausing frequently -to look, sniff, and listen. Reaching the top of the butte, it wriggled -from bowlder to bowlder, ridge to ridge, systematically covering every -foot of the plateau, and steadily working nearer the southern rim. - -Holbrook yawned, stretched, and yawned again. He picked up his rifle -and scowled into the canyon, where the fire engaged his critical -attention. - -"That lazy cuss is lettin' it burn too low," he growled. "Wonder if -he's asleep!" He laughed and shook his head. "Nope; don't believe even -Art could sleep down there, with them mosquitoes pesterin' him. _This_ -suits me, right here!" - -He looked around uneasily. "I do so much layin' around out here in -daytime that I can't sleep nights," he grumbled, not willing to admit -that he felt uneasy. "Funny how a man's nerves will get hummin' when -he's on a job like this. It shore is monotonous." Looking around again, -he shifted so that he could see part of the mesa top behind him, and -tried to shake off the premonition of evil which persisted in haunting -him. - -"How many cows you thieves sold so far?" called a voice from the other -butte. - -"Nowhere near as many as we're goin' to get," retorted Holbrook, -laughing. "Changin' yore mind?" he jeered. - -"Not me; I wouldn't work with no teethin' infants. I'd rather work -alone. I associates with _men, I_ do." - -"You'll 'sociate with dead men purty soon," sneered Holbrook. "We got -you just where we--" the words choked into a gurgle and a lean, vague -figure moved slowly forward from behind a ridge. - -"What's th' matter?" ironically demanded the man on the southern Twin. -"Swaller yore cigarette? That's a good thing. You want to practice -swallerin' hot things because tomorrow yo're goin' to swaller a -snub-nosed Special." Pausing, Johnny waited expectantly for an answer, -but receiving none, he grunted cheerfully. "All right; go to blazes!" - -The fire burned lower and lower and Johnny became suspicious. If -the rustler on the other butte hoped to keep him engaged in snappy -conversation when the fire grew low, there was no telling what the man -in the canyon might do; so he crept to the top of the trail and peered -down it, scanning the wall intently, half expecting to glimpse some -swift, shadowy movement; but his alertness was not rewarded. - -"Wonder how long Hoppy or Red would loaf on a game like this," he -grinned, "if they was down there! But there ain't many of their breed -runnin' around." - -An hour passed and the fire was a mass of glowing embers, now and -then relieved by a spasmodic burst of flame, which flickered up and -died. Across the little clearing a shadowy form moved slowly backward, -chuckling softly. If there were any more rustlers around, one of them -certainly would have investigated why the fire was allowed to die; and -Luke felt quite confident that he had accounted for all of them who -were in the vicinity. Still, he argued, nothing was a certainty which -depended upon circumstantial evidence, and he did not relax his caution -as he moved away. - -Johnny, straining his eyes in trying to discover signs of enemies on -the trail, suddenly stiffened, listening eagerly with every nerve -taut. Again came the voice, barely audible. Moving to the outer edge -of the butte he peered over cautiously, well knowing that he could see -nothing. - -"'Tell Red his pants wear well,'" floated up to him out of the canyon. - -Johnny moved a little and leaned farther over after a glance at the -black sky assured him that he would not be silhouetted for a marksman -below. - -"'Does William, Junior, chew tobacco?'" persisted the whisper. - -Johnny wriggled back and sat bolt upright, incredulous, doubting his -senses. "What th' devil!" he muttered. "Am I loco?" - -"'We was scared he'd die,'" continued the canyon. - -Taking another good look down the threatening trail, Johnny wriggled to -the edge and again looked down. - -"'Pete paid Red th' eight dollars,'" said the chasm, a little louder -and with a note of irritation. - -"Who th' devil are you?" demanded Johnny loudly. - -"Not so loud. Luke Tedrue," whispered the darkness. "How many of them -skunks are around here?" - -"Yo're a liar!" retorted Johnny angrily. "An' a fool!" - -"Go to th' devil!" snapped the canyon. - -"Come around in daylight an' I'll send you to him!" growled Johnny. -"Think I'm a fool?" - -There was no answer, and, fearful of a trick, Johnny wriggled back to -his snug cover at the head of the trail, finding that the fire had -become only a dull, red mass of embers which gave out almost no light. - -"You shore got me guessin'," he grumbled; "but I reckon mebby I'm -guessin' purty good, at that. You just try it, cuss you!" - -Luke explored the canyon again to make assurance doubly sure, and again -approached the great wall. - -"'Does William, Junior, chew tobacco?'" he demanded. - -Johnny squirmed, but remained where he was. "You can't fool me!" he -shouted peevishly. - -"Reckon not; yo're as wise as a jackass, a dead one," said Luke. "You -stubborn fool, listen to this; 'Don't look for no word from me. I'm -goin' west, to try it from back of Twin Buttes. They've drove me out.'" -The voice was plainer now. "How many of 'em are out here?" - -Johnny grinned suddenly, for in the increase in the power of the voice -he recognized a friend. - -"Hello, Luke, you old skunk!" he called, laughing. "Glad to see you. -There's four been hangin' around but there's only two now, or three at -th' most. Look out for 'em. Goin' to try to come up?" - -"No, not a-tall," replied Luke. "There's enough of our outfit up there -now. I only found two of th' thieves, but th' third may be hid som'ers -well back, 'though I've shore hunted a-plenty." - -"Found two?" - -"Yep; one down here, an' t'other up there. Colonel Bowie pushed 'em -over th' Divide. Comin' down?" - -"When that fire's out." - -"How'd they come to drive you up there?" - -"I come up myself. Couldn't watch while I slept; an' I had to sleep. -Now that there's two of us it's all right." - -"You called th' turn. Get yore traps together an' I'll fix th' fire. -Where's yore cayuse?" - -"Up here. Don't bother with th' fire. Be right down." - -Half an hour later Johnny reached the bottom of the trail and paused. - -"'Red's pants,'" said a humorous voice. - -"Come on, Luke. We'll hold up somewhere an' get th' relief shift when -it comes out from th' ranch." - -"Shore. Where's th' ranch?" - -"'Bout three miles west; an' it's a cussed fine one, too." - -"All right; get movin'. I want to dry out these pants. They must be all -cotton from th' way they feel. We'll go back a ways an' start a fire." - -"No, we won't; too dangerous," growled Johnny decidedly. "We got this -game won right now if we don't let 'em know there's two of us." - -Luke grinned in the dark. "Suits me. You wait here a minute," he said, -disappearing. When he returned he grunted with keen satisfaction, for -Fleming's trousers felt snug and warm. "How many are left?" he asked, -leading the way toward his hidden pack. - -"Quigley, Purdy, Gates, an' th' cook." - -"Them names don't surprise me," grunted Luke. - -"How'd you get so wet?" - -"Swimmin'," growled Luke. - -"Yore shirt feels dry." - -"It is, around th' shoulders; but th' tail feels like th' devil. But -it's wool, all through." - -"Was you trailin' Ackerman an' Long Pete?" - -"Nope; didn't trail nobody a-tall. How many cows they got?" - -"Plenty, d--n 'em!" growled Johnny. - -"What you been doin' up here all this time; an' how many have you got?" - -"Three; I've been busy." - -"Why, you had time to get 'em all." - -"Didn't dare do any shootin' till I had to," replied Johnny. "Didn't -want 'em to know I was up here. A gun makes a lot of noise." - -Luke chuckled grimly. "Shore! That's what I _allus_ said; an' that's -why I use Colonel Bowie. He don't even whisper." - -Johnny snorted with disgust. "Huh! I ain't knifin' or shootin' from -ambush. There's _some_ things I won't do!" - -"Uppish, huh?" chuckled Luke. "Well, young man; mebby ambushin' ain't -yore style, but I feels free to remark that it's mine in any game like -this. Them pants feel good. That river's gettin' colder every year." - -"River!" ejaculated Johnny, pausing in his surprise. "What river?" - -"Deepwater, of course. How many rivers do you reckon we got out here?" - -"Th' devil!" muttered Johnny. "Say! When did you leave th' ranch?" - -"'Bout three o'clock. I'd 'a' been here sooner, only I hoofed it from -th' river. Cayuses can't go where a man can; they make a lot of noise, -an' a man sticks up too cussed prominent in a saddle. They ain't worth -a cuss in this kind of country when trouble's afoot." - -"Well, I'll be hanged!" grunted Johnny. - -"Pull up; here we are," said Luke, stopping and bending over some -rocks, which he rolled aside. "Rocks are reg'lar telltales. They has a -dark side an' a light side; an' th' deeper they're set in th' ground, -th' bigger th' dark side is. When you want to cache with 'em, you picks -them that sets _on_ th' ground; an' you don't turn 'em wrong side -up, neither. Then a little sand used right will fix things so that -only me or an Injun can tell that anything's been moved. Here's yore -ca'tridges an' tobacco. Tote 'em yoreself." - -"Much obliged. But how did you find me so cussed quick?" demanded -Johnny, breaking open the boxes and distributing their contents about -his person. - -"Smelled you," chuckled Luke, fixing the pack on his back. - -"Yo're an old liar!" retorted Johnny. "Tell me about it." - -"Can't; there ain't nothin' to tell," replied Luke, winking at the sky. -"It's just experience, instinct, brains, knowin' how, an' a couple more -things. Us old-timers done better'n that, forty year ago. I'm glad to -get my hand in ag'in; punchin' cows shore does spoil a man. Now, you -know this layout; where we goin' now? An' what you goin' to do with -that four-laigged nuisance?" - -"Put her in a draw east of here. She'll stay where I leave her." - -"Then she ain't no fe-male. It just can't be did. I know 'em!" - -"You an' our Pete oughta get acquainted with each other," chuckled -Johnny. "You fellers has th' same ideas 'bout some things." - -"Foreman, or owner?" - -"Just a plain puncher." - -"He oughta be th' foreman; he's got sense. I buried one, an' left two -more. You can't fool me about th' sex." - -"Yo're a reprobate. Come on, Pepper," said Johnny, whistling to the -horse, who heeled like a dog. "It'll be light purty soon, an' we want -to hide this cayuse." - -"It's yore say-so; I'll string along, ready to chip." - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -SCOUTING AS A FINE ART - - -Quigley, favoring his injured arm, led the way toward Twin Buttes to -relieve the men on guard, Purdy close behind him; and he did not stick -to the trail, but cut straight for his objective along a way well known -to both. He was not in good shape for hard work or hard fighting, but -he felt that his place was on the scene of action, as befitted a chief; -and he had stubbornly battered down all the reasons advanced by his -companions at the ranch by which they sought to dissuade him. It had to -be either him or the cook, for he was not as seriously wounded as Gates. - -The chief was the best man for leader that the outfit contained, and -if he had erred in being slack and over-confident it was only because -they never had been molested seriously since they had taken to the Twin -Buttes country, and, with the exception of Ackerman, he secretly felt -less security than any of the others. Thanks to his earlier activities -and clever distortion of facts as to why he had crossed the Deepwater -to live in the Buttes, the outfit had not been bothered; and the Twin -Buttes section had become taboo, in recent years, to everyone, no -man caring to risk his life in penetrating that locality until Johnny -Nelson appeared. And although Ackerman had preached disaster, he had -preached it so long and so much that he was regarded as a calamity -howler. - -There were two comparatively safe ways to reach the Buttes, when once -the last high, intervening ridge was attained. One led to the far side -of the northern Twin and was hidden by it from the sight of anyone on -the other butte; the second course swept to the south, running through -arroyos and draws, and sheltered by the dense growths of pine; and it -not only was a shorter and easier course, but allowed an occasional -glimpse of the way Johnny had scaled the great southern wall. - -Reaching the ridge, Quigley paused to rest, and weighed the merits of -the two approaches. He could be as clever and cautious as the next -man when he felt that the occasion demanded it; and the events of the -last few days told him that such an occasion had arrived. Easing the -bandages, he chose the southern course and led the way again. - -"There's his smoke," grunted Purdy, trudging along in the rear. "Wonder -how much grub that ki-yote's got?" - -"Don't know; an' don't care much," replied Quigley. "It don't make no -difference. Th' time will come when he's _got_ to come down, an' bein' -there when he does is our job. If I was plumb shore he was workin' on -his own hook my worries would simmer down a whole lot; an' until I _am_ -shore, I ain't overlookin' nothin'." - -"You ain't got no business comin' out here with an arm like that," -growled Purdy. "Three of us are enough." - -"I ain't got no business bein' nowhere else," retorted Quigley. "An' -as long as yo're ridin' that subject again, lemme tell you that from -now on till we get him, I'm goin' to stay right there. My eyes are all -right, an' my Colt arm is th' same as ever. Bend low here an' foller my -steps close--on th' jump, _now_!" - -Reaching the end of the wide valley they came to a great widening of -the lower levels, where the canyon emerged from between the Buttes -and became lost in the great sink which surrounded the Twins. Quigley -knew the sink from former explorations, and he chose ridges and draws -without hesitation and kept well hidden at all times from anyone up on -the butte. In order to continue in this security it was necessary to go -almost to the eastern wall of the sink in a wide detour, and the chief -unhesitatingly chose that route. - -Because of an instinct born from years of woodcraft, Quigley's eyes -missed nothing. Had he been riding down Hastings' single street he -unconsciously would have observed every tin can, every old boot, and -his memory, automatically photographing them with remarkable fidelity, -would have filed the pictures away for future reference. Crossing a -sage hen's track he unconsciously observed it minutely, and he could -have told quite an interesting and intimate tale of what the bird had -been doing. - -Plunging into a deep gully, he swung up the opposite slope on a -diagonal, and stopped suddenly, his busy mind instantly sidetracking -its cogitations to take care of a matter immediately under his eyes. -Three small stones lay, dark and damp, against the sun-dried, whitish -rock stratum which formed the surface of the ridge. Above the level of -his shoulders several green twigs were well chewed, two of them bitten -clean off, and a dried lather still clung to them. Shoving his elbows -out from his side to check his companion, he looked closely at both -signs, and then, bending over, hurried along the slope searching the -ground and swiftly disappeared around a bowlder. Purdy followed and -bent over beside him. In a small patch of sand and clay which filled -a hollow in the rock floor was the print of a hoof, and extending in -front of it lay the imprint of the forward half of a moccasin. - -Quigley glanced up quickly at his companion. "Fresh made!" he grunted. -"Leads away from th' butte. Might be two men, one of 'em ridln'. Wait -here, an' lay low!" - -Going on a few steps he shook his head slowly and disappeared around -a thicket. Ahead of turn was a wide streak of sand and gravel and he -hurried to it. - -"_Two_ men on foot, leadin' a hoss!" he growled. "Wish I had time to -foller these tracks; but there's no tellin' how far they go." He paused -a moment in indecision, tempted to go on, but shaking his head he -wheeled and ran back to Purdy, cursing the increased throbbing of his -arm. - -"Purdy!" he whispered incisively; "somethin's rotten! One cayuse; -two men. Wait a minute!" and he sent his thoughts racing over every -possibility. "They can be strangers that blundered through here; or -friends of Nelson's. If they was strangers, an' passed th' Buttes, -as that back trail indicates, they wouldn't try to keep hidden, an' -either Art or Frank would 'a' seen them, an' follered them. If they was -friends of his--d--n it! Wish I had taken th' trouble to hunt up th' -tracks of that black cayuse some place where they showed up plain an' -deep!" - -Purdy thoughtfully rubbed his head. "Mebby that cayuse wandered down, -an' th' boys led it off to hide it." - -"_Both_ of 'em?" snapped Quigley. "One had to stay on guard. An' -they can't turn boots into moccasins. Cuss it! Why would innercent -strangers wear moccasins in this kind of country? They wouldn't, unless -they was up to some deviltry. Purdy, we got a job on our hands. First, -we'll see Art an' Frank--no _we_ won't: _I_ will. You foller these -tracks an' find out what you can. Don't foller 'em longer than an -hour. We'll meet right here. If you hear three shots so close together -that they sound like a ripple, you cut h--l-bent for th' ranch, by a -roundabout way," and he was gone before Purdy could answer him. - -Purdy ran forward, his gaze on the ground, and every time the trail -became lost on clean, hard rock, he swore impatiently and ran in -ever-widening circles until he found it again. Suddenly he crouched low -and froze in his tracks. In an opening at the bottom of a deep, heavily -wooded draw lying just ahead of him he caught sight of a black horse, -saddled, cropping grass. The animal threw up its head, looked at him, -flattened its ears and backed away, ready to bolt. And under his eyes -lay four pairs of moccasin prints, two of them pointing back toward the -Buttes. - -"It's _his_ bronc!" growled Purdy under his breath. "How th' devil--!" -Wild conjectures filed into his mind in swift confusion, and, wrestling -with them, he wheeled sharply and dashed back the way he had come, his -Colt ready for action. - -Quigley, calling into play every trick of woodcraft that he knew, kept -on toward the Twin Buttes canyon, silent, alert, never once leaving -cover. The smoke of the fire up on the butte was barely discernible now -and the smoke from the rustlers' fire at the foot of the trail could -not be seen at all. Eagerly he scrutinized the tops of the two buttes, -but in vain. - -Working steadily forward with the caution of an Indian, he followed -and kept close to the eastern wall of the sink until directly back -of the place where the trail guard should be, and in line with that -and the lower end of the trail. His progress now became slow, and he -exercised an infinite caution and patience. Cover followed cover, and -every few yards he stopped and waited, his senses at the top pitch of -their efficiency. Drawing near the position used by him and his men in -guarding the mesa trail he passed within fifty feet of Luke Tedrue, and -neither knew of it. Had he gone ten feet farther forward he would have -died in his tracks. - -He stopped. It was now Art's or Frank's turn to show some sign of life. -Neither of them had any need to remain quiet, and he knew that under -such circumstances a man is almost certain to make some kind of a noise -within a reasonable length of time. - -The minutes passed in absolute silence, and finally he could wait no -longer, for each passing minute was precious to him, and he silently -backed away, to approach from another direction. As he crept past a -bowlder, avoiding every growing thing and every twig or loose pebble, -he glanced along a narrow opening between some rocks and a thinning of -the brush, and saw two sock-covered feet, toes up. It took him a long -time to maneuver so that he could see enough of the body to be sure of -its identity, and when he was sure he choked back a curse. - -"Fleming!" he breathed. "Knifed through th' throat! An' they took his -pants an' left a pair of blue ones. Nelson wore black! An' Frank, up -there on th' other butte--I can't get up _there_ without bein' seen. -Frank, my boy; if yo're alive, you'll have to look out for yoreself!" - -As he crawled and wriggled and dashed back over his trail his racing -thoughts threw picture after picture on his mental screen, until every -possible solution was eliminated and only the probable ones remained; -and from these two there loomed up one which almost bore the stamp of -certainty. The CL outfit, either wholly or in part, had arrived on the -scene, and even now might be attacking the ranch-houses. Dashing around -a pinnacle of granite, he sped down the slope of the draw where Purdy, -behind a thicket, awaited him. - -"Here, Tom!" softly called the waiting man, arising. - -"Quick!" panted Quigley. "H--l's broke loose with all th' gates open! -What you find?" - -"Nelson's bronc. Th' two men that led it cached it in a draw an' went -back again towards th' Buttes. "What's up?" - -"Everything, I reckon. Fleming's dead--knifed," panted Quigley, -leading the way westward. "Frank--I don't know--about him. Never--had -a chance--Art didn't. Good thing--I reckon we come--th' way we did. -There--ain't no tellin'--what we might 'a' run--up ag'in. D--n 'em! -I'll never leave--th' hills! Dead or--alive, I stays!" - -"I've located here--permanent myself," growled Purdy. "Fleming knifed, -huh? Mebby--mebby they're Injuns! Knife-play an' moccasins! I--betcha!" - -"D--n fool!" gritted Quigley savagely; and then, remembering his -companion's declaration of permanent location, he relented. "He -wasn't--scalped!" - -"Apaches--don't scalp!" grunted Purdy doggedly. - -"But they make--tracks, don't they?" blazed Quigley. "I tell you--I -know Injun tracks--like I know my name. They're--white men!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -"TWO IJUTS" - - -Luke Tedrue brushed flies. Since a little after dawn he had brushed -them continually, insistently, doggedly, with an enforced calmness -and apathy which only an iron, stubborn will made possible; and had -they suddenly desisted in their eager explorations he would have kept -on brushing from sheer force of habit. But while his hands and arms -were moving mechanically, his mind was having an argument with itself -concerning his ears, and a vague uneasiness made him restless. - -He suspected that he had heard a sound, one which only a moving body -would have made; but it had been so slight that he had not recognized -it at the time, and it was only through the persistent, indefatigable -urging of some subconscious sense that he was now trying to force his -memory to repeat it for him, to give him a hold upon it that he might -describe and classify it. Exasperated, fretful, uneasy, he called -himself a fool with too zealous an imagination; but he kept straining -at his reluctant memory, trying to force it to leap back and grasp the -elusive impression. Vexed and anxious, he at last wriggled back among -the bowlders which sheltered him, determined to prove or disprove the -haunting subconscious sense. It had become maddening, a ghost he simply -had to lay. - -Realizing that the moving object is the more readily seen, Luke -moved slowly and with no regard for dignity; and he proceeded, an -inch at a time, upon his lean, old stomach. Nothing was too small or -insignificant to escape his notice, for his eyes, close to the ground, -first took in the entire field of vision with one quick, sweeping -glance, and then, beginning with the more distant objects, examined -everything in sight as though he had lost something of great value and -of size infinitesimal. Another few inches of slow, laborious progress, -and another searching scrutiny, his ears as busy as his eyes. In half -an hour he had covered ten feet, and at the end of an hour he had made -it twenty. And then, as he glanced around to obtain a general and -preliminary view of a new vista, his eyes passed over a little patch of -sand, and instantly flashed back to it, regarding it with an unwinking -intentness. - -He hitched forward again, more rapidly, and gained three feet before -he stopped to peer about him. At last he came to the sand patch, which -lay between a bowlder and a clump of dry, dead, and rustly brush; -which accounted for its having a story to tell. It was the only way -a cautious man could have proceeded; and the print of the heel of a -hand and the five little dots where the tips of thumb and fingers had -rested was well to one side of it. Furthermore, there was a smooth -streak across it which contained two other streaks along the outer -edges of the first one. The story was plain: a stomach, followed by two -legs, had been dragged across the little patch of sand. - -Luke raised his educated eyes and looked around him, but now his field -of vision was considerably constricted, for he paid attention only to -those few spaces in the brush and among the rocks which a clever man -would be likely to use; and being a clever man himself, he unerringly -picked certain openings and almost instantly riveted his gaze on a -sign: a toe print at his left. Close to it was another, and the way in -which the sand had been pushed up told him that the first had been made -by a man crawling west; and the other announced to him that it had been -made by a man moving east. Luke deduced that the same man, returning -over his own trail, had made the second as well as the first. - -Luke was relieved, and, havin' a safe trail to follow, he pushed on -rapidly but silently, soon reaching the place where it ended; and in -plain sight of him, through the thin growth of brush, was Fleming's -body. One glance at it and Luke turned, following the trail back as he -had come; and an hour later, having learned a great deal, he ran and -crept, leaped and wriggled up to the place where his friend lay and -petulantly cursed the flies. - -"Ijut Number Two," said Luke pleasantly, "where are you?" - -"Talkin' to hisself again," grumbled a low voice from the mysterious -passages under a great, tumbled mass of bowlders. "If a body meet a -body, reachin' for th' rye," continued the vexed voice, "whose treat is -it?" - -"Depends on who can't keep still," answered Luke brightly. "We are two -ijuts," he said positively and flatly. - -"Well, I allus like a man that speaks his mind, even if he _is_ a -liar," commented the mysterious voice. "D--n these flies! I crawled in -here to get rid of 'em; but they come right along. An' a little while -back I smelled a striped kitty-cat. I knowed what it was because th' -wind wasn't blowin' from yore direction." - -"Cuss his impudence!" said Luke. "He takes me for a wild flower! A -rose, mebby. An' me comin' out here to save his worthless life!" - -"You didn't do nothin' of th' kind," contradicted the sepulchral voice. -"You come out here to practice with Colonel Bowie! I can prove it -before any fool jury. D--n th' flies!" - -"What flies?" innocently demanded Luke, his voice suggesting a hot -curiosity and a thirsty yearning for knowledge. - -"Time," said the other. "Time flies; an' I've had these flies all th' -time. It's time they flies away, to fly back another day. You leave -yours behind you, Cow Face, if you visit me." - -"Ain't got none; an' ain't seen none," replied Luke cheerfully. - -"Twice a liar," observed Johnny pleasantly. "Why don't you learn to -speak th' truth sometimes? I'm worried about yore soul." - -"I'm worried about my belly an' my knees. They're scraped clean, -wrigglin' over rock." - -"'Tain't possible; not at yore age," commented Johnny. "Th' -accumulations of years can't be got rid of so easy, Old Timer." - -"No wonder they chased him off th' Tin Cup," grinned Luke. "We are two -ijuts." - -"Listen to th' jackass," said Johnny. "Th' flies that flew an' flied; -th' flies that crawled an' died; th' flies that buzzed an'--an'--holy -h--l! Did you _ever_ see so many of 'em?" - -"I done listened to th' jackass," grunted Luke. "An' now I observes, -gentle but firm: We are two ijuts." - -"We are one _ijut_," corrected Johnny. "You are th' one. A soft answer -turneth away wrath." - -"I am an ijut; an' you are an ijut," replied Luke with exaggerated -patience. "That makes two; an' so we are _two_ ijuts." - -"Can't you say nothin' else, One Ijut?" demanded Johnny peevishly. -"Yo're tiresome; yo're a repeater, rim fire, Chestnut, model of 1873. -I'm lazy by nature; but doin' nothin' _all_ th' time is hard work. It -don't set right. They have taken her to Georgia, there to wear her life -away. An' my neck aches from lookin' up, an' holdin' my head out on th' -end of it. My stummick an' my elbows, my knees an' my toes all, all -ache. They are rock-galled. As she toils 'mid th' cotton an' th' corn." - -"Cane," corrected Luke. "Yore appalin' ignerence is discouragin'. We -are two ijuts." - -"All right; I quit," said Johnny wearily. "Have it yore own way; mebby -we are. But it could 'a' been corn just as well as cane, anyhow. Why -are we two ijuts?" - -"Because we are holdin' th' bag," said Luke sadly. - -Johnny turned around and stuck his head out. "Yes?" he inquired, with a -rising inflection. "I'm plumb insulted. I ain't never held no bag; not -never!" - -"'Tain't never too late to learn," said Luke sorrowfully. "Th' snipe -has come, an' went; an' we're _still_ holdin' th' bag." - -"Let's fill it full of flies," suggested Johnny. "Say! If you ain't -seen no flies, how did all of them get squashed on yore face?" - -"Come flyin' out of yore cave just now an' bumped into me full speed," -replied Luke, grinning. "We have been out-guessed, we have. They -smelled us out. We're two tenderfeet in a wild, bad camp. Somebody's -likely to hurt us, first thing you know. What did you see when you -wasn't killin' flies?" - -"Th' sky, th' canyon, an' th' butte." - -"Uh-huh; so did I. I saw th' butte, th' canyon, an' th' sky. Then I -moved an' saw hand prints, belly prints, toe prints, knee prints, an' -other kinds of prints. Yore friends stacked th' deck on us an' dealt -'em from th' middle. Now what?" - -"First, we eat," said Johnny, arising with alacrity. "Then, mebby, we -eat again. We drink an' we wash. I'm near half as dirty as you. What -have you found out?" - -"Did you ever see two calves, wobble-kneed, friskin' around lookin' -saucy an' full of h--l an' wisdom; but actin' plumb foolish?" - -"I shore did. I never saw no other kind, unless it was sick. Stiff -back, humped in defiance; tail tryin' to stand up; stiff-laigged, when -they didn't buckle unexpected; jumpin' sideways, tryin' to butt, an' -allus hungry. I did, Old Timer; lots an' lots of times." - -"Well, them's us," sighed Luke. "You hold yore trap an' listen while I -speaks my piece. I saw them signs, like I said. Th' cuss that made 'em -sneaked right up to my back door, went around th' side of my house, -stopped just in time for his health, backed off, saw his friend's body, -an' my pants, an' backed off some more. Then he climbed up on two good -feet an' made toe prints plumb deep. He didn't run; no, ma'am; he just -telegraphed hisself; never stopped for nothin'. He sped, he shot, he -_moved_!" - -"An' us two ijuts layin' out here in th' sun till we was cussed near -jerked meat!" growled Johnny. "I call that blamed unpolite." - -"Didn't I tell you we was two ijuts? When an older man speaks you want -to keep yore mouth shut an' yore ear tabs open. Th' young bucks go out -an' steal th' horses an' lift th' scalps; but th' old fellers make good -talk around th' council fires. Stick _that_ in yore peace pipe an' -smoke it. Might be good for your health sometime." - -"Yo're a purty spry scalper yoreself," admitted Johnny. "Regular old -he-whizzer; but you got no morals, an' a very bad, disgustin' habit. -I'm surprised you didn't take scalps, too!" - -"You let the Colonel alone," warned Luke. "Now, that rustler is some -he-whizzer hisself, an' he won't need nobody to tell him what he saw. -He's done told his tribe about that; an' bein' a stranger here I'm -only guessin'. Say what's on yore mind." - -"Th' young buck will now talk at th' council fire," grinned Johnny. -"Yo're right, for once. It wasn't th' cook. I never saw a cook yet that -could move around so nobody could hear him. It wasn't Gates, because -he's wounded several; an' I don't think it was that other feller, -because somehow I ain't feverishly admirin' his brains. That leaves -Quigley; an' he ain't no fool _all_ th' time. I can see him beatin' -hell an' high-water to his three stone shacks, where his friends are, -an' where his guns, grub, clothes, an' other things are. I can see four -men lookin' out of four loopholes. They are if they ain't jumped th' -country; an' if they has, we'll let 'em go. - -"Takin' a new, fresh holt, I'd say that they don't know that we'd let -'em go; an' they don't know how many we are, or where all of us are -located. They don't aim to lead us a chase; that is, mebby they don't. -Them shacks are shore strong; an' they don't know how far they might -get if they run for it. 'Tain't like open country--they got just four -places to ride out of that sink an' they all can be easy guarded." - -"They won't come out th' way they went in," said Luke. "That would be -risky an' foolish; so they's only three places left." - -"A wise man never does what he ought to do," said Johnny. "Now, I'll -bet they are either in them stone houses, or some place else," he -grinned. "Th' only way, after all, to see a good man's hand, is to call -it. Me an' you, bein' amazin' curious, will do just that. If they're -in them houses they'll be expectin' us; they'll turn th' 'Welcome' -sign to th' wall an' smoke up them loopholes. Don't interrupt me yet! -I'm long-winded an' hard to stop. Th' question is: Are you primed to -wrastle this thing out, just me an' you, or shall I watch 'em while you -go back to th' CL for help? That--" - -"I _will_ interrupt!" snorted Luke heatedly. "If it wasn't that yo're -only a fool infant, d----d if I wouldn't fan yore saddle end! I ain't -never yelled for help when it wasn't needed; an' lots of times when -it was needed I forgot to yell. Too busy, mebby. You've been running -things with a high hand out here, an' yore head reminds me of th' head -of a cow bit by a snake. It's swelled scandalous. I'm goin' to show you -how to get four men out of them loopholes. Bein' young an' green, you'd -likely want to crawl in an' pull 'em out. But me, bein' wise, will use -brains, an' more brains. I can make a cat skin itself." - -"You want to be plumb shore that it ain't one of them striped -kitties--they look a lot alike in a poor light; an' that entrance -canyon is shore poor light. I reckon we won't eat, yet. We better -rustle for their ranch." - -"But Logan wants to know them facts that he sent us after," growled -Luke regretfully. - -"We ain't got 'em; an' we can't get 'em. Them fellers won't do no -rustlin' now, so how can we trail 'em? They're too cussed busy lookin' -out for their skins about now. An' only two of 'em ain't wounded; Purdy -an' th' cook." - -"How many cows they got?" - -"Near two hundred." - -"Holy Jumpin' Jerusalem!" snorted Luke. "We're lucky that we still got -th' ranch-house an' th' river!" - -"We're wastin' time," growled Johnny, impatiently. "There's no telling -what they're doin'. Come on. Bein' desperate, mebby they're roundin' up -to make a drive. Come on!" - - * * * * * - -It was past mid-afternoon when the two punchers looked down into the QE -valley and found relief at the sight of the cows lazily feeding. They -were scattered all over the range and both men knew that no attempt had -been made to round them up. - -Going down the blind-canyon trail, they crossed the range, climbed the -opposite cliff and finally stopped in front of the stone houses. A gun -barrel projected from a loophole in the south wall of the house nearest -the canyon, and four saddled horses were in the smaller corral. - -"There they are," said Johnny. A bullet stirred his hair and he drew -back from the rim. "We got to get 'em. Start skinnin' that cat, Old -Timer." - -"It'll shore take a lot of skinnin'," growled Luke. - -"Not if we uses 'brains an' more brains,'" jeered Johnny. "Th' young -buck will now be heard shootin' off his mouth at th' council fire; an' -you listen close, One Ijut!" - -"Have yore say," said Luke, covering a loophole which showed signs of -activity. - -"We've got to move fast, before they learn that there's only two of -us," said Johnny. "When them houses was built they was laid out with -th' idea of men bein' in _all_ of 'em; an' they'd be cussed hard to -lick, then. But I reckon they're all in that one house. There ain't men -enough to hold 'em all; an' so they favored th' one near th' canyon. -We got to keep that door shut so they can't get out an' away. I'll do -that after dark; an' I'll stampede them cayuses. That leaves 'em no -chance to make a dash an' ride for it. Now you see that little trickle -of water flowin' under th' houses? That's their water supply; I know -something about that crick; but that's another job for th' dark. Take -a look over there, where it turns. See that dirt bank, on th' bend? -That's where they turned it out of its course an' sent it flowin' in -th' ditch leadin' to th' houses. Do you reckon you could cut that bank -with Colonel Bowie an' throw a little dam across th' ditch? 'Tain't -wide; only a couple of feet. I--" - -Luke fired, and grunted regretfully. "Missed him, d--n it!" he swore, -reloading. "Gettin' so you can find work for my knife, huh?" he -chuckled. "Not bein' blind, I see th' bank an' th' bend. An' if I can't -turn that water back th' way it used to go, I'll fold up an' die. This -is like old times. You must 'a' had a real elegant, bang-up time out -here, crawlin' around an' raisin' h--l with 'em. What a grand place -for th' Colonel! I shore missed a lot; but I'm here now, an' with both -feet! Sing yore song; I'm listenin'." - -"It's sung," grinned Johnny; "an' now we got to dance." - -"I ain't as spry as I used to be," grunted Luke; "so I'll have to make -them fellers do th' dancin'." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -"ALL BUT TH' COWS" - - -Gates, the wounded, tossed restlessly in his bunk, and finally rolled -over and faced the dark room. "Never was so wide awake in my life," he -grumbled. "Been settin' around too much lately. If I wanted to stay -awake I'd be as sleepy as th' devil." - -"Better try it again," counseled Quigley, shifting from his loophole. -"You don't want to be sleepy tomorrow when yo're on guard." - -"Tom," said Gates, ignoring the advice. "I've been doin' some thinkin'. -A feller does a lot of thinkin' when he can't sleep. We made a couple -of mistakes, holin' up like this. In th' first place, if we had to hole -up, we should 'a' occupied _both_ end houses, 'stead of only one. This -way, they can walk right up to within twenty feet of us, use th' cook -shack, th' grub in th' store-house, an' them store-house loopholes, -which is worse. If we had both end houses, two men in each, they -couldn't get anywhere close to us except along th' crick an' up on th' -cliff." - -"Yes; I reckon so," said Quigley. "'Tain't too late yet, mebby. I -didn't like th' idea of splittin' up our forces. As far as grub is -concerned, we're near as well off that way as we are in our water -supply. We got grub in here for two months, an' plenty of cartridges if -we don't get reckless with 'em. Of course, I wish that other case was -in here, too; it'd give us another thousand rounds for th' rifles; but -I ain't worryin' none about that. An' I'm purty near shore, now, that -there's only two of 'em fightin' us: Nelson an' that Tedrue, judgin' -from th' knife-work." - -"That's th' way I figger it," agreed Gates. "An' that's why we -shouldn't 'a' holed up like this. Me ah' th' cook could 'a' held this -house, while you an' Purdy was on th' outside stalkin' 'em. Any man -that can stalk like you can is plumb wastin' his time cooped up in -here; an' you could 'a' made things sizzlin' hot for them two fellers, -good as they are. This way, they've got us located, an' they only have -to look for trouble in front of 'em. They know where to expect it all -th' time. It was a big mistake." - -"Mebby," grunted Quigley. "We'll try it in here tonight an' tomorrow, -an' then if we don't have no luck, I'll fade away tomorrow night an' -give 'em a taste of Injun fightin'. There ain't no moon this week, so -we can pick our time to suit ourselves." - -Purdy leaned his rifle against the wall and groped for the water -bucket. "I'll make a try for that extra case of cartridges right now, -if you say th' word," he offered. "Huh! We shore drink a lot of water," -he grunted. "I filled this pail before sundown, an' it's near empty -now. Too much bacon, I reckon." - -Quigley laughed softly. "Water is one thing we don't have to worry -about at all. That ditch was a great idea." - -Could he have followed the ditch in the dark he would have been -surprised to have seen the dam across it, and the cut through the -artificial bank, where Luke Tedrue and a commandeered shovel had -released the little stream and let it flow to Rustler Creek along its -old, original bed down a shallow gully. That was Johnny's idea; but -after the old scout had carried it out, he had an idea of his own which -pleased him greatly, and he acted upon it without loss of time. - -The cook stirred and sat up, feeling for his pipe, which was always -his first act upon awakening. He grunted sleepily and sat on the edge -of his bunk. "This is a whole lot like bein' in jail," he yawned. "An' -what do you think? I dreamed that somebody had just tapped a keg of -beer, an' when I sidled over to see that none of it was wasted, why I -woke up! That's allus my luck. How soon'll it be daylight? That dream -made me thirsty. Where's that cussed water bucket?" - -"Right where it was th' last time you found it," grinned Purdy. "It -ain't moved none at all." - -"Yo're right, it ain't," grumbled the cook, scraping a tin cup across -the bottom of the pail. "It never does unless _I_ do it. I'll bet four -bits that I've filled it every time it got empty; an' I'll bet four -bits more that I ain't goin' to fill it _this_ time," he chuckled. -"There's just enough here for me. Th' next gent that wants a drink -will be observed bendin' over th' trapdoor an' fillin' it for hisself. -Here's how! An' d--n th' beer what only comes in dreams." - -Gates crawled out of his bunk and limped to the bucket. "Get out of my -way," he growled. "Speakin' of beer started my throat to raspin'. No -you don't; not a-tall," he grumbled, pushing the cook aside. "I'll wait -on myself, slugs or _no_ slugs. I ain't no teethin' infant, even if I -_am_ full of holes." He crossed to the trapdoor and fumbled around in -the dark. "Huh! I knowed it couldn't get far away. I've been kneelin' -on it all th' time!" - -"Better lemme do that," offered the cook, advancing. - -"Better yore grandmother," said Gates. "No, ma'am; you put on too many -airs, you do." He raised the door. "You might strain yore delicate -back, Cookie, old boss. An' anyhow, I'm aimin' to spite you for that -unnecessary remark about openin' a keg of beer. This ain't no time to -talk about things like that." He leaned down and swung the bucket, but -there was no splash, only a rattling, tinny thump. "Why," said his -muffled voice, "there ain't no water here! Mebby I missed it. Why, d--n -it, there ain't no water here a-tall! What th'--" His voice ceased -abruptly and a solid, muffled thump came up through the opening. - -The cook, leaning forward in the position he had frozen in when he had -grasped the significance of the sound of the striking bucket, moved -toward the trap, feeling before him. He touched the edge of the opening -and swiftly felt around it. Gates was not there. - -"D--n it, he's fell in!" he muttered. "It wasn't no job for a wounded -man like him, bendin' over that way. Here, Purdy!" he called "Gimme -a hand with Ben. He plumb keeled over an' fell in." He reached down -impatiently and felt around. "H--l!" he yelled as an up-thrust hand -gripped him, jerked him off his balance and pulled him down through the -opening. "Look out, fellers!" he shouted. - -A second thump, softer than the first, ended the cry, and Purdy, -leaping forward, slammed shut the trap and bolted it. "More -knife-work!" he gritted, pale with rage. Arising, he leaped toward the -cabin door, yanked it open and dashed along the house, staggering as a -finger of flame spurted from a loophole in the wall of the store-house, -but recovered his balance and turned the corner. As he did so he -caught sight of a thickening in the darkness, which moved swiftly and -silently along the ditch, and he fired at it. Something whizzed past -his neck and rang out, sharp and clear as a bell, on the end wall of -the house. He answered it with another shot and saw the blot stagger -and fall. - -From the ditch came a spurt of fire and Purdy plunged forward, firing -as he fell. Another shot answered him and again he fired, but with a -weak and shaking hand. Then from a loophole behind him Quigley's rifle -poked out and sent shot after shot along the ditch, firing on a gamble. - -As the rifle spoke, a shadow flitted past the corner of the -store-house, passed swiftly and silently across the space between -the two houses and plunged through the open door of the rustlers' -stronghold. It tripped over a box and sprawled headlong just as Quigley -wheeled and sent a bullet through the space Johnny had occupied an -instant before. - -Leaping to his feet, Johnny hurled himself upon the rustler, wrenched -the rifle loose and gripped the owner's throat. Plunging, heaving, -straining, they thrashed around the room, smashing into bunks, breaking -dishes; hammering, gouging, biting, choking, they bumped into the door, -plunged through the opening and carried the struggle out under the sky. - -Quigley, his face purple and his eyes popping out, almost senseless on -his feet, and fighting from instinct, managed to break the grip on his -throat and showered blows on his enemy's face. Sinking his teeth in -Johnny's upper arm, he got both of his hands around Johnny's throat and -closed his grip with all his weakened strength. - -Across the yard they reeled, bumped into the corral and along it, -following the slope of the ground without thought. Johnny, suffocating, -thrust the heel of his right hand against his enemy's nose and pushed -upward and back, while his left hand, leaving the gripping fingers -around his throat, smashed heavily into Quigley's stomach. The hands -relaxed, loosened their grip and fell away, and before they could -regain their hold, Johnny's chin settled firmly against his chest and -protected his windpipe. Just in time he caught Quigley's gun hand and -tore the Colt out of it, whereupon Quigley hammered his face with both -hands. Shoving, wrestling, reeling, they came to the edge of the ravine -through which flowed Rustler Creek, and, plunging over the steep bank, -rolled to the bottom and stopped in the mud and water of the creek -itself, where they fought lying down, each trying desperately to remain -on top. - -Quigley's hand brushed one of Johnny's guns, gripped it, drew it out -and shoved the muzzle against his enemy's side. As he pulled the -trigger Johnny writhed swiftly and turned the muzzle away. Squirming on -top, he again turned the muzzle away as Quigley fired the second time. -At the roar of the shot the rustler grunted and grew suddenly limp. - - * * * * * - -Logan pushed back from the dinner table and glanced out of the window. -Shouting an exclamation he leaped for the door, the rest of the outfit -piling pell-mell at his heels. - -A black horse, carrying double, stopped near the door and eager hands -caught Luke Tedrue as he fell from Pepper's back. Johnny, covered -with mud, dust, blood, and powder grime, his clothes torn into shreds -and his face a battered mass of red and black and blue flesh, swayed -slightly, grasped the saddle horn with both hands and sat stiffly erect -again. - -"Good Lord!" shouted Logan, jumping to him. "What th' h--l's up?" - -"Rustlin'," muttered Johnny. "Luke's brains got foundered in th' head -an' he pulled three of 'em out of a hole; but I made Quigley skin th' -cat." - -"Are they _all_ gone under?" yelled Logan incredulously. - -"All but th' cows," sighed Johnny, and strong arms caught him as he -fell. - - - - -Popular Copyright Novels - -_AT MODERATE PRICES_ - -Ask Your Dealer for a Complete List of A. L. Burt Company's Popular -Copyright Fiction - - -=Abner Daniel.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Adventures of Gerard.= By A. Conan Doyle. - -=Adventures of a Modest Man.= By Robert W. Chambers. - -=Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.= By A. Conan Doyle. - -=Adventures of Jimmie Dale, The.= By Frank L. Packard. - -=After House, The.= By Mary Roberts Rinehart. - -=Alisa Paige.= By Robert W. Chambers. - -=Alton of Somasco.= By Harold Bindloss. - -=A Man's Man.= By Ian Hay. - -=Amateur Gentleman, The.= By Jeffery Farnol. - -=Andrew The Glad.= By Maria Thompson Daviess. - -=Ann Boyd.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Anna the Adventuress.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Another Man's Shoes.= By Victor Bridges. - -=Ariadne of Allan Water.= By Sidney McCall. - -=Armchair at the Inn, The.= By F. Hopkinson Smith. - -=Around Old Chester.= By Margaret Deland. - -=Athalie.= By Robert W. Chambers. - -=At the Mercy of Tiberius.= By Augusta Evans Wilson. - -=Auction Block, The.= By Rex Beach. - -=Aunt Jane.= By Jeanette Lee. - -=Aunt Jane of Kentucky.= By Eliza C. Hall. - -=Awakening of Helena Richie.= By Margaret Deland. - - -=Bambi.= By Marjorie Benton Cooke. - -=Bandbox, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance. - -=Barbara of the Snows.= By Harry Irving Green. - -=Bar 20.= By Clarence E. Mulford. - -=Bar 20 Days.= By Clarence E. Mulford. - -=Barrier, The.= By Rex Beach. - -=Beasts of Tarzan, The.= By Edgar Rice Burroughs. - -=Beechy=. By Bettina Von Hutten. - -=Bella Donna.= By Robert Hitchens. - -=Beloved Vagabond, The.= By Wm. J. Locke. - -=Beltane the Smith.= By Jeffery Farnol. - -=Ben Blair.= By Will Lillibridge. - -=Betrayal, The.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Better Man, The.= By Cyrus Townsend Brady. - -=Beulah.= (Ill. Ed.) By Augusta J. Evans. - -=Beyond the Frontier.= By Randall Parrish. - -=Black Is White.= By George Barr McCutcheon. - -=Blind Man's Eyes, The.= By Wm. MacHarg & Edwin Balmer. - -=Bob Hampton of Placer.= By Randall Parrish. - -=Bob, Son of Battle.= By Alfred Ollivant. - -=Britton of the Seventh.= By Cyrus Townsend Brady. - -=Broad Highway, The.= By Jeffery Farnol. - -=Bronze Bell, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance. - -=Bronze Eagle, The.= By Baroness Orczy. - -=Buck Peters, Ranchman.= By Clarence E. Mulford. - -=Business of Life, The.= By Robert W. Chambers. - -=By Right of Purchase.= By Harold Bindloss. - - -=Cabbages and Kings.= By O. Henry. - -=Calling of Dan Matthews, The.= By Harold Bell Wright. - -=Cape Cod Stories.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=Cap'n Dan's Daughter.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=Cap'n Eri.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=Cap'n Warren's Wards.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=Cardigan.= By Robert W. Chambers. - -=Carpet From Bagdad, The.= By Harold MacGrath. - -=Cease Firing.= By Mary Johnson. - -=Chain of Evidence, A.= By Carolyn Wells. - -=Chief Legatee, The.= By Anna Katharine Green. - -=Cleek of Scotland Yard.= By T. W. Hanshew. - -=Clipped Wings.= By Rupert Hughes. - -=Coast of Adventure, The.= By Harold Bindloss. - -=Colonial Free Lance, A.= By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. - -=Coming of Cassidy, The.= By Clarence E. Mulford. - -=Coming of the Law, The.= By Chas. A. Seltzer. - -=Conquest of Canaan, The.= By Booth Tarkington. - -=Conspirators, The.= By Robt. W. Chambers. - -=Counsel for the Defense.= By Leroy Scott - -=Court of Inquiry, A.= By Grace S. Richmond. - -=Crime Doctor, The.= By E. W. Hornung - -=Crimson Gardenia, The, and Other Tales of Adventure.= By Rex Beach. - -=Cross Currents.= By Eleanor H. Porter. - -=Cry in the Wilderness, A.= By Mary E. Waller. - -=Cynthia of the Minute.= By Louis Jos. Vance. - - -=Dark Hollow, The.= By Anna Katharine Green. - -=Dave's Daughter.= By Patience Bevier Cole. - -=Day of Days, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance. - -=Day of the Dog, The.= By George Barr McCutcheon. - -=Depot Master, The.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=Desired Woman, The.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Destroying Angel, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance. - -=Dixie Hart.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Double Traitor, The.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Drusilla With a Million.= By Elizabeth Cooper. - - -=Eagle of the Empire, The.= By Cyrus Townsend Brady. - -=El Dorado.= By Baroness Orczy. - -=Elusive Isabel.= By Jacques Futrelle. - -=Empty Pockets.= By Rupert Hughes. - -=Enchanted Hat, The.= By Harold MacGrath. - -=Eye of Dread, The.= By Payne Erskine. - -=Eyes of the World, The.= By Harold Bell Wright. - - -=Felix O'Day.= By F. Hopkinson Smith. - -=50-40 or Fight.= By Emerson Hough. - -=Fighting Chance, The.= By Robert W. Chambers. - -=Financier, The.= By Theodore Dreiser. - -=Flamsted Quarries.= By Mary E. Waller. - -=Flying Mercury, The.= By Eleanor M. Ingram. - -=For a Maiden Brave.= By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. - -=Four Million, The.= By O. Henry. - -=Four Pool's Mystery, The.= By Jean Webster. - -=Fruitful Vine, The.= By Robert Hichens. - - -=Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford.= By George Randolph Chester. - -=Gilbert Neal.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Girl From His Town, The.= By Marie Van Vorst. - -=Girl of the Blue Ridge, A.= By Payne Erskine. - -=Girl Who Lived in the Woods, The.= By Marjorie Benton Cook. - -=Girl Who Won, The.= By Beth Ellis. - -=Glory of Clementina, The.= By Wm. J. Locke. - -=Glory of the Conquered, The.= By Susan Glaspell. - -=God's Country and the Woman.= By James Oliver Curwood. - -=God's Good Man.= By Marie Corelli. - -=Going Some.= By Rex Beach. - -=Gold Bag, The.= By Carolyn Wells. - -=Golden Slipper, The.= By Anna Katharine Green. - -=Golden Web, The.= By Anthony Partridge. - -=Gordon Craig.= By Randall Parrish. - -=Greater Love Hath No Man.= By Frank L. Packard. - -=Greyfriars Bobby.= By Eleanor Atkinson. - -=Guests of Hercules, The.= By C. N. & A. M. Williamson. - - -=Halcyone.= By Elinor Glyn. - -=Happy Island= (Sequel to Uncle William). By Jeannette Lee. - -=Havoc.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Heart of Philura, The.= By Florence Kingsley. - -=Heart of the Desert, The.= By Honoré Willsie. - -=Heart of the Hills, The.= By John Fox, Jr. - -=Heart of the Sunset.= By Rex Beach. - -=Heart of Thunder Mountain, The.= By Elfrid A. Bingham. - -=Heather-Moon, The.= By C. N. and A. M. Williamson. - -=Her Weight in Gold.= By Geo. B. McCutcheon. - -=Hidden Children, The.= By Robert W. Chambers. - -=Hoosier Volunteer, The.= By Kate and Virgil D. Boyles. - -=Hopalong Cassidy.= By Clarence E. Mulford. - -=How Leslie Loved.= By Anne Warner. - -=Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker.= By S. Weir Mitchell, M.D. - -=Husbands of Edith, The.= By George Barr McCutcheon. - - -=I Conquered.= By Harold Titus. - -=Illustrious Prince, The.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Idols.= By William J. Locke. - -=Indifference of Juliet, The.= By Grace S. Richmond. - -=Inez.= (Ill. Ed.) By Augusta J. Evans. - -=Infelice.= By Augusta Evans Wilson. - -=In Her Own Right.= By John Reed Scott. - -=Initials Only.= By Anna Katharine Green. - -=In Another Girl's Shoes.= By Berta Ruck. - -=Inner Law, The.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Innocent.= By Marie Corelli. - -=Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu, The.= By Sax Rohmer. - -=In the Brooding Wild.= By Ridgwell Cullum. - -=Intrigues, The.= By Harold Bindloss. - -=Iron Trail, The.= By Rex Beach. - -=Iron Woman, The.= By Margaret Deland. - -=Ishmael.= (Ill.) By Mrs. Southworth. - -=Island of Regeneration, The.= By Cyrus Townsend Brady. - -=Island of Surprise, The.= By Cyrus Townsend Brady. - - -=Japonette.= By Robert W. Chambers. - -=Jean of the Lazy A.= By B. M. Bower. - -=Jeanne of the Marshes.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Jennie Gerhardt.= By Theodore Dreiser. - -=Joyful Heatherby.= By Payne Erskine. - -=Jude the Obscure.= By Thomas Hardy. - -=Judgment House, The.= By Gilbert Parker. - - -=Keeper of the Door, The.= By Ethel M. Dell. - -=Keith of the Border.= By Randall Parrish. - -=Kent Knowles: Quahaug.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=King Spruce.= By Holman Day. - -=Kingdom of Earth, The.= By Anthony Partridge. - -=Knave of Diamonds, The.= By Ethel M. Dell. - - -=Lady and the Pirate, The.= By Emerson Hough. - -=Lady Merton, Colonist.= By Mrs. Humphrey Ward. - -=Landloper, The.= By Holman Day. - -=Land of Long Ago, The.= By Eliza Calvert Hall. - -=Last Try, The.= By John Reed Scott. - -=Last Shot, The.= By Frederick N. Palmer. - -=Last Trail, The.= By Zane Grey. - -=Laughing Cavalier, The.= By Baroness Orczy. - -=Law Breakers, The.= By Ridgwell Cullum. - -=Lighted Way, The.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. By C. N. & A. N. -Williamson. - -=Lin McLean.= By Owen Wister. - -=Little Brown Jug at Kildare, The.= By Meredith Nicholson. - -=Lone Wolf, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance. - -=Long Roll, The.= By Mary Johnson. - -=Lonesome Land.= By B. M. Bower. By C. N. and A. M. Williamson. - -=Lost Ambassador.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Lost Prince, The.= By Frances Hodgson Burnett. - -=Lost Road, The.= By Richard Harding Davis. - -=Love Under Fire.= By Randall Parrish. - - -=Macaria.= (Ill. Ed.) By Augusta J. Evans. - -=Maids of Paradise, The.= By Robert W. Chambers. - -=Maid of the Forest, The.= By Randall Parrish. - -=Maid of the Whispering Hills, The.= By Vingie E. Roe. - -=Making of Bobby Burnit, The.= By Randolph Chester. - -=Making Money.= By Owen Johnson. - -=Mam' Linda.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Man Outside, The.= By Wyndham Martyn. - -=Man Trail, The.= By Henry Oyen. - -=Marriage.= By H. G. Wells. - -=Marriage of Theodora, The.= By Mollie Elliott Seawell. - -=Mary Moreland.= By Marie Van Vorst. - -=Master Mummer, The.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Max.= By Katherine Cecil Thurston. - -=Maxwell Mystery, The.= By Caroline Wells. - -=Mediator, The.= By Roy Norton. - -=Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.= By A. Conan Doyle. - -=Mischief Maker, The.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Miss Gibbie Gault.= By Kate Langley Bosher. - -=Miss Philura's Wedding Gown.= By Florence Morse Kingsley. - -=Molly McDonald.= By Randall Parrish. - -=Money Master, The.= By Gilbert Parker. - -=Money Moon. The.= By Jeffery Farnol. - -=Motor Maid, The.= By C. N and A. M. Williamson. - -=Moth, The.= By William Dana Orcutt. - -=Mountain Girl, The.= By Payne Erskine. - -=Mr. Bingle.= By George Barr McCutcheon. - -=Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Mr. Pratt.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=Mr. Pratt's Patients.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=Mrs. Balfame.= By Gertrude Atherton. - -=Mrs. Red Pepper.= By Grace S. Richmond. - -=My Demon Motor Boat.= By George Fitch. - -=My Friend the Chauffeur.= By C. N. and A. M. Williamson. - -=My Lady Caprice.= By Jeffery Farnol. - -=My Lady of Doubt.= By Randall Parrish. - -=My Lady of the North.= By Randall Parrish. - -=My Lady of the South.= By Randall Parrish. - - -=Ne'er-Do-Well, The.= By Rex Beach. - -=Net, The.= By Rex Beech. - -=New Clarion.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Night Riders, The.= By Ridgwell Cullum. - -=Night Watches.= By W. W. Jacobs. - -=Nobody.= By Louis Joseph Vance. - - -=Once Upon a Time.= By Richard Harding Davis. - -=One Braver Thing.= By Richard Dehan. - -=One Way Trail, The.= By Ridgwell Cullum. - -=Otherwise Phyllis.= By Meredith Nicholson. - - -=Pardners.= By Rex Beach. - -=Parrott & Co.= By Harold MacGrath. - -=Partners of the Tide.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=Passionate Friends, The.= By H. G. Wells. - -=Patrol of the Sun Dance Trail, The.= By Ralph Connor. - -=Paul Anthony, Christian.= By Hiram W. Hayes. - -=Perch of the Devil.= By Gertrude Atherton. - -=Peter Ruff.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=People's Man, A.= By E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Phillip Steele.= By James Oliver Curwood. - -=Pidgin Island.= By Harold MacGrath. - -=Place of Honeymoon, The.= By Harold MacGrath. - -=Plunderer, The.= By Roy Norton. - -=Pole Baker.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Pool of Flame, The.= By Louis Joseph Vance. - -=Port of Adventure, The.= By C. N. and A. M. Williamson. - -=Postmaster, The.= By Joseph C. Lincoln. - -=Power and the Glory, The.= By Grace McGowan Cooke. - -=Prairie Wife, The.= By Arthur Stringer. - -=Price of Love, The.= By Arnold Bennett. - -=Price of the Prairie, The.= By Margaret Hill McCarter. - -=Prince of Sinners.= By A. E. Phillips Oppenheim. - -=Princes Passes, The.= By C. N. and A. M. Williamson. - -=Princess Virginia, The.= By C. N. and A. N. Williamson. - -=Promise, The.= By J. B. Hendryx. - -=Purple Parasol, The.= By Geo. B. McCutcheon. - - -=Ranch at the Wolverine, The.= By B. M. Bower. - -=Ranching for Sylvia.= By Harold Bindloss. - -=Real Man, The.= By Francis Lynde. - -=Reason Why, The.= By Elinor Glyn. - -=Red Cross Girl, The.= By Richard Harding Davis. - -=Red Mist, The.= By Randall Parrish. - -=Redemption of Kenneth Galt, The.= By Will N. Harben. - -=Red Lane, The.= By Holman Day. - -=Red Mouse, The.= By Wm. Hamilton Osborne. - -=Red Pepper Burns.= By Grace S. Richmond. - -=Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary, The.= By Anne Warner. - -=Return of Tarzan, The.= By Edgar Rice Burroughs. - -=Riddle of Night, The.= By Thomas W. Hanshew. - -=Rim of the Desert, The.= By Ada Woodruff Anderson. - -=Rise of Roscoe Paine, The.= By J. C. Lincoln. - -=Road to Providence, The.= By Maria Thompson Daviess. - -=Robinetta.= By Kate Douglas Wiggin. - -=Rocks of Valpré, The.= By Ethel M. Dell. - -=Rogue by Compulsion, A.= By Victor Bridges. - -=Rose in the Ring, The.= By George Barr McCutcheon. - -=Rose of the World.= By Agnes and Egerton Castle. - -=Rose of Old Harpeth, The.= By Maria Thompson Daviess. - -=Round the Corner in Gay Street.= By Grace S. Richmond. - -=Routledge Rides Alone.= By Will L. Comfort. - - -=St. Elmo.= (Ill. Ed.) By Augusta J. Evans. - -=Salamander, The.= By Owen Johnson. - -=Scientific Sprague.= By Francis Lynde. - -=Second Violin, The.= By Grace S. Richmond. - -=Secret of the Reef, The.= By Harold Bindloss. - -=Secret History.= By C. N. & A. M. Williamson. - -=Self-Raised.= (Ill.) By Mrs. Southworth. - -=Septimus.= By William J. Locke. - -=Set in Silver.= By C. N. and A. M. Williamson. - -=Seven Darlings, The.= By Gouverneur Morris. - -=Shea of the Irish Brigade.= By Randall Parrish. - -=Shepherd of the Hills, The.= By Harold Bell Wright. - -=Sheriff of Dyke Hole, The.= By Ridgwell Cullum. - -=Sign at Six, The.= By Stewart Edw. White. - -=Silver Horde, The.= By Rex Beach. - -=Simon the Jester.= By William J. Locke. - -=Siren of the Snows, A.= By Stanley Shaw. - -=Sir Richard Calmady.= By Lucas Malet. - -=Sixty-First Second, The.= By Owen Johnson. - -=Slim Princess, The.= By George Ade. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Man From Bar 20, by Clarence E. Mulford - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN FROM BAR 20 *** - -***** This file should be named 56154-8.txt or 56154-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/6/1/5/56154/ - -Produced by Carlos Colón, the New York Public Library and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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