A BIG RAID
Into the bunk tent of the older cowboys crowded the young ranch
lads. Doubt, suspicion and wonder mingled in their minds, and
foremost of all were two outstanding matters--the mysterious
signalling light, and the disappearance of Four Eyes--if, indeed,
that individual had really taken himself off.
"Are you sure he was here?" asked Bud, when, after the first
break of surprise, questions were in order.
"Sure," replied Yellin' Kid. "We all come in here, after th'
chores was done, t' have a friendly game of cards an' smoke. We
didn't look for you back until late, if at all."
"And was Four Eyes with you then?" asked Nort.
"You couldn't exactly say he was _with_ us," replied Snake.
"An' yet he wasn't _away_ from us. He pretended he didn't
want t' play cards, an' he said he was so doggoned tired an'
sleepy that he was goin' t' turn in. I told him that bein' in th'
same tent with a whisperin' infant like Yellin' Kid, wasn't
perzactly healthy for sleep, but Four Eyes said he didn't mind.
So he turned int' his bunk, an' pulled th' covers tip over his
head, though I don't see how he stood it, for it isn't winter,
not by a long shot, an' this place was full of smoke. Anyhow he
done it, an' t' keep th' light out of his eyes, so he said, he
pulled a chair up in front of his bunk like you see it now, an'
stuck his coat over it."
Snake pointed to a chair, now twisted awry from in front of the
cot that the missing cowboy had occupied. His coat, draped over
the back, effectually screened him from observation when lying on
the bed.
"He did that so's he could slip out an' get away!" spoke Yellin'
Kid, justifying the sarcastic name of "whispering infant," that
Snake had bestowed on him.
"But how did he get out?" asked Dick.
"And what for?" Bud wanted to know,
"He got out this way!" said Old Billee quietly, as he leaned over
the cot and pushed with his hand against the side of the tent. A
right-angled opening was disclosed, cut with a sharp knife. The
loose point was at the bottom, and once Four Eyes had slipped
out, the cut flap hung down in place, not disclosing, in the dim
light, that the canvas had been cut.
"He got out that way," went on Old Billee, "because th' tent
sides, bein' fast t' th' board floor, wouldn't let him crawl out
very easy. He's a slick one, Four Eyes is!"
"But why should he slip out this way? Did he do anything? And who
was doing that signalling?" exclaimed Bud.
"I reckon you'll find, son, that the signallin' an' th' vamoosin'
of our late friend Four Eyes had some connection," spoke Old
Billee. "We, bein' intent on our game of cards, didn't know
nothin' at all 'bout it till you fellows rode up. Now it's about
time we got int' action!"
"You win!" declared Yellin' Kid loudly. "There's suthin' queer
prospectin' around these diggings an' I'd like t' know what it
is!"
"I guess we all would," spoke Bud. "And we'd better start right
in to find out about it. Come on, boys," he called to his
cousins, but the older cow punchers took the invitation to
themselves also, and soon, with lanterns and flashlights (which
handy little contrivances the boy ranchers nearly always carried)
they began the search.
First they made sure that Four Eyes was playing no trick on them
by hiding under one of the cots in the bunk tent. Though, as Bud
pointed out, it would pass the bounds of fun to have cut the
canvas shelter as it was cut.
But no trace of Four Eyes was to be found.
"He's gone, hide, hair, horns, brand an' everythin'!" was the way
Old Billee expressed it.
"How about his horse?" asked Nort.
"He didn't get his black one back," remarked Snake. "But he may
have sort of helped himself to one of yours, Bud."
This was found to be the case when the corral was visited. It
could hardly have been expected, in that country of great
distances, that the missing cowboy would not take a horse.
"And now let's have a look at the tower," suggested Bud, when a
rapid survey, under the fitful moonlight, had been made in the
vicinity of the camp, and no trace of the missing man discovered.
"Some one was signalling from up there, and it must have been
Four Eyes."
"It _could_ have been some one else," suggested Dick, not
because he believed that, but because he wanted to sift all the
evidence and get to the bottom of matters.
"Yes, it may have been a wandering cowboy, Greaser or some
Indian, far from his native reservation," Bud admitted. "But I'm
saying it was Four Eyes, though why he did it I can't imagine."
Nor could any of the others. Or, if they had a theory, they did
not give voice to it, though, afterward, one and all said they
had associated the missing cowboy with the rustlers.
But a search on and near the hastily-built watch tower disclosed
nothing. On the top platform, whence, doubtless, the signalling
lantern had been waved, no light was found. There were burned
matches and cigarette stubs, to be sure, but these were as much
the discarded property of Yellin' Kid or Snake, as of Four Eyes,
for they all had taken turns doing sentry duty, and, as it was
lonesome up on the high perch, smoking was indulged in.
"Well, he's away, and that's all there is to it," said Bud, when
the search was over. "Now all we've got to do is to wait for
something to happen."
"Do you think something will happen?" asked Nort.
"Well, things have been happening ever since we came out here,"
observed Dick. "First it was the finding of the Triceratops. Then
it was the water fight in the mysterious tunnel, and now it's the
rustlers after our cattle. Isn't that enough to happen?"
"Oh, yes," admitted Nort. "But I thought Bud meant something
special was about due."
"It wouldn't surprise me if it did happen," declared the western
lad. "But I wasn't thinking of anything out of the usual. Only
the combination--Four Eyes missing and us seeing the light makes
me suspicious. So I'm ready for anything."
"And I'm ready for my bunk!" declared Dick, with a yawn. "It's
most morning! Let's turn in!"
They did, but none of the boy ranchers rested well, for they were
too worried.
What did it all mean? And what events portended? These were
questions they wished soon would be answered.
The morning did not bring the return of Four Eyes, nor in the
better light were any more clues discovered at the Watch Tower.
Looking from its height, over the peaceful valley, the boy
ranchers saw nothing evil, and there was no hint of coming
disaster other than in the suspicions engendered by the recent
strange happenings.
"Do you suppose that signalling could have meant an Indian
uprising?" asked Nort.
"Cracky! If it does we'll have to fight 'em, won't we?" asked
Dick, with sparkling eyes.
"I don't imagine the Indians around here have any notion of
rising," said Bud. "They have done such things, years ago, but I
doubt if they have enough spirit left for it now. They are too
well satisfied with their lot. But of course it's possible,
though Buck Tooth says he doesn't look for anything of the sort.
But then he's been with white men so long he isn't really much of
an Indian any more."
"Well, if there's any Indian fighting to be done I want to do my
share!" declared Dick, and his brother nodded in confirmation.
But as several days passed, and nothing more happened than the
usual hard work on the ranch, the apprehensions of the boys began
to disappear. They made inquiries about Four Eyes, but no one on
the neighboring ranches had seen him. Mr. Merkel expressed
himself as greatly disappointed in the character of the cowboy he
had sent to his son.
"Maybe you got off lucky, with only a cut tent," the ranchman
observed. "But better be on your guard, son."
"We will, Dad," replied the western lad.
It was about a week after the signal lights had been observed,
the disappearance of Four Eyes coinciding, that, as Bud and his
cousins were eating "grub" in camp one noon, they heard shots
fired off to the north, and in the direction of the trail between
Happy Valley and Diamond X ranch.
"What's that?" asked Nort, starting from his seat.
"Stampede, maybe," suggested Dick, for the boys knew that the
older cowboys were in that direction, rounding up a small herd
which had been purchased and that was to be shipped east.
Bud hurried to the entrance of the tent and what he saw caused
him to cry:
"Come on, boys! It's the rustlers again! They're making a raid!
Get your guns!"
In less time than you would have deemed possible, unless you had
seen it, the boy ranchers were in the saddle, and were galloping
toward the scene of the shooting. The sounds were more plain,
now, and as they straightened out on the trail they could see
where a fight was in progress.