THE NEW COW-BOY
When the girls awakened from their siesta, arm in arm they sauntered
down to the corral where they saw Tenderfoot Tom trying to ride a
broncho, but without much success. He leaped to the ground when he
beheld the girls and removing his hat, in a manner unknown to
cow-boys, he held it while he talked. “Young ladies,” he said, “do I
look important? Slim and Rusty Pete have gone with your brother to
some distant part of the range and may be away until the morrow and
I, if you please, am the cow-boy in charge of V. M. Ranch and no
longer merely a—.”
He did not finish the sentence and Virg wondered if he had planned
saying outlaw, but Margaret was finishing it for him by merrily
adding, “can opener.”
“Let me prove that I really am a cook,” the lad exclaimed brightly.
“Suppose you two damsels go for a canter and do not return until six
o’clock, and then you shall see what you shall see.”
Catching and saddling Star and Comrade took but a few moments and
then the lad stood waving his sombrero to the girls as they rode
away. Ten minutes later when they had reached the top of the mesa
trail, Margaret looked back. Her exclamation of surprise caused
Virginia also to turn. They saw Tom with his gun over his shoulder
riding away in the opposite direction. “What can that mean?”
Margaret wondered. “Do you suppose that he wishes to be rid of us
that he might leave the V. M. Ranch?”
“Well, if he wants to go, let him,” Virginia replied. “We will ride
over to the junction and ask Mrs. Wells if she knows someone who
would like to cook for us. That is the part of our home work that
Uncle Tex assumes when he is here. I never knew that dear old man to
stay away from V. M. for two whole months before, and now it is
nearly three. He often goes for six weeks or so. I believe that he
likes to roam but he gets homesick after a time and comes back for a
good long stay.”
“Poor old man,” Margaret said. “Perhaps he plans staying away until
he thinks I am gone. The mere idea of being my guardian evidently
frightened him.”
Virginia smiled but her thought had reverted to Tom. “I can’t
believe that our new cow-boy is really deserting us, and yet it did
seem strange for him to ride away as soon as we were gone. However,
we will find out when we return. Here is where we dip down into the
dry creek bottom. At this time of the year it is perfectly safe to
ride along there. It’s a short-cut to the Junction but woe to man or
beast who takes it in the spring for a sudden cloud burst in the
mountains changes this creek into a raging torrent before the trail
leading out of it could possibly be reached.”
Margaret looked anxiously at the sky that was gleaming blue above
the mountains, but not a sign of a cloud was to be seen.
Half an hour later, they reached the trail that led them again to
the desert on the other side and there, near the Santa Fe tracks,
stood a combination station, general store and dwelling. In it lived
Mr. and Mrs. Wells and their small son, Danny.
When at their rap Mrs. Wells opened the door, she exclaimed:
“Virginia Davis, what is your brother thinking of to permit you to
ride around alone these days? Doesn’t he know there’s an outlaw
supposed to be hiding near here in the mountains? Folks say he is
fierce looking, like a story book pirate. There’s a posse over from
Texas hunting for him and a reward offered for his capture dead or
alive. He’ll be caught soon, of course, but till he is, seems like
you girls ought to stay pretty close to home.”
Luckily at that moment Mrs. Wells was called into the store, which
opened from her living-room, and so she did not see the look of
concern and amazement in the faces of her guests. “But that outlaw
can’t be our Tom,” Margaret protested. “He isn’t fierce looking.
He—” she said no more for their hostess was returning.
She shook her head when Virginia inquired if she could recommend
someone who could cook for them. “Miss Headsley’s gal might have
liked the place only she’s tuck another. She and Rattlesnake Jim got
jined last week and they’re homesteadin’ a place now up her pa’s
way.”
The girls refused a kindly given invitation to remain to supper and
they were soon in the saddle cantering at top-speed toward V. M.
Ranch. Virginia felt very anxious, she hardly knew why. If this
posse was really searching for Tom, she ought to be glad if he had
escaped, but it didn’t seem a bit like to him to go without even
saying goodbye. She just couldn’t believe that he had done so, but,
when they reached V. M., and no one came to take their horses, with
heavy hearts they walked up to the house from the corral.
Virg in the lead, opened the front door and then stood staring in
amazement at what she saw within.