THE THREAT
Pulling their ponies to a halt, the five gazed curiously at the
approaching rider. As he drew closer, they noticed he carried a
sawed-off "scatter-gun," otherwise a shotgun. This in itself was
strange. No true Westerner ever sports one of these, and they are
looked upon with derision by the regular "gun-totin'" cowboy. A
long-barreled Colt is the puncher's favorite weapon.
The stranger reined up sharply as he came within talking distance and
looked piercingly at the ranchers as he called out:
"Anything I can do for you?"
"Well, I don' know," answered the Kid slowly. "You might, and then
again you might not. What happens to be your special line?"
The stranger scowled.
"That's my business. What I'm aimin' to find out is, what's yours?"
"This is the Shooting Star, isn't it?" broke in Bud.
"It is."
"Well, we're the new owners. My name is Bud Merkel--my father just
bought this ranch, and we came over to take possession. This is Dick
Shannon, and his brother Nort. Billee Dobb and Yellin' Kid on my
right. Will that do you? Now how about tellin' us who you are?"
"Me? Oh, Jim'll do, I guess. I happen to be the boss hand on this
here sheep ranch. So you're the new owners, hey? Wonder what old 'J.
D.' will have to say to that. You got papers, I suppose?"
"Certainly. Here is the bill of sale, and----"
"Take it easy, Bud, take it easy," Billie Dobb cautioned in a low tone
of voice. "I don't exactly care for this feller's looks."
"Who's 'J. D.'--the one tendin' the ranch now?" asked the Kid.
"Yea--only he's not exactly tendin' it. He's here, and something tells
me he's goin' to stay here--new owners or not. 'J. D.' don't care much
about owners. What he's interested in is keepin' what he's got. And
as far as I can see, he's still got the Shootin' Star."
"I don't like to dispute your word," Nort said hotly, "but we might
have something to say about that ourselves. Come on, boys, let's ride
in."
"Just a minute--just a minute! Where you-all countin' on headin' for?"
sneered the lone horseman.
"The ranch house, of course!"
"Now just you let me give you-all a little piece of advice. I won't
charge nothin' for it, and it _might_ be useful. If I was you boys,
I'd turn _right_ around and ride the other way. Tell you what you do,
youngster--" this to Bud--"you tell your father you couldn't find the
ranch."
There was a moment's ominous silence. The Kid was the first to speak.
"Well, now, stranger, that's kind of you. Yes, sir, I think that's
right kind of you to take an interest in us like that," he drawled.
"But you know how it is. We sort of want to find out things for
ourselves. So if you don't mind--" his tone changed suddenly. "We'll
be gettin' along to the ranch. Out of the way, puncher! Let's go,
boys!"
The stranger's eyes narrowed. He half raised his rifle, then
apparently thinking better of it, let it drop again. As the five moved
forward he rode slowly along in the rear.
They reached the corral at the side of the house, and Bud and Dick
dismounted. Nort, Billee, and the Kid stayed on their ponies. Walking
to the door of the house, Bud knocked boldly. There was no answer. He
knocked again, this time a little harder. Still no result.
"Wonder if there's anyone around?" asked Dick. "Suppose we take a look
at the side."
"Here's someone," Bud declared as there was a sound of a key grating in
a lock. "They certainly keep things tight down here."
The door opened slowly. In its frame stood a man of slight build, and,
by cowboy standards, dressed effeminately. He wore a "boiled" collar,
small black string tie, low cut vest and gray trousers. His long black
hair, with a slight shine on it, was brushed straight back.
"What'll you have, gents?" he asked. "Lookin' for me?"
"We're looking for the man in charge of the ranch," Dick said slowly.
"If you can qualify, then I guess it's you we want to see."
"Right! And what can I do for you?"
"This will tell you," spoke Bud, handing him a copy of the bill of sale
for the ranch. "We're the new owners. You rent the place, don't you?
I believe the deed says your term was up last month. Sorry to have to
put you out, but business is business. Can you get ready to shift by
to-morrow morning, do you think? We'll make out down in town for
to-night."
The man in the doorway didn't answer. He read over the paper Bud had
handed him and then looked up. His expression was anything but
friendly.
"And I'm supposed to beat it out of here, hey?" he asked coldly.
"Afraid so," answered Bud.
The man suddenly stepped to one side.
"Come in a minute, boys," he suggested. It was evident that his manner
had undergone a change. He seemed more friendly.
"You just get in?" he asked.
"Yes--we were delayed on the way, or we would have gotten here sooner."
"Sit down, boys."
As the slightly-built man was drawing up chairs Bud cast a quick glance
at Dick. "Watch out"! his look signaled. But there seemed no need for
suspicion. "J. D.," as they had heard him called, appeared harmless.
"I take it you boys are sensible?" he began when they were seated.
"Hope so," Dick answered with a slight grin. "We've never been in any
asylum that I know of."
"Check! Now I'd like to talk business with you. First of all, could
you use one thousand dollars?"
At this surprising query Dick and Bud started. One thousand dollars!
It represented a small fortune. Bud thought of the herd of cattle they
had just lost and was about to reply affirmatively, when he felt,
rather than saw, a cautioning look come into Dick's eyes.
"That's a lot of money," declared Dick, before Bud could speak. "We
could certainly use it, but you know it pays to be careful how one
earns it. Robbery is a bit out of our line."
"Oh, it's nothing like that--nothing like that at all," the other
assured them quickly. "This thousand that I speak of can be yours for
just doing me a favor."
"Sounds like a high price to pay for a favor," Dick said. "But let's
hear the proposition."
"Sure! It's simply this: you boys let me stay on at the ranch here,
for, say, six more months, and as rental I'll pay you one grand."
"But certainly this place can't be worth that much to you," broke in
Bud thoughtlessly. It was a very unwise remark, for it was obvious
that this excessive figure was offered for something more than the mere
use of the ranch. "J. D." had made the mistake of going too high in
his offer, and it instantly awoke suspicion in the minds of Dick and
Bud. But now that Bud had blurted out this suspicion, the possibility
of being able to secretly find out why they had been offered a thousand
for the place disappeared. The cards were on the table.
"As to that, I'm the best judge," "J. D." said sharply. "If you want
to accept, say so. If you don't--well----."
"Can we have until to-morrow to think it over?" asked Dick.
"Nope--sorry, but I have to have your answer now. All you have to do
is to sign the present owner's name to a renewal clause--and since he's
your father, he won't object to that," said the man, turning to Bud.
Evidently he was anxious to get things settled as soon as
possible--perhaps before the boys had a chance to investigate.
Dick looked at Bud, and saw that he had permission to take things into
his own hands. Dick arose.
"Well, sir, we can't do it, and that's that. We were sent out here to
take charge of this ranch, and we're going to do it, unless Mr. Merkel
tells us to do otherwise. You must get in touch with him if you want a
renewal of your lease. And until that time we must take control here.
We are sorry, but we must ask you to make ready to leave by to-morrow
morning."
The man seated opposite did not move.
"Is that your last word?" he asked, slowly.
"Yes, it is. If we can offer you any assistance in getting ready we'll
be glad to do it."
The man made no response. He arose suddenly, walked over to the door
and flung it open. Then he turned to the two boys and with a sneer
upon his face, said:
"Very well! You've had your say, and now I'll make my little speech.
You guys come over here and think all you have to do is to tell me to
move out, and you move in. I don't know who you are--never saw you
before. For that matter I don't want to know. You show me some kind
of a paper that you may have written yourselves, and expect me to
accept it as a bill of sale. Well, that's out. I don't go.
"And another thing! I don' know how many men you brought with you, but
I've got twelve here that will stick close to me. So don't start
anything. Good-day, gents!"
It was a moment before Bud and Dick realized the import of what had
just been said. Then, tight-lipped, they started for the door.
Neither said a word as they passed out, and behind them the door
slammed shut.
As they approached the three waiting by the corral they must have shown
by their expressions that things had not gone well, for Nort said:
"What's the trouble, Dick?"
"Let's ride around a bit," spoke the Kid quickly. The rider with the
saw-off shot-gun was still within hearing. "Great weather we're
havin', ain't it? Though it might rain soon," and he looked over to
where the other sat with one leg resting against his saddle horn.
"Not so good, hey?" this cowboy called over. "Come see us again, when
you can stay longer," and he chuckled at his joke.
"We will," answered Nort grimly. "In fact, we intend to----"
"Now do you know, I think it looks a mite like rain myself,"
interrupted Billee Dobb in a musing tone of voice. "Them clouds over
there are pretty heavy. You say you want to ride around a bit, Kid?"
"Yea. Just a little. Let's go, men."