THE ROUND-UP
Sam Tarbell suddenly arose from the bench where he had been sitting.
But if he had any intention of starting after the old man on the
distant horse his resolution was better than his performance. For he
had to sink weakly back to his seat, and his face, that had assumed its
natural color after the ammonia, now went white again.
"Take it easy!" advised Old Billee in soothing tones.
"Guess I'll have to," and Sam gratefully accepted a dipper of water
that Nort handed him, getting the fluid from a pail that sat on a shelf
outside the bunkhouse.
"Do you want one of us to chase after that old man?" asked Bud, while
Dick inquired:
"Did he have anything to do with knocking you out?"
"No, to both questions, boys," responded Sam. "You can chase that old
man for all of me, but I don't think you'll catch him. He's as
slippery as an eel. As for his having anything to do with me being
knocked out in such a queer way, I can't honestly say he had anything
to do with it. I just happened to see him 'fore my horse crumpled
under me, and he was riding away when I started to stagger back here as
best I could. I hollered at him to give me a lift, but either he
didn't hear me or didn't want to. It was just a coincidence that he
happened along while I was telling you my story."
Wonderingly the outfit from Diamond X watched the old man slowly riding
into the foothills, amid the woods of which he was soon lost to view.
And the same thought came to all of them--the memory of the old man who
had aroused Dick that night, when, next morning, the mysterious warning
was found.
"Do you know that old man's name?" asked Bud.
Sam Tarbell shook his head.
"He's a stranger to me," he answered. "But I've seen him around off
and on what little time I been here. I'm beginning to wish I'd never
taken the job of puncher or foreman here at Dot and Dash. I've had
nothing but bad luck from the start."
"You mean being knocked out like you was dead?" asked Yellin' Kid who,
now that there was no mourning to be done, had switched back to his
loud tones.
"Lots of things besides that," answered Sam. "I lost one good gun,
lamed a good pony and got shook up bad when my other horse, the one
that died under me, stepped into a prairie dog's hole and throwed me.
Nothing but bad luck. I'm through!"
"Don't blame you for wanting to quit," remarked Bud. "But I hope
you'll stay a little longer. As I said you're not fit to travel
and----"
"You're right there!" interrupted Sam. "I'm as weak as a new-born
calf. But after I get my strength I'm going to vamoose. This ranch is
no place for a healthy man--or a sick one either, if you come to that.
But I'll tell you what I started to, and give you all the help I can in
rounding things up here. Then you can decide for yourselves whether
it's worth your while."
"This is Death Valley all right; ain't it?" asked Billee Dobb.
"You said it, stranger! There's been a lot of deaths here, so I been
told. I never would have come if I had known what I know now."
"Just what do you know?" asked Dick.
"Do you know what caused the deaths?" Bud inquired.
"No, I can't say I do," was the somewhat hesitant answer. "And that's
the mysterious part of it. Only I know I came mighty near passing out
and I don't want to do it again."
"Suppose you finish telling us all about it," suggested Bud, the while
he looked in the direction taken by the old man who had disappeared.
But the picturesque figure was out of sight.
"Well, as I was mentioning, I've been knocking around the country quite
a bit," resumed Sam. "I'd have a job first on one ranch and then on
another. You fellows know how it is," he said, looking at Snake and
Yellin' Kid.
"Sure!" they murmured.
"Well, finally I ended up here and I must say Mr. Barter treated me all
right, as he did his other hands. But when cattle began to be found
dead all over the place, and when some men and their horses began to
pass out, I began to get worried. So did a lot of others and they left
so fast it was hard work to run the place with the few hands left.
"I was just getting ready to light out and look for another job when a
man came to look the Dot and Dash over with a view, so Mr. Barter said,
to buying it. Right after that Dolan, who had agreed to stay, quit
sudden like, so I promised to stick and help the boss out and I did.
The place was sold, and you say your dad bought it?" he asked, looking
at Bud.
"Yes, this is now part of the Merkel holdings," was the answer.
"Though my father didn't know anything about the queer deaths on the
place when he agreed to buy it. He didn't even know that this was
called Death Valley."
"Not until he got back to Diamond X and I told him," put in Billee.
"Then he said he wasn't going to back out, 'specially after these boys
begged for a chance to chase the jinx."
"Well, they'll get all the chance they want," remarked Sam. "No, I
don't reckon Mr. Barter would tell the bad name his place had when he
was trying to sell it. I don't say it was right of him to hold back
the news, but lots of men would have done what he did. For myself, I
never had a chance to talk to your father, so I couldn't have put him
wise if I wanted to. Dolan might have, but he didn't. And I guess
even Mr. Barter thought the thing would pass over."
"What thing?" asked Dick. "You mean the series of deaths?"
"That's it. They were mighty queer."
"I told 'em that," said Billee. "I used to work here myself years
ago," he added. "I thought maybe, after all these years, the bad luck
might have passed. But after what happened to you----"
"Just what did happen?" asked Bud. "We want to get down to brass tacks
on this thing if we can."
"'Twon't take long to tell you," said Sam. "As I mentioned, I agreed
with Mr. Barter to stay on here and look after what few cattle remained
until the new owner--that's your dad," and he looked at Bud--"could
come along and take possession.
"Well, I was left pretty much alone here, but I didn't mind that, for
I'm used to rustling for myself. Mr. Barter left when he got his
money, I s'pose, and the cattle wasn't much trouble. There's only a
small herd left, and I didn't bother much with 'em--just rode out now
and then to see they wasn't being run off. Which they wasn't. But
this morning I thought I'd ride to the far end of the range to see if
there was any fences needed fixing, so's I could tell the new owner.
"I was riding along when, all of a sudden, my horse began acting queer.
Then, 'fore I knew it, he just sort of crumpled up and I just had time
to jump or he'd have fallen with me under him. And as I went down I
began to feel sort of queer myself. One of the last things I remember
seeing in the distance was that old man riding along. Then I went down
and out.
"That's all I remember, but I must have had sense enough to start
either to walk or crawl back here, and evidently I arrived, for you
found me. That's all I know."
"But what knocked you out?" excitedly cried Bud. "And what killed your
horse?"
"You can search me!" was the frank answer. "I didn't look the horse
over after he died, to see what bit him. As for me, I don't know what
ailed me."
"Maybe the old man shot you and the horse," suggested Nort.
"I wouldn't swear the horse hasn't a bullet in him, for I didn't
examine him," stated Sam. "But I didn't hear any gun, and I know I got
no holes in me."
"Then it was bad water!" said Snake.
"What's that?" Sam inquired, not comprehending.
"You and your horse must 'a' drunk from some poisoned spring," went on
Snake, explaining how this theory had been advanced among his
companions to account for the mysterious deaths at Dot and Dash.
"Bad water; eh?" murmured Sam. "Well, I certainly did take a drink at
a spring, and so did the horse. But it's a spring I always have
patronized, so to speak, and it's mighty queer if it would be all right
yesterday and poison to-day. Mighty queer!"
"The old man----" began Nort.
"He wasn't nowhere near the spring," interrupted Sam. "I don't believe
you got the right dope."
"Well, there's something queer around here, that's sure," declared Bud
Merkel, "and we're here to find out what it is! We'll be glad to have
you stay and help us solve the mystery. We need some ranch hands and
I'd be glad to take you on."
"Thanks. I've got to stay, anyhow, a few days until I get to feeling
more like myself. After that we'll talk business. But I warn you it's
dangerous here."
"We knew that before we came," said Bud, quietly.
Much puzzled, and not a little alarmed over the strange story, the
members of the outfit from Diamond X now began putting things to rights
about the ranch house in preparation to taking over Dot and Dash.
While Snake and Yellin' Kid began to repair the corral fence, Bud, his
cousins and Old Billee brought their food and supplies into the ranch
house and began to arrange for supper, since it was now late afternoon.
A look in the bunkhouse showed it to be clean and in good shape.
"I'll take charge out there, with Kid, Snake and this new hand," said
Old Billee, referring to Sam Tarbell who had been put in a bunk the
better to regain his strength. "You boys'll stay here," and he
indicated the ranch house.
"It might be a good idea to divide our force up that way," agreed Bud.
"Then, in case the jinx comes it won't get all of us at once."
"According to the stories," said Billee, "nothing ever occurs inside.
It's all out of doors. Well, we'll see what happens."
In spite of the sinister cloud of fear that hung over the place, the
adventurers managed to make a good meal, and when the horses had been
turned into the repaired corral preparations were made for the night.
Both parties--the one in the bunkhouse and the boys in the main
building--decided to keep watch all night.
But their precautions were not needed. Nothing happened. The sun rose
bright and warm over Dot and Dash next morning and Sam Tarbell said he
felt like a new man after his sleep.
"The first thing to do," decided Bud after matters had been talked over
at the breakfast table, "is to have a sort of round-up. I want to see
just how many head of cattle are left, and what the chances are for
getting more. Also we want to give the whole ranch the once-over."
"That's right," agreed the veteran Billee.
"Shall we all go on the round-up?" asked Dick.
"No," said Bud after a moment of thought, "we'll have to leave some one
here in charge. But in time each one of us must know all there is to
know about Dot and Dash--I mean just how it's laid out, where the
water-holes are, what shape the fences are in and all that. It will
take a little time, but this first round-up will tell us some things we
ought to know."
"The boy's right!" fairly shouted Yellin' Kid.
Accordingly, when it was decided to leave Snake, Nort and the still
somewhat invalid Sam at the ranch house, the others started out.
Nort made the best of being obliged to stay. The choice had fallen to
him by lot, as it was decided this was the fairest way of making a
division of forces, since other things were equal.
"But you got to tell me everything that happens when you get back!"
Nort stipulated to his brother and Bud as they rode away.
"Sure!" they promised.
The three who were left in charge of the ranch buildings watched the
others ride off over the hills and then, as there was plenty to do in
cleaning up the place, and getting it ready for a number of new hands
that must be hired, the two from Diamond X got busy. Sam was able to
help with light work.
It was while Nort was busy making a checkup of the household articles
on hand that he heard the sound of a horse out near the corral, and,
going to the door, saw dismounting, the same old man to whom Sam had
called attention the night before.
"Howdy, stranger!" the ancient one greeted Nort, cheerfully.
"How are you?" responded the boy, courteously. "Are you looking for
some one?"
"Yes," was the answer. "I'm looking for the boss. I want to warn him
and all with him to get away from here as quick as they can! You don't
know the danger you are in. You had better leave quick!" And then,
though it seemed to take from the force of his words, the old man
strode over to the water pail and took a long drink.