SUSPICIONS
For several moments the situation remained thus; the boy ranchers and
their friends were on one side of Spur Creek, determined to repulse any
attempt on the part of the strange horseman, who was on the opposite
shore, to cross and make a landing. In this case it might be
considered a legal taking possession of disputed land, and open the way
for a band of sheep men to enter. On the other side was the lone
horseman calmly puffing at his cigaret, as if literally taking the
advice of Yellin' Kid.
The three boys, and the older cowboys also, had their guns in readiness
for action, but it was easy to guess that the lone horseman, unless he
was extremely foolhardy, would not attempt to do anything in the face
of such odds.
More than two minutes passed, and if you want to know how long this is
in a tense situation take out your watch and count the seconds.
Then the stranger on the Mexican side of Spur Creek tossed away his
smouldering cigaret stub, took a deep breath and exhaled the smoke.
Next he spoke softly.
"You will have no sheep, _señors_?" he asked.
"Nary a sheep!" declared Billee Dobb, "an' you can tell them that sent
you!"
A half smile--a contemptuous smirk of the lips--seamed for a moment the
bronzed, weather-beaten and wrinkled face of the lone horseman. He
tightened the reins and his steed made ready to gallop off.
"I shall see you again, _señors_. _Adios!_" he cried, and, with a
graceful wave of his hand he wheeled and rode off as fast as he had
approached.
For a few seconds longer there was silence in the ranks of those
holding Fort Spur Creek as it might be called. Then Bud broke out with:
"What do you make of that?"
"Can't make much," admitted Old Billee. "If he came to find out
whether we were ready, he went away satisfied."
"Regular stage and moving picture stuff!" commented Nort.
"I believe the fellow was an actor," laughed Dick. "The way he flipped
his cigaret and waved to us--he must have been in the movies sometime."
"I'll movie him if he comes on this side of Spur Creek!" muttered Snake
Purdee. "Him and his '_adios_'! Nothin' but a Greaser, I'll wager!"
"He had his nerve with him," said Old Billee. "But, boys, we mustn't
let him get ours. He came to spy out and see what he could pick up."
"Well, he found us ready for him!" exclaimed Yellin' Kid.
"Yes, but maybe he'll go back and report that we aren't ready enough,"
said Billee.
"What do you mean?" asked Bud.
"I mean he has sized up our force, and he and his gang may be able to
bring up enough to beat us back. You see, boys, this land is a rich
prize, not only for sheep men but for any who want to use it for
grazing. It has water and good grass."
"Well, what's the matter with 'em stayin' on their own side of Spur
Creek?" asked Snake, growling out the words.
"That's where they should stay, by rights," said Billee, "and it's
where we intend to keep 'em. The other land is open to those who stake
it out, I suppose, but on this side it belongs to your father, Bud."
"The trouble is he has to prove it," answered the boy rancher.
"Yes, and that's going to be hard with his papers stolen the way they
are," admitted Billee. "Of course it was a put up job, and I have my
suspicions of who did it. But this land would be a rich prize for a
sheep herder or anybody else, and we've got to fight 'em off."
"Who are you suspicious of?" demanded Bud.
"Never you mind," was the enigmatical answer, given with a shake of the
head, "but I have 'em all right. However, that's another matter. What
we have to do now is to get ready to meet any of these sheep men if
they come up and try to cross the creek."
"You reckon he's gone back to his gang to tell 'em to get ready to come
here?" asked Snake.
"Shouldn't wonder," admitted Billee. "But it'll be some time before
they can bring up the woollies."
"Sheep travel fast, they eat fast and they ruin water and pastures
faster'n Sam Hill!" exclaimed Yellin' Kid, and this was true. If you
have ever watched a flock of sheep feeding you would know this. They
eat as though they feared some one was going to take all the grass away
on a moment's notice.
"Well, he's ridin' fast," observed Snake, as, shading his eyes with his
hat, he gazed in the direction taken by the lone horseman. The fellow
was almost out of sight now, and soon was lost to view.
Danger now seemed more imminent than it had been, and, as behooved
efficient cowboys, our friends at once began going over the situation
and making sure that they had done all that was possible to fortify
their position.
Of course, while I have referred to the shack hurriedly erected as a
"fort," it was nothing of the sort. There were no heavy walls, and of
course no artillery, though the boys wished they did have a machine
gun. But, on the other hand, no artillery would be brought up against
them, so this evened matters up. If it came to a fight there would be
only revolvers used on both sides at first, though later rifles might
come into play. However, not even the most rabid of the cowboys from
Diamond X really wanted a bloody fight. They would much rather the
sheep men kept away, leaving the rightful owners of the land in
possession.
But, as Billee had said, the stealing of Mr. Merkel's papers seemed to
indicate some deep-laid plot to cheat him of his land that was so
valuable.
"We're in as good shape as we can be, until it comes to a showdown and
a fight," remarked Billee, when the noon-day meal was served, after
they had gone carefully over the defense. "Did you get your dad?" he
asked Bud.
"Yes, I had him on the wire," answered the son of the owner of Diamond
X. "Nothing new has developed back home, and I told him about this
fellow. He thinks, as we do, that he was a spy."
"And, the more I think of it, the more I think I have seen that fellow
before," remarked Nort, with a puzzled air.
"Seen him before--what do you mean?" asked Dick.
"Well, his face seemed familiar at first, and then when he lit his
cigaret and threw it away, he reminded me of some one."
"Some one in the movies, maybe," said Bud.
"Well, that's what I thought at first," admitted Nort, "though the more
I think of it the more I'm certain that I've seen him out here--some
time ago. I wish I could recall it."
"I can't place him," said Dick. "Stop thinking of it, Nort. It may
come to you all of a sudden."
"It may not amount to anything, anyhow," Nort admitted. "But I have a
feeling that I had a run in with that man before."
There was little to do at Spur Creek except await developments, and
this waiting was really harder work than actual fighting would have
been. It was also more nervous, keeping them all on a strain.
The approach of the enemy and by "enemy" I mean sheep men who might try
to pasture their flocks on Mr. Merkel's land, or men who might try to
take possession of it--these enemies would appear on the southern side
of Spur Creek first, as it was well known there were the largest sheep
ranches--just across the Mexican border. And pretty well cropped off
were the vast fields, too. That is why there was such an eagerness to
get into new and fertile ranges.
In consequence of this, watch was kept on that side of the stream where
the lone horseman had appeared. To the north, east and west little
danger was apprehended.
On the second day after the parley with this "spy," as he was dubbed, a
moving cloud of dust was observed approaching from the north.
You may be sure it did not go long unnoticed, and Dick raised a cry as
soon as he saw the indication of someone, or something, coming.
"Get out your guns!" he shouted.
"Maybe it's somebody from Diamond X," spoke Nort.
And a little later it could be seen that the dust was caused by three
steers rushing over the dry prairie.
"Must have been a stampede up at your place, Bud," remarked Snake
Purdee, as he and the other cowboys rode out in answer to Dick's alarm.
"These got away from the main herd. We'll round 'em up."
With their usual loud cries the cowboys rode toward the fleeing cattle,
which seemed maddened by some fear, for they never slackened pace. But
by skillful rope-throwing two were downed and secured. The third, and
fleeter of the trio furnished a bit of amusement for the holders of the
fort.
"I'll bulldog him!" shouted Snake Purdee. "Lay off, Kid!" he called to
the yeller, for now that his leg was mending Yellin' Kid began to take
an active part in all that went on.
"Bulldogging" is a term used in the West to indicate sort of wrestling
match with a steer, and the completion of the act sees the animal
thrown prone to the ground by the strength and skill of the cowboy.
Urging his pony to a fast pace, Snake rode up alongside the rushing
steer and then, when near enough, the cowboy leaped from his horse and
raced on foot alongside the steer. Snake reached out and shot his
right arm around the animal's neck, reaching over and under until he
could grasp the loose, bottom skin. While he was doing this he had to
keep pace with the steer, and at times Snake was lifted clear from the
ground, while, now and again, he had to throw his legs out to keep them
clear of the knees of the now maddened beast.
But Snake had performed this feat before, and was one of the most
expert at the _rodeo_ games whenever they were held.
His right arm now over the steer's neck, and with his right hand firmly
grasping the loose lower, neck-skin, Snake reached out his left hand
and caught hold of the tip of the animal's left horn. This was the
position he had been working to secure, and the instant he had it,
Snake lunged his body downward against his own left elbow, which
brought almost his entire weight, at a powerful leverage, against the
brute's horn. At the same time Snake was pulling with his right hand
and the effect of this was to twist the steer's neck so that the animal
lost its balance.
Its speed slackened and, a moment later it toppled over on its side,
and lay there quite exhausted by its run. Though this may sound cruel
it was not, and the steer suffered no harm. In fact it was benefited,
for its mad race was ended, and there was no telling what might have
happened if it had kept on.
The instant Snake saw the steer about to topple over he released his
hold and sprang away.
"Well done!" cried Bud. "That was a dandy!"
"Wish I could do that!" sighed Dick.
"Oh, you will, some day," consoled his cousin.
The three runaway steers were thus secured, and as there was no place
to care for them at the Fort one of the cowboys was delegated to haze
them back to the main herd at Diamond X.
Another day passed in quietness, with no sign from the south of Spur
Creek that any hostile band of sheep herders was on the way to lay
waste, in a sense, the fertile lands of Mr. Merkel. In the meanwhile
there was telephone communication twice a day, or oftener, between the
Fort and the main ranch house.
Nothing new had transpired at Diamond X, and the boy ranchers were told
that matters in Happy Valley were peaceful.
Of course there were the usual occurrences as there were always such on
a big ranch. One or more of the cowboys was continually getting hurt,
more or less seriously, and being doctored in the rough and ready
fashion that, perforce, prevails in the unsettled part of the West.
For though the life of a cowboy may seem very picturesque when you view
it from a seat in a tent or say from Madison Square Garden, in New
York, the real facts of the case are vastly different.
No one can ride horses in the slap-dash style the cowboys ride them,
and they can not handle cattle--often vicious ones--the way the beasts
are handled, without accidents happening.
Nor are cowboys the ones to favor themselves for the sake of avoiding
risks. Rather they go out of their way to look for trouble, as it were.
They are filled with bravado.
So it was that while I have said matters were quiet at the two ranches,
yet small accidents were continually happening. But, as the boys
reported, after a talk over the wire, nothing of great moment had taken
place.
"Your dad hasn't heard anything about his stolen papers, has he?"
inquired Billee.
"Nary a thing," answered Bud in the vernacular of the west, "and he's
beginning to wonder if anything is going to happen down here."
Almost as Bud spoke there came a hail from one of the cowboys who was
on the watch, and his cry was instantly taken up with the shout:
"Somebody's coming!"
At once there was an exodus, and as our heroes and their cowboy friends
lined up in front of the shack, they saw, coming toward them on the
opposite side of Spur Creek, several horsemen, and at the sight of one
rider Bud cried:
"It's Professor Wright!"