THE SHEEP ARRIVE
Among the saddles, horse-gear, weapons, grub and other equipment that
had been put in the fort at Spur Creek was a telescope. Remembering
this, Bud rushed in to get it, while his companions stood in front of
the place, gazing across the stream at the ever-increasing cloud of
dust.
"Something's comin' on, anyhow," observed Yellin' Kid.
"Can't be cattle," remarked Snake Purdee. "They ain't spread out
enough for cattle."
This was one way of telling, for, as the cowboy said, cattle, meaning
by that steers or a herd of grazing horses, separate much more than do
sheep, which stick in a bunch as they feed. Still there was no being
certain of it until Bud should take an observation through the glass.
"Might be another bunch of Greasers--or rustlers," said Snake, musingly.
"There's plenty of both kinds down there," agreed Nort, with a wave of
his hand in the general direction of Mexico, the border of which
misruled, unhappy and greatly-misunderstood country was not far away.
Bud came running out with the telescope, pulling shiny brass lengths to
their limit before focusing it.
"We'll soon tell now," he said, as he raised the objective glass and
pointed it at the cloud of dust, while he squinted through the
eye-piece. A moment later, after he had made a better adjustment of
the focus, he cried: "It's sheep all right! A big bunch of 'em!"
"Any men with 'em? No, I shouldn't call 'em men," hastily corrected
Dick. "No decent man would raise sheep."
In this, of course, he was wrong. Sheep are needful and many a rancher
is making a fortune out of them, but at this time, and in this part of
the west, a sheep herder was despised and hated by his fellows.
"Yes, there's a bunch of Greasers or some one hazin' 'em on," reported
Bud. "Here, Kid, take a look," and he passed the glass to the older
cowboy.
The latter could but confirm what Bud had seen and then, in turn, the
other three had a look through the telescope, which brought the details
of the oncoming herd of "woollies" startlingly near.
"Well, what we goin' to do about it?" asked Yellin' Kid, after they had
made sure the sheep were headed toward the east bank of Spur Creek.
"We're going to stop 'em from coming over here," declared Bud
determinedly.
"Maybe they don't intend to come," suggested Nort.
"What are they heading this way for, then?" demanded his cousin.
"To get better pasture."
"Well, what pasture there is on that side of Spur Creek won't last the
sheep very long!" exclaimed Snake Purdee. "They'll be over here in a
couple of days at the most. Reckon they think they have a right to
this range."
"Which they haven't," said Bud, "though how dad is going to prove his
claim, with the papers gone, I don't see."
"We'll prove it with force--that's what we'll do!" shouted Yellin' Kid.
"That's what we're here for. That's what we got our guns for!" and
significantly he tapped the one on his hip.
"Yes, I reckon we'll have to fight," conceded Bud with a half sigh. He
was not afraid, but he knew in a fight some would be hurt and perhaps
more than one killed. And this was not as it ought to be. Still with
each side standing on what it considered its rights, what else could be
expected?
"How many Greasers they got?" asked Yellin' Kid, after a pause, during
which Bud took another observation through the glass.
The boy rancher looked, seemed to be counting and then, as he lowered
the glass from his eye, he answered:
"There's a dozen of 'em!"
Significantly Nort silently, but obviously, counted those of his own
party. There were but five, for some of the cowboys had been left at
Diamond X after the defeat of the rustlers.
"We'd better let your dad know--what say?" asked Kid of Bud.
"I think so--yes. And he'd better send out a few more men. We don't
want to take any chances."
This was considered a wise move. But before going in to telephone to
his father--for that was the most rapid method of letting him know the
situation so he could send help--before going to the instrument Bud
asked:
"Say, I'm wondering how, if those fellows intend to take this open
range pasture--how are they going to get their sheep over?"
"You mean over the river?" asked Nort.
"Yes. How they going to get the animals across so they can feed on
this side?"
For a moment no one answered, then Yellin' Kid replied:
"Why, they'll just naturally haze 'em over; that's all."
"You mean drive 'em through the creek?" asked Bud.
"Sure."
"The water's too deep."
"Maybe there's a ford," suggested Kid.
Bud shook his head.
"I tried to find one for my horse the other day," he said. "I thought
I had but it was a quicksand and I was glad enough to get out without
being stuck. There's no ford now for miles up and down the Creek from
here--that is, none that I know of, especially not since high water."
For the level of Spur Creek had risen in the last few days, since the
professor crossed, caused, it was learned later, by the diversion into
the creek of a larger stream by some irrigation plan company further
north.
"Well, if they can't make the sheep wade over they can swim 'em, can't
they?" asked Dick.
"'Tisn't so easy to make sheep swim," declared Yellin' Kid with a shake
of his head. "Sheep are scary critters at best. You might get them in
the water if you had a good leader, but if I was a sheep man--which I
never hope to be--I'd think twice 'fore I'd float 'em across a stream,
'specially if it had quicksands in."
"Well, this has," affirmed Bud. "They come and go, the quicksands.
They weren't here the other day but they're here now."
"Maybe they're going to ferry 'em across," suggested Nort.
"Where they going to get boats?" asked Snake, and that seemed to
dispose of this question.
"Though maybe they carry collapsible craft," suggested Dick, but this,
of course, was not reasonable or practical.
"No," said Bud, "they either know some way of getting the sheep over
here, or else they aren't going to cross."
"They'll cross all right," asserted Snake. "Better let your father
know how matters are," he suggested.
Bud went in to ring the home ranch up on the telephone, but he had no
sooner given a few turns to the crank--for this was the old-style
instrument--than he called out:
"Telephone wire is cut!"