“No,” sez he, “I haven’t; but I’d like to know—”
“If you’re willin’ to take charge,” sez I, “why, go ahead, and I’ll
obey orders; but I don’t care how small the body is, it can’t do quick
work with more ’n one head, as you ought to know better ’n any of
us—it havin’ been tried frequent in those Greek tales you’re all the
time inflictin’ us with.”
Horace put his back up a little. “I’m willin’ to agree to anything
reasonable,” sez he; “but I don’t see any sense in leavin’ this spot
until we know where we’re goin’.”
I folded my fingers together, set my thumbs to chasin’ each other, and
began to whistle. I wasn’t jealous of Horace; but it just occurred to
me that I had handled men before he’d mustered up courage enough to
stay out after seven o’clock P. M. without gettin’ his mother’s
permission, and I wanted to test the others and see if they thought he
had picked up more craft in three years ’n I had in a lifetime; so I
whistled the tune to his song, and looked up at the clouds.
“What’s your idee, Happy?” sez ol’ Tank. I had nourished Tank on
thought-food for a good long session, and I knew he’d feel mighty much
like a lost calf if I left him to rustle up his own idees; so I just
gave my hands a little toss and kept on with my whistlin’.
“Aw, don’t be so blame touchy,” sez Spider Kelley. I had pulled Spider
through a number o’ tight places, also, and I knew he’d soon begin to
feel trapped up and smothery, if I left him to sweat out his own idees
for a few minutes longer; so I gave him the same gesture I had
bestowed on Tank.
“What do you think we’d better do, Olaf?” sez Horace.
Olaf looked all around but did not see anything. “They have come up
the ravine, took the path up the other side, through the clump o’
trees, made a wide circle and got to our camp,” sez Olaf. “If we try
to get away, they cut us off. If we stay here, we die for want of
water. If we rush up the hill, they shoot us from behind the rocks.
All I can see is to wait until night, and then make a rush for it.”
“Well, that don’t look like much of an idee to me,” sez Horace. I kept
on whistlin’.
“I move we foller Happy,” sez Spider Kelley.
“I second the motion,” sez Tank.
“I’m willin’ to,” sez Olaf, and Oscar nodded his head. This was about
all Oscar ever used his head for except to hang his hat on; but he was
a good boy and sizey.
“All right,” sez Horace. “Now then, Happy Hawkins, the responsibility
is on you.”
“Now, be sure you mean this,” sez I; “for my plan is a foolish one,
and I don’t care to explain each step. I don’t claim ’at my scheme is
the best; but my experience has been, that a poor plan carried out
beats a good plan which never came in. Climb up here, and we’ll walk
off in that direction without lookin’ behind us.”
They couldn’t see any sense in this; but they follered me without
chatterin’, and I was satisfied. Horace had the field glasses in his
pocket; so when we had reached the place I thought would do, I set him
to lookin’ across the crick careful to see if he could see anything.
All the others watched him, and I got behind and looked up the slope.
I saw several men hidin’ in the washes, and I said in a low tone:
“Keep on lookin’ across the hill, Horace. Now, you others get out from
behind him. Now, Horace, whirl and examine the washes up the slope and
see how many men you can count.”
Horace whirled, as did all the rest of ’em, and we found seven fellers
in sight. We figured ’at there must be at least fifteen Cross-branders
in the neighborhood, and probably more, and the ones we were able to
see in the washes convinced me ’at Ty had staked everything on gettin’
us cornered. They didn’t have enough to split up, so I felt sure they
would leave the ravine open, not thinkin’ it likely we’d try to go
down there.
“Now,” sez I, “let’s go to that clump o’ rocks and hide.” They all
came along; but didn’t seem enthusiastic, because the washes led down
close to the rocks—we, ourselves, havin’ sneaked down ’em while we
were waitin’ for the woman that day. We couldn’t see the path the boys
would take in comin’ up to our camp from across the crick, while the
Cross-branders could see ’em a good part o’ the way, and this fretted
me a lot; though I hoped they had heard Horace’s elephant gun.
After a time, Horace, through the glasses, saw a feller’s head
watchin’ us from our old look-out; so we knew they had crept up along
the back o’ that ridge. Then we heard consid’able shootin’ off to the
right, and knew the boys had got back. There were several good places
for ambush, and we felt purty blue at what had most likely happened;
but they were on hossback, and would be on their guard after knowin’
’at the Cross-branders were up to some trick; so we hoped for the
best.
This clump o’ rocks we were in was composed of one big crag and a lot
o’ little ones. The big one shut off our view, and finally Horace said
it would be a good plan to get on top of it, as the chances were we
could get a good view in all directions. It was fifteen feet up to
where the’ was footin’, and we didn’t see how it could be done; but he
said it was simple; so we let him try it. He made Olaf and Tank face
the rock, holdin’ on to each other. Then I climbed to their shoulders
and they passed up Horace. I handed him up as far as I could reach,
and it was as simple as peelin’ a banana. The signal was for him to
drop a pebble when he wanted to come down.
In about two moments a stone the size o’ your fist fell on Oscar’s
head; which was a good thing, for it might otherwise have hurt a head
we had more use for. We laddered ourselves again’ the rock, and Horace
came down without missin’ a single one of our ears. When he reached
the level, he put his finger on his lips, and said he had seen ten men
sneakin’ up toward the rock and only a few hundred feet away. Oscar
was still holdin’ to the lump on his head, so Horace explained ’at
the’ hadn’t been any pebbles on top the crag.
“Now, what ya goin’ to do?” asked Horace to me.
“You, Olaf, and Oscar go around the rock to the left,” sez I; “and
Tank, Spider, and I’ll go around to the right. Each fire only once,
and then run around the rock again and make for the path leadin’ down
into the ravine. Keep close together all the way.”
“The ravine!” exclaimed Spider.
“Sure,” sez I.
“All right,” sez Spider, draggin’ out the “all” until it would do for
“I told ya so,” in case we got pocketed.
It worked fine; we flew around, surprised ’em, shot a volley into ’em,
made ’em seek cover, and then we flew for the head o’ the path. Ol’
Tank, with his damaged prop, was as nimble as a one-legged Norman
hoss, and Horace was loaded down with elephant ammunition; so that it
was wise to have all the time we could get. Ty and five others jumped
up from our look-out, and tried to head us off; but they had to go
twice as far as we did. Ty and two others had rifles, and they stopped
and took shots at us, but nothin’ came of it.
“Hurry on to the ranch buildin’s,” I called as we went down the path.
Then I turned back, to see what they were doin’.
“Let me take a shot at ’em,” sez Horace’s voice at my elbow.
“Why didn’t you go on with the rest?” sez I. “I can give you half way
and beat you runnin’.”
“Let me take just one shot,” sez Horace, so I gave in and let him. Two
fellers were runnin’ at a long angle toward the mouth o’ the ravine to
head us off, and get a shot from above; so I told him to try for one
o’ them. He fiddled with his hind sight as calm as though shootin’ for
a Christmas turkey, and hanged if he didn’t topple one over. The other
stopped, and then ran back with his head ducked low to the ground,
while the wounded one crawled behind a rock.
“Now dust for the buildin’s,” sez I; “and don’t try any more nonsense.
Let me carry the weapon, and you won’t be so overloaded. I’ll start
after you in a jiffy.”
When I looked back, I saw that all of ’em had slowed down consid’able,
out o’ respect to the elephant gun; but I could still count seventeen,
so we hadn’t seen ’em all before. When they started towards the head
of the path again, I took a shot at Ty Jones; but I didn’t savvy the
rear sight, and all it did was to make ’em slow down once more. Then I
slid down the path and hot-footed it down the ravine. I saw signs o’
hosses, so I knew they had rode most of their trip, and would be in a
position to circle around all they wanted to.
I soon caught up with the others, and Tank was puffin’ purty freely.
All the rest were runnin’ easy, and we came out o’ the mouth o’ the
ravine without seein’ a single soul. Now, we hardly knew what to do.
It was about the same distance from the mouth o’ the ravine to the
first curve in it, as it was to the woman’s cabin; so I told Spider to
stay at the corner o’ the cabin, and watch that curve.
Then we went around and found the door locked. We called twice to the
woman, but the’ was no reply; so Olaf picked up a big stone and
knocked off the lock. We made a quick examination; but the’ was no one
there. I posted Horace and Spider in this cabin to watch the mouth o’
the ravine through the window facin’ it, and to shoot into ’em, should
they foller us close.
We next went to the big house, where we had more trouble as everything
was fastened with bars on the inside, except the front door which had
an immense padlock on the outside. We finally broke it off, and out
dashed three o’ their confounded dogs. We killed ’em, and went inside;
but the’ was no one else there. Next we went to the workshop, and
after breakin’ off the padlock, we found the Friar and Promotheus
gagged and tied. The Friar was sad, and Promotheus was mad. We sent
’em up to the cook-shack to get on speakin’ terms with food again, and
rummaged the rest o’ the buildin’s; but could find neither the woman
nor the Chink, and by the time we were through, it was gettin’ along
towards dark.
I set Tank to cookin’ a meal while the rest of us carried logs and
piled ’em in the mouth o’ the ravine. It would be moonlight up to ten
o’clock, and after that I intended to have a fire to see by. We also
set up some logs at each o’ the two fords. After supper we divided
into two equal groups o’ four each, to stand guard, each man to watch
two hours, one at the window of the new cabin, the other from the
porch of the old one, where a view across both fords could be had.
The Friar was purty downcast at our not bein’ able to find the woman,
and at our still bein’ in a state o’ war; but he didn’t kick none. He
promised not to go over and surrender himself any more, and said he
would stand guard careful, and warn us the first thing ’at happened.
We decided ’at they would probably attack us that night, and we
finally chose the old shack, as it had water piped into it from a
spring a hundred yards above. I figured ’at they’d be most apt to come
down the ravine, so I picked out the Friar, Olaf, and Tank to help me
watch it, and the others to take turns watchin’ the fords.
About half past nine, we lit the fires and turned in, with Oscar on
the porch, and Olaf at the window of the new cabin. I thought they
wouldn’t come before two o’clock, and had it arranged so ’at the last
ford watches would be held by Spider and Promotheus.