A THREATENING STORM.
The fierce looking small man with the shock of white hair, and the air
of a Buffalo Bill, stood there as though riveted to the spot, and stared
at the smiling face of Adrian.
As a result of figuring things out the boy had come to the conclusion
that his relative must be a victim of circumstances, and too much wife;
therefore he was in a frame of mind not to judge him too harshly until
he could get a grasp on the real situation.
And that was one reason why he smiled, and extended his hand. Besides,
he had not forgotten that in times past he had been very fond of his
mother's only brother; and that indeed once the other had actually saved
his life, when a crazed broncho had attacked the small lad in the
corral, and would likely have trampled him underfoot only for the coming
of Uncle Fred, who had seized upon the beast with his bare hands, and
wrestled with him, until a puncher arrived and shot the animal dead.
"Hello! Uncle Fred! How are you?" called out Adrian, cheerily. "I just
happened along in time to take back some of your stock that the rustlers
had stampeded. You're glad to see me, of course you are, even if the
surprise is so great that you haven't found a chance to say so yet."
Then Uncle Fred beamed upon him, and rushing forward seized the
outstretched hand eagerly. For the moment all else was forgotten save
that he saw his nephew in the flesh before him, and the old affection
again assumed sway.
"Adrian, my dear boy, is it really you?" he exclaimed, quivering all
over with pleasure, as he wrung the hand of the boy; then like a flash
some terrible thought seemed to fly through his mind, for he lost his
color, and there came into his eyes a troubled look.
"Well, what I've been dreading for months has come on me at last," he
went on to say, with a gasp. "But all the same I'm glad to see you, glad
that this agony of mind will now be over. But you will despise me, my
boy, when you learn how I've lost all my independence. How has the
mighty fallen, to be tied to the apron strings of a woman! Just this
very day I had resolved after this last blow to end it all by flight. I
believed I could not stand it any longer, and keep my mind. But your
unexpected coming has changed all that; and now I'll stick it out; yes,
I'll stay to give you an account of my unjust stewardship; and then
gladly take the consequences, whatever they may be."
He poured this out swiftly, in a low tone meant only for the ear of the
boy who had by now jumped from his saddle, and was standing close beside
his uncle.
Adrian was not in the least surprised. He had expected just this very
thing, and the facts simply corroborated his suspicions.
How his old bachelor uncle had been coaxed into marrying, he could not
understand, but it had happened; and evidently he had yoked up with a
mind that was even stronger than his own. As constant dripping water
will wear away a stone in time, so by degrees had Mr. Comstock come
under the subjection of his wife. Doubtless he had rebelled fiercely at
first, but slowly he had found himself compelled to give in, sometimes
only after a pitched battle, until now much of his once vaunted bravery
was gone, and in her presence he trembled.
It was almost pitiable, and Adrian felt very sorry for Uncle Fred. At
the same time he was determined that he would not fall under the same
sway; and that if it was at all possible he would oust this woman from
the position she had assumed as boss of the manager of Bar-S Ranch.
"I think I understand it all, Uncle," he said, hastily, yet with such a
vein of sympathy in his voice that the man started, and seemed to catch
a little new courage. "And while I'm here I mean to see if something
can't be done to remedy matters. By the greatest good luck in the world
we managed to get back this bunch of cattle that was stolen last night.
There were four of the rustlers in camp at Bittersweet Coulie; and only
three of us boys, but we took them by surprise, made them prisoners, and
here you see the missing herd, with only one steer lacking."
Mr. Comstock's eyes showed the astonishment he felt.
"You did all that, my dear Adrian, and you only three boys?" he
ejaculated. "Well, the Sherwood blood will tell every time. I'm glad
you've come, no matter what happens to me. It had got to the breaking
point anyway, and tonight I meant to run away. Oh! what I have gone
through with, nobody can ever know; but this marks the beginning of the
end, I seem to feel it, and welcome it. When you kick us off the place
perhaps she won't want to cling to me any longer, and I will be free to
go, and start afresh some place where they don't know me. But introduce
me to your friends, Adrian. I hope I haven't sunk so low but that I'd be
proud to shake the hands of such brave fellows."
Poor old Uncle Fred was trying his best to appear something like
himself; but it is very hard for a man who has been made the cringing
slave of a virago to seem at all dignified; he was so in the habit of
looking quickly around as though expecting a blow that it would have
been comical had it not at the same time seemed quite sad, especially to
Adrian, who had known how proud and consequential a strut Uncle Fred
used to have in other days.
"This is my chum, Donald Mackay, about whom I've written you often," the
boy went on to say; "and this other is his cousin, Billie Winkle."
Mr. Comstock gravely shook hands with each of them. He was not aware
that from behind a bunch of the punchers his wife was watching them like
a hawk, for she managed to keep herself concealed from view, while she
listened and looked, evidently sizing the situation up, and deciding
what all this row meant, with the missing herd back under the charge of
a pack of strange punchers, too.
"I chanced to run across three cowboys who were out of employment, since
the man they had worked for sold his ranch; and taking a fancy to the
lot I engaged them to work for me. They are reliable, honest fellows,
who will stand back of me; for I reckoned, you see, Uncle, that there
might be a few punchers here that wouldn't care to stay--after I came!"
He lowered his voice when saying this. Perhaps, after all, Adrian may
have known of the presence of his uncle's wife back of the group; or
else he did not mean to let his plans be known to every Tom, Dick and
Harry.
Apparently Mr. Comstock grasped the situation, reading between the
lines. He must have known that there were employees on the ranch devoted
more to the service of his wife, and her relatives, the Walkers, than
they were to the interests of the owner of Bar-S; and that if Adrian
meant to stay and assume charge of his own property he would have to
fire these unworthy punchers the first thing.
How wise he had been then to make sure of having reliable fellows to
step into the places that would thus be made vacant. Uncle Fred saw that
the boy was surely able to plan, and also carry out his arrangements. It
might be different when he found himself up against a woman's wits; but
he began to have hopes that the reign of petticoats was nearly at an end
in connection with Bar-S Ranch.
The more the boy saw of his uncle the greater became his conviction that
he had allowed these things to go on not because he was dishonest in the
least; but that he had been brought in deadly fear of the woman who had
become his wife.
Adrian was more bent than ever on changing all these things. He hoped
that there would appear a way whereby he might buy the woman off; but if
she refused to treat with him on these terms, then Uncle Fred too would
also have to shake the dust of Bar-S Ranch off his boots, because the
last bunch of cattle had been rustled from that place, Adrian felt sure.
"Later we'll talk these matters all over, Uncle," he went on to say;
"and I'm hoping to see a way where everything can be arranged to bring
back the old times again. Take courage, and perhaps everything will be
well."
The little man who had been such an aggressive character in his day,
heaved a tremendous sigh.
"Oh! happy days they were; and do you know, Adrian, sometimes it seems
to me a million years must have dragged by since then, I have suffered
such torments, such shame. I was the greatest fool that ever walked on
two legs. But she caught me by a smart trick, and almost before I knew
it I was promising to love and cherish her for life, before a preacher.
But oh! what a time I've had! It would have been bad enough with her
vixenish temper; but when I learned that she was a sister to that
rustler, Hatch Walker, it nearly finished me. Things have gone from bad
to worse. She's nearly killed me several times; and as I was just
telling you, when I learned that a third bunch of cattle had disappeared
last night; and she refused to let me go out in search of them with some
of the boys, saying it was useless, I just made up my mind it was going
to be three times and out for me. Then you came, and now the sky begins
to lighten. Perhaps things _will_ take a change. Perhaps even I may feel
more like my old self again, and find it in me to defy her. Thank you
over and over, my boy, for what you have said. Oh! I only hope you don't
fall under her influence the same way I did."
"Don't fear for me, Uncle Fred," said the boy, in the same low tone the
other had been using; "but we'll soon see how things are going to turn
out, for there she comes this way right now!"
"Oh! is that so?" said the manager of the ranch, with a sudden vibration
in his voice; then, realizing that he had just been saying how brave he
felt again, he seemed to pull himself together, drew his small but
soldierly figure up straight in a sort of Napoleon-like attitude, Adrian
thought, and with a white yet determined face awaited the breaking of
the storm.
There were others among the cow-punchers who shrank back, rather
appalled by the angry look on the strong features of the large woman who
advanced straight toward the spot where her husband and the three boys
stood. Donald found his attention attracted toward the corner of the
near-by bunk house, and around which the man they had picked up on the
trail was staring. And Donald must have concluded that Mr. Thomas was
pretty much of a craven, despite all those stories he had told in
connection with his past adventures "further south;" for there was
certainly a look of extreme fear written large upon his wrinkled face
right then and there, as though he might have known himself what it was
to be domineered over by a husky female, and the sight of Mrs. Fred's
flushed face and sparkling eyes brought up very unpleasant memories in
the old chap's mind.