TO HAVE AND TO HOLD.
"I can see dust over there," Adrian hastened to remark, after he had
taken a good look; "and it doesn't seem to be in the quarter where Uncle
Fred told me he expected to see the sheriff's posse show up, sooner or
later."
"Then that means it must be the rustlers coming!" ejaculated Billie, who
had arrived in time to catch this last remark on the part of the other
chum.
He handled his rifle nervously as he stared toward the point on the
horizon, already growing dim as the day faded.
"Well, don't worry, Billie," Donald told him, "because they ain't going
to come down on us in the daytime. P'raps, after all, it's only a few
wanting to take a survey, so as to report what's been done."
"They'll see all the cattle penned up in the corrals, then, won't they?"
asked the fat boy, anxiously.
"Easy enough," replied Donald; "but much good that'll do them. If they
want to, let 'em go back and tell Hatch Walker what we've been doing."
"I really believe you wouldn't mind much if they just did take a notion
to drop in on us tonight, and make a try to break away with all the
long-horns?" Billie observed, as he saw the look on Donald's dark
sun-burned face.
"Oh! I'm not hankering after trouble," replied the other lad,
carelessly; "but if they want to hang around here trying to rob Adrian
of his property, why, there's going to be something doing, that's right.
Times have changed some since the real owner came to Bar-S Ranch. Uncle
Fred may have been forced to knuckle down to his wife when some of her
folks dropped in to pay a friendly visit, and a bunch of valuable steers
followed them off; but we ain't meaning to do the same. And if anybody
thinks so they're got another guess coming, that's all."
"Would you really and truly shoot, if they did try that same," asked
Billie.
Donald gave a little harsh laugh; he shut his jaws firmly together, and
nodded his head in the affirmative.
"Wait and see, Billie," was what he said; "and I'm just as dead sure
too, that you'd puncture a rustler in the leg or the shoulder if you got
the chance, as that I can eat my share of the grub when the call comes
to get busy."
"Whew! this sounds like real war, I think!" Billie ventured.
"It _is_ war, and war to the knife, until the last rustler is chased out
of this part of the country," Adrian told him, sternly.
Billie looked out toward the spot where that little cloud of dust was
seen.
"They've stopped now," he observed; "and since the dust has cleared away
you can see quite a bunch of riders sitting there in their saddles.
Seems like they might be talking it over, and laying plans."
"It promises to be a warm night, unless all signs fail," remarked
Donald, with a significant nod out in the direction where they could see
the distant figures of a good many riders.
"Come along with me, fellows," Adrian said just then.
"Where you agoing, Ad?" queried Billie, who seemed to be possessed of a
sudden suspicion that the other might have some wild scheme in view such
as riding out toward the rustlers, as if to brave them; "it's nigh
supper time, you must remember, and then besides, I've got a skinned
knee, so that riding don't appeal as much to me as it might."
"Oh! I didn't want you to jump on your cayuse, Billie," laughed the
other; "but as it promises to be a pretty lively night for us, I thought
we'd only be wise if we walked around the corrals again, so's to get the
lay of the ground in our heads. A little knowledge like that comes in
handy when you want to move around after dark sets in; and if you look
above you'll see the clouds are gathering, which I take it means we're
going to have little light to work by from up there."
"Reckon now I might toddle along after you fellows," Billie admitted;
"leastways I'll do the best I can. Didn't tell you how I come by that
same bruised knee, did I? Well, it's a joke--that is, seems like one to
me now, but at the time let me say I was the worst scared fellow you
ever knew."
"Suppose you tell us about it?" proposed Adrian.
"Yes, strike up right away," added the other chum.
Of course after that Billie could have no excuse for holding back the
harrowing details. To tell the truth he was just wild to relate the
adventure; and as he chanced to be a pretty good talker, as has been
said before, he made the most out of the material he had in hand.
Both the others laughed heartily when they heard how shrewd old Uncle
Fred made a stalking horse out of their stout chum.
"It's a lucky thing for you, I guess, Billie," ventured Adrian, "that my
aunt arrived just a second or so too late to get her hands in your hair.
From what I've heard about her ways of doing things first, and then
asking questions afterwards, you might have had less combing to do
mornings. But I'm glad Uncle got his gun, because it looks like he might
find a good use for the same soon, and perhaps try it out on some of his
new brothers-in-law--or other relatives."
"Between you and me," added Donald, "I just think he's itching for that
time to happen along. You see, he's borne so much this last year that
the worm is ready to turn at last."
They made a complete circuit of the cattle corrals, and saw that
everything seemed secure.
"They don't fancy being shut up one little bit," remarked Donald, as
some of the steers brushed up against the side of the pen, as though
trying to test the stoutness of the enclosure.
"No," added Adrian, "and if only one old fellow would make a dead set
for the weakest place, and tear some sort of a gap, you'd soon see how
fast the others'd pile after him; and before you knew it the whole
herd'd be making for the pasture-land again. But we're going to keep
circling around all night, and have fires burning too, Uncle Fred says;
because when the cattle see the light they'll feel easier, thinking that
we're on deck."
"How do you reckon your uncle means us to stand guard out here?" asked
Donald, as he peered through at the dense mass of long-horns herded in
the big corral.
"There's only one way we could do it," was the reply; "which is to keep
moving around, so that there'd be no chance for the enemy to sneak up
and stampede the cattle."
Presently the call to supper came, and the three boys, being hungry,
hastened to the mess room, where, at the long table, they found an
abundance of "chuck," as the punchers denominate their food.
Billie actually forgot to limp, in his hurry to keep up with his chums,
so that he might not be left out when it came to securing a seat;
because he was always ready to do justice to such a spread as Charley
Moo placed before the crowd.
Fortunately Mrs. Fred did not see fit to make her appearance, so that
the meal passed off without any unpleasantness. The five suspects seemed
to be on their best behavior, as though they rather fancied they would
get in trouble if they attempted to be in any way domineering in their
manner toward the others.
By the time the supper was over night had fallen, and it was dark indeed
when Adrian and Donald walked out to find Mr. Comstock, in order to
learn whether anything new had taken place meanwhile.
They found him pacing up and down near the big corral, and acting as
though he had a heavy weight on his shoulders; as indeed was the case,
for as yet it was an open question whether those who intended to defend
the stock would be able to prevent the bold rustlers from running away
with a large portion of the cattle.
"No signs of Frank Bowker turning up yet, I suppose, Uncle Fred?" Adrian
asked, as they joined the little man with the white head of hair and the
soldierly ways.
"Sorry to say not, son," came the answer; "but then I'm not so much
surprised at that, because I told Frank to stand by, and give the new
sheriff all the assistance in his power when he started to gathering his
posse. So chances are, we wouldn't be apt to see the boy till the whole
bunch came along."
"I wish they'd hurry, then," Adrian continued.
"Same here," added Donald; "because, the way things look we'll prove too
few to do the right thing about watching these corrals. If all the
punchers could be depended on it'd be different, you see."
"Yes, you're right there, Donald," Adrian said; "for it would give us
five more men. As it is now we are not only short that number, but they
are apt to try and join the rustler bunch when they come along."
"Too bad," the Arizona ranch boy remarked. "If you'd only known how
things lay up here you could have picked up a dozen reliable punchers,
and brought the same along with us. But let's hope that before there's
any real damage done that sheriff'll show up, and prove it to be of the
right calibre to handle the situation."
"Amen to that, son!" added Uncle Fred, heartily.
"I wonder where Billie can be?" Adrian remarked some time later, as he
suddenly remembered that he had not seen anything of the stout chum
since they left the mess hall, with Billie sending along his platter for
a _fourth_ helping of stew.
"Foundered, I reckon," chuckled Donald; "after those three big helps,
the nerve of him asking Charley Moo for more. But the Chink seemed to
feel that it was a compliment on his cooking to have any one gobble that
way; and he was grinning all over as he hurried off to get a fresh
supply. I believe he'd even hand over his own ration, because he has
taken such a great fancy for our chum."
"Well, Billie is a great one for making friends wherever he goes!"
remarked Adrian, warmly.
"Listen, what was that sound like a hiss just then? You don't think for
a minute it could be any sort of snake, do you, Ad?"
"There it goes again; and as sure as you live I believe some one's
trying to attract our attention back here in the gloom away from the
fires. Looks like our chum Billie, too; yes, that's who it is, Donald."
"But whatever can he want with us; and why should he act in that queer
way, as if he was afraid to come boldly up here, and talk with us?" the
other said.
"Best way to find that out is for one or both of us to step out there,
and interview him," suggested Adrian; and acting on this hint both of
them walked away from the glow of the fire near which they had been
standing, heading toward the spot where the bulky figure of Billie could
be dimly seen, making his mysterious motions.