To Whirlpool River
“Gus Tripp!” Roy muttered to himself. “And The Pup! I wonder if I--”
Coming to a sudden decision, he threw the currying brush on the
ground and stepped forward. It took but a moment to reach the cook
house, and without hesitating he walked around to the side. It was
in his mind to speak to Gus and tell him Mr. Manley would like to
see him. But when he rounded the corner he stopped short. There was
no one in sight! Puzzled, Roy glanced within the shack. The only
person there was Sing Lung, the cook, who grinned widely as he saw
Roy.
“Hungly?” he demanded. “You boy betta’ have plenty eat, you lide
long, yes?”
“Yep, we got a long ride ahead of us,” Roy returned absently. “Say,
Sing, did you hear two men talking outside here?”
“Who men?”
“Well, I think they were Gus Tripp and Joe Marino. I could hear ’em
away over by the hitching rail, so you must have heard ’em too.”
“Me? Nope, I hear nobody. I lun wata--see?” He turned on the kitchen
faucet, and the noise of the stream beating against the tin of the
sink made even thinking difficult, let alone talking.
“All right, shut it off,” Roy yelled. “I understand. But why you
don’t break every dish in the place with that torrent I can’t see.
Guess you didn’t hear anything.” He stepped into the yard again.
Gazing toward the road as it rose into the mountains past Eagles,
the ranch town, Roy discerned two horsemen. The boy nodded.
“There they go--Gus and The Pup. Wish I could have got here sooner,
so I could have talked to Gus. Now I suppose he’s gone for good.
Wonder what he meant by saying he may have been an idiot, but he
wasn’t a polecat? I don’t like that Joe Marino! Chances are he
wanted Gus to go in with him on some shady scheme, and Gus refused.
Good for Gus! Wish he was back with us.” Roy shook his head, and,
seeing Pop Burns walking across the yard, asked him where Teddy was.
He was told the boy was talking with his father over at the corral,
and, intending to tell them that Gus had returned but had ridden
away again, Roy hurried forward.
When he reached the corral he saw that Nick Looker had come back.
What he was saying evidently was of interest, for both Teddy and Mr.
Manley were listening eagerly.
“Roy, I want you to hear this,” the ranch owner called as Roy came
up. “Nick, tell him what you told us.”
“Well, it was just that I had a talk with Bob McKeever--he’s a hand
on the Whirlpool River Ranch. I’ve knowed him for quite a spell. Bob
says The Pup told Jake Trummer that we put our cattle to his grass
on purpose, and that The Pup had orders to let ’em roam as much as
they wanted. And I found out how all those breaks got in the fence,
too--they been cut. I came across a pair of wire pliers down by the
east fence.”
“Marino told Mr. Trummer that we put our cows in his fields on
purpose?” Roy repeated amazed. “What did he ever say a thing like
that for?”
Nick shrugged his shoulders.
“Don’t ask me. I only know what I been told. Guess that’s reason
enough for old man Trummer to go up in the air, hey, boss?”
“It certainly is,” Mr. Manley said slowly. “I wish I had known this
before. Things would have been different. What else did McKeever
say, Nick?”
“Well, he said he heard his boss swear that if them dogies weren’t
off his land by to-morrow, he’d drive ’em into the river. And he
would, too--old man Trummer is some hot-headed.”
“I know he is,” Mr. Manley said. He thought for a moment. “If I
thought it would do any good, I’d phone him. But I’m afraid that
would make things worse. Nope, we got to take our medicine. Drat
that Joe Marino! I should have thrown him off long ago! Now look at
the mess he’s got us in! Snap to it now, boys, we start right soon.
Got no time for delays. Nick, you come with us. Teddy and Roy, I
expect you to take complete charge of the ranch while we’re gone.”
“You mean we’re to stay, Dad?” Teddy asked, a disappointed look
coming over his face. Up to this moment the boy had fully expected
to go with the others to Whirlpool River.
“Afraid so, boys. After what Nick said I can’t afford to leave the
place without some one who can handle things. We’ve got a long ride
ahead of us--might be a week. And I’ve got to know that the ranch is
bein’ taken care of. I didn’t exactly like Marino’s attitude when I
gave him the gate. If he tries any funny stuff, you’ve got to be on
the job.”
“I see, Dad,” Roy answered. “That’s the right thing, I guess. If you
want us to come on later, we can head down the river by boat and get
there almost as soon as you can. Now what are the orders, Dad?”
It was a disappointment for the boys to stay at home, when they had
been counting on riding with their father, but both saw the wisdom
of Mr. Manley’s plan. Their mother would not care to stay any length
of time on the ranch without some one of responsibility near by,
especially in view of what had lately happened. She was not a
nervous woman, but she realized that the presence of a man like Joe
Marino on the ranch was a constant threat.
Then, as Teddy and Roy thought that their two friends from the 8 X 8
were visiting Belle, things began to look brighter. They had no real
reason for expecting trouble from Jake Trummer. As soon as he heard
the straight of the affair he would probably “snap to,” as Teddy
expressed it.
“But if you want us, we’ll be ready,” the boy continued. “You’re
taking five men, aren’t you? That ought to be enough. We haven’t
more than three hundred head in that herd, from the last checking.
Guess five can handle ’em.”
Mr. Manley smiled at his son’s assumption of an old rancher’s
prerogative, but he took care that Teddy did not see the smile. He
wanted his sons to have full confidence in themselves, and to this
end he never hesitated to place responsibility on either Teddy or
Roy.
Before starting, Mr. Manley gave the necessary instructions for the
running of the ranch, then, with complete assurance that they would
be carried out to the letter, he set out. Teddy and Roy watched the
party, led by Mr. Manley, head for the road and toward Whirlpool
River.
“Kind of wish we were going,” Teddy declared, as he waved a hand in
farewell. “But dad knows best. Come on--let’s see what Nell and
Curly are doing.”
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Teddy and Roy, after they
had attended to the immediate business of the ranch, went for an
evening ride with the three girls. Bug Eye and his Fishmobile were
to stay the night, and possibly several days, to look over some
cattle on the north range that Peter Ball, his boss, was thinking of
purchasing to fill out his stock. There had been an epidemic of
blackleg among the cows of the 8 X 8, and Mr. Ball wanted to get
some healthy Durhams in to fill out, as he had lately contracted to
fill a large order from Denver for cattle on the hoof.
On the way back to the ranch, Nell and Ethel, or more popularly,
“Curly,” rode on ahead, while Teddy and Roy talked in low tones of
The Pup. Roy had neglected to tell his father of the conversation he
had heard behind the cook house, but when he informed Teddy, the
younger lad attached little importance to it.
“The Pup probably wanted Gus to go on a spree with him,” Teddy
suggested. “I guess Gus has had enough of that sort of thing. He’s
not built for it. Gus, normally, is a clean liver. He doesn’t take
much to booze and he would never have touched it if he hadn’t been
worried about something. Wonder what he’s going to do now?”
“But what did he mean when he said dad had a right to discharge him
and he wouldn’t hold it against him?” Roy persisted, not answering
his brother’s question. “Doesn’t that sound as though Marino wanted
Gus to go into some scheme to get even with dad?”
“Aw, don’t be so pessimistic! Golly, Roy, you’re up to your old
tricks again, aren’t you? Let it ride! Even if The Pup did have some
such plan in mind, he’ll forget it as soon as he hits Rimor’s and
gets lit up, and I’ll bet money that’s what he’s doing this minute.
I only hope Gus isn’t with him. You say they rode off together?”
“Yes. That’s why I’m worried. But, after all, there’s no use hunting
for trouble. We’ve got enough as it is.”
Darkness had settled over the land when the riders reached home. The
supper table seemed strangely vacant with Mr. Manley absent, but the
girls and Teddy and Roy kept up a running fire of conversation, so
that Mrs. Manley had not time to think long about her husband riding
far out on the trail. They tried to keep her, as much as possible,
from worrying.
Later in the evening Teddy left the porch and walked toward the
bunk-house, to see Nat Raymond about the next day’s work. As he
neared the corral he heard Flash neigh as though he knew Teddy was
near, and the boy turned aside for a moment.
To his surprise he saw a figure dart out from behind a tree, and,
silently, the boy sprang forward. In a moment he had the man in his
grasp.
“Let’s have a look at you!” Teddy demanded. The man did not
struggle. Instead he faced the boy boldly.
“The Pup!” Teddy exclaimed. He released his hold on the man’s arm.
“I thought you had gone to town.”
“Yes, it’s The Pup,” the other sneered. “And what about it? Gonna
kick me off? If you are, you’d better start kickin’ now, ’cause it’s
gonna take you some little time!”