A Figure among the Trees
Their meal was rather a sketchy one, for the men all felt that time
was precious and that to delay longer than was absolutely necessary
lessened, by just that much, their chances of saving their cattle.
Nevertheless, they ate heartily, though hurriedly, and when once
more they were in the canoe, with Teddy and Pop paddling, Roy gave a
sigh of relief.
“Feel like a new man,” he murmured. “Now the thing to do is to give
the new man some food, I suppose, but I’ll postpone that for awhile.
Glad you’re doing the paddling, Teddy. I hate to work right after a
meal.”
“You might leave off those last four words and be nearer the truth,”
his brother grinned. “Me, I like it! Helps the food to digest.
Increases the salivary activity, and, by exciting the interior of
the diaphragm, it adds to--”
“Chuck it,” Roy interrupted calmly. “You’re talking Chocktaw. Here’s
that bend you spoke of, Bug Eye.”
Before them the river curved gently, sweeping through a broad lane
of grasses and trees. The current was swifter here, and Pop, who was
in the rear, and hence occupied the position of steerer, trailed his
paddle in the water and found that the boat sped along as fast as
though he were paddling.
“A taste of what’s comin’,” he declared. “The banks are a little
narrower below here, an’ that’s what makes the current faster. But
that don’t mean we won’t have no more work, Teddy,” as he saw that
the boy had followed his example and allowed the stream to carry the
boat. “It broadens out pretty soon, an’ then we hit it up again.”
“Don’t worry--I know that,” Teddy returned. “Roy and I have both
been down this far, but not for a long time. But this curve is
familiar. Golly, it sure is pretty around here!”
Silently the boy gazed ahead, resting his paddle across the canoe.
The scene was truly magnificent. The sun, past its zenith now, threw
flecks of gold on the water as it shone through the trees. Fleecy
clouds drifted slowly overhead. The willows nodded sleepily, as a
soft breeze stirred them.
“I could enjoy this if we weren’t in such a hurry,” Teddy sighed.
Then he turned to Roy and grinned. “This is soft for you, hey, Roy?
Kind of beats a sunset, doesn’t it?”
“Kind of,” Roy answered absently. His eyes were dreamy, and as Teddy
saw them he winked at Bug Eye.
“‘This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the
hemlocks,’” he began to quote softly, then suddenly gave a yell.
“Hey! It’s morning! Wake up!”
“What?” Roy stared at his brother stupidly. Then a sheepish grin
came over his face. “All right, you Indian! I’ll get you for that.
But I sure was day-dreaming. Guess it was that meal.”
“Uh-huh,” Teddy grunted, expressing his contempt of such subterfuge.
As the boat shot downstream, Pop Burns cast an appraising eye
shoreward. The foliage was especially thick at this point, almost
concealing the hint of mountains which rose back of the pebbly beach
line. The puncher thought that if a man wanted to make a getaway
after a crime, he would surely take this route. Unless by some
chance the pursuers stumbled on the fugitive, there would be very
little chance of finding him.
“If he hugged the river, he could travel for miles without bein’
seen,” Pop muttered to himself, and squinted again toward the bank.
“But I suppose he wouldn’t have sense enough to do that. More than
likely, if a rustler wanted to dig out for another country, he’d
take an overland route and have to ride like all get-out to keep
ahead. An’ if he wanted to, he could mosey along this bank an’ take
his time. Then, when he got to where he wanted, he could cut for it.
Seems that when a man takes to stealin’ an’ such like he loses what
little brains he ever had.”
Strangely enough, thoughts of this same nature were revolving in
Teddy’s mind as his paddle dipped into the water. But they were more
definite and were centered about a certain man. That man was The
Pup. When they had received word that they were to leave the ranch
and follow their father, the boy had been nervous for fear Marino
might return and, out of revenge, try to do some damage to the place
or its occupants. Yet Roy had said there was not much danger of
this--that The Pup was miles away by this time. Surely if Roy--he of
the careful, “mature” judgment--was satisfied that the home folks
were safe, then Teddy had no cause for worry. Nick knew about
Marino, and knew he was a character to be watched. Nick would see to
it that Marino had his fangs drawn if ever he ventured to show his
face at the X Bar X again.
Teddy recalled the long knife with which Marino had attacked him,
and the boy could not repress an involuntary shudder. Suppose The
Pup, fired with liquor, should return some night and seek entrance
to the ranch house? The men would be some three hundred yards away
in their own sleeping shack. Could they--could Nick--hear a call?
Unconsciously the boy’s muscles tightened and he drove his paddle in
more forcibly, sending a shower of spray over his brother, who was
seated on the bottom of the canoe behind him.
“Hey, take it easy!” Roy yelled. He brushed the water from the back
of his neck and demanded: “Why so strong all of a sudden, Teddy?”
“Just thinking,” Teddy murmured. Roy got a side view of his
brother’s face as the boy turned his body at the end of the stroke,
and the older lad frowned. Was Teddy getting the “willies” now?
There must have been some reason for those set lines around the
mouth and those tiny knots of muscle just above the jaw bone. Roy
knew his brother well enough to be sure that the younger lad’s
thoughts were reflected in his face as though it were a mirror.
“What’s on your mind, boy?” Roy asked softly.
“Nothing--yes there is, too!” Teddy burst out. He ceased from his
labor and rested the dripping paddle on the bow of the canoe. “I’m
worried about mother and Belle and the others. Where do you suppose
The Pup is now?”
“Headin’ for the Border, an’ goin’ strong!” Bug Eye interrupted.
“That waddy won’t let no grass grow under his feet. He’s afraid he
might be pushin’ it up a little later if he does. Yore dad ain’t got
much use fer sneak thieves an’ rustlers.”
“You mean he wouldn’t stay in this part of the country?” Teddy asked
eagerly.
“Not a chance,” Roy answered. “Is there, Pop? Don’t you think The
Pup will head south and try to make the Border?”
“That’s my idea of it,” the veteran said decidedly. He mopped the
top of his shiny head with a huge red handkerchief. “This is some
hot work! Yep, I reckon Marino is pretty scarce around here now.
Why, Teddy? Why was you askin’? Hopin’ to run acrost him?”
“Not any,” the boy said shortly, resuming his paddling. “But--well,
you know how I got this.” He drew from his belt the knife he had
forced from The Pup’s hand when he had met him near the corral. At
the last moment, impelled by a motive he himself could not explain,
the boy had brought the weapon with him. Now he turned it over and
gazed at the initials burned in the handle. “The man who carries one
of these is the kind you need eyes in the back of your head to
watch. And I was afraid he might come back to the ranch some night,
loaded and sore. Nick might not be handy. I wish--”
“Teddy, believe me, there’s not a chance in the world of that,” Roy
said earnestly. He sat up straighter, and twisted around so he could
see his brother. “You know how I feel about those things. In fact, I
guess you’ve laughed at me plenty for being an old maid. But in this
instance, I’m not worried. There are five men left to take care of
the place. I told Nick to let the work ride till we came back, and
to stick close to the ranch house. I told him if Belle or Ethel or
Nell go riding, to be sure to have a man or two trail along. There’s
to be a guard awake through the night, wandering around the place.
He’ll sleep in the day time. Didn’t know all that, did you?” and Roy
laughed.
“Well, to tell the truth,” he went on, “I didn’t want to be kidded
about it, so I kept it quiet. But now that I see you’ve got the
fever yourself,” and Roy grinned again, “I’ll relieve your mind.”
“And believe me, you have!” Teddy exclaimed fervently. “Roy, if ever
I kid you again about being too careful, just remind me of this!
Baby! You know, as I was paddling along there, it struck me all of a
sudden. Like a cold shower! I started to think, what if The Pup
comes back and all the boys are out of reach? And golly, I began to
get the fidgets! I didn’t want to tell you, because I know when you
start to worry you sure do a good job of it. But, by jingo, you did
your worrying ahead of time, which is the right way. Woosh! I feel
better. Funny how you get nervous all of a sudden like that, isn’t
it? All right, Pop, let’s go! Now we can consider the cattle--and
we’ll have plenty to think about there, let me tell you! Come on,
Pop! Hit it up! _One_, two, three, four! _One_, two, three, four!
Yay! Look at her travel!”
The shore slid by rapidly, and the water started to boil under the
bow of the canoe. Pop, in the stern, wrinkled his face into a grin.
Did this youngster think he could turn the boat on him? The old
puncher dug his paddle deep into the water, and his shoulders moved
rhythmically. Teddy was hard pushed to keep up with the old man, so
powerful were the veteran’s strokes, and as the current was swifter
here, the boat seemed fairly to skim over the water, heavy as it
was.
“All right, men!” Roy called out. “You’re doing fine! We’re creeping
up. Another mile to go now. We’ve left Yale behind, and we’re
passing Harvard.” He began to sway his body back and forward, in the
manner of a coxswain of a racing shell. “Yo, yo, yo, yo--”
Suddenly he stopped. He had been facing the shore, and now he
reached forward and seized Teddy’s right arm. The boy yelled,
floundered, and the boat swung around.
“Roy, you big--” he began, then hesitated as he saw his brother’s
face.
Roy’s eyes had narrowed to two hazel slits. His forehead was creased
with a frown. His underjaw shot forward ever so slightly. He pointed
silently. His grip on Teddy’s arm tightened.
The boy gazed at the shore, puzzled as to the reason of his
brother’s queer actions. For a moment he could make out nothing
except the dense trees and brush bordering the bank.
Then, suddenly, he started. His face grew white. Unconsciously his
hand slid to his belt and seized the butt of his gun.
“The Pup!” Teddy gasped. “The Pup, or I’m a ring-tailed doodle bird!
And he’s got our pony with him! Come on, Roy! Let’s get him!”