BROUGHT TO BOOK
"Hallo! Hallo! Stop there! Dudley! Harold!"
It was no ordinary man who sent those words rolling over the moonlit
pampas, but a giant, possessed of lungs as powerful as a blacksmith's
bellows. There could be no mistaking the voice, and in a second
Dudley was pulling frantically at his reins, shouting back with his
head turned as much as possible, while hope, the certainty of succor
and of safety, sent the blood rushing through his veins. His spirits
went up with a jump. In an instant what had seemed a desperate
position was entirely changed. Mr. Blunt was there, riding swiftly
after him, for no one else on the pampas possessed such a voice.
"Halt! If you are a friend, halt at once; if an enemy, halt all the
sooner."
As if to impress the fugitive, a sharp crack resounded some way
behind, and a pistol bullet whizzed high overhead.
"Whoa! Pull up, boys! Steady! There, stand like that, or you will
shake the life out of our friend here. Ahoy! Mr. Blunt! It's
Dudley!"
Sitting as high as was possible in the absence of a saddle and
stirrups, Dudley waved one free hand deliriously in the air and
shouted at the pitch of his voice. He was frantic with excitement.
A huge weight of trouble seemed to have fallen from his young
shoulders in the space of a few seconds, for he knew that he himself
was secure now, and, more than that, that his comrades lying in their
trenches in the forest were also secure. But how was it that these
horsemen had so suddenly appeared, for Mr. Blunt's estancia was many
miles away? What had brought them out across the pampas, and in the
dead of night? Dudley shouted again, and then, turning his horses,
rode back towards the newcomers, his free hand now gripping his
prisoner's shoulder. For Antonio had collapsed. His brain, still
somewhat muddled by the crushing blow which Dudley's pistol had given
him, had nevertheless rapidly discovered the real condition of
affairs. Hardly a minute before, a sardonic grin, the grin of a man
who has triumphed, had made a naturally repulsive face perfectly
hideous. He had even gone to the length of taunting his captor. But
now, when he realized that his hopes were gone, that he was more than
ever a prisoner, and that there could be but one end, this
cold-blooded rascal, who had infested the pampas, who had caused ruin
to many estancia owners, and who had never forgotten some stupid
grudge which he owed Mr. Blunt, collapsed and became unconscious
again. He fell forward on to the horse's neck and lay there, with
his head dangling towards the ground. However, before Mr. Blunt and
the gauchos had ridden up, the prisoner was conscious again and
sitting up. But his was not the pose of a man in the best of
spirits. The rascal's courage was gone at last. He sat his mount as
if some huge weight were crushing his shoulders, and his cruel and
twinkling eyes looked furtively at his captor and then at the figure
of the foremost of the newcomers.
"Thank God, it's Dudley! What has happened, lad? Who is this
fellow?"
In his own impulsive manner the owner of the neighboring estancia
galloped up to our hero, reined in his horse with iron fingers, and
then stretched out a big hand to grip that of his young manager. And
there the two sat, unable to speak for a few seconds, while the
gauchos, with Pietro at their head, surrounded the little party,
uttering cries of astonishment, and looking wonderingly at the
Englishman who was in their midst and at the bearded repulsive
stranger lashed to the horse beside him.
"Who is this fellow?" demanded Mr. Blunt sternly, releasing Dudley's
hand and riding closer so as to inspect the prisoner. "We heard
shots. The men at our outpost corral reported that firing was to be
heard somewhere in this direction, and, happening to be spending the
night with them, I brought a strong party out on to the pampas. The
firing got louder as we rode, and we were sure it came from the
forest, from the direction of the estancia which you and your men
were to visit. We were suspicious, and were wondering whether we
should advance at once or send back for more men, when we heard a
shout. Then--why, great powers, I know this fellow!"
Antonio had kept his head averted all this while, but a sudden
movement, a half-turn of the horse to which he was lashed, had swung
him round, and in a moment Mr. Blunt was staring into a dark,
forbidding face, clothed with a matted beard, and displaying at that
second a variety of expressions, fear and hate mingled strangely
together. Antonio Sarvisti had known from the very first who the
newcomer was. The voice was sufficient, and how he hated that! Then
there was the huge figure, the commanding presence of the burly
Englishman, with his direct way of speaking, his open-hearted manner,
all of which reminded this rascal of past days, of a man whom he had
disliked from the first, and against whom, for some foolish, fancied
cause, he had sworn to be revenged. Men of his stamp and country
were not the ones to reason such matters out. Blind unreasoning hate
had kept him to his purpose, and he had persevered, always to be met
by failure.
"So this ruffian is your prisoner?" said Mr. Blunt, recovering from
his astonishment. "Tell me all about his capture. What has
happened?"
He sat stockstill on his horse while Dudley recounted how he and his
party had visited the estancia of Antonio last of all, how their
suspicions had been aroused, and how, while returning to look further
into the matter, they had been caught in an ambush. Then he related
his own escape, his meeting with the leader of the band of robbers,
and his final ride for freedom.
"Then I understand that at the present moment there are some
fifty-five brigands lying in the forest ready to attack our men,"
said Mr. Blunt quietly, as if he were reviewing the whole position.
"They probably know nothing of the capture you have made, and are
simply waiting for the dawn. It will be here in an hour, perhaps,
though it will still be dark in the forest. I have thirty men here."
"Thirty-four, señor," corrected Pietro.
"Thirty-four, then, of whom two will be required to take charge of
this rascal. The others are at your service, Dudley. How do you
propose to make use of them?"
He was going to place the whole affair in his manager's hands. Mr.
Blunt was not the man to interfere where interference was
unnecessary, and now he determined that Dudley should see the matter
through, and, having done so much, should extricate the little party
which he had commanded.
"Time is short," he said curtly. "We had better be moving. What
plan do you suggest?"
"There is one, and one only," was the answer. "Divide the men. Send
twenty along the face of the forest till opposite our party, with
instructions to move the flanks forward and so enclose the robbers.
I will lead the others by the path I followed, and we will seize the
horses. Then we shall have them completely, for with men outside
them, and our fellows in the middle of their circle, they will be
unable to move. They will be between two fires. Warn the men here
to be careful when they shoot, for they might hit their comrades.
Will that do?"
"Take charge of this ruffian," commanded Mr. Blunt, swinging round to
the men. "You all wish to come with us, I know, but this duty must
be seen to. Select two of your number, and let us be going. Now, my
friends, I want ten men who will follow our young manager."
Like lightning the tale which Dudley had narrated had flown round the
circle of gauchos, and had been interpreted to those who could not
understand English. Their grinning faces showed their pleasure, and
now, at Mr. Blunt's words, they hung back sheepishly at first,
fearful in the case of every man that he would be selected to guard
the prisoner; while, as the call came for ten to follow Dudley, some
thirty-four pair of heels drove as many spurs into the horses,
causing them to bound forward in a mass.
Mr. Blunt laughed. "That is the result of popularity," he said,
smiling at Dudley. "Some obtain fame in one way, some in another.
It would appear that my manager has a reputation as a leader and a
fighter. Come, lads? ten only are required. I did not ask for
thirty-four."
He took Dudley by the sleeve, and together they rode away from the
men, who quickly settled the question. Five minutes later the two
parties were crossing the pampas at a gallop, while in rear of them
stood three solitary horsemen, one bound to his mount, crest-fallen
and desperate, while the other two, tall, well-set-up gauchos, gazed
after their comrades with envious eyes, and then turned to scowl at
their prisoner.
"To think," growled one of them, "that you and I are left behind
because of this hound. Tales have been spreading, and, if they are
true, it is this fellow who has sent the Indians to us so often, and
who has had our master attacked down in the settlements. And now he
keeps us here, swinging our heels, when we should have been with our
comrades paying off the scores we owe to these robbers."
His comrade nodded with energy. He quite agreed that this last
offence was an enormity, and scowled at Antonio in no very friendly
manner.
"Pampas law for him," he said, rolling a cigarette. "There's a tree
down by the corral which will bear his weight. To-morrow, perhaps,
he will be dangling."
The sky was getting brighter away to the east as Dudley led his
little following into the forest. They had ridden with their
comrades till the dark line of the trees came into sight, and then,
having halted to point out to his employer the precise position of
the robbers and the gallant band they surrounded, a position which he
remembered because of a patch of trees higher than the others, they
had galloped on rapidly so as to reach the horses before the others
were discovered. They threaded the narrow track which Dudley had
followed, found the clearing into which three of these paths opened,
and finally rode slowly along that which led to the clearing in which
the fire burned, and where doubtless some of the robbers were even
then having a meal.
"Halt!" A whispered word from Dudley brought his small force to a
standstill, for the flickering rays of a fire had penetrated to the
path along which they were riding. "Wait," said the young leader.
"I will go forward and reconnoitre."
Slipping from his mount he ran along, bent almost double, and very
soon was on the very edge of the clearing. The fire still burned
there as brightly as ever, and seated near it, on upturned saddles or
on the ground, were four of the enemy, while the jovial features of
the Indian cook were clearly seen, for he stood over the fire
stirring his kettle, from which he had just filled the pannikins of
the men. Evidently the loss of two horses and of their leader had
not been discovered, and everything promised well for Dudley and his
party. He slipped back to them, and in a twinkling they were moving
forward.
"Four take charge of the horse lines, while the rest cover the enemy
with their rifles," he said. "Trot! We must get along."
Following one another in Indian file, for the path was too narrow for
two to ride abreast, the little cavalcade were not long in reaching
the clearing. They burst into the open space, spread out so as to
surround the enemy there, and before the latter had recovered from
their astonishment had them covered with their rifles. It was
comical to see the look of dismay which overspread the once jovial
face of the Indian cook. He seemed paralyzed with terror, and stood
precisely in the same spot where Dudley had seen him, his mouth
agape, his eyes bulging from their sockets, while he mechanically
continued to stir the contents of his steaming kettle.
"Hands up!" cried Dudley. "You are surrounded, and if one of you
attempts to lift his rifle, that man will be shot."
Whether or not the men understood what he said, they at least
gathered his meaning from his gestures, and more even from the sight
of the rifles which covered them. They had already dropped their
pannikins, and now they huddled themselves together near the cook,
their hands held up above their heads.
"Let two men dismount and take their pistols and knives from them,"
commanded Dudley. Then, when that task had been accomplished, he
placed a couple of his men on guard over the prisoners, all of whom
were secured with the long leather thong of a bolas.
"Now for the others," he said. "We will spread out here on the edge
of the clearing facing their comrades, and will wait for the dawn.
If any come our way, let them pass in and then cover them with your
weapons. If possible let us take them without a shot, and without so
much as a sound."
Fortune was favoring Mr. Blunt and his honest gauchos on this
occasion, for it happened that during Dudley's absence all the men of
Antonio's following had had a meal, save those who now lay captives,
and who had been taken in the midst of their repast. None came from
the forest to the clearing. In addition, beyond a loud call every
now and again, not a sound was heard from the depths of the forest,
even Harold and his men were husbanding their ammunition till the
dawn came, for the brave lad had no idea that Dudley had returned
already. At the earliest he could not expect help before the
following night, and for that reason he saved every cartridge, while,
on the advice of Pepito, he allowed one-half of his force to sleep,
waking them when an hour had gone so as to rest the remainder. But
the dawn was coming. Even to the men hidden in the forest an
occasional glimpse was possible of the reddening sky, while the
light, growing imperceptibly greater, seemed to steal down past the
leaves and along the tree trunks till it reached the roots. It was
dawn. Men could see the faces of their comrades, and Harold was able
to tell the exact position of each one of his following, and for the
first time could distinguish the outline of the quaint fort which
Dudley had suggested before his departure. A little extra banking
here and there at the edges, a little more taken out of portions of
the trenches, and the place would be perfect. The men were all awake
now, lying with their weapons ready and cartridges at hand. He was
about to give an order to improve the fort when a single rifle shot
rang out far back in the forest, to be answered within a minute by a
report from the pampas. Then came a loud hail from the latter
position.
"Harold! Harold!" came in Mr. Blunt's stentorian tones. "Harold,
ahoy!"
"Friends, señor," exclaimed Pepito, dragging himself slowly to his
leader's side, for the poor fellow's wound was painful. "There is
help close at hand. Warn the men to be careful of their shooting.
But listen!"
Once more the strong voice was heard.
"Harold, ahoy! We have a strong force of gauchos with us, and have
surrounded the ruffians lying in the forest. Shoot any who happen to
pass your way. We are closing up all round them."
From the depths of the forest there came now a commotion. Men called
to one another, for as yet the position was not understood. But many
of the ruffians understood English, and some had overheard Mr.
Blunt's hail. They were surrounded. While they had no notion of
such a thing, and indeed thought it impossible, the enemy had ridden
all round them. Each must fight for himself.
They gave up all attempt to capture the small party who had withstood
them so long, gave up all thought of combination, and promptly bolted
like hares in all directions, the majority, however, rushing for the
clearing where their horses were picketed.
"Wait till you see them clearly, and then bring them down," said
Dudley sternly. "Mind, not a shot till they are close. We must take
them by surprise."
The ambush into which the rascally gauchos fell was in fact such a
surprise that many of them promptly threw up their hands and were
secured. Half a dozen were killed at the first volley, and three
others, who attempted to run, shared the same fate. For the honest
fellows who were in Mr. Blunt's employ had no sympathy for such
ruffians. On the pampas, where there was an entire absence of police
or of any protective force, men had to fend for themselves, and
robbers had to be dealt with severely.
"Place the prisoners all together, and set a guard over them,"
commanded Dudley, when it was seen that no more were coming their
way. "Pietro, just count them, and let me know how many we have
taken."
"Thirty-two, señor," came the answer, as the gaucho rapidly totalled
the robbers who had been captured, and returned to the young
manager's side. "A good haul, señor, and one which will put a stop
to other bands attempting the same robberies. Thirty-two, and
seventy-three horses."
"Amongst which will be the mounts they captured from my little
escort. Now, we'll give our friends a hail."
Sharp reports had meanwhile been heard from different parts of the
forest, sometimes three or four coming close together, while the
majority were solitary shots, fired at some fleeing figure. There
were shouts, too, and an occasional cry of pain.
"Ahoy there! Harold! Mr. Blunt!"
Dudley shouted at the pitch of his lungs, and very soon his employer
and Harold appeared on the scene, their men straggling in behind
them, two of the fine fellows carrying Pepito in their arms.
"Thirty-two prisoners, you say?" cried Mr. Blunt, casting a withering
glance at the robbers, and then one of pride at his men. "Now, let
us count them, for we want to be sure that none have escaped. Harold
reports that five were killed in the neighborhood of the fort, so
that thirty-seven are accounted for. How many were shot here?"
"Nine in all," came the answer.
"Then we have dealt with forty-six, and with the ruffian you so
gallantly brought us, Dudley, we have accounted for forty-seven.
Thirteen have escaped, and I have no doubt are now running for their
lives through this forest. Well, let them go. Their tale will help
to frighten others bent on a lawless life. And now to return to the
estancia. Dudley, you will take Pietro and ten men, and will make
for the house occupied by that rascally Antonio. Take possession of
it, seize all people there, and keep a guard over any papers you may
come upon. The remainder will escort the prisoners back to the
estancia, where they will be kept till I can obtain a judge from the
settlements. One of the rascals I could have dealt with, but I
cannot hang so many on my own authority."
Resting in the clearing till the men had had a meal, the party
divided again, Dudley and his escort riding to Antonio's house, which
they seized without opposition. The prisoners taken in the action
were mounted on the captured horses, their legs secured beneath the
bodies of the animals, and their hands lashed firmly. Then the
horses were roped in a long line, and once more took the track
leading into the forest. A pile of arms and saddlery was left
behind, to be fetched on a future occasion.
Two weeks later the robbers who had been captured were placed on
trial at Mr. Blunt's estancia, and some ten of their number, against
whom previous acts of violence could be proved, were hanged by order
of the authorities. The remainder were sent down to Buenos Ayres,
there to work in the prisons. As for Antonio, he was hanged before
all his following, as a warning to those who were to be retained as
prisoners.
"And now we shall be able to live peacefully," said Mr. Blunt a week
later, when all the prisoners had been removed, and matters had
settled down at the estancia. "There will be no more raids from the
direction of the forest, for, thanks to Dudley, and to you too,
Harold, both Indians and robbers have had a severe lesson. I have
news for you both. Guess what it is.
"Then I will tell you," he went on, seeing that they only shook their
heads. "I have need of a second manager, for I have purchased the
whole of the estancia owned by Antonio Sarvisti. It is as large as
this ranch, and needs an experienced man. Dudley Compton is the man
I have selected."
The news was almost too good to be believed. Dudley had had visions
of managing a ranch some day far in the future, and perhaps even of
possessing one when he had accumulated sufficient money. And now----
"It is as large as this," said Mr. Blunt, "and you will start with an
ample stock of cattle. You will be in complete control of the place,
and will merely report to me on occasion. So that you may not be too
much alone, I will build a house close to the borders of the forest,
through which paths shall be cut. There Harold and I will take up
our residence. That is, if our young friend cares to remain and
accept the post of manager on this estancia."
"Would he accept it?" Harold's eyes were shining brightly. There
was a suspicious twitch about the corners of his mouth as he blurted
out an acceptance.
"Rather!" he said. "That would be jolly! We shall still continue
the same happy family."
Little remains to be told of the doings of Dudley Compton and his
friends. In three years the estancia which he managed had become a
model establishment, which commanded the admiration of the
neighboring owners. But there was one great defect. Dudley was
lonely. He was a long ride from Mr. Blunt and Harold, and at nights
the hours hung heavy on his hands. Need the reader be surprised to
hear that our hero was more than interested in the arrival of Mr.
Blunt's daughter, that his visits to his old employer became
noticeably frequent, and that when some months had gone by he was
able to persuade the young lady who had arrived that his own little
house on the neighboring ranch was comfortable? The two young people
were married within a year, the gauchos from far and near collecting
together to cheer them and drink their health. And in due time, as
the years rolled by, and age began to tell on Mr. Blunt, his two
young managers became partners on the ranches. To this day they are
there, white-haired and somewhat stiff and aged. But that firm
friendship, commenced when at school and renewed after a painful
break, still exists between them. The wide, rolling plains have been
their home ever since those early days when first they made the
acquaintance of the Roughriders of the Pampas.