THE ROUND-UP--CONCLUSION
Mr. Ranger ran back to join his son. At the same time Nat and Jack
sprang forward, and together the three raced down the valley. With
loud shouts the horsemen pursued them.
"Here they are!" some of the riders exclaimed. "We'll get the boys
and the old man, too! Come on!"
For a little while the three fugitives, from the start they had, and
from the rough nature of the ground, which precluded speed on the
part of the horses, kept in the lead. They had just made a turn in
the trail, which, for a moment hid the horsemen from sight, when Mr.
Ranger exclaimed:
"I can go no farther, Jack. My heart! Oh, my heart!"
He sank down, staggering under the weight of his rifle.
"Quick!" cried Nat. "Get behind this big rock! Maybe we can hold 'em
off!"
The two boys half carried Mr. Ranger around to the rear of an immense
boulder that bordered the trail. Then Jack ran hack and caught up the
rifle. He had just time enough to spring hack of the rock when the
riders swept fully into view. Jack leveled the rifle over the top of
the big stone and cried:
"Don't come any nearer or I'll shoot!"
The riders pulled up in confusion.
"Go ahead!" cried those in the rear,
"He's got the drop on us!" exclaimed those in front.
Jack held the rifle steady. For several seconds there was an intense
strain. Mr. Ranger was resting his head on Nat's knee, panting for
breath.
"You'll--find--some medicine--in--my pocket," he gasped, and Nat,
searching where the sick man indicated, found a small bottle of white
pills. He gave Mr. Ranger one, and, in a few seconds the color came
back to the sufferer's pale face.
Now there was a movement among the horsemen. Some of them rode back
on the trail, while others dismounted and went to the left and right.
"They're going to surround us," Jack thought. "I guess it's all up
with us!"
He kept close watch of the men he could see. Those directly in front
of him remained on their horses.
Suddenly there sounded a confused shouting from back on the trail.
Dimly Jack tried to recall where he had heard those voices before. He
glanced along the rifle barrel which was trembling like a leaf in the
wind.
Then there came a fulisade of shots, mingling with the shouts. The
approaching horsemen seemed thrown into confusion. One or two of the
steeds went down in heaps, throwing their riders. The shooting and
yelling continued.
All at once there galloped into view a band of cowboys. At their head
rode John Smith and Nat's uncle. Both were firing their revolvers as
fast as they could.
"Hurrah!" cried Nat. "We're saved!"
"Just in time!" muttered Jack, as, weak and shaking, he dropped the
rifle and sprang to his father's side.
There was a short, sharp struggle between the armed force from the
ranch and the bad men. Some of the scoundrels got away, but the
majority were rounded up. In the melee some were hurt.
"Are you all right?" asked John, as dust-covered and powder-begrimed
he sprang to clasp his chums by the hands.
"Thanks to you, yes," said Nat heartily, and he was ashamed of the
brief suspicion with which he had regarding the Indian. "How did you
do it?"
"As soon as I saw you captured, I knew I could do more good free than
a prisoner with you," John said. "I made the best time I could to the
ranch, and I guess all the cowboys who could be spared came back as
fast as their horses could carry them. We easily traced the gang to
here, and,--well you saw the rest."
The cowboys, even Cactus Ike, who had played the horse trick on Jack,
were busy binding their prisoners on their horses. Mr. Kent was so
excited he did not know what to do. He insisted on shaking hands with
Jack, Nat, John and Mr. Ranger every other minute. As for Jack's
father, he soon felt better because of the medicine, and when the
securing of the prisoners was completed, he found he was able to
mount a spare horse and proceed.
It was decided to take an easy trail, some of the cowboys knew of,
back to a place near where the boys had been held captive, and about
noon the cavalcade reached the cave near the mine, from which the
lads had escaped.
But a great change had taken place. The breaking of the flume, and
the shutting off of the water had backed up the stream, which had
been allowed to run all night, and in consequence, the whole surface
of the hill, against which the hydraulic operations had been
directed, was washed away.
It was difficult to get the horses past it, for there was a big hole.
As Mr. Ranger was passing the spot where the band had so lately been
at work, he looked at the ground, and uttered a sudden exclamation.
Then he jumped from his horse and began digging in the dirt.
"What is it?" asked Jack in some alarm.
"Gold! Gold! Gold!" cried Mr. Ranger. "See it sparkle! Here is a mine
of wonderful wealth! The water uncovered it, or they might have
worked for years without discovering it. See the gold!"
In another instant the cowboys were off their horses examining the
find. Mr. Kent looked at it critically.
"Well, this is luck!" he said. "It's an ill wind that blows nobody
good!"
There was a hurried consultation, which resulted in some of the men
being left on guard, while the others proceeded to the ranch with the
prisoners, the boys and Mr. Ranger.
There were three days making the trip, owing to the fact that Mr.
Ranger had to ride slowly. As he descended from the higher altitudes,
however, he got stronger. When the ranch was reached, the physicians
who had been attending old Mr. Lantry, prescribed for the former
exile, and took charge of him.
The members of the band from one of whom Jack's ring was taken, were
sent to jail, under a strong escort, and, eventually were given long
terms. As soon as Mr. Kent and his men, including the boys and Mr.
Ranger, had proved their claim to the mine, arrangements for working
it were made. It turned out even better than it had appeared at the
first glance, so that every one interested received a large sum.
As for Jack he could not bear to let his father out of his sight. Mr.
Ranger, too, wanted to be with his son all the while. The return of
the exile had such a good effect on Mr. Lantry that he recovered much
sooner than the doctor had expected, having regained his senses from
the delirium, the day after Mr. Ranger reached the ranch. The old man
was given some shares in the mine, enough to keep him comfortably.
Then it was that the boys really began to enjoy life. The long sunny
days on the plains, riding here and there, soon restored Mr. Ranger
to ruddy health, and the physician pronounced him almost cured of his
heart ailment.
The boys spent happy hours on the ranch, entering into friendly
contests in everything from roping a steer to saddling a frisky
horse. The cowboys could not show them enough attention, and Cactus
Ike even apologized to Jack for the trick he played on him. Jack
forgave him, and said it had probably learned him more about a horse
in ten minutes than he could otherwise have picked up in a week.
It was some time after this, when, as they were all seated on the
porch, one warm evening, that Jack remarked:
"Well, we'll have to be getting back east, soon."
"How good that sounds," said Mr. Ranger. "I was afraid I might never
see the east again. Yes, we must go back soon. I am anxious to see my
sisters."
"Sorry to have you go," said Mr. Kent. "There's no place like the
west."
"Perhaps not, for a young man," Mr. Ranger admitted, "but I'm getting
old."
"I wonder if we'll ever again have adventures like those we
experienced out here," said Nat "Lannigan's lassoes! But we certainly
had some sport!"
"Maybe not the same kind, but I s'pose they'll be just as exciting,"
Jack remarked. "We seem to run into 'em."
The boys did have more adventures, and, what they were will be
related in the next volume of this series, to be called, "Jack
Ranger's School Victories; Or, Track, Gridiron and Diamond."
A week later Jack, his father, Nat and John started east. They
stopped on the way to see Mr. Tevis, who expressed his delight that
Mr. Ranger's period of exile was over, that the bad men had been put
where they could do no more harm, and that the unexpectedly
discovered mine had panned out so well.
"You are to be congratulated on having such a son as Jack," said Mr.
Tevis to Mr. Ranger.
"If it hadn't been for John and Nat I guess I wouldn't have had much
success," Jack remarked.
"Now that I look at it, I cannot understand how those men had such an
influence on me," said Mr. Ranger, thoughtfully.
"I'll tell you what I believe," answered Jack. "One of them was
something of a hypnotist. He tried his game on me when I was at the
cave."
"It may be that you are right, my son. It is true that I was afraid
of them--and just why I cannot tell," returned Mr. Ranger. "But that
is a thing of the past now," he added, with satisfaction.
"And now for home!" cried Nat, the next day. "Won't we have lots to
tell when we get there!"
"I'll be glad to see Washington Hall again," said John.
"Yes, indeed!" answered Jack. "But I'm going home to Denton first,
and you must come along, John."
"Very well, I will," said the semi-Indian youth.
Twelve hours later the happy party was on its way to the nearest
railroad station. And here, bound for home, we will leave them.
End of Project Gutenberg's Jack Ranger's Western Trip, by Clarence Young