OFF FOR THE BOUNDLESS WEST
"This is certainly the boundless West!"
It was Dave who spoke, and he addressed the others, who were on the rear
of the observation car with him. As far as the eye could reach were the
prairies, dotted here and there with hillocks and clumps of low-growing
bushes. Behind were the glistening rails and the wooden ties, stretching
out until lost in the distance.
A night and the larger part of the next day had been spent on the train.
They had crossed the Mississippi and made several stops of more or less
importance, including those at St. Paul and Minneapolis, and now they
were rushing westward through North Dakota to Montana.
It was a warm, sunshiny day, and the young folk and Mr. Porter enjoyed
the trip to the utmost. Dave's uncle had traveled through that section
of the country several times, and he pointed out various objects of
interest.
"I haven't seen any Indians yet," said Jessie, with a pout. "I thought
we'd see some by this time."
"We'll see them a little further west," answered Dunston Porter.
"They'll come down to the railroad stations, to sell trinkets," and his
words proved true. They saw a dozen or more redmen and their squaws the
following morning, at a station where they stopped for water. But the
Indians were so dirty that neither Jessie nor the others wanted to trade
with them, although one Indian had a set of polished horns Roger admired
very much.
"Never mind, we'll get some horns at Star Ranch," said Laura. "The
cowboys know how to polish them just as well as these Indians, and
they'll sell their work just as cheaply, too." And this proved to be
true.
They passed Livingston, which, as Dunston Porter told the young folks,
was the transfer point for Yellowstone Park, and then continued on their
way to Helena. Here the young folks left the train, to continue their
journey on a side line running northward.
"Sorry I am not going further with you," said Dunston Porter, as he
kissed his niece and shook hands warmly with the others. "I hope you get
to the ranch in safety, and don't forget to send word to me at Spokane
as well as to send word home."
"And you'll be sure to come to the ranch for us in about a month?" asked
Laura.
"Yes, unless some special business detains me, and then I'll wire when I
can come," was the reply, and then the train rolled off, Dunston Porter
standing at the end, waving the boys and girls adieu.
"Now we have got to take care of ourselves," remarked the shipowner's
son. "Girls, you don't feel afraid, do you?"
"Oh, we are not so very far from Star Ranch," answered Laura. "And
you'll remember, I asked Mr. Endicott by telegraph to have somebody meet
us. If he's at the ranch, maybe he'll come himself, and bring Belle. I
know Belle will be just wild to see what sort of a brother I have
found," she added, with a warm glance at Dave.
"I hope she likes me, Laura. I know I am going to like her. She's a
jolly-looking girl, by her picture."
"Oh, I know she'll like you. Jessie, you had better look out!" went on
Laura in a whisper, and this made Jessie turn very red. Dave heard the
words and grew red, too, and commenced a lively conversation with Phil
and Roger, about nothing in particular.
The train on the side line was a big contrast to the luxurious coaches
they had just left. The cars were of the old-fashioned variety and but
two in number, and drawn by an old mountain engine that had seen better
days. Moreover, the roadbed was very uneven, and the cars rocked from
side to side as they rolled between the hills towards Bramley, where the
young folks were to get off. The cars were about half filled with miners
and cattlemen, and a sprinkling of hunters and sightseers, and the boys
and girls overheard a good deal of talk about steers and horses, mines
and new discoveries, and about the outlook for hunting and fishing.
"Why, Mr. Todd, is that you!" cried Laura, suddenly, as a cowboy was
passing through the car where she sat.
"It sure is me, Miss Porter," answered the cowboy, coming to a halt with
a broad grin on his weatherbeaten face. "Must be you are on your way to
the ranch," he added.
"We are," answered Laura. "I am glad to see you." She held out her hand,
which the cowboy took very gingerly, removing his sombrero at the same
time. "This is my friend, Miss Wadsworth, and this is my brother, Dave,
and his two school friends, Mr. Morr and Mr. Lawrence. This is Mr.
Sidney Todd, Mr. Endicott's head man," she explained.
"Just Sid Todd, miss, that's good enough for me," said the cowboy, as
the others shook hands with him, one after the other. "I ain't used to
no handle, I ain't. The boss thought you might be on this train, but he
wasn't sure when I left. He told me to keep an eye open for you,
though. I hope you had a nice trip."
"We have had a lovely trip, Mr.--Todd," said Jessie. She could not quite
bring herself to drop the mister.
"I've heard of you," said Dave to the cowboy. "My sister told me how you
taught her to ride and do a lot of things. I hope you'll take me and my
chums in hand, too, when we get settled at Star Ranch."
"Ride, don't you?"
"Oh, yes, but not in the fashion that cowboys can," said Dave, and then
he invited Sid Todd to sit down with them, which the cowboy did. He was
a man of about forty, tall and leathery. His eyes were bubbling over
with good humor, but they could become very stern when the occasion
demanded it. Laura had become well acquainted with him during her former
visit to the ranch, and knew that the Endicotts trusted him implicitly.
While he had taught her how to ride, cowgirl fashion, she had taken a
number of snapshot photographs for him, to be sent to some relative in
the South, and for these he had been very grateful.
"We want to do a lot of riding, and a lot of hunting and fishing, too,"
said the senator's son. "Do you think we'll have a chance for much
sport?"
"I dunno," answered Sid Todd, dryly. "Might be the game will hear of
your coming and move on to the next State," and his eyes twinkled over
his little joke.
"I'd like to see some kind of a round-up," said Phil. "Will there be one
while we are here?"
"Might be, Mr.--I didn't quite catch your handle."
"Phil Lawrence. Just call me Phil."
"I will if you'll call me Todd, or Sid. I can't git used to this mister
business nohow. Besides, the boys would have the laugh on me, if they
heard you a-mistering me all the time."
"All right, Sid it is," said Dave. "And I'm Dave."
"And I am Roger," added the senator's son.
"About that round-up," continued the cowboy. "Might see something of the
sort, for Mr. Endicott is goin' to sell some cattle the end of the
month, and they'll be driven off to another range. But you'll see enough
of cattle anyway, before you go home, if you are going to stay a month
or six weeks."
"Any fishing?" queried the shipowner's son.
"Yes, plenty of fishing, back in the mountains. One place there you can
catch a barrel or two of fish in ten minutes--if you've got lines
enough," and once more Sid Todd chuckled at his joke.
It was a three hours' run to Bramley, for the train stopped at many
little stations and at some crossings where there were no stations at
all. At one point they came to a halt where there was a large corral,
and the boys and girls watched the efforts of several cowboys to lasso a
bronco that was untrained. The bronco eluded the rope with apparent
ease.
"Some of 'em are mighty tricky," explained Sid Todd. "I remember two
years ago, we had one bronco nobody at the Star could touch. I reckon he
was sure mad, for finally he bit Hank Snogger, and Hank had to treat him
to a dose of lead."
"Is Hank Snogger still with Mr. Endicott?" questioned Laura.
"No, he ain't," answered Sid Todd, shortly. "He left two months ago. A
good job done, too," added the cowboy.
"Who was this Hank Snogger?" asked Dave, in a low voice of his sister,
for he saw that the subject was distasteful to Todd.
"He was one of the cowboys working for Mr. Endicott," answered Laura.
"He was rather a queer kind of a man."
"Bramley's just ahead," announced Sid Todd, presently. "Maybe you can
catch sight of somebody you know," he added to Laura, as the train
rounded the curve of a small hill.
"I see a young lady on horseback, and a man!" cried Dave's sister a few
minutes later. "It's Belle, and her father! They came to meet us! Oh, I
must signal to them!" And she waved her handkerchief from the car
window. Soon Belle Endicott saw it, and waved her big straw hat in
return.
"Welcome to the West!" she cried, merrily, as she dashed up on her pony
beside the railroad tracks. "Oh, I was so afraid you wouldn't come!"
"And I was so afraid you'd miss our telegram and wouldn't meet us,"
returned Laura.
As soon as the train came to a stop the boys hopped down and assisted
the girls to alight. Sid Todd followed, with the hand baggage, and the
whole party gathered in a group, while Mr. Endicott and Belle dismounted
to greet them.
"Very glad to know you," said the railroad president, with a genial
smile overspreading his features. "I feel as if I knew Morr already. I
have met his father and mother several times in Washington."
"Yes, so dad wrote," answered the senator's son.
"And I feel as if I knew you, and Miss Belle," said Dave. "I've heard so
much about you from Laura."
"And we've heard so much about you!" cried Belle. "Oh, wasn't it simply
wonderful how you found your folks! Why, it's almost like a page out of
a fairy book!"
"Not quite," put in Phil. "Fairy stories aren't true, while this really
happened."
"Some day Dave has got to tell me the whole story from beginning to
end," said Belle. "You see, I'm going to call you Dave, and you must
call me Belle."
"Well, we can't stop for stories just now," said Mr. Endicott. "It's a
long ride to the ranch, and they'll be more than hungry by the time we
get there. Todd, bring up the horses, and tell Jerry to dump all the
baggage in the wagon. Do you all want to ride horseback, or does
somebody prefer a seat in the wagon?"
"Oh, let us ride horseback, if you have animals enough!" cried Laura.
"You're willing, aren't you, Jessie?"
"I--I guess so," said Jessie, rather timidly. "That is, if you don't
ride too fast."
"We'll take it easy," said Belle. "And if you get tired you can wait for
the wagon."
A number of sturdy-looking animals were brought up, and the entire party
proceeded to mount, the boys assisting Laura and Jessie. In the meantime
Sid Todd went off, to return with a ranch wagon, driven by an old man
smoking a corncob pipe.
"Hello, Uncle Jerry!" cried Laura, pleasantly, and the others soon
learned that the old man was known by that name and no other. He had
been attached to the ranch when Mr. Endicott purchased the place, and
knew no other home. He and Todd placed the baggage in the wagon, and
then the cowboy swung himself into the saddle of his own steed, that had
been brought to the station for him.
Just as the party was about to leave, a tall, thin, and well-dressed man
dashed up, riding a coal-black steed. As he came closer Laura gave a
start and motioned for Dave to come closer.
"Who is it?" asked Dave, in a low voice.
"That is Mr. Merwell," answered his sister.