GUS MEGGET
The boys were at breakfast the next morning when Hans, happening to
look out the window, caught sight of the mighty river that almost
divides the United States in half.
"My eye! but that's a big river," he exclaimed. "What do you call
it?"
"The Mississippi," returned the brothers. They were too engrossed
by their first glimpse of the "Father of Waters" to correct the
German as he struggled to pronounce the name.
"Oh, look at the funny boats!" exclaimed Tom, pointing to the long
line of river steamers that were tied up at the levee. "What are
those things on the back end?"
"They are the paddle wheels. I know, because I've looked at
pictures like them in my geography," replied Larry. "They have the
paddle wheels on the end because the water is so shallow in places."
It was Just after noon that the two chums and Hans were vouchsafed
a glimpse of real "dyed-in-the-wool" cowboys.
The train had stopped at a crossing, as stations are known in
Oklahoma, because of a hot-box on one of the wheels.
Learning that it would be all of a quarter of an hour before the
trouble could be repaired, the boys had left their car and were
filling their lungs with the bracing air.
It chanced that a gang of cowboys had ridden Into the town for a
celebration and, as it was unusual for a train to stop for any
length of time at the crossing, they rode up to find out the reason.
For a few minutes they contented themselves with putting their
ponies through all sorts of "stunts" to the great delight of the
people on the train.
At the sight of them, Larry, Tom and Hans walked toward the cowboys
and stared at them in wonder and admiration.
The cowboys had noticed the three lads, and, because they had been
drinking bad "fire-water," suddenly decided to amuse themselves
with them.
"Whatcher lookin' at?" roared one of the cow-punchers, a big fellow
with close-set eyes and a heavy jaw.
The boys made no response.
"Can't cher speak? I'll teach you some manners then!" he bellowed.
In a thrice he whirled his pony and rode for the boys at full speed.
Ignorant of the roughness of cowboy fun, the three lads stood their
ground, never thinking the fellow would hurt them.
The cowboy was riding straight at Hans. When the pony was within
two leaps of the German, boy Larry cried to him to jump to one side.
But Hans was too terrified to move, and the pony was almost upon
him. In another moment he would be run down.
From the train rose shouts of warning and anger, changing in the
next moment to cheers.
Realizing that the German boy could not save himself, Larry threw
up his hands right in the face of the pony, causing the animal to
rear so suddenly that only its rider's expert horsemanship saved
him from being unseated.
At the same time Tom seized Hans and jerked him to one side just
before the broncho's forelegs struck the ground again, almost on
the very spot where the German boy had been standing.
Furious at the interference with his so-called fun, the cowboy
roared at Larry:
"I'll teach you to scare Gus Megget's pony, you calf tenderfoot!"
Black, indeed, did it look for the three lads. The companions of
the bullying cowboy who had announced himself as Gus Megget were
riding up, yelling to him to make the "tenderfoot dance."
His race very white, but every line of his body breathing defiance,
Larry faced his tormentor.
With a calmness that fairly took the breath away from the bully the
elder of the brothers exclaimed in a voice loud enough to be heard
by the other cowboys and the men about the train:
"I didn't pick this quarrel with you, but if you will get off your
horse so that you have no advantage over me; I'll give you all the
fight you want!"
An instant Megget glowered with rage at the mere stripling of a boy
who had announced his willingness to fight him, then with a savage
growl started to swing from his saddle.
"I'll fix you, you whelp!" he roared.
He aimed a savage blow at Larry, who ducked.
"Hi! leave my brother alone!" cried Tom, coming to the spot.
As Tom spoke Larry stooped and picked up a handful of dust. This
he hurled straight into the cowboy's face.
"Good!" shouted Tom and did likewise.
The dust caused the cowboy to sneeze, and some bystanders commenced
to laugh.
"He's got the best of you, Megget," observed another cowboy.
"I'll eat him!" yelled Megget and rushed at Larry with blood in his
eyes.
But before he reached the boy a voice rang out:
"Keep on your horse, Gus Megget!"
Though Larry did not dare take his eyes from the bully, Tom and the
cowboys looked to see who was taking a hand in the affair. They
beheld a quiet-looking little man pointing a finger at the leader
of the ruffians.
"I can't arrest you for driving off Jim Larson's cattle because
we're in Oklahoma," continued the determined stranger. "But if I
ever get my hand on you in Texas it'll go hard with you! Now
vamoose before you try my patience too far! Come on back, boys.
Gus Megget won't bother you any more."
"Prickly cactus! but it's 'Shorty,' the sheriff from Pawnee
County!" gasped one of the band or cow-punchers. "Come on, Gus; we
must dig out of here! Shorty may pass the word he's seen us."
Fear of the law caused the bully and his companions to wheel their
ponies.
At this move the three boys turned and ran back toward the train,
while the excited passengers hooted and yelled at the discomfited
cowboys.
The shouts of derision were more than Megget could stand. He shook
his fist at the crowd in general and then at Tom and Larry in
particular, Then he whirled around and disappeared from view in a
cloud of dust.
Quickly the passengers all trooped to the cars and five minutes
later the train was again in motion.
All the passengers wanted to shake hands with Tom and Larry, and
for several minutes the boys were at the mercy of their
well-meaning admirers. Again the sheriff came to their rescue.
"Go back to your own cars," he commanded. "The boys want to be
left alone."
But the people gave no sign of heeding his words.
"Well, if you won't go at the asking, I'll make you go," he
continued, and seizing the person nearest him, the sheriff turned
him round and gave him a shove along the aisle of the car.
After three or four of the passengers had been pushed none too
gently away, the others began to leave of their own accord, and the
two brothers were able to make their escape.
"If it keeps on the way it has started, we're likely to have a
lively summer," remarked Larry when he was again back in his seat.
"I hope they don't come so quick for me," exclaimed Hans. And his
tone was so plaintive that the others could not help but laugh.
"You'll either have to get some nerve or else stick mighty close to
your friends here," declared the sheriff, who had remained to talk
with the boys who had shown such pluck.
"Maybe I'll go back to Germany," sighed Hans.
"Oh, you'll get used to this part of the world after a while.
Where are you going?"
"Tolopah."
"Well, that ain't the most refined place in the world," chuckled
the man of the law, "but I don't believe you'll get as bad as what
you got."
Pondering over this none too reassuring remark, Hans lapsed into
silence, while Tom and Larry plied the sheriff with questions about
life on the ranches and the antics of the cowboys.
As evening came on the boys grew restive. Their train was due at
Tolopah at nine the next morning, and despite the fact that it was
rushing along at the rate of forty miles an hour, it seemed to them
to be scarcely moving. They had already passed two nights and two
days on the train and the thought of putting another night in the
berth, especially as it was very hot, seemed impossible, making
them fretful and cross.
"Who is he?" asked Larry of the conductor, after the sheriff had
left the train.
"What, you never heard of Sam Jenks, sheriff of Pawnee County?"
"We come from Ohio," said Tom, as though apologizing for their
ignorance.
"That accounts for it. If you lived between the Mississippi and El
Paso you wouldn't ask such a question.
"Sam Jenks, known to every cowboy as 'Shorty,' is the nerviest man
I know. There isn't a cattle thief or a bad man in this part of
the country that won't run when he sees him--if he has the chance.
"You saw how Gus Megget and his gang got scared. It was just the
sight of Shorty that scared him. He's got a record of sending more
cattle thieves and crooked gamblers to jail than any three other
sheriffs in the country. There never was anything he's afraid of,
and he's just as tender-hearted as a kitten. Why, I know one time,
after he'd sent a train robber to prison, he took the money out of
his own pocket to support the rascal's wife and baby till he could
get her folks to take her home. You sure made a friend that's
worth having."
On Hans' account, Larry and Tom kept up a lively chatter during the
evening, and it was not until the brothers were in their berths
that they broached the subject of what to do should the sheriff's
suspicions prove true.
Hans' unfitness for holding his own among the rough men of the
plains made them sorry for him, and they discussed various plans,
without arriving at any conclusion, till well into the night.
"What's the use of worrying?" said Tom finally. "Chris will
probably show up all right. Let's wait and see." And with this
understanding the boys dropped the matter.
Despite the fact that the day was to see the end of their journey,
the boys slept late.
"You ge'mmen better hurry if you all wants yo' breakfas' befoh yo'
gits to Tolopah," interrupted the porter. "We'll be thar in half
an hour."
It was not a hearty meal the brothers and Hans ate, and soon they
were back in their seats, looking to see that they had forgotten
nothing before they closed their suit-cases.
Bringing two big valises of the extending kind the German sat with
Larry and Tom. But their high spirits found no response in him,
and as they neared their destination he could with difficulty keep
back the tears, so worried was he.
"Here we are!" exclaimed Larry as he caught sight of some houses
and barns.
And his words were verified by the porter, who came through the car
calling:
"All out for Tolopah!"
Picking up their luggage, the boys hastened to the car steps.
"Hello, Bill! Hello, Horace!" cried the brothers eagerly as they
caught sight of their friends on the station platform.
At the greetings the Wilder boys hurried toward the car.
In the pleasure of the meeting Tom and Larry forgot Hans.
"Come on," commanded Horace, seizing Tom's suit-case. "We won't
dally here in Tolopah. We must get to the ranch before it gets too
hot." And he led the way to where four bronchos stood tied to a
railing.
Quickly the Wilders made fast the suit-cases to their saddles and
untied the ponies.
"This is Blackhawk, Tom, and this is Lightning, Larry," said Horace
as he handed the reins to the two boys. "They're a couple of the
best ponies in New Mexico, and while you're here they'll be yours.
You can get acquainted with them on the ride to the ranch."
Both animals were splendid creatures, well built and powerful.
Blackhawk, as the name suggests, was jet black, his coat glistening
in the sun, and Lightning was a roan.
Already Bill and Horace were on their ponies, and the two brothers
were just swinging into their saddles when a voice cried:
"Tom! Larry!"
Turning their heads, the boys beheld Hans, the tears streaming down
his cheeks, rushing toward them as fast as his valises would let
him.
No need was there to ask if he had found a trace of his brother.
The tears told all too plainly that he had not.
"Who in the world is that?" asked Horace in astonishment.
"A German boy who traveled with us," explained Tom. "Do you know
any one in Tolopah by the name of Chris Ober?"
"Struck out for old Mexico, prospecting for gold, three months
ago," replied Bill. "Why?"
"That's his brother Hans, who has come from Berlin to visit him,"
returned Tom. And hurriedly he gave an outline of the German lad's
story.
"Phew! Chicken-hearted, is he?" commented Horace. "It won't do to
leave him in Tolopah. Luckily one of our men is in town with our
grub wagon. He can ride out to the ranch with him."
When Tom imparted this information to Hans, the poor fellow was
delighted and asked where he could find the outfit.
"I'll show him. You all ride on," said Horace. But the others
refused, declaring they would all go together.
As the cavalcade started with Hans and his valises trying to keep
up with them, many were the jests and laughs cast after them.
But the boys paid them no heed, and in a few minutes the German
youth was safe in the provision wagon.
Putting their horses into a brisk canter, the four lads set out for
the ranch.
Many were the questions the Wilders asked about their friends back
in Ohio, and so busy were Tom and Larry in answering, and in
relating all the events of consequence that had transpired since
the family had left Bramley two years before, that the twenty miles
which lay between Tolopah and the ranch seemed scarcely one.