IN THE HANDS OF THE RUSTLERS.
As the night came on the spirits of the three scouts seemed to sink
considerably. Somehow the passing of the sun and coming of darkness
before the rising of the moon brought with it a new sense of being at
the mercy of these rough men, who snapped their fingers at the law, and
did about as they pleased.
Ned at first wondered why they had been brought here to the camp, the
location of which had long been a mystery to outsiders. He even feared
that circumstance meant something terrible to himself and two chums,
because now that they held the secret of the hide-out of the rustlers,
it did not seem likely they would be allowed to depart, even if they
swore never to betray the fugitives from justice.
Then he noticed certain signs, being a most observant lad, as we
already know, that told him another story. The rustlers for some reason
or other were getting ready to make a change of base. Perhaps they
believed that the vicinity of the Double Cross Ranch was likely to
become too warm for them after what had happened, for Ally Sloper must
have brought considerable news when he joined the gang.
The boys were allowed to sit together on a blanket. They had been
tersely warned by the hoarse-voiced giant that if they so much as tried
to escape they were sure to be shot down like coyotes; and there was
that in his ferocious manner that made Harry shiver with apprehension;
while Jimmy was seen to clench his fists and grit his teeth, as though
his fighting blood had been aroused.
Ned had to smile, though, when he looked at the fearful difference
between the two; one a giant and the other not far from being a dwarf.
It reminded him of a little bantam defying a great barnyard rooster, or
of David, armed only with his puny sling, facing Goliath, the mighty
man of the Philistines.
Fortunately Jimmy had sense enough not to open his mouth, thanks to the
shove Ned gave him with his elbow. Had he dared say anything bold and
saucy to the big bully, the chances were he would have rued the day,
for Hy Adams could have easily seized him by the nape of the neck and
swung him around his head six or seven times, just for a lark.
"I wonder now do we get any?" Jimmy was saying, rather plaintively, as
he sniffed the odors of supper cooking.
Jimmy could have stood for almost anything save starvation, or being
deprived of his regular feed. If he had known that he had to run the
gauntlet in the morning, or be toasted at the stake, the chances were
that he would have let out a howl to the effect that he hoped they
would at least fill him up with something to eat before making him lie
down for the night.
"I wonder where he can be right now?" Harry was whispering, as he
managed to cast his eyes around the bordering rocks, without doing it
in such an open manner as to invite suspicion, in case any of the
rustlers were watching them.
"Of course you mean dear old Jack," the scout master went on to say;
"and I'm hoping he's at the ranch by this time, telling his story to
the Colonel."
"I can shut my eyes and see the riot there'd be in that case," mused
Harry, with a sigh; "every puncher would be wanting to join the rescue
bunch, and the herds might go hang for one night. But Ned, perhaps he
followed us up here?"
"Yes, that might be so," admitted the other scout.
"Meaning to try and get us loose all by himself," added Harry, huskily,
as if the very thought of such a thing caused him to tremble with
eagerness.
"It would be a great feat if Jack could manage it," admitted Ned,
longingly, "and I've got a lot of faith in our chum; but somehow I hope
he's chosen to make for the ranch and get the boys started this way."
"Queer they didn't bother doing much hunting for Jack, did they?"
pursued Harry.
"Oh! you heard what the leader said, that it was too smoky and
unpleasant down in the canyon, and that they'd come back in the morning
to look him up. Little do they care whether he's living or dead.
They're a heartless bunch; and I'd like to see them caught in a net.
You can see they've got some of their women folks along, and that this
is like a regular border village. There's a pack of dogs, and over in
that cabin I've counted as many as four children--all with hair that
looks like it had never known a comb and clothes that would shame an
Indian squaw. But the men are a tough lot, and all they seem to care
for is playing cards, drinking, smoking and stealing cattle."
The night had settled down by now. It was dark at first, because the
moon would not rise until a little later, being now past its full.
Greatly to the relief of Jimmy one of the women brought them over some
supper, such as it was. They were hungry enough to forget its
shortcomings, though Jimmy did complain a little that they saw the
bottom of the kettle too soon to suit him, and that he just knew he'd
wake up feeling starved long before dawn. But then Ned and Harry were
so used to hearing their comrade let out this sort of a wail that they
let it pass by, without extending him any sympathy.
"Now for a night of it!" Harry said, later on, after they had been
sitting there, watching the strange scene until they began to feel
sleepy.
"But how are we goin' to sleep without our blankets?" Jimmy wanted to
know.
"We might ask for some," Ned told him, "but honest now, I'd feel a
little queer about snuggling down in some of the coverings I've noticed
around here."
"Same with me," added Harry, shuddering, "because I'm silly enough to
be a little particular about the blanket I get my face down in. If
they'd only let us crawl in out of the night air, that tumbledown cabin
close by would suit the bill. Suppose you beckon to that leader fellow
and ask him, Ned?"
So when Ned managed to catch the eye of the party he believed to be the
much wanted Clem Parsons, he invited him to come over to where they
sat, which the man did, though with a frown on his scarred face and an
ugly look in his eye that the boys did not like any too well.
"It gets pretty cool toward morning and as we haven't any blankets,
would you mind if we crawled inside that deserted cabin there to
sleep?" Ned asked.
"So you can get your heads together and try to skip out, is that what
you're after?" the rustler demanded, harshly. "Well, this place is as
good as anything you'll get, so make the most of it. Tomorrow we're
meaning to fix you up, so as to let old Colonel Job know what we think
of him. Perhaps he'll have a special cage built to keep his prize fowls
in when you get back to Double Cross Ranch. We owe him a long bill, and
think we see a chance to pay it before we quit this region for our new
location down in Arizona. Now shut up and don't give us any bother, or
I'll let Hy Adams loose on you. He wanted to have a quirt jubilee right
away, with you boys tied to stakes, and every puncher being allowed
three cuts at your bare shoulders. But I said, 'Wait till morning for
the fun.'"
With that he turned on his heel and left them, Jimmy with wide-open
mouth and trembling with indignation.
"D'ye think now he meant that, or was he playin' hocus-pocus with us
boys?" was what Jimmy asked, as soon as he could catch his breath.
"I'd like to believe it was in the nature of a joke," Ned told him,
"and that he was only trying to make us feel bad during the rest of the
night; but from all I've heard about Clem Parsons, he's a cold-blooded
scamp, and I'm afraid he means to do something to us, Harry, that will
make your Uncle Job furious. He said they meant to leave this part of
the country, and on that account it's likely they'll go further than if
they expected to stay around here right along."
"Gee! I'm sorry to hear that," Harry observed, and it could be seen
that the boy must be considerably worked up, for Harry seldom used
slang of any kind.
As for Jimmy, he ground those strong white teeth of his and muttered to
himself in a fashion that told how excited he was.
"There he is talking with that big rustler now," Harry remarked, a
minute later; "the one you think must be Hy Adams, and who hurried over
to join the leader after he saw him leave us. See the giant swinging
his arms, and hear him growl like thunder in the distance. Now, what
d'ye think he can be asking of Clem Parsons, Ned? D'ye expect he wants
to have that nice little practice whipping-bee right away, and not wait
for morning to come?"
"I don't know, but something's bothering him--that's sure--for he keeps
pointing this way and wagging that great big head of his, like he'd
shake it off. Seems to me as though he's winning his point, too,
because the other man isn't objecting as much as he did before."
"There, he shrugs his shoulders and turns away, just like he told him
to do as he wanted and that as for him, he washed his hands of the
whole business. Oh! what if they do start in to use those cruel quirts
on our backs, Ned?"
Ned Nestor turned a little white himself at the very thought; but he
clenched his teeth in that determined way of his and said, slowly:
"That would be pretty tough, boys, and I hope it doesn't strike us; but
if it should, remember that we're scouts, and supposed to be able to
stand pain, like the Indians were taught, without wincing or crying
out."
All of them were watching Hy Adams with uneasy eyes. They seemed to
know from the triumphant glare with which the terror of the hills
observed them that he must have carried his point with the leader, and
was now only figuring on how he had better proceed.
"Oh! if only I had my Marlin here right now, mebbe I wouldn't put him
on the blink in a hurry, though?" Jimmy was sighing; "I'd hold up the
camp and let you fellers find your own guns. Then we'd pick out the
ones we wanted to keep, and tell the others to clear out. But that's
all a dream, because here I am with only me two fists to back me up,
and they wouldn't count against that hog!"
Hy Adams was now talking with several of the most dissipated looking of
the men. Whatever he might be telling them it seemed to please the
others immensely, for they laughed harshly; and one fellow immediately
stepped over to take down his quirt from where it hung alongside the
door of a shack.
"There, did you see that?" demanded Harry, "it means whips after all,
Ned! Oh! to think of their cruel hearts. Just like we lived down in
Delaware, where they have the whipping post going. Can we do anything
to get them to let up on the game?"
"I'm sorry to say not," responded Ned. "Seems as if they'd got to the
point where they must see the blood flow to satisfy their desire for
revenge. We spoiled their little scheme for getting your uncle's best
herd of prize cattle that he means for exhibition purposes and this
Adams has it in for us on that account."
"Did you ever see such a terrible brute in your born days?" Harry
asked, with a shiver of dread, for there were three punchers now who
had laid hold of quirts and amused themselves, cracking the lashes at
the ends of the whips as though desirous of inspiring additional fear
in the hearts of the prisoners by making such suggestive sounds.
"Amos was right when he said his step-father was the biggest terror
along the border," Ned admitted. "I've seen some bad men, but never one
that struck you as the howling storm does, and that describes Hy Adams.
I'm feeling sorry for Amos, who must get in the way of that ham of a
fist every once in so often. And that little woman who calls Hy Adams
her husband, just think of how she must suffer when he rages like a
bull in a china shop?"
"Now he's heading this way, Ned," Harry said half inaudibly, for he was
tremendously excited.
"Well, try your level best to show a brave front, Harry, no matter what
happens. We've been in lots of tough places and, somehow, always seem
to get out before the worst we've been expecting comes along. I'll try
and talk him out of doing this cowardly thing. Sometimes I seem to be
able to swing people around to my way of thinking, you know, Harry."
"Yes, that's so, Ned, you nearly always can; but you're up against it
this time, I'm afraid. He's only a big brute, and chances are he'll
strike you in the mouth if you try and talk him out of doing a thing he
wants to carry out. We certainly are in the worst fix of our lives
right now."
"Talk to me about the silver linin' of the cloud," burst out Jimmy,
"I'd like to see what that means. Here we're in a black hole and the
ladder's been took away. I'm feeling pretty punk myself; but c'n stand
it if the rest of you do."
"They always say it's darkest just before dawn, Jimmy," advised Ned,
seeking to buoy up the spirits of his two chums more than that he could
himself see any reason for hope.
The giant, accompanied by a crowd of men and women, advanced toward the
spot where the three scouts stood awaiting their coming, for the boys
had scrambled to their feet, anxious to know the worst.
"Peel off!" roared the bulky leader, with some pretty strong additions
to the order that no doubt he fancied were apt to strike terror to the
hearts of the trio of khaki-clad boys who had fallen into their hands.
"Strip them ere jackets oft in a hurry, 'case we's agwine tuh warm yuh
up some. Fear'd ye'd git cold in the night, was yuh? We'll fix it so't
you won't need tuh worry 'bout feelin' the chill o' the night air.
Quick now, git bare down tuh the waist, er we'll hev tuh help ye strip!"
Ned did not say a word of protest. He realized then and there that such
a thing would be on the same principle as waving a red flag in front of
an enraged bull.
He looked at Harry and Jimmy and then began to unbutton his faded khaki
coat, while the impatient giant started to snap his quirt viciously
close to their ears, as though he could hardly wait until the time came
to use it on their shrinking flesh.
They did not dare linger too long, and yet it was without any heart
that the chums began to disrobe. Who could blame them for their
hesitation and the beseeching looks they fastened on the red face of
the big bully of the camp. But water falling on the rock would make as
much impression as these looks seemed to do on Hy Adams.
They were down to the last garment when Harry uttered a little cry.
"Look, oh, look, Ned, who's coming into camp!" he whispered; but Jimmy
must have also caught the words, for he immediately added:
"Sure, it's little Amos and his poor maw; mebbe they know the camp's
agoin' to be busted up and they got orders from the boss to come here,
so's to travel along with the rest. But shucks! Little Amos and his maw
can't help us any. They just come in time to see the circus--that's
all!"
And yet, strange as it might seem, a tiny glow of hope struggled up in
Ned's heart; just as though the coming of those two helpless ones might
be the straw that was meant to swing the balance again in their favor,
he knew not how!