ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DIVIDE.
JIM COLTER and Jack had ridden to the lower end of Rainbow Creek, where
it widened into a kind of natural reservoir. Some yards beyond it, a
line of upright rails divided the Ralston ranch from that of the
Nortons. The earth dipped slightly on the farther side and a thicket of
low sage brush covered the rise in the land beyond.
Jim and Jack saw nothing moving in the sage brush or beyond it and there
was no one in sight. Their impression must have been a mistake, for the
only living thing in view was a flock of wild geese which flew over
their heads uttering their shrill clamor. Jim sat erect, silent and
watchful as an Indian, on the back of his equally motionless pony, his
hand shading his eyes.
Jack waited on her horse gazing at the quiet waters of Rainbow Creek.
Suddenly there came a low rumble inside the earth, like a note of
warning, and then the land began to rise in sandy billows as though wave
on wave were seeking some distant shore. The two horses with their
silent riders shook as with the ague; the face of Rainbow Lake shivered,
then her waters lashed the shores as though they had been parted
asunder, and a moment later receded and began to disappear. It was as if
old Father Neptune had deserted his home at the bottom of the sea to
play his mighty games in the shallow waters of Rainbow Creek. It seemed
as though he had blown a great blast through his sacred horn and caused
the water to spurt upward, then had drawn it slowly back into his horn
again.
The noise and the movement died away.
"Was it an earthquake, Jim?" Jacqueline managed to murmur, as soon as
she could get her breath. She had slipped quietly off her pony and was
patting it softly, for the broncho was terribly frightened at the
strangeness of his experience.
Jim nodded solemnly. "A human earthquake, I guess. Don't be alarmed, it
won't occur again, but get to cover quickly."
Jacqueline Ralston knew as well as though she had been a pioneer woman
trained to warfare with the Indians in the early days in the West, what
Jim's mysterious words, "get to cover," meant. She and Jim used to
play, long years before, that they were travelers across the plains,
being hunted down by bands of roving Indians. This was when Jack was a
small, bronze-haired tomboy, riding bare-back over the prairies,
swimming with her father in the clear, cold mountain streams, afraid of
nothing and of no one, the pride of every cowboy on Rainbow Ranch. Later
she had learned the value of hiding in ambush in stalking wild game.
But, even if Jack had not understood the importance of Jim's advice, she
had been trained to obey instantly the word of a superior officer in the
moment of action.
It was not an easy matter to seek shelter with a broncho fourteen and a
half hands high in the particular part of the ranch where Jack and Jim
happened to be at this moment. There were no trees, no underbush of any
kind. The trees that are usually found near the beds of streams in the
western country, were on the far side of Rainbow Creek. There was no
time to wade across. Jack dropped her reins, hoping her pony would
wander quietly away. She bent forward and ran as swiftly and silently as
possible toward the straggling rail fence. Then she lay down in the
short brown grass, as motionless as a frightened partridge who tries to
make the hunter believe he is a part of the still landscape. Jim Colter
crawled after Jack, bringing with him his long rope.
A few minutes later a man's figure rose up from the screen of sage
bushes on the Norton ranch and the sun glinted on a bright red head. The
boy swung his hat in the air once, twice, three times. Then he repeated
the signal.
Jim crept through the fence like an eel. Without making the least sound
that could be heard by the fellow, whose back was turned to him, Jim got
within thirty feet of his enemy.
Jack wondered what on the face of the earth Jim intended to do. Then her
eyes widened with surprise and with laughter. There was a swish, a
streak through the air, as Jim's lariat uncoiled. Hearing the noise the
boy turned and the rope caught him around the waist, pinning his arms
securely to his side. He was lassoed as safely as any wild pony.
Jim then calmly started to walk back toward the rail fence that divided
the two ranches. He seemed blissfully indifferent to the fact that he
dragged an angry and sputtering young man at the end of his rope. Dan
Norton, Jr., was a heavy, stocky fellow, with a good deal of brute
strength, but Jim Colter was long and lean, with muscles of steel.
Besides, as Dan threw his resisting strength against that of his
opponent, the rope tightened about him and cut more deeply into his
flesh. He kicked viciously like an unruly colt, but Jim did not
condescend to look behind him; his victim was kicking nothing but air,
as Jim was ten yards in front.
"What are you doing? Where are you going?" Dan shouted, almost choking
with rage.
Jack rose up from behind the shield of the fence. The sight of Jim and
his prize was too beautiful, and Jack felt that she was being repaid for
many of the cruel tricks that Dan and his father had played on her since
she was a little girl. She recalled the time that Dan had nearly put out
her eyes, when she was only four years old. She had been playing with
him and when she lifted her face to his in answer to some question, he
had thrown a great box of sand straight into her wide-open eyes. It was
curious how well Jack remembered the deed at this moment.
"Let me go, I'll have you in jail for this. What do you mean by
trespassing on my land?" Dan yelled.
Jim laughed and drew Dan closer to him. "Don't get so upset, sonnie, I
am not going to trespass on your land," he urged quietly. "This rope is
just a little scheme of mine to make you cross the great divide between
your ranch and ours, while we talk a few things over." Jim hauled Dan
through an opening in the fence.
Jack dared not look straight at them. She did feel it would be too
hateful of her to laugh out loud, yet how could she help it? Dan was so
desperately angry that it made him fume and fuss and jump about like an
excited rooster, and his red head did suggest a rooster's comb.
"Look out, Jim," Jack sang out. "Here come the men Dan was signaling."
Across one of the Norton fields, with their gaze centered on the clump
of sage where they expected to find their young master, marched three
cowboys from the Norton ranch.
"Come here," Dan shouted, trying in vain to loosen one of his hands to
wave to his men.
Jim slipped one of his Colts out of its holster and passed it over to
Jack. "Just keep this for me, will you, Miss Ralston?" he asked
politely. "There won't be any use for it, but there is no harm in having
it handy."
Jim spoke to the puzzled ranchmen and greeted them calmly. "Come as far
as you like on your own side of the fence," he said, "but kindly stop
right there. I have a few questions I would like to ask Mr. Daniel
Norton, Jr., and I wouldn't object to some witnesses. Needn't be afraid,
the earthquake is all over. Mr. Norton and I are going to talk quite
neighborly and friendly like, as soon as he cools off a bit."
Jim Colter spoke so quietly that the men who watched him knew he meant
business. You see Jim's reputation was that he was one of the most
dangerous men in the country when he was aroused, and there was no doubt
of his present feeling.
The three men nodded respectfully. They did not wish to have a fight,
for if they attacked Jim and tried to get Dan Norton away from him, he
would undoubtedly use his pistol, and then there was Jacqueline.
The cowboys jerked their heads at Jack in a greeting intended to be
exceedingly polite. Jack understood and returned the men's bows with her
best smile. She did not desire to let Jim make the affair with Dan too
serious if she could help it, but she had rarely seen their overseer so
deeply angry in her life.
An Eastern girl and most Western ones would have been horrified at
Jacqueline Ralston's present position. She was standing, a quiet and
attentive listener, in a group of five uncultured men. One of the
cowboys was Josef, the Indian Laska's son, the other a Mexican, and but
one of the three an American. They were all angry and lawless and only
one of the five her friend, yet Jacqueline did not think of her position
as unusual. She was far too much interested in what was about to take
place to think of herself at all and knew that not one of the cowboys
would touch her and she was not in the least in fear of Dan. Jacqueline
Ralston was not like a girl with a father and mother to care for her.
She had been brought up with the ideas of a pioneer woman and was trying
to run a ranch and to make a living for herself, her cousin and sister,
and if there was any danger that threatened their property or them, she
must know what it was and must do what she could to prevent it. Jack
was leaning on a rail of the fence. Her hat had fallen on the ground and
her face was white, yet it held a look of quiet power and strength
remarkable in a girl so young.
Jim was aggravatingly slow. He was facing Dan Norton while the cowboys
hung over the pickets. Dan had ceased to struggle, but still refused to
look either at Jim or Jack.
"Our little talk ain't going to take but a few minutes, sonnie, if you
will answer my questions straight from the shoulder," Jim drawled. "Did
any of you feel a bit of a shock, say like an earthquake, a few minutes
back? It 'peared like the ground near Rainbow Creek had gotten tired of
not being heard from for some time past and had suddenly swelled up and
bust."
Jim pointed toward the lake only a few yards from them. Jack was
startled to see how much lower the water was. Could it have fallen an
inch in such a little while?
Dan shook his head scornfully. "Earthquake! No, you are off your base,"
he sputtered. "That is, at least I did feel a slight motion, but it
didn't amount to much. I don't see how you can hold me responsible for
an earthquake. Say fellers, Jim Colter is pretty far gone isn't he, if
he thinks I am powerful enough to move the earth." Dan grinned,
delighted with his own wit, but his cowboys only continued to stare at
him solemnly.
"Glad you felt a little motion, though you was pretty safe out of the
way," Jim went on in the same quiet fashion. "Seems like I could shut my
eyes and tell you just how that earthquake happened. You ought to have
seen the waters of Rainbow Creek dash up in the air and then begin to
slide plum out of sight. It was most like a miracle."
Dan faced Jim impudently. "Well, go on, tell us how your miracle
happened?" he invited scornfully.
Jacqueline was puzzled. She had no idea how Jim would be able to explain
the peculiar phenomenon which they had just seen.
"Oh, a charge of dynamite caused our little earthquake," Jim explained
briefly.
"You see, Mr. Norton, you have been trying to drain the water from our
creek to your ranch for some time back, but digging a lower channel was
pretty slow work. That little bunch of dynamite just between your land
and our lake has made a pretty nice passage for our water to flow
through. I suppose you made your entrance underground somewhere near
that clump of sage brush, so it would be hard for us to discover."
Dan shrugged his heavy shoulders, "What rotten nonsense," he returned
sullenly.
Jacqueline's eyes were fairly starting with surprise and she opened her
lips to ask a question but closed them quickly. She couldn't expect to
comprehend Jim's accusation. What girl ever has understood anything
about engineering?
Jim laughed, straightened up and glanced toward the three cowboys, who
were grouped picturesquely on the opposite side of the divide. "Oh, you
don't have to take my word for it," he remarked casually, "I will have
one of the State engineers over to prove it to you. You see if there is
one thing we are strict about in Wyoming, it is our water rights.
"You and your father shall pay us a tidy sum of money in damages for
this work." Jim slowly let go the tight knot which had held Dan Norton.
"Now get along home when you like, young man," he concluded. "I am
through with you for to-day."
Dan flung the lasso to the ground and glared angrily at Jim and then at
Jack. But his eyes fell before Jacqueline Ralston's. Jack was looking at
him steadily with the scornful, slightly haughty expression he so hated.
Dan smiled. His light blue eyes were almost green with temper and
narrowed into two fine lines. "Oh, it don't matter about your old creek,
at present," he jeered. "You can keep the water on Rainbow Ranch for
another few months, when father and I take possession of the ranch, we
can drain the water over here if we like. So long!" and he glanced
contemptuously at Jack, as he marched by her.
Jack had her riding whip in her left hand. For a second she longed to
strike at Dan Norton with it. How dared he speak in that calm and
self-assured fashion of some day taking possession of their own beloved
Rainbow Ranch? Jack's heart was like lead, but not a muscle of her
lovely face moved, her eyelashes did not even tremble.
Jim watched Dan sneak across the divide and he and Jack waited until the
four men started on foot across the plain. Then Jim smiled a slow smile
which meant many things. "Don't you worry quite so much about our losing
our ranch, Jacqueline Ralston," Jim announced. "If old Daniel Norton had
felt so sure he was going to succeed in getting our place away from us,
he would never have tried to steal our water at this stage of the game."
The two horses were grazing near by and Jim lifted Jack into her saddle.
They turned their faces toward Rainbow Lodge.
Once or twice, Jim rubbed his chin. "Pretty good day's work for us,
boss?" he asked finally.
Jack's eyes danced and a deep rose color glowed in her cheeks. She did
not look in the least like the girl who had received in tears the news
of the possible loss of her home.
Jack laughed softly, under her breath. "It sure was a good day's work,
overseer, and we'll fight till the hat drops," she answered, in the tone
of another cowboy. Then Jack flicked her pony with her whip. "Do let's
hurry, Jim," she called gaily. "I never saw anything in my life so
delicious as the picture you made lassoing Dan. I am just dying to get
home to tell the other girls."