SURROUNDED
Bubbling over with mirth, at the manner in which they had gotten the
best of Del Pinzo and his gang, the outfit from Diamond X rode on the
trail again, once more intent on trailing the Yaquis that had captured
Floyd and Rosemary. And if Bud, Nort and Dick could, at that moment,
or thereabouts, have seen Rosemary boldly defying the evil-faced Mike
with her automatic, their admiration for the girl would have been
manifested by yells of approval.
But Bud and his chums, with their cowboy friends, were all unaware of
what was happening farther on in the desolate mountain whither the
Indians had led their captives. If they had been they probably would
not have ridden on in such comparative leisure. For they did not rush
at headlong pace, knowing they had a long, long trail ahead of them,
and must conserve not only their strength, but, what was more
important, that of their horses.
Without horses it would have been impossible to have gone on for more
than a short distance in that wild country. As I have explained motor
cars, even the marvelous little Ford, would have been out of the
question, so rough was the trail, so winding amid rocks, now down in
some narrow defile, hardly wide enough for a single rider, and again
ascending some slope tangled with brush and dead trees.
Knowing themselves to be thus dependent on their horses our heroes
saved their steeds all they could. It was for this reason that, much
as they hated Del Pinzo and his gang, they would not deprive these
outlaws of what was a means of life--their horses.
"But they won't ride after us, and I don't believe they'll give us any
more trouble," chuckled Bud, as he visioned the outlaws, used to their
comfortable if clumsy saddles, riding bareback. To a horseman this is
the limit of torture, for the horses of the west are no circus animals,
with broad, flat backs. Instead, they generally have a ridge of bone
on which it is almost impossible to ride, even when a blanket or two is
strapped on in place of a saddle. Only an Indian can manage to ride
along with but a blanket for a seat.
"Yes, we put one over on them all right," agreed Dick.
"The only thing about it is that they held us up," remarked Nort.
"We're several hours behind our schedule now."
"It can't be helped," spoke Bud, looking at a deep scratch on his
hand--a scratch caused by a glancing bullet. "We can't really do
anything toward rescuing Rosemary and Floyd until we strike the trail
of the Yaquis, and it's mostly guess work until then."
"But when we do locate them!" exclaimed Nort, as he gripped the handle
of his gun, "we'll let 'em see what a mistake they made!"
"You got rid of a mouthful that time, son," observed Yellin' Kid. And
then, lifting his voice he roared out:
"As I was ridin' on the trail,
My true love for to see.
I met a four-legged grizzly bear,
An' th' grizzly he met me!
"'Oh kind Mr. Bear,' I gently called,
'Move on!' but he shook his head.
So then I ups with my .45
An' fills him full of lead!"
Having gotten this out of his "system," Yellin' Kid seemed to feel
better. He smiled genially at the boy ranchers, and flapping his hat
down on the side of his pony sent the animal ahead in a cloud of dust
to join some of his companions in the lead.
Thus, making merry as possible under the circumstances, the outfit from
Diamond X resumed the trail, the more experienced cowboys looking here
and there for any "sign" that would indicate the presence or the
passage of the Yaquis.
As a matter of fact Snake Purdee did not expect to "meet up" with any
of the Indians for some time. He and Rolling Stone had talked the
matter over, and Rolling Stone had given the benefit of his experience
in trailing Yaquis.
"With them," said the new acquisition to Diamond X, "it's a sort of a
flash in the pan. They get excited for some reason or other, have a
war dance, a pow wow or some ceremony, and before they know it some
crazy leader has taken the trail with some of his friends, and they're
bent on shooting up some Mexican or American town, getting strong drink
when they can, and stealing everything they can lay their dirty paws on.
"That's when they're in the first rush of excitement, and I take it
that it was on a time like this the Yaquis took Miss Rosemary and
Floyd. Why they did this, instead of shooting 'em, as they generally
do, I can't make out. The Yaquis don't ordinarily use those methods."
"Unless they took my cousins to hold for ransom," suggested Bud.
"Well, of course that's possible, but I didn't know the Yaquis were
that smart," answered Rolling Stone. "Still, some new leader may have
gotten together a band, or it may be some half breed, or even some
renegade American is at the bottom of this. I can understand a chap
like that holding prisoners for ransom.
"But what I started to say was that once the first wild outburst is
over, the Yaquis will keep mighty quiet. They won't go about with a
brass band, advertising their hiding places."
"You mean it won't be easy to find them?" asked Nort.
"That's it, son. They're going to be mighty cute and foxy, and while a
Yaqui isn't in it with our old time American Indians in the matter of
covering a trail, still we aren't going to have any walkover. We've
got our work cut out for us."
"I believe you!" shouted Yellin' Kid. "But we'll get the devils sooner
or later."
"The sooner the better," said Rolling Stone quietly, and there was in
his very quietness a menace which the boys understood very well. Every
hour that Rosemary and Floyd remained in the hands of the Yaquis meant
an ever increasing danger. And once the mad frenzy of the Indians wore
off and they began to realize what they had done, anticipating the
consequences once they were captured with the prisoners in their
possession, there was hardly a question of what they would do to
Rosemary and Floyd. The captives would be killed to get them out of
the way.
It was this that urged the rescue party ahead with all the speed
possible, and consistent with preserving their horses' power to travel.
In spite of wounds, and some were seriously hurt (one dying later)
there was no sign of gloom in the midst of the party of which the boy
ranchers formed an important element. Some of the cowboys sang, and
Yellin' Kid intoned another verse or two of the many songs with which
he seemed plentifully provided.
Coming to a deep ravine, along which the trail led into the mountains,
where it was reported the Yaquis had headed, Snake Purdee called a halt.
"What's the matter now?" asked Rolling Stone.
"Do you see anything?" asked Bud, for he noticed the veteran cowboy
looking down into the black depths.
"No," answered Snake slowly, "but it strikes me this is a good place to
get rid of the saddles and truck we took offen Del Pinzo. No use
carting the duffle along. It's no good to us and it only tires our
pack mules. Heave it down this gully, boys and we'll ride lighter."
This was soon done, and the baggage animals, at least, went forward
with easier burdens. The trail became more rough as it led upward, but
Snake explained that they would cross one range of the mountain, and
come to a level plain which must be traversed before the second range
would be reached.
"And we'll either come across the Yaquis in the plain, or as we go up
the second mountain," said the cowboy. "That will be about their limit
I fancy."
They camped that night on the downward slope of the first mountain,
having crossed the ridge through a narrow pass, not easy to negotiate.
There was a more tense feeling when this night camp was made than at
any time before.
"For it seems now, somehow," explained Bud, "that we're within striking
distance of the Yaquis. We're trailing 'em close!"
"The closer the better--so, we can get a few shots at 'em!" declared
Nort.
"Will they really make a stand and fight?" asked Dick.
"I don't know," Bud replied. "I never--"
"They'll fight all right!" interrupted Rolling Stone. "They'll fight
now just through fear of being captured. The first hot impulses that
caused them to run wild are cooling off. They'll be worse to tackle
now than when they first took the war path, for they will be cool and
calculating, while before they were hot headed, and anyone who used
half his brains could best 'em. Yes, we aren't going to have a picnic."
"Well, we didn't come for that," said Dick grimly.
He and his companion boy ranchers were willing to endure all the
hardships and dangers with the more seasoned cowboys, and Bud and Nort
who, until within a comparatively recent time were unused to western
ways, were now accounted as capable of Bud, than which there was no
higher praise.
There was evident in the manner in which campfires were built, and a
system of sentinel guards posted, that the older men realized the
nearness of danger. The cowboys had dropped their half bantering
manner, and sat grim-lipped and thoughtful of eye about the blaze.
This change in their manners affected our youthful heroes who looked at
one another somewhat apprehensively, and more than once let their hands
stray to their weapons.
But the night passed without untoward incident, if we except a false
alarm given by Bud when he was standing guard. He had been pacing
backward and forward for some hours, and it was almost time for his
relief, when he saw, peering over the top of a rock, what he took to be
the feathered headdress of an Indian. Forgetting, for the moment that
the Yaquis did not adopt the picturesque adornments of the American
redmen, Bud fired, at the same time letting out a yell.
Of course, this roused the whole camp, and you can appreciate Bud's
chagrin when his "Indian" proved to be nothing more than a waving
branch of a bush topping a rock. The waving leaves had looked like
feathers in the starlight, by which alone Bud had seen them.
"Well, I wasn't taking any chances," he said, when the cause of his
alarm was ascertained.
"That's right," Yellin' Kid assured him.
Morning saw the party in saddle again, and as better time could be made
on the down trail, they reached the intervening plain of the valley,
between the two mountain ranges well before noon.
A halt was made for "grub," and it was after this meal, when they were
about to proceed again, that an astounding discovery was made. Dick
gave the alarm. He had gone off a little way to get his pony, which
had strayed, when he saw, on the far horizon, a band of horsemen. They
were too distant to be made out clearly, but against the intensely blue
sky Dick saw waving lances, and he at once shouted:
"Indians!"
This was enough to focus all eyes, first on him and then on the
approaching band. The waving lances could plainly be seen now.
"And look there!" cried Nort, as he pointed to the North, a direction
exactly opposite to that whence the horsemen discovered by Dick were
approaching.
"More Indians!" shouted Yellin' Kid.
Snake Purdee leaped to a high rock and with rapid gaze swept the
horizon.
"They're coming from all directions," he said grimly, as he leaped down
and began a rapid survey of their position, with a view to its defence.
"We're being surrounded!"
And this was so. From all points there rode in on the outfit from
Diamond X an ever narrowing circle of horsemen, many of whom carried
lances which pointed toward the zenith.
"They aren't Yaquis," exclaimed Rolling Stone. "Those Mexican Indians
don't carry lances. They must have met up with a band from some
American reservation and have gotten them to go on the warpath. This
looks bad!"