The foreman snorted. "He can foller a plain trail, can't he? An' if he
can ride past Split Mesa, he's a bigger fool than I ever heard of."
"Well, mebby he got drunk an--"
"He don't get that drunk." Astonishment killed whatever else he might
have said, for a stranger had ridden around the corral and sat smiling
at the surprise depicted on the faces of the three.
Buck and Red, too surprised to speak, smiled foolishly; Bill, also
wordless, went upon his toes and tensed himself for that speed which had
given to him hands never beaten on the draw. The stranger glanced at
him, but saw nothing more than the level gaze that searched his
squinting eyes for the soul back of them. The squint increased and he
made a mental note concerning Bill Cassidy, which Bill Cassidy already
had done regarding him.
"I'm called Tom Jayne," drawled the stranger. "I 'm lookin' for
Peters."
"Yes?" inquired Buck restlessly. "I 'm him."
"Lewis sent me up to punch for you."
"You plumb surprised us," replied Buck. "We don't see nobody up here."
"Reckon not," agreed Jayne smiling. "I ain't been pestered a hull lot
by th' inhabitants on my way up. I reckon there 's more _buffalo_ than
men in this country."
Buck nodded. "An' blamed few buffalo, too. But Lewis did n't say
nothin' about Lanky Smith, did he?"
"Yes; Smith, he goes up in th' Panhandle for to be a foreman. Lewis
missed him. Th' Panhandle must be purty nigh as crowded as this
country, I reckon," he smiled.
"Well," replied Buck, "anybody Lewis sends up is good enough for me. I
'm payin' forty a month. Some day I 'll pay more, if I 'm able to an'
it's earned."
Jayne nodded. "I 'm aimin' to be here when th' pay is raised; an' I 'll
earn it."
"Then shake han's with Red an' Bill, an' come with me," said Buck. He
led the way to the dugout, Bill and Red looking after him and the little
newcomer. Red shook his head. "I dunno," he soliloquized, his eyes on
the recruit's guns. They were worn low on the thighs, and the lower
ends of the holsters were securely tied to the trousers. They were low
enough to have the butts even with the swinging hands, so that no time
would have to be wasted in reaching for them; and the sheaths were tied
down, so they would not cling to the guns and come up with them on the
draw. Bill wore his guns the same way for the same reasons. Red
glanced at his friend. "He 's a queer li'l cuss, Bill," he suggested.
Receiving no reply, he grinned and tried again. "I said as how he 's a
queer li'l cuss." Bill stirred. "Huh?" he muttered. Red snorted.
"Why, I says he's a drunk Injun mendin' socks. What in blazes you
reckon I 'd say!"
"Oh, somethin' like that; but; you should 'a' said he's a--a weasel. A
cold-blooded, ferocious li'l rat that 'd kill for th' joy of it," and
Bill moved leisurely to rope his horse.
Red looked after him, cogitating deeply. "Cussed if I hadn't, too! An'
so he's a two-gun man, like Bill. Wears 'em plumb low an' tied.
Yessir, he's a shore 'nuff weasel, all right." He turned and watched
Bill riding away and he grinned as two pictures came to his mind. In
the first he saw a youth enveloped in swirling clouds of acrid smoke as
two Colts flashed and roared with a speed incredible; in the second
there was no smoke, only the flashing of hands and the cold glitter of
steel, so quick as to baffle the eye. And even now Bill practiced the
draw, which pleased the foreman; cartridges were hard to get and cost
money. Red roped his horse and threw on the saddle. As he swung off
toward his section of the range he shook his head and scowled.
The Weasel had the eastern section, the wildest part of the ranch. It
was cut and seared by arroyos, barrancas and draws; covered with
mesquite and chaparral and broken by hills and mesas. The cattle on it
were lost in the chaotic roughness and heavy vegetation and only showed
themselves when they straggled down to the river or the creek to drink.
A thousand head were supposed to be under his charge, but ten times that
number would have been but a little more noticeable. He quickly learned
ways of riding from one end of the section to the other without showing
himself to anyone who might be a hundred yards from any point of the
ride; he learned the best grazing portions and the safest trails from
them to the ford opposite Split Mesa.
He was very careful not to show any interest in Split Hill Canyon and
hardly even looked at it for the first week; then George returned from
his journey and reported favorably. He also, with Longhorn's
assistance, had picked out and learned a good drive route, and it was
decided then and there to start things moving in earnest.
There were two thousand unbranded cattle on the ranch, the entire second
drive herd; most of these were on the south section under Bill Cassidy,
and the remainder were along the river. The Weasel learned that most of
Bill's cows preferred the river to the creek and crossed his section to
get there. That few returned was due, perhaps, to their preference for
the eastern pasture. In a week the Weasel found the really good grazing
portions of his section feeding more cows than they could keep on
feeding; but suddenly the numbers fell to the pastures' capacity,
without adding a head to Bill's herd.
Then came a day when Red had been riding so near the Weasel's section
that he decided to go on down and meet him as he rode in for dinner.
When Red finally caught sight of him the Weasel was riding slowly toward
the bunkhouse, buried in thought. When his two men had returned from
their scouting trip and reported the best way to drive, his and their
work had begun in earnest. One small herd had been driven north and
turned over to friends not far away, who took charge of the herd for the
rest of the drive while the Weasel's companions returned to Split Hill.
Day after day he had noticed the diminishing number of cows on his
sections, which was ideally created by nature to hide such a deficit,
but from now on it would require all his cleverness and luck to hide the
losses and he would be so busy shifting cattle that the rustling would
have to ease up. One thing bothered him: Bill Cassidy was getting very
suspicious, and he was not altogether satisfied that it was due to
rivalry in gun-play. He was so deeply engrossed in this phase of the
situation that he did not hear Red approaching over the soft sand and
before Red could make his presence known something occurred that made
him keep silent.
The Weasel, jarred by his horse, which shied and reared with a vigor and
suddenness its rider believed entirely unwarranted under the
circumstances, grabbed the reins in his left hand and jerked viciously,
while his right, a blur of speed, drew and fired the heavy Colt with
such deadly accuracy that the offending rattler's head dropped under its
writhing, glistening coils, severed clean.
Red backed swiftly behind a chaparral and cogitated, shaking his head
slowly. "Funny how bashful these gun-artists are!" he muttered. "Now
has he been layin' for big bets, or was he--?" the words ceased, but the
thoughts ran on and brought a scowl to Red's face as he debated the
question.
* * * * *
The following day, a little before noon, two men stopped with sighs of
relief at the corral and looked around. The little man riding the horse
smiled as he glanced at his tall companion. "You won't have to hoof it
no more, Skinny," he said gladly. "It's been a' awful experience for
both of us, but you had th' worst end."
"Why, you stubborn li'l fool!" retorted Skinny. "I can walk back an' do
it all over again!" He helped his companion down, stripped off the
saddle and turned the animal loose with a resounding slap. "Huh!" he
grunted as it kicked up its heels. "You oughta feel frisky, after
loafin' for two weeks an' walkin' for another. Come on, Lanky," he
said, turning. "There ain't nobody home, so we 'll get a fire goin' an'
rustle chuck for all han's."
They entered the dugout and looked around, Lanky sitting down to rest.
His companion glanced at the mussed bunks and started a fire to get
dinner for six. "Mebby they don't ride in at noon," suggested the
convalescent. "Then we 'll eat it all," grinned the cook. "It's comin'
to us by this time."
The Weasel, riding toward the rear wall of the dugout, increased the
pace when he saw the smoke pouring out of the chimney, but as he neared
the hut he drew suddenly and listened, his expression of incredulity
followed by one of amazement.
A hearty laugh and some shouted words sent him spinning around and back
to the chaparral. As soon as he dared he swung north to the creek and
risked its quicksands to ride down its middle. Reaching the river he
still kept to the water until he had crossed the ford and scrambled up
the further bank to become lost in the windings of the canyon.
Very soon after the Weasel's departure Buck dismounted at the corral and
stopped to listen. "Strangers," he muttered. "Glad they got th' fire
goin', anyhow." Walking to the hut he entered and a yell met him at the
instant recognition.
"Hullo, Buck!"
"Lanky!" he cried, leaping forward.
"Easy!" cautioned the convalescent, evading the hand. "I 've been all
shot up an' I ain't right yet."
"That so! How 'd it happen?"
"Shake han's with Skinny Thompson, my fool nurse," laughed Lanky.
"I 'm a fool, all right, helpin' _him_," grinned Skinny, gripping the
hand. "But when I picks him up down in th' Li'l Wind River country I
was a' angel. Looked after him for two weeks down there, an' put in
another gettin' up here. Served him right, too, for runnin' away from
me."
"Little Wind River country!" exclaimed Buck. "Why, I thought you was a
foreman in th' Panhandle."
"Foreman nothin'," replied Lanky. "I was shot up by a li'l runt of a
rustler an' left to die two hundred mile from nowhere. I was n't
expectin' no gun-play."
"He's ridin' up here," explained Skinny. "Meets three fellers an' gets
friendly. They learns his business, an' drops him sudden when he's
mountin'. Butch Lynch did th' shootin'. Butch got his name butcherin
th' law. He could n't make a livin' at it. Then he got chased out of
New Mexico for bein' mixed up in a free-love sect, an' pulls for
Chicago. He reckoned he owned th' West, so he drifts down here again
an' turns rustler. I dunno why he plugs Lanky, less 'n he thinks Lanky
knows him an' might try to hand him over. I 'm honin' for to meet
Butch."
Buck looked from one to the other in amazement, suspicion raging in his
mind. "Why, I heard you went to th' Panhandle!" he ejaculated.