CHAPTER XI
PREPARATIONS FOR PURSUIT
"Oh, dear! Father and Nails have gone!" exclaimed Horace as he counted the ponies in the corral while the others were unsaddling. "Now we can't go with them. I was afraid that was what father intended when he didn't wait for us."
"But Buster and Blackhawk are here, and there is one more pony than before," returned Larry.
"That doesn't prove anything. Ned told me Nails brought in three extra ponies with him," said Bill.
"Then you have known all the time that father and Nails were gone and never told us?" demanded Horace.
"It was because I didn't know for certain where they had gone that I said nothing," replied his brother. "Ned was away when they arrived and departed. Here comes mother; you can find out from her."
After returning Mrs. Wilder's greetings and giving her a brief account of the trip, Horace asked:
"How long have father and Nails been gone? I think it was mean of them to give us the slip like that."
"But they haven't gone to the hills yet," returned his mother. "Your father has ridden over to the Three Stars and Nails has gone to Tolopah."
"Oh, goody!" exclaimed Horace. "We may be able to go, after all.
Momsy, won't you try to make father take us?"
It was only with this last question that Mrs. Wilder understood the purpose of her son's eager inquiries, and the disclosure did not tend to quiet the anxiety she felt over the outcome of the pursuit. Yet she only said:
"That is a question for your father to decide. I think, though, that you would want to stay here and protect me."
"But you are in no danger, Momsy. Besides, Ned and Hop Joy are here."
The thought of the Chinaman as a protector made the other boys laugh, and realizing that they could not count on her espousal of their cause, they went off to the wagon sheds to devise a plan to win permission from the ranchman.
As the owner of the Half-Moon galloped up to the ranch house of the Three Stars his horse literally dripping water, Jim Snider and his cowboys ran up from all directions to learn the cause of such evident hard riding.
To the accompaniment of various exclamations of anger and surprise
Mr. Wilder hurriedly told his neighbors of the raid.
"That's Megget's work!" ejaculated Snider as the story was completed. "He's the only one cute enough and with nerve enough to do it. I didn't suppose any one knew my herd was unwatched, yet the minute my boys ride in the gang raids it. Wilder, if you and I are to stay on our ranches, we must round up these cattle thieves."
"That's my idea exactly," declared the owner of the Half-Moon. "That's why I rode over. My boys and I start to-morrow morning, and I want to know how many from the Three Stars will go with me."
"Every man jack of us, save the cook and grub man," replied Snider.
"That makes nine."
"Good! We'll ride back to the Half-Moon for supper and then go to the pool. The sooner we start the better. If you'll lend me a fresh pony, I can travel faster."
Without waiting for orders from their master, the boys of the Three Stars ran to the corral, all agog with the excitement at the unexpected turn of affairs.
When the two ranch owners were alone Mr. Wilder imparted his information about Megget's enmity and the Mexican, Don Vasquez.
The facts amazed the proprietor of the Three Stars and the two men were discussing the evident declaration of a cattle war, especially against the Half-Moon, when the cowboys trotted up with the ponies.
Deeming the information too important for general discussion with the men, the ranch owners swung into their saddles, changing their topic of conversation to the trails that would be the most likely to be taken by the raiders.
Never sparing their mounts, they reached the Half-Moon just at dusk and their arrival threw the boys into great excitement.
"Has Nails returned?" asked Mr. Wilder of Ned.
"Not yet."
"Send him to me when he comes. Make the boys from the Three Stars at home in the bunkhouse and tell Hop Joy to give us supper as soon as he can. Also have him pack some bacon, sugar, coffee, crackers and doughnuts, enough to last the Half-Moon outfit a week. When it's ready, hitch up and carry it to Pete at the Witches' Pool.
"Hello! Glad you lads arrived all right," he added as he caught sight of the boys. "Any trouble?"
"Nothing, only Whitefoot gave out. I had to come on and get another pony," replied Bill.
"Good! Snider, I want you to know Larry and Tom Alden," continued Mr. Wilder, introducing the boys, adding in a low voice: "They are the lads about whom I told you."
"I'm sure glad to meet you," declared the owner of the Three Stars, giving each of the lads a grip that made their hands ache.
Upon arrival he had exchanged greetings with Bill and Horace, and altogether they trooped onto the veranda, whence they were summoned to supper before the lads had the opportunity to ask Mr. Wilder whether they could accompany him or not.
Evincing a lively Interest in the two Eastern boys, the Three Stars' owner plied them with questions about Ohio and was so impressed with their answers that he extended a cordial invitation to them and the Wilder boys to pay him a visit at his ranch, promising to have his men give an exhibition of "broncho busting" for their special benefit, an invitation which all four eagerly accepted.
Just as they were ready to rise from the table Hop Joy glided in.
"Nail, he backee," he announced. "Say he got heap talkee."
"Tell him to come round to the veranda," ordered Mr. Wilder. "By the way, how are you coming along with the cooking, Hop Joy?"
"Allee lightee. Bymeby, two hours maybe."
"Well, don't be any longer. The sooner Ned can start, the sooner he'll reach the Pool."
In answer the celestial bowed low, then turned and left the room.
CHAPTER XII
WHAT NAILS LEARNED
While the ranchmen and Mrs. Wilder made themselves comfortable in chairs, the boys squatted or stretched out on the piazza, their restlessness proclaiming the expectancy with which they awaited the "heap talkee" Nails desired to impart.
The cowboy soon appeared, and, after seating himself at Mr. Wilder's bidding, launched into an account of what he had learned in Tolopah.
"There are twenty of them in the gang," he said, "and Megget has joined them by this time, though he wasn't with them when they made the raids. As near as I could make out, their headquarters are in the Lost Lode Mine. There are three trails to it, one leading in somewhere near the trail you all took on your hunting trip and the others to the south, along which they drive the cattle they steal. I——"
"Mr. Wilder, you don't suppose that could be the trail where I saw those men crossing the face of the cliff, do you?" interrupted Tom.
"I shouldn't doubt it a bit. I'd forgotten about them entirely." And he briefly told Snider of the figures they all had seen, adding: "Much obliged for reminding me, Tom. That may have been Megget and the fellows you met with him. Go on, Nails; anything more?"
"Nothing but that it's my opinion they have a spy in Tolopah who keeps 'em mighty well informed on the happenings at the Half-Moon and Three Stars ranches."
At the words Mr. Wilder and his neighbor exchanged significant glances.
"What makes you think so?" the latter asked. "Where did you learn all this, anyhow?"
"Oh, just nosing round," drawled Nails, but his tone suggested that he was sure of his information and at the same time unwilling to disclose its source.
"You certainly did well, Nails," complimented his master. "Knowing how many there are in the gang will enable us to lay definite plans for action. Now go and get your supper. I suppose you have seen the boys from the Three Stars in the bunkhouse?"
"I could hear 'em half way to Tolopah." "Then tell them we'll start. At what time do you think Pete will reach the pool?"
"About midnight."
"Good. Be ready to move by ten o'clock."
"And tell my outfit to make less noise," added Mr. Snider.
Until they could hear the other cowboys greeting Nails the two men were silent, and then Mr. Wilder declared:
"I had no idea Megget had twenty men with him. It's a good thing we found out.
"Let's see, there are nine of you from the Three Stars; nine of my boys and myself. That makes nineteen."
"And the four of us, that makes twenty-three," added Horace, deeming the moment auspicious for settling the question that was uppermost in the minds of all the lads.
"Your arithmetic is better than your facts," laughed his father.
"Oh, can't we go, please? If Megget should see Larry and Tom, he might run and——"
"On the contrary, I'm afraid he might try to wipe out the disgrace they put upon him. No, my son, it's going to be a hard trip. If you were along I should be worrying about you all the time. Besides," he added, noting the keen disappointment his refusal brought, "I shall need you here so you can ride down to the pool every day and see that the cattle and horses are all right."
"That's well enough for the others. They would be in the way, but I wouldn't," protested Bill. "I'm old enough and strong enough to go, and the experience would do me good. If you take it, it will make just twenty on both sides."
"What do you think, Jim, shall we take Bill or not?"
As the boys awaited the answer of their friend, it was so still the fall of a pin could have been heard.
But their suspense did not last long.
With a drawl that was tantalizingly deliberate the owner of the
Three Stars Ranch replied:
"I reckon we might as well. Bill's got a level head on his shoulders, and some day he'll be boss of the Half-Moon. If anything like this happens then he'll know how to act. Yes, I think we'd better take him."
Aware that it would be useless to try to persuade Mr. Wilder to change his mind in respect to taking them, Tom, Larry and Horace made the most of the fact that they were to inspect the herd daily. But it was poor recompense, and in a few minutes they went on to see how near Ned was ready to start, stopping to sample Hop Joy's cooking on the way.
"You goee?" asked the Chinaman as the trio entered his kitchen.
"Going to eat," grinned Horace, helping himself to a doughnut and just managing to dodge a potato that Hop Joy tossed at him.
"Shoo! shoo! Lun out! Me bigee hully. No plague! no plague!"
"Poor fellow! It must be some job to get enough food ready for twelve men. Come on, let's leave him alone," said Larry. "I'd like to go down to the bunk-house."
"That's so. Maybe Sandy or some of his boys know the trail to the Lost Lode," agreed Horace. And to the Chinaman's surprise they left him in peace.
The men from the Three Stars were lying in the bunks and sprawling on the benches, getting what rest they could in anticipation of many long hours in the saddle, laughing and talking the while.
At the entrance of the trio the chatter ceased and the cowboys stared at the two Eastern boys with undisguised interest.
"Boys, these are the famous cowboy tamers, Larry and Tom Alden," said Horace, bowing in feigned deference and indicating his friends with a wave of his hand.
"Don't be afraid, though. We won't try our hands on you unless you get gay with us," declared Larry seriously.
"Thankee, thankee kindly, on behalf of me and my men," bowed Sandy gravely, and then they all burst into a roar of laughter.
Cowboys love a joke, and the words and manner of the brothers, together with their clean-cut faces and manly bearing, appealed to them, winning the way to their good graces as nothing else could.
All reserve thus broken, the men bade the lads sit down.
"I s'pose you'll be going with us?" hazarded Sandy.
"No, father won't let us. He thinks we're only babies. Says he's afraid we'll be in the way. So we've got to stay home and watch the herd at the Witches' Pool."
"You may have your hands full at that," declared one of the cowboys.
"Keep quiet," growled Sandy, frowning at the speaker.
But the remark had suggested all sorts of possibilities to the lads, and, glancing at Tom and Larry, Horace asked:
"What makes you think so?"
Again Sandy cast a look full of meaning at his fellow and the cowboy answered:
"Oh, nothing in particular. I was just talking."
The boys had noted Sandy's glances, however, and the reply only whetted their curiosity.
Drawing himself to his full height and striving to be as severe as possible, Horace said:
"If any of you men know of any trouble that may come to the Half-Moon herd, it is your duty to tell my father before he goes away."
The words and the seriousness of the boy standing before them sent the men into another roar of laughter.
But Sandy hastened to say:
"There's nothing we know, kid. Skinny was only joking."
Horace was about to reply when Hop Joy poked his head through the door, saying:
"Glub all leady, Ned."
"All right, Hop." And springing from his bunk, Ned went out to harness his horses, accompanied by several of the cowboys.
For an hour or so the chums stayed in the bunkhouse, listening to stories of marvelous feats of broncho-busting and whatever else the men pleased to tell them, only leaving when Nails announced it was time to go to the corral and saddle up.
"Aren't you going with them?" asked Tom.
"No," returned Horace. "We are liable to get hurt, it's so dark. We couldn't see anything if we did go. Besides, father may have some orders to give us."
The only instructions Mr. Wilder had to give, however, were to be careful not to do anything that would cause his wife to worry about them.
"Suppose the herd gets in trouble, what shall we do?" persisted Horace, on whose excited mind the words of the Three Stars' cowboy had made a lasting impression.
"Use your own judgment. But don't let your imagination play tricks on you. The cattle will be all right—unless you get them restless."
"Oh, we won't do that," quickly declared Larry. "We'll take such good care of them, you will want to hire us as cowboys when you get back."
The shouts from the corral told the ranchmen that the time for the
start had arrived, and quickly they made themselves ready, while
Hop Joy appeared to say he had sent saddle bags with food for Mr.
Wilder and Bill by Ned.
With a great clatter of hoofs, the cowboys rode up. The Wilders and Mr. Snider bade a hurried good-by, mounted and galloped away into the darkness of the night, with the wishes of Mrs. Wilder and the boys for success and a speedy return ringing in their ears.
CHAPTER XIII
OUT ON THE PLAINS
Unlike the night when the hunting party had ridden over the plains, black clouds covered the sky, making the darkness so intense that the riders could not see fifty feet ahead of them. But Mr. Wilder and Nails knew the route well, so that the absence of the moon made no great difference.
That they need not tire their mounts by hard riding, Mr. Wilder had purposely set the start early and, with Snider on one side and Bill on the other, he led the cavalcade, setting the pace at a slow lope.
Now and then the cowboys talked or laughed, but for the most part they were silent, the creak of the saddle leathers and the swish of the horses' legs as they brushed through the grass being the only sounds to tell that a body of men were riding through the darkness.
So lonesome was the ranch house after the departure of the party
that, though they made several attempts to talk, Horace and the two
Eastern lads finally decided to go to bed, to the evident relief of
Mrs. Wilder.
But sleep did not come to Larry and Tom, and as they lay tossing and turning, the former asked:
"Do you think that fellow they call Skinny really meant there was any danger threatening the herd at the Witches' Pool?"
"I don't believe so," replied Tom. "I suppose there is always the chance that a lot of things may happen to a big herd like that. Some of them might try to wander away or they might get frightened and stampede. I read about a stampede once where the cattle ran right over the edge of a cliff."
"Well, they couldn't do that at the pool, because there aren't any cliffs near there," replied Tom.
Larry was not satisfied, however, and said:
"I wonder what cowboys do to stop a stampede? I wish we'd thought to ask Mr. Wilder."
"Don't always be looking for trouble, Larry," protested his brother.
"Still, we ought to know. He said he'd hold us responsible for the cattle."
"We can ask Ned when he gets back, if you really want to know. But don't, for goodness sake let Horace hear you. His imagination is so lively that he would think it was a stampede every time the cattle moved. I think it was because Horace is so excitable that Mr. Wilder had us stay home. He probably thought we were older and could steady him down. Now don't try to think up any more things that might happen. I'm tired and want to go to sleep." And turning his back to his brother, Tom refused to talk any more.
Out on the prairie the body of horsemen were riding silently and steadily.
"I hope we shall not be obliged to wait long for Pete," said Bill, giving voice to his thoughts.
"He'll be on hand, barring accidents," returned his father.
This confidence of the owner of the Half-Moon in his foreman was justified, when, at the end of another hour, the men caught the flare of a camp fire in the direction of the pool.
"Must have hurried some," asserted Snider.
But this comment elicited no other response than a quickening of the pace.
When they were within a mile of the fire Mr. Wilder drew rein.
"You boys wait here," he commanded. "I haven't any doubt but that it's Pete's fire. Still, it won't pay to take any chances. Snider and I will ride ahead to reconnoiter. If we are not back within half an hour, you'll know it's all right and can follow."
Little relishing the enforced halt, the cowboys, however, obeyed, some of them dismounting and stretching out in the grass.
Riding a rod or so from the others, Bill, Nails and Sandy eagerly peered through the darkness, listening intently for any sound that should indicate danger.
The two ranch owners, being experienced in the art of scouting, rode to the left into a roll of the plains, one crest of which shut them off from the light. For they were aware that should they ride in its glare they would be seen by whoever was about the fire, and they wished to make sure it was Pete and his men at the pool before disclosing themselves.
But their caution was unnecessary. When they had covered only a little more than half the distance the lowing of cattle broke on their ears.
"That's the Half-Moon outfit, sure enough," declared Snider. And putting spurs to their ponies, the ranch owners galloped straight for the fire.
"Queer we can't see any of the boys," muttered Mr. Wilder in a low voice. "I know they are tired. But, all things considered, one of them at least ought to be on watch if for nothing else than to keep the cattle from breaking away. That they are restless, you can tell from their lowing.
"It's no wonder the raiders were able to cut out my short-horned
Durhams if the boys didn't keep better watch."
His tone showed deep annoyance, and he was on the point of speaking again when a sharp challenge rang out from their left:
"Who goes there?"
Instantly Mr. Wilder's anger vanished as he recognized the voice of his foreman and replied:
"Don't get excited, Pete. It's only Jim Snider and me."
In response to his master's greeting the cowboy sprang to his feet and a movement of his hand toward his belt showed both ranchmen that he had been prepared to dispute their advance should they have proven foes instead of friends.
"Where are the others? You two didn't come alone, did you? I told
Nails to have you get as many as you could," said the foreman.
"We left them back yonder," returned the owner of the Half-Moon. "Nails said we were to meet you in the morning, and when we saw the fire Jim and I thought we'd make sure it was you."
"Well, I'm glad you've come," responded Pete. "Now we can get on the trail so much the sooner. How many did you bring?"
"Nine from the Three Stars, including Jim, Bill, Nails and myself. With your boys that will make twenty, just the number of the raiders."
As he uttered the last words Mr. Wilder expected his foreman to evince surprise, but instead he and Snider were the ones to be taken aback as Pete remarked:
"So Nails found out, did he? What else did he? What else did he learn?"
Briefly the owner of the Half-Moon reported the information Nails had gleaned at Tolopah and then told him of the opinions he and the proprietor of the Three Stars had formed.
"You got the lay of the land down to the last sage brush," declared the foreman. "But we will put a crimp in Megget's plans that he will not forget. My men are asleep by the fire, so there is no use waking them till we've decided what to do."
"Then we must get down to business," returned his master. "I told the boys to ride up unless we returned in half an hour."
A moment there was silence, as though each were waiting for the other to make some suggestion as to the best course to pursue, and then Mr. Wilder said:
"So long as we know the headquarters are in the Lost Lode Mine, it seems to me we had better strike for it direct. Nails told me you knew some trail." And he looked at Pete.
"I know trails enough, but which is the one that leads to the Lost Lode, I can't say. That's just the trouble. It would take a month of Sundays to ride them all down. While we were driving the cattle up here, I was trying to figure out which trail to take in case Nails found the mine was the place."
"You have tried some of the trails, haven't you, Pete?" inquired the owner of the Three Stars.
"Sure. There are six I know that don't lead to the mine. That leaves three between the pool and the Long Creek bottoms, and it may be any one of them."
"Why do you think so?" asked his master.
"Because I know the right trail is between the pool and the bottoms."
Again the men lapsed into silence, which Mr. Snider broke by inquiring:
"What was it that young Alden mentioned about men crossing the dirt?"
"That's so. I'd forgotten it again," and quickly Mr. Wilder narrated the incident to his foreman.
"Probably that was Megget," asserted Pete. "But that doesn't help us much. We don't know where that trail breaks on the plains. Besides, while we practically know the headquarters are near the old mine, we don't know they are driving the cattle there. They may be heading straight for Don Vasquez's ranch.
"The plan that I kind of made up was to follow the trail from the bottoms till we were sure which way the raiders were headed. If it's for the mine, we can ride back along the plains and try out my three trails."
"But why not follow the cattle?" interrupted Mr. Wilder.
"Because I'd rather head them off than creep up on them. The raiders will be expecting us from behind. By riding on the prairie we can cover ten miles to their one, which will give us time to try out the three trails, and, when we find the right one, we can get in ahead and block the trail."
CHAPTER XIV
ANOTHER DISCOVERY
For several minutes the ranch owners discussed the suggestion and finally decided to act on it unless circumstances should make a change advisable.
Having settled the matter, they rode to the fire and aroused the sleeping cowboys, being joined a few minutes later by Bill, Sandy and the others. Soon the men of the Half-Moon were saddling their ponies.
"Queer we don't meet Ned anywhere," Bill exclaimed. "I see from the bags he's been here, Pete."
"He got here all right, but he didn't like to go back very well.
Had a bad case of nerves, so he took down the white awning."
"It's just as well," returned Mr. Wilder. Then, finding that the men were impatient to be on the move, he gave the command to start and they rode toward the Long Creek bottoms.
When Tom and Larry awoke it was bright daylight.
"Why it's nine o'clock," exclaimed Larry in amazement as he looked at his watch.
Hastily the brothers dressed and then went to see if Horace was in his room or had played some joke on them in letting them sleep. To their relief, they found him in bed.
"Hey, you, get up!" cried Tom. "You're a fine one to be in charge of the Half-Moon Ranch. If you stay in bed much longer, it will be dark."
Deeply chagrined to think he had overslept, Horace leaped to the floor, and soon the three boys were ready for breakfast.
At the sound of their voices Mrs. Wilder had ordered Hop Joy to bring in their food, and as the lads entered the dining-room she was awaiting them.
"Why didn't you call us?" protested Horace.
"Because I thought you were all tired and that sleep would do you good."
"And I suppose if Larry or Tom hadn't happened to wake up, you would have let us sleep all day?"
"I suppose I should," said his mother, smiling. "When you are in bed I know that you are safe."
"You must not worry about us, Mrs. Wilder," interposed Larry. "I always tell mother that we are old enough to take care of ourselves. So I wish you would feel the same. I think it would save you no end of anxiety."
"Undoubtedly. But I never can think of my Horace except as my baby."
"Huh! I'm a pretty husky baby," grunted the boy. "See here, mother, I'm fifteen now, so I wish you'd stop calling me your baby. When a fellow has been put in charge of the Half-Moon herd he doesn't like to be called a baby."
"I'll try to remember," returned Mrs. Wilder gently. Yet there was a wistfulness in her voice that caused Horace to look up, and, at the sight of her face, he left his chair, ran and put his arm around her neck, exclaiming:
"If you want to call me baby, you can, Momsy! I don't care. Tom and Larry are the right stuff and they won't laugh."
Ere either of the brothers could reply Hop Joy appeared.
"Ned he goee pool," he announced. "Say if you boys wantee go, you hully."
"Tell him to bring up Blackhawk, Lightning and Lady Belle. Then put up some food for us, Hop Joy. Plenty of it, mind."
As the Chinaman glided from the room Mrs. Wilder asked:
"Why do you take anything except for lunch, son?"
"Because I think we will spend the night at the pool. Larry and Tom want to see the will-o'-the-wisps, and we maybe able to catch some fish early to-morrow morning. You know father always says early morning is the only time to fish in the pool."
"Well, I don't suppose it will do any harm for you to be gone over night. Only be careful. I shall worry if you are not back before dusk tomorrow night."
Permission to pass the night obtained, the comrades quickly collected their rifles and some fishing tackle, mounted the ponies Ned had brought up and rode away.
After learning from their companion that he had found Pete and the herd at the pool when he arrived, the lads indulged in speculation as to when and where the pursuers would come across the raiders and the chances of recovering the cattle.
Of a sudden, remembering his discussion, with his brother the night before, Larry asked:
"How do you stop a stampede, Ned?"
"You generally don't," replied the man with a grin.
"But you try, don't you? I'm sure I've read of cowboys stopping stampedes."
"I guess they do it easier in story books then than on the plains. The best way to stop a stampede is not to let it start. Still, if there's enough boys on hand, I suppose it could be done. The only way, though, would be to ride down the leaders and turn them round.
"As I said, if there are enough boys on hand when the trouble breaks, they can get them to milling, which is going round and round in a circle until the cattle get tired out. But it takes a mighty lively bunch of cow-punchers to do it."
After riding for two hours they came in sight of the cattle, and the two brothers quickened their pace, eager to see them at close range.
"Steady now. Don't go riding at them like a pack of Indians or you will have all the stampede you want to see," exclaimed Ned. "My, but they surely are restless!"
This last remark was caused by some of the steers which raised their heads at the approach of the riders, then turned and dashed back to the body of the herd.
"Oh, dear! I'm afraid we've started them," said Horace.
"Pull in your horses!" commanded Ned. "The main bunch is all right. If we come up to them slow, there won't be any trouble."
Obeying instantly, the boys reined their horses to a walk and reached the pool without causing further alarm among the cattle.
"So this is where the ghosts live, is it?" asked Tom, gazing from a little knoll at a placid body of water about one hundred feet long by twice as many wide, surrounded by reeds.
"Maybe you won't laugh so much to-night," declared their friend and then, because he did not like to be joked about his belief that the place was haunted, he added: "Come on, let's see if we can find which direction father and the boys took."
The chance to try if they could track any one on the prairie appealed to the others, and they started to ride around the pool.
"I can see where they had a camp fire!" cried Tom, pointing toward a pile of white ashes.
"Here's where the grass is all tramped down. Look, there's a regular path right for the mountains."
"No, this is the way they went, to the south, here," returned Larry.
Each boy was firm in his declaration that he had found the trail and to prove it they dismounted and began to examine the ground.
"I'm right. I can see horse tracks!" cried Larry. "This is the way they took, isn't it, Ned?" Thus appealed to, both Horace and the man rode up.
"Larry's right," announced Ned, after a few moments observation,
"Then what caused my tracks?" demanded Tom. "Here are horse tracks, too, only most of the hoofprints are made by cattle."
"Oh, you can't tell a cow from a pony print," taunted Horace.
"Come over and see for yourself," retorted Tom.
Examination proving that he was right, his friend exclaimed:
"That was made by the boys coming up."
"But the tracks are all going toward the mountains. They certainly wouldn't drive any cattle away with them. You don't—you don't suppose it's another raid, do you?" and Tom glanced at Ned.
"Yes."
CHAPTER XV
THE CONTESTED TRAIL
The thought that the cattle thieves should have dared to make still another raid on the very night when the outfits of the Half-Moon and Three Stars ranches had set out to run them to cover was so startling that for several minutes after Tom had suggested it no one spoke.
Larry was the first one to recover from the shock of surprise.
"There's no use in trying to guess," he declared. "We must find out. The only way to do that, so far as I can see, is to follow the trail and discover where it leads."
This proposition received the excited endorsement of the other two boys, and Horace added:
"Wouldn't it be dandy if we could round up Megget and his men before father and the others? Come on!"
"Don't be in too much of a hurry," urged Tom.
"Oh, if you are afraid to go, you needn't. I'll go alone," sneered
Horace.
Flushing at the taunt of cowardice, Tom bit his lips that he might not say anything he should regret.
"You ought to know, Horace, that neither Larry nor I are afraid," he responded. "I was only thinking about your mother. We promised her we would be back by to-morrow night. The idea of our going in pursuit of Megget by ourselves is foolish. The thing to do is to make sure this trail leads into the mountains and then go and try to find your father and his men."
"Now you're talking sense," interrupted Ned.
"To find them will certainly take us longer than until to-morrow night. In order that Mrs. Wilder need not worry, we must let her know of the change in our plans."
"That's so," agreed Larry. "Still there is no reason for our all going back; one is enough. Let's draw lots to see who it shall be."
"Not much," returned Horace. "So long as father and Bill are away,
I am in charge of the Half-Moon. The rest of you must do as I say.
Ned is the one to go back!"
"But you boys don't know anything about the trails," protested the man. "You will get lost."
"We certainly can follow this one," retorted Horace hotly. "And we can always find our way back. Just tell mother we shall join father."
In vain the driver of the grub wagon endeavored to dissuade the lads, but the thought of taking part in the pursuit of the raiders, after all, made them deaf to all his arguments, and at last Horace exclaimed impatiently:
"You are only delaying us, Ned. I say you are to return to the ranch. That settles it. Larry and Tom and I are going to take the trail." And, without further ado, he shook out his pony and headed for the mountains, the two brothers at his side.
The pace at which Horace rode was terrific, and because of the hot sun, the horses were soon covered with lather.
"Look here, we've got to go at a slower gait," announced Larry. "If we keep up this clip, our ponies will give out. They can't stand it and the heat, too. And if they do give out, it will be sure to be just at the very time we need them most."
"But we'll soon be in the mountains, and then it will be cooler," asserted Horace. "I want to overhaul the raiders before night. Won't father and the others feel small when they learn that we three, whom they left behind because we were too young, have rounded up Megget?"
"You don't mean to say that you intend for us three to tackle the raiders alone?" exclaimed Tom.
"Why not?"
"Because we wouldn't stand one chance in a thousand—no, nor in ten thousand—of being able to capture them. We don't know the trail at all, and they probably are familiar with every rock and turn in it. If they should discover that we were pursuing them, all they would need do would be to lie in wait for us and capture us when we came along."
The truth of what the younger of the chums said was so evident that even the impetuous Horace was forced to admit it.
"Then what shall we do?" he asked. "If you have any better plan to suggest, out with it."
Tom, however, could think of nothing feasible and was silent.
The boys had pulled their ponies down to a walk and for several minutes none of them spoke.
Of a sudden Blackhawk raised his head, sniffed the air and then uttered a low whinny.
The sound, coming so unexpectedly, scared the lads, and they looked at one another in alarm.
"He smells something," exclaimed Horace in a whisper, as though fearing to speak out loud.
The boys were in the lowland between two crests of the rolling plains.
"Perhaps it's the cattle. They may be on the other side of that rise in the plains," returned Larry.
Anxiously the three boys gazed toward the crest. The thought that they might be close upon the very men they were chasing startled them, and they were at a loss as to the best thing to do.
"If it is the raiders and the cattle Blackhawk scented, then they'll be on the lookout for us," murmured Tom. "They could hear that whinny for——"
"By jove! it is they," cried Larry excitedly. "See those horses' ears bobbing?" And he pointed to the south.
Following his finger, his companions beheld two sharp points steadily advancing from the farther side of the crest.
"Be ready to give it to 'em," breathed Horace, at the same time unslinging his rifle.
But before he could get it to his shoulder the head of the horse came into view and the next instant the head and shoulders of a man.
In a flash the chums seized their rifles.
The horseman was only about one hundred yards away, and as he caught sight of the rifles pointed toward him he pulled his pony to its haunches.
"Throw up your hands!" yelled Horace. "If you make a move, we'll drop you. You are a prisoner of the Half-Moon Ranch!"
As the horseman heard the name he shouted:
"Steady, there! I'm Jim Jeffreys. What are you up to, anyhow?"
"Who's Jim Jeffreys?" demanded Larry of Horace.
"He's one of our neighbors, if it's him."
"Well, don't you know? Can't you recognize him?"
Having recovered from his fright, the boy stared at the man who had caused it and then announced:
"Yes, it is Jim."
"It's a pity you couldn't have recognized him before!" snapped Tom as he and his brother lowered their rifles.
CHAPTER XVI
WHAT JEFFREYS KNEW
Jeffreys, as soon as he understood his identity had been established, leaped his pony toward the boys and was soon beside them.
"You are a fine lot to be packing rifles!" he snorted, his anger rising as the danger passed. "You may think it's a good joke to cover anybody you meet on the plains, but some one may turn the joke on you by firing before you get your aim. You aren't what you call 'quick on the trigger.'"
"Which is fortunate for you—in this case," declared Larry, resenting the manner and tone of the stranger.
The sight of the two serious-faced boys, whose eyes showed them to be keen and alert, brought Jeffreys to his senses.
"I reckon you're right," he exclaimed. "But what's up, Horace? If you and your friends are out for a little excitement, just take my tip and turn your attention to jumping a coyote or you may——"
"We are not after excitement," retorted the boy from the Half-Moon Ranch. "We don't have to go looking for it. We've got all we want. Some of Megget's gang have raided our herd."
"No? It must have been them I saw over near the hills early this morning."
"Where were they?" "Which way were they going?" "How many were there of them?" demanded the lads, each one asking a question.
"It was just after sun-up. I was too far away to recognize the cattle, but I counted four men. As they only had about fifty head with 'em, I sort of suspected something was wrong, so I got out of sight before they could see me. Leastways, if they did, they didn't make any move to get me."
"Where have you been?"
"I've been up in the hills for a few days prospecting."
"Did you find the mine?" inquired Tom, forgetting the raid and pursuit in his eagerness to learn about the Lost Lode.
"No, I didn't. I just learned another trail, which isn't the right one."
Larry, however, was more interested in the cattle thieves and brought the conversation back to them.
"Were the men near the hills when you saw them?" he asked.
"About a quarter of a mile away."
"Then come on. We must get to the hills so we can find their trail," declared Horace.
"You kids sure ain't going after 'em alone?" exclaimed Jeffreys incredulously.
"But if there are only four of them?"
"To you three, and they are men, don't forget that."
"But you'll make four," suggested Tom.
"Providing I was going with you, which I ain't, I'd like to, but I reckon I'd better ride back to my own ranch and see they haven't lifted any of my cattle. If they have, I'll get my boys and take up the trail."
Realizing from the expressions on their faces that the lads were surprised as well as disappointed at his refusal to accompany them, the horseman said:
"You all just take my advice and don't try to follow those raiders into the mountains. What you want to do is to find Wilder and Snider as quick as you can, providing you won't go back to your ranch, where you ought to be."
"Which you can bet your whole outfit we won't!" snapped Horace.
"We started on this chase and we're going to stay on it."
Jeffreys smiled at the determined manner of the young rancher,
"Then join your father as soon as you can. Don't try any fool stunt like going into the mountains. Remember, when you are on the prairie you can sec on all sides of you."
"Except when you're behind a crest," chuckled Tom.
At this reference to the recent contretemps Jeffreys frowned, started to say something and instead dug his spurs into his pony, galloping away without even so much as looking back.
"He's a fine neighbor—not," declared Larry as the trio resumed their way. "I should have thought he would be only too glad to help your father and Mr. Snider get back their cattle."
"He isn't very keen for the Half-Moon," rejoined Horace. "Father beat him in a law case over a boundary line once and he's never forgotten it."
"And I reckon he won't forget his meeting with us to-day," said
Tom, grinning.
At the memory of the reception they had given, Jeffreys the comrades had a hearty laugh.
"Still, he gave us some good advice," asserted Larry. "I agree with him that the thing for us is to find the Half-Moon and Three Stars crowd as soon as we can."
"Which seems to be a pretty big order in itself," mused Tom. "I say we go and see where they drove the cattle into the hills and then decide."
This suggestion met with no opposition, and as the boys rode toward the mountains, the wooded sides of which looked inviting because of the relief they promised from the torrid heat of the plains, they discussed various plans, only to discard them.
At last they reached the hills. Dismounting, they hobbled their ponies, removed the saddles and bridles sticky with lather, and then broke out some lunch which they ate ravenously, despite the fact that their mouths were almost parched.
Greatly refreshed by the food, the boys decided to follow the trail of the cattle till they could get some idea of its direction.
"Let's go on foot," suggested Tom. "The ponies will be all right, the rest will do them good, and we can get through the brush and over the rocks with less noise."
Readily his companions agreed, and picking up their rifles, they quickly found the tracks made by the cattle.
For some distance the trail seemed more like an abandoned wood road than anything else. But gradually it began to grow narrower and at last became no more than a path winding in and out among the rocks.
Several times some sound caused the boys to raise their guns to their shoulders and peer about in all directions, but nothing could they see save the trees and rocks, and they ascribed the noises to some denizen of the forest roaming about.
Of a sudden Tom, who was in the lead, stopped.
"I smell something awful queer," he whispered.
The trail wound along the edge of a sharp descent and just ahead was an abrupt turn.
Ere either Larry or Horace could reply to their companion's announcement all three were dumb-founded to see a big, shaggy brown head appear round the turn in the trail.
"It's a bear!" gasped Horace.
At the sight of the three boys the big head had paused in surprise. Then its lips began to curl, disclosing a wicked looking set of teeth, and finally it broke into a savage snarl, at the same time rising in the air.
"He's getting to his hind legs. That means fight!" breathed
Horace. "Come on, let's run!"
"But he'd overtake us and beat us down with his paws," returned
Larry. "We've got to kill him."
Less time did the action consume than is required to describe it, and the boys were standing terror stricken when the bear charged upon them, making vicious lunges at them with his huge paws.
Roused from his fright by the imminence of his peril, Tom raised his rifle, only to have it knocked from his hands by a swing of one of the bear's paws.
[Illustration: The rifle was knocked from his hand.]
"Drop down! drop down so I can shoot!" yelled Larry as he saw the desperate situation in which his brother was placed.
Instantly Tom obeyed, throwing himself to one side as he fell.
But as the younger of the brothers dropped the bear, as though singling him out for his particular antagonist, also dropped to all fours, and Larry's shot went over him.
Horace, however, shot lower, and a terrible roar told them that the bullet had struck home.
In the fury of his pain the bear seemed to think that the boy lying flat on the rocks was the cause of his suffering, and, with mouth distended, charged upon him.
In a frenzy lest they might not be able to save Tom, Larry and
Horace both fired.
At the impact of the bullets the bear rose on his hind legs, swung wildly with his paws at the steel barrels that were pouring the terribly painful things into him and fell prone, the huge carcass missing Tom by less than a foot.
CHAPTER XVII
LOST!
From the moment when his brother had cried to him to drop, Tom had kept his eyes on the bear, and when he saw the beast plunge forward and realized that it was dead, he leaped to his feet, his pale face telling of the awful strain under which he had been.
The reaction from their excitement made Larry and Horace tremble and, for the time, they could only look from their companion to the carcass of the bear, too unnerved to speak.
Tom was the first to recover from the fright, and he thanked the others for what they had done.
"Let's not talk about it," interposed Larry. "The thing for us to do is to get out of here lively. The reverberations from those shots are echoing yet. The raiders must have heard them, and they'll know some one is on their trail, so they will either come back to sec who it is or else hide to waylay us."
Tom and Horace were perfectly willing to give up following the trail farther, and all three were retracing their steps when the elder of the chums cried:
"The rifle! Tom, you forgot to pick up your rifle."
"Which shows I was some scared," and he smiled apologetically.
"But it's a worse one on Larry and me," protested Horace. "There's some excuse for you. But the bear wasn't charging us."
"Oh, well there's no harm done," returned Larry, pleased at the spirit Horace's words showed. "We can go back and get it. It's a mighty good thing, though, that we thought of It before we reached the ponies. From the looks of the sky and the shadows it won't be long before dusk, and Mr. Wilder told us night comes quickly in the mountains."
Ere Larry had finished speaking they had started back to the scene of their encounter.
Yet when they reached the spot Tom's rifle was nowhere to be seen.
In dismay the boys looked at one another. Already the mountains were turning purple-black in the twilight, the shadows transforming the trees and rocks into weird figures.
"Perhaps it's under the bear," hazarded Horace, his low voice evidencing the awe which the silence and the surroundings inspired in him.
"Then give a hand while we move him," commanded Larry. "It won't do to stay here long or we may lose our way as well as the rifle."
Little relishing the thought of wandering through the woods in the dark, the boys seized one of the paws and pulled with all their might.
But, to their surprise, they could move the carcass scarcely at all.
"My, but he's a monster!" gasped Larry. "It's only a waste of valuable time to try to lift him or even move him. The only thing we can do is to try to feel under him with our hands."
Dropping to their knees, the lads thrust their arms under the shaggy fur, being able to reach far; enough to make sure that the much-wanted rifle was not beneath the body of the bear.
"Bet he knocked it over the cliff," declared Horace. "From which side did he strike it, Tom?"
"More than I know. All I could see was paws. The air was full of them and they seemed to come from all directions at once."
This explanation brought laughter to Larry and Horace, which ceased abruptly, however, as from somewhere on the mountains there suddenly rang out a low wail, more like the howl of a coyote than anything else, yet with a certain difference that even the chums were able to distinguish.
"Whatever that is, I don't care to meet it," exclaimed Horace. "Let's go back. We've still got two rifles. If we stick to the plains till we join father we can get along all right."
"Suppose we don't meet your father, what then?" returned Larry.
"Always looking for more trouble, as if we didn't have enough already," chided Tom. "Of course we'll meet him. Anyhow, this is no place to argue about it. If you and Horace can't protect me, I'll take both your rifles and watch over the two of you."
There was a suggestion of mockery in Tom's voice, but taking it good naturedly, Larry replied:
"Oh, no you won't. You can't throw your gun away every time you get scared and then take ours from us. You just get in between Horace and me. Horace, you lead because you know how to follow a trail better, and I'll keep off the bears and raiders," he added with a smile.
The movements of the boys, however, were more rapid than their words, and they were traveling the trail once more ere Larry's joking allusion to the loss of the rifle and the protection he would afford.
So long as their way lay among the rocks they followed the trail with little difficulty, but when they entered the woods their troubles began in earnest.
None too self-possessed in the dark, even when going about the ranch, when he entered the inky darkness caused by the maze of boughs and foliage, Horace lost his head completely, and it did not take the comrades long to realize they had wandered from the trail.
"Better let me take the lead, Horace; I'm taller," said Larry, at the same time giving his brother a poke In the ribs as a warning not to object.
"Well, you'll have to be a giraffe to see your way over the tops of these trees," chuckled Tom.
Their plight was too serious to admit of jest, however, and after wandering for half an hour, stumbling over dead limbs and running into trees and branches, they halted in despair.
"I remember Si told us back home that when a man's lost he generally travels in a circle," said Tom.
"So he did, and he said It was usually to the left, because a man takes a longer step with his right foot," added Larry.
"That may help when you know which is the right and which is the left of the way you have been going, but here we've turned round to talk, so we don't even know that much," interposed Horace.
"That's a fact," admitted the elder of the chums reluctantly as he realized that by facing one another they had lost all sense of direction. "It's a good thing you thought of it, Horace, or we might have got ourselves into a worse mess than we're in now,"
"If it weren't for all that good food cooked by Hop Joy back with the horses and the fact that I'm hungry, I'd be in favor of staying right where we are till morning," announced Tom.
"I reckon that is the best thing we can do, anyhow," declared his brother.
"Not with my appetite," retorted Tom.
"This is no time to be funny," reprimanded Larry. "If we keep on moving, we may never get out, while if we stay here we can climb into one of these trees and be safe till daylight shows us——"
"By jove! That's the very thing!" exclaimed the younger of the chums, and there was such a tone of genuine enthusiasm in his voice that the others asked excitedly:
"What?"
"Why, the trees. We won't need to sleep in them. By climbing a tall one, we can get the lay of the land as soon as moonlight comes, which will show us at least how to get out onto the plains again."
"Hooray!" cried Larry and Horace together.
Each realized the plan was feasible, provided the night was not cloudy, and once on the prairie it would not be difficult for the young rancher to lead the way to the horses. And, although they knew that the moon would not rise for two hours at least, they were so eager to try the plan that they began to discuss who should be the one to do the climbing.
The two brothers claimed preference because they were both stronger and taller than their companion, but Horace silenced them by declaring that not only could he go higher because he was lighter, but that he would be able to recognize their whereabouts from his knowledge of the mountains.
Restraining their impatience as best they could, the boys sat down.
"When we do get out, which way shall we go to join Mr. Wilder and the others?" asked Larry.
This question started further discussion. One suggestion after another was made only to be rejected because of some obstacle, and finally they decided the safest thing to do would be to ride till they found the trail over which the cattle had been driven from the bottoms and follow that.
Soon Horace climbed a convenient tree.
"We sure are dubs!" he cried.
"Why? Is the moon up?" asked the two chums eagerly..
"No, the moon isn't up. I don't need it. The stars are bright enough. We've been sitting here fretting all this while within a hundred yards of the prairie!"