CHAPTER VIII.
THE BATTLE WITH THE BULL.
The excitement incident to the mysterious robbery of the Creviss bankwas intense.
How had it been done? This was the question that every one was askinghis neighbor. But none could answer it.
The evening before the robbery had taken place the bank had been closedby the cashier, and by Mr. Creviss himself.
The money, books, and papers, with which the business of the day hadbeen conducted, had been carried into the vault by the cashier, and Mr.Creviss, who was an unusually cautious man, looked into the vault afterthe cashier came out, to see that everything was in. Then he closed thevault doors, and turned the handle of the combination, setting the timelock, thus securing the doors from being opened until nine o'clock thenext morning.
The only way in which it could be opened, and an almost impossible way,at that, was by blowing it open.
And yet the vault had been robbed, and the vault lock had apparently notbeen tampered with.
It had the appearance of necromancy.
Ted rode into town with Billy Sudden, arriving about noon.
Billy rode on to the Dumb-bell Ranch, and Ted stopped at the bank. Itseemed deserted. But as he entered the door he saw a big man, dressed inthe flashy clothes affected by managers of cheap circuses and fakeshows, standing at the end of the counter talking to Wiley Creviss.
"I can't do anything with that check," Ted heard Creviss say. "You'llhave to come in when the cashier is here. The safe is locked, and Ican't get into it, anyway, and all the currency is in it. I'm onlystaying here until the cashier gets back from dinner."
"When will that be?" asked the stranger.
"In about half an hour."
The stranger picked up his valise, which seemed to be heavy, and walkedout grumbling about banks that closed up for dinner.
Ted said nothing to Wiley, but he took a good look about the bank,disregarding the other lad's scowls.
He observed that the vault door stood open, but that there was no moneyin sight, and the place had an air of desertion, as if business wasslack.
When Strong had seen all that he wanted of the apparent entrances to thebank that a criminal might use to force his way in, he left with twodistinct impressions on his mind. One was that the vault door had beenopen when he came in, and that Wiley Creviss had abruptly closed it whenhe saw Ted staring at it. The other was the remarkable appearance of theshowman, for without doubt he was that.
As before, the mysterious robbery of the bank proved to be too hard anut for the citizens to crack, and when they had thrashed out all thetheories advanced and knocked them to pieces again, they forgot it.
Not so Ted Strong. This succession of robberies, none of them leavingbehind the slightest clew to the perpetrators, interested him. Its verydifficulty of solution, which had made the lesser brains abandon it,compelled his attention and interest.
Had it been his business to tackle the problem, he gladly would havedone so. But the only Federal end to it was the robbery of the postoffice, which the inspectors of that department were working on, unless,perhaps, it might be found that the funds of the government for generalpurposes at Fort Rincon had been stolen. Then the case would come underthe operations of the United States marshal's office.
But other and more pressing things of a personal nature gradually tookhis attention from crime, and he devoted himself to the coming round-up.
All the spare room in the Moon Valley Ranch house was occupied byvisiting cattle buyers, who had come to the round-up. The rooms of theboys had been given up to guests, while they camped on the prairiebehind the house.
At last the great day came.
Early in the morning the boys were out, and with them was Stella.
Cow Suggs had loaned Ted his outfit for the day, and Ted was glad tohave the boys, for there was no cleverer cowman in the country at around-up, saving Ted himself, who was king of them all, and so conceded,than the dark, lithe cow-puncher, Billy Sudden, who had been throughcollege and had traveled in Europe before he deserted the East for thetoil, freedom, and excitement of the range.
It was now time to round up all the stock on the Moon Valley Range, cutout the marketable stuff, and brand the yearlings.
This is not only a troublesome task, but it is dangerous, and not amoment of the time until the task is accomplished but has its excitingadventures and escapes from death.
The boys did not know exactly how many head of cattle they owned. Theyhad been selling and replenishing their stock from time to time, and theincrease of calves had been very large, for Moon Valley, situated in thelee of Dent du Chien, or Dog Tooth Mountain, with its rich grass, therichest in the Black Hills, and its abundance of fresh, clear springwater, was an ideal breeding place.
There were on the ranch at that time several dangerous bulls, and thisadded to the hard work of the day, because the monarchs of the range didnot like to be disturbed and have their following broken up andscattered.
In the big pasture, which lay at the foot of Deni du Chien Mountain, wasthe largest herd in the valley.
The king of this herd was known as "Gladiator." He was always lookingfor a fight, and never refused a challenge, whether from another bull orfrom what he considered his natural enemy, man.
A man on foot in that pasture would have stood no more chance for hislife than if he tried to stand in front of the engine that hauls theEmpire State Express going at top speed. Gladiator would kill him justas quickly and as surely.
So it was that strangers were kept out of the big pasture, whether theywere mounted or not, unless they were escorted by some member of thebroncho boys, or one of the older cowboys about the place. Stella, withher red bolero, nearly caused a tragedy one day by coming within thevision of Gladiator, who took the bolero for a challenge.
Stella turned in time and fled, and had it not been for the fleetness ofher pony and her own superb riding, there had been no more to relate ofthe adventures of the girl pard of the Moon Valley boys.
The morning of the round-up Ted undertook personally to turn the herd tothe rendezvous.
Stella insisted upon accompanying him, and at last he was persuaded togive his consent, but only on the condition that she wear subduedcolors, which she did, with skirt and jacket of a light-dun color.
The herd was grazing in the noble range that stretched for miles alongand across the valley in the shadow of the splendid mountain.
It was widely scattered, and as the band of horsemen rode out toward itthe cattle lifted their heads for a moment and took a quiet survey, thenreturned to their feeding.
Not so Gladiator.
The great white-and-black bull raised his head proudly, and his fierce,steady eyes regarded them without fear.
Indeed, Gladiator knew no fear, whether of man or beast, wolf pack ormountain lion, serpent or bird of prey.
He was monarch of that herd, and no one said him nay except Ted Strong,who ruled the ranch and all that was on it, by the general consent ofhis comrades and his own fitness for his rulership.
Ted and Gladiator had had numerous differences, and it was the bull thathad backed down every time.
Yet he did not fear Ted. Rather he hated him because he could notconquer this quick, brave, and resourceful fellow.
"That bull will be the death of you some of these days," said Stella toTed once when Gladiator, resenting Ted's intrusion into the herd for thepurpose of cutting out some calves, charged him. But Ted in the endthrew the bull with his rope, humiliating him before all the herd. Fromthat time forth Gladiator's eyes always became red with anger when hesaw Ted, but he did not misbehave, because he respected Ted's lariat andquirt, and the strong arm that wielded them.
When they got to the herd the boys circled it from behind, riding inslowly.
Ted and Stella were on the left point, with Bud and Kit opposite.
Bill Sudden was in the rear to drive, while the other Moon Valleycowboys and Billy Sudden's boys came in from the sides.
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At the first interruption of their grazing the cattle moved alongsluggishly, but Gladiator did not move.
The big bull stood his ground, with eyes gazing steadily at Ted andStella, who were approaching him slowly and persistently.
Suddenly Gladiator threw up his head and gave a low, menacing bellow.
"The old chap is waking up," said Ted.
"Be careful, Ted," said Stella. "He's not in very good humor."
"I see he isn't. But if we go at him easily he'll be all right."
"Don't take any chances with him alone, Ted."
"Still, I'm not going to let him boss this job. He's got to lead thisherd out, and that's all there is to it, for it's a cinch that theywon't go without him."
Stella knew that it was useless to say anything more, as when Ted madeup his mind to do a thing, it would be done if everything broke.
Billy Sudden had got the herd moving up from the rear, but the forwardend of the herd was stagnant.
Gladiator refused to budge, and stood with his stubborn forefeet plantedon the sod, his head raised insolently.
But it could be seen that his anger was working within him, and wouldsoon break forth.
Bud was working the cattle nearest him gently on the move, but when theysaw that their leader was standing still they ceased their progress andbegan to crowd and mill, and the steers were getting reckless andbeginning to throw their tails in the air and utter low, growlingbellows.
It was a critical moment. Who was to be the master must be decidedquickly. If the bull conquered then the cattle would get to millinggenerally, and the mischief would be to pay.
It would not take long for them to stampede, if the bull started thepanic, or made a charge. Ted saw the danger, and knew that the conditionmust be treated diplomatically, which was the easier way, or with force,of which the outcome was most uncertain.
It depended, in a measure, on the temper of the bull himself.
The cattle were crowding up from the rear, and those nearest the bullwere beginning to feel the pressure and were pushing toward Gladiator,who was fifteen feet in advance of the herd.
When he noticed that the herd was moving, his anger increased, and helowered his head and began to paw the ground.
Ted held up his hand to Billy Sudden as a signal to cease pushing theanimals, but they had got the impetus and would not stop.
In a moment they had begun to crowd upon the bull, who, with legsplanted stubbornly, would not be crowded, and began to gore aside thosewho were being pushed upon him.
Ted saw instantly that this was going to result in disaster if notstopped, as the frightened steers, feeling Gladiator's sharp horns,turned back on the herd, and were pushing their way frantically into thecenter of it, while others, coming up, were forced upon the bull'shorns.
"Darn a stubborn bull, anyhow!" exclaimed Ted. "I've got to get in andput a stop to that, or Gladiator will have the herd to milling orrunning in less than ten minutes."
"Be careful," was all Stella said, but there was a world of anxiety inher voice.
"You better get out of the way, Stella," said Ted "Ride to the rear.You will see it all, and have just as much fun, and will be out ofdanger."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to make that bull move along or bust a string."
Ted's jaw was set with determination, and when Stella saw that she knewthat it would be useless for her to say anything more.
Ted loosened his rope, grasped his quirt firmly, and rode slowly towardthe bull, while Stella signaled to Billy Sudden to ride up to the headof the herd.
The boys, observing Ted's actions, knew what he was about to do, andceased moving the cattle and sat on their horses to watch for theoutcome of the contest.
Most of them felt like spectators at a performance of a speciallyhazardous feat, and held their breath. But each was on the alert to rushto Ted's assistance the moment he seemed to need it.
As the bull looked up, and saw Ted approaching him, he ceased pawing,and stood with watchful eyes. Occasionally he sent forth a challengingbellow. His tail was switching from side to side, like that of an angrycat.
Ted was coming alertly. No one knew the danger of openly attacking thebull better than himself, and yet it must be done.
It was rule or kill, so far as the bull was concerned, for if the boyscould not manage him they would be compelled to kill him so that theymight be able to handle the herd, substituting a more amiable bull inhis place.
A cowman cannot always tell what a bull is going to do when it is facedon the range. It may dodge the issue or it may attack, and Ted was waryenough to be on the watch for the latter contingency.
Therefore, when Gladiator, without so much warning as the lowering ofhis head, sprang at Ted when he was not more than ten feet away, hecovered the distance in two or three lumbering bounds, and Ted had justsufficient time to wheel his pony to one side to avoid being bowledover. But the horns of the bull struck the gaiter on his left leg, as itrushed past, and tore it off, almost unseating him. Stella, breathlesslywatching the encounter, gasped as she saw Ted reel in his saddle. Butshe breathed easier as she saw him straighten up and turn his horserapidly to face the bull again.
With almost incredible agility, the bull turned and came rushing at Tedagain, but the leader of the broncho boys rode swiftly away from him,tolling him away from the herd.
Finally the bull stopped and began to paw the earth. Ted, to tempt himto another attack, directed Sultan toward him at full speed, intendingto swerve when he got close to his bullship, and dodge him and infuriatehim further, so that he would follow. He knew that Sultan could outrunGladiator.
But, as he got close to the bull, in spite of the warning cries fromStella and Bud, Gladiator swerved to meet the attack, and before thefleet-footed pony could escape he was struck, and went rolling over theground.
A cry of horror went up from the boys as they all dashed to the scene.Ted Strong was on the ground. The pony had scrambled to his feet, andstood trembling a few feet distant. The bull, with lowered head, wascharging upon Ted.
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