CHAPTER VII--JANE ANN TURNS THE TRICK
"Oh, Ruth! that man is hurt," cried Helen, as the chums rode as hard asthey dared after the flying bunch of cattle punchers.
Jimsey lay on the ground, it was true; but when they came nearer theysaw that he was shaking both fists in the air and spouting language thatwas the very reverse of elegant. Jimsey wasn't hurt; but he was awfullyangry.
"Come on! come on, girls!" called Tom. "That old steer is running like adog with a can tied to its tail! Did you ever see the beat of that?"
"And Nita is right in with the crowd. How they ride!" gasped MadgeSteele. "She'll be killed!"
"I hope not," her brother shouted back. "But she's just about thepluckiest girl I ever heard of."
"She's swinging her rope now!" gasped Heavy. "Do you suppose she intendsto try and catch that steer?"
That was what Jane Ann Hicks seemed determined to do. She had ridden sothat she was ahead of the troop of other riders. Bashful Ike, theforeman, put spurs to his own mount and tried to catch the boss's niece.If anything happened to Jane Ann he knew that Old Bill would call him toaccount for it.
"Have a care there, Jinny!" he bawled "Look out that saddle don't giveye a crack."
The saddle bounded high in the air--sometimes higher than Jane Ann'shead--and if she ran her mount in too close to the mad steer the saddlemight knock her off her pony. Nor did she pay the least attention toBashful Ike's advice. She was using the quirt on her mount and he wasjumping ahead like a streak of light.
Jane Ann had coiled her rope again and it hung from her saddle. She hadevidently formed a new plan of action since having the field to herself.The others--all but Ike--were now far behind.
"Have a care thar, Jinny!" called the foreman again. "He'll throw you!"
"You keep away, Ike!" returned the girl, excitedly. "This is my chance.Don't you dare interfere. I'll show those boys I can beat them at theirown game."
"Sufferin' snipes! You look out, Jinny! You'll be killed!"
"I won't if you don't interfere," she yelled back at him.
During this conversation both their mounts were on the keen jump. Thesaddle was bounding high over the plain as the steer still bellowed andran. Jane Ann urged her pony as close alongside the steer as she dared,leaned sideways from her saddle, and made a sharp slash in the air withthe hunting knife that had hung from her belt in its sheath. The keenblade severed Jimsey's best hair rope (there would be a postscript toJimsey's remarks about that, later) and the saddle, just then boundinginto the air, caromed from the steer's rump against Jane Ann's pony, andalmost knocked it off its legs.
But the girl kept her seat and the pony gathered his feet under himagain and started after the relieved steer. But she did not use her ropeeven then, and after returning her knife to its sheath she guided herpony close in to the steer's flank. Before that saddle had beaten him soabout the body, Old Trouble-Maker might have made a swift turn andcollided with the girl's mount; but he was thinking only of running awaynow--getting away from that mysterious thing that had been chasing andthumping him!
Ike, who cantered along just behind her (the rest of the crowd were manyyards in the rear) suddenly let out a yell of fear. He saw that the girlwas about to try, and he was scared. She leaned from her saddle andseized the stiff tail of the steer at its base. The foreman drew his gunand spurred his horse forward.
"You little skeezicks!" he gasped. "If you break your neck your unclewill jest natcherly run me off'n this range!"
"Keep away, Ike!" panted the girl, letting the tail of the maddenedsteer run through her hand until she felt the bunch of hair--or brush--atthe end.
Then she secured her grip. Digging her spurs into the pony's sides shemade him increase his stride suddenly. He gained second by second on thewildly running steer and the girl leaned forward in her saddle, clingingwith her left hand to the pommel, her face in the pony's tossing mane.
The next moment the tail was taut and the jerk was almost enough todislocate her arm. But she hung on and the shock was greater to the bigsteer than to Jane Ann. The yank on his tail made him lose his strideand forced him to cross his legs. The next moment Old Trouble-Maker wason his head, from which he rolled over on his side, bellowing withfright.
It was a _vaquero_ trick that Jane Ann had seen the men perform; yet itwas a mercy that she, a slight girl, was not pulled out of her saddleand killed. But Jane Ann had done the trick nicely; and in a moment shewas out of her saddle, and before Ike was beside her, had tied thesteer's feet, "fore and aft," with Jimsey's broken rope. Then, with onefoot on the heaving side of the steer, she flung off her hat and shoutedto the crowd that came tearing up:
"That double-eagle's mine! Got anything to say against it, boys?"
They cheered her to the echo, and after them came the party of JaneAnn's friends from the East to add their congratulations. But as Ruthand the others rode up Heavy of course had to meet with an accident.Hard luck always seemed to ride the stout girl like a nightmare!
The pony on which she rode became excited because of the crowd ofkicking, squealing cow ponies, and Heavy's seat was not secure. When thepony began to cavort and plunge poor Heavy was shaken right over thepommel of her saddle. Her feet lost the stirrups and she began toscream.
"My--good--ness--me!" she stuttered. "Hold him--still! Stop!Ho--ho--ho----"
And then she slipped right over the pony's rump and would have fallensmack upon the ground had not Tom and Bob, who had both seen her peril,leaped out of their own saddles, and caught the stout girl as she losther hold on the reins and gave up all hope.
The boys staggered under her weight, but managed to put her upright onher feet, while her pony streaked it off across the plain, very muchfrightened by such a method of dismounting. It struck the whole crowd asbeing uproariously funny; but the good-natured and polite cowboys triedto smother their laughter.
"Don't mind me!" exclaimed the stout girl. "Have all the fun you wantto. But I don't blame the pony for running away. I have been sitting allalong his backbone, from his ears to the root of his tail, and I havecertainly jounced my own backbone so loose that it rattles. I believeI'd better walk home."
It was plain that Jennie Stone would never take a high mark inhorsemanship; but they caught her pony for her and boosted her on again,and later she rode back to the ranch-house at an easy pace. But shedeclared that for the remainder of her stay at Silver Ranch she proposedto ride only in the automobile or in a carriage.
But Ruth was vastly enamored of this new play of pony riding. She had aretentive memory and kept in mind all that Bashful Ike told her aboutthe management of her own Freckles. She was up early each morning andhad a gallop over the prairie before her friends were out of their beds.And when Mr. Hicks stated one day that he had to ride to Bullhide onbusiness, Ruth begged the privilege of riding with him, although therest of the young folks did not care to take such a long trip in the hotsun.
"I've some business to attend to for my uncle," Ruth explained to theranchman, as they started from the ranch-house soon after breakfast."And I want your advice."
"Sure, Ruthie," he said, "I'll advise ye if I can."
So she told him about Uncle Jabez's mixup with the Tintacker miningproperties. Bill Hicks listened to this tale with a frowning brow.
"Bless your heart, Miss!" he ejaculated. "I believe you're chasin' awild goose. I reckon your uncle's been stung. These wildcat miningproperties are just the kind that greenhorn Easterners get roped into. Idon't believe there's ten cents' worth of silver to the ton in all theTintacker district. It played out years ago."
"Well, that may be," returned Ruth, with a sigh. "But I want to see therecords and learn just how the Tintacker Mine itself stands on thebooks. I want to show Uncle Jabez that I honestly tried to do all that Icould for him while I was here."
"That's all right, Ruthie. You shall see the records," declared Mr.Hicks. "I know a young lawyer in town that will help you, too; and itsha'n't cost you a cent. He's a friend of mine."
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"Oh, thank you," cried Ruth, and rode along happily by the bigcattleman's side.
They were not far from the house when Bashful Ike, who had been out onthe range on some errand, came whooping over the low hills to the North,evidently trying to attract their attention. Mr. Hicks growled:
"Now, what does that feller want? I got a list as long as my arm ofthings to tote back for the boys. Better have driv' a mule waggin, Ireckon, to haul the truck home on."
But it was Ruth the foreman wished to speak to. He rode up, very red inthe face, and stammering so that Bill Hicks demanded, with scorn:
"What's a-troubling you, Ike? You sputter like a leaky tea-kettle. Can'tyou out with what you've got to say to the leetle gal, an' let us rideon?"
"I--I was just a thinkin' that mebbe you--you could do a little errand forme, Miss," stammered Bashful Ike.
"Gladly, Mr. Stedman," returned Ruth, hiding her own amusement.
"It--it's sort of a tick-lish job," said the cowboy. "I--I want ye shouldbuy a leetle present. It's--it's for a lady----"
Bill snorted. "You goin' to invest your plunder in more dew-dabs forSally Dickson, Ike? Yah! she wouldn't look at you cross-eyed."
Bashful Ike's face flamed up redder than ever--if that was possible.
"I don't want her to look at me cross-eyed," he said. "She couldn't lookcross-eyed. She's the sweetest and purtiest gal on this range, and don'tyou forgit that, Mr. Hicks."
"Sho, now! don't git riled at me," grunted the older man. "No offenseintended. But I hate to see you waste your time and money on a gal thatdon't give two pins for ye, Ike."
"I ain't axin' her to give two pins for me," said Ike, with a sort ofgroan. "I ain't up to the mark with her--I know that. But thar ain't nolaw keepin' me from spending my money as I please, is there?"
"I dunno," returned Bill Hicks. "Maybe there's one that'll cover thecase and send a feller like you to the foolish factory. Sally Dicksonwon't have nothing to say to you."
"Never mind," said Ike, grimly. "You take this two dollar bill, MissRuthie--if you will. And you buy the nicest box o' candy yo' kin find inBullhide. When you come back by Lem Dickson's, jest drop it there forSally. Yo' needn't say who sent it," added the bashful cowboy,wistfully. "Jest--jest say one o' the boys told you to buy it for her.That's all, Miss. It won't be too much trouble?"
"Of course it won't, Mr. Stedman," declared Ruth, earnestly. "I'llgladly do your errand."
"Thank you, Miss," returned the foreman, and spurring his horse he roderapidly away to escape further remarks from his boss.
Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch; Or, Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys Page 7