Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch; Or, Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys
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CHAPTER IX--THE FOX IS RECKLESS
When Ruth arrived at Silver Ranch that afternoon she found that theranchman's niece and the other girls had planned an outing for thefollowing day into the hills West of the range over which Mr. Hicks'cattle fed. It was to be a picnic jaunt, the object being mainly to viewthe wonderful "natural bridge" in a small canyon, some thirty miles fromthe ranch.
A sixty-mile drive within twenty-four hours seemed a big undertaking inthe minds of the Eastern young folk; but Jane Ann said that the poniesand mules could stand it. It was probable, however, that none of thevisitors could stand the ride in the saddle, so arrangements had beenmade for both buckboards to be used.
Tom and Bob were each to drive one of the vehicles. Jib Pottoway was togo as guide and general mentor of the party, and one of the littleMexican boys would drive the supply wagon, to which were hitched twotrotting mules. The start would be made at three in the morning;therefore the ranch-house was quiet soon after dark that evening.
Maria had breakfast ready for them as soon as the girls and Bob and Tomappeared; and the wagon was laden with provisions, as well as a lighttent and blankets. Tom and Bob had both brought their guns with them,for there might be a chance to use the weapons on this jaunt.
"There are plenty of kiotes in the hills," said Jane Ann. "And sometimesa gray wolf. The boys once in a while see cats about--in calving time,you know. But I reckon they're mighty scarce."
"Cats?" cried Heavy. "Do you shoot cats?"
"Pumas," explained Jane Ann. "They're some nasty when they're re'lhungry."
"Oh, I don't want to see any more of the wildcat tribe," Ruth cried. "Ihad my fill of them last winter at Snow Camp."
Tom of course was to drive the buckboard in which his twin and Ruthrode; but the chums certainly would not have chosen Mary Cox for thefourth member of the party. However, The Fox usually knew what shewanted herself, and got it, too! She liked Master Tom and wished to ridebeside him; and the instant she learned which pair of ponies he was todrive, she hopped into the front seat of that buckboard.
"I'm going to sit with you, Tom," she said, coolly. "I believe you'vegot the best ponies. And you can drive better than Bob, too."
Tom didn't look overjoyed, and Helen, seeing the expression of hertwin's face, began to giggle. There was, however, no polite way ofgetting rid of The Fox.
In a few minutes they were off, Jib Pottoway heading the procession, andRicardo, the Mexican, bringing up the rear with the mule cart.
"You keep a sharp eye on them younguns, Jib!" bawled Bill Hicks, comingto the door of the ranch-house in his stocking feet and with his hairtouseled from his early morning souse in the trough behind the house."I'll hold you responsible if anything busts--now mind ye!"
"All right, Boss," returned the Indian stolidly. "I reckon nothin' won'tbite 'em."
Driving off thirty miles into the wilderness was nothing in the opinionof these Westerners; but to the girls from Briarwood Hall, and theirbrothers, the trip promised all kinds of excitement. And they enjoyedevery mile of the journey through the foothills. There was something newand strange (to the Easterners) to see almost every mile, and Jane Ann,or Jib, was right there to answer questions and explain the wonders.
At first they saw miles upon miles of range, over which fed the SilverRanch herds. Heretofore Ruth and her friends had not realized the sizeof the ranch itself and what it meant to own fifty thousand cattle.
"Why!" exclaimed Heavy, with some awe. "Your uncle, Nita, is richer thanJob--and the Bible says he was the greatest of all the men of the East!He only owned seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels and athousand oxen and five hundred she-asses. Why, I believe there are morecreatures in that one herd yonder than poor old Job owned."
"I guess that was a pretty good herd for 'way down there in Arabia, andso long ago," returned Jane Ann. "But cattlemen have learned a lot sincethose times. I expect Uncle Bill has got more ponies than Job hadmules."
"And the men who looked after Job's cattle were a whole lot differentfrom those fellows," cried Helen, from the forward buckboard, pointingto a couple of well-mounted punchers spurring after a score of straysthat had broken away from the main herd. "Dear me, how recklessly theyride!"
"But I guess that all cowboys have been reckless and brave," said Ruth,quickly. "Somehow, herding cattle on the open plains and hills seems tomake for rugged character and courage. Think of King David, and lots ofthose Biblical characters. David was a cowboy, and went out and slewGoliath. And I expect any of these punchers we see around here wouldn'tbe afraid of a giant," she concluded.
"Huh!" snapped The Fox, who usually found something sharp to say incomment upon Ruth's speeches, "I guess these cowboys aren't any betterthan the usual run of men. _I_ think they're rather coarse and ugly.Look at this half Indian ahead of us."
"What do you mean--_him_?" exclaimed Tom Cameron, who was pretty welldisgusted with The Fox and her sly and sneering ways. "Why, he's got abetter education than most of the men you meet. He stood high atCarlisle, in his books as well as athletics. You wouldn't scoff at anyother college-bred fellow--why at Jib?"
"Indian," said Mary Cox, with her nose in the air.
"His folks owned the country-the whole continent!" cried the excitedTom, "until white men drove them out. You'd consider an Englishman, or aGerman, or a Belgian, with his education, the equal of any American. AndJib's a true American at that."
"Well, I can't say that I ever could admire a savage," sniffed The Fox,tossing her head.
For the most part, however, the girls and their drivers had a very jollytime, and naturally there could not be much "bickering" even in theleading buckboard where The Fox rode, for Ruth was there, and Ruth wasnot one of the bickering kind. Helen was inclined to think that her chumwas altogether too "tame"; she would not "stand up for herself" enough,and when The Fox said cutting things Ruth usually ignored herschoolfellow's ill-nature.
Tom was not entirely happy with The Fox on the seat beside him. He hadhoped Ruth would occupy that place. When Mary spoke to him perhaps theyoung fellow was a bit cold. At least, before they came to the canyon,through which flowed Rolling River, Master Tom had somehow managed tooffend The Fox and her eyes snapped and she held her lips grimly shut.
The trail became narrow here and it rose steeply, too. The roaring rivertumbled over the rocks on the left hand, while on the right the sheercliff rose higher and higher. And while the ponies climbed the rathersteep ascent Jib Pottoway spurred his horse ahead to see if the path wasall clear to the place where the canyon became a veritable tunnel underthe "natural bridge."
"Go slow, Tom Cameron!" shouted the ranchman's niece from the secondcarriage. "There are bad places when we get to the upper level--verynarrow places. And the river is a hundred feet below us there."
"She's trying to scare us," snapped The Fox. "I never saw such people!"
"I guess it will be best to take care," grunted Tom. "She's been herebefore, remember."
"Pah! you're afraid!"
"Perhaps I am," returned Tom. "I'm not going to take any chances withthese half wild ponies--and you girls in the wagon."
In a minute more they were at the top of the rise. Jib had disappearedaround a distant turn in the path, which here was straight and level forfully a mile. The muffled roar of the river came up to them, and theabrupt cliff on the right cast its shadow clear across the canyon. It wasa rugged and gloomy place and Helen hid her eyes after glancing oncedown the steep descent to the river.
"Oh! drive on, Tommy!" she cried. "I don't want to look down thereagain. What a fearful drop it is! Hold the ponies tight, Tommy."
"Pshaw, you are making a great adieu about nothing," snapped Mary Cox.
"I'll have a care, Nell; don't you fear," assured her brother.
Ruth was as serious as her chum, and as she had a quick eye she noticeda strap hanging from the harness of one of the ponies and called Tom'sattention to it.
"There's a strap unbuckled, Tom," she cried. "Do you
see it hanging?"
"Good for you, Ruthie!" cried the boy, leaning out of his seat toglimpse the strap. "Here, Mary! hold these reins, please."
He put the reins into the hands of The Fox and hopped out. She laughedand slapped them across the ponies' backs and the beasts reared andsnorted.
"Have a care what you're doing, Mary Cox!" shrieked Helen.
"Whoa!" cried her brother, and leaped to seize the nearest pony by thebit. But the half wild animals jerked away from him, dashing across thenarrow trail.
"Pull up! pull up!" shouted Tom.
"Don't let them run!" cried Jane Ann Hicks, standing up in the carriagebehind.
But in that single moment of recklessness the ponies becameunmanageable--at least, unmanageable for The Fox. She pulled the leftrein to bring them back into the trail, and off the creatures dashed, atheadlong speed, along the narrow way. On the right was the unscalablewall of rock; on the left was the awful drop to the roaring river!