CHAPTER V.
AROUND THE CAMP FIRE.
It was a lovely night, with the moon looking almost as round as a bigyellow cart-wheel when it rose in the east, where the horizon lay low,with the level plain and sky meeting.
Besides, it was not nearly as hot there on the plains as they had foundit back where the sands of the Mojave Desert shifted with the terriblewinds that seemed to come from the regions of everlasting fire, theyscorched so.
The scouts appeared to be enjoying themselves so much that even Jimmy,usually the sleepy member of the party, gave no sign of wanting tocrawl under his brilliant and beloved Navajo blanket.
Near by the three pack animals were tethered, along with the calicopony owned by Amos. They cropped the grass as though they could neverget enough of the same. Everything seemed so very peaceful that onewould find it difficult to imagine that there could come any change tothe scene.
Amos had joined the circle again, and once more the conversation hadbecome general. Ned asked numerous questions concerning the ranch whichthey expected to visit, and in this way they learned in advanceconsiderable about the puncher gang, some of the peculiarities ofvarious members of the same, as well as the floating news of the region.
When Amos was asked about the hunting he gave glowing accounts of thesport to be had by those willing to ride twenty miles or more to thecoulies of the foothills, where a panther or a grizzly bear might berun across, and deer were to be stalked.
"How about wolves?" Jimmy wanted to know.
Jimmy always declared war on wolves. He had had some experiences withthe treacherous animals in the past, and could not forget. There was astanding grudge between them, and every time Jimmy found a chance heliked to knock over a gray prowler.
Amos shrugged his narrow shoulders as though he took very little stockin such cowardly animals.
"Oh! the punchers they have a round-up for the critters every fall, an'so you see they kind of keep 'em low in stock. Then besides, ever sincethey took to payin' a bounty for wolf scalps, men go out to hunt forthe same when they ain't got nothin' else to do. They ain't aplentyabout this part of the country nowadays. I reckon as how that's whyWolf Harkness took to raisin' the critters."
"What's that, raising wolves, do you mean, Amos? Sure you must bekiddin'?" was the way Jimmy greeted this announcement.
"Not me, Jimmy; it's plain United States I'm giving you, sure I am,"the other insisted.
"But there ain't no great call for wolf pelts, like there is for blackfox and 'coon, and otter, and skunks and that sort of thing. How d'yes'pose this Wolf Harkness makes it pay?"
"Oh! that's easy," replied Amos, carelessly. "You see, he kills off acertain number of his stock once in so often and sells the skins. Thenlater on they reckon that he collects the bounty for wolf scalps fromthe State."
"But say, that looks kind of queer for any man to raise pests, and thenexpect to make the State pay him so much for every one he kills," Jimmyremarked, shaking his head as though he found it difficult to believe.
"Don't know how he manages," the boy continued. "Heard some say thatthe law, it left a loophole for such practices, and that they couldn'tstop him. Others kind of think he sells the scalps to some hunter, whocollects for the same. But everybody just knows Harkness does get aheap of cash out of his queer business."
"Ever been to his pen and seen his stock?" asked Jimmy.
"Yes, once I happened that way, but the smell drove me away. There musthave been thirty or more wolves in the stockade right then, and theylooked like they was pretty nigh starved, too. I dreamed that nightthey broke loose and got me cornered in an empty cabin. I barred thedoor, but they pushed underneath and clumb through the broken windows,and everywhere I looked I saw red tongues and pale yellow eyes! Then Iwoke up, and was scared near stiff, for there was a pair of eyes in thedark right alongside me in the loft at home. But say, that turned outto be only our old black cat."
All of them laughed with Amos, as though they could fully appreciatethe scare he must have received on that occasion.
The subject of the wolf farm seemed to have interested Jimmy intensely,for he went on asking more questions concerning the raising of theanimals, what they were fed on, the price of wolf pelts, and a lot morealong the same lines until finally Harry turned to Ned and complained.
"Tell him to change the subject, won't you, Ned? He'll have the lot ofus dreaming we're beset by a horde of wolves. And you'd better make himdraw all the charges out of his gun to-night, because he's sure to situp and begin blazing away, to keep from being dragged off. Jimmy's gota big imagination, you know, and every once in a while it runs awaywith him."
"Tell me," announced Jimmy, rather indignantly, "who's got a betterright to be askin' questions about the habits of the animals than me,who's a member of that same Wolf Patrol? How can you expect a feller togive the right kind of a _howl_ when he wants to signal to his mates,unless he finds out all these things."
"Oh! if that's the worst you are after, Jimmy, go ahead and find out,"Jack was heard to say, condescendingly. "I thought you had a moreserious scheme in that head of yours than just accumulating knowledge."
Jimmy turned and looked at him suspiciously.
"And what did you think I had up me sleeve, if it's a fair question?"he asked.
"Why, you see," began Jack, with a twinkle in his eye, "I was afraidthat you might want to invest what money you've got saved in starting awolf ranch of your own, or trying to buy this old man Harkness out. Isupposed that was why you wanted to know the exact value of wolf hides,and what the State paid bounty on scalps. But I'm just as glad to findthat you're not bothering your head over the business part of the game.Perhaps you'd like to meet up with this Harkness, thinking he mightgive you a chance to shoot his collection of hungry wolves. That wouldbe a snap for a fellow who hates the beasts like you do, and has made avow to never let one get past him, when he had a gun handy or a stoneto heave."
Jimmy only grinned. He did not know whether Jack was joking or not, butthere seemed to be something complimentary in his way of talking; andJimmy was not at all averse to being known as a champion wolf killer.
"I only hope I get a chance to see this Harkness and his bunch of slickcritters before we quit this neck of the woods," he remarked. "But as Iain't a butcher you needn't think that I'd ask him to let me cut downhis list with my new Marlin gun. Out in the open I'm death on thesneakers every time; but it'd go against my grain to knock 'em over,when they hadn't got any show for their money. I never could do the axebusiness for a chicken at home, even when we were livin' in thecountry."
"Oh! well, you must excuse me for speaking of such a thing, Jimmy,"said Jack, with assumed gravity; "I was mistaken, that's all, in sizingyou up. Appearances are often deceitful, you know, and things don'talways turn out as they seem. Now, few people looking at you would everdream that they were gazing on a marvelous phenomenon. I guess youcaught that trick from association with Ned, here," and Jack might havecontinued along that vein still further had he not been nudged sharplyby the scout master, and heard Ned mutter:
"Mum's the word, Jack. Don't tell all you know!"
This brought him to his senses, for he remembered that there was astranger present, and that it had been decided not to expose their fullhand to the gaze of Amos, at least for the present.
In this fashion the time passed.
All of the scouts were in a humor to vote that one of the mostdelightful camps they had ever been in. Perhaps this partly arose fromthe great contrast it afforded when compared with recent nights passedunder the most trying of conditions, when crossing the desert, and theterrible valley lying to the east of it.
Amos had a blanket along with him. Apparently the lad was accustomed tosleeping by himself on the open plain, and always went prepared. Thingswere not as pleasant as they might be at his cabin home, frequentlyenough; and besides this, he must be possessed of a wandering nature,feeling perfectly satis
fied to take care of himself, and capable ofdoing it, too.
They were still lying around the dying fire, and each waiting for someone else to take the lead in mentioning such a thing as going to sleep,when Amos suddenly sat upright.
Ned noticed that he had his head cocked on one side, and appeared to bein the attitude of listening for a repetition of some sound that mayhave struck his acute hearing.
"There it comes again," Amos remarked. "You see, the wind has veeredaround that way more or less; but say, twelve miles as the crow fliesis pretty hefty of a distance to hear that pack give tongue, seems tome."
Ned had caught it that time.
"You must mean the wolves that Harkness keeps shut up in his pen forbreeding purposes, is that it, Amos?" he inquired.
"Nothing more nor less than that," came the reply.
"There, I caught it as plain as anything then!" acknowledged Jimmy,with a vein of triumph and satisfaction in his voice, as though he didnot mean to be left at the post, when the whole bunch was runningswiftly.
"Whew! they do make a racket, when they're excited, for a fact!"declared Jack.
"Is it the wolves you're talking about?" asked Harry.
"Don't you be hearing the noise beyond there?" Jimmy asked him. "P'rapsnow, meat is so scarce that the old man's put his pets on half rations,and the whoopin' we hear is meant for a protest."
"Well, what of that?" Jack wanted to know; "I guess you'd raise abigger howl than that, Jimmy, if we tried to put _you_ on half rations.I can fancy how you'd be trying to lift the roof off, and they'd haveto call the fire company out to soak you with their hose so as to makeyou stop. But don't get alarmed, Jimmy, because none of us have anyintention that way."
They sat there and listened for several minutes. No doubt, Jimmy wasendeavoring to picture in his mind what the den of trapped wolves mustlook like; and at the same time, he was promising himself once more totry and visit the Harkness place before leaving the country. He wouldlike to be able to say he had set eyes on so strange a thing as a wolfranch.
Harry began to yawn, and stretch tremendously.
"What ails you fellows; don't any of you expect to crawl into yourblankets and pick up a little sleep? Talking may be all very well, butit doesn't rest you up any. Ned, why don't you tell Jimmy to soundtaps, all lights out so the rest of us can adjourn? As long as Jimmy'safloat to do the grand talking act, it isn't any use trying to go tosleep, because you just can't."
Jimmy seemed ready to take up that challenge, and entered upon anargument calculated to prove that he was a mild mannered individualalongside of some people he could mention, though not wanting to givenames. Ned, however, put his foot down.
"Harry's right this time, Jimmy, and you know it. So make up your mindto simmer down, and keep the rest for another time. We'll find a softspot and see how well this ground lies. And we ought to make up somefor lost sleep to-night, with that soft breeze blowing, and the airgetting fresher right along."
At that plain invitation Jimmy began to make his blanket ready, for henever liked seeing any one crawl in ahead of him any more than he didto be the first one up in the morning.
Amos still sat there. Ned, looking at the boy, saw that there was alittle frown on his forehead, as though he did not exactly likesomething or other.
"What's wrong, Amos?" he asked, quietly.
"The breeze, it is no stronger than before, you can see, Ned," the kidpuncher replied, as he held up his wet forefinger, after the fashion ofrange riders and plainsmen in general.
"That's true enough," replied the scout master, always willing to pickup points in woodcraft, for he did not pretend to know everything therewas going.
"But listen!" added Amos; "it is much louder now, you see."
Ned became intensely interested at once.
"You are right," he remarked, "the sound of that wolfish howling doescome three times as loud as in the start, and yet the wind couldn't bethe reason of that. Do you know what makes it, Amos?"
"I could give a guess, mebbe."
"As how?" continued Ned, while Jack and Jimmy and Harry all stoppedtheir preparations for fixing their blankets to suit their individualwants, in order to hear what the kid puncher would say.
"When I was over there at the wolf ranch," Amos commenced, "I remembernow that I noticed the pen looked old and weak. I asked the hunterabout it, and he said it'd hold, he guessed; that wolves, they didn'thave the intelligence of hosses, or even cattle, so as to make acombined rush at a weak place."
"Well?" Ned remarked, as Amos paused.
"It might be that somethin' happened to make that weak place in the bigpen give way, and the whole pack is loose, acomin' for the river,hungry as all get-out, and ready to attack anything that walks on twolegs, because they are nearly starved!"
When Amos gave this as his opinion, the scouts who had been gettingtheir blankets ready for a quiet night's sleep seemed suddenly to loseall interest in the proceedings. Instead Jimmy started reaching aroundhim for that new Marlin repeating rifle, which had already proven itsworth on several occasions.
"Whew!" they could hear him saying, almost breathlessly to himself;"thirty hungry wolves, all at a pop, hey? That's what I call crowdingthe mourners. I may be set on knockin' over an occasional critter whenI run across the same; but say, I ain't so greedy as all that. ThinkI'm in the wholesale line, do you? Well, you've got another guessacomin' to you, that's all!"
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