CHAPTER XVIII.
MORE TROUBLE AHEAD.
It turned out that what the dejected Skinny had said was the truth.Even the ponies that had not taken part in the chase of Ally Sloperwere found to be showing plain signs of being sick. There could be nodoubt but what the sly fox had laid his plans carefully, and also foundan opportunity to carry the same out. He must have managed to give eachbroncho something in his feed that would within a certain time weakenhim, especially if subjected to any violent exercise calculated tostart the animal sweating freely.
Those who had pursued the fleeing puncher had kept their own for ashort time, and then noticed that no matter how they urged their mountson they were being slowly distanced. The extravagant gestures ofderision on the part of Sloper also aroused suspicion; and when theirponies began to show unmistakable signs of playing out, what seemed tobe the truth dawned upon them.
"It was a mighty clever ruse, I'm thinking," Jack remarked, as he andhis chums went out to see the sick ponies.
"Are they poisoned and will they all die?" Harry asked one of thepunchers, with keen regret in his voice, as he watched the actions ofthe sick animals.
"Oh! we reckons it ain't so bad as that there," replied the cowboy,"they been locoed with some weed that Ally, he must a carried aroundwith him, meanin' to use the same when the right time came along. ButMiss Haines she give us some stuff outen the Kunnel's medicine chest,'case, yuh see, he's somethin' o' a vetranary surgeon; and they seem tobe pickin' up a bit a'ready."
An hour later the expected party was discovered heading for the ranchbuildings, but not a solitary puncher went circling out to meet them.This fact must have given rise to considerable wonder on the part ofthe two stockmen, who knew the ways of cow punchers so well. Theirastonishment was unbounded when they arrived at the stockade and sawthe herds penned up.
First of all, they greeted the scouts warmly. As Harry was therepresentative of his father, whom the stockmen hoped to induce to jointhem in putting more money into their enterprise, so as to enlarge thescope of their business, it was only natural that he should be shownthe utmost consideration, in order that a favorable report be takenback when he returned home.
But then Harry was the nephew of both stockmen, so to speak, and theywould have welcomed him warmly for that fact alone.
When they heard all that had happened and how the lucky finding of thedead homing pigeon with its telltale message had betrayed the plans ofthe conspirators, they could hardly express their feelings toward thescouts.
Of course there followed the hasty moonlight ride out on the range, theround-up of the cattle that was not ordered, the fight with therustlers, and last, but not least, the clever way in which Ally Sloperhad made his escape so as to avoid facing his late employers.
It was soon decided to keep the herds confined until the followingmorning, when they would be driven forth once more to their severalgrazing grounds. They must be guarded day and night for the time being,and orders were given to all hands to shoot straight in case anotherraid were attempted.
Colonel Haines was very angry over the way things were going. He fearedthat if those reckless rustlers were allowed to hold forth in the stripof land bordering the Colorado, they would continue to take toll fromthe herds of the Double Cross Ranch, and that this might in some wayserve to make Harry carry an unfavorable report back to his rich father.
And so the stockmen put their heads together and decided that the timehad come to make a determined effort to rid the country of the lawlesscattle thieves. In the morning they would send a messenger to thenearest town with a note to the sheriff, demanding that he comestraightway out with an armed posse and begin a systematic search forthe hiding place of the gang. It must be war to the knife after thisbetween the cow-punchers and the rustlers, who must be made to realizethat it would be too hot for them in that "neck of the woods."
In the morning everyone was up before sunrise, for there was plenty tobe attended to on this day. The four scouts determined to ride out in abunch with Chunky and see the prize herd taken back to the vicinity ofWashout Coulie. Then they could employ the balance of the day to suitthemselves, perhaps in looking for game that was to be found in thehills near by.
The ponies had all recovered from their sickness. Whatever it had beenthat the treacherous puncher had dosed them with, either the effect hadworn off or else the horse medicine which Mrs. Haines had taken fromher husband's chest must have counteracted the drug. No one was morepleased to learn this fact than Harry, who had a very tender heart anddisliked to see even animals suffer.
Jimmy enjoyed that morning ride greatly. He soon caught the spirit ofthe range, and mounted on the back of his calico pony he drove this wayand that, shouting louder than any seasoned puncher, slapping his quirtand doing bravely in assisting to keep the cattle bunched on the drive.
Everything seemed to be quiet around the coulie that had been the sceneof their spirited engagement with the rustler gang some thirty hoursand more previously.
After the severe lesson that had been taught the thieving pack, it wasfirmly believed they would remain in hiding for some time now, waitingfor the excitement to blow over and the punchers to get careless again.
At the same time, when the scouts started to leave the coulie, bent onskirmishing around to see if they could scare up anything worth whilein the shape of game, Chunky thought it his duty to warn them to keeptheir eyes about them all the while.
"They're a slick article, boys," he remarked, seriously, for he hadalready come to like the chums exceedingly, while the feeling ofinterest was just as warm on their part; "and since they know by nowfrom Ally that 'twas you as spoiled their plans, they might have it infor you. If so be you run up against any strange punchers, don't haveanything to do with the same. They might be rustlers, 'case you knowall these here cattle thieves has been on ranches, some time 'r other,and got fired because they didn't play fair. Keep your eyes peeled allthe time."
"That's what all scouts mean to do, Chunky," advised Jimmy, promptly."Their motto is 'be prepared,' even if they don't always live up to thesame. But we'll try to keep our eyes on the watch for signs of trouble.See you later, boys! So-long!"
Jimmy was rapidly picking up range ways. All he needed to make him aregular puncher, he imagined, was a cowboy suit with sheepskin chapsand a real range hat, to take the place of the campaign headgear thatas a scout he always wore.
Already the calico pony was showing signs of being conquered. Jimmy hada masterful way about him, being a bit reckless, and the animal, nodoubt, began to understand that, as his new rider seemed bent onkeeping up the fight to the bitter end, it might be the best policy toseem to yield. But Ned, still having in mind the white eyes that struckhim as treacherous, warned Jimmy not to trust his mount too far.
They rode for miles along the foot of the hills. Ned never failed tokeep track of the distance and the points of the compass. When theyconsidered that it was time to head toward home they could depend onthe scout master to tell them just where the ranch buildings lay, andabout how much distance separated them from home.
Up to that time they had not come across any signs of game, a fact thatcaused Jimmy to express himself as very much disappointed; for theirlunch had been a scanty one, according to his mind, and he indulged inhigh hopes that if they could only knock over an antelope or a deerwhile the rest were resting, he could start a cooking fire and fix up alittle snack to allow him to hold out until suppertime arrived.
Ned, who had been closely observing their surroundings for some littletime now, gave it as his opinion that they might find something in theshape of quarry if they left the plain and turned into the scrub thatcovered the slope of the hills.
"It looks like our last chance for to-day, boys," he announced, "andbecause our chum, Jimmy here, has set his heart so much on taking homesome game, we might make one more try. If nothing shows up in half anhour we'll call the hunt off for to-day and come again
some other time.Are you all agreeable?"
There was no dissenting voice.
Half an hour may have seemed like a very short time to Jimmy, whodisliked to give anything up on which he had set his heart; but herealized that Ned was always a better judge of things than he couldever hope to be. Besides, their ponies had begun to exhibit slightsigns of weariness, not having fully recovered from the effects of theweed they had eaten, and which had made them sick. As the ranchbuildings were a good many miles away, they must not force the poniestoo hard if they hoped to be home by sunset.
This was only the first of many trips the scouts had planned to coverduring their stay at the cattle ranch. They meant to exhaust theresources of the country for good times, and Jack was figuring onadding largely to his collection of wild animals' pictures while there.He had interested Jimmy in the matter, so that he could count oncompany and assistance in his excursions by day and night in search offitting subjects.
They turned their ponies at the brush and started to comb it, beingconstantly on the watch for signs of a leaping deer aroused from anoonday nap in the shade.
The going was inclined to be rough, so that they had to be careful notto let their mounts trip and throw them.
Ned knew that what little air there was stirring came in their faces,which was a favorable sign; but it is doubtful whether any of theothers noticed this fact, as they were not in the same class as thescout master when it came to understanding the elements that go to makea successful stalk.
Still no game obliged them by jumping out of some shady covert, whichJimmy considered mighty mean, when his stomach was fairly clamoring forfood. When the nature of their surroundings showed a considerablechange, and instead of mere brush and a scraggy growth of trees theyfound rocks surrounding them, with miniature canyons opening up allaround, Ned began to think they had gone far enough.
He yielded, however, to Jimmy's pleading when the latter suggested thatthey fasten the ponies in a thicket and advance a short distance onfoot.
"It looks good to me up yonder," Jimmy was saying feverishly. "I'm mostsure now I glimpsed somethin' movin', which might have been a browsin'Rocky Mountain big horn sheep, if they have such down here; or, againp'raps, it was a grizzly bear, or a four-legged venison feedin'. Let'stake a turn up there and if we don't raise a solitary thing, why, I'llgive in and go back home empty-handed, feelin' like a dog with his tailbetween his legs."
Ned certainly would not think of letting Jimmy make that littleexcursion alone, nor did he feel like allowing only one other toaccompany the would-be mighty hunter. Chunky had warned themparticularly against getting scattered while exploring the countryroundabout.
"Where one goes all must follow!" he said, positively.
"Bully for you, Ned," Jimmy declared joyously. "The more the merrierthey say; and Jack and me'll be glad to have the whole bunch along."
"How about the ponies, Ned; do you think it is safe to leave themhere?" Harry wanted to know, a little anxious about the safety of theirmounts; because a twelve-mile hike did not appeal to him just then.
"I don't think anything or anybody would be apt to bother them," Jackremarked, although no one had asked his opinion on the subject.
"Sure they won't," asserted the eager Jimmy, making his jaws work asthough in imagination he were already enjoying a tender venison steakalongside of a splendid camp fire.
"We'll have to risk a little," Ned admitted, as he dismounted, and oncemore looked to see that his rifle was in condition for immediate use.
They found places where the ponies could be tied, and the animalsevidently did not object to the rest in the least, if their actionswere any judge.
"'Tis meself that's thinkin' the dope Ally Sloper gave Spot here, asI've renamed Satan, must have taken the heart out of the critter,because he's been as gentle as you please all day," Jimmy remarked, ashe patted the calico pony; but Ned only shook his head without makingany reply, for he had seen the ears flattened and noted thehalf-inclination on the part of the pony to bite at the hand that wascaressing its wet neck and withers.
Presently they started up the canyon toward the spot where Jimmy stilldeclared he believed he had seen an object move, which must be game ofsome sort. All conversation having been positively tabooed by Ned,Jimmy could only take it out in sundry grins and vigorous nods of hishead as they proceeded.
Everybody was tuned up to a tense state of excitement as they reachedthe bend of the rock wall and then carefully crept around the same.Unless Jimmy had made a mistake, or was willfully deceiving them, theymust speedily discover the animal he claimed to have sighted. All sortsof speculations were doubtless rife in their minds concerning itsnature; one hoped it would prove to be a deer; another may have had amonster grizzly in view while caressing his repeating rifle; whileJack, who carried his little camera along with him, would have beenhighly pleased could he have snapped off a big-horn sheep in the act ofleaping from crag to crag somewhere up there along the high canyonwalls.
Nothing loomed up, though Ned went further than his prudence dictated,in order to satisfy Jimmy. The latter's face had fallen forty-fivedegrees, and he was shaking his head gloomily as he stared around,looking in vain for favorable signs.
Ned was even about to open his mouth and give the order that would takethe little party back to where they had left their mounts tied, when heheard something like a stone falling back of him.
Remembering that the canyon had narrowed there, like the neck of abottle, Ned turned suddenly on his heels. If he expected to discoverany sort of wild game slinking off, he was greatly in error. What hedid see caused a spasm of alarm to dart through the scout master'sbrave heart.
Up on a shelf of rock, just over the narrow part of the defile, severalfigures of men could be seen. They looked like ordinary cowboys, butwhen Ned recognized Ally Sloper and Coyote Smith, yes, and Lefty Louieas well among them, he understood that instead they were a part of therustler gang that he and his chums had been instrumental in cheatingout of their intended prey!
Boy Scouts on the Open Plains; Or, The Round-Up Not Ordered Page 18