CHAPTER XI
THE WATCH TOWER
Quickly the galloping hoofbeats came to a pause. With a motion ofhis foot, as he sat up amid his blanket and tarpaulin, Bud kickedinto the fire a stick of greasewood which flared up, revealing arider on a panting horse standing over the boy ranchers, allthree of whom were now awake.
"Four Eyes!" cried Bud, for the flaring fire had revealed thatcowboy. He had accepted his nickname in perfect grace.
"That's who," was the good-natured answer. "I saw the fire as Iwas riding back, and I thought you'd be here."
"Where were you riding _to_?" asked Bud, pointedly, hisfingers releasing their grip on the .45 under the blanket. "Ithought you were with Old Billee."
"I was supposed to be," answered Four Eyes, "until my horse gotout of the corral and Billee said I could trail him. That's whatI was doing when I saw you behind the fire. I knew it was almostburned out, so I didn't stop, or come back to explain."
"Yes, the fire didn't amount to much, though how it was startedis another question," said Bud. "You say your black horse gotout?"
"Yes, jumped the corral fence. He's a bad one at that."
"You didn't get him back," observed Nort, for he and Dick, aswell as Bud, had noticed that the new cow puncher bestrode one ofthe extra ponies kept at the camp corral for use in relieving theregular animals.
"No, he got clean away," and Henry Mellon did not seem to worrymuch about it. "All I have to say," he went on, "is that some onewill get a mighty good mount, outside of his habit of jumping outof corrals."
"You may get him back--if whoever picks him up knows where hebelongs," said Bud. For in that cow country it was still regardedas a great crime to steal a horse, or keep one known to belong tosome one else.
"Oh, I'll prospect a bit farther for him tomorrow, maybe," saidFour Eyes. "I didn't want to ride too far this evening, so Iturned back. Did you get on any trail of the rustlers?" he asked,for he had been aware of the object of the boys' ride.
"We switched off to come over to the fire," said Bud. "Did younotice anything about it?"
"It was burning pretty good when I struck here, from over at yourcamp," was the answer. "I saw that it wasn't likely to do muchdamage, so I didn't ride back to tell Billee and the others."
"Did you see any one suspicious?" Bud went on, getting up andputting more wood on the fire.
"No, I didn't," answered Four Eyes, quietly. "Of course anyonewould have had time to start the fire, and get well away before Iarrived on the scene--judging by the way it was burning," hesaid. "Though I can't see what object anyone could have, and I'minclined to think a passing cow puncher--not one of your crowdbut some one else--may have flipped a cigarette butt into thegrass where it smouldered for some time."
"That may have happened," Bud admitted. "As for an object, if thefire had stampeded the cattle it would have given some bunch ofGreasers or rustlers a chance to get away with a few steers."
"Oh, yes, of course," agreed Four Eyes. "Well, I didn't seeanybody. Guess I may as well turn in here. No use riding back tothe camp to-night. It'll soon be morning."
"That's right, turn in," invited Bud. His suspicions hadvanished.
"There's some cold coffee if you want it," added Nort.
"Guess I'll put it on to heat," said Henry Mellon. "It's a bitchilly."
"What time is it?" asked Dick, as the cowboy stirred up theembers and set the blackened coffee pot on over some stones thathad been made into a rude fireplace.
"Two o'clock," announced Four Eyes, with a glance at his watch.
The boy ranchers watched him idly as he made and drank thecoffee, munching some hard crackers he carried in one of hispockets. Then, rolling up in their blankets, the quartette wentto sleep.
Morning came, in due course, without any untoward incidentshaving occurred. The boys looked across the fire-swept area towhere, beyond it, many cattle could be observed grazing. Therewas no further vestige of fire. The heavy dew had extinguishedthe last, smouldering spark.
"Well, I'm going back to the camp," announced Four Byes, as theygot the simple breakfast. And how appetizing was that aroma ofsizzling bacon and strong coffee! "Want me to tell 'em anythingfor you!" he asked Bud.
"Tell 'em about the fire," was the request. "And say we're goingon the trail of the rustlers. We'll be back to-day, though,around night, for we haven't grub enough to carry us farther."
"What you going to do about your horse?" asked Dick.
"What can I do?" asked Henry Mellon, in turn. "I can't spend allmy time hunting him, when I've got to ride herd."
"We'll be on the lookout," Nort said.
"Hope you have luck," commented the strange cowboy, as he tookoff his glasses and wiped them on his silk neckerchief. "I'm lostwithout Cinder, though this pony isn't so bad," and he patted theneck of the animal he was riding.
A little later the boy ranchers were taking a short cut acrossthe fire-blackened strip, to get on the trail of the men who haddriven off their cattle, while Four Eyes turned the head of hispony toward camp.
"Well, it looks as if this was where the trail ended," announcedBud, several hours later.
"Mighty funny, to come to an end so suddenly," commented Dick.
The three boys had reached one end of the many small valleys intowhich the larger vale was divided. They had been following thetrail of the cattle that had been driven off--it was plain enoughuntil they reached a rocky and shale-covered defile between twosmall hills. Then, for some reason or other, all "sign" came toan abrupt end. There were no further marks of hoofs in the earth,and none of the ordinary marks to indicate that cattle and horseshad been beyond a certain point.
"It's just as Snake said," observed Dick. "They must have driventhe animals here and then lifted them over the hill in anaeroplane."
"They couldn't!" declared Nort.
"I know they couldn't. But how else do you account for it?" askedhis brother.
"They may have driven 'em through the pass, and then scattereddirt and stones over the trail to hide it," suggested Bud.
"Let's look a little farther then," remarked Dick.
They did, but without discovering any clues. It was as though therustlers had driven the cattle to the bottom of a rocky andbush-covered slope, and then as if the side of the hill had suddenlyopened, providing a way through.
"Like some old fairy yarn!" declared Bud. "This gets me!"
"If we could only have gotten on the trail of the rascals sooner,Bud, we might have learned the secret," spoke Nort. "We ought tokeep better watch!"
"How could we?" asked Bud. "We shoot off on the trail, now, assoon as we hear of anything."
"Yes, but we ought to get on the jump quicker," insisted hiscousin. "If we had an airship, for instance!" and he laughed atthe impracticability of his remark.
"You can see pretty nearly the whole of the valley from the topof Snake Mountain," spoke Dick, when he and Bud had joined in thelaugh at Nort's airship idea. "If one of us could be up there--"
"We'd have to be there all the while!" interrupted Bud. "There'sno telling when the rustlers will come. Talk about being on thewatch! It's all right to say so, but how you going to work it?"
Dick suddenly uttered an exclamation.
"What's the matter?" his brother wanted to know. "See a snake?"
"No, but I've got the idea! A watch tower! Why not build one atour camp--or up on the side of the hill back of the reservoir? Wecould make it of logs--high enough to give us a good view. Itwouldn't be much of a trick to climb up in the watch tower threeor four times a day and survey the place. A watch tower is thething, Bud!"
Boy Ranchers on the Trail; Or, The Diamond X After Cattle Rustlers Page 11