CHAPTER VIII
SUSPICIONS
For several moments the situation remained thus; the boy ranchers andtheir friends were on one side of Spur Creek, determined to repulse anyattempt on the part of the strange horseman, who was on the oppositeshore, to cross and make a landing. In this case it might beconsidered a legal taking possession of disputed land, and open the wayfor a band of sheep men to enter. On the other side was the lonehorseman calmly puffing at his cigaret, as if literally taking theadvice of Yellin' Kid.
The three boys, and the older cowboys also, had their guns in readinessfor action, but it was easy to guess that the lone horseman, unless hewas extremely foolhardy, would not attempt to do anything in the faceof such odds.
More than two minutes passed, and if you want to know how long this isin a tense situation take out your watch and count the seconds.
Then the stranger on the Mexican side of Spur Creek tossed away hissmouldering cigaret stub, took a deep breath and exhaled the smoke.Next he spoke softly.
"You will have no sheep, _senors_?" he asked.
"Nary a sheep!" declared Billee Dobb, "an' you can tell them that sentyou!"
A half smile--a contemptuous smirk of the lips--seamed for a moment thebronzed, weather-beaten and wrinkled face of the lone horseman. Hetightened the reins and his steed made ready to gallop off.
"I shall see you again, _senors_. _Adios!_" he cried, and, with agraceful wave of his hand he wheeled and rode off as fast as he hadapproached.
For a few seconds longer there was silence in the ranks of thoseholding Fort Spur Creek as it might be called. Then Bud broke out with:
"What do you make of that?"
"Can't make much," admitted Old Billee. "If he came to find outwhether we were ready, he went away satisfied."
"Regular stage and moving picture stuff!" commented Nort.
"I believe the fellow was an actor," laughed Dick. "The way he flippedhis cigaret and waved to us--he must have been in the movies sometime."
"I'll movie him if he comes on this side of Spur Creek!" muttered SnakePurdee. "Him and his '_adios_'! Nothin' but a Greaser, I'll wager!"
"He had his nerve with him," said Old Billee. "But, boys, we mustn'tlet him get ours. He came to spy out and see what he could pick up."
"Well, he found us ready for him!" exclaimed Yellin' Kid.
"Yes, but maybe he'll go back and report that we aren't ready enough,"said Billee.
"What do you mean?" asked Bud.
"I mean he has sized up our force, and he and his gang may be able tobring up enough to beat us back. You see, boys, this land is a richprize, not only for sheep men but for any who want to use it forgrazing. It has water and good grass."
"Well, what's the matter with 'em stayin' on their own side of SpurCreek?" asked Snake, growling out the words.
"That's where they should stay, by rights," said Billee, "and it'swhere we intend to keep 'em. The other land is open to those who stakeit out, I suppose, but on this side it belongs to your father, Bud."
"The trouble is he has to prove it," answered the boy rancher.
"Yes, and that's going to be hard with his papers stolen the way theyare," admitted Billee. "Of course it was a put up job, and I have mysuspicions of who did it. But this land would be a rich prize for asheep herder or anybody else, and we've got to fight 'em off."
"Who are you suspicious of?" demanded Bud.
"Never you mind," was the enigmatical answer, given with a shake of thehead, "but I have 'em all right. However, that's another matter. Whatwe have to do now is to get ready to meet any of these sheep men ifthey come up and try to cross the creek."
"You reckon he's gone back to his gang to tell 'em to get ready to comehere?" asked Snake.
"Shouldn't wonder," admitted Billee. "But it'll be some time beforethey can bring up the woollies."
"Sheep travel fast, they eat fast and they ruin water and pasturesfaster'n Sam Hill!" exclaimed Yellin' Kid, and this was true. If youhave ever watched a flock of sheep feeding you would know this. Theyeat as though they feared some one was going to take all the grass awayon a moment's notice.
"Well, he's ridin' fast," observed Snake, as, shading his eyes with hishat, he gazed in the direction taken by the lone horseman. The fellowwas almost out of sight now, and soon was lost to view.
Danger now seemed more imminent than it had been, and, as behoovedefficient cowboys, our friends at once began going over the situationand making sure that they had done all that was possible to fortifytheir position.
Of course, while I have referred to the shack hurriedly erected as a"fort," it was nothing of the sort. There were no heavy walls, and ofcourse no artillery, though the boys wished they did have a machinegun. But, on the other hand, no artillery would be brought up againstthem, so this evened matters up. If it came to a fight there would beonly revolvers used on both sides at first, though later rifles mightcome into play. However, not even the most rabid of the cowboys fromDiamond X really wanted a bloody fight. They would much rather thesheep men kept away, leaving the rightful owners of the land inpossession.
But, as Billee had said, the stealing of Mr. Merkel's papers seemed toindicate some deep-laid plot to cheat him of his land that was sovaluable.
"We're in as good shape as we can be, until it comes to a showdown anda fight," remarked Billee, when the noon-day meal was served, afterthey had gone carefully over the defense. "Did you get your dad?" heasked Bud.
"Yes, I had him on the wire," answered the son of the owner of DiamondX. "Nothing new has developed back home, and I told him about thisfellow. He thinks, as we do, that he was a spy."
"And, the more I think of it, the more I think I have seen that fellowbefore," remarked Nort, with a puzzled air.
"Seen him before--what do you mean?" asked Dick.
"Well, his face seemed familiar at first, and then when he lit hiscigaret and threw it away, he reminded me of some one."
"Some one in the movies, maybe," said Bud.
"Well, that's what I thought at first," admitted Nort, "though the moreI think of it the more I'm certain that I've seen him out here--sometime ago. I wish I could recall it."
"I can't place him," said Dick. "Stop thinking of it, Nort. It maycome to you all of a sudden."
"It may not amount to anything, anyhow," Nort admitted. "But I have afeeling that I had a run in with that man before."
There was little to do at Spur Creek except await developments, andthis waiting was really harder work than actual fighting would havebeen. It was also more nervous, keeping them all on a strain.
The approach of the enemy and by "enemy" I mean sheep men who might tryto pasture their flocks on Mr. Merkel's land, or men who might try totake possession of it--these enemies would appear on the southern sideof Spur Creek first, as it was well known there were the largest sheepranches--just across the Mexican border. And pretty well cropped offwere the vast fields, too. That is why there was such an eagerness toget into new and fertile ranges.
In consequence of this, watch was kept on that side of the stream wherethe lone horseman had appeared. To the north, east and west littledanger was apprehended.
On the second day after the parley with this "spy," as he was dubbed, amoving cloud of dust was observed approaching from the north.
You may be sure it did not go long unnoticed, and Dick raised a cry assoon as he saw the indication of someone, or something, coming.
"Get out your guns!" he shouted.
"Maybe it's somebody from Diamond X," spoke Nort.
And a little later it could be seen that the dust was caused by threesteers rushing over the dry prairie.
"Must have been a stampede up at your place, Bud," remarked SnakePurdee, as he and the other cowboys rode out in answer to Dick's alarm."These got away from the main herd. We'll round 'em up."
With their usual loud cries the cowboys rode toward the fleeing cattle,which seemed maddened by some fear, for they n
ever slackened pace. Butby skillful rope-throwing two were downed and secured. The third, andfleeter of the trio furnished a bit of amusement for the holders of thefort.
"I'll bulldog him!" shouted Snake Purdee. "Lay off, Kid!" he called tothe yeller, for now that his leg was mending Yellin' Kid began to takean active part in all that went on.
"Bulldogging" is a term used in the West to indicate sort of wrestlingmatch with a steer, and the completion of the act sees the animalthrown prone to the ground by the strength and skill of the cowboy.
Urging his pony to a fast pace, Snake rode up alongside the rushingsteer and then, when near enough, the cowboy leaped from his horse andraced on foot alongside the steer. Snake reached out and shot hisright arm around the animal's neck, reaching over and under until hecould grasp the loose, bottom skin. While he was doing this he had tokeep pace with the steer, and at times Snake was lifted clear from theground, while, now and again, he had to throw his legs out to keep themclear of the knees of the now maddened beast.
But Snake had performed this feat before, and was one of the mostexpert at the _rodeo_ games whenever they were held.
His right arm now over the steer's neck, and with his right hand firmlygrasping the loose lower, neck-skin, Snake reached out his left handand caught hold of the tip of the animal's left horn. This was theposition he had been working to secure, and the instant he had it,Snake lunged his body downward against his own left elbow, whichbrought almost his entire weight, at a powerful leverage, against thebrute's horn. At the same time Snake was pulling with his right handand the effect of this was to twist the steer's neck so that the animallost its balance.
Its speed slackened and, a moment later it toppled over on its side,and lay there quite exhausted by its run. Though this may sound cruelit was not, and the steer suffered no harm. In fact it was benefited,for its mad race was ended, and there was no telling what might havehappened if it had kept on.
The instant Snake saw the steer about to topple over he released hishold and sprang away.
"Well done!" cried Bud. "That was a dandy!"
"Wish I could do that!" sighed Dick.
"Oh, you will, some day," consoled his cousin.
The three runaway steers were thus secured, and as there was no placeto care for them at the Fort one of the cowboys was delegated to hazethem back to the main herd at Diamond X.
Another day passed in quietness, with no sign from the south of SpurCreek that any hostile band of sheep herders was on the way to laywaste, in a sense, the fertile lands of Mr. Merkel. In the meanwhilethere was telephone communication twice a day, or oftener, between theFort and the main ranch house.
Nothing new had transpired at Diamond X, and the boy ranchers were toldthat matters in Happy Valley were peaceful.
Of course there were the usual occurrences as there were always such ona big ranch. One or more of the cowboys was continually getting hurt,more or less seriously, and being doctored in the rough and readyfashion that, perforce, prevails in the unsettled part of the West.
For though the life of a cowboy may seem very picturesque when you viewit from a seat in a tent or say from Madison Square Garden, in NewYork, the real facts of the case are vastly different.
No one can ride horses in the slap-dash style the cowboys ride them,and they can not handle cattle--often vicious ones--the way the beastsare handled, without accidents happening.
Nor are cowboys the ones to favor themselves for the sake of avoidingrisks. Rather they go out of their way to look for trouble, as it were.
They are filled with bravado.
So it was that while I have said matters were quiet at the two ranches,yet small accidents were continually happening. But, as the boysreported, after a talk over the wire, nothing of great moment had takenplace.
"Your dad hasn't heard anything about his stolen papers, has he?"inquired Billee.
"Nary a thing," answered Bud in the vernacular of the west, "and he'sbeginning to wonder if anything is going to happen down here."
Almost as Bud spoke there came a hail from one of the cowboys who wason the watch, and his cry was instantly taken up with the shout:
"Somebody's coming!"
At once there was an exodus, and as our heroes and their cowboy friendslined up in front of the shack, they saw, coming toward them on theopposite side of Spur Creek, several horsemen, and at the sight of onerider Bud cried:
"It's Professor Wright!"
Boy Ranchers at Spur Creek; Or, Fighting the Sheep Herders Page 9