Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up; Or, Bar-20

by Rex Beach

  CHAPTER XIII. Travennes' Discomfiture

  When Mr. Travennes looked over the corral fence he was much chagrined tosee a man and a Colt both paying strict attention to his nose.

  "Mornin', Duke," said the man with the gun. "Lose anything?"

  Mr. Travennes looked back at his friends and saw Mr. Connors sitting ona rock holding two guns. Mr. Travennes' right and left wings were thetargets and they pitted their frowns against Mr. Connors' smile.

  "Not that I knows of," replied Mr. Travennes, shifting his feetuneasily.

  "Find anything?" Came from Mr. Cassidy as he sidled out of the gate.

  "Nope," replied the captain of the Terrors, eying the Colt. "Are yu inthe habit of payin' early mornin' calls to this here corral?" persistedMr. Cassidy, playing with the gun.

  "Ya-as. That's my business--I'm th' captain of the vigilantes."

  "That's too bad," sympathized Mr. Cassidy, moving forward a step.

  Mr. Travennes looked put out and backed off. "What yu mean, stickin' meup this-away?" He asked indignantly.

  "Yu needn't go an' get mad," responded Mr. Cassidy. "Just business. Yorecayuse an' another shore climbed this corral fence last night an' ate upour bronchs, an' I just nachurly want to know about it."

  Mr. Travennes looked his surprise and incredulity and craned his neck tosee for himself. When he saw his horse peacefully scratching itself heswore and looked angrily up the street. Mr. Connors, behind the shack,was hidden to the view of those on the street, and when two men ran upat a signal from Mr. Travennes, intending to insert themselves in themisunderstanding, they were promptly lined up with the first two by theman on the rock.

  "Sit down," invited Mr. Connors, pushing a chunk of air out of the waywith his guns. The last two felt a desire to talk and to argue the caseon its merits, but refrained as the black holes in Mr. Connors' gunshinted at eruption. "Every time yu opens yore mouths yu gets closer toth' Great Divide," enlightened that person, and they were childlike intheir belief.

  Mr. Travennes acted as though he would like to scratch his thigh wherehis Colt's chafed him, but postponed the event and listened to Mr.Cassidy, who was asking questions.

  "Where's our cayuses, General?"

  Mr. Travennes replied that he didn't know. He was worried, for hefeared that his captor didn't have a secure hold on the hammer of theubiquitous Colt's.

  "Where's my cayuse?" Persisted Mr. Cassidy.

  "I don't know, but I wants to ask yu how yu got mine," replied Mr.Travennes.

  "Yu tell me how mine got out an' I'll tell yu how yourn got in,"countered Mr. Cassidy.

  Mr. Connors added another to his collection before the captain replied.

  "Out in this country people get in trouble when they're found with otherfolks' cayuses," Mr. Travennes suggested.

  Mr. Cassidy looked interested and replied: "Yu shore ought to borrowsome experience, an' there's lots floating around. More than one man hassmoked in a powder mill, an' th' number of them planted who looked inth' muzzle of a empty gun is scandalous. If my remarks don't perculateright smart I'll explain."

  Mr. Travennes looked down the street again, saw number five added to theline-up, and coughed up chunks of broken profanity, grieving his host byhis lack of courtesy.

  "Time," announced Mr. Cassidy, interrupting the round. "I wants themcayuses an' I wants 'em right now. Yu an' me will amble off an' get'em. I won't bore yu with tellin' yu what'll happen if yu gets skittish.Slope along an' don't be scared; I'm with yu," assured Mr. Cassidy as helooked over at Mr. Connors, whose ascetic soul pined for the flapjacksof which his olfactories caught intermittent whiffs.

  "Well, Red, I reckons yu has got plenty of room out here for all yu maycorral; anyhow there ain't a whole lot more. My friend Slim an' I areshore going to have a devil of a time if we can t find them cussedbronchs. Whew, them flapjacks smell like a plain trail to payday. Justthink of th' nice maple juice we used to get up to Cheyenne on themfrosty mornings."

  "Get out of here an' lemme alone! 'What do yu allus want to go an' makea feller unhappy for? Can't yu keep still about grub when yu knows Iain't had my morning's feed yet?" Asked Mr. Connors, much aggrieved.

  "Well, I'll be back directly an' I'll have them cayuses or a scalp. Yutend to business an' watch th' herd. That shorthorn yearling at th'end of th' line"--pointing to a young man who looked capable of takingrisks--"he looks like he might take a chance an' gamble with yu,"remarked Mr. Cassidy, placing Mr. Travennes in front of him andpushing back his own sombrero. "Don't put too much maple juice on themflapjacks, Red," he warned as he poked his captive in the back of theneck as a hint to get along. Fortunately Mr. Connors' closing remarksare lost to history.

  Observing that Mr. Travennes headed south on the quest, Mr. Cassidyreasoned that the missing bronchos ought to be somewhere in the north,and he postponed the southern trip until such time when they wouldhave more leisure at their disposal. Mr. Travennes showed a stronginclination to shy at this arrangement, but quieted down underpersuasion, and they started off toward where Mr. Cassidy firmlybelieved the North Pole and the cayuses to be.

  "Yu has got quite a metropolis here," pleasantly remarked Mr. Cassidyas under his direction they made for a distant corral. "I can seefour different types of architecture, two of 'em on one residence," hecontinued as they passed a wood and adobe hut. "No doubt the railroadwill put a branch down here some day an' then yu can hire their old carsfor yore public buildings. Then when yu gets a post-office yu will shoremake Chicago hustle some to keep her end up. Let's assay that hollow forhorse-hide; it looks promisin'."

  The hollow was investigated but showed nothing other than cactus andbaked alkali. The corral came next, and there too was emptiness. For anhour the search was unavailing, but at the end of that time Mr. Cassidybegan to notice signs of nervousness on the part of his guest, whichgrew less as they proceeded. Then Mr. Cassidy retraced their steps tothe place where the nervousness first developed and tried another wayand once more returned to the starting point.

  "Yu seems to hanker for this fool exercise," quoth Mr. Trayennes withmuch sarcasm. "If yu reckons I'm fond of this locoed ramblin' yu shoreneeds enlightenment."

  "Sometimes I do get these fits," confessed Mr. Cassidy, "an' when Ido I'm dead sore on objections. Let's peek in that there hut," hesuggested.

  "Huh; yore ideas of cayuses are mighty peculiar. Why don't you look for'em up on those cactuses or behind that mesquite? I wouldn't be a heapsurprised if they was roostin' on th' roof. They are mighty knowinganimals, cayuses. I once saw one that could figger like a schoolmarm,"remarked Mr. Travennes, beginning sarcastically and toning it down as heproceeded, out of respect for his companion's gun.

  "Well, they might be in th' shack," replied Mr. Cassidy. "Cayuses knowso much that it takes a month to unlearn them. I wouldn't like to betthey ain't in that hut, though."

  Mr. Travennes snickered in a manner decidedly uncomplimentary and beganto whistle, softly at first. The gentleman from the Bar-20 noticed thathis companion was a musician; that when he came to a strong part heincreased the tones until they bid to be heard at several hundred yards.When Mr. Travennes had reached a most passionate part in "Juanita" andwas expanding his lungs to do it justice he was rudely stopped by theinsistent pressure of his guard's Colt's on the most ticklish part ofhis ear.

  "I shore wish yu wouldn't strain yoreself thataway," said Mr. Cassidy,thinking that Mr. Travennes might be endeavoring to call assistance. "Iwent an' promised my mother on her deathbed that I wouldn't let nobodywhistle out loud like that, an' th' opery is hereby stopped. Besides,somebody might hear them mournful tones an' think that something is th'matter, which it ain't."

  Mr. Travennes substituted heartfelt cursing, all of which was heavilyaccented.

  As they approached the hut Mr. Cassidy again tickled his prisoner andinsisted that he be very quiet, as his cayuse was very sensitive tonoise and it might be there. Mr. Cassidy still thought Mr. Travennesmight have friends in the hut and wouldn't for the world distu
rb them,as he would present a splendid target as he approached the building.