It was that certainty of each other that had helped them through many difficulties. They had set out to deliver cattle, and he would persist in the delivery. If Tyrel and Tell could, they would follow on and join up, and they might even be on ahead somewhere, waiting.
The situation was puzzling. The Ox was here, and they had seen what were the remains of at least one other man. According to the Ox, there had been seven, including the Chinese cook, so where were the other five?
One man could disappear easily, two almost as easily, but five, widely scattered men?
He turned his horse and rode back to the carts. The Ox rode alongside, saying nothing.
The country around was pretty wide open, and scanning it as they rode, he could see herds of antelope, most of them a mile or more away, and a good many buffalo, moving as they usually did in small herds that made up the larger group, feeding as they moved.
He could see nothing else. The antelope and buffalo moved as if no man was near them, and he was sure there was no one out there.
The mountains, if such they could be called, had to be the answer. Before they left the country, he was going to make one sweep through those hills. He knew he could see little in that time, but there was a chance, particularly if he brought an extra man or two.
Baptiste was with the carts when they rode up, his rifle at hand. Nearby, the cattle were gathered, grazing peacefully, seemingly glad to be back together again. Across the herd he could see Charlie Fleming coming in with a small bunch of cattle.
Highpockets and Shorty were at the carts, both hunkered down by the fire with cups of coffee in their hands.
Haney looked up as Orrin swung down.
"We've about cleaned her up," he said, "unless you're of a mind to take the carts south, set up a new camp, and round up what went on south.
"I saw cow tracks down thataway, so we know some went on south with the buffalo." He paused. "Odd thing. Shorty an' me, we come down into a low place over yonder, and we came up on about three hundred head, all bunched and pretty, all wearin' the Sackett road brand." Orrin was filling his cup. He sipped his coffee. "See any tracks?" "Uh-huh. Two riders, one of them carryin' mighty light. Fresh tracks, Mr.
Sackett, like those cattle had been bunched within the last few hours." "Nobody around?" "Nobody. It doesn't make sense. A body would think they had been bunched a-purpose and just left for us." "No use looking gift horses in the teeth.
You brought them in?" "You're durned right! The way I figure it, we've got a shade over nine hundred head." "Good enough. We'll move out for the northwest tomorrow. We've lost a couple of hundred head, but we will just have to take the loss and run." "You aimin' to look for Tell an' them?" "Something's wrong, Haney. Five, six men missing with no sign, but somebody bunched those cows for us.
"Yes," he added, "you and me are going to take a ride into the Turtles. We couldn't cover the place in a month or more, but we can scout for tracks. If we see anything, we'll check it out. Otherwise, we'll get on with the job." Fleming left the herd, bunching them a bit more as he circled back to the fire. He stepped down from the saddle.
"See any tracks?" He shook his head. "Nothing, and cows are scarce, mighty scarce." "We pull out tomorrow," Shorty said.
Fleming went to the fire, squatted on his heels, and held his cup, staring into the fire for a long minute. Then he filled his cup, avoiding the eyes of the Ox, who was staring at him.
"Good bunch of cattle," Fleming commented.
"Makes a man want to get into the cow business." Orrin threw the dregs on the ground.
"Fleming, you come with Haney and me. Shorty, you stay close to the wagons with Baptiste unless you see some of the stock straying too far. But keep a rifle handy." Orrin led the way up a dim trail into the trees. Here and there were dense stands of forest, then scattered trees and meadows with frequent small lakes and pools. They scattered out, keeping within sight of one another but watching for tracks.
"Mr. Sackett?" Haney called out.
Orrin turned his horse and cantered over to where the tall man waited. Haney indicated the grass at his feet.
There was a place by a rotting log where a part of the grass was pressed down, and there were flecks of what appeared to be blood on the grass and the leaves. "Looks like somebody has been lyin' here, maybe a few days back." "Horse tracks?" "Don't see none. I reckon he was afoot. My guess would be he was bad hurt.
He got this far an' just collapsed." "Then what?" "Well, there's a track." He pointed to their north. "I figure he came out of it and started on." Leading their horses, they followed the tracks.
Charlie Fleming was some distance away, and Orrin stood for a moment, watching him. He seemed to be studying the ground as he moved.
"Haney," Orrin said, "walk careful. If this is some of our boys, and they're hurt, they'll be wary of trouble." "I soldiered with Tell, remember? He never shot at anything he couldn't see. He wasn't one of those damned fools who heard a noise and just blasted away." The trail was dim and old. Whoever the wounded man was, he made over two hundred yards before he fell. They found the place w
ere he went to his knees, then had fallen forward on his face. There had been a struggle to rise; then the fallen man had subsided and lay still for some time.
However, they found no blood on the grass.
Orrin looked carefully around, searching the brush, the trees, and the grass for some indication of movement. He saw none. He looked around for Charlie Fleming, but the rider was nowhere in sight.
He moved on, taking his time, missing nothing.
The wounded man had gotten back to his feet and was moving at a somewhat better pace.
"He's feelin' some better," Haney suggested.
"Either that or he suspects he's being followed and wants to hide," Orrin said.
He paused again, looking carefully around.
Suddenly, he grunted and ran rapidly forward, stopping at a small cairn of three stones.
Gently, he lifted off the first one, then the second.
There, placed neatly across the face of the second stone, were three parallel blades of grass.
"It's Tyrel," Orrin said.
Haney looked at the small pile of scarcely noticeable rocks. "I don't see how--to was Orrin held up the three blades of grass.
"He is the third son of my father. If there had been but one blade of grass, it would have been Tell." "And two?" "Me," Orrin said. "We started it when we were youngsters, playing and hunting in the woods. Tell began it when he was about nine so we boys could follow him in the woods and also so we could find our way back. Most of us have some such system, and it saves a lot of time and trouble." "Don't tell you where he is, though." "It will if he doesn't pass out." "What if nobody ever comes along?" Orrin merely glanced at him. "A Sackett always knows one of us will be along. He knows that sooner or later a Sackett will find the trail, and if at the end of it he finds a dead man, there will be some indication of who was responsible." Haney swore softly. "I'll be damned!" "No, but the man responsible will." "How long's this been going on?" "One way or another, for more than two hundred years. Oh, here and there somebody fails, but that's rare. Mostly they come through.
Mostly they stick to the family tradition of helping one another.
"Tell started this system, but he had heard of it from pa. That is, he heard of something like it. This was his own idea. It doesn't have to be rocks and grass, it can be twigs, knots tied in grass, leaves, scratches on tree bark--ah!" He pointed.
At the side of a fallen branch was a sharp, triangular piece of slate, pointing off to the northwest.
"Could be an accident," Haney said skeptically.
"It could be. If so, we'll have to come back to this point and start over." They hurried on, walking faster now. Haney was also alert, watching. It was he who saw the next mark, faint though it was. Simply three scratches on the bark of a tree.
Haney stopped. "Say! Where's Fleming?" "He went off to the west. We'll find him later." "I don'
t trust him too much," Haney said.
"Neither do I." Orrin stopped abruptly. The tracks of three horsemen came down from the east and crossed the trail of Tyrel Sackett. Three hard-ridden horses, all shod.
"Be careful!" Haney lifted his rifle.
"Those tracks are fresh!" They faded into the brush, took the time to look around carefully, then followed the trail they had found.
Orrin stopped suddenly, studying the terrain ahead. The way seemed to lead along the side of a low hill that sloped down to a lake with a sandy shore. On the side of the hill were several clusters of trees. One of the clusters, a little higher and farther back, grew up among some rocks. There was a clump of brush and smaller trees, then two tall ones joined by a third somewhat smaller but close to the other two.
"We've found him," Orrin said.
Haney just looked, and they rode on, scrambling their horses up the bank to the clump of trees and brush.
They found him there, sprawled on fallen leaves, one hand still clutching a stick he had used to help him along. There was blood on the top of his shoulder near his neck where a bullet had cut through the muscle, and his right leg was swollen to almost twice its normal size. He had split the pants leg to ease the binding effect on the swollen leg, which showed black and blue through the gaping hole.
"Haney," Orrin said, "you ride back to the carts and get a spare horse. Keep your eyes open for Fleming on the way back, and tell the boys to sit tight and guard the cattle. I won't try to move him tonight. Bring the horse up in the morning." When Haney had ridden off, Orrin cleared a place of leaves, scraping them well back, and then he put together a small fire of twigs and bits of bark. The flame was too small and too well hidden by the trunks of the trees and the brush to be seen. As for the smoke, it would be dissipated by rising through the foliage of the trees until spread so thin as to be invisible.
He made a bed of piled leaves, and with water from his canteen he bathed the wound. It was going to be troublesome but not dangerous, and from past experience he knew the dangers of infection were few in the fresh pure air of the western country.
When he had made Tyrel comfortable, he led his horse to water at the lake, then let him graze on a small patch of grass not far from the cluster of trees where he could watch both the horse and Tyrel. When it started to become dark, he led the horse into the brush, which was some protection from the mosquitoes, and settled down beside his small fire.
It was then he thought to check Tyrel's six- shooter. Four chambers had been fired; two remained loaded. He reloaded the empty chambers and thrust the gun back into its holster.
He might have been shooting to try to turn the stampede; if not, somebody was dead.
Darkness made a mystery of the forest and goblins of the trees.
He added a knot to the coals and dozed with arabesques of shadow-play upon his dark, hawklike features.
A whisper of sound, the faint crunching of a branch, and his eyes opened wide, and his gun slid into his hand. Something black and ominous loomed in the open space between two trees. His gun was up, his thumb ready on the hammer.
It was Tyrel's line-back dun.
Chapter XV
Highpockets Haney reached the group of trees before the first light, but Orrin already had Tyrel on the dun.
"See anybody?" "Not a soul." He paused. "Fleming was in camp, wondering what had become of us. He brought in two, three head of young stuff he found in the brush." "No sign of anybody else?" "He says he saw nothing." Tyrel was obviously suffering from a mild concussion, and when he became conscious, he showed no disposition to talk. When asked about Tell, he merely shrugged. The stampede had caught them scattered about the herd, and they had remained scattered.
Orrin rode ahead, scouting for trouble. He had a feeling they'd find it before the day was over.
"Shorty's starting the herd," Haney said.
"Baptiste and his carts will bring up the drag.
We should see them when we come out of the trees." They were skirting a small pond, and Tyrel's horse took a sudden turn, and he groaned.
"He's got a bad leg there," Orrin said.
"It doesn't seem to be broken but bruised like you wouldn't believe. Horse must have fallen or something of the kind." They sighted the herd as they came into the open.
Shorty had them moving; Fleming was on the far side with the carts bringing up the rear. Baptiste stopped when he saw them, and with great care they loaded Tyrel into one of the carts, making a place for him among the sacks, his rifle beside him. They tied the dun behind the cart in which he was riding.
Haney fell into place with the herd, and Orrin stayed off to one side, watching the country around for some movement or sign of life. He saw nothing.
Somewhere out there was Tell or what was left of him. Somewhere were other hands, lost in the same stampede. The Ox he could see working alongside the herd, but what had become of .his partner? The man Orrin had not yet seen?
Uneasily, Orrin rubbed the stubble of beard on his chin. Shaving every day had become a habit, and he had a dislike of going unshaven no matter where he was.
He was reluctant to leave the area without finding Tell, but Tell, had he been present, would have insisted they get on with the job. Wherever he was, if he was alive, Tell was doing what was needful.
Tyrel was sleeping when he rode by the carts, so there was no chance to try to learn more from him even if he knew more, which was doubtful.
Wide rolled the prairies before their roving eyes, and steadily the cattle moved on, pointing the way to the northwest. All day they walked, and the day following and the next. Somewhere, Orrin supposed, they had reached or would reach the border and pass into Canada. There was no marker, and he looked for none.
They camped by small creeks, near a slough, or in some small meadow where the cattle could feed.
They saw no Indians and no wildlife but flocks of antelope, always within view, or buffalo. Prairie wolves hung on their flanks, watching for the animal who might trail too far behind.
Ten miles that first day because of the late start, fifteen and sixteen on the days following. On the third day, Tyrel spent part of the day in the saddle. At night, they sat beside the campfire.
"They came right out of the prairie," he explained. "Suddenly, we heard the thunder of hoofs, and they came over the rise like a black thunder cloud.
"We were all scattered out; there was no chance or time to do anything but try to get out of the way, and that's just what we did. The cattle turned ahead of that herd and began to run with them. There was nothing anybody could do, and even the cattle had no choice but to run. Otherwise, they'd have been trampled into the ground. I heard a scream, but, Orrin, I doubt if it was one of our boys. I don't recall anybody being where that scream came from." "We found some remains, but they were so trampled we could only tell it had been a man and more than likely a white man." "I doubt if he was one of ours. Brandy was within sight when the buffalo came into sight, and I had time to wave him out of there. Lin--he was our Chinese cook--he was out behind the herd somewhere, and I think it missed him altogether." "Who shot you?" "That happened later. There were three of them, and they were hunting me, or maybe just any survivors.
"A big buffalo bull tossed the dun and me, and when we went down, he came in with his head down to gore us. He hooked, but his horn hit my saddle and so saved the dun. Then I struck my six-shooter in his ear and squeezed her off.
"That bull just naturally rolled over, and the dun scrambled up, and I started to. Seemed that buffalo bull rammed his head into my leg just about the time I was sticking my gun barrel in his ear.
"I got the dun over to me and grabbed a stirrup and pulled myself up. By that time my leg was hurting.
"Well, I taken a look around. The cattle were scattered to kingdom come, and there was nobody in sight but some buzzards." Tyrel refilled his cup. "Being one who is apt to accept the situation and take it from there, I considered.
"Here I was out in the midd
le of nowhere and maybe the only one left alive. You were on a steamboat or maybe in a cart coming west. I had me a good horse, although he was some irritated at being knocked over, and I had fifteen hundred pounds of buffalo meat, hide, and bone.
"So I gathered me some buffalo chips and put together a fire. Then I cut out some buffalo steak and broiled about four or five pounds of it. When that was done, I cut myself some more meat, tied it up in some buffalo hide, and climbed into the saddle.
"It was when I tried to get into the saddle that I realized I was in trouble. It durned near killed me." "You ain't told me about those empty chambers." "Comin' to it. I'd ridden a far piece, but my leg was givin' me what for, and I rode in under the trees, grabbed hold of a limb, and pulled myself up from the saddle and then kind of lowered myself down to the ground.
"Next thing I knew, they come up on me.
I was backed up to a tree, and the dun had walked off, grazin', and there was three of them. Right away I spotted them for what they were. They were goin' to kill me, all right, but first they were going to tell me how awful mea
and tough they were.
"You know the kind. We've met them before. They were talkers. They just had to run off at the mouth awhile before they did anything.
"There were three of them, and they didn't know me from Adam's off-ox. They knew I had been with the cattle and contrary to what we'd figured, it had been them who started the stampede and not the Sioux.
"They started tellin' me about it. And they started to tell me what they were going to do.
"Me, I listened to them a mite, and then I said, "What did you fellows come up here for?"' ""We're goin' to kill you!" This big redhead was saying that, with a nasty grin on his face.
""So you're going to kill me? Then what the hell is all the talk for?"' "That kind of took the wind out of them, and as I spoke, I just fetched my piece.
"Didn't seem to me like they'd ever seen a fast draw before. Two of them went down, and the third one taken off, or maybe his horse ran off with him. Anyway, you couldn't see him for dust." "And you saw nothing of Tell?" Tyrel shook his head. He was obviously tired, and Orrin asked no more questions. The night was quiet, and the herd had bedded down.
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