CHAPTER XIIIAN OVERLANDER IS MISSINGThe vigil of the Overland girls lasted through the night. Along towards morning Lieutenant Wingate’s breathing became more natural and his heart action better.“I am inclined to think that he will regain consciousness soon,” announced Miss Briggs. “If he does, it is not a fracture of the skull. Have courage, Nora,” she added in answer to the appealing look from Mrs. Wingate, who had sat holding the wounded man’s hand all night long.“I’ve been trying to bring him back, and I’ve thought so hard that I just knew he would have to come back,” murmured Nora.Grace kissed her and patted her cheek.“The imponderable quality lies deep in us all,” observed Emma more to herself than to her companions.In the meantime Jim and Sam were prowling about, now and then looking in to inquire how the patient was getting along, but spending a good part of their time at the Overland camp which commanded a fairly good view of the ranch buildings.Shortly after daybreak, Hippy stirred and began to mutter. A few moments later he opened his eyes, blinked a few times, and smiled up into Nora’s face. The Overland girl burst into tears.“If you don’t stop that at once out you go!” threatened Miss Briggs. “Hippy must have absolute quiet. Which shall it be?”“I’ll be quiet,” promised Nora, conquering the sobs that rose to her lips.There was instant silence in the room, and in a few moments Hippy Wingate sank into a natural sleep, from which he did not awaken until late in the morning. After some nourishment was given him, he asked for explanations.The girls told him how they had found him, and asked him what had occurred before he was put out by a bullet. Hippy related all that he could remember of the occurrences of the previous night. They then insisted on his going to sleep again, which he was quite willing and ready to do.No one had been near the stable where the prisoners were held, though Jim-Sam had made occasional tours of inspection about the building throughout the night. The key to the stable was in the pocket of Two-gun Pete, so, though the prisoners must be hungry, it was plain that they would get nothing to eat until the return of the rancher and his party.Bindloss, and those that had gone out with him, returned shortly before noon worn and angry. Emma met them in front of the ranch-house waving her hat and smiling.“It’s all right,” she cried in answer to a volley of questions about Hippy. “He is sleeping now.”“Whoo—pe-e-e!” howled the boys.“Shut up! The man’s asleep!” rebuked Joe Bindloss, getting down from his saddle and stamping about to get the kinks out of his legs, for he had not been out of the saddle in many hours.At this juncture Grace appeared at the door of the ranch-house and waved a hand at them.“The lieutenant is awake now and he would like to see you, Mr. Bindloss,” she informed the rancher.Bindloss limped in, and the cowboys, not to be denied what they were certain would prove to be an interesting interview, flung themselves from their ponies and trooped in. They were crowded about the door of the injured man’s room by the time Joe Bindloss gripped the Overland Rider’s hand.Hippy sat propped up in bed, his head swathed in bandages, and he grinned at the solemn faces of the cowpunchers.“I got mine again, fellows. Regular tenderfoot, eh?”The cowpunchers shook their heads.“Wal, now, tell me ’bout it,” urged the rancher.To save Hippy from another wearisome recital, Miss Briggs repeated what he had already related of his experiences. The lines of the cowboy countenances grew taut during the recital, but no word was uttered. They were held by the words of Elfreda Briggs, spoken without attempt at embellishment.“An’ you got two of ’em. Well, I’ll be struck dead if that ain’t the limit. Boys, what do you think ’bout this outfit being tenderfeet?” he demanded, turning brusquely to his men.The cowboys shifted uneasily and fumbled their hats.“Boss, I reckon we got to git somebody fer thet. What ’bout Pop? Is he daid?” demanded Idaho.“No. He isn’t badly hurt. Shot through the shoulder, that’s all,” smiled J. Elfreda. “He is in the bunk-house. Mrs. Gray fixed him up and Sam has been looking after him. I shall go over again soon and look him over. The lieutenant being the worse hurt demanded most of our attention, though Pop has not been neglected,” Elfreda informed them.“I think the prisoners may need attention by this time,” suggested Grace. “They must be hungry.”Bindloss growled.“All right. Pete, see that they get something to eat. Find out if they are ready to talk and let me know.”“Thank you,” said Grace smilingly.“Hippy, you’ve done me a big service. I don’t know what to say,” resumed the rancher.“Don’t say anything. I had to fight to save my own skin,” answered Hippy.“A good many folks would have hid in the cellar,” chuckled Bindloss. “Catching those two rough-necks was the cleverest thing that’s been done in Coso Valley, and I reckon the record will stand for some time. Feel all right?”“Sore, but happy, Mr. Bindloss. Tell me what happened below. The girls said there was trouble with the Number Six herd and that Pop had been wounded.”Bindloss’s face contracted.“The miserable coyotes! I mean that mountain gang. Yes, they stampeded the herd and run them into the foothills. They got some of the stock, too, but I don’t know how many head. The whole bunch got away before we got down there, though they left several snipers as a sort of rear guard, and they took pot shots at us when the boys tried to get on the trail of the stolen stock. We got the stock rounded up, what was left of it, and drove it in with another herd. The boys are finishing rounding up on that section today. I reckon they can get along without me. Pete and the bunch are going back later. We’ve got two of the thieves here, anyway, and they are going to jail when we get ready to turn them over. I reckon they are going to talk some first, though.”“Can’t your men trail the rustlers?” asked Miss Briggs.“Not far. You don’t know these mountains. They could hide up a bunch of cattle for months and no one could find them unless he just happened to stumble onto the hiding place. The best we can do is to find out who the boss of that thieving outfit is and shoot him up. I reckon that’s what’s going to be did, too. By the way, where’s your fat friend, Stacy? It’s a wonder he isn’t around with some suggestions to offer.”The Overlanders looked at each other with growing concern in their faces.“St—acy!” exclaimed Nora.“Mercy! With all the excitement we have forgotten all about that young man,” spoke up Emma. “Why, he didn’t return with us last night, did he?”“He is all right. Don’t worry. You will find him with the punchers rounding up steers and howling like an Indian,” soothed Lieutenant Wingate.Bindloss strode to the door and shouted “Pete!” Two-gun came running.“Whar’s Brown, Stacy Brown?”“I—I thought he was heah. Ain’t he?”“No. Was he with the men rounding up this morning?”Pete shook his head and a troubled look crept into his face.“When did you last see him?”“Le’ me see. It was last night jest before we got er call to come up heah. He was ridin’ up towards the foothills on the east side, I reckon to see what the boys was doin’ up thet way. As I recommember thar warn’t any of the boys on thet side jest then.”“You are certain that he isn’t with the outfit?” urged Bindloss.“Daid shore, Boss.”“Then where is he?” demanded the rancher with a rising inflection in his voice.Two-gun Pete shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.“I reckon somethin’ has happened to thet feller,” he observed solemnly.Tom Gray ran to the door and shouted for Jim-Sam.“We will start the guides out at once. Something has gone wrong with Chunky, that’s certain, but if anyone can find him Jim-Sam can,” he said.“I’ll send Pete and a couple of the others with them,” announced the rancher, who was more disturbed than he cared to have the Overland Riders see. “Pete! You know what to do. Get the boy, that’s all.”Jim-Sam were entering the ranch-house when Idaho burst in, thrusting the guides aside at the door.“Boss! They’ve gone!” yelled Idaho.“Gone? Who’s gone?”“The critters thet the Dude caught last night. They’ve got clean away. Somebody sawed a hole in the back of the stable and got ’em out!”“Gosh a-mighty!” gasped Bindloss. “I ought to have done what I wanted to do and shot ’em both. But I’ll do it yet! I’ll do it yet!” he raged, stalking from the ranch-house on his way to the scene of the escape.
The vigil of the Overland girls lasted through the night. Along towards morning Lieutenant Wingate’s breathing became more natural and his heart action better.
“I am inclined to think that he will regain consciousness soon,” announced Miss Briggs. “If he does, it is not a fracture of the skull. Have courage, Nora,” she added in answer to the appealing look from Mrs. Wingate, who had sat holding the wounded man’s hand all night long.
“I’ve been trying to bring him back, and I’ve thought so hard that I just knew he would have to come back,” murmured Nora.
Grace kissed her and patted her cheek.
“The imponderable quality lies deep in us all,” observed Emma more to herself than to her companions.
In the meantime Jim and Sam were prowling about, now and then looking in to inquire how the patient was getting along, but spending a good part of their time at the Overland camp which commanded a fairly good view of the ranch buildings.
Shortly after daybreak, Hippy stirred and began to mutter. A few moments later he opened his eyes, blinked a few times, and smiled up into Nora’s face. The Overland girl burst into tears.
“If you don’t stop that at once out you go!” threatened Miss Briggs. “Hippy must have absolute quiet. Which shall it be?”
“I’ll be quiet,” promised Nora, conquering the sobs that rose to her lips.
There was instant silence in the room, and in a few moments Hippy Wingate sank into a natural sleep, from which he did not awaken until late in the morning. After some nourishment was given him, he asked for explanations.
The girls told him how they had found him, and asked him what had occurred before he was put out by a bullet. Hippy related all that he could remember of the occurrences of the previous night. They then insisted on his going to sleep again, which he was quite willing and ready to do.
No one had been near the stable where the prisoners were held, though Jim-Sam had made occasional tours of inspection about the building throughout the night. The key to the stable was in the pocket of Two-gun Pete, so, though the prisoners must be hungry, it was plain that they would get nothing to eat until the return of the rancher and his party.
Bindloss, and those that had gone out with him, returned shortly before noon worn and angry. Emma met them in front of the ranch-house waving her hat and smiling.
“It’s all right,” she cried in answer to a volley of questions about Hippy. “He is sleeping now.”
“Whoo—pe-e-e!” howled the boys.
“Shut up! The man’s asleep!” rebuked Joe Bindloss, getting down from his saddle and stamping about to get the kinks out of his legs, for he had not been out of the saddle in many hours.
At this juncture Grace appeared at the door of the ranch-house and waved a hand at them.
“The lieutenant is awake now and he would like to see you, Mr. Bindloss,” she informed the rancher.
Bindloss limped in, and the cowboys, not to be denied what they were certain would prove to be an interesting interview, flung themselves from their ponies and trooped in. They were crowded about the door of the injured man’s room by the time Joe Bindloss gripped the Overland Rider’s hand.
Hippy sat propped up in bed, his head swathed in bandages, and he grinned at the solemn faces of the cowpunchers.
“I got mine again, fellows. Regular tenderfoot, eh?”
The cowpunchers shook their heads.
“Wal, now, tell me ’bout it,” urged the rancher.
To save Hippy from another wearisome recital, Miss Briggs repeated what he had already related of his experiences. The lines of the cowboy countenances grew taut during the recital, but no word was uttered. They were held by the words of Elfreda Briggs, spoken without attempt at embellishment.
“An’ you got two of ’em. Well, I’ll be struck dead if that ain’t the limit. Boys, what do you think ’bout this outfit being tenderfeet?” he demanded, turning brusquely to his men.
The cowboys shifted uneasily and fumbled their hats.
“Boss, I reckon we got to git somebody fer thet. What ’bout Pop? Is he daid?” demanded Idaho.
“No. He isn’t badly hurt. Shot through the shoulder, that’s all,” smiled J. Elfreda. “He is in the bunk-house. Mrs. Gray fixed him up and Sam has been looking after him. I shall go over again soon and look him over. The lieutenant being the worse hurt demanded most of our attention, though Pop has not been neglected,” Elfreda informed them.
“I think the prisoners may need attention by this time,” suggested Grace. “They must be hungry.”
Bindloss growled.
“All right. Pete, see that they get something to eat. Find out if they are ready to talk and let me know.”
“Thank you,” said Grace smilingly.
“Hippy, you’ve done me a big service. I don’t know what to say,” resumed the rancher.
“Don’t say anything. I had to fight to save my own skin,” answered Hippy.
“A good many folks would have hid in the cellar,” chuckled Bindloss. “Catching those two rough-necks was the cleverest thing that’s been done in Coso Valley, and I reckon the record will stand for some time. Feel all right?”
“Sore, but happy, Mr. Bindloss. Tell me what happened below. The girls said there was trouble with the Number Six herd and that Pop had been wounded.”
Bindloss’s face contracted.
“The miserable coyotes! I mean that mountain gang. Yes, they stampeded the herd and run them into the foothills. They got some of the stock, too, but I don’t know how many head. The whole bunch got away before we got down there, though they left several snipers as a sort of rear guard, and they took pot shots at us when the boys tried to get on the trail of the stolen stock. We got the stock rounded up, what was left of it, and drove it in with another herd. The boys are finishing rounding up on that section today. I reckon they can get along without me. Pete and the bunch are going back later. We’ve got two of the thieves here, anyway, and they are going to jail when we get ready to turn them over. I reckon they are going to talk some first, though.”
“Can’t your men trail the rustlers?” asked Miss Briggs.
“Not far. You don’t know these mountains. They could hide up a bunch of cattle for months and no one could find them unless he just happened to stumble onto the hiding place. The best we can do is to find out who the boss of that thieving outfit is and shoot him up. I reckon that’s what’s going to be did, too. By the way, where’s your fat friend, Stacy? It’s a wonder he isn’t around with some suggestions to offer.”
The Overlanders looked at each other with growing concern in their faces.
“St—acy!” exclaimed Nora.
“Mercy! With all the excitement we have forgotten all about that young man,” spoke up Emma. “Why, he didn’t return with us last night, did he?”
“He is all right. Don’t worry. You will find him with the punchers rounding up steers and howling like an Indian,” soothed Lieutenant Wingate.
Bindloss strode to the door and shouted “Pete!” Two-gun came running.
“Whar’s Brown, Stacy Brown?”
“I—I thought he was heah. Ain’t he?”
“No. Was he with the men rounding up this morning?”
Pete shook his head and a troubled look crept into his face.
“When did you last see him?”
“Le’ me see. It was last night jest before we got er call to come up heah. He was ridin’ up towards the foothills on the east side, I reckon to see what the boys was doin’ up thet way. As I recommember thar warn’t any of the boys on thet side jest then.”
“You are certain that he isn’t with the outfit?” urged Bindloss.
“Daid shore, Boss.”
“Then where is he?” demanded the rancher with a rising inflection in his voice.
Two-gun Pete shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.
“I reckon somethin’ has happened to thet feller,” he observed solemnly.
Tom Gray ran to the door and shouted for Jim-Sam.
“We will start the guides out at once. Something has gone wrong with Chunky, that’s certain, but if anyone can find him Jim-Sam can,” he said.
“I’ll send Pete and a couple of the others with them,” announced the rancher, who was more disturbed than he cared to have the Overland Riders see. “Pete! You know what to do. Get the boy, that’s all.”
Jim-Sam were entering the ranch-house when Idaho burst in, thrusting the guides aside at the door.
“Boss! They’ve gone!” yelled Idaho.
“Gone? Who’s gone?”
“The critters thet the Dude caught last night. They’ve got clean away. Somebody sawed a hole in the back of the stable and got ’em out!”
“Gosh a-mighty!” gasped Bindloss. “I ought to have done what I wanted to do and shot ’em both. But I’ll do it yet! I’ll do it yet!” he raged, stalking from the ranch-house on his way to the scene of the escape.