"He's going over backwards," Sue gasped.
She was right. Satan, whether by intention or otherwise, lost his balance and came down with a crash on his back. But Bob had thrown himself from the saddle in time to escape being caught and, as the horse scrambled to his feet, he was again in the saddle before he had a chance to bolt.
"All ready for the next one," he cried as he dug his spurs into Satan's ribs.
It was the first time he had used the spurs and, for an instant, the horse seemed too much surprised to move.
"Go on, start something," Bob shouted just as Satan began to buck again.
Up and down he went and for several minutes Bob had all he could manage to keep his seat, but he stuck to it and finally the horse, now breathing heavily, stopped bucking and stood still.
"Next," Bob tried digging in the spurs again.
This time Satan again got the bit between his teeth and started for the open prairie. Bob did not try to free the bit this time but let him run.
"He's going to win out sure as shooting," Sue cried, again clapping her hands.
"He's a plucky kid, all right," Spike, who had joined them, declared.
"And some rider," Fats agreed. "I shore never saw anything pruttier than the way he sidestepped him when he went over back."
It was nearly an hour later when Bob returned riding a thoroughly subdued horse. Out on the broad prairie they had fought the last of the battle and finally, covered with sweat and with sides heaving as he painfully expelled the breath from his nostrils. Satan had realized that he had found his master. After that Bob had dismounted and, standing at his head, had talked soothingly the while he stroked the beautifully shaped head.
"Now, then, old boy, you and I are going to be chums," he told him as he gave him a lump of sugar which he had slipped into his pocket that morning. "And there'll be no more spur work," he added.
Although beaten Satan was not yet entirely ready to acknowledge full allegiance to his new master, but Bob continued patiently to talk and little by little the trembling lessened and at the end of fifteen minutes after he had dismounted, Satan was nosing his shoulder in complete surrender. Then Bob rode him slowly back to the house.
"You did it! You did it!" Sue cried as he came within speaking distance. "Oh, it was wonderful and now he'll always love you."
"I reckon we'll get along all right now," Bob said modestly as he slipped to the ground. "And isn't lie a beauty? And run, why that horse can almost fly."
"Well, son, you did a good job and he's your personal property as long as you stay here," Jeb, who had come from the barn as Bob rode up, declared.
"Thank you, sir. I wouldn't ask anything better," Bob assured him.
A week passed. Every day the boys had taken long rides with Sue and sometimes her father had accompanied them. Satan had proved all that Bob hoped and was devoted to his master. Jack had been allotted a splendid mare named Midnight, as she was as black as coal, and almost as fleet as Satan. The cowboys on the ranch were gradually thawing out, as Sue called it, having learned that the boys were not at all "stuck up" as they had expected. Bob, especially, they had accepted almost as one of themselves, his horsemanship having paved the way to their hearts. Slim had even acknowledged that "mebby that rattler wasn't more'n about twenty feet long" and Slats had even gone so far as to confess that giving him Satan to ride had been a put-up-job on the part of the whole gang.
"But you rid him, dog on my boots if yer didn't, an' it was a job as I would'd hated ter tackle," he grinned.
Sue was a fearless rider and many a race had they had, but Satan was too swift for the other horses, although both ran him a close second.
"I believe that horse of yours can outrun anything on four legs," Jack said at the close of a long race as Bob waited for them to catch up with him.
"Shouldn't wonder if you're right," he agreed.
They had been at the ranch eight days and had begun to feel themselves a part of it when Jeb, returning from a trip to Cold Springs, entered the dining room just as they were sitting down to supper. From the look on his face Sue knew at once that something was worrying him.
"What's the matter, Dad?" she asked.
"Who said anything was the matter?" Jeb smiled.
"Your face did. Come out with it. You know you can't fool me."
"Don't I, though?" he smiled. "Well, it's the Hains gang again."
"Red Hains?"
"Yes."
"But I thought he had left the country."
"So did I, but if he did it seems that he's back again. I met Bob Fisk over at the Springs and he said that he lost most a hundred head day before yesterday. Fisk owns the ranch next to us, just over the hills to the right," he explained to the boys.
"But how did he know that it was Hains?" Sue asked.
"Well, of course, he couldn't swear to it but he and his gang were seen about a week ago just over the border and they were heading this way. So it looks mighty like he was on the rustle again." Then, turning to the boys, he continued: "About three years ago a fellow by the name of John Hains, but better known as Red Hains, organized a gang of cattle thieves and terrorized the country all about here. Posse after posse was organized to catch them but with no success. Several times we thought we had them, but every time they slipped through our fingers. They were a ruthless gang and did not hesitate at murder and more than a dozen men lost their lives hunting them, to say nothing of the thousands of head of cattle which they stole. For nearly two years they were active about here then, suddenly they disappeared and not a thing has been heard of them till the other day."
"Did you lose many?" Jack asked.
"Over a thousand head altogether and got off better than most of the other ranches."
"How far away is Fisk's ranch?" Bob asked.
"About twenty miles to the house, and about half that to where his land joins ours."
"And you think he may come here?"
"As likely here as anywhere else," Jeb said soberly.
"But how does he get away with that sort of thing?" Jack asked. "I mean, what does he do with all the cattle he steals?"
"Well, that's what more than one man around here would like to know," Jeb replied. "But he doubtless had a place somewhere up in the hills where he drove them. Then he would change the brands, blot them, we call it, and as soon as the new brands were healed, he probably would drive them over the line into Mexico and sell them. Many a week have I spent along with others trying to find his hiding place, but, although we combed the territory with a fine toothed comb, so to speak, we never found it Some of the old timers around here believe that he's in league with the devil and hanged if it didn't look very much like it sometimes."
"Did you ever see this Hains?" Bob asked.
"Once. I met him face to face on the trail up in the hills. I knew him right away from the descriptions I had heard of him. He's a big man, well over six feet and must weigh all of two hundred and fifty pounds. But his most distinguishing feature is his bright red hair which he wears long after the fashion of the old Indian scouts."
"And what happened?" Bob asked as the other paused.
"Well, as luck would have it, I had my gun in my hand at the time and when I saw him reach for his I knew that it was one or the other of us, so I fired point blank and him not more than ten feet away. Then the next thing I knew I didn't know anything. They found me several hours later lying in the trail and after considerable fussing finally brought me round. Seems that his bullet has creased my forehead and, seeing me drop from my horse, he had ridden off supposing that he had killed me. You can see the scar now," he added, pushing the hair back from his forehead. "But what gets me is how I could have missed him at only ten feet and I'm considered a fair shot around here."
"Fair shot! He's won the championship eight years running. That's how fair a shot he is," Sue told them proudly.
"Was it possible that your gun missed fire?" Jack asked.
"Not a chance. I had filled the cylinder only a short time before I met him and afterward I found that one shot had been fired and, besides, I remembered hearing the report. No, I just missed him. It must have been one of those peculiar things which happen once in a while and which you can't explain. Nine hundred and ninety-nine times out of a thousand I would have had him, but the one time I missed."
"Is Hains a good shot?" Jack asked.
"Hains is a streak of lightning with a gun when it comes to the draw and he has a reputation of being a first rate shot. If my gun hadn't been in my hand at the time I wouldn't have stood a chance, as he could beat me to the draw and not half try. I see, you're wondering how he came to miss me or rather to only crease me. Well, I thought a whole lot about that and I can figure out two guesses. One is that he did just what he meant to do and the other is that my shot either wounded him or came near enough to throw his aim off."
"And which guess do you favor?" Bob asked.
"Well, of course, I kind of like to think that I didn't miss him altogether, but I don't know. Sometimes I lean one way and sometimes the other."
"How large a gang does he have?" Bob asked.
"I don't know how many he's got now, but he used to have six or seven."
The conversation then turned to other things and nothing more was said about the cattle rustlers until supper was finished. Then, as he pushed back his chair, Jeb said:
"You folks better stick pretty close to the ranch for a few days at least till we see how things turn out. They may be hanging around or it may have been only a flying visit, but it's best to play it safe."
"Who's afraid?" Sue taunted.
"I am," her father replied soberly and the smile died from her face.
"You needn't be on my account," she said quickly. "I'll be careful."
During the evening Bob and Jack were conscious that the superintendent was worried, although it was evident that he was trying to conceal it. But he was uneasy, going out of the house and coming back at short intervals.
"Poor Dad, he worries more about those cows than anything else in the world," Sue said a little before nine o'clock.
"Do you suppose there's any danger?" Jack asked.
"I expect so. Dad doesn't get all worked up for nothing."
But the night passed and nothing happened. Bob woke once during the night and fancied that he heard the murmur of voices just outside his window. He slipped quietly from the bed without disturbing his brother and crept to the window. But the sound had stopped and, although it was bright moonlight, he could see no one, and he went back to bed to fall asleep almost immediately.
At breakfast Jeb seemed more cheerful.
"To tell you the truth I expected a visit from those fellows last night," he told them. "I had the boys on the watch all night, but they didn't show up and I'm beginning to think that maybe it was only a flying visit and, perhaps, it wasn't Hains after all. Still, you'd better not get too far away from home," he cautioned them.
For three days they did not go beyond sight of the house. No further reports regarding the bandits reached the ranch and the worried look had nearly, if not quite, left Jeb's face.
"Feel like a long gallop this morning?" Sue asked the boys at breakfast a few days later.
"Never felt more like it," Bob replied and Jack nodded assent.
"Where you going?" Jeb asked.
"I thought I take them over and show them the Owl's Head."
"That's quite a piece."
"Only a little over twenty miles. We'll take a lunch along and be back in time for supper."
"I'm afraid it's hardly safe," Jeb said slowly.
"Oh, bother. You don't suppose Hains and his gang have been hanging around all this time without doing anything. That's not his style and you know it. If he had been near here we'd have heard from him long before this."
"Probably you're right, but, for goodness sake, be careful."
"Surest thing you know."
"What's the Owl's Head?" Jack asked.
"Why, it's a big rock up in the hills and it's shaped almost exactly like the head of an owl. It's really worth seeing. You aren't afraid, are you?" she asked.
Of course, both boys quickly assured her that they were not in the least frightened and she hurried to the kitchen to see about the lunch. They started an hour later shortly before nine o'clock. It was a beautiful cool morning, although a haze in the air prevented them from being able to see more than an indistinct outline of the hill some ten miles away.
"We'd better take it easy," Sue cautioned them as they rode out of the yard. "It's pretty hard climbing once we get to the hills and we want the horses fresh when we start on it."
She struck off at an easy lope, which any one of the horses could maintain all day, and they followed close behind. They had ridden for a little over an hour when she suddenly drew rein and stopped.
"Can you see anything that looks like a man over there?" she asked pointing in the direction they had had been going.
"There seems to be something moving there," Bob replied, shading his eyes. "How about it, Jack?"
"I see it, but it's too far away to tell what it is."
"Maybe it's one of the boys," Sue suggested as they started on again.
"How come we haven't seen any cattle?" Bob asked.
"They're all over on the south range now," Sue told him.
"Don't see anything of that fellow or whatever it was," Jack declared a half-hour later.
"No, he seems to have disappeared," Bob agreed.
Sue had been very quiet since they had seen the object and it just then occurred to Bob that she seemed a bit worried.
"What's wrong?" he asked pulling up close behind her.
"Nothing. Why?"
"You seem so quiet-like."
"Oh, I get that way, sometimes. I was just thinking."
"About that thing we saw?"
"Maybe."
"Think we'd better turn back?"
"How come?"
"Well, it's better to be careful, than sorry, you know."
"Oh, I dare say it was only a deer or something. Come on."
A short time later they reached the foot-hills and, after a short rest they started on the climb. It was not steep at first and a winding trail, only wide enough for them to ride in single file, made it easy enough. But as they got higher it became steeper and the path rougher until the horses were obliged to pick a place for each step with the greatest care.
"How much of this is there?" Jack laughed, during one of their frequent stops to give the horses a breathing spell.
"It's about five miles to the top and it's another five down on the other side. But, cheer up, we've come nearly a mile and it doesn't get much worse than this."
"Let's be thankful for small favors," Bob laughed.
"Oh, I think it's fun," Jack assured them.
The hills were heavily wooded and in many places there was hardly more than room for them to pass between the trees, so closely did they grow on either side of the trail.
"Hark!"
Sue, who was riding a few feet ahead of Bob, pulled up her horse. "Listen," she said.
A sound as if someone was shaking dried peas in a pasteboard box was plainly heard.
"What is it?" Bob asked.
"It's a sidewinder."
"A what?"
"Why, a sidewinder."
"Guess you'll have to explain."
"Oh, I forgot. It's a rattlesnake. We call them sidewinders out here."
"Can you see him?"
"No, but he's right behind that rock just ahead."
As she spoke she drew a small but efficient appearing automatic from her pocket and touched Lady's sides with her heels. As the mare took a step forward the rattling sound became louder and, leaning over to one side, Bob saw an ugly head rear itself from behind the rock. At the same instant a sharp crack split the air and the head fell back.
"Got him," she cried, and they could hear a violent thrashing behind the rock.
"There may be another," Sue cautioned them, as she slipped from her horse.
She stood for a moment holding the reins in one hand and the gun in the other. "I guess he was a bachelor," she said as the sound of the writhing ceased and no more rattling was heard.
By this time the boys, too, had dismounted and, leading their horses, they followed her as she stepped toward the rock.
"All right, he's dead," she said a moment later and, stepping up a bit closer, they saw the snake stretched out at full length, which was not less than five feet and with a bullet hole through its head.
"Some snake!" Jack gasped.
"Some snake is right," Bob agreed.
"I'll bet he's a twin brother of that one Slim saw going into his hole," Jack declared.
"Not quite," Sue laughed. "But he is a pretty good sized one."
"Do they come any larger?" Bob asked.
"Well, I don't know's I ever saw but one larger. One of the boys killed one last year that only lacked an inch of being six feet and I've heard tell of seven and eight-footers, but I take them with a grain of salt."
"It would sure take some grain to digest that one of Slim's," Jack laughed.
With the aid of a stick Bob drew the snake out of the path and they remounted and started on again. Up and still up the trail led until Jack declared that they would be in the clouds if they did not get to the top before long.
"It's only about two miles farther," Sue laughed.
"It must be the top of the world, then," Bob declared.
It was just noon when finally they arrived at the summit. For the last hundred yards there had been no trees, nothing but rock, and the view was one never to be forgotten. Not far away, perhaps ten miles from where they stood, ran the Rio Grande, separating the United States from Mexico, and beyond stretched wooded hills as far as the eye could see.
"The first time I ever saw out of the United States," Bob said.
"Same here," Jack agreed.
"I've been here a number of times and have, of course, seen it, but I've never been over the line, or rather the river," Sue told them.
After enjoying the view for a few minutes they began the descent. After the first few hundred feet the trail was much smoother than on the way up and, as the slope was much more gentle, they made good progress and, in less than an hour had reached their destination.
"Here we are," Sue cried as she pulled her horse up and slipped from the saddle.
Following her outstretched hand with their eyes they saw the rock, perched at the top of a low cliff about a hundred yards from where they stood. As she had told them, it was an almost perfect image of an owl's head and for some moments they stared at it in wonder.
"Isn't it worth the trip?" she asked
"It sure is," Bob told her and Jack declared that he would go twice as far to see it.
They remained there for an hour during which time they ate their lunch and allowed the horses to graze a short distance away where there was plenty of grass. They started back about two o'clock and had nearly reached the top when Sue, who was a short distance ahead of the boys, held up her hand at the same time stopping her horse.
"There's some horsemen coming up the trail," she said as they rode up. "Hear them?"
"They listened and the sound of iron shod hoofs striking the stones reached their ears.
"There's quite a number of them and I think we'd better get out of sight till they go by," she suggested.
"You think——" Bob began but she interrupted.
"You never can tell in this country. Of course, they may be all right, but then again, they may be all wrong."
While she was speaking she was leading the way to the right of the trail where dense bushes soon hid them from the view of anyone on the pathway.
"There, I reckon this is far enough," she said slipping from her saddle. "I don't believe they can see us here."
The boys dismounted and they stood there holding their horses by the bridles. They could soon hear the men talking and laughing as they came up the trail and, as Sue had said, it was evident that there were not less than seven or eight in the party.
"I'm going to try and get a look at them," Bob whispered, handing his reins to Jack.
"It'll be pretty risky," Sue told him. "But I would like to know who they are. But be mighty careful they don't see you."
"You bet I will," he promised as he left them and crept through the thick brush back the way they had come.
He was obliged to hurry for fear they would pass before he could get to where he could see them, but he was used to passing noiselessly through the forest, having been taught the art by an old Indian up in Northern Maine, and not a bush moved nor did a sound betray his movements. The voices of the approaching party were rapidly becoming more plainly audible and by the time he had gotten as near the trail as he dared and had thrown himself at full length behind a convenient bush from where he had a fair view of the trail, they were close at hand. He tried to catch some of the words but was unable to get the drift of the conversation, as they were speaking Spanish and, although he had some knowledge of the language, they spoke too fast for him to follow it.
In a moment the leader came in sight, a big man, riding a dark brown horse. He wore an old black sweater and heavy corduroy trousers, while his head was covered with a broad-brimmed felt hat. Somewhat to his disappointment he noticed that the man's hair was coal black.
"That's not Red Hains," he thought. "Unless he's dyed his hair."
The leader was closely followed by a second man fully as large and dressed much the same except that he wore a faded brown coat in place of the sweater. The rest of the party, six in number, were of much the same type but not one of them had red hair.
"That's about as tough-looking a bunch as I'd care to see," Bob thought. "But I guess it's not Hains' gang. At any rate, he's not with them."
The last man had come in sight when the leader stopped.
"There's been a party along here," Bob heard him say to the man behind him and he spoke English.
"What mak' you tink so?" his companion asked, and from his accent Bob knew that he was a Canuck.
"Don't yer think I've got eyes?" the black-haired man snapped.
"I tink you got ver' smart eye, you see dat."
By this time they were all bunched close together and Bob could see that the leader was pointing out to the others the signs by which he knew that someone had been over the trail.
"Not an hour ago," he heard him say.
"Then why didn't we meet 'em?" a man asked.
"Because they must have turned off the trail," the leader replied.
"Maybe they hide," another of the party suggested.
"Just what I was thinking," the leader said quickly. "And it's up to us to find out who they are and where they went. You stay here and I'll scout a bit."
Bob waited to hear no more but crept softly back the way he had come.
"There are eight of them and they're a pretty rough-looking crowd, but none of them has red hair," he told Sue and Jack as soon as he reached them.
"Have they gone on?" Sue asked.
"No, the leader saw our tracks and is coming to look for us."
"You say it isn't Red Hains?"
"Not if Red Hains has red hair. This fellow's hair is as black as night."
"What we going to do?" Jack asked.
"There's only one thing we can do," Sue replied.
"And that's——?"
"Wait right here. You see, they'd be sure to catch us if we ran for it and that would only make it worse. Perhaps they won't find us but they probably will, and if they do, you let me do the talking."
As Sue had known it was not a difficult thing to follow their trail through the thick bushes, and in a very short time the black-haired man stood before them. He was on foot, having left his horse with the others.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"I am Sue Stebbins and this is Bob Lakewood and this Jack Lakewood. Who are you?" Sue showed no fear as she answered.
"Who I am don't matter," the man snapped. "What are you doing here?"
"Is it any of your business?" Sue asked quietly.
"If I choose to make it. I'm not alone," the man scowled.
"Well, then, we were riding," she told him.
"Riding where?"
"Home."
"Where's home?"
"About fifteen miles from here."
"The Lazy S?"
"Yes."
"Where you been?"
"To see the Owl's Head."
"Where's that?"
"Guess you must be a stranger around here if you don't know where the Owl's Head is."
"Maybe. But you haven't told me where it is."
"It's at the foot of the hills."
"What is it?"
"Why, it's a big rock shaped like an owl's head."
"And you came from the Lazy S just to see it?"
"Yes, but why all the questions? It's a free country, isn't it?"
"For some people," the man scowled.
"Well, it is for us, so we'll be going. Come on, boys." She gathered up her reins as if about to mount.
"Not quite so fast," the man snapped. "I've got another question to ask you."
"Well, make it snappy. It's getting late."
"Why did you hide when you heard us coming?"
"I thought you'd ask that. Suppose I don't choose to tell you."
"You'd better."
"Why?"
"Never mind why. You answer my question."
"Is that a threat?"
"Perhaps."
"Well, I don't like threats." Sue's black eyes snapped as she spoke and both the boys wondered what was coming next. "So I don't think I will tell you. Now what are you going to do about it?"
"I'll soon show you," and the man took a step forward, but Bob, unable to keep his hands off any longer, sprang in front of him.
"You keep your hands off her," he demanded.
"And if I don't?"
"I'll make you."
"You'll do what?" the man sneered.
"Try it and see."
The man hesitated a moment, and Bob wondered what was passing in his mind. It was hardly conceivable, he thought, that he was afraid of him, especially when he had his friends so near at hand. Perhaps it was something in the girl's eyes that made him draw back. At any rate, he made no further movement toward her, and after giving Bob an angry look, turned and strode off without another word.
"Well, what do you know about that?" Jack asked as soon as he had disappeared.
"I thought I could bluff him," Sue said, "but if you hadn't stepped up to him as you did, I don't know as it would have worked," she added turning to Bob.
"Well, I'm mighty glad he let it go at that," Bob assured her. "I would have been a baby in his hands."
"I'm not so sure of that," Sue said with an admiring glance at him. "I'll bet you would have kept him busy."
"I'll say he would," Jack assured her. "Bob's some scrapper and knows how to take care of himself when it comes to a rough and tumble."
They waited as the sound of the men's voices grew more and more faint and when they could no longer be heard, Sue proposed that they start.
"I was afraid that they'd come back, but I guess they've really gone," she said.
They made their way slowly back to the trail stopping to listen now and then, but there was no sign of the men and, as soon as they reached the path, they started for home as fast as they dared urge the horses. They had covered about half the distance down the other side of the mountain when Bob, who was in the lead, rounded a huge rock which hid the trail from view, and almost ran into a man, mounted on a roan horse. He was a man well over the average in size and had an abundant crop of long red hair: Red Hains beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Bob looked at the man for a moment too dazed to speak, and the big man returned the scrutiny, a cynical smile parting his lips.
"Wall, do yer see it?" he finally growled.
"I beg your pardon," Bob smiled. "You see, the surprise was so great that I fear I was a bit rude."
"Rude, eh, wall, I should say yer was rude, staring at a man like he was a wild animal. Whar yer goin'?"
"Down the hill."
"Don't yer 'spose I kin tell that much? I mean, what's yer destination? Is that plain?"
"Oh, you want to know where I live?"
"That's it."
"I live in Maine."
"Yer trying ter kid me?"
"No. You asked me where I live and I told you."
"Whar yer stoppin' now?" the man demanded in an angry tone.
"At the Lazy S."
"Now yer gettin' down ter brass tacks. Why didn't yer say so in the first place and save all the wind?"
Bob made no reply to this question and, after a moment, the man asked:
"Did yer meet some men a while back?"
"Yes."
"Whar 'bouts?"
"Just over the top of the hill."
"Wall, if yer know when yer well off yer'll keep a still tongue in yer head 'bout havin' seen them an' me, too," the man threatened as he started his horse and pushed past them.
"That was Red Hains," Sue said as soon as he was out of hearing.
"I reckon there's no doubt of it," Bob agreed.
"And those others must be his gang," Jack added.
"Surest thing you know," Bob assured him.
"Well, he sure does look the part," Sue declared with a shrug of her shoulders. "I wish they could catch him."
"A consummation devoutly to be desired," Bob smiled. "But I imagine he's a pretty slippery customer."
"You said it," Sue affirmed.
"Do you suppose his hiding place is anywhere in these hills? I mean the place where he hides the cattle he steals," Jack asked.
"It's more than likely," Sue replied. "You see, it's only a few miles to the border and he'd naturally choose a place not too far from the line so that he wouldn't have to drive them very far."
"It seems likely," Bob agreed. Then, after a moment's pause, he said: "I've an idea. Jack, you ride home with Sue and I'll follow that fellow a bit and who knows but I may find out where they hang up."
"Not on your life," Sue objected. "Boy, you don't know what you'd be up against. It's not like your Maine woods where you know your way around. Besides, they're bad men, who would think no more of killing you than they would of shooting a steer."
"But I wouldn't let them catch me," Bob argued.
"Maybe not, but then again they might. They know this country and you don't and that gives them a big advantage."
"But think of the opportunity. They are probably on the way to their hiding place and there may never be so good a chance again. It's worth the risk."
"No, it isn't. Remember, I'm responsible for you till we get back to the ranch."
"But I'll be mighty careful and won't go far."
"Suppose you get lost?"
"Not a chance. You see, I couldn't get lost on these hills, as all I'd have to do would be to keep on down hill till I got to the bottom and then I'd be out of the woods."
They argued the matter for some moments and finally Sue gave a reluctant consent, although Jack shook his head and urged him to go on with them. But Bob declared that it would be almost criminal to let such a chance slip, and after a while he, too, gave in.
"But you be home before dark," was Sue's final command as they started off again.
"Sure thing," Bob agreed as he turned his horse up the trail.
"Maybe I am doing a fool thing," Bob thought as he urged the horse up the rough trail. "One thing's dead sure. I've got to be mighty careful, because I'm up against a bad bunch and no mistake."
For a half-hour he pushed on as fast as he dared urge the horse, stopping to listen every few minutes. But no sound, save the rustle of the tree-tops as hey swayed in the light breeze, came to him. Whether or not he was gaining on the man he could not tell, but he had seen no sign of him when he reached the top of the mountain.
"He must be making good time," he thought as he paused to allow Satan to get his breath. "I wonder how far they'll follow the trail." Then the thought struck him that he was doing a very foolish thing to expose himself there where there were no trees to hide him from view and he at once started to follow the trail down the other side. "I must keep my eyes open for a side trail," he thought a few minutes later as he again plunged into the thick forest.
He had gone, perhaps, a mile from the top when his eye caught sight of a narrow path running off toward the north. The place where it branched off the main trail was just beyond a huge pine tree and was so well hidden that, had he not been on the watch for just such a thing, he would never have seen it.
"Now I wonder," he mused as he drew rein. Then he slipped from the saddle and closely scrutinized the entrance to the narrow path. There had been no rain for several weeks and the ground was very hard and dry, but his knowledge of woodcraft stood him in good stead and he had little trouble in reading that several horses had turned off there not long since. The pathway was so narrow and filled with rocks that it seemed to him almost impossible that a horse could traverse if, and, after a moment's thought, he decided to leave Satan there and follow the new path on foot.
He led the horse into a deep thicket where there was little likelihood that he would be seen by any one passing along the trail and tied him to a small sapling. Then he plunged into the narrow trail jumping from rock to rock the better part of the time. He figured that he could probably make better time on foot than they would make on horseback, as they would be obliged to go very slowly or risk breaking a horse's leg. It got worse as he went along and had it not been for unmistakable signs, which his trained eye was able to read, he would not have believed it possible that a horse could get over the ground.
"I must be gaining on them," he thought after he had covered what he judged was a mile from the main trail.
A moment later a rattlesnake gave his ominous warning only a foot or two in front of him as he reared his ugly head above a rock and the boy jumped to one side so quickly that he slipped from a rock and came down in a heap, giving his right foot a sharp wrench. The pain, for an instant, made him sick but he crawled hastily backward until he was several feet away.
"Here's a pretty kettle of fish," he thought as he stood up and tested his weight on the injured leg.
To his great joy, however, he found that it was only a slight sprain and that he could bear his weight on it without causing a great amount of pain. For a moment he seriously considered the advisability of giving it up and going back, but he was not made of the stuff that gives up easily and he determined to push on for a while at least. But another sharp rattle in front fold him that an enemy was protesting his right of way. He had an automatic in his pocket and, as he was a good shot, he knew that there would be little difficulty in disposing of the protestor were it not for the fact that the shot would be certain to alarm the men somewhere ahead of him.
"That would never do," he thought as he picked up a stone about the size of his fist.
The snake's head was out of sight as he straightened up but rose into view as he took a step forward. The distance was about ten feet and he hurled the stone with all his strength but, to his disappointment, he missed. But he was more fortunate the second time, the rock striking the snake's head fair and square. The head went down out of sight behind the rock and he could hear it thrashing about. He waited a few minutes then, picking up another larger rock, stepped cautiously forward. He had no way of knowing how badly he had injured his snakeship and, as the noise of the writhing had stopped, he judged that he had either killed it or else it was coiled ready to spring. So he tossed the stone in the air in such a way that it fell just behind the rock which hid the snake from his sight. It made no sound when it struck from which he judged that it must have landed on the snake. He waited a moment longer and, hearing nothing, judged that the sake must be dead. So he stepped nearer until he could see over the rock.
The snake was dead, its head mashed to a jelly by the second rock which had landed fairly on it. It was a large one, fully as long as the one Sue had shot earlier in the day.
"I'm going to keep those rattles," he said to himself as he drew his knife from his pocket and cut them off.
He could not make quite so fast time now as he was obliged to favor his leg which now gave him considerable pain when he bore his weight on it.
"If I don't meet up with something before long I'll have to give it up, as I promised to turn up before dark," he thought as he pulled out his watch and noted that it was nearly four o'clock. "If I don't strike something in another half-hour I'll turn back. That'll give me time to get back before dark, I guess."
It was about twenty minutes later when the sharp crack of a rifle brought him to a quick stop.
"That wasn't very far away," he thought as he listened.
Then, a moment later he heard the sound of a man's voice off to his right. He was unable to distinguish the words although, from the sound, he could not be far away. The forest was very dense and he felt sure that he could creep fairly close to them without running much risk. So he turned from the path and, moving with extreme caution, crept from tree to tree, listening all the while. Soon he heard the voice again and now it was nearer, so near, in fact, that he had no difficulty in hearing what he said.
"It's about time Red was gettin' here, don't you think?" the voice asked.
"He'll get here all right, give him time," a second voice replied.
"Wall, I don't like him bein' so confounded long 'bout it," the first voice growled.
"Aw, yer always a stewin' 'bout somethin' or other. Why don't yer take things easy like I do?" a third voice broke in.
All the time the boy was creeping nearer until finally, peering out from behind a thick clump of bushes, he could see the men sitting beneath the limbs of a large tree while their tired horses were hobbled only a few feet away. To his disappointment there was no sign of any place which would serve as a hiding place for stolen cattle. He watched for a few minutes and then, judging that he had probably learned all that he could and that he would have barely time to get back to the ranch before dark, he got carefully to his feet and was about to start when, suddenly a pair of powerful arms were thrown about him and he was borne to the ground. He realized at once that it would be useless to resist, so he kept quiet and after a moment the man seized him by the collar and jerked him to his feet.
"So it's you, eh," he said roughly.
"It would seem so," Bob replied quietly.
"Perhaps yer won't be quite so fresh in answerin' my questions now."
Bob made no reply and the man asked:
"What yer doing here?"
"I guess it's plain enough," Bob replied.
"It's plain enough ter me that you were spying on us."
Bob knew that it would be useless to deny the obvious fact, so he said nothing.
"Can't yer speak?" the man growled.
"I can, but what's the use?"
"I guess yer're right thar. I caught yer red-handed, so ter speak. But come on an' we'll see what the rest of the gang think about it."
Still keeping his great hand on Bob's collar he half-dragged and half-led him to where the others were waiting.
"What yer got thar, Red?" one of them called as soon as they came in sight.
"Name it an' yer kin have it," Hains laughed. Then as he came into their midst, he continued:
"I caught this feller a piece back thar watchin' of yer. What'll we do with him?"
"Why, that the same boy that was with the girl and other boy we found back a little way off the main trail."
Both because he used better language than the others and by his black hair and beard, Bob recognized the speaker as the man who had found them earlier in the day.
"So you met 'em?" Hains asked.
"Yes, and believe me the girl was as pretty as a picture and she had some tongue, believe me."
"An' I 'spose that on account of her prutty face yer let 'em go," Hains snapped.
"Not exactly on account of that," the man replied. "But there didn't seem any reason not to."
"I 'spose not, but how 'bout this feller? Want me ter let him go?"
"That's a different thing entirely," the man said. "He was caught spying on us and that makes a difference."
"I'll say it does, a heap of difference," one of the other men broke in.
"Wall, boys, what'll we do with him?" Hains demanded.
"Give him a necktie party," one proposed.
"String him up," another shouted.
"Aw jest put a bullet whar it'll do the most good," a third suggested.
Bob was scared. He knew that he was in the hands of desperate men, men who would stop at nothing if they thought their safety was threatened, and his heart sank as he heard the suggestions from the different members of the band. How he wished he had listened to Sue and his brother and was safe back at the ranch.
"He's only a kid," suggested the black-haired man.
"But he big enough ter tell what he's seen," another declared.
"Sure he is, but what has he seen?"
"He's seen us, ain't he?"
"And so have a lot others."
"Aw, what's the use o' arguin' 'bout it I'll do the trick," a man who had not spoken before, said as he drew an ugly-looking revolver from his belt, and Bob gave an involuntary shudder.
"Hold on thar, Tim," Hains ordered and the man replaced the gun, growling something which Bob did not catch. "Let's get supper first an' then we'll tend ter him. Now, kid, you stay put right thar and if yer try to get away yer'll get a bullet that'll stop yer. Get me?"
Bob did not doubt that the man meant exactly what he said and he sank down on a rock with a sigh which he could not repress. Not that he had given up hope, but he could not help feeling that his situation was desperate in the extreme. Perhaps after all, he thought, the men were only trying to scare him. He tried to force himself to believe that such was the case but got little comfort from the hope. Closing his eyes for a moment he breathed a silent prayer for protection and, somehow, after that he felt better.
By this time the men had a big fire going and all were busy getting ready the meal except Hains and the black-haired man. They were talking earnestly together a little apart from the rest, and it seemed to the watching boy that the black-haired man was urging the other to some course of action. But, if so, it appeared that his argument was not meeting with much success, for Hains frequently shook his head and finally turned away and went to where the horses were hobbled and carefully looked each one over as though to satisfy himself that none could wander away.
The entire party seemed, for the time at least, to have forgotten all about the boy, for no one paid the slightest attention to him. He watched them carefully and, had it not been for his injured leg, he told himself, he would have made the attempt to slip away into the dense woods, trusting that he might get enough of a start before he was missed to enable him to escape.
But hampered, as he knew he would be, with the sprain, he dared not risk it. So he waited as patiently as possible, wondering what the outcome would be. Finally the supper, consisting of lamb, which they had roasted over the fire, potatoes and hot coffee, was ready and the men began to eat hungrily, still completely ignoring him. Again he was minded to attempt to get away, but the fear of the injured leg again held him back. He pulled out his watch and saw that it was well past six o'clock and he began to feel hungry.
After what seemed a long time, one of the men, at an order from Hains, came to him bearing a good-sized hunk of meat and a couple of potatoes on a piece of birch bark, and a tin cup about half-filled with coffee.
"Here yer are, Kid," he said. "Eat, drink and be merry, for ter-morrow, who knows."
He sat the food down on the ground and turned back. Bob picked it up and, although there was neither knife, fork or spoon, he managed to eat it all. The potatoes were a bit soggy, but the meat was good and he was surprised at the quality of the coffee.
"The fellow who made that coffee knows his job all right," he said to himself as he drained the last of it.
Greatly to his surprise the men, after they had cleaned up after the meal, continued to pay not the slightest attention to him, and soon dusk began to steal over the forest. He could see that a number of the men were playing cards on a blanket, which they had spread on the ground in front of the fire, while others, rolled up in their blankets, for it was beginning to grow cool, were already fast asleep. Apparently it was their intention to pass the night there, and he began to wonder if, after all, it would not be best to make the attempt to escape. He could hardly suppose that they had forgotten him, but he could see no indication that they were aware of his existence.
He had seen neither Hains or the black-haired man since he had eaten and he wondered what had become of them. Were one or both of them concealed somewhere where they could watch him? If he made the attempt to get away would it be to give them the chance for which they were waiting?
"It's a toss up either way," he thought. "If they intend to put me out of business they'll do it sooner or later unless I give them the slip, so I don't know that I'd be much worse off even if I don't succeed. I'm going to make a stab at it just as soon as it gets a bit darker."
The game of cards evidently was getting more and more exciting and he could hear the men as they made their bids and often a violent oath broke from the lips of first one and then another as the card went against them.
Darkness settled rapidly and, a few minutes after he had made his decision, he was able to see only a few feet from where he sat unless he looked toward the fire.
"As well now as any time," he thought as, without making the slightest sound, he began to hitch himself farther away from the fire. He moved three or four feet and then stopped and listened, watching the men to see if they were aware of his movements. But the game went on with no abatement and foot by foot he increased the distance between them and him. At no instant would he have been in the least surprised to have felt those powerful arms close about him or even to have felt the impact of a bullet. But nothing happened and soon he felt that he was far enough away to get up and run for it. Although he was in the dense forest the trees were not very close together and there was little or no underbrush, which enabled him, even in the darkness, to make fairly good speed, and at the end of another ten minutes, he felt that he was reasonably safe, at least so far as they were concerned.
But he well knew that not yet was he out of the woods, either literally or figuratively speaking. Could he find his way back to where he had left Satan? He was not so sure that he could, but he thanked God that he had, at least, escaped from what had at the time, seemed almost certain death. If he only had a flashlight, he thought as he slowed down his pace and began to hunt for the narrow trail which led to the main path. Once he found that he felt that he would be reasonably safe and he thought that he was moving in the right direction but could not be certain. He knew how difficult it was to maintain a correct sense of direction in the woods, especially at night.
Soon he was sure that, had he been going in the right direction, he ought to have reached it and turned sharply to the left. He was walking very slowly now, both on account of the injured leg which was giving him considerable pain every time he stepped on it, and because he knew that should he cross it without being aware of it, the chances were that he would not find it, at least, until morning. For another fifteen minutes he pushed on and then stopped suddenly. Was that a shout he heard? He listened and almost at once the sound was repeated. Someone was calling and the shout was answered by another not very far away. They had missed him and were searching the woods.
A shudder passed through him as he thought what would probably happen to him if they again got him into their clutches. Another shout, which sounded only a short distance in front of him answered almost immediately from off at his right, made him realize that his enemies had him nearly if not quite surrounded. Unless he found some way of safety very soon he would be caught for sure. He could now and then see flashes of light as his pursuers made use of their electric torches. He had not the slightest idea of which way to go and, for a moment, despair settled on him. It seemed impossible that he could escape. Then as he took a step forward, his cap was brushed from his head by the limb of a tree. As he stooped to recover it, an idea struck him. Although it was so dark that he could see but a few feet he could tell that the tree in front of him was thick-branched and, in another minute, he was rapidly making his way toward the top. The tree was tall and he did not stop until he was so near the top that the trunk was only a few inches through. Then, straddling a limb, he crouched as close to the trunk as he could get and waited. He had done all he could and he breathed a fervent prayer that they would not find him.
As he crouched there he could hear the men calling one to the other and all the time they were coming nearer. Flashes of light stabbed the darkness but, so dense were the branches beneath him, he only caught an occasional glimpse like the gleam of a firefly. Soon he was aware that two of them had met directly beneath him, and strained his ears to hear what they were saying.
"I told Pete to keep an eye on him," were the first words he could distinguish, and he thought it was Hains' voice.
"I guess Pete got too much interested in his cards," the other said.
"Wall, I'll larn him ter get mixed up with other things when I tell him to do sumpin'."
"I wouldn't be too hard on Pete, Red. The kid isn't worth it and after all, what does it matter if he does get away. It's already known that we are in the country and what he could tell wouldn't hurt us any."
From the language as well as the voice Bob knew that it was the black-haired man talking. He was the only one in the gang who, so far as he had heard, used decent English and he wondered how the man came to be associated with such a crowd.
"'Tain't that I mind the kid so much, but it's the principle o' the thing that makes me mad. Long's I'm boss they've got to mind what I say."
"That's right so far as it goes, but I warn you that you'll make a big mistake if you go to rubbing Pete the wrong way just now. He doesn't like you any too much and the all the boys do like him. First thing you know he'll get the drop on you and then your rule will be over."
"Aw, what yer givin' us? I tell yer I kin handle a dozen Petes and any o' the rest of 'em, fer that matter."
"All right, have it your own way," the other replied nonchalantly. "But don't forget that I warned you."
At this moment two more of the gang joined them and Bob heard one of the newcomers say:
"I guess the kid's flew der coup."
"Looks like it," Hains replied in a sullen tone. "Where's Pete?"
"Dunno."
"Wall, I guess we might's well get back ter camp. 'Tain't much use huntin' round here in the dark."
Bob breathed a deep sigh of relief as he heard the men move off in the darkness. For some time he could hear them talking and shouting as they called to others of the gang. Gradually their voices grew fainter and soon all was still and he deemed it safe to descend. But when he reached the ground he found that he had entirely lost his sense of direction and had not the slightest idea as to which way to go.
"Guess the safest thing will be to stay right here till morning," he concluded after thinking the matter over for some time. "If I start out I'll be just as apt to blunder into their camp again as I am to find that trail."
A glance at the luminous face of his watch told him that it was nearly ten o'clock. The sky had clouded over and it was steadily growing colder, but he was dressed fairly warm in his woolen shirt and knew there was little danger of catching cold.
"I don't knew whether to chance it on the ground or to roost up in that tree," he thought as he groped about on the ground to find a soft spot. Finally he found a place about twenty feet from the tree which he had climbed which was thick with dry moss and decided to risk it. His foot was giving him considerable pain and he quickly pulled off his shoe and stocking and felt of the ankle. It was pretty sore and he judged that it was swollen slightly, but he was thankful that it was no worse. For some time the ache in his ankle kept him awake but finally wearied nature asserted itself and he slept.
It was about five o'clock when Sue and Jack reached the ranch. Jeb was on the porch as they drove up.
"Where's Bob?" he asked.
Sue told him what had happened and he listened until she had finished the frown on his face getting deeper and deeper.
"And you let him do that fool thing?" he said as she paused.
"I didn't let him. He just did it. I told him not to and tried to get him to give it up," she replied.
"It was not her fault," Jack told him. "You see, when Bob makes up his mind to do a thing wild horses couldn't stop him and he was bound to do this so you mustn't blame her."
"But that was Red Hains and his gang you met," Jeb groaned. "If they catch him spying on them, good night."
"But they won't catch him," Jack asserted.
"How can you tell that?" Jeb asked quickly.
"I guess it's only a hunch, but I feel it in my bones that he'll turn up all right. You see, he always does."
But the man was not convinced and the frown was still on his face as they led the horses toward the corral.
"I feel mighty guilty," Sue confided to Jack as they removed the saddles.
"You needn't. You did all you could to keep him from going."
"Just the same if anything happens to him I'll never forgive myself."
"Nor I for that matter," Jack agreed.
As they turned back to go to the house they; saw two men riding in through the gateway.
"There's Slim and Slats and they seem some excited," Sue said.
That the two boys were excited became more apparent as, their horses reeking with sweat, they pulled up in front of the corral.
"Where's the fire?" Sue asked.
"It's worse nor fire," Slats asserted as he slid to the ground.
"Tell us quick," Sue cried impatiently.
"It's more cattle stealin', that's what 'tis," Slim declared as he undid his saddle girth.
"Where and when?" Sue was now fully as excited as the men.
"Last night over at the Bar Z."
"How many?"
"Close onter 150, so Herb Walters told us. We met him 'bout five miles out."
"Do they think it was the Hains Gang?" Jack asked anxiously.
"Course it was. Who else could it been?" Slim looked at the boy with a glance of pity.
"But we met Hains and his gang up in the mountains along about noon," Sue told them.
"You what?" Both the men asked the question together.
"You heard me the first time. I said we met Hains and his gang up in the mountains.
"Well, of all the horned toads," Slats began but Slim interrupted.
"Where was they goin' at?"
"You'll have to ask Bob that when he gets back."
"Gets back from where?"
"I don't know where. He insisted on following them to see if he could learn where they were going."
"Was he tryin' to commit suicide?"
"Do you think there is much danger?" Sue looked from one to the other.
"Would there be any danger if yer held a sidewinder in yer hand and invited him ter have a free lunch off yer?"
Jack turned pale as Slats was speaking. "But he won't let them catch him," he protested.
"If he can help it, you mean," Slats snapped. "When did he aim ter get back?"
"He promised to get to the ranch before dark," Sue told them.
"Well, I hope he keeps his word."
While talking they had been walking toward the house and Jeb met them at the steps.
"What do you think of this fool move of Bob's?" he asked.
"Fool is right," Slim replied.
"Think we'd better go hunt for him?"
"If he don't show up afore long I reckon we'll have ter do it."
"Well, we'll have supper first. Any news?"
Slim told him of the raid on the stock at the Bar Z and Jeb looked very thoughtful as he finished.
"It's bad, mighty bad," he said. "It's only a question of a short time before it'll be our turn unless something's done."
"You said it, boss," Slats agreed and Slim nodded his head.
Supper was a very quiet meal as no one seemed inclined to talk much each one being busy with his own thoughts. First Sue and then Jack would step to the door and look off across the prairie to see if Bob was in sight but each time a shake of the head announced their disappointment to the others.
"But it's not dark yet," Jack said as he sat down after his fourth trip to the porch.
"Not for nearly two hours," Jeb added.
As soon as the meal was finished they all three gathered on the porch and it is probable that not one of them took their eyes from the distant hills during the next half hour.
"We'll wait till seven o'clock and if he don't show up by that time we'll start," Jeb said as he started down the path which led to the 'shack' where the cowboys lived. "I'll tell the boys to get the horses ready and, if we have to go, we can pretty near get to the hills before dark," he added.
When the hour came and brought no sign of the missing boy they set out. Three of the men were left behind, much against their wishes, as Jeb did not wish to leave the ranch entirely unprotected. At first he refused to allow Sue to accompany them, but the girl pleaded so hard that she finally had her way, as she usually did, and of course, Jack would not hear to being left behind.
"We'll probably meet him before we get very far," Jeb said as they swept out of the yard.
"I hope so," Jack replied trying to make his voice sound cheerful.
* * * * * * * *
When Bob awoke the sun was shining. He opened his eyes slowly and, for an instant, wondered where he was. Then memory returned and he sat up.
"Well, I had a good sleep anyway," he said half aloud as he got to his feet.
Although his ankle still hurt when he bore his weight on it he was glad to note that the pain was considerable less than it had been the night before.
"Now if I can only find Satan," he thought as he looked about trying to determine which way to go. "Wonder if he's as hungry as I am."
Ordinarily the position of the sum would have told him which way to go but, inasmuch as he was not at all certain of the direction in which he had fled during the darkness, he could not be sure. So he determined that he would again climb the tree in the hopes that the view from the top would set him straight. The tree was a very tall one overtopping any other near by and, when he had reached the limb on which he had rested before, he had a good view over a considerable distance. But it all looked so much alike that he could pick out no distinguishing mark which was at all helpful to him.
"I'm pretty sure that the path is over that way," he said aloud, pointing toward the top of the ridge. "I must have crossed it in the darkness without knowing it."
Feeling reasonably certain that he was right he quickly descended and set off. He had not gone very far when he came to a small brook running at right angles to the way he was going. The water was clear and cold and he was very thirsty but, although he welcomed the stream for the sake of the water, it caused him much uneasiness as he could not remember having crossed it the night before.
"I guess I'm lost all right," he thought as he straightened up after drinking his fill. However he was convinced that he was moving in the right direction in a general sense at least, in that the top of the ridge lay that way. "Perhaps this brook takes a sharp turn not far away and that may be the reason I didn't cross it."
And a few minutes later he was sure that he was right for he came to a small path leading through the woods.
"I'm all right now," he thought turning to the right and, with a light heart, he pushed on as rapidly as the injured ankle would permit.
For an hour he hurried along. The fact that the path seemed much less rough than it had been yesterday caused him much uneasiness, but he trusted that it was due to his imagination but, when a second hour had nearly passed and he had not struck the main trail, he was obliged to acknowledge to himself that it was not the path he had taken before.
"Guess there's only one thing to do and that's to get up to the top of the ridge and go down the other side. I'm bound to come somewhere. Looking for Satan now would be like hunting for a needle in a hay stack," he thought as he came to a stop. "I ought to have known that this wasn't the right path."
So he turned off to the left and plunged into the thick forest. Once off the narrow pathway it was very rough going. The trees were so close together that it was impossible to keep in anything like a straight course and there was much underbrush through which, at times, he had literally to push his way. But Bob was a boy who did not easily get discouraged and, although he was tired and hungry, he kept steadily on never doubting, but that he would find his way out sooner or later.