CHAPTER XII
On Friday, the day that Teddy and Roy were to ride to the 8 X 8 for Belle and bring her home, a squadron of black, low-hung clouds marched over the mountains and began to discharge their ammunition of rain toward a thirsty earth. They were seemingly well stocked, for they held their position for three days, until, on the morning of the fourth, the sun dispersed them.
During the storm, the business of the ranch had practically come to a standstill, for there was little that could be done in wet weather. Besides that, the time before a fall round-up is always slack, the punchers spending most of their days repairing their outfits and doing odd jobs about the yard and the corral.
Nick Looker wasted many hours in deep thought over the trick Pop had played on him. Of course he found that his book had been taken from his foot-locker, but even then he remained somewhat in the dark. He simply could not fathom how Pop had turned the joke so cleverly. He took Roy and Teddy into his confidence, and they listened with grave faces to his tale of woe.
“If Pop was a clever scout, or something like that, I could understand it,” Nick confessed. “But he’s such a dumb galoot! I can’t figure it nohow! There he stands, with a look on his map as innercent as a white-faced yearling, an’ I walk right into his hands! Then he turns around an’ gives me the royal razz. No sir, it’s beyond me! Oh, I can guess how he did the trick all right, after he saw how in that book of mine. That ain’t what’s worryin’ me. What I want to know is how he planned the whole busted business an’ was Gus in with him. By golly, she’s too many fer me!”
The two brothers, restraining their laughter, admitted they could not solve the problem for him, and, shaking his head, Nick walked away. It was many days before he could hear a laugh without staring with a suspicious scowl at the merry one.
The wind was strong at times and one extra heavy gust blew down several of the poles upon which the telephone wire was fastened. As a consequence, the phone was out of commission for several days. At the time nobody thought anything of this, for the local line was none too good and often went out of commission.
Although during the rain Roy and Teddy did no range riding, except one afternoon when the sun shone for a few hours, promising clear weather, only to disappear behind clouds again by evening, yet they were not idle. Together with their father, they went over all possible places the escaped rustlers might try to raid the herd and steal cattle, planning to fortify the weak spots against possible depredations. There were now five men riding herd, and Mr. Manley seriously considered adding another, but after a consultation with the boys, decided against it.
“Can’t have ’em all out,” he declared. “If that ‘Reltsur’ starts anything around the ranch, we don’t want to be handicapped by lack of men. This time there’ll be none of this ‘man to man’ stuff. I want no more trouble with that gang of hoss thieves, an’ I’ll let them alone if they’ll stay their distance. But if they want to mix it—” and the man’s eyes narrowed—“they’ll get what they’re lookin’ for! At the first sign of trouble we ride ’em down, an’ polish ’em off, if we have to. The sooner they learn that the new West has no place for rustlers an’ gunmen, the better. In the old days—” He hesitated, and a smile trembled on his lips, but instantly his face grew grave again. “They’re gone forever. We have no more time for chasin’ hoss thieves all over the landscape. Besides, the men were different then.
“Do you suppose Gilly Froud would last a minute around a gang like Whitey Kunkle an’ Mike Delnegro an’ Lasher Pete? Huh! he’d be run off the reservation. Those waddies may have been tough, but they weren’t cowards an’ wouldn’t plug a man without givin’ him a chance to go fer his shootin’ iron. But these birds!” His eyes flickered with contempt. “Why, they ain’t even tough! They’re just a bunch of sore-heads, afraid to take a man on unless he’s tied hand an’ foot and him in the light while they’re shootin’ from the dark! A fine gang! Sendin’ a note sayin’ I’d get mine if I didn’t lay off ’em!
“Well, let ’em come! Maybe when the lazy cowards find out they can’t blaze away from behind a brick wall or a barroom window, they’ll change their minds about thinkin’ they’re bold, bad cattle rustlers!”
This was the longest speech the boss had made in many a moon. But it indicated his feelings in the matter, and left no doubt as to his intentions if “Reltsur” tried to make good his threat. Mr. Manley never looked for trouble, nor, indeed, did he meet it half way. It had to come up to his door and knock if it wanted to see him; but once it did that, the vicinity would not complain of lack of excitement for some time to come.
It was only natural that his two sons should inherit some of this steady, determined disposition of his, and Teddy and Roy had it in full measure. Still, Roy’s was tempered with much of the gentleness of his mother, and, like her, he met the world with grave, understanding eyes. While he shared, in a measure, Teddy’s wholehearted appreciation of a bit of horseplay, yet frequently he would see behind outward appearances and discover things which were lost to his brother’s more superficial glance.
Yet, in the situation existing at the X Bar X Teddy himself found plenty of food for thought. His father had taken the warning signed “Reltsur” with a great deal more gravity than the younger boy had thought he would. This, in itself, was enough to convince Teddy that the matter could not be laughed off. To add to this, the several happenings before and after the visit of the night rider, while none of them significant in themselves, yet totaled into an aspect calling for consideration.
The lone horseman on Mica Mountain, the day of the slide, who rode with that slouch so reminiscent of another puncher. The delivery of the note. The escape of the rustlers from jail. The hoofbeats behind the car as the boys rode home from the 8 X 8. And, had they but known it, the figure lurking near the corral on that same bright moonlight night when the horses neighed and moved restlessly. All this presaged something.
Lucky that Froud, at least, was out of the way. Then a sudden thought struck Teddy, and he chuckled. Perhaps it was lucky for Froud, too, that he was safe in jail! Just before his capture he had knifed the head of the band of rustlers of which he was a member, so that he might take the leader’s place and thus get a larger share of the booty for himself. He had left the man for dead, but, with a desperate effort, the leader, who named himself Brand, which was particularly appropriate, finally reached a cabin where Teddy and Roy had taken shelter from a storm. They had bound up Brand’s wounds and later, out of thankfulness for their services, he had told them of a plan the rustlers had made to steal the cattle of the X Bar X. Then he left—left, possibly, to hunt Froud, who had knifed him. Thus it was well for Froud that he was still in safety behind prison bars.
Teddy’s mind was revolving these thoughts during the time that the rain beat down upon the range, converting it into an ocean of mist, with the mountains sticking their heads out like the tall masts of ships. But at last a brisk wind arose, the clouds were blown away, and the sun greeted the dripping trees with a warm smile.
That afternoon Mrs. Manley asked Roy and Teddy to take a car to Peter Ball’s place and bring Belle home.
“I’m afraid she may have outstayed her welcome already,” their mother added, with a smile. “She may want to bring Nell and Ethel back with her. I don’t suppose you boys will object?”
“Well, not very loudly, Mom,” Teddy answered, with a laugh. “I know Roy won’t, anyhow. I caught him using a rhyming dictionary the other day.”
“Like fun you did!” his brother retorted, his face fiery red. “That was just an ordinary, plain, every-day dictionary! Where do you get that stuff—‘rhyming dictionary’? What would I do with a rhyming dictionary? What would be the sense of it? I don’t even know how to use one—that is, not very well. And, anyway, that wasn’t one! It was—”
“Whoa, baby! Tighten up that cinch-strap—you’re slipping! Wow! Listen to him, Mom! He’s going to be a politician! I can tell!”
“Well, it wasn’t a rhyming dictionary,” Roy grumbled, laughing a little. “And you’d better take a look at the car, Teddy. We don’t want another puncture or another scare like—like—that landslide,” he finished quickly. “What time shall we start, Mom?”
Mrs. Manley wanted them to leave as soon as possible, so they might get back before dark; so, making sure the auto was filled with gas and oil, they began their journey. After the storm, the air was cool and invigorating, and, as they rode along, Roy explained the theory of “low pressure areas” until Teddy remarked that he thought an area was a song from an opera. It took a minute for this to penetrate, but when it did Roy snorted in disgust and refused to say another word until Teddy hit an especially large bump, sending Roy flying toward the top of the car. Even then Roy’s description of Teddy’s driving had very little to do with opera.
“Wonder what the girls did during all that rainy weather,” Teddy remarked, as they neared the 8 X 8.
“Curly was probably writing letters to you, which she forgot to send,” Roy responded, with a grin. “Aside from that, I guess they talked. Somehow, girls seem to do that especially well.”
“Think Nell and Ethel will come back with Belle?”
“Yep.”
“Golly, you sure seem positive about it. How do you know?”
“Got a hunch.”
Teddy drove on in silence for a moment.
“What’ll you bet they won’t be at home when we get there?” he said finally.
“What do you mean—that they’ll be out riding? Well, we can wait. Bug Eye will probably be there, an’ we can bat the sock with him for a while. Jimminy, I don’t know what made me think he could have written that note—and him the one who helped us capture the rustlers, too! Well, we live and learn. I guess, after all, that message was just to scare us. Nothing will come of it. The rustlers are probably miles away from here by now, heading for Mexico. Chances are we’ll never hear of them again. Come on, step on it. Mother said she wanted us back before dark.”
As he depressed the accelerator, Teddy stole a look at his brother. Roy had expressed the very opposite of his former declarations! Did he really think the horse thieves had abandoned their plans for revenge? Well, maybe so. It seemed likely, now that all this time had passed without any sign of them. Teddy sank more deeply in the seat. If Roy wasn’t worrying, certainly he should not!
A quarter of an hour more and they reached the yard of the 8 X 8. As Teddy and Roy alighted, they noticed that there was no sign of activity about the place. The yard was deserted.
“Told you they’d be out,” Teddy asserted, as the boys walked toward the door of the ranch house.
“Riding, most likely. Guess Mrs. Ball is in, though.”
Teddy rang the doorbell and waited. In a moment the door opened, and a large, jolly-faced woman greeted them with a smile.
“Come in, come in!” she said, beaming on them. “Glad you boys came over. Bug-Eye was saying only the other day that he wanted to ask you about a new kind of carburetor. Pete is out, but if you’ll sit down I’ll get you some milk and sandwiches. Guess you can eat?”
“Right the first time, Mrs. Ball,” Roy answered, with a grin. “But don’t go to any trouble. We’ve got to start right back—as soon as sis and Nell and Ethel are ready. They’re out riding, I suppose?”
A puzzled look came over Mrs. Ball’s face. She hesitated when halfway to the door, and turned.
“What do you mean, out riding?” she asked, curiously. “They’re at your place, aren’t they?”
“At our place!” Teddy echoed. He paled slightly. “I’m—I’m afraid I don’t understand you, Mrs. Ball. Why should they be at our place?”
“Why, you sent for them! You don’t mean to say—”
“Let’s get this straight, Mrs. Ball,” Roy said slowly. His voice trembled just a little. “Aren’t Belle and Ethel and Nell here?”
“Why, of course not! Oh, what can have happened? Oh, my gracious! I don’t know what I’m doing! I’m so turned around! Why, a man came Saturday in an auto with a note from your mother, saying he was to take the girls with him—the three of them! And they went, Belle, Ethel, and Nell—they went with him! Why, I thought he was from your place! Oh, my lands! what can have happened? The three girls—they’re gone—they’re gone!”
CHAPTER XIII
Just outside the house a whistle sounded. Neither Roy nor Teddy heard it. They stood facing Mrs. Ball, their faces a sickly white beneath their tan. Slowly Teddy’s hands clenched until his nails dug into his palms. Roy took a quick breath, which sounded like a gasp in the silence of that room.
Mrs. Ball swayed slightly, and Roy took a swift step forward.
“It’s—it’s all right,” he said uncertainly. “Don’t—get excited. I think—I—”
“Gone!” The word seemed wrung from the woman’s bloodless lips. “Belle—Ethel—Nell—gone! I tell you they’re gone! Where—where—they’re gone—”
She seemed about to faint, and Teddy and Roy sprang to her side. At that moment a step sounded in the doorway and a man’s voice boomed a greeting, only to be cut off sharply as Peter Ball took in the scene with a rapid glance. When his wife saw him, she came to herself somewhat and flung herself sobbing into his arms.
“Oh, Pete!” she moaned, “something terrible has happened. The girls—our nieces—and Belle Ada—who were here—”
“Now, now, Sera, just take things easy,” Mr. Ball soothed. He looked quickly at Roy and Teddy, a frantic question in his eyes.
“You see, Mr. Ball,” Teddy stammered, “we thought Belle and the other girls were still here, and we came over to get them and Mrs. Ball told us that they had left for our place on Saturday with a man who had a note—”
“Do you mean to say he wasn’t one of your father’s men?” Mr. Ball demanded, holding his wife close and staring incredulously at the boys. “Why, he had a note from your mother! Sera—Sera—” He looked down at his wife. “Where is that note? Have you got it?”
“It’s—it’s upstairs,” Mrs. Ball murmured, her voice choked with tears. Suddenly she straightened, and, with a determined motion, drew her hands over her eyes. “Wait here—I’ll get it,” and she hurried toward the stairs.
Roy fingered his hat uncertainly.
“I don’t know what to say, Mr. Ball,” he muttered. “We haven’t heard from the girls and we thought they were still here. I can’t imagine—”
Teddy gave a short laugh, and his brother and Mr. Ball turned to him in surprise. Then they saw that he was staring fixedly at the wall, a strained look on his face. The laugh had come from between clenched teeth.
“I’ve got an idea,” Teddy said slowly. “I’ve got a hunch—and—and if it’s true, I’ll—” Suddenly he raised both hands and shouted:
“Pull a rotten trick like that, will you? The dirty thieves! Kidnappers! Girl stealers! We’ll get ours, will we? Not this time! Reltsur! I know—I know—”
“Teddy!”
Roy seized his brother’s arm in a grip of steel.
“Teddy, stop it! Teddy! Snap out of it now! You don’t know anything! You’re just guessing! Stop that yelling!”
Teddy put his hand to his head. For a moment he shook as though with the ague, then took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I—I didn’t mean to shout. Didn’t know what I was doing, I guess. Don’t mind me—”
Mr. Ball stepped forward and laid a friendly hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“I know just how you feel, son,” he said kindly. “But don’t get worked up. The girls may be all right. It may be just a joke, or—or something. Take it easy, son. When my wife comes down— Did you get it, Sera?” he broke off eagerly.
Silently his wife handed him a slip of paper. Mr. Ball glanced at it and passed it to Roy. Together the two boys stared at the writing.
It was short and addressed to Mrs. Peter Ball. It ran:
“This will introduce Jack Richmond, who is driving for us now. He has come to bring Belle Ada home. Can’t Nell and Ethel visit with us for a while? We should love to have them. They can all pile in the car with Jack, and he’ll bring them over to our ranch. Please say yes.“Barbara Havens Manley.”
“This will introduce Jack Richmond, who is driving for us now. He has come to bring Belle Ada home. Can’t Nell and Ethel visit with us for a while? We should love to have them. They can all pile in the car with Jack, and he’ll bring them over to our ranch. Please say yes.
“Barbara Havens Manley.”
For a long moment the boys gazed at the note. Then Teddy reached out and took it from his brother’s unresisting hand.
“That writing,” he murmured, still with bent head. “It looks familiar. I’ve seen it before—” He glanced swiftly up. “Roy! do you recognize it? That capital R?”
Roy peered at the note again. Then his eyes narrowed.
“Reltsur!”
“That’s who! The one who sent the note to dad! So, that’s his game, is it? Well, he won’t get far! The dog, I’ll—” Teddy stopped, breathing hard. He lowered his voice.
“I hate to say it, Mr. Ball, but I think Belle and the others have been stolen—kidnapped!”
A shocked silence came over those in the room. It seemed too incredible. It was not to be believed that anything like this could happen. Why, only last week the three girls were standing in the garden just outside the window. Belle had picked a wild rose and had twined it in her lovely black hair. She and Nell and Ethel had stood there, as the boys approached, and Ethel had said “Want some nice, fresh—”
There, in the garden, were the roses. Their sweet scent drifted in through the open window. A light breeze sprang up, moving the screen door, so that the hinges creaked. Out in the yard a horse whinnied softly.
Peter Ball gulped noisily.
“Stolen, hey?” he said in a harsh voice. “You sure of that?”
“This note is written in the same hand that wrote a warning to dad,” Roy was talking fast. “Two weeks ago, at night, a rider passed our bunk-house, where Teddy and I and some of the boys were standing, and flung us a message tied to a stick. It said if dad pressed the charge against the rustlers, who were in jail at Hawley, he’d get his. Then we heard the rustlers had escaped. And now this—” He motioned toward the paper Teddy still held in his hand.
“The man who sent the note threatened your dad?” Mr. Ball demanded, a fierce frown on his face.
“That’s what,” Teddy answered in a dull voice. “And it looks like he’d made good, too. Got us standing flat-footed,” he added bitterly.
“The man who came here was a—a rustler?” Mrs. Ball gasped.
“Now, Sera, just take it easy,” Mr. Ball boomed. He patted his wife’s shoulder awkwardly. “Suppose you have a lie-down on the couch for a while? Remember what the doctor said about your heart. Boys, you and I—”
“I won’t lie down!” Mrs. Ball exclaimed, her face flushed. “I’m going after those kidnappers, that’s what I’m going to do! Pete, you get me a gun! No man is going to steal three girls right from under my nose—not while I’m healthy! You just forget about my heart! It’s as good as it ever was! I guess I haven’t lived in the West all my life for nothing! I guess I haven’t forgotten how to shoot, either! Pete, I’m going to ride with you!” She pushed back a loose strand of hair and stood gasping for breath.
Pete Ball shook his head slowly.
“No, Sera,” he said gently. “I’m afraid not. I know how much you want to, but some one has got to stay here and take charge of things. You can do more to help in that way than any other. It’s just possible that the girls might escape and make their way back here. You see what I mean, don’t you, Sera?” He looked at her anxiously.
After a moment Mrs. Ball nodded.
“Guess you’re right, Pete,” she said heavily. “I was crazy to think you could be bothered with a woman along. But when I think of Nell, Ethel and Belle being taken by that bunch of gunmen to heaven knows where, I—I—”
Then she stopped and walked over to her husband. She rested her hands on his shoulders and looked in his eyes.
“Pete,” she said in a low voice, “listen to me! You know I love you better than anything in the world. We’ve been together now for twenty-six years. We’ve seen this old ranch grow up from a little cattle farm to a place we can be proud of. We’ve had lots of hard times, you and I, and we’ve weathered them all. I’d rather die myself than have anything happen to you. But now—” her voice rose, and took on a vibrant tone—“Pete, bring back those girls! They were our guests. They were under our very roof, under our protection, and I love every one of them like a daughter. If you have to give your own life to do it, Pete, bring—back—those—girls!”
CHAPTER XIV
Quite simply and unaffectedly, Mr. Ball kissed his wife on the forehead. He said not a word, but stood for a moment looking down at her. Then, motioning to Roy and Teddy, he made for the door.
“We’ll get ’em,” Roy declared brokenly. “We’ll get ’em, I vow it! Teddy—”
For a moment tears welled up in the older youth’s eyes, but they were tears of sudden, violent emotion, and Roy wiped them away, unashamed. He saw his brother standing in the center of the room, shoulders drooping, a dull, leaden look of deep despair on his face. When Roy touched his arm he started.
“Teddy, let’s be going,” the boy said softly.
“Belle!” Teddy muttered, “Belle gone—”
Suddenly Mrs. Ball saw that her speech had brought the blow home to the boys with deadening force. She shook her head sadly and grasped an arm of each.
“Buck up!” she exclaimed firmly. “Teddy, you’re not going to weaken now, are you? Come on, Pete is waiting for you. I’ll telephone your folks—the linemen just finished their work on this section and we can use the phone again—and send Bug Eye over with some men to your ranch right away. We’ll be so hot on the trail of those rustlers they’ll wish they’d never heard of the West! Why, you’ll have your sister back within twenty-four hours! We’ll rake this whole prairie with a fine tooth comb! We’ll get ’em, no matter where they hide! You listen to me—I know what I’m talking about! Look up now and ride after ’em, boys! Go get ’em!”
Teddy came to life as though he had touched a live wire. Then he threw back his shoulders and his eyes blazed. The blood returned to his face with a rush.
“We’ll get ’em!” he exclaimed harshly. “I don’t care where they hide—they can’t get away! Roy, let’s go! We’ll ride ’em down, wherever they are! Good-bye, Mrs. Ball—don’t worry! Roy! Come on!”
The boys ran across the room. The door slammed shut behind them. There was a slight jar as they leaped down the steps. In another moment the roar of a motor sounded, the cutout on full. Mrs. Ball rushed to the window, and saw the auto, with her husband and the boys in it, speed madly up the road. For a moment she stood there, watching the cloud of dust settle as the car disappeared over the hill. Then she covered her face with her hands and sobbed:
“Let them find them, O Lord! Let them find them! I haven’t asked for very much up to now; but please, Lord, let them bring the girls home safely! Send their sister back to those two dear boys and my nieces back to me! Please! Oh, please!”
Gradually her sobs subsided. Then, calm-eyed and determined, she went to the telephone. Mr. Ball had not misplaced his trust in her.
The occupants of the car which was burning up the road between the X Bar X and the 8 X 8 were, for the most part, silent, sunk deep within their thoughts. Teddy was driving automatically, his eyes fixed upon the road, his mind spinning with tangled ideas. The rustlers had made good their threat. His father’s fears had been realized. But in what a fashion! None of them had anticipated anything like this! Even now it was hard to realize. That there could be men in this country who would stoop to a scoundrel’s trick of this sort! If they had only had some intimation of what was about to occur! They had imagined the rustlers might make trouble of some kind—steal the cattle or even shoot them down from ambush. Better, far better, that the whole herd be killed than this!
What would his father say? And mother! Teddy blinked his eyes rapidly. Viciously he pressed the accelerator to the floor and the car shot ahead.
“Not wastin’ any time,” Mr. Ball declared, leaning forward from his seat in the rear. Teddy shook his head, but did not trust himself to reply. He was not sure his voice would be quite steady.
Roy turned to Mr. Ball.
“Will your wife be all right alone? She won’t—”
“She’s a thoroughbred,” Mr. Ball answered shortly. “After she’s had her little cry she’ll be as cool and collected as any man. Your folks will know about it before we get there, Roy, an’ Mrs. Ball will get our bunch together an’ send ’em on over. Bet you she’ll remember to send an extra horse by Bug Eye, too, for me. She’s a great little woman—a great little woman—” His voice trailed off into silence, and once more the three sat staring intently at the road ahead.
To Roy’s mind there came the picture of another ride taken not so very long ago, in from Eagles. That was the day their horses had been stolen and Nell and Ethel had been in the car with them. Roy remembered how Nell had exclaimed excitedly when they reached Bitter Cliff lookout, that high, mountainous point halfway between the town and their ranch. Eagerly he had pointed out the 8 X 8, where the two girls were going to visit. And that had been but a few short months ago! Now—now—
“Looks like rain,” Teddy said, in a voice so low Roy scarcely heard him.
“Can’t tell—” Roy scanned the horizon with obvious carefulness. “Those clouds aren’t quite black enough for rain. Guess we’ve had our share of it.”
As if it made any difference! Yet it was something to talk about, something else than Belle and Ethel and Nell. Worrying would do no good. They must keep calm and work coolly and determinedly, rather than allow the rage in their hearts to seep through and warp their judgment.
Roy glanced at Teddy out of the corner of his eye. He noticed that the boy’s face was set in stern lines and that his eyes never wavered from the road. Small bunches of muscles stood out just above his jawbone, like solid hickory-nuts. Teddy was all right. Almost, Roy could see the cold, silent determination within his brother’s mind. The anger which possessed Teddy was a white anger—the kind that drives men on over all obstacles, oblivious of pain, of danger, until they have won through. Roy bent slightly to the left until his shoulder touched his brother’s. A sort of electric current passed through the two boys. They were together, shoulder to shoulder, nothing could stop them! In that moment Roy knew they would never rest until the three girls had been found.
When the car pulled into the yard of the X Bar X, Mr. Manley hurried from the house and came toward it. Silently he held out his hand to Peter Ball, then, as the boys alighted, he drew nearer and threw an arm about each for a moment.
“Mrs. Ball telephoned,” he said quietly. “Glad we got the line mended in time. I’m having Nick and Gus get the horses ready. Mrs. Ball said that Bug Eye and four other men were on their way over with a bronc for you, Pete. We’ll start right out as soon as they come.”
“Where’s mother?” Teddy asked quickly.
“In the house, son. She’s all right. Want to see her?”
Both boys nodded and walked toward the steps, while the two men talked together in low tones.
The boys found their mother sitting calmly by the window. As she saw them she smiled slightly, and Roy and Teddy drew deep breaths of relief. They had been afraid—even more than they would admit to themselves—of how she would bear up. But her smile told them they need have no fear. She was true blue, a real woman of the West. She would face the trouble with the rest of them and stand her share of it. Lovingly she kissed her sons and looked searchingly into their eyes. What she found there seemed to satisfy her, for she said gently:
“Your father has been waiting for you, boys. We know all about it—Mrs. Ball telephoned. Teddy—Roy—it came suddenly, didn’t it? But we mustn’t worry too much. I know they’re all right! Somehow, I am sure of it. Nothing will happen to them. I’ve said a little prayer, and my Friend hasn’t failed me yet!” she finished brightly. “Now you must hurry, boys. Put on heavy clothes—you may have to ride far and long. I’ll see you before you leave. There!” and she kissed them again.
“You’re—you’re all right, Mother?” Roy faltered.
“All right? Of course I’m all right!” her eyes expressed well simulated surprise. “Why shouldn’t I be? We’ll have them back before to-morrow night!”
“That’s what Mrs. Ball said!” Teddy exclaimed, a light coming into his eyes. “And I believe we shall, Mother! Dad knows this country like a book, and so do we. By golly, we’ll show ’em what chance they have against a bunch of real Westerners—those New York sneak thieves, who think they’re bad men! We’ll track ’em down an’ salivate ’em!”
“Good!” exclaimed Mrs. Manley firmly. “That’s the way I like to hear my boys talk! You find them—and—andsalivatethem!”
As the boys returned to the yard, a great weight seemed lifted from their hearts. That it had fallen to the heart of their mother, they did not know. Her willing spirit had taken much of the burden from their souls, embracing it as her own. How could they know that it had passed from them to her with their mother’s kiss!
Now they felt confident, sure of success. Their steps were firm, their hands steady. And as their father saw them, he sensed the wonder that had been performed and silently blessed his wife. In that hour she may have lost her boys, but she had gained two men.
In the midst of preparations for the start, Bug Eye and four other men arrived. They had forced their horses to the limit, and the ponies stood panting and covered with sweat in the ranch yard.
“Made good time,” Mr. Manley said to Bug Eye as the puncher dismounted.
“Had to,” was the grim answer. “When Mrs. Ball told us what had happened we saddled up and rushed over here pronto. My boss around?”
“Talking to Mrs. Manley. He’ll be out in a minute. Can you start as soon as your broncs get rested, Bug Eye?”
“Sure can,” Bug Eye replied grimly. “An’ we’re not holdin’ back any, either. What’s the plan, Mr. Manley?”
Before answering, Mr. Manley called his men around him. Mr. Ball had come out of the ranch house and was standing with the rest. Of the X Bar X men there were Nick Looker, Pop Burns, Gus Tripp and Nat Raymond, besides, of course, Mr. Manley and Roy and Teddy. Thus, with the four men who had ridden over from the 8 X 8 with Bug Eye, there was quite an assemblage in the yard, waiting for Mr. Manley to speak.
He held up his hand, and the talk died down. The men leaned forward eagerly. They sensed from Mr. Manley’s face that a serious moment was at hand. All of them had heard something of what had happened, yet they anxiously awaited the orders of the boss of the X Bar X Ranch.
“Boys,” Mr. Manley began, “this ain’t goin’ to be much of a speech. I don’t feel in the mood for talkin’, an’ I guess you ain’t hankerin’ to stand there listenin’, either. You all know that my daughter and Nell Willis and Ethel Carew were stayin’ at the 8 X 8. Last Saturday a man in an auto comes up to Pete Ball’s place with a note, sayin’ that he’s to bring the girls back with him. The note was signed with my wife’s name.” He paused for a moment, then went on:
“My wife didn’t send no such letter. This man took the three girls with him, to bring them home, as they thought. That was Saturday. To-day is Monday. We haven’t heard from the girls since.” Once more he paused, and his eyes roved over the men about him. Then he continued:
“I guess most of you heard about the message I got a week or so ago, sayin’ I’d get mine for pushin’ the charge against those rustlers we rounded up. That note was signed ‘Reltsur,’ and Roy an’ Teddy say the letter Mrs. Ball got was in the same handwritin’. Those rustlers are out of jail now—they made a getaway. Men, it looks bad—it looksbad!”
“You think that gang of hoss thieves did this job, boss?” Nick broke in.
“Sure seems so, Nick! An’ I’ll lay money that they did, too! They have it in for me. An’ I heard they have two or three gunmen from the East with ’em. Yep, that’s who we’ve got to look for, men—this guy Reltsur.”
There was silence for a moment, then a voice asked:
“You say some geezer drove up last Satiday an’ took three girls away from the 8 X 8, boss?”
All turned to the speaker. He was one of the men who had ridden over with Bug Eye, a new hand, Bug Eye explained later.
“That’s what,” Mr. Manley answered sharply. “You know anything about it?”
“Wall, I’ll tell you what I see,” the man drawled. “I was ridin’ in toward the 8 X 8 about sundown on Satiday. You see, I don’t know this country so well, an’ I was sort of huggin’ the road, so I wouldn’t—”
“Never mind that, man. Spill it—explain later!” Mr. Ball interrupted.
“Right. Well, as I was sayin’, I was pretty close to the road. All of a sudden I hears a car comin’ an’ I thinks I’ll just hang around an’ see who it is. So I jumps my bronco behind a tree an’ waits.”
In the pause that followed, the forced breathing of the men could be plainly heard. All eyes were glued on the puncher, who went calmly on:
“Pretty soon I see a car down the road. As she comes closer, I noticed there were five people in it.”
“Five!” Teddy exclaimed.
“Yep. There were three girls, a man drivin’, an’ an old woman, who sure looked like a Mex, sittin’ in the front seat beside him.”
“A woman!” exclaimed Mr. Manley.
“Why didn’t you speak of this before?” asked Pete Ball, a bit sharply.
“Didn’t get no chance, boss,” was the calm answer. “I been out ridin’ fence ever since you hired me, which was soon after I rode in on Satiday. I didn’t hear nothin’ about no kidnappin’ till jes’ now on th’ way over, an’ then I begun puttin’ two an’ two together. For all I knowed, them folks in the auto might ’a’ been a picnicin’ party.”
“That’s right,” agreed Mr. Manley. “But it’s lucky that you happened to see them, cowboy!”
“I hope it’ll turn out so. I’d sure have mentioned it afore if I’d knowed what it meant. But I was sent for in a hurry to join what I thought was a bunch jest takin’ after rustlers, and it wasn’t until I heard the young ladies mentioned jest now that I remembered about that crowd in the auto. The driver, a mean-lookin’ sort of cuss, seemed in a pronto rush, an’ the old crone was hoverin’ over the girls like a hen with three chicks.”
“Then they must be goin’ to hold Belle and the others for ransom. Boys, if we have to, we’ll pay it—but we’ll give them a fight first! At any rate, I believe the girls are safe for a while. Go on, man, which way did the car head?” asked Mr. Manley.
“Well, now, I was just tryin’ to think. There’s a cut around here somewhere, only I can’t think of the name of it. Let’s see—somethin’ like Lightnin’ Gorge or—”
“Thunder Canyon?” Teddy broke in eagerly.
“That’s it! Thunder Canyon! That’s where they was headed for! An’ they were sure steppin’ along, too. Thunder Canyon! That’s the place.”
Mr. Manley turned to the others. His eyes were narrowed and his hand rested on the gun which hung at his side.
“You men get set,” he said tersely. “We start right away. Each man take rations enough to last him for three or four days an’ bring plenty of ammunition. We do no more foolin’ around! From now on we ride them rustlers till we get ’em.”
Instantly every one was astir. Saddles and guns were looked over carefully and small bags of flour, bacon, and tea were prepared. The boys and their father said a fond good-bye to Mrs. Manley, who, when she heard of the puncher’s story of the other woman in the car, felt greatly relieved. After all, the worst that could happen would be that the rustlers would hold the girls until Mr. Manley consented to do their bidding, whatever it might be. They would never dare to kill three girls in cold blood.
At last all was in readiness. The party was mounted, guns showing conspicuously in saddle holsters, and the men awaited the word to start.
Mr. Manley ran from the house and vaulted into the saddle. He looked quickly about him, to see that all the men were there. Then he nodded.
“All right,” he said laconically. “Let’s go! Head for Thunder Canyon.”
“Right, boss,” answered Gus Tripp softly, and the others nodded.
In that calm fashion started the ride after the rustlers. No shouting, no raking of ponies’ sides with spurs to send them into a leaping run. Just a bunch of punchers riding out of a ranch yard, as though they were on their way to a round-up.
Yet within the heart of every man there was a fierce, unconquerable purpose—to find the jailbirds and to “polish ’em off.”
CHAPTER XV
The trail to Thunder Canyon lay through a region noted for its treacherous footings and short, stubby clumps of mesquit grass that might conceal a hole just deep enough to break a pony’s leg.
Swinging from the road, the riders entered this desolate tract and proceeded up a gentle slope, dotted here and there with trees burned almost leafless by summer suns. Here the land lay pitifully open to the brazen sky, long since beaten into submission and now venturing only half-heartedly to produce any protective vegetation. This was a land of exile, shunned and avoided by the surrounding territory. It was a field apart.
A dull haze covered the sun as the punchers rode stolidly on. Teddy turned to glance at his brother, who was loping along in the rear.
“Making the grade, Roy?” he called, and threw his head slightly to one side. Roy correctly interpreted the motion, and urged his pony until he was close to Teddy.
“How did that story we heard strike you?” Teddy asked, looking about him to see that no one was listening. The noise of creaking saddles and the beat of the horses’ feet on the baked earth prevented the boy’s voice from carrying far.
“Ike Natick’s?” Roy countered.
“Don’t know his name. The puncher who came over with Bug Eye.”
“His name is Natick. He’s a new hand. Bug Eye says he hasn’t been with their outfit very long. But he says he’s a good man, and I think he is, too. He impresses me as being all cowboy.”
Teddy nodded.
“Just wanted to get your idea. I like him O. K. myself. Kind of long and stringy, but he’s built like a rawhide whip. So you think we can depend on him?”
“I think so, Teddy. Anyway, we’ve got to. He’s the only one who knows anything about this business, and it’s nothing more than pure, dumb luck that he knows as much as he does. He spoke of a woman being in the car. I’m sure glad of that, but I wonder who she could have been?”
“Some half-breed probably, carried along to take care of the girls. Those rustlers are not exactly fools, I guess, and they know that if anything serious happened their lives wouldn’t be worth a plugged nickel. I reckon the girls will be treated fairly, all right, and I’m not worried about that. But I can’t stand the thought of those jailbirds holding Belle and Ethel and Nell captives while they dictate terms to us! That sort of gets under my skin, by golly! Then, too, unless we find them soon, we can’t tell what—”
He pulled Flash aside to avoid a sharp depression and left his sentence unfinished. But Roy understood. He knew that they could not afford to delay, as the rustlers might become desperate and determine to abandon the girls to their fate rather than risk capture red-handed. Haste was imperative. While the girls were in the hands of gunmen and horse thieves they were in dire peril.
As the riders proceeded, they left behind that deserted waste and came into a more fertile country. They were nearing Thunder Canyon, through which ran a turbulent stream, and the nourishment derived from this water changed the grasses from a lifeless brown to a soft green. They made better speed now, the footing being much surer.
Before them rose a high mountain. They were to skirt this, for along its side was Thunder Canyon. Other mountains bordered the gulch, but these could not yet be seen. At the foot of the rise Mr. Manley called a halt.
“Natick!” he shouted, “ride up here a second, will you?”
The puncher complied, and stood near Roy and Teddy, who had approached their father and Mr. Ball.
“Right over there lies Thunder Canyon,” Mr. Manley declared, and pointed.
Ike Natick grunted.
“I know it, boss. An’ that’s the place I mean. Somewhere in there you’ll find those girl-stealin’ gunmen.”
“Yea?” Mr. Manley looked at him sharply. “What makes you so sure, Natick?”
“I ain’t sure, boss; but I got a hunch. An’ my hunches usually turn out pretty good. Besides that, it wasn’t so far from here that I saw the car comin’ this way. Don’t that road to the 8 X 8 wind past those hills over there?”
“That’s what,” Pop Burns, who was listening, answered. “She runs right past them hills.”
“Then I’m sure right,” Ike Natick drawled. “That auto come into this here canyon. Course, they may have switched to horses later, ’cause the ground around here ain’t none too good fer a car. I don’t know nothin’ about that. But you hear me, boss, an’ head fer that there cut.”
Pete Ball turned to Mr. Manley.
“I think he knows what he’s talking about, Bardwell,” he said in a low voice. “Ike hasn’t been with me long, but I’ve found he’s a born puncher, an’ he sure knows the West. I’m in favor of takin’ his advice an’ searchin’ that gorge.”
For a moment the owner of the X Bar X ranch sat silent, thinking. He took his corncob pipe from his shirt pocket and stuck it, unlit, between his teeth.
“I’ll agree with you, Pete,” he said finally. “Pop, come here! You know more about Thunder Canyon than any man of us—or you should. Is there any place in it that might do for a stronghold for rustlers?”
“I’ll say there is, boss!” Pop replied loudly. “The Sholo Caves near Gravestone Falls! I helped route a gang from there when I was ridin’ fer yore father, boss. An’ we had some job, let me tell you! We’d never have gotten ’em loose if one of their men hadn’t welched and let us past. But we found out one thing—that the only way to really get a bunch out of those caves is to come at ’em from both sides of the canyon at once. The men on the other side keep ’em covered while those on this side stick ’em up. If we’d only knowed that when we had our fight, it would’ve turned out different. As it was, most of the rustlers got away. Me, I was with the party that—”
“Thanks, Pop,” Mr. Manley said quickly, forestalling any attempt at one of the long speeches for which the veteran puncher was famous. “That tells us what we want to know. We head for Sholo Caves, men! Teddy, Roy, listen to me! You two are goin’ to take the side with the caves on with Nick, Gus Tripp, an’ Bug Eye. Pete an’ I will ride across from you with the other men. We’ve got to keep in touch with each other. I guess you’ve been through Thunder Canyon before, boys?”
“Sure we have, Dad,” Roy answered. “Though there are some parts of it pretty wide. If we can stay opposite each other till we get to the narrow part, we’ll be all right.”
Mr. Manley nodded in approval.
“That’s what I’ve been thinkin’,” he said. “But we have to chance that, I guess. You keep up the same pace we took comin’ over here, an’ I’ll do likewise. When we get to the Falls, where she’s narrow, we ought to be pretty near opposite each other. Anyway, we’ll wait there until we get together. Anybody want to ask any questions before we start?”
The men were silent. The only questions they would ask would be of their guns—that they might not miss when the time came for action.
Before separating, the boys shook hands with their father. The grips were momentary, but they were firm, and told of sentiments which were more easily sensed than spoken. Each knew the danger he was about to face, and realized that this was the last time he might see the other alive. Certainly, there was the possibility of a tragic end to this serious business. Men who would kidnap girls would not hesitate to shoot to kill if the occasion arose.
Hence the boys knew well to what they were riding. Yet rather than hesitation, there was about them an eagerness which welcomed whatever might befall. Their sister was somewhere in that canyon. They were going to find her and Nell and Ethel, and not all the bullets ever moulded would prevent them!
“Good luck, boys,” Mr. Manley said, as he sat quietly in his saddle a moment before starting. “Keep your powder dry an’ your guns clean.”
Those who heard him seemed to feel the old West rush upon them—the West with pistols leveled and eyes narrowed, the West that had produced a man like the boss of the X Bar X.
“Don’t shoot unless you have to. But remember that Belle is in there, an’, if you have to shoot, don’t waste no bullets. I guess that’s all.”
He chirped to his pony. The boys did the same, and the father and his two sons separated, riding back to back. Behind Teddy and Roy come Nick Looker, Gus Tripp, and Bug Eye. The others were with Mr. Manley.
The canyon opened out before them. Mr. Manley’s party had already entered it and were lost to sight behind the trees which bordered its edge.
Teddy and Roy looked down. At the bottom of the cut they could hear the faint tinkle of the running stream. From this rivulet the sides of rock rose perfectly straight, like the walls of two huge buildings. Then, higher up, the canyon gradually broadened, making a sort of V. Along the top edge of this V rode the boys, while towering over them, the taller mountains reared. It was a gorge within a gorge.
As Teddy’s eyes swept over the tremendous expanse his heart faltered for a moment in sudden despair. How were they ever to find the girls in this place? The task was hopeless!
Then he remembered his mother’s words:
“They’ll be with us before to-morrow night!”
Touching Flash with his spurs, Teddy rode on.