CHAPTER XXI
Dusk had settled over Thunder Canyon. A cool breeze blew down from the mountains, and the five horses sniffed it gratefully. They had carried their riders far that day, over a trail which stiffened their leg muscles and dulled their eyes, from demanding constant attention to its treacherous unevenness. But they had done their work well, and now they were near the end of their journey.
Teddy, who was riding ahead, turned in the saddle.
“How much further?” he asked of Nick.
“Not much. You’ve kind of forgot this path, ain’t yuh? Well, it’s a long time since I been over it myself, but I’m thinkin’ Gravestone Falls is just ahead. Right, Gus?”
“I reckon,” Gus drawled. “She’s narrowin’ down closer, anyhow,” and he jerked his head toward the other side, which, it seemed to the riders, had been gradually coming nearer as they loped along.
But a scant hour of daylight remained, and Roy, realizing they had small chance to join his father and the others, once full darkness had descended, urged Teddy to set a faster pace. The tired horses responded willingly, and the men made better time toward their objective.
For the last hour or so the boys’ thoughts had been taken up with the strange old woman they had encountered in the clearing. Certainly she fitted Ike Natick’s description of the woman whom he had seen in the car which had borne the three girls from the 8 X 8. Could it be that the outlaws had forced their prisoners to remain in that hut over Saturday and Sunday, then, this morning, had taken them farther on, so as to be safer from pursuit?
Teddy, revolving the subject over in his mind, thought it extremely likely. If only they had discovered on Saturday that the girls had been taken, they might have had them at home by this time! Teddy remembered, with an ironical laugh, that he and Roy had at first planned to visit the 8 X 8 on the very day the girls were kidnapped.
Then the storm had come, and they had postponed their journey until this morning, when it was too late! What had happened to Belle Ada—and the others—during those two days when he and Roy were hanging around the ranch, talking over ways to prevent the rustlers from executing their threat? Why, at the very moment when Mr. Manley and the two boys had been deciding what part of the range to watch, the outlaws had acted and had taken revenge!
Teddy grew stiff and his hands clenched. All because of a storm! If it hadn’t rained, he and Roy could have been after the rustlers almost as soon as they got started. Or they might even have arrived at the 8 X 8 at the same time that the puncher, Richmond, had come with the false note.
Teddy shook his head helplessly and gazed ahead through the gathering dusk. To his ears came the sound of falling water, but the boy could not tell whether it was Gravestone Falls or merely the brook below growing more turbulent.
“Here’s hoping we meet dad soon,” Roy declared, peering across the canyon. “It’ll be night before long, and we’ll have a pretty hard job of finding him then.”
Teddy agreed, with a nod.
“He’ll be there. Remember, we were delayed by that gunwoman in the cabin. If dad rode straight on, which I think he did, he’s probably at the falls now. Nick, watch your step! There’s a mean bit of trail right here.”
Nick, who was following Roy, grunted to show that he understood, and cautioned Gus and Bug Eye, who drew up in the rear. Then he called to Teddy:
“Expect to run across yore friend who rides sidesaddle, Ted?”
“Sidesaddle? Oh, you mean the puncher who slouches to the left? I sure do, Nick! I hope to, anyhow. I guess Roy does, also. We’ll ask him for his card and where he got ‘Reltsur’ for a name.”
“You think Richmond and Reltsur are the same man?”
“Yep! Nothing else but! The handwriting on the note that Mrs. Ball showed us and on the note that dad got are identical. We noticed particularly the capital R; didn’t we, Roy? Alike as two peas. I’m sure counting on meeting that waddy personally, Nick!”
“Wish you luck.” Nick rested his hand on the gun which hung from a saddle-holster. “But don’t hog the action, Teddy—don’t hog it! Me an’ Gus an’ Bug Eye are just rustin’ away from peacefulness. When the music starts, Teddy, we’ll be there! Oh, we’ll be there!”
“I’ll tell a maverick!” Roy exclaimed. “We all will, Nick! And if those dirty horse thieves have harmed Belle, or even frightened her, we’ll—”
“Take it easy, boy,” Gus drawled, laying his hand on Roy’s shoulder for a moment. “Belle can take care of herself, and of the two that’s with her, if she has to. I know Belle! Not like you do, of course, but enough to say that she’s one game little lady and that she can hold her own with any sneak-thief that ever ran from a jack-rabbit. Now don’t you start worryin’, you nor Teddy either. So far, yore takin’ it standin’ up. Keep it up, boys; it won’t be long now!
“To-morrow we can head fer Sholo Caves, and then, if Ike is right, we’ll have all three girls safe an’ sound. Then we can settle our accounts with Reltsur an’ his gang.” He paused for a moment, then went on:
“I know I’m talkin’ like a Dutch Uncle, but I want you to know how I feel, an’ how Nick an’ the rest of us feel, too. I’m not sayin’ what we’d do to get Belle back. I guess you know, right enough.”
Roy turned and looked at his friend, silently grasped the hand that was held out to him, and then grinned.
“You win, Gus. No more grousing. Star, get along there! We rest soon. Guess a good drink from that old stream will feel mighty fine, hey? Well, you’ll get it. Come along, now. There’s a lot of green grass waiting for you.”
Suddenly, from the depths of the canyon, came a long shrill howl. The horses, hearing it, snorted in fear. The grin froze on Roy’s face.
“Timber wolf,” he said shortly. “A brute, from its yell. Didn’t know they came down this far.”
Teddy frowned fiercely, and, unconsciously, his hand sought his gun butt. There were wolves in this canyon. Belle, Ethel and Nell were somewhere up that long, winding trail. Wolves! The boy’s hand tightened on the gun. No, he would not, could not, think that!
Now the men rode along in silence. The scream of that animal had set their nerves on edge, and they were in no mood for conversation. It would have gone ill for the outlaws had the rescue riders encountered them at that moment. Each man gazed straight ahead, his body rigid in the saddle. Each pony felt the hand holding the reins stiffen and tighten ever so slightly. Putting their heads down, the ponies plodded on and on.
Now the noise of the falls could be heard distinctly. Teddy was about to make a remark when he caught himself up quickly and motioned for silence. Wondering, those following came to a halt and listened. Then they understood.
Above the distant roar of Gravestone Falls came another sound, a staccato drumming, which, to the trained ear, was unmistakable. With a quick movement the riders leaped their horses off the path and into the brush. There they waited, listening to those approaching hoof-beats. Nearer and nearer they came. Suddenly Teddy leaned over and tapped Roy.
Around a bend in the trail came a horseman. He was riding furiously, seemingly heedless of the desperate chance he was taking of being hurled to the rocks below. And as the boys watched, they saw something that caused their hearts to leap with a sudden fierce joy.
The horseman did not ride straight up in the saddle, but slouched to the left!
CHAPTER XXII
Teddy’s eyes flashed and he drew his revolver. He made as if to urge Flash out into the trail to face the oncoming horseman, but Roy laid a restraining hand on his arm.
“Wait!” he cautioned tensely. “Not yet!”
Now the rider was nearly opposite those hidden in the brush. Roy looked at Teddy and Nick, then nodded. Carelessly the five men walked their horses into the middle of the trail, adequately covering it. The slouched horseman yelled, pulled back sharply on the reins, and brought his pony to a sudden, sliding halt.
“You crazy fools!” he shouted. “Want to send me over the cliff? What in time’s the matter with you-all, jumpin’ out on me like that?”
“Well, now, mister, we weren’t aimin’ to do just that,” Gus drawled mildly. “But we heard you comin’, an’ we kind o’ thought you might like to palaver a little.”
“Well, I don’t!” The man turned angrily toward Gus. “An’ I’ll thank you to move aside an’ let me by! I’m in a hurry!”
“Shorely you can’t be in a hurry on a nice evenin’ like this!” Nick suggested gently. “Seems like yuh ought to be ridin’ along slow like, observin’ the birds an’ the flowers, an’ maybe tossin’ sticks with paper tied to ’em down into the gully. Hey?”
“Stand aside, you locoed cow-nurse! I ain’t got no time fer no foolishness! Once more, I’m tellin’ yuh—”
Teddy saw the man’s hand go for his gun. Quick as a flash, the boy drew and the reckless horseman found himself looking into the muzzle of a blue-barreled Colt. With his hand on his belt, the man hesitated, then gave a sneering laugh.
“Kind o’ sudden, ain’t yuh? Well, suppose you speak up an’ tell me what this is all about. I come along this here trail, aimin’ to make the canyon’s end before ten to-night, when a gang of stick-up artists shoves a six-gun down my throat! If it’s money you want—” The man reached in his shirt pocket and drew out some silver, which he threw contemptuously on the ground at Flash’s feet. “Here! That’s all I got. Pretty poor pickin’, hey, boys?”
“Pretty considerable of a fool, you are,” drawled Gus contemptuously.
Teddy’s eyes narrowed.
“Take it easy,” he said in a voice that, somehow, reminded Nick of a taut violin string. “You know we’re not highwaymen. We want to ask you some questions—Reltsur.”
The man started, almost imperceptibly, then recovered his composure.
“Well, I ain’t no encyclopedia of information, but I’ll do the best I can,” he replied sarcastically. “Only hurry up. It’s gettin’ late.”
Teddy made a motion with his head, and Bug Eye moved toward the rider. He reached over and quickly yanked the man’s gun from its holster.
“Playin’ safe, hey? Afraid I’ll pull on yuh with that starin’ me in the face?” and he nodded at the gun Teddy held.
“Never mind that,” Roy said sharply. “We’ll do the asking, and you the answering. First, where’s the rest of your gang?”
“Gang?” The man laughed shortly. “Don’t know what yuh mean. I ain’t got no gang. I’m just a poor little me—all alone,” and he laughed again.
“And I suppose you don’t know where Sholo Caves are?” Teddy asked, watching him closely through the dusk.
“Sholo—Sholo Caves?” This time there was no mistaking the start. “Why—I heard tell of ’em. Back a ways, ain’t they?”
“Maybe!” Teddy rode closer. Suddenly he jammed the gun into the man’s ribs, causing a grunt of pain and surprise. “Now answer this, and answer it quick!” he snapped. “Where are Belle Manley and her two friends?”
For a moment the man seemed too stunned to speak.
“Belle—Manley?” he faltered. “I—I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. How should I know? Who are they? What—”
“Save it!” Teddy’s voice cut the air like a knife. “Once more—where is my sister?” The hammer of the gun came back with an ominous click. Wide-eyed with fright, the man stared into the piercing eyes before him. Then he gulped.
“Yuh—yuh got me cold!” he whispered. “I’m sunk! I’ll tell—I’ll tell everything!”
Suddenly, with a wild yell, he sank his spurs deep into the pony’s side. The horse, frantic with pain, leaped forward, striking Roy’s mount head on and then swerved to the fiercely pulled reins.
“Get him!” Gus yelled. “Nick, bust him wide open! Let him have it!”
Not a sound came from Teddy. Deliberately he raised his gun. There was a roar that echoed amid the canyon’s walls, proving its name, and the fleeing rider crumpled in the saddle. The next moment he slid to the ground, and the horse, free of its burden, dashed along the trail, to disappear around the bend.
Teddy quickly dismounted.
“I hated to do it, but I had to,” he said sadly. “You boys know I had to. I hope I didn’t—”
He bent over the form on the ground. As he touched the man’s arm a savage cry arose, and the figure came to life with a suddenness that sent Teddy staggering back, a dark stain on the boy’s face showing where the closed fist had struck.
“He’s all right,” Teddy said shortly, wiping the blood from his cheek. “Sit up, you! Another break and I’ll shoot off your head instead of your arm! Sit up now!”
Muttering under his breath, the man obeyed. He swayed where he sat, cuddling his arm, a look of anguish on his face. But the boys were in no mood for sympathy. There was other business on hand—business that must be transacted quickly.
“Going to answer the question?” Roy demanded, leaning over his horse and gazing at the form on the path.
“What question?” the man groaned.
“Where are those girls you brought from the 8 X 8?”
“I tell yuh I—” The grim Colt menaced his head, and the man shrank back. “Gimme time! I’m tryin’ to tell yuh, ain’t I! They’re in—”
The boys listened eagerly, their hearts thumping madly. They leaned forward, Teddy kneeling on the ground, his eyes boring into those of the wounded man.
“They’re—in—Sholo Caves!”
Then, with a sigh, the outlaw toppled over, his head hitting the ground with a thud, and he lay still.
CHAPTER XXIII
“Fainted,” Bug Eye remarked, and leaped from his horse. Pulling his canteen from his saddle, he doused the man’s face with the water in it, desisting at the first sign of returning consciousness. Replacing the top on the canteen, Bug Eye flung it down beside the silent figure and remounted.
“You-all heard what he said?” Nick asked excitedly. “Ike Natick was right! Sholo Caves! Come on, boys! Let that snake lie. He’ll be all right with the water. We’ll get him later. He’s too badly shot up to move an’ his horse is gone. Yow! We’re off!”
With the news that they were on the right trail, came bounding hope and a joy that expressed itself in vigorous denunciation of Reltsur and his gang. With scarcely a backward glance, the five rode swiftly up the trail toward the falls that roared in the distance. They were not callous, but something more important than wounded outlaws sent them rushing forward.
“If we can only find dad!” Teddy yelled, as he guided Flash with a sure hand. “This blame darkness! We shan’t be able to see a thing in a few minutes!”
“Can’t help it,” Roy answered. “If we don’t meet dad, we’ll go on ourselves. Guess we can handle any bunch of kidnappers that rides. How about it, boys?”
“You said a mouthful!” Gus roared. “Let ’em come shootin’! The more the merrier! We’ll smoke ’em out, if we have to! No—guess we can’t do that, on account of the girls. But we’ll sure send some hot lead buzzin’ ’round their ears!”
The full darkness of the canyon night came upon them as they rode, and, of necessity, they had to dismount and lead the ponies. Teddy fretted at the delay, but it was unavoidable, and they hurried as fast as was compatible with safety—and perhaps a little faster.
They soon reached Gravestone Falls, and all knew that the other side of the canyon was not two hundred yards across. To reach the caves, they had to turn sharply to the right and double back slightly on their trail. Had they known it, they could have come a much shorter way, as had the girls and their guard, who did not ride near the falls. But since they had arranged to meet Mr. Manley here, it was necessary that they take the longer route, even had they known of the shorter. At this point the canyon curved, the walls coming closer together, until, a short distance below the caves, they met.
The falls proper were not a part of the canyon itself, but, nevertheless, being near it, they fed the stream at its bottom. The roaring, while not tremendous, was loud enough to prevent any one on the other side of the canyon from hearing a call, however loud.
Teddy waited until the others were around him, then declared:
“I reckon we shan’t find dad to-night! He may be across there, and he may not. Shouting won’t do a bit of good. And we can’t shoot—the rustlers might hear us and take alarm. Boys, it’s up to us. Do we go on?”
“We do!” Roy exclaimed. “And not in the dark, either! Look!”
He pointed to the sky. Over the rim of the mountain a dull red crescent arose—the first of the full moon.
As the orb turned gradually from ruby to silver white, flooding the canyon with its glow, the five looked to their firearms. Then they slowly made their way along the rocky path. They had remounted again, knowing the ponies could see their way by the light of the moon, and, as they rounded the curve, following the gorge, the noise of the falls increased, then faded to a sullen murmur. They had left the meeting place behind, and with grim resolves to prove the caves could be taken by five determined men, all riding together, they urged their horses forward.
They remembered what Pop Burns had told them—that the caves were practically inaccessible unless attacked from both sides of the canyon at once. Yet this did not deter them. Their hearts high with hope, they felt capable of conquering any stronghold, no matter how well fortified. The girls were there—not half an hour’s ride away! Could they stop now, with success almost in their grasp?
“Either we bring Belle out of here or we stay in ourselves,” Roy whispered, as though to himself. But Teddy heard him, and nodded silently. They would fight—they would die—but they would not be beaten back!
“Almost there,” Nick said in a low voice. “Let’s stick together, boys. We can’t afford to get separated. Roy, suppose you take charge.”
“Right. Now let’s see. Who knows anything about the layout of those caves?”
“I know they set pretty near the edge of the gully, Roy,” Nick answered, in a doubtful voice. “An’ I think you can come at them from either end. Butwecan’t, ’cause the only way to get to the other side from where we are, is past them. So we’ll have to depend on surprising that gang of rustlers before they know what’s up. Once they discover us, we’ll have to move fast.”
Roy thought for a moment.
“If we only had a few more men! But we haven’t, so what’s the use of wishing? Teddy, some one suggested, a way back, that we send a man on ahead to investigate. What do you think about it?”
“Not much, Roy. If you want me to, I’ll do it; but I can’t see that we’d gain much. They’ve got a guard out—maybe two. I’m pretty sure of that. What we ought to do is to get up on them as quietly as we can, knock the guard off cold, if we have to, then depend on our guns for the rest.” As he spoke the boy’s eyes flashed and he breathed faster. When the time for action came he would be ready to do his part.
“Sounds good to me,” Gus drawled. “Roy, when we start, we got to shoot as we go. I heard the bunch has two New York gunmen along. Well, we’ll see how they like a taste of Western methods,” and he smiled grimly.
“Then it’s settled?” Roy asked, looking from one to the other. “We ride on together. When we get near, we slide off the broncs and nab the lookout, if there is one. Then—what’s in our way we take out! I don’t know how many men they’ve got, but unless it’s an army we’ll go through ’em. All set, boys?”
“All set!”
The answer came in tense whispers from men who were ready to face death—and expected to. Guns were loosened in holsters. Belts were tightened. Rifles were moved toward the rear of saddles to allow a quick descent from the pony. Long-barreled guns were useless in a hand to hand fight, and the boys put their faith in their automatic pistols.
As they started on this last leg of their journey toward an end none could foretell, each rider felt a great relief surge through him. The time had come. Ahead of them lay Sholo Caves, and within them the three girls were captives. They must be rescued. If some of the boys lost their lives—well, at least they could take some in payment. No matter what happened, they would go on to the end. Their task lay before them.
CHAPTER XXIV
Long, grey shadows flattened themselves against the walls of the canyon—moving shadows—five of them. The moonlight, except where it was cut off by the figures on horseback, flooded the rocky gorge.
The men were almost as silent as these silhouettes while they rode forward. The ponies, sensing the tenseness in the air, restrained their tendency to whinny at the ghostly trees along the sides.
After a short ride, Roy, who was leading, slid noiselessly from his bronco and waited on foot for the others, who, when they saw the boy dismount, did likewise.
“We’d better picket the ponies here,” Roy whispered. “The ledge is plenty broad, and we may not find another place like this.”
Without comment, the men obeyed. Then, slowly and cautiously, they crept forward, Roy and Teddy going first, followed by Nick, Gus, and Bug Eye. Suddenly a man’s voice cut the silence. It came from behind a rock, not five feet from the ranchers.
“Makin’ us lose our beauty sleep like this,” the voice grumbled. “An’ for what? Just ’cause that fool took it into his head to get the note to old man Manley to-night! As if to-morrow wouldn’t do as well!”
“Yea, an’ we got to stand guard over a passel o’ senseless gals!” growled another. “Crazy, I calls it—plumb crazy! Why, the way old Reltsur, as he calls himself—wonder what his real name is?—the way he started with that note fer the X Bar X you’d think he was goin’ to a fire! Lickety-cut, down the trail like a locoed steer. An’ sometimes I think he is locoed, too—takin’ to kidnappin’ girls! Why, blame it all, they’re more trouble than they’re worth. Me, I told him that! But no, he would have his way. Fer revenge, he said. Huh! Revenge! What’s he want revenge fer? Couple of hundred head of white-face Durhams ’ud be more to my notion. Got a match, Bill? This pipe’s gone out. Guess she don’t draw well.”
Around the corner of the rock came the reflection of a tiny flame, and Teddy nudged Roy.
“Jump ’em?” he breathed. It was a tense question.
Roy shook his head. “Not yet. We may hear something that’ll help us. Listen—”
The one who spoke first continued:
“He’s a funny bird, that Reltsur. Now where’d he pick up a name like that? Sounds like a Russian dressing. You know, before we got mixed up with that X Bar X outfit he was O. K. Just a regular rustler then, an’ he knew his stuff, let me tell yuh. Almost as good as that other waddy we had, who got knifed by Froud. What was his name, now? Well, don’t matter. As I was sayin’, this Reltsur was all right up to then. When we got nabbed at the fence he tried to slide out from under, but he gits his right under the left ear. Ever notice how funny he rides—leanin’ to the left, kind of?”
“Yea, but he don’t ride on his ear, does he?” the other chuckled. “Anyway, we got to give him credit fer arrangin’ that little affair at Hawley. He sure turned that out proper. But what ’ud he want to go an’ cart along those billies from New York fer? They ain’t no good. They can’t even shoot, though they said they could. Know where they are now? Back in town, playin’ poker with the rest of our outfit. That’s where we ought to be, ’stead of standin’ here catchin’ cold! What say we duck? Hey?”
Teddy seized Roy’s arm. These two must be alone! What a chance! But now the other spoke again:
“Better not, Bill. Reltsur will be back soon, an’ if we’re not here, he’ll raise Jim Henry. But if you can keep that loose tongue of yors still fer a while, I’m goin’ to sleep. G’night.”
The boys heard a body move restlessly about, as though trying to find a comfortable spot for repose. Roy glanced back. At his elbow Bug Eye crouched, gun out and raised. Close to him stood Gus and Nick.
“Teddy!” Roy whispered. “Get along side of me—like this. When I yell, we both jump together. You fellows follow. Ready?”
There was no need to answer. Roy saw his brother’s face twitching eagerly, saw the shoulders hunched, the neck craned forward.
“Ye-o-o-w!”
“Get ’em, boys! Knock’ em cold, if you have to, but get ’em!”
There was a fierce, sudden rush! Yells! Shouts!
“Hey! what in thunder’s this? Hey, you, take that gun outen my mouth!”
“They got us, Bill! Ouch, that’s my nose! All right! You win! Only let up, fer Pete’s sake!”
A short, desperate scuffle followed. The dull thud of a few blows, and Bill and his companion were sitting stupidly on the ground, stripped of their guns, the moon shining on two very much astounded cattle-rustlers who shook their heads in a dazed manner.
“If we had knowd you was goin’ to roughhouse,” Bill began in an aggrieved tone, “Sam an’ me would’ve—”
“Nick—” Roy spoke sharply—“you stay here and watch these men! If they give you any trouble, shoot!”
“With pleasure!” Nick responded, grinning. “But at present they seem to be perfectly comfortable. Hey, gents?”
The one called Sam looked up dubiously. “Well, I got a pack of cards an’ if yore so inclined, we might—”
Neither Teddy nor Roy heard the rest, for they, followed by Gus and Bug Eye, were running along the trail. Ahead of them they made out a dark splotch against the stone walls. As they came closer they saw that it was an entrance to a cavern.
“The Caves!” Teddy yelled, careless of consequences. “Belle! Ethel! Are you there? Belle!”
“Teddy!”
A figure ran from the opening of the cavern and toward him. The next moment it had cast itself into his arms.
“Oh, Teddy! Roy! We thought you’d never come! Three days we were kept in there! Three days!” Belle was sobbing openly now, catching at Roy and Teddy by turns and kissing them. But in a moment she regained something of her composure, and called:
“Nell! Ethel! Come out! It’s all right! The boys are here! They’ve found us!”
Then on that moonlit ledge was one of the strangest and happiest scenes in which the boys had ever taken part. Bug Eye cheered and Gus chuckled in that inimitable way of his, while the rest took turns congratulating each other. Especially did Nell and Ethel pay outrageous tribute to Roy and Teddy, insisting that they were:
“Oh, so much better than those old knights who rescued ladies from dungeons! And would they consent to sign their names in this little book, please?”
In the midst of all this merriment and hilarity, Clovita came to the doorway of the cave, wearing a wide grin. She did not seem at all disturbed at the turn affairs had taken. When the boys saw her they started back.
“The old woman we saw at the cabin! How did she get here? Why, we left her on the trail hours ago. She even talked to us! How—”
“She my sister—we twins,” Clovita declared, grinning wider than ever. “You meet her, yes? She not so nice, maybe?”
“I’ll tell a maverick she wasn’t!” Roy exclaimed. “But never mind that now. You girls—you’re all right? They gave you plenty to eat and drink?”
“We’re fine,” Ethel laughed happily. “But won’t it feel great to be home again! The first thing I’m going to do is—”
She was interrupted by a yell, coming from the place they had captured the guards. Roy reached for his gun. Then he let out a roar of laughter as Nick called out:
“Hey, Roy, these two geezers won all my money playin’ seven-up! Come down here quick, or they’ll have my shirt! An’ bring a new pack of cards! These are marked, or I’m a ring-tailed dodo-bird!”
CHAPTER XXV
“What a nightthatwas!”
Teddy, turning on his pillow, observed his brother. The early afternoon sun was streaming through the windows of their bedroom at the ranch house of the X Bar X. From the yard came sounds of a missing motor, interrupted by:
“Now yore hittin’ along, you ole puddle jumper. Hear that engine, Nick? Sweet, ain’t she, since I put that new carburetor on? Baby, this here lead mule—Stall on me, will yuh! Consarn yore brake-bands, I’ll blow yore piston rings clear to—”
“Bug Eye,” Teddy said, grinning. “He’s got his flivver out there. Reckon some one drove it over for him.” The boy yawned, and stretched high.
Roy observed the ceiling complacently. He seemed perfectly content to lie there, and think—think of the many things that had happened not twenty hours ago. Last night they were in Thunder Canyon, at Sholo Caves. Now they were at home, in their own room, listening to Bug Eye’s “Address to a Flivver.”
Lazily, Roy recalled that ride out of the canyon with the three girls and the two prisoners on horses they had found picketed near the cave. Clovita had gone with them, and it was lucky she had, for she showed them a short cut to the other side of the canyon, where they had met Mr. Manley and his party. His joy at having Belle back safe and sound was tremendous, as well it might be, and on that long ride home his corncob pipe was never unlit for a second. His humor kept the party in constant gales of laughter, not even excepting the two captured rustlers, who seemed a bit relieved that the whole business was over. Nick promised to visit them in jail and try to win some of his money back.
They had found Reltsur where they had left him, leaning against a tree, muttering to himself. The wound Teddy had inflicted was severe, but not fatal, and Mr. Manley, at all times considerate, even to an enemy, insisted that he take his bronco, while he rode double with Teddy. Gus shook his head at this display of “misplaced sympathy,” but, nevertheless, his admiration for his boss increased tenfold. In his own words, as he later described it to Rad Snell, “Mr. Manley is sure one white guy.”
On their way out of the canyon they had passed the hut of the old woman, Clovita’s sister. Here Clovita left them, Mr. Manley feeling that it would do no good to detain her. After all, she was but a tool in the hands of the outlaws. The last the boys saw of her she was beating on the door of the cabin with her bare fist, while within all was dark. Roy wondered vaguely if her sister had finally admitted her or whether she had to climb in a window.
The homecoming of the girls had been momentous. Mrs. Manley was waiting up, and with tears of joy in her eyes she embraced her daughter, and also Nell and Ethel.
“I knew you’d come to-night!” she exclaimed. “I just knew it! Belle, I prayed so hard for you all that you couldn’t help being safe! And now I have a suggestion. Mrs. Moore and Norine want to make some tea and toast. What about it?”
The yell that had gone up was answer enough. And after the rustlers had been put in the bunk-house, with Sing Lung guarding them with a huge knife and a ferocious frown on his face that would have deceived any one who did not know him, the rescue party sat down to a late midnight supper.
Mr. Manley had bound Reltsur’s arm up and quartered him with his companions, with Sing Lung as guard. As Roy, in bed, thought about this man a puzzled look came over his face.
“Say, Teddy,” he remarked, sitting up and gazing out the window at Bug Eye and his precious flivver, “that’s a funny name for any one to have.”
“What?” Teddy opened his eyes stupidly. “You talkin’ to me?”
“I say Reltsur is a mighty queer name.”
“Yea?”
Silence, unbroken save for the slow breathing of the boys. Then,
“I got it!” Teddy yelled suddenly.
“You got what?”
“I know what Reltsur means! Jimminy, I just thought of it! Came to me like a flash. I was always quick like that. Fast on my feet, too. I remember one time—”
“Well, for the love of Pete, spill it! What does Reltsur mean?”
Teddy gazed at his brother, a grin on his face.
“Spell it backwards!”
“Spell it—” Roy stopped and looked thoughtful. “Let’s see. R-u-s-t-l-e-r. Rustler! By jinks, Teddy, you’re right! Rustler! Who’d have thought it? The crazy guy. Using a thing like that for a name! Golly, he must be cookoo. Must think he’s a villain out of the middle ages. In those days a man would take for his name anything that—”
“You don’t say!” Teddy interrupted, laughing. “Well, that’s what Reltsur means, all right. Let’s get up and tell dad. Baby, that was some sleep! We got in about twelve, didn’t we? From twelve until—let’s see, one-thirty. Wow! I’m hungry! Let’s go down and see Ethel and Nell, and then we eat.”
As the boys descended the stairs, Teddy thought with a smile that but a few hours ago they weren’t sure whether they would ever see the old ranch again. They had expected a fierce fight, and were ready for it. They knew those rustlers could shoot, and Teddy and Roy had resigned themselves to whatever might occur. Yet they had met no one but an old woman and two punchers who played cards with Nick Looker! Teddy laughed aloud as he recalled Nick’s plaintive cry from the trail of Thunder Canyon:
“Hey, Roy, these two geezers won all my money playin’ seven-up!”
Outside, in the yard, Bug Eye was surrounded by a crowd to whom he was explaining the mysteries of his new carburetor. Belle and Ethel were standing arm in arm, and Mr. Manley was chuckling gleefully at Bug Eye’s attempt to show that a four-cylinder motor ran better when two of the cylinders refused to fire.
“She’s supposed to do that!” he was insisting. “That’s what this here doohickey is for—to con-serve gas! You see, yay, look who comes! Boys, you’re just in time! Make way! Make way, you vassels—or something like that. What’s the good word, boys?”
“Listen, and I’ll give you the low-down,” Roy laughed. “Dad, Teddy made a discovery—a stu-pen-dous discovery. He found out what Reltsur means!”
“He did, son? What is it?”
“Spell it backwards and you’ll soon see!”
For a moment there was silence. Nick’s head bobbed up and down, his tongue on his lower lip as he figured it to himself. Gus and Bug Eye struggled manfully, but had to wait until Mr. Manley shouted:
“Rustler! That’s it, sure as shootin’! Teddy, you’re a genius! It’s rustler turned around!”
“I always thought that bozo was a little balmy,” Pop Burns declared, when the matter was explained to him. “Now I know it! Snakes, it’s a wonder he doesn’t walk backwards! Huh! Rustler, hey? Guess he’s had enough action for a while, anyhow. He can think up new names fer himself while he’s sittin’ in jail—an’ if you take my advice, that won’t be at Hawley, boss!”
With a laugh, Mr. Manley agreed. Then he glanced fondly at his two sons, who had, together with their friends, brought this Reltsur to justice and had rescued Belle and the others from his clutches.
But the ranch boys were to have other happenings, and the further adventures of Roy and Teddy will be told in the next volume, to be called: “The X Bar X Boys on Whirlpool River.”
Teddy, leaning forward, whispered to Ethel. She nudged Belle and Nell, and, casually, the three girls walked away from the little group surrounding Bug Eye, who had continued his demonstration.
In a few moments the boys followed and met the girls near the corral. It was the work of but a few moments to saddle Flash and Star and three other ponies.
Softly they rode out of the yard. If any one saw them, they gave no sign. Once behind the corral Teddy leaped Flash forward.
“Let’s go!” he yelled. “To that stump out there! See it? Come on!”
Over the prairie the riders swept. And as they left the ranch houses, there came to them a faint, far-off voice:
“Now this carburetor, she works on a funny system. First the gas condenses in here, ya see, an’ the air is let in by this here doofunny——”
THE END
WESTERN STORIES FOR BOYS
By JAMES CODY FERRIS
Each Volume Complete in Itself.
Thrilling tales of the great west, told primarily for boys but which will be read by all who love mystery, rapid action, and adventures in the great open spaces.
The Manley boys, Roy and Teddy, are the sons of an old ranchman, the owner of many thousands of heads of cattle. The lads know how to ride, how to shoot, and how to take care of themselves under any and all circumstances.
The cowboys of the X Bar X Ranch are real cowboys, on the job when required, but full of fun and daring—a bunch any reader will be delighted to know.
THE X BAR X BOYS ON THE RANCHTHE X BAR X BOYS IN THUNDER CANYONTHE X BAR X BOYS ON WHIRLPOOL RIVERTHE X BAR X BOYS ON BIG BISON TRAILTHE X BAR X BOYS AT THE ROUND-UPTHE X BAR X BOYS AT NUGGET CAMPTHE X BAR X BOYS AT RUSTLER’S GAPTHE X BAR X BOYS AT GRIZZLY PASSTHE X BAR X BOYS LOST IN THE ROCKIESTHE X BAR X BOYS RIDING FOR LIFETHE X BAR X BOYS IN SMOKY VALLEY
THE X BAR X BOYS ON THE RANCHTHE X BAR X BOYS IN THUNDER CANYONTHE X BAR X BOYS ON WHIRLPOOL RIVERTHE X BAR X BOYS ON BIG BISON TRAILTHE X BAR X BOYS AT THE ROUND-UPTHE X BAR X BOYS AT NUGGET CAMPTHE X BAR X BOYS AT RUSTLER’S GAPTHE X BAR X BOYS AT GRIZZLY PASSTHE X BAR X BOYS LOST IN THE ROCKIESTHE X BAR X BOYS RIDING FOR LIFETHE X BAR X BOYS IN SMOKY VALLEY
THE X BAR X BOYS ON THE RANCH
THE X BAR X BOYS IN THUNDER CANYON
THE X BAR X BOYS ON WHIRLPOOL RIVER
THE X BAR X BOYS ON BIG BISON TRAIL
THE X BAR X BOYS AT THE ROUND-UP
THE X BAR X BOYS AT NUGGET CAMP
THE X BAR X BOYS AT RUSTLER’S GAP
THE X BAR X BOYS AT GRIZZLY PASS
THE X BAR X BOYS LOST IN THE ROCKIES
THE X BAR X BOYS RIDING FOR LIFE
THE X BAR X BOYS IN SMOKY VALLEY
GROSSET & DUNLAP,Publishers, NEW YORK
THE HARDY BOYS SERIES
By FRANKLIN W. DIXON
Illustrated. Every Volume Complete in Itself
The Hardy Boys are sons of a celebrated American detective, and during vacations and their off time from school they help their father by hunting down clues themselves.