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jrohnny Nelson

Johnny Nelson

Haw a ane-iime pupil of Hopahng Cos sidy of

the famous Bar'20 ranch in the Pecos

Valley performed an act of knight*

errantry and what came of it

Bj CLARENCE E. MULFORD

Aalkor o£ ^Hbpalong CaMidr,** 'The Orphan,'' '^Bu-IOfl
''Back Peters, Ra n rh^ n un^** E tc «

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PiMkhm

bf affaogeiiieot with A. C McQufg ft Go.

Copyrifkt

A. C McCXURG k Ca

1920

Published May, 1920

C^Pfrighid in GriMi BriUum

HOW fUi,

^ ;

PRINTED IK THB U. 1. A,

CONTENTS

PAGI

I A Rolling Stone « i

II Bit by Bit 6

III An Objcctioa 25

IV WiA His Shadow Before Him 38

V A Lesson in Medical Ediics 54

VI InfonnatioA Wanted 59

VII Hunting With the Hounds 70

VIII AMan'saMan 85

IX Rolling Faster 99

X Freight for Highbank 107

XI 'The Tinkling of the Camel's Bell" 130

XII "Coming Events '' 148

XIII Highbank Makes a Discovery 164

XIV Enough Is SuflEident 173

XV A Diplomatic Mission 182

XVI A Neigjiborly Call 207

XVII News All Axound 217

XVIII Whom the Gods Would Destroy 231

"Give Eternal Rest " 251

Plans and Preparations 261

The Message 279

XXn The Ultimatum 293

XXin Range Activities 307

XXIV Oi the Trail 326

SdU a-Rollin* 345

JOHNNY NELSON

CHAPTER I

A ROLLING STONE

THE horse stopped suddenly and her rider came
to his senses with a jerk, his hand streaking to
a six-gun, while he muttered a profane inquiry at
he swiftly scrutinized his surroundings. Had it been
any horse but Pepper he would have directed his sus-
picions at it, but he knew the animal too well to do it
that injustice. . The valley before and below him was
heavily grassed, and throughout its entire length wan-
dered a small stream. Grazing cattle were scattered
along it, and riding up the farther slope were three
men, who appeared to be peaceful and innocent of
wrong intent These his eyes swept past, and they
passed a small cluster of bowlders down on the slope
below him, but instantly returned to them, a puzzled
look appearing upon his face. In that nest of rocks
a woman lay prone, peering at the distant horsemen,
and she slowly brought a rifle to her shoulder, cuddling
its stock against her cheek. What he did not see, and
could not, at that angle, was the menacing head of a
rattlesnake not twenty feet from her, the instinctive
fear of which put a chill in her heart and urged her
to shoot it, even at the risk of being heard by the men
the was watching. Johnny Nelson unconsciously esti>

70HNNY NELSON

mated the range and shook his head. He could do it
with his Sharp's single^shot, a rifle of great power ; but
he had yet to see any repeater that could. Knowing
the futility of a shot, he coughed loudly, and had the
satisfaction of seeing a flurry below him, and a rifle
muzzle at the same instant Slowly he raised his hands
level with his shoulders, spoke to the horse and, mus-
tering all the dignity possible under the circumstances,
rode slowly down the slope.

'^ That's far enough," said a crisp voice, pleasant ia
timbre even though business-like and angry. " Haven't
I told you punchers to keep off this ranch? "

"Never to my knowledge, Ma'am," he answered.

"Have you the brazen effrontery to sit there and
calmly tell me that?"

" I don't know. Ma'am ; but I never heard about no
such orders."

" Who are you ? Where do you come from ? What
are you doing here?"

Johnny smiled apologetically. "Fifteen hundred
shore would strain that gun. Ma'am. An' mostly a
shot wasted is worse than none at alL I'm here to
offer you one that bites hard at that distance, 'though!
I can't say I generally recommend it for ladies — it
kicks powerful hard, heavy as it is."

"Answer my questions. Who are you ? "

"A stranger, Ma'am ; a pilgrim, seekin' what I can
devour. But now it's nearer sixteen hundred^" he sug-
gested, lowering a hand to get the Sharp's from its
sheath under his leg.

" That will do 1 " she warned. " The range

A ROLLING STONE a

interests me is ten yards. You may rest them on your
hat/* she conceded.

He locked his fingers over his head and grinned.
'*Why, Fm a roUin' stone from Montanny, Ma'am.
So far Fve rolled into trouble all th' way, an' it looks
like I'm still a-roUin'. I want to apologize for bustin'
up your party — they've done faded."

"*Done faded' never Was born in Montana," she
retorted, suspicion glinting in her eyes. She lowered
the gun until it rested on her knees, but its muzzle still
covered Johnny.

" Neither was I, Ma'am," he replied, smiling. " I
was bom in Texas, an' grew up there. My greatest
mistake was goin' north — but now I'm tryin' to wipe
that out. It's a long trail. Ma'am ; an' I've wasted a
powerful lot of time."

** You shall waste some more; after that the speed
of your departure will doubtless largely compensate
you. How do I know you are telling the truth ? "

**As to that, not meanin' no offense, I ain't none
interested. An', Ma'am, neither are you. I might
say, as a general proposition, that no stranger has any
business askin' me personal questions; an', also, that
in such cases I reserve th' right to lie as much as I
please, 'though I ain't admittin' that I'm doin' it here.
Pepper warned me that somethin' was wrong, which
it was by several hundred yards — an'. Ma'am, shootin*
across a valley is shore deceivin'. Also I saw that one
jroung lady was goin' to mix up serious with three
growed-up men — pretty craggy individuals, from what
I know of punchera. That was not th* right thing for

JOHNNY NELSON

a lady to do — but I'm alius with th' under dog, I'm
sorry to say, so I homed in an' offered you a gun that
would fill them fellers with righteous indignation, homi-
cidal yeamin's, an' a belief in miracles. I knowed they
wouldn't get hurt at that distance — you see, there's
little things like windage, trigger pull, an' others. But,
Ma'am» th' sound of that lead an' th' noise of that gun
shore would pester 'em. They'd get most amazin'
curious, for men, an' look into it. An' when they found
me with a gun on 'em they'd get more indignant than
ever. Now, Ma'am, I've busted up yore party, which
I had no right to do. If you wants them fellers right
up close so you can look 'em over good an' ask 'em
questions, say so, an' I'll go get 'em for you. I owe
you that much. But I don't aim to be no party to a
murder," he finished, smiling, and slowly and deliber-
ately lowered his hands and rested them on his belt

She was staring at him with blazing eyes, a look on
her white face such as he never had seen on a woman
before ; and he realized that never before had he seen
an angry woman. His smile changed subtly. It soft-
ened, the qmicism faded from it and kindly lines crept
in; and there was something in his eyes that never had
been there before. He looked out across the valley,
at the few cows, where there should have been so many
in a valley like that Then he gazed steadily at the
point where the three horsemen had become lost to
sight — and the smile gave way to a look hard and
cold. Pepper moved, and Johnny drew a deep breath,
squaring his shoulders in sudden resolution. Swinging
from the saddle he walked slowly forward toward the

A ROLLING STONE

threatening rifle mazzle, took the weapon from its
owner's knees, lowered the hammer, and placed the
gun against the rock at her side. Straightening up, he
whistled softly. Pepper, advancing with mincing steps,
shoved her velvety mazzle against his cheek and
stopped. He swung into the saddle, wheeled the horse
and rode around a near-by thicket, soon returning with
a saddled SV pony, which he led to its owner. Mount*
ing again, he badked Pepper away and, removing his
sombrero, wheeled and sent the horse up the slope with-
out a backward glance, sitting erect in the saddle as a
figure of bronze until hidden by the crest and well down
on the other side. Then he pulled suddenly at the reins
with unthinking roughness and dashed at top speed to
the left until the crest was again close at hand. With
his head barely on a level with the top of the hill, he sat
staring across the little valley at the point where the
horsemen had disappeared ; and there was a look on his
face which, had they seen it, would have turned their
conversation to subjects less triviaL

CHAPTER II

BIT BY BIT

THE sun was near the meridian when Johnny rode
bto Gunsight, a town which he took as a matter
of course. They were all alike, he reflected. If it
were not for the names they scarcely could be told apart
—and it would have been just as well to have num-
bered them. A collection of shacks, with the over-
played brave names. The shack he was riding for was
the " Palace," which only rubbed it in. Out of a hun-
dred towns, seventy-five would have their Palace saloon
and iifty would have a Delmonico hotel. Dismounting
before the door, he went in and saw the proprietor
slowly arising from a chair, and he was the fattest man
Johnny ever had seen. The visitor's unintentional
stare started the conversation for him.

"Well, don't you like my looks?'* bridled the pro-^
prietor.

Johnny's expression was one of injured innocence.
"Why, I wasn't seein' you," he explained. "I was
thinkin' — but now that you mention it, I don't see noth-
in' th' matter with your looks. Should there be ? "

The other grunted something, becoming coherent
only when the words concerned business. "What's
youm?"

"A drink with you, an' some information."

"Th' drink goes; but th' information don't"

BIT BY BIT

I take It all back/' soliloquized Johnny. **This
town don't need a number; it don't even need a name.
It's different. It's th' only one this side of Montanny
where the barkeeper was hostile at th' start I'm peace-
ful. My ban's are up, palm out. If you won't give me
information, will you tell me where I can eat an' sleep ?
Which of th' numerous hotels ain't as bad as th' rest
of 'em?"

Davis Lee Beauregard Green slid a bottle across the
bar, sent a glass spinning after it, leaned against the
back bar and grinned. " Gunsight ain't impressin' you
a hull lot? " he suggested.

"Why not? It's got all a man needs, which is why
towns are made, ain't it?" Johnny tasted the liquor
and downed it. " I alius size up a town by th' liquor it
sells. I say Gunsight is a d — d sight better than I
thought from a superficial examination."

Dave Green, wise in the psychology of the drinking
type, decided that the stranger was not and never had
been what he regarded as a drinking man; and even
went so far in a quick, spontaneous flash of thought, as
to tell himself that the stranger never had been drunk.
Now, in his opinion, a hard-drinking, two-gun man was
" bad ;" but a coldly sober, real two-gun man was worse,
although possibly less quarrelsome. He was certain
that they lived longer. Dave was a good man with a
short gun, despite his handicap ; but a stirring warning
instinct had told him that this stranger was the best
who ever had entered his place. This impression
came, was recognized, tabbed, and shoved back in his
memory^ all in a mechanical way. It was too plain to

8 JOHNNY NEUON

be overlooked by a man who, perhaps without realizing
it, studied humanityy although he could not lay a finger
on a single thing and call it by name.

Dave put the bottle back and washed the glass.
*' Welly'* he remarked, "every man sizes things up
accordin' to his own way of thinking which is why there
are so many different opinions about th' same thing/'
Letting this ponderous nugget sink in, he continued:
** I reckon th' bottom of it all is a man's wants. You
want good liquor, so a town's good, or bad Which is
as good a way as any other, for it suits you* But,
speakin' about eatin'-houses, there's a hotel just around
th' comer. It's th' only one in town. It butts up agin*
th' comer of my rear wall. Further than sayin' I've
et there, I got no remarks to make. I cook my own*
owin' to th' pressure of business, an' choice."

"It ain't run by no woman, is it?" asked Johnny.

"No; why?"

Johnny grinned. " I'm ridin' clear of wimmin. It
was wimmin that sent me roamin' over th' face of th'
earth, a wanderer. My friends all got married, an' —
oh, well, I drifted. Th' first section I come to where
there ain't none, I'll tie fast; an' this country looks like
a snubbin' post, to me."

"You lose," chuckled Dave. "There's one down
here, an' some folks think she's considerable. What's
more, she's lookin' for a good man to run her dad's
ranch, an' get an outfit together, as will stay put But
if you don't like 'em, that loses th' job for you. An'
I reckon yo're right lucky at that."

" Shore ; I know th' kind of a ^ sood' man they want»*'

BIT BY BIT 9

said Johnny, reminiscendy. " * Goody' meanin* habits
only. A man that don't smoke, chew, drink, cuss, get
mad, or keep his hat on in th' house. Losin' th' job
ain't bendin' my shoulders. I ain't lookin' for work;
I'm dodgin' it Goin' to loaf till my money peters out,
which won't be soon. You'd be surprised if you knowed
how many people between here an' Montanny think
they can play poker. Just now I'm a eddicator. I'm
peddlin' knowledge to th' ignorant, an' I ain't no gam*
blcr, at that I "

Dave chuckled. "There's some around here, too.
Now, me; I'm different. I can't play, aa' I know it;
but, of course, I'll set in, just for th' excitement of it,
once in a while, if there ain't nothin' else to do. Come
to think of it, I got a deck of cards around here
some'rs, right now."

The rear door opened and closed. Johnny looked
up and saw the worst-looking tramp of his experience.
The newcomer picked up a sand-box cuspidor and
started with it for the street

" Hi, stranger 1 " called Johnny. "Ain't that dusty
work?"

The tramp stiffened. He hardly could believe his
ears. The tones which had assailed them were so spon*
taneously friendly that for a moment he was stunned.
It had been a long time since he had been hailed like
that — far too long a time. He turned his head slowly
and looked and believed, for the grin which met his
eyes was as sincere as the voice. It made him honest
in his reply.

" No," he said, " this here's sand."

10 JOHNNY NEUON

''But ain't yore throat dasty?'*

Two-Spot put the box down. '' Seems like it alius is.
If these boxes get dusty, I'll know how it come about*
;ne bendin' over 'em like I do, an' breathin' on 'em.'*

Johnny laughed. " I take it we're all dusty." He
turned to Dave. " Got three left ? "

Two-Spot walked up to the bar. Usually he sidled.
He picked up his glass and held it up to the light, and
drank it in three swallows. Usually it was one gulp.
Wipmg his lips on a sleeve, he pushed back the glass,
dug down into a pocket and brought up a silver dollar,
which he tossed onto the bar. " Fill 'em again, Dave,"
he said, quietly.

At this Dave's slowly accumulating wonder leaped.
He looked at the coin and from it to Two-Spot. Sensing
the situation, Johnny pushed it farther along towards
the proprietor. " Our friend is right, Dave," he said,
*' two is company. Make mine th' same."

Two-Spot put down his empty glass and grinned.
" I'll now go on from where I was interrupted. Gents,"
and, picking up the box, went towards the door. As
he was about to p^ss through he saw Pepper, and he
stopped. "Good, Lord!" he muttered. "What a
hossi I've seen passels of bosses, but never one like
that. Midnight her name oughter be, or Thunderbolt"
He turned. "Stranger, what name do you call that
boss?"

Johnny looked around. " That's Pepper."

Two-Spot grinned. "Did you see that?" he de-
manded, tilting the box until the sand ran out. " Did
you see it? She knows her name like a child. Well,

BIT BY BIT 11

it's a good name — a fair name," he hedged. **But,
shucks I There ain't no name fit for that hoss I How
fur has she come today?"

" Near forty miles," answered Johnny.

** I say it ag'in — there ain't no name fit for that hoss.
She looks like she come five," and he passed out.

*• Don't mind him," said Dave. " But where did he
git that dollar ? Steal it? Find it? Reckon he found
it. I near dropped dead. Pore devU — he come here
last winter an' walks in, cleans my boxes an' sweeps.
Then he goes 'round to th' hotel an' mops an' cleans th'
pans better than they ever was before. He was so
handy an' useful that we let him stay. An' I've never
seen him more than half drunk — it's amazin' th' liquor
he can hold."

"Sleep here?"

*' No ; an' nobody knows where he does sleep. He's
cunnin' as a fox, an' fooled 'em every time. But wher^
ever it is, it's dry."

Johnny produced a Sharp's single-shot cartridge.
'* Where can I get some of these Specials?" he
asked.

Dave looked at it " ^45-1 20-550 ' — you won't get
none of *em down in this country."

"Post office in town?"

" Not yet. Th' nearest is Rawlins, thirty mile east,
widi th' worst trail a man ever rode. Th' next is High-
bank, forty mile south. We use that, for th' trail's
good. We get mail about twice a month. Th' Bar H
an' th' Triangle take turns at it."

" Then I'll write for some of these after I feed. Ill

12 JOHNNY NELSON

tell 'em to send *ein to you, at HighbanL What name
will I give?*'

*^ Dave Green, Highbank-Gunsight mail But you
better write before you eat. This is goin' away day,
an' th' Bar H will be in any minute now."

Johnny arose. "Not before I eat I ain't had
nothin' since daybreak, an' it's afternoon now. I hate
letter writin' ; an' if I don't eat soon I'll get thin."

"Then don't eat — ^'though I wasn't thinkin' of you
when I spoke," growled Dave. " Wish I was in danger
of gettin' thin."

"What you care?" demanded Johnny. "Yo'rc
healthy, an' yore job don't call for a man bein' light"

" That's th' way you fellers talk," said Dave. " I'm
short-winded, I'm in my own way, an' the joke of th*
country. I can't ride a boss — why, cuss it, I can't even
get a gun out quick enough to get a hop-toad before he's
moved twenty feet ! "

" PuUin' a gun has its advantages, I admits," replied
Johnny, who had his own ideas about Dave's ability in
that line. Dave, he thought, could get a gun out quick
enough for the average need — being a bartender, and
still alive, was proof enough of that He walked to-
ward the door. "If you was to get a big boss— -a
single-footer, you could ride, all right."

He went around and entered the hotel, mentally num-
bering it Arranging for a week's board and bed for
himself and Pepper, he hurried out to the wash bench
just outside the dining-room door, where he found two
tin basins, a bucket of water, a cake of yellow soap, a
towel, and two men using them all. Taking his turn

BIT BY BIT 13

he in turn followed them into the dining-room and
diose the fourth and last table, which was next to a
window. The meal was better than he had expected
bat, hungry as he was, he did not eat as hurriedly as was
his habit Fragments of the conversation of the two
iranchers in the comer reached and interested him. It
had to do with the SV ranch, as near as he could judge,
and helped him to build the skeleton upon which he
hoped to hang a body by dint of investigation and ques-
tioning. The episode of that morning had occurred on
the SV ranch if the brands on the cattle he had seen
meant anything. The woman's name was Arnold, and
she had a father and a brother, the latter a boy. There
was a fragment about '*th' Doc," but just what it was
he did not hear, except that it was coupled to the Bar H.
Also, something was afoot, but it was so cautiously
mentioned that he gained no information about it
Finishing before him, the two men went out, and soon
rode past the window, mounted on Triangle horses.

He rattled his cup and ordered it refilled, and when
die waiter slouched back with it, Johnny slid a perfectly
good agar across the table and waved his hand. ** Sit
down, an' smoke. You ought to rest while you got th'
chance."

The waiter losf some of his slouch and obeyed, nod-
ding his thanks. **Are you punchin' ? " he asked.

" When Fm broke," answered Johnny. " Just now
I'm ridin' around lookin' at th' scenery. Never knowed
we had any out here till I heard some Easterners goin'
mad about it I've been tryin' to find it ever since. Butb
anyhow, punchin' is shore monotonous."

14 JOHNNY NELSON

" If yoa can show me anythin' monotoner than this
job, m eat it/' growled the waiter. '*It*8 hell on
wheels for me."

*'Oh, this whole range is monotonous,*' grunted
Johnny. ** Reckon nothin' interestin' has happened
down here since Moses got lost But there's one thing
I like about it — there ain't no woman in thirty miles.'*

"You f oiler Clear River into Green Valley, whicU
is SV, an' you'll change yore mind," chuckled the waiter.
" She'll chase you off, too."

"I'll be cussed. An' she's suspidous of strangers?*'

"Don't put no limit on it like that; she's suspicious
of everythin' that wears pants."

"How's that?"

" Well, her cows has been wanderin' off, lookin' for
better grass, I reckon, an' she thinks they're bein*
drove."

Johnny pictured the valley, but hid his smile. " Oh»
well; you can't blame the cows. They'll find th' best..
Any ranches 'round here run by men ? "

"Shore; three of 'em. There's th' Bar H, an* th*
Triangle, an' over west is th' Double X, but it's ranch-
house is so fur from here that it's a sort of outsider.
It's th' biggest, th' Bar H is next, an' then comes th*
Triangle. Th' Triangle don't hardly count, neithert
'though it's close by."

"What about th' SV you mentioned? An* what*a
yore name?"

" My name's George. Th' SV has gone to th' dogs
since it was sold. It ain't a ranch no more. Of course,
it's got range, an' water, an' some cows, an' a couple

BIT BY BIT 15

of bu3din*8 — but It ain't got no outfit. Old Arnold,
gal, an* his kid — all tenderfeet — arc tryin* to

run it."

•* But they Vc got to have punchers/' objected Johnny.

"They can't keep 'em, though I ain't sayin' why,"
replied George mysteriously.

" Does th' Doc own th' Bar H ? " asked Johnny.

"Lord, no I It owns him — but, say; you'll have to
excuse me. I got work to do. See you at supper. So
long."

Johnny left and rode back the way he had come that
morning, lost in meditation. Reaching the rim of the
valley he looked down over the rolling expanse of vivid
green, here and there broken by shallow draws, with
their brush and trees. He noticed an irregular circle
of posts just south of him and close to the river. Ex-
perience told him what they meant, and he frowned.
Here was a discordant note — that enclosure, small as
it was, was a thing sinister, malevolent, to him almost
possessing a personality. Turning from the quicksands
he sat and gazed at the nest of rocks below him until
Pepper, well trained though she was, became restless
and thought it time to move. Stirring, he smiled and
pressed a knee against her and as he rode away he
shook his head. "Yes, girl, I'm still a-roUin'— an' I
Sdon*t know where to."

After supper he talked with George until they heard
the creaking of wheels and harness. Looking up they
WW four heavy horses slowly passing the window, fol*
iowed by a huge, covered wagon with great, heavy
fHieels having f our*inch tires. A grizzled, whiskered.

i6 JOHNNY NEUON

weather-beaten patriarch handled the lines and talked
to his horses as though they were children.

*' Now I got to make a new fire an* cook more grub,*'
growled George, arising. '* Why can't he get here ia
time for supper? He's alius late, goin' an* comin'."

" Who is he, an' where's he from ? "

'' or Buff aler Wheatley from Highbank. He*s goin*
up to Juniper an' Sherman."

*^He come from Highbank today?" demanded
Johnny, surprised.

" Shore— an' he must 'a' come slow."

** Slow? Forty miles with that in a day, an* he come
slofvf retorted Johnny. "He was lucky to get here
before midnight. If you'd 'a' done what that old feller
has today, you'd not think much of anybody as wanted
you on hand at supper time."

" Mebby yo're right," conceded George, dubiously,
as he went into the kitchen.

Johnny arose and went out to the shed where the
driver was flexing his muscles. "Howd'y," he said.
"Got th' waggin where you want it?"

" Howd'y, friend," replied Buffalo, looking out from
under bushy brows. " I reckon so. 'Most any place'U
do. Ain't nothin' 'round'll scratch th' polish o£F it," he
grinned.

Johnny laughed and began imhitching the tired, pa-
tient horses, and his deft fingers had it done before
Buffalo had any more than started. "Fine bosses,"
he complimented, slapping the big gray at his side.
" You must treat 'em well."

" I do," said Buffalo. " I may abuse mjrself , some*

BIT BY BIT 17

Hmesy but not these here fellers. They'll pull all day,
an' are as gentle as kittens."

'* How do you find f reightin' ? ** asked Johnny, lead-
ing his pair into the shed.

*' Pickin' up, an' pickin fast," answered Bu£falo, fol-
lowing with the second team. *^ It's gettin' too much
for one old man an' this waggin. An' top of that I got
di' mail contract I been askm' for for years. So I got
to put on another waggin an' make th' trip every week
'stead of only when th' f rdght piles up enough to make

it worth while. Reckon I'll break my boy in on th' new

_^ • ft
waggm.

*^ I'll leave th' f eedin' to you," said Johnny, leaning
against the wall. " You know what they need."

"All right, friend; much obliged to you. I just let
'em eat all th' hay they can hold an' give 'em their
measures of oats. I have to carry them with me—*
can't get none away from Highbank, everythin' up here
bein' grass fed."

" I feed oats when I can get 'em," replied Johnny.
'* I alius reckon a corn-fed boss has more bottom."

"Shore has — if they're that kind," agreed Buffalo.

" Travel th' same way all th* time ? "

"Yes. I won't gain nothin' goin' t'other way
•round," answered Buffalo, busy with his pets. "You
see I alius come north loaded. Th' first stop, after
here, is Juniper, where I loses part of th' load. That's
thirty miles from here, an' th' road's good. Then I
cross over to Sherman, lose th' rest of th' load, an' come
bade from there light — it's fifty mile of hard travelin'.
Goin' like I do I has th' good, short haul with th' heavj^

19 JOHNNY NELSON

load; comin* back I have a light waggin on th* long,
mean haul. If I went to Sherman first, things would
just be turned 'round."

"What do you do when you have passengers for
Sherman?"

"Don't want nonel" snorted Bufialo. "Wouldn't
carry 'em to Sherman, anyhow. Anybody with sense
that can sit a hoss wouldn't crawl along with me in th'
heat an' dust on that jouncin' seat. But sometimes I
has a tenderfoot to nurse, consam 'cm. They ask so
many fool questions I near go loco. But they pays me
well for it, you bet I "

"Anythin' else I can give you a hand with?" asked
7ohnny, following the old man out of the shed.

" No, thankee ; I'm all done. Th' only man that can
give me a hand now is that scamp, George. I'm goin' in
to eat, friend. Got to be up an' be on my way before
th' sun comes up. I get th' cool of th' momin' for my
team, an' give 'em a longer rest when she gets hot. If
you see Jim Fanning, tell him I'm buyin' hides as a
side line now. I pays spot cash for 'em, same price as
or Saunders would pay, less th' frei^t. He has quit
th* business an' went to live with hts married da'ter, ol'
fool I"

" Fanning sell hides ? "

" No ; I just want him to know so he can tell th* Bar

H an' th' Triangle an' mebby th' Double X. I want

to have a good load goin* back from here. There ain't

Tofit in goin' all di' way back with an empty waggin.

1, good night, friend! I'm much obliged to you."

That's all right," smiled Johnny. " I'll tell him.

BIT BY BIT 19

O>od night; an' good luck I'' he added as an after*
thought, and then drifted around to the saloon, where
he found several men at the bar.

Dave perfonned the introductions, and added:
^' Nelson, here, says he ain't goin' back punchin' cows
as long as his money lasts. He's a travelin' eddicatoi;
in th' innercent game of draw — or was it studhoss.
Nelson?"

" Draw is closer to my heart," laughed Johnny. " My
friend, Tex, told me I might learn draw if I lived long
enough; but I'd have to have a pack of cards buried
with me an' practice in th' other world if I aimed to
learn studhoss."

" It grieves me to see a young man wastin' his time
in idleness," said Ben Dailey, the storekeeper. ^^Th*
devil is alius lookin' for holts. Young men should
keep workin'. Might I inquire if you feel like indulgin*
in a little game of draw? You'll find us rusty, though."

" We don't play oftener than every night, an' some
afternoons," said Fanning.

"I'm a little scared when a man says he's rusty,"
replied Johnny. " But I reckon I might as well lose
tonight as later. I hope Dave is too busy to cut in—*
he said he don't know nothin* about it."

" Dave's still cuttin' his teeth," chuckled Jim Fan-
ning ; " but he uses my silver to cut 'em on. When he
learns th' game I'm goin' to drift out of town while I
still got a cayuse."

Two punchers came stamping in and Dave nodded to
liiem* *' Here's yore victims ; here's them infants from
di* Double X. Boys, say ^Howd'y* to Mr. Nelson*

20 JOHNNY NELSON

Nelson, diat tall, red-headed feller is Slim Hawkes;
an' that bowlegged towhead is Tom Wilkes. They
ain't been in here in three months, an' they've rid
twenty miles to rob us."

"An' we might walk home," retorted Wilkes. " Let's
lay th' dust before we starts anythin'. Nelson, yoVe
in bad company. This gang would rob a church. You
want to get a kneehold an' hang onto th' pommel after
this game starts. Here's how I "

As the game progressed the few newcomers who
straggled in felt their interest grow. As each finished
his drink, Dave would lean forward and whisper:
*' There's what I call a poker game. Four highway-
men playin' 'em close. To listen to 'em you'd think
they never saw a card before."

Johnny was complaining. " Gents, I know I'm igno*
rant — but would you advise me to draw to a pair of
treys? Shall I hold up an ace, or take three cards?
I'll chance it; I never hold a sider. Gimme three."

*'Ain't that just my luck," sighed Ben. ^*An' me with
three of a kind."

A little later Johnny picked up another hand and
frowned at it ^' Well, seein' as I alius hold up a sider«
I'll have two, this time."

Hoofbeats drummed up and stopped, and a voice
was heard outside. Dave looked at the calendar. " Big
(Tom's a day ahead — he ain't due for his spree dll
pay-day. Hello, Hufi I What you doin' so fur from
home?"

*' Hello, Dave I Hello, boys I " said the newcomer.
** I feel purty good tonight. Just got woi;d that Mc-

BIT BY BIT ar

4«

(I
CC

Cttllough wants two thousand head from us fellers up
here. He'll be along with his regular trail outfit in a
few weeks. Sixteen men, a four-mule chuck waggin,
an' nine saddle hosses to th' man. I'm sendin' word
that I can give him a 'thousand head, an' th' Triangle is
goin' to give him five hundred ; so he'll want five hun*
dred from th' Double X, which Slim an' Tom can tell
Sherwood."

Shore," growled Slim, and his ranch mate nodded.
Goin' up to Dodge again?" queried Dailey.
He didn't say," answered Big Tom. "Who's
doin' the scalpin' ? " he asked, going over to the table,
where he gradually grew more restless as he watched.

"Some of these days, when I grows up," grinned
Wilkes, " I'm goin' up th' trail with a herd, like a reg'lar
cow-puncher. Dodge may be top-heavy with marshals,
but I'd like to see it again, with money in my pockets."

Slim grunted. " Huh I " He looked over his hand,
and drawled : " Th' last time you went up you put on
too many airs. Just because Cimarron let you play
segundo once in a while when he went on ahead to size
up th' water or some river we would have to cross, you
got too pufied up. I'm aimin' to be th' second boss th'
next trip, an' I'll hand you a few jobs that'll keep you
out of mischief."

Big Tom watched the winner rake in the chips and
could stand it no longer. "Say," he growled, "any-
body gettin' tired, an' want to drop out ? "

Dailey looked up. " I only won two dollars in two
hours, an' I got some work to do. Everybody bein*
willin', I'U ^o out an' bury my winnings."

JOHNNY NELSON

Big Tom took lus place. " I'm ihore of one thing: . I
can't lose th' ranch, for I don't own it."

A round or two had been played when Big Tom
drew hit first openers. Johnny raised it and cards were
drawn. After it had gone around twice, die others
dropped out Big Tom raised and Johnny helped it
slong. The betting became stiSer and Big Tom lauded.
** I hope you keep on boostin' her."

" You can't get me out of this pot with dynamite,"
replied Johnny, pushing out a raise.

Big Tom's gun was out before be left his seat His
chair crashed backward and he leaned over the table.
"Meanin'?" he snarled.

Johnny, surprised, kept his hand on the chips. " What
1 said," he answered, evenly.

"Tom I" yelled Dave. "He don't mean nothin'l
He's a stranger down here."

Big Tom's scowl faded at the words. " I reckon I
was hasty, Nelson," he said.

Johnny spoke slowly, his voice metallic " You was
so hasty you come near never gettin' over it Put down
th' gun."

" I'm a mite touchy at "

"If you has anythin* to say, put — down — that —
gun.

"No offense?"
For th' third time: Put — down — that — gun."
ig Tom shook his head and appeared to be genu-
r sorry. He slid the gun back and picked up his
r. "You raised?"
I did. I advise you to call — and end it"

BIT BT BIT 23V

She's called Five little hearts,'' said Big Tom,
lying down his cards.

"They're hasty, too. ' Queen full, count 'em. Let's
liquor."

The foreman paused in indecision. "Nelson "

" We all get touchy," interrupted Johnny, scraping in
the winnings. " Will you drink with me ? "

" I'll take the same," said Big Tom, and he bought
the next round, nodded his good night and went out.

Johnny turned to Dave. "Will you oblige me by
tellin' me what Mr. Huff got hufiy about? "

Dave hesitated, but Slim Hawkes laughed and an-
swered for him, his slow drawl enhancing the humor
of his tale, and wrinkles playing about his eyes and
lips told of the enjoyment the picture gave to him.
" Clear River crossed our range, flowed through Little
Canyon, made a big bend on th' Bar H, passed out of
East Canyon, an' flowed down the middle of th' SV.
Three years ago a piece of Little Canyon busted loose
an' slid down, blockin' th' river, which backed up, gettin^
higher an' higher, an' began to cut through its bank
about three miles above. Big Tom got busy, pronto.
He sends for a box of djrnamite, sticks it around In th'
debris an' let's her go — all of it. When th' earth-
quake stopped there was a second one in th' dust an'
smoke — we all thought it was a delayed charge. It
wasn't. It was a section of th' canyon wall, near a
hundred feet long an' almost two hundred feet high.
There was a shale fault runnin' down from th' top, back
about forty feet Everythin' in front of that was jarred
loose an* slid. Th' canyon was choked so hard an*

24 JOHNNY NELSON

fast diat it won't never get open again. Clear River
kept right on a-cuttin\ an' it now flows on th* other side
of Pine Mountain, which means th' Bar H ain't got no
water of its own, except a few muddy holes south an'
west of th' ranch buildings. That's why he's touchy.

But that's » long speech, an' a dry one. Let's all liquor

* ft
agauL

CHAPTER III

AN OBJECTION

JOHNNY looked forward eagerly to the coming of
the outfits for ^eir monthly celebration, and he was
not certain that he would not make enemies before the
night was over, which impelled him to visit the Bar H
and the Triangle while he would be welcome. He had
familiarized himself with the SV valley and the country
close to the town. Therefore he mounted Pepper after
an early breakfast and rode south, passing the shack
occupied by the Doc, about two miles south of Gun-
sight The Doc was squatting on SV land, had a small
corral, a hitching post, and a well. Johnny stopped at
the latter and had a drink while he mentally photo-
graphed everything in the immediate vicinity. When
he started on again he had the choice of two trails.
One wound up over Pine Mountain, a high, wooded
hill, and was the more direct route to the Bar H ; the
other followed the river bed around the base of the
mountain, and was the trail used by the Triangle.
Deciding on the shorter, if more difficult route, he gave
Pepper her head and started up the slope. The trail
was fair, following, as it did, the line of least resistance
and threading through rocky defiles, rocky clefts, and
skirting steep walls.

Riding down on the south side he found himself in
a deep ravine and when he left it he came to the old

26 JOHNNY NELSON

bed of the rivery and a grin came to his face as he
pictured the episode of the dynamiting. Following the
dried-up bed he entered East Canyon and found its
north wall to be perpendicular and remarkably smooth ;
the other side sloped more, showed great errosion and
was scored by clefts and wooded defiles running far
back. Emerging from the canyon he rode over a hilly,
rolling range and some time later recrossed the old
river bed and arrived at the Bar H ranchhouses. Two
men were in sight, one mending riding gear and the
other had just fixed the fence around the wall. They
nodded, and he asked for Big Tom.

"He's around some'rs," said "Squint" Farrell^
whose name had been well bestowed.

"Git oS an' set down," invited the other. "He
won't be long. Ridin' fur?"

" Gunsight," answered Johnny.

Bill Eraser's eyes were on Pepper. " Ever think of
swappin' cayuses ? " he asked.

" Not this one," smiled Johnny. " She's too dumb
—won't learn nothin'. But I had her since she could
stand up, an' she's rapid for short distances."

" Meanin' several short distances hooked together,'^
suggested Squint. "I can see she's dumb — it's wrii
all over her."

" I don't care," said Eraser. " I'm a great hand with
th' dumb ones. I'm doin' wonders with Squint."

"Shore," grunted Squint. "He owes me so much
money I got to do what he says. Here comes Tom»
now. He's some touchy this momin'. Must 'a had a
session with them poker deacons last night."

AN OBJECTION 27

*^He holds 'em too long,'' chuckled Frasen ^'He
figgers that if three little deuces are worth a dollar,
why two aces an' two kings is worth a hull lot more."

^* Does sound reasonable," said Squint, ^' three deuces
makin' only six, an' th' others makin' — a king is thir-
teen — twenty-six, an' two more is twenty-eight That
the way you been figgerin' all these years, Tom?"

Big Tom smiled. " Howd'y, Nelson. What brings
you down here so early?"

" Curiosity, mostly," answered Johnny. " That an'
not havin' nothin' to do. An' I'm grievin' about them
two dollars Dailey took away from me last night."

"Nobody that wiggles away from Dailey an' only
leaves two dollars behind can associate with me steady,"
objected Fraser. " I got my rights."

" Mebby we'll see him get two more tonight," said
Squint. " We're ridin' in with money in our pockets."

"An* you'll travel light retumin'," said Big Tom.

"An' most amazin' noisy," laughed Squint.

After a little more idle conversation Johnny pulled
his hat more firmly down on his head. " Well, I just
thought I'd drop in an' say hello. Any place else to

go?"

" Don't be in no hurry," said Big Tom. " But if

yo're set, you might get acquainted with th' Triangle

«— it's only an hour's ride. They'll be in town, too,

tonight."

Johnny nodded all around and rode off the way they

pointed. He looked carefully at the brands of the

cattle he passed, stopped at the Triangle for a drink

and a few minutes conversation with a puncher ^o

28 JOHNNY NELSON

was MiMling a fresh hone and rctnnicd bjr the tra3
aromid the eastern end of Pine Mountain^ to Gonsight»
where he q>ent the afternoon phiying sevcn-ap widi
Dave, with indifferent success.

Night had scarcely fallen when a whooping down
die trail heralded the approach of an outfit. It was
from the Triangle and they stamped in eagerly. Dailey,
Fanning, and several more of die townsfolk followed
them, and it was not long before liqoor and cards vied
with each other for the honors of the evening.

Johnny, declining cards, and going easy widi the
liquor, watched the games and became better acquainted
all around.

'Tm losin* my holt,** mourned DaQey. ^'Redum
Fm sidL."

**When you get so sick you can*t move," grunted
Hank Lewis, foreman of the Trian^e, "I*m comin'
in an' take yore dothes. You'll be left like you was
bom."

" You ain't got a chance, Hank," asserted Fanning-
** I live next door to him, an' I'll get him first. Here's
a litde more to freeze him out."

'' No man with three jacks ou^t to sit in this here
game at all," muttered Gardner, sorrowfully, "But
I'm trailin'."

" Now that I know what Sam's got, I'll trail, too,"
grinned George Lang. "Here comes Huff an' his
angels."

The Bar H arrived tempestuously. Big Tom's voice
could be heard above the noise and he was the first to
enter, followed dosely by his outfit He nodded to

AN OBJECTION 29

the crowd and ordered drinks all around. Exchanging
a few words with Dave, he approached Johnny.

*' Reckon you can hold onto diat last pot, Nelson?*^
(e asked.

"1*11 do my best," replied Johnny. "Fll have a
Better chance with Dailey out of our game.**

" Let's make up another table," said Big Tom, look*
ing around.

Fraser joined them, followed by Lefty Carson. " Fm
after more*n two dollars," he laughed. " Dailey alius
did play a kid's game."

*^ Somebody else is pickin* on me,** came Dailey*s
voice. " If that Fraser'U come in some evenin* I'll try
to suit him. Hey, Dave I What's th* matter ? Some-
body tie you to th' bar? "

Dave's retort was not what fiction attributes to a fat
man. He was not genial; he was stirred up. "You
go hang I I'm so cussed busy I can*t see. / ain't no
jack rabbit!"

" He says so hisself I " shouted Squint, roaring with
laughter. "If I ever sees a jack rabbit lookin' like
Dave, I'll give him all th' trail! "

" Hey, Two-Spot I " yelled Dave, with a voice which
shook the bottles. "He's alius around when there's
nobody here — but when there's a crowd to be waited
on, he flits. Hey 1 Two-Spot ! "

Dahlgren held his hand over the bar. "Gimme a
glass of liquor, Dave, an' I'll trap him," he laughed^
looking at his foreman, who had forgotten all about
cards and was drinking steadily.

Dave looked at him, grinned, and complied. Dahl*

30 JOHNNY NELSON

gTtn turned, glass held up. ** Order, Gents I Order I
Less noise I I'm goin' to trap a bum-bum an' have him
on show right before you for two bits a head"

The crowd took it as a wager and would not let him
explain. ^^All right, you coyotes; let it go that way,
then: Two bits apiece that I do,'' he cried, and, the
cynosure of aU eyes, pranced to the door where he
placed the glass on the sill and then lay down along the
wall, his hand raised to grasp his quarry. Laughing^
he faced the crowd. " [They are 'lusive animals. Gents ;
but they can't — oh I hoi — resist th* enticin* smell
of ^"

Another roar went up as a hand stole around the
glass and whisked it from sight All oblivious to this,
Dahlgren took the shout as a tribute to his humor, and
when he could be heard, continued : " They can't re-
sist th' smell of liquor. Gents. When th' wary bum-
bum scents this here glass of fire water," pointing-^
he stopped as another roar went up. ^^Well, I'm
d — d 1 " he grunted. Scrambling to his feet, he plunged
out into the night as Two-Spot entered the rear door»
carrying the liquor at arm's length. Two-Spot stopped,
gulped down the fiery liquid and, pladng the glass on
the bar, started to serve the card players, his face grave
and serious.

The place was in an uproar when Dahlgren returned
and he was met by a howling mob of creditors. Shak-
ing his fist at Two-Spot he exhausted his change as he
bobbed around in the crowd, got more from Dave and
at last managed to pay off. Emitting a yell, he jumped
for Two-Spot, grabbed him and began to manhandle

AN OBJECTION 31

him playfully. Others joined in and the sport grew
fast and furious, rougher and rougher. Johnny, seeing
how things stood, and thinking that Two-Spot was in
danger of being hurt, plunged headfirst into the mass of
merrymakers, grabbed Two-Spot and, at the first oppor-
tunity, threw him reeling toward the doon Leaping
after him, he grasped the confused tramp, whispered :
^^ Vamoose I** and then yelled out: "I can^t, huh?
We'll see!** There was a flurry and Two-Spot shot
Out of the door as though he had left a bow. Johnny
turned and faced the crowd. *' Did you hear him ? '*
he demanded. " I showed him if I could, or not. Blast
liis nerve, to talk like that to me I**

" Wish heM said it to me," growled Big Tom, whose
liquor was making him surly and uncertain. *' I'd 'a'
busted his cussed neck. This here country is gettin*
too d — d independent. That's it — too independent.
Th' Bar H runs this country, an' / run th' Bar H," he
boasted, resting against the bar. "That's it, an' it'a
got to leara it It's got to learn that th' Bar H runs this^
country, an' / run th' Bar H. Anybody say I don't?'*
he demanded, looking around.

Just at this auspicious occasion, Squmt was unfor*
tunate enough to step on the foot of a man who had
little use for him and who, several times in the last few
years, had been restrained only by force from carrying
out his thinly veiled threats. Wolf Forbes, the dead-
liest man on the Bar H, more than disliked Squint, and
taly their conunon interests had averted bloodshed.
Now he snarled and reached for his gun, but found it
beld in the holster by Little Tom Carney, who hung

3a JOHNNY NELSON

to Forbes* arm like a leech until others came to his
and succeeded in taking the killing edge from Wolfs
anger.

Wolf struggled, gradually getting free. **I don*t
want him now/' he panted ** Let go of me I 1*11 get
him when he*s sober." He wrestled free and went over
to his foreman. *^You heard what I said?*' he de-
manded. " There won*t be no interference this time I '*

Big Tom rocked back on his heels and scowled down
at his gunman. ^' I heard you," he replied. "An* I
sajrs yo*re makin' a fool of yoreself. /*m runnin* this
ranch, an' I'm tellin* you diat I'll see that he is good
an* sober an* gets an even break, if it ever comes to
gunplay between you two. Take my advice, an* forget
about it** He pushed Forbes to one side and waved
his arm. ** Everybody have a drink widi Big Tom
Huff, th* boss of th* Bar H. Set *em out, Dave.**

They responded, but the soberer heads began to feel
uneasy. Dave looked at Dailey, who exchanged glances
with him; and at Johnny who, lounging against the
further wall near the card players, was missing nothing.
Johnny allowed a faint smile to show, and winked at
the proprietor, a knowing, significant wink. If it was
meant to bring ease to Dave*s troubled mind, it failed
utterly. Worse than that, it acted the other way.

'' D — n it I ** thought Dave. '' He*s sober as a hoss
an* cold as h — 1** which anomaly did not strike Dave*s
too-busy mind. **Is he aimin* to get Huff? Is he
nursin* last night*s play? Here I was hopin* none of
th* Double X would ride in, an* Trouble was campin*
under my fat nose all th* time I H — 1 will shore pop

AN OBJECTION 33

at the first shot — they^ll shoot him to pieces, an* no
teUin* who else r*

The card game died gradually and the players near-
est the crowd shoved dieir chairs back. Dave noticed
it and shook his head imploringly, trying by sheer will-
power to force them back to the game. He failed, and
his fears looked to be justified. Big Tom, turning pon-
derously, looked at them and then stared as their
atrange inactivity slowly impressed itself on his befud-
dled mind.

" Go on an' play I " he roared. " I run th' Bar H—
an' Bar H runs th' country."

Dave leaped into die breach. " They can't Dailey's
got all th' money."

"Dailey's got— Hal Hal Hal" roared Big Tom.
"He's th' or fox. Coin' to shake ban's with th' ol'
fox I " He weaved across the floor and shook Dailey's
hypocritical hand. **An' he's got Nelson's two pesos I
Me an' Nelson's goin' to play a two-hand game for th'
limit — an' th' winner'll tangle up with Dailey."

That plan did not suit Dave at all. He refilled a
glass and slid it across the bar. '^Hey, Tom I" he
called. "Hey, Tom!** As the foreman turned dum-
aily and stared at him, Dave held up the glass. "I
never thought you was so stuck up as to ask th' boys
to drink with you, an' then throw 'em like that I "

"Who's stuck up?"

" Then why didn't you drink with 'em ? " demanded
Dave, severely.

Huff looked at him and lurched forward. "Beg
boys* pardon. I'm with th' boys. I alius drink with th*

34 JOHNNY NELSON

boyst an* I ain't stuck up I '' He gulped the liquor and,
spreading his feet, leaned against the bar. *^ Th* Bar H
runs this country, an' / run th' Bar H. Fll learn 'em,
too I " He threw off two of his men who tried to quiet
him, fearing he would say too much. '^ I'm all right,"
he assured them. ^^Tll learn 'em," he continued.
" There's that minx on th' SV. I'll learn her, too. I've
been layin' low ; but I'll learn her. I'm not stuck up ;
but she is. First night I called she tried to sneak out
an' leave me holdin' th' sack. But I showed her who
was runnin' this country. She's a wiry minx, but I
kissed "

^' That'll do ! " snapped Johnny, the words sounding
like the crack of a whip. He leaned forward, away
from the wall, his hands hanging limply at his sides.
The crowd jumped, and Dave's heart was severely
taxed. " I don't know th' woman, but I objects. The
Bar H may run this country, an' you may run th' Bar
H ; but if I hears any more about wimmin I'll take th'
job of runnin' you, an' th' Bar H, an th' country, be-
sides, if I has to I I've got some rights an' I ain't goin'
to have my evenin' spoiled by wimmin 1 An' that goes
as she lays 1"

Big Tom had pushed away from the bar and swung
around unsteadily. He blinked, and focused his eyes
on the man who had interrupted him, and who spoke
about running him. Steadily the meaning of the words
hammered at the liquor-paralyzed brain cells, and at
last was recognized and understood. His blood-red
face wrinkled like the muzzle of an angry dog and the
red eyes blazed with murder. Memory tried to inflame

AN OBJECTION 35

him furtheri and succeeded. He snarled an oath and
reached for his gun.

There was a fiash, a roar, and a doud of smoke at
Johnny's hip and before the crowd could move they
were facing two guns, from one of which trailed a thin
wisp of smoke. Big Tom, holding his benumbed hand
against his body, looked from it to his gun, which slowly
ceased sliding and came to a stop on the floor at the
other end of the bar. He appeared to be stupefied.

** I didn't touch him 1 " snapped Johnny. ^^ I hit his
gun. You all saw him draw first Fm aimin' to make
this personal between him an' me — an' so far's /'m
concerned, it's over now. But if anybody has any ob-
jections, I'll hear 'em." Receiving no reply, he coh-
tinued, looking out of the comer of his eye at the Bar
H foreman :

" Tom, I don't aim to do you no injury, an' you can
palaver all you wants, an' have all th' fun you wants,
regardless. That is yore right But I've got rights,
too. An' so has all th' boys. An' we ain't goin' to
hear nobody talk about winunin. Wimmin is barred^
all th' way to th' ace. I ain't goin' to listen about 'em,
at all. They lost me th' best job I ever had, on the best
ranch I ever saw. They drove me clean out of Mon-
tanny, to h — 1 an' gone. All my troubles have been
caused by wimmin — an' you hear me shout that there
ain't goin' to be no palaverin' about 'em where I got to
hear it That's flat; an' I got two six-guns that says it
is. I ain't holdin' no grudge ag'in' you — no more'n
yo're holdin' ag'in' me for my mistake last night We
all of us make 'em, not meanin' to.

36 JOHNNY NELSON

** This is a man's towiii a man's saloon, an' we're all
of us men. We ain't goin' to be follered around by no
wimmin in talk or otherwise. All in favor of barrin*
wimmin, have a drink with me."

The invitation was accepted, and Dave followed it
by a treat on the house. Then he mopped his head and
wearily let his hands hang down at his side. He looked
at Johnny and heaved a sigh. " D — d if you ain't a
he-wizard I " he muttered. "A rcg'lar sheep-herder I **

Johnny walked over, picked up the gun and handed it
to its owner, slapping him on the back at the same time.
" Here, 01' Timer," he grinned, " take yore gun. She's
a beauty an' ain't hurt a bit. Don't it beat all how
me an you get all mixed up without meanin' to ? I says
it's funny — cussed if it ain't I "

Big Tom fumbled at the holster, slid the gun into it,
and a grin crawled across his face. *^ Seems like we are
alius buttin' our fool heads together," he replied. " I'm
with you, Nelson. I'm with th' boys. Th' h — 1 with
wimmin. They're barred, an' I won't listen about 'em,
.We're all men — ain't we, boys?"

^* I reckon so," said Dave. He motioned to Squint
and Eraser, nodding at Big Tom, and then at the door.

" Hey, Tom," called Fraser, " let's go home 1 "

"Won't — won't go home I" objected Big Tom,
lurching forward. Reaching a chair in a comer he fell
into it and in a few minutes was snoring sonorously.

Dave slid his elbow on the bar and rested his head
in his hand. His pose bespoke great weariness. He
looked at Johnny and shook his head in bewilderment
Johnny dragged a chair up to the unused second tablet

AN OBJECTION 37

made a face at the fat proprietor, and piled up a sizable
stack of coins in front of him.

**Any Bar H or Triangle hombre think they can get
any of this?'' he demanded, grinning. Four men
thought so at the same time; and soon a third game
was going on beside them.

Two-Spot poked his face up to the window again
and looked in. Then he came in with an air of non-
chalant confidence. Having seen all that had happened
he believed the stormy weather to be over and if it
wasn't, why Nelson seemed to be a friend of his, which
sufficed. Dave slid him a partly filled bottle.

** Take it away and don't bother me," said the pro*
prietor. " I'm restin' up for th' next storm."

Two-Spot looked around. ^^You can go to sleep,
Dave," he said. " I'll tend bar for you. There won't
be no more. My friend over there is like his black
ca3ruse — everythin' in this country is hid back in his
dust." Turning away, he glanced quickly around, stuck
out his tongue at the snoring Mr. Huff, put his bottle
on a chair, sat down on another one, rested his feet on
the recumbent form of Squint, who snored tenor to his
boss' bass, and appeared to be well pleased with him-
self.

CHAPTER IV

WITH HIS SHADOW BEFORE HIM

THE following morning was a quiet one in Gunsight
and a stranger entering the town would have
thought an epidemic of sleeping sickness had raided it,
for yawns would have met him wherever he turned, and
quite some headaches, the owners of which were short
of temper and ugly in words. Dave dozed in his chair
and his countenance was not a smiling one. He opened
his eyes from time to time and fell asleep again with a
scowl. Ben Dailey petulantly cursed everything his
clumsy fingers bungled, and it can be said that clumsiness
was not the normal condition of those digits. Art Fan-
ning, whose hired man could run the routine affairs of
the hotel as well without him, turned and tossed on his
bed, finally getting up and poking his head out into the
hall. Thinking he heard a noise in Nelson's room, he
went to the door and hammered on it

*' House afire?" demanded Johnny, sleepily.

" No ; but my head is,'* growled Fanning. " What
you say about a bucket of roarin' strong coffee for us
sinners ? "

" I say yo'rc shoutin*. Comin' in ? "

" Naw; I got to put on some clothes — an' find some
socks ; these here are roundin' my heels an' climbin' up
my laigs. I'm shore hard on socks," he growled. Lean-
ing over the stairs he let out a bellow, *^ Hey, George t^^

HIS SHADOW BEFORE HIM 39

" I'D swear he heard you," said Johnny. " Mcbby
th* Bar H did, too. I never saw nobody go under so
quidc from liquor as Big Tom an' Squint."

"Hey, George/'' yelled Fanning. "Oh, they was
well ribbed before they hit town. Where th' **

"What you want?" asked a voice from below.

" What you think I want I " retorted Fanning. " Yore
grandmother's aunt? You brew us a quart of coffee
apiece, and brew it my way. I been bit by a snake."

''/ don't want none of that paint," objected George,
surprised.

"Who said you did?" snapped Fanning. "Who
cares what you want? Nelson an' I'll handle that
Jump lively or I'll shoot down th' stairs."

"Shoot, if you wants. They don't belong to me.
You can shoot down th' house, if you wants 1 " George
slanuned the door with vim. " * Bit by a snake 1 ' Bet
it was a hydrophoby skunk. I'll brew him some coffee
diat'll stunt his growth, blast him I "

After breakfast, during which his companion found
fault three times with everything in sight, Johnny wan-
dered around and dropped in to see Jerry Poole, the
harness-maker. Jerry's mouth tasted of burnt leather
and alum from his night's indiscretions and he was so
unendurably ugly that his visitor, twiddling his fingers
at him, dodged a chunk of wax and departed, going
into Dailey's.

"Hello, yoreselfl" growled Dailey. He fumbled
a ball of cord, dropped it, and kicked it through a win*
dow. " Now look what you done I " he yelled.

Johnny wheeled, slammed the door, and wandered

40 JOHNNY NELSON

to the Palace. Peering iiit he assayed a test of Dave's
hospitality.

**How do you feel?'' he asked, loudly. ** You was
goin' too fast with th' juniper.''

Dave straightened up, glared at him for a moment
and found a more comfortable position. **You can
go to Juniper, or h — 1, for all / care I " he grunted, and
went off to sleep again.

Johnny leaned against the wall in momentary inde-
cision. Hearing shuffling steps, he looked up to see
Two-Spot rounding the comer. His face brightened.
Here was someone with whom he could talk.

" Howd'y, or Timer," he said, cheerily.

**Howd'y," grunted Two-Spot, and passed into the
Palace. There was a noise within, a crashing of chair
legs, and a thunder of words. Two-Spot came out
again in undignified haste, crossed the street in three
leaps and, turning, shook his unwashed fist at Dave,
Johnny, Gunsight, and Creation, and told his opinion
of them all.

Johnny shook his head and went around the comer.
"Pepper's th* only company fit to 'sociate with; an'
a ride won't do me no harm. Reckon I'll go down
an' wander around that hill between th' SV an' th'
Triangle. I ain't been south of that valley yet." He
looked up at the sun. " Cussed if it ain't noon already I "

While Gunsight slept or swore, the day's work was
going on as usual on the SV. Arnold had finished a
hurried breakfast and ridden out to the north boundary
of his ranch, at that point not more than a mile from

HIS SHADOW BEFORE HIM 41

die house, to continue setting posts for a fence. His
boundary ran along the foot of hills heavily covered
with brush and timber and he had grown tired of turn-
ings his cattle from them. Having found several rolls
of wire left by the former owner of the SV, he deter«
mined to use them and make them go as far as they
would. If they reached no farther than across the
Devil's Gulch section and the creek, he would be repaid
for his labor.

Reaching the gulch, he started to work and found
the task disheartening. The ravine was rocky and
bowlder-strewn and he had difficulty in finding places
for the posts. More than half of the morning had
passed when he reached the bottom of the gulch and
began to look for a place where his shovel would do
more than scratch rock. After a fruitless search he
abandoned the idea of digging and determined to build
a cairn around the post Taking a crowbar, he attacked
the side of the gulch and sent several rocks rolling
down. He was prying at a small bowlder with indiffer*-
ent success when the rock under it, giving way unex*
pectedly in a small slide of gravel and shale, freed the
bowlder suddenly and sent it crashing downward before
he could get out of its way. It passed over his left leg
and he dropped in agony, the leg broken below the knee.
There was only one thing for him to do and he tried
it, despite the excruciating pain. He had to drag him-
self to his horse and get into the saddle somehow.
There was no way to call for help with any chance of
being heard, for he did not pack a gun, believing him-
self safer without one. Not being able to use a six-gun

42 70HNNY NELSON

Weill he knew he would have no chance against men
who used them as though they were an integral part
of themselves ; and to carry a weapon under those cir*
cumstances would be suicidali for he then would become
an armed man and have to assume the responsibilities
of one.

After what seemed to be an age, he finally reached
the top of the gulch, and saw his horse. Resting for
a few minutes, he again dragged himself forward. The
horse wheeled, pricked up its ears and stared at him
in panicky fear. Snorting, the animal dashed away at
top speed, the injured man calling after it in despair.

Back in the ranchhouse Margaret set the table for
the noon meal. The dinner was nearly cooked when
she glanced out of the window and saw her father's
saddled horse standing at the corral. Going to the
door, she called out that dinner was ready, well know-
ing her father's habit of not coming until the food was
nearly spoiled. Her brother appeared from the tool
shed and splashed with the wash basin, which he firmly
believed was all that was necessary; but his sister, wise
in the ways of boyhood, thought otherwise.

^' Don't you dare to touch that towel," she warned.
*' If you want any dinner, wash your hands and face
with soap — get them wet, znywzy. Charley, for a
ten-year-old boy you are hopeless 1"

*^An* for a twenty-year-old woman you are a nui*
sance," retorted Charley. ** You women don't do noth*
ing but find fault Where's ds|d ? "

^' I don't know. When you have washed go tell him
that dinner will be spoiled if he doesn't hurry."

HIS SHADOW BEFORE HIM 43

Charley growled something, made a creditable effort
at revealing his face, and departed to find his father.
After a short but fruitless search, he returned and
reported his failure. "Wonder where he went?" he
demanded.

Margaret felt a chill of apprehension. Fears of
this kind were not strangers to her, for she had felt
many of them in the last two years. " Perhaps Lazy
wandered home without him," she suggested. "It
wouldn't be the first time. You would better saddle
Pinto, and go see. Take Lazy with you."
" Go yourself."

"If you want any dinner you'd better be starting.
The sooner you return, the sooner you will eat," she
declared, with vexation. "You know that I cannot
leave now."

"All right I " growled Charley. He slouched to the
corral, saddled Pinto, caught Lazy, and loped toward
the gulch.

Margaret's impatience gave way to a nameless fear
as the minutes passed without sign of the " men." Going
to the door again, she looked out, caught her breath,
and then ran toward the corral. Her father, supported
in the saddle by her brother, was riding slowly toward
the house.

" Dad's broke his leg, Peggy; a big rode come down
on it," said Charley, gloomily. " Help me get him into
the house.'*

Between them they soon had him on his bed and
Margaret told her brother to ride to Gunsight for the
doctor.

44 JOHNNY NELSON

**He won*t come,** groaned the injured man. ''If
he wouldn't come when you needed him, he won't come
for me. Don't waste any dme widi Reed — I wouldn't
have the bladcguard if he would come I Charley, you'll
have to make that ride to Hi^ibank again. I hate to
ask it of you, but there is nothing else to be done.
Forty-five miles is too long a ride for P^Egy, and
besides, I need her here. Eat your dinner, sonny, and
then start as soon as you can. I only hope Doctor
iTreadwell is sober enough to sit a horse when you
get there."

"Gee, Dad I I can do it!" Charley asserted. ''I
did it before in five hours — I'll do it in less diis time.
Pinto can run all day, for she's a good litde horse.
Take good care of him, Sis ; I'm off."

Grabbing a chunk of meat, and stuffing his pockets
with bread, Charley dashed out of the house, climbed
into the saddle, and rode off. '' Come on, Pinto 1 " he
pleaded. '' It's goin' to be a long, hard wait for dad 1 "

Fording the river, he took the slope of the hill
beyond at a walk and, reaching the crest, shot down
the other side. Soon he came to a better trail, where
the Triangle punchers rode when they went out to their
north line. He had not gone far along it before he
saw a horseman ahead of him, and when the rider
turned and looked back:, Charley felt a thrill of fear. It
was Squint Farrell.

Squint was still going home from Gunsight and he
was not yet sober. Worse than that, he was in a savage
mood. When his outfit had started for die ranch, in
the early, dark hours of the morning, he had fallen

HIS SHADOW BEFORE HIM 45

behind them, stupid with drink. At the end of one of
his spells of mental oblivion he suddenly realized that
he was alone, and urged his horse forward in hope of
overtaking his friends. If left to itself the animal
would have followed the trail to the ranch; but in his
sodden frame of mind the rider knew better. ** G*wan 1 "
he ordered, pulling savagely on the reins, and barely
managing to ride out the ensuing bucking. *^ Where
you — goin'? Fm boss of this — here outfit an' Fm
goin' home. 1*11 — point this here herd. GVanI"
The result was that when day broke and Squint aroused
himself and looked around he had no idea of where
he was. "It's further'n I reckoned," he muttered.
"Don't care: I'm goin' to sleep." He dismounted,
made the horse fast to a sapling, and soon was asleep.
When he awakened he looked around in bewilderment
and began to take note of his surroundings. Mounting
his horse, he rode around and finally got his bearings.
He was miles east of the ranchhouse and, with a savage
burst of profanity, he turned the horse and started for
home. As he crossed the SV-Triangle trail he heard
the rapid drumming of a horse's hoofs and, drawing
rein, waited to see who it was.

"Wonder if he got lost, too?" he muttered, and
then the hard-riding horseman turned the corner and
shot into the narrow defile. " Cussed if it ain't that
brat from th' SV I " he exclaimed, and became instantly
though hazily suspicious. " Here, you 1 " he shouted.
'* What you doin' on this range ? Where you goin' so
fast?" He turned his horse across the narrow trail,
effectually blocking it " You speak up, an' don't give

46 JOHNNY NELSON

me none o' yore lip I Where you goin* ? " He reached
for the pinto's bridle, but missed it as Charley pulled
the pony back on its haunches and bathed away,

"I'm going to Highbank for the doctor; dad's
broken hts leg," answered the boy, ti^ng to get past.

"Oh, are you?" snarled Squint '* Wish he'd busted
his neck I Go 'round an' git on th' trail where you
oughter; you can't cross this ranch."

"You don't belong to it," argued the boy. "This ■
is the Triangle ; and I haven't got time to go back now.
Please, Mr. Farrell, let me past I can't waste any,
time I "

" Can't you ? " sneered Squint " I say yo're goin''
'round th' way you should. G'wan, now I Turn 'round,
an' d — d quick, before I does it for youl D — d
bratl"

"Please, Mr. Farrcll," pleaded the boy. "I-et me
past. Dad's suffering, and I've got to hurry."

" * Please, Mr. Farrell,' " mimicked Squint, savagely.
"You goin' to do what I say?" he demanded, drawing
his Colt and waving it menacingly. " I got a notion
not to let you go at all, no way. You (urn that cayuse,
an' move fast Hear me?"

In his desperation Charley forgot lus fear. .There

was only one way to save 'the precious miles, and he

took it The sides of the delile were steep, and studded

lowlders, but he dug his heels into the pony's sides

ent him scrambling like a goat up the left-hand

He was ten feet above Squint before that sur-

I individual realized what had occurred; but with

ialization came a burst of drunken rage. The

HIS SHADOW BEFORE HIM 47

heavy gun chopped down and flamed. Pinto rose
straight up on his quivering hind legs, stood poised for
an instant, and then crashed backward and rolled down
to the trail, his rider barely having time to throw him-
self from the saddle.

** Now you can hoof it I " shouted Squint, brandish-
ing the gun. ''Next time you'll listen, an* do what
yoVe told. G'wan home, now 1 "

"D — n youT* blazed Charley, groping his way
(down the bank, and kneeling at the side of the little
horse. Realizing what was at stake, he flung himself
down on the dead pony and sobbed as though his heart
.would break.

Squint kneed his horse forward. '' Don't you cuss
me I *' he warned. " Don't you do it, you brat 1 Serves
you right : now you can hoof it I " He urged his horse
into a lope and rode down the trail, arguing with him-
self, and finally burst into uproarious laughter at the
trick he had played

Johnny, riding as quietly as possible along the side
of the big hill, just below and south of the SV-Triangle
boundary, looking for rebranded cattle and other signs
of range deviltry, pulled up short at the sound of a
distant shot. It fitted in very nicely with his suspicious
frame of mind and, thinking that he might catch some
one red-handed in some of the things he had been
searching for, he sent Pepper tearing down the slope
and arrived at the trail shortly after Squint had de-
parted. Rounding a turn, he saw the defile and the
pidful scene it held, and he pulled Pepper to her
liaunches and leaped from the saddle.

50 JOHNNY NELSON

I just got to gO| somehow/ Mebby I could take Squint^s
horse/' he suggested, emboldened by desperation*

Johnny shook his head. ^' You don't never want to
ride a Bar H cajruse; 'tain't healthy. But, say, bud,
we don't have to go to Highback at all — we can get
th' Doc at Gunsight. You been eatin' loco weed ? "

"He won't come," said the boy, whispering, and
looking at Squint

*'Did you ask him?" asked Johnny in a low voice,
taking the cue.

" No ; but he wouldn't come when Peggy was sick-^
an' dad says to get Dr. Treadwell from Highbank."

" He wouldn't come when — when Peggy was sick? "
demanded Johnny.

"No, sir; he said he'd treat cows an' horses, but he
wouldn't sling a leg across a saddle if the whole SV.
was dying."

Johnny sat up very straight " Climb up here, sonny.
I'll get th' doctor for you — I can get to Highbank on
this cayuse so quick you'd be surprised. First, I'll take
you nearer home. Pronto, buddy! Yo're holdin' up
th' drive. That's th* way; up you come I " He picked
up the reins. "Squint," he called, "lead th' way, an*
don't stay too close. We travel along th' foot of th*
hill, on th' other side, goin' east after we get there."

" That ain't th' way to Highbank," said the boy.

"I know," replied Johnny. "When you grow up
an' ride around th* country as long as I have, you'll
find there's lots of ways gettin* to places. I'll have th'
doctor at yore house by ten o'clock tonight, which is
some hours before you could get him there. Nowt

HIS SHADOW BEFORE HIM 49

Squint tried his legs and armsi found them still to be
working, and sullenly plodded to his horse. Mounting,
he surrendered his rifle in compliance to orders, and
then loped back the way he had come, Johnny riding
one length in his rear.

** Squint,** said his captor in a hard, level voice, ** if
you give me th* least excuse I'll blow you apart. IVe seen
some mangy humans, but I never run across a two-
laigged polecat like you. I hate to tell you anythin'
that'll save yore life, an* I'm hopin* you'll forget it.
1*11 tell you just once: You behave yoreself like you
never did before, an* move lively when I speak. Keep
looking ahead/ You don't have to look around to hear,
do you?**

Squint preserved an unbroken silence and soon they
reached the scene of his outrage and stopped. Johnny
ordered him to ride on for a hundred feet

*' That's him. Mister I** excitedly cried Charley.
**That'sth*bigbuml**

" I agree with you, buddy,** answered Johnny. " Now
you tell me all of it, over again.** He listened in grave
silence until the pitiful tale was told and then pointed
to Pepper*s bade, behind him. ** Climb up, sonny.
Squint an* me are passin* dose to yore house an* we*ll
take you as far as we can. You don't mind walkin* a
few miles, do you ? **

*'But I can't go I** protested Charley. *^I got to
go to Highbank for th' doctor. I only hope he ain*t
drunk when I get there."

" How you goin' ? ** quizzically demanded Johnny.

'* Don't know ; but that don't make no difference*-^

52 JOHNNY NELSON

strange one. Oh, if you'll only make a break, or give
me half an excuse to throw lead 1 "

The trail grew slowly but steadily worse, and when
they finally reached the bottom of a long, rough slope
Johnny ordered a halt

**I figger we're twenty miles from Gunsight, near
as I can judge,** he said, ^' which leaves only ten to
Kawlins. Get o£f that cayuse. You heard me. Yes;
get of I Now, any man as shoots a fine little pinto pony
an* tells a kid to walk, ought to do some of that walkin'
hisself. Rawlins is ten miles; it*s twenty to th' Tri*'
angle, an* with a lot of hills, an* a bad trail. Also,
there*s my six-guns. If I ever hear of you comin* back,
or see you this side of Rawlins TU get you. I want
to make that plain. If it*s th' last thing I do on earth,
/'// — get — youl I am't got no love for th* SV, but
h — 1 ain*t good enough for th* man that'll shoot a fine
hoss to keep a kid from gettin' a doctor. Thinkin* as
mebby you forgot last night, I'll give you another sam*
pie of my gunplay.** He jerked out a gun and a hole
appeared in the crown of Squint*s hat. " When I say
1*11 get you, you know what it means. Turn around,
an* keep yore shadow before you. Vamoose I**

Watching the hurrying Squint until satisfied that he
intended to keep on in the right direction, Johnny turned
back, leading the Bar H horse. He had watched the
animal closely while driving Squint, and believed it to
be in good enough condition to answer the demand he
wished to make upon it. He could tell better when he
got back to the SV range, in a certain woody draw
near the main trail. This point was reached at dusk

HIS SHADOW BEFORE HIM 53

and he examined the horse, nodded his head, and pick*
eted die animal to a tree with Squint's lariat The two
hours would do wonders for it Leaving the Bar H
horse, he led his own farther back in the draw and
tied it to a tree with his lariat. Returning to Squint's
mount, he took the slicker from behind the saddle and
unrolled it, picking up the worn gloves which rolled
out of it Finishing his preparations, he went on a
reconnaissance on foot, smiled as he saw the dim light
in the Doc's house, and quickly returned to the horse.

CHAPTER V

A LESSON IN MEDICAL ETHICS

DOC REED, finding his tobacco pouch neariy
empty, led his horse around to die door and
went in to replenish the pouch. He plunged his hand
into the big tobacco jar — and let it remain there, the
tobacco slipping from his fingers, for a guttural, muffled
voice suddenly said:

"Hands ttpf Shut up! Come here, backtoerds/"
An argument in one's own mind can be odiaustive
and reach a conclusion in a very short space of time.
It took the Doc about a second to weigh matters and
abandon the idea of hurling the jar, and with the deci-
sion his hand came slowly out and went up, with the
other, above his head. While he was doing this his
eyes had not been idle and they saw everything there
was to be seen, for he was trained in observation. They
saw: A man of his own height, dressed in an old, well*
worn, yellow slicker; a sombrero so covered with gray
dust as to resemble a hat only in shape and function,
its brim pulled well down in front; a pair of common
black trousers reaching from the slicker down to com-
mon boots, so thickly covered with gray dust as to
resemble At hat in everything but the above-mentioned
characteristics; a common cotton kerchief, of a pattern
d on half of the kerchiefs on the range, was tied
is the caller's face, hiding it from chin to eyes;

MEDICAL ETHICS SS

A narrow strip of the intruder's face, so indistinct in the
shadow of the hat brim as even to hide the color of
the eyes; a pair of gloved hands, the right of which!
was held in front of the intruder and on a level with
his eyes ; and last, but emphatically not least, a heavy,
common-calibered Colt, with ivory grips yellowed by
use and age, which weapon was firmly gripped by the
upraised hand The hammer was up, and a crooked,
gloved finger lay in the trigger guard. As the Doc
moved to obey, as he turned around, he caught a glimpse
of a heavy, black line running from the lower edge of
the ivory grip uncovered by the curling fingers. It
looked as though it was a crack filled with dirt, which
was a little thing, but not too small a thing to be
forgottto.

" Whoa I ** growled the man in the door.
The Doc obeyed. "What do you want?" he asked
coolly.

" Nothin* you can lose," came the answer. " Back
up a little more ! "

The Doc backed, stopped when the gun pressed into
his back and stood motionless while a heavy hand felt
him over. It took a Colt out of his shoulder holster,
and then the victim felt the gun at his back move a
little. He smiled slightly, for the fact that his captor
had shifted it to the left hand so he could use the right
to empty the captured gun and then toss it across the
room onto the bed was no due, for the reason that all
of the men he knew were right-handed. The pressure
changed again as the right hand went back on the off en*
sive, and then the intruder gave him his second surprise.

56 JOHNNY NELSON

"Padc yore tooli — broken laig — take everychin'
you need. Hurry I "

The Doc stepped forward and picked up a satchel,
Seeing out of the comer of his eye as he did so. Only
a band, a foot, and part of the hat and face were in
sight, the rest of the visitor's body being behind the
outside wall. Pilling the bag with what he would
require, he took a bundle of splints from a shelf, for
he was a methodical person, usually had plenty of
time on his hands, and believed in having things to suit
him.

"It was not necessary to go to all of this trouble,"
he smiled, as he reached out to turn down the lamp.

** Stop t Let it bum I " warned the visitor.

" Very well, although I only intended to turn it domi.
'As I said, itwas needless for you to go to all this trouble
and risk. I am in the habit of going on professional
calls at any hour, in any weather, merely upon a simple
request, or a statement of fact If this is a practical
joke I may or may not enjoy it — usuaUy the victim
doesn't — but I really don't mind, if you are careful
irith this bag and its contents. You might be the man
to need it first — quUn sabef "

** I shoot at th' first false move," warned the other.
** You are goln' to th* SV — now — with me — an' fast
I'll lead yore boss — mine's out yonder. Go ahead of
me, an' don't look back."

~1ie Doc obeyed and his captor, feeling around the
lie for weapons, grasped the bridle and led the
lal to where his own was picketed. Mounting, he
:red die Doc to do likewise, and soon they were

MEDICAL ETHICS 57

pounding along at a good pace, too good to suit the
Doc, considering how dark it was.

Their coming had been prophesied by the stranger
diat afternoon, and now it was heralded by the rolling
hoofbeats; and as they neared the house two figures,
one considerably shorter than the other, appeared in
die lighted doorway, while behind them a dock slowly
struck ten.

The captor growled a command and, surprised, the
Doc pulled up quickly. ** There won't be no charge
for this call," he said, ** an* remember that I'm stayin*
outside, near th* window. You make a false move an*
ril shoot you through it If th* job ain't well done,
I'll shoot you when I find it out. You don't know me,
so you won't know who to watch for ; but I know you
weU — all h — 1 can't save you. Don't talk more than
you have to^ an' then only about yore trade. Get off^
an' go in — hurry, before they come out herel **

The Doc dismounted, turning for a look at his cap*
tor's horse and saddle, and walked forward, adjusting
his hat and pulling at his coat sleeves. Handing the
bag to the boy who ran to meet him, and who seemed to
be very much surprised, he led the way to the house,
bowed to Margaret and went inside. The boy, looking
back reluctandy, slowly followed him, and as the man
in die saddle tied the Doc's horse to a sapling and
swung around to leave, he saw the slender figure of
Margaret reappear, sofdy oudined against the mellow,
ydlow light of the room and framed by the darkness,
for all the world like a jet cameo against an old ivory
badcground. She stood without moving while the horse-

58 JOHNNY NELSON

man In the dark, die glint of whote brass saddle orna-
ments barely reached her, bent low in the saddle and
removed his hat She could not see this, nor his slow
departure, 'though she faintly heard the soft tread of
his horse on the sod, steadily growing fainter. A
roice from within called her, and turning, she shook her
shoulders as if to throw ofi a restraining force, and
hastened to answer the summons.

Reaching the main valley, Johnny rode at a lop^
and when he believed himself to be well past the quick-
sands, he entered the river, following it close to the
bank. Leaving the water at the main trail, he dis-
mounted, removed the saddle and bridle and, slapping
die horse on its rump, sent it homeward. Picking up
the saddle and seeing that the stirrups did not drag,
he stepped only on rock as he went up the mountain,
where he stopped at the base of a great pine. When hs
came down again to go to his own horse he bad left
behind him everything belonging to Squint, the saddle
in the brush, and the weapons and gloves welt-wrapped
in the slicker and buried in a sand drift.

Some time later, in Gunsight, Two-Spot heard a rider
and, waiting a few minutes, slipped into the horse shed,
where he spoke lofdy to Pepper before running his
hand over her.

tluh 1 What made Dave say he went to Juniper ? '*
uttered. " She's warm, but not much; her bade is
dry. Juniper?" he scoffed. "Thirty mile there,
hirty mile back, since noon? He was some place;
'U bet my jewels he ain't been to Juniper. TTiere'a
[try afoot — but I ain't talkin', litde hoss."

CHAPTER VI

INFORMATION WANTED

WO-SPOT rested on the broom. " Wonder what
happened to Nelson?" he queried. ^^Ain't seen
since you went on th* prod yesterday.*'

Dave held up the glass he was polishing and looked
at it. " What you mean, on th' prod ? "

*^ When you chased me, at noon."

Dave picked up another glass, breathed on it and
rubbed it vigorously. " He stuck his head in th' door
an' said he was goin' to Juniper. Ain't he got back
yet?"

"Don't know," grunted Two-Spot, going to work
again.

"Ain't his boss back?"

" Don't know." He listened. " Mebby this is him,
now, comin' up th' trail." He looked out and shook
his head. " Nope, it's only that d — d pill-roller from
the flats. What's he comin' here for ? He's got more
liquor in his shack than we've got. I don't like no man
that swizzles it secret. As I was sayin', it ain't every —
why, hello, Doc! What brings you up here so early
in th* momin'?"

" My horse," grunted the Doc, passing him without
a glance. " Hello, Dave I How are things? "

"Smoother'n h — 1, a« th' old lady said when she
•lipped on th' ice. What'U yours be ? "

^1^

6o JOHNNY NELSON

"Cigar apiece," said the Doc; "for you an* me,**
he amended.

Two^pot turned back and resumed his sweeping.

"Dave, I was kidnapped last night," said the Doc,
bluntly. Waiting for Dave to get his expression part
way back to normal, he told the story. Dave's cxpres*
sion was under control again and bespoke surprise and
sympathy, gradually assuming a stern, uncompromising
aspect at the thought of such a grave breach of law
and order. Two-Spot, after the first shock, did not
dare to look around, for his grin was unholy and alto<
gether too sincere for his health, should the victim of
the unheard of atrocity see it Swish f SioijA/ went the
broom; kel hel went his throat, low and in time with
the sweeping. Doc finished and hammered the bar with
his fist. "It's a d — d outrage!" he declared, with
heat.

Dave nodded emphatically. " It shore is 1 Do you
know who did it ? "

" No ; if I did I'd be on his trail."

" See anythin' that might identify th* coyote ? "

" Perhaps ; I'll know more about it before the day is
over," answered the Doc. " Big Tom has some of his
men out now looking for tracks on the Double X.
Those fellows don't like me very much."

:heir eyes 1 " commented Two-Spot, sweeping
red vigor.

need at him, frowned, and went on. " Some
1 me to think one way; other things, other
I complicated by Squint's disappearance."
ot assimulated the second shock with avidityii

INFORMATION WANTED 6i

^■■— I ■ " ■ -I.I III I. I ■ I ■

He was beginning to be glad that he was alive, and his
brain was putting two and two together at top speed.
His ears fairly ached for more, and he waited for the
third When there were two, there should always
be a third, he hopefully assured himself.

Dave's face showed real surprise again and then
marched to orders and revealed his sympathy and dis-
approbation. "Why, there won't be nobody safe!'*
he exclaimed. " Do you mean he's missin' ? "

"He is. Have you seen him since the night they
were all here?"

"No; I ain't."

"Sorrers an' calamities never come singly," said
Two-Spot, energetically digging a match stick out of
a crack.

"Mebby it was Squint," suggested Dave, "as cap-
tured you."

"Well, the evidence points that way, but it isn't
reasonable," replied the Doc, going to a chair and sit-
ting down. "Squint wasn't the sort of a man who
would go out of his way to do anyone a favor, espe-
cially if it was for someone he did not like ; and most
especially if it involved a large element of risk. But
this man had on Squint's slicker, rode Squint's horse
and saddle, and even had Squint's gloves and gun."

"He must 'a' et Squint," suggested Two-Spot, spit-
ting violently at the thought.

" Shut up, you ! " said Dave, sternly. " But, Doc,
he was shore petrified when he left here ; an' what he
had in his person would stay with him for a long time.
He alius was economical in his drunks: he made 'em

fa JOHNNY NELSON

last quite a spelL Now, when a man't full of liquor
he'll likely do anythln' — no telUn' what"

" This man wis not drunk," asserted the Doc in hit
best professional manner, " and he had not been drunk
for over a week. His hand was as steady as mine, and
he did not make a single false move. I'm sure it was
not Squint; Big Tom cannot make up his mind; Wolf
Forbes swears it was, but Wolf was no friend of his,
as we all kno^Ar. Some of the boys su^ested the Double
X, knowing the strong dislike some of that litter has
for me. Three of the boys are over there now lookin'
for tracks."

"What good will that do 'em?" demanded Dave.
"A man has a right to make tracks on his own ranch,
an' they're alius ridin' around over it. But, dien, if they
found tracks leadin' from th' Double X to yore place,
or from th' Juniper trail to th* Double X, why, then
you'd have sometfiin'."

*' There are none of the first category," replied the
Doc, "and there will be none of the second: I told
you that this man rode Squint's horse, and any tracks
on the Juniper trail could have been made while we
rode over it together. We can't find where he got onto
the horse, or where he got off of it; but it must have
been in the river somewhere. He was a fiend for rid-
ing on rode — he knew this country like a book. We've
ng, but it got us nowhere. So, Dave, I rode
ask you a plain question : Who were in here
>etween a quarter of nine and, say, a quarter
You may save some innocent person from
>uble."

INFORMATION WANTED 63

"Well," said Dave, pursing his lips. "Th* poker
gang was here. .Two-Spot an' I was here. Jerry Poole
came in to set his watch— that was just at nine-twenty.
Nelson poked his head in th' door about ten minutes
after Jerry, wriggled his fingers at me, cuss his impu-
dence, an' disappeared. Where he went I don't know.
I guess that's aU."

Two-Spot gripped the broom convulsively and then
slowly relaxed. The third shock had arrived. The
problems of his sorely taxed brain were jammed by
the sudden arrival of more. Never before had he
heard Dave deliberately lie; and here the proprietor
was lying coolly and perfectly, with trimmings to make
it stick. In turn surprise, wonder, and satisfaction
swept across his boiled countenance like driven clouds
across the coppery sun. He gradually worked closer
to the Doc and soon his stroke became longer and
harder. When he began trying to sweep a tobacco
stain out of the flooring the Doc suddenly leaped from
his chair.

"What — the h — 1 do — you think — you're do-
ing ? " he coughed.

" Huh ? " said Two-Spot, looking up.

" What do you mean, sweeping like that, over here ? "

" I was only sweepin' where th' dirt was," answered
Two-Spot.

The Doc regarded him keenly. "Oh, is that it?
Well, hunt for it somewhere else, or I'll kick you
through the window I "

Two-Spot flared up. ** You got my permission ^"

^ Shut up I'* snapped Dave. " Now, Doc, as I was

64 JOHNNY NELSON

sayin' — what'n h — 1 was I sayin'? Well, anyhow, I
said it," he asserted, belligerently. ^* What you aimin'
to do now ? "

" Dance on th' quicksands, I hope," grunted Two-
Spot, savagely. Then he listened, and said: **Here
comes Nelson on that fine little hoss." Under his
breath he muttered, '* I bet he'll be surprised to find out
he was in here at nine-thirty, last night" He straight-
ened up. " Huh 1 Mebby he won't. Mcbby he fixed
it with Dave. Well, if he's wise, he'll tip me off next
time — I might tell th' truth, an' make a lot of trouble,
if I didn't know."

Johnny walked in. "Hello, Ol' Timer!" he said,
jabbing Two-Spot in the ribs.

Two-Spot grasped the broom handle firmly. "Hello,
yoreselfl An' you lookout who yo're punchin'," he
grinned. " Squint's dead," he said, mournfully.

"What?"

"Oh, well; he's missin', anyhow," amended Two-
Spot

"Missin* what?" asked Johnny.

"Missin' hissclfl"

" Then he's drunker than I thought," replied Johnny.
" I never heard of nobody bein' so far gone in liquor
that they missed themselves,"

"Oh, you go to th' devil I " snorted Two-Spot, turn-
ing around so he could snicker in safety.

Johnny glanced casually at the Doc, walked up to
the bar and bought a cigar, which be lit with scrupulous
care.

" Meet th' Doc, Nelson," said Dave.

INFORMATION WANTED 65

Johnny turned, " Glad to meet you, Doctor. IVc
heard of you, an' passed yore place/' ^

" Saw you," replied the Doc, " and I coveted that
black mare."

*' Nice little cayuse," admitted Johnny.

^^The Doc was kidnapped," said Dave, watchii^
closely.

" That so ? " replied Johnny, politely. "An' how old
was you. Doctor?"

** What do you mean ? "

" Why, when you was kidnapped," Johnny explained.

" I was kidnapped last night," replied the Doc.

"You — last night?" demanded Johnny, incredu-
lously. "WeU, I'm d— dl What did they get?"
They got me."

I mean, what did they get that was valuable?"
persisted Johnny.

Two-Spot turned away again and missed the floor
twice.

" They stole th* Doc," explained Dave. " They was
takin' him away just about th' time you looked in at
me. They took him over to th* SV, to set Ol' Arnold's
busted laig."

"What you talkin* about?" snorted Johnny, seating
himself across from the Doc. "I never heard of a
doctor bein' kidnapped to set a busted laig. What am I
supposed to say ? I'll bite, if it does cost me th' drinks."

"No, Nelson, that's the truth," earnestly asserted
the Doc, and he told the story over again.

'* You say he was on Squint's cayuse, wearin' Squint's
', an' usin' Squint's gun ? " asked Johnny. " Then

C6 JOHNNY NELSON

where was Squint? A man don't just drop things lil
that without knowin' it. What was that Two-Spot was
tryin' to tell me?"

The Doc explained the matter and finished by sa]ring
that he felt sure that it had not been the missing puncher
who had visited him.

** I don't think so, neither/' asserted Johnny. *^ He'd
be a fool to go like that No, sir, I'll bet it wasn't
Squint — but, wait a minute 1 If he counted on leavin*
th' country right after, why, he might a' done it, at
that. If it wasn't Squint, then where was he ? "

^^Sleepin' off his liquor," said Dave. *^Why, that's
it I While he slept somebody took his outfit an' kid*
napped th' Doc. H — 1, it may all be a joke ! "

*^ You wouldn't think so if you observed that man as
I did," replied the Doc *^ He was in deadly earnest*
I could feel it."

" Well, there's two ways to start at it," said Johnny,
ordering drinks all around, including Two-Spot ^^ He
had a grudge ag'in' you, an' he was extra friendly to
th' SV. Run back in yore mem'ry for somebody that
hates you enough to want to get square. If that don't
work, then hunt for th' feller that likes th' SV. Any-
body 'round here that's sweet on that Arnold gal, that
you knows of?"

" No ; not that we know of," answered the Doc " Big
Tom was the last one who called there; but he quit,
quite some time ago."

** Got throwed so hard he still aches," gloated Two*
Spot

"Well, I can't help you," said Johnny. "I don't

INFORMATION WANTED 6%

know anjrthin* about th' people around here. An\ bein'
a stranger, an* likely to be suspected of any orphaned
devilment, Fm shore glad I looked in here, last night
But I ain't worryin' about Squint,'* he deprecated. ^* He's
an old hand at takin' care of hisself, if Fm any judge.
He'll turn up with a headache, an' yell fit to bust for
his saddle, an' gun."

'*I hope so," said Dave. He turned to the Doc.
"Didyoufixupth'laig?"

** Certainly; it was a simple fracture," answered the
Doc. He paused. ^' Cussed if I know what to think,"
he growled, arising. He had observed Johnny closely,
saw that he was left-handed, found the voice not quite
what he had hoped for, and Dave's statement cinched
the matter. He nodded good-by and went out, but he
looked at Johnny's saddle, where he found silver orna-
ments instead of brass, and plain stirrup guards instead
of the fringed ones he had noticed the night before.
Shaking his head he mounted and rode homeward.

Two-Spot placed the broom across a table and sat
down. "Dave," he said, almost revcrcndy, "what
made you say that* "

" Say what ? " demanded the proprietor, belligerently.
"You hearin' things?"

" Mcbby ; but I ain't seein' 'em."

"What did I say that's ridin' you so hard?" de-
manded Dave.

" What you did about Nelson lookin' in last night."

"What was that?" asked Johnny, with pardonable
curiosity.

" Why, Dave up an' tells th' Doc dut you poked

68 JOHNNY NELSON

yore head in at that there door at nine-thirty last
night/* explained Two-Spot

"WeU, suppose I did?" asked Johnny. "What
about it?*'

" Well, now/' mourned Two-Spot, " if I ain't got th'
cussedest mem'ryl It's got Texas fever; a tick must
a' crawled up my ear. Of course you did; and didn't
you say * Two-Spot, when I sees you tomorrow I'll
buy you a drink? '"

"I reckon I might 'a' said somethin' like that,'^
laughed Johnny. "She's youm, 01' Timer — with a
cigar to punish me for forgettin'."

Two-Spot enjoyed his drink and pulled contentedly
on the cigar. Then he turned toward the rear door.
"Time for me to give George a hand. Shall I take
Pepper around out of th' sun? "

"Why, yes; an' much obliged," answered Johnny.

Dave pointed his finger and his whole arm at the
broom lying across the table. "That youm?" he de-
manded.

Two-Spot looked. " I told you that my mem'ry waa
bad," he chuckled. Putting the broom '.way where it
belonged he went out and led Pepper aiound to the
shed.

Johnny looked hard at Dave. "That was a good
turn, Dave," he said. " What made you do it? '*

Dave rumpled his hair. "Squint's missin', which
means one customer less. Bein' a stranger down here
I reckoned they'd pass th' buck to you. That meant
they'd likely do it here — th' Doc come up to locate
you, I figgered. Besides losin' a lot more customers

INFORMATION ff ANTED 69

I'd have to dean up a slaughter-house. I just made up
my mind I wouldn't do it. Anyhow, Vd like to shake
hands with th' coyote that lugged th' Doc off to fix that
laig. I would so."

** Don't blame you," said Johnny, holding out his
hand. *^ We can shake on that, all right. I say a doctor
is a doctor an' ought to go where he's needed."

Dave looked him full in the eyes, a quizzical smile
playing around his mouth, and shook hands gravely,
solenmly. It was almost a ceremony. *' My sentiments,
exactly," he responded. *' Wonder if Squint was hurt? "

" I'd bet he wasn't," answered Johnny. " I'd even
bet he went to a different part of th' country. Mebby
he got caught in some devilment. Punchers are great
for roamin' — just look where / am." He shook his
head sadly and went out through the rear door for the
hotel, leaving Dave with a grin on his face which threat-
ened to disrupt it. He had not gone more than a few
steps when he turned and went back. Poking his head
in at the door, he said : ** Dave, when I'm drinkin' in
here, an' it can be done easy, just see that mine is some
watery. I like th' delicate flavor it has that way; th'
delicater, th' better."

Dave chuckled and nodded. *^ Yo're drinkin' it. If
yo're satisfied, I am. I can't do it at th' bar, where
th' bottle passes ; but it'll be easy if yo're playin' cards.'*

CHAPTER VII

HUNTING WITH THE HOUNDS

JOHNNY entered the kitchen, looked at the stove
tnd went into the dining-room, where George was
playing solitaire. "That's a bad habit, George,'* he
said, shaking his head. " It don't get you nothin'."

George made a play and looked up. "Aimin' to get
me into a two-handed game of somethin' ? " he queried.

" No; I ain't," answered Johnny. " I was just won-
derin' how long you was goin' to play it."

"I'm goin' to play it till I have to start cookin',"
said George, determinedly.

" Then you ain't goin' to stand over that hot stove
for more'n an hour, are you?"

"No, sir; I ain't."

" You talk like it was somethin' to dodge I " snorted
Johnny.

" I'd like to see you do it 1 " retorted George.

" Huh I " sniffed Johnny. " I got a good notion to
do it"

George made another play. " Notions I " he sneered.
"Notions ain't doin' it 1"

"Then I will do it," said Johnny, going into the
kitchen and throwing wood into the stove. He took
down a lid made up of rings, substituted it for one of
the stove lids, lifted out the middle section and put in
its place an iron ladle.

fFITH THE HOUNDS 71

A chair scraped out in the dining-room and George
poked his head in. "What you think yo're doin'?''
he demanded

^* Callin' yore bluff. Go on back to yore solitaire.
I*m goin* to run some bullets."

" Why, cuss yore nerve ! " said George. "Who told
you to mess up my kitchen ? "

'* You said youM like to see me stand over this stove,"
answered Johnny. " Run around an' get me two pounds
of lead from Dailey."

"Get it yoreselfl" snapped George. "You clean
up when you get through," he warned.

" Shore," replied Johnny, and he went out to get the
lead.

Dailey looked up. " Hello, Nelson 1 "

" Howd'y, Ben I Got two pounds of lead, an' some
Kentucky powder ? "

"Shore," answered Dailey. He slid a bar of lead
onto the counter and took a can from a shelf. " This
ain't Kaintuck — but it's as good. How much?"

Johnny put a few grains in the palm of his hand
and rubbed them with a forefinger. " I don't want this
at all," he said, showing the black smudge. " I want
th' kind you use."

Dailey grumbled, but felt under the counter and pro-
duced another can. " Here's th' best made," he said.

Johnny tested it, and nodded. " Half a pound will
do.'*

Returning to the kitchen he used George^s axe to cut
the lead into smaller pieces, and dumped them into the

72 JOHNNY NELSON

ladle, after which he paid a hurried visit to his room
for tools.

Two-Spot shoved his head in at the door. *' What
you doin' ? Runnin' slugs ? "

*' Shoein' a hoss," said Johnny.

Two-Spot grinned. " Where'd you get th' lead ? '*

'^Dailey's/* answered Johnny, punching out old
primers.

''Buy primers, an powder, too?" demanded Two-
Spot

** Powder,'* grunted Johnny.

"Orn th' shelf behind him?''

" Under th' counter."

" Yo're lucky; he must like you. Well, then some ot
'em will go off," said Two-Spot '* But if you'd bought
his primers, none of 'em would." He looked around
and started to resize some of the shells. *' These here
ain't shells. They're — they're kegs." He picked up
the mold and opened it. ''My G — d!" he snorted.
"Yo're a bloody-minded cuss. Yore gun got wheels
an' a limber?"

" It'll make th' other feller limber gettin' out of th'
way."

Two-Spot hurt his finger and quit " Reckon Dave
wants me," he observed.

" I'm shore / don't," grunted Johnny, beginning to
reprime the shells.

*'Do it yoreself, then!" snapped Two-Spot, going
out He looked carefully around and, going into the
narrow space between the kitchen and the rear of the
saloon, disappeared from sight

WITH THE HOUNDS 73

Around in front of the Palace four punchers were
dismounting. They were disgruntled, but in one way
they felt relief. After a morning's search for tracks
on the Double X, along its eastern line, they had given
up the job and had started to Gunsight to carry out a
task which they felt would require a great amount of
tact to keep it from becoming a shambles. But on the
way they had stopped at the Doc's and found that it
would not be necessary to cross-question Johnny. There
remained one further duty to perform and they decided
to slake their thirsts before attempting it. Big Tom
wanted information from those whom he felt would be
able to give it, since they were directly benefited by
the kidnapping of the Doc. He felt sure that the com-
mittee he had appointed were qualified to get it for him,
especially if they had a proper amount of liquor before
they started after it. Hence he had supplied them with
the funds and told them that it was his treat Carson
and Dahlgren had fat blanket rolls behind their sad«
dies; '^Smitty" and Fraser, nothing but their usual
paraphernalia.

They stamped in to the bar and lined up. To Dave's
inquiry, they replied that their morning's work had
been in vain, but boasted that the afternoon would not
be wasted.

"We're goin' where th' information is," said Car-
son, " an' we're goin' to get it. If it comes easy, all
right — but we're goin* to get it, savvy?"

"An' when wc do get it, it will be forty feet of rope
an' a sycamore tree for th* coyote that got rid of Squint
an* kidnapped th' Doc," boasted Dahlgren.

74 JOHNNY NELS0:7

" Nobody gives a whoop about th* kidnappin*, *cq^
th' Doc/' said Fraser; ''but this was a poke at th* Bar
H9 an* that's where we set in. If we finds out who got
rid of Squint, we know who kidnapped th' Doc ; an' if
we learns who kidnapped th' Doc, we likewise finds th'
coyote what got rid of Squint. An' I'm tellin' you
that we're goin' to find out who he is. Doc said he done
a good job on that busted laig, an' it would be a mean
trick on him to undo it; but we're goin' to find outl
Give us another round."

''I got to laugh about th' Doc," said Smitty, ''a
growed man, lettin' hisself be stole that way. An'
what's he doin' now? Is he out a-huntin'? He ain't.
He's settin' in that shack of his'n waitin' for us to get
his kidnapper. Fill 'em again, Dave."

" Forty feet of rope an' a sycamore tree," repeated
Carson. ''If he puts up a fight we'll give him this/^^
He yanked out his gun and fired at the floor.

Could they have seen the result of the shot they would
have been greatly surprised. Two-Spot, under their
feet, lying on his pile of stolen blankets and discarded
clothing, and drinking in every word they said, had
just shifted to a more comfortable position when the
gun roared and the bullet, ripping through the flooring,
cut a welt on his cheek. Panic stricken, he started to
roll and crawl toward the hotel, and was too excited
to notice the pair of legs at the wash bench, where
Johnny was cooling bullets in the basin, but rolled out
and against the bench, upsetting it and Johnny, too,
as well as the basin, bullets, and the water bucket. There
iras a mad scramble for a few seconds and Two-Spot

WITH THE HOUNDS jl

lost a tooth before Johnny saw who It was. Then both
leaped to their feet, Two«Spot angrily spitting blood
and dirt.

"What you think yo're doin'?" blazed Johnny,
reaching for Two-Spot's collar. " Playin' earthquake? '*

** Who you hittin' ? " snarled Two-Spot. " Leggo my
shirt; I got somethin' to tell you I "

George came running and stuck his head out of the
door. " Go It, or Timer I " he encouraged. " Serves
him right for th' mess he's made I "

Two-Spot thanked him by kicking backward, guided
by sound and instinct. George, receiving one whole
foot just below his short ribs, doubled up forthwith and
disappeared. There was a crash and the sound of fall-
ing stove wood, and George had interest in nothing
outside of himself.

"They're goin' to th' SV, an' make 'em tell who's
raisin' th' devil on th' range," said Two-Spot in Johnny's
car. " If they ain't told easy, then they'll take th' splints
off 'n th' ol' man's laig. G — d only knows where they'll
atop, for they're gettin' full of liquor."

"Who are they?"

" Carson, Dal, Smitty, an' Fraser," answered Two-
Spot. " * Forty feet of rope an' a sycamore tree,' they
says," he mimicked, " an' shot through th' floor. I got
it in th' cheek, d — n 'em." A frightened look came
to his face. " Don't tell 'em where I was," he begged,
for the hiding-place was his only refuge and without it
his life would be made miserable.

"I'll swap secrets," said Johnny. "Keep mum
kbout tdlin' me this. Take Pepper around front an*

76 JOHNNY NELSON

mix her tn with their cayuses. Then pick up th' slugs
an' keep 'em for me."

A piece of firewood whizzed past his ear, and then
a stream of them. George, still throwing, emerged
from the kitchen, blood in his eye. Johnny grabbed
him.

" We was playin' a joke on you, George," he said,
hurriedly. '^Two-Spot kicked you accidental Here's
somethin' to square it," and George opened his hand to
see a coin nestling therein.

** Joke I " he muttered, feeling around his belt *^Ac«
cidental 1 You may think so, but I'm cussed if / do I
My G — d, his relations must be mules I "

Dave and the committee looked up as the door flew
back and slammed against the wall, to see Johnny enter,
a little. too erect, stepping a little too precisely and
wide, his mind obviously concentrated on his legs. His
face was owlishly serious and he nodded to each in turn
with great gravity. Describing a wide curve he stepped
carefully to the bar, where he stopped, sighed, and
braced himself.

"Dave," he said, waving an arm, "th' best in th*
house for us. Didn't know what to do with m'self ;
but now we can have some 'citement Here's how.
Here's to pore OP Squint."

"Here's to pore Ol' Squint," repeated Dave. "I
alius liked Squint."

"Everybody liked Squint," responded Johnny.
"Everybody, 'cept — 'cept what's his name? Pore
Squint, kidnapped; an' the Doc, kidnapped; nobody's
safe no more. You might get kidnapped — you — an*

WITH THE HOUNDS 77

you — an' you — an' Dave I No, not Dave 1 " he burst
into laughter. "Not Dave I He I He I Less'n it
was or Buffalo wa! his waggin 1 "

Smitty rocked to and fro: "He I He I He I" he
roared. " 01' Buffalo an' his f our-hoss team I Freight
for Juniper I "

Carson slapped Johnny on the shoulder. " Nobody's
safe but Dave ! " he shouted. " Ol' Buffalo would have
to roll him in, like a bar'l."

" Don't you care, Dave," said Fraser. " I'm yore
friend, an' nobody's goin' to kidnap you, waggin or no
waggin. Not while Bill Fraser's around'. No, sir.
Give us another. Big Tom's blowin' his boys."

"Couldn't get along without Dave, not nohow,"^
said Johnny. "Here's to Dave — everybody's fr'en'*
Just th' same I ain't forgettin' pore Squint. I'd like to
know who kidnapped him — just so I could get my rope
on him. That's all. Jus' that. Got notion to go find
him. Come on, le's all go 1 "

" Forty feet of rope an' a sycamore tree," burbled

Smitty. " Forty feet of "

"We're goin' to find him," boasted Dahlgren.
" Goin' to righ' now. Le's have one more drink, Dave.
Just one more, an' then we go git him."

" That's th' way 1 " cried Johnny, " Come on — one
more, Dave, ol' kidnapper. Then forty feet of syca-
more rope. Want to come, Dave ? Come on ! Come
on with us I "

" I better stay here," said Dave, earnestly. " I better
be right here when you bring him in. Somebody ought
to be."

78 JOHNNY NELSON

" That's or Dave, all righ'," cried Smitty. ** Good
or Dave."

*^Give us a bottle, Dave,'' said Johnny. *^Give us
iwo bottles. Nothings too good for my fren's."

** If pore Squint was only here," burbled Smitty, eye*
ing the bottles. '' Pore Squint We'll bring that coyote
in for you, Dave. We'll drag him to town."

" Him an' Or Arnold," supplemented Carson. " Boih
of 'em ! "

" That's it ! " cried Johnny. " That's where we'll go
— come on, fellers 1 Goo'-by, Dave ; goo'-by ! "

They surged toward the door, milled before the
opening, and then shuffled to the street. Fraser threw
an arm around Johnny's neck and slobbered about poor
Squint Johnny slipped the six-gun from Eraser's hol-
ster, dropped it on his own foot to deaden the fall, and
then pushed it under the saloon. He staggered, with
Fraser, out toward the horses and bumped into Dahl-
gren, who grabbed them both to save himself. Eraser's
other arm went around his friend's neck and he pro*
tested his love for them both. Dahlgren's gun also
struck Johnny's boot and was quickly scraped over with
sand.

Under the saloon Two-Spot changed from all ears
to mostly ears and some eyes, for his view was limited
to below the hips of the maudlin gang. When Eraser's
gun slid under the floor he became, for an instant, all
eyes, and wriggled in greedy anticipation. Then he
saw the second gun strike Johnny's boot and become cov«
ered over with sand, and he rocked from side to side widi
silent mirth, his boiled countenance acquiring spots o£

fFITH THE HOUNDS 79

motded purple, especially his nose. As soon as the
crowd mounted, he crawled forward, wriggling des-
perately when the space became too small for hands and
knees. He had to get those guns before the proprietor
got them, for Dave would not allow him to own a
weapon. When he had gone as far as he dared, he
stopped and waited until the bunched group whirled
away up the trail, and then wriggled more desperately
duui ever. Suddenly he stopped and writhed sidewaya
behind a pile of dirt, for the heavy steps above his head
ceased as a pair of enormous legs waddled into his field
of view. Dave kicked around in the sand, found the
weapon, and laboriously picked it up. The huge legs
remained motionless for a moment as their owner
watched the cloud of dust which rolled eastward on
the trail

" He's takin' chances,'' muttered Dave. "An' I can
almost smell him from here. Six glasses of whiskey
down his sleeve — great guns, but he must feel com*
f ortable I Well, boys, I don't know where yo're goin'^
but nothin' would surprise me." He paused a moment
in indecision, thoughtfully regarding the colt. "I
reckon I ought to lose this gun down th' well — but
I'll wait till he comes back."

The fat legs waddled out of sight and the floor
creaked again. Two-Spot wriggled forward, snatched
die Colt and backed to his nest, where he looked at his
prize and gloated.

"Dave never saw you fall," he chuckled. "Oh,,
yo're a beauty; an' only two are gone. Cuss it I This
is th' gun that shot me/'' He considered a moment.

So JOHNNY NELSON

*^Now I got to get some •45*8 from th' store when OP
Eagle-Eye ain't lookin'.*'

Meanwhile the exuberant conmiittee tore over the
trail until Eraser, wishing to let off some extra steam^
felt for his gun. He reined in so quickly as almost to
cause a catastrophe. Dahlgren now discovered his own
loss and there was a wrangle about going back to look
for the missing weapons. Their insistence won out
and the committee wheeled, spread out, and cantered
back almost to Gunsight, wrangling all the way. Yield-
ing at last to the acrimonious suggestions of the other
three, they gave up the search and set out again, be-
ginning on the second bottle. When they finally arrived
at the SV ranchhouse the afternoon was over half gone
and they were so under the influence of liquor that it
was all they could do to get to the door of the house.
Staggering in, they went to Arnold's room and all began
talking at once. There were no preliminaries — Mar-
garet and Charley, caught in the room, were forced into
a comer and had to hear the brutal threats. . Johnny
was the loudest of them all, but there was no profanity
in his words ; and he took the first chance that offered
to wink at the helpless man on the bed. Arnold, igno*
rant of what he was supposed to know, pleaded in vain.
Carson rolled up his sleeves and announced his inten-
tions, staggering toward the bed. He collided with
Johnny and they both fell. As Johnny scrambled to his
feet he caught Margaret's eye and winked slowly. Then
he let out a roar and blamed Carson for the fall. His
«ye caught sight of a calendar on the wall and he ob«
jected to the red numerals representing Sundays. Jerk-

Lki-.'s^

n:^^

WITH THE HOUNDS 8i

ing out his guns he shot the numbers out, the bullets
passing so close to Smitty that that valiant committee-
xnan nearly broke his neck falling oyer a chair he backed
against. A glass of water was shattered and then the
guns became wobbly, covering everything in sight.
Boasting that he could shoot out a fly's eye without
touching the rest of the insect, he shot a spur off of
Carson's boot and put a hole through Dahlgren's hat
when he presumably aimed at the lamp on a shelf.
Roaring and jumping, he accused Arnold of doing the
kidnapping himself, and fired at a knot in the floor, miss-
ing it, and clipping a button from Eraser's vest. The
committee was very drunk, but it was not so far gone
that all instincts of self-preservation had fled, and it
made haste to get out of the room. Smitty, finding the
door blocked, and being in a hurry, went through the
open window with remarkable directness for one in
his condition.

** He ain't here I " shouted Johnny. *' He's got away I
Come on, fellers; we got to get him — pronto f

'* Where'd he go ? " shouted Carson, stumbling over
a chair. He kicked it across the room and sat down
suddenly. Being assisted to his feet, he staggered out
toward the horses, the rest stringing after him.
•* Where'd he go ? " he demanded at the top of his voice.

^* Don't know," answered Johnny, hanging onto
Dahlgren. *' But he'll come back. Let's ambush him 1 "

"A'right; I'm tired of ridin'," declared Smitty. " Got
forty feet of rope an' sycamore tree. Where'U wc
go?"

" Up on th' Juniper trail," said Johnny. ** We know

4t JOHNNY NELS01<r

he don't hide in tfa' toiith; we'd a' teen ham Img zgOm
I know a good place, come on I "

It was a wonder how they ever mounted, but they
managed it, all but Smitty, who had to be assisted to
the saddle. Once seated, they were fairly well at home
and followed Johnny along the ranch trail. An hour
later Johnny and three of them were lying in die bushes
tt the edge of the Juniper trail, Smitty having been lose
on die way. The sun was still warm, and the liquor
potent, which was in no way checked by their inactivityt
and snores soon arose. Johnny, smUing cynically at
the prostrate iigureSf made a soft bed out of Carson's
and Dahlgren's blankets and lay down to see it through
The night passed quietly and the early morning li^t
showed four soundly sleeping figures. Higher and
fairer climbed the sun and one by one the men awak-
ened, consumed by raging thirsts. Johnny raised him-
self on one elbow and looked around.

" I want a drink," he announced. " Gimme a drink*
Fraser t "

"Ain't got none ; I'm dyin' of thirst ! "

Staggering to their feet they looked around, got their
bearings and made a rush for their horses; and soon a
miserable, sick committee pounded along the trail at
its best speed, bent only on one*thii^ — to get to Dave's.

Dave heard them coming and knew what would be
wanted. He met them at the door and passed out a
■mH-it; consuming it eagerly, they strayed off toward
ranch, ugly and profane.

!inny watched them go. ** I was in desperate corn-
Dave," be said. ** They was all primed to raise

WITH THE HOUNDS 83

h— -1 out there, but I saw that nobody belongin* to that
ranch knew anything about Squint, or th* Doc, that we
didn't know, so I sort of coaxed 'em away. An' would
you believe it, Dave, we was so petrified we got lost an'
finally climbed down an' went to sleq) right where th'
idea struck us ? "

**I alius was a great believer, Nelson," answered
Dave. ** That's mebby why I'm a pore man at my
time of life. An' I admits that you has persuadin' ways.
Now, I figgers it this way : Th' Doc up an' kills Squint ;
Squint gets even by kidnappin' th' Doc ; after which th'
Doc buries th' corpse an' throws away th' grave. But,
I says, an' it's th' * buts ' that raise th' devil, how does
Big Tom figger it? He ain't got my trustin' nature.
An' how will Wolf figger it? An' all th' rest, after
they get together an' wrestle things out ? I'm glad you
got a fast boss, an' a dear trail. Where's Smitty?"
he demanded.

•* He was a weak brother," Johnny sorrowfully de-
dared. ** Th' last I saw of him he was f allin' off his
cajruse about five miles northwest of th' ranch. First
he fell back over a chair, backwards ; then he fell out of
a window, frontwards; an' when he fell off his cayuse
he was goin' sideways. When it comes to fallin' I'll
back him against anybody. What do I owe you for
them two botdes of whiskey? They was amazin' medi*
cine."

"Whiskey?" queried Dave. "Did you taste it?'*

•* I didn't," confessed Johnny. " I handed th' first
botde to Dahlgren, an' by th' time it got back to me
diere wasn't nothin' in it. Th' second botde I gives to

JOHNNY NELSON

Smitty, an' I got left again. If I'd had a couple more I
might a* got a drink. What makes you ask? "

" The ^rst was brandy, an' th' second was gin,** said
Dave. " I reckoned mebby they'd like a change. Sorry
jrou didn't get none of 'em."

Johnny looked at him reproachfully. "/ ain't," be
said. "Good Lordl Come, Pepper, there ain't no
tellin' what this man'll do next. Mebby we won't see
Smitty till next wedc — come, little boss t **

CHAPTER VIII

A man's a man

HAVING eaten enough to arouse the unqualified
admiration of George, Johnny went to the kitchen
and became busy with patch paper, tallow, and loading
cup, and had just finished the twenty-fifth, and last,
cartridge, when Two^pot wandered in. George was
out attacking the wood pile.

"Got 'em done, huh? Ain't it better to buy 'em?"
asked Two-Spot, looking into the dining-room.

" It is, or Timer, when you can. Just now I can't
get 'em, so I got to make 'em."

His companion looked at the belt full of .45 's.
•* Gimme a couple of them? I want to try somethin'."

Johnny complied. ** Want to see if they fits ? " he
asked.

"What you mean?"

*' Carson dropped his gun under Dave's floor. Who
got th' one in th' road ? "

" Don't say nothin'," begged Two-Spot. " Dave's
an old woman, an' I don't want nobody to know I got
it. He got th' other."

•* What you goin' to do with youm ? "

** Keep it in my bunk. I might need it, sometime. I
ought to have a rifle, though."

" I'll get you one," promised Johnny.

" What you goin' to do this afternoon ? " asked Two-

«5

86 JOHNNY NELSON

Spot, his face betming at the thought of owning a rifl&
'* Don't know yet"

** It's time 70U Icnowed about things out here. You
ride up th' Juni[>er trail to th' second draw^ in about
an hour, an' I'll fix yore case rack so you'll know what
cards are out Yo're guessin' good, but Faro am't th'
only game where keepin' cases is better."
*' Why go up there? "

"WeU, purty soon it ain't goin' to be healthy for
anybody to be too friendly with you," said Two^pot.
reflectively. "Anyhow, I'll be worth more if I ain't
suspected of bein* too talkative."

"Th' best way to get suspected is to hide out when
you don't have to," said Johnny. " You wander over
to that grass spot across th' road from Dave's an'
Dailey's in about an hour, an' lay down to rest yore
laty bones, with yore head toward th' saloon, so nobody
can see that yo're talkin' steady. I'll try to get there
£rst It'll be innocent as sheep. Pepper hankers for
live grass — an' she deserves what she hankers for."

" She does," responded Two-Spot " Big Tom was
In yesterday talkin' to Dailey. I heard him say some-
thin* about no supplies. They had an argument an*
finallv Dailey sajrs : 'All right ; if you say so.' "

my nodded, " I'll see jrou around front in about

ir."

ut the time agreed upon Two-Spot stopped sweep-

1 looked out of the door. "Tilings look plumb

il. Dare," he said. "There's Nelson lyin' on

Jt over there in th' sun. He's too comfortable.

lotion to stir him up."

A MAirS A MAN 87

" You stir up that broom an' get through,** replied
Dave. " You*rc sweepin' later an' later every momin*.**

The sweeper sighed and went to work again, with a
vigor so carefully figured that Dave was on the verge
of speaking about dust several times, but thought better
of it each time. Finishing his chores, Two-Spot shuffled
out and threw a can at the recumbent figure over on
the grass. It stirred and raised its head

**I*11 turn you inside out," it threatened

**You couldn't turn a glove mside out,'* retorted
Two-Spot

Johnny grunted He was silent for a moment, and
dien inquired, '^ What you doin\ Feather Head?"

" Workin'."

" Then you can't do it," regretted Johnny.

"What?"
Bring over a couple of cigars."
Show me yore money."

Johnny rolled over on his side and produced a coin,
which he held up.

" Chuck it over," said Two-Spot.

•* Yo're too busy," jeered Johnny.

"Chuck it, an' see."

Johnny sat up and sent the coin glittering through
die air, Two-Spot making an unexpected catch. He
went into the saloon, soon reappeared, and shuffled
across the road Sitting down at Johnny's side with his
bade to the buildings, he lit his cigar and lazily redined
" I shore appredates this rest,'' he sighed.

Johnny laughed outright. " Yo're worked to death,'*
heii

88 JOHNNY NELSON

•* or Simon Vcrricr," began Two-Spot, " was A* first
owner of th* SV. He run it for twenty years, an* there
wasn't nobody in all that time done any devilment an*
wanted to repeat it. He was testy, big, an' powerful,
an' he reckoned th' gun he packed was made to be used.
He had Buck Sneed for his best man, an' an outfit what
believed th' same as he did about guns. At that time
there wasn't no boundaries, not fixed. Th' ranches
sort of mingled along th' edges. Then th' Bar H got
notions. It sort of honed for that valley, an' made a
play or two for it There wasn't no third. Ol' Simon
an' Buck rid down to th' Bar H house an' spoke plain.
Failin' to have any lines didn't bother them two. They
picked th' ridges of th' dividin' hills an' says : *' Them's
th' lines ; stay on yore own side.' "

Johnny laughed for the benefit of any of the curious
on the other side of the road.

" 01' Frank Harper owned th' Bar H in them days.
Poker an' drink was his f ailin's. His poker took Dailey
out of th' saddle an' put him into th' store, an' it did th'
same for Dave. It also put a mortgage on th' Bar H.
More'n that, it kept him drinkin' harder an' harder—^
an' he was found dead one day in East Canyon ; he had
fell off his cayuse an' busted his neck. Th' mortgage
was foreclosed an' th* present owners of th' ranch
bought it in an' hired Big Tom to run it.

^* Th' first thing Big Tom did was to forget all about
them boundary lines. 01' Simon an' him had words,
an' when th' smoke cleared Big Tom had four slugs
out of five into him; but he's got th' strength of a
grizzly an' pulled through. About th' time he was

A MAN*S A MAN 89

^ I ^i.— ^ ■ 1 11 I 111 11 I—— H^i— — ^1— — B^— — — — ^M^— ^1^

ridin' around ag'In, on his own side of th' lines, Simon
got his feet wet an* died in four days. I says that is
downright funny. He had weathered stampedes, gun-
play, northers, an' th' Lord only knows what for sixty
years, an' then he goes an' dies from wet feet I "

Johnny nodded and pushed Pepper's muzzle from hisi
face, "Keep a-feedin'« girl," he ordered; "I won't
sneak away."

"Well," continued Two^pot, "Buck buried th' ol'
man, an' went right on runnin' things for th' heirs. He
kept th' outfit together, an' th' ranch was payin' fine.
Then th' heirs, eastern mutton-heads, didn't like hisi
spellin', an' his habit of writin' letters when he was mad*
They fired him, an' th' oufit, f eelin' insulted personally,
quit th' ranch an' went with him."

"I've knowed outfits just like that," murmured
Johnny, reflectively.

"Th' new foreman came, an' went Likewise th'
second. They had a mark to live up to — it lays along
th' top of them hills — an' they wasn't big enough to
do it. Meanwhile th' SV was goin' to th' dogs. Then
or Arnold bought it an' came out to run it. He was
a tenderfoot, an' came out for his health. Things was
happenin' all th' time. His herds was shrinkin'. Rus-
tlin', shootin', maverick huntin', an' them quicksands
kept a-cuttin' his herds. Just about that time Big Tom
dynamites th' rock slide in Litde Canyon, an' forthwith
loses his water. Then things happen faster than ever.
He makes a play toward th' Double X ; but th' Double
X talks plain an' he reckons he better get th' SV."

Johnny sat up and stretched. " Let's play mumble-

90 JOHNNY NEUON

peg," he suggested, producing « clasp knife. "This
steady talkin' is lastin* a long time, diough I don't
believe they hear you. I better cut in an* ask fool
questions for th' looks of it"

"That'll come easy to you," retorted Two-Spot.
"Well, things was gotn* from bad to worse on th' SV.
They couldn't keep an outfit. Them that wasn't scared
away was bribed to quit. Dahlgren, Lang, an* Gurley
all was SV men. 01' Arnold borrowed three thousand
dollars on his note in Highbank two years ago. Big
Tom bought it an' holds it now. I think it's due next
spring. Arnold has had to sell cows in small bunches
to buy grub. There ain't no nat'ral increase, an' th*
Bar H has a lot more calves an' yearlin's than Nature
gave it For th* Ust year th* SV ain't been bothered
very much. It*s so dose to d^n' that I redcon Big Tom
would rather wait a little longer an* have somethin*
left to take when he does get it'*

" Pleasant sort of a buzzard, Big Tom," said Johnny.
"You missed then — gimme th' knife."

" Once in a while Lang or Gurley drive a cow into
til' quidcsands, just to keep their hands in. They work
for th* Triangle, but really for Big Tom. They're
handy for him, seein' that they has th' Triangle range
next to th' SV."

"Them names are easy to remember," observed

ny, surrendering the knife.

Big Tom wants th' SV for its water," said Two-
" That's what most folks think. / think him

Dme friends he's got somewhere aim to get it cheap

un it themselves."

A MAirS A MAN 91

"What's th' Doc dom\ squattin' where he is?'*
queried Johnny.

" There was some talk about th' SV's title to that end
of it lyin' west of th* main trail, an' I reckon he's there
to file a homestead claim if it's needed ; but I really don't
know."

"An' these other ranches are settin' back an' watchin*
a sick man, a woman, an' a kid get robbed?" asked
Johnny.

"Th' Triangle is scared of th' Bar H," answered
Two-Spot. " It had its lesson ten years ago, an' ain't
forgot it. Hank Lewis ain't got no nerve — it's only
gall. Sam Gardner is sore about th' game, but he's
all alone. Lefferts an' Reilly don't care much, an' Lang
an* Gurley are in Big Tom's pay."

What about th' Double X?" demanded Johnny.
They are so far off they don't take no interest.
(They keeps over there purty much an' don't meddle,
an', besides, they has troubles of their own, with th*
rustlin' goin* on along their west edge."

" How do you know all this?" said Johnny.

" I worked for Ol' Simon fifteen years ago. I drifted
back last winter, an* I've been here ever since. Nobody
knows me."

"Why are you tellin* me?"

" I hears a lot under th' floor, before you come, an*
after,** said Two-Spot " My ears are good, an* I got
some brains left — not much, but enough to put two an*
two together. Likewise I'm feelin' sorry for them
Arnolds. I don*t like to see a gang of thieves robbin*
helpless critters like them. An' there's more. When

92 JOHNNY NELSON

I was comin' down here I got ketched in a storm an'
like to froze to death. I would have, too, if that Arnold
igal hadn't rid across me, pulled me out of a snowbank,
an* toted me to th' ranch. They took care of me till I
was strong ag^in, an* fed me up. I was near starved
when th* storm got me.*'

^* But why are you tellin' all this to me ? ** demanded
Johnny.

Two-Spot stretched and handed over the knife. " I*m
an or man, now,** he said, ^' but there was a time when
I wasn't You are a young man, an* square, fur's I
know. You been hangin' 'round here playin^ a lone
hand against a bunch that'd cut your throat if they
knowed what you've been doin'. There's a purty gal
over on th' SV. She's square, too, an' helpless, an*
lonely. She don't know what to do, nor where to turn.
She layed in a nest of rocks one day an' was watchin*
three Bar H punchers. A rattler showed up close to
her, in a dead line with th* men. Scared to death of
snakes, she was drawin* a bead on it, when a stranger
offers her his cannon, an* his help. Then he gives her
h — 1 about murder, an* goes away. But he don*t go
fur, only to Gunsight He drives Squint out of th*
country, kidnaps th* Doc, an' keeps a bunch of hosa
thieves from killin' her ol' man. I never saw you
before; I don't know how many cattle you*ve rusded
nor how many trains you*ve stuck up. What's more,
I don't care. I know a white man when I sees one, an*
I'm not gamblin' when I shoots off my mouth to you.
I'm only a two-spot; but even two-spots has their good
points. You can alius remember that there's a two-spot

A MAN'S A MAN 93

holdin' a six-gun under that there floor any time you
need him."

Johnny sat up : " I'm sayin' you ain't no two-spotf
neither."

" Before I forget it, I want to tell you th' rest of it,'^
went on Two-Spot, anger heightening his color. **As
I was sayin', th' gal's white, an' square. She's plumb
different from some I've seen in th' cow-towns. Big
Tom wants th' SV, but he wants her, too ; an* 'though
he ain't pesterin' her now, I know him too well to think
he's give up th' idea. He never lets loose. Th' only
reason he's let up is because he figgers he's got a better
way; an' he's patient. Can you imagine a whiskey-
smellin', big brute like him courtin' herf Can you
imagine how he'd do it ? An' lemme tell you. Nelson :
I am z two-spot, for if Td been any good at all I'd 'a^
put a knife into him an' then took my medicine, like a
man. I was near sick with disappointment when yoa
shot th' gun out of his hand."

*' How do you know anythin' about that nest of rocks^
an' th' three men?"

*' I know lots of things I ain't supposed to, an' one
of 'em is that Big Tom ain't give up di' notion of gettin'
th' SV| nor her, neither. There ain't no parson in thirty
miles — an' Big Tom is terrible lazy. Sometimes I near
sees redl" He glanced up the trail. **Here comes
little Charley, leadin' a pack boss. He's after supplies
at Dailey's — ^" he stopped short and looked at Johnny,
who was looking at him through narrowed lids. The
same thought had come to them both at the same time.
** I'm bettin' he don't get 'em," Two-Spot prophesied.

94 JOHNNY NELSON

Johnny arote and stretched " I'm bettin' he does,**
he drawled* *'Redu>n Til go over an* swap gossip
with Dailey,*' he esqilained, striding away.

Two*Spot watched him and also arose, going across
the road and around the saloon. *' I called it wrong,
he mutteredf "I'll copper that bet: / bets he does.
A grin stole across his face as he shuffled toward Dailey's
back door. " This'll be worth hearin\ an' mebby I can
get me a box of .45's; Ol' Eagle-Eye may be too cussed
busy to pay any attention to me/''

Johnny sauntered into the store and seated himself
on a box. " Howd'y, Ben."

Dailey smiled a welcome. " Been sunnin' yoreself ? "

Johnny yawned. "Yeah; Fm shore lazy." He
glanced out of the door at the boy who had ridden up
and dismounted. "Reckon this is that Arnold kid,"
he observed.

Dailey hid a frown, and nodded " I'm awful short
of supplies today," he said. " 01' Buffalo didn't bring
me any — now I got to wait till he comes again."

Charley entered and handed a paper to the store-
keeper, who took it, studied it, and then shook his head
" Bud, if you'd hunted through th' store you couldn't
'a' picked 'em any worse. I ain't got notUn' this calls
for."

Charley's face fell " Gee 1 " he said, " Peggy's out
of almost everything. She said she just had to get these
today." He looked around inquiringly. "Ain't that
€our ? " he asked, pointing to several filled sacks behind
the counter. ^

** Them's flour sadcs," answered Dailey, " bat ther«

A MAN'S A MAN 9J

ain^t no flour in 'em now.'* He handed the list back to
the boy. ** No use, bud, you'll have to wait till Buffalo
conies up again. He's too old to be of any account,
anyhow, th' ol' fossil: he's alius forgettin' somethin',
aUusI"

Johnny held out his hand, his right hand. **Let*9
see it, Charley," he said, and looked it over. *' I'll be
cussed if that ain't funny 1 " he exclaimed. ** This here
is th' very same as I was goin' to get filled for myself,
only mine wasn't all writ down like this. How'd you
come to pick these things out, Charley?"

"Quit yore fooling," grinned Cl^rley. "I didn't
pick them. Peggy wrote that."

Johnny reached out and put the list in Dailey's hand.
" Better begin at th' top, Ben, an' run right down," he
suggested. *'We won't get 'em mixed that way, or
leave nothin' out. Let's start with one of them flour
sacks, no matter what's in 'em."

Dailey flushed. ** But I just said I was all out ^

" Yo're th' most forgetful man I ever knowed, except,
mebby, Buffalo," said Johnny. ^'You ain't go no
mem'ry at all. Don't you remember you found a lot of
things you'd poked away an' forgot you had? An'
don't you remember that nobody ain't told you, yet,
not to sell me nothin' ? That there paper is mine, now.
I'm borrowin' it because I ain't got my own list writ
out That's writ so pretty an' plain, that it's pretty
plain to read. If anybody gets curious, which they
won't unless you tell 'em, you say that I gave you that
an' wanted it filled. Now, we'll start with di' flour,
iike I was sa]^'."

96 JOHNNY NELSON

Dailey looked down the list and then up at Johnny.
He was asking Fate why Nelson had to pick that par-
ticular time to visit the store. Johnny was smiling, but
there was a look in his eyes which made the storekeeper
do some quick thinking. He had no orders not to sell
to anyone but the SV ; and if Big Tom became curious
he could put his questions to the two-gun man and get
what satisfaction he could. In his heart he was in
sympathy with the SV, and he had argued against refus-
ing to sell to it

^'Nelson," said Dailey, slowly going behind the
counter, '^ It's a good thing you remembered about that
stuff. Are you takin* it to th' hotel ? "

" Reckon not," answered Johnny. " Reckon Fll bor-
row Charley's pack boss an' him to take it oft to a place
I knows of, where there ain't no mice. You'd be sur-
prised, Ben, if you knowed how many mice there are
in that hotel."

Charley looked from one to the other and, not know-
ing what to think or say, grinned somewhat anxiously.

"How's yore dad, an* yore sister?" Johnny asked
him.

"All right," answered Charley. " But they was scared
half to death yesterday when you an' them fellers came
tearin' in, 'specially when you started shooting. You
was awful drunk, wasn't you?"

" I don't remember much about it," confessed Johnny,
" so I reckon mebby I was. We all got lost an' had to
sleep out in th' brush all night. We was after th' coyote
what kidnapped th' Doc, but we couldn't find him."

Dailey forgot to continue filling the list. He was

A MAN'S A MAN 97

holding a sack of sugar in his hand and drinking in
every word. Johnny turned to him.

" Say, Ben," he said, " did I ever tell you th* story
about Damsight?"

"You never did," answered the storekeeper, "not if
my memory ain't playin' me false again."

It was scandalous," began Johnny, drumming with
fingers on the butt of a gun. " There was a bunch
of boss thieves fightin' a lone woman an' her crippled
dad. An' what do you reckon th' men in Damsight did
about it? Nothin'. Nothin' at all. They was so mis»
erable, so coyote-livered, so scared to death that they
didn't raise a finger. No, sir; there wasn't a man in
th' town. They were just yellow dogs, runnin' around
in men's clothes an' pertendin' they was humans— a
lot of yellow dogs, an' not a cussed thing more."

Dailey bungled a knot, and swore under his breath.

"Things went on like that for quite a spell," con«
tinned Johnny, " then a big storm come up, an' one by
one them fellers who didn't see th' error of their ways
was struck by lightnin'. They never knowed what hit
'em. It was just like th' miracles I've heard sky pilots
tell about. Some of 'em did see th' error of their ways
in time. They had a hard time in th' storm, but they
pulled out alive. There seems to be a moral to that
story; there ain't no use tellin' a story like that if th'
moral is left out. An' I reckon th' moral of this one is:
A man might be able to dodge lots of trouble, 'specially
when it ain't near him all th' time ; but when he's livin'
right next door to th' lightnin', he can't dodge that
MThat do you think about it, Charley?"

98 JOHNNY NELSON

*'GeeI That's like die diings P^gy reads to me
out of the Bible," he replied. ^ Only it wasn't light-
lung, bat floods, and pestilences, and things like that.
Why, once a whole ocean opened up right in the middle
and let a lot of people walk across it, bat when their
tnemies got halfway over, it closed op, smack/ and die/
Were all drowned*'

Johnny nodded gravely. '* There's strange things
happenin', even today, Charley, an' nobody knows when
or where they ttnll happen. Now, leavin' miracles out
of it, let's pat those packages on that boss oat there,
an' see if Ben has forgot how to throw a diamond
hitch. I'm bettin' a dollar he has."

"I'll take that dollar, parson," grinned Dailey.
^* Gimme a hand with th' stuff."

They filed out to the horse, loaded with paduiges, as
Two-Spot slipped in the back door, and Dailey won
the dollar. Watching the boy ride away, he turned and
started for the store.

"Well," he said, over his shoulder, "I've put up
my lightnin' rods, an' now I'm goin' to spit on my handi
an' hold fast, for if this storm busts she'll be a whizzer.
I'm aimin' to tell people right to their faces that Dailey's
store sells to anybody that's got th' cash. You better
look to yore tent pegs, young man.^

CHAPTER IX

ROLLING FASTER

THE next morning Johnny mounted Pepper and
rode toward the SV. He had some thinking to
do and chose the conditions which he had found were
most conducive to clarity and continuity of thought—*
the saddle. As he left the town behind he took Pepper
into his confidence.

•* Little hoss," he muttered, " we've gone just about
as far as we can go without stirrin' up active an' per-
sonal troubles. We can't play our hand much longer
without folks knowin' what we are doin'. What you
an* me has got to do is plan things, choose th' leads,
an' then stick to 'em in spite of h — 1 an' high water.
An' we ought to figger on doin' somethin' solid for
th' SV. Any fool can tear around an' smash things,
an' we've got to do that; but you an' me ain't sat-»
isfied with no worthless pile of rubbish; we got to
smash so we can pan that rubbish, sort of, an' get some-
thin' out of it. An' when a feller pans free an' wide
on a cattle range, he most likely will get cows. What
else can he get? A man rocks gravel an' gets gold, if
there's any gold in it. A. puncher, rockin' ranches,
ought to get cows. There ain't nothin' else to get. So
we got to get cows, an' now we got to find out how
many cows we want. We can't find out exact, but we
can do better than guess at it. There's a limit to this

lOO JOHNNY NELSON

pannin* of ours — an' It ought to be what was lost an*
stolen. There's only one place where we can find that
out, an' we're ridin' that way now. Havin' decided
what we're aimin' for, we'll let It rest an' turn to some-
thin' mighty close to us, ourselves; somethin' plumb
personal, an' terrible riled.

" You remember Tex Ewalt, don't you? You ought
to, because he said some mighty nice things about you ;
I was scared he'd turn yore head. Now, Tex was a
wise boy; he was amazin' wise. Do you remember
what he told young Slim-Shanks, that there Baxter kid,
who was all tangled up with tender feelin's? Mebby
you don't; but / do. Slim-Shanks, he was fair wallerin*
in misery, an' actin' like a sick calf. He hung around
that gal's house like a dogie 'round a water hole. She
must 'a' got sick of th' sight of him. Every place she
looked, there was Slim-Shanks, an' his hope-I-die look.
She couldn't get away from th' big calf. Tex never
missed anythin', 'specially If it was under his eyes, an'
one day young Slim-Shanks got bleatin' to him, moanin*
an' groanin' about his busted heart What did Tex tell
him ? I'll tell you. He says, slow an' deliberate : ' Slim-
Shanks, some you got to rush ; others you got to pique —
an' th' best way to do that, in most cases, is to let 'em
think you can look at 'em, an' not see 'em. It takes
nerve — an' not one man in a hundred has got th' nerve.
Make 'em keep a-thinkin' of you without chasin' after
'em. Yore medicine ain't no good — you might try th'
other.' Now, just because Slim-Shanks didn't have th'
nerve ain't sayin' Tex was wrong. I've got to decide
which way Is best, an' It's tough ridin'. Now you keep

ROLLING FASTER loi

right still while I wrestle this thing out/^ and he became
so wrapped up in the problem that he paid no attention
to where Pepper was going; and she took him to the
vantage point on the valley's rim from whence he had
looked down at the posts and their enclosed quicksands ;
and arriving there, she stopped. Johnny was aroused
from his abstractions by a voice which brought him
back in touch with his surroundings, and with a jerk.

" Good morning," said Margaret.

He looked up, hauled off his sombrero and muttered
something, his face in one instant giving up his secret.
Then by an act of will almost brutal in its punishment,
he mastered his feelings and nodded calmly.

"Good mornin\ Ma'am," he replied. "You found
me off my guard; I was miles away."

"Why aren't you?" she retorted, smiling.

"Meanin'?"

" If I were a man I'd stay near my friends as long
as I could."

" I did. Ma'am ; but there was too many wimmin',
so I drifted."

"Ah ! A woman-hater ; or are you trying to forget ? "

"They was all married," he grinned, "that is, all
that had any chance to be. They married my friends,
which took down th' bars on me. I was fair game when
there was any blame which should 'a' been saddled on
their partners. So I drifted. You can't use a gun on
a woman, you know."

" So you came down here to be a mystery? "

"Mystery?" he laughed. "Mel Why, Ma'am,
I'm so open I'm easy pickin' in every poker game I sets

loa JOHNNY NELSON

in. Folks know what I*m goin' to think before I start
thinkin* at aU/'

'^ Then I must be even denser than I feared I am
very much interested in what you have been thinking,
and haven't the slightest clue to it Perhaps if I con-
fess my helplessness you will take pity on me, and tell
me what you are doing down here ; and why? ''

•* Th' * why • shows you ain*t guessm' much, Ma'am,**
he replied, quizzically.

*^ Why did you join that crowd of drunken rowdies,
and act worse than any of them ? "

^' Because when I acts bad, I'm harmless, an' they
was not."

" Perhaps ; but why did you join them ? "

''I was afraid they might hurt themselves, or get
lost."

" Father says that we owe you a debt of gratitude ;
I'm sorry that I shall have to disillusion him."

'' I wouldn't give him no shocks, Ma'am, till his laig
gets well. He ain't as young as he was."

'' Why did you go to the trouble of seeing that we
had supplies ? "

'* Invalids has got to eat. Ma'am."

"Why did you stop that — that brute — when he
was entertaining his companions with his idea of
humor?"

"A man* would just naturally do that, Ma'am; it's
an instinct'*

"Why did you do what you did the day, and night,
that my brother was stopped from going to Highbank
for the doctor?"

ROLLING FASTER 103

*'A man would do that, too ; an* any doctor that for-
gets his duty deserves to be stole an' made do it/'

" You realize, of course, that you are getting your-
self into great danger?"

** I wouldn't hardly call it that, Ma'am," he replied,
smiling. '* There are different breeds. A man might
get scared at a pack of wolves, an' not worry about
coyotes, at all."

** Nevertheless, the danger exists ; no man is proof
Against ambush. Why are you courting it?" she per-
sisted.

" Folks don't ambush till they're purty shore about
things ; an' tryin' to keep 'em from gettin' shore is th*
hardest part of it."

" Why are you courting it? "

'* Ma'am, some things are so raw that they rile an
honest man ; I admits I'm riled considerable, which, of
course, don't prove me to be honest. Even Two-Spot
says he don't know how many cows I've rustled, nor
how many trains I've stuck up. Th' number might
surprise him."

** Somehow I feel that I should thank you for the
favors you have done us," she replied ; ** but my opinion
of western men, as / have found them, urges me to seek
the motive first."

He flushed, and looked at her steadily. **Mebby
that's th* motive yo'rc askin' about,'* be ttfr* wavcly,
and slowly continued : ^* You've aSKed me a lot of que»*
tions; can I deal a few?'*

It depends on what they are.**

They*re personal — plumb personaL I*m wantin*

104 JOHNNY NELSON

to know if Big Tom holds yore dad's note for three
thousand dollars.'* He waited a moment and, receiv-
ing no reply, asked two in one. *^ How many cows was
on th' SV when you bought it, an' how many are on it
now? Th' tally sheets ought to give that purty close —
dose enough, anyhow."

'^ Mr. Nelson, the first seems to be public knowledge.
Mr. Huff holds my father's note for that amount The
number of cows, then or now, I do not know."

" Is th' note endorsed, an 'what security was given?"

" I endorsed it. The ranch is in my name."

"Uh-huh," commented Johnny. "Do you know
where th' tally sheets are?"

" If you mean the books, they are on a shelf in the
house."

" Ma'am," he said, earnestly, " I wonder if you would
mind copyin' off what there is about th' number of cows
on th' ranch after th' last trail herd left, th' year before
you took possession? An' how many cows there was
this spring, or th'*number of calves branded then?"

"Why do you want this?" she demanded. "Why
should I go to that trouble, or tell you such things? "

"I don't know," he answered, "less'n you want to.
You see, I'm curious about things, too. It's a failin'
most humans have, a bad failin'. An', before I forget
it, I'm goin' to ask you another: Judgin' from them
posts down there along th' river, that's a quicksand.
Why ain't there more wire strung to keep th' cows out
of it?"

" Because it is torn off as fast as it is put up. We
have given up the effort; it is useless. // you only

ROLLING FASTER , 105

«*---

ktgew — *' she checked herself, but the tears of helpless
anger in her eyes could not be kept from forming.

"That's just it, Ma'am — if I only knowed," he
replied, nodding. " I know a lot about that, but not
about th' number of cows you have lost. I'm what
you might call morbid, an' like to grieve about calami-
ties. Would you jpiind gettin' them iiggers for me?
I'll be here about ten o'clock tomorrow for 'em, if you
wUL"

" Yes ; but why do you want them ? " she demanded.

" I'm aimin' to put th' fear of God where it ain't been
knowed for a long time, Ma'am," he answered, ** an'
be rewarded by th' company."

"What company?"

" I'll tell you that later. Ma'am. It will be th' last
thing to be told, an' you'll never guess it alone. You'll
have to be helped. An' when I tell you, you'll be sur-
prised, an' wonder how it was that you couldn't guess
such a simple thing as that. I'll be leavin' you now, to
keep on a-roUin'."

She looked after him longer than he was in sight,
lost in the solving of the riddle, which grew more for-
midable the more it was attacked, unless the instinct of
her sex was given a fairer hearing. It hammered and
hammered for admittance and gained entry enough to
cause a flush to steal across her face, and was instantly
thrown out bodily. But if it was refused its day in
court, it could at least stand outside the walls and make
its plea, and so it did. Somehow, when she was in the
presence of this man she felt a sense of security that
was almost like a lullaby. His easy, graceful poise,

io6 JOHNNY NELSON

the quiet reverence which lay smiling behind his eyes
and crept into his voice, the unobtrusive but unwavering
confidence he had in himself, and the feeling of tremen-
dous reserve power which emanated from his every
word, look, and movement seemed almost to bathe her
with peace and security. And for one instant his eyes
had looked at her and made her go suddenly limp : she
had felt suffocated, and the feeling had not been rebuked.
Turning her pony's head, she rode slowly homeward,
knowing that she would do whatever he requested, in
spite of herself — and, strangely, she felt no fear.

Johnny, the vortex of an emotional whirlpool, rode
into Gunsight and dismounted before the Palace, the
action purely a matter of habit. Suddenly he shook his
head with savage energy. " You fool ! " he growled.
" Keep yore mind on yore job, or somebody'll find you
easy pidcin* I " He looked around and saw Two-Spot
grinning at him, and felt a quick irritation. *' Well,''
he demanded sharply, "what's on yore mind?"

Two-Spot rubbed the disgraceful stubble on his face
and grinned wider than before. " I was just a-thinkin*
you need a guardian," he retorted. "Through with
Pepper?"

Johnny regarded him unfavorably. "A man jQsually
gets what he needs, if he tries hard enough. Tote that
away an' gnaw on it I I'm through with Pepper."

Two-Spot watched him enter the saloon, and reflec*
tively scratched his chin. " Mebby there is some meat
on that bone, but he didn't have to call me no dog, did
he? Cuss him an' his trick of leavin' me knots to untie*
He's crazy — crazy as a fox I "

CHAPTER X

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK

WHILE Johnny had been talking to Margaret
there was being enacted a far different scene
down on the Bar H. The foreman's anger at the
condition of his three men when they had ridden in
the day before was newly aroused by Smitty the follow-
ing morning, when he arrived and shamefacedly slunk
into the bunkhouse. Big Tom stormed about the room,
demanding to know why he had to have such sheep in
his outfit He wanted to know what they had done,
and they could not tell him ; he asked where they had
gone, and they replied to the SV. What had they
done there? They could not recall. Dahlgren spoke
vaguely of "going after th' feller," but had no idea
who he was, or anything about it ; but they all remem-
bered that Nelson had been with them, in the same
condition as themselves, and that he had terrorized the
SV household. Smitty corroborated the last and rejoiced
at the^agility which had twice saved him. There were
some things to which his memory clung.

Little Tom Carney and Wolf Forbes enjoyed their
friends' discomfiture, at the same time sharing in some
of Big Tom's disgust.

Wolf looked at them pityingly. "You make me
sick I" he sneered. "Fine bunch of sage hens — all
you think about is liquor. How many times have I

107

io8 JOHNNY NELSON

told you to let th* stuff alone, as long as yoa couldn't
drink like humans ? "

"Parson Forbes has th* floori" growled Carson.
"Bein' human, he '*

"That'll do I" snapped Wolf. "You know how
much parson there is to me. Who shot you out of a
lynchin' bee back m Texas?" he demanded.

"Who got me into it?" demanded Carson. "They
was watchin' that bank, an* I told you so 1 *'

" You said so because you got scared at th' last mm-
ute I " retorted Wolf. " If I didn't have to waste half
an hour arguin' with you — oh, what of It I That ain't
excusin' you from bein* a fool day before yesterday,
is it?"

"Mebby you could *a* done better?" ironically
queried Dahlgren.

" If he couldn*t, I'd fire him I " snapped Big Tom.

"You wouldn't have to fire me; I'd quit I" replied
Wolf.

"Then why don't you do somethin*, 'stead of loafin*
along that northwest line, pertendin' you has got to
watch for rustlers an* them Double X fellers?** sneered
Fraser.

" I will I " shouted Wolf. " I'm goin' to watch one

man— not everybody on th' range. There's only one

man in this country that ain't got a good reason for

bein' here — that's Nelson — an' I'm goin* to watch

him till I get what I want. Then mebby you fools will

iblc to bury him for me. Think so?"

'I'm wishin' you luck," said Smitty. "Youll need

You be careful who it is that gets buried.'*

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK loy

Wolf looked at him pityingly. " You pore sheep I •*
he said, " I'm sorry you was so lively in th' SV house»
cussed if I ain't I" He turned to Big Tom. "Do
I go?"

'* You do/' said the foreman. ** Somethin' is wrong,,
an' we got to fix it. Stay as long as you has to. I'm
not worryin' about you — but I am scared th' cows will
eat these four chumps. They shore is green an' tender.
When you startin' ? "

" Right soon," answered Forbes, going out.

Big Tom stood in the doorway and watched his two»
gun man enter the corral. His confidence in the wiry
killer was not built upon hearsay. Cold, venomous^
and quick, he was more like a rattler than his namesake.
Up to now every man who had faced Wolf Forbes had
faced death, a death swift and certain.

In due time Wolf rode northward and arrived in
Gunsight, where he loafed around exchanging gossip
with everyone he knew. George was coaxed to talk,
but his stupidity did what a mediocre cleverness might
have failed to do. He yielded nothing that Wolf could
use, and a few things which did not suit Wolf's needs.
With Jerry, the harness-maker, the conversation was
a husk without a kernel, and the second-hand saddles
were of no value to Wolf, who was searching doMoi
things which were against his own convictions. Two-
Spot smoked his cigar and rambled aimlessly in his
garrulous monologue. He was hopeless from Wolfs
viewpoint. Dave's admissions were barren of infor-
mation of a constructive sort. Fanning did not know
anything, and Dailey was as bad. Wolf finally gave up

JOHNNY NELSON

the effort and went bade to the Palace, there to await
the coming of Nelson.

Johnny entered the saloon some time later, nodded
to its occupants, but kept on going toward the rear door.
" Be back after I eat," he said.

George looked out to see who was washing. " This
ain*t no time to come in for dinner," he growled.

" There's never no time like th' present. Can't help-
it," retorted Johnny. " While I'm washin' you rustle
th' chudc"

" Wolf was here askin' about you," said George.

" That so ? Well, that ain't no crime."

"Can he shoot better'n you?" queried the cook.
. *' He says he'll shoot against anybody in this coontry
with six-guns, any fashion, for a dollar a shot Does it
sound like money?"

" If I could shoot that good I'd be too rich to be
restin' up between cow-punchin' jobs," gurgled Johnny
through a double handful of water. " Reckon he
knows what he's talkin* about, or he wouldn't risk bein'
took up."

" Well," said the cook, " I've heard somethin' from
them that seen it If you aim to go ag'in* him, let me
know ahead of time, will you ? "

" I ain't aimin' to," replied Johnny.

" Hey I Wait 1 " exclaimed the cook, disappearing.
He returned with a clean toweL "Use this. That
ain't lit for a dog no more."

looked at the old one and smiled. It was
le distance from the condition which called
nge of towels at the Delmonico. "Thanks.

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK 1 1 1

Th' dirt won't come off this one. What about dinner ? "

^^Goshl I forgot," said George, dodging into the
kitchen.

Johnny had company while he ate, for the cook en-
tertained him with an account of Wolf's visit, to all of
which Johnny paid polite interest, but he hastened his
meal. Then he slowed again, for George was beg^-
ning to get at the kernels.

*^ Has he lost his saddle ? " asked the cook.

"Don't know.'*

" Must a' busted it He asked me if I knowed where
there was a good second-hand one, gold or brass
trimmed. An' say, keep yore eyes on youm; he asks
me if you tote it up to yore room nights. I didn't tell
him you keep it in th' kitchen, but I did say there wasn't
no room in yore room for no saddle. He wants one, I
reckon, because he went to Jerry's when he left here."

" He wouldn't take my saddle," said Johnny. " He
was havin' fun with you."

"Mebby," admitted George. "He was in a jokin'
humor, 'cause he laughed an' says he reckoned you'd
get th' courtin' bug, like all th' rest, an' go callin' on that
Arnold gal. An' he says he'll bet you get throwed as
hard as th' rest of 'em. I gave it to him right back an'
says that you an' me are both alike — we hates wim-
mm,

"They've got to hustle if they rope you or me,"
laughed Johnny. "What else did he say?"

" That's all, that an' what I told you before. Where
you goin' now?"

'* Round to Dave's for a game of cards, mebby.

JOHNNY NELSON

Wolf an' Fanning are there," answered Johnny, taking
fail hat from the floor and arising.

"You ain't repeatin' what I said, are you?*' asked
George, somewhat anxiously. *' He didn't mean notbin*
by it."

" No ; why should I ? We all like to joke. I ain't
got nothin' against Wolf. See you at supper," and
Johnny went out the rear door. As he neared the cor*
ner of the kitchen Two^pot turned it and bumped into
him. "Wolfs askin' about you all over town," he
muttered, and then, louder: " Why'n blazes don't you
look out?"

" Some day I'll chuck you over th' roof," retorted
Johnny. " If you'd keep yore head up you'd see where
you was goin' ! "

"Keep yore own head upl You don't own this
town I "

Johnny turned as he reached Dave's door. " If I did
I'd run you out of it," and entering, he slammed the
door behind him.

There was a laugh from the bar, where Wolf and
Fanning were stitl chatting with Dave. Wolf swung
the conversation around to the SV and kept it there as
long as he could after Johnny joined them. He worked
around to Squint, and to the kidnapping of the Doc, and
endeavored to get a careless admission from Johnny;
but the latter evaded the traps. He showed no disin-
clination to talk about Wolf's pet subjects and even
other to keep the conversation on them. He
if the committee's visit to the SV by saying
the Arnolds knew nothing at all about recent

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK 113

events, or else they had been terrorized by the visitors'
actions and had been unable to think clearly or even
to talk. He admitted that the committee was in no
condition to handle the situation, and that he was as
bad as any member of it. As to what had really oc-
curred out there the details were lost to him because
he had been too drunk to know much about anything ;
and in this he was backed up by what Wolf, himself,
knew about the other members of the committee. He
remembered that he had got rough and that someone,
he thought it had been Smitty, had yelled something
about getting somebody, and they had followed him to
doit.

"Give us another round, Dave," said Wolf. **I
ain't losin' no sleep about th' Doc — ^^' he began again.
Johnny interrupted him and led the way to a table.
Ain't no use standin' up all afternoon. We'll drink
'em over here, Dave."

Fanning and Wolf followed and the afternoon passed
in cards, drinking, and talking. Johnny drank his liquor
every round without losing his head, for which he was
indebted to the proprietor. When supper time came
around Fanning pushed bade the table.

" I just can't make nothin' these days," he growled.
" I never saw a game break so even ; bet nobody's lost
ten dollars."

"I won somewhere 'round four," laughed Wolf,
arising.

" I'm out five," grinned Johnny. " Jim has played
all afternoon to get that dollar. Goin' home, Wolf, or
you aimin' to make a night of It? "

•I

114 JOHNNY NELSON

"Got to go,*' answered Wolf, "but I got sense
enough to get my supper in town," he smiled " Lead
th* way, Jim."

"Hey!" called Dave, "somebody ginune a hand
with this keg?"

Johnny, who was last in the line, turned. " Be right
after you fellers," he said, over his shoulder. " Where
do you want it, Dave?"

"Up on th* buck, under th' bar. Easy, now I Up/
Good."

"That was fine baby stuff I was drinkin* all after-
noon," chuckled Johnny. " How'd you keep th* color? **

" Young man," smiled Dave, " yore business is punchr
in' cows; mine's sellin' " liquor. Go on, now, an' eat-
Keep yore wits sharp."

While they were at supper there was a conunotion
outside and four punchers from the Double X stamped
in. " Hello, fellers I " said Slim Hawkes, throwing his
sombrero on a table.

" It smells good," grunted Wilkes, and turned to the
other two. " Boys, this is Nelson : Nelson, shake ban's
with Gus Thompson an' Bill Sage." He nodded coldly
to Wolf, who returned it with reserve.

" What brought you hoodlums to town ? " asked Fan-
ning. " You fellers act scared of Gunsight. Ol' Dalley
got you buffaloed ? "

" I reckon it's th' twenty miles," said Slim, dragging
a table up to the one then in use. "Hey, George I
Can't you move faster'n that?"

" Go roll in a ditch," came the polite reply.

"Well," said Wilkes, "we was ridin' near th' east

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK 115

line when we discovers we was goin' to be late for

supper, an* th' ranchhouse bein' near twenty miles, an'

th' town only a couple, we votes for a Ao-tel feed an*

a session in Dave's." He turned toward the kitchen.

*' Hey, George ! We saw dust above th' Sherman trail

an* figgers it's Buffalo. Is he due tonight? Thought

I'd" tell you so you could get ready for th' old codger.'*

George stuck his head in the doorway. ^'Any more

hard luck comin' this evenin' ? " he demanded. *' Can't

somebody trail in after him so I can keep on a-work-

in'?"

'^ You get back in there an' go to work I " warned
Thompson. " We're hungry I "

Wolf arose, paid his bill, and took up his hat. ^' Well,
I'm off. So-long, fellers," and he strolled out.

** Which ain't causin' me no tears," muttered Slim.
*' He likes us 'bout as well as we like him. Here comes
th' cook. Good for you, George 1 "

When the Double X squad had nearly finished, the
rumble of a wagon was heard, rapidly getting nearer.
Soon it passed the side of the hotel, and ceased.
" There's OV AUus-Latc 1 " grumbled George.
^^I'll give him a hand," said Johnny, arising and
going out " It'll save you time."

"Don't strain yoreself on my account," replied
George.

" Hello, Buffalo ! " said Johnny, starting to unhitcht

** I'll put these boys in th' shed an' you go eat. George

. is ready for you. You can feed 'em later* If you'll

trust me, I'll do it for you ; I watched you last time."

** Much obliged, scnny," smiled the old man. *^ Yo're

JOHNNY NELSON

right obligin', but I alius eat last. They've ddne good
today, considerin' th' load, an* nothin's too good for
'em."

"Thought you came back light?"

"Got near a load of hides — can't you smell 'em?"

*' I shore can ; but I'm so slow witted they didn't mean
anythin' to me. Green, too?" he suggested.

"Yep," replied the freighter. "Picked 'em up all
along; but I won't get no more this trip. Th* Triangle
won't have none — an' I ain't goin' to go out of my
way to call at th' Bar H. Got enough, an' I'm goin*
right through. I'm alius glad to git home."

"I bet you are," replied Johnny. "Ain't anythin'
more I can do, is there?"

"No, sonny; thankee. I appreciate yore help. I
ain't as young as I used ter be, nor as quick. Thankee ;
good night"

Johnny went to the saloon, where a sudden outburst
of voices told him he would find Fanning and the
Double X men. As he opened the door a roar of laugh-
ter greeted him.

"Cussed if that ain't rich I" shouted Slim, jumping
up and down. " Th' Doc stole from his peaceful fire-
side. Oh I Ho I Ho I An' to 'tend to his friends, th'
SV I By th' Lord I Mebby we'll do it over again, our-
selves, sometime, when we feel extra good I"

"Pd give ten dollars to shake ban's with th' man
t done it," laughed Sage. "I bet Big Tom rolled
th' floor when he heard it — an' bit th' fumiturel"
'But how'd he get Squint's outfit?" demanded
Ikes.

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANR 117

a^—— ^— — — — ^— — ^^ ■■■■I. I ■■ ■ I — — i^

Dave told of Squint's disappearance and of the deep
torrow darkening the sun, whereupon an eager disf
cussion took place. This lasted until Dailey came ia
and impatiently pounded on a table with the butt of
his gun.

** Order, Gents ; order 1 " he shouted. " My time's
valuable — who are goin' to be th' victims? "

** Shore we'll order 1 " yelled Slim. "All up, boys !
Dailey's treatin'," and despite his protests, he found
that he was. Soon after this a six-handed game got
into full swing.

Dave's vexation grew steadily and passed the anger
point without stopping. He was tired, and now his
labors were only beginning. Two-Spot was living up
to Dave's opinion of him, for he had not been much
in evidence around the saloon since noon, and had not
appeared at all since the Double X punchers had come
in. Dave went to the front door and called, and then he
went to the rear door and yelled, but received no re-
sponse. Thinking that he saw a shadowy figure skulking
in the darkness, he yelled again, and with no honeyed
promises as the burden of his message. Glancing around
in the darkness as if to penetrate it by an act of will, he
shouted a threat and stamped back to the bar, slanuning
the door so hard that the windows shook.

"Come on, Dave I" cried Dailey, cheerful in view
of his ownership of the last pot. "What you so slow
about?"

"If he'd quit pickin' on Two-Spot," said Thompson,
** an' tend to business, folks would like it better."

^^Anybody that don't like it can get out ! " retorted

1 1 8 JOHNNY NELSON

Dave. ** He's never around when there's work to be
did!"

The evening passed swiftly and midnight was not
far off when Dave found it necessary to draw on the
contents of the new keg, and he disappeared below the
bar for a few minutes. Hardly had his head passed
from sight when Two-Spot, closely watching the bar,
slipped quietly through the rear door and went silently
to Johnny, where he poked his face close to the punch-
er's ear and muttered for a moment Johnny nodded
and looked over his hand again, while Two-Spot scur-
ried for the door and safety, being silently threatened
by Fanning, who thoroughly enjoyed the situation.
Two-Spot looked fearfully around and closed the door
behind him. He barely had time to get under the
saloon when Wolf Forbes, returning from his short
tour around the buildings, turned the comer of the
kitchen and peered in at the window.

Johnny folded his hand, pushed out the required
number of chips and grunted. ^^Fm trailin' — but I
shore wish that man would stop. He must have about
thirteen aces."

" Fm limpin', but Fm there," remarked Thompson.
** Th' dust bade here Is awfuL"

" There ain't no call for you to put on airs,'* growled
Slim, pushing in what he was shy. ^* I got four kings,
but you don't see me quittin', do you?"

^^ You must a' pidced up what I throwed away," said
ODailey. ** Havin' felt yore pulses Fm buildin' a house
right out there in th' middle, where you all can see it,
An' get covetous."

I.--

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK 119

**Th' coyote that wins this pot," said Slim, "will
shore have to get Or Buffalo an' his freight waggin*
to haul "

A roar of laughter burst from Johnny and he pushed
back from the table, lying back in his chair so his lungs
could have plenty of room. Dailey put his hand over
the pile of chips he had just shoved in, Slim jumped
and stared at the roaring puncher, the others manifest-
ing their astonishment. each according to his own man-
ner* There was a resounding whack/ from the bar
and Dave, holding the top of his head with both hands,
moaned as he looked wildly about, and then, glaring
at the convulsed puncher, he made several pointed, per-
tinent, profane, and personal remarks and slowly went
down again to finish his task.

Slim scratched his head. "WeU," he drawled, "I
alius knowed I was bright an' witty, but I never knowed
that I was that good. I likes a man that pays me a
compliment like that."

"Th' loud an' screechin' roarin' of th' wild jackass is
heard nightly over th' land," observed Sage. " It has
scared me plumb cold — I'm layin' down as fine a pair
of four-spots as I've ever held. I ain't got th* nerve
to pve 'em the backin' they deserves. Will somebody
lend me their gun ? "

" I cussed near shot," said Wilkes.

" What's that ? " demanded Dailey. " Don't you do
nothin' like that I He's a part of my profits. Now^ if
somebody will stuff a hat in that cave, I'll proceed from
where I left off. I've raised her till she sags in th*
middle— who's got any props?**

lao JOHNNY NELSON

^^ I alius play poker by th' weather,** said Thompson.
^^When it*s dry an* hot, I calls, an* when it's hot an'
dry, I raises. Bein' dry an' hot, I hereby calls. Dave,
bring me a box to put it in."

" Don't you bother Dave," chuckled Dailey. ** He's
puttin' hcfss lininaent on his bald spot — from ear to ear,
an' eye« to spine. I can tote this home in a couple of
tripo."

Johnny, weak and tearful, drew up to the table. ** I
was just a-thinkin'," he said. ** Where are we now?"

"Was you?" queried Fanning. "Then don't you
never do no thinkin' nights after I've gone to bed."

Dave emerged again, grinning. " Beats all," he mut-
tered, "how our sins f oiler us around. Pore Squint;
I reckon his mcm'ry's with us. I won't rest till I knows
what was done with him."

In the middle of the next game Johnny broke out
again and Dave reached for the mallet.

" I ain't what you'd call superstitious," said Dailey,
"but I lost that last pot to a man who didn't even know
where he was. Every time I hears a jackass warble I
has bad luck. I'm obcyin' th' wamin' an' gcttin' out
of this game while I have th' holes left in my belt.
What's more, I'm goin' home ; I know when it's time
to let go."

" Pore Dailey," moaned Fanning, " we all got a little
of it tonight — an' I'm sleepin' with a gun under my
piller, you betl"

"It's time we quit," said Slim, arising. "We got
twenty miles to go — an' while mcbby it ain't so dark as
I've seen it, it'll be dark enough to keep us from racin'.

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK 121

But before I go I'd like to find out somethin' : Will
somebody please tell me what I said, that second time,
that was so funny? "

" It wasn't noUiin' you said, Slim," answered Wilkes ;
^' it was yore face — but I holds that it's cussed unpolite
for anybody to laugh right out loud about a man's mis-
fortunes.'*

"Nelson, I begs yore pardon," said Slim. "You
has a proper an' fittin' sense of humor. Let's have one
more round before we ride home an' wake up th' boys
to tell 'em what happened to Dailey. How'd you come
out, Nelson?"

" I got plenty — a great plenty, thank you," answered
Johnny, throttling the laughter which threatened to
burst out again. " I'm heavy with it. Dailey will f oiler
me around tomorrow tryin' to get me into a seVen-up
or Califomy-jack game in his store, where he's got
lookin' glasses an' cold decks. Well — here's how.'*
j^utting down the half-emptied glass he turned, nodded,
and went out. When he closed the door behind him
he became alert as a cat in a strange cellar and slipped
around the kitchen, hand on gun. Once inside the
hotel he began laughing again, silently this time, and
went hurriedly up to his room, where he lit the lamp
and began to undress. Removing his boots he stood up,
and in such a position that the shadow on the wall would
tell any watcher that he was removing his shirt. Blow-
ing out the light, he hurriedly put the garment on again
and, carrying the boots in his hand, slipped silently down
the stairs and into the kitchen, where he took the lariat
from his saddle and went swiftly to the front door,

laa JOHNNY NELSON

where he listened as he slowly opened it Satisfied that
no one was watching, he slid out sideways, closed the
door gently behind him and, going along the side of
Dailey's store, he slung the lariat around his neck, put
the boot straps between his teeth and, dropping on all
fours, crossed the road and disappeared into the dark*
aess on the farther side.

The noise around at Dave's took on sudden volume
as the Double X punchers went out to their horses.
Laughing and joking, they swung down the trail at a
lope. Fanning and Dailey said good night to Dave
and departed.

Gunsight instantly grew quiet and soon a figure
emerged from Dave's horse shed and was swallowed up
in the darkness to the east of the main trail, and soon
thereafter the hoofbeats of a horse were heard by one
pair of listening ears in town. Two-Spot crept out from
under the saloon and stood up, shaking his fist at the
sound, which moved southward. Then the hoofbeats
grew more rapid as Wolf increased the pace of his
horse.

Down the trail, where it narrowed to pass between
two clumps of brush, a coatless, hatless figure crouched
in the left-hand thicket, the coil of rope in his left hand
held low down. At irregular intervals he seemed to
be suffering from an attadc of ague, for he quivered and
shook ; and there came from him strange, subterranean
rumblings and rusty wheezes which he tried to muffle
with an arm. As the hoofbeats coming from town grew
rapidly louder and nearer he tensed himself. The pound-
ing rang out loudly, now, the soft jingling of chain and

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK 123

ornaments distinguishable in the greater sound, and
soon the vague figure of a mounted man burst out of
the darkness and swept past the clumps of brush. The
waiting man on foot straightened his body and arm at
the same moment, and at the instant the rope grew
taut he pulled it sharply and leaned back with all his
strength. There was an exclamation and a crash, and
the man who had waited ran swiftly forward, hauling
the rope in hand over hand. Kneeling at the side of
the prostrate figure he slipped the guns from their hol-
sters and threw them into the brush, and then fell back
to work with the rope and the victim^s kerchiefs. With
the gagged, bound, and blindfolded man on his back
he went up the trail toward town.

Gunsight had been quiet for over an hour when a
strangely shaped figure staggered across the road west
of the hotel and steadily neared the shed. It came
slowly around the comer and stopped at the side of the
big freight wagon, where part of it went to the ground,
while the remainder, appearing in the form of a man,
worked at the ropes closing the tarpaulin at the rear of
the wagon, and soon had it open. He stepped back for
a moment as a reminder of what lay behind it struck
his nostrils, and again he was seized with a recurrence
of the peculiar malady which had seized him frequently
in the last hour. At the muffled sounds which came from
him, the figure on the ground writhed as if in sympathy
and endeavored to repeat them. The attack passing,
he drew a long breath and plunged his head and shoul-
ders into the opening he had maue and worked hard
lor a few minutes ; and when he stepped back he had

124 JOHNNY NELSON

-■■■■■■■ I. ■ I III , ■ ■ ■ I II . ^IM^^^^

several pieces of rope in his hands, which he had taken
from a bundle of akins. Drawing a few deep breaths
he moved around the wagon and bent over ihc figure
on the ground, exchanging the pieces of rope for his
own lariat, but not without a struggle which made it
necessary for him to sit on the figure and exert his
strength. Tying good knots in the dark on arms and
legs which writhed and twisted was slow work, but it
was necessary that it be well done, and when he arose to
his feet he was assured as to that. Bending over, he
picked up the figure and carried it to the rear of the
wagon, where he pushed it headfirst into the opening
made for it, despite its contortions and gurgled pro-
fanity. Again his head and shoulders disappeared
under the tarpaulin, and when he straightened up he
knew that his victim was so securely lashed to the wagon
box that it would be impossible for him to move around,
no matter how much he bridged and wriggled, no matter
how much the wagon jolted. It was a job which de-
manded care, and had received it. Satisfied as to the
conditions inside the wagon, he now turned his attention
to the outside, which must be proof against telling any-
thing to the observing eyes of the old buffalo hunter.
He carefully replaced the tarpaulin as he had found it,
even to its folds, and he duplicated the knots he had
untied. Pausing a moment to think, he dusted canvas
and ropes, cogitated as to his own footprints, which
Old Buffalo would not fail to notice, if the light per-
mitted. He got his rope, coiled it, and with this for his
tool he effaced the prints and then went to the horse
shed. When he reappeared he was leading a horse

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK 125

hose color melted into the darkness like a lump of
diarcoal in ink. They passed in the dark like the pass-
ing of a doud and it was not until some minutes later
thzt the drumming of hoofs rang out on the trail, bound
southward in search of a saddled, but riderless, horse,
which should be found in that direction. It would not
do for it to be seen by anyone but themselves while it
bore the riding gear of Wolf Forbes.

A blot on the ground near the horse shed arose.
Two-Spot was in pain and the tears were flowing down
his unwashed cheeks, while spasm after spasm racked
him. Holding a six-gun limply in his hand, he stumbled
and staggered away from the buildings, to some place
where he could give free vent to the agonizing mirth
which threatened to choke him. Coming to a weed-
filled gully he sank into it and lay with his face buried
in his arms. Minutes passed before he got control of
himself and then he rolled over weakly and stared up
at the star-filled sky, inert and sore, for h^ knew not
how long.

"If it was anybody but Wolf," he moaned, "it would
be bad enough, but it's ten times worse as it is. Wolf
Forbes, th' killer ; Wolf, th' two-gun badman, th' terror
of th' range; th' cool, deliberate, stuck-up Wolf, who
walks with stiff-laigged dignity, an' holds his nose up in
th' airl Wolf Forbes— K)h, my G — dl Gimmie airl
Snoopin' wiselike all over town, fiUin' his ears; smart
an' chipper, cold an' wise! Oh, me I Oh, my I Sneak-
in' 'round from winder to winder, listenin' at th' cracks
— ^as if I didn't see his bow laigs passin' back and forth.
Tryin' to learn if it was Nelson who stole th' pill-roller,

126 JOHNNY NELSON

an* did for Squint. Hearin* what them Double X fellers
had to say about it, an' him; standin' there bilin* with
rage! Oh, when this night's work gets spread over
th' range there'll go up a laugh that'll shake th' sky I
If he's got th' nerve to come back an' face that music
he'll have to use them guns of his'n. An' he can't fight
'em all, good as he is. ff^olf, huh? He started out as
a wolf, but he'll change his spots afore he gets to High-
bank, an' his scent, too! He! He! He! He'll turn
into a polecat — a hydrophoby skunk! Oh! Me! Oh I
My! Polecat Forbes, th' strong man I Oh! Hoi
Ho!"

While he rested, his merriment slowly died and gave
way to venom, and he sat up to shake his fist in the
direction of the wagon.

''You earned it, cuss you!" he snarled. ''Bound
up like a bundle of rags, an' headed for Highbank, you
are I Forty mile, it is ; forty mile of sun, an' jolts, an*
stink, an' flies, an' achin' bones, an' cuttin' ropes. Forty
mile of heat an' dust an' thirst; forty mile of rage, of
thinkin' it all over; forty mile of h — 1 on wheels—
that's what it is — forty mile of h — 1 on wheels I Four-
teen hours, says I, but I hopes it's twenty. Time enough
for thinkin', you blackguard. 'Member th' time you
kicked me off'n Dave's hitchin' rail? 'Member how
funny it was, huh ? 'Member how I said I'd get square
with you, an' how you kicked me ag'in, an' made me
dance to yore blasted guns? I was a harmless ol' man;
but it was funny, just th' same. Oh, I'm wishin' I
dast go over there an' tell you all I'm thinkin'— yore
ears would bother you more'n yore nose if I could.

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK 127

If I only knowed you wouIdn^t come back; if I only
knowed that I It was me that did it. I told Nelson
about youy an' I was hopin* you'd get blowed apart;
but this is better, cuss you I When yo're dead yore
troubles are over — an' you'll wish you was dead when
this story gets out. An' if you keeps yore nerve, an'
finds out who done it, you totll be I Wolf? Wolf?
Huh I I got a better name for youl **

He arose and went back toward the saloon, and
had not quite reached it when he heard the soft steps
of a horse on the sand and he dropped to the ground,
his gun lightly held and ready. In a moment he made
out a man leading a horse and he arose, which turned
the approaching figure into a blur of action. He could
feel the menace of the other's gun.

"It's mc — Two-Spot," he whispered hoarsely.

The other relaxed and came nearer. "You tryin'
to get shot?" came a low, tense voice. "What you
doin'?"

" I had to be dead shore who it was that's tied up like
a bundle of trash in th' waggin," answered Two-Spot.
** You ridin* south bothered me. I'll never forget this,
never!'*

"That's th' first thing you got to do — till you hear
about it from somebody else," replied Johnny, feeling
at his saddle. " Here," he said, untying a Winchester
and holding it out. " I promised you a rifle — an' this
is somethin' else you want to forget. I got one of his
six-guns tied under my slicker roll — you see that you
don't forget that it belongs to me. I'll give you th'
cartridges tomorrow — they're in th* belt over my

ia8 JOHNNY NELSON

shoulder. You rustle under that floor, it's near day-
light"

A grin of delight swept over Two-Spot's face as he
grasped the weapon, and he scurried to his nest But
there was one thing more to make his happiness com-
plete — he had to see the start of the wagon. And
he did not have to wait long. With the first blush of
day Old Buffalo appeared, hitched up his horses and
urged them to begin their long pull to Highbank. The
wagon squeaked and rumbled and passed from the
watcher's sight; and when the last sound died out in
the south, Two-Spot went to his blankets to lie on his
back and gloat over the miseries of Wolf as his vivid
imagination pictured them.

Down on the Highbank trail, bound and helpless,
and exhausted by his frantic efforts to free himself,
Wolf Forbes seethed with rage, which later would
bum itself out and bring an inert apathy to ease him ;
and two things seared his memory: The mirth of the
man who had trapped him, and the sound of a horse's
hoofs pounding at top speed down the trail. They had
gone southward, towards the Bar H, the Triangle, and
the faint trail leading to the Double X. With these
meager clues he built several edifices of speculation,
not one of which could be singled out in preference to
the others. His friends were notorious practical jokers,
and he had done his share at it The Double X outfit
hated him, and Nelson had cause to wish him out of
the way if his suspicions concerning Nelson were well
founded. Would his unthinking friends carry a joke
so far; would the Double X think of and carry out the

FREIGHT FOR HIGHBANK 129

pla.y; and if Nelson felt that he was in danger, would
he be fool enough to do a thing like that ? In his place
VVolf would have killed. But he would hunt out the
perpetrator, whoever he wa$i when he came back-—
£ind he was going backl

CHAPTER XI
"the tinkung op the camkl's bell**

JOHNNY had a late breakfast, according to George.
" You look like you made a night of itt" said the
cook.

"I reckon I did," replied Johnny, yawning; "I
didn't get much sleep."

" Did Wolf make any remarks about shootin' ? "
"When?"
" Last night."

"Didn't you see him start for home?"
" Thought mebby he come back to play."
"He didn't come back to play," replied Johnny.
*' I'm goin' for a ride an' sec if I can wake up," he said,
and he did.

As he loped along the Juniper trail he made a con*
iidante of Pepper.

"Dearly Beloved," he muttered, "we are goin' ta

be th' center of a whole lot of eyes before long. People

will pay attention when they sees us. We are going

to be right popular — an' unpopular. If you knowed

all th' trouble I'm brewin' for us, you'd reckon I wasn't

no friend at all. But I know yo're with me to a finish,

worryin' about whose finish it's goin* to be. I've

do some thinkin*. You listen.

otf was sent up to find out who's been dckUn*

r H with a prong, an* he didn't have no ludc^

THE CAMEL'S BELE 131

Knowin* he was losin^ patience, I knowed what a man

like him would do when he came to th' end of it. He'd

pick a fight an' start shootin'. Now you know I ain't

scared of Wolf, but you don't know that I wasn't ready

to start no open war just yet. I'll admit I hope I don't

have to start none, but I wouldn't bet two bits on that.

So what did I do ? I sent him away, Pepper, but he'U

come back. Uh-huh, he'll come back if he's got th*

nerve — an' it'll take some. An' if he does you an^

meUl have to step around right lively. If he figgers

right he'll come back a-shootin', for he'll be all riled

up. I couldn't have him trailin' me wherever I went,

could I ? Th' man wasn't reasonable — he didn't allow

I had any rights.

" Now, then : Wolf won't be back before tomorrow
momin'. I'm bettin' he won't be able to sit a saddle
before mornin', an' that brings him here tomorrow
afternoon. Th' Bar H won't hunt for him, thanks to
what you helped me do last night If they find his
cayuse without his saddle they'll think he come down
an' got a fresh boss. An' all we want is to see that
litde Peggy girl, an' go over to th' Double X. Then
we'll turn th' Bar H upside down, an' let Wolf square
up for his buggy ride if he wants. An' I'll give odds
that he'll want to."

When he reached the rendezvous he was early and
he grinned as he realized his unusual impatience.
*' Pepper, things are shore happenin' to me. I'm what
you might call sober-drunk. Just settin' here quiet,
lookin' at that little valley is plumb thrillin\ little hosa
-—an' would you cock an eye at that gent down there!

132 JOHNNY NELSON

An' cussed if there ain't a cow in them sands I I reckon,
mebby, it's goin' to be real thrillin' before long."

He jammed his sombrero tight on his head and
waited, tense and eager for the overt act he felt sure
would come, and send him down the hill like the swoop
of a hawk.

Down in the valley Lang looked searchingly around
and then, tying his rope to the remaining strand of wire,
urged his horse ahead. He was standing up in the
stirrups, his weight on one leg, leaning to one side to
keep the rope from pressing against his other leg, his
back to the hill, and he did not see the black thunder-
bolt dropping down the green slope ; and so intent was
he upon the work in hand that his ears did not give
him warning of the charging enemy in time to attempt
deliberate and well-sighted long-range rifle shooting.
The wire had been torn loose from the first post and
was straining at the staples in the next one before he
had any intimation of the swiftly approaching danger.
Surprised and galvanized into action by the sound of
rolling hoofs pounding over a stretch of bare, hard
ground, he turned in his saddle, flung a glance at the
racing thoroughbred and jerked his rifle from its sheath.
His horse, feeling the rope rub against one of its hind
legs, kicked viciously and pranced. Twisting from one
side to the other, rifle at his shoulder, Lang found him-
self in too awkward a position for well-aimed shooting
against the racing enemy, who lay along the back of
his horse and presented a discouragingly small target.
Sliding the rifle back into the sheath, Lang worked
desperately at the rope, trying to free it from the sad-

THE CAMEUS BELL 13$

ille. Cursing his dutnsy fingers, he suddenly realized
llie trouble. ** D — n my soul, if somebody ain*t knotted
2tl Oh, th' cussed fool I''

Giving up the attempt, he reached again for the rifle,
swiftly changed his mind and pulled angrily on the reins
to back his horse so he could get the other end of the
rope and free it from the wire. *^ Staked out like a
calf I" he gritted. Hauling in the rope, he at last
grabbed the knot, and swore again. It had pulled so
tight that precious seconds were wasted before he could
free it, and his temper was not sweetened any by the
two bullets which Johnny, firing at long range, sent on
a gamble. They missed him by feet, but had their
cfFect Dropping the freed wire, he spurred around to
face the swiftly nearing danger and jerked out his Coltt
firing hastily. Johnny now was standing up in his stir-
raps to offset the bouncing of the horse and his shots
were coming nearer all the time. Lang swerved his
horse suddenly and fired again, but the animal was
prancing. Johnny's reply struck the horse and the pain-
racked animal, leaping convulsively, bolted for the gap
between the posts, straight for the quicksands. Lang,
frantic at this new danger, fought the animal with one
hand, trying desperately to turn it, and used the gun
with his other hand, doing neither well. Johnny, draw-
ing his second Colt, replied to Lang's last shot and the
Triangle puncher, dropping his weapon, sagged for-
ward in the saddle and fell sideways into a grassy
hollow, where he sprawled grotesquely as his horse,
freed of his weight, leaped forward at greater speed
and dashed out onto the treacherous sands, stopping

134 JOHNNY NELSON

only when it became mired beyond the possibility of
further progress. It floundered and strained with fran-
tic energy until exhaustion made it pause, and then
stood trembling, doomed by the inexorable sands which
slowly crept up its quivering legs and caused its eyes to
become wide with terror.

Johnny flashed past the prostrate puncher and then
suddenly became aware of his danger. Pepper, hold-
ing her speed, kept straight on for the sandy trap.
Johnny tried to swing her and she responded, but not
enough in the restricted space and when he had pulled
her back on her haunches she had crossed the quick-
sands' edge and slid, wallowing and struggling, to a
stop far from safety. Her instinct warned her of her
peril and she struggled frantically to retrace her steps,
but succeeded only in turning part way and had to give
up the fight momentarily, with her side to the firm
ground she had just quitted. Panting and shaking with
terror, she looked around appealingly at her rider, who
shook his head.

" No use. Pepper Girl," he said. " You'll only get in
deeper. Rest yourself an* wait — Fm th' only one who
can help you now — an' I never thought Fd do a things
like that to you ; an' I ain't goin' to do it till I has to.
Good little cayuse — th' best I ever laid eyes on, an'
I've seen th' best there was. We've had our last ride
together, little boss, an' mebby we'll go down together^
too. Easy, girl; easy," he coaxed, and not wholly in
vain. ''You just rest an' mebby we'll make another
try after I see what there is to be seen. We got th*
ipoyote that caused it, anyhow 1 "

THE CAMEL'S BELL 135

His words were contradicted almost as soon as
qK>ken, for a derisive voice from the grassy hoUoiif
rang out in exultant laughter. Johnny, fearing a shot,
although the fear was from instinct rather than from
reason, fired instantly at the sound, and then lowered
the gun. Lang was unarmed and could not get to his
Colt without exposing himself.

"He won't get it while Pm alive,** muttered Johnny,
reloading his other gun.

" Shoot 1 '• exulted Lang ; " but you better save th'
last for yoreself. That's right, shoot 1*' he jeered, as
Johnny, stung by the words, wasted another cartridge.
**Yo're comin* as close as anybody could," he con-
tinued. "You can shoot like th* hammers of h — 1,
an* that makes it all th' funnier. Shoot again I" he
in\nted, holding up his hat. A hole appeared in it, to
his surprise, but he jeered again instantly. "Fine I
Thafs shootin'. Shoot again I "

Johnny stroked Pepper's neck and then leaned over
and looked down. " Not so deep," he muttered.

"Shore; look it over," shouted Lang. "That's
what I'm aimin' to do. I'm aimin' to look it over,
right to th' finish. I've alius wondered how a man
would act in them sands, an' I'm goin' to find out now.
Mebby if yo're polite I'll put you out of yore misery
when yore chin gets wet. Then I'll ride over to th'
Bar H an' tell 'em who kidnapped th' Doc, an' did for
Squint I've seen shows, but this here is goin* to be
th*bestofth'lot"

Johnny's eyes glinted and he fired twice in succes-
dm— then a third shot after an interval, endeavoring

136 JOHNNY NELSON

m h—^— ■[— M^M^aMI. I ■ I Bill ^— — ^^

to force Lang to keep his head down while his other
hand worked swiftly under his slicker roll. Emptying
one gun, he slipped it back into its holster and used
the other, still struggling with the slicker. At the last
shot in the second weapon he worked Wolf*s gun loose
and slipped it into the holster on the far side from
Lang. Standing up in his stirrups he gave vent to a
burst of profanity and hurled his Colts, one after the
other, at the hidden observer.

Lang looked up in time to see the first gun bounce
from the ground and then the second fell close to it.
He laughed nastily and ducked down again as Johnny
drew the heavy Sharps from its sheath and sent an
ounce of lead smashing into the sand and pebbles dose
to his head. Another, another, and another struck the
top of the ridge, the last striking a rock and screaming
high into the air. Then Johnny gripped the heavy
Weapon at its muzzle with both hands, stood up in his
stirrups, whirled it around his head and sent it through
the air towards the hidden man. It struck loose sand
and slid ten feet in a little cloud of dust. The Triangle
puncher looked out again, chuckled, and slowly emerged
from his place of refuge.

" I calls that kind," he laughed. " There wasnft no
use of lettin' good weapons like them be lost. I can
use 'em all — an* just for that I'm goin' to end yore
misery like I said I might First," he said, going over
to the nearest Colt and picking it up, ^' Fm goin' to load
this gun an* do somethin* for my boss an' that cow."
He walked unsteadily toward the edge of the sands,
pulling half a dozen cartridges from his belt as he

THE CAMEL'S BELL 137

advanced. Reaching the danger zone, he tried each
step before putting his weight into it and slowly ad«
vanced to the last tuft of grass, where he stood, swaying
slightly as it moved gently under his weight The
sand at its outer edges moved a little and changed
color as the water flooded and receded in it. " Reckon
this is th' jumpin' off place,*' he said. " You'd be plumb
tickled if I fell in, wouldn't you?" he jeered. "Well,
I ain't almin' to. Fm figgerin' on loadin' this gun —
this way: Number One," he said, sliding a cartridge
into the cylinder, " is for my boss ; Number Two is for
th' cow; Number Three is for a hole through yore
hat ; this one is for yore boss when only its head is out,
or as soon as you jump off. I'm givin' you that chance
to help it — an' to save my valuable time; these two
are for yore head when yore chin gets under. One'U
be enough, but two will be dead shore — I might miss
th' first to hear you cuss."

Lang raised the Colt and put his horse out of its
misery; then he did the same for the cow. "That's
what I call fair shootin'," he said. "Of course, you
might 'a* done it faster — but I'm in no hurry. Now,
this next shot has got to be dead shore if I put it high
enough in yore hat to miss yore head — an' I ain't
aimin' to hit that yet. So if I takes plenty of time,
don't you get jumpy."

He raised the gun above his head to increase the
torment and there was a flash and roar at Johnny's hip.
The Triangle puncher's hand opened and the gun
dropped behind him as a look of great surprise flashed
to his face, and remained there. Twisting sideways^

138 JOHNNY NELSON

he fell face down, ipnwltd full length upon the greedy
sands.

" There, d — n you I " gritted Johnny. " Th' show's
over, for youf " He brought the gun back on its mark,
but did not release the hammer again. There was no
doubt, this time, about Lang. He let the hammer
down on an empty chamber and slid the weapon back
in his holster.

Reassuring Pepper, he glanced down and saw that
her legs were being pulled to the sides, which sprawled
them out. " Slow,'* he said, and looked again to make
sure. *' Mighty slow. This stufi is different in places —
but d — dsure," he added bitterly. " You take it easy.
Pepper Girl. I won't let it last much longer— 'though
it's goin' to take a lot of nerve. Good little boss —
good little Pepper Girl."

He now knew there was no hope of riding out He
knew quicksands — he had seen them on other ranges,
but never such a one as this, for the others had been
small — the size of this bed was far beyond his experi-
ence. He studied it and watched the tremors run-
ning through it — the sand seemed to be mov-
ing and new surfaces to be forming. Wet spots
appeared, became covered with water and then were
uncovered again as !t drained away. Hollows slowly
formed here, slight bulges there, but with no stability.
Undulations showed frequently near the bodies, which
were slowly sinking. The cow was nearly under,
his trap had no definite edges, for it met and merged
ith the honest sands around it in such a way as
I show no lines; but he knew, by looking at the

THE CAMEL'S BELL 139

^^M^— — ^■^■^^il^^™^—— — — ' ■ ■! I m I ■ ■ I I ■ 1 I I I I II 1—^— ^■^w— ^^— — ^»^— ,^

trades of his horse, which, strangely enough, had not
been quite obliterated, that he was too far from firm
ground to have any hope of getting out in that direc-
tion. He cogitated upon the possibilities of escape in
other directions, for it was possible that along some
other course he might find firm earth closer to him.
To his right was a grass tuft, not as far from him as
was the place where Lang's body marked the other
edge, but it lay too far away. Behind him the nature
of the sands was evident for a like distance, and ques-
tionable for half as far again. To his left was the
Triangle horse, which he could gain by leaping from his
saddle; beyond that, half as far, was the cow, still useful
if used soon enough and not rested on for too long«
He believed that the cow could not have crossed much
of the sands before becoming mired, and this gave him
renewed hope. It was the only way worth trying with
a chance of success. At the best it would be a gamble,
but while those two bodies remained above the surface
they would serve as stepping stones. From the body of
the horse he would do the last kind act in his power
for Pepper, and then, throwing away the gun to save
its weight, jump to the cow. This would be easy; but
from there on he would need all his strength and wits
and wilL Looking beyond the cow, he searched for
something to put his rope on, and found nothing nearer
than the fence posts, which were too far away. And
then, while he looked, he saw water ooze up and cover
the sand some distance beyond the cow, and he admitted
diat his case was hopeless ; and as he admitted it the
ifiofw disappeared from sight.

140 JOHNNY NELSON

Hopeless, but not to be submitted to without a strug-
gle. He would neither sit apathetic nor frantic, nor
turn the gun on himself. Hope had gone as a matter
of reasoning; but something had taken its place which
in power transcended hope — cold rage, and a savage,
defiant hatred for that deadly, silent trap ; a rage such
as he seldom had felt before, which urged him to tear
and rend the sands as though they were a sentient
enemy. Hope, living in him, had been faint-hearted
when he thought of how ghastly the thing was ; how he,
a man with all a man's strength of body and mind and
will, mounted on the finest horse for hundreds of miles,
armed with a weapon, the use of which no man knew
better; how he could not do a thing to save his life.
What is hope but a wish ? But the djmamic rage which
crept through him was a force of another kind—
defiant, savage determination to cheat the workings of
that mobile bed of horror, or go down to a death made
glorious by the fight

He shook his fist at it His thin lips drew bade over
set teeth in a snarl primitive in its timbre and in the
savage nature behind it ** D — n you I You may win ;
but ril make that winnin' hard I "

Gripping the pommel he climbed up onto the saddle
and poised for the leap. Could he believe his ears?
Glancing around, he saw a woman tearing down the
valley toward him, the drumming roll of her horse's
pounding hoofs growing ever louder. What a sound I
What music ever was so sweet? What sight had ever
been so beautiful as that trim figure mounted astride a
horse which seemed to spurn the grass in its arrowy

THE CAMEL'S BELL 141

flight? HadesSy her hair streaming behind her like a
glorious battle flag of Hope, came Margaret, and her
voice rang out like a trumpet

Hope returned again to bulwark Rage and give
Determination a better footing and stronger lever.

" Pepper Girl," choked Johnny, " I'm glad I waited.
There's mebby many a mile we'll do together, better
friends than ever. I'm tellin' you that if there's any
way outside of h — 1 to get you out of this, yo'rc goin'.
Hear me, little boss? An' that thoroughbred girl has
brought us th' way. Cheer up — we're goin' out, you
an' me. But we'll have bad dreams — plumb bad
dreams — for many a night to come." He suddenly
raised a warning hand. ^^Look out I" he shouted.
" Don't come too dose I "

*^ I know this grisly thing like a book," she replied.
"What shall I do?"

" Don't come too close 1 "

*' This is the edge ; tell me what to do I " She looked
at Lang's partly submerged body and shuddered.

"Hold your cayuse fast by th' reins an' get off, so
I can put my rope around that pommel. But I'm afraid
it's a little too far," he replied, swinging the braided
lariat carefully around his head. She quickly obeyed,
but led the horse to another point on the edge, and
gained a few inches. The rope shot out and up, struck
the saddle and then the sands. Jerking it back again,
he coiled it carefully, and then looked up, and nodded.
Margaret was holding to the pommel with one hand
and leaning out over the sands, her other arm extended

141 JOHNNY NELSON

toward him. The second cast went over her wrist and
«he caught the rope, drew back to the saddle and made
the loop fast around her pommel.

*^Get up in th' saddle an' pull this rope tight —
tight/' he said, and at a word from him Pepper braced
herself, as well as she could, as if a cow were at the
other end He slid from the saddle, touched the sand
for an instant, and pulled himself at his best speed
along the lariat, moving too rapidly to be caught, and
soon stood at the side of the woman who had saved
him.

^^ Can't we save that darling?" she asked, tears in
her eyes.

"We're goin' to try mighty hard," he said. "Start
ahead, slow — a little more. You watch yore cayuse
an' stop instanter when I says th' word. I'm scared
we'll break Pepper's laigs, 'though if it's done easy we
may get along all right; it looks soft, right there.
Ready ? Then, pull. Come, Pepper I Come on, little
boss I Come on I Come on I " he cried, and then he
whistled the well-known signal. " Come on I That's
th' girl ! That's th' girl I Keep a-chumin', tear it up I
Come on I Come on, you black darlin'I That's th'
way I Keep a-comin', keep a-comin' I "

Slowly Pepper went sideways, Margaret fearing that
its legs would snap under the strain, but the struggling
animal fell on its side, and then came the tug of war.
Johnny added his strength to the rope and slowly, an
inch at a time, they gained, and then had to rest for a
moment because flesh and blood could not stand such
41 continued effort. Johnny breathed deeply and relaxed.

THE CAMEL'S BELL 143

" Once morCi Ma'am," he said, getting a fresh hold
fOai the rope, ^^ I'm glad that saddle is a rim-fire — I'd
mistrust a center-fire, with its one cinch. An' I'm glad
it was made by Ol' Hawkins — that pommel can stand
twice th' strain. Now then— pii///" Again they
rested, the blood pounding in his ears. '^ Yo're comin'
fine, little hossi We ain't handlin' you very gentle;
but yo're comiWI" A few minutes later Pepper slid
across sand that was dry and honest, and with the
slackening of the rope she scrambled to her feet and
trembled, weary but safe.

Johnny hung the lariat on his saddle and then rubbed
the velvety muzzle which sought his cheek, and stroked
the quivering shoulder. Impulsively he buried his face
in the wet, sandy, roughened coat on her neck and flung
an arm around it; and when he turned away his face
was drawn and wet, and there were tears in his eyes
despite all effort of will.

" Ma'am," he said, huskily, " Pepper an' me owe you
a debt we never can pay; but we can try right hard to
square up some of it. I'll never forget th' last half*
hour, never."

^'How did you come to get in it?" asked Margaret,
glancing where she last had seen the body of Lang. It
was gone, and so was the horse. The sands, still undu-
lating, were slowly assuming their mask of innocence.
"Pepper got goin' so fast she couldn't stop quick
enough, which was my fault. I didn't try to turn her in
time."

"And that — that other — man. Who was he, anSl
what happened to him ? "

144 JOHNNY NEUON

'^I reckon he got tangled in th' wire, an* got his
rope mixed up with it An' somehow we got to shoodn*.
l^en th* excitement stopped he was there, an* I was
where you found me.**

^^ Who was he? ** she demanded.

*^He was a Triangle puncher, Ma*am; Lang was
his name.**

^* He was one of the men whom I ordered to stay off
our range — we couldn't keep the wire on those posts,
and I suspected them strongly. Are you sure he was
only tangled in the wire ? *'

*^ Well, I wouldn't just say nothin* about that. Mebby
he was tryin' to help th* cow that was mired, an* got
afoul of di' wire. But that don*t make no difference,
anyhow, now. Have you got any wire at th* ranch ? **

^' I think so,** she answered.

^^ We'll put it up some day soon, so it'll take some
time, an' more trouble, to get it loose."

She nodded and took a paper out of her waist
*^ Here are the figures for the year we took possession."

He looked them over. "Uh-huh," he said, " they're
what I want"

^^It is surprising that we have as many left as we
have," she said. "We are about ready to give up,
admit our failure, and go back East."

"Ma'am," said Johnny, with great earnestness,
"don't you do it Just sit tight an' see things come
around yore way. Luck alius turns. Stick it out, an'

sec."

" Do you believe in luck?"

"I do; when somebody's behind it pushin' hard.

THE CAMEL'S BELL 145

^— —————— I I I I ■■ I I ■ I ■ ■ . I

Now, Ma'am, I reckon we hadn't ought to stay here
no longer, where folks can see us. They might talk,
an' there's no tellin' what harm it might do. Besides,
this little Pepper hoss needs a bath an' I'm aimin' to
take her into th' river as soon as she gets a little
quieter — she looks like she mixed up with a tornado."
He walked around collecting his guns, blowing sand
from them, and cleaning them as well as he could.
'^There's shore some guns around here," he grinned,
getting Lang's Colt and throwing it into the quicksand.
^* This here gun," he said, reloading Wolf's Colt and
tying it under the slicker roll, ^^ shore come in handy.
Some folks would call that luck — mebby it was, as far
as totin' it is concerned — but I'm tellin' you there
wasn't no luck in th' way it was used. But as for totin*
it, I reckon that was luck, even if I did carry it to fool
somebody, sometime. Now, Ma'am, I'll be ridin' west
There's a regular bath tub near th' main trail, where
th' river runs over solid rock : an' solid rock is th' only
kind of river bottom I have any use for, today. Pepper
an' I won't forget what you did for us — an' I'm tellin'
you to sit tight, an' watch th' luck swing yore way. I'll
be leavin' now — good-by. Ma'am."

She spurred her horse and shot even with him. '^ Why
are you doing this?" she demanded. "You can't fool
me about that — that man's rope fouling the wire. I
know what he was doing. Why are you running such
risks for total strangers?"

** Ma'am," he replied, smiling quizzically, " I don't
know, unless it's because I can't keep out of trouble.
I'm alius gettin' mixed up with it, somehow, an' th*

146 JOHNNY NELSON

Jbabit^t set, I reckon. Fm gettin* so I like it But we
shouldn't be ridin' like this. You have no idea how
much folks can talk, or figger from a little thing like
this."

^' Can't you stop them, as you did that Bar H
foreman?"

*^ Reckon so; but I ain't ready to," he grinned.
"There's a time for cvcrythin', an' I'm not shore th*
time has come for that. When it does I'll know it
without no doubts. I'm askin' how you learned all th'
things you said yesterday? "

"I suppose it is a natural curiosity, even in a man;
hut I prefer to say nothing about the matter." She
drew rein and he took off his sombrero. '* I'm tempted
to see if the luck will turn," she smiled. "Good-by."

" I'm thankin' you again. Ma'am," he replied. " It
shore will, an' you can bank on it," and he pressed
Pepper's sides. The horse struck into a stride sug*
gestive of a wish to put miles between her and the scene
of her torture, but he pulled her down to a walk.
**Yo're entirely too willin', little boss of mine," he
reproved, patting the roughened coat " I was aimin*
to do somethin' today, but it can wait. Wolf or no
Wolf. If he horns in I won't waste no more time on
him, none at all. There's a nice little wooded draw
over there, an' we're goin' for it. You got to get
rested up an' quieted a little — th' bath can wait a couple
of hours. You got to keep in good shape, because th'
time is comin' when I'll have to ride you like I had a
remuda to draw on — an' I ain't worth a cuss unless
yo're in good shape. Yo're my latgs. Pepper, an' tim"

THE CAMEL'S BELL 147

puncher Is better'n his cayuse. An' mebby Two^pot,
€b^ tatde-tale, won't be surprised when he sees you 1 "

Margaret looked after him and smiled, and then
tamed and stared at the innocent patch of wet sand
iinder whose hypocritical surface lay grisly death.
Shuddering, she sent her pony into a sharp gallop and
set out for home, a color in her face which might have
been due to the exhilaration of horseback riding.

CHAPTER XII

''coming events •"

JOHNNY entered the draw, found a small dearingt
and let Pepper wander, watching her closely, while
he went over his guns again, cleaning them thoroughly*
The afternoon had half gone when he whisded her to
him and rode her down to the rocky pool he had men-
tioned. Stripping himself, he removed the saddle and
its blanket and, mounting bareback, rode her into the
stream, where he found a place deep enough to swim
her. Crossing and recrossing this several times, he took
her out and started to dress ; and no sooner was she
free than she trotted to a dry, warm patch of sand and
rolled to her hearths content, grunting with pleasure.

"Now look at what youVe done," he grinned.
**After me gettin* you all washed up, you go an' blot
yoreself just like a conmion cayuse. I've been wastin*
sympathy on you — there ain't nothin* th' matter with
you. An' there's somethin' I want to ask you, before I
forget it: Was you ever in a quicksand just like that
one? I bet you wasn't. I've crossed some rivers in
my time, an' had cattle bogged in several — but this
was different, somehow. Mebby it's because it wasn't
under water; but I don't know. I was scared we'd
bust yore laigs; mebby we didn't because we pulled
you sideways, an' you raised so much h — 1 when you
felt th' rope tighten, an' heard me call you. Just th'

148

"COMING EVENTS" 149

^— — ■ ■ I ■■ ..I

same, I^m sayin' we had a close call. An' we mustn^t
forget it Come here, now, an' let me throw this saddle
on you. We're goin' to town, an' yore goin' to get
nibbed till you shines. I'm as stuck-up about you as a
gal is over her first beau."

In a few minutes they were on their way to Gimsight,
but they did not reach the town without incident. They
had ridden to Pine Mountain and Johnny, wishing to
see if Squint's saddle had been discovered, hid Pepper
in a dump of brush and scrub timber well back from
the trail and, taking his rifle, crossed the beaten road at
a rocky place and worked his way into the brush on
the mountain side. When he had climbed about eighty
feet he reached a little rock shelf and rested a moment.
As he was about to go on he heard hoofbeats down the
trail and he flattened himself behind a tuft of grass
growing in a crack. Looking down the trail he saw a
horseman round into sight from the arroyo leading
from East Canyon.

"Smitty," he muttered. "I don't think much of
him, an' I reckon he'll scare. An' mebby if he's scared
near to death a few times he'll figger he ain't wanted
around here, an' hit th' trail out. Mebby I'm wrong,
but here's where Mr. Smitty gets a jolt he won't forget
It will be Number One. Whether or not he gets any
more will depend on how he takes this one. I'm bettin'
he don't stalk me for it — here he comes, ridin' lazy
an* tryin' to sing. I ought to be able to come awful
dose at this distance, with a rifle layin' on a rock rest."

Mr. Smith, of the Bar H, rode at a walk, singing a
song, the words of which should never appear in print

I50 JOHNNY NELSON

He had a message to deliver to the Doc and was in no
hurry. His hat, a Mexican sombrero with ultra-fancy
band, and a high crown, which appeared to be even
higher because of the vertical dents which pushed the
top into a peak, was tilted rakishly off-center and looked
rather ludicrous to the man on the mountain, who noted
that there appeared to be plenty of hat and horse, but
very little man. When just across a short stretch of
rocky trail there rang out over the rider's head a roar
such as only black powder can make, and the tilted
sombrero flew into the air and struck the ground. The
horse and its rider heard the roar at the same instant
and each acted as their instincts prompted. The horse
shot forward, clearing a dozen feet in the jump, sprang
back, wheeling in the air, and bolted for the arroyo it
had just left, where it quickly recovered its poise and
stopped to search out succulent grass tufts. Mr. Smith's
instincts seemed to have come to him through genera-
tions of acrobatic ancestors, although he was not aware
that any of his family tree claimed any such accom-
plishments, at least since they had forsaken arboreal
surroundings. Certainly he never boasted, even in his
maddest sprees, of being in any way gifted in acrobatics.
Nevertheless, he performed a creditable exhibition when
the roar smashed against his ears. As the horse leaped,
he grabbed at the pommel, missed it, and in his haste
to jerk his head back from the screaming lead he lost
his balance. His feet left the stirrups, and then came
swiftly upward as he pivoted on the saddle. They
swept up past the horse's neck, kept on and described
a half-cirde, the saddle as the center. As they went

^ ''COMING EVENTS'' 151

up Mr. Smith's head went down, and as the horse leaped
back and whirled, he was jolted into a position rarely
seen in horseback riding except in exhibitions. For a
moment he stood on his shoulder against the cantle of
the saddle and then turned a pretty, if unintentional,
back flip onto the ground, landing squarely on his hat
The whole thing happened in a flash and the sound of
the shot was still rumbling among the hills when, grab-
bing his sombrero, he started on a dead run for the
horse and the ranch. When he reached the animal he
lesiped into the saddle without touching the stirrups;
and urged a speedy departure, which his spurs obtained.
Johnny rolled over on his back and laughed heartily.
Finally he sat up, put the empty shell in his pocket,
reloaded the rifle and went up the mountain to hide
Squint's saddle in a better place, for he now believed
such a precaution necessary. It was more than prob*
able that Pine Mountain would be searched as soon as
the indignant puncher could lead his friends to the scene
of his discomfiture. He found the saddle where he had
left it and carried it to a narrow, shallow split in the
mountain's rocky side and dropped it in, after which
dead branches and grass and rocks covered it and hid
it securely. Scrambling back to the trail he looked
cautiously along it and then dashed across and made
his way to his horse, stepping on rock whenever pos-
sible. Not long afterward he rode down the Juniper
trail and went to the hotel shed, where he led Pepper
inside and prepared to groom her. He hardly had
begun work when Two-Spot sidled in, and there was
wrath in his eyes.

152 JOHNNY NELSON

^' What you been doin* to that hoss? " de demanded,
as his gaze swept over her. " She looks like she*s been
rolled in th' river."

'' Mebby she has," replied Johnny, rubbing briskly.
''She likes a swim as well as I do — an* we both had
one, which is somethin' I can recommend to you.*'

'' What did you do with them rifle cartridges of Pole-
cat's you was goin* to give me ? " asked Two-Spot, going
to work on the other flank.

"I hid 'em," answered Johnny. "Look out she
don't hand you a stomachful of hoof — she don't like
strangers."

"Huh!" snorted Two-Spot, "what do / care about
strangers ? Where'd you hide 'em ? "

"In them sweepin's, under th' manger," replied
Johnny. " Wait till after dark."

" What you figger I'm goin' to do — show everybody
that Two-Spot's startin' an arsenal?" He rubbed for
a moment in silence, and then began to chuckle. " Ol'
Chief Smell-Um-Strong had a plumb fine gun — I got
a laugh comin' ; you gave th' best one away."

" I'm satisfied," grunted Johnny.

"Dave was on th' prod this noon when I showed
up," continued Two-Spot. "What did you say you
was swimmin' in?" he demanded, curiously, examining
one of Pepper's hocks.

" Water," answered Johnny. " What did he say? "

" Mebby it was," observed Two-Spot. " How'd you
get out?"

"Swum."

"At th' end of a rope? Why, Dave, he wanted to

€C

"COMING EVENTS'' 153

know where th' this, that, an' th* other thing I was last
night. Reckoned, mebby, I*d got full of berries an'
hibernated. What was you doin' in th' SV valley? "
What did you tell him?" asked Johnny, grinning.
Told him that I was rustlin' a passel of cows an*
that they went so fast I had to run to Juniper before
I could head 'em off. You must 'a' had one h — 1 of a
time gettin' out. Shore Pepper ain't hurt?"

" It ain't th' first bath she's had — she's a good swim-
mer, 'though for much of it I'd ruther have a cayuse
with a bigger barrel. She won't shrink."

"Why in h — 1 don't Dave set out th' bottle, like he
used to?" growled Two-Spot. "There ain't no sense
in totin' it by th' glass to a crowd of blotters. They'll
hold more liquor than a gopher hole — an' I've broke
my back carryin' water to drown them fellers out when
I was a kid. How long is your rope?"

"Dave's a friend of mine, that's why," answered
Johnny. "My capacity is so limited that ol' Dailey
coidd clean me out after my fourth drink. Them
leather-bellies can drink me into a heap on th' floor,
an' never know they'd been drinkin'."

" Shore," said Two-Spot, chuckling; " yo're a teethin'
infant, a reg'lar suckin' calf — I've seen you put away a
dozen an' not bat an eye. An' it's bad medicine ; look
at me. How long's that rope?"

"Eighty feet."

" Yo're another. There ain't a man livin' can throw
such a rope an' ketch anythin'. I've seen some good
uns, but I've never seen even a sixty-foot rope. Who
fastened to you ? "

aw JOHNNY NELSON

**YoVe loco — plumb loco," said Johnny. "Ton
wint to forget them hallucernadons — somebody m^^
believe 'em."

" * HaUerlucinations ' — humph 1 I'll have to remem-
ber that an* throw it at Dave. Where was you today?'*

*' Mindin' my own business," retorted Johnny.
"What ever put you hangtn' 'round a saloon, emptyin*
boxes ? "

" Whiskey," said Two-Spot " I was smart, like you,
an' liked to hold up my end, drink for drink. Here's
some more of that water you swum in — looks familiar."

" I'm goin' to drag you out to a ranch some of these
days," threatened Johnny, "an' give you a job — an'
whale th' skin from yore bones th' first time I see you
takin' a drink. You got brains an* that ranch needs
*em."

"You can't learn an old dog new tricks," grunted
Two-Spot, and then burst out laughing; "but you can
change a wolf inter a skunk if you goes about it right.
He I He I Hcl" In a few minutes he threw down the
brush and went to the door. " Seein' as how yo're
playin' fresh-water clam, do it yoreself I " he snorted
and, dodging the other brush, he scurried around to
Dave's.

Down on the Bar H, Smitty's arrival made a ripple
f excitement. Big Tom was mending a shirt and curs-
ig the clumsiness of his fingers and the sharpness of
lie needle, when diere came the clatter of hoofs outside
nd he looked up to see Smitty leap from the saddle
nd jump through the doorway, holding a much-abuicd

''COMING EVENTS'' i55f

Mexican sombrero out at arm's length. It was tram-
pled and soiled and there was a fuzzy-edged rip an
inch long in the brim where a 550-grain bullet had
ploughed before passing through. Eight years before
Smitty had paid twenty-five dollars for the hat, perhaps
entirely too much, and next to his saddle it was his most
prized possession. It had seen hard service, but he
fondly regarded it as being as good as new.

^'Lookit my hat I" he cried, jabbing it under the
foreman's nose, which caused the needle to find the
finger again.

"D— n th' hatl" growled Big Tom. "Take it
away from my nose ! "

" Lookit it ! " insisted Smitty. " Some coyote shot at
me from up on Pine Mountain an' plumb ruined it ! He
came so close I could feel th' slug — cuss it, I smelted
it ! It fair grazed by nose. Lookit it I "

Big Tom threw the shirt away and took the hat, turn*
ing it over in his hands. '^ I'd say it was close — plumb
close," he admitted. "How far oflf was he?"

"Right over my head — couple dozen feet," an-
swered Smitty. " Here I Don't poke yore blasted finger
in it like that I Cuss it, it's bad enough now I That's
more like it. I could feel th' concussion an' smell th^
smoke. I was ridin' along at a walk, when whang of
It near stunned me, it was so dose. An' lookit what he
done to that hat I There ain't another hat like that on
th' whole range I "

"Yo're right, they throw 'em away long before
that," retorted Big Tom, an idea coming into his head*
" Did you pick up his trail ? "

156 JOHNNY NELSON

How could I?** indignantly demanded Smitty.

My cayuse fair went wild, an' before I could get him
under control he was clean out of th' canyon — I tell you
I did some highfalutin' riding stickin' to a crazy hoss
among all them rocks."

^'How'd you get yore hat? Didn't it go off yore
head?"

*^ Shore it did I I scooped it) up as my cayuse wheeled
— an' talk about turnin' on a saddle blanket — that
jack rabbit can wheel on a postage stamp if he's prodded
enough. He just simply climbed up straight an'
swapped ends."

'^ You should 'a* gone back an' stalked that feller,"
said Big Tom, using plenty of salt on what he heard.
** Or at least rustled to Gunsight to see who might come
ridin' in. Where did all this happen?"

*^ Right on them benches on th' east end of th' moun-
tain — at that rocky hump in th' trail. How he ever
missed at such close range is more'n / can understand
—why, a kid oughta be able to make a hit, every time»
as close as that. An' it was a rifle; th' roar was deaf-

* 9 99

enm.

''He missed because he wanted to miss," said Big
Tom. " One of th' boys is playin' a joke on you — you
know what they've said about that tent. He come
closer than he reckoned on — I'll bet you rocked for-
ward in th' saddle as he shot."

"Yes, I reckon I did — you know what ridin' is over
that hump," Smitty said. *' I remember that when I
jerked back as it passed my nose I went quite a ways
—my neck is sore ifrom th' jerk. But I'm tellin' you

"COMING EVENTS" 157

I ain^t nowise shore it was any joke. An* I says, if it
was, it was a cussed pore one. FU nat'rally skin any
fool / ketches playin' any more jokes like that on me*
Cuss it, it skun my nose I ''

*'A skin fur a skin, huh ? '* chuckled the foreman. He
handed the hat back to its owner. ** There ain^t no man
on th' range that would miss yore head, hat or no hat,
from them benches. It ain't more than seventy-five or
eighty feet from up there. They aimed to miss you;
an' they shaved it a little too fine, not allowin' for you
bobbin' forward. I says it was one of th' boys. You
lay low an' use yore eyes an' ears, an' if you find out who
it was I'll give that fool a dressin' down he won't for-
get. A joke's a joke — we all play 'em; but there's
such a thing as ridin' 'em too hard. Did you give th*
Doc my message ? "

" What message ? "

The foreman stared at him and slowly raised his
hands. ** I'll be cussed — it was more of a joke than I
thought. Didn't I tell you to ride up there an' tell th'
Doc that we wanted to see him tonight? Didn't you
leave here to tell him that, an* for nothin' else?" he
demanded, his voice rising.

"Yeah, I reckon mebby you did," admitted the
puncher, uneasily. '^You want to see him tonight,
shore.'*

"I do. Now you fork that cayuse an' get goin*.
Good Lord I That bullet must 'a' hit yore mem'ry."
He glanced at his puncher's thigh. "An' where's yore
six-shooter? Did you forget that, somewhere? "

Smitty^s hand went to the holster and he cursed heart*-

158 JOHNNY NELSON

3y. *' D — n these open sheaths! It must 'a' fell out
when that jack rabbit did th' fanqr swappin' of ends.
Now I got to go get it, but I'm borrowin' a gun to wear»
or I stays here. Somethin' tells me it's unhealthy to
go ridin' around this God-forsaken country without no
six-gun."

^* Take that spare one of mine, hangin* up over my
bunk," offered the foreman. ** She's in good shape.
Now, yo're plumb shore you didn't lose nothin' else,
more valuable than earthly belongin's?" he grinned.
" Yo're shore yo're goin' back for yore gun?"

^' Shore I am; what you mean?" replied Smitty^
suspiciously.

" Nothin' worth mentionin*," smiled Big Tom. " I
reckoned mebby you'd take th' over-mountain trail,
seein' as it's shorter."

"Then how could I get my gun?"

" That's what I was wonderin'."

" I'll get it," Smitty assured him. " I'll get it unless
yore fool joker picked it up. Mebby he's a-settin* on it,
waitin' to hand it to me, an' Apologize for missin* me.**

" He won't be within miles of here by this time,** said
Big Tom. " He dusted quick. If he was jokin* he'd
get away pronto, an' if he wasn't, he'd do it quicker.
I reckon you'd better diipb up on that bench an* see
what you can find — an* empty shell might help us a
lot. But don't forget to see th* Doc, this time. After
that you can go to town an* find out what you can learn.
Now get started. An* take good care of that hat— -
that ain't no way to treat it, nohow.*'

Smitty growled, took down the six-shooter, strode out

"COMING EVENTS" 159

to his horse and swung into the saddle. ^* Hope nobody
picked it up," he said. '^ Twenty dollars is twenty dol«
lars, an* I ain't got th* twenty. Anyway, it*s a better
gun than they're makin' nowadays."

** Don*t lose that one while yoVe pickin* up th* other/*
laughed the foreman.

When he was out of sight of the ranch Smitty wheeled
sharply and rode eastward. *^ I got to get it," he mut*
tered, **or FU never hear th' last of it; but there ain't
no reason for ridin' through th' canyon an' th' arroyo,
along th' side of th' mountain for no four miles. It
was too cussed close for a joke. An' mebby he aimed
to spatter me all over th' trail. I just can't figger it,
nohow. But I'm free to remark that any more of them
jokes will send Smitty dustin' along th' trail, no matter
what way he's pointin' at th' time, an' he won't never
come back no more. Somehow, I just can't help thinkin*
of pore Squint. Cuss it, I can feel it yet I "

Getting near the scene of his discomfiture, Smitty
dismounted and went on a reconnaissance, viewing the
benches from every angle, and after some time he
located his gun lying in the grass near the trail. Re-
turning to his horse he mounted and rode forward,
striking into a dead run as he approached the rocky
hump in the trail and, leaning down, he picked up the
weapon as he swept past, no mean feat when the grass
is considered. In a few minutes he pulled his mount to
a lope and soon drew rein at the Doc's door, where he
delivered the message, gossiped for a few minutes, and
dien went on to town.

The first person he saw was Two-Spot, leaning

tCo JOHNNY NELSON

against the front of die Palace and who accepted, inth
alacrity, Smitty's invitation to drink. Two^pot saw
the condition of the hat before its wearer had dis-
mounted, and his curiosity burned strongly within him.
The puncher engaged him and Dave in conversation
but his efforts at these sources of information were
futile. What knowledge he gained had no bearing on
Johnny. Two-Spot casually remarked that Johnny had
been loaHng around most of the afternoon, pestering
him and said that he was a nuisance. Buying another
round Smitty sauntered into Dailey's, where he learned
nothing at all. Having taken the census and found that
everyone had been rooted in town all day, he began
to accept his foreman's view of the mystery, and set
out for home, burning for an opportunity to observe his
bosom friends and listen to their careless conversation.
But if he had not received any information, he had not
given any, and Two^pot's curiosity about the hole in
the hat was still raging.

"The' doin's on this here range are scandalous,**
observed Dave's factotum to Dave, himself. " They're
gettin' worse an' worse, an' somebody's goin* to get
hurt afore long. Now I wonder how th' devil Smitty's
hat got abused like that?"

"What makes you think things is gettin' worse?"
asked Dave.

" That Greaser tent never come by that hole from

used; an' Smitty was shore askin' a lot of ques-

; an' Nelson ain't swimmin' hisself an' that boss

m — I know / wouldn't."

V^bich is an abidin' sorrer to all them as gets down

''COMING EVENTS'' i6i

ind of you/* said Dave. ** Was Nelson's saddle wet? **

^' No-o ; I reckon it was dry/' grudgingly admitted
the other.

^'Was his clothes wet?'' continued Dave.

" NoKM)," more reluctantly admitted Two-Spot

**You got a head like a toad/' contemptuously re-
joined the proprietor. ** Trouble with you is, yore
imagination is on th' rampage. You got too much
time on yore hands — suppose you 'tend to th' sand
boxes? They ain't been touched in three days."

Two-Spot sighed and obeyed. *' Huh 1 " he grunted,
emptying a box into the road. **Mebby; but I saw
somethin' about that hole that reminded me of some
gosh-awful ca'tridges I seen lately. Cuss it — I'd het
on it!"

He chuckled, set down the box, slipped around the
side of the saloon and poked his head in the hotel shed.
'* Don't she shine, though?" he remarked in congratu-
latory tones.

** She does," admitted Johnny, finishing the job.

*' Say," said his visitor, ^^ gimme an empty rifle shell."

"What for?"

" I want to keep matches in it I'll get a cork from
Dave an' have a waterproof matchbox."

"You need it," countered Johnny. "Aimin' to fall
in th' crick? You need that, too."

Two-Spot ignored the insult, the second on that
topic within five minutes. Evidently there must be
some real or fancied foundation for it " Got one ? "
he asked.

"I'll save you one," replied Johnny; "but mebby

i62 JOHNNY NELSON

you'll have to wait quite a spelL I still got them I
loaded/' he said, truthfully.

^^ Weill there ain't no hurry,'* admitted Two-Spot.
'' Thought mebby you had one in yore dothes."

*^ I might go out an' shoot one off ; but I redu>n I
won't, seein' that it ain't goin' to rain for a day or two.'*

*^ Don't shoot none for that," replied Two-Spot.
** Smitty was in town a few minutes ago."

"Yes?"

" Uh-huh, he was. He was projectin' around tryin*
to find out who spoiled his twenty-year-old Mex. sun«>
shade. He was het up about it"

"Don't blame him. Was it spoiled bad?"

" Plumb sufficient. Looks like th' railroad thought
it was a tunnel. He acts like he's got hal — hallerlucer-
ations," grinned Two-Spot.

"But you can't wear them on a hat," reproved
Johnny. " That is, not till after you open th' can, any-
how."

"Huh?" Two-Spot scratched his frowsy head,
^* mebby not, but that's th' safest place to tote 'em —
on th' outside, leastawise. Did you think they was like
a — a shirt?" he demanded with great sarcasm.

" Mebby ; they covers a lot of ignorance. Yo're not
goin' out, are you? " asked Johnny.

"I am," retorted his companion, shuffling toward
the door. "You think yo're d — d smart, don't you?
You an' yore huUercations ? Well, you can go plumb
to h — II" and Two-Spot made haste to get around in
front of the saloon, where he refilled the box and carried
it inside.

"COMING EVENTS" iSj

**Cus8 it, Dave," he complained, *' nobody 'round
here treats me like I deserve I ''

"An it's d — d lucky for you that they don't," re-
ported Dave. *^ You 'tend to them boxes, or I'll make a
start at treatin' you like you deserves. What's th' mat-
'ter with you, anyhow? You've been chucklin' all day
like you've lost what little sense you had. You ought
to take somethin' for them spasms — they're too fre-
quent to do you any good."

Two-Spot sighed and carried out another box. He
dropped it and shook his head. " I don't care a cuss ;
I'm still bettin' that hole was made by a Sharp's Special.
But what gets me is, how could he perforate th' brim
while that there pinched-up peak waves defiance, an'
courts destruction? You gimme a shot at it, and I'd
blow th' hull top off'n it But I dassn't think about
that, now that I've got a gun ; it's so f ascinadn' I'll be
takin' a shot at it some of these days — an' I reckon
I'd get more'n a hat. Shucks I that'd be all right ; it's
only Smitty." He leaned up against the building and
laughed until Dave came out to see if he could get in
one healthy kick, but Two-Spot avoided him and went
back to the box. " Polecat is near Highbank now," he
muttered. *^ I'd give his gun to read his thoughts ! He 1
HelHcI"

CHAPTER XIII

HIGHBANK MAKES A DISCOVERT

AT THE Other end of the Highbank-Gunsight trail
the warm afternoon was drawing to a dose and
the shadows of the buildings were reaching out across
the dirt streets when a dust-covered, four-horse freight
wagon rolled down the steep bank across the river to
an accompaniment of rattling trace chains and grinding
brakes, passed the end of the ford, followed the road
along the river's edge and crept out onto the big, flat-
bottomed ferry which awaited it

*^ On time to a tick,'' smiled the ferryman, poling off
and shifting the lengths of the trolley ropes leading to
the block which ran on the great, sagging cable over-
head The current struck the side of the craft at the
changed angle and sent it slowly across.

^^ I got an extra early start," explained Buffalo. *^ Got
a fine load of hides."

^^ You young fellers are h — 1 on branchin' out," said
the ferryman, grinning.

"Well," replied the freighter, " they was lyin' there;
I only picked 'em up."

"Here we are; hold tight," laughed the boatman.
He used his pole deftly and the ferry struck the bank
squarely. Making it fast, he lowered the short gang-
plank. "All ashore, an' good luck ! "

The quartet strained and the wagon rumbled up the

164

A DISCOVERY 165

bank and then up the road in the wide ravinei and in a
few minutes struck the level at the top and entered the
main street of the town.

" Brazos " Larkin, town marshal, pushed away from
the Highbank bank and rolled out to the wagon, stepped
on a hub and then up to the footboard, as was his
custom.

" Judgin' from th* way those no-*count bosses was
pullin^ when they come over th' hill/* he said, " I reck-
oned you got th' hides ; but now Fm dead shore of it.*'

"Yep," chuckled Buffalo, "they smells good to me."

"Dodge th' Injuns all right?" asked Brazos, in-
dulging in a time-honored jest.

"Dodged 'em ag'in," gravely nodded the driver.
" Here comes th' postmaster. Hello, Jim I "

Jim Hands walked up to the wagon and alongside as
it turned the comer and stopped before a frame build-
ing bearing in weather-bleached letters across its front:
" Wheatley's Express." As it stopped, a tall, lean young
man came out and smiled.

"Everythin' all right, Pop?" he asked.

" Right as a dollar. Can't you smell 'em? " chuckled
the old man.

"Jerry," said Brazos, "I hears yo're quittin' th'
office for a wagon next week?"

" I am ; I wanted to swap jobs right along with Pop.
Now that we're goin* to run two waggins I'll get a
chance to bust out of this jail; an' Pop can still see his
friends along th' trail, too. I start in a day or two.*'

A small group came up and joined them. In it was
Rod Wilson, the liveryman ; Reb Travers, the railroad

166 JOHNNY NELSON

freight agent; and Pete Wiggins, the owner of the
hotel. Tliey all were cronies of the same vintage a*
die driver and formed a closed drde into which, how^
ever, they had admitted Brazos.

" Bet you didn't git a load," said Rod.

" Bet you didn't git half a load," amended Reb.

"I'll show you scoffiin* mossbacks what I got," re-
torted Buffalo, rising to the bait He clambered down
and went to the rear of the wagon, untied the knots and
threw back the canvas. As he paused to wonder how
the bale had become spread out, the top skin moved
up and down, and he jerked back his hand. " There's
some kind of a varmint in there 1 " he cried In pardon-
able amazement.

Brazos left the group with a leap and reached for
the hide as his gun slanted down on it Giving it a
quick, hard jerk, he threw it behind him and then gazed
in astonishment at a pair of boots which moved ener-
getically, while strange, strangled gurgles were heard
in the wagon box. "I'md — d 1 " he muttered. "What
th' — who th'— how th' — " He grabbed hold of a
boot and pulled heartily. It resisted and tried to kick.
Following his gun under the canvas, he moved another
skin and then emerged and stared at Buffalo.

" What is it ? " demanded the freighter. " Who is it ?
How'd he git there, hey? "

^ 's Wolf Forbes, blind-folded, gagged, hog-tied»
ihed to th' box," accused Brazos. "Was you
to skin him when you had more time ? "
in him?" indignantly retorted Buffalo. "You
lun him; he's so tough a plough wouldn't scratdt

A DISCOVERY 167

his hide. How*d he git in there, an* tie hisself up like
Aat?"

" Mebby you can tell that to a jury," retorted Brazos,
8l3ring winking at the dumf ounded group. ** However,
unless we want to call on a coroner's jury first, we better
git him out," and, slipping the gun into its holster, he
plunged back under the canvas.

Pete Wiggins was the first of the group to recover.
"After all these years we done found you out I" he
exulted

"What's wrong?" demanded Jerry, from the office.

"Yore Pop is bringin' in hide on th* hoof," declared
Reb.

" Kidnappin' innercent punchers like Wolf Forbes,"
accused Pete.

"Cuss it!" snorted Buffalo. "What I want you
fools to tell me is how he got there ? "

"You can't slip out that way," asserted Rod.

They listened to what Brazos was saying under thcf
canvas. "Tied up four ways from th' Jack," he an-
nounced. " Rolled up in a stinkin' hide, he was, all but
his head an' arms. Cuss me I this is somethin' new to
me; an' I reckoned I'd been up ag'in' everythin' in
human cussedness. How fur did he come this way?"

" How in h — 1 do / know 1 " blazed Buffalo, his thin
chin whiskers bobbing pugnaciously. "I didn't even
know he was there!**

" You can't never tell," said a voice back in the crowd.
" Sometimes it comes out in a man when he's even older'n
Buffalo. Redcon it's th' breed.^'

"I'll show you what's in my breed!'' shouted the

170 JOHNNY NELSON

snug in my skins, like a tick in a cow's hair, layin' there
for forty miles, snickerin' at me I You wouldn't pay,
an' ride alongside me, up in th' dust an' th' heat; but
you got poked away on them soft hides, out of th'
dust an' th' sun, takin' it easy while I was drivin' them
four wild hosses for forty miles 1 Dozin' off, mebby,
while I was doin' all th' work. I don't see no joke.'*
He choked, controlled himself, and shouted: *'But
you can't do it I I want my pay I An' what will folks
say up in Gunsight when they hears about you ? "

"Oh, Lord I" yeUed Pete. "What will they say?
It'll never be forgot I "

" Life must be pleasant,'* said Reb, " livin' with thai
outfit 1 There's alius somethin' to pass away th' time.
I reckon they must 'a' saved up a long time for this
feller."

"Can you imagine what he's been through today?'*
asked Pete, his imagination becoming active. " It was
plain, common h — II"

Buffalo suddenly let out a whoop, draped himself on
a wheel and burst into laughter, and when he could get
control of himself he looked around at his audience.
"Fellers," he groaned, "it wasn't his outfit 1 It was
them Double X fellers. There was four of 'em in
Gunsight last night, an* they was f eelin* good. They've
got th' nerve to tackle a joke like this, too ; an' there
ain't no love lost between them two ranches. When I
was goin' into th' hotel after puttin' up my team, I
heard a lot of laughin' in Dave's saloon, an' I remem*
bers some of them Double X fellers howlin* 'bout a
kidnappm*. That's it I They done it I An' I tell you it

A DISCOVERY 171

took nerve, taddin' this two-gun man for a joke t It
won't be no joke when he gits back — there'll be killin's
over this. But, killin' or no killin', I can't help it — •
Oh I Ho I Ho I Oh I Ho I Ho I An' me settin' up there,
drivin' like a dodderin' old fool, with this feller tied up
in them odorous skins I Wolf Forbes, two-gun bad-
man of di' Bar H I Oh I Hoi Ho I There'll be killin's;
but I got to laugh — Oh, Lordyl Lordyl Lordyl"

'* Forty mile I Forty mile 1 " senselessly repeated one
man, weaving around, stepping on everyone in his path*
" Forty mile I Forty mile I "

^^ Playin' mimuny on a pile of stinkin' hides I " cried
another.

Tied up like a -r- like a — I dunno what I "
Bouncin' an' jouncin' under that tarp on a day lika
diisl"

*^ Forty mile" came around again, chanting his pass*
words, stumbled over Reb and flopped, still chanting.
Brazos held up the botde, and put it down again, not
daring to give the last dose for fear of spilling it, and
rocked back and forth on his haunches: *' Wrapped
in a stinkin' hide — forty mile — mummy — oh, my
sacred cowl"

" Forty mile " gasped and sat up. The botde took
bis eye, and his hand took the botde. Putting it back
empty he slowly arose ; and when last seen he was ttymg
to walk on both sides of the street at once, still chanting^
his lay.
Wolf stirred, tried to get up and, falling, rolled over.
" 'Oot 'ell out ah di'," he muttered. " No dah 'an.'^
He desisted, since he could not pronounce labials, and

cc
cc

171 JOHNNY NELSON

tried his arms and legs. They responded somewhat
but there was great uncertainty about them.

Brazos wiped his eyes, picked up the bottle, looked
at it and then around at the crowd, and arose. " Come
on, boys; give me a hand. In another hour he'll be
petrified. After which, I'm takio* a drink — two of
'em — rAr«of 'emi I needs it bad.*'

The cronies picked Buffalo off the wheel. " Give lu
a hand, ol' kidnapper," ordered Reb. " We'll lug him
into Pete's. Come on — git a-holt, all as can find
room."

A procession formed, with a line of dogs acting as
skirmishers, and tramped to Pete Wiggins' Highbank
hotel and bar, into which all -but the small boys and dogs
disappeared. And a stranger entering Highbank later
that night would have carried away a very unfavorable
impression about the sobriety of its citizens. And had
he seen the innocent and imassumlng cause of it all he
would have marveled how a man could get so drunk,
and live. And for a day or two Wolf did not draw a
sober breath, but staggered, when he was able to walk,
from place to place, muttering dire threats and drinking
steadily while his money lasted. There is no telling
where a periodical drinker will stop when once he geti
*¥t.r¥„A — and he had been started on more than a pint
idy.

CHAPTER XIV

ENOUGH IS SUFFICIENT

THE following morning Johnny rode toward the
northwest comer of the Bar H, the hilly, wooded
section which had been presided over by Wolf Forbes.
On his ride from the Bar H bunkhouse to the Triangle
he had seen numerous unbranded cattle and wondered
what he would find on the difficult section over which
Wolf was wont to hold jealous guard. Riding to the
west of the town he then turned and went south, passing
behind the Doc's cabin, and parallel with the over-
mountain trail. Reaching Clear River he followed it
onto Double X range and then let Pepper pick her way
over the mountain, and soon came to his objective,
where he found large numbers of cattle, with an un-
usually high percentage of mavericks among them.

" Pepper," he said, alert for signs of Bar H riders,
"th' SV has lost a lot of cows — an' folks can't make
cows. So if it's goin' to make up its losses, it will have
to do it with cows that are livin' this very minute. Now,
it ain't reasonable to go on a ranch an' round up a lot
of unbranded cattle, 'specially if it ain't willin' for 'em
to be rounded up. On th' other hand, there ain't no
harm in ridin' around an' sizin' things up. ^ We want
to find out where th' mavericks are, an' get some idea
of how many there are of 'em.

" Mebby you don't know it, but a lot of mavericks

173

1 74 JOHNNY NE LSON

means, generally, a lazy outfit, not to say nothin' worse.
An' when a ranch reckons it^s fenced off by natural
barriers from other herds, that don't excuse 'em. A
dishonest foreman or outfit, or a couple of dishonest
men in it, can get rich with mavericks, if they know their
business, an' don't work too hard. An' if th' whole
outfit is dishonest an' workin' for its ranch, mavericks
belongin' to surroundin' ranches are awful temptations.

** Now, th' SV don't eamotch its calves. They don't
have no sleepers, at all; an' I know that calves will
wander from their mothers after they are weaned, an*
get notions of their own; an' they can be cut out an'
drove to another range an' grow up to be big cows. On
a ranch like th' SV, that ain't had no round-up in three
years, all calves will be mavericks. There won't be a
sign on none of 'em to tell where they belongs.

" Now, then : We'll say th' Bar H is dishonest, but
its foreman an' outfit is workin' for th' ranch an' not
for their own pockets. If they drove SV calves to their
own ranch, they'd put an iron on 'em as soon as they
could, after which they wouldn't have to bother with
'em no more. They wouldn't have to be guarded jealous
by th' best man of th' outfit, an' turned back when they
tried to get off th' ranch. When I heard how Wolf
almost lived out here, I got suspicious, Peppery an'
when I saw too many mavericks on this ranch, I got
more suspicious; an' you've mebby heard that I was
brought up in a plumb suspicious outfit. Of course, all
ranches are goin' to have some mavericks, 'specially if
it has a wild, rough range. Brush, timber, scrub, an*
broken country hides cows that don't get combed out

ENOUGH IS SUFFICIENT 175

in a round-up ; we had some, ourselvesi down on th* old
Bar-20, along our west line — but th' numbers out here
are scandalous. I'm keepin* cases on these cattle, an*
I says it's so scandalous that it just can't be true — but
it is true, so far. There's folks down here that are
careless an' lazy, or crooked an' I've got my sus-
picions about which it is.

" Now, we'll say that th' outfit is crooked, an' workin'
for its own pockets. They wouldn't want to brand any
mavericks, not with th' ranch mark. There's two ways
of dividin' that conclusion. First: That they're doin'
it for their own pockets, th' foreman not knowin' about
it. But no foreman is so dumb that he'd overlook so
many mavericks — he'd raise h — 1, an' weed out his
punchers an' get new men. There wouldn't be many
cows unbranded if he was workin' for his ranch. Th'
second is : Foreman an' outfit are workin' for them-
selves, dividin' up th' profits accordin' to some plan.
[Then nobody would care how many mavericks there
was, for th' more th' merrier. They'd have a right
smart herd to brand with th' mark of some friend's
ranch, road brand, an' throw on th' trail for some
shippin' point up north, near th' railroad. Or mebby
they figger on stockin' a ranch of their own that they
has in some other part of th' country. Rustlers plumb
love mavericks — an' if I was one, an' wanted to get
rich, I know where /'d start out. An' if it wasn't for
th' Double X layin' between this ranch an' th' Snake
Buttes country, them rustlers over there would give this
outfit sleepless nights. Them Double X punchers bein'
on th' job all th' time is all that saves these here mave-

176 JO HNNY NELSON

ricks from swappin* ranges. Th' Double X is woridn'
for this passel of thieves, an' don't know it

''Now, then: These mavericks out here are mostly
all three years old, or younger. There's some four-
year-olds, an' others, of course. An' th' SV ain't had
a calf round-up in three years. Ain't that remarkable?
Th' Bar H owners get good reports every round-up.
Th' new calves keep right up to th' factor of natural
increase, an' there ain't notfim' to make anybody jump
out here for a good look at things. An' when th' drive
figgcrs go on, an' show five hundred cattle on th' beef
trail, an' really there is a thousand, th' books balance
just right ; an' Big Tom gets a Christmas present from
th' owners for bein' such a good, honest foreman.
Where that extra five hundred head goes to nobody
knows but th' outfit. I've heard that Wolf is ^segundo
down here, an' is trail boss on every drive. Do you
wonder he's jealous of his mavericks out here, an'
watchin' day an night for some of them Snake Buttes
rustlers to bust through th' Double X riders an' pay
this section a visit? Him bein' so alert was anodier
reason why I packed him off to Highbank for a day or
two, where he can have excitement, an' there's things
to do an' see. An' while he's enjoyin' th' hilarity of
town, we'll have a good look around. Pull up, Pepper,
there's hoss tracks — fresh, too. They was made while
th' momin's dew was heavy, which is told by th' little
chunks of dirt his hoofs picked up an' turned over.
You stay right here while I go ahead. Lay dozvn/"
He slapped the horse and gave a low, peculiar whistle.
Pepper laid her ears back, but slowly obeyed the

ENOUGH IS SUFFICIENT 177

and went down, ** playing dead'* on her side. Taking
his rifle, Johnny slipped into the brush, following a
course parallel to but some distance from the tracks.
For an hour he trailed, seeing numbers of mavericks
and but few branded cattle, and twice he was in danger
of being charged by crusty, old long-horned " outlaws **
who, while having a due and well-founded respect for
mounted men, evidently regarded a man on foot as
being a different and less aangerous species of animaL
These he eluded by taking to the brush and swiftly
)getting out of sight, detouring and picking up the trail
again farther along. Suddenly he stopped and laughed
silently. On the farther side of a clump of brush a
conical, vertically dented Mexican sombrero loomed
against the sky. Waiting a moment to be sure that he
had not been heard, he raised the rifle and took long,
deliberate aim. With the roar of the gun the peak ot
the hat flipped up and over, reversing itself as if on a
hinge, and hung down on the side of the high crown like
a cup. There was a yell of surprise, the hat dipped
down below the shielding brush, and the sudden noise
of pounding hoofs rolled toward East Canyon. Johnny
reloaded and ran to a place from where he could see the
fleeing horseman. It was Smitty, and he was mounted
on his own horse, a long-legged, big-barreled roan, and
it was fresh from a three days' rest. The speed it made
awakened a surprised admiration in the laughing rifle*
man, who watched the departing horseman until he
dashed into East Canyon.

" Thanks, Smitty," chuckled Johnny. " Fm glad you
ain't headin' for th' bunkhouse. Now I won't be both*

178 JOHNNY NELSON

ered by no corioiis outfit combin' these hills, lookin* for
me. Reckon Smitty is goin* to town — or he never
would 'a' rode for th* canyon. Just th' same, I*m
leavin' for th' Double X. I've seen all I wants out
here, an' now FU try to fix up a round-up for th' SV,
an' get the rest of th' figgers I needs." He returned
to the horse and rode into the northwest, giving vent to
occasional bursts of laughter.

** Pepper," he chuckled, as he rode down the other
slope of the watershed, *' we're havin' more fun down
here than we had up around Twin Buttes, but th' show
ain't hardly begun. However, we'll laugh while we can,
an' meet trouble when it really comes."

Smitty pounded into and through East Canyon, busy
with his crowded thoughts and harrowed feelings. Hia
horse from habit chose the left-hand turn at the other
end of East Arroyo, and swung around the bend toward
Gunsight

" Twice 1 " he soliloquized. " Twice in th' hat 1 He
was close up, th' murderin' coyote — sneaked up on top
of me when I was so far away from th' mountain I had
plumb forgot him. Sneaked up to th' other side of that
brush — couldn't 'a' been forty feet away — an' he
missed againf You can't tell me he didn't aim to miss,
not this time. An' I'm dead shore he aimed to miss me
that other time. Why? Because he didn't want to hit
me, yet I It was a wamin', it was. He says plain:
* Smitty, you ain't wanted around here no more. I'm
warnin' you th' second time. But, mebby, th' third
time I won't miss.' I'm sayin' there won't be no third
time. Practice makes perfect, an' / ain't no target.

ENOUGH IS SUFFICIENT 179

He won't score no buUs-eye on me/ Big Tom says it*8
a joke; all right; but if it is, it ain't goin' no further.
An' th' reason is, / am. Pm goin* further, an' I ain't
comin' back. I ain't even wastin' time to go back to
th' house for my war bag, an' have to give 'em an
argument about quittin'. There ain't much pay a-comin*
to me — none, when I pays up what I owe — an' I'm
callin' everythin' square, all around. Pore Squint I Huh;
I'd rather be able to say 'Pore Squint' than hang
around here till somebody up an' says ' Pore Smitty.*
This here country ain't fit for a dog no more an' I'm
goin' to find one that is. Keep a-goin', you longJaigged
rabbit I"

He whirled over the rocky hump below the historic
stone benches on Pine Mountain and streaked toward
Gunsight, seeing the Doc come to the door of the shack
and wave at him. The Doc was haggard and sallow,
nervous and poorly nourished after an unfavorable
bout with his worst enemy, and leaned weakly against
the door casing as he watched the hard-riding puncher
whirl toward him. He made up his mind that if Big
Tom wanted to see him, Mahomet could come to the
mountain, for he was in no condition to go afield. To
his surprise and great relief, Smitty followed the bend
in the trail and headed to ride past Then it was that
Doc waved again.

Smitty's hand went to his nose and he shouted a
greeting and prophecy in three words. The Doc, un-
strung and highly irritable, took enraged umbrage all
4ie insulting greeting, jerked the Colt from its shoulder
liobter and took three erratic shots at the derisive

\0TP

CHAPTER XV

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION

RIDING northward after he had left the hills
which lay along the line between the Double X and
die Bar H, to find and follow the trail used by the
Double X punchers when they rode to and from Gun-
ng^t, Johnny was nearing it when he saw a horseman
Ht to the north, riding at speed down a hill and headed
straight for him. Keepuig on, Johnny turned into the
trail in the direction of the Double X bunkhouse, where*
vpon the other changed his course and rode as if to
head him off. From the way in which the other stuck
up above the horse, Johnny thought him to be Slim
Hawkes, and he pulled Pepper to a walk, rolling a
dgarette while he loafed along. His surmise was cor-
rect, and soon Slim joined him, his look of suspicion
having some time back given way to a smile.

•• Hello, Nelson I " he cried. " Lost ? "

**Not quite," answered Johnny, smiling in turn*
••How arc you?"

•• Cheerful, if not handsome," grinned Slim. " Judgin'
from th* way yoVe headed, I reckon yoVe headed my
way. Wolf Forbes chase you away from his pet mav-
ericks?"

"Didn't see him down there. What's he doin' —
Ininin* 'em?"

••Keepin* 'em from strayin' over on us," growled

iSa

ENOUGH IS SUFFICIENT i8i

lowed the action left no doubt In his mind that he had
interpreted it correctly. He reached for his gun, thought
better of it and, shaking a fist, shouted instead : "All
right I But you'll be comin* back, cuss you I '* and forth-
with reached toward the gun again at the shouted an-
swer he received.

Two-Spot saw the felt cup flapping up and down at
the edge of the sombrero's peak and he let out a howl
of pleasure at the sight, whereat Dave discreetly ducked
back from the window, fearing Smitty's reply ; but the
puncher kept on ahead of his dust cloud and whirled
over the trail toward Juniper.

Two-Spot shouted with laughter. " Did you see th*
hat? Did you see it? Just what I was sayin'/* he
cried, delighted by the idea that his humorous concep-
tion had appealed to another. "Number Two, an*
Smitty pulls his stakes. Hey, Daileyl'* he shouted,
"you says he'll be comin* back; /'m sayin* he won't
I'm bettin' we won't see Smitty no more. He's takin*
what's left of his hat where it won't be spoiled no more.
Did you notice th' boss he's on? That ain't no Bar H
critter; that's his own/ I'm givin* you two to one he
won't come back — two to one, you gapin' jackass!**

Dailey's open mouth closed suddenly, and he stepped
forward, feeling for his gun again; but Two-Spot went
around the corner of the saloon, kicking his heels
together. " He won't come back I Squint, Polecat, an*
Smitty I Wonder who else will be missin' ? Three in
a row — if Polecat stays away. But Polecat won't, cuss
him. I know him too well for that. He won't — and
m be glad of it, too, th' coyote. Who*s next?**

1 84 JOHNNY NELSON

** Neidier of them calamities has happened,*' dmdded !
Ifohmiy. ^How modi can th' Double X scrape up^ in !
case I makes up my mind to stay a week?" I

'* Four dollars an* two bits. I'm aimin' to play 'cm
•o dut you'll have to put up dut black wonder yo're
ridin'. I shore can use her for my very own ridin'
boss/'

'*This cayuse won't never put no interest in gam*
blin'," said Johnny, stroking a glossy shoulder. ^' She's
my pardner."

'*I'd say she was northern raised," guessed Slim.
^^Them north ranges shore do make a difference in
stock. IVe heard of Texas ponies puttin' on a couple
of hundred pounds, 'an' even growin' higher, up there.
• Tin-Cup,' " he read. " Where's that located ? I never
saw that brand before."

^^ Up in Montanny," replied Johnny. ^* I worked for
it, an' bought this cayuse while th' brand was still red
She's got blood in her, I'm tellin' you."

** I knowed that as fur as I could see her," replied
Slim. ^* But you ain't no Northerner. Did you go up
with a trail herd, an' stay over?"

" No, I went up by myself. Went up to help a friend
spread th' gospel over his ranch, which was done proper.
It's fine country, but it's gettin' crowded."

** See many Texas an' Greaser cattle up there ? "

** Shore; we wasn't so far from th' MusselshelL
They're on th' trail all th' time. An' they ain't loved
a whole lot, neither. Th' northern punchers try to
keep their herds from grazin' too dose to th' trails.
They're plumb scared about Texas fever. Sometimes i

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION 185

^^—^^—i^— — i^— ■ II ■ M ill II — ■^■W— — — — ^^— — ^

trail herd will pick up quite a lot of local cattle, an*
when they're cut out they're mostly held on a range by
themselves over a winter, until th' danger is reckoned to
be past. You can't blame 'em, for th' fever raises th'
very devil in northern herds. I know what I'm talkin*
about, because some fever cattle was throwed over on
th' Tin-Cup by some two-laigged skunks, an' we had
one busy time, /'U admit It went through our cattle
like fire through dead grass ; an' if it hadn't been f er an
Englishman, with plenty of brains in his decivin' head,
it would 'a' been good-by Tin-Cup. It was a squeak for
us. How's everythin' with you fellers ? "

"Our troubles are periodics," replied Slim. "We'll
have a long stretch of peace an' quiet, an' then things
will happen in bunches, an' keep us crow-hoppin' alt
over th' range. We got our southeast section tamed,
but our west section boils over every once in a while.
Even when it ain't boilin\ or even simmerin', we have
got to watch it dose. An' it's generally on th' simmer.
If you go broke a-visitin' us, which I hopes you do, you
can earn quite some cash. All you got to do is to go
over in th' Snake Buttes country, just west of us, an*
get Nevada for us. We'll pay five hundred dollars for
his body, an' a hundred apiece for each of his men.
I've heard tell about th' Hole in th' Wall, up north,
but I reckon we've got its first cousin down here, right
next door to us. We have to keep four men on our
west section day an' night. Don't you never ride out
there for fun — we shoots first, an* then finds out who
it was."

" Nevada I " mused Johnny, " who is ht ? "

1 86 JOHNNY NELSON

"Some My he'* white, othen, a half-breed," an-
twercd Slim. "Nobody I ever met knew anythin*
about him, except that he come from Nevada. While
I never saw him, I shore heard an* felt his lead one
night; an' if he can shoot that good in th' daik, by ear,
f ain't hooin* to meet him for fun an' excitement in th'
dajrtime when he can use his eyes. He skinned my car,
put one through my ann, another cut my shoulder, one
went through my hat, th* fourth grazed my side, an*
th' fifth killed my cayuse. It sounded like a loud r-i-i4^f
Since then Z don't make no noise at night out there. I
imitates a ghost when I move around, an' I'm on full
cock, with a hair trigger, every minute, which is some
strain."

" How'd it happen ? " asked Johnny.

" We was roundin* up last fall, an* had a beef herd

we was holdin'. Th* night come on windy an' rainy,

but there wasn't no lightnin' or thunder. Four of us

was ridin' th* middle trick an* singin' plenty as we went

around. Th' herd had fed heavy an* was well watered,

an' tired, an' we wasn't worryin* much about It. Just

after midnight we heard a rumble from behind us, an'

th' whole herd was on Its feet like onr cow. It was a

small bunch of stampeded catde, an' when it hit our

herd everythin' went that had hoofs. Th* cook, back

in th* waggin*, was awake because of a leak over his

^'d-roll, an' as soon as he heard th' rumble he let cut a

II an' woke up th* ofi-shifts. They had their cayuset

d to th* waggin, or staked out close at hand, an' they

rked *em quick. Tom Wilkes saw my abc-gun flashes

' he joins me. We lean against one end of th' front

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION 187

rank of our bunch, tryin' to turn 'em, an' get 'em to
mill ; but it wasn't no use. Th' herd had split up into
bunches, an' our bunch run for half an hour southwest
When we finally got 'em millin', an' then busted that
up, they figgered they had all th' runnin' diey wanted
an' behaved themselves. I rode back to take th' rear
when I heard what sounded like another bunch runnin'
west, quite a ways north of us. I sung out to Tom that
I'd be back, an' streaked up to give a hand with th' other
herd. When I got to it I rode right up front an' sung
out that I was givin' a hand. My mouth wasn't hardly
shut before I got in th' way of that stream of lead t
told you about I got my gun workin', but I was afoot
an' had to hear th' herd leave me behind. Managin' to
get my saddle off, I hoofed it for th' cook's fire, which
was blazin' high when I got to where I could see it.
By th' time I got there th' rain was comin' down in
sheets, an' I was done up. They got away with over
forty head, as near as we could figger it, an' th' rain had
smoothed them sandy valleys over in th' Buttes so they
didn't show a print. We wouldn't 'a' f ollered far, any<^
how— 'Nevada likes ambushes, an' that country wai
made for 'em."

" I've been through it," growled Johnny. ** There's
th' fourth muley I've seen in ten minutfs," he said,
nodding to the right

'^He was made a muley by a saw," replied Slim.
**That feller was a bloody-minded terror. He's cost
this ranch a dozen times what he was ever worth. We
don't know what was th' matter with him — just bom
lavage, I reckon. He killed an* ruined a lot of young

i88 JOHNNY NELSON

steers before we got onto hinu At first we was goin* to
kill biro ; then we said he had been so all-fired mean that
he ought to be punished. So we sawed off his horns
an' turaed him loose to play with th' rest of th* long-
horns. He got some good liddn's before he learned
that he wasn't dangerous no more. He got mauled ao
much before he quit his mean ways that we sort of felt
sorry for him. Here comes QuantreU. He's our
segundo, an' boss of our trail outfit Good man, alt
around. Hey I Look at that old reprobate go for him I
What do you think of that? Cimarron was th* man
who sawed o9 his horns, an' cussed if he don't remem-
ber it I"

The approaching rider evaded the chaise, fired dose
to the steer's nose as the animal went past, which turaed
its chain of thought, and rode up laughing.

" Did you see th' old boy ? " he chuckled.

" Reg'Iar friend of youm," laughed Slim. " Here,
shake ban's with Nelson. He's comin* out to show na
how to play draw — an' his pockets are full of money.**

" Yo're welcome," said Cimarron, grinning, his hand-
clasp solid and sincere. ** Better put yore rope on him,
Slim, in case he gets scared oS."

Laughing and chatting they rode westward until
about mid-afternoon when, hungry as wolves, they ar-
rived at the bunkhouse, where Cimarron dared the
tity of the cook shack to rustle warm, if rather
1-out food, from the back of the stove; and they
to the frank and personal comments of several
og onlookers. The rest of the afternoon was passed
iscuBsions and rnniniscences of tilings concerning

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION i«9

jra^nge activities and in telling stories about men they

Had known. It was not long before other men began

^o come in from the range and the cook showed signs

of activity. When he was ready he let out a yell:

**Are you all a-comin' ? '* They were, and ate hungrily,

for the most part in silence, listening to the three who

had enjoyed a late dinner and who could take time to

talk. Four men soon arose and exchanged banter as

they looked to tobacco, guns, and other things requiring

their attention and, saying good-by, went out to the

corraL They had the first night shift on the west

section and soon were riding away. Hardly two hours

later another four-man group came in, fell upon the

second meal the cook had prepared in less than three

hours, and then loafed, joining in the conversation.

"How's things over Gunsight way?" Cimarron
asked Johnny.

" Just th* same, I reckon,** came the answer. ** Every-
thing is all right, a cussed sight better than they are
further east. It's a shame, too ; a cussed shame.'*

"Meanin*?" queried Lin Sherwood, the foreman,
A tall, wiry man of about forty years, whose broad, slop-
ing shoulders suggested great strength. His face was
frank and kindly, and his steel-blue eyes twinkled from
their frames of wrinkles in a manner to win Johnny the
moment he had looked into them.

" I*m meanin' that old man with th* busted laig, over
on th SV," answered Johnny; "an' that kid, an' that
helpless girl. Do you know they ain't had no round-up
in three years, neither calf nor beef? "

"What's that?" exclaimed Cimarron in surprise.

I90 JOHNNY NELSON

*' That ain't no way to run a ranch. Ain*t they done
nobrandin* at all?**

"Ain*t had an iron hot in three years,'* replied
Johnny.

"What*8 th* matter with *em?*' demanded Matt
Webb.

"They can't keep an outfit,** answered Johnny.
" Every time they hired a man he was either scared off
or bribed to quit. After a while they gave it up. Three
of their men are workin* on th* Triangle, or th* Bar H
right now.**

"Then they didn't lose a whole lot,** snorted Art
French.

" If they don't round up, how do they know where
they are?** asked Bud Norris. "How do they know
how many cows they got, or if they*re runnin* at a
profit or a loss ? **

" They don't,** answered Johnny. " But there ain't
no round-up necessary to tell *em about profit an' loss.
They can see th' herds shrinkin', it's so plain ; an' when
they has to sell off a few head every time they needs
chuck, I reckon they know about th' profit an* loss.
They want to have a round-up just to get a tally of th*
cattle now on th' ranch. Knowing how many there was
from th' tally th' year they took possession, they could
tell what their losses are. But how can they hold onct
without punchers?*'

"They ought to know,** said Slim. "But diat
wouldn*t help *em much, at that. It would only make
*cm feel worse, I reckon.**

** Their herds ain*t got no business to shrink, not iMi

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION 191

a. range like theirs/' said Bud. ** If they ain't throwed
many on th' trail they ought to have more now than
^ey had three years ago. Cattle don't stop multiplyin'
just because they ain't rounded up once in a while I "
Mebby their cattle are different, then," said Johnny.
An' there's one thing shore : I never saw so few mav*
ericks on any ranch as there are on th' SV; nor so
d — d many as I saw on th' Bar H. Why, when I was
on th' Bar-20, down in th' Pecos Valley, we wouldn't
'a' let no ranch close to us hold so many unbranded

cows."

" Where did you say ? " quickly demanded Bill Dusen*
berry, who answered to the name of ** Deuce."

" Bar-20," replied Johnny, " down in th' Pecos."

**Did you ever hear of Lacey?" excitedly asked
Deuce.

"Lacey? Why, he run a saloon, over in Perry's
Bend ; an' he was a white man clean through."

" Holy mackerel I " cried Deuce. " Was you one of
Peter's outfit?"

*' I was near since I was old enough to throw a rope,**
answered Johnny, a pleased grin coming to his face.
*'Did you know Lacey, or Buck?'*

" Lacey Is my cousin,'* exclaimed Deuce. He turned
to his friends. "We ain't goin' to have no poker
tonight This feller is goin' to entertain us with th'
doin's of th' cussedest he-man outfit that ever lived
under one roof. Lacey has told me just enough to get
me on th' prod — an' here's a man who was one of that
outfit. You can begin with that cow-skinner you fellers
:frent to Perry's Bend after. I'm tellin' you that if you

19» JOHNNY NELSON

can show as that you belonged to that haiMrigger outfit
there ain't nothin' Bill Dusenberry an' his friends won't
do for you. What was that cow-sldnner's name, an*
where did he die?"

"I'm glad to meet a relative of Lacey's," replied
Johnny, amiling. "Lacey turned a buffalo gun loose
on that gang of rustlers when they had me in Jackson's
store after they had killed Edwards. As to Jerry
Brown, he died in some sort of a church, or mission, or
somethin* like that He shot me in Harlan's saloon,
shootin* through his coat pocket, th' skunk. Speakin*
of mavericks, you fellers all know that if th* natural
increase ain't branded yo're goin' to have a fine crop of
unbranded cattle; an* if there ain't no calves branded
for three years, yo're shore goin' to have one slashin'
big herd of mavericks. Now, if them mavericks wan-
der off th* ranch there ain*t no tellin' what'll happen to
'em. An* if they ain't allowed to git back again, or
ain't kept off some other ranch, somebody's goin' to
have a fine lot of cattle that can be marked with any
brand they feels like puttin' on 'em. They won't even
have to be vent branded : they can be sold, an' th* first
an' only brand they start with can be th' sign of th*
man that buys 'em. With a road brand to take 'cm
over th* trail, there ain't nobody can question 'em, is
there? At least not down in this country, where there
ain't no laws to question 'em,"

*' ^o're right 1 " exclaimed Slim, his eyes glowing
I sudden inspiration. "Where have our brain»
all this time? Reckon we was too busy out on
est line to do much thinkin' about other things."

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION 193

** YeS| an' none of 'em will be much more than three

years old/' said Cimarron, looking around the room,

^vvrhere various expressions met his eye. ^^A plumb fine

lot of unbranded cattle, runnin' up to three-year-olds,

ready for any iron. I've been as dumb as a locoed

dogie I "

Lin," said Gus Thompson, turning to the foreman,
I'm tellin' you that when folks get th' maverick habit,
an' ain't bothered, they get so, after a while, that they
don't care a whole lot where them mavericks come
from; an' you know that there are some parts of our
ranch that are plumb heavy with scrub timber, brushy
an' rough ground."

^^ Tell us about Perry's Bend," impatiently demanded
Deuce.

" Tell us about yore gran'mother's cat I " snorted Bill
Sage. *^That can wait: Nelson's goin' to stay here a
couple of nights, anyhow." He looked around. " I'm
beginnin' to see through th' holes in th' ladder ; an' I'm
honin' to listen to why th' SV don't show no mavericks,
when it ain't had a spring round-up for three years.
Does it sleeper?"

" Not an earnotch," interjected Tom Wilkes. " You
ought to know that, you flathead; you've seen enough
SV cattle, anyhow."

*' Mebby Nelson can explain it," suggested the fore-
man.

" I'm willin' to talk it over, anyhow," said Johnny.
" In th' first place, there's natural enemies."

** Then you can leave 'em in th' first place," laughed
Slim. *^ There ain't none, that I knows of, down here."

194 JOHNNY NELSON

^'Well, then, there's them quicksands," continued
Johnny, gravely. *^ Cattle are plumb fascinated by
quicksands **

" Huh I " snorted Cimarron, ** you ain't figgerin* them
sands are takin' th' increase of three whole years, are
you?"

'^Or pickin* mavericks, as a choice?" grunted Matr
Webb.

" They'd be so full of bones if they got three years'
calves," said Bud, "that you could build a shack on
'em, an' never feel a quiver."

" Well, then, there's th' f reezin' cold an' th' ice on
th' grass," suggested Johnny, grinning. " We all know
that cattle ain't got sense enough to paw through ice
to get at th' grass under it."

" Shore I " snorted Slim. " Did we have a freeze-up
last winter? " he asked the crowd.

"Not so no cows was killed," replied Cimarron*
"An* I didn't see no driftin' herds at all."

"What's th' matter with you fellers?" indignantly
demanded Johnny. " Here I'm tryin' to explain a mys-
tery, an' you keep puUin' me out of th' saddle as fast
as I climb up. That ain't fair. Then how about this
one : Th' SV wasn't no good for winter range, bein' all
etoff?"

"Yo're down again," laughed Art French. "Th*
SV is good winter range, an' summer, too."

"An' spring an' fall, an' th' Fourth of July, as well
as Christmas," supplemented Bud.

" You fellers are shore ornery," complained Johnny.
" Then mebby th* mavericks, bein' different than marked

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION 19^

ammals, all got th' travel itch an' left that arid valley
for th' thick, green grass down south of *em, or for
th* juicy scrub an* dean rocks north of 'em/*

^* 'Arid valley ' is purty near as good as * thick, green
grass south of 'em,' " chuckled Cimarron. ** Was you
ever over on that luxuriant south range?" he asked,
ironically.

*' I wasn't, but OP Buffalo was," answered Johnny.

'^ Shore, but he don't eat grass," retorted Cimarron;
an' what's more, he don't stop on it at all/'

Well, I'll try once more," said Johnny, in simu*
lated desperation. ** Mebby cow-hawks flew away with
*em seein' that there wasn't no brands to prove nothin'.'*

After the laughter quieted down, Cimarron jammed
his fist into an open palm with a resounding smash.
" I'm thinkin' we got more interest in th' way them SV
cows are handled than we ever thought. I'm gettin'
interested in seein' that th' SV runs itself some better
than it has. There's ideas millin' around in my head
that some folks might say are scandalous an' unpolite.
You all heard me — lemme hear somcthin'."

**An' I'm wantin' to know," said Johnny, ** what kind
of barb wire is sold down in these parts ? "

'* Mean, cussed mean," replied Slim.

"Then mebby that's why it won't stay up," muttered
Johnny. " It keeps a-comin' down from off them posts
around th' quicksands, pullin' out double staples, an'
draggin' itself all over th' valley. A couple of them
posts set fire to themselves, too, an' burned till they
busted themselves off, close to th' ground. I'm shore
doin' a lot of guessin'."

196 JOHNNY NELSON

" Lacey told mt — " began Deuce.

" — to rope yourself," interrupted Cunarroo. *'We
got lots of time, later, to hear about what Lacey told
you."

"I believe in bein' neighborly," said Matt, *'aii*
givin' folks a hand when they deserve it"

*' Is th' Doc a friend of you fellers?" asked Johnny.

*' We ain't weepin* none over his kidnappin*, if that's
what you mean," chuckled Matt. " He mebby will be
kidnapped ag'in, sometime — an* hoof it bade home.
Why?"

" Well, I didn't want to hurt you fellers* feelin**,**
replied Johnny.

*' What you mean ? *' asked Cimarron. " Youll have
to be plumb rough to hurt any feelin's out here."

" Matt was aaytn' he believes in bein* neighborly,**
explained Johnny, " an' I happened to think of some-
thin' about th' Doc, what stirred me a-plenty. That's
why I asked."

" What was that? " asked Slim.

" Why, that Arnold girt was took sick aboui: a year
ago, an' they sent for th' Doc. He said he would doctor
cows an* bosses, but he wouldn't sling a laig across a
saddle if th' whole SV was dyin', an* be refused to go.
That kid had to ride to Highbank for that drunken
doctor down there."

" Th* h — 1 you say I '• snapped Thompson. *' Is that

answered Johnny. *'An' it made me wonder
of country I'd got into. I maintains that no
e that measures up to th' standards of cow-

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION 197

country men; an* when th* old man busted his laig I
says it was plumb proper that th' coyote was kidnapped
an' made to do his plain duty.*'

"Fm admirin' that kidnappin' more every day,"
exclaimed Slim. *'Th' dog wouldn't have to be kid-
napped if he was needed on th' Bar H."

" Huh I " snorted Cimarron. " If Big Tom had a
sore toe th' Doc would bust his neck an' kill a boss
gettin' there."

" Will somebody tell me what's th* matter with that
coyote?" asked Larry Hallock. ^^One day he's as
bright as a new dollar an' witty as blazes ; th' next, he
looks like somebody had dragged him by th' heels
through th' hottest parts of h — I. Talk about quick
changes 1 He's a wonder. What's he drinkin', any*
how?"

*^ I reckon it ain't drink," said the foreman, reflect-
ively. '* I once knowed a gambler, up in Dodge, that
could play longer than anybody in town — hours longer
— but when he went to pieces he shore hit hard. An'
he'd rather lie than tell th' truth. However, th' devil
with th' Doc; I'm wonderin' about somethin' else."

'^Lacey knowed a man like that," said Deuce, but
got no further, for Cimarron balanced a gun in his
hand and seemed to be considering.

*' I'm itchin' for to shoot Lacey," Cimarron remarked,
** but as he ain't on hand any of his tribe will do. You
shut up about Lacey till th' time's ripe to talk about
him I "

"It'd look too set, too plain, an' sort of hintin',"
soliloquized the foreman, ** to send a Double X bunck

198 JOHNNY NELSON

over there. If we could make it universal, sort of free-
for-all, with other's joinin* in, it would be better. It
would look like a surprise party an' not point too strong
in one direction. They should have a round-up an' get
a tally. Even a litde iron heatin' wouldn't be out of
place, as long as it was done by them as didn't belong
to th* SV. Nobody could hardly blame th' SV for
brandin' mavericks, an' say they was stealin' cows that
didn't belong to 'em, if punchers from other ranches
did th' brandin*. How many men do you reckon we'd
need, Nelson?"

"More than you could spare if you kept a good
watdi on that west section," answered Johnny, seeing
the drift of the foreman's thoughts. *' Quite some few
more. An' you got to count me out of it, 'though I'd
be glad to stay here an' take some man's place while
he's gone. I don't aim to be hobbled in th' future by
comtn' out strong an' plain. That may sound funny,
but I got things to answer for if they're found out an*
laid to me — which I ain't aimin* to have found out,
positive. It ain't that I'm gun-shy, or tryin' to slip out
of trouble, but I just ain't ready to smoke up, right
now. It's shore a puzzle."

Arch Wi^ins slapped his thigh with stinging empha-
sis. " I'm seein' di' drift of this here conversation, an*
T ain't dedarin* myself in because th' wool is bern' pulled

ny eyes, at all; but I am dedarin* myself in, dean
my hat, because I'm a cowman, through an*

gh, first an' last; an' because I'm a human htm*.

f round-up gang needs a first-dass hoss wrangler
few ^yi) or a week, without pay, an* willin* to

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION 199

feed hisself, Fm speakin* for th* job. An* I ain't too
lazy to keep irons hot, neither. Do I hear anythin' ? **

Jim Hallock leaped to his feet " I come down here
to visit, an' get a rest," he declared, grinning. ^' Fve
had all th' visitin' I wants with a bunch of cold-deckers ;
an' I ain't had no rest since I arrove. My fingers ache
from dealin' an' cuttin' an' drawin' ; an' I can see deuces
an' treys in my sleep, when I get any. Spcakin' for
myself, I'd enjoy seein' that lazy Wiggins wranglin'
cayuscs for me every momin' before sunup. I'll do my
cusscdest to wear him to a frazzle. How about you,
boys ? " he asked, turning to his brothers.

" I ain't got no love for Arch Wiggins," announced
Wood, " but I'm swallerin' my pride. If he wants an
assistant wrangler that knows more about th' job than
he ever will, I'm ready to take orders, an' sacrifice my;
independence an' self-respect."

"Where you find one Hallock," chuckled George,
'* you finds more. We was brought up like that. I can
use an iron with any man on th' range, no matter who
says I'm lyin'."

Larry burst out laughing. "I never let my cub
brothers put on no airs," he declared ; " an' some older
member of th' family ought to go along to keep 'em
from gettin' into trouble. I'm signin' this pay-yorseself-
pay-roU, with Lin's permission."

" I can't give no permission to anybody in my outfit
to brand mavericks, or run another man's ranch for
him," said Sherwood, " but I reckon I can give some of
you boys a few days off, in case you want to go fishin*
over in Green Valley, or chase them cow-hawks Nelsooi

JOHNNY NELSON

was tellin' aboat. Do ywi diate *an, or trap 'em,
Nelton?"

" You put a hunk of maverick meat on th* end of a
rope, an' tie knots in it," said Johnny. *'Th' cow-
hawk swallers th' whole thing, an' th' knots get caught
in his innards. Then you shoot him through th' epi-
xootic with a hunk of lead. Didn't you ever go huntin*
*em ? '*

" No, but I've heard all about it," replied Sherwood,
apologetically. " Now, lemme see : some of you fellers
have got to stay here. There's twelve, not countin' me,
which nobody ever does, anyhow. Twelve, thanks to
them Snake Buttes coyotes, on a ranch that shouldn't
have more'n eight Well, after all, sizin' up th' twelve
an' lumpin' *em, an* dividin' it by one real, shore>enough
puncher, they only come to ei^t, after all. I figger I
can do without four of th' laziest — live, if Nelson stays
to show somebody how his job ought to be done. Now,
that makes nine goin 'to Gunsight to spend their time an*
money. Somebody ought to remember about a cook,
for I'm sayin* right out loud an' flat, that our cook
ain't gettin' no time off."

"You can't make me sore," chuckled Lem Curds,
culinary artist of the ranch. " It'd only be out of th'
fryin' pan an' into th' fire for me. ThanKs, Lin."

" I can cook good enough for any bow-laigged coyote
tiiat ever set foot on this ranch," declared Art French.

Jes, I got some scores to settle up. I'llcooL"

" said Sherwood, "I promised Cimarron
ago that he could have a few days off, to rest
hem poker parties. He's a good foreman an*

A DTPLOMATli: MTSSIDN 20»

round-up boss, only he ought to do some work hisself.
But Vm bettin' our wrangler ain't got enough saddle
stock within a day's ride to give you fellers a remuda
apiece — say about five to a man."

"If you wasn't th' foreman an' keeper of th* pay-
roll," retorted Rich Morgan, " I'd say you was a cross-
eyed fabricator. Cuss yore nerve I I'm th' best boss
wrangler, barrin' Arch, of course, that ever took a
cussin' from a fool outfit. What th' devil is a little
matter like a herd of forty-five saddle bosses to a man
like mef'

The foreman leaned back and laughed contentedly.
" You would think we was wantin' 'em to go to a dance,'*
he said to Johnny, his eyes twinkling, " instead of goin'
out of their way to do some hard work. I'm bettin' th*
SV has a proper round-up. Who's goin' to be tally
man?"

"That takes a good man away from work, when
anybody can count knots or make a pencil mark,'*
growled Cimarron. " We ought to have somebody that
can't do nothin' else like that Two-Spot over in Gun*
sight."

That's th' tally man I " shouted Arch.

He's ourn, if we has to do some kidnappin* our*
selves^" exulted Larry. "We won't let him have a
smell of liquor till we drop him off at Gunsight on th*
way back. An' then we'll pickle him so he'll keep for
a week."

" He won't do," asserted Slim. " He can*t keep a
tally straight"

I'm sayin* he can," contradicted Johnny, smiling^

202 JOHNNY NELSON

*' Seems to me I've seen him do little things that showed
me he was a-punchin' once— an' punchin' for a long
time. I'll bet he can keep tally as good as any man in
this outfit) an' count 'em as they pass, too. Mebby he
wouldn't suit a buyer, or a seller, but he's good enough
for me. Anyhow, you can call th' figgers when yoVe
countin' herd. There won't be a new brand get away
from him if you let him alone. It's time he was put to
work."

" Mebby he won't work on th' SV? " suggested Arch.

" Th' Doc didn't want to, neither, did he ? " demanded
Slim; '^but he did. What's th' use of kidnappin' any«
body that wants to be took? He'll work, all right —
or he won't eat."

"Hey," said Cimarron, turning to Johnny. "We
got a lot of gall runnin' a round-up on another man's
ranch. What'll we say to 'em? We got to say
somethin'/'^

"Tell 'em it's a neighborly act," replied Johnny.
" Say you'd *a' done it before if you'd 'a' knowed about
things."

"They got any wire?'* asked Wood. "I'm aimin'
to run a fence around them posts that'll make some thief
cuss some dark an' stormy night, as th' books say.
Staplin' is fine, but takin' a couple of turns around th'
posts an' staplin all around is better."

"I reckon so," answered Johnny. "If they ain't
tell Dailey to give you a spool an' charge it to me."

" Not bein' in on this personal I'll pervlde a spool,'^
offered the foreman. " I'd like to see this crew at work
over there — a man alius works harder for somebody

4 DIPLOMATIC MISSION 103

as a favor than he does for th* man that pays him.
It would give me a line on how hard I could crowd you
fellers. Wood, if you throw about three half-hitches
over them posts before you staple 'em, you'll bother
anybody that tries to unwind it from a hoss. Xxy it^
an' see."

" Yo're talkin' gospel," said Wood, grinning. " It'll
just wind up th' other way, an' before he knows what
he's doin' he'll have one plumb, fine job on his hands."

*'I'll give two bits, purty near," chuckled the fore-
man, *' to see some faces in this country when th' news
gets out about this here high-speed round-up. But I
don't reckon there'll be no trouble about it. I'm sayin'^
however, if you'll listen to mc, don't nobody start none.
Yo're job is takin' care of SV cows, an' not gun-fightin'»
'though I know there ain't no danger of anybody chasin*
you oflf th' range."

"There won't be no trouble, Lin," assured Cimar-
ron, " not if I has to shoot up th' whole blasted country.
An' I'm almin' to have some of them Triangle riders
join hands with us : we're roundin' up wide an' regard-
less, an' it stands to reason that we'll have to cross their
boundary line. But we'll be polite an' fair ; we'll tell
*em three times, smiling. After that it'll be their own,
buUheaded fault."

" There's one man on th' Triangle I hope is hard of
hearin'," chuckled Tohi Wilkes; "that's Gurley. Can
/ ask him, Cimarron? "

"You'll stay right here," replied the segundo.
"We'll have trouble enough, mebby, takin' things as
they come, without lugg^* along no canned grudges."

ao4 JOHNNY NELSON

" You watch me stay here I " retorted Wilkes.

*^ril do that very thing/* chuckled the foremaiu
"Yo're goin' to show Nelson over our west rang^e
tomorrow night, an' cover more ground out there on
account of there bein' fewer of you. Nelson," he said,
turning, ^' have you any choice of men for this here party
that's goin' to celebrate their freedom over in Gun-
sight?"

** I ain't sayin' a word — not one word."

"All right, then," continued the foreman. "Now,
boys, them that are goin' to have a few days off are :
Cimarron, Larry, Art, Slim, an' Bud. I ain't lendin'
no cayuses, wire, or no chuck waggin, for they ain't
needed goin' to Gunsight on a spree; but, I'm sayin'
that I don't expect to go in th' storeroom, nor th'
waggin shed, nor have no time to bother about my
hoss wrangler's job. If he wants to keep a lot of saddle
bosses away off somewhere where they can't be seen,
that's his business. He's doin' th' wranglin' for this
ranch, an' nobody else is. An'," he grinned, turning
toward the cook, " Lem, here, has a pore mem'ry an'
never would miss no pots an' pans."

" I has ; likewise I'm blind," said Lem. " But lemme
make a prophecy: If there are any cookin' utensils
that gets misplaced an' can't be found for near a week,
an' they ain't as clean when they're found again as they
was when they got lost, there'll be some h — 1-roarin',
excitin' times on this here packet. You all hear me
chirp?"

"Now, then. Nelson," said Deuce, "tell us about
Lacey an' — " he broke off his request as he dodged

A DIPLOMATIC MISSION 20^

Cimarron's booti for the segundo was a man of set
ideas, and he was going to turn in.

"If I hears any more about that cousin of yourn,
tonight," quoth Cimarron, pulling off the second boot
and balancing it, "there is goin' to be weepin' in th*
Deusenberry family. I'm turnin' in, an' I only turns in
when I want to go to sleep. I got plenty of work ahead
of me for a few days. An' I'm sayin', further, that if
there's any poker playin' tonight, it's goin' to be held
in th' kitchen, an' played by a lot of dumb men."

"An' if I ketches any poker parties in my kitchen,'*
announced Lem, arising and flexing his muscles, " I'll
heave 'em out again. I ain't goin' to clean up after no
pack of bums. You hear me real plain? "

" Couple of grouches," growled Slim, looking around.
" Get th' cards an' beans, Tom. We'll pull th' waggin
out of th' shed, an' play in there, out of th' wind. Some-
body else get th' lanterns."

"An' what are you goin' to get?" demanded Rich,,
pausing as he started to take a lantern down from its

peg-

" I wasn't goin' to say nothin' about that," answered

Slim, grinning; "but as long as you asked, I'll tell you.

I'm goin' to get th' money. Come on, Nelson; we'll

move th' waggin for them suckers."

" I don't mind lookin' like a sucker," retorted Rich,
getting the other lantern, " as long as I don't play like
one. Who'll buy Slim's watch from me tomorrow?"
he asked from the doorway.

"Yo're blockin' th' door, an' talkin' foolish," said
Thompson, shoving him aside. "Anybody wants that

ao6 JOHNNY NELSON

watch'll have to come an' see me. Don't forget them
beans," he called over his shoulder.

^* He ain't got time to get 'em/' mattered Tom. ** but
he'll have to wait for me, if / get 'enu Can you figger
him?"

CHAPTER XVI

A NEIGHBORLY CALL

AT DAYLIGHT there was hubbub, horseplay,
and banter on the Double X. Art French climbed
up into the chuck wagon (the cook's supply list in his
pocket), banged on a huge pot, and announced that
the race was on. Arch Wiggins, on this part of the
journey, at least, had plenty of assistant horse wran-
glers, for the eight riders, Cimarron with the rest,
herded the horses and started for the SV, happy as
schoolboys on a lark.

Reaching Gunsight, they caused quite some commo-
tion, and fired into the air to give zest to the occasion.
Dave mopped his beaded brow several times before
his share in the festivities slackened, and Two-Spot,
burning with a fever of curiosity, shuffled from the chuck
wagon being loaded in front of Dailey's to the saloon,
asking shrewd questions and making pertinent observa-
tions.

'^An' why th' waggin?" he asked Slim.

"To put Juniper in," answered that cheerful disciple
of George Washington. "We reckoned we'd like to
have a town closer to th' ranch, an' Gunsight ain't good
enough."

Two-Spot wandered around and put the question to
Cimarron.

The segundo regarded him with level gaze. " It's

JOHNNY NELSON

for th' widder's mite," he answered. "We're on tfa*
rustle, which ain't to be totd."

"Huh I" snorted Two-Spot, "you might be aimin*
for some widder, at that; but I'm sayin' that if she sees
you first, you'll need more'n eight men an* a wa^;in to
take her away from her home an' fambly. What are
you aimin' to rustle?"

" Every cow on a certain ranch between here
-an' Juniper," whispered Cimarron, looking stealthily
around.

*' Then don't you waste no time hangin' around here,"
warned Two-Spot, also looking stealthily around. *' Big
Tom's gettin' up early these momin's, I bets."

Cimarron gravely shook his head, whereat Two-
5pot remarked carelessly, apropos of nothing, "Smltty
has left th* range for good. He had two holes in his
hat, th* upper hole like a coffeepot with th' lid bade
He rode his own boss, an' was goin' strong when he
passed here. But nobody was chasin' him, then."

"Hey, fellers I" shouted the segundo, joyously,
" Smitty has follered Squint, with a couple of gun-shot
wounds in bis Mex. hat I '*

Laughter and cheerful remarks greeted the news, and
Dave had to verify it

"Bar H: mark two!" cried Norris. "Bring 'em
up, you ropers — th' irons are hot! "

Two-Soot, despairing of gaining any real informa-
ive's, shuffled out and went to Dailey's where
:h was putting the last of the provisions on

', French 1 " greeted Two-Spot, putting a foot

A NEIGHBORLY CALL 209

on the spokes of a wheel. "Where are you fellers
hcadin' for?''

"Up th' Juniper trail,*' answered Art. "Want to
come along? Have you got th' nerve to take a chance
with somebody else's cattle? "

Two-Spot looked at him intently. "What are you
aimin' to do with 'em?" he asked.

"What do folks usually do with cows that don't
belong to 'em ? " countered Art.

"Holy mavericks 1" muttered Two-Spot. "These
here ijuts ain't carin' a whole lot who knows about it 1
What you got th' waggin for? Aimin' to squat out
there an' steal 'em as fast as they grows up ? "

" That's for th' hides of them that gets killed. We're
goin' to round up every hoof, clean and prompt."

" You didn't stop at th' Doc's on yore way up, did
you ? " asked Two-Spot, paying no attention to the noise
made by several men who had mounted and were riding
toward the wa^on at a walk.

"Why?"

" Oh, nothin', only I reckon'd mebby you'd got some
of them little white pills he shoots into hisself ."

" Can you keep a tally? " asked Art, carelessly.

"lean; but I won't"

Art waved a hand at him. "He can tally; but he
won t.

Three ropes dropped over the surprised ex-tally man
and were drawn not unpleasantly tight He thought
it might be a joke, so he grinned; it would not do to
let anyone think he took it seriously, because it might
cause them to tak£ it that way. " Takes three men on

aio JOHNNY NELSON

hoBset to rope me," he jeered, chuckling. *' Better ger
th* re$t of th' gang before I gets rough an* boisterous.'*

** Can you set a horse ? ** asked Slim.

" I shore can't,*' regretted Two-Spot. " It's one of
th' sorrers of my life."

" Then we'll have to tie him on," said Wood. " Chuck
us out a couple of hobbles, Art."

'^I can ride any boss you can," boasted Two-Spot.
I was bustin' 'em before you was horned."

Then we'll hobble th' boss," laughed Wiggins.

** Loosen 'em up; I hears Dave a-callin' ! " exclaimed
Two-Spot, suspiciously eager to answer duty's call.

''Where you aimin' to have him swing?" demanded
Art '' Squint has got to be revenged."

" Th' first tree," growled Slim. " We gives you one
chance to save yoreself an' help rid this range of law*
breakers. Who got Squint ? "

"You go to h — II " blazed Two-Spot as the ropes
tightened. " Take 'em off me I "

" Who got Squint? " repeated Slim, threateningly.

"If I tells, will you let me out of these cussed
ropes? " asked the shivering victim.

" We will ! "

" Smitty got him," chuckled the captive. "Ask him
if you don't believe me. Take 'em off, now I " As soon
as he was freed he danced away, wary and anxious,
and bumped into Cimarron, whose muscular arms held
him as in a vice. ''Now, what's th' matter?" blazed
Two-Spot, wriggling in vain. " What you reckon yo'rc
goin' to do ? "

"We need a tally man on this nistlin' expedition,''

A NEIGHBORLY CALL 2ti

said Cimarron, ^' an' we like yore looks. Bring up a
cayuse, an' he can go bareback; either that or ride
^with Art."

" I'm ridin' with Art if I goes, which I ain't aimin'
to I " snorted Two-Spot. " I can't count up to more'n
ten," he protested.

" You won't have to count at all," Cimarron assured
liim. "All you got to do is make little pencil marks like
a picket fence on a piece of paper, or drop a pebble in
yore hat for every cow. You can drop pebbles, can't
you?"

** Not very good," deprecated Two-Spot. " I'm too

oncertain."

Well, when yo're oncertain," chuckled Slim, " yore
chuck will be oncertain. Th' oncertainer you are, th'
less you'll eat."

Cimarron picked Two-Spot up and put him in the
wagon, whereupon Slim and Wood rode up close to it,
ropes in hand. "There ain't nothin' oncertain about
Slim's ropin', or Wood's, neither," warned Cimarron.
** You better stay right in that waggin." He turned to
go to his horse. "Come on, boys! We're startin'

Dave went to a window to see them off, caught sight
of Two-Spot's appealing face in the wagon, and has-
tened to the door and out toward the vehicle.

*^HiI" shrilled Larry, his rope darting from his
hand.

"Hi I Hi! Hi!" yelled the others, their ropes
going to the mark.

**What'n h — 1!" shouted Dave, struggling, and

212 JOHNNY NELSON

glaring around. He was the center from wludi four
rope radii pointed to the cardinal points of the com-
pass. ^^Leggo me I Loosen 'em up, you coyotes I
Loosen up I ''

** Does Two-Spot go with us ? " asked Larry.

** Can we borrow him for a few days, to keep tally
for us on th* SV, Mr. Green ? '' politely inquired Bud,
tightening the rope.

*' You can ; an* go to blazes, for all I cares I " Miorted
Dave. He loosened the ropes and lost no time in get-
ting back to his window. ** Cuss 'em I All right; take
him 1 '' he yelled at the noisy cavalcade. " But if any-
thin' happens to him, you'll settle with Dave Green!
You hear me?"

They did not.

Margaret, responding to her brother's exdted sum-
mons, went to the door and her hands flew to her breast.
A wagon, loaded with packages, pulled up at the dilapi-
dated corral and eight rough-looking men, driving a
herd of horses, stopped near it. One of them kept on
at a walk and approached her. Removing his som-
brero, he pulled up and bowed.

" Ma'am," he said, slowly and kindly, a smile wreath-
ing his weather-beaten face, from which genial gray eyes
twinkled at her; *' Ma'am, we have come out to round
up for you. We understand that this ranch ain't been
combed for three years — an' it shore is time it was.
I saw a wire fence north of th' trail : how far does it
run?"

"Why, why — I didn't know — we were not expect-

A NEIGHBORLY VAHL ' 213

ins ^^y round-up. Isn't there some mistake?" she
faltered

*^ I don't reckon there is, Ma'am," Cimarron assured
her. '^ Mr. Nelson was tellin' us about th' SV, an' we
all reckoned it was time there was a round-up run over
here. You ought to know how many cows you got;
an' mebby there's some as should be branded."

"I hardly know what to say — how to thank you,"
Nlargaret replied. *' Won't you come in and speak to
father? He doesn't want to leave his bed for a few
days more."

'* Shore, Ma'am," said Cimarron, dismounting and
throwing the reins over the head of his horse, and
following her into the house.

" Father, this is Mr. — Mr. — ?" she looked at Cim-
arron inquiringly.

" Quantrell — Cimarron Quantrell," he smiled. " I
was born on th' banks of th' Cimarron when they wasn't
exactly safe for bein' bom on, but our fambly was
lucky."

" This is my father, Mr. Quantrell," smiled Marga-
ret. " I'll leave you men to talk by yourselves. If you
want me, please call."

"Arnold," said Cimarron, with simple -directness,
'* we've come out here, nine of us, from thi Double X,
to round up for you. Nelson said you hadn't held none
In three years, an' we reckoned it was time we was payin'
you a neighborly call. When you get an outfit of yore
own sotne day you can give us a hand. By helpln' each
other we'll both be helpin' ourselves. How far does
that wire fence run, up north of th' house?"

414 JOHNNY NELSON

** Mr. Quantrell, I don't know how to thank you,'*
replied Arnold '^ I was growing to think there were
no human beings in this country, but I'm beginning to
change my mind Even Doctor Reed has had a change
of heart"

** Don't you bank on th' Doc changin' his ideas,"
warned Cimarron. **He come out here because he
was made to come. He shore was plain kidnapped that
night."

** You amaze me I Surely you are mistaken. Who
would force him to come here ? "

"That ain't known," answered Cimarron, "but
everybody knows he was forced, all right Th' fool
•ays so, hisself."

" This is astonishing ! "

" How long did you say that wire was ? "

" Oh, yes ; I forgot It's nearly a mile ; why ? "

"I'm aimin' to hold a herd ag'in' it; it'll save men.
Now, we're aimin' to start on th' west end first, before
anybody knows what's up," and the segundo sketched
the operations as he had planned them. Leaving as
soon as he could, he was crossing the kitchen when
Margaret stopped him.

" You told father about Doctor Reed coming against
his will? " she asked

" Why, yes, Ma'am ; did I trample on anythin' ? "

" It doesn't matter — only I hoped to keep that from
him. It pleased him so to think the hostility was dymg
out"

" Ma'am, I'm shore sorry, but I didn't know diat
An' it's all right, too, for th' hostility is dying out**

A NEIGHBORLY CALL 215

•*It'$ perfectly all right Where do you expect to
cook; and what are you doing with Two*Spot?"

"We aim to cook on th' range, Ma'am; an* Two-
Spot is goin' to be our tally man. He was plumb tickled
at th' chance to help.''

" Can't you cook here ? Or, better yet, can't I cook
for you ? I would like to do something."

" Well, at first we'll not be near enough to th' house
for th' boys to have time to ride in for meals," Cim-
arron replied. " You see, as we move over th' range,
our cook moves with us, which saves time. Mebby when
'we work close at hand you can cook a meal for us —
but I'm sayin' that you don't know what yo're tryin' to
get into. I'll be leavin' now, Ma'am. If you hears
anythin', or sees anythin' that you don't understand,
don't you worry none. I'm goin' out to start th' boys.
Good afternoon. Ma'am."

She watched him join the riders and saw them, with
chuck wagon and horse herd, drive down toward Green
Valley, noisy with cheerful laughter and shouted jests.
They passed around a hill and became lost to her sight,
and soon the voices could be heard no more.

*^ Margaret I " came an excited, impatient call from
the front room.

'*Yes, Father; I'm coming," she answered, turning
and entering the house.

*^ It begins to look like people are getting friendly,"
he exclaimed, smiles playing on his drawn face. " Per-
haps things will change, and we can make the ranch a
success I "

** * Luck always turns,' " she smiled.

2i6 JOHNNY NELSON

*'Are you getting to believe in luck? " he demanded
'* ' I do ; when somebody's behind it pushing hard,' '*

she replied, turning her face away.

^^Are you crying my dear?'' he exclaimed, but she

had left the room.

While events were moving smoothly and swiftly on
the SV| a new freight wagon rumbled north over the
Highbank-Gunsight trail; and about the time that a
circle of tired but happy punchers sat around a roaring
fire on the west end of the SV ranch, the great wagon
rolled around the comer of the hotel in Gunsight and
the weary driver got down stiffly to put up and attend
to his four-horse team. After becoming acquainted
with George, and eating a hasty supper in the hotel,
Jerry Wheatley went around to Dave's to make the
acquaintance of that person and whoever else might
be in the saloon, and to tell about Wolf Forbes and his
trip to Highbank. He found the place quiet, but he
left it full of hysterical laughter, wet eyes, sore sides,
and some hiccups. And before he had gone to sleep,
Dave's patrons were emulating some of the substantial
citizens of Highbank in the avidity with which they
sought strength from Dave's merchandise. An occa-
sional burst of uproarious laughter brought the freighter
back from the shadowy boundaries of sleep and set
his bed shaking as he silently joined in. Realizing
that Wolf's miseries were going to do more for
him in the matter of getting acquainted along the way
than a dozen ordinary trips up the trail would accom*
plish, he smiled contentedly and fell asleep.

CHAPTER XVII

NEWS ALL AROUND

AT DAYLIGHT Jerry went on his way rejoicing;
the round-up started again in full swing on the
SV, crossing the line onto Triangle range, to the later
astonishment and vexation of Frank Gurley, Triangle
rider on that section, whose hasty visit to his bunkhouse
aroused a lively discussion, fortified him with Sam Gard-
ner and Jim Lefferts to protect the interests of their
ranch, and upon their return to the scene of activity,
fortified Cimarron's smiling, but firm outfit, with three
more men. In Highbank, Wolf Forbes, penniless now,
was beginning to go without liquor and drift toward
soberness, and the lambent flame of his reawakened
anger burned constantly stronger; while out on the
Double X, Johnny and the sleeping members of that
outfit awoke to a new day's work, and to a firmer and
warmer bond between them. The Bar H awakened
to a new puzzle ; the mysterious disappearance of Smitty
and the discussion which followed his inexplicable
absence resulted in Dahlgren being dispatched to Gun-
sight to see if the erring puncher had yielded to his
well-known thirst and might be found snoring in that
vicinity. Also, he was to keep an eye out for Wolf,
and to make cautious inquiry concerning him.

Dahlgren was most successful in his mission, accu-
mulating a fund of information staggering in its total

317

II 8 JOHNNY NELSON

and barren of reason* His first accretion of wisdom
came when he left East Canyon and descried numerous
punchers zealously bent upon an operation well known
to him, and he rode up for what information he might
be able to obtain. Hoping for a full loaf, expecting a
half, he left with a few crumbs which only increased his
appetite for more. In Gunsight his appearance caused
unnecessary hilarity, and his questions as to Smitty^s
location were received with impolite guffaws, followed
by an explicit description of Smitty's riding, looks,
words, and actions, coupled to various prophesies, vari-
ously stated. When he mentioned Wolf, a veritable
gale of laughter deafened and confused him, and the
roundabouti cryptic, and fragmentary references to
Wolf taxed his brain. He gathered the information
that Wolf was wrapped in hides as his preference in
perfumes ; that Wolf was in the skin business, without
competitors ; that he had descended in the social scale
to the point where he traveled as freight ; that he took
an arduous, unnecessary, and uncomfortable journey
and was to be known, henceforth and hereafter, as
Polecat, a name being better suited to his habits and
preferences. It was explained that he was not expected
back, which accounted for the half-masted flags and
the black bands on the hats. He learned that Smitty
was on the trail of Squint and would catch him if he
went far enough in the right direction, and that Polecat
was on the trail of Smitty, but would have to ride hard ;
and a further suggestion postulated the belief that
Squint was on the trail of Wolf. Gunsight was as gen-
erous in its liquor as it was in its explanations ; it was

NEWS ALL AROUND 219'

open-handed and lavish, and insisted that the distin-
guished Bar H ambassador imbibe freely, which he
did ; and when he was helped into his saddle and started
for home, he tried to repeat what he had heard so that
he would not forget it; and by the time he readied
the bunkhouse he had not forgotten anything but the
relations between the various parts of each thing to be
remembered, and his account was verbal hash. Big^
Tom learned, among other things equally lucid and
valuable, that Polecate Forbes went after Squint hunt-
ing Smitty's holy hat rounding up SV cows on the
Double X part of the Triangle journey and would not
be back until forty miles of hides went up toward
Jtmiper with Two-Spot keeping tally on . Cimarron^a
wagon.

In the presence of such loquacity. Big Tom lost the
power of speech, choked with feelings of a murderous
kind, and used the flat of his foot as a propulsive agents
which Dahlgren found helped him in getting to hia
bunk, where he sprawled out on his back and snored
through a doud of flies foregathered for their share
of what had dribbled.

The foreman strode to the horse corral, swearing at
every step, caught, saddled, and mounted his best horse
and rode off to see and hear for himsdf. The first
man he met was Cimarron, who was expecting visitors
after Dahlgren's departure, and had placed himself
where he would be seen easily. The segundo had been
thinking things over and had about come to the con-
dusion that it would be foolish to try to deny the part
the Double X was taking in the round-up; and when

220 JOHNNY NELSON

he caught sight of Big Tom riding toward him a feeling
of contempt swept over him and decided the question.

^^ There's more excitement on this ranch than IVe
seen in some time,'' smiled the Bar H foreman.
^' Makin' a clean sweep of everythin' that's got hoofs ? '*

*^ Clean is th' word," answered Cimarron, his smile
as friendly as the visitor's. "I reckon Lin is mebby
thinkin' more about beef, though."

"Aimin' to start a herd up th' trail?"

" I don't just know what dickerin' there may come
out of this," answered the round-up boss. " He says for
me to take some of th' boys an' round up over here.
There's no tellin' what he may do. I know that I can
report that there's quite some four-year-olds, an' a few
three-year-olds. Where th' devil th' cattle under four
years old are keepin' themselves I don't know. But if
he's aimin' to throw in a herd for Arnold an' send 'em
up th' trail with some of ours they'll be numerous
enough to make a showin'. He may be gettin' sweet on
this ranch, because of them Snake Buttes thieves. If
he is, I reckon Arnold wouldn't turn down a fair cash
offer for grazin' a couple of herds over here through
th' fall an' winter. He's got room for three times th'
number feedin' here now."

"There ain't no doubt about that," answered Big
Tom. " When are you aimin' to round up for strays
on our north end?"

"Why, there can't be many over there," replied
Cimarron. "Th' natural barriers would keep 'em
back. Have you noticed any? "

" Nary a one ; but if you want to make shore, I'U lend

NEWS ALL AROUND 221

you a couple of th* boys, 'though Fm shore gettin' short
of men."

** If you say you ain't seen none, that's good enough
for me until th' spring round-up, anyhow ; an' then we
can start combin' at the same time, if we do th' work
for th' SV, of course."

"What's Arnold askin' for th' SV, lock, stock, an'
barrel ? " bluntly asked Big Tom.

" Don't know," answered Cimarron, surprised. " I
don't reckon Lin would consider buyin' it, 'less, mebby,
he could sell th' Double X. But what's th' use of you
an' me talkin' about that ? I don't know nothin' except
orders, an' th' only orders I got was to run this round-up
an' get back as soon as I can. I'll be leavin' you now,
for I'm workin' harder than any man here, which shore
is sayin' somethin'."

'*An' I got to be ridin' on," said the Bar H foreman,
and he made the words good. Reaching the Doc's
shack, he dismounted and went inside, where he re-
mained for nearly an hour, came out, glanced at the
bullet holes and then went on to town, where he found
the saloon deserted except for the proprietor.

Dave looked up and let his hand rest on the cap-and-
ball under the bar, said cap-and-ball being .44 caliber,
with the annoying habit of often sending one through
the barrel, and igniting the caps on the nearest cham-
bers and sending their contents along each side of the
barrel with roving commissions.

'' Well, Dave ! " smiled Big Tom, motioning for a
drink that he did not want, '^ I'm lookin' for strays—*
two-laigged strays."

222 JOHNNY NELSON

" What you wants is another outfit to ride herd on
this one/' sympathized Dave. ^^Lookin* for Smitty?"

" He*s one of 'em. Have you seen him ? "

'' I have. He didn't stop here, so I don't know where
he got it," said the proprietor, grinning; '^but from
th' way he acted, insultin' folks, I reckon he must 'a'
been bit by a passel of snakes, an' took too much cure."

*^ That's th' worst of them sponges," regretted Big
Tom, a scowl going over his face. " I don't mind a
periodic if there's plenty of time in between; but Smit-
ty's periodics are like th' days in th' week durin' a
round-up — they come too close together. Have you
seen any others?"

'^ I ain't — not since Wolf was in here one afternoon
last week," answered Dave. *^ Let's see : that was th*
day or Buffalo come down from Sherman, which would
make it on a Friday. But," he said sorrowfully, *^ I
has had distressin' news about Wolf. Young Jerry
Wheatley, who's freightin' now, stopped in here only
last night an' says Wolf was down in Highbank drinkin*
^em out of everything but water. He says yore puncher
was on th' worst bender he's seen in months, which I
says means somethin', comin' from a town like High-
bank." .

Big Tom's fist crashed on the bar. "Cuss it!" he
exclaimed wrathfully, " that's th' worst of them period-
ics I You can't never tell when they'll start, an* nobody
knows when they'll stop ! "

" You lose, both ways," nodded Dave. " Jerry says
he didn't have no boss, saddle, or guns ; an* a man caa
travel rapid on what they'd sell for."

NEWS ALL AROUND 213

•c

They wouldn't buy th* cayuse/' reflected Big Tom,
seein' as he ain't supposed to own no Bar H animal.
But I reckon it might 'a' strayed th' Lord only knows
how far. We ain't noticed no cayuse missin\ so far, but
that don't mean nothin'. All right 1 He can come back
yAitn he goes broke an' sobers up an' he can walk, d — n
him I Was Lang with him ? "

'^Lang? Is he missin', too?" Dave's astonishment
.was genuine.

*^ Disappeared like th' earth swallowed him,'*
growled Big Tom. " They've hunted all over for him,
an' can't find nothin' at all. I'm sayin' this country is
goin' loco; an' I'll give a hundred dollars cash to find out
what's at th' bottom of it all. Why, cuss it 1 Sherwood
is roundin' up for the SV — what's th' matter with himf^
Is he loco, too ? "

'* Mebby he figgers on makin' them idle punchers of
his'n bring in somethin' besides appetites," guessed
Dave. " I don't blame him at all."

'* Mebby; but they acts like they was havin' a picnic
out there. Have you heard anythin' about th' Double
X startin' a herd of their own up on th' trail?"

*^ Not a word ; but ain't they throwin' their cattle into
McCuUough's this year ? "

"They're supposed to; but you can't never tell,"
answered the foreman. He glanced around and thea
looked fixedly at his companion. " Yo're not forgettin'
what I said about a hundred dollars cash, arit you?"
he asked.

"That's somethin' I ain't likely to forget,'^ replied
Dave ambiguously, " if you mean it, shore."

924 JOHNNY NELSON

** rm meanin* it *though I ain't wantin' you to have
no rivals," replied Big Tom, significantly. *' You hears
an' sees a lot in here an' there ain't no use of lettin*
anybody else in on it, an' splittin' up with you."

'* There ain't nobody else goin' to get in on it,*'
truthfully assured Dave.

"Nelson got over his grouch ag'in' wimmin?**
laughed the foreman.

" Don't reckon so; but he ain't seen her yet, I guess,'*
replied Dave, grinning. "When he does, there ain't
no tdlin' what's goin' to happen to him. Don't it beat
all ? You better look out, Tom ; he may edge you out
of th' game."

" Me 1 " demanded the foreman. He let out a roar
of laughter. " I ain't got no interest thataway at all.
I passed, cold." He turned away. "Don't forget
Dave."

"Goin' so soon?"

" Yes ; I'm ridin' back. Adios/'

Dave stared out of the window for a few minutes,
his face slowly getting redder. " Yo're lyin'. Big Tom,"
he muttered. "Yo're aimin' to get that girl more'n
ever you was. An', d — n yore shriveled soul I Do I
look like a Judas ? "

Down on the SV, Cimarron was weighing something
in his mind. Perhaps he had said too much to the
Bar H foreman. Coming to a sudden decision he rode
over to Bud Norris.

"Hello, Boss! " said Bud, grinning from ear to ear.
"Big Tom's visit ridin' you?"

NEWS ALL AROUND 225

" Bud, weVe got enough men here for this toy round-
up," replied Cimarron. " There ain't no use of robbin*
th' ranch of a man that ain't really needed here, an'
I'm wishin' to send word to Lin by somebody who
won't shuffle it. Now, you listen close," and the round-
up boss gave him the facts of Big Tom's visit. *' Tell
him that, an' what I said. He ought to know my leads
in case that big coyote rides out to th' house an' gets
curious. Now you tell me what I've just told you."
Bud complied, and when he had finished, his companion
nodded. ^^Big Tom ain't seen you. You go north,
foller th' Juniper trail back, an' don't pass within sight
of th' Doc's place. Tell Lin to keep you with th' outfit
— I don't need you here, an' he's too short handed.
Gtft a-goin'."

Bud obeyed and in due time he came within sight of
Gunsight, where a growing thirst lured him to ride in
for a visit at Dave's. The proprietor still was smarting
under the sting of Big Tom's attempt to bribe him and
was glad to see someone who would help him get his
mind on pleasant subjects. Dave regarded the story
of the kidnapping of Wolf as being in that category,
and when Bud left he was howling with laughter, and
drove his horse toward home at a speed which awak-
ened a resentful surprise in that animal.

" Th' locoed sons-of-guns I " repeated the delighted
rider at intervals. ''I knowed we had some locoed
sage hens under our roof, but I thought they had limits I
Why th' devil wasn't / in on that? /'m stickin' too
close to home nights; but not no more. Any future
Double X parties goin' to Gunsight will shore have

«6 JOHNNY NELSON ^

litde Buddie right In their midst I Th' nervy coyotes {
Th* stem-windin' fools I Hal Ha! Hal

Further on he gave vent to another burst of laughter
as a new thought struck him. *^ It's all Nelson's fault.
Cuss it I now I know why there has been so much hilaritjr
about th' kidnappin' of th' Doc I They was plannin' to
go it one better — an' I'm sayin* that they shore sue*
ceeded. They aimed purty high, but they done it, an*
without even a scratch. I wonder who put th' sand
burr under Smitty's saddle? Cuss that west section 1
I'm goin' to change an' ride our southeast line I "

When he pulled up at the bunkhouse door he found
Lin and two other men who had ridden the last trick
on the west section and he delivered Cimarron's message
as soon as he dismounted. Answering the foreman's
few questions, he let out a whoop and unburdened his
news about Wolf and Smitty, painting the word pictures
in a way which did him credit, and he felt the thrill of
pride of an artist in the responses he obtained. After
the greater pressure of their hilarity had escaped they
began the puzzle of trying to name the jokers, and
their foreman did that for them.

" Friday night," mused Lin. " Huh I Th' last that
went to town was Slim, Tom, Gus, an' Bill. An' it
was Friday night, too, because they said somethin' about
hearin' Buffalo rumblin' in. That makes it Friday
night, an' puts 'em in town when th' wagon was there.
Well, I'm d — dl I can believe it of Slim and Tom»
puTty near, but not Bill an' Gus; still, there ain't no
tellin' what any man of this fool outfit will do after
h^'s been in Dave's all evenin'. I'm sayin' that mebbj

NEWS ALL AROUND 227

tiiey got a tail holt on a mean varmint; that's their
business, 'though, an' they ain't helpless kids."

*^ Mebby Wolf don't know who done it, but blames
us all," suggested Rich Morgan, unconsciously resting
his hand on the butt of his gun. " In which case I'm
all eyes an' ears from now on."

** He knows who was in town that night," replied the
foreman. *' But if he goes shootin' promisciously like,
I'll have to take my rifle an' go get him, an' any way
will do." He thought for a moment ^^He knows
who to look for. Well, they started it, an' nobody's
got any right to help 'em out, not if he goes about it
open an' aboveboard. Now, if Big Tom Huff comes
a-visitin', you don't know nothin' at alL Cimarron sort
of declared us in an' I'll play our cards, myself. You
better fix that horse corral. There's five posts loose
near th' northeast corner. Set 'em tight an' bind around
th' corner with a couple strands of wire. Keep it out->
side as much as you can so th' barbs won't do no dam-
age. Th' locoed fools — kidnappin' a man like Wolf 1 "

" Wait till Nelson comes in tonight," exulted Deuce,
who by this time had learned quite a lot about the old
Bar-20 outfit. ^' We got somethin' that beats th' kid-
nappin' of th' Doc every way 1 "

" Huh I " muttered the foreman thoughtfully. " That
was th' night Dailey played in such hard luck, wasn't it?
Shore it was. Then Nelson was there, too." He
paused and looked out of the window for a moment.
'* Well, go out an' wrestle with them posts. Bud, you
go on day shift with Tom an' Nelson. I'm takin' th*
second night shift with Bill an' Gus."

£28 JOHNNY NELSON

Darkness had fallen when Johnny and Tom Wilk<
rode in from the day shift after being relieved by the
first night shift They had heard the bare outlines of
the joke, and now got it as completely as the foreman
could give it to them while they ate their supper.
Johnny looked serious and did not laugh as much as
they had expected he would

"What's th* matter, Nelson?" bantered Matt
"Jealous?"

Johnny pushed back. " Boys, youVe forced my hand
I wasn't goin' to say nothin' to nobody about some few
things till I had made all th' plays I was aimin' to make.
But this here joke on Wolf, gettin' out like it did, shore
forces me to lay down my cards, face up. An' I want
tfa' whole range to see 'em — to spread th' news before
it's too late. It ain't my way to sneak out of anythin'
I've started an' let some innocent party take th' come-
back. I freighted Wolf away; I shot th' holes in
Smitty's hat; I drove Squint out of th' country; I kid-
napped th' Doc, an' I killed Lang in a fair fight, his wits
ag'in' mine, in fair sight of each other, when I was mired
tn them cussed quicksands. I can prove what I say by
showin' where Squint's things are hid, by Wolf's six-
gun, that I kept to remember him by, an' by describin'
what them holes in Smitty's hat looked like. I was
savin' Wolf's gun to show it to him, sometime, an' ask
h!m if he couldn't take a joke. Now I ain't apologizin'
to nobody for nothin' I've done. I daim I was justified-
—an' I'll leave it to you if th' joke on Wolf wasn't a
hummer? Wasn't it a three-ringer, with a side show?
I says it was ; an', further, I says I'll do it over again if

NEWS ALL AROUND 229

I feel like it. No cussed man can spy on me without
riskin' a comeback. An* I says there wasn't nothin' I
could do to him that would 'a' been as good a joke as
^what I did do. Now, Sherwood, I better be ridin* to
tell Cimarron's boys about it, so. they won't be caught
off their guard in case Wolf gets to them before he
looks anywhere else. I'm wantin' to warn Slim 'specially

he was in town that night. Then I'll rustle to town

an' stay there. I reckon he'll come to Gunsight, an'

I'm aimin' to be there when he does, to ask him if I

ain't the cussedest practical joker he ever knowed. If

he*s gone an' got on th' prod about a little joke like that,

then I'll have to look out for myself. I'm startin' now.'*

"No use goin' now," said the foreman quickly.

'* That's a bad trail for a stranger to tackle at night,

an' that cayuse of yourn is too good to risk bustin' her

laigs. If you leave here before daylight — say half an

hour before — tomorrow mornin', you'll be in plenty of

time. Them boys ain't kids. I'm honin' to hear about

these jokes, an' so are th' boys. You stay here, with us,

tonight"

" Lin's dead right," earnestly endorsed Tom Wilkes,
the others unanimously backing him up. "You ain't
goin' till we hears about 'em — that is, of course, if you
feels like tellin' us."

Johnny looked from one to another and then sat
down again, and for the rest of the evening he had an
•audience which expressed its appreciation of what it
heard, and in unrestrained enthusiasm. When he had
finished and started to turn in, the foreman strode over
to him and held out his hand.

430 JOHNNY NELSON

** Ndsoii, Fm proud to know you. Put it there I "
The others shook his hand ^th an enthusiastic sin-
cerity which wanned Johnny's heart, and he fell asleep
with a smile on his face.

CHAPTER XVIII

WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY

IN GUNSIGHT, Dailey nibbed his eyes and cursed
the slowness of his breakfast fire, and then padded
in his stocking feet to the window and looked out in
time to see a black horse go past with a reach and swing*
ing smoothness which brought an appreciative glow into
his blinking eyes. The rider sat his saddle with a supple
grace and erectness which harmonized with the beau-
tiful leg action of his mount.

"He ain't stoppin'," muttered Dailey. "Must 'a*
been up to Juniper. Vm sayin' again that if that pack
of coyotes lets him start ahead of 'em out of rifle range,
there ain't nobody from down here as will ever get
dose enough to see him again. There's mebby purtier
things on earth than a boss like that, but I'm admittin'
I never saw 'em. Cuss that fire — it's smokin' again I '*

The Doc heard the rhythmic beat pass his shack,
muttered drowsily, and turned over to go to sleep again.
" Hope it's that Smitty, blast him 1 " and his snores grew
steadily louder.

Leaving the Double X quite some time before day-
light. Pepper had been sent over the upper trail, which
joined the Juniper trail north of town. Now she
apumed the Highbank-Gunsight road beneath her flying
hoofs with an eagerness and power that belittled the
twenty-five miles she already had put behind her.

aji

aaa JOHNNY NELSON

Johnny stroked the satin skin under which the power-
ful muscles of her sloping shoulders rippled and
bunchedi and pride surged through him.

'*I used to think Hoppy*s Red Eagle, an* Red's
Ginger was th* real thing in hossflesh/' he told her»
"but they was cows compared to you, Pepper Girl.
There ain't nothin' on four laigs has any right to look
at you — an' some few on two laigs, too." Swinging
around the hill where Green Valley met the trail he
patted her again. "There they are, little hoss, ridin'
off to comb th' range. See that tied-in pinto Slim's
a-ridin'? Show it what runnin' is — I want to talk
to him."

Slim glanced around, drew rein and had a brief argu-
ment with the pinto, which did not like Slim, or his habit
of stopping suddenly. "Changed yore mind?" he
asked, smiling.

"In quite some ways," replied Johnny, forthwith
explaining the situation in terse sentences. Slim's mouth
opened and forgot to close until his groping mind at
last mastered what his ears fed to it, when the moutl
opened wider and gave vent to loud, sustaining laughter.
Finally subsiding, he demanded the story in detail, but
Johnny wheeled around.

" I'm wamin' you, not amusin' you, you human rope,'*
retorted Johnny. "If Wolf comes back he'll mebby
come a-shootin' — pass th' word along."

Slim shoved his hat well back on his head and jammed
his gloved hands against his sides. " Th' h — 1 he will I "
he rejoined. " Let him, then. He ain't th' only man
out here as packs a gun; I mebby got one, myself.

JFHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY 233

Havin' been kindly warned, now Fm all ready to be
amused. Tell it slow. If you can't talk it, sing it.
Wait 1 Here comes Cimarron."

The round«up boss rode up wearing a grin, in sym«
pathy with Slim's far-reaching guffaws. ** What's th'
scandal?" he demanded.

** Th' cussedest thing you ever heard," laughed Slim,
putting his hand on Pepper's bridle. ^* Nelson is in a
hurry to go somewhere, but he's got to give us all of it
now that he's whetted my appetite with th' mustard.'*

" I want to get to town an' give Wolf his chance,"
objected Johnny.

" If he's achin' to smoke up he'll come here, won't
he ? " demanded Slim. *^ This is th' place to wait for
him — right here."

*'A11 of which I admits is interestin'," said Cimarron;
"but what is it all about?"

"Slow now," prompted Slim. He looked around.
"Would you listen to that dickey bird up on th' hill?'*
he asked.

The dickey bird was Larry Hallock, whose voice
barely reached them. "What do you reckon yo'rc
doin' ? " demanded Larry, but in far different language.
"Gettin' married?" Further inquiries not receiving
the attention he felt they were entitled to, he suspected
trouble and made haste to get where he could hear about
it. "Hello, Nelson 1" he smiled as he joined them.
"Lookin'forTwo-Spot?"

" No ; where is he? " demanded Johnny.

" I reckon he's downin' liquor in Dave's about now,"
answered Cimarron. " He's been raisin' th' devil for

a34 JOHNNY NELSON

a drink which he didn't get Slim, th* fool, owns up
that he gave him a dollar last night — an' when we woke
up this momin' oar tally man had disappeared. But
that ain't tellin' me what Slim was hee-hawin' about,
or about Wolf.*'

" Slowy an' ddiberate, widi everythin' in/' chuckled
Slim. "Go ahead."

Johnny complied, to their hilarious enjoyment, and
when the tale was ended, Slim wiped his eyes, pointed
out over the range, and said: "You can stay right
here an' do somethin' worth while. Not one man in a
thousand would come back with that pinned on his shirt
tail — an' Vm sayin' Wolf ain't that man. He blames
th' Double X — an' there's only twelve of us. He's
shore about four bein' in town that night, but I ain't
lettin' my modesty stop me from sayin' that, barrin'
Cimarron here, he knows that th' four who was there
are th' best six-gun men on our ranch ; an' that we am't
takin' lessons from nobody when it comes to throwi'
lead. He might get one of us, mebby two, an' I'll
stretch h — 1 out of that word probability an' say he
might get three ; but he won't get us all, an' he knows
it. But worse than shootin' it out is what he'll have
to face ; an' he hates ridicule worse than a rattler hates
a king snake. You ain't goin' to set in Dave's, takin'
it easy, while we're sweatin' out here — I got a nice
little place where you'll fit in an' stop th' gaps that
Larry is alius leavin' open."

" Gaps I " snorted Larry, indignantly. " Trouble is,
you drive 'em so hard they gets stubborn an' go on th'
prod. Anybody'd think you never saw a cow before^

WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY 235

th' way you acts. You ought to know you can't crowd
'em too hard.''

Cimarron cogitated. " If yo'rc aimin' to meet with
Wolf, Nelson," he said, judicially, " I reckon you'd do
better to stay here. He ain't got no reason to want
anybody in town — nobody there has done anythin' to
him. An' he knows none of us boys hang out there,
except once in a while. What's more, he ain't likely
to want to face Gunsight till he's squared up for his
kidnappin'. As to him comin' back, I ain't nowise shore
he won't. Some fellers are so full of th' idea of re-
venge that everythin' else plays second fiddle when they
go on th' prod. They go fair mad an' don't care about
nothin' else. Wolf's bad — bad as a mad rattler. I
figger this is th' place for you. I'm sayin' this, too:
If Slim had worked that razzle on him I wouldn't take
a hand; but, knowin' Slim didn't, if that venomous
reptile comes tearin' around here with his guns cocked,
I'U just nat'rally puncture him at long range with my
Remington. I ain't sympathizin' with no man that
shoots till he knows why he's doin' it."

"Stay here till this afternoon, anyhow," said Slim.
" We'll be needin' our tally man before night, an' you
can ride to town, look around, an' bring Two^pot back
with you. I'm sayin' Wolf won't come back — I'm
cussed shore / wouldn't in his place."

" Shore," endorsed Larry. " Turn yore cayuse loose
an' get one from Arch — take that bay gelding — he's
near human at this kind of work. Anyhow, he's got
more senM than Slim."

2z6 JOHNNY NELSON

Dawn in Highbank found a sobered Wolf, unarmed,
pennilessi and hectic, with a steadily growing rage. He
went to place after place in search of a horse, finally
borrowing one from a saloon-keeper who knew the
foreman of the Bar H. Promising to use the animal
only as far as the ranch, and to send it back behind
the freight wagon, he threw the saddle on it and then
rode around in search of a gun. Knowing about the
joke, and feeling the man's murderous rage, no one
would lend him a weapon. He had about decided to
leave without one when he chanced to pass the small
horse corral and shed behind Pete Wiggins' hotel, and
espied a sodden figure asleep against the palings.
Stealing the puncher's gun he rode away and in a few
minutes was cursing the ford, of which a few yards
was swimming water. Emerging on the other bank
he pushed up the bluff trail at a walk and then, reaching
level ground, set off for his ranch at a pace which might
have killed a poorer horse.

As he rode, his mind became clearer and clearer, and
he began to unravel the tangled skein of his abduction.
Like his kind who, accustomed to hours of solitude,
often talked their thoughts, he did his thinking aloud.

" Double X, says Buffalo. Mebby. First we'll ac-
cuse everybody else in town. Dave?" he laughed
sneeringly at the thought " Dailey ? Fanning? Jerry?
George ? Why them ? They ain't th' kind to stack up
ag'in' such a risk for th' fun of it; an' they ain't none
of 'em got any other reason. Dailey an' Fanning was
in Dave's all evenin' — they never left th' table. Jerry
was snoring in his shop when I went around th' buildin's,

WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY 237

an' he wouldn't dare try to kidnap a blind pup. George
is another without nerve, an' he was snorin' worse than
Jerry. Nelson? He was with th' others. Mebby he
did it, but I'm thinkin' there was more'n one man mixed
up in that. If my senses hadn't been knocked out of
me I'd know more about it. We'll put him aside as a
possibility.

" Them Double X coyotes ain't lovin' me, 'specially
since I've been ridin' sign along their line. There was
four of 'em, an' they was all primed for a good time ;
an' from what I heard 'em say about th' Doc an' Squint
an' me an' th' rest of our outfit, they wasn't needin^
much urgin' to tackle a job like that But they was in
Dave's too ; still, they left before I did.

" That leaves my own gang of practical jokers. They
knowed that I was in town, but they didn't know I was
goin' to ride home that night because I didn't know it
myself. They might 'a' done it, but I'll find that out
cussed quick when I get back.

"Who else was there? Dailey, Fanning, Jerry, Dave,
Nelson — Two-Spot/ He wasn't in sight at all. Dave
was raisin' th' roof about him not bein' around. But
h — 1! Twenty Two-Spots wouldn't 'a' tackled a play
like that; an' he couldn't sling a rope, nor carry a man
as heavy as me that distance. Slim can rope — he's
the best down here. I don't remember much about it
till I was put down near th' waggin ; but I'm shore that
th' man that throwed that rope was an expert.

" Two-Spot ? I don't see how he could fit in — cuss
him! I got it! Somebody must 'a' seen me movin^
'round or else nobody would 'a' knowed I was in town-^

£38 JOHNNY NELSON

None of them fellers could 'a* seen me; but Two-Spot
could have. Whoever did that job had to be told I was
there; an' I'm sayin' they was told. That bum hates
me ; he'll never forget my kickin' him off'n th' tie-rail
an' makin' him dance th' tenderfoot's fandango. I'm
goin' to see Two^pot after I stop at th' ranch — an'
if he don't talk fast and straight, he'll dance to h — 1
this time I "

It was not yet noon when Wolf swept up to his bunk-
house and rode in through the door, leaning forward
in the saddle to clear the rafters, his gun freezing Big
Tom and Dick Carson as stiff as statues.

" Don't you move till I says so 1 " he snarled. " Who
was in town th' night Buffalo stopped there on his way
home ? Think quick ; an' talk straight I "

"What are you doin'? Goin' locof demanded
the foreman. He stopped in his tracks when he saw
the look on his puncher's face.

" I'm askin' th' questions I " snapped Wolf, his rage
climbing anew. " You answer 'em, an' pronto/ Who
was there that night?"

" Don't know ; but none of our boys was."

"Nobody left here at all that night?" demanded
Wolf.

" Not one."

"How do you know? That was near a week ago.
How do you know they was all here?"

" That was th' first night you went on Nelson's trail,"
answered the foreman somewhat angrily. "I told
them to stay home, an' give you plenty of room,
did it"

IVHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY 239

*^I reckon they was glad to do it," sneered Wolf.
^* Coyotes don't go cougar hunting less'n th' pack is
big/'

*' They might as well stay home as go on a drunk in
Highbank,*' retorted Big Tom, coldly.

For a moment Wolf was balanced on a narrow edge,
but controlled himself because of genuine liking for his
foreman. " Don't you ever come that close again,** he
said, almost in a whisper. '^ Do you know why I went
to Highbank? You ought to, for I reckon everybody
does by this time," he grated.

" I'm listenin' to you," answered Big Tom. " I don't
know why you went."

Wolf dismounted, drove the horse out of the house,
and paced up and down the long room in a frenzy of
energy.

*^ I was roped off my cayuse ridin' home that night.
I must 'a' fell on my head, for I don't know nothin'
about it till I got to town. When I came to my senses
I was bound, blindfolded, an' gagged, an' my head
was spinnin' an' near bustin' with pain. I was dumped
into Buffalo's wagon, pushed in among a load of hides,
an' staked out so I couldn't move. All that day I lay
there under that tarp, joltin' over that long trail, near
faintin' with th' pain of th' lashin's an' th' gag, swelterin^
in th' heat an' stink, sick with th' pain in my head,
parched an' burnin' with thirst, ragin' with my thoughts,
mile after mile. There was times I must 'a' lost con*
sdousness ; but I can remember a-plenty I

^' Down in Highbank I was hauled out by a gang of
cacklin' sage hens who thought it was a joke. If I'd

240 JOHNNY NELSON

bad a ginii an* conld V used it* Td 'a' showed *cm
what kind of a joke it was I " He flew into a burst
of rage which awed his companions, and he nearly
wrecked the room before he subsided, his words one
quivering stream of profanity. '^An' what have I got
to face ? " he shouted. " What have I got to live dow^n ?
I'll be th' laughin'stock of this whole country till I die,
an' after I But I can show 'em that it costs somethin*
to make a fool of Wolf Forbes ; an' I will, if I dies for
it I I want a six-gun, an' a rifle, an' yore pet boss. I'm
ridin' to town to see th' one man who can tell me where
to start, an' I'm ridin' alone."

"Think it was Nelson?" asked Carson.

"Mebby; but I'm not sayin' till I know," snapped
Wolf, pacing again. " I'm askin' you : Do you figger
ropin' an' kidnappin' Wolf Forbes was any one-man
job ? Is there any man in this country that would tackle
that job, alone, for th' fun of it? Yo're right. I says
not, too. An' if he didn't do it for th' fun of it, would
he 'a' dared tackle it, at all ? What I mean is, if he did
it to get rid of me, wouldn't he 'a' killed me from that
ambush. I'm tellin' you he'd 'a' figgered it would be a
tot safer to shoot me, for there wouldn't be th' risk at
th' time, an' th' dead shore danger of th' comeback.
One man, alone, would 'a' shot ; three or four might 'a'
took a chance with th' rope. I'm ridin' to town to learn
for shore ; an' I'm ridin' now. Carson, saddle me th^t
hoss, while I get th' guns I want. Gimme a drink ofi^
yore flask, Tom."

" You shore you want it? "

" Gimme a drink. I know what I want"

WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY 441

In a few minutes he rode north at a dead run, headed
for the over-mountain trail, and it was not until he was
gone that the foreman realized that he had not told his
puncher a word about the events which had taken place
during his absence.

Wolf crossed the mountain, turned to the left, and
went around Gunsight on the west, heading back toward
town to approach it on its blind side. He rode up behind
the hotel shed, dismounted and crept along it, and as he
passed a crack in the warped boards his eye caught a
movement, and he stopped to peer through the crack.
Two-Spot was crawling out from under the saloon.
Arising to his feet, the tramp looked carefully around
for signs of any of Cimarron's outfit who might have
come after him, and then slipped through Dave's rear
door.

The watcher stiffened, and a sudden thought sent his

rage up to the border line of madness. Two-Spot's

mysterious sleeping quarters were no longer a mystery

to him. His eyes swept the side of the saloon, and the

narrow space between its foundation sills and the

ground. This open space ran along three sides of the

building and he knew that a man under the floor could

see the feet and ankles of anyone who passed along

the building. Returning to his horse he mounted and

rode off the way he had come, careful to keep the shed

between him and Dave's rear wall. Reaching an arroyo,

he dropped into it and followed it until far enough

from town, and then, keeping under the cover of hills

and brush, he emerged upon the trail and loped along

it into Gunsight. Dismounting in front of Dailey's, he

14a JOHNNY NELSON

wmlked swiftly and quietly toward Dave's, bending low
to keep under the two front windows, and paused at
the door to listen.

''He I He I HeV shriUed Two^pot, wanning to
the liquor he had taken. '' I'd 'a' liked to died when
Jerry told about him. I could smell them hides before
they turned th' comer of th* hotel that night. They
was so odorous they near made me side An' if he
went into 'em a Wolf, I'm sayin' he come out a Polecat ;
this range never will forget it He can't never live it
down — never I An' Jerry's tellin' it all along th' way,
too. I'm wonderin' if he'll come back."

Dailey laughed sarcastically. '' I'm bettin' he won't.
No man would."

" I'm shore / wouldn't," chuckled Fanning. " I'd
ship off to South Americky, pronto — an' I wouldn't
care what happened to th' ship while I was on it,
neither."

^*ril take three to one he does come back," said
Dave.

^* Is twenty dollars too much?" asked Dailey.

" Twenty to my seven suits me," replied Dave. " I'U
take th' same from Jim, too."

" Yo're on," chuckled Dailey.

•• M,e, too," replied Fanning.

A man slipped through the door» a gun in each hand.
**Dave wins I" he snarled. ^^Keep 'em both on th*
barl" he snapped at Dave, who forthwith forgot, for
the moment, all about the cap-and-ball. The little group
in front of the bar stiffened into whatever postures they
had been caught in, their eyes on the muzzles of the

WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY 443

Steady guns. Death hung poised on Wolf's thumbs
like a hawk balanced in the blue, ready to strike. The
only sounds in the room were the hushed breathing of
four men facing destruction for the slightest slip, the
insistent buzzing of a bee cruising across the ceiling
and the soft slip/ slip/ of the gunman's feet as he did
them forward a few inches at a time. His face was
ghastly and working with rage, his power concentrated
in his dull, threatening weapons. He jabbed one of
them at Two-Spot

" Step over there, on th' end I " he snapped. " I'll
shoot at th 'first move," he warned them all, feeling
the hostility which he faced. Three of them were
armed and needed only an instant's carelessness or inde-
cision on his part to prove that their courage was only
held in leash by calculating reason. '^Not a move,
cuss you I " he warned, his eyes not for a moment leav-
ing the three armed men. Dailey's face was tense, but
his body had slouched into a relaxation, the danger of
which was well known to Wolf. Fanning's eyes were
glinting and his lips were hard and thin, while enmity
peered out of his eyes as though it were a living thing.
Dave, his face paling after the redness of his first flush
of anger, stood as a cat stands in the presence of a foe.
Not for a fleeting instant did Wolf dare to take his
eyes from this crouched danger.

"You'd 'a' done better if you hadn't come back,"
said Dave, quiedy, but the timbre of his voice sent a
chill up Two-Spot's spine.

"Don't move yore paws," snarled Wolf. "Two-
Spot, come over here, by th' bar."

t44 JOHNNY NELSON

Two-Spot obeyed, sullen and fearful, taking a place
which shortened the arc of danger for Wolf.

'* Where was you that night?*' demanded the gun«
man.

Two^pot stared at him and tried to moisten his
throat

"Where was you?*' snapped Wolf, venomously.
"Talk fasti"

" I don't remember," answered Two-Spot

" You was in yore hang-out under this floor," accused
Wolf. "Didyouseeme?"

" It was too dark," answered the tramp, flashing an
appealing look at Dave, whose face was growing red
again.

" Not with th' light streamin' out of them side win-
dows I Who did you tell ? "

" I didn't see you."

" Who did you teU ? Th' Double X ? "

" No ; it was too dark."

Warned by a premonition of impending disaster,
and feeling that they were unawed, and restrained only
by reason. Wolf ordered the three armed men to turn
their backs to him, which they did with a slowness which
in itself was an insult He took the guns of Dailey and
Fanning and ordered Dave to come nut and join them.
Dave took time enough to keep his dignity unsmirched.
Free from the necessity of keeping a high-tension vigi-
lance, Wolf walked up to Two-Spot and struck him on
the face with the heel of his hand.

"Did you tell th' Double X?" he demanded
"D — n you, answer mel

WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY 445

■^^^^^— ■— ^"i^— ' ■ I ■ ^^— — m ill ^ II I — ^— ^M^— — ■»»— w^— .1

" No," whispered Two-Spot, and In his bleared eyes
there smouldered the sparks of a fire long dormant

" Did you tell Nelson ? Quick I ''

Dailey and Fanning hung on the slow answer, for
they remembered that little incident with startling
clearness.

" No I " snarled Two-Spot

Wolf kicked him on the shins and, dropping one
gun into its sheath, grabbed the skinny throat, gripping
it cruelly. ^' Who did you tell?" he growled, shaking
his victim, and quivering with rage at such resistance
where he had expected to encounter none.

Some ghost of a former stalwart courage, shaken
awake by desperation and rage, came back to its for-
saken habitation and spoke through a mouthpiece for
too long a stranger to it Two-Spot tried to speak and
Wolf, a gleam of triumph burning through the madness
in his eyes, loosened his grip and stepped back.

The voice which answered him was not Two-Spot's,
although it came through his lips. It was level, cold,
self-possessed, and biting. *^ You ask somebody who's
a-scared of you, you three-card flush. An' keep yore
paws ofl'n me — they stink of hides an' maggots."

The crashing roar sounded like a thunderbolt and the
acrid cloud of smoke swept forward and shrouded the
falling man. Wolf leaped back, out of it, and stopped
the instinctive advance of the horrified and enraged
onlookers, who had turned at the shot, his two guns
barely sufficient for the task. Dave's expression took
his instant attention and he snapped a warning, venom-
ous as the jet from a copperhead's fangs : '* Don't you

^6 JOHNNY NEUON

try it| Green I *' He flashed a look at the other two,
and nearly fired in instinctiye answer to the malev^olent
looks in their eyes.

'^Anybody that itches to take this up will get their
chance: Fll be back I" he promised, and retreated
swiftly to the door. Shoving his guns forward in a
silenti final warning, he slipped from their sight and
dashed for his horse, firing several shots behind him
past the windows and door. Leaping into the saddle,
he wheeled around the store and rode at a dead run
for the cover of an arroyo several hundred yards
beyond.

Dave started toward his bedroom for the rifle hang-
ing on the wall, reconsidered and looked at the huddled
heap on the floor. ^' We'll take care of th' best man
first," he said, picking up the limp figure and carrying
it to the base of the front walL Getting a blanket, he
went back again, and as he stood up he drew a deep
breath and faced his companions, a look almost reverent
coming to his face and softening the malignancy of its
expression.

'^He died like a man — I hope I do as good. Let's
liquor."

The afternoon shadows were beginning to lengthen
when the low voices in the saloon ceased to allow the
speakers to catch the sounds of a horse coming up the
trail. Dave, moving with surprising celerity for one of
his build and habits, grabbed a rifle and hastened to
the front window, where he peered out cautiously, and
then, walking to the bar, he reached over it, stood the

WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY 247

weapon behind it, and replied to the unspoken inquiries
of his companions.

" It's Nelson," he said, quietly.

The hoofbeats ceased abruptly and Johnny's voice
was heard promising the horse some sugar. He entered
and strode straight for the bar, nodding cheerily at the
three, and then smiled quizzically.

'^You shore look glum,'' he remarked, **glum as a
funeral. Come up an' take somethin' for it Well,
th' SV is bein' cleaned neat an' proper. Cimarron
knows his business, an' that crew of his is goin' at full
speed. I come in to get Two-Spot They're needin'
a tally man, an' he ought to go through with it. Seen
him around, or is he hidin' out, layin' low? "

" He's layin' low," replied Dave.

Johnny looked at him curiously, puzzled by the pro-
prietor's manner. " Meanin' ? "
. *^ He's dead," said Dailey, bluntly, staring fixedly at
the front wall.

Johnny flashed him a glance and looked back at
Dave, who nodded significantly at the front of the room.
Johnny turned quickly and followed the other's stare.
He straightened and walked slowly to the blanket, drew
it bade a little and then replaced it with reverent care.
Arising to his full height, he turned and looked at them.
The silence was oppressive, crowded with potentials.
They could feel a tension which fairly crackled, and
which made them shrink, guiltless though they were.
The erect figure radiated a ferocity which numbed them
and caused Fanning to lick his dry lips. Overhead the
bee, which had buzzed monotonously for so long a time,

148 JOHNNY NELSON

increased its buzzing and bounced from point to point,
its wings striking the ceiling with a dry whirring not
greatly unlike the angry whir of a rattler. From an
unrinsed glass on the bar came a buzzing from drunken
flies renewing their efforts to escape from it. The
measured breathing of four men sounded loud and
unnatural, and from Dailey's forehead rolled a bead
of sweat They stared at the cold, motionless puncher,
fascinated by what emanated from him, unable to look
away from the glinting eyes which peered out between
narrowed lids at each in turn, and back again. Out-
side a horse pawed restlessly and the intermittent sound
of striking metal reminded them of the slow pealing
of a bell. A board cracked suddenly as it contracted
from the encroachment of a cooling shadow and sent
gt shiver up their backs. Fanning's nerves were on edge
and seemed about to snap, and his clenching fingers cut
into his palms. He suddenly slumped down into his
chair.

" It was Wolfr' he shouted. " Two-Spot wouldn't
tell I"

The others sat rigid, not heeding the words.

Slowly the puncher's hand went to his sombrero and
slowly readjusted it with deliberate care and precision.
He turned slowly, and slowly departed, the sound of
the diminishing hoofbeats echoing in their brains long
after the sound had ceased. The unrinsed glass became
quiet, the bee blundered out through an open window,
and a great peace, soothing and enfolding, stole over
them. Fanning stirred, arose to his feet, and stumbled
toward the door.

WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY 249

" Christ I " he whispered.

"Amen," said Dave. "Death's flyin' low."

The Bar H outfit, loafing near the bunkhouse, were
deep in discussion when they heard a horse. Looking
up, they saw Johnny Nelson coming toward them at
an amble. He nodded gravely and soon stopped near
them. Carelessly throwing the reins over Pepper's
head, he lazily swung down, pushed his hat back on
his head« and sauntered up to them, stopping when
only an arm's length away, Wolf stirring restlessly and
not taking his eyes from the visitor's face.

" Two-Spot was my friend," said Johnny in a matter-
of-fact voice.

Wolf's slouching frame shifted slightly and froze.
"He never went heeled," continued Johnny's even,
dispassionate voice. The open palm of his right hand
struck Wolf's face with vicious force. There came
two roars which sounded almost as one, and Johnny,
leaping pantherishly aside out of the rolling smoke,
held two guns on the paralyzed group.

"Wolf shot him," he explained, backing away
behind his ominous guns. He whistled softly, and
Pepper, despite the dangling reins, lifted her head high
and came to him.

BigTom recovered himself first and took his eyes from
the figure sprawled on the ground. He was beginning
to believe them. He glanced at Johnny and back to
the prostrate figure. It was incredible that a man with
Wolf's courage, and ability with weapons, should shoot
down an old, helpless tramp, whose greatest offense

2S2 JOHNNY NELSON

Hallock to the SV, and went down to notify the Tri-
angle himself.

The day dawned clear and reasonably cool, and at an
early hour the riders began to come in. The saloon
was as clean as Dave, Johnny, and George could make
it, and the rude box which had kept Dailey and Fan-
ning up most of the night with hammer and saw, was
covered by green boughs and a few wild flowers. As
each newcomer rode up to the door he was quietly
informed by Dave that the bar was closed and would
remain so until after the funeral. There would be no
instrumental music, for Arch Wiggins' offer to ride to
the Double X for his fiddle was politely but firmly
declined after he had been questioned about his reper-
toire; Jerry's harmonica was overruled, and Reilly^s
accordion was declined for the same reason which had
barred the violin.

When Margaret Arnold rode up alone with a huge
bouquet of old-fashioned flowers, Gunsight became tre-
mendously interested and there was a great amount of
surreptitious grooming going on in out-of-the-way
places. Lin Sherwood regretted that he had not been
more neighborly, and that he had decided against his
new boots, tight though they were. He accused him-
self of being a poor sort of a grown-up man not to risk
a com or two under such circumstances. He frowned
down Slim's sheepish remark about seeing Miss Arnold
home after the ceremony as being unwarranted and too
forward ; and he kept Slim in sight thereafter. Dailey
cursed Big Tom's warning about selling supplies to the
SV and was gloomy because of the handicap it put him

"GIVE ETERNAL REST" 253

under, but it became him well in such an atmosphere
and nearly gave him the place of chief mourner. Sev-
eral of the rejected suitors formed a consolation circle
and deeply reflected the sorrow expected at funerals,
grumbling because the universal remedy for grief would
not be obtainable until the return from the grave.
There was a suggestion concerning a concerted rush on
the bar, but the tender flower of hope was frostbitten
by a glance at the cap-and-ball protruding from Dave's
waist-band. The proprietor had no consideration for
the sacredness of the occasion to hang around the wal-
nut armed like a highwayman, and the amount of pug-
nacious confidence he exhaled and exuded was entirely
out of place.

" He acts like a cow with its first calf," growled Sam
Gardner.

" He acts like it was his funeral, which I'm sorry it
ain't," snorted Pete Wiggins' young hopeful, still raw
about the matter concerning his fiddle.

The minister walking around from the hotel was the
signal for the groups to fall in behind him and file into
the Palace. This sky pilot was a stalwart member of
his cloth and acted as though saloons were not strangers
to him. He looked about and nodded his appreciation
of Dave's efforts and at once became the friend of every
man there.

" Friends," he said, looking slowly around, " a good,
friend of the deceased, and one who knew him well and
who cherishes his memory with gratitude and affection,
will sing. Miss Arnold, if you please."

Margaret, tears in her voice and eyes, arose and

154 JOHNNY NELSON

began her favorite hymiiy her rich contralto voice play-
ing upon the heartstrings of the rough men until they
dared not look around. Cimarron coughed, and re-
ceived Slim's elbow in his side with unnecessary force.
Dave developed a sudden cold and reddened with self-
consciousness, wishing he had chosen a seat in the rear
of the room instead of standing at the end of the bar,
which was an altogether too suggestive place for one
in his line of business.

The singer^s voice grew slowly lower and lower and
it was only by exercising all her will-power that she
managed to finish the last verse. Her own emotion
and faith throbbed in the beautiful words and gave
them a power which brought tears to nearly every eye»
Finishing, she sank down in her chair and sobbed sof dy.

The minister, arising, looked over the room.

"•Nearer to Thee,*" he repeated sofdy, and then
paused, and when he resumed, his voice struck through
to the hearts of his hearers as a hand plucking the
strings of a harp. " * Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.* Two-
Spot. The name was lowly, and with thoughdess cruelty
was given to Henry Travers, who once was under fore-
man for Simon Verrier, the former owner of the SV,
ranch. We have no knowledge of the interval between
the days of his responsibility and strength, and that
cold winter evening when Margaret Arnold found him,
weak from hunger and exposure, freezing in a snow-
drift not far from her home. Of the man^s weakness
we will not speak, except in charity and to show that
the character which won for him the confidence and

"GIVE ETERNAL REST" 255

^— ii^— — — i— — ^— I I _ I I I I ■ ■ y

trust of old Simon persisted in spite of that weakness
and blazed out gloriously, to win for him an honorable
death. It would have been easy to betray the confidence
of another, especially when he knew the ability of that
other to protect himself. He could have saved his life
by telling the truth, and I say to you that there are some
untruths more glorious than those truths which mean
danger, or perhaps death, to a friend. And if he had
yielded to fear to save his life he would have found
that life to be a thing without value. He would have
lost to himself all that remained worth while. Two-
Spot, weak with a weakness perhaps passed on to him
by the thoughtless and vicious lives of those others who
had preceded him, was, nevertheless, a man, and will
live in your memories as a man, a man who at the threat
of death, rallied the best within him and died to protect
« fellow-man who had been kind to him. He was a
lowly card, but even a two-spot has a value, as every
man in this room can testify. A two-spot, at the right
time and in the right combination, makes a winning
hand; and I have it on the authority of two people
here that he was given one spot too many. Hardly an
ace of diamonds, but surely an ace of hearts, for in his
breast beat a heart as true and sympathetic as that of
any man in this room.

** There was not a thing coming to his knowledge
which affected the welfare of a struggling, defenseless
family on this range, that he did not tell them; and
when I say that for a man of his age and weakness to
walk nine miles to warn them, and nine miles back
again, in any weather, at the only time he could do so

256 JOHNNY NELSON

without being seen and arousing suspicion, required such
a heart, and a fine quality of courage, I know that you
all will agree with me. Many nights when the range
was wrapped in sleep, Two-Spot made that journey.
And I say that he was a man, and I pay him the respect
which such a heart and courage merits. And no matter
what his weaknesses were, no matter how unworthy
you may have thought him to be, I say that this man
whom you knew as Two-Spot was as good as any who
sneered at him, as much a man in his last moment on
earth as a material being as any man in this room I And
I say that if we all, every one of us, can die as fearlessly
and as honorably as this man died, we need not fear
the Judgment Day. There may be some of you who
do not give much thought to that Judgment Day, or to
that Merciful Judge. There may be some of you who
do not believe in God — but I say, that, no matter Who
or What waits beyond the Open Door, He or It will
deal gently with Henry Travers. And I say for those
who do not believe in any divine faith, and say it aside
from any viewpoint of religion, but purely as a question
of ethics, of effort and reward, of right living or wrong,
that every man in this room can find something in the
strength of this weak man, something in the way he
faced death, that can be taken with profit to himself
and serve as an inspiration. Under all his fleshly weak-
ness, with all his yielding to a dominant craving, there
blazed the white flames of sympathy, affection, and
loyalty. And I cannot find this occasion to be one for
sorrow, or for grief. Rather, I should say it is one for
congratulation: Two-Spot, shorn of his weaknesses,

"GIVE ETERNAL REST" 257

saved from jeers and cruelty and injusticei and the
misery coming with old age, which cannot but be tragic
to such a one as he, found himself at the last moment,
and died the man which circumstances would have
refused to have let him live. Let us pray/'

If his auditors had been impressed by his address,
the prayer reached down and gripped their very heart-
strings, stirring into groping life the vague fear and
awe of the supernatural, by heritage firmly implanted in
each consciousness. Death, with its mystery and threat,
brought ita awesome fear like a wave, with an impetus
acquired from rolling down past generations, to minds
prepared to quail before it in momentary surrender.
From the distant and impersonal, it suddenly loomed
out of the fog of the mysterious unknown real,. and
made real by a mind trained to present truth as it isyj
and became close and personal. And at the conclusion
of the gripping words, only the fresher, newer mo-
mentum of the carelessness and indifference of their
every-day lives could offset the fear which spread like
ripples over their superstitions and set their religious
instincts a-quiver. But like concentric ripples, it grew
weaker even as it reached farther out ; yet the reacting
ripples enduring for days, showing intermittently and
intermittently arousing vague unrest in their minds.

He glanced at Margaret and walked quickly to her,
placing his hand on her shoulder. ^^ I would not attempt
it, my dear. Two-Spot would not allow another hymn,
at such a cost to you.'*

Dailey, Johnny, Dave, and Fanning moved slowly
forward, feeling as they never had felt before, rever-

258 JOHNNY NELSON

endy and carefully picked up the box and led the
out of the building and across the street to a grassy
knoll not far from the road, where the warmth and
brightness of the sun rested from dawn to dark. The
ceremony at the grave over, they returned to Dave*s,
where they shook hands with a parson who had jolted
their ideas regarding men of his calling.

"Friends," he protested, raising his hands at the
coins in the hat held out to him, *^ this is too mudu i
cannot take so much for doing my duty. It is not
reasonable.*'

"Parson,'* said Dave, a grin coming to his face,
" we ain't had no gunplay today, but if you don't take
that money, I can't promise that there won't be none.
Some of us leather-backs has been eddicated today, an'
they say eddication costs money. I reckon a parson
livin' in such a hole of iniquity as Juniper can find use
for our ofierin's. If you can't take it for yoreself, take
it for yore church — it'll help you to build one all th*
quicker. An' I'm sayin' that we'll alius be glad to see
you in Gunsight, as a parson or as a man. Shake.'*

Margaret came forward and thanked him, and
turned to Dave.

" Did you know that he slept under your floor?** she
asked. " He was always wondering if you did.**

" Ma'am," smiled Dave, feeling to see if his tie had
slipped, "I knowed it th' very first time he snored,
which was th' second night he was here. An' I've had
many a laugh at him th' way he wiggled out of litde
slips he made. He heard a lot under here, an' some-
times he let tlungs out that made him dig frantic to

"GIVE ETERNAL REST" 2S9

explain away. I reckon Fm goin* to be lonesome, *spe-
cially this winter. Here comes Lin Sherwood — Miss
Arnold, meet Mr. Sherwood, th' bashfuUest man in
this country. 'He don't mind a little thing like an extra
eighteen miles in th' saddle — an' I'm admittin' that
nobody will steal yore cayuse while he's along. Now
that I've broke th' ice an' pushed him in where he was
afraid to go hisself, I'll take th' parson around an'
make him better acquainted with th' boys."

As they moved away, the minister noticed the restraint
and restlessness visible around him and he turned a
smiling face to the proprietor. "As soon as Miss
Arnold leaves, open the bar. I'll take a cigar with the
boys and then say good-by."

Dave stopped in his tracks, his jaw dropped, and
then he beamed upon his clerical companion. "I'm
repeatin' what I said about bein' glad to see you any
time," he exclaimed, slapping the broadcloth shoulden
** Parson, I'm proud to know you 1 Put it there 1 "

Johnny, going over to say good-by to Margaret, and
concealing to the best of his ability any sign of jealousy,
received a distinct shock and one which hiade him
wrestle hard to keep his dignity.

"Oh, here's Mr. Nelson, now," smiled Margaret.
"I just told Mr. Sherwood that he was too late; but
perhaps he will beat you the next time. I think we
would better be riding, for these men feel a restraint
while I'm here; and I'm getting anxious about father.
So if you will excuse me, Mr. Sherwood, I'll say good-by
to the men and ride on."

Sherwood stood on his foot and did foolish things

i6o J OHNNY NELSON

to his hat, but was spared any farther embarrassment
by Johnny, who gripped his arm in a friendly way and
escorted Margaret on her round of the room. And
as the pair rode away Sherwood turned from the door,
kicked Cimarron, and tramped to the ban

The segundo stared after him. " Well, Fm cussed 1 '*
he muttered " So thafs it, huh? Well, you'd 'a' done
better if youM *a' kidced Nelson."

The minister having left, Dave became very busy,
and Dailey found a pack of cards and dragged out a
table. "Havin' been generous to th' church, now I
aims to get back some of it,'' he remarked. " He is a
fine man — an' what he said is true; an' if I can get
four little two-spots I'll show you all an inspiration
that's stem-windin'. One at a time; don't push I "

^^Yo're shore hard-boiled," reproved Slim, slighdy
vexed. ** You ain't got enough reverence in yore sat-
urated carcass to start a prairie dog out in life like he
ought to go — an' G — d knows that ain't much."

^^ Which same I says is true as h — 1," endorsed
Cimarron, scowling. *' Let th' old mosshead herd by
hisself . I'm goin' back an' pick up that round-up where
we dropped it We got to get that over with as soon
as we can, for we'll be roundin' up for McCullough
purty soon — an' he ought to be along next week."

Sherwood heard him and turned from the bar. ** He
ain't getting many from us," he said. *^ We'll send our
own herd up th' trail next spring, an' take a gamble on
gettin' more for 'em. I'm sayin' th' SV has got plenty
of friends from now on, too. I'm ridin' home; who's
comin' with me ? "

CHAPTER XX

PLANS AND PREPARATIONS

ON THE last day of the round-up Johnny rode out
to the SV and found a herd held against the wire
fence. A branding fire was burning off to one side and
Larry Hallock had just thrown a calf, its pitiful bawl
turning its mother into a charging fury. The mothefi
being unbranded, was thrown instead of being diverted
and received the same treatment being accorded to her
sturdy offspring. Larry's helpers arose, let the calf up
and grinned at its eagerness for maternal protection.
They wiped their foreheads with wet sleeves and wel-
comed the visitor.

"There's some calves at that,V said Larry, "but
they're this year's crop. An' that's th' last brandin',
I reckon, for here. Cimarron an' three of th' boys are
startin' a clean-up north of th' east end in that grassy
valley. I reckon today will finish it."

Slim nodded. " It wouldn't hurt to keep a few men
ridin' well back, for a few days, pickin' up strays ;• but
Vm sayin' this ranch has been combed to a T. We've
cussed near branded even th' shadows. You'll never
have no trouble tellin' them that Larry has branded.
He paints wide an' free like he was paintin' a house.
Just look at that yearlin' over there; an' them two
weaners — they're cussed near all brand."
Larry grinned. " Shore ; it saves a lot of ridin' when

261

262 JOHNNY NELSON

you can read 'em far off. I'm in fayor of histin' flags
on 'em an' ridin' sign with a telescope hangin' from th'
saddle."

Johnny laughed at the grinning pair, dust and sweat
from head to feet **This ranch will have stampin'
irons as soon as it can get 'em, 'though Larry must hate
'em like poison. I'm comin' out here, some of these
days, an' put that horse corral at th' house in better
shape ; an' anybody that offers to help won't get insulted.
Now I'm ridin' to th' house. I got an idea an' want
to see how it sets with th' 01' Man. See you later."

**I been scratchin' all day for an idea like that,'*
chuckled Slim. **A11 I could think of was a drink of
water; an' Larry goes an' shoves out his canteen
tome!"

" If I didn't," said Larry, " everybody would 'a* got
thirsty, an' then who would 'a' held this herd?"

Johnny laughed and rode off, his friends watching
him for a few moments. Then Larry went toward his
horse. Slim following him.

"Well," said Slim, "Nelson knows where he can
find a parson ten miles closer than Highbank, anyhow.
After he put her on her boss th' other day in Gunsight
an' went off to get his own, she looked after him — an'
I ain't no f ooL I'm in favor of holdin' it in town. An'
I says this here busted-down ranch needs a good man
to take hold of it an' run it. I reckon an outfit of four
would swing it handsome. Yes, three good men could
do it"

Larry swung into the saddle. " I got three brothers
ihat shore do love singin' smce Two-Spot was planted

PLANS AND PREPARATIONS %6i

I*in leanin' strong to th' melodious mysdf. An* Vm
admittin' that I never knowed what singin' was before.
Well, you maverick, let^s go an' help 'em count that
herd. You an' me aim to stop in town tonight on our
way home, don't we ? Then come on."

Johnny dismounted at the kitchen door and knocked.
Charley came running and acted as host

** Gee I " he exclaimed, his eyes sweeping to the six-
guns and resting on them. *^Come on in! Peggy's
readin' to dad. He's gettin' plumb ornery an' says he's
goin' to get up tomorrow, anyhow, come h — I or high
water. Here she is now : Hey, Sis ! Here's Mr. Nel-
son—bet yo're plumb glad to see him. Is dad still
on th' prod ? "

** Charley I What language! How you do pick
things up ! How-do-you-do, Mr. Nelson? " she smiled,
holding out her hand. " I am so glad to see someone
who may have a good influence on father. Come in.
Father, here is our friend, Mr. Nelson."

" Which gun got Wolf ? " demanded Charley.
" Glad to sec you, sir ! '* exclaimed Arnold. " You
have been entirely too much a stranger to this house.
Sit down, and tell me what is going on. That Cimarron
may know how to talk, but he doesn't seem very anxious
to prove it. When I ask him how he finds the ranch
he tells me about everything else that he can in one
minute, pleads work, and leaves."

" I think a whole lot of Cimarron," replied Johnny.
"He and his boys have worked like slaves out here—
diey've done an amazin' lot. They expect to have
everjtlung cleaned up and counted by tonight, or

a64 JOHNNY NELSON

tomorrow, without fail. Then we can do some figgerin*
ourselveSi an^ aee how many cows are comin' to you.
iWhat I called for was to make a proposition to yoa,
an* I think it's a good one.''

" Go ahead ; I'm sayin' yes to it right now/' smfled
Arnold.

** I reckoned mebby you would say that after yoo
heard it/' said Johnny. ** M cCuIlough, trail boss for
rTwitchell and Carpenter, is comin' up from th' south
with two thousand head of mixed cattle. His deliv-
eries call for four thousand head, an' he is countin' on
gettin' th' second two thousand right up here around
Gunsight Th' Bar H is throwin' a thousand over to
him an' th' Triangle has promised him five hundred*
Th' other five hundred was to come from th' Double X,
but Sherwood has got other ideas. He's got a good
outfit an' hankers on gamblin' a little. He's made up
his mind to sell McCuUough only a hundred head of
older cattle an' keep th' other four hundred for his
own trail herd next year. He says Dodge, but I redcon
he's fishin' for a government contract up north; an' if
he is, an' lands it, he'll make a lot of money."

*^I wish somebody would show me how to make
some," replied Arnold, gloomily. "We are headed
for some poorhouse, I'm afraid."

** Father I " exclaimed Margaret, reprovingly. " You
should not say or think such things. Everything will
come out all right Our luck is turning."

Johnny glanced at her and smiled.

" Perhaps it is, but I can't see its face, yet," retorted
Arnold. ** We'll know how many head we have, and

PLANS AND PREPARATIONS 165

liow many we have lost, but that knowledge won*t keep
mis^wiUit?*'

" PA-haps Mr. Nelson has something to say concern-
ing that."

" I have, Ma'am,'' smiled Johnny, his eyes for an

instant resting full on hers. " I'm goin' to suggest that

th' SV sells McCuUough that missin' four hundred

head. That will be th' best way to turn some of yore

cattle into money, an' it will bring you as much as you

can hope to get without startin' an outfit up th' traiL

If you put a herd on th' trail, it would have to be a

small one this year, an' there ain't no profit in drivin'

four hundred cows up to Dodge, 'specially th' Idnd

you'd have to take. You'd have th' risk an' th' worry,

an th' spendin' of quite some money. This other way

you'll get yore money, an' McCuUough will have th*

wrestlin' to do. Now, I suggests that you let Cimarron

drive four hundred head home with him tomorrow, an'

keep 'em handy on th' Double X for th' drive herd«

They'll road brand 'em an' hold 'em with their own,

and when Sherwood gets th' money, he'll send youm to

you, an' you'll have something to work on."

''And we will be four hundred head nearer bank«
ruptcy," growled Arnold, more to give vent to his pes-
simism, which had become nearly chronic by this time.

" There will be more than that many turned over to
you before winter," said Johnny. " Cattle stealin' don't
go very long down here, even. Now, don't ask me
nothin' about it ; but I'm wishin' you'd give me authority
to act for you in any little thing that might come up<-^
I might not have time to ride out here for it, then."

ft66 JOHNNY NELSON

** Why, certainly; and I'll be glad to have somebody
act for me who knows what to do/' replied Arnold.

*^A11 right Fm advisin' you to tell Cimarron to go
ahead with that litde trail herd. I'm goin' out that
way now, an' I'll speak to him about it if you want

me to."

I think that is a splendid idea," enthused MargareL
" If we did not sell them, they will be a year older next
year, and we will have to sell them then, anyhow."

"All rightl" grunted Arnold. "SeUthcm. I don't
care what is done, if only I can get out of this cursed
bed. And I'll be out of it tomorrow or know the
reason why I "

" We'd better have th' Doc come out an' look at it,"
said Johnny. "I'll be ridin' to town purty soon an*
I'll drop in an' tell him. He shore ought to finish what
he started."

Margaret's hand went to his ann. " Please I " she
pleaded. "Don't — don't have any trouble— wc —
father can wait a little longer, I'm sure."

" I certainly can, Nelson," quickly spoke up the quasi-
invalid, " if it will save you from any trouble. I don't
know just how much I would do for you."

" There won't be no trouble, at all," Johnny gravely
assured them. " Doc an' I know each other real well.
You've got no idea how well we get along together.
You'd be surprised if you only knowed how prompt
he'll start for here. Why, trouble with me over a little
thing like this is th' last thing he'd think of. You just
stay where you are till he sees you an' says you cai»
get up."

PLANS AND PREPARATIONS 267

'' That's the least I can do/' replied Arnold '' D — a
it, man I If I only were up and about, .and could get a
few good, honest men to work for me, I'd make some*
thing out of the SV I"

'* You'll be up an' around before you know it,"
Johnny assured him. **An' you won't have no trouble
gettin' three honest men to ride for you. That parson
must 'a' had a good influence on this range, even before
he come down to Gunsight Did I hear Sam Gardner
tell him he was tired of workin' for th' Triangle ? " he
asked Margaret. " Why, of course you didn't. Well,
I'll have to ask Sam if I heard right. I'm going to ask
you to send to Highbank for three SV stampin' irons —
Arch Wiggins is ridin' down there tomorrow. They're
real handy — an' chute brandin' shore saves a lot of
time. They'll be needed in a month or so. Arch knows
a blacksmith that can turn 'em out alike as three
cartridges."

*' You get anything you think we need," said Arnold.
**How about some wire for those quicksands?"

"They're fixed to stay fixed," answered Johnny.
"Arch an' that Wood Hallock are great boys when it
comes to wire, an' I'm gamblin' on that wire stayin' up
till it rusts, which won't be soon. There's six strands,
an' they set quite some few more posts. Arch does
things right. I reckon he'll be lookin' for a job when
he gets through visitin' Highbank. He says as how
he's quittin' th' Circle 4. An' from what I've seen of
Arch, I like him a lot"

"Tell him to see me before he leaves the ranch,'*
Arnold. **Why, we're sailing along at a

268 JOHNNY NELSON

great dip. Look here, Nelson, there's a spare-room
here -— you come and use it until you ride south. You're
better than a tonic Quit that hotel — God save the
word — and come out here.'*

** Well, I hardly think I can do that," smiled Johnny,
'* 'though I'm thankin' you, just th' same. I've got
business close to Gunsight that'll keep me there for
quite a spell, but afterward, I'll mebby spend a couple
of days with you."

"Well, come when you can," replied Arnold. "If
you think of anything else this ranch needs to get from
Highbank, order it. You can tell that Arch that there's
a job here if he wants it. I'll leave the question of
wages to you."

*'A11 right, but I'll send him in, anyhow," said Johnny,
arising. 'Til be goin' now. You better stay where
you are till th' Doc comes an' looks you over," and he
followed Margaret out.

**You are sure that you will have no trouble with
Doctor Reed?" she asked, as he stepped onto the
porch.

" Why, no. Ma'am ; th' Doc is seein' th' error of his
sinful ways, an' I reckons he'll do purty near anythin'
I tell him to if I tell him right. An' of course, I wouldn't
tell him no other way."

''You are a puzzle to me," confessed Margaret,
smiling. '* I'm never quite sure about you."

'* Puzzle ? " He turned his hat over and looked into
it as if to find something puzzling. " Why, Ma'am,"
he said, grinning, daring another deep look into her
eyes, "I'm as simple an' easy to read as a — as a—-

PLANS AND PREPARATIONS 269

Injun. Now if it was you Fd say there was a puz-
zle — but, pshaw I I never was no good, at all, figgerin'
puzzles. I remember once I was watchin* some ten-
derfeet playin' billiards, when I was in Kansas City,
after leavin' some cattle at th' yards across th* river.
They did things to them balls that I never thought could
be done, an* they did them easylike. Billiards is mebby
an easy game. Ma'am, for them that knows how. It
looked plumb easy to me, an' awful temptin'. I got
me a table over in a comer an' took off my coat. I
ain't never tried it since. Th' proprietor come
a-runnin' an tells me that th' blacksmith-shop is down
th' street a couple of blocks. That's me, Ma'am — my
touch ain't gentle — I can't help smashin'. An' when
somebody gives me a puzzle to figger out I alius look
to see if I can smash through it But puzzles ain't
made that way I reckon."

Margaret stepped back into the kitchen, half closed
the door and said, quickly, quietly, although somewhat
breathlessly: "There is no puzzle worth the solving
that the right man can't solve — if he tries hard
enough."

Johnny started forward, but the door closed in his
face and he heard the bar drop, and then the front door
slammed. He tensed himself and then relaxed, a smile
lighting up his face like a sunrise bathing a granite
mountain. "This weather is bound to change," he
said, loudly. "I can feel cyclones in th' air — an' I
ain't th' only one that had better look to their tent
pegs I " He reached Pepper in two leaps, the second
of which put him in the saddle, and he dashed off to

Tjo JOHNNY NELSON

find Cimarron as though it were a matter of life or
death.

The segundo looked up, a covetous expression on his
face. The black whirlwind slid to a stop at his f eet, a
cloud of dust enveloping him and drifting slowly soutU
with the wind.

*' I'm solvin' puzzles with an axe," came the aston-
ishing statement from the heart of the doud. ^' I mean,
have you got a match ? "

The round-up boss put his fingers in a vest pocket
and produced the desired article. *^I got one; but
mebby you ought to roll somethin* to smoke before you
lights it."

Johnny scratched his head and burst Into a roar of
laughter, Cimarron joining him purely because it was
infectious.

** Seein' whe/e you come from, I'd say you was loco/^
chuckled Cimarron. *^ What's on yore mind besides
matches an' axes?"

" Why, I was just wonderin' if you could take four
hundred head of these cows over to th' Double X, road
brand 'em with th' Question Mark, an' throw 'em in
with Lin's hundred. McCuUough shore is countin' on
gettin' five hundred from you fellers, and he shouldn't
be disappointed."

^^ I can do it unless I lose my health an' strength,"
answered tht boss. "We ain't got 'em here — but on
yore way to town stop an' tell Slim an' Larry to pick
out as many as they can from that herd they're holdinV
If we*re still short we can get th* rest easy enoughs
Where you goin' now?"

PLANS AND PREPARATIONS %^t

**To nee Arch. I reckon he's got a new job if he
wants it"

'^That so?" replied the round-up boss. '^He is a
good man. You aimin' to be in Dave's tonight? "

" I am."

'* Slim an* Larry will stop there with th' tally figgers
on their way home. Are you reckonin' there'll be any
blast tonight? They ain't in no hurry — an' I'd just
as soon come with 'em."

"There won't be no blast — that'll come later,"
replied Johnny, smiling. " I only aim to light th' fuse
tonight Mebby it's a long one, an' mebby it's busted
somewhere."

"You move cautious just th' same after tonight,'^
warned Cimarron. " Some fuses hang fire ; others get
crossed, which cuts out some of th' waitin'. You've
been packin' in quite some giant, off an' on. I'd say
it's overcharged, with Squint, Smitty, Wolf, Lang, an*
th' Doc all packed in together. Don't you get slack»^

•on."

" I'll be hummin' like a fiddle string," replied Johnny
quietly. "[There's Arch, over there. See you later^
mebby."

Arch tested an iron and put it back in the fire, and
looked up. "Well," he said, smiling cheerfully,
" We're near through."

" Glad to hear it," replied Johnny. "Are you aimin*
to bum around Highbank, or get yoreself a new job an*
keep out of mischief?"

" I knowed that parson wouldn't have no good effect
too you," growled Arch, " seein' how strong he affected

^^^ JOHNNY NELSON

me widi my strong mind What you want to know for ?
Found somethin' for my idle hands to do? "

^'Arnold needs a good man out here steady; two of
*em to start with, an' mebby anodier later on. I told
him that you wasn't worth a cuss ; but bein* stubborn he
says mebby you'll do/*

** I ain't heard no offer yet,'* grinned Ardiy impa*
dently.

*' You ought to be glad that folks will let you hang
around," retorted Johnny. "What were you gettin*
on th' Cirde 4?"

" Forty-five," answered Arch. " I ain't no kid, an*
I asks for fifty. They couldn't see it; so here I am.'*

" Fifty is yours ; but you better see Arnold *first.
Are you goin' down to Highbank tomorrow?'*

"I am, an' I'm shore set on it," answered Arch,
firmly, "An* when I'm set, I'm set solid. I'm goin';
why?"

"I'm glad of it,^' chuckled Johnny. "You bring
back three stampin' irons for this ranch; an' be shore
that you can get both ends of 'em on a cow at th' same
time."

"If I'm totin' 'em with me on my boss, you can
gamble they won't be no pets of Larry's," laughed
Arch. "Anybody goin' to be in town tonight ? "

" I reckon so. I'm dead shore that Fraser will be
there. He's got a plumb affectionate disposition. He's
been foUerin' me around steady since Wolf cashed in.
He's over there in that patch of scrub right now — don't
look!"

"I ain't lookin', you ignoramus 1" retorted Arch,

PLANS AND PREPARATIONS 27s

indignantly. " Pm comin' In to have a little of Dave^s
fire water tonight, an' sleep in a bed once more. It
looks like rain," he observed, scanning the cloudless sky,
**an' I shore hate a blanket an' slicker roll when it

* If
rains.

** So I see," gravely rejoined Johnny. " I don't care
^where you go, of course, if you don't crowd me. I
like plenty of elbowroom when I'm millin' around
indoors keepin' out of th' rain. But I don't figger
there'll be any trouble tonight."

" You'll have plenty of room," promised Arch. " In
case you ain't got enough, sing out an' we'll bust th'
front out of th' Palace." He considered a moment
** Mebby it'll be just as well to have a couple of friends
bangin' 'round outside in th' dark watchin' th' weather.
Dave hardly ever pulls down his curtains."

** It won't be needed — not tonight, anyhow," smiled
Johnny, his heart warming to the cocky youngster.
*^ I'm thankin' you just th' same, you flathead. Well,
•o-longi" and Johnny rode toward town. After he
had spoken to Slim about the herd to be collected he
sent Pepper into a pace that defied any horse on that
range to equal. There was to be no third man present
when he visited the Doc.

Arch looked carelessly over the range, stretched the
kinks out of his back and let his gaze rest idly for a
moment on the distant clump of scrub timber. ^* You
pore jackass," he muttered. ** You'll mebby be another
one of them fellers that didn't know it was loaded.'^

The Doc glanced idly out of the door and rnamei

a74 JOHNNY NELSO N

his paddng. Big Tom had promised to send the chudc
wagon for his effects on the morrow and to give him
the extra room in the ranchhouse. The offer had been
accepted with reluctance, for the Doc did not like to
live in the same house with another, especially if the
other was the boss of the house. Visiting was all very
well, but he yearned for privacy, and there was good
reason for it besides a natural inclination. He had
little in common with the minds about him on the
range, for he was a student and a reader, and his book
shelves held a literature far above the understanding
of those around him. He had no choice, however, for
the time had come to get out of an impending storm.
Being energetic, and impatient to finish a disagreeable
task, he had kept at it and there now remained only a
few odds and ends to be collected. He drew the comers
of an old blanket over the bundle of clothing, extra bed-
ding, and miscellaneous linen, pulled them tightly
together and knelt on the bundle, straining at the rope.
He had just finished the knot when a moving shadow
on the east wall caught his attention and made him
reach instinctively for the gun In its shoulder holster;
but he checked his hand in mid-air, and just in time.
There was only one man whom he had reason to fear,
and that man had killed Wolf Forbes under the noses
of his own outfit and in an even break ; and what chance
had he, a novice, against such gunplay? He let his
hand drop to his side and slowly looked around.

'^That was shore dose. Doc," remarked a quiet but
not unfriendly voice. *' You don^t never need to reach
for no gun for me if you acts square. I ain*t on th'

PL^NS AND PREPARATIONS a-js

«l

^warpath) at all ; I'm peaceful, I am ; an* I come down
^o ask you somethin' that nobody but you can tell me/'

(The Doc arose, anger glinting in his eyes from the
memory of a former indignity. '' Well, what do you
iKrant?" he growled. ** Framing up another kidnap-
ping?"

'* There you go," accused Johnny in great disgust
You shore hop on th' prod as quick as any man I ever
knowed. I only come down to ask you how soon
Arnold can get out of bed an' get some use of that laig
of his'n."

" I don't know," replied the Doc " Not knowing,
I wouldn't care to say. I've not been out there since."

" He's all ribbed to get up," continued Johnny. "An'
there's this about things: Folks that act square with
me alius find that I act square with them. An' I'm
tellin' you that them fellers will mebby be plumb lucky
durin' th' next few weeks. I've been f oolin' a lot down
here — holdin' back, sort of; but I quit f oolin' th' day
I went down an' dug Wolf out of his outfit. I'm aimin'
to be serious these days. You said you don't know
about Arnold — but it ain't much of a job to make
shore, is it ? You only got to take th^ rough goin' dead
east of this shack for a little ways until you get into
Green Valley — an' from there on th' ridin' is easy.
There's too much confusion along th' reg'lar trail with
them touchy Double X punchers ridin' around up there.
An* if you left right away you could get back in plenty
of time for yore supper. Looks like yo're moyin' ? "

'* I am," replied the other. ^* I might go down to
Highbank, and start practicing."

2^6 JOHNNY NELSON

"You might,'' admitted Johmiy; "but Fm sayin*
that you don't have to go to th' Bar H ranchhouse to
keep out of trouble. I've passed you my word — you
play square with me an' you'll mebby find this shack b
safer for you than that ranchhouse ever will be if you
don't play square. I'm meanin' this, Doc."

" I don't see where the question of safety comes in
at all. I've found this place pretty lonely, sometimes,
and I'm getting tired of it. What's more, I'm squat-
ting on the SV range."

"I'm glad to hear you say that last, an' I redcoit
mebby it is lonely," replied Johnny, "'though it
shouldn't be. Yo're only a. couple of miles from town,
an' you got a good cayuse. There's some good boys up
in town, too. You ought to ride in more often an' get
friendly 'stead of holin' up like a bear dodgin' th' win-
ter. An' as for squattin', why I'll say th' SV won't say
nothin' at all to you about that, 'specially after you tells
some of th' boys in town that you are only squattin*
down here an' don't lay no claim to this land. Doc,
th' time is shore comin' when nearly everybody on this
range will be choosin' sides or settin' on th' fence — an'
them as takes to th' fence should set awful tight an'
stilL But gettin' back to my reason for visitin' you:
I reckon Arnold is plumb sick of layin' abed; I'm
shore /'d be. You can't say when he should get up ? "

The Doc was looking at him intently and his frown
had slowly disappeared. He was no fool, had no real
affection for Big Tom, and he was beginning to see a
great light He turned deliberately, yanked the knot
loose and let the blanket open and spread out over the

PLANS AND PREPARATIONS 277

floor. Picking up his bag, he considered a moment.
** Hazarding a guess, I'd say that he has another week
in bed. Did you notice any fever, any flush, or any*
thing else that seemed abnormal to you ? '' he asked.

^^Nothin' but stubbornness an' a grouch like a she
bear with cubs," answered Johnny. " I reckon he stays
on th' prod purty much when there ain't no strangers
around. He must make life excitin' for his family.
Now that he's gettin' ambitious, he'll be worse."

"Well, I'll go prepared for anything, anyhow. If
yoa are riding down this way tonight drop in and I'll
tell you how I found him. It was a clean break and
everything was in his favor."

" I reckon I'll be too busy in town tonight," replied
Johnny. " I got a job to do. If you ain't got nothin*
special to keep you here an' feel like seein' th' boys,
ride up an' spend th' evenin' with us. We'll be glad
to see you."

The Doc listened intently. ^^ Who's that riding up.
the trail ? " he asked.

Johnny looked deep into his eyes, smiled cjrnically,
banished his suspicions, and glanced out of the window.
" I reckoned so," he muttered. " That's Fraser, goin'
bad: to look for somethin' he's lost He'll mebby find
it tonight up in Dave's, if he looks hard enough. Times
are shore changin' down here."

The Doc stepped forward and passed out " When

yoQ leave, dose the door behind you. The dust gets

on my nerves and there will be plenty of it flying with

diis wind," and he walked briskly to the little corral.

Johnny watched him bridle and saddle the horse,

a7« JOHNNY NELSON

mounts and canter away straight for the roug^ going
east of the traiL Pulling the door shut behind him, he
walked to the brush-filled hollow where he had left his
horse^ mounted, and set off at a lope for Gunsight

^ Mebby he means it," he soliloquized. '* If he does,
aD right I gave him a chance to go for that shoulder
holster when I looked out to see who was ridin' up tfa*
trail, but that don't mean much, for he might have
figgered it was too risky. Mebby he's aimin* to set on
th' fence waitin' to see how things'U settle down. That's
all right, too — it's his natural play — but I'm keepin*
cases on him just th' same. He's had his wamin' " —
he shrugged his shoulders expressively and looked up
the trail where he thought he could distinguish Fraser*s
horse in front of the Palace. *'An' thafs all right,
too,'* he growled, " he's where he'll be handy." After
a moment he slapped Pepper's shoulder. ** Sorry, little
boss," he growled, ^^ but mebby you'll have to play padc
animal for a while if I'm goin' to watch them mavericks
until after McCuUough gets that Bar H herd. Didn't
I tell you we'd likely be popular, an' unpopular? Well,
k's shore comin' true."

CHAPTER XXI

THE MBSSAGE

DAILEY, seated at a table, the everlasting pack
of cards in front of him, beamed upon Fanning
and Johnny as they entered. " Thought mebby nobody
was goin' to show up tonight,'' he said. " Dave's scared
of me."

^* I never did care much for wild animals," retorted
Dave. *'An' I says that you shore go wild when you
sees a deck of cards. If you'd only win somethin' once
in a while, I wouldn't have a word to say."

"That's what makes him wild," chuckled Fanning.

Ben, how much has Nelson taken away from you?'*
Not very much, an' I more than got it back from
th' others," retorted Dailey. " If I only had his luck
with my skill — but what's th' use?" he asked, shrug-
ging his shoulders.

" You shore has got to have plenty of luck with yor^
skill," jibed Dave, " or you wouldn't even have a shirti
left"

" Lemme ask you something seein* that you know s6
much about poker," said Fanning. " How far should
a man back two pairs ? "

"Them assassins? You get up to this table, you
scoffin' innocent, an' I'll show you when you ought to
let loose of two pair," chuckled Dailey. " Who's this
comin*? Eraser! Come over here. Bill, an' help me

279

a8o JOHNNY NELSON

rope a couple of tenderfeet into a little game of draw.
They're shy tonight"

"Who's th' other, besides me?" inquired Fraser,
leaning against the bar.

'' Huh I " snorted Dailey. ''All right, then; help me
rope in th' other two."

''If I'm goin' to be yore come-on, what do I get out
of it? " laughed Fraser.

" Every cussed thing you can get an' hold onto, but
you'd better sand yore hands. Here's another sheep:
Hello, Gurleyl Yo're just in time to get a seat — I
alius did like a five-handed game. Come on I Come
on 1 Don't be afraid of th' iron ! "

"Make it four-handed for a little while," said
Johnny. " That'll give Dailey a chance to stack it up
in front of him all ready for me. I ain't as good at
draw as some down here, but I can alius take it away
from Ben, somehow. How's things on th' Triangle,
Gurley?"

" Slowin' fast since th^m Double X fellers moved off.
They made me wear out four cayuses a day. When
will they finish up?"

" Purty soon, I reckon," answered Johnny, turning
to Fraser. "You fellers are lucky. You don't get
many strays over th' mountain, or through that canyon,
I reckon."

" Not any that I've noticed," replied Fraser. " But
we've been plumb lazy in our round-ups. We got an
awful sight of brandin' to do next time."

" That so ? " asked Johnny. " Been takin' life easy
an' lettin' 'em go?"

THE MESSAGE 281

*' Shore ; that northwest section is so rough an* full
of brush that it's near impossible to get 'em out. Xhere
must be an awful lot of unmarked animals over there.
VTc're goin' to have our hands full with 'em."

*^Aimin' to tackle it this fall?" asked Johnny, care-
lessly.

** Mebby ; mebby not McCullough will save us from
goin* up th' trail this year, so we might run a special
combin' up out there."

*^I'm runnin' one right here I" exclaimed Dailey,
banging his fist on the table. '' I'll run a brand on you
fellers that'll smart so you can't sleep. Come on, let's
get a-goin*. Hot iron I Hot iron I Ropers up I "

" I'll just take a bite out of you," said Fraser. "Any-
body else hungry ? "

"I just ain't never had enough to eat," chuckled
Fanning, dragging up a chair, " not since I was a growin'
kid — an' I ain't nowise shore that I had enough then."

" Which I says is frank, comin' from th' keeper of a
hotel," laughed Gurley. " I've often felt th' same way
when I ate in town. Turn it loose. I'm on."

" Let me see," pondered Dailey, " we deals five cards,
don't we ? "

" We do ; but only one at a time," replied Fanning
patiently. " Don't turn no trump."

"It's sorta comin' back to me," smiled Dailey,
spreading out the cards to be cut to see who dealt " It's
sorta comin' back," he repeated.

" Then I'm sayin' It's due to be laig weary, for it's
goin' to have a long journey," remarked Dave. He
looked up. " Cuss it I Here's th' Doc ! Hello, stranger I

s82 JOHNNY NELSON

Shorci this it Gnnstght Hey, DaSeyl he*s got a whole
satchel full ; ring him into th' game.**

'* Bet he*f got a wad of wool soaked with diat diere
chloryfoam. Somebody ride herd on him/* laughed
Fraseri but he was tense. It was the first time anyone
had seen the Doc and Johnny together since the kid-
napping had been explained, and anything was possible.

'* Tm not collecting buttons/* retorted the Doc, smil-
ing. *' Hello, boysl Hello, Dave I Say, Fraser, I
wish you would tell Big Tom not to send in the wagon
for me ; Fve changed my mind. I got a hurt leg, and
it won't be right for nearly a week. Set out a round on
me, Dave; Fll drink mine and hurry along. I just
rode up to get word to Tom. Dave, you should use
something milder when you load this whiskey — ever
try nitric?*'

"Don't you do it, Dave!" expostulated Dailey In
alarm. " I can't hardly taste it now."

The Doc looked at him, shook his head sadly, said
good night, and went out.

"He didn't act like his lalg was hurt," remarked
Fraser wonderlngly. ** But you can't never tell nothin'
about him ; he's a queer bird. An' changeable ? There
ain't no cussed word for it."

" Fve often wondered how he made a llvin*,*' said
Johnny curiously.

** Well, Fll be cussed I ** snorted Dailey incredulously.
** You have been here all this time an' don't know that?
Huh I Th* Doc Is a sort of self-actin' remittance man.
He's got a wad banked back East, an' once a month
I cash a check for him."

THE MESSAGE 283

'* Two pairs," muttered Fanning, scratching his head^
and telling the truth to mislead his opponents. *^ That
^was what I was askin' about. Well, I'll see it an' add
a blue."

*^Any time you raise a blue, you got two pairs, all
right I" snorted Dailey. "Two pairs, deuces up!"
He held up a finger warningly. " I hears bosses' f eets,"
he chuckled. " Move over, Gurley, an' give th' visitors
a chance to edge in."

The sounds grew louder and soon stopped outside,
and a laughing voice said, "There's Dailey, th' boss
thief, tryin' to learn th' game. He's a persistent dummy,
for he's alius tryin'."

" He don't know one card from another," laughed a
second voice.

" Hey 1 " shouted Dailey. " Come in here, you f eU
lers, an' I'll show you how much I know I "

Slim appeared, followed closely by Larry and Arch«

" They ought to make you roll up yore sleeves, yoa
mosshead," said Larry, grinning.

" Sit down there I " ordered Dailey, " an' I'll have
you roUin' up th' bottoms of yore pockets I "

" Wimmin' an children first," quoth Fanning. " Come
on, Larry."

"Did you hear that?" snorted Larry, staring at
him. " I shore will, now I**

" This is goin' to be pay*day for me," said Dailey in
great content. "Where th' devil are we at, anyhow?"

Over at the bar Johnny and Slim were carrying on
ft low-voiced conversation and figuring on a piece of
paper, while Arch and Dave entertained each other at

284 JOHNNY NELSON

the other end of the counter. After a few miniites
Johnny nodded his head in quiet satisfaction, put the
paper in his pocket and, going up for a few words with
Arch and Dave, wandered over to the table and sat
down close to it, leaning back to enjoy the fight He
always found keen enjoyment in watching the store-
keeper play, for Dailey's red-brown face was suffused
with wrinkles of good nature, quite independent of
how his fortune tended ; his high, shining forehead and
the bald spot above and behind it reflected the light and
glistened. The eternal cigar he chewed on, cold, stale,
and odorous, bobbed animatedly and his shrewd black
eyes peered out from under bushy eyebrows, glittering,
glinting, and alive with his emotions, like twin mirror^
on which were reflected the subtle complexities of a
nature enriched by a life crowded with experiences.
He had no poker face, but knowing the sad fact, he
had made an adept liar out of the one to which Nature
had given so much expression.

He glanced at Johnny, his eyes dancing. *'Yo*re
comin' nearer th' candle all th' time, little moth,'' he
laughed. "I'll singe them wings of youm — you seel
My flush takes this game. Deal 'em up, Dailey," he
grunted, raking in chips and cards.

'* Come on. Nelson," said Fanning. " Better get in
this. Th' old boss thief is stackin' 'em up for you."

" Huh I " Johnny remarked. " It ain't as big a pile
as I was hopin'. Oh, well," he sighed, " I'm like th*
SV round-up : I take 'em as they come."

"How'd they come to start that so early?" asked
Fanning. " It's plumb warm for woikin' hard"

THE MESSAGE %%$

"Wanted to know how many head they had,** an*
twered Johnny. "An' what do you know about workin*
hard?"

" He's seen me lots of times»" cut in Dailey. " Did
they find out?"

"Shore. They've got twelve hundred an' twenty,
which would be fourteen hundred an' fifty-five, if Ar-
nold hadn't sold two hundred an* thirty-five head.**

"That's good, considerin* how things has been let
slide over there," remarked Fraser.

" Th' old figgers of three years ago," said Johnny,
"when Arnold took possession, were sixteen hundred
an' eighty-five, in th' fall. Now, lemme see — do I
need two or three ? " he mused. " Reckon there ain't
no use of throwin* away a nice, high card, so I'll take
two. I'm plumb fond of holdin' up a sider." He
glanced at the two cards, slipped them into his hand
and looked around. " Now, I was askin' th' Double X
what factor they used to figger natural increase — an'
they says one to five. That right?"

" That's alius been sort of gospel down here,** said
Fanning. " For th' Lord's sake I " he snorted, in play*
f ul pretense. " You takin' eight cards again ? "

" You ain't got no right to ask nobody but th' dealer
how many cards he takes," retorted Dailey. "As a
matter of fact, I only took seven. I'm h — 1-bent to
get me a pair."

" You are dealing,** declared Gurley. " How many
did you take ? "

"Three jacks," answered Dailey. "If I only had
th* other three mebby I'd have a pair.**

i86 JOHNNY NELSON

"Which same I calls enlighteain' an* 'luddatln',**
muttered Gurley. "I demands a count of th' detk.
But, speakin' of factors, I'd say one to nine was nearer
right, over on th' SV."

*' Let him count th' deck," growled Fanning, " before
he gets worse. One to nine I I'm sayin' one to five is
close whittlin' down on this range. It'll come right
eight out of ten. Weill well I" he chuckled, as he
looked at his card. " Welcome, welcome, litde stranger ;
how I wondered what you was I But I'm not pressin'
my luck too hard. I sees, an' trails."

"I'm passin'," sighed Johnny. "Now I says that
th' natural increase of them sixteen hundred an' eighty-
five cows th' next year would be three hundred an*
thirty-nine, usin' that gospel factor. Th* herd would
finish th* second year with two thousand an' twenty-
four. Usin* that gospel factor again, it would increase
four hundred an* five, an' finish th' third year with
twenty-four hundred an' twenty-nine. This is the sum-
mer of that third year, an' that twenty-four hundred
an' twenty-nine ain't there. There's only twelve hun-
dred an* twenty, which added to them that Arnold
sold, makes fourteen hundred an' fifty-five. Now I
figgers that fourteen hundred an' fifty-five from twenty*
four hundred an' twenty-nine leaves nine hundred an*
seventv.fnur head That's what is missin' — nine hun-
nrenty-four head. Call it nine hundred
imarron O.K.*s th' last tally figgers.
3ut th' Bar H allows one to five is right
hem cattle goto?"
[rowled Gurley. *' Kings ap I "

THE MESSAGE 287

*' You can't never trust assassins/' chuckled Dailey,
laying down three tens.

"An' three tens ain't no good tonight," said Fan*
ning, revealing an eight-full. " Two pair ain't no good
to bet on hard, but they're plumb fine to draw to. What
you got, Fraser?" he demanded.

''A headache," grunted Fraser, throwing down his
hand.

" Deal 'em up, Fanning," said Dailey. " Where did
they go to ? " he asked Johnny.

" I've gone over everythin' I can think of," replied
Johnny, leaning back. '^I've figgered hard winters*
wolves, fever — there wasn't none of them. Strayed
off ? Where to ? Would they leave Clear River for an
arid stretch forty miles wide — an' stay away? They
have to drink, don't they? QuicksancU? Those that
wandered in wouldn't be many, an' them that was drove
in we'll count part of that nine seventy. Where did
Aeygo?"

*^ Mebby they heard them angd voices callin'," said
Fanning, grinning.

" I'm sayin' somethin' is plumb wrong down here,"
replied Johnny. "Somebody has been ridin' th' line
careless, an' a lot of mavericks has got across. Fraser,
how many riders has Big Tom kept on his northwest

Fraser looked serious and pretended to ponder
deeply. "Only one — Wolf. PixC he was alius payin*
more attention to th' west line, f acin' th' Snake Buttes
country than he was to th' north line, though. All he
could think of was rustlers. Cussed if he didn't near

a88 JOH NNY NELSON

•leq> ^di 'em, he had ^cm in his mind so strong.** He
did not see Slim*s sneering smile or the look he ex-
changed with ArdL Slim was beginning to regard that
outfit very moch in that light

" That's what I thought," replied Johnny, triumph-
andy. *^He wasn't ridin' sign at all — he was only
lookin' for rustlers. An' while he was prandn* along
that west line lookin' for Nevada, them maveridcs was
driftin' off th' SV to get in that brush where th' flies
wouldn't bother 'em so much. That accounts for a lot
of them unmarked cows you was speakin' about"

" Does look like mebby there's somethin' in that,"
cogitated Eraser. ^^As I said, we never paid much
attention to th' catde out there ; but it don't sound rea-
sonable that all them SV mavericks would drift over
onto us. An' why only mavericks ? " He thought for
a moment *' I'm sayin' nothin', but there's somethin'
plumb wrongf somewhere. Want me to ask Big Tom
about it? Mebby it was rusders — they're plumb
active."

Johnny considered. ^^Well, you might," he said,
slowly, leaning slighdy forward in his chair. " Tell you
what, Eraser ; I'm dead shore about them nine hundred
seventy. Suppose you tell him to brand that many
mavericks, takin' 'em as they come, with th' SV mark,
an' throw 'em over to Arnold when he holds his fall
round-up ? Th' SV will provide stampin' irons, an' a
couple of men to help. As to rustlers, they'd have to
drive across th' Bar H an' th' Double X to get to
Arnold's ranch— any rustlin' that was done would be
done on th' fringes of th' Double X. Why, you fellers

THE MESSAGE 289

a,in't never been raided; an' to get to th' SV would be
^virorse than gettin' to th' Bar H. That's what we'll do ;
^we'll have him throw over nine hundred an' seventy
liead this fall, an' that'll make things right."

Fraser boiled inwardly, but controlled himself. There
liad been no accusation, nothing to call for defense, and
to take it angrily or as an accusation he felt would be
to play into Johnny's hands. Being guilty of the very
thing which the other had gone so carefully around,
made him find the hidden meaning in the heavy cir-
cumlocution, and keep quiet about it for fear of reveal-
ing the real meaning of the words to the others in the
room. He knew how Big Tom would take it, for he
knew that his foreman was smouldering like a volcano,
charged with the cumulative anger caused by recent
events; and he felt sure that the news he would take
back to the ranch that night would cause an eruption,
and a great one. This was another reason for remain-
ing calm: not knowing what Big Tom might decide
to do, it would be well to give Johnny no cause to
exercise any unusual caution, or to strike hard and
suddenly. So he growled a little as he resumed the
play.

" That's shore a whole lot of cattle to throw over to
anybody, free, but, h — 1 1 " he said, " it ain't no funeral
of mine. It's Big Tom's business, 'though I reckon
it'll sort of take his breath. Did Arnold say that ? "

"He's sayin' it through me," answered Johnny
quietly. "I'm workin' for him, an' actin' for him, an'
I'm usin' my own judgment."

Slim lounged into an easier position against the bar

^90 JOHNNY NELSON

and grunted. " Well," he drawled, " wcVe comin* to
th' conclusion that th' round-ups down here has got to
be general, spring an* fall. This here maverick busi-
ness alius is a bad proposition, an' it's worse in th' kind
of country that's plentiful on parts of this range. Sher-
wood is standin* out, set for a general drive. He says
for all th' ranches to join hands, sweep th' whole range,
do our brandin' an' divide up an' brand th' mavericks
accordin' to some fair plan. I suggests dividin' 'em in
proportion to th' number of cattle on each ranch, but
that's only my idea. He goes even further, an' says
that th' runnin' Iron an' this brush brandin' we all have
been doin' down here has got to be done away with,
on th' Double X an' every other ranch in this section.
Anybody knows that chutin' 'em, an' stampin' on th'
brand is easier, an' that there ain't no honest reason for
th' straight iron no more. Texas threw it into th' dis*
card ten years ago or more. We're discardin' it, an*
we're goin' to raise th' devil with any outfit that don't
foUer suit That's flat, an' goes as it lays, regardless,
to th' SV, th' Triangle, an' th' Bar H, with Sherwood's
compliments."

'* What about that nine hundred an' seventy, then?"
asked Gurley.

" We've got nothin' to say about them, but if they are
throwed over, th' rest will be divided," answered Slim.
'* Bein' th' biggest ranch out here, we stand to lose more
than any other by throwin' over them cows to th' SV ;
but we admits its tide to 'em. Tell Big Tom to think
it over, an' see us about it before fall."

^* One to five is figgerin' too strong," remarked Gur«

THE MESSAGE 291

Icy, thoughtfully. ''One to nine is nearer th* real
figgers/'

''There ain*t no reason that I can see to change
figgers that have proved themselves, time an* time again,
down here," replied Slim.

" Havin' been talked plumb weak," growled Dailey,
*' suppose we rest ourselves with a nice, quiet game?
It's yore deal, Fraser. Comin' in. Slim ? "

" No, I ain't ; I'm goin' out," answered Slim. " I got
more than twenty miles an' I'm tired Comin', you
fellers ? " he asked Larry and Arch.

"Shore," said Larry, arising. "Glad to escape.
Better come along, Arch — what's a few more miles? "

" I'd like to," replied Arch. " Cuss it, I wiU 1 lean
go to town th' next day. Good night, fellers."

They made a noisy exit and soon their banter and
laughter grew silent down the trail. Fraser stretched,
and yawned prodigiously, and his friend Gurley be-
came resdess.

Dailey, sensing the break-up of his beloved pastime,
made an effort to save it. " Don't bust up th' game,
boys," he begged. "I got a feelin' comin' over me
that I can clean up th' whole pack of you. Let's see if
I'm right"

"Try it on th* rest of th' boys," growled Fraser.
" I'm cashin' in what's left, an' dustin' up th' trail for
my little bunk. Comin', Gurley?"

"As far as th' partin' of th' ways," smiled the Tri-
angle puncher, ^ unless you aim's to ride home by way
of our house, so I won't be lonesome. It's only a few
nules out of yore way."

292 JOHNNY NELSON

" Fm likely to/* retorted Fraser. " So-long, f ellcw,"
and he preceded his friend to the horse raiL

The remaining four smoked and talked for a little
while and then Johnny arose. ^* Put them supplies in
th' shed, Dailey ? '' he asked.

*' Shore ; in a strong sack, like you said,'' replied the
storekeeper. ** I put in a few more cans of tomatoes,
seein' as they're handy when there ain't no drinkin'
water near."

**Yo're usin' yore head," conmiended Johnny, and
turned to Dave. *^ I'm goin' to th SV to let Cimarron's
boys know that there's trouble comin', shore. You
don't know when I'll be back or where I'm goin' ; but
I reckon mebby th' whole town will hear me, when I
(do come back. Somethin's goin' to bust loose tomor-
row. I ain't no blind fooL Goodnight"

CHAPTER XXII

THE ULTIMATUM

THERE was movement on the Gunsight trail at
an early morning hour. Five men rode to within
half a mile of the town and then halted for a final con-
sultation, which was soon over. Three rode westward
at a walk, another went on, bearing slightly to the east,
while the fifth, dismounting, led his horse from the
trail, picketed it in a steep-walled ravine and went north
on foot.

The eastern sky paled, grew silvery, and then became
tinted with red and gold. A man crouched behind the
hotel shed, swearing softly because he heard no sounds
of a horse within it. He snuggled close to a knothole,
peering at the hotel wall not far from him, and the
rifle in his hand was full cocked. Behind the saloon
shed another man had thrust his rifle through a crack
and as the light increased, he cuddled his cheek against
the stock and peered along the sights into an open
window in the rear wall«of the hotel. Lying in a clump
of weeds north of the saloon and near the trail was
another rifleman, who could see Dave's north wall and
the front of the saloon as well. A fourth had settled
down in the end of a shallow gully across the trail from
Dailey's store, his Winchester needing but to move over
a short arc to cover the door of the saloon. It was
point-blank range for him, and in this matter he was no

a93

jt94 JOHNNY NELSON

better off than his three friends. The fifth, the angry
and determined foreman of the Bar H, not finding cover
as close as he would have liked, was forced to ensconce
himself over two hundred yards from the front of the
hotel, and a little to the right of Jerry's shop, where he
kq)t turning problems over in his mind Desperate ail-
ments called for desperate cures, and if Gunsight ob-
jected as to methods, then it would have to object in
the persons of the three easy-going inhabitants who
were likely to be offended. The actions of the Double
X were far more serious, but had to be risked if life
were to be worth living for the outfit of the Bar H.
With the coming of dawn Big Tom pondered less and
looked more, his rifle at his shoulder, ready for instant
use.

Back on the trail there was silent movement as an in-
distinct and bootless figure crossed it and paused, wait-
ing for light. The darkness thinned and the figure
moved forward again, bent over dose to the boot marks
on the ground, which it followed with slow sureness.
The stockinged feet made no sound, avoiding twigs and
dead leaves, and not an out-thrust branch whipped or
scraped as the man worked forward. He carried a
heavy Sharp's, the heel of his hand over the cocked
hammer, his fingers covering the trigger guard as an
extra precaution against accidental discharge.

The few buildings in Gunsight appeared as though
a curtain were slowly rising and finally stood revealed
in their entirety, .The sun rose and threw soft, delicate
shadows from the bases of all standing objects, too
weak to mark their patterns far, melting into oblivion.

THE ULTIMATUM 4951

lA. door slammed, sounding irreverent and out of place,
and from the hotel chimney curled a timid wisp of
smoke, this way and that, finally climbing straight up
and losing its identity against the gray-blue of the sky,
while its supporting colunm twisted and turned and
danced as it hurried to self-effacement. Dailey's chim-
ney sent up a skirmishing film, which died out ; and then,
as if in stalwart support of the fainting advance, there
€ame a darker, thicker column, telling all who cared to
read that Dailey put his trust in kerosene. The hotel
door opened, causing a quick movement of Big Tom's
rifle, and George, sleepy and unpleasant in looks and
disposition, glanced idly around and went back again.
From far off in the west the quavering, long-drawn wail
of a coyote, mercifully tempered by distance, arose to
greet the rising sun. Birds sang with delirious abandon
and the soft noises in grass and sand and brush told
of a waking world. In the vague grayness of the hotel,
framed by the open door, something moved, steadily
growing plainer and soon took the form of a towel in
the hands of George, who drove winged pests before
him and, with a final, frenzied waving, took hold of the
door and slammed it shut. As it closed Big Tom re-
laxed, eased his hold on the rifle and reached back to
remove a stone which was beginning to assert its pres-
ence under him to his growing discomfort. Turning
his head, he looked back, and froze, his groping fingers
rigid Ten feet behind him and to his right was the
black muzzle of a heavy rifle, and behind that a pair
of gray-blue eyes regarded him malevolendy through
narrow slits in the bronzed face. For a tense, appre-

296 JOHNNY NELSON

ciable interval eyes looked into eyes, and then the
foreman squirmed

^' Don't move, only as I tell you, an' slow/' said
Johnny's clear, low voice. ^* I got you just th' way I
want you — ambushin' I Don't touch that gun, an' don't
make no noise. First, put yore hands up even with yore
armpits, palms down, on th' ground. Now inch back,
away from that gun. Keep on — more — more
-^— all right — stop! Slide 'em forward, straight out
ahead of you, an' then lay stilL You can admire Fan*
nin's front door, an' imagine me in it, careless an' easy
prey for a pot-shooter, if it'll do you any good. Don't
look around till I tell you to, an' don't make a sound,
blast you I "

Not being able to do anything else, Big Tom obeyed
and soon felt his Colt leave its holster. A hand felt up
under his coat, to see if the back-strap of his trousers
held a gun. Being right-handed, the foreman would
hardly choose to carry a six-gun there under ordinary
circumstances, but this situation was not in that cate-
gory. The back-strap was guildess.

*' Roll over on yore back," came the next command,
and when it had been obeyed the same inquiring hand
passed lightly and quickly over waist-band and shirt
bosom, the left hand holding a six-gun now instead of
the rifle. *^A11 right, wiggle down In that gully, and
then head for where you left yore cayuse, keepin' low
down, like yore nature, an' out of sight of town."

"What do you think yo're doin'?" wrathfully in^
quired Big Tom, but obeying as he protested.

'* Huntin' for an excuse to blow you apart, you am*

THE ULTIMATUM 297

bushin* dog,'* came the metallic reply. *^Shut yore
mouth, an' keep on goin'. I'll give you a chance to ulk
later. Any harm that comes to you will be of yore own
maKin • iveep on I

They reached the brush at the edge of the trail,
waited a moment, and then crossed swiftly, and when
they stopped again it was at Pepper's side. Johnny
quickly mounted and urged his captive on again. Com*
ing to a picketed Bar H horse he ordered the foreman
to mount it, and as the helpless man obeyed Johnny
revealed their objective.

'* Head for yore ranchhouse," he said. ** Ride on
my right side, yore stirrup even with my pommel, where
my Colt will have a fair view of you from under my
coat. If we meet anybody, pass 'em on yore side, an*
don't make no remarks that ain't needed. We go at a'
lope; hit it up I"

And so they rode, except at a few places in the canyon,
where the narrowness of the twisting trail made Big
Tom go ahead. Arriving at the ranchhouse they rode
around on its further side, tied the horses to a stake,,
and went indoors.

** Sit down," commanded Johnny, indicating a chair
in the middle of the room. '' Here, look at this," and
he handed the foreman a piece of paper which was
covered with sprawled figures. '' I don't know what
Fraser forgot, or what he got tangled up, so I'll go
over it again. Them top figgers are based on th' tally
sheets of th' SV in th' fall of th' year that Arnold took
possession. They ain't like th' figgers 01' Simon could
'a' showedf for th' ranch had been on th' slide for somcf

S9S J OHNNY NE LSON

yoirt, an' plenty of its cows went on th' drive trail to
give monejr to di' heirs. Th* lowest figgen are based
on th* tally Cimarron finished yesterday. Natural in-
crease, figgered as one to five, shows what they oug|it to
be, minus them that Arnold had to sell to get grub. It^s
aU there."

"Th* h — 1 with *eml*' blazed* the foreman, crush-
ing the sheet in his hand and hurling it from hinu
** What do / care about any figgers belongin' to th* SV ?
Take yore figgers an' get out — I'm advisin' you to
leave this part of th' country, an' cussed quick. I ain't
playin' godfather to th' SV, an' I'm runnin' this ranch
without no help from you, Sherwood, or anybody else."

*^ When I leave this range I'll go of my own accord,
an' there won't be no pushin'," retorted Johnny. *^ Sher-
wood can 'tend to his own business; I'll 'tend to mine;
but I've got time to look after a little of youm. If yoo
ain't godfather to th' SV, yo're shore goin' to act like
one. There's nine hundred an' seventy head clean
missin' from it, an' there's plenty of big ranches down
Texas way that would yell for th' rangers, an' holler
calamity if they had lost that many. For a little ranch
to lose 'em it is shore enough calamity. If anybody
would put that many cows on th' trail for me I'd show
'em a lot of money at th' other end."

*^ SV calamities don't mean nothin' to me," rejoined
Big Tom. ''It was allowed to run itself, an' it run
itself into th' ground. Why wouldn't it lose a lot of
cattle?"

'* It shore might do just that," conceded Johnny, '* if
it wasn't for one thing. Yo're an old hand in th' catde

THE ULTIMATUM 29^

business, an' you know that a bunch of cattle can run
-wild an' grow amazin'. An' they'd shore do it on a
range like th' SV with that valley an' them brush-filled
draws for winter shelter. There ain't no natural enemies
to cut down th' calves — an' that ranch is good grazin'
all year 'round There wasn't cows enough to eat it
down."

"There's them quicksands, an' there was a lot of
gray wolves runnin' down here th' last couple of years 1 '^
shouted Big Tom, red with anger. " They never even
kept up th' wire fence around th' quicksands. Why
wouldn't they lose cows?"

** The quicksands would get a few," rejoined Johnny.
" They would get more if th' cows was drove into 'em
like I caught Lang doin' — an' them will be figgered in
th' herd to be throwed back. I've asked about wolves
an' everythin' else — there wasn't nothin' to keep 'em
down. An' as for that fence, th' less you, or any of
yore gang have to say about that, th' better it'll be for
you."

" Then yo're callin' me a liar," blazed the foreman.
" There was wolves down here I An' I never touched
that fence, neither."

" Mebby you didn't personal ; an' I ain't callin' you
a liar while you ain't got a gun," retorted Johnny. " But
I am admittin' that yo're plumb mistaken. Comin' down
to cases, pleasant an' friendly, I'm sayin' that th' Bar H
owes the SV nine hundred an' seventy head of catde,
as they come in a round-up, all kinds an' conditions*
When do you aim to start deliverin' ? "
The foreman sprang to his feet " When do I aint

300 JOHNNY NELSON

to start ddiverin' ? ** he shouted, staring into the cahn,
gray eyes of the man whose Colt covered him. ** When
do I aim to start deliverin'?" he repeated, his neck
swelling. ** I ain't aimin* to at all I Nine hundred an*
seventy I That would plumb ruin us 1 '*

" It ain't ruined th' SV," replied Johnny evenly. " Not
quite, anyhow," he added. ^'An' it won't ruin you,
because they can all be figgered as extras. We all know
they ain't never been put on th' tally sheets with th'
other cattle, for th' owners to know about. They're
strays, you might say, that have been eatin' up yore
grazin' scandalous. They've wandered over on you an'
are likely to eat you into some kind of ruin. You ought
to be able to do better without 'em, an' you shore ought
to be glad to get rid of such a hungry bunch of catde
that you can't prove title to."

"I've got all th' title / need — they're on my ranch,
an' that's good enough," shouted Big Tom. " It's good
enough for me, an' it's good enough for everybody
else, you included."

** Not for nobody else," corrected Johnny, "me least
of all. That title is questioned now by more than a
dozen men. You can't keep 'em, nohow, for th' general
round-up will cut 'em four ways. Th' times are changin'
down here like they changed some years back on th'
older ranges. Th' runnin' iron is dyin' fast, an' for
good reasons. Maverickin' is goin' out of style — an'
nothin' can stop it An' with it goes that title you was
mentionin'. Why not get ahead of 'em, an' throw them
cows over onto th' SV before anybody gets insuldn'
you?"

THE ULTIMATUM 301

** I'll have somethin- to say about any styles changin*
down here/' retorted the jEoreman. ''Mebby more
than some folks think."

^' You ain't got a chance, not a chance," Johnny as-
sured him. ^^ You'll be like th' Injun that tried to push
back th' first, an' last, engine he ever saw. It was goin'
strong when he tried it."

"An' I ain't got th' authority to give away a cow, not
even a single dogie — not to mention a herd. I'm not
ownin' this ranch; I'm workin' for it. How can I
straighten out my tally sheets to cover th' loss of a herd
like that? They don't belong to me — they belong to
th' ranch, to th' owners." He was wasting as much
time in argument as he knew how in the hope that his
outfit would return.

" Pshaw I " laughed Johnny. " They can all be ac-
counted for. Didn't I just say that they never got on
th' tally sheets at all ? You shore found you had been
feedin' a hull passel of cows that didn't belong to th'
ranch in case they did get on th' tally sheets. You
found it out, an' it was so plumb careless of yore line
riders that you up an' fired them that was responsible.
That won't bother you, because you got three names off
yore pay-roll right now. There ain't nothin' we can't
get around if we pull together."

"But th' title to 'em wouldn't stick," objected the
baited foreman. "Every one of them cows could be
took away from Arnold. I ain't got th' authority to
make it stick. An' th' only reason. I'm wastin' time
talkin' to you over a fool thing like this is because you
got a gun on me, an' I can't help myself.'* His brain

302 JOHNNY NELSON

seized upon and rejected scheme after scheme for get«
dng out of the situation, one of which he recalled and
examined anew. It was not a bad one, if bad came to
worse, and he nursed it, sorry that so much time would
have to elapse before he could carry it out.

'* I just said we could get around anythin*,'* replied
Johnny, pleasantly. '^ There's an awful lot of mavericks
runnin' around on this ranch, most of 'em under four
years old. They wouldn't show any Bar H brand.
They'd only have a SV. There wouldn't even be a
vent brand to single 'em out; an' cattle ain't tellin'
where they come from, or we'd 'a' heard a lot of scan-
dals long ago."

^* Nine hundred an' seventy mavericks I " snorted Big
Tom. "A fine chance I'd have of roundin' up that
many I Yo'rc plumb loco."

** That is a lot, I'll admit," conceded Johnny, appar-
ently balked. ^' Of course, if you owned this ranch, you
could make it up with Bar H brands. But you don't
You can't give away nothin' that you don't own. I can
see where that would put you. Anythin' that was yours
you could give away ; but not no Bar H belongin's. [That
yore idea?"

" Yo're gettin' th' drift, slow but shore," sarcastically
rejoined the foreman. "Anythin' I own I can give
away ; but not nothin' I don't own. A kid can under-
stand that. An' there ain't that many mavericks on
this ranch."

" I still say we can get around anythin' an' I ain't no
kid," muttered Johnny. "Lemmesee: First, we'll con-
sider cash. Got any ? "

THE ULTIMATUM 303

^* Nothin' but my wages/^ answered the foreman, a
sarcastic smile playing around his lips.

^^Too bad," mused Johnny, ''wages ain't a patch.

we could have you ownin' a nice pile of money — but
can get money I '^

" Look here I " snapped Big Tom, aggressively. " I
can't sign no checks over a certain amount a year — th'
bank wouldn't cash 'em. An' they've all been signed
for this year, all but th' pay-roll. An' I don't own that
money, neither. That belongs to th' ranch.'*

"Well, failin' in cash," said Johnny, crisply, "I'll
take a note. Will you gimme one ? "

"I will; you can have it," nodded Big Tom, his pet
scheme coming more vividly into his mind. " I'll make
it out right here, an' now."

" I don't want yore note," obj ected Johnny. " What
good is it? Now, if it was endorsed by somebody that
could make it good, why that would be different. You
said you'd gimme a note ; then gimme that one for three
thousand dollars, of Arnold's, that is endorsed by some-
body that can make it good. An' also a receipt for it
That'll cut down that nine hundred an' seventy an
amazin' lot Th' difference won't be too many to get
right here on th' Bar H, an' all of 'em mavericks."

Big Tom was staring at him as if doubting his
senses. His face flushed and the veins on his neck and
forehead stood out like serpents. He stepped forward
involuntarily, but the gun stopped him. He was in-
capable of speech for the moment and could only make
inarticulate sounds.

** That'll help a lot,*' said Johnny, ligfady balanced

304 JOHNNY NELSON

and leaning sligfady forward '' Well let th* Double X
say how many cattle, takin' *em as they come, they
would sell for three thousand dollars. Then we'll take
that many away from that nine seventy. You can easy
round-up what are needed to make up th' difference,
brand *em with th' SV stampin' irons, an' throw 'em
over where they belong. I'll take th' note now.'*

" You'll take h— -1 1 " yeUed the foreman. " You'll
take h— II"

"You'll pet h — 1!" snapped Johnny, his eyes nar*
rowing; ^^ an' you'll get it pronto/ Hunt up that note,
an' without no more cussed nonsense. It's yore play,
an' you shore want to play fast I "

*'You won't get no notel" shouted Big Tom, his
face twitching with rage. He seemed about to spring.

''Don';/" ordered Johnny, softly, but with a cold
ferocity in his voice that carried conviction. " I'll shoot
you like I would a coyote, you pot-shooter, for you are
a coyote I Get that note ! "

Big Tom, seething with rage, swayed in agonizing
hesitation. He had courage, plenty of it; but he also
had common sense. Unarmed, he could do nothing
against the gun which had killed his two-gun man in an
even break; and his common sense came to his rescue,
and barely in time. Glancing out of the window, he
detected no signs of his outfit on the trail, and craftily
attempted to begin the argument all over again.

"That'll do," said Johnny. "We've finished that
My time is valuable, even if I ain't lookin' for com-
pany; an' if they come, you'll be th' first to go under.
Get — that — notel"

THE ULTI MATUM 305

Shrugging his shoulders, the foreman stepped for*
^wardy but Johnny slipped aside and snarled a warning,
so venomous and tense that Big Tom gave up the des-
perate idea, and slowly turned, a beaten man. He
walked toward a metal-bound box in a comer of the
room, Johnny dose at his heels, the gun against the
foreman's back. Unlocking it, he slowly raised the lid,
and felt Johnny's breath on his neck, the gun pressing
solidly against his spine. As the cover went up it re-
vealed a derringer lying on top of a few papers, and
the foreman's hand slowly passed by it and fumbled
among the contents, reluctantly withdrawing with an
unsealed envelope. Shutting down the lid he turned the
key, and arose to his feet as his captor, alert as a cat,
stepped aside.

Johnny took the envelope, backed off a little farther,
opened it, glanced at the note and nodded. He looked
around the room and then ordered Big Tom to the
table. Taking the pen and ink from a shelf, he placed
them before the foreman and then handed him the
envelope, telling him what to write. When the pen
ceased scratching he took the receipt, read it, and held
it out a moment for it to dry.

"This saves you a lot of brandin',^' he remarked.
** Somewhere around two-thirds, I redcon, 'though th'
Double X will set its value in cattle. Now, you listen
dose. There ain't goin' to be any round-up or brandin'
on th' northwest section of this ranch till th' SV gets
its herd. When we know how many will be needed you
will have till th' general round-up to use th' SV irons.
Send for 'em when you get ready, an' an SV puncher

3o6 JOHNNY NELSON

will come with *em. I'm warnin* you fair : A Sharp^s
will talk to anybody nmnin* a brand or round-up out
there unless a SV man is on th' spot. An' there's goin'
to be some S V men right soon — good ones — an' theyll
be plumb touchy about wire fences comin' down. Now
I'm takin' you for a little ride with me, so you won't be
tempted to smoke up out of a window while I'm ridin'
ofif. Come on ; I'm shore in a hurry."

In a few moments they rode westward, Big Tom
leading the way, and it was not until more than an hour
had passed that he was free to ride back again, or to
Gunsight for his outfit, as his fancy dictated.

He chose to return to the ranch and while he
rode he elaborated the plan which had come to him,
and rubbed his hands as its details unfolded. Since
Nelson had admitted being the man who was responsible
for the mysterious events which had puzzled the coun<
tiyy Big Tom had remembered Lang's report about
having seen Margaret and Johnny riding together.
The foreman had not given her up, although pretend*
ing to have no interest in her. Having lost the note
he had to change his plans, and go about it in a different
way. Now his rage and jealousy fanned the flame of
his impatience, gave a keener edge to his scheming
wits, and added zest to what he purposed to do; and
before he knew it he arrived at the house. Entering,
he saw the crumpled piece of paper and, kicking it
across the room, laughed sneeringly.

" You've been proddin' th' wrong man, Mr. Nelson,"
he growled. *' I'm slow to start; but when I do, there
ain't nothin' that'll stop me."

CHAPTER XXIII

RANGE ACTIVITIES

ON THE day following Johnny's message to Big
Tom, Gunsight had awakened expectant, and had
remained so all the morning, but to no end. Not a
Bar H man had come in, so far as they knew, and the
trio in Dave's changed from the belief each had retired
with and discussed the situation from a different point
of view.

" Big Tom is a wise ol' owl," said Dailey. " He'll
move when he gets ready. Just now he's on a nest,
katchin' out somethin' that is mebby tender, bein' so
young. He ain't layin' down so easy. I know him.'*

''He reckons, mebby, that th' man that dealt th'
hands has got an ace in a hole," replied Fanning. " It's
an old sayin' that you never want to buck another man's
game. I don't know that Nelson has got an ace laid
away, but he don't have to have any ; Big Tom figgers
he has, mebby, because them Double X hombres are so
friendly with him ; an' it's what Big Tom thinks that
counts with him. Mebby somethin' will happen today,
an' mebby it won't; but it's goin' to happen, just th'
same, some time."

" I'm f avorin' th' ace Idea," said Dave, thoughtfully.
'* If I was Big Tom I'd be plumb suspicious of any man
that made th' suggestion that Nelson made when he
knew there was an outfit ag'in' him. I'd figger he was

S07

3o8 JOHNNY NELSON

dther a cussed fool or knowcd just exactly what he was
doin\ an' all th' time. Nobody down here believes that
he is a fool, not now, anyhow; an' Fm dead shore he
wasn't bluffin'. He's got an ace, all right — an' I'm
admirin' Big Tom's waitin' game. ' When he thinks he's
figgered out how far th' Double X will go we'll hear
his answer. Besides, th' Bar H has got to round up
an' brand that herd for McCullough. That may be
holdin' him back some."

'* Slim's remarks slid in like they was made to fit,"
commented Dailey. ^'An' he wasn't bluflin', neither.
If th' Double X is backin' Nelson, all th' way, he'll win;
if they ain't, he won't But I'm shore waidn' to see,
an' hear.'*

Down on the Bar H dinner was over before the
foreman had much to say, and he was careful not to
reveal his personal experiences of the morning. He
counseled patience, and gave good reasons for it. They
had until fall to start on the SV herd, and many things
could, and would, occur before then. The first thing
to do was to get ready for the round-up of the trail
herd, and in order to lull suspicions they would not
work on the tabooed section. There was to be no
branding done out there, and in order to show their
fairness in not too noticeable a way, they would help
the Triamgle with its five hundred head. This over
with, the Triangle punchers would have to hold the
herd together until McCullough came along and, not
being able to call on them for aid, the Bar H would
have to appeal to the Double X for the loan of some
of its men, who thus would be on the ground and see

RA NGE 'ACTIVITIES 309

Tirhat cattle were to be cat out for tlie traiL Nebon
-was to be ignored until the herd was sold and the
money put in the bank at Shemuu, after which he
'would be taken care of.

^^ Nelson is a good man,** Big Tom assured them;
^' but he ain't good enough not to never make mistakes,
an* no man can take every trid^ He*s goin* to miss
one, th' last he'll ever miss, or win, for that matter,
but there ain't no use of any of us gettin* killed unless
we have to. We can get him without it, an' mthout
gettin' any of his sudden new friends on th' prod. I
promise that I know how we're goin' to play it — an'
it's so easy it makes me laugh. He's a good man ; but
there are older heads than his'n. You f oiler my orders
an' set tight I'll handle this when th' time comes, an'
it ain't here yet Stay out of Gunsight unless you can
go in peaceful, keep yore mouths tight shut, an' stay
sober. I've said enough about him.

" Now, we got work ahead of us, an' we start at it
on th' Triangle day after tomorrow. I'm goin' over
to see Hank Lewis now. There'll be somebody from
Twitchell an' Carpenter comin' up any day now to
select th' cattle an' stay with 'em till McCuUough counts
'em into his herd. After I see Hank I'm ridin' to town
to leave word at Dave's for Sherwood to see if I can
borrow some of his boys when we start our own
round-up. Look over yore gear an' be ready for
workin'."

His prophecy regarding the representatives of
Twitchell and Carpenter was fulfilled at mid-afternoon,
when two strangers rode up to the bunkhouse and

3IO JOHNNY NELSON

inquired for him and, being told that he could very
likely be found in town, they explained who they were
and rode on to Gunsight, accompanied by Eraser. To
the saddle of each were fastened three stamping irons
bearing their road brand.

Big Tom was in Dave's when they arrived and after
a few rounds of drinks they setded down to discuss
the herds and range topics in general.

44 -pj^* -p j^j^i Q 3g„ ji,j» many over th' trails this year ? "

Dave asked during a lull in the talk.

** Shore," replied the older and taller visitor, who
answered to the name of Ridley. " WeVe been busy
since winter. We looked over a big herd of beeves
south of th' Grande for th' first herd. There was over
thirty-five hundred head and they was three- an' four-
year-olds. They went up north of th' Yellowstone,
on government contract. Another herd of three thou-
sand two- an' three-year-olds went past th' Platte, bound
west for new ranges. There was two more big herds
went up to Dodge — one of 'em bcin' sold without th'
new owners even seein' 'em. This bunch is goiit to
new range north of here, some of 'enu I don't reckon
there'll be many more this yeat. There ain't an animal
in them that McCuUough's bringin' up that's more
than two years old, an' those are th' ones goin' to
range. We took 'em from four different ranches to
get 'em choice, an' they're all long-laigged longhoms
an' a purty sight to a cowman. I'm bettin' Mac won't
lose a single head neither. He's a trail boss that is a
trail boss. He knows every river an' ford, water hole
an' dry section from here to Montanny. He took that

RANGE ACTIVITIES 311

first herd north this springi mn* here he is back in time
to swing this drive. He has a knadc of piddn* good
men for his trail outfits, an' he's daddy to 'em all from
th' jump, without nobody knowin' it"

Big Tom arose. *' Well, friends," he said, shaking
hands, ^^yo're welcome to stay at either ranch while
yo're here; but I reckon Fanning can make you more
comfortable. We start on th' Triangle day after
tomorrow — come down when you get ready. I told
you how to get to th' Double X. If you go over there
before any of 'em come to town, let 'em know that
I'm countin' on usin' three of their men when I start
my own round-up. See you later."

Dawn found activity on the range. The Double X,
having rounded up its hundred head the day before,
with a few additional to make up for possible rejec«
tions, held them apart from the SV herd, which also
had extra cattle to offset any not up to the required
standard. The majority of them, those which were
certain to be accepted, had already been branded. The
C and T inspectors watched the cutting out and indi-
cated their choices as the cattle left the round-up herd,
those rejected being turned aside and allowed to go
back to freedom on the range, while those accepted
were driven to the beef cut, which grew rapidly. A
hundred and five finally were accepted, the odd five to
make up for possible losses on the trail. Then the SV
herd went through the same proceeding until four hun«
dred and ten had been thrown into the beef cut Because
of Cimarron's discriminating judgment in making up
the herd there were but few rejections ; and, besides, the

312 JOHNNY NELSON

Standard was not high, for, broadly, a tow was a cow.
The remaining SV cattle were not returned to their
ranch, but were set free to wander where they would.
{The general round-up would find them later and throw
them back then if Arnold wished, although with the
coming of the new round-up conditions there would be
no great reason to throw them over — the brand would
protect his interests, no matter where it was found.
There was some talk about the SV cattle, but Johnny
was credited as representing Arnold, and the matter
was settled by agreeing that the T and C should pay
Arnold, direct Then the road branding began, and
when it was over the consolidated herd was held to
await the arrival of McCullough. It was then that
Sherwood turned to three of his men.

it 'p|j» Triangle ain't asked for no help, but you boys
go down an' give 'em a hand," he said. " We're intro-
ducin' th' comin' of th' general round-up out in this
country, an' we're doin' it gradual. There won't be
no thought of us watchin' out for Arnold's interests
over there, because these inspectors will do that any-
how. Go down an' show that we're friendly; an' from
there go to th' Bar H.

On the Triangle the following morning things were
running in full blast After a breakfast eaten by fire-
light, the outfit was in the saddle at the first flush of
dawn, and rode far out on the range. At an agreed-
upon point it spread out in a thin line, the riders spaced
at irregular intervals, depending upon the nature of
the ground, and as they turned and moved back in the
direction of Rock Creek they were joined by the Bar H

RANGE 'ACTIVITIES 31^

contingent, which took up its position on one end of;
the line.

DrawSi brush, and coulees shed cattle before the
advance. A cow with a big, husky, and friskily inde*
pendent calf arose to its feet and looked wonderingly
at the disturbance. Gardner espied her and galloped
forward, shouting and waving his hat as he rode.
" G'wan, you ! Get goin' ! "

The cow stood irresolute, debating between the les«
sons of experience and her own wishes, and the pug«
nacious counseling of her indignant offspring. Deciding
in favor of the former, she wheeled and moved away,
the rebellious calf protesting by kicking up its heels and
by the defiant erectness of its tail.

'^Th' devil you sayl" grinned Gardner, watching
them depart. "Yo're big enough to be weaned, you
overgrown baby — an* yoVe shore goin* to be, for yore
ma*s goin* north."

Out of a clump of brush popped a group of two*
year-olds, heads up, curious and mildly frightened.
They stood defiant until Gardner was nearly upon them,
and then his sudden whoop sent them whirling and off
toward Rock Creek, discretion overbalancing valor.
He gave them no further thought, for they would con«
tinue to travel unless crowded too much, and he was
too old a hand to do that. A cow with a dogie he let
slip through, pity joining hands with common sense in
their behalf. It was not his purpose to bother with
sickly, stunted youngsters, nor to take from them the
maternal care so necessary to their sense of security.

By this time the outpouring of catde had pat 4

eu JOHNNY NELSON

respectable number in front of him, and as others were
routed out they more willingly went forward, for the
gregarious spirit urged them to join the little herd.
Occasionally one having more spirit than the others
would wheel around and attempt to escape, but in all
instances, except one, the speedy dash of the trained
cow-horse headed them off and sent them on the about«
face. The exception was a five-year-old steer, crusty
and sullen, his hide bearing mute witness to his com«
bativeness. He planted himself on rigid legs, lowered
his sweeping horns and without even a grunt of wanK
ing charged straight for the watchful horseman. *

'* Blasted mosshead," muttered Sam, avoiding the
rush, and watching some of the cattle which had turned
to see how the affair came out before making up their
minds to duplicate it. Too old for the drive, Sam
would have let him go, except for the bad effect it might
have on the rest of the cattle, and except for his own
aroused spirit He swung his rope and it darted up
and out, and caught a hind leg of the ^* mosshead '* as
the pony settled back. There was a blur of over*
turning steer, a bellow of rage, injury, and surprise,
and a resounding thump. Riding forward and taking
up the slack as he went, Sam suddenly took two quick
turns of the rope around his pommel, checked the horse,
and grinned. Down went the mosshead again with
another thump, and before the animal could get on its
feet the rope was slipped off his leg, and when he arose
he found himself alone. Gardner had seen the waverers
start back to freedom and had to leave die craggy
fighter to check a catastrophe. Hard riding won out

RANGE 'ACTIVITIES 315

for him tnd again he went forward. Several weaners
shot out of a draw and took great credit to themselves
for outwitting the puncher; but Sam saw no use of
collecting infants only to have them turned loose at
the cut-out. One cow arose, spread its feet apart and
moved its low-held head slowly from side to side. He
gave it a pitying glance and let it alone. ** Locoed,**
he muttered, and as he spoke it shied at a weed swaying
in the wind and went cautiously around it There came
a sudden bellowing ahead and he dashed forward at
the pair of bulls who were pawing streams of dirt into
the air as they met in the dust cloud, head on, and locked
for the fight, their great, muscular backs bowed under
the power of straining legs. This was no time for
masculine duels and he broke it up with quirt and hat,
driving the testy combatants apart and sending them
on their ways. Dust arose over the moving herd, under
which was turmoil, confusion, the lowing of cows, and
the bawling of calves ; but it rolled steadily westward,
slowly but surely. A rattler coiled swiftly and launched
its venomous, dart-shaped head at the horse, which
reared up with a snort of terror. Sam, stirred to sudden
anger and recklessness, spumed a gun, and leaned over
as the horse dropped to all four feet. His quirt whizzed
viciously and a headless, splotched body writhed in the
dust.

•* Pm purty bad, myself, when Fm riled," he told it,
and rode on. Shortly afterward a gray streak flashed
from a heavy bit of brush, and Sam's Colt leaped into
action, but in vain. The coyote punched a hole in the
air and disappeared almost as tiiough it had shrunk

3i6 JOHNNY NELSON

into nothing. He grinned: "That slug will catch you
when you stop, less'n you turns out," he said

Rode Creek coming into view, the long line of horse-
men became a crescent, the ends moving forward at
the center slowed, and soon a circle of riders held the
herd on all «des. It slowed, grew compact, and
stopped, shifting like a kaleidoscope, the different colon
weaving in and out like patches of some animated,
changing crazy-quilt. There was good grass here,
plenty of water, and no more urging riders. Calves
went bawling their panicky ways in frantic search for
lost mothers, butting and worrying through the herd,
receiving rebuffs and impersonal chastisements as they
disturbed their elders. One stood outside' the press
and bawled like a spoiled child, its defiant tail as high as
iti sinewy neck and more erect. There came an answer-
ing call from thcherd and a frantic mother shot out,
nosed the squaller, and then both grew instantly silent,
contented, and at peace with the turbulent world.

'* G'wan bade 1 " ordered Lefferts, grinning from ear
to ear. "I'm sayin* that it's a great thing to have a
ma, you bellerin' cry-baby."

The round-up had taken less time than had been
expected and it was decided to go ahead with the cut-
ting out The riders took turns in going to the horse
wrangler's flimsy rope corral, made by lariats strung
wheels of the chuck wagon to the pommels of
1 the backs of old, docile, and well-trained
Selecting from their best cutting-out animals,
ere hastily changed, a quick meal eaten, and
nen rode back to the herd to relieve others,

RANGE ACTIVITIES 317

who duplicated die performance. The herd was gendy
made more compact so as to cover less ground and need
fewer riders to loaf in their saddles and hold it, the
inspectors rode out in front of it and the cutters-out
went to worki trying to pick from the outer fringe of
catde. Cows and steers lumbered from the press and
went either to the beef cut, or to freedom, according
to the signal of the inspector. Quickly the round-up
herd shrunk and the beef cut grew. At first there was
some trouble to get the chosen catde to ka vc the herd — «
diey tried to rejoin it ; but as the beef cut grew it drew
more and more until it was hardly more than neces-
sary to start the individual catde for it. When night
fell the original herd had disappeared, its more for-
tunate units ranging free upon the ranch. The beef
cut, allowed to graze and not bothered more than
necessary, was headed for a rise, where in due dme
it bedded down and prepared to spend a quiet, peaceful
night

A passtr-by would have come upon a picturesque
scene on the banks of Rock Creek that night. The
cook's fire, blazing high, was surrounded by the men
off watch, squatted, seated, or reclining as they swapped
stories and told jokes. The chuck wagon was mag-
nified and made grotesque by the firelight and shadows,
saddled horses tied to it or picketed a short distance
away, and the flimsy rope corral running from wagon
wheek to stakes driven in the ground, was ready to
hold a change of mounts in case of a sudden need. In
the distance was the bedded herd, lying on the top of
a rise wheie it could catch any passing breeze, the

3i8 JOHNNY NELSON

oitde chewing their cuds and blowing and granting
contentedly.

A yearling bummed among them, filled with the
mischievous deviltry of youth, making life mberable
for its elders as it stumbled and butted its erratic way.
It left a fight or two in its wake and finally fled, aban-
doning all dignity when a crusty steer arose to chastise
it But the chip on its shoulder remained there until it
tried to butt a calf from its warm bed, whereupon the
indignant mother scrambled to all fours and sent the
disturber on the run for safety. The calf was there
because it bore no brand, which would be taken care of
on the morrow. The bummer had no excuse to create
any trouble over a warmed bed because the night was
warm. Finally, the edge gone from its esniberant dev-
iltry, it began to look for a place to sleep — and after
barely escaping several thrashings it worked out of the
herd and sought a place by itself, doubtless to ruminate
upon the cruelties and indignities endured by yearlings.

The four night riders of the first shift went slowly,
lazily around the herd, keeping a score or more yards
from it, singing and carrying on chanted conversations
as they met and passed each other. Gone was the dust
and turmoil of tiie day and in its place had come rest
and quiet. Over all the crescent moon, n^htly to gron;
fuller, worked its alchemy on earth and cattle, shedding
its soft silvery li^t The distant camp fire gre^v;
steadily lower and finally glowed like the tnd of M
great cigar, winking as gentle breezes fanned its cmbeni
and passed on. Somewhere out on the silvery range M
kmely coyote poured a burbling plaint to the moon and

RANGE ACTIVITIES 319

passed on like a shadow in search of food to stop the
clamoring ache of an empty stomach, gradually ap-
proaching the winking fire, where choice titbits might
perhaps be found.

'* I want a big chew of tobacco/' chanted Gardner,
as he drew nearer to Reilly, ''An' I want it bad, for
mine's all gone."

" It alius is," sang Reilly. " Don't bother that ^N>^
ted yearlin' over by them boshes. He's finally quit his
bummin' an' has bedded down all by hissdf outside th'
herd. You'll know where he is even if yon went blind.
He's real friendly an' lonesome, an' likes to comrene
with everythin' that passes."

" I know th' scamp," sang Gardner, retnming the
plug. ''He's had one gosh-awfol time today keqMO*
out of a lickin'. I'm sayin' he earned a dozcn.^ Soon
he made out Lefferts' song, who moonied a loog^ott
love.

Her hair was tV color of 'lasses.

As soft as a bundle of wire;
^Aff birds made their nests in its fastness:

If they didf^t I share am a Uar.

Gardner was stirred by die roAod^ and botnt wto

jong out of sympathy:

Her eyes was as hri^hias old saddles,
Aif crossed on ilf end of her nose;

Her hands was as shapely as faddles
Aff hmrnf down almost to her toes^

3«o JOHNNY NELSON

LeSertB retmluted p r omptly:

Her cheeks toss ss smooth ms M cactus,

Aif pink MS abi^ hunk of mud;
At primpii^ she wus alius in practice,

Aif she was daimtUy shaped, like a tub.

From across the herd came ReUly's natural tenor,
a little ragged, but still a tenor:

Her voice loas as sweet as a longhom^s.

It sounded as soft as a scream;
I'm scared to roll up in ay blankets
For fear that of her I will dream.
The song was too much for the coyote, and he
paused to yield to the craving for hannony reawakened
in him.

"He's imitatin' you, Jim," chanted Gardner as he
passed Lefferts. " Which same I says is well done."

" Go to th' devil, an' join yore tribe," sang Jim in
delicate repartee, and forthwith began the mournful
lay of Clementine :

In a hut a^mong th* bushes, all a4ong tV foamiW

brine.
Lived a min-er, 'forty nin-er, aw* Ins daugh-ter,

Clementine.
She was fatr-er than th' ros-es, ait her for-m-m,

it was divine;
Two drt-qoods box-es, without their top-ses, made
rs for-r my Clementine.
eleven Gardner rode in to the wagon,
at shift, sought his blankets and wai

RANGE ACTIVITIES 321

sound asleep before his diree shift companioiis rcmd^d
the camp. At three o'dock the secoad shift was re>
lieved by the third, and last, which would stay with the
herd until it was taken over by all the others, after
breakfast

The new day brou^t further developments. Sev-
eral fires burned not far from the herd, irons projectiiic
from them. The catde were again cot out and driven
away to a new herd, one by one, but this time they were
taken close to the fires, and because of dieir weigfit
and strength two ropers joined in the efforts of brand-
ing each animaL The Rowing iron bit deeply throogh
hair and into the skin on the left flank, filling the aur
with bellowing anguish, surprise, and indignation, and
the odors of burning hair and flesh. There were figlrts,
balkings, charges, but the hard-working, hard-riding
punchers, the defdy cast ropes, and the trained horses,
together with waving hats and an occasional revolver
shot close to the nose of refractory, pugnadoos bolls,
and an occasional waved slid^er or coat, won oat, and
the work proceeded at a good pace in ^ite of the
general and apparent confusion. But whatever aq>ect
of confusion there was, very litde really existed except
among the victims themsdves, for the men proceeded
along well-established lines, and the work went on as
though it were running in a groove. Horses were
changed every hour or two, depending upon the rider's
judgment, and the inspectors, with the Triangle fore-
man, checked off the branded anhnak as dicy joined
the road-branded herd. This herd grew rapidly and
Its guards were increased as needed from the roper(

3«a JOHNNY NELSON

and iron men at they became too tired to hold the pace
set. All day long the busy scene continued in the dust
and the heat of the sun, with a bedlam of noise, an end-
leas weaving and shifting, with lathered horses, sweat-
and-dust-grimed riders, shouts of **Hot iron I Hot
iron I '* " TaUy one 1 " " Ropers up ! " and cries of
warning and bursts of laughter. It were well that the
Double X had sent three men to help ; ten would not
have been too many. Even with their help there was
only one pair of ropers working at the fires and only
diree cutters-out, the rest being used to hold the two
herds of restless cattle ; and when night finally put an
end to the operations less than half of the trail herd
had been branded.

"Two more days," growled an inspector. "It's
time you fellers throwed this worn-out, ancient way
aside, an* got up even with th' times. You can build a
chute that'll hold eight head an' by usin' stampin' irons
you can turn out from sbcty to eighty, yes, sometimes
even a hundred, an hour, after you get th' hang of it.
This handful should 'a' been done by noon. If I was
you, Huff," he said, turning to the Bar H foreman,
" I'd get on th' jump an' make a couple of them chutes,
an' lay in half a dozen irons. One iron will do two or
three with one heatin'; sometimes, if th' iron handlers
work fast, two irons will stamp th' whole eight. You'll
laugh when you see 'em comin' out, all branded, eight
to a clip ; an' th' work ain't near so hard. There ain't
no holdin', nor ropin', nor throwin'. Here we've toted
half a dozen Question Mark irons up here, an' they
ain't hardly saved us any time. You've got plenty o£

RJNGE JCTIFmES jtj

nmc to pot op a cbhIc bcnic

sand — if 700 dm't; vr*l be a
^wcck's too loos."

His cuin|wmiflw wwliird CBfrnataamf^ aad oCcfcd to
sopcrmtcnd the vmk. ^ Sidcj cam hndk th* tdtyin*
for OS out here Tkj^YV all been icIfitcJ, aa' oomia*
as slow as tlicjr do, it ain't so tvooan job. Mdiby th*
trouble X win lend a CDOfrfc more men to bc^ — they're
finishin' a pair of cfaotes ap there, an' know what's
^iranted. What yoasaj about it?**

Big Tom consiclercd, and gmd^ng^ game his am*
sent. Gos Thompscm, tired as he was, Tohmteered to
gp to his ranch wtth the request, and started as soon as
he had eaten. And bf the nigjht of the seomd day
following, when the road-bruided Trian^e herd was
being held to await the coming of McColloagh, two
eight-oow dmtes were ready on the Bar H for the
handling of its tfaoosand head.

The Toaad-vp on the Bar H went forward with a
swing and iriien it came tmie for the road branding the
chntes proyed their worth. The catde, driven op in
groups of ei^it, were forced into the long, narrow
boxes as fast as the bnmded groqp went oat at the other
end. A bar dn^iped past the nose of the leader, and
another bar dn^iped behind the last one in. Two men
standing on a platform ronnii^ along the side of the
chate, each was handed a freshly heated iron and hnr*
ried from animal to animal, stanqnng the brand on each
in torn. All monung die long chntes filled and emptied,
die men changing places as they tired, die iron handlers
to bodiered by die stmging odbr of bomii^ hair that

324 JOHNNY NELSON

none of them worked longer than two or three hours
without being relieved

** I'm backin' this here magazine-action brandin' with
a hundred an' fifty pounds of fightin' Irish," declared
Reilly, chuckling at the almost automatic working of
the chutes. ^* Eight in, stamped an' out again while
we'd be workin' on one slippery cuss. Seventy th' last
hour for Sam's chute, an' Fraser crowdin' him close;
an' us tcnderfcet at it — I'm bettin' th' last hour does
ninety to th' chute. We're gettin' th' hang of it, an'
gettin' it fast"

*^ Slippin' along like water down hill," laughed Slim,
borrowed from his bed and board to help the Bar H.
•* Hey, Ridley I " he called to the busy inspector, " got
any new-fangled improvements that'll make these chutes
do it themselves, so th' hard-workin' punchers . won't
have to loaf in their saddles, but can set around an'
gamble? Holy Maverick! Look at him tallyin'!
He's shore workin' harder than he was yesterday."

''Who's loafin', you fool?" snorted Sam, taking
breath while the chute was being refilled. 'Tve
stamped close to eight thousand since I climbed up here,
an'— Ho/ iron/ Hot iron!^* he yelled as the front bar
dropped. " Wake up, you tramp 1 "

" You've got a lot to say, you has 1 " snapped Lefferts,
running up with the irons. ''AH you got to do is push
'em ag'in' their hides — I'm near wore out 1 "

"Why use any bars at all?" queried Reilly, grin-
ning at the hard-working Sam. "Just let 'em filter
through, stamping 'em on th' run. We're wastin' time,
this way."

RANGE ACTIVITIES 325

*' You've got near as much tense as Sam has!**
retorted Lefferts, stirring his fire. ** Which am't payin*
neither of you no compliments/* he grunted

Big Tom could not deny the advantage of chute and
stamping irons, and the ocular demonstration took from
him his last reasonable objection to them, although he
found fault with them because the herd had to be driven
to the same place each round-up, and because he did
not believe them to be suitable for calf branding; but
when it was pointed out that the cattle had to be driven
somewhere before the herd would be worth bothering
with, and might as well be driven to the chutes, and that
it would be a saving of time to do that, or to build more
chutes on the ranch rather than to revert to the old
methods, he could not deny it. Regarding the branding
of calves there was a division of opinion; but calf
branding was not nearly as hard or slow as the branding
of grown animals. He knew, however, that the styles
were changing, and changing under his eyes, and that
for him to become stubborn and set against the change
would be to appear ridiculous, and to become a source
from which much levity would spring.

The branding done and the tallies compared, the
visiting punchers departed for their ranches, the in-
spectors accepting Big Tom's invitation to spend the
night with him, and rode to the ranchhouse; and the
herd, restless, sore, and in sullen mood, was watered
well at the muddy pond and thrown upon the high bed
ground, and would remain a herd until delivered to
McCuUough, and for some weeks thereafter.

CHAPTER XXIV

ON THE TRAIL

AFTER breakfast the following morning Ridley
and his companion saddled their horses to ride
back to Higfabank, where they would wait for the trail
boss. As they finished cinching up, Big Tom strolled
into the corral and smilingly watched them.

" I suppose you want Mac to bring you a check, as
usual?" queried Ridley, swinging into the saddle.

" This is th* one time I'd rather have cash," replied
the foreman. "With cash, in th' next week, I can
make a quick turnover."

"Cash it is," said Ridley. "Gold or bills?"
" Make it bills," answered Big Tom. " I'm glad I
met you boys — come up again next year. If yo're
lookin' for good cattle then I'll have plenty."
"Then I reckon we'll be here. So-long."
"So-long," replied the foreman, watching them ride
away. As they dropped from sight over a rise he smiled
cynically and went back to the ranchhouse. Pausing at
the door, he looked out over the range in the direction
of the northwest section and the Double X, and slowly
turned his head, his gaze passing along the horizon,
behind which lay Gunsight, Green Valley, and the SV

asy," he growled. "Me throw over
ed head of mavericks to Arnold, an*
sx

ON THE TRAIL 327

split up th' rest four ways ? It makes me laugh I An*
when I hit Nelson he'll wonder what kind of brains he
really has got There's a jolt comin' to this section,
an* it*ll be Big Tom that springs it About one week
more an' / play my hand I "

Four days passed and then, in the afternoon of the
fifthy a great dust doud appeared far down the High-
bank trail. Fraser discovered it and called Big Tom
from the ranchhouse. The foreman glanced south, told
the puncher to ride off and get the herd started, and
then hurried to his horse, sprang into the saddle, and
rode toward McCuUough's sign. He had hardly more
than gained the regular trail when he saw seven men
riding toward him at a good pace, and no second glance
was needed to identify the one who rode in the middle
and slightly ahead.

The trail boss was a character to demand attention
wherever he might be. Over the medium height, he
was so heavily and solidly built that he appeared to be
well under it when standing alone ; he had the barrel*
like chest that stands for strength, and his sloping
shoulders were a little rounded from a careless saddle
seat of many years. His rugged face was brown, the
skin tough as parchment, and the faded blue eyes peered
out in a direct, unwavering gaze between lids narrowed
by the suns and winds, rains and dusts of a life spent in
the open. His head was massive and the iron-gray
hair, falling almost to his shoulders, gave it a leonine
appearance. He wore no chaps, for his riding^ took
him into few thickets and there was no reason for him
to bear their discomforts. His clothing was simple

318 JOHNNY NELSON

and loose: blade* heavy, woolen trousers thrust into
soft, high boots with moderate heels, and bearing no
spurs, for he depended on his quirt; a blade, woolen
vest, buttoned at the bottom, from an upper podeet of
whidi protruded the well-diewed stem of a pipe; a
heavy, faded, blue flannel shirt, open over the bronzed,
hairy chest and throat ; a faded blue kerdiief , knotted
loosely about his nedc; a heavy, gray sombrero, mod-
erate in height of crown, but with a wide brim. He
rode a Cheyenne saddle, devoid of ornamentation, its
housings covering the horse from rump to withers, and
the reins of the bridle, contrary to the prevailing fashion
of that southern range at that time, were short A .44
Winchester lay in its sheath under his right leg; a
braided hair lariat was coiled at the pommel; a heavy,
plain six-shooter rested in an open holster ; and behind
him was rolled the everlasting yellow slicker. He r»de
a magnificent bay horse whose spirit was shown in every
movement, and which would follow him about like a
dog. Over all was dust, gray, thick, impalpable dust

" Hello, Huff I " he bellowed. " Come down to see
if I got lost? Join up with us; Fm figgerin* that Tri-
angle herd may be up at this end of th^ crick, an' if it
is, it*s got to move. Them long-laigged cattle of mine
ain*t had a drink since yesterday mornin', an' they'll
shore rush that crick. We'll have some cuttin' out to
do if th' other herd is in their path. How 'bout it? "

" You can pull up, then," replied Big Tom. " They're
well to th' south of th' bunkhouse — you got plenty of
room for ten times that little bunch yo're so peart about
I heard they are th' leavin's of four Greaser ranches."

ON THE TRAIL 329

Glad to learn they ain^t there/* said McCuUough.

*^ They're such leavin's an' scourin's/' smiled one of

his companions, '' that I'm advisin' Mac to double th'

night guard while he's within' forty miles of this bunch

of ranches."

** We'll count that Triangle bunch right away," said
the trail boss. " Where's yourn ? "

"It's on its way," answered Big Tom. "It'll be
on hand soon enough. Goin' to count that, too, to-
night?"

" Shore. An' throw 'em together, an' bed down on
Clear River, so we can get a two-hour jump-off in th*
mornin'. Is th' Double X holdin' its bunch in th' same
old place?"

"I reckon so," replied Big Tom, and soon they
passed the Triangle ranchhouse, where Hank Lewis
rode forth to join them.

"Get yore boys, Lewis," shouted the trail boss.
"We'll count that herd right away."

"They're with it now," replied Lewis, as he drew
nearer. " Glad you brought some of yore boys along-—
I'm short-handed for quick work."

It was not long before they reached the herd and it
was slowly crowded into a more compact mass, and
became wedge-shaped. McCullough, one of his men,
and the two foremen stopped before the point, the
trail boss and Huff on one side, the others not far away
and facing them. The herd started slowly forward,
narrowing to an animated ribbon which flowed between
the two pairs of counters and kept them busy. McCul-
lough and Lewis counted on knotted strings fastened

to their pommelsy Huff used his fingers to check off
the tally, fifty head to each digit, while the fourth man
threw a coil of his rope over the pommel of his saddle
at each hundred. The counting was finished well under
ten minutes and the results compared* Lewis said five
hundred and five, the other three announcing five hun-
dred and six*

The Triangle foreman laughed. " Here is where I
get paid for a missin* cow."

"Three to one bein' good enough for me," replied
the trail boss, grinning, " I says you do. It's worth
that to see you again; an' what^s a cow between
friends ? " He turned in his saddle. " You might move
'em up closer to th' trail, boys," he shouted, and added
with a chuckle, " they'll disappear when my long-laigs
come along."

His prediction was justified, for the long-legs, having
run the last mile or two with the scent of water in their
red nostrils, poured into the creek and soaked them-
selves inside and out. By the time McCuUough and his
group reached the scene, the Bar H herd was crossing
the trail. The counting was gone over again, the tal-
lies agreeing to a single cow, and the Bar H herd was
allowed to join the strangers along the creek. In due
time the enlarged herd was thrown back on the trail,
and when the Triangle five hundred joined it they were,
indeed, swallowed up.

The trail boss and Big Tom rode off to the Triangle
ranchhouse, figured for a moment and then exchanged
cash for a receipt. The foreman shoved the bills into
his pockets and went with McCullough back to the herd.

ON THE TRAIL 331

picked up the squad, and had the Double X contingent
counted before the trail herd reached the river.

As the herd came along it made a fine sight for a
cowman to look upon, the cattle strung out for three^
quarters of a mile in length and spread well out on
both sides of the trail, well watered and fed, and mak-
ing under these conditions four miles an hour. The
chuck wagon, drawn by four mules, rolled far ahead
of it, the caviya of a hundred and thirty saddle horses
to one side and also ahead. Each of the two point men
was followed by four swing men, five to a side, and they
had nothing to do now but look out for stragglers and
to keep local cattle from joining the invading host. The
bed ground was well chosen and the night promised to
be a good one, notwithstanding that clouds were form-^
ing and the moon would be more or less obscured.

After the Double X contingent had joined their trail
mates for the long journey and the great herd had
bedded down, half of the trail outfit, together with the
punchers from the ranches, headed for town, McCul-
lough electing to remain with the herd. Big Tom and
Lewis shook hands with him and returned to their
ranchhouses, riding together part of the way.

Just before they separated Lewis looked up. *^I
heard that Arnold was ridin' today — one of th' Double
X boys met him at th* trail. I reckon it must feel good
to be in th* saddle again after such a long siege In bed.'*

" I*m bettin* it does,'* smiled Big Tom. " I had a
dose of it when I was a young man, an* once is shore
a-plenty.**

** He must think so, for he's aimin' to ride to town

33* JOHNNY NELSON

every day, an' spend some of his time getdn' acquainted
with Dave an' his friends. Well, I'm leavin' you here.
Good night"

'^Good night," replied Big Tom, riding on with a
sinister smile on his face.

The following morning was cloudy, which suited the
Bar H foreman, who had a long ride ahead of him.
He opened the south door of the ranchhouse, looked
out and caught sight of a movement near the right-hand
comer. A full-grown rattler was crawling slowly across
a sand patch, and the foreman watched it idly. Then
he grinned.

** Wonder how good my gunplay is these days ? " he
muttered, and his Colt leaped from its holster and
roared. The snake writhed swiftly into an agonized
toil, its flat head moving back and forth, its tongue dart-
ing angrily,* and its rattles buzzing steadily. Huff
growled at himself and fired again. The flattened,
venomous head sank down, twisting and turning on
the writhing coils.

" H — 1 1 " growled the marksman, walking slowly for-
ward for a closer look, which showed him that his last
shot had cut through the vertebra and half of one side
of the neck. It was good enough, and he turned and
walked along the side of the house. Passing a window,
he suddenly stopped and looked closely at the ground
just under Its sill, where boot prints were plainly visible.
Before doing anything else he reloaded his gun, and
then followed the prints with his eyes until the comer
of the house cut them from sight. He stepped back
until he could see the bunkhouse door to leam if anyone

ON THE TRAIL 333

vrzs coming up to investigate the shots, and his gaze
followed the prints straight toward it until they became
lost on harder ground. No one being curious about
the shooting, he went back to the window and peered
in. He could see nothing because of the curtain, and
had about decided that he had enjoyed secrecy the
night before, when a sudden thought struck him. The
interior, being dark now, was not right for a test, and
he went around to the door, opened it, threw up the
other shades, and hastily returned to the window, where
he smothered a curse as a small hole in the curtain
let him see quite plainly. Again returning to the
house, he closed the door and slipped his extra Colt
into the waist-band of his trousers, where one side of
his open vest covered it, put on his coat and, going out
the rear door, sauntered toward the bunkhouse, his
eyes finding and losing the boot marks as the trail
passed over varying ground. Before he reached the
house his four men emerged from it and began the
regular, humorous, morning wrangle as to preference
in the use of wash basin and towel. They grinned at
his approach and he smiled in return, his eyes missing
nothing in their expressions, and it was Eraser at whom
he looked longest when he spoke.

^* Throw my saddle on th* big bay, Bill,'* he smiled^
pleasantly. "I'm goin' up to Sherman to fatten th^
balance at th' bank. I may be back tomorrow nighty
but if I hear of any cattle that can be got cheap I may
go on an' look 'em over. You boys have plenty of sup*
plies, but if you run short go up to Dailey. If he's got
any cigars, get a box — I reckon we can afford that

334 JOHNNY NELSON

much of a celebration, in view of that herd Bat don't
•drink too much. You know why."

Eraser got the saddle from die storeroom and went
out to put it on the foreman's best horse. As he came
out of the door he nodded toward the north. ** There's
Mac's sign already; he must 'a' passed around Gim-
sight. He's well on his way."

The others looked at the faint thickening in the air
beyond the town and [>ast the east end of Pine Moun-
tain, where the dust from four thousand cattle rose
heavenward.

"He's a wise bird, gettin' to th* crick last night,"
commented Carson. "He's been movin* since dawn;
an* I bet he's glad it's cloudy, with that dry stretdi
ahead of him."

" Shucks 1 " snorted Dahlgren. " Thirty mile of dry
trail ain't nothin'."

" Not much," admitted Carson ; " but, still, it's better
■cloudy than boilin' under th' sun."

'* I reckon Mac ain't tbinkin' as much about it bein*
-doudy as I am," smiled the foreman, turning to take the
horse Fraser was leading to him. He had asked Fraser
to get and saddle his horse in the hope that the puncher
would stand on his dignity and, perhaps, provoke a
4]uarrel, out of which anything might come; but Fraser
paid no attention to the request, unusual as it was, and
grinned as he stepped back.

*' It-'s fifty miles to Sherman, an' I'd rather have it
, all th' way," smiled Big Tom, mounting. " Well,
;, boys I " and he was off.
^se the trail over Pine Mountain, not so mudh

ON THE TRAIL 335

for its saving in miles, but because it gave him a high».
distant point from which to look back over his trail,,
and it avoided the Doc^s shack and Gunsight as well.
Reaching the top of the mountain, he turned and closely
scrutinized the trail, finding nothing to bother him;
but he was bothered, nevertheless, and he determined
to pay as much attention to the trail he covered as to
that which lay before him. Setting out again, he went
well to the west of Gunsight and struck the Sherman
trail ten miles beyond the town.

Back on the Bar H, Eraser was thinking. He had
been doing a lot of it the last week, and he had not
been alone in it. When his foreman had ridden off he
leaned against the door and watched him until he was
lost to sight. Dahlgren and Carney passed out, joked
with him and went to the corral, soon riding off to the
south. Dick Carson passed out a little later, paused,
retraced his steps and leaned against the other door
jamb.

"Wonder if yo*rc thinkin* th' same as me?" hr
quietly asked. $

Eraser looked at him closely. " I don't know ; Tm
tfainkin' of a gamble,'* he replied, hooking a thumb in
an armhole of his vest

" Shore ; so am I," nodded Carson, carelessly. " This^
here range is shot full of holes, for us.'*

" It is," admitted Eraser. " We been driftin* them^
mavericks for three years — an' now they're goin* ta
be throwed back, branded, an' th' rest cut four ways*.
How are we goin' to stop it?"

33^ JOHNNY NELSON

** Vm figgerin* on driftin* myself; bat I hate to drift
•lone^ an' empty-handed,'* growled Carson. ** I come
down here to work for Huff, for fifty a month, an*
piddn's. I've been gettin' th' fifty — but there won't
be no piddn's, less'n I run some off with me. I'm tired
of this blasted country, anyhow. Why, I'd ruther take
chances, like Nevada, than go on this way down here.
H — II" he snorted in angry disgust. ''I'm sayin' I
fair itches to gamble," he added.

Fraser shifted to a more comfortable position.

** What do you think th' boss has got in his pockets
right now ? " he asked, cynically.

*'A big, fat check, that won't do him nor us any
good," replied Carson.

** Check I " Fraser laughed sarcastically. ** Check ?
He alius used to have a check, after delivery; but he
ain't got one now. He's got bills, wads an' wads of
bills. Quite some over six thousand, I redcon, in bills.
I saw his pockets bulgin', an' I wondered why he didn't
take a check, same as usual. I wanted to make shore,
so I did some scoutin' up around th' ranchhouse last
night — I saw 'em. Wads, an' wads. I was shore
tempted."

Carson was looking off toward Pine Mountain, an
evil expression on his face, and he moved restlessly.
*^ There's only one reason for that," he muttered, and
turned to his companion. *'Are you still thinkin' of a
gamble?" he demanded, all thought of cattle out of
his mind. "Th' herd money is shore worth while —
what you say about it?"

" I was sort of tumin' it over in my head," Fraser

ON THE TRAIL 337

admitted "It*s a lot of money; a powerful lot of
money for one man to tote.**

'' It'll still be a lot of money if it's split in two/'
suggested Carson. *' Do you figger he's goin' to bank
it? All that cash? Why didn't he take a check? Why
did he change, just when things was gettin' worse down
here all th' time?''

^'I don't know; but he's alius been purty white
to me."

*^ Has he been three thousand dollars' worth? " asked
Carson, smiling evilly. "I'm figgerin' he's lettin' us
hold th' sack, that's what /'m figgerin'. An' if he don't
come back, who's goin' to sign checks for our pay?
We're losin' our share of all them mavericks. There
won't be no nice bunch of cattle goin' up th' trail for us
fellers, not now. But there's one whoppin' big bunch
of cash goin' up a trail for us, if we go after it How's
yore nerve? What's th' use of playin' for buttons,
when there's bilb to be had?"

" If I reckoned he was goin' to bank that money I
wouldn't touch it, not if I was shore he was comin* back
to stick with th' ranch," muttered Eraser. "But I
reckon he's throwed us down. I reckon we're holdin'
th' sack, all right. An' if he aims to keep it, then we
has as much right to it as he has. Cuss him I he's
chickenJivered I Come on : I'm with you," and he led
the way into the house to get some of his personal
belongings.

" He's got a start on us, an* a cussed good boss,"
growled Carson as they hastened to the corral. "We
can't save nothin' by cuttin' across, neither."

.» ♦»

338 JOHNNY NELSON

** No, we can't; but we can take a lead hoss apiece,**
aaid his companion, " an* ride without carin' what hap-
pens to th' ones we start on. He won't be pushin'
hard — he don't like hard ridin', he thinks too much
of his hoss, an' he ain't got no reason to be in any
great hurry. He's serene as a snake full of birds,
chucklin' at how easy it is."

Down on the southern part of the ranch, in a draw,
there was another conference, where Dahlgren and
Carney also were mourning the deplorable state of
affairs on the range.

*^ Three years' work gone to blazes," grumbled Litde
Tom, resentfully. ** I'm near on th' prod."

"Gcttin' near on th* prod ain't worth nothin',^
replied Dahlgren. **It's gettin' on one, a good one,
an' stayin' with it, that counts. I figgers we still got a^
lot of interest in them mavericks, an^ I'm dead shore
there ain't nobody watchin' 'em this side of th' Double
X line." <

"There's a lot of 'em away south of there," said
Carney. " There's a couple of herds hang out closer
to th' water hole in West Arroyo. I've seen 'em often
when I rode that way. We could round up near three
hundred, hold 'em in that blind canyon till evenin', an'
then run th' whole bunch over th' Double X southwest
comer an' get 'em well away tonight. It's cloudy, an'
there won't be much moon showin' — just enough light
to see what we're doin', an' not enough to show us up
for any distance. Th' four of us can swing that herd
In bang*up style— an' Big Tom won't never catch us,
once we get into th' Snake Buttes country. An' what's

ON THE TRAIL 339

more, I know where unmarked cattle can be sold, with
no questions an' at a fair price. .Th* game's up for U89
down here, anyhow."

'* You aimin' to let them two in on this?''

** I'd ruther let 'em in on it, an' swing more cattle,
than have 'em trailin' us tomorrow. An' four ain't too
many for drivin' through th' Buttes.*'

" I don't like splittin' 'em four ways," growled Dahl«
gren, but he grudgingly gave his consent ''All right
Go up an' feel 'em out, while I start roundin' up. Don't
give nothin' away before you know how they feel
about it"

'' I'm off. They wasn't goin' to ride out till late, an'
mebby I'll catch 'em at th' house," and Carney was off
like a shot He was not gone long, and when he
returned he spread out his hands expressively.

"They've pulled their stakes, I reckon," he reported.
"Their blankets an' 'most everythin' they owned, of
any account, was gone. My extra gun is missin', an'
our stuff is spread all over th' place. I rusded some
supplies, an' found they had been there, too. Let
•em go I "

"Cussed glad of it; now it's halves, instead of
fourths," replied Dahlgren, cheerfully. "Come on;
let's push this work. Don't get any more branded
cattle than you can help; but we ain't goin' to waste
no time cuttin' any out."

Up on the Sherman trail Big Tom was swinging
along within ten miles of town when, passing a par-
ticularly high, abrupt hill, he turned out, rode along it
and, dismounting, went up on foot until he could peer

340 JOHNNY NELSON

across the top of it He (Ud not have long to wait, for
soon two horsemen appeared far back on the trail,
where it crossed a wide, open space. Going back to his
horse, he led it into a thicket and tied it to a bush, took
his rifle and returned to the hill top, where he chose
cover close to the bank at the trail's edge, and setded
down comfortably to wait

As the two riders drew nearer he recognized them
by their ensemble, and by the way they sat their saddles,
and it was not long before he could make out detaib.
iThey were riding hard, both keenly alert, peering along
the trail ahead of them. Nearer and nearer they came,
pushing ahead at a fast, hard pace, eager to overtake
him before he reached the town. Sweeping past the
steep bank, they shot around a bend and went on.

Big Tom watched them until they had passed from
isight, and then arose and nodded ** It's a good thing
for you that you missed me 1 " he growled. *' I hate
to lose th' pay-roll money; but what's got to be done
has got to be done. My interest in Sherman has plumb
faded. Now for a smash at Nelson that'll hurt him
to his dyin' day, d — n him I "

Darkness had fallen on the range and the night riders
of the west section of the Double X were Slim Hawkes,
Tom Wilkes, and Cimarron, who had the first shift
They were back on the old three-shift plan and would
be of! duty at half-past eleven. Cimarron had ridden
south and had reached the end of his beat, die north
side of a shallow arroyo. He softly gave the night's
signal and, receiving no repiy, decided to wait for a

ON THE TRAIL 341

^while, for Slim was due to reach and stop at the other
Mde of the arroyo at any minute. He could faintly
discern the outlines of objects at quite a respectable
distance and wondered how soon the moon would break
through the filmy douds. Suddenly he listened dosdy
and thought he detected the noise made by a herd.
Slimes signal came faintly to him and he replied to it
with a double one. In a few minutes Slim loomed up
out of the dark.

*'Are you hearin* that, too ? '* asked Slim in a whisper.

**I am," replied Cimarron. "That's a herd, an*
there's work for me an' you. It's comin' up from th'
south, bearin' a little west, I reckon. How do you
figgcrit?"

" West, bearin' a little north," answered Slim. " But
it's shore comin' from our range, which is enough for
us. I'm askin' no questions tonight Th' last time I
sung out Nevada shot me up. I'm doin' my talkin'
tonight with my gun. An' I'm hopin' it's Nevada, per-
sonal : I owe him somethin'."

" Don't separate, or we'll mebby shoot each other,"
growled Cimarron. " If we hit 'em from this side we'll
mebby turn th' herd so it'll stampede back where it
belongs ; an' if it does, th' fellers on th' other side will
have plenty to do for a couple of minutes, an' give us
a chance to get to 'em. It's closer. Are you ready?"

Slim loosened his left foot from the stirrup and then
lay forward along the neck of his horse, Cimarron doing
likewise; and then the two animals moved forward at
a walk, innocent of any silhouetted figures sticking up
ki the saddles. Louder and louder grew the sound and

34a JOHNNY NELSON

soon the two clinging riders could plainly disdnguish
the rattle of horns from the hoofbeats. A few minutes
more, and then a mounted figure became vaguely out-
lined. The herd was being moved at a walk, possibly
to avoid greater noise until it was well across the
Double X line, and now its bulk could be guessed at.

The herder leaned forward suddenly to scrutinize two
moving blots he barely could make out against a rise
of ground behind them, and the movement was the
beginning of the end, for him. A sudden stream of
fire poured from the left-hand blot and he slid from
his saddle without a sound. The blots let out yells and
dashed for the front ranks of the herd, which wheeled
like a flash and thundered across the range over a
course at right angles to the one which they had been
following. The two night guards spurred towards the
place where they hoped to come in contact with other
rustlers, but found no one to oppose them, and they
then set out to follow the herd. Far ahead of them
they saw two flashes, followed at certain, agreed-upon
intervals by another and then a fourth. Cimarron fired
once, counted twelve and then sent two more shots
into the air as close together as he could make them,
which left nothing to be desired on that score. When
he and Slim neared the herd again the moon shone
down faintly and let them see what they were doing.

" Whcre'd you get 'em ? '* yelled Matt Webb. " There
ain't a brand on 'em, that I can see ; an' I can see plain
enough for that."

"Where do you suppose we got 'em?" retorted
Cimarron, "from Europe?" He rode at one end of

ON THE TRAIL 343

«w

the front rank and had the satisfaction of seeing it
falter.

** I see a Bar H mark! " shouted Rich Morgan. **An*
they're stoppin', thank th' Lord 1 "

In another ten minutes the herd started milling and
soon afterward became sensible.

**I say we have been made a present of some of
/Huff's pets,'' chuckled Rich. '^ He says mavericks take
title from th' ranch they're on ; an' I'm gamblin' these
are on th' Double XI"

" If they was ours I'd say to let *em wander," spoke
up Cimarron. ^' Seein' as they ain't, I reckon it'll save
a lot of work if we beds 'em down an' keeps 'em to-
gether. I'll go on in an' let Lin know, so he can turn
out th' off shift. We shot somebody out near that
dividin' arroyo between Slim's section an' mine; you
might take a look out that way. Slim's hopin' it was
Nevada ; but I'm sayin' mebby he'll be surprised when
he finds out who it is.'*

^^Fm guessin' right about th' outfit he belongs to,
anyhow," replied Slim. **An' I'm not goin' in till I sees
which one he is. Comin', Matt? I'll ride out with
you."

Leaving Cimarron to go to the bunkhouse for the off
shift. Slim and Matt rode rapidly toward the scene of
the fight, and when they reached it they saw a figure on
the ground. Dismounting they bent over it, and then
looked at each other.

'' Dahlgren I " breathed Slim.

Matt nodded. ** They wasn't waitin* for their mav-
ericks to be split four ways,'* he said, covering the up-

344 JOHNNY NELSON

turned face with the dead man's sombrero. "They
was stealin' a march on Big Tom while he is up in Sher-
man. Well, anyhow, he was on th' rustle — an* there
ain't no harm done. Go on in, an' get yore sleep. As
to th' herd, I reckon Arnold has got th' best title to it
— but that's for Lin to say. If he does throw 'em over
to th' SV it'll save Big Tom th' shame of doin' it hisself .
Good -=-»•- "

CHAPTER XXV

STILL A-ROLLIN*

ARNOLD finished his breakfast and, telling Mar-
garet that he was going to Gunsight to see Johnny
and Dave, the hiring of another puncher being upper-
most in his mind, went to the corral and soon was riding
along the trail, gratified by the entire absence of pain
in his leg and with the stimulation which came from the
easy motion, the sun, and the crisp morning air. When
Margaret turned back into the house her brother had
slipped out of the front door and had gone, eager to
shirk his few duties and play scout. Since he had found
an old, broken rifle in the deserted and disused bunk-
house it formed the foundation upon which he based his
play. As she called to him, vexation in her voice, he
was wriggling through a clump of brush not far away,
this part of his scouting being earnest and real. Wiping
dishes was woman's work, as he firmly believed, and
he detested and scorned it. His pony had been saddled
and picketed in a draw south of the house before break-
fast, and when the opportunity offered he intended to
get to it and ride off over the ranch until hunger forced
him to return. Lying quietly in his cover he kept a
keen watch until, the beds made, his sister should begin
the kitchen work and give him a chance to cross the open
space between him and the pony. He was growing more
and more impatient when he caught sight of a horse-

345

346 JOHNNY NEUON

man riding down the slope of a hill north of the house,
and his anger and curiosity flared up when he saw diat
it was Big Tom.

The Bar H foreman rode leisurely past the corral,
noting the absence of Arnold's horse and the pony,
and stopped before the door. Swinging from the saddle
he sauntered up to the kitchen door and knocked. Mar-
garet wondered who it could be, a sudden thought of
injury to her father coming to her, and she hastened
to answer it. When she saw who the visitor was she
stopped and recoiled a little.

" How-do-you-do ? " she said coldly.

" Glad to see you. Ma'am,*' came the answer. " I
rode over to see yore father about some mavericks of
his that are eatin' up my grass."

^' You have just missed him,'* replied Margaret. ** If
you return by the way of Gunsight you can see him
there."

** Now, ain't that just my luck ? " regretted the fore-
man, stepping inside. ** Might I have a drink of water.
Ma'am? I wasn't aimin' to ride back that way. Of
course there ain't no chance at all of his comin' back
soon ? "

**Why, no,'* answered Margaret, handing him the
dipper. *^ He may not return until evening. But you
can leave a message for him with me."

** It's somethin' we has to talk over," Big Tom re-
plied, giving her the empty dipper. As her hand
touched it he grabbed her to him, her screams muffled
by his hand. Struggle as she would she was helpless
against his bearlike strength and soon was limp with

STILL "A-ROLLIN* 347

exhaustion and partially suffocated. Holding her with
one arm and hand he took a clothesline from a peg on
the wall and quickly trussed her with it until she was
powerless to move. Gagging her with a towel he car-
rled her to the corral, caught her horse, and threw her
on it and cinched up the saddle which lay at the gate.
Hurrying back to the house he collected provisions and
ran out again, and in another minute he rode rapidly
for the brush and rough ground west of the house,
leading her horse. Bound, gagged, and tied to the
saddle she could do nothing, every beat of the horses*
hoofs increasing her terror.

Back at the house Charley wriggled around the cor-
ner, his curiosity overcoming caution, and he stared in
amazement as he saw them crossing the open, his sister
bound with rope. Suddenly cursing the useless rifle in
a burst of rage, he dashed for his horse, mounted and
rode for town to tell his father, keeping to the low
levels until the hills and brush formed a screen behind
him. The little pony ran at top speed, shrewdly guided
over the rough trail, and the nine miles did not take
long. Dashing up to Dave's, Charley shouted at the
top of his lungs and pulled up at the door.

" Peggy's kidnapped 1 Dad I Peggy's kidnapped I "

A chair crashed in Dave's and three men jammed in
the doorway, Johnny forcing his two companions back
as he fought his way past them. "What's that?" he
demanded

"Big Tom's stole Peggy, d — n himl" shrilled the
boy, tears of helpless rage in his eyes.

Johnny needed no further proof than the words and

348 JOHNNY NELSON

Charley's earnestness. "Where was it? Which way
did he go?'* he snapped, leaping to the black horse
standing at the tie rail.

"At th' ranch — they went west Oh, Peggy I" he
sobbed. "Oh, Peggy 1"

" Come a-runnin' 1 '' shouted Johnny over his shoul-
der, wheeling his horse. He spoke to the black thor-
oughbred and she struck Into a gait she could hold for
hours, and one which was deceptive in its smoothness.
As he rocked down the trail three Double X punchers
rode in from the south.

"Keep a-goinM" Dave yelled to them, apoplectic
with his emotions. " Poller him/ Big Tom's run off
with th' Arnold gal I *•

Slim's brief remark is better left unrecorded. Three
sets of hoofs rolled out of the town and sent the dust
swirling high along the trail. The punchers overtook
and passed Arnold, who cursed the slowness of his
mount, shouted profane reassurance at him and left
him their dust Dailey led Panning around the comer
of the saloon and aroused surprised resentment in his
horse, which heretofore had regarded him as a sane
being. Panning's gray felt a touch of its youthful
spirits return; if it had to race, all right; it wasn't much
for speed, but it expected to be better than last at the
finish.

Big Tom, having passed the boundaries of the ranch,
pulled up long enough to remove the gag. "If you
behave yoreself I'll untie you," he said. "You can't
get away — if you try it you'll learn what a rope feels
like."

STILL A'ROLLIN* 349

Margaret managed to nod and the rope came off of
her.

" 'Twon't do no good to yell," he told her, " nor to
hold back. You won't be missed till supper time, an'
then nobody will do much worryin' till dark. They'll
search th' range first — an' by th' time they finish that
we'll be so far away that they'll never find us. Yo'rc
thinkin' they'll trail us ? Huh 1 Let 'em, then. Once
we get into my country they can trail an' be d — d I You
might as well make th' best of it. I got th' herd money
in my pockets, an' we can have a nice little ranch an' live
like th' story books say — happy ever after. Yo're
goin' to live there with me. If yo're sensible you can
do it as my wife. I'm going to give you that chance.
But, yo're goin' to live there with me, just the same."

" You are even more of a beast than I thought," she
retorted. *' You'll never reach that ranch ; and if yoii
do, I'll kill you while you sleep."

" I'm chancin' th' last," he retorted. " Yo're thinkin*
of that Nelson, huh ? " he grinned. '^ When Big Tom
does play his cards it takes more'n a fool like him to
win th' pot An' I'm sayin' I stacked this deck. I've
been stackin' it for a long time, figgerin' everythin'.
He's cold-decked. Ma'am ; beat clean when he'd reck-
oned he'd won. Thinkin' they'll trail us, an' get us
because we're not pushin' hard?" He laughed ironi*
tally. " Didn't I say I've been plannin' this a long time 2
There ain't no use of wearin' horses out when it ain't
needed. With twenty hours, or more, start, ours will
be fresh when we need speed — which we won't You'd
do better to begin practicin' callin' yoreself Missus Huff

350 JOHNNY NELSON

«— it*ll come easy before you know it I'm givki* you
that chance, an* I'll not bother you till a parson is handy.
Then it will be yore move. You've got three days."
Receiving no reply he looked around the range and
thenceforth ignored her.

A black thoroughbred swept across the little SV
valley, passed the corral, and rocked westward along a
plain trail. The rider, his sombrero jammed tightly
down on his head to baffle the pull of the whistling
wind, cold with a rage which had turned him into the
personification of vengeance, felt an exultant thrill as
the double trail sped past him, for his quarry had but
eighteen miles start, and he felt sure that it had been
cut down by the speed at which half of it had been cov-
ered. There was nothing on hoofs on all that range
that could keep an even lead against Pepper. She
flashed past mesquite, around chaparrals, her great
heart beating with a gameness which excelled even her
love for the race ; her trim legs swinging rhythmically,
the reaching of her free, beautiful stride eating up the
range and sending it past like the speeding surface of
some great rapids. A Gila monster moved from her
course barely in time, and a rattler coiled and struck
too late. Off in the brush a startled coyote changed
its mind about crossing the open and slunk back into
cover, following the black with suspicious gaze. The
great muscles writhed and bunched, rippled and bulged
under the satiny skin, the barrel-like chest rising and
falling with a rhythm and smoothness which graphically
told that it was a perfect part of a perfect running
machine. Down the slopes at top speed, up thtns at a

STILL A^ROLLIPr 351

lope, the undulating range slipped swiftly past Brush
and scattered mesquite, chaparrals and lone, sentinel
cacti ; hollows, coulees, draws, and arroyos went behind
in swift procession. Still the double trail lay ahead,
now lost as it crossed hard ground, now plain with small,
shallow basins where the sand had slid back and hidden
the outlines of the roofs, and then clear and sharp
and fresh in soils possessing claylike cohesion.

The rider gave no thought to ambush. There was
a time for ever3rthing, but hesitation or caution would
not claim its turn until the ride was done. If an ambush
lay ahead, what mattered it? Others were coming
along that trail, and only one need survive. The picture
which he carried in his brain was not one from which
counselings of safety could arise. Its message was to
ride, ride, ride; and kill, kill, kill; and it turned the
thin-lipped, narrow-lidded rider into an agent of Df iath,
merciless and untiring. The ages rolled back from
around his soul and stripped it of the last, pulsating
film of civilization's veneer. No gray wolf ever ran a
trail, no wolverine hunted in its northern fastness that
was more coldly savage or cruel than this man whose
grim confidence gave no thought of failure. Mile after
mile he rode, motionless in the saddle save for the
rhythmic rise and swing of a saddle poise superb.
Neither to right nor left he looked, nor back where the
billowing dust swirled suddenly high to roll spreading
over the drab earth, slowly settling. Straight ahead he
set his gaze, to the fartherest new-made mark on the
winding, twisting trail, a trail which twisted and wound
as though vainly seeking a place to hide until that flying

'35» 70HNNT ^NELSON

Death were past. A high ridge of limestone poured
into view and the swinging black was pulled to a walk,
for a breathing spell wise in its length, and canny in its
shortness. Then up slowly and off again on her far*
reaching stride, the noonday sun blazing down un-
heeded.

To the west the ribbon-like trail was widening. Be-
hind Johnny it was bigger by one more strand ; behind
Slim, a furnace of rage, was another strand; Tom
Wilkes, grimly determined, made another; half a milo
behind him rocked Cimarron, vengeful and silent, and
added the sixth. Certain memories, returning to the
segundo, caused him to ride off and make a trail of his
own, confident that it would be a chord in a great arc
and lead him past his two ranch mates. There was a
certain pass far to the northeast which he vaguely
coupled to the Bar H foreman, and with three men
ahead of him to follow the certainty of the tell-tale
trail, he could afford to gamble. Two hours later Slim
became indignant and wondered if Cimarron's black-
and-white had grown wings, for his segundo*s dust did
not suit his mouth and eyes.

*' He can do it with me,*' muttered Slim, '* but that
Pepper boss won't be seen by any of us till she stops.
I hope Nelson ain't killin' her."

liie Pepper horse was neither stopping nor being
killed. She skimmed along with no faltering in her
stride as though she remembered a day in a quicksand.
There was a debt to be paid, and if heart held out and
the heaving sides did not prove false to her thorough-
bred courage, the lengthening shadows would see it

STILL A-ROLLIN* 55;^

(Canceled before they became lost in the day^s deepening
twilight Down a narrow valley she sped, the hills
rolling the tattoo of her drumming hoofs as though
they liked the sound and were reluctant to let it die.
Taking a brook at a bound and scorning her rising
thirsty she swirled around a sharp bend, and twitched
her ears suddenly forward, the quick pressure of her
rider's knees telling her that he had seen.

Johnny slipped his Sharp's from its long sheath and,
holding it at the ready, stood up in his stirrups, his
horse somewhere finding a reserve power that fairly
hurled her forward, the trim black legs whirring under
her like flashing spokes of jet The rider's lids nar-
rowed to thin slits and the tight-pressed lips pressed
tighter. Yard after yard he gained, second after second.
|The half mile became a quarter, steadily lessened and
then. Pepper pounding over a stretch of rocky ground
where the hammering of her hoofs rang out loudly,
there was a quick turning in the saddles ahead, and a
roar from the saddle behind, a ragged cloud of acrid
smoke tearing itself to filmy bits and blending with the
suddenly tenuous dust cloud in the rear.

Big Tom cursed in sudden rage and whirled his horse
behind Margaret's, his rifle spitting past her shoulder.
His shelter bolted from in front of him as a Sharp's
Special stung the SV horse, its rider barely able to keep
her seat during the convulsive lunge. Big Tom leaped
down behind his mount and rested the gun across the
saddle. Before he could pull the trigger another Special
passed through the animal's abdomen and, its force
spent, struck his belt and doubled him up, gasping for

354 JOHNNY NELSON

breath at the agonized animal leaped forward. The
cantle of the saddle, striking the barrel of the Win-
chester, tore the weapon from its owner's hands and
left him, slowly straightening up, with a Colt for his
only defense.

Coming at him like a skimming swallow sped Pepper,
her rider, having slipped the rifle bac^ into its long
sheath, standing erect in the stirrups, each hand holding
a Colt For a moment they were held aloft and then
as the Bar H foreman drew his six-gun they chopped
down and poured jets of flame and puffs of smoke over
Pepper's head. The foreman twisted, fired aimlessly,
lurched, fired again, and plunged forward, face down on
the sand. Johnny slid his guns back into their holsters
and raced for Margaret, who was fighting a pain-crazed
horse.

Slim and Cimarron, neck and neck now, jumped the
brookt sped along the little valley, keyed to fighting
pitch by the sound of distant shots, and flashed around
the bend, where they pulled up sharply and looked
across the level pasture.

**H — II" growled Cimarron. "I thought we was
ridin' to a lynchin' I This here looks more like a wed-
din*. Get back, around that bend, you fool I "

'' It shore does," said Slim, grinning. **A weddin\
huh? Weill then, I says he's still a*rollin\"