CHAPTER III
"GET HEADY, BOYS!"
Anxiously the boy ranchers and the others watched the face of thestockman as he read the message. It was rather lengthy, whichaccounted for the somewhat protracted time it took Mr. Merkel to get atthe meaning of the words. But when he had read to the end he passedthe missive to his wife, exclaiming, as he did so:
"Couldn't be much worse!"
"Are they killed?" cried Nell, clasping her hands.
"No, but maybe they'd better be," grimly answered her father."Rosemary and Floyd are carried off by the Yaquis!" he added.
"How do you know?"
"Does the message say so?"
"Which way did they go?"
These were the questions, fired in rapid succession, by Bud, Nort andDick.
"That information's in the telegram," explained Mr. Merkel. "Themessage is to me from the Sheriff of La Nogalique, or at least fromsome one in his service, for it's signed with his name. I know him,slightly."
"Did he see Rosemary and Floyd carried off?" Dick wanted to know.
"Not exactly. But wait. I'll read it so you may all hear," said Mr.Merkel, taking the missive from his wife's trembling hand. "Old HankFowler didn't try to get it all in ten words so we have a pretty fairidea of what went on. Reckon he knew he didn't have to pay for thatmessage. It come out of the county funds I take it. Listen to this,boys!"
Mr. Merkel read:
"'I regret to inform you that some relatives of yours were carried offin the last raid of the Yaquis here. The Indians came over the borderfrom Mexico and shot up this place (La Nogalique). I was away, butsome of the boys give them a fight, and drove them off. But they tookwith them some guns, cattle, what money they could steal and a younglady and gentleman who claim to know you. The way it happened wasthis. This young lady, named Rosemary Boyd, and her brother Floyd,came here in an auto, from California. They give it out they were ontheir way to Diamond X. But they hadn't more than reached town thanthe Yaquis came in and shot things up.
"'The Indians took this young couple, and it was owing to the pluck ofthe girl that we knew what happened.'"
"Good for Rosemary!" cried Nell. "How did it happen?"
"I'm coming to it," her father said, having paused to get his breath.It was dry work, talking so much and under the stress of excitement,and Nell had broken in on him.
"'As the Indians were riding away, with this young lady and herbrother,'" the message went on, "'she managed to scribble something ona piece of paper she tore from a note book. She tossed it to one ofthe cowboys who was shot in fighting the Yaquis. He brought the girl'smessage to me after the fight, when I'd sent some of my men to trailthe devils. This is what the message said, and I'm sending the actualmessage to you by mail. "Get word to my uncle, Henry Merkel, Diamond XRanch, that Floyd and I are taken. Ask him to send help." That's whatthe message said and I'm doing as requested. I've sent all the help Ican, but the Yaquis got the start on us, owing to the fact that I wasout of town with a posse after rustlers. But we'll get that girl andboy back or bust every leg we've got, Mr. Merkel. And you can send onhelp if you want to and join us.'"
The lengthy message was signed with the name "Hank Fowler," and whenthe reading was finished, Mr. Merkel glanced around at his listeners.
"These young folks are some kin of yours, I take it?" asked Old BilleeDobb.
"Sure," assented the ranchman. "More of my wife's than mine, but it'sall the same. They were coming here on a visit, coming all the wayfrom California by auto. I thought it was rather risky when they firstwrote of it, but my wife says Rosemary is a good driver, and Floydalmost as good."
"Is he a Westerner?" asked Yellin' Kid.
"Not born and raised here," said Mr. Merkel, "but Floyd is notenderfoot, and as for Rosemary--"
"She's a whole can of peaches! That's what she is!" cried Bud. "Tohave the nerve to stop and scribble a message to dad when the Yaquishad her and her brother. Clear grit I call that!"
"Sure thing!" assented Nort.
"Gee! I wish I'd been there!" sighed Dick.
"What! To be captured by the Indians and made into sausage meat?"joked Mr. Merkel, for at times they poked a bit of fun at Dick onaccount of his plumpness. Though, truth to tell, he was now not toostout, and the life of the west had greatly hardened him.
"They wouldn't have caught me without a fight!" he bruskly declared.
"That's right! A fight!" cried Bud. "What are we going to do aboutthis, Dad? We can't let our cousins be carried off this way; can we,fellows?" he demanded of his boy rancher companions.
"I should say not!" was the instant response, duet fashion.
"No, it wouldn't be right for us to sit back and do nothing," agreedMr. Merkel. "There aren't any too many men available to help out thesheriff. We've got to do our share. Get ready boys!" and he looked athis son and nephews, his glance also roving over his own aggregation ofcowboys, most of whom were now gathered in front of the main ranchbuilding of Diamond X.
"Where are we going?" asked Dick.
"On the trail of the Yaquis!" answered his uncle. "We can spare mostof the bunch, now that the round-up is over. You don't need many outat your ranch, Bud. Call in all you can spare, and we'll hit thetrail!"
"Whoo-pee!" shouted Nort, whirling his horse about and setting it at agallop down through the corrals.
"This is news!" yelled his brother, following the lead of Nort.
"I only hope we aren't too late!" remarked Bud, when his cousins cameback to join him.
"Too late? What do you mean!" asked Nort.
"I mean to save Rosemary--and Floyd. Those Yaquis--they're regulardevils when they get on the war path! Oh, I hope we aren't too late!"
It was a hope the others shared.
Rapid action replaced the comparative quiet that reigned during thereading of the telegram. Cowboys rode to and fro, and Bud and hiscousins prepared to depart for Diamond X Second to arrange for takingthe trail against the Yaquis.
As the boy ranchers rode off down the trail, promising to return asspeedily as possible, to join with the bunch from Diamond X, theireager talk over the recent events was interrupted by the noise ofshouting.
"What's that?" cried Dick, looking in the direction of the noise. Itappeared to come from a swale, or depression among some small, roundedknolls.
"Sounds like a cattle stampede," remarked Bud, urging his pony forward."And yet it can't be that."
Nort and Dick followed as soon as they could swing their horses about.The sound of shouting and the thunder of the feet of manyanimals--horses or steers--came more plainly to the ears of the boyranchers.