CHAPTER XIII
THE ATTEMPT FOILED
It was only a moment that surprise held Nort motionless, sitting upthere by the small fire of greasewood twigs, with the bunch of cattlemoving uneasily in the darkness. Then, with a yell that had in it bothwarning and encouragement, Nort scrambled to his feet and made a grabfor Dick, who was being dragged off in the loop of a lariat, the otherend being manipulated by some one unseen.
"Hold it, Dick! Hold it!" cried Nort, as, many a time he had thusshouted encouragement to his brother on the football field. "Hold it!"
But Dick was unable to do this. Taken at a disadvantage, awakened froma half-sleep as he was, and dragged from a fairly comfortable bed, hewas puzzled and confused, not to say frightened.
But he was capable of yelling, and this he did to the best of hisability.
"Here! Quit that! Let up! What you doing?" shouted Dick, for, as hesaid afterward, he thought it was one of the cowboys playing a trick onhim, hazing a tenderfoot, perhaps, though Dick proudly imagined that hewas fast graduating from that class.
The yells of the two brothers naturally awakened Bud who, being moreused to sleeping in the open than were his cousins, had almost at oncegone soundly to sleep. But it did not take the young rancher long torouse himself.
"What's the matter? What's going on?" shouted Bud, and Nort had aglimpse of his cousin with his gun in his hand. This reminded Nortthat he had left his weapon under his tarpaulin, and he made a dash toget it, mentally blaming himself for not proving more true to his ideaof the traditions of the West, and having his revolver always with him.
With a quick motion of his foot, Bud shoved some unburned sticks ofgreasewood into the blaze. They flared up, and the young ranchmanwheeled quickly, and tried to pierce the gloom into which Dick had beendragged.
But that lad had not been idle during this strenuous time. He had feltthe lariat tightening about the upper part of his body, and he had letout a frightened yell. But he had done more than yell. He had graspedthe rope with both hands, in a quick, upward motion, and had succeededin slipping it off, over his head, a task he would have been unable toperform had his enemy had daylight in his favor. But, as it was, Dicksucceeded in escaping the noose.
"Who is it? Who did that?" yelled Dick, as he managed to get to hisfeet, and staggered back toward his tarpaulin, evidently with theintention of seeking his gun.
But there came no answer out of the gloom.
Bud and Nort hurried over to Dick, who was rather dazed and ruffled upfrom the experience he had undergone.
"Hurt?" asked Nort, quickly.
"Not to speak of," answered Dick. "Was that one of the boys?" heasked, turning to Bud.
"One of our cowboys? No, they don't do such things," was the answer."It must have been----"
He was interrupted by the rapid thuds of hoofs and, an instant later,there dashed into the circle of light Dirk and Chot, two of the men whohad been left when the others rode away to get on the trail of therustlers.
"What's the matter?" exclaimed Dirk, reining in his pony so suddenlythat the animal slid with his forefeet almost in the embers of the fire.
"Somebody tried to rope Dick," answered Bud. "I didn't see it, but Ihad a glimpse of him being dragged off on the end of a lariat."
"I saw it come shooting in from out there," and Nort waved his handtoward the darkness.
"I _felt_ it!" grimly declared Dick. "I just managed to slip it off intime."
"You were lucky," commented Chot. "Let's see who it was," he added."Couldn't have been any of our lads," he said in a low voice. "I'veknown 'em to do such tricks, but not at a time like this. Might havebeen some fresh puncher from Double Z, but if it was----"
"Come on!" interrupted Dirk, satisfied from a glance that no harm hadbefallen Dick. Dirk wheeled his horse and rode off into the darkness,in the direction where the end of the lariat had disappeared, when theunseen thrower had pulled it to him after Dick's escape.
The two cowboys, who had been on the far side of the herd, had riddenhurriedly in on hearing the cries of the startled boys. And now theyrushed off in the darkness, trying to find out who it was that haddisplayed such evil intentions.
For it was a desperate thing to do. A little higher up and the ropewould have encircled Dick's neck, and it would have taken only a shorttime of pulling him across the ground to have choked him. He, himself,did not realize his danger until later.
For a few moments, after the arrival of Dirk and Chot from the far sideof the resting herd, and their subsequent dash off into the darkness,Bud, Nort and Dick did nothing. They stood there around the greasewoodfire, trying to understand clearly what had happened.
Then, from the herd of cattle came unmistakable signs of somedisturbance. There were snorts and bellows, the mooing of cows and thestamping of hoofs. At the same time, from the far side, whence Dirkand Chot had ridden in, there came the murmur of voices.
"Rustlers!" cried Bud, understanding at once what it all meant now."Dirk! Chot! Come on back! The rustlers are here! It's a trick!Come on back!"
"Rustlers!" exclaimed Nort.
"Yes!" shouted Bud. "That's their game! They tried to scare us sothey could work in from the other side, and run off a bunch of steers.Dirk! Chot!" he cried again, making a megaphone of his hands, andsending his cry out into the night.
"Whoo-oop!" came faintly back to the boys, and then the thud of rapidlymoving hoofs mingled with the movement of the cattle. For the steersand cows that were being hazed to the railroad yard were now in motion.
"Put some more wood on!" cried Bud. "If they stampede this way it mayhold 'em back!"
"Will they stampede?" asked Dick.
"No telling. Somebody's in among 'em, over on that side, trying to cutout a bunch. We've got to held 'em in if we can! Get on your ponies!"
It was the work of but a few seconds to do this. The ponies had beenstaked out not far from the fire, which was now burning brightly fromthe amount of greasewood piled on it. Bud was first in the saddle, buthis cousins were not far behind him.
And, as they mounted, and started to ride around the herd, to hold thenow frightened and uneasy animals in check, Dirk and Chot galloped inout of the distant darkness.
"What's the matter?" shouted Dirk.
"Rustlers!" yelled Bud. "They tried that lasso stunt to draw you infrom the far side, and now they're over there trying to cut out somesteers."
"Well, I guess we'll have something to say about that!" grimly observedChot. "Come on!"
Clapping spurs to his pony, he and Dirk began the work of milling thecattle--that is, getting them to move around in a circle rather thandash off in a straight line stampede. This turning of the herd, into acircular instead of a straight movement, is the only way to save thelives of the animals, or prevent them from being driven off by thieves.
Dick and Nort had been on Diamond X ranch long enough to understandwhat was being attempted, and they joined with Bud in the work. AsChot and Dirk rode back to take the stations they had left, firingtheir guns and shouting to turn the leaders, Bud and his cousins didthe same in their locality.
As yet they had caught no sight of the rustlers, but it was veryevident that these unscrupulous men were at work, trying to drive offsome of the valuable animals, all fattened and ready for market.Confused shouts came from the direction where Chot and Dirk had ridden.
"Lively, boys! Lively!" cried Bud to the two easterners, and he firedhis gun in the air as he rode toward the cattle that seemed inclined todash past the circle of firelight.
Following their cousin, Dick and Nort dashed in, also firing, and thefive cowboys--for Dick and Nort were now entitled to be calledthat--finally succeeded in milling the cattle, and preventing thestampede.
But it was hard work and it was nearly morning before the steers werequieted down after the excitement. The attempt of the rustlers hadbeen foiled, for that time at least.