CHAPTER V
AT SPUR CREEK
Dick was dreaming that he was at a football game, and that his brotherNort had hold of him and was trying to pull him through the line ofopposing players to make a touchdown. Then the dream seemed to becomeconfused with reality, and Dick felt some one tugging at the blanket inwhich he had rolled himself so snugly.
Half awake and half asleep Dick's brain struggled to clear itself andget the right impression of what really was going on. Then he becameaware that his blanket was actually being pulled--this was no dream.
"Here! Who's that? What you doing?" he cried, and instinctively hebegan groping for his gun, which was in its holster in the belt he hadtaken off for the night.
Something cold and clammy touched Dick on the cheek, causing a shudderto run through him.
"Snakes!" he yelled. "Rattlers! Look out!"
His frantic cries roused the others, and Nort and Bud struggled to freethemselves of their enveloping blankets as they sat up near thesmouldering blaze of the camp fire.
"What is it?" cried Bud, who had only half heard what his cousinshouted.
"Snakes!" again yelled Dick.
"Snakes nothing!" disgustedly grumbled Billee Dobb, who did not relishhaving his slumbers broken. "It's too cold for snakes to be outto-night." Then the plainsman tossed on the fire a bit of wood which,when it blazed up, revealed the cause of the disturbance.
"It's your horse!" cried Nort with a laugh. And it was Dick's faithfulpony who, having slipped his tether, had wandered over near humancompanionship, and had been pulling at Dick's blanket with his teeth.Then the animal rubbed his cold and clammy muzzle on Dick's face,giving the lad the impression that a scaly rattlesnake had tried tocrawl over him.
"Well, I'll be jiggered! Blackie!" gasped Dick, when he saw that itwas his horse. "Whew, but you gave me a fright!"
"You oughter look fust an' yell afterward," commented Billee as heturned over to go to sleep again.
The boys laughed and again wrapped up in their blankets, after Dick hadsecured his horse with the others. A dim light was now showing in theeast, indicating that morning was not far off. But it was cold andcheerless, even with the fire, for it was not a very large blaze, andDick was glad to follow the example of his brother and cousin and rollup for a final doze before daylight.
"Well, now we'll see what happens," commented Nort, as they werepreparing a simple breakfast, over the replenished campfire. "Think wemight catch 'em to-day, Billee?"
"It all depends," was the old cow puncher's answer. "We can't spendtoo much time chasin' these scamps. There's work to be done at theranch. Hang that perfesser, anyhow!"
"Why?" asked Bud.
"Well, if he hadn't crossed the trail last night when we fust startedout, we'd a' had them as we was after by now!" declared Billee.
"Maybe and maybe not," remarked Bud. "It wasn't the professor's fault,anyhow. He just got lost."
"Well, he picked a mighty inconvenient time to do it in," snapped OldBillee, who was always a bit raspy before breakfast.
The sun soon shone warm and glorious, a little too glorious in fact,for it was very hot after 9 o'clock when the trail was again taken up.Daylight did not make the "signs" any more plain--in fact, there wasabsolutely no trail to follow. All they could do was to keep on,making inquiries here and there at different ranches about suspiciouscharacters.
"We haven't seen any signs of the professor's party," remarked Nort,when they stopped at noon for a "snack."
"No, I fancy they're off in the other direction," remarked Bud. "Theywill probably be at the ranch when we get back."
"Speaking of getting back, I don't see much use in keeping on,"commented Billee. "Those rascals have given us the slip."
"Guess we might as well hit the back trail," agreed Bud. "Dad willhave to tell Hank Fowler about this, and Hank can rustle up a posse andsee what he can do."
Hank Fowler was the local sheriff and on him, and such men as he mightswear in as deputies, devolved the duty of looking after law and orderin that part of the west where Diamond X was located, not far from theMexican border.
The boy ranchers and Billee kept on for another mile, to top a certainhigh piece of land, over which they could have a good view, as theythought from this vantage point they might see some signs to guidethem. But from the eminence they only viewed an endless rollingprairie with here and there a clump of trees. They saw bands of rovingcattle and a few horses--their own stock or that of some neighbor, andBillee decided that nothing could be gained by going any farther alongthe cold trail.
Turning their horses' heads, the members of the little party swung backtoward Diamond X. On the way they stopped at the ranch of Bud and hisboy partners in Happy Valley, learning that everything was in goodshape there, being in the efficient hands of a capable foreman and somecowboys. News of the robbery of Mr. Merkel's safe had already beentelephoned to Happy Valley, but though the cowboys had ridden out forseveral miles in a number of directions, they had seen nothing and noone suspicious they reported.
"No luck, boys?" asked Mr. Merkel as his son and nephews turned theirweary horses into the corral and entered the house.
"No luck, Dad," answered Bud. "What's new here?"
"Nothing much. Professor Wright's party came up and he has taken theminto camp over near the place where they dug up the monster fossilbones some time ago."
"You didn't hear anything about the fellows who took your papers then?What are you going to do, Dad?"
"Well, I don't know what I can do. It isn't as if this was the east,where such things are a matter of record, and where you have the courtsand judges right at hand to put a stop to anything unlawful. It'salmost as if an unregistered government bond was stolen. I've got toprove my property against those that have it, and I can't do it veryeasily, because the men I bought it of originally are all dead or movedaway. It's just as if the Spur Creek land was owned by no one, and thefirst comer has a chance to take it, now that the government has thrownopen the tract."
"But you aren't going to sit down and let 'em frisk you that way, areyou, Dad?" cried Bud, surprised at what he thought was the supine andnon-combative attitude of his parent.
"I should say not, son!" was the vigorous answer. "I'm going to fight!"
"That's more like it!" cried Bud.
"Hurray! We're with you!" exclaimed Nort.
"When does the fighting begin!" Dick wanted to know, and almostunconsciously he looked at his "gun."
"We're going to start a camp at Spur Creek right away, and keep someone on guard there constantly," declared Mr. Merkel. "If signs andpast performances go for anything, some Mexicans, a few Greasers and abunch of sheep herders will pour in through the pass and pre-empteverything along Spur Creek any time now. Certain land along SpurCreek did belong to the Indians and as such the government can throw itopen to those whose other holdings don't bar them--as I am barred.
"But I don't intend any Greasers or sheep herders shall take the land Ibought and paid for, even if they have managed to steal my title deedsand other papers, without which I can't prove my claim. I'm going tofight!" said the ranch owner vigorously.
"And we're with you!" cried Nort, as he tapped his gun.
I do not wish you to understand that the boy ranchers were a bloodthirsty trio of "gun-men." As I have explained, you don't always needa gun in the West, but when you do require it the need is generallyurgent. Nor are the "guns" (by which term are meant revolvers of largecaliber) used in desperate fights against human beings. In the mainthe guns are used with blank cartridges to direct a bunch of cattle inthe way it is desired they should go. Frequently a fusilade of shots,harmless enough in themselves, will serve to turn a stampede whichstampede, if not stopped, would result in the death of hundreds ofanimals who would blindly hurl themselves over a cliff.
Of course there are bad men in the west now, as there used to be,though perhaps not so many, and near the Mexican border roving bands ofInd
ians or half-breeds often try to run off bunches of cattle. In suchcases guns with bullets instead of blank cartridges are urgently needed.
Then, too, enemies other than human are occasionally met with. Inwinter wolves may prowl about, driven desperate by hunger. There is anoccasional rattlesnake to be shot up, and so, all in all, a cowboywithout a gun would not fit in the picture at all. Though I don't wantyou to get the idea that the boy ranchers were desperate characters,willing to "pull a gun" on the slightest provocation. The guns werefor service, not for bravado.
"Are you going to start a regular camp at Spur Creek, Dad?" asked Bud.
"That's my intention," his father answered. "We've got to be ready tofight these sheep herders who, I feel sure, will pour in here. Theyhave been waiting to get possession of some range near the water, andthis is their chance. But they shan't ruin my feeding ground. I'vegot too much money invested in it to lose it."
"And though we're farther off, in Happy Valley, we might be harmed bysheep, too," said Nort. "So we've got to fight also!"
"That's right!" chimed in his brother.
I have indicated to you, briefly, why the cattle men so hated the sheepherders. Sheep are innocent enough in themselves, and are much needed.Without them a large part of the world would go hungry and only partlyclothed.
"But let the sheep herders stick to their own pastures!" was the cry ofthe cattle men and the horse breeders. "Don't let them foul ourstreams and cut up our grass."
As I told you, no western horse or cow, unless under dire need, willdrink from a stream where sheep have drunk, or through which sheep havepassed. And there is no grass left, once a herd of sheep have fed overa tract, while for years afterward there is only a stunted growth ofgreen, if, indeed, any.
So it is no wonder that those at Diamond X prepared to fight the sheepherders, and Spur Creek was the natural place at which to make a stand.
Situated as it was near the Mexican border, the ranch of Diamond X wasnear the head of a great valley--a natural pass between the twocountries. Through this pass flowed Spur Creek, branching out into oneor more streams in different places.
You probably know that to successfully raise cattle, horses or sheeptwo things are needed--food and water. Food is supplied by the variousrich grasses that grow naturally on the western plains. Water is notso plentiful in that sometimes arid region, and for that reason isjealously guarded. A ranch with a natural water supply is worth tentimes what one is without fluid for the cattle to drink. Driving herdslong distances to quench their thirst runs off their fat, and as cattleare now sold by the pound, instead of by the piece, as formerly was thecase, the heavier a steer is the more money he brings.
Spur Creek, then, was a valuable asset to Mr. Merkel, and he determinedto fight for it to the "last ditch," so to speak. This water was onlya part of the courses that were valuable to his ranch. As for theboys, they had a water supply of their own in Happy Valley, though theyhad had to fight to secure that, as related in the book named "The BoyRanchers in Camp."
"Well, if there's to be a fight, the sooner the better," commented Budas he and his cousins washed up at home after their night in the open.They told of their experiences, which really amounted to nothing as faras getting a trace of the fugitives was concerned, and then. Mr.Merkel sent word to Sheriff Fowler of the theft.
"And now we'll build a fort at Spur Creek," said the ranchman.
"A _fort_!" cried Bud.
"Well, it will be a sort of fort," his father went on. "There is oneplace there just right for defensive operations and we'll put up ashack there and mount guard until the danger is over. Once the sheepmen see that we mean business they may throw up their hands and go backwhere they belong--in Mexico."
There were soon busy times at Diamond X. The flivver was called intorequisition, and on it and on wagons was transported to Spur Creeklumber to make a rough shack as a shelter for those who would be kepton guard against the advance of the sheep herders.
"And we're going to form part of that guard!" declared Bud. "Our ranchcan run itself for a while. We've got to stick by Dad!"
"That's right!" agreed Nort and Dick. Secretly they rejoiced at thechance of a coming conflict, even though they had so recently had ahard time campaigning against the Yaqui Indians.
It did not take long to throw up a rough shelter at Spur Creek. Thiscould be improved upon as time passed, but it was necessary to make astand there at once. So, two nights after the alarm and robbery atDiamond X, behold the boy ranchers, with some of their cowboy friends,on guard at the edge of the stream which marked one of the boundariesof the land Mr. Merkel claimed--but land to which he could not now showa legal title because of the theft of his papers.
"Well, all serene so far," observed Bud, as night settled down on themin their new environment.
"Yes, I don't reckon we'll be disturbed," observed Billee, who wasthere with them.
"It'll give me a chance to pick up, an' get back in th' saddle again,"observed Yellin' Kid in his usual loud voice. He had been allowed toform part of the "fort" guard, as it was thought the duties there wouldnot be strenuous for a while, at least, and he could make a betterrecovery than at Diamond X.
"Well, it's a good place for a fight, if one comes," said Nort, as helooked about the place. It readily lent itself well to fortification,and advantage had been taken of this by Mr. Merkel. The rough shackwas an outpost fort in the land that was destined to be battled for bythe sheep men on one side and the cattle men on the other.
Quiet evening was settling down, "grub" had been served and the ponieswere rubbing noses in the improvised corral when Yellin' Kid, who wasventuring to walk around a little to "exercise his game leg," as heexpressed it, came to a halt and gazed earnestly across Spur Creek inthe direction of Mexico distant several miles.
"What is it, Kid?" asked Billee, who was smoking his pipe.
"Somebody's comin'," was the answer, "an' he's sweatin' leather," whichmeant that he was riding fast.
The boy ranchers looked in the direction indicated. A lone horsemanwas approaching from the side of the creek where the enemy might beexpected first to appear.