CHAPTER V
ANOTHER WARNING
Bud Merkel was about to hang up the receiver, with a blank anduncomprehending look on his face, when Babe caught the black rubberearpiece from him.
"Wait a minute, Billee!" called Babe into the transmitter. "Seeanything of anybody around there? Anything suspicious?"
The others could not hear what the old cowboy's answer was, but Babesoon enlightened them.
"He says it's all serene," Babe declared as he now hung up thereceiver. "Nobody in sight, an' the water is runnin' through the pipeas natural as can be."
"I can't understand it!" declared Bud. "It was almost as dry as a bonewhen we left last night."
"But it's running in here from the river dam," said Nort.
"Then there must have been a break somewhere in the tunnel naturalwater course," declared Bud. "Well, if it mended itself so much thebetter. But that doesn't explain this," and he held out the scrawledwarning. "And if the water stopped once it may stop again."
"Yes," agreed Babe, "but if anybody wanted to stop it they'd have to doit either at this end, where the pipe takes water from the river, or atyour end, Bud, where it delivers water to your reservoir."
"Unless somebody stopped the stream inside the tunnel," suggested Dick.
"Then it would back up here at the river end," said Nort, quickly, "andit hasn't done that."
"No, it hasn't," agreed Bud. "It sure is queer. I'm beginning tothink there may be more in that black rabbit than I believed first."
"What rabbit is that?" asked Babe.
"The one Old Billee said would bring me bad luck," Bud answered."Well," he went on to his cousins, "we might as well go back to camp.We can't do anything here."
"If you've got water that's all you want in Flume Valley," declaredBabe. "There isn't a finer place t' raise cattle in all th' world thanthere--if you have _water_!"
"And if you haven't--you might as well quit!" spoke Bud.
"You eliminated an earful that time," the assistant foreman stated."But I reckon it was just a little break, inside th' tunnel, an' itfilled itself up natural like. You won't have any more trouble."
"I hope not," spoke the boy rancher. "Are you going on back to DiamondX, Babe?"
"Not until I find that bunch of strays from Square M. They're toovaluable t' let slip."
"Especially to let Hank Fisher, or Del Pinzo, slip them away,"exclaimed Bud as he and his chums left the store where they had beentelephoning.
"Not so loud! Not so loud!" cautioned Babe.
"Why not?" Bud wanted to know, when they were outside.
"'Cause one of Hank's men was in there! He'll be sure t' tell what yousaid, Bud."
"Let him! I'm not afraid of Hank, or his tool Del Pinzo, and I'd justas soon either one would know what I think of 'em!"
"Don't be too brash; don't be too brash!" counseled Babe. "But theysure are both bad actors--Del an' Hank!"
There was nothing more that needed to, or could, be done at the PocutRiver end of the flume, part natural, part artificial, which suppliedBud's new ranch with such a vital necessity as water. The stream hadbeen dammed just above the intake pipe--not completely dammed, butenough to provide the necessary head of water.
As Nort had said, had the stream been stopped purposely or by accidentinside the tunnel, the water would have backed up and run out aroundthe pipe, flowing into the river below the dam. But this had notoccurred.
"If it doesn't happen again we'll be all right," spoke Bud, as he rodeback with his cousins, making an easy pace along the trail that ledover Snake Mountain and down into Flume Valley. "But if the waterstops running again----"
"Let's go through the tunnel; it's the only way to be sure!"interrupted Nort.
"I'm with you!" exclaimed Dick.
"It would seem to be the only way," agreed Bud. "Well, we'll hope thisis the end of my black-rabbit bad luck, and look for success, now thatyou fellows are here. Cracky! But we'll have some good times, andthere'll be plenty of work, too!"
"How many cattle you got?" asked Nort.
"About five hundred," Bud answered. "Course you have a share with me,that your dad bought, but we don't own 'em outright yet. My dad stillhas a mortgage on 'em."
"But if we have luck we can clear that off; can't we?" asked Dick.
"Sure, this year, maybe," assented Bud. "I never saw steers fatten sofast as ours have since I brought 'em to Flume Valley. I reckon theland, being without water so long, raises a specially fine kind ofgrass. Of course, there's always some at the far end of the valley,good grass, too, but when there wasn't any water for the cattle todrink there wasn't any use trying to raise stock there. But now it'sdifferent."
"And all we want is for the water to stay," added Dick.
"That's all," chimed in his brother.
With Buck Tooth trailing behind, the three boys took the mountain trailand reached their camp near the reservoir that evening. They found OldBillee and Yellin' Kid waiting for them, these two cowboys having beenassigned by Mr. Merkel to help his son in the lad's new venture.
"Well, yo' got back, I see," remarked Old Billee as he greeted thelads, the Indian going off by himself, for he was rather taciturn inhis manner.
"Yes, we're here," admitted Bud. "But I can't understand that watercoming back so unexpectedly."
"Are you sure it stopped running?" asked Yellin' Kid in his usual loudvoice.
"Sure!" declared Bud. "Didn't Buck see it--or, rather, he didn't seeit, for there wasn't any water to see coming through the pipe--only afew drops."
"I wouldn't take his word," declared Old Billee. "Not that Buck wouldactually lie, but those Indians are queer."
"Oh, we all saw that the water wasn't running," declared Nort.
"Well, it was when I got here," stated the old cowboy. "And therewasn't a sign of anything wrong. But if there had been I'd expectedit, 'count of----"
"That black rabbit, I reckon!" broke in Bud.
"Perzactly!" declared Old Billee. "A black jack shore is bad luck, atany stage of the game!"
But for a time there seemed to be no truth in this western omen.Following the first mysterious disappearance of the water, and itsequally strange reappearance, peace seemed to settle down over FlumeValley.
The steers and yearlings, with which Bud's father had entrusted him andthe boy ranchers, thrived and fattened on the succulent grass. OldBillee, Yellin' Kid, with Buck Tooth's help, aided the boys in suchminor duties as were necessary to perform about the camp. The mainduty was looking after the safety of the cattle, to see that none ofthem strayed beyond the wire fence at the far end of the valley.Should any stray from the other egress, nearest Diamond X ranch, nogreat harm would result, as they would still be on their owner's land.
But the farther, or north end, adjoined land owned by Hank Fisher, theDouble Z representative. And there were ugly stories currentconcerning Mr. Fisher.
But as the days passed, and as the water still flowed through the pipesand underground tunnel into the reservoir, Bud and his companions beganto think they had imagined more troubles than were really to occur.
"Guess that warning was only a bluff," said Bud, one day.
"And the black rabbit doesn't seem to have given you the jinx," addedNort.
"But we didn't find that man you shot," put in Dick.
"I don't believe I shot him," declared Bud. "There was blood, sureenough, but he may have stumbled, as, in fact, we saw him, andscratched himself."
"But where did he disappear to?" asked Nort.
"Give up," answered Bud. "We'll have to take another look after we getour first shipment out of the way."
For the first bunch of steers from the Flume Valley camp were to bedisposed of shortly.
It was the day when this shipment was to be made that Bud, awakeningearly in the tent where he slept with his cousins, uttered anexclamation of surprise as he caught sight of something on the blanketthat covered him.
"What's the matt
er?" asked Dick, sitting up.
"Did you leave this here?" asked Bud, as he held up a piece of board,evidently part of a packing case.
"Me? No!" answered Dick. "What is it?"
"Either it's a joke, or it's the black rabbit getting in his work,"answered Bud. "It's from an unknown enemy--another warning!"
And, as Bud held up the board, Nort and Dick could read, scrawled onit, evidently with a fire-blackened stick, the words:
"Warning No. 2. When will you quit?"