CHAPTER XXI
IN PURSUIT
Two deep-throated shouts echoed amid the winding mazes of thesmall canyon leading off from the main gulch that the boyranchers and their friends had been following. One shout followedclosely on that of Dick, announcing his amazing discovery. Theother came from the band of rascals whose hiding place had atlast been spied out, and by a mere chance at that.
One shout was that of joyful anticipation, and this came fromBud, Dick, Nort and the friends from Diamond X. This shout had init an anticipation of righteous punishment to be inflicted onthose who had stolen the cattle.
The other shout was of baffled rage that their hiding place hadbeen discovered. This shout came from Del Pinzo and his gang.
For it was the lawless Mexican half-breed and his followers,numbering in all more than two score, whom Dick had seen as hemade the turn in that winding and narrow gorge. At a place wherethe rocky defile flared out, making a sort of amphitheatre therewere gathered about a spring of water, their horses tetheredwhere they could crop the scanty herbage, the crowd of which ourfriends had long been in pursuit.
Following the two shouts--one of pleased discovery and the otherof baffled rage at being discovered--there was quick action.
"Here they are!" shouted Bud, as soon as he had joined Dick, andhad seen what the latter had fairly stumbled upon. "Here's theDel Pinzo crowd!"
Up came riding Nort, Slim, Snake and the others.
"Oh, boy! We've got 'em just where we want 'em," was theexclamation of Yellin' Kid. And I leave you to judge in what tonehe uttered the words.
"Unlimber, boys!" called Slim Degnan, grimly and significantly ashe whipped out his .45. "There's likely to be action!"
"Hold on! Wait a minute!" counseled Snake, as Bud and his cousinswere about to urge their horses forward. The cowboy reached out,and his hand fell with a firm grip on the bridle of Bud's steed.
"What's the idea?" asked that boy rancher. "Now we've found therascals, can't we go in and clean 'em up?"
"That's natural Bud, most natural," conceded Snake. "But what'sth' use runnin' your head in a bee's nest if yon can git th'honey some other way?"
"You mean it won't be safe to ride up to 'em and fight 'em?'?"asked Nort.
"Somethin' like that, yes, son," answered the cowboy. "I thinkDel Pinzo an' his crowd have been waitin' for just such a chanceas this. They'd ask nothin' better than t' have us rush 'em, an'then they'd have a good excuse for sayin', afterward, that theypopped us off in self-defense."
"Snake's right!" declared Yellin' Kid, modulating his voicesomewhat. "We'd better play this hand cautious like."
Seeing that this was the sentiment of the more experienced men,Bud and his cousins held back, and a moment later, urged by thecowboys, the ranch lads had turned aside and the whole body ofpursuers had retreated to a position somewhat away from the turnof the trail where Dick had looked through the defile and hadseen the rascals encamped.
"What's the next move?" asked Nort, as the party gatheredtogether, giving their horses a breathing spell, for which theanimals were, doubtless, very thankful.
"We'd better look for some shelter," advised Snake, "an' then seewhat we can do toward learnin' th' intentions of this bunch ofbad actors."
"You mean sort of spy 'em out?" asked Dick.
"That's it," chimed in Yellin' Kid. "If this is goin' to be afight, an' it shore looks as if there was, we want to take allth' advantage we can. They outnumber us two to one!"
This was true enough. The fleeting glimpse our friends had of theoutlaws, through the crack in the rocky wall, showed that therewere more than two score under the leadership of the unscrupulousDel Pinzo.
Following the skilful advice of the cowboys, Bud and his cousinstook their places behind some sheltering rocks, leading theirhorses in with them, for much depended on their mounts. Withoutthem it meant giving up the chase. And even if one pony waskilled or wounded, it meant that its owner would have to make hisway back on foot, which was neither pleasant nor safe.
"Get your guns ready," said Slim. "There's going to be action,but not just yet. We want this to be a winnin' fight if we canmake it so."
Once within comparative shelter, and feeling somewhat calmerafter the first wild excitement, Bud, Nort and Dick looked totheir older companions for further advice.
"Somebody's got t' go back t' that crack, unbeknownst t' themscoundrels, an' see what they're doin'," decided Slim.
"S'pose they're there yet?" asked Bud.
"Either that, or they've taken the alarm an' are on their way, orthey're doin' just what we are--gittin' ready for a fight," saidthe foreman grimly. "An' what it is they're doin' we want t'know. Snake, you're pretty good at Indian tactics. S'pose yousneak up there an' take a look in."
"All right," was the ready answer.
Of course Bud, Nort and Dick, each and every one of them, wishedthey had been selected for this duty. But while they were rapidlylearning the ways of the west, in dealing with desperatecharacters, it was better at this time to have an experienced manspy out the movements of Del Pinzo and his gang. This Snake setout to do.
"An' while he's gone, th' rest of us want t' sort of make up ourminds what t' do," said Slim. "If that bunch is gettin' readyt'rush us, same as we may be able to do on our own hook, we wantt' have some plan of action."
So a sort of council of war was held, during the absence ofSnake, who was soon lost to sight among the rocks, the cowboymaking his way in a crouching, crawling position that almostresembled the reptiles he so feared and hated.
There was some low-voiced talk among the remaining cowboys, inwhich talk Bud and his cousins had no part. For a moment the ladsfeared there was some scheme afoot to put them in places ofsafety, out of danger so to speak. And the boy ranchers weren'tgoing tamely to submit to this.
"I say, Slim," exclaimed Bud, with this fear in mind, "we aregoing to do our share in this fighting, you know!"
"Shore I know it!" grunted the foreman. "You'll have all th'scrappin' you want, if these fellows don't vamoose without firin'a shot! We was just talkin' of the best place t' put you."
"Oh," murmured Bud, "all right."
After some little talk, and a survey of the ground to which thepursuers had retreated in order to make a temporary stand, eachperson's position was designated, and then guns were loosed inholsters and the supply of cartridges was looked to.
"As soon as Snake comes back we'll know what t' do," Slim said.
"He ought to be along soon now," remarked Dick.
Hardly had he spoken than there was a noise among the loose rocksand boulders some distance up the gulch--in the direction thespying-out cowboy had taken.
"Here he comes!" exclaimed Bud, and his hand went to his gun, forit was very possible that Snake would be pursued, and have toretreat on the run.
However the alarm proved to be a false one, for, after waitingsome time, Snake not having appeared, it was surmised that somerock had become loose and rolled down the steep side of thegulch.
The waiters and watchers were just beginning to get a bitworried, and Bud was on the point of suggesting that he beallowed to go look for Snake, when the cowboy came back.
So quietly did he approach, and so unexpected was his appearancethat Nort and Dick, on whose side of the improvised "fort" Snakefirst showed himself, were startled.
"If that had been any of the Del Pinzo crowd they'd have been ontop of us before we knew it," confessed Nort.
"Not much!" laughed Bud. "Slim has seen Snake coming along thislast three minutes; haven't you, Slim?"
"Yep! I noticed him, but I didn't say anythin'," acknowledged theforeman. "I seen that he was alone. But what's the verdict,Snake?" he asked, anxiously. "Are they gittin' ready t' come atus here, or are they leavin'?"
"Neither one," was the answer, "but they're gettin' ready to dosuthin! They're all in a bunch in the middle of that place,holdin' a confab, I reckon. It's hard to say what they are up to.But I got a hunch that if we rushed 'em we could
throw a scareint' 'em, anyhow."
"Do you think they know we're here?" asked Bud.
"Oh, sure!" was the answer. "At least they saw us an' heard uswhen we reached that crack. But of course they can only guesswhat we're up to now, when we didn't rush 'em first shot. Theymight have known, though, what our plans was, if I hadn't crackedtheir spy on the head!" said Snake, calmly.
"You did what?" asked Slim.
"Just as I got t' th' place where I could look in," went on thecowboy, "I saw one of them Greasers up t' the same trick I wastryin' to pull off. He was sneakin' down this way, but I saw himfirst. Caught a glimpse of his head around the edge of a rock; Ijust reached out with my gun and tapped him on the noodle."
"Kill him?" asked Dick.
"No. Guess not. Just stretched him out so he can't go back an'tell any tales for a time. Now the way I figger it is this:They'll be waitin' for a report on what their spy sees, same asyou was waitin' for me t' come back. Only their spy won't show upfor a couple o' hours, an' that gives us a chance to act."
"What had we better do?" asked Yellin' Kid.
"Rush 'em!" instantly decided Snake. "Let's git t' that openin'as quiet as we can, an' rush right for 'em! This rest hasfreshened our horses, an' we're in better shape now."
"Not so much so, as far as horses go," dubiously declared Slim."They're pretty badly spent, and can't do much racin'. But Iguess maybe it is better for us t' get into action, instid ofwaitin' for that bunch t' come here. As Snake says, they'll belookin' for their spy t' come back, an' maybe we can take 'emunawares."
So, after some further talk, it was decided to mount again, rideto the opening that led from the main trail into the hiding placeof the outlaws, and boldly attack them.
True, our friends were outnumbered, but they had right on theirside, and this sometimes makes a difference. Also they would havea little advantage, they hoped, in making the attack somewhatunexpectedly. For though Del Pinzo and his crowd knew theranchmen were in the neighborhood they would, as Snake believed,await the return of the spy they had sent out, before doinganything.
"An' that spy won't come t' his senses very soon," declared theavenging cowboy. "When he does he'll have an awful headache!"
As quietly as possible they made their way to the opening. Slim,as a sort of captain, was in advance of the others and looked in.He came back to say:
"They're gettin' ready for suthin'! They're all standin' neartheir horses, an' seem to be plannin' a move. Get ready t' rushin when I give the word!"
There was a final look to arms and saddle leathers, and then theforeman cried:
"Get into action!" at the same time spurring forward his pony, anexample followed by all the others as they rushed into thedefile.
And action there was, but not exactly of the kind the boyranchers and their friends anticipated. For Del Pinzo (easilyrecognized among the lesser lights of rascaldom) with hisfollowers, after their first angry shouts, leaped for theirhorses. And their agility in that respect spoke well for theirpreparedness. In an instant, it seemed, every one of the twoscore, and more, was in saddle, and headed out of the defile.They were retreating--riding away from the following avengers,and going, it seemed, further into the maze of winding cleftsamid the mountains.
To the credit of Del Pinzo--if credit it be and if he be entitledto get credit--he rode at the rear, not starting his horse untilall his men had raced away ahead of him.
And then, as Bud, Dick and the others pressed into the defileafter them, the Greaser turned and fired once, but with suchquick action that eye could scarce follow the motion of his handand weapon.
There was a sharp crack and the hat of Yellin' Kid, who rodeimmediately behind Bud, sailed off his head, at the same timethat a bullet zipped viciously over the pursuers.
"Close call that, Kid!" remarked Snake, leaning over as his horsegalloped forward, and picking up his friend's hat.
"Close nothin'!" snapped out Yellin' Kid. "That was fancyshootin'! If Del Pinzo wanted to get me he could 'a' done it. Hecan mark out th' pips on a ten spot card with his eyes shut,almost! He shot my hat off just to show he wasn't aimin' t' spillno innocent blood! But wait until I get him! I'll make him sweatfor that! A hole through brim an' crown! Why couldn't he bedecent about it an' make it one?" grumbled Yellin' Kid as Snakehanded him the hat.
"Never mind that!" shouted Slim Degnan. "If we're going t' getthem fellers we got t' ride!"
That was evident, for even as he spoke Del Pinzo, the last of theoutlaws, disappeared around a turn in the defile. He was "hazing"his men along to some other hiding place, it appeared. And he andhis rascally followers seemed to know their ground, for they rodeat break-neck pace, without fear of what lay beyond and unseen.It is likely they had traveled that route before.
Another advantage lay with the rustlers. Their horses were fresh,for from the negligent attitudes assumed by the men when Dick haddiscovered them, it was evident they had been at ease for sometime, whereas the pursuers had been on the trail a long time, andthe way had been rough and stony.
So it is nothing to the discredit of the boy ranchers that theyand their friends were distanced in the first wild rush followingthe discovery and alarm.
"Come on!" cried Bud. "Come on!" and he and Dick for the momentwere in the lead, the canyon being wide enough, here, for severalto ride abreast. "We've got to get 'em!"
"And we won't stop until we do!" added his cousin.
But they reckoned not with the roughness of the way, the startthe rustlers had, their fresher horses and the fact that DelPinzo and his crowd were more familiar with the trail than werethe boy ranchers. So though our heroes rode on as fast as theycould go with comparative safety, they did not, for some time atleast, again come within sight of the enemy.
"Wait there! Hold on a little!" finally called Slim to Bud, Dickand Nort, who, in their youthful and natural eagerness, hadforged to the front in a bunch. "Pull up! This isn't a hundredyard dash! It's going to be a long race!"
Bud was beginning to believe this, and some of his firstexuberance was disappearing. He was getting more cool-headed.
"Let's take it a bit easy," he said to Nort and Dick. "I guesswe've got a long trail to follow."
"But we've got to get 'em!" declared Dick.
"You got rid of something that time!" commented his brother,meaningly, if slangily. "We're going to make 'em give back ourcattle!"
"Say!" suddenly cried Bud. "That's the queer part of it! Whereare the steers?"
And for the first time it occurred to the minds of the boyranchers that of that quarry they had come most in search of theyhad had not a glimpse. Not a steer was in sight!
Something of the amazement they felt must have been depicted ontheir faces, for when Slim rode up to where the boy ranchers hadhalted he asked:
"What's the matter?"
"Where are the cattle?" asked Bud, shouting almost as loudly asYellin' Kid would have done. "Did you notice they didn't have aone with them, Slim?"
"Yes. Are you just waking up to that, Bud?"
"I reckon I am. But what does it mean?"
"It means that there's a deeper game being played than we haveany idea of, son. We've got to go some to get to the bottom!"