CHAPTER XVI.
AFTER A MISSING MUSTANG.
"What are you going to do with me?" asked Hank Stiger, after a momentof painful silence, during which Dan glanced toward Henry, to find hisfriend reviving rapidly.
"You'll find out later, Stiger. I can tell you one thing, you've gottenyourself in a pretty tight box."
"It wasn't my fault,--you forced the shooting," was the sullenresponse. "Why didn't you leave me alone from the start?"
"Because I am bound to have those papers and the other articles youstole, that's why."
"I took nothing, I swear it."
"Do you expect me to believe you,--after what has happened here, andafter that affair of the deer?"
At this Stiger was silent. He wanted to get up and rush at Dan, despitethe levelled pistol, but the wounded knee held him back. Had he been afull-blooded Indian he would have suffered in silence, but, being onlya half-breed, and of poor Indian and white blood at that, he groaneddismally.
"Dan!" The cry came faintly from Henry, who had slowly raised himself."Where--what--oh, I remember, now!" And he sank back again.
"It's all right, Henry; I've made Stiger a prisoner."
"A prisoner!" whined the half-breed. "Ain't I suffered enough already?My leg is somethin' fearful!" and he groaned again.
"You brought it all on yourself, Stiger, so you need not complain tome."
"I didn't, you----"
"I won't listen to any more explanations. Throw your knife over here,and be careful you don't hit anybody with it."
The half-breed fumed and raved, but all to no purpose, and at last theknife came over, and was followed by the broken pistol.
"Now don't you dare to move," went on Dan, and then turned hisattention to Henry. Not far away was a little brook flowing into theGuadalupe, and here Dan procured some water with which he bathed hisfriend's wound.
The departure from the town shore had been noted by several lumbermen,and, having heard the pistol-shots, several came over to learn if afight was going on. By calling out, the lumbermen managed to locate ourfriends and soon came up to them. They listened to Dan's tale withclose attention.
"We ought to go fer to string the half-breed up," was the comment ofone of the woodsmen. "We've got enough trouble on hand without allowin'sech chaps to make more."
"Thet's jest the size on it," added another. "String him up on thespot."
But Dan would not countenance this, nor would Henry, who had now fullyrecovered, although the bullet had left an ugly scratch which he wasbound to wear to the day of his death. Finally a compromise was madewith Stiger, who offered to hobble down to the river, although scarcelyable to walk. The threat to hang him had rendered the half-breedthoroughly sober.
The return to the town was made without incident, and at the locallockup Dan told his story, and it was decided to keep Stiger a prisonerfor the time being. He was searched, and in one of his pockets wasfound some small silver trinkets, which Dan at once identified asbelonging to his father. But no trace was there of the papers relatingto the land grant.
"But these trinkets prove that Stiger was the thief," said Dan. "Iwould like you to keep him a prisoner until my father can come here andmake a regular charge against him." And so the matter was allowed torest. Stiger was in a rage, and vowed that he would surely get evenwith Dan some day.
When Henry Parker arrived home his mother was much alarmed to find thathe had been shot. Yet beyond the shock the young man had sufferedlittle, and after having the wound properly dressed he felt as well asever.
"I might rather have gone off to the war," he grumbled. "Dan and I aregetting all the fighting by staying at home."
It was hardly daybreak when Dan started to return to the ranch. Hewould not have gone back at all just then, only he knew Ralph wouldgrow anxious if he did not return. As soon as he could arrange it, theyouth had determined to ride over to where the army was encamped, totell his parent of the encounter with Stiger, and learn if Mr. Radburywished to take up the case.
Dan had not to take the trip alone, as two of the lumbermen were goingup the Guadalupe on business. As yet only a small portion of the Texanshad joined the army, many of the others having no idea that a regularrevolution was at hand.
"It won't amount to shucks," said one of the lumbermen, as the threerode along the river trail. "We'll have a lot of meetings and ascrimmage or two, and then Santa Anna will come over with a big army,and our leaders won't dare to call their souls their own."
"I cannot agree with you," answered Dan. "Our folks have suffered toomuch to turn back now."
"But we ain't got no army,--only a lot o' farmers and rancheros, andblacklegs who have run away from the United States to escape justice.Mexico has a finely trained lot o' soldiers."
"Well, the United States didn't have any trained army at the opening ofthe Revolution," retorted Dan, warmly. "But we showed King George's mena thing or two before we got through with them."
"Well, if we do fight 'em and obtain our liberty, what then?" put inthe second lumberman. "The politicians will run everything to suitthemselves. We won't have any more rights than we have now."
"Never mind, I think matters will be a good deal better," answered Dan."Anyway," he added, with a peculiar smile, "do you believe in giving upyour arms?"
"Not much!" answered both lumbermen, promptly. "That's a fool law."
"Then what are you going to do, if the greasers demand your guns andpistols, as they demanded that cannon?"
This proved a clincher, and the lumbermen changed the subject. Theywere for peace, but it may be as well to state here that, in the end,they joined the army, and fought as nobly for liberty as did theaverage Texan soldier.
Before the journey was half over, it had begun to rain, and by the timethe ranch home was reached, Dan and his companions were wet to theskin. As it still poured down steadily, the lumbermen were glad toavail themselves of the Radburys' offer to stay at the cabin for thebalance of the day.
"Hurrah for our side!" cried Ralph, when told of the battle at theMission Concepcion. "If they have a few more such fights, perhaps theMexicans will wake up to the idea that we have some rights they arebound to respect."
He was glad to hear that Stiger had been jailed, and sorry that HenryParker had been wounded. "Henry can make a charge even if fatherdoesn't," he said.
Ralph and Pompey had had troubles of their own during Dan's briefabsence. Two prize mustangs, not yet broken in, had gotten out of thecorral near the cattle shed, and although the boy and the negro hadmanaged to round up one of the steeds, the other had persisted inkeeping just out of their reach.
"I tried to lasso him," said Ralph, "but I wasn't equal to it, and, ofcourse, Pompey knows nothing of a lasso."
"Well, we can go after him when the storm clears away," answered Dan.
Pompey had prepared a substantial dinner, and the balance of the daypassed off pleasantly enough. By morning the storm had cleared away,and the lumbermen took their departure. Then Dan procured a lasso, andhe and Ralph mounted their steeds and set off on a search for themissing mustang, which was a beauty, and which Mr. Radbury prized veryhighly.
"He went off to the southwest," said Ralph, as the brothers rode away."Of course, there is no telling how far he ran. I suppose it will be agood deal like looking for a needle in a haystack to locate him."
"Well, we can do our best, Ralph. I know father set a great store bythat white pony. He was thinking of breaking him in for his own use."
"I know it, and that is why I tried so hard to capture him. But I can'tget the hang of the lasso," and Ralph shook his head, for he had triedto land the loop over the mustang's head at least a score of times.
"You'll learn in time. It's more the knack of it than anything else.Come, let us hurry!" and Dan set off at a gallop. He was thinkingaltogether of the mustang, and never dreamed of the other odd adventurein store for him,--an adventure which was to make a soldier of himalmost before he was aware.