Chapter Seventeen
The Night Alarm
There was no mistaking the V-shaped nick. It was clearly outlined in thedust and Slim stooped to look at it closely.
"Kind of looks like the mysterious rider was the guy who roped me aroundthe neck and then left me down by the creek to hear the crickets sing,"he said.
"Maybe he was trying to get another shot at the boss," said Walt Kelly.
"If he was, he wouldn't have ridden right into our corral. Anyway,there're no marks like this one coming out," Chuck pointed out.
Slim sat back on his heels, puzzled at the turn of events, while Chuckambled into the corral. A minute later he shouted for them to join himand they hurried inside.
Chuck was looking at his own horse but as they approached he pointed atthe dust.
"My gosh, fellows, my own horse has that V-shaped mark on his left rearshoe!"
"That kind of puts you in a hole," spoke up Doug Huston.
"Nothing of the kind," retorted Slim sharply. "Chuck wasn't on the rangewhen the boss was shot and you fellows know darned well where he was theother night when the rustlers were chasing our cattle onto the Double Orange. This is just a trick of the rustlers to cause suspicion in ourown outfit. The fellow who slugged me last night rode away on Chuck'shorse and while he was away from the ranch he had the V-shaped markfiled in the shoe. It was clever trick, but it didn't work."
Joe Haines, who had been strangely silent, stepped forward.
"You're right, Slim," said the foreman. "Putting that nick on the shoeof that cayuse was aimed to throw us on the wrong track. What'stroubling me is how the rustlers learned we were after a horse with ashoe marked like that. As far as I know only our own outfit knew aboutit and Nels Anderson and Al Bass."
"I didn't think the Double O would shoot straight," said Doug.
"I wouldn't jump at conclusions," said Slim. "When this thing is finallycleared up there's going to be a lot of surprised people in the CreepingShadows country."
"Oh, you talk like a cattle detective," snapped Doug.
"If I was a cattle detective," replied Slim smoothly, "I'd probably beslipping the iron bracelets on these rustlers and starting them for thestate penitentiary."
"Better get a file and smooth out that mark," Joe told Chuck. "There'sno use your cluttering up the landscape with V-shaped signs."
Chuck departed for the blacksmith shop and Slim and Joe saddled andmounted their horses.
Joe gave the riding orders for the day to the other punchers. Then withSlim he rode north toward the Double O. After a time he spoke.
"Do you think it was someone on the ranch who waylaid you last night androde away on Chuck's horse?"
Slim picked his words carefully as he replied for even though he hadabsolute faith in the integrity of the foreman, he did not intend toreveal that he was in the employ of the Mountain States Cattlemen'sAssociation and working under Old Bill Needham until the showdown.
"I'm inclined to believe someone on the ranch is tipping the rustlersoff to every move. That's the only way the gang could have learned theboss was carrying money with him the night they shot him and it's theonly way they could have learned about the nick in the horseshoe.Whoever is doing the thinking for this gang is clever and dangerous."
"He's all of that, but he'll never match the power of the cattlemen ifwe line up Hack Cook."
Nels Anderson and Al Bass were waiting for them and they swung intotheir saddles as the Box B men approached.
"Anything happen last night?" asked Nels. Slim related what had occurredat the Box B corral.
"That's no good," he said. "It means there's a traitor in your outfit."
"Don't say that until we've got the proof," Joe warned him, for althoughhe was privately convinced that Nels was right, he wasn't going to letany outsider cast any reflections on his riders until he had ampleproof.
With Nels and Joe ahead, they rode toward the Diamond Dot. Slim found AlBass a pleasant companion and they discussed the range war at length.
"Your outfit's pretty well loaded with men," Slim said.
"The Box B would be if they could keep their hands on," grinned Al, "butafter those two cattle detectives were killed and a couple of the otherboys got winged, a bunch of them blew out of the country."
"The present outfit won't blow," said Slim.
"I don't know about that. I wouldn't count too much on Doug Huston. Helooks like a weak sister to me."
It was nearly noon when they reached the Diamond Dot, which lay northand well to the east of the Box B although almost directly east of theDouble O.
Water on the Diamond Dot was not as plentiful as on the neighboringranches and the grass was thinner. The buildings, almost under theCajons, were in a poor state of repair and the corral was a ramshackledaffair. Two cowboys in front of the bunkhouse looked up as the ridersapproached and four more men appeared to watch the visitors. On theporch of the ranch house a man pulled himself out of an old rockingchair. He was in his stocking feet and had been dozing and smoking hispipe at intervals.
"That's Hack Cook on the porch," said Al. "He's a tough customer andI've got a hunch we won't get any cooperation from him."
Slim looked at the owner of the Diamond Dot. Hack Cook was almostsquare. His shoulders were tremendously broad and his chest was like abarrel. His face was red and his neck so short that it disappeared intohis body.
"Hello, Hack," rumbled Nels as the riders stopped in front of the porch.
"Howdy," replied Hack, but he gave no hint that he intended to ask themto dismount and have dinner at the ranch. "What's on your mind?"
"Plenty," said Nels. "It's about the rustlers. The Double O and the BoxB are joining forces."
Hack's face reddened and his voice trembled. "Joining forces? It's abouttime you big outfits did that. Now you'll try to ruin me altogether. Youhaven't been able to do it singly so you're doubling up on me. Well, I'mserving notice on you right now that I've got fighting men on my payrolland we're going to fight to the end."
"Why you crazy fool," broke in Joe Haines, "we're not looking fortrouble. We're offering you a chance to join us and run the rustlers outof the valley. You claim you've been losing stock. Here's your chance toprove it by throwing in with us. We're going to give this valley theonce-over with a fine-toothed comb."
Slim had been making a survey of the Diamond Dot layout. He wassurprised at the number of cowboys at the bunkhouse. There were sixoutside, more than the Box B carried and as many as the Double O, whichwere much larger ranches than the Diamond Dot.
There was the movement of a faded curtain at a window on the secondfloor of the ranch house and Slim started involuntarily as he got aglimpse of the face peering out from behind the curtain. It was that ofHal Titzell, the cattle buyer from Dirty Water. It was true that Titzellhad visited the Box B two days before, and it was possible that he wastrying to buy cattle from the Diamond Dot, but Slim didn't like thelooks of the thing as he recalled the early warning Doc Baldridge hadgiven him about Titzell.
Nels and Joe argued for some time with Hack Cook, but the owner of theDiamond Dot was adamant and no amount of cajoling on the part of thevisiting cattlemen could make him change his mind.
"Then go it alone," exploded Nels at last, "and I hope to heaven youlose every one of your cattle, that your grass burns up and your waterholes go dry."
"They probably will if you can do anything about it," retorted Hack.
The visitors whirled their horses about and departed at a gallop.
"What burns me up is that he didn't ask us to eat," grumbled Al Bass."Our cook quit last night and one of the boys had to rustle grub thismorning. We fed light."
Slim could sympathize with Al, for even though he had enjoyed one of LeeWu's good breakfasts, he was hungry. When they reached the Double O, theBox B riders paused only long enough to water their horses, beforepressing on toward the home ranch.
Nels and Joe had decided on nigh
t riding and Slim knew that there wouldbe little rest for him until after the dawn of another day. When theyreturned to the ranch, Joe explained the new plan of action.
"We're splitting up the range," he said. "Most of the stuff has beenstolen along our north and east line and along the south and east lineof the Double O. We'll load up a chuck wagon at once and start for ournorth line where we'll make camp. Get a move on, boys, and help Lee Wuget ready. The Double O's lost their cook and Lee's got to cook for bothoutfits."
It was just before sunset when a team was hitched to the chuck wagon andWu, his shotgun over his knees, cracked the whip, yelled a wild Chinesechant, and the team leaped away to the accompaniment of many crashingpots and pans.
Walt Kelly, in spite of his protests, was left at the ranch to guard theboss and to feed and care for him while the others trailed out behindthe fast-wheeling Wu.
It was deep twilight when they reached the site which had been selectedfor the camp. There was a good spring and plenty of timber. The Double Oboys were waiting and they greeted Wu with wild shouts of joy for theChinaman's reputation as a cook was known the length and breadth of thevalley.
It was well after dark before supper was ready and they fell to withravenous appetites. The Double O riders were loud in their praises ofWu's cooking and the grinning Chinaman served them again and again untilhe finally spread his hands and said, "All gone, too much hungry."
They grinned and leaned back on the ground, waiting for orders from Nelsand Joe. Slim looked them over. In addition to the Double O boss and AlBass, there were five riders from that ranch. All of them were clean,capable-appearing fellows. In the Box B contingent were Joe, Doug, PatBeals, Chuck and himself. With Wu to guard the camp, that meant twelveriders were available for riding the range.
Nels, by virtue of his years, took command and assigned each rider tohis night's work. Three shots, fired in rapid succession, were to be thesignal that trouble was ahead.
"This is a finish fight," Nels warned them. "The word's gone out that wemean business. Shoot first and ask questions afterward."
The riders scattered to their horses and a few minutes later werestringing along the east range of the Double O and the Box B. East ofthem lay the Diamond Dot. Slim and Chuck rode south together. They wereto patrol near the trail which led from the Box B to Dirty Water.
"Think we'll get anything by this night riding?" asked Chuck.
"We may not get anything, but neither will the rustlers," replied Slim."I've got a hunch that the key to the whole mystery is somewhere aroundthe Diamond Dot. I saw Hal Titzell there this afternoon. He was watchingus from a second story window."
"You mean that the Diamond Dot is rustling the stuff from the Double Oand the Box B and then Titzell steps in and buys the cattle?" askedChuck.
"It might be something like that," admitted Slim, "but I'm not going toadvance too many theories. We've got to be careful they don't spot us ascattle detectives."
They parted near the trail to Dirty Water, Chuck riding further southalong the east line of the Box B.
Midnight passed, and up and down the long line of riders there wasnothing reported out of the way. Pat Beals was on one side of Slim andChuck on the other. He contacted them at intervals and they talkedbriefly before starting the return ride down their section of the line.It was lonely work, riding the range at night, with the feeling thatrustlers might be encountered at any minute. Slim fingered the six gunat his side and made sure that it was free in the holster. Then heslipped his rifle in and out of the scabbard to satisfy himself that itwas ready for instant action.
The thin moonlight faded and the night became doubly black. Another hourand the sky over the Cajons would brighten, but in the interval beforethat Slim had the feeling that many things might happen.
He was riding north when trouble started. Behind him and from Chuck'ssection of the range came three shots, one after another. Slim wheeledand listened. There was a sharp, terrible fusillade. Then silence.
Whipping his own gun from his holster he fired three times in the airand urged Lightning into a mad gallop. From behind him he could hear thealarm signal echoing up the line as other riders repeated the warningshots and he knew that they were pounding along in his wake. Therustlers were riding somewhere before him and he knew they had alreadysilenced Chuck's guns. With black anger in his heart, he leaned overLightning and urged the great sorrel to even greater speed.