CHAPTER VII.
SONG SHOOTS A WOLF.
Early one morning the broncho boys were startled out of their beds bythe double explosion of a shotgun, followed by excited yells and screamsof agony.
"That Chinaman has shot somebody," thought Ted, as he rapidly skippedout of bed and pulled on his trousers.
In the living room he met all the boys, as scantily clad as himself,hurrying out to see what the noise was all about.
They could hear Song behind the house screaming in Chinese at the top ofhis voice, and in an ear-splitting falsetto, which showed that he wastremendously excited.
Thither they rushed, and for a moment the ludicrous scene faroutbalanced the seriousness of what had happened.
On the ground was a young fellow about seventeen years of age. He waswrithing with pain, and the blood was oozing through his clothes infifty places.
"Ha, ha!" shrieked Song. "Me shootee wolf, turnee into man light away.Ha, ha, me allee same plenty smart man, likee magician."
"Yes, you're a hot magician," said Bud; "You've made this feller secondcousin ter a porous plaster. That's what you've done."
"Who is he, Song?" asked Ted.
"Me no savvy him. Me comee out chicken house getee eggs fo' bleakfast. Ically gun, shotee plenty wolf all samee Mliss Stella say."
"But this is not a wolf."
"All samee wolf. I open chicken house do'. I see wolf. Plenty glowl atSong. I no likee gun. Shutee my eye. Pull tligger, an' gun goee off. Allsamee wolf no mo' glowlee, him yellee like thundeh. When smokee blow waywolf gonee, all samee man comee. I plenty magician, I thinkee."
Ted looked in the chicken house, and on the floor lay the dried hide ofa big gray wolf.
Now he understood. The message had come the third time from the FlyingDemons.
"Kit, run around to the front door and see if there is a message therefor us from our friends the Demons."
In a moment Kit was back, holding a piece of paper in his hand.
Ted took it from him, and read it.
It was the third and last warning. It said:
"TED STRONG: We have warned you twice before to leave this part of the country, but you have made no move to do so. This is the third warning. If you are not away from here in a week the vengeance will fall upon you. Beware!
"THE FLYING DEMONS."
"Did you bring this?" asked Ted, of the wretched youth, who still layupon the ground groaning from his numerous wounds.
There was no reply. The fellow could only toss his head from side toside and rub his legs, into which the bulk of the shot had been fired bythe excited Chinaman.
"You won't answer, eh? Well, we'll find a way to make you. I'm gladyou've given us a week," said Ted, laughing. "That will at least give ustime to hold our round-up and festivities."
"Oh, if I live through this I'll never go into anything like it again,"moaned the youth upon the ground.
"Here, stand up," said Ted to him. "You're not badly hurt. You're onlystung, twice. Get on your feet and we'll see what we can do for you.You're a long way from dead yet. What's your name?"
"Jack Farley. Oh, if I could only be sure that I wasn't going to die!"exclaimed the youth.
He was the young fellow Billy Sudden had spoken about.
"We can't tell how badly you are hurt until you get up," said Ted."Rise, and we'll go into the house and examine your wounds."
Slowly young Farley got to his feet, but when he tried to walk heuttered a howl of pain, and sank down again.
"Yellow all through," said Ben, in a tone of disgust.
"Ever have about three ounces of duck shot pumped into yer systemthrough yer hide?" asked Bud.
"Never had."
"Then yer don't know all ther joys o' life. I've had one ounce shotinter my leg, an' if ther contents o' two shells gives double ther painone does, then excuse me. An' mine wuz only snipe shot, at that."
"Pick him up, boys, and lay him on the lounge in my room," said Ted."I'll take a look at him after a while, meantime some of you watch himto see that he doesn't get away. We need him for evidence."
When Bud and Ben had carried the wounded boy into Ted's room and laidhim on the lounge, Bud stood over him regarding him with interest.
"I sorter envy yer, kid," he said at last.
"You can have 'em, but I don't see why you envy me," said Farley.
"I wuz thinkin' how happy you'll be all through these lonesome winterevenings, pickin' ther shot out o' yer legs."
When Farley had been carried into the house, Ted called Kit to him andsaid:
"Kit, I wish you'd ride over to Suggs' ranch and tell Billy Sudden thathis protege is over here with his hide peppered with bird shot, and askhim to ride over and take a look at him."
During breakfast they related to Stella the story of Song's wolf hunt inthe chicken house, and the result.
Song was as proud as a peacock, and wore "the smile that won't come off"as he flitted around the table waiting on every one.
"Say, Missee Stella," he said, "Song all samee one cowbloy now, eh? Whatyou sayee?"
"Yes, Song, you have certainly followed instructions. You got your wolfthat time, sure. How you likee shootee?"
"No likee, Missee Stella. Makee too much noisee, all samee too muchplenty fiahclackers. Kickee like blazes. Plitty near knockee arm outeeSong."
The boys stripped Farley after breakfast, and found his legs in prettybad condition. They looked as if Song's gun had been loaded withsmallpox, and all of it had lodged in the lad's legs.
"Boys, we'll have to take relays in picking the shot from our firstvictim," said Ted. "There's too much work here for one man."
"He's a turrible-lookin' demon now with a hide full o' shot. Therpunctured demon of Demonville! Say, kid, I'd hate ter laugh at yer, butyer a sight. Why didn't yer fix it so's them two charges o' shot wouldhev been distributed among ther gang? Then yer could sit down o'evenings an' pick shot out o' one another instid o' plottin' agin' therwhites."
"Let him be, Bud, he's having all he can do to think about these shots,as it is. The things for us to do now is to pick them out of him."
"We'll let him count 'em ez they come out. That'll help take his mindoff his troubles, but he'll hev ter hev a great head fer figgers."
They went to work on him with their penknives, as most of the shot werejust beneath the skin. But it was painful enough, at that, and everytime a shot came out Farley groaned deeper. While they were engaged inthis, to them, pleasing occupation, Billy Sudden arrived.
"Hello, kid," he said to Farley. "So you got it at last. I could havetold you to keep away from Ted Strong and his bunch. They're badmedicine for a herd o' mavericks like you to graze with. You tackled thewrong outfit. They're too many fer you, and if you'll all take a fool'sadvice you'll keep away, or else some of you will be looking through agriddle in a door up at the penitentiary."
Farley made no reply, only hid his face and groaned at every extractedshot.
"Say, kid, what about this gang you belong to?"
The boy shook his head.
"D'ye mean to say you're not going to tell me about it?"
The boy nodded.
"What's the reason you won't?"
"The oath."
"Slush with the oath. You had no business to take it. What'll the homefolks think when I tell them about this. Shot by a Chinaman in thechicken house at dawn!"
Billy paused to let the ignominy of it sink in. It did sound pretty badand mean and cheap. There were no heroics in this, such as Farley had atfirst considered his role.
He hid his face on his arm, and his body shook. Billy had probed deepinto his pride.
"Well, come on," said Billy. "This is no time for a conspirator to dothe baby act. I suppose you thought it was to be a spotlight scene whereyou stood in the center doing the heavy stunt, and all the rest sat onthe bleachers and applauded. By gee! Peppered by a Chinaman, and withsnipe shot, at that."
"Oh, quit it!" said Farley. "I kn
ow I was a chump for sticking withthose fellows, but I needed the money."
"What money?"
"My share of the--"
"What?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Yes, there is something. What robbery was it you shared in?"
"I didn't steal anything."
"I suppose not. You did the dirty work of being lookout, or somethinglike that, and they threw you the bone while they kept the meat and fat,eh?"
"What shall I do with him?" asked Ted.
"Keep him locked up as a hostage. That may bring those young fools totheir senses," said Billy. "I'm disgusted with him for not making aclean breast of the whole foolish business, and if it wasn't for hissister, I'd toss him up in the air and forget him."
The rest of the day was spent in picking shot out of Farley, and byevening he was relieved of the last one.
"We'll put him in that empty room at the corner of the house, and taketurns watching him through the night," said Ted.
Until bedtime Farley sat in the living room with the rest of them, andthey were unusually guarded in their conversation.
When it came time to retire Farley was conducted to the room which wasto be his prison, and it fell to Carl to take the first watch, and tocall Ben at one o'clock.
In the room there was a lounge and a pair of blankets for Farley, atable and a lamp, and a chair for the watch.
"Whatever you do, don't go to sleep, Carl," said Ted. "The reason I'mputting you on the first watch is because you're such a sleepyhead."
"Don'd vorry aboud me," said Carl, with a yawn. "I pet you I vas dersleepinglessness feller in der whole bunch. If he gets avay on my vatchit vill not be pecause I don'd sleep."
"I guess you mean all right, but I swear I can't understand you. Onlykeep awake."
"Oh, yah; I avake keeping all der time."
Carl sat in the chair watching his prisoner, and soon saw Farley's chestheaving regularly and heard his deep breathing as he slept. Then thingsseemed to waver and fade away.
Carl started up at hearing some one beating on the door, and sat rubbinghis eyes. It was broad daylight.
"All right, I'll get up pooty soon yet. Is preakfast retty?"
"Here, open the door. This is Ted."
"Vait a minute."
Carl staggered sleepily to the door and unlocked it.
"Where is your prisoner?" asked Ted, stalking into the room, and lookingat the open window.
"My vat? Ach, Gott in himmel, vat haf I dided? I am schoost comingavake. He iss gone! I haf slept on vatch. I am foreffer disgraced. Killme, Ted! I haf no appetite to live any more alretty," cried Carl.
Ted had been angry at discovering the escape of Farley, for he hadconceived a plan to use him against Creviss. He had risen early, andwhen he found that all the boys were in bed except Carl, he immediatelysuspected the truth.
But Carl's despairing manner turned him from anger.
"Never mind, Carl," he said. "It was my fault for putting you on watch.You were not cut out for a watchman. Or, perhaps, you were, accordingto the funny papers, but not of prisoners."
During breakfast Carl was compelled to endure the jokes of the boys athis failure to guard the prisoner, which he did with a lugubriouscountenance; then, at a signal from Ted, the subject was dropped.
About ten o'clock Billy Sudden rode up to the ranch house.
There was something in his manner that betokened news of importance, andhe strode unbidden into the living room, where Ted was sitting at hisdesk.
"Where's the kid?" he asked abruptly.
"Who, Farley?" asked Ted, looking up from his work.
"Yes."
"Skipped."
"What?"
"I said skipped."
"Great Scott! I'd give a hundred dollars if he hadn't."
"Why?"
"What time did he get away?"
"Don't know, exactly. Carl was watching him, but he fell asleep almostas soon as they were in the room together, and didn't wake up until sixo'clock this morning, and Farley was gone. No one knows how he got awayor at what time. It might have been any time. He probably woke up in thenight and saw that Carl was dead to the world, and opened the window,dropped to the ground, and hit the trail. That's all I know about it.But what makes you so anxious about it?"
"Then you haven't heard the news?"
"Guess not. What is it?"
"The First National Bank was robbed last night."
"Great guns! Creviss' bank! That's the United States depository!"
"The same."
"What are the details?"
"I rode through town this morning on my way over here to see if beingconfined for the night wouldn't make the kid talk, when I saw a bunch ofmen standing in front of the bank. I butted in and asked what theexcitement was, and they told me that the bank had been robbed."
"But how?"
"That's what nobody knows. When the cashier, Mr. Henson, got to the bankthis morning everything apparently was all right. The doors and windowswere fastened, and there was no sign anywhere that the bank had beenforcibly entered. Of course, he didn't look at these things first. Hewent to the vault and opened it at the proper time and examined itscontents casually. Everything seemed to be as usual. But when, a fewminutes later, he went to get out the currency, it was all gone. Hehadn't counted up when I left there, so no one knows the exact amount,but it was large."