CHAPTER XXIV
A MYSTERY SOLVED
Frank, after that one spasm of alarm, gritted his teeth, and thoughtfast. He had heard the rancher, as well as the cowboys, speak of theterrors of the stampede, when the cattle were in a frenzy, through fear,and utterly beyond all management.
He knew that frequently experienced cowmen, caught in the rush of athousand lumbering steers, had been ground to death under countlesshoofs. It was so in the old days, when bison dotted the plains of thegreat West.
Mounted on a good horse, one might hope to ride clear of the advancingavalanche of hoofs and horns. But his steed was lame, and hardly able tolimp along. The situation was one calculated to arouse a boy as he hadnever been awakened before in all his life.
Frank jumped upon the back of his horse. He knew instantly that his onehope must lie in getting clear of the immense herd; and that this couldonly be done by either riding faster than they were going down the widevalley, or in making for the nearest hillside, where trees would offerhim a refuge.
He chose the latter. Flight in a straightaway course was utterly out ofthe question with a cripple between his knees.
"Get up, Hector! Do your prettiest now!" he called to his horse.
The poor beast was trying his hardest to run well, but making only apretense, after all, since that lame leg kept him from speedy progress.Doubtless Hector, being a cow pony, knew full well the nature of theperil that menaced them, and if it lay in his power he would bear hisyoung master to a point of safety.
Frank's heart seemed to be in his throat as he leaned forward andlistened to the rapidly approaching roar of hundreds upon hundreds ofhoofs, mingled with the horrid clashing of horns. Added to this was thedeep-toned thunder and the dazzling flashes of lightning.
Once, when he looked to the left, he could see the moving mass that wassweeping horribly close. After that he resolutely kept his attentionriveted in front, where the ridge loomed up against the darkenedheavens.
Everything depended upon how far he was from the nearest trees. Secondscounted with Frank just then. The lightning flashed every quarter of aminute, and yet it seemed to him that they were ages apart.
With his heart in his throat, as it seemed, he stared ahead, and waitedfor the next flash to show him the worst. Unless the trees were closeby, his case seemed hopeless, for the main herd appeared to have pushedover to this side of the valley, unfortunately, showing that he hadpicked the wrong course when he started.
Hector stumbled more than once, and Frank feared he would be thrown. Heeven wondered whether it would not be better for him to throw himself tothe ground while he had the chance, and trust to his own legs to carryhim to safety.
Then came the eagerly anticipated flash. Hope sprang anew in his breast,for he had discovered the trees close at hand. One more gallant efforton the part of the crippled pony, and they managed to pass behind theoutposts of the timber, just as the beginning of the terrible rushingstampede swept by.
There Frank sat upon his pony, breathing hard, and patting the pooranimal reassuringly. He could hear the loud cries of the cowboys and Mr.Mabie as they circled about the terrified cattle, trying by every meanspossible to influence them to mill; but in that gloom it was impossibleto carry out the usual tactics, and by degrees the sounds died away fardown the valley.
Frank walked with his lame pony to the ranch house. Here he found hischums in a fright because of his absence. They were afraid he had beencaught in the mad stampede and ground under the hoofs of the steers.
Mr. Mabie did not show up until long after midnight. The storm hadpassed away, and the sky cleared by that time. The boys were sitting up,waiting, none of them thinking of seeking his bed.
"Hello, Frank, my lad! I'm mighty glad to find you here, safe and sound.I saw your pony at the stable, and that you had bound up his leg,showing a sprain. But I was afraid that something more serious had beenthe matter. You don't know how relieved I was to see your horse; andReddy, too. The poor fellow has been in a sweat with fear ever since thestampede broke out," was the hearty way the rancher greeted Frank as hecame bustling in.
"Oh, I was right in the line of the rush, but by clever work on thepart of my pony managed to reach the trees before they caught me. Butwhat's the report about the cattle, sir?" asked Frank eagerly.
"The boys have halted them about ten miles from here. Thanks to thestorm stopping, and the animals getting leg weary, we managed to headthem off. Little damage done, except to our feelings. These thingshappen once in a while, and are really unavoidable. Steers in a panicare crazy; but then I suppose the same would apply to human beings, ifall accounts are true that I read about theater fires and such things."
He asked many questions concerning Frank's adventure.
"You just happened to choose the wrong side, lad. Had you headed theother way you would have had little trouble. The storm came from thatquarter, and a cowboy must have known that cattle always run _away_ fromthe lightning and rain. But fortunately you made the timber, and; as thesubject is unpleasant, we'll drop it for the present. Now get off tobed, the lot of you. In the morning, if you want, I'll take you downwith me, and show you how we drive a big herd."
"I've got my last roll of films in the camera, and that would make amighty fine set of pictures to finish up with; but, oh! what wouldn't Igive if I could have caught Frank, here, riding for life on thatcrippled pony, and the stampede sweeping down on him!" said Willenthusiastically.
"Talk to me about your cold-blooded savages! Does anything equal a crankwith a camera, bent on snapping off everything that happens?" mutteredJerry, shaking his head in real or assumed disgust.
"That is the fate of every genius, to be misunderstood andmisrepresented when ready to sacrifice comfort and everything to hisart. But I am not the only one who is a crank. I have known fellows soproud of their lungs, that night after night they insisted on fillingthe air mattresses of the party just to prove which could blow theharder; while the other two members of the party sat by and laughed."
Frank chuckled at hearing this, and both Bluff and Jerry looked daggers,for the shot hit home with them.
In the morning the boys did accompany the rancher down the valley. Frankshowed them his course on the previous night, and they followed hisline of travel until the trees were reached. Trail there was none, forhundreds of cloven hoofs had pounded the soil about that spot, showinghow narrow had been his escape.
The cowboys were found to have the big herd well in hand. It was eventhen on the way back to its former feeding ground. Some of the steersshowed the effects of the mad rush, in various cuts from the horns oftheir fellows; and several had tripped and gone down to death in thepanic, the herd trampling them into an unrecognizable mass.
Of course, Will satisfied his longing, and secured what pictures hewanted.
"I'm happy in having carried out my plans. Won't the home folks starewhen they see the panorama of views I've gathered!" he said jubilantly.
"I should think they would," remarked Jerry, shrugging his shoulders,"for you certainly have a collection of freak pictures, some of whichwould take the prize."
"But all of this lot are genuine. Nobody had to prance around a treewith a dead yellow dog on his feet, pretending to chase after him,"asserted Will.
"Whose doing was that, eh? Tell me that! Didn't you just plead with meto make a fool of myself, and to save you pain I consented. I supposeI'll never hear the end of that fool joke," growled Jerry.
"Oh, yes, you will. It's all in the family. Others don't know the dogwas dead when he had his picture taken. They all say he looks as thoughabout to snap a piece out of your leg. Now, I think we've just had aglorious time of it up here, with nothing to mar our pleasure," remarkedFrank, the peacemaker.
"Except that miserable job of mine in leaving my knife home," sighedBluff.
"Talk to me about that, will you! He hasn't forgotten it yet!" exclaimedJerry.
"I never can. Hello! Here comes Reddy with a bag of mail, the last we'llg
et, I suppose, before we go home. A letter for me? Now just keep youreyes to yourselves, fellows. I admit it's from Nellie, but no doubt thedear girl is anxious about her brother Frank, and wants information froma thoroughly reliable quarter."
Bluff sought out a lonesome corner of the big piazza in front of theranch house, and presently all hands were absorbed in their letters.Suddenly the others heard Bluff utter an exclamation, and looked up justin time to see him sprint into the building.
"What d'ye suppose ails the fellow?" asked Will.
"Give it up. He seemed to have a broad grin on his face, as thoughNellie must have written something especially sweet. But here he comesout again, dancing like a wild Indian. What's he waving above his head,fellows?" said Frank.
"It's his lost hunting-knife, as sure as you live!" echoed Will.
"Just to think of it, boys! The beauty was in my clothes bag all thetime, and I didn't know it! Nellie did it. She mentions the fact in thisletter, and says she was so afraid I'd hurt myself with that knife, byaccident, that she rolled it up in this new flannel shirt, which I'venever thought to put on as yet, and thrust it down at the bottom of myclothes bag. I never thought to pull it out; and now that the big-gamehunt is over I get my trusty blade."
"Tell me about that, will you! And you thought I was to blame," remarkedJerry.
"For which I beg your pardon. After all, perhaps no harm was done, andsince Nellie only did it from the best of motives, why, I would befoolish to be angry."
"Sensible for once," observed Frank, winking at the others.
"And so we will leave the ranch without the slightest cloud on thehorizon. Fellows, all I can say is we're a lucky lot of boys," observedWill positively.