CHAPTER XIV
THE FAT BOY DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF
"You laughing at me?" shouted the stranger angrily.
"No, that was a horse laugh," answered Chunky.
"What d'ye mean?"
"I mean I was laughing at the horse. The joke is on the horse, yousee. That's why I called it a horse laugh. Ever hear of a horselaugh? That was one of those things. You see, you can learn evenfrom a kid."
The horseman, glowering, was gazing so fixedly at the fat boy thatfor the moment he had forgotten to watch Tad, who was now circlingslowly about the two in ever-widening circles. Tad found that thebroad trail made by the man who had stolen his doe ended where theywere.
The lad came around again to the point where he had discovered horsetracks leading north from that point. He took up this trail again.Behind a fallen cypress, partially hidden in the foliage, the PonyRider Boy discovered a dead deer. At first he did not go near to thecarcass, pretending not to have seen it, but continued moving aroundthe place, his object being to see where the deer had been hit. Hefound the wound very soon, for it was just back of the left shoulder.
Even then Butler gave no sign that he understood. He strolled backto Stacy, giving the fat boy a knowing wink, which Stacy, for awonder, interpreted correctly. That is, he understood that hiscompanion had made a discovery, but just what that discovery was,Chunky could not say.
"Well?" questioned the stranger sharply.
"Well?" answered Butler, a faint grin appearing on his face.
"Are you satisfied?"
"Of what?"
"That your doe isn't here?"
"I am satisfied," replied Tad evasively, not saying of what he wassatisfied.
"If you want to catch the man with the buck, you'd better be headingon. He'll get so far away that you'll never catch him if you don'tmove."
"I am in no hurry now," replied Butler.
"What do you-all reckon on doing?"
"Remain right here until the rest of my party comes up."
The stranger started.
"Chunky, will you be good enough to wind the horn?"
Stacy grinned broadly.
"I reckon I'll wind the old thing up until she caves in or breaks hermainspring," chuckled the fat boy. Stacy placed the horn to his lipsand gave a long, winding blast that drowned the songs of the birdsand set the barred owls to cackling uneasily.
"Here, what are you doing?" cried the horseman.
"If you aren't deaf, you would know without asking such a question,"retorted Stacy, taking the horn from his lips for a moment.
Tad in the meantime had seated himself on a log. His rifle was stillin the saddle boot, but Tad had his rope and his revolver. The formerhe did not have much if any use for in the present circumstances, buthe half expected to have use for the rope. He had tried to avoid aclash, and he hoped the man would take alarm and go away. The man didnothing of the sort. Instead, he forced the situation to a head.
"How long you going to stay here?" he asked, controlling his voicewith evident effort.
"Until you go away, or until my party comes up," answered Butler.
"I reckon you'll stay here a long time, then. I am camping here.Your party has gone the other way and they won't get out to this brakebefore tomorrow some time."
"You seem to know all about it."
"I reckon I do."
"And you know all about that deer over yonder behind the downcypress?"
"If I do, that's my business. The doe is mine."
"You are wrong," answered Tad. "The doe is mine. You know it is."
"Well, for the sake of the argument, what are you going to do aboutit?"
"Take the deer back with me," answered Butler evenly.
"And what do you think I'll be doing while you-all are taking my doeaway?"
"I don't care what you do. I propose to do what I please with my ownproperty."
"Look here, kid. I've just been leadin' you along by the nose. Now,I'm going to talk straight."
"That's what I want you to do. But I doubt if you can talkstraight--I doubt if you can tell the truth. A fellow who will steala deer will not hesitate to lie," answered Butler, gazing defiantlyat the horseman. The man flushed under his tan, flushed clear upunder his hat.
"Layin' all that talk aside, how you going to prove that that doe isyour property?"
"How are you going to prove that it isn't?" retorted the Pony RiderBoy.
"Because I shot him."
Tad chuckled.
"You will have a mighty hard time proving that. Listen! I trackedyou here. I followed the trail right to this spot where it ends.Your story about seeing a man with a buck was not true. There is notrail beyond this place. You hoped we would go on, when you wouldhave taken the doe from its hiding place and gone away with it. Ifyou want a deer so badly, why don't you go shoot one? If you don'tknow how to shoot, come to our camp and I will divide this deer withyou. But take it back with me I am going to, and I'd like to see youor anyone else stop me."
"That's the talk," cried Chunky. "That's what I call turkey talk.Why, you moccasin-chaser, I could eat you. I would if I weren'tafraid of getting a pain in my stomach."
"Never mind, Stacy," rebuked Tad. "I will talk with this fellow.You, Mister Man, may think you are dealing with a couple of boys. Wemay be boys, but we know how to take care of ourselves. I am notmaking brags; I am simply warning you that we shall take the carcassback to camp with us, and if you interfere we shall have to defendourselves."
"You touch that carcass and something will happen right smart, Ireckon," warned the stranger, jerking his horse about and facing thefallen cypress.
"Chunky, you cover my retreat," ordered Tad in a low tone.
"You bet I will," answered the fat boy, chuckling happily. Stacy wasthe original trouble man. Trouble was meat and drink to him.
"Here, where you going?" shouted the now thoroughly enraged hunter asTad turned his back on the man and walked briskly towards the cypress.
"I am going for my doe," flung back Butler.
There had been no answer to Stacy's signal on the horn, nor had Tadlooked for any. He would have been surprised had there been, knowing,as did the stranger, that Billy Lilly and his party were miles awayfrom that particular spot.
"Come back here!" ordered the man.
"I will when I get the deer," answered Butler.
The stranger, hot with anger, flung up his revolver and pulled thetrigger. There followed a sharp report and Tad's hat dropped on theground in front of him.
It was then that Tad Butler showed his cool nerve. Without lookingback he stooped, and, picking up his sombrero, placed it on his headand started on. For the moment the shooter was too amazed to do morethan stare. His face was working nervously. Whether he had intendedto shoot the boy or not, Tad did not know, but he was inclined tothink not.
Once more the fellow raised his weapon.
"Oh, by--the--way!" drawled Chunky.
The man turned sharply toward Stacy. He found himself looking intothe muzzle of the fat boy's rifle.