CHAPTER FIFTEEN
As Nell approached the chuck-wagon, the eyes of the cowpunchers of themany ranches represented, looked at her with open approval, not unmixedwith curiosity, for they all had heard the episode of Walton's greenwhiskers, and the romantic meeting of the Boss, of the Diamond H and thegirl to whom he had been engaged in the East.
Bronco helped her down from her pony, and escorted her to a seat ofhonour--an empty box that had formerly held canned tomatoes. The men sattailor-fashion around the canvas that did duty as a table-cloth.
Nell's eyes scanned the table. Granite pans full of boiled potatoes,frijoles--the small red bean grown by Mexicans, which forms theprincipal article of diet on any Arizona ranch--an enormous dish held astew made of "jerky," which Nell recognized, for she was becominginitiated into many things that were strange. She had seen Fong poundingstrips of sun-dried meat, and watched it transformed to a savory stew,while he explained that the cowboys carried it in their pockets and ateit without cooking.
She sniffed with appreciation the coffee, and accepted the big tin cupwith a smile, then added condensed milk from the can Bronco passed toher.
"What lovely biscuit!" she exclaimed, as a white cloth was deposited infront her, and the golden tan biscuit, steaming hot were uncovered. "Idon't see how it can be done without a real stove!" The camp cookgrinned his approval of a woman of such intelligence.
The clatter of tin plates, iron knives and forks, was broken withlaughter or jokes by the punchers at each other's expense. Life duringthe rodeo was a combined circus and school-day vacation when off dutywith the herd. Then, it was grim, hard work. The feeling of restraint atfirst noticeable when Nell sat on her improvised throne, graduallyevaporated as she joined in the laughter. It vanished completely whenshe slipped from the box to the ground, to be "nearer the biscuit," shelaughed as she reached out and appropriated one.
Jamie, seated between Bronco and Limber, was silent but happy, as theyacclaimed him "one of the Diamond H outfit," and a "regular puncher,now."
The first relay moved away, some taking their places with the herd toallow the other men their turn at the chuck, but many of them were offduty for a time, and these loafed and talked together, the smoke oftheir cigarettes forming tiny clouds about their heads. Nell rose andmade her way to a fallen log, on which she dropped with a smile atBronco who had followed her and Jamie from the table.
While she admired Limber, there was a boyish irrepressibility aboutBronco that made a little bond between them. He reached into thebreast-pocket of his blue flannel shirt and withdrew the hand, partlyclosed. Jamie looked at it curiously as he saw it was extended to him.Bronco's fingers opened, and Nell and the child stared at a strangething blinking sleepily.
"What is it?" they asked simultaneously.
"Horn-toad," Bronco replied. "Caught him this mornin' and I was prettysure you hadn't seen one, so I kept him."
"Won't he bite?" Jamie's tones were doubtful.
"Not on your life," answered the cowboy.
They regarded the little creature as Bronco put it on the ground anddragged a bit of string from his pocket. He tied this about the toad'shind legs close to the body.
"Look at him," was the command, as Bronco slid his finger over therough, tiny-horned back from tail to head.
With a wild scurry of legs, the toad raced to the end of the string andstruggled to escape; but, Bronco's finger touched its head and movedgently toward the jerking tail. The toad's eyes closed, his head droopedtoward the ground, the legs and tail became motionless. Jamie gave alittle squeal of delight, and cried, "He's gone to sleep!"
"Hang onto the string a minit."
Jamie clutched it, while Bronco held a consultation with the cook at thetail-board of the chuck-wagon. Soon he returned with a small, emptymatch-box.
"This'll make a fine wagon," he announced, tying the match-box to theend of the string. "Now, thar we are! All you gotter do to make him movelively is run your finger 'long his back like I done, and contrarywise,from his head to his tail, if you want him to stop. When I was a kid inTexas, me an' my little brother uster catch 'em and have races thisway."
A grin spread over his face and he looked up at Nell, "Say, Mrs.Traynor, Maw hated horn-toads. Bill an' me rounded-up twenty of 'emonce, and hid 'em in a closet in a box. The box got upsot someways inthe night, and when Maw got up to start breakfast you never heerd such awhoop! She put her foot on one of 'em. It didn't hurt the toad for shetook her foot off too quick, but Bill an me never brung any more intothe house after that mornin'. You see, when she put down her other foot,she hit another toad, an' that room was jest naturally alive with 'em.We rounded-up the whole herd, twenty of 'em, but Maw said she knewedthar was a thousand and the rest of 'em got away."
"I'm rather inclined to sympathize with your mother, Bronco," was Nell'slaughing comment. She shuddered, "Those little sharp horns are badenough to step on with a bare foot, but to feel the horns moving wouldbe rather upsetting, I should think."
"It was," Bronco rejoined soberly. "But Maw wasn't so upsot as we kidswas--afterwards."
Jamie devoted himself to his new pet, and Nell's eyes wandered to herhusband and Doctor Powell who were talking with another man, not faraway. She saw this man had a grizzly beard that seemed never to havebeen cropped or shaven. The dry skin of neck and throat was wrinkled andthe texture and colour of a piece of Arizona jerky from long exposure tothe sun and wind. On his head, an old straw hat was guiltless of acrown, but flaunted two dilapidated turkey quills. Tufts of unkempt hairpeered inquisitively over the broken edges above the ragged brim. A grimmouth made a repository for a corn-cob pipe, and suspicious grey eyessquinted from Powell's face to that of the Boss of the Diamond H.
Bronco saw her interest, and explained, "That's Paddy Lafferty, owns thePL ranch and herd, that the doctor figgers on buyin'," then Nellrecalled the many stories she had already heard of this eccentriccharacter. Paddy's eyes caught hers, and she flushed guiltily as sheglanced away quickly.
"It's a dandy rodeo," she heard Bronco's voice beside her, as he sat onthe ground, knees drawn up, his muscular hands busy rolling a cigarette.
"I suppose I'll get used to wild cattle after a while," Nell hazarded,"but, honestly, Bronco, I'm afraid of them. Their horns are so big andsharp."
"Why!" the cowpuncher's amazement was undisguised. "These isshort-horns! We ain't got no long-horns on the range. You'd oughter seensome of the ol' Texas long-horns we uster have. Lots of times the hornswas so wide we couldn't get a steer loaded into a box-car till we'dsawed off the horns. And wild--" he paused for adequate words before hefinished, "Say, they was a cross between a deer an' a mountain-lion, sofur as disposition counts!"
"Well, I never feel safe except on my pony."
"Say, Mrs. Traynor, you're dead safe anywheres in Arizona," the cowboyassured her earnestly. "Why, if you was to walk over to that air herd,you'd stampede it quick as a wink!"
Nell turned on him with dancing eyes, "For gracious' sakes, Bronco! Am Isuch a scarecrow as all that?"
Bronco's face and ears grew red. "Oh, shucks! I didn't mean to say itthat way. But--you see--range stock is uster seein' men, foot orhorseback--a woman in petticoats is a new critter to 'em and plumbparalyzes a herd. Thar was one time, though," he continued mournfully,"I wisht so hard I was a woman that I derned nigh prayed forpetticoats."
He was immersed in deep thought for a few seconds, and then he demandedsuddenly, "Did the Boss ever tell you about the time I fooled myselfinto thinkin' I was a bull-fighter?"
"No," was the reply, "but please tell me, won't you?"
"I don't mind it so much, now," Bronco grinned, "but thar was a timewhen it sure made me sore to talk about it. You see, I been to Mexicoand seed a Mex bull-fighter. The feller what fit the bull belt a redhandkerchee out in front of him, and when the bull lit out for him, hejest stepped one side and the bull went runnin' past with thehandkerchee hangin' over his eyes, like a widder's veil. Then the fellerstuck a bunch of ribbons on the
bull and made it madder'n a hornet, an'you can't blame a bull for gettin' mad at being laughed at that way. Itlooked so easy that I thought it wasn't no trick noways--and I made upmy mind I'd do it myself, sometime." Nell faced him expectantly.
"Well, one day I was ridin' over from Hot Springs by the Mud Springstrail, and it was near supper time, when the sun went down. I had twelvemiles to ride and we had a cranky cook at the ranch, an' I hadn't etanythin' since five o'clock, sun-up. So, when I seen smoke comin' fromthe camphouse at Mud Springs, you kin bet I humped along pretty lively.
"A feller from the east was stayin' thar fer his health. He was allalone, an' glad to have some one call on him fer a change. I made myselfas entertainin' as I knowed how, hopin' fer an invite to chuck. Hecooked over a campfire, and said he wanted to get as near to Nature ashe could; but I couldn't see any sense in what he said. Whilst he kepton cookin' supper an' not sayin' anythin' about expectin' me to stay, Ikept playin' fer time.
"Thar was an ol' buckskin cow standin' near in the brush, and I tol' himabout the bull-fight. He got interested, and I begin to see some chanceof chawin' that grub before long. Then I got smart and offered to showhim how they done it. He said I'd better not try it. Of course, I wasonly bluffin' at first, but when he said that, it called my bluff. Iambled over to thet ol' buckskin bag o' bones and guv her a crack overthe ridge-pole with my riata, but she never even looked at me. She wasthet ol' thet she must of been one of the great-grandmothers' of theherd, and when I seen that I got brash." Bronco stared across space, hishands dropping limp between his knees.
"I caught holt of her tail and twisted it, then I slapped her jaw. Shewoke up some, an' I danced in front of her like a locoed ijit, wavin' myred handkerchee an' yellin' like an Apache on the war-path. She guv onebeller, put her nose to the ground and come at me in dead earnest tomake me understand that a lady cow her age can't be trifled with.
"The tenderfoot yelled, 'Look out!' and made for a walnut tree andshinnied up it, and thar he set peepin' out like a skeered chipmunk. Iwisht I was up thar longside of him, but had to get busy doin' what thebull-fighter done. So, I stood thar and helt that durned handkerchee outin front of me, jest like I seed him do, but, honest Injun! I'd rutherhed a solid adobe wall in front of me just then. Well, that doggoneanimile got five feet away, and then I seen that she had both eyes wideopen, instead of shettin' her eyes like a bull does when he charges.
"It paralyzed me so I fergot to move thet piece of red calicer and jeststood thar holdin' it in front of me, whilst that damned tenderfoot waswhoopin' and screechin' his head off, 'She's a comin'! She's a comin'!'Jest as if I didn't know it a heap sight better'n he did! Thar wasn'tany chanct left to run, and that ol' cow sure did come.
"She hit me squar and knocked the wind plum outen me, and I went downan' chawed adobe dirt. She made holes all over my clothes, tromped mefrom head to foot, rolled me over and over like I was a chunk of biscuitdough, then she guv a snort and went off in the brush." Nell's eyes weredancing and she leaned forward eagerly.
"I picked myself up," his voice was mournful, "just as the tenderfootclumb down from his perch. Neither one of us said a word. He was tooscairt to talk and I was too mad. The coffee pot was upset, the dinnerburnt to a cinder. I got on my horse and hit the trail for home. I tol'the boys that my pony slid down the side of a canyon with me, and they'dnever knowed the difference if that damned tenderfoot hadn't come ahumpin' down the next day to see if I was hurt very bad." He heaved asigh, and kicked at a stone beside his foot.
"I got even with thet ol' cow, though. She was in the last bunch weshipped for Kansas City, and I seen to it that she didn't get cut outenthe herd. But, I'll never forget her so long as thar is a buckskin cowin Arizona Territory. The boys won't give me a chanct;" he paused, gazedreflectively across the Valley, then added dolefully, "I'll never behappy until I see some bigger fool than myself, buyin' all the ol'buckskin cows in Arizona to ship 'em down to Mexico for bull fights."
Nell's laughter reached Powell, Traynor and Paddy as they approachedwhere she sat.
"This is Paddy Lafferty, Nell," said Traynor. "He has given an option onhis ranch and cattle to Doctor Powell."
She looked up at a tall, gaunt old man with stooping shoulders andjoints that seemed to be held together by loose wires, like a jointeddoll subjected to much handling.
Paddy regarded Nell sharply from under his ragged eyebrows, but as sherose and held out her hand, smiling into his face, she unconsciously wona loyal friend.
He squatted down on the ground beside her and listened to her merrycomments on the cattle business. Limber and Bronco, a short distanceaway on their ponies, noted the episode.
"She's sure a thoroughbred prize-winner! Ain't she, Limber?" observedBronco admiringly.
"You bet! She gets her brand on every cowpuncher that comes on herrange, and the Kid is jest the same."
"Oh, say! Loco's here. Lookin' for a job. Green Whiskers sol' out lastweek. Went back to Utah, Loco says. He's sure aching to get married,"grinned Bronco. "It's kept him busy shavin' and cuttin' his hair,lately."
"Loco's a good roper. Of course, he gets them crazy fits, but he's neverharmed any one round here. We'll need some extra hands, now, with DoctorPowell buyin' Paddy's herd. We'll have to tail 'em in, so I'll see theBoss about hirin' Loco whilst we got a chanct to get him."
Bronco nodded, for tailing a herd meant extra work, as each animal hadto be caught, the long hair on its tail cut off, and thus a tally ofnumbers was made without rebranding. It was only done when an entireherd was sold and the brand included in the sale.
"Tell him about that mix-up in the strays," called Bronco after Limber,as the foreman rode toward Traynor.
While Limber's pony rubbed noses with Traynor's horse, Limber suggestedemploying Loco. Traynor assented readily. Then Limber continued, "Idon't know just how to figger it out, but some one's tryin' to maketrouble for the Diamond H."
"How's that?" demanded Traynor, quickly.
"Well, two weeks ago Bronco seen a Diamond H calf, new-branded,following a Bar 77 cow. He thought it was just a mistake, so vented it.Then a few days later me and Holy run into two calves with the Diamond Hand one was followin' a Flyin' V cow, and the other was suckin' a ThreeMoon. We straightened that out, and since then we've come across sixcalves marked with the Diamond H and every durned one of 'em is suckin'a cow with a different brand. We got to stop it quick."
Traynor's eyebrows knit angrily, "Any of them here?"
"Four in the stray herd," Limber replied, and without furtherconversation they rode to the strays, where several neighbouringranchers and a few cowpunchers sat on their ponies. They lookedcuriously at Traynor and his men, who met the looks steadily.
"Limber has just reported to me about these calves with the Diamond Hbrand," he scanned each face for sign of disbelief. "I don't think it isnecessary for me to say that not one of the men belonging to the DiamondH ranch branded those calves. A single instance might occur to any one,as you all know, but this is being done systematically, and evidentlywith the intention of causing hard feelings. If any of you hear or seeany more of this work, let me know at once, and help me find out who isat the bottom of it. I'll pay five hundred dollars for proof against theman who is putting my brand on these calves. I will report this to theLive Stock Sanitary Board at once, and advertise my offer of reward."
He turned to Limber and Bronco, saying, "Cut out those calves and ventthem at once, boys," and they hastened to obey.
"None of us laid the blame on the Diamond H," said Jones, who owned theFlying V Bar. "None of us knew about this work until Limber told us andpointed out the calves in the stray herd. The fellow who is doing thiswould treat any of us the same way, and it's things like this that startreal trouble. We've got to work together to catch him. When we do, we'llrun him out of the country."
"Better keep him in the country, under six feet of earth," growled Holywith a few complimentary remarks, then he glanced around quickly to seewhether Nell were within earsh
ot.
And as a result of this episode, a week later Traynor advertisedoffering five hundred dollars reward for detection of the trouble-maker,while an additional five hundred dollars was offered by the combinedother cattlemen whose calves had been misbranded; but from that time onthere was no cause for further complaint. The matter remained amystery.