CHAPTER XVIII
QUEER OPERATIONS
"Feel sleepy?" asked Nort of Dick when they had stretched out undertheir canvas blankets, which might keep off the dew, but which were notvery comfortable.
"Not specially," answered Dick. "I'm thinking too much of all that'shappened lately."
"So 'm I. But I'm not worried because we're here; are you?"
"Not a bit of it! This is only fun! We wanted to see real westernlife and we're seeing it," Dick went on. "This is what we came outhere for. It isn't like anything else we ever did, and it only makesme all the more want to be a rancher."
"You said it. Only there are one or two things I'd like to know moreabout."
"Such as what, for instance?" asked the younger lad.
"Well, I'd like to know who it was that tried to snake you away with alasso. I'd like to do the same to him. And I'd like to know moreabout those two strange professors, and what they're after."
"I'm with you there," spoke Dick, as he raised on one elbow to looktoward where he had tethered his horse, the animal seeming to besuddenly excited about something.
"Only a coyote," remarked Nort, as he caught sight of a slinking figureunder the light of the stars. The boys had become used to thesecreatures which acted as scavengers of the plains.
"I wonder if, after all, those professors can be hunting gold?" musedDick, when his horse had quieted down and resumed grazing.
"According to what Bud says there isn't any gold here and never hasbeen," declared Nort. "But there is a mystery about them and I'd givea lot to solve it. You see we tenderfeet don't count for much out on aranch--that is, yet. We don't know much about roping or shooting orriding herd. Of course we're learning, and Bud and the others are asnice about it as they can be, but I can see they don't think overlymuch about our abilities; and I don't blame them.
"But if we could solve this mystery about those professors, and maybeconnect 'em up with some of the cattle rustling, why it would show Budwe easterners amounted to something after all. I sure would like toget on the track of this mystery!"
The time was to come, and soon, when Nort and Dick vividly recalledthese words.
"Well, we're here--not that we know where it is--but we're here, andnot in such bad shape," spoke Dick. "We're lost, but I reckon Bud willfind us in the morning, or we'll come across the cattle we're lookingfor, or else Diamond X ranch.
"I hope so," mused Nort. "I'd like to show these cowboys that we canpull off a trick or two ourselves."
"Well, I'm with you," and Dick's voice took on a drowsy note. In spiteof the fact that he had said he was thinking of many things, the ridingof the day soon began to tell on both lads.
"What's that?" suddenly called Dick to Nort, when they had, perhaps,been sleeping two or three hours. A wild, weird cry had echoed out inthe silent night.
"Coyote," was the answer, sleepily given.
"Howlin' in a new way," murmured Dick.
Indeed, accustomed as the boys were becoming to the voices of theseanimals, part fox, part dog and part wolf, there were always newelements seeming to enter into their cries.
Again the strange call was repeated, to be answered by the mate of thecoyote farther off, and then came a perfect chorus of wild yells. Thehorses snorted, as if in contempt and the boys covered themselves withtheir tarpaulins and tried to slumber. But it was some little timebefore the echoes died away and quiet reigned.
Nort and Dick did not awaken again that night, but their eyes openedwhen the sun shone on them, and, rather lame and stiff, they arose toget a frugal breakfast.
Their first look was to their horses, for to be without a mount in thevast distances of the West is almost a tragedy. But Blaze and Blackie,the two favorite steeds of Nort and Dick, were safely tethered.
Cowboys, on range or ranch, usually have a "string" of ponies, orbroncos. This is needful, as there is such hard riding necessary attimes (particularly at the round-up) that one horse could not stand thepace. So at the beginning of work several horses are assigned to eachcow-puncher. Of course he may own a horse of his own, and usuallydoes, in fact, and this horse is his favorite. But he has severalothers to pick from.
When Nort and Dick declared that they were going to be regularranchers, or cowboys as a start, they were given a string of horses topick from. But of these Blaze, so called from a white streak down hishead, was the favorite of Nort. Blackie was Dick's choice, and theselection of the name was due to the color of the horse, it beingalmost perfect black.
Blaze and Blackie were safe at the ends of their tether ropes--thelariats the boys carried coiled on their saddle horns during the day.
Breakfast over--and it was not a very substantial meal--the boyssaddled their steeds and then looked at one another.
"What are we going to do?" asked Dick.
"Hit the trail--for somewhere," answered Nort.
"The trouble is there doesn't seem to be any trail to hit," spoke Dick,rather grimly. "It would be easy, if there was only a cow path, toride along it until we came to some place. But here, as soon as weride out of one swale we're in another, and we don't get a sight of Budor the cattle we set out to haze back."
"I wonder what he thinks of us?" mused Nort.
"Oh, he must have sized up the situation, and so knows what hashappened to us," declared Dick. "He's probably out now, with some ofthe cowboys, looking for us."
"I hope they bring something to eat," spoke Nort. "We'll be on mightyshort rations at noon, unless we can eat grass, the way the ponies do."
"Or knock over a jack," added Dick. "They seem to be plentiful."
As he spoke, one of the long-legged and longer-eared rabbits shot past,having paused to look at the strangers, who, doubtless in his mind,were usurping his land.
"Tell you what we ought to do," suggested Nort as they mounted, havingmade fast their packs and trampled out the fire.
"What?" asked Dick.
"We ought to ride to the top of the highest hill, and take a look.That ought to show something besides a mirage. I s'pose, if we had ourwits about us, we'd know whether we ought to ride north, south, east orwest," Nort went on. "But, as it is, I don't know which way Diamond Xlies."
They urged Blaze and Blackie up the slope of what they judged to be thehighest hill in their vicinity. And as they gained the summit, andlooked down into a valley on the other side, they saw something thatcaused them to both exclaim in surprise.
"Look!" cried Nort. "There's some of our bunch!" He pointed to menand horses in a camp, of which white tents formed a part.
"That isn't our crowd!" exclaimed Dick. "That's the outfit of the twoprofessors, and they're up to some mighty queer doings!"
"Digging for gold!" declared Nort.
But, as he spoke, there was a loud report down near the valley camp.Men were seen running, as if from danger, and as the boys looked theysaw a cloud of smoke roll up, and part of a side hill slide down.