CHAPTER XXIII
THE FIGHT
Scrambling up the side of the gorge, slipping and sliding back,almost like the frog in the well, Dick, Nort and the cowboysreached Bud's side. He maintained his footing only by constantlyworking his way upward, for the shale, at this point, was almostlike fine sand, and kept slipping down, taking the boy rancherwith it. But there were bushes growing here and there, and byholding to these, taking care not to pull them out by the roots,Bud managed to stay about where he had been when he made theamazing discovery.
For it was an amazing discovery, as all the others admitted whenthey reached his side, and looked through the fissure which hadbeen disclosed when Bud pulled out the big bush by which he triedto save himself a fall.
"What is it?' cried Nort.
"And where are they?" demanded Dick.
"It's our cattle! They're inside there--a place like a footballstadium only there aren't any seats," explained Bud, breathlessly.By this time he was surrounded by the others, all maintaining aprecarious foothold in the shifting shale. And what they sawcaused them all to join with Bud in wondering amazement.
For there, in what was a great natural bowl of the earth, withpartly sloping green sides, and with a floor covered by grass,with a pool of sparkling water in the centre, were the missingcattle! The whole of the big herd that had been driven away fromHappy Valley was there, it seemed. There they were, in that vast,natural amphitheatre with food and water at hand, and, apparently,as content as when they grazed on the range of the boy ranchers.
"By all the rattlers that ever rattled!" cried Snake. "We surehave found 'em!"
"And they're all right, too!" added Yellin' Kid, as he gazedthrough the crack which had been opened when Bud pulled out thebush. For it was only through the crack that they were able toview the steers contentedly feeding and drinking within that vastbowl. That is what it was--bowl much more immense in size thanthe one where Yale battles with Princeton and Harvard. Moreimmense than the Palmer Stadium at Old Nassau. The walls toweredhigher, and it was greater in diameter. It was almost a perfectbowl in shape--that is as perfect as so natural a formation couldbe.
"But how did the cattle ever get in there!" exclaimed Nort.
"And how are we going to get them out?" asked Dick.
For it seemed, at first sight, that there was no entrance oregress. And certainly nothing could get in over the top, or outthat way. For though the sides of the great, natural bowl weregreen up to a certain distance, beyond that, and between the rimand a point half way down, they were almost perpendicular instraightness. And, being of rock, they would, it seemed, affordscarcely a foot or hand-hold for the most expert "human fly."
"There must be a way in," declared Slim.
"And out, too," added Yellin' Kid. "Those rustlers never wouldhave driven th' steers in here unless there was some way ofgetting 'em out."
"But what is this place, anyhow!" asked Nort. "It looks like theYale bowl, but it never could have been built by man."
"It wasn't," said Bud. "It's the crater of an extinct volcano. Ithas been filled up, with land-slides, probably, and the winds andthe birds have brought grass seeds here, year after year, untilit makes a regular corral for cattle. There's water, too, whichisn't surprising. That's what it is, an old volcano crater. Iheard there was one around here, but I never had time to look forit."
"Yes, I've heard of it myself," admitted Slim, "but I didn't thinkit was like this. Let's have another look."
Dick and Nort moved aside to give the foreman a place ofadvantage, and when he had looked through a spot where the crackwas wider he said: "I see where they can get th' cattle out.Here, take a look, Bud," and Slim handed the ranch lad a pair offield glasses that had been brought along in case of emergency.They were of value now.
"Down at th' far end, and a little to the left of centre," Slimdirected Bud's gaze. "There's a sort of fence of trees piled up.That's th' entrance all right--or one of 'em."
"You're right!" agreed Bud when he had taken a carefulobservation. "But is there more than one!"
"Must be," said Slim. "The rustlers never drove th' cattle inaway around _there_. They sent 'em in from _this_ end. Th' trailends right here, an' it's here where th' rustlers drove th' cattle in."
"But where?" asked Bud. "There isn't a sign of an opening!"
"Because they closed it after them," went on the foreman. "Ibegin to see it now. There must have been a break in the wall ofthe old crater right about here. They drove th' cattle in an' itwas an easy matter t' let some of th' dirt slide down an' fill itup again. Let's take a look with a view t' seein' if I'm right."It is easier to find a clue when you know just what you arelooking for. And it did not take long for the experienced eyes ofthe cow punchers to discover where earth and shale from above hadbeen recently dislodged and allowed to slide down to cover whatmust have been the same sort of natural opening into the side ofthe wall as that at the far end, closed by a fence of trees. Thiswas to keep the cattle in without men being needed to ride herd.
"Yes, it does look as if they'd taken 'em in here," said Bud,when it was found that the trail of the steers led to the foot ofthe crater wall, where all signs stopped. "If we had looked up alittle, instead of sticking so close to the ground, we might haveseen this clue before."
"All in good time," observed Slim. "The question is, now, how canwe get in there?"
"It will be easy enough," suggested Nort. "All you'll have to dowill be to enlarge the crack we looked through."
"That's all right for us getting inside that crater," observedDick, "but what about our horses? They can't scramble up there."
"Then what can we do?" asked Bud. "Ride around to the otherentrance?"
"That would take too long," answered the foreman. "I fancy thatDel Pinzo and his gang are on their way to this natural corralnow, t' drive out th' cattle they stole from us. We've got t' getahead of 'em!"
"But how?" Bud wanted to know.
"I think we can dig out enough of th' shale an' dirt they slidint' th' opening, so that we can get th' horses through," Slimanswered. "We ought t' have shovels, but we can use sticks t' digwith. It will take longer, but it's the best we can do."
Little time was lost in putting this plan into operation. With ahatchet, which formed part of their camp equipment, some strongpoles were cut from one of the few trees that grew on the slopeof the gorge, and with these digging operations began. It wasslow work, but many hands were engaged and soon an opening wasmade so that entrance could be had to the original crack in therocky side of the bowl. For it was by this crack that the cattlehad been driven in. And the crack had only been partly filledwith broken rock and earth to conceal it from view.
"Yes, they did come in this way!" cried Bud as he and the othersurged their horses through the opening and into the bowl proper--thecrater of the extinct volcano. "Look, plenty of signs!" Therewas no doubt of it. The rustlers had driven the cattle into thedefile, hazed them along until they reached the opening into thisgreat natural hiding place, and then the rest was easy.
The animals had been run into this solitary place, passingthrough the narrow, fissure-like opening in the rocky wall, acrack similar to, but larger, than the opening through which Budhad made his discovery. Then shale and dirt had been started, ina miniature avalanche, down the side of the slope, effectuallyhiding the means by which the cattle were secreted away.
"No wonder we thought an airship had been used," commented Dick.
Before them lay the vast crater of the old volcano, inactive forcenturies. Nature had covered the hard lava with a layer of soilin which grew rich grass. And nature had further made the placean ideal corral for cattle by supplying a large spring of water.It was a "rustler's paradise," to quote Slim Degnan.
As the boy ranchers rode into the amphitheatre, the cattle at thefar end, and in the middle, stopped grazing to look at them.
"We're friends of yours!" called Bud, waving his hat in the joyat finding his lost stock.
"Yes, but here
come some fellows who aren't!" shouted Yellin'Kid.
"Where?" asked Bud, quickly.
"There!" Kid pointed to the far end of the crater, if one may usethe word "end" in referring to a circular bowl.
The cowboy posse saw, riding at top speed into the greatdepression, a crowd of men, who, as they came nearer, could berecognized as the Del Pinzo gang. The Greaser leader was not inevidence, however.
"They're after the cattle!" cried Nort.
"Well, they won't get 'em without a fight!" shouted Bud.
He drew his weapon, an example followed by the others, and as thetwo parties, one representing law and order and the other thewild, reckless element, started toward each other, the fightbegan.