CHAPTER XXIV
A DESPERATE CHANCE
"Come on, fellows; Come on!" yelled Bud, as he clapped his heelsagainst the sides of his pony and rushed toward the rustlers."Give 'em all they got coming!"
"We're with you!" cried Nort.
"A fight to the finish!" shouted Dick.
The boy ranchers had their weapons out, as, indeed, had every oneof the following cowboys. Nor was Del Pinzo's gang a whit behindin this, though their lawless leader did not seem to be present.The sun gleamed on the flashing ornaments of silver worn by someof the Mexican Greasers as they rode to the fray.
"Don't ride too far, Bud!" called Slim, for the boys wereinclined to be reckless.
"We've got to ride 'em down or they'll have all the cattle out ofthat far opening before we get there!" Bud answered. And, as hereplied he fired one shot in the air, over the heads of theenemy. For Bud bore in mind his father's injunction, not to shootto wound unless it was absolutely necessary. And Bud thoughtperhaps a strong show of force would awe the rustlers, causingthem to retreat.
However, they were in too strong force for this. And as the boyranchers and their friends rode on into the vast, natural,volcanic bowl, and were able to take note of their foes, they sawthat the rustlers outnumbered them two to one.
Bud's shot--the first of the fight--was the signal for generalfiring, though, as usual in such engagements, the initialfusilade was wild on both sides; mercifully so, it seemedordered, for no one was hurt by the opening volley.
"There's going to be a hot time!" shouted Yellin' Kid, as hespurred forward. "And I don't see th' skunk that spoiled my hat!Where is he?"
"Del Pinzo would rather his men'd get th' lickin's!" answeredSnake. "He's hidin' out, I reckon."
"I'd like to find his hole!" said Yellin' Kid.
The clashing forces were nearer each other now, with the bunch ofHappy Valley steers in between, but off to one side. In orderthat you may better understand what follows, and the positions ofthe contending parties, I will explain the situation briefly.
The boy ranchers and their friends had ridden in on what I mightcall the north end of the volcanic crater, in which bowl therustlers had hidden the cattle. The opening by which the cattlehad been placed in the bowl had been closed by a slide of dirtand shale but this had been partly cleared away by our friends sothey could ride through the crack.
At what may be termed the south end of the crater was a largeropening, wide enough, in fact, for several horsemen to rideabreast or a large herd of cattle to be driven through. Thisopening had been roughly fenced off to keep in the cattle. And itwas through this opening that the rustlers had ridden, advancingto meet the force of the boy ranchers coming from the north.
The cattle had been feeding in the centre of the bowl, but as thetwo parties began the fight, the steers drew off to the west. Itwas evidently the intention of the rustlers to take out thecattle if possible. Whether they could succeed in driving themaway in spite of the pursuit of the rightful owners, or whetherthey hoped to hide them in some other secret place did notdevelop.
At any rate, here were the two contending parties racing towardeach other, and firing as they galloped forward. And when theywere all out in the open it was evident that the rustlers faroutnumbered the boy ranchers and their friends.
One thing, however, was in favor of Bud and the others with him.They had advanced farther into the bowl than had the rustlers,and were past the centre when the actual fray began. Using theillustration of a football game, to which I am tempted because ofthe location of the fray, I might remark that the ball was nowover the centre line and well into the enemy's territory. It wasup to Bud and his followers to rush it over for a touchdown.
But the rustlers were not going to give up without a sharp fight.They had come to take away the cattle, and this they nowendeavored to do. Several Greasers separated from the main bodyand began to circle around with the evident intention of cuttingout a bunch of steers, to drive them to the larger opening, wherethe fence had been torn down.
"We've got to stop that!" shouted Slim. "Here, Snake, you and Kidride over and see what you can do!"
The two cowboys, shouting at the tops of their voices, wheeled toone side and started toward half a dozen Greasers. The odds werenot so great as they seemed, for right and justice were on theside of the cowboys.
Suddenly Dick, who was riding between Bud and Nort, gave a littlecry, and his weapon dropped from his right hand, on which a spotof blood appeared.
"Hit?" asked Nort.
"Only a scratch," Dick answered. He halted his pony, snatched hisneckerchief off and, with the help of his brother, bound up thewound. It was decidedly more than a scratch, being a deep cutwhere a glancing bullet had hit, and Dick's hand would be out ofcommission for some time.
"But I can fire with my left," he added, a feat to which he wasequal, "and Star guides by knee pressure." He was riding a ponyhe had taught to obey directions by means of pressure of thecowboy's knees on either side. And Dick had been practicing lefthand shooting for some time. His gun restored to him, he rode onwith his brother and cousin.
With sudden yells, accompanied by as sudden a rush, a band of theGreasers now rode straight for Bud, Dick, Nort and some of theDiamond X outfit with our heroes. So fierce was the attack, andin such numbers, that there was nothing for our friends to do butretreat, for the time being at least.
This attack took place in a part of the bowl where there were alarge number of immense boulders scattered. Seeing that theseformed a natural protection, or breastwork, Bud called to hiscousins and the men to get behind the stones.
"Make the horses lie down!" was his advice. "We'll fight Indianfashion!"
And, at this point, at least, this became the style of thebattle. The Greasers rode fast, endeavoring to cut off Bud andhis party, but the latter reached the haven of rocks first, andwith the horses on their sides, positions the steeds were gladenough to assume, doubtless, the advantage was on the side of theboy ranchers.
They were protected by rocks, from behind which they could fire,while the enemy was in the open. But the enemy far outnumberedour friends, and the latter, for the time being, were in theposition of persons besieged.
For, no sooner had the Greasers seen what was the object of Budand his followers, than the lawless ones took such small shelteras they could find, some behind their prostrate horses, and beganfiring at the boy ranchers' party. And as the renegade Mexicanswere, in a number of cases, armed with rifles, the odds againstBud and his chums were increased. True, the Greasers were notgood marksmen, but a rifle in the hands of even a poor shooter isoften more than a match for a .45 revolver in the hands of anexpert.
"Pick 'em off!" cried Bud, as bullets zinged their way in amongthe rocks behind which he and his friends were hidden. "Pick 'emoff, but don't expose yourself!"
This was good advice if it could have been followed, but to fireeffectively it was necessary for those of the Diamond X outfit totake aim over, or to one side, of the rocks, and when this wasdone, some part of the body was exposed. At such times thewatching Greasers fired.
It was now an actual state of siege as far as Bud and hisimmediate companions were concerned, and they were outnumbered.Several of Bud's party, including Nort this time, had beenslightly wounded. But, in turn, they had wounded some Greasers,too, one vitally, as was learned later.
Meanwhile, Snake and Kid were having their own troubles with theparty of Greasers they had been sent off to intercept and preventfrom driving off the cattle. More Mexicans had joined theircomrades, and Kid and Snake were obliged to beat a retreat,joining Slim and his forces, who were fighting the main, andlarger body of rustlers.
And it was while these two separate fights were going on, andwhile the Greasers that had forced Kid and Snake to retire weregathering together a bunch of cattle to drive out of the mainopening, that Dick, who was readjusting the bandage on his hand,saw something that made his heart sink.
This was a sight of another body of Gr
easers riding into the bowlfrom the south end--a body of Mexican horsemen led by Del Pinzohimself.
"I guess it's all up with us now," said Dick to his brother,calling the latter's attention to the reinforcements of theenemy. "That's what that half-breed was hanging back for. Hewanted to get us well mixed up, and now he'll drive off thecattle."
"Whew!" whistled Nort. "It does look that way. What we going todo, Dick?"
The two brothers were behind a great boulder, off to one side.Bud and some of the cowboys were replying to a brisk fire on thepart of the besieging Greasers.
For a moment, after having tied the bandage on his hand, Dick didnot answer. Then, as if an inspiration came to him, he said:
"It's only a chance, Nort, and a desperate chance at that. Butmaybe we can do it! Did you ever read Kipling's 'Drums of theFore and Aft'?"
"Sure! But what's that got to do with this?"
"A lot. You and I are going to be the 'Drums' and these are goingto play the tune," and he tapped his .45. "Come on," he added,motioning to his brother. "As I said, it's a desperate chance,but it may do the trick!"