Boy Scouts on the Range

  CHAPTER XVI.

  BLINKY SPOILS A SOMBRERO.

  If astonishment and uneasiness were depicted on the countenances ofClark Jennings and his companions, equally amazed looks were cast uponthe newcomers by Mr. Harkness's party. The rancher was the first torecover his voice.

  "Well, Clark," he said rather sternly, "what are you doing here?"

  "We're not stealing sheepmen's land and feed from them, Mr. Harkness,"spoke up Clark boldly, as soon as he saw by the rancher's manner thatthe party was not, as he had at first feared, aware of Rob's strangefate.

  "We won't discuss that old question now, Clark," said Mr. Harknessleniently. "As long as there are sheepmen and cattlemen that questionwill always be productive of strife, more's the pity. Besides, certainfence-cutting incidents----"

  "You can't say I cut your fences!" sputtered Clark angrily.

  "Certainly not. I never dreamed of doing such a thing--without theproper evidence."

  The rancher threw a grim emphasis into these last words.

  "What we want from you now, Clark, is information."

  "Well?" asked the other in sullen tone.

  "We have lost track of a young man who was my guest at the ranch,"explained Mr. Harkness, his dislike of being compelled to askinformation of Clark Jennings showing in his face. "His name is RobBlake----"

  "Those two fellows know him well enough," broke out Merritt, pointing atBill Bender and Hank Handcraft. The faces of those two worthies grewgreen as the boy pointed accusingly at them. Unwittingly Merritt hadcome near hitting the nail on the head when he connected them in avague way with Rob's disappearance.

  "Well, what if we do know him?" growled Hank sullenly.

  "Mr. Harkness knows the mean tricks you put up on us in the East, so youneedn't try to pretend you never met us before," went on Merrittangrily.

  "Come, come, Merritt," interrupted Mr. Harkness, "this will do no good.Whatever happened in the East is past and gone. What we want to know nowis if they have seen Rob?"

  "No, we ain't," declared Clark boldly. "Why, do you think he's losthereabouts?"

  "That's what we are afraid of. The Indians carried him off, and here, asyou see, they were camped last night. I cherished a hope that he mighthave had the good fortune to escape."

  "I don't know anything about it," rejoined Clark in a more amiable tone,now that he saw that no suspicion attached to him.

  "What yer ridin' two on one pony for?" asked Blinky suddenly.

  "None of your business," rejoined Clark. "I guess we can ride the way welike."

  "Well, I guess so," echoed Hank. "Fine way they interfere withgentlemen's preferences out here in the West."

  "You had three ponies when you started out," pursued Blinky, looking atthe spurs on Hank's feet, and noting the extra saddle which Clarkcarried behind him.

  "We did not."

  "What yer got the extra saddle for, then, and what's he got on spursfor, just ter decorate his handsome figure?"

  "Well, I can if I want to, can't I?" demanded Hank.

  "We're looking for a stray pony," explained Clark glibly. "That's whywe're carrying the saddle--to put on him when we find him. That, too,accounts for the spurs. Anything else you'd like to know?"

  "Yes," demanded Merritt, his eyes blazing and his voice shaking withexcitement as he stepped forward. "_Where did you get Rob Blake'ssombrero?_"

  His eye had fallen on that article of headgear just as Hank had clumsilytried to conceal it. Merritt instantly recognized it by the stamped bandabout its crown.

  "Why, I--we--that is--it's my hat," lied Hank clumsily.

  "That's not true, and you know it!" shouted Merritt, carried away byrage. "You know where Rob Blake is. You----"

  Crack!

  The boy staggered back, half-blinded, as Bill Bender raised his heavyquirt and cut him full across the face with it.

  "Come on, boys!" shouted Clark, as Merritt reeled backward. "Let's getout of this."

  The two ponies sprang forward, leaving the ranch party half-stunned bythe suddenness of Bill's brutal blow. But it was only for a second. Inthat interval of time Blinky's face had grown wrinkled and drawn withanger, and his hand had slid back to his hip and produced hisforty-four. In another instant Bill would have paid dearly for hisblow, but the rancher's hand fell on the cow-puncher's arm.

  "Not that way, Blinky," he said.

  "All right, boss," rejoined Blinky regretfully; "but it would have beena heap of satisfaction to have let daylight into that coyote's carcass."

  "Those fellows know where Rob is!" shouted Merritt, across whose face anangry red ridge lay, marking where the quirt had struck him. "Stopthem!"

  "Steady on, boy, steady on," said Mr. Harkness in an even, cool tone.

  "And we without a spavined cayuse to follow 'em!" raged one of thecow-punchers.

  As he spoke, the three tormentors of the ranch party topped the littlerise.

  As they did so, Clark Jennings rose in his stirrups and faced back.

  "Ye-ow!" he yelled defiantly, waving his hat mockingly toward them.

  Bang!

  The sombrero was suddenly whirled out of the youth's hand as if someinvisible grasp had been laid upon it.

  Blinky looked apologetically at Mr. Harkness, and then carefully blewthe smoke from the barrel of his pistol, the weapon with which he hadjust punctured Clark's headgear.

  "Awful sorry, boss," he said contritely, "but I just plumb couldn't helpit."

  "Well, I don't know that I blame you," said Mr. Harkness, as the ClarkJennings party vanished in a hurry.

  The encounter with the three ne'er-do-wells had, however, changed therancher's plans. Deducing from the fact that Hank Handcraft had Rob'shat in his possession, that the boy must have escaped from the Indiansin some miraculous way, it was concluded that it would be a mere wasteof effort to pursue the Moquis. The search must now be made for Robhimself. Even Tubby's spirits were dashed by the disturbing occurrencesof the last few hours, and he and Merritt were both silent as the partymade its way back to the cliff where the ponies had been left the daybefore. The plan now was to mount and scatter through the range.

  "We'll run a fine-tooth comb through it," was the emphatic way Mr.Harkness put it, "and if we don't find the boy, it'll be because heisn't on the top of the earth."

  All that day they retraced their steps, and at night made camp not farfrom the entrance to the tunnel. They did not dare to proceed in thedark, for fear of once more losing their path, and even more valuabletime. It was not a lively party that settled down in the evening glowfor a hastily cooked and not over-abundant supper. Even Tubby seemeddistracted and worried.

  Suddenly Merritt, who was walking up and down, trying to evolve sometheory to fit the facts in Rob's case, gave a shout and pointed over tothe southwest.

  "Look, look!" he shouted. "Off there--what is it?"

  The boy's keen eyes had espied a thin spiral of blue smoke ascendingfrom a hilltop against the burnished gold of the sunset.

  "A signal fire!" announced Blinky, after an interval.

  "It may be Rob signaling for help!" exclaimed Merritt, as the smoke roseand vanished and rose and vanished at regular intervals.

  "No, it ain't him. The Boy Scouts use the Morse, don't they?"

  "Yes. What has that to do with it?"

  "Well, this is Injun code."

  "Indian?"

  "Sure. The Injuns have as distinct a smoke-signal code as we have awireless system. It works just as good, too, from what I can hear. Now,if we had their code book we----"

  "What, the Indians have a code book?"

  "You bet."

  "Where?"

  "In their rascally heads, son, where it's safe," rejoined thecow-puncher.

  "Hullo, look! There's an answer," cried Tubby, suddenly pointing toanother hilltop some distance from the first.

  Another thin column of smoke was rolling upward from it in evidentanswer to the first.

  "Those fellows are making a date," decided the rough
-and-ready Blinky."I'd like to be on hand when they keep it, and maybe we'd find outsomething about Rob."