outside, like the boss said.”
“Sure. I think Marty’ll work out right for us,” Ella stated. “Let’s get out and see if there’s anything happening.”
“We lost some money,” Maisie pointed out.
“
Out in the bar room Calamity joined Mousey and found the little girl bubbling with curiosity about the reason for the visit to Ella’s office.
“It wasn’t much,” Calamity answered. “The boss just wanted to know if I’d settled in all right.”
“Oh! I thought you might have been in trouble. Did you see Stan and Eddie off?”
“Yep,” Calamity smiled. “I reckon I did.” Then a thought struck her. “Say, when do I get to meet this Tommy of yours?”
“He’ll maybe come in tomorrow,” Mousey replied. “Hey, if he brings Danny Forgrave in, maybe you and him can make up a foursome with us. You’ll like Danny, he’s a real nice boy.”
Thinking of the night in the Jones cabin beyond Austin, Calamity smiled. “I reckon I might at that.”
She figured Danny would take the opportunity to come to town with Tommy and that ought to give them a chance to get together and discuss what they each had learned so far.
Chapter 11 MISS CANARY INVOLVES MR. FOG
DANNY FOG COULD NOT TRUTHFULLY ADMIT TO making any progress in the few days spent on the Caspar County ranges. Even with his findings of the first day, he might have been no more than an ordinary drifting cowboy who stopped off at the Bench J for work, for he knew little more about the cow stealing than when he arrived.
Clearly Ed Lyle regarded Danny as being all right when the foreman returned from tracking the remaining cow thief, then back-trailing Danny to establish that the young man had told the truth about coming from Austin City way. The foreman could find no sign that Danny had come from any other direction and so was prepared to treat him as he would any other hand. As to the other matter, Lyle told Danny that the cow thief’s tracks disappeared on to the Rock Pile, a large, barren rocky area on the edge of the county and over which following tracks was impossible.
During the next few days Danny rode the ranges and performed the routine work of a cowhand. His skilled use of the borrowed cutting-horse when working cattle lulled any remaining suspicions the foreman might have held, for a cutting-horse was a specialist animal and the fact that Danny possessed one tended to make his pose as a drifting cowhand more acceptable. Mostly Danny worked with Tommy and from the youngster learned much about the affairs of the county. Tommy told Danny how, soon after the stealing became noticeable, Turk Stocker had the other ranchers search his spread on the Rock Pile but they found only his runty, poorly-fed stock on it. So they concluded that the cow thieves ran their stolen animals on to the Rock Pile to make tracking impossible, then could go in any direction to wherever they sold their loot. While Tommy admitted he did not care for Soskice, he said the lawyer had his uses when the sheriff picked up one of the boys. Simmonds appeared to be regarded as a harmless nuisance hired by the town to keep cowhand horse-play in bounds. Of Sammy and Pike’s behavior before their deaths, Tommy said little. It appeared that Sammy found his “love” for Dora came real expensive, far more so than a cowhand could afford and that Pike, like the good friend he was, did what he could to further his
When the story of how Danny stood up to the deputy and Ed Wren made the rounds, and of how he rode the Rafter O’s bay reached the ears of the other hands, he found himself regarded as being quite a feller. The feeling pleased him, for this time he had made the grade without anybody thinking of him as Dusty Fog’s kid brother and treating him to secondhand respect on that relationship.
However, when Saturday arrived, little had been done to either prevent the cow stealing or find the folks behind it. No further losses had been discovered and none of the crew went out at night to do the necessary riding needed to locate brand and deliver the stolen animals.
“Are you coming into town tonight, Danny?” Tommy asked as they rode toward the Bench J’s main buildings on Saturday afternoon.
“Reckon so. I’ve some money just itching to be spent. Are you fixing to see your gal tonight?”
“Sure am. Why don’t you get one?”
“Me? Way I see it, Tommy,
“Tell you then,” grinned Danny. “Happen I find a real nice gal. I’ll think about trying it.”
After a meal in the cookshack, the two young men joined the other hands at washing, shaving and generally preparing for a trip to town. Such an occasion called for one’s better clothing and the use of one’s go-to-town horse; this latter being selected for its good appearance rather than any ability for working purposes. Once prepared, the hands mounted their horses ready for the ten-mile ride to town.
A fair crowd had already gathered in the Cattle Queen when the Bench J crew arrived. Jerome left his hands to attend to a few pieces of business around town, and some of the crew went to deal with personal affairs, but Danny and Tommy headed for the saloon.
“Hey, Maisie!” Tommy called as he entered and looked around the bar room. “Where-at’s my gal?”
“Not down yet,” Maisie replied. “Set a spell, she’ll be along.”
“Go grab a table, Tommy,” Danny suggested. “I’ll fetch in the drinks.”
While waiting for Mousey to make her appearance, Danny and Tommy sat at a table and drank beer. Danny looked around for some sign of Calamity, yet she did not appear to be present. Pointing out various people in the room, Tommy named them for Danny’s benefit. At last the youngster nodded to a pair of men sitting at a table between them and the stairs leading to the saloon’s private quarters.
“That’s Turk Stocker and his foreman, Dutchy Schatz,” Tommy remarked. “How the hell they manage to make that spread up on the Rock pile pay, I can’t figure.”
Danny glanced at the men. Both appeared to be tall, Stocker slim and with a whisker-stubbled face, Schatz heavier built, with close-cropped hair and a scarred face that looked tough and mean. Each man wore a gun in a contoured holster and dressed a little more prosperously than might be expected for the boss and sole hand of a run-down ranch in a most unsuitable area. From the little Danny had seen of the Rock Pile, it would prove mighty useless for profitable cattle-raising and be unlikely to provide more than a bare living for its owner. Of course, Stocker could have a side-interest such as hiding wanted outlaws to account for his wealth. Danny decided a visit to the Stocker spread might be worthwhile before his identity as a Ranger became known.
Even as Danny made his decision, he saw Mousey and another girl enter the room. Only when he took a second and longer look did Danny recognize Calamity and he decided his fears that she might have been recognized were groundless. Following the direction of Danny’s gaze, Tommy grinned broadly.
“Hey, Mousey’s done got company. Look’s a right nice gal, too.”
“Sure does,” Danny agreed.
However, before the girls could arrive at the two cowhands’ table, they had to pass where Stocker and Schatz sat. After eyeing the girls up and down, Schatz shot out a hand and caught Mousey by the arm.
“Hi, there, Mousey, gal,” he greeted in a harsh, guttural voice. “Sit down and have a drink.”
“I’ve already got one ordered,” Mousey replied, trying to pull her hand free.
“What, beer with some fool kid?” growled Schatz. “You can do better than that, little gal.”
“You let me go!” Mousey yelped.
Tommy’s chair went flying backward as he came to his feet and shot across the room. At the bar Ella caught questioning glances from her two bouncers and Ed Wren but shook her head. Things were a mite slow and Ella knew that nothing livened up a Saturday evening better than a fight, provided it did not get out of hand and she doubted if one between the burly Schatz and young Tommy would go too far.
