'Me an' the little old gun made gettin' more a chancy business,' Big Boy explained.
'Wonder they didn't wipe yu out first,' Darby said. 'They hadn't the guts; I'd 'a' got some of 'em.'
Severn shook his head. 'I'm guessin' that don't explain it,' he said dubiously. 'Anyways, we go after them cows at daybreak, an' in case it's a trap, we'll be full strength.'
On the eastern horizon, a golden glow which deepened and spread betokened the dawn of another day. Over the plain and foothills a purplish mist hovered, and in the distance, from the peaksofthe Pinnacles, great streamersofvapour drifted across the sky like smoke from mammoth chimney-stacks. The Lazy M was bubbling with excitement. With the exceptionsofLarry and the cook, Severn was taking the whole outfit. He meant to be in a position not only to regain the stolen stock, but to punish the thieves. That he was playing into the handsofhis enemies he had yet to learn.
The most disgruntled man at the ranch was Larry. Long after the departureofthe outfit, he continued to bewail his misfortune, even the presence of his lady failing to console him.
'Cuss this shoulder,' he grumbled. 'I'm a-missin' all the fun.' Instantly from Phil's expression he saw that he had said the wrong thing. 'Aw, o' course I don't quite mean that, but--'
'You would rather be riding with the boys,' she finished quietly--too quietly, had Larry been versed in the waysofwomen.
Big Boy, who, refreshed by food and a few hours' sleep, had insisted on joining the party, guided them to the spot where he had been so ignominiously 'set afoot'. They found the carcaseofthe horse, already picked clean, and soon struck the trail of the stolen steers. It led northwards towards the mountains, the first mile or so being over level prairie. Then it turned sharply to the right, taking them into a jumble of tree-clad slopes, gorges scooped out of the living rock, thorny thickets, and little savannahsoflush grass through which the horses waded belly deep.
'They shore wanted a job, takin' cattle through here,' old Rayton said. 'Must be tryin' to lose 'em.'
Severn had already seen that the rustlers were breaking fresh trail; apparently they were not taking the steers to the valley below the Cavern. The fact that they had gone to all this trouble and had made no effort to hide their tracks was giving him uneasiness. He began to wish he had brought only half the outfit, but it was too late now for regrets; he could only go on.
Noon came and went, and then, threading their way through a deep, rocky fissure no more than a dozen yards wide, they heard the bellowofa steer. Severn gave the word for caution, guns were got in readiness, and the party pressed on. The fissure gave way to an open stretchofgrass, walled in by dense, prickly shrub, and in the centre, peacefully browsing, was the stolen herd. Fearing an ambush, the cowboys waited a while, and then Severn, Darby and Big Boy rode into the open. No shots saluted them; the cattle were unattended. Darby looked at his foreman in bewilderment.
'Odd number, this,' he said. 'They ain't tried to blot their tracks. Looks as if they brought 'em here a-purpose for us to find.'
'I'm afraid yo're right, Darby,' Severn agreed. 'They baited a hook an' I bit it good an' plenty. Why they wanted us outa the way, I dunno, but I'm goin' to see, pronto. Three o' yu will be enough to drive the herd back; the rest will come with me.'
Leaving Big Boy and two others to put the cattle on the range again, the foreman and the remainderofthe outfit headed for the Lazy M. Speed was impossible on such a difficult trail, even had their mounts been capableofit, and though no time was wasted, it was nighnfall ere they sighted the ranch buildings. Beyond the fact that no lights were showing, everything seemed to be as usual. They pulled up at the bunkhouse with a shrill whoop, a hint to the cook to get busy, but there was no answer.
'Somethin' wrong here--let's try the house,' Severn said and led the way.
The ranch-house was dark and silent. The foreman found the back door unfastened, and striding in was brought to a stop by a muffled groan. He struck a match and saw Jonah, tied to a chair and gagged, gazing at him with goggling eyes in which fear gave way to relief when he recognised the visitor. Severn lighted the lamp, drew his knife and cut away the gag and bonds.
'What the devil's happened?' he asked.
It was some moments before the cook was able to answer, and then his stiffened jaws could only articulate, 'Dem White Masks--dey got Miss Phil.'
Leaving the others to get the story out of him, Severn sprang up the stairs. In the girl's room he discovered Dinah, tied up and incoherent with fear. Setting her free, he went to seek Larry. He found that young man in like case, save that he was able to express himself and did so with great freedom the moment the gag was removed.
'Yu cuss pretty near like a growed man,' his friend said satirically. 'S'pose now yu tell us somethin'.'
It was not a long story. Early in the afternoon Larry had heard the sound of horses and the mutter of voices outside and had concluded that the outfit had returned sooner than expected. Then his door opened, and insteadofthe pleasant sightofhis young nurse, he saw two masked men, one of whom immediately trained a gun on him while the other tied him up.
'An' with this crippled wing I couldn't do nothin' but say what I thoughtof'em,' Larry explained. 'I shore did that till they jammed that rag in my mouth. What were they after?'
'The girl, an' they got her,' Severn told him, and the sick man's language became more lurid.
'Aw, what's the use--cussin' never cured anythin',' the foreman commented.
'Ain't yu goin' to do nothin' to-night?' his friend asked indignantly.
'Shore thing. I'm goin' to sleep, an' yu better do the same,' Severn grinned, and did not wait to hear the commentary.
Going down to the bunkhouse he swallowed a much-neededmeal and retired to his own quarters. Here, he remembered for the first time, that he had not seen anything of Quirt; he called and whistled but the dog seemed to have disappeared. An examinationofhis room showed that it had not been disturbed, and he was forced to the conclusion that the girl was the sole objectofthe raid. What did they want with her? Was the outrage a come-back on the partofShadwell? Only one other man could have any interest in stealing the girl. Had Black Bart carried out the abduction, masking his men to make it appear the workofthe bandits, or--a vague suspicion, born of the chance accusation he had made just before the fight in the 'Come Again', and which had been dormant at the backofhis mind ever since, began to obtrude itself.
Chapter XV
DESPITE the strenuous workofthe preceding day, sunrise found the Lazy M outfit busily preparing for whatever task Severn had to set them. The customary airofcare-free gaiety had given place to a grim seriousness, for apart from the fact that their young mistress was very popular, the riders regarded her taking off as a personal insult; they had been made to look foolish, and it rankled.
Therefore they looked closely to their weapons, filled belts with ammunition, carefully picked and saddled their mounts, and waited expectantly for Severn, who had breakfasted in his own shack. Presently he stepped out, and at the same rnoment came a faint bark. Severn turned just as Quirt limped up and dropped panting at his master's feet. Stooping to pat the dog, the foreman saw a glimpse of white in the thick hairofthe animal's neck. It proved to be a twistofpaper, secured by a thin raw-hide thong. Printed in pencil were the words :
'The White Masks have the girl at the Cavern. Hurry.
A FRIEND.'
The missive was identical in character with the others he had received and the foreman stared at it in perplexity. Who could the mysterious correspondent be? Certainly not Darby, for he had been with the rest of the outfit all the previous day. Evidently the dog had sneaked after the girl's captors and so provided the sender with a meansofdespatching his message. Severn scratched Quirt's head affectionately.'Yu shore pull yore weight in this outfit,' he said.
The foreman explained the situation to the men, asking for suggestions.
'What about sending to Hope for the sheriff an' a posse?' offered one.
The foreman shook his head. 'Tyler don't like us none,' he said. 'An', anyways, I figure this is mainly a Lazy M job. I'm proposin' that we head for the XT, get Ridge an' some o' his boys, an' smoke these coyotes outa their holes.'
A chorus of 'Yo're shoutin' ' and 'That's the play', showed that this plan of action was fully in accord with the feelingsofthe men, and without further lossoftime a start was made. Larry, whose hurt did not permit him to go,
