CHAPTER II
A ROBBER TURNED LOOSE
As Jack rounded a low point of hill only half a mile from the house, hesaw the buildings again. The sun was getting low, and he decided thathe would put the animals in Powell's pasture and ask Mrs. Powell tokeep him over night at the house. He wondered if she would know him,for since she had last seen him he had grown, as it seemed to him, afoot or two. As he came in sight of the house he noticed, hitched tothe fence near the door, two riding horses and a loaded pack horse.Evidently there were visitors at the house. They were travelers, notcow punchers, for the pack animal carried a sawbuck pack-saddle and avery small pack.
These thoughts had just passed through Jack's head, when to hisamazement he heard a shot which seemed to come from the house, and aninstant later the door flew open and a man burst out, rushed to thehorses, jumped on one of them and galloped fast down the road towardhim. Jack could not conceive what this meant--shooting in Powell'shouse. He did not know the man who was approaching. He was young,fair-haired, rode like one accustomed to the saddle, and had a goodhorse, though it looked as though it had gone a long way. The riderwas coming directly toward him, and, as he rode, he looked back at thehouse two or three times, as though fearing pursuit.
Jack did not know what all this meant, and yet one thing seemedcertain--he must stop this man and find out what he had been doing.Yet to stop a man on the road he knew was pretty serious business,and might very likely lead to shooting. He had traveled enough on theprairie and had associated enough with older men to be cautious aboutgetting into trouble; but here was a case where trouble seemed to becoming toward him so straight that he could not avoid it. For the firsttwo or three moments the rider seemed not to notice Jack, but when hedid so, he checked the speed of his horse, and looked uncertainly toright and left, as though seeking some way of escape. By this timeJack had stuck his spurs into Pawnee, and was riding fast toward theapproaching man. He had his hand on his six-shooter, ready to drawit at the least sign of trouble. As they drew near to each other theyoung man made a motion as if to put his hand on his pistol butt, butJack called to him sharply, "Hands up!" and drew his pistol. The youngfellow's hands flew up in the air, while he stopped his horse. Jackrode around and coming up behind him on the right side, still holdinghis pistol ready, reached over and took the young man's gun out of hisholster, and then ordered him sharply to turn around and ride in frontof him toward the house. He watched him closely, for it was possiblethat somewhere about his person the man might have another pistol, butthe young fellow seemed to have no desire to do anything save what hewas told. His nerve had wholly left him.
They trotted up to the door of the ranch, and Jack called out for Mr.Powell, Charley and Mrs. Powell, and a moment later a tall, handsome,brown-haired girl appeared at the door, holding a six-shooter in herhand. Jack instantly recognized her as his old friend Bessie, butBessie grown out of all likeness to the slim-legged little girl that hehad known half a dozen years before.
"Hello, Bessie!" called Jack. "You don't know me, I guess, but I amJack Danvers, just over from Mr. Sturgis' ranch. I heard a shot andsaw this man running away from the house, and stopped him. What hashappened? Do you want him, or shall I let him go?"
"I don't know, Jack," Bessie answered; "we'll have to think about that.He ought to be tied up for a while anyhow, until we can tell you whathas happened, and can decide what to do."
"Well," said Jack, "the first thing is to take his weapons if he hasany. Here is the six-shooter he had when I stopped him. Will you holdit, and keep an eye on him while I search him? You used to be able toshoot when you were a little girl."
"I guess you will think I can yet, Jack," said Bessie. Jack now noticedthat she looked very white. "That man's partner is in here, and we willhave to do something with him."
Jack said nothing, but dismounted, went to the young rider, unbuckledand took off his belt and felt him all over to see whether he hadanother pistol. Nothing was found on him more dangerous than apocket-knife, which Jack took. He had the young man dismount and sitdown on the ground, and asked Bessie to stand guard over him. Then witha rope taken off one of the horses he tied the man's hands and feetsecurely, and passing the rope from his wrists, which were tied behindhis back, over a bar of the fence four feet from the ground, drew upthe hands so as to keep the man's body bent forward, and to give himvery little freedom of motion. Then he tied the horses to the fence andwent to the door where Bessie stood.
"Tell me all about it now, Bessie," he said.
"No, Jack, I can't talk now," she replied. "Go in and speak to mother,and talk it over with her."
He passed through the kitchen and into the living-room, and the firstthing that caught his eye there was a man lying on the floor, on hisback, with one arm stretched out. Stepping up to him, Jack saw that hewas dead, and apparently he had been moved a little, for on the boardswas a smear of blood, leading to the man's body, which seemed to showthat an effort had been made to drag him toward the door. Mrs. Powellwas not there, but when Jack called her by name she opened a bedroomdoor and came out. Jack began to tell her who he was, but she knew himat once, and grasping both his hands began to cry and to tell him howglad she was to see him.
"Don't cry, Mrs. Powell," said Jack. "Tell me what all this is about,for of course I don't understand it at all. I heard a shot, and met aman riding hard away from the house. I stopped him and brought him backand now he is outside tied up, with Bessie watching him."
"Oh, Jack!" moaned Mrs. Powell, "to think that anything like thiscould happen in this country! We have plenty of bad men here, but Inever thought that any of them would be bad enough to attack a woman;and I never supposed that Bessie would have to kill one." The poorwoman had great difficulty in speaking, and it was hard for Jack tounderstand what she was talking about; but some ideas he got. He pattedher shoulder and told her that the trouble was all over now, and sheneed not worry about it, and that he would look after everything, ifshe would only tell him the whole story so that he could understand it.Then Mrs. Powell told him what had happened.
"Well, well," declared Jack, "this is certainly bad business--thatanybody in this country should start in and rob women and children.However, it is mighty lucky that Bessie is so quick with her wits, andso quick with her gun. Now what shall we do with this man's partner?"
Mrs. Powell began to cry again.
"Dear me! dear me! I don't know what to say to you, Jack. If our mencome back and find him here, he surely will never get off the place;they'll hang him on the gate-post; and I don't want that to happen.We've had trouble enough with this dead man here, and I don't wantCharley or his father to get mixed up in any lynching."
"Well, Mrs. Powell," Jack replied, "this young fellow ought to bekilled and killed quick. He surely has no business in this country. ButI can understand how you feel. It wouldn't be very pleasant for you tohave him hung right in your dooryard, as you might say. Let me go outand talk to Bessie, and see what she thinks. I have an idea from theway she looks and from what you tell me that she has pretty good sense;but first, it seems to me, we ought to get rid of this carcass here.I'll open the front door and drag him out."
Jack opened the door, and then going back to where the man lay, andmoving the furniture out of the way, took him by the two wrists anddragged him out of the door and left the body lying on the ground.
Going back to the kitchen door, he saw Bessie leaning against the fencewatching the young man who was seated on the ground, and who apparentlyhad not changed his position since he was tied up.
"Come over here, Bessie," Jack requested, and she walked with him to aplace fifteen or twenty yards from the young man, and there in a lowvoice they talked over the situation. Jack told her that her mother hadexplained what had happened, and of Mrs. Powell's fear lest some of thepeople now off on the round-up should come back and find the prisonerat the house, and should hang him without ceremony.
"That is what I a
m afraid of, Jack. I want to have this thing endednow, as quickly as possible. It seems terrible that I should have hadto kill that man; but I didn't know what else I could do to protectmother, and nobody knows where he would have stopped if something hadnot been done."
"Well," suggested Jack, "what's the matter with giving this young manhis horse, or horses, and turning him loose now without any weapons?"
"I wish with all my heart you would do that. It seems to me that isthe easiest way, and the best way, and it will certainly keep out oftrouble any of the boys that may turn up here in the next few days."
"All right," said Jack, "we'll do that. But first I've got to use himfor a little while, and you must come along too, I am afraid, to standguard over him."
"I'll do anything I can that you say is right," agreed Bessie.
Jack went over to the prisoner, and untying the ropes turned him loose.
"Now, young fellow," Jack said, "rub your arms and wrists and get thestiffness out of them, and then come down to the barn and help me hitchup a wagon."
They went to the barn and found there a couple of work horses, andharnessing them, hitched them to the wagon, into which they threw apick and a couple of shovels. Driving up to the house, they stopped bythe body of the man who had been shot, and lifted it into the wagon,covering it with a piece of an old tent. They then drove off up aravine a mile or more from the house, where they stopped the wagon;and here in the side of a bank the two men dug a hole, and buriedthe would-be robber. Jack searched his pockets for some means ofidentification, but found in them nothing except a pipe, some tobacco,matches and a pocket-knife. His belt and cartridges were taken off tobe carried back to the house.
The sun was close to the western horizon when they reached the houseagain. Jack left the young man unhitching the horses, and Bess watchinghim, while he returned to the house to tell Mrs. Powell what they haddecided to do, and to ask her approval.
"That is the very best thing that can be done," she said. "Start himoff for the railroad, and try to see that he gets there."
"I mean to ride with him for a mile or two," said Jack; "and I shallsay to him that to-morrow morning I am going over to the round-up campto tell them there what has happened, and that there is likely to be ahunt for him, and he had better quit the country as fast as he knowshow."
"Good!" approved Mrs. Powell. "Ride with him over to the big hill, andfrom there watch him as far as you can, and then come back. We'll havesupper ready by dark and we'll look for you then."
"All right," replied Jack. "Before I go, though, I'll turn my horsesinto the pasture, if you will let me, and take my bed off the packhorse."
It took scarcely five minutes to do this, for the hungry horses werestill feeding close to the house. Then Jack went to the young man,who had returned to the place where he had been tied, and had seatedhimself on the ground there.
"You've got yourself into a place that will mean hanging for you, ifyou don't get out of the country quick," said Jack. "I am going to giveyou a chance for your life, and let you get to the railroad, wheremaybe you can strike a freight, or a passenger-train, that will takeyou away. If any of the people that belong in this part of the countrycome back and hear what you and your partner have done, they will startout and hunt you as long as they can find your tracks, and if they gethold of you, you'll swing. Who was this man that you came down herewith, and where did you come from?"
"I don't know what his name was," answered the young man, "but up therewe called him Bill Davis. We came down from just south of Buffalo.Davis had a little place up there with a few head of cattle and horseson it, but the stockmen thought he was branding too many calves, andthey told him that he would have to get out of the country. When hesaw they meant it, he came to me, for I had been living on a littleplace I had taken up not far from him, and said that he had to get out,and proposed to me to go somewhere and make a stake, and come backwith something to put on our places. He persuaded me, and I went withhim. I never knew he was going to try to rob these people here; theytreated us awful white; but he said to me that if I didn't come withhim to speak to the women, he and I would quarrel. I wish I had neverseen him! I never got into trouble like this before. You can see foryourself that I ain't bad. Didn't I give up just as soon as you told meto?" The young man whimpered and looked as if he were going to cry.
"Well," admitted Jack, "you don't look to me like a fellow who wouldwillingly be mixed up in robbing women and children, and I am going tolet you go; but if I do, you've got to get out of the country quick,for if the men around here find you, they won't stop to talk to you,the way I have. The best thing for you to do is to ride into therailroad and get on a train and get out of reach as quickly as you can.Have you any money?"
"Yes, I have a five-dollar bill and some nickels."
"What about these horses? Who owns them?" asked Jack.
"One saddle horse and the pack horse belonged to Bill; and the horse Iride is mine, and so is the saddle."
"Well," said Jack, "you'd better get on your horse now and pull yourfreight for the railroad as quick as you can. I expect your horse isn'tin very good shape to make the ride, and maybe I'd better lend you oneof mine to go in with. Do you know anybody at the railroad that wouldbuy your horse and saddle?"
"Nary a person," was the answer. "I have never been down here before.The only thing that I can do is to leave the horse and saddle in townat some livery stable, or else turn him loose on the range."
"I will tell you what I'll do," said Jack; "if you want to sell thatsaddle for twenty dollars, I will buy it from you, and give you fivedollars on account. You can leave it with Brown, at Medicine Bow, andif I hear that you have done so, and you will write to me, I willsend you the fifteen dollars by mail. I think I'll keep Davis' horsesand saddle here until somebody calls for them, and maybe your horse.You can take one of my string to ride into the railroad, and when youget there with it, either leave it at Brown's, or turn it loose onthe range. It will come back to our ranch sooner or later. Now go andchange your saddle to that gray horse you see feeding out there, justinside the pasture gate. I'll ride with you a little way."
The boy went over to his horse and mounted and Jack followed on Pawnee.In a moment a rope was on the gray, the saddles were changed and thetwo young men rode off in the direction of the railroad.
When they reached the top of the hill a couple of miles from the ranch,Jack pointed out to the man the way he should go to strike the mainroad leading into the town, and told him to go ahead. The young manhesitated for a moment.
"I don't rightly know how to thank you for turning me loose in thisway," he said. "I swear that I never had any idea of hurting those twowomen, and I hope some day I'll be able to make you believe that. Willyou tell me how I may call you?"
"I am Jack Danvers; and you can always reach me by writing to the SwiftWater Ranch, near Carbon. If you write me, I'll send you the fifteendollars. What is your name?"
"I'm Sam Williams, I'm from Michigan; and I wish't I was back therenow. Have you got a piece of paper? I'd like to have your addresswritten down, so that I'll remember it."
Jack tore a scrap from an old envelope in his pocket, and writing theaddress, handed it over to the young man.
"Good-by, and thank you again," the latter said; and turning hishorse's head rode to the south.
The sun had set, and it would soon be too dark to see far, but Jackdrew back from the crest of the hill and, riding around a shortdistance, dismounted. Walking up, he peered over the ridge and watchedthe horseman, riding fast, until dusk had fairly settled down over thevalley. Then turning, he mounted Pawnee, and in a short time was at thePowell's barn, where he unsaddled and turned his horse into the haycorral.
Jack the Young Cowboy: An Eastern Boy's Experiance on a Western Round-up Page 4
