CHAPTER XV
AN ENGLISHMAN IN CAMP
As Mason stepped out of the saloon, turning up the street toward thestable, he saw Ross walking toward him with a tall, large, red-headedyoung man, who was evidently an Englishman. As they met, Mason spoke.
"I'm going to start back now, Ross. I've finished up my business herein town."
"Hold on a minute," said Ross. "Here's a man just come in on thepassenger this morning, who wants to go out into the country whereyou're going, and I told him maybe you could help him. Mr. Donald, thisis Jack Mason."
"If I can help you, Mr. Donald, I'll be glad to," Mason said as the twoshook hands; "but I'm just going back to the round-up camp, forty milesor so from here."
"Well," explained the young man, "I was thinking of going out to Mr.Sturgis's ranch. He lives somewhere up North, about forty miles, Ithink he told me, from the railroad. Is his place anywhere near yourcamp?"
"No; but there are two or three of his men along with our outfit, andif you want to come out there with me, some one of them may be goingover to his place before long, and could take you there. It's aperfectly plain road from here out to the ranch, just as soon as a manknows the road, but if he doesn't know it, he's liable to get lost agood many times before he gets there."
"Yes," said Ross, "I told Donald that it was a plain road out to theSturgis ranch, but that there were about twenty roads turning off fromit, and it wouldn't be easy to take the right one."
"Have you got a horse to ride?" asked Mason.
"No," answered Donald, "I have no horse; but I was going to buy a horseand saddle, or perhaps two horses, here in town. Mr. Ross says that hehas one that he would either sell or hire, and that he thinks he couldfind another that I could use as a pack horse."
"Are you used to the saddle?"
"Yes; I have ridden a little."
"Let's go back to my house," said Ross, "and sit down and talk it over,and I can soon find out what we can do about horses."
As they walked back up the street, Ross turned to Mason.
"So you've finished up all your business, have you, Jack?" he asked.
"Yes; I'm ready to pull my freight as soon as I can put the saddle onmy horse."
"Well," commented Ross, with a little twinkle of his eye, "it seems tome you got through pretty quick."
"So, so," drawled Mason. "It didn't take me long after I once got atit."
"Well," said Ross, "I don't want to quarrel with you, Jack Mason; butyou look to me like the biggest fool that I've seen since I come intoWyoming Territory."
Mason laughed heartily.
"Come on, come on, Ross," he said. "What's your riddle? What do youmean?"
"Why," Ross answered, "I believe you didn't come into this town for asingle thing except to find Claib Wood and break him all up, when thechances were all in his favor that he'd kill you before you could batan eye."
"Oh, come, Ross," said Mason; "you're doing a lot of guessing. Didn't Itell you when I first came into town that I didn't know that Claib Woodwas here?"
"Yes, you did say that, but I'll bet you a new suit of clothes that ifyou didn't know he was here, you felt mighty sure that he was; and thatif you hadn't felt sure you wouldn't have come to town."
"If I had an imagination like yours, Ross," laughed Mason, "and coulduse a pen a little better than I can, I'd have made a fortune long agowriting for the newspapers."
"Oh, come off, Jack," returned Ross. "I've known you too long. Don'tgive me any guff of that kind."
They reached the door of Ross's house, and Mason changed the subject.
"I understand that you've got a horse and saddle for Mr. Donald. Isthat so?"
"Right," answered Ross.
"Then, suppose you take him around and see if you can get a pack horseand saddle on any terms that'll suit him, and come back here. I'll goup and saddle the two horses, and we can put Mr. Donald's bed on theone you get; then roll, and get to camp to-morrow morning."
The preparations for the journey did not take long, and the sun was yettwo or three hours high when Mason and the young Englishman trottedoff over the dry prairie. Mason led the pack horse and Donald rodebehind, to urge it on in case this should be necessary, but it went sovery well that before long, its hackamore was tied up, and it trottedswiftly on behind or beside Jack Mason's horse, though Donald stillrode behind it as a precautionary measure.
About ten o'clock at night they reached the point where the road mustbe left to go across the prairie to the camp. Here they stopped andremoved the saddles from the horses, allowing them to roll and to eata bite of grass. Then they saddled and started off again; and it wasgetting light when Mason pointed out to Donald the white wagon coversof the camp, and the cattle that dotted the hillsides not far from it.Mason had told Donald that he would better turn his animals into thec?vaya the next day, in order that they might rest, and had suggestedthat he himself might like to ride in the bed wagon and sleep duringthe day, but the Englishman very quietly said that he thought he wouldgo along with some part of the outfit, if he had a horse which he couldride.
As the new arrivals sat by the fire, waiting for the announcement ofbreakfast, the sleepy cowboys rose one by one from their beds, andafter dousing their heads and arms in cold water, gathered around thefire. Breakfast was soon over, and just as the men were saddling up,Jack Danvers and Vicente, who had been on the last relief of the nightherd, came trotting into camp. Jack was introduced to Donald, who toldhim he was headed for Swift Water Ranch when he could get there, andthe two young men shook hands cordially.
"I have been out in this western country two or three times," saidDonald, "but this is the first time I have stopped in a cow camp. Itmust be very interesting and full of excitement, I should think."
"Well," said Jack, "that depends on what you call excitement. I cantell you it is full of hard work; and just about as soon as the bloomof novelty has worn off, hard work is all you see of it. I can rememberwhen I was a little fellow that I used to think it would be thegreatest fun in the world to have a string of horses and ride aroundwearing shaps and clinking spurs, and maybe with a silver saddle-horn;but I have seen too much of it to care for it greatly now. How is itwith you, Joe?" he asked, turning to Tulare Joe, who stood rolling acigarette by the fire, with his horse's bridle rein over his arm.
"Well, Jack, I guess you've been through some school and have learnedsome lesson. Cow punching is awful good fun to read about, but readingis the best part of it. Books don't ever tell you how thick the dustis, nor how dry you get, nor how sore you become from riding, nor howmean a horse or a cow or a steer can be. No, the books leave out allthat sort of thing."
"Well, Mr. Donald," said Jack, "you are going along with us for a fewdays until you get a chance to go over to Uncle Will's, aren't you?"
"Yes," answered Donald; "that is what I should like to do. But if Iam going to stay in the camp, I should like to be of some use. I don'twant to just ride a horse up and down and nothing else. I'd like toearn my grub, if I do nothing more."
"Mason says you have no horses to ride," said Jack; "and, of course, ona round-up a man cannot do much without horses."
"No," admitted Donald; "but I was wondering whether I could not hirethree or four horses--say one from each of four or five men, so that Icould really do some riding. I would enjoy the experience; and, while Ido not know anything about the work, I fancy I could learn. Of course,I am more or less used to the saddle."
"Of course you could learn," replied Jack. "It is just riding and beingable to put your string on an animal when you need to."
"There is where I am weak," Donald said. "I know nothing about roping.Of course, if a horse is walking in a corral I can put a noose over hishead; but as for standing off and throwing it far, I cannot do that."
"That's easy to learn," explained Joe, as he threw down the end of thebrand with which he had lighted his cigarette. "Any of us could teachyou all you have to know abo
ut that in a mighty short while."
"What are you going to do to-day?" asked Jack.
"Why, Mason said that he would lend me a horse out of his string forthe day, as both of mine traveled all night, and I thought I would ridealong either with the cattle herd or the horse bunch, and use my eyesas much as I could."
"That's a good idea," said Jack. "Now Joe and I are going out withthe cattle herd to-day, and if you want to come with us, you can seesomething, and I think you can learn something too."
"Ripping," was Donald's answer.
"Well, I'll go over and see Mason and find out what horse he wants youto ride and then we'll get started; but, hold on, here's Mason now;"and a moment later Mason rode up to the fire and handed to Donald therope that was about the neck of a small but beautiful bay horse.
"Have you fixed on what you're going to do, Donald?" he asked; andDonald told him what they had decided on.
"That's bully," said Mason. "I'm riding with the herd to-day, so we'llbe together again."
As they rode off toward the herd, Donald turned to Jack.
"It seems to me that Mason is a great man," he said.
"How do you mean?"
"Why, all last night as we rode along he was singing and whistling andmaking jokes, and telling funny stories. Three or four times I nearlyfell off my horse from laughing at him; and yet the day before that,according to the story, he beat up a man in town so that he will haveto be in bed for six weeks."
"Beat up a man!" exclaimed Jack. "That couldn't have been Mason."
"Why," said Donald, in some confusion, "I hope it is not a secret.Everybody in town was talking about it. I was only there a few hours,and five or six men spoke to me about it. It seems that a man theretried to draw his gun on Mason, and Mason was too quick for him. Hepicked him up and threw him pretty nearly through the side of the houseand almost broke his neck."
"Great C?sar's ghost!" exclaimed Jack. "That will be news to everybodyin this camp."
"Hold on," said Donald; "I wish you would not say anything about ituntil somebody else does. I do not want to be carrying gossip aroundfrom one place to another; but, as I told you, it was the only thingthat they were talking about in town day before yesterday. I fancy itis the most exciting thing that has happened there for a long time."
"Yes," assented Jack, "I guess it's quiet enough there most of thetime; but say, what was the name of this man that Mason got into aquarrel with?"
"I cannot remember what the full name was, but almost everybody spokeof him as 'Claib.' I do not know any such name as that, but I supposeit may be a nickname."
"Good Lord!" cried Jack; "why that must be Claib Wood! They say he isone of the worst men in the country--a regular killer. He was orderedaway from here because he was suspected of cattle stealing--and theysay that there is hardly anybody in the country as quick with a gun ashe is."
"Well, he was not quick enough for Mason, it seems," said Donald. "Iasked one of the men in the saloon how it happened, and he said it wasso quick he really did not know how it did happen. He said that the twomen seized hold of each other, and that Mason called out to somebodyto take away both guns, that there was not to be a shooting-match; andthen a minute or two later Mason lifted up Claib and threw him againstthe side of the house and through the plaster and almost out throughthe boards. I saw the place and it certainly did look as if somethingvery heavy had been thrown against the wall."
"I'd like to know just what happened," said Jack; "but one could notvery well ask Mason; and I suppose we will have to wait until somebodycomes out from town to tell us the news."
"If you don't mind, I'd rather not have you say anything about whatI have told you, to any one here, for, as I say, I do not want to becarrying tales."
"All right," promised Jack; "I'll keep quiet. But say, it seems to methat this thing is one of the biggest jokes that ever was. I thinka lot of Mason and it seems to me that he was in great danger if hewas quarreling with Claib Wood; but you seem to have brought him backperfectly well and sound."
The young Englishman grinned.
"Oh, yes; I brought him back."
All day long the men kept with the herd, and all day long the youngEnglishman was practising throwing the rope, so that toward evening hehad a good idea of how to handle it, though oftener than not he missedthe object at which he was throwing. At the same time he was learningthe eccentricities of the rope, and a little more practise was likelyto make him reasonably skilful. All the boys insisted that practise,practise, practise was the only way in which he could become expert,and Donald determined that he would devote much time to this work forthe next two or three days.
That night at the fire, Jack, with a grave face, and having warnedDonald to be careful, began to ply Hugh and McIntyre with questionsabout Claib Wood, asking how bad he was, whether he had killed manymen, and other pointed and pertinent questions. He seemed most anxiousfor all possible particulars as to Claib Wood.
All the time he was watching Jack Mason, who, sitting by the fire withan awl and a piece of buckskin string, was mending a pair of rippedshoes. Mason, however, gave not the slightest evidence of interestin the conversation, and at last Jack was obliged to abandon hisexamination of the two older men, feeling that he had wholly failed inhis efforts to make Mason respond.
Jack the Young Cowboy: An Eastern Boy's Experiance on a Western Round-up Page 17
