CHAPTER XXIV
AN UNEXPECTED VISIT
It was late in the evening when Sundown returned to his ranch. Chancewelcomed him with vocal and gymnastic abandon. Sundown hastened to his"tame cow" and milked her while the four hens peeped and clucked fromtheir roost, evidently disturbed by the light of the lantern.Meanwhile Chance lay gravely watching his master until Gentle Annie hadbeen relieved of the full and creamy quota of her donation to themaintenance of the household. Then the wolf-dog followed his master tothe kitchen where they enjoyed, in separate dishes, Gentle Annie's warmcontribution, together with broken bread and "a leetle salt to bringout the gamey flavor."
Solicitous of the welfare of his stock, as he termed them, he betookhimself to the hen-house to feed the chickens. "Huh!" he exclaimed,raising the lantern and peering round, "there's one rooster missin'!"_The_ rooster had in truth disappeared. He put down the lantern andturned to Chance. "Lemme look at your mouth. No, they ain't no signson you. Hold on! Be Gosh, if they ain't some leetle red hairsstickin' to your chops. What's the answer?"
Chance whined and wagged his tail. "You don't look like you wasguilty. And that there rooster wasn't sportin' red hair the last timeI seen him. Did you eat him fust and then swaller a rabbit to coverhis tracks? I reckon not. You're some dog--but you ain't gotboiler-room for a full-size Rhode Island Red and a rabbit and twoquarts of bread-and-milk. It ain't reas'nable. I got to investigate."
The dog seemed to understand. He leaped up and trotted to the yard,turning his head and silently coaxing his master to follow him.Sundown, with a childish and most natural faith in Chance'sintelligence, followed him to the fence, scrambled through and trailedhim out on the mesa. In a little hollow Chance stopped and stood withcrooked fore leg. Sundown stalked up. At his feet fluttered his redrooster and not far from it lay the body of a full-grown coyote.Chance ran to the coyote and diving in shook the inanimate shape andgrowled. "Huh! Showin' me what you done to him for stealin' ourrooster, eh? Well, you sure are goin' to get suthin' extra for this!You caught him with the goods--looks like. And look here!"--andSundown deposited the lantern on a knoll and sat down facing the dog."What I'm goin' to give you that extra for ain't for killin' thecoyote. That is your business when I ain't to home. You could 'a'finished off Jimmy"--and he gestured toward the rooster--"and theevidence would 'a' been in your favor, seein' as you was wise to showme the coyote. I got some candy put by for--for later, if she likesit, but we're goin' to bust open that box of candy and celebrate. Gotto see if I can repair Jimmy fust, though, or else use the axe. Idunno."
Jimmy was a sad spectacle. His tail-feathers were about gone and oneleg was maimed, yet he still showed the fighting spirit of his NewEngland sires, for, as Sundown essayed to pick him up, he pecked andsquawked energetically.
They returned to the house, where Sundown examined the bedraggled birdcritically. "I ain't no doc, but I have been practiced on some meself.Looks like his left kicker was bruk. Guess it's the splints for himand nussin' by hand. Here, you! Let go that button! That ain't abug! There! 'T ain't what you'd call a perfessional job, but if youjest quit runnin' around nights and take care of your health, mebbyyou'll come through. Don' know what them hens'll think, though. Yousure ain't no Anner Dominus no more. If you was a lady hen, you couldpertend you was wearin' evenin' dress like--low-neck and suspenders.But bein' a he, 't ain't the style. Wonder if you got your crow left?You ain't got a whole lot more to tell you from jest a hen."
With Jimmy installed in a box of straw in the kitchen, the pigs fed,and Gentle Annie grazing contentedly, Sundown felt able to relax. Ithad been a strenuous day for him. He drew a chair to the stove, andbefore he sat down he brought forth from beneath the bed a highlycolored cardboard box on which was embossed a ribbon of blue sealedwith a gold paster-seal. Chance watched him gravely. It was aceremony. Sundown opened the box and picking out a chocolate held itup that Chance might realize fully that it was a ceremony. The dog'snose twitched and he licked his chops. "Tastes good a'ready, eh?Well, it's yourn." And he solemnly gave Chance the chocolate. "GeeGosh! What'd you do with it? That ain't no way to eat candy! Youwant to chew her slow and kind o' hang on till she ain't there. Thenyou get your money's worth. Want another?"
Later Sundown essayed to smoke, but found the flavor of chocolateincompatible with the enjoyment of tobacco. Chance dozed by the fire,and Jimmy, with neck stretched above the edge of the box, watchedSundown with beady, blinking eyes.
Sundown slept late next morning. The lowing of Gentle Annie as shemildly endeavored to make it known that milking-time was past, themuffled grunting of the two pigs as they rooted in the mud or pokedflat flexible noses through the bars, the restless padding of Chance toand from the bedroom, merely harmonized in chorus with audible slumbersuntil one of the hens cackled. Then Jimmy, from his box near thestove, lifted his clarion shrill in reply to the hen. Sundown sat up,scratched his ear, and arose.
He was returning from a practice of five-finger exercise on GentleAnnie, busy with his thoughts and the balance of the pail, when a shoutbrought his gaze to the road. John Corliss and Bud Shoop waved himgreeting, and dismounting led their horses to the yard.
"Saves me a ride," muttered Sundown. Then, "How, folks! Come rightin!"
He noticed that the ponies seemed tired--that the cinchas weremud-spattered and that the riders seemed weary. He invited his gueststo breakfast. After the meal the three foregathered outside the house.
"That was right good beef you fed us," remarked Shoop, slightly raisingone eyebrow as Corliss glanced at him.
"The best in the country," cheerfully assented Sundown.
"How you making it, Sun?"
"Me? Oh, I'm wigglin' along. Come home last night and found Jimmywith his leg bruk. Everything else was all right."
"Jimmy?"
"Uhuh. Me rooster."
"Coyote grab him?"
"Uhuh. And Chance fixed Mr. Coyote. I was to Loring's yesterday onbusiness."
Shoop glanced at Corliss who had thus far remained silent.
"We had a little business to talk over," said the rancher. "You'relocated now. I'm going to run some cattle down this way next week.Some of mine and some of the Two-Bar-O." Corliss, who had beenstanding, stepped to the doorway and sat down. Shoop and Sundownfollowed him and lay outstretched on the warm earth. "Funny thing,Bud, about that Two-Bar-O steer we found cut up."
"Sure was," said Shoop.
"Did he get in a fence?" queried Sundown.
"No. He was killed for beef. We ran across him yesterday and did somelooking around last night. Trailed over this way to have a talk."
"I'm right glad to see you. I wanted to speak a little piece meselfafter you get through."
"All right. Here's the story." And Corliss gazed across the mesa fora moment. "The South Spring's gone dry. The fork is so low that onlya dozen head can drink at once. It's been a mighty dry year, and theriver is about played out except in the canon, and the stock can't getto the water there. This is about the only natural supply outside theranch. I want to put a couple of men in here and ditch to that hollowover there. It'll take about all your water, but we got to have it. Iwant you to put in a gas-engine and pump for us. Maybe we'll have topipe to tanks before we get through. I'll give you fifty a month torun the engine."
"I'll sure keep that leetle ole gas-engine coughin' regular," saidSundown. "I was thinkin' of somethin' like that meself. You see Iseen Loring yesterday. I told him that anybody that was wishful couldwater stock here so long as she held out--except there was to be noshootin' and killin', and the like. Ole man Loring says to tell youwhat I told him and see what you said. I reckon he'll take his sheepout of here if you folks'll take your cattle off the east side. Iain't playin' no favorites. You been my friend--you and Bud. You comeand make me a proposition to pump water for you--and the fifty a monthis for the water. That's business. Loring ain't said nothin' aboutbuyin' water from me, s
o you get it. You see I was kind of figurin'somethin' like this when I first come to this here place--'way backwhen I met you that evenin'. Says I to meself, 'a fella couldn't evenraise robins on this here farm, but from the looks of that water-holehe could raise water, and folks sure got to have water in thiscountry.' I was thinkin' of irrigatin' and raisin' alfalfa andveg'tables, but fifty a month sounds good to me. Bein' a punchermeself, I ain't got no use for sheep, but I was willin' to give ole manLoring a chance. If the mesas is goin' dry on the east side, what's hegoin' to do?"
"I don't know, Sun. He's got a card up his sleeve, and you want tostay right on the job. Bud here got a tip in Antelope that a bunch ofMexicans came in last week from Loring's old ranch in New Mexico. Someof 'em are herders and some of 'em are worse. I reckon he'll try topush his sheep across and take up around here. He'll try it at night.If he does and you get on to it before we do, just saddle Pill and fanit for the Concho."
"Gee Gosh! But that means more fightin'!"
Shoop and Corliss said nothing. Sundown gazed at them questioningly.
Presently Corliss gestured toward the south. "They'll make itinteresting for you. Loring's an old-timer and he won't quit. Thisthing won't be settled until something happens--and I reckon it's goingto happen soon."
"Well, I'm sure sittin' on the dynamite," said Sundown lugubriously."I reckoned to settle down and git m--me farm to goin' and keep out oftrouble. Now it looks like I was the cat what fell out of a tree intoa dog-fight by mistake. They was nothin' left of that cat."
Shoop laughed. "We'll see that you come out all right."
Sundown accepted this meager consolation with a grimace. Then his facebeamed. "Say! What's the matter of me tellin' the sheriff thatthere's like to be doin's--and mebby he could come over and kind ofscare 'em off."
"The idea is all right, Sun. But Jim is a married man. Most of hisdeputies are married. If it comes to a mix some of 'em 'd get it sure.Now there isn't a married man on the Concho--which makes a lot ofdifference. Sabe?"
"I reckon that's right," admitted Sundown, "Killin' a married man islike killin' the whole fambly."
"And you're a single man--so you're all right," said Shoop.
"Gee Gosh! Mebby that ought to make me feel good, but it don't.Supposin' a fella was goin' to get married?"
"Then--he'd--better wait," said Corliss, smiling at his foreman.
Corliss stood up and yawned. "Oh, say, Sun, where'd you get thatbeef?" he asked casually.
"The beef? Why, a Chola come along here day afore yesterday and say ifI wanted some meat. I says yes. Then he rides off and purty soon hecomes back with a hind-quarter on his saddle. I give him two dollarsfor it. It looked kind of funny, but I thought he was mebby campin'out there somewhere and peddlin' meat."
Shoop and Corliss glanced at each other. "They don't peddle meat thatway in this country, Sun. What did the Mexican look like?"
"Kind of fat and greasy-like, and he was as cross-eyed as a rabbitwatchin' two dogs to onct."
"That so? Let's have a look at that hind-quarter."
"Sure! Over there in the well-shed."
When Corliss returned, he nodded to Shoop. Then he turned to Sundown."We found a Two-Bar-O steer killed right close to here yesterday.Looks queer. Well, we'll be fanning it. I'll send to Antelope andhave them order the pump and some pipe. Got plenty of grub?"
"Plenty 'nough for a couple of weeks."
"All right. So-long. Keep your eye on things."
Sundown Slim Page 24
