Ted Strong in Montana

by Edward C. Taylor

  TED STRONG IN MONTANA

  Or

  With Lariat and Spur

  by

  EDWARD C. TAYLOR

  Author of the Ted Strong Stories

  1915

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER I. THE BIG SNOW. CHAPTER II. THE LONG TOM RANCH. CHAPTER III. THE SIGN-CAMP GHOST. CHAPTER IV. THE BIG COON TREE. CHAPTER V. THE PHANTOM LINE RIDER. CHAPTER VI. CAUGHT IN THE ACT. CHAPTER VII. A NIGHT RAID. CHAPTER VIII. THE WAR PARTY. CHAPTER IX. A BATTLE OF QUIRTS. CHAPTER X. SILVER FACE. CHAPTER XI. LOST IN THE WILDERNESS. CHAPTER XII. WHO WHIPPLE WAS. CHAPTER XIII. AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. CHAPTER XIV. CHRISTMAS AT BUBBLY WELL. CHAPTER XV. THE THUGGEE CORD. CHAPTER XVI. A LETTER FROM THE DEAD. CHAPTER XVII. BESIEGED. CHAPTER XVIII. TED SAVES THE HOUSE. CHAPTER XIX. HELEN MOWBRAY'S WILL. CHAPTER XX. KNIFE AND FANG. CHAPTER XXI. 'WARE THE GRAY WOLVES. CHAPTER XXII. THE WOLFSKIN. CHAPTER XXIII. BAGGING THE GRAY WOLVES. CHAPTER XXIV. WHITE FANG LEADS HOME. CHAPTER XXV. TED'S INDEPENDENCE. CHAPTER XXVI. A COMPROMISE. CHAPTER XXVII. THE BEEF ISSUE. CHAPTER XXVIII. A SLAP ON THE FACE. CHAPTER XXIX. RUNNING BEAR'S SQUAW. CHAPTER XXX. "THE WOOFER" APPEARS. CHAPTER XXXI. SINGING BIRD'S SECRET. CHAPTER XXXII. A NIGHT CHASE. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE LOCOED STEER. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE BOBWHITE'S CALL. CHAPTER XXXV. A DUEL WITH LARIATS. CHAPTER XXXVI. THE MOTHER LODE.

  CHAPTER I.

  THE BIG SNOW.

  "We're going to have snow to-night!"

  Ted Strong, leader of the broncho boys, was sitting on the back ofSultan, his noble little black stallion, on the ridge of a prairieswell, looking at a lowering sky.

  Out of the northwest a chilling wind, damp and raw, was sweepingdull-gray clouds before it.

  Ted had addressed his remark to Bud Morgan, his chum and ablelieutenant, who threw a glance at the clouds and grunted.

  "I reckon we be," he muttered, "an' I'm free ter say I'm dern sorry terhear it."

  "It's hard luck," resumed Ted. "If we had got away a week earlier, orhadn't been held up by the high water at Poplar Fork, we would have beenat the ranch now, and settled for the winter."

  "Thar's no telling whar an 'if' won't land yer sometimes. If we hadn'tstarted we wouldn't hev been here at all. But here we aire, an' we'llhev ter git out o' it."

  "Think we better push on, or make camp?" asked Ted.

  "Got ter make camp fer ther night somewhere," answered Bud. "But I wishtther storm hed held off till ter-morrer this time; we'd hev been withinhootin' distance o' ther Long Tom Ranch."

  "Suppose we push on a few hours more. We can camp down in the dark if wemust. If the snow gets deep before ye reach the high ground you knowwhat it means."

  "I shore do. I wuz all through a big snow in this yere man's country afew years back, an' it wuz some fierce."

  "All right. Ride back and drive them up. I'll point. We'll drive untilit gets too dark. Tell the wagons to move up."

  Bud wheeled his pony and dashed to the rear of the great herd of cattlethat was coming on at a snail's pace.

  The cattle were lowing uneasily. They knew even better than the men thata storm was coming, and they dreaded it.

  This was the big Circle S herd which the broncho boys had bought inTexas in the spring of that year, and which they had herded and drivennorthward throughout the summer to winter on the Montana plateau, laterto be driven to Moon Valley, and there put into condition for themarket.

  Various things had delayed the arrival of the herd on their wintergrounds. A detention of several days at a time by flood, by a stampede,and by fights with rustlers, had brought the cattle several weeks lateto their winter grounds.

  Ted Strong had determined to try the experiment of wintering Southerncattle in the Montana country in order to harden them and improve thequality of the beef.

  The broncho boys had a large order to fill for the government thefollowing summer, and it was to accomplish their contract that they hadbought the Texas cattle and driven them north to the Long Tom Ranch innorthern Montana.

  Now that they were within a few miles of it, and still on the lowground, it appeared that a big snow was inevitable, which mightfrustrate all their plans and cause them great loss.

  But Ted Strong did not complain. It was a condition which he could nothave foreseen, and, being close at hand, there was nothing for them todo but meet it with all the fortitude at their command.

  Soon the herd began to move forward, being crowded by the broncho boysand the force of cow-punchers whom they had employed to assist them.

  Stella Fosdick, who, with her aunt, Mrs. Walter Graham, had accompaniedthe boys on their drive, now came galloping up to Ted. She had beenriding beside the carriage in which her aunt had been comfortablytraveling.

  "Going to keep on, Ted?" she asked.

  "Yes. Got to do it. Those clouds are full of snow. If it catches us downhere we're likely to be snowed in, and if we do it's all up with theCircle S," he replied.

  "That's bad."

  "Oh, I guess we'll pull through all right, if we can keep the cowsmoving; but it is not going to be very comfortable for your aunt or you.We'll have to drive until the cattle refuse to move farther."

  "I can stand it, and aunt will have to. She's getting a little anxious,though, and asked me to ride ahead to learn when we're going to stop.Poor auntie likes her comfort. I often wonder why she became the wife ofa ranchman."

  "Or why she consents to traipse all over the country with you," laughedTed.

  "Ted, she absolutely cannot refuse me a thing."

  "So I see. You've got her hypnotized--as, indeed, you have all the restof us. But ride back and cheer her up all you can. I told McCall, thecook, to make some good, strong coffee and to serve it to any of theboys who wanted it, as it will be some time before we can have supper.Have Mac take her a cup of good, strong coffee and something to eat.That may make her a little more cheerful."

  "I'll do it. But don't you want some coffee, too?"

  "Not for me. I've got something else to do right here. This is going tobe a race between the herd and the snow clouds, and it means a whole lotto us."

  "Afraid of being snowed in?"

  "You bet. If this bunch of cattle gets snowed in I see our finish. We'lllose half of them before we get to the grass."

  "I don't know a thing about the Northern range, and I can't see howyou're going to bring that herd through to spring. It would takethousands of tons of hay, and I don't know how much corn to feed them."

  Ted laughed.

  "I see you don't know much about the North," he said. "But what should agirl brought up in Texas know of wintering cattle in the snow? You see,it's this way: Montana is the best winter cattle range in the UnitedStates.

  "The winds from the mountains sweep the snow, which is dry and loose,from the high, level ground, exposing the grass which has been cured onthe ground, and which makes the best kind of feed. Then there is plentyof water, and the deep coulees, with which the country is cut up, affordample protection for the cattle during storms.

  "Occasionally there comes warm winds from the northwest. These arecalled chinook winds, because they come from the direction of thecountry of the Chinook Indians. They are warm and balmy, and melt thesnow as if by magic. Their warmth is caused by having come in contactwith the Japanese stream, which crosses the Pacific Ocean, after beingwarmed in the sunny East, and which strikes the shores of North Americaalong about south Alaska. This stream is called by the Japanese, KuroSiwo. It is the equivalent of the Gulf Stream, which leaves the Gulf ofMexico to cross the Atlantic and warm the shores of Great Britain."

  "Quite a lecture," said Stella,
laughing.

  "I didn't mean to lecture," replied Ted, laughing also, "but I wantedyou to know why it is that it is a good thing to winter cattle in thisnorth country. In the first place it puts strength and stamina into thecattle, and makes the beef better, and all the conditions of which Ihave spoken make it possible to keep cattle on the open range out here,where one would think they would perish of cold and starvation. But itis no picnic to run a winter range, as we will all learn before springcomes again."

  "I understand now, and I'm sure I shall enjoy the experience. But I mustgo back to aunt and jolly her up, for she is easily discouraged, and sheis no more used to rough winters than I."

  "She'll be all right when we get to Long Tom, for there is a bully ranchhouse there, and she'll be as snug as a bug in a rug when we getsettled."

  The cattle were going forward over the gentle, rising ground, beingpushed by the punchers in the rear and the fellows on the side lines,while Ted and Kit were pointing them in the direction of a tall butte,which they could see in the distance, rising needlelike and blackagainst the gray sky.

  This was Long Tom Butte, after which the ranch, which Ted had leased,had been named.

  Suddenly, Ted felt something wet on his cheek, and looked up. Asnowflake, big and floating lazily down, had struck him.

  Others followed it, and soon there were myriads of big, wet snowflakesfalling slowly through the air.

  The cattle began to hurry, and were lowing in a distressing way. Theirinstinct told them to seek shelter, and they were telling their droversas much in their own fashion.

  For a half hour the snow continued to come down, wet and soft.

  But suddenly the wind changed in temperature. Before it had been raw anddamp. Now it became sharp and frosty.

  The snow changed quickly from heavy, wet flakes, to small, dry, sharpparticles, which, driven by a strong wind, which had veered around intothe north, stung the faces of the boys like needles, and worried thecattle, which seemed to want to lag in their pace.

  "Kit, go back and tell the boys to keep pushing harder. The cattle wantto stop, and if they quit now it's all up. There's a blizzard coming. Ifwe can keep them at it an hour longer, we will be in the lee of thebuttes, and there's a deep coulee into which we can drive and hold themuntil morning."

  At Ted's command Kit dashed toward the rear, and repeated the order, andthe cow-punchers rode into the herd with shouts and with active lashingof their quirts, and the beasts picked up their pace again and hurriedforward through the snow, which had begun to whiten the ground.

  Kit returned to Ted's side.

  "What do you think of it?" he asked.

  "If we had an hour more of daylight, I think we could make it," saidTed.

  "Any doubt of it?"

  "Well, when it becomes dark we'll lose sight of Long Tom, and we'relikely to drift, because, unless the cattle are driven into the storm,they'll turn tail to it and go the other way."

  "I can't see Long Tom now."

  "I can, although the snow almost blots it out. There it is right in thenorthwest. I can just make it out. The herd is drifting south of it now.Better get over on your point, and head them up this way a bit."

  Soon the herd was driving forward in the right direction again.

  But suddenly the darkness came down like of pall of black smoke,shutting out everything, and the wind increased in violence, rising witha howl and a shriek like some enormous and terrible animal in rage.

  "It's all off," said Ted to himself, with a sigh.

  The cattle came to a stop.

  "Keep them going!" shouted Ted, riding back frantically along the line.

  The cow-punchers dashed among the animals, shouting and beating themwith their quirts, and managed to get them started again, but it wasonly for a short time, for again they stopped, bellowing, the leadersmilling and throwing everything into confusion.

  "That settles it," shouted Ted to Bud. "They're going to drift all nightif we don't stop them."

  "Dern ther luck, I says," growled Bud. "How fur aire we from therranch?"

  "The worst of it is we're right on it. The ranch house isn't more thanthree miles from here, and if we could have got there we would have beenall right. By morning we may be ten miles away, if we let the herddrift, and we'll have a dickens of a time getting the brutes backthrough the snow."

  "What aire we goin' ter do with the wimminfolks?"

  "I'm going to try to get them to the ranch house. You boys will have tomake a snow camp, and hold the herd from drifting at all odds. Don't letthem sneak on you. Keep pushing them from the south. You see, they'reall turned that way now with their tails to the wind. As soon as theyget cold they will begin to move. Don't let 'em do it."

  "All right, Ted. We'll do the best we can. You take care o' therwimminfolks. So long, an' good luck."

  Ted rode back to where Mrs. Graham was shivering in the closed wagon theboys had provided for her, and Stella was sitting her pony by her side,trying to encourage her.

  Carl Schwartz was the jehu of the outfit, and sat on the driver's seat,a fair imitation of a snow man.

  "Carl, get a move on you. We're going to try to make the Long Tom ranchhouse," said Ted. "I'll lead, and you follow. If you lose sight of me,yell to me and I'll come back. I've got my pocket searchlight, and willsend you back a flash now and then."

  Carl was half frozen and would have been pleased to get down and walkthe rest of the distance, but he knew the danger that surrounded them,and simply yelled back "Yah!" and gathered up the reins for a start.

  "Come on, Stella," said Ted. "We're going to try to make the ranchhouse."

  Without a word Stella followed him, and the little caravan struck intothe teeth of the snow-laden wind, which was now blowing half a gale.

  The wagon moved slowly through the snow, which was getting deeper everyminute, and was like heavy sand.

  Every few minutes Carl's voice could be heard, and Ted called back tohim.

  Ted was traveling entirely by instinct, for it was so dark that he couldnot see a foot in front of them.

  So they struggled on for an hour, halting occasionally to give thehorses a breathing spell, then drove obstinately forward again.

  "We should have been at the ranch house long ago," shouted Ted at last,pulling in his panting horse.

  "Then we're lost, I suppose," shouted Stella in return.

  "Looks that way."

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Stop for the rest of the night."

  "I wouldn't. Keep on until the horses won't go any farther."

  "All right, if you think best."

  On they went again for a half hour more, and Ted was beginning tobelieve it was folly to go any farther when his pony stumbled and almostfell.

  In front of them loomed a darkness more intense than before.

  Ted scrambled from the back of his pony and led it forward. The pony hadstumbled over the horse block at the very door of the Long Tom ranchhouse.