Buck Peters, Ranchman

by Clarence Edward Mulford and John Wood Clay

  CHAPTER XVI

  THE MASTER MIND

  For a while, at least, Buck seemed to cast his troubles to the fourwinds and was a picture of delight; his happiness, bubbling up in everyword, kept his face wreathed in one vast smile. At last he had a manwhom he could trust. Jake was summoned and prepared the best meal hecould and the three sat down to a very good supper, Buck surprised tofind how hungry he had become. His visit to Schatz was forgotten as helistened to Hopalong and Mary chatter about old times and people hewished he could see again.

  After a little, Hopalong noticed how tired his wife was and sent her toget a good night's rest. The long railroad journey and the ride in thebuckboard had been a great strain on her.

  When left alone, Buck demanded to know all about the Bar-20 and itsoutfit and laughed until the tears came as he listened to some of thetales. "What deviltry has Johnny been up to since I left?" asked Buck.

  "Well, it's only been six months," replied Hopalong, "so you see heain't really had much time; but he 's made good use o' what he did have.He fell in love again, had th' prospectin' fever, wanted to go down toth' Mexican line an' help Martin. I had th' very devil of a timestoppin' him. Him an' Lucas had their third fight an' Lucas got lickedthis time; then they went off to Cowan's an' blew th' crowd, near havin'another scrap 'cause each wanted to pay. He dosed Pete's cayuse withwhiskey an' ginger, chased Lee Hop clean to Buckskin, so we ain't got nocook. Red licked him for that, so Johnny tied all th' boys together onenight, tied chairs an' things to 'em an' then stepped outside an' beganshootin' at th' stars. It was some lively, that mess in th' dark,judgin' from th' hair-raisin' noises; it scared th' Kid all th' way toPerry's Bend--leastways, we has no news for a week, when we hears he 'dpulled stakes there, leavin' th' town fightin' an' th' sheriff locked upin his own jail. Th' Bend has sent numerous invitations for him to callagain. From there he drifts over to th' C80, wins all their money an'then rides home loaded down with presents to square hisself with th'boys. He wanted to fight when I made Red foreman while I was away--it'sRed's first good chance to get square."

  "That's th' Kid, all right," laughed Buck. "Lord, how I wish he was uphere!"

  "Red, he's th' same grouch as ever but he's all right if Johnny 'd lethim get set. As soon as Red calms down th' Kid calls his attention tosomethin' excitin' an' th' trouble begins again. They all wanted tocome up here an' give you a hand till you got things runnin' right. Itold 'em I could get a better crowd in two days, so they stayed home tospite me. From what I 've heard I wish I 'd told 'em they couldcome--things 'd run smoother for you with them wild men buckjumpin''round lookin' for trouble. Like to turn Red an' Johnny loose up herewith a good grudge to work off. Th' railroad would report that Montanawas jumpin' east fast."

  "What was that your wife called you?" asked Buck, curiously.

  "Billy-Red," laughed Hopalong. "That 's her own name for me."

  "Billy-h--l!" snorted Buck. "Billy-goat would suit you better."

  "Say, Buck, Pete saw som'ers there was lots o' money in raisin'chickens, so he borrows all our money, gets about a hundred head fromth' East, an' starts in. For a week there was lots of excitement 'roundour place--coyotes got so they 'd get under our feet an' th' nights wasplumb full o' hungry animals with a taste for chicken. We put up abomb-proof coop but they tunnelled it th' first night an' got all thatwas left o' th' herd 'cept about a dozen what was roostin' high. Pete,he was broken-hearted an' give up. He makes Mary a present o' what wasleft of his stock, an' what do you think she give him for 'em? Twoday's work diggin'. He dug a ditch, four-sided, for th' foundations ofa new coop. Then he has to sink posts in it in th' ground an' fill th'ditch with stones. Johnny got th' stones in th' chuck wagon from th'creek, so as to square hisself with Mary, an' she give him a wholeapricot pie for it. He 's been a nuisance ever since. Well, th' postsrose four feet above th' ground an' when that hen-corral was roofedover, you could see, any moonlight night, plenty o' coyotes trottin''round it, prayin' for somethin' to happen. We got some fine shootin'for a while. But I got other things to talk about, Buck--Texas canwait."

  "Kind of a dry job, Hoppy," replied Buck, going to a cupboard andreturning with a bottle.

  "Better stuff than Cowan ever sold," smiled the visitor, and thenplunged into what he considered real news.

  "When we got off th' train at Wayback, I went huntin' for a wagon an'purty soon we was on our way to Twin River. I knowed we 'd have tospend th' night there: Mary could n't stand forty miles in a buckboardafter that train ride. We had n't got very far from town when I hears ahail an' looks around to see Tex Ewalt comin' up. He spotted me when Ileft th' train but he did n't want to show he knows me there."

  "What!" exclaimed Buck, in great surprise. "Tex Ewalt! Why, I thoughthe went East for good."

  "He thought so, too, at th' time," and Hoppy gave a brief history oftheir friend's movements. "When he got back to th' ranch he wasrestless an' decided to come up here an' help you. He 's been very busyup here in a quiet way. He tells me he knows th' man that put th' itchon yore range. Tex says he could 'a' stopped it if he knew enough toadd two an' two. But he says there 's another man behind him, slicker'n a coyote. Tex 's been hopin' every day to rope an' tie him but heain't got him yet."

  "Who is it?" asked Buck, with grim simplicity.

  "Tex won't tell me. He says you can't do no good shootin' on suspicion.He's tried watchin' him but he might as well be goin' to church when hedoes leave home, his travels is that innocent."

  "Why didn't Tex come here? I been wantin' one man I could trust, an' mean' Tex could 'a' wiped out th' gang."

  "He says different--an' he was afraid o' bein' seen. You see, thatwould kill his usefulness. Just as soon as he could get to th' bottomo' th' game an' lay his fingers on th' real boss, _then_ he 'd 'a' comeout for you in th' open, put th' boss in th' scrap-pile for burial, an'burned powder till you had things where you wanted 'em. We aboutconcluded you ain't makin' good use o' th' punchers you got, Buck,though I shore hates to say it."

  "How can I make use o' men I don't trust? You don't know th' worst,Hopalong--"

  "About th' couple o' thousand head went swimmin'? I ain't heard muchelse in Twin River. How 'd it happen?"

  Buck ran over the day's occurrences graphically and without missing asingle point. Hopalong's thoughtful comment was characteristic of theman upon whom Buck had unconsciously leaned in crises not a few.

  "The two men on yore south pasture is liars," he declared. "Yoreforeman is some doubtful: 'pears like to me if he 's honest an'attendin' to business, no point o' yore range ought to go shy o' him forlong. Th' Britisher 's white: it's no part o' his business to help you,th' way Tex tells me; if he ain't square he just does his work an' don'toffer no suggestions. Th' other two is all right if they ain't justfools what 'll do as th' foreman says 'cause he 's th' foreman, right orwrong. That's how I reckons you stand. Now we got to prove it."

  "Fire away," said Buck, earnestly. "I agrees to every word. Provin'it's th' horse I ain't been able to rope."

  "Th' outlyin' free range don't count. You ain't missed no cows in th'round-up, has you?"

  "No, they tallied high."

  "Goes to show there 's a head to th' deviltry. You don't get no losseson'y right on yore home range. Now, we divide th' range in sections, aman to each section, an' work 'em that way a few days. There won't beno night ridin' at first. Then we set 'em night ridin' when they ain'texpectin' it an' shift th' men every night. We soon know who to trust,don't we?"

  "Yo 're right--plumb right--an' it's so simple I ought to be fed hay,for a cow. I got a map som'ers--or I 'll make one. We 'll lay out themsections right now."

  "That's th' talk! There ain't no time like right now for doin' mostthings, Buck."

  They were not long in laying out and perfecting their plans and had saidgood-night when Buck suddenly remembered the picketed pony. He turnedit into the corral and w
ent to bed. Smiler Schatz, sleeping the sleepof the very wicked and the very innocent, did not dream how near he hadcome to an incident more exciting than any he had ever passed through.