The Long Dim Trail

by Forrestine C. Hooker

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The life of the ranch was like a series of fairy tales to Nell and Jamiein these first days of their homecoming to the Diamond H. Not the leastwonderful and delightful of their new experiences were the ridinglessons. A couple of gentle, easy-gaited ponies were saddled for the boyand his sister, and accompanied by Traynor and Doctor Powell they rodeto the various outlying ranches that formed a part of the immenseDiamond H range. Often Limber rode with them. Always the riders werepreceded by the pack of greyhounds that darted yelping after jackrabbitsor an occasional coyote.

  Doctor Powell had been waiting the outcome of King's will, which hadbeen written out by hand with no witnesses. As there were no heirs, andAllan Traynor, the executor, had been appointed in the will withoutbonds, he was given full power to sell the property in conformance withthe terms of the will. This stipulated positively that the property wasonly to be sold to a physician who would establish a sanitarium upon theplace without undue delay; and the Probate Court ordered that theseterms be carried out.

  Until after the will was made public, only Traynor and a few Land Officepeople were aware that King had patented the land. Glendon expressed hisdisappointment vehemently. There were many who wished to bid for theSprings, but Powell was the only eligible purchaser, and was ready withthe cash. After complying with all legal formalities, he was givenimmediate possession of the Hot Springs ranch.

  All proceeds of the sale, according to the will, were to be turned overto the executor until such time as the sanitarium was completed, whenthis entire fund was to be applied to the maintenance of the place.Thus, Doctor King, unable to live and see the realization of his dream,was assisting in carrying out his plans. It was a partnership betweenthe dead and living owners of the Hot Springs, which Powell felt asacred obligation. He wished heartily that the old doctor could havelived so they might have worked together; but, he resolved that so faras he was able the undertaking should embody the ideals which the deaddoctor had not lived to see fulfilled.

  Limber was commissioned to find a man to occupy the ranch house at theSprings until the doctor's plans were completed. The search resulted inthe hiring of a Mexican dwarf, whose own name, long forgotten, found asubstitute in "Chappo," or "Little Chap." When living near anysettlement he was unable to resist his fondness for stimulants, yet hewas honest and faithful to the core, as Limber knew. The plan of sendinghim to the place would be an advantage to him as well as to Powell.

  The doctor spent much of his time at the Diamond H, while awaitingreplies to his communications with various architects and managers ofsanitaria, in Europe as well as America.

  Entering the dining-room for breakfast one morning, Nell, with cheeksflushing and eyes sparkling, and every movement radiating happiness,glanced out the window across the wide valley toward Fort Grant.

  "Isn't this a wonderful place!" she exclaimed turning from the windowand dropping into her chair at the table. "It is good just to be alivein this big, free country!"

  "I am having two hundred cows branded for you, Nell," spoke Traynor asshe handed him his coffee. "It's your pin-money, and Jamie will starthis herd with fifty cows. Limber is fixing up a special brand for eachof you."

  "Allan! You darling!" gasped Nell, then she darted around the table towhere her husband sat and dropped a swift kiss on his forehead when helooked up at her with laughing eyes. Fong, who had just entered with aplate of famous pop-overs, grinned sentimentally, and Nell, blushingfuriously, resumed her vacated chair.

  "I'm beginning to 'act up,' as Bronco calls it. But now I understand whycowpunchers race their ponies and shoot their guns. I'd like to 'whooperup' myself, this morning," she finished with a little laugh.

  "Dangerous condition," pronounced the doctor gravely. "I'd prescribe agood, hard ride as the only hope for improvement."

  "All right," responded Traynor with twinkling eyes. "Get your togs on,Nell. We'll all go to the big rodeo at Box Springs. You'll get a faintidea of range work, and now that you have your own herd, you shouldlearn how to run it."

  "Limber is showing me how to throw a rope," Jamie broke in eagerly, andhe scrambled from his chair, clutching his new sombrero that he haddeposited on the floor by his chair, the way he noticed the cowboys alldid. "Yesterday I mounted my pony all alone. I can saddle him, too--butLimber has to pull the cinches tight." With this final declaration, hehurried through the door, his tiny spurs clicking importantly on thecement walk.

  The greyhound pack yelped shrill protests at being left behind when theysaw Nell and Jamie were in the party. Then Traynor and Powell mountedtheir own horses and the four swung along the road in a steady lopetoward the Galiuro mountains, west of the ranch.

  When they reached Box Springs, Nell's first impression was a dense cloudof dust stirred up by the restless hoofs of thousands of cattle. Thenshe saw the chuck-wagon, where the camp cook was busy with his pots andpans over a fire of smouldering oak logs. Near the mountains four orfive thousand head of bawling cattle, with cowpunchers dashing to andfro among them, gave the appearance of wildest confusion. Yet, to theinitiated, the system was perfect. Part of the cattle were bunched andherded by certain men, while others rode through the weaving, tossingmass of horns, deftly picking their way and 'cutting out' someparticular animal.

  Nell watched it all with frank delight and curiosity, and appealed toher husband from time to time. "What are they doing in that bunch whereLimber is riding?"

  "'Cutting,'" was the answer. "Watch Limber. See how he picks a cow andfollows it up? Peanut is a wonderful 'cutting pony.' He seems to knowjust what Limber is thinking, and once Peanut points the right cow, henever lets it get away from him till it is out of the bunch and where itbelongs. He's the champion cutting pony of Arizona. Limber can use alight cord instead of reins. No one but Limber ever rides Peanut. Heturns so quickly he would throw any other man. Watch him, Nell!"

  Powell and Nell lost no movement of the pinto pony and its master, nowfollowing a big, bald-faced steer. The animal, knowing it was beingsingled out, twisted and dodged adroitly from side to side. Then,finding its attempts to escape in vain, it made a sudden dash from theherd and tore wildly toward the mountains back of the camp. Peanut, hislittle pinto body hugging low to the ground, his hoofs tossing clods ofdirt, kept close behind the steer. Limber, leaning slightly forward inhis saddle held a coiled rope in his hand.

  Only a few feet separated them, when the steer's hoof struck aprairie-dog hole, and it went down with a crash. Those who watched gavean involuntary cry. Peanut, too near to stop or turn aside, reached thefallen steer just as it started to rise.

  Without a second's hesitation, the gallant little pony leaped over thesteer, whirled and raced after it as it scurried in the oppositedirection.

  A yell of admiration sounded from all the cowboys; they knew how closehad been the danger to pony and rider. Nell gasped in terror andamazement.

  "That's the finest bit of riding I've ever seen!" Traynor enthused."Why, no one but Limber and Peanut could have done it! The steer wasalmost on his forefeet when the pony jumped. If the horse had missed, orwaited an instant, it might have meant a broken neck for both man andhorse!"

  "It was magnificent!" Powell exclaimed in accents of hearty admiration."But, I suppose Limber counts it all in the day's work and nothingmore."

  "That's just it," was the answer from the Boss of the Diamond H. "It's agame of chance each day when you ride the open range."

  Limber had succeeded in driving the recalcitrant steer into a band ofstock herded away from the other cattle.

  "Why did he have to put it there?" Nell motioned with her whip.

  "That's the 'stray herd,'" Traynor explained. "You see, Arizona beingall open range, cattle mix indiscriminately. Twice a year there is ageneral round-up, or rodeo. Then notice is sent to all ranchersinforming them of the itinerary of the work, which extends over certainsections."

  They were riding closer to the stray herd as he spoke, and halted thehorses a little distance away.

>   "Each rodeo has its Captain, who is general manager for the territorycovered by a number of ranches. All ranches contribute their pro rata ofmen, horses and chuck, making the work co-operative."

  "That's rather fair toward the small cattle owner," Powell interrupted;"but, that is the spirit of the country here. A square deal for all."

  Traynor nodded assent. "Frequently cattle are located a hundred miles ormore from their 'home range.' We cut these into the stray herd and holdthem till the owner drives them back to his place. If he is notrepresented at the rodeo, he is notified and arranges to get theanimals. So, the stray herd is an important item in the round-up work,you see."

  They had ridden around the herd until reaching the spot where a fire ofglowing coals was tended by a couple of cowpunchers, Traynor said, "Thisis the branding place. Look at Bronco!"

  He pointed the galloping horse that carried Bronco. "You'll see somepretty work now. Bronco won the championship for roping at the lastTerritorial contest."

  "What is it?" demanded Nell. "It's all Greek to me."

  "A steer is turned loose on the open, then the cowpuncher takes afterit, when it has a certain start. He must rope it, throw it and tie it soit cannot rise. Then he lifts his hands in the air. The time taken fromthe start of the steer to the second the man raises his hands, is whatdecides the championship roping."

  Leaning forward eagerly Powell and Nell watched Bronco's arm moveswiftly. The coiled riata in his hand shot out like an immense, writhingsnake. The big loop dropped over the calf, slipped almost imperceptibly,then jerked taut as Bronco's pony squatted down on its haunches and thecalf fell with a heavy thud. A quick turn of the wrist, and Bronco hadthe end of his rope twisted firmly about the high horn of his saddle.Depending on the pony, with its braced feet, and alert eyes, movingbackward and holding the rope from slacking, Bronco snatched a red-hotiron from the fire.

  A curl of smoke, bellow of pain, two quick slashes of a knife. The calfscrambled up, a freshly burnt brand on its hip, and its bleeding ears,showing the mark of its owner. The animal stood bewildered, snorted, andrushed with a loud bawl to the cow's side. She had been watchinganxiously. Now she sniffed at her calf, licked its face in sympathy;then with one accord they scurried away, free to go where they pleased,for they were on their home range and their troubles were over.

  "It seems cruel," Nell protested warmly.

  "It's the only way to handle range cattle," Traynor replied. "Formerly,"he was speaking to the doctor, "the brands were made as large aspossible--now we make them as small as legible. Once in a while we stillrun across an animal with three immense letters--JIM or HUE--across theentire side of the brute. They were two brothers who determined thereshould be no dispute over their respective ownerships. It ruined thehide and knocked off a good sum on the sale of the animal. Most brandsare on the hip or hind quarter. It's an interesting study once you getinto it."

  "Well, so long as they brand the cattle, why cut the ears, too? Is itnecessary?" Nell's sympathy was still with the calf.

  "It settles ownership where a brand is indistinct or disputed for anyreason? Branding is done when the flies are not troublesome, and calvesstill follow their mothers. Should a calf escape branding at the propertime, through oversight, it soon becomes large enough to leave itsmother, and thus is hard to identify the next rodeo. So, if a cowboy onthe range sees a large calf with uncropped ears, he investigates atonce."

  "Of course," Powell asserted, "I can see the sense of it now that youhave explained it."

  "Well, even that does not settle a dispute. The long-eared, motherlesscalves are called mavericks, or in Arizona, where the Mexican languageis used, orajanos. The unwritten law of the range gives an unmarked calfto the fellow who catches it, so long as it is not with its mother, yousee. Naturally, the man on whose range it is found, is supposed to havea stronger claim. A long-eared calf is a temptation for 'sleepering.'"

  "In the name of goodness, Allan," said Nell in despair, "what is'sleepering'? I just get a glimmer of understanding when something newcomes up and I'm floundering worse than ever. I don't see how any oneever learns all those terms."

  "Well," laughed Traynor, "now you can understand how hard it was for me,to learn it all. I didn't dare ask questions, you see. Had to pretend Iknew it all. On the range, naturally, the ear-mark shows very plainly ata distance, for the animal will face any rider. If a cowpuncher sees thecalf, standing by its mother, bears the same ear-mark, he does notinspect to see if it is branded, unless he has cause for suspicion. Therustler knowing this, ear-marks a calf and takes chances on its beingdiscovered the calf has no brand. The ear-mark of calf tallies with thatof the mother, you see. When the calf is old enough to be driven awayfrom the mother, the rustler finishes his work by driving it away, thenchanges the ear-mark and puts on his brand."

  "That's what I should class as scientific cattle stealing," Powelldecided, and Nell agreed with him, but before they could ask furtherquestions they turned startled faces in the direction of an unclassifiednoise.

  The Boss of the Diamond H laughed, and pointed to the camp cook, whoheld a dishpan and was banging vigorously on it with a huge iron spoon.Far and near, the cowpunchers lifted their voices in the gleeful shout,"Chuck's ready!"

  Part of the outfit remained on guard over the cattle, while the othersraced their ponies pell-mell to the wagon near which the noon-day mealwas spread.

  "I'm hungry," announced Nell, and without further ceremony she led theway on her pony to join the group of men among whom she recognizedLimber and Bronco.