The Pony Rider Boys in the Rockies; Or, The Secret of the Lost Claim

by Frank Gee Patchin

  CHAPTER III

  TAD GOES INTO BUSINESS

  After supper, that night, Banker Perkins strolled leisurely acrosstown to the cottage occupied by Tad Butler and his mother. The houselay on the outskirts of the village, surrounded by half an acre ofground, part of which the boy tilled, keeping the little family invegetables a great part of the year. The rest of the plot had beenseeded down, and was now covered with a bright green carpet of newclover.

  Tad, being busy at the grocery store that night, did not return homefor his supper, so that the banker's visit was all unknown to the boywho was going stoically about his duties over in the village. Yet, inhis clear eyes there was nothing of regret at his own refusal topermit the desire of his life to be gratified.

  Mr. Perkins remained at the cottage for nearly an hour and a half, anda quiet smile might have been observed hovering about his lips as hebade good-night to Mrs. Butler, whose countenance reflected somethingof his own satisfaction.

  "I will attend to the matter on Monday morning," were his partingwords, at which Mrs. Butler bowed and withdrew into the cottage.

  All unmindful of the important conference, Tad returned home at teno'clock. His mother was awaiting him. She greeted him with a heartyembrace and a kiss, which the boy returned with no less fervor.

  "I have a nice, warm supper ready for you, Tad," she informedhim. "You must have a man's appetite by this time, for you have hadhardly anything to eat since your breakfast."

  "It does put an appetite into a fellow, riding behind a horse, even ifit is an old lame one," laughed Tad.

  "I really believe you would find pleasure in driving a wooden horse,such as I have seen in harness shops," smiled Mrs. Butler. "You are solike your grandfather. He would miss a meal at any time for the sakeof driving a horse or talking horse with a friend."

  "Father didn't care so much about them, did he?"

  "No, your father was not particularly interested in horses. He was intoo poor health to be able to handle them after he reached a positionwhere he might have afforded such a luxury."

  Tad nodded reflectively.

  "And you still want a pony, do you, my son?" asked Mrs. Butler,leaning forward with a twinkle in her eyes. But the boy's gaze wasfixed steadily on his plate and he failed to note the expression.

  "Yes, I do, mother. However, I don't allow myself to think much aboutit. I have got to take care of you, first. After I have made enough sothat you can get along, then I shall have a horse. But not untilthen."

  "Perhaps you may have one sooner than you know," breathed the mother,veiling her eyes with her hands, that he might not read what wasplainly written there.

  Tad shot a keen glance at her, then resumed his supper in silence.

  The subject was not again referred to between them, and on Mondayafternoon Tad Butler was again at the grocery store, prepared for workshould there be any for him.

  Mr. Langdon, the proprietor, was talking with one of the men from hisfarm just outside the village.

  "You say the old mare is unfit for further service, Jim?"

  "Yes."

  "What do you advise doing with her?"

  "Shoot her."

  "Very well, take the old mare out in the swamp and put her out of hermisery," directed Mr. Langdon after he had thought a moment.

  "I beg pardon, Mr. Langdon," interrupted Tad Butler, who had been aninterested listener to the interview.

  "Yes, Tad; what is it?"

  "Is it old Jinny that you are speaking of, if I may ask?"

  "It is," smiled the grocer, good-naturedly.

  "What's the trouble with her?"

  "Trouble?" sniffed the farm-hand. "Jinny's got the heaves that bad sheblows like a blacksmith's bellows. Why, sometimes she even coughs theoats out of her manger before she's had the chance to eat them. Andthat ain't all that ails her, either. I----"

  "Why do you ask, Tad?" said Grocer Langdon.

  "What will you take for Jinny?" inquired the boy, the color flaming tohis face as a bold plan suddenly occurred to him.

  "Why, what could you do with an old, broken-down animal like that?"

  "I don't know. But I should like to make a bargain with you----"

  "Of course if you want her you may have her, provided you get heroff the premises at once," answered the grocer. "She'll die on ourhands presently, anyhow."

  "No; I don't want the mare that way. But, I'll tell you what I willdo, Mr. Langdon."

  "Yes?"

  "I will clean out your store every morning for a month in payment forthe mare. Yes, I will make it two months. If two months is not longenough, I will work for you longer."

  "Oh, very well. The mare's not worth it. However, if you wish to haveit that way I am sure I ought to be satisfied," laughed the grocer.

  "Then, will you write on a piece of paper that the mare is sold to me,and that I am to clean out the store every morning in payment forher?" asked Tad.

  "Certainly, if you wish it. I wish you luck," smiled Mr. Langdon,handing the agreement over the counter after he had prepared it.

  With the precious document in his pocket, Tad Butler sped homeward asfast as his legs could carry him. Mrs. Butler saw him coming andwondered what the boy's haste might mean.

  "I've got a horse! I've got a horse!" shouted Tad, vaulting the fencelightly and bounding up the steps. "I surely have a horse at last,mother."

  Grasping his mother about the waist with both arms, Tad whirled herdizzily, the full length of the porch and back, finally dropping herinto a rocking chair with a merry laugh.

  "Mercy!" gasped Mrs. Butler. "You have shaken all the breath out ofme. What does this whirlwind arrival mean?"

  "It means that I have a horse at last, mother. To be sure, it is notmuch of a horse; but it's a horse just the same. And it's all mine,too."

  Mrs. Butler gazed up at him in perplexity. Tad sank down at her feetand explained the terms on which he had procured Jinny fromMr. Langdon.

  "Well, now that you have her, what do you mean to do with her?" askedMrs. Butler, a quizzical smile on her face.

  "With your leave, I shall bring her home. Will you let me turn Jinnyin the clover patch there, mother? There'll be enough grass there tokeep her all summer, and as soon as she is able to work I can get oddjobs enough with her to pay for the oats that I shall need to keep herup on," went on the boy speaking rapidly.

  "Very well, Tad; the place is as much yours as it is mine," agreedMrs. Butler, indulgently.

  "And I have been thinking of something else, too--something foryou. But I shall not tell you about that now. I am going to keep it asa surprise for you when I get it ready," announced the boymysteriously. "If you have nothing for me to do just now, I think I'llgo out to Mr. Langdon's farm and bring the mare in. I shall want tospend the evening making her comfortable."

  Mrs. Butler gave a ready permission, and Tad hounded away, runningevery foot of the mile and a half to the Langdon farm, where old Jinnywas turned over to him, together with a brand new halter and an oldharness which the grocer had directed his man to furnish with themare.

  Tad petted and fondled the wheezy old creature, who nosed himappreciatively.

  "How old is Jinny?" he asked.

  "Going on twelve," answered the farm-hand laconically.

  Tad opened the mare's mouth, which he studied critically.

  "Humph!" he grunted, flashing a glance of disapproval at thefarm-hand.

  "What's that, younker? I said as she was going on twelve."

  "I guess you have dropped five years out of your reckoning somewhere,"answered the boy. "Jinny is past seventeen. But it's all right. It isall the same to me. I don't care if she's a hundred," decided Tad,picking up the halter and leading the mare from the yard.

  "Hope she don't run away with ye," jeered the farm-hand, as boy andhorse passed out into the highway. But to this Tad made no reply. Hewas too fully occupied with his new happiness to allow so little athing as the farm-hand's opinion t
o disturb him.

  Once out of sight of the farm buildings, the lad pulled the mare toone side of the road, where he examined her carefully.

  "Huh!" he exclaimed. "Heaves, ringbone and spavin. I don't know howmuch more is the matter with her, but that's enough. Still, I thinkshe will wiggle along for some time and be of real service if I canfix up the heaves a little. They must have filled her up on dustyhay," he decided, examining the mare's throat and nostrils. "I'll gether home and look her over more carefully."

  Tad's course led him through the principal residential street of thetown. But he thought nothing of this, even though his new purchase wasa mere bundle of bones and scarcely able to drag its weary body along.

  "She's mine," he whispered, as the sense of possession took full holdof him. "Mine, all mine!"

  Just ahead of him stood the home of Stacy Brown's uncle.

  Chunky was standing in front of the gate, both hands thrust into histrousers pockets. He had observed the strange outfit coming down thestreet, but at first the full meaning of it did not impress him. Nowhe discovered that the procession consisted of Tad Butler and anemaciated, hesitating old horse.

  Stacy's eyes gradually closed until they were mere slits, throughwhich he peered inquiringly.

  "Hullo, Tad," he greeted.

  "Hello, Chunky," returned the freckle-faced boy with a grin.

  "What you got there, a skeleton?"

  "No; this is a mare. Her name is Jinny and she's mine."

  "Huh! Skate, I call her. Where did you get her?"

  "Bought her," answered Tad proudly.

  Chunky emitted a long-drawn whistle.

  "What are you going to do with her?" he demanded, a sudden suspicionentering his mind.

  "First, I am going to doctor her up and make a real live horse ofher. Then, perhaps, she will join the Pony Riders' Club."

  "What?"

  "I said she might join the club," reiterated Tad.

  "Then I resign," declared Chunky.

  "All right," retorted Tad. "Jinny'sbetter than no horse at all. And you haven't any."

  "Yes, but my uncle is going to get me one next week. He's going to buythe handsomest one he can find out at the McCormick ranch," chortledthe fat boy.

  "Gid-ap!" commanded Tad, his face sobering. "I don't care. I'll showthem yet," he gritted, urging old Jinny along with sundry coaxes andpromises of a real meal upon their arrival home.

  Though the boy tried to keep his purchase a secret until he shouldhave conditioned the mare a little, Stacy Brown lost no time ininforming the other members of the club, and through them the newssoon became the property of the village. As a result, Tad was the buttof many jokes and jibes, to all of which he returned a quiet smile,registering a mental promise to "show them."

  In two weeks time he had worked a marvelous change in Jinny. One whohad seen her on the day the boy brought her home, would scarcely haverecognized in her the old, wind-broken skeleton that she had appearedtwo weeks previously.

  By this time, Tad was beginning to use her to haul up wood which hehad gathered in a patch of forest below the village. He would firstgather and pile the poles; then, wrapping a rope about all hethought the mare could draw, would make her haul them home. Here hesawed the poles to stove lengths in preparation for the winter.This work Mrs. Butler had always been obliged to hire done, and thesaving now was of no small moment to her.

  One hot afternoon, however, Tad had left Jinny in the shade of thetrees to rest, while he wandered out to the highway and sat down tothink.

  He had been there not more than fifteen minutes when the faint chug,chug of a motor car was borne to his ears. It was still some distanceaway, but from the sound he knew the car was approaching rapidly.

  "If they keep on at that gait, something surely will happen," decidedTad, being fully aware of the dangers that lay in the stretch of roadbetween himself and the oncoming car.

  A few moments later he saw the car round the bend in the road justbeyoud him. It came tearing along, swerved unsteadily from one side ofthe road to the other, then was brought to a sudden, grinding stop,narrowly missing a plunge into the roadside ditch.

  "The steering gear has gone wrong. I think the ball has been wrenchedfrom the socket," announced the driver of the car, disgustedly. "Iwish I could see a horse."

  Tad grinned.

  "What are you grinning at, you young ape?" snapped the driver,voicing his increasing irritation. "You seem to think this is somekind of a joke."

  "I am not laughing at you, sir," answered Tad respectfully.

  "You'd better not," growled the driver. "How far is it to Chillicothe,kid?"

  "About a mile and a half," replied the boy.

  "Can I get a horse anywhere around here?"

  "I reckon you can. I've got a horse."

  "You? Where is it?" demanded the autoist doubtfully.

  "In the bushes, back here a piece. What'll you give me to pull youin?"

  "I'll give you five dollars," announced the driver eagerly. "But bequick about it."

  Tad rose slowly and stretched himself.

  "I'll do it for two," he announced, to the surprise and amusement ofthe occupants of the car.

  In a few moments Jinny had been led out, Tad taking along the ropethat he used in hauling the wood. One end he fastened securely to thefront axle of the car, attaching the other to the whiffletree that hehad made to use in the woods.

  "Now, if you will start your engine and give me just a little lift, Ithink I can draw you in. Can you steer the car enough to keep it inthe road, do you think?"

  "I will try," answered the driver. "But if I find I can't, I'll tootmy horn, which will be the signal for you to stop."

  It was all the old mare could do to draw the heavy car over the slightrise of ground that lay just beyoud where the automobile had beenstalled; yet, with the aid of the power of the car itself, theymanaged to make the hill all right. At last the boy pulled the car andits occupants up in front of the blacksmith shop in the village,collecting his fee with the air of one used to transacting similarbusiness every day.

  Tad, however, did not return to the woods that day. Instead, he turnedold Jinny toward home, which he made all haste to reach.

  Arriving there he placed the money he had earned in his mother'shands.

  "Just earned it with Jinny," he explained proudly, in answer to hersurprised look. "I'll get the wood to-morrow, and maybe I'll catchanother automobile."

  However, Tad's luck deserted him next day, though three days later heearned a dollar and a half towing in a disabled car.

  This led the lad to ponder deeply, the result being a hurried trip tothe store, followed by sundry mysterious preparations in the stable atthe rear of the house.

  Tad's early mornings were devoted to cleaning up the store, so that hehad no time then to give to his own affairs. Late one afternoon in themiddle of the following week, Tad Butler, driving Jinny and with aparcel under his arm, moved down the street toward the woods.

  Arriving at the woods he tied Jinny to a tree and walked on around abend in the highway, where he unrolled his parcel. A coil of clothesline dropped from it.

  The bundle, which proved to be a long strip of canvas, Tad stretchedout, tying an end of the clothes line on either side.

  The boy's next move was to climb a tree at one side of the road, andmake fast one of the lines. Descending, he did the same on theopposite side of the highway.

  By this time, Tad's clothes were in a sad state of disorder. But tothis he gave no heed. He was bent on accomplishing a certain purpose,and all else must give way before it.

  Hauling down on the rope which he had made fast to the second tree, hecaused a banner to flutter to the breeze directly over the highway. Onit in big red letters had been painted:

  AUTOS TOWED IN. IF YOU DON'T SEE ANY ONE, YELL FOR TAD OR CALL AT LANGDON'S STORE. TOW YOU IN FOR TWO DOLLARS.

  "I guess that's high enough to clear a load of hay," decide
d Tad,standing off and critically, surveying his work.