Tyson had, they learned, located the outlaw band a few miles east, creeping along on the heels of the herd like a mountain cat, ready to pounce on its prey at the propitious moment. He had counted a dozen men, and gathered that others were away hunting.
"They ain't too well fixed for grub an' is grumblin'," he said. ' A mighty hard lot. Eden will need all the help he can git, an' then some."
A week passed and save that all parties were nearer their destination, the position remained unchanged. Then, with the suddenness of a summer storm, danger loomed up, dire and overwhelming.
Tyson' had, as usual, after the morning meal, gone to discover possible signs of activity in the outlaw's camp, and his companions were riding leisurely in the wake of the herd. It was Sandy who saw the "still-hunter" first.
"Tyson is a-comin' an' ain't losin' no time neither," he said.
In fact, the little man--abandoning his customary Indian-like stride--was running, and when, spurring their mounts, they met him, he dropped, gasping, on a nearby mound. His usually mild features were hard and fierce.
"Trouble ahead, boys," he panted.
"Rogue goin' to strike?" Sudden asked.
"Naw, Injuns," the other replied. "Two score, mebbe even more--they was hidden--waitin' to jump the herd."
"No chance o' dodgin' 'em?"
"Not a hope--the cattle has to go that way. Them war-whoops has picked the right place. For miles now the plain is narrow, with rough country both sides. There's one spot where they might hold the herd an' make a fight of it."
He described it, and Sudden listened carefully. Sandy's face was haggard with anxiety.
"My God! Jim, what can we do?" he asked.
Sudden turned to Tyson. "Climb Sandy's bronc an' fetch Rogue," he said. "Don't let on about us ; yu just happened on the redskins, saw the herd, an' figured that, as a white man, he'd help his own kind."
"Shore, but I'll git there quicker afoot--it's rough goin'," Tyson replied, and was gone.
Sandy stared at his companion in amazement. "yu sendin' for Rogue?" he gasped. Then comprehension came to him and he chortled with delight. "yu wily devil," he complimented. "That shore is great medicine. Do we warn the S E?"
"I do ; yu cross the trail an' follow on the other side, keepin' outa sight. I'll join yu later an' mebbe the war-whoops'll get a surprise."
Sandy was disappointed--he might have seen Carol--but he did not demur ; the situation was desperate, but he trusted this hard-faced friend of his and was prepared to obey blindly. So he too went on his appointed errand, while Sudden spurred after the herd. The latter passed the remuda in a cloud of dust and heard Rollitt's curse of astonishment. Sam Eden, sitting at the back-end of the wagon, greeted the visitor with a glare as he reached for his gun. The young man's cold voice interrupted :
"Don't be a fool, Eden. If I'd come for that yu'd be halfway to hell by now. I'm here to tell yu that a big bunch o' redskins is layin' for yu."
The rancher laughed jeeringly. "Yu don't expect me to believe that yarn, do yu?" he asked.
"No, but I had to warn yu," Sudden retorted."Walk into the trap if yu must ; I'll do what I can to get yu out. I've sent for aid."
The cattleman's frowning brows went up at this. "Now I know yo're lyin'--I'd say there ain't a settlement within a hundred mile. Where'd yu send--San Antonio?" he sneered. "I passed word to Rogue," was the calm reply.
With the force of a blow, the statement took the rancher's breath away. For a moment he was speechless, and then, with a furious oath, he cried, "So that's yore scheme, huh? Rogue's to come an help himself an' I'm to let him. Now listen, I ain't swallerin' yore Injuns, but I'd sooner they had the cows than that bastard road-agent leader o' yores. Get that."
"Yu seem damned anxious to make yore daughter a squaw." The biting reminder only whipped the rancher's rage to a white heat. "Curse yu, I can fight my own battles," he roared. "I don't want yore help nor his."
"Allasame, yu gotta have 'em. I ain't goin' to see men I have worked with an' liked sacrificed to yore bull-headed obstinacy. Can't yu savvy that just because Rogue aims to steal yore herd later, he's gotta protect it now? Hell, I must put Jeff wise."
The black horse shot ahead of the wagon and with its disappearance the old man's fury evaporated, and the ability to reason returned. Scowling darkly he went over the conversation again.
"Damnation, he's right," he muttered aloud.
"O' course he's right, an' allus has been," said a sharp voice. Aunt Judy, from the driving-seat of the vehicle shook a minatory finger at him. "That young fella has a brain where yu on'y got bone, Sam Eden."
"Put a bridle on that tongue," the cattleman snapped. "If yore husband had any sense he'd 'a' taken a whip to yu years hack."
"An' if yu had any yu'd 'a' listened to Green 'stead o' that mealy-mouthed, tat-faced card-sharp yo're so fond of," she countered.
"The fat-faced card-sharp is obliged for your opinion, ma'am."
Baudry had just ridden up. Though his voice was studiously polite, his eyes were venomous. The lady was not abashed.
"Yo're welcome," she retorted, and vanished behind the canvas flaps.
"You take a lot from your hired folk, Eden," the guest said. "Shucks, women must chatter, an' she'd give her life for Carol," the old man excused.
"Well, that alone lets her off with me. What brought Green?" The other told him, and the gambler's face grew grave. "Seems to be nothing else to do, but it's like setting the fox to guard the chickens," was his comment.
Meanwhile, Sudden had reached the head of the herd and told his news to the astounded foreman.
"A piece along is a steep-walled gully with a'most no outlet," he explained. "Throw the cows, wagon, an' remuda in there, take cover at the entrance, an' wait. When yu don't show up, the Injuns'll come a-lookin' for yu. If yu can stand 'em off for a while, there's help on the way."
"Help?" ejaculated Jeff. "Where in blazes from?"
"I've sent for Rogue," Sudden replied. "Yu see, he's figurin' to lift this herd--presently, so he won't stand by an' let the redskins have it."
The foreman's troubled face broke into a grin. "Gosh! that's one bright idea, boy," he exclaimed. "We can deal with that damned outlaw later, but for the time we use him. What did the 0I' Man say?"
"I ain't got time even to tell yu what he didn't say," the cowboy smiled. "Get busy, ol'-timer, an' if anybody starts shootin' from behind the Injuns yu'll know that me an' Sandy is sittin' in."
He whirled his horse and raced for the far side of the trail. The foreman's gaze followed him reflectively. "Outlaw, huh?"he muttered. "Pity the damned country ain't got a lot more like him."
Riding ahead, he soon found the spot Sudden had described and saw its suitability. The floor of the gully lay below the level of the plain, which sloped into it, and the walls on either side were well-nigh vertical. The outlet at the far end was too rough and steep even for long-horns to attempt unless badly scared. The entrance was guarded by scrub and rocks which would afford good cover for the defenders. He saw no sign of Indians and surmised, rightly, that knowing the herd must come that way, they were not troubling to watch its progress.
Jeff waited there impatiently, having already given orders for the cows to be hustled along. Soon the leaders appeared, at a lumbering, clumsy trot, bellowing a protest against the unusual exertion. Hurriedly they were hazed into the gully as they arrived and left to their own devices. This took time, and the foreman cast many anxious glances up the trail. When, at length, the wagon and remuda followed the last of the cattle, he breathed more freely, and telling the outfit to hunt cover, sought his employer. He found him fuming.
"Ain't I the owner o' this herd no more, or are yu takin' orders from Green?" was his first question.