Part 12 (1/2)

The night pa.s.sed without any incidents of moment, though Nort nearly gave a needless alarm when he sprang up, declaring that he was being ”roped” in the darkness.

But a light revealed that only a harmless snake was crawling over his neck, an unpleasant enough sensation as you doubtless will admit, but one not necessarily disastrous.

”Burr-r-r-r!” shuddered Nort, when he saw that it was a snake, and not a lariat that had rasped him. ”I'd almost rather it was a la.s.so! I hate snakes!”

Then sleep was resumed.

The gray, cold and somewhat cheerless dawn was breaking over the temporary camp when, as Buck Tooth toddled over to replenish the fire for breakfast, there came sharp cracks of rifles from the surrounding rocks and scrub underbrush, and the old Indian fell.

”Yaquis!” yelled Nort, springing for his gun.

”Ambushed!” cried Bud.

”Steady, everybody!” shouted Yellin' Kid and his strenuous voice, rumbling and echoing through the silent morning, seemed to calm them all. ”Get down on your faces! Drop!” commanded the cowboy, while puffs of smoke, flashes of fire and nerve-racking reports told that the attack from ambush was in some force.

CHAPTER XI

THE SURPRISE

Camp had been made by the boy ranchers and their friends in a little glade, amid rocks and stunted brush, a natural fortification as it were, with only one side open. And it was from this one side that the shots from the ambushers were pouring in.

Though Yellin' Kid and Snake Purdee had said nothing to the boys about it, the place had been purposely selected with an eye to its possible defense.

”You can't tell what will happen in this country,” Snake had said to Yellin' Kid, and the latter agreed, lowering his voice, for once at least, so Bud and his cousins could not hear.

”We've got to be on our guard,” Snake had added, and so, while Bud, Nort and d.i.c.k would have been willing to slump down almost anywhere, and camp as soon as they found water, this secluded site was selected.

The wisdom of this was now apparent, since, had there been no natural shelter available, several casualties might have resulted from the opening of a fusillade at dawn.

As it was, however, so quickly had the cowboys (and with them I now include Buck Tooth) taken to shelter, that, aside from a few minor wounds on the part of two or three, no one was badly hit.

”What's it all about?” called Bud from behind his sheltering stone to Snake. Bud's gun was hot, for he had emptied the magazine, and with little effect, as was afterward learned.

”Who's attacking us?” added Nort. He, as had d.i.c.k, had also fired rapidly and with equal non-effect.

”Search me,” succinctly replied Snake. ”All I know is that there's somebody out there anxious to fill us full of lead--more anxious than I am to be filled,” he added grimly. ”Lay low everybody!” he shouted, as another burst of firing succeeded the calm that had followed the first attack.

Bullets ”zinged” in amid the rocks, striking the hard stone with vicious ”pings!” and leaving grim, gray marks on the boulders; marks that would have brought spots of vital redness had they found a human target.

Bud refilled the magazine of his gun, and started a return fire when Snake threw a piece of stone that fell near the boy rancher, thus attracting his attention. There was little use in shouting above the din. A voice could be heard only in the lulls of shooting.

”What's the matter?” yelled Bud, scarcely making himself heard.

Snake motioned for him to cease firing, an example followed by Nort and d.i.c.k. As for the older cowboys they had wisely witheld their fire.

Explanation was made by Snake a moment later when he crawled over to Bud, keeping well hidden amid the rocks, and speaking in his ear, though yelling at the top of his voice as he did so, said:

”What's the use of shootin' when you can't see your mark? Save your powder and lead!”