Part 7 (1/2)
”That double-eagle's mine! Got anything to say against it, boys?”
They cheered her to the echo, and after them came the party of Jane Ann's friends from the East to add their congratulations. But as Ruth and the others rode up Heavy of course had to meet with an accident.
Hard luck always seemed to ride the stout girl like a nightmare!
The pony on which she rode became excited because of the crowd of kicking, squealing cow ponies, and Heavy's seat was not secure. When the pony began to cavort and plunge poor Heavy was shaken right over the pommel of her saddle. Her feet lost the stirrups and she began to scream.
”My-good-ness-me!” she stuttered. ”Hold him-still! Stop! Ho-ho-ho--”
And then she slipped right over the pony's rump and would have fallen smack upon the ground had not Tom and Bob, who had both seen her peril, leaped out of their own saddles, and caught the stout girl as she lost her hold on the reins and gave up all hope.
The boys staggered under her weight, but managed to put her upright on her feet, while her pony streaked it off across the plain, very much frightened by such a method of dismounting. It struck the whole crowd as being uproariously funny; but the good-natured and polite cowboys tried to smother their laughter.
”Don't mind me!” exclaimed the stout girl. ”Have all the fun you want to. But I don't blame the pony for running away. I have been sitting all along his backbone, from his ears to the root of his tail, and I have certainly jounced my own backbone so loose that it rattles. I believe I'd better walk home.”
It was plain that Jennie Stone would never take a high mark in horsemans.h.i.+p; but they caught her pony for her and boosted her on again, and later she rode back to the ranch-house at an easy pace. But she declared that for the remainder of her stay at Silver Ranch she proposed to ride only in the automobile or in a carriage.
But Ruth was vastly enamored of this new play of pony riding. She had a retentive memory and kept in mind all that Bashful Ike told her about the management of her own Freckles. She was up early each morning and had a gallop over the prairie before her friends were out of their beds.
And when Mr. Hicks stated one day that he had to ride to Bullhide on business, Ruth begged the privilege of riding with him, although the rest of the young folks did not care to take such a long trip in the hot sun.
”I've some business to attend to for my uncle,” Ruth explained to the ranchman, as they started from the ranch-house soon after breakfast.
”And I want your advice.”
”Sure, Ruthie,” he said, ”I'll advise ye if I can.”
So she told him about Uncle Jabez's mixup with the Tintacker mining properties. Bill Hicks listened to this tale with a frowning brow.
”Bless your heart, Miss!” he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed. ”I believe you're chasin' a wild goose. I reckon your uncle's been stung. These wildcat mining properties are just the kind that greenhorn Easterners get roped into. I don't believe there's ten cents' worth of silver to the ton in all the Tintacker district. It played out years ago.”
”Well, that may be,” returned Ruth, with a sigh. ”But I want to see the records and learn just how the Tintacker Mine itself stands on the books. I want to show Uncle Jabez that I honestly tried to do all that I could for him while I was here.”
”That's all right, Ruthie. You shall see the records,” declared Mr.
Hicks. ”I know a young lawyer in town that will help you, too; and it sha'n't cost you a cent. He's a friend of mine.”
”Oh, thank you,” cried Ruth, and rode along happily by the big cattleman's side.
They were not far from the house when Bashful Ike, who had been out on the range on some errand, came whooping over the low hills to the North, evidently trying to attract their attention. Mr. Hicks growled:
”Now, what does that feller want? I got a list as long as my arm of things to tote back for the boys. Better have driv' a mule waggin, I reckon, to haul the truck home on.”
But it was Ruth the foreman wished to speak to. He rode up, very red in the face, and stammering so that Bill Hicks demanded, with scorn:
”What's a-troubling you, Ike? You sputter like a leaky tea-kettle. Can't you out with what you've got to say to the leetle gal, an' let us ride on?”
”I-I was just a thinkin' that mebbe you-you could do a little errand for me, Miss,” stammered Bashful Ike.
”Gladly, Mr. Stedman,” returned Ruth, hiding her own amus.e.m.e.nt.
”It-it's sort of a tick-lish job,” said the cowboy. ”I-I want ye should buy a leetle present. It's-it's for a lady--”