Hastily unslinging his rifle, the elder of the chums pointed it in the direction whence the unexpected voice had come and shouted:
"You there, in the gra.s.s! Stand up before I count five or I"ll----"
But Larry had no occasion to complete his command.
Unconscious that there was another soul within miles of him, the person addressed raised his head cautiously to see who had accosted him.
"Stand up straight, I said!" ordered the boy.
As the fellow obeyed, Mr. Wilder, Pete and the others, who had been almost as surprised at hearing Larry"s words as the prisoner himself, dashed up, quickly followed by the cowboys.
Intuitively each man felt they had captured one of the raiders, and without waiting for instructions, closed in on him in a circle, completely cutting off any chance for escape.
"Who are you and what are you doing, sneaking along in the gra.s.s ?"
demanded Mr. Wilder sternly.
"I"m Bobby Lawrence, and I was hunting for my tobacco pouch,"
returned the fellow, undaunted by the angry faces gazing at him.
"That"s the name of one of Megget"s right-hand men," declared Nails. "I found that out at Tolopah."
With no gentle hands half a dozen of the cowboys searched Lawrence, taking from him his pistols and a long knife.
When their prisoner was harmless Mr. Wilder resumed his questions.
"Who set the fire last night?"
"If I play fair with you, will you treat me square?" demanded Lawrence.
"That depends," temporized the ranch owner. "You belong to the gang that has been raiding my herds and last night tried to destroy us by fire. You can"t expect much leniency from us under the circ.u.mstances. Still, if you give us any a.s.sistance in founding up Megget, we"ll not forget it."
"Well, I"ll do all I can, honest I will, Mr. Wilder."
"Don"t trust him, Wilder," interposed the owner of the Three Stars, "When a man is so willing to turn on his pals, there"s something wrong."
"See here, Jim Snider, you keep out of this. I"m talking to Mr.
Wilder, not to you. He"s square. If it was only you, all your ponies couldn"t drag a word out of me!" snapped Lawrence.
This retort angered the owner of the Three Stars, but before he could say anything the proprietor of the Half-Moon exclaimed:
"If you can give me any reason why I should believe you, Lawrence, do so."
"That"s easy," returned the captive, and without wasting words, he related the incidents of the pursuit of the three boys, Megget"s signals, the order to set the fire and his own action that alone had saved the herd at the pool from destruction.
In silence, now looking at one another in amazement and then at the speaker, the cowboys listened.
"That"s a likely story, throwing your tobacco away," sneered Snider.
"I believe it," announced Larry calmly. "The only way I knew it was a man I"d discovered was because I heard him say twice I"ve found it.""
This confirmation of his words from the very one who had captured him gave Lawrence heart, and quick to see the advantage it gave him, he pressed it, saying:
"There, you see, I"m telling you straight. And everything else I"ve said is just as true."
"Why didn"t you strike for the hills when you recovered your senses?" asked Mr. Wilder. "You would have been safe there, both from Megget and from us."
"Because I wanted my tobacco."
Whatever doubt was in the mind of the Half-Moon owner as to whether or not Lawrence had been telling the truth was dispelled by this answer.
Indeed even the owner of the Three Stars was convinced by the answer, and after a whispered consultation with Mr. Wilder, the latter announced:
"I have this proposition to make you, Lawrence. Your act in refusing to obey Megget, which beyond doubt has saved my cattle at the pool, shows you are not thoroughly bad. Therefore, if you will lead us by the shortest trail to the headquarters at the Lost Lode and help us round up Megget and his gang, I will give you a job on my ranch."
For a moment Lawrence gazed at the ranchman as though unable to believe his ears, but the kindly light in Mr. Wilder"s eyes rea.s.sured him and he replied:
"Will I? Say, Bobby Lawrence knows a white man when he meets one.
Give me a horse and I"ll have you at the Lost Lode before dark to-night!"
CHAPTER XXIII
IN THE MOUNTAINS
Openly the owner of the Three Stars objected to the proposition of providing the erstwhile raider with a pony.
"If we"re going to trust Lawrence to lead us to the mine, we can certainly trust him with a horse," declared Mr. Wilder. "Horace, climb up behind Tom and let Lawrence have your mount."
Quickly the change was made, and again the party advanced.
"To think we were within two miles of meeting Megget again,"
exclaimed Tom as they rode along. "I"m afraid we would not have got away from him so well this time."
As he heard the remark, Lawrence turned and looked the boy over from head to foot, finally saying with a smile:
"So you are the lad Gus ran foul of up in Oklahoma?"
"Yes, but my brother was with me."
"Which is he?"
"The one who found you."
At this information Lawrence threw back his head and laughed heartily. "My, but that is a good one," he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed when he had recovered from his merriment. "You tenderfeet make a monkey of Gus and then capture one of his men. I"ll let Gus know it was you who found me, if I never speak again. It will make him more angry than anything else could."
To their surprise, the ranchers learned that the Lost Lode was only about five miles from the plains and that it was at the foot of one of the mountains, instead of high up in them, with a splendid valley where the cattle could graze close beside it.