"And to think we might have ridden off, and tried to get to that ranch, or city."
"I thought sure it was Diamond X," declared d.i.c.k.
"Well, I knew it wasn"t, as soon as I saw how the buildings were located. But I thought it was some ranch. Bud told me about these mirages, though I never thought they were as plain as that."
"They sure do fool you!" laughed d.i.c.k. "And now, before we get led astray by any more, let"s get settled for the night. It looks as if we"d have to stay here."
"Yes, it does," agreed Nort. He looked in the direction where the strange images had appeared in the air, seemingly suspended between the heaven and the earth. There were no more of the visions, the declining sun doubtless being in such a position as no longer to produce the necessary refraction, or bending of the light rays.
"Here"s water," spoke Nort, pointing to a spring bubbling out of the side of the hill. "We"ll make a fire, and cook what we have."
"But not all of it," stipulated d.i.c.k. "We"ve got to save some for to-morrow. No telling how long we may be out on our own."
"That"s right," agreed Nort. "Though when our bacon and flour give out we can get one of those fellows--maybe," and he pointed to a big jack rabbit, almost as large as a dog, loping away.
"Yes, Bud says they"re good eating," a.s.sented d.i.c.k. "The only thing is, can we knock one over with our guns?"
"I"m not much of a shot, yet, but then a fellow ought to hit one of those jacks--when he isn"t running," qualified Nort, for the speed of these rabbits of the plains is almost beyond belief. Indeed they put the speediest horse on his mettle, and a greyhound, or a similar breed of dog, is the only canine that can compete with them.
"Yes, no use shooting when they start racing," agreed d.i.c.k.
The lads slipped from their ponies, taking off the saddles which, later, they would use as pillows. And immediately the cow horses were relieved of their back burdens, they started to roll. This is the ideal recreation for the steeds of ranch or plain, for they get little of the rubbing down or care bestowed on other horses. Their daily roll in the gra.s.s and dust keeps their coat in good condition.
The ponies were pegged out by means of the lariats, which allowed them to graze or roll as they pleased. They were tied near a water hole, formed below the spring, so the animals had the three most desirable requisites--food, water and a place to disport themselves.
Nort and d.i.c.k proceeded to make their camp. It was a simple operation.
All they had to do was to gather some greasewood for the fire, and start to cook. Later they would roll in their tarpaulins, with their heads on the saddles, and get what rest they could.
Fortunately the two boys had with them some cooking utensils, and also some bacon and flour with a supply of coffee. The flour was of the "prepared" variety. Mixing it with water gave them batter for flapjacks, which were baked in the same skillet in which the bacon had first been fried. Water for the coffee was at hand, and they had sugar for that beverage, though no milk, which might seem strange so near a ranch on which were many cattle. But ranches are for the raising of beef, and are not dairies, so milkless coffee was no hardship to the boys, though at Diamond X milk was plentiful enough.
The smell of the burning greasewood, the aroma of the bacon and coffee, not to mention that of the flapjacks, added zest to the appet.i.tes of the boys, if zest were needed, and soon they were eagerly eating.
Then, as night settled down they gathered a quant.i.ty of wood for the fire, looked to the fastenings of their ponies and stretched out under the light of the bright stars. They were--except for their ponies--alone amid the foothills, how far from Diamond X ranch they could only guess.
CHAPTER XVIII
QUEER OPERATIONS
"Feel sleepy?" asked Nort of d.i.c.k when they had stretched out under their canvas blankets, which might keep off the dew, but which were not very comfortable.
"Not specially," answered d.i.c.k. "I"m thinking too much of all that"s happened lately."
"So "m I. But I"m not worried because we"re here; are you?"
"Not a bit of it! This is only fun! We wanted to see real western life and we"re seeing it," d.i.c.k went on. "This is what we came out here for. It isn"t like anything else we ever did, and it only makes me all the more want to be a rancher."
"You said it. Only there are one or two things I"d like to know more about."
"Such as what, for instance?" asked the younger lad.
"Well, I"d like to know who it was that tried to snake you away with a la.s.so. I"d like to do the same to him. And I"d like to know more about those two strange professors, and what they"re after."
"I"m with you there," spoke d.i.c.k, as he raised on one elbow to look toward where he had tethered his horse, the animal seeming to be suddenly excited about something.
"Only a coyote," remarked Nort, as he caught sight of a slinking figure under the light of the stars. The boys had become used to these creatures which acted as scavengers of the plains.
"I wonder if, after all, those professors can be hunting gold?" mused d.i.c.k, when his horse had quieted down and resumed grazing.
"According to what Bud says there isn"t any gold here and never has been," declared Nort. "But there is a mystery about them and I"d give a lot to solve it. You see we tenderfeet don"t count for much out on a ranch--that is, yet. We don"t know much about roping or shooting or riding herd. Of course we"re learning, and Bud and the others are as nice about it as they can be, but I can see they don"t think overly much about our abilities; and I don"t blame them.
"But if we could solve this mystery about those professors, and maybe connect "em up with some of the cattle rustling, why it would show Bud we easterners amounted to something after all. I sure would like to get on the track of this mystery!"
The time was to come, and soon, when Nort and d.i.c.k vividly recalled these words.
"Well, we"re here--not that we know where it is--but we"re here, and not in such bad shape," spoke d.i.c.k. "We"re lost, but I reckon Bud will find us in the morning, or we"ll come across the cattle we"re looking for, or else Diamond X ranch.
"I hope so," mused Nort. "I"d like to show these cowboys that we can pull off a trick or two ourselves."
"Well, I"m with you," and d.i.c.k"s voice took on a drowsy note. In spite of the fact that he had said he was thinking of many things, the riding of the day soon began to tell on both lads.
"What"s that?" suddenly called d.i.c.k to Nort, when they had, perhaps, been sleeping two or three hours. A wild, weird cry had echoed out in the silent night.
"Coyote," was the answer, sleepily given.
"Howlin" in a new way," murmured d.i.c.k.
Indeed, accustomed as the boys were becoming to the voices of these animals, part fox, part dog and part wolf, there were always new elements seeming to enter into their cries.
Again the strange call was repeated, to be answered by the mate of the coyote farther off, and then came a perfect chorus of wild yells. The horses snorted, as if in contempt and the boys covered themselves with their tarpaulins and tried to slumber. But it was some little time before the echoes died away and quiet reigned.
Nort and d.i.c.k did not awaken again that night, but their eyes opened when the sun shone on them, and, rather lame and stiff, they arose to get a frugal breakfast.
Their first look was to their horses, for to be without a mount in the vast distances of the West is almost a tragedy. But Blaze and Blackie, the two favorite steeds of Nort and d.i.c.k, were safely tethered.
Cowboys, on range or ranch, usually have a "string" of ponies, or broncos. This is needful, as there is such hard riding necessary at times (particularly at the round-up) that one horse could not stand the pace. So at the beginning of work several horses are a.s.signed to each cow-puncher. Of course he may own a horse of his own, and usually does, in fact, and this horse is his favorite. But he has several others to pick from.
When Nort and d.i.c.k declared that they were going to be regular ranchers, or cowboys as a start, they were given a string of horses to pick from. But of these Blaze, so called from a white streak down his head, was the favorite of Nort. Blackie was d.i.c.k"s choice, and the selection of the name was due to the color of the horse, it being almost perfect black.
Blaze and Blackie were safe at the ends of their tether ropes--the lariats the boys carried coiled on their saddle horns during the day.
Breakfast over--and it was not a very substantial meal--the boys saddled their steeds and then looked at one another.
"What are we going to do?" asked d.i.c.k.
"Hit the trail--for somewhere," answered Nort.