CHAPTER XIX
OPEN WARFARE
"Zip!" a stone from Nort"s sling cut the air with a vicious ping, and not only that, but it caught one of the Greasers on the side of his head. He uttered a cry, dropped his reins and clapped a hand to the smarting place.
Another instant and he had lost control of his horse, which first swam down stream and then turned to go back to the sh.o.r.e he had left. One reason for this was that Nort had let fly a stone that took the horse on the flank. And Nort was careful not to shoot as hard at the horse as he had at the rider. In fact the horse was not hurt at all--merely frightened, for the stone was like a fly-bite.
But it was enough.
Meanwhile the other defenders of Spur Creek had been using their slings to advantage, first stinging the Greaser riders with vicious stones and then, more lightly, tapping the horses to demoralize them rather than to hurt them.
This sort of warfare proved most effective, for by turning the horses and sending them back, in spite of all the efforts of their riders, the forces of the sheep herders were thrown into confusion.
And this, really, was the object of Bud and his companions. They did not want to kill so much as a single sheep. All they desired was to keep inviolate the land rightfully owned by Mr. Merkel. And he felt that he still owned it, in spite of the action of the United States Congress, and even though his papers had been stolen.
In this initial skirmish, which soon developed into a fight, the advantage, at first, was all on the side of the Diamond X force as the Greasers did not fight back. Some of them carried guns, but did not draw them.
It might be reasoned that they wanted to go into court with "clean hands," as the legal term is. That is, they could claim they were fired upon when attempting to make a peaceable crossing of the creek in order to pasture their sheep on the new government open range land.
One part of their contention might be true, but the one implying that Mr. Merkel"s land could be taken by any chance comer, was not true.
At any rate, first along, the Mexicans did not fire back. Meanwhile Bud and his comrades were fairly peppering the Greasers with stones from the rubber slings. No one was badly hurt--indeed, bruised faces and hands were about the only injuries, but if you have ever faced a fusilade from a battery of putty blowers or bean shooters you know how disconcerting it is.
Then, too, the horses proved allies of our friends. For the light "peppering" the animals received from the slings made the animals nervous and disinclined to face the shower of stones.
Some few sheep were driven into the stream, and it was evident that, for the present at least, this was a good crossing--shallow enough and with no quicksands. But once the sheep began to hear and see the stones "zipping" in the water around them, some of the woollies feeling the pebbles--though only slightly--a new problem was presented to the Mexicans. Their sheep, like the horses, turned about and made for the southern sh.o.r.e.
So that, in less than five minutes after the attempt to make the crossing was started, it had failed, and the hostile forces withdrew.
"Guess we made it too hot for them," chuckled Bud.
"For a while, yes," agreed Nort. "But it isn"t over yet."
"No," added his brother. "If they give up now I miss my guess.
They"ll try again."
And so the Greasers did.
Withdrawing to a safe distance from the slings--which could only just about carry across Spur Creek, a conference was held among the sheep herders. Then they came on again, trying in the same place.
But Bud and his friends were ready, with an unlimited supply of ammunition. Stones were plentiful along the creek, and each cowboy had his pockets full.
One advantage of the sling shots was that they could be "loaded and fired" much more rapidly than the guns--by which I mean the .45 revolvers. And of course on humanitarian grounds there was no comparison--no one was killed or even severely wounded by the stones.
They were only painfully hurt.
But this was part of the game. It was open warfare and had to be endured. Besides, from the standpoint of Bud and his comrades, they were in the right and the sheep herders were in the wrong.
I have no doubt but that the herders of the sheep reasoned just the other way--holding that they had a right to cross the creek and pasture their charges on the rich gra.s.s beyond, and arguing that the Diamond X outfit was in the wrong.
And in this conflict lies my story, such as it is.
After the third attempt to cross the creek with their sheep, being driven back each time, the Mexicans seemed to lose patience. There were angry voices as most of the Greasers gathered about one man who seemed to be their leader, and who had, it was evident, counseled pacific measures. Now these came to an end.
For on the "fourth down," as d.i.c.k laughingly referred to it, the Greasers began shooting bullets as they rode their horses into the stream.
"Now it"s a fight in earnest!" cried Bud.
"Draw your guns!" ordered Billee sternly.
The real battle was about to open.
CHAPTER XX
THE FLAG OF TRUCE
The advantage in the fight was on the side of the Diamond X outfit, even though it was outnumbered. For the Greaser sheep herders nearly doubled the force of the cowboys. But this, in itself, was not such a handicap as would at first appear.
Naturally any cowboy held himself more than a match for any two Greasers, and if this were not enough, the sheep men had the disadvantage of having to cross a stream in the face of fire. This is always likely to result in disaster, even in more modern warfare than that which I am writing about. There are several reasons for this, whether the attacking party, crossing the stream, is afoot or on horses.
Progress through water is always slow. If you have ever tried to run while wading in a millpond or at the stream adjacent to the "old swimming hole," you realize what I mean. It is easier to swim than to run through water, even where it is not very deep. The same holds true for horses. And to attempt to swim was out of the question, for the Greasers, as they must keep their guns out of water.
The only thing for them to do was to start their horses across, with the men in the saddles. And the Mexicans probably knew, from a test, that the water was not deep enough to sweep the animals off their legs.
So then, with the handicap of rushing water against them, the horses could not make much progress, and, while crossing, the enemy force would be subject to the fire of the boy ranchers and the cowboys from Diamond X ranch.
"Well, boys, I guess we"ll have to let "em have it," said Billee regretfully as he saw the advancing sheep men. Nearly all the Greaser force was concentrated on crossing Spur Creek, only a few being left in charge of the animals. "But shoot at the horses first," advised Billee. "I hate to do it, but it"s better to have the killing of a horse on your mind than the murder of a man. Though this isn"t murder--defending your property against a band of thieves. So shoot at the horses first!"
This, cruel as it may sound, had to be done. It was a case of the lives of the animals or the lives of our friends. For it could not be doubted that, once the Mexicans had gained a footing on the northern side of the stream, they would drive the defenders away--shooting to kill if need be--and then the way would be clear for bringing over the sheep.
Several shots rang out from the ranks of the cowboys, and there was a wild flurry and scramble among the horses in the stream. Two of them were hit and spilled their riders into the creek. But these men grasped the tail of other horses and kept on.
"They aren"t going to give up easy," murmured d.i.c.k.
"But it"s up to us to make "em," said Bud fiercely. "If they get over it will be all up with us, for they"re twice as many as we are."
"They shan"t get over!" declared Nort. And it was with the same spirit that the intrepid Frenchman muttered:
"They shall not pa.s.s!"
If the boy ranchers and their comrades hoped to escape scathless they were painfully disappointed. For though the sheep herders were under the handicap of having to cross the stream, manage their frantic horses and shoot--all at the same time--they managed to do enough of the latter to wound several of the cowboys, one seriously, as developed later.
And, just as d.i.c.k was reloading his gun, he gave a cry and the weapon dropped from his hands.
"Hit?" cried Bud.