Cow-punchers are "he-men," and little things like loss of sleep and delay in getting breakfast do not bother them. It was arranged that when the main body returned, after a session with the Chinese cook, they would bring a "snack" for the scout volunteers.
"And some hot coffee in thermos bottles," added Bud, who knew how that would be appreciated. "We have some thermos bottles at the ranch. I only hope I"ll feel able to come back and help fight."
"Do you think there"ll be a fight?" asked Yellin" Kid, eagerly.
"It"s likely," said Billee.
"Whoop-ee!" roared the loud-voiced one and his joyous sentiment was echoed on all sides. Bud looked a little glum that he could not be "in on the fun," as he called it later. But he was more done up than he imagined, for he had gone through a strenuous time, though he had not actually been mistreated.
So while some of the cowboys more recently engaged were sent into the glen as scouts, the main body, with Bud riding on a spare horse which had been brought along for just such an eventuality, went back to the ranch.
There things soon began to "hum," as Nort and d.i.c.k expressed it. They had had experience before with desperate and unscrupulous men who, as rustlers, or otherwise, had endeavored to make trouble for the boy ranchers. And the young managers of Dot and Dash did not shrink from the coming conflict.
"Can do--sure!" was the bland reply of Fah Moo when asked if he could get breakfast for the bunch in a hurry. "Sure can do!"
And he did.
Guns were looked to, extra ammunition was packed, hurried s.n.a.t.c.hes of food were the order of the day, and when baskets of grub had been packed for the scouts left on guard, once more the cavalcade started off.
On the way to Smugglers" Glen a sort of campaign was outlined and agreed upon. It was decided to advance on foot against the men in the cave, for the defile was so narrow, and the footing so uncertain because of loose rocks, large and small, that horses would be a disadvantage rather than a help in case of a fight.
"We"ll leave the ponies at the entrance, same as Bud did his,"
suggested Old Billee.
"All alone?" asked Nort. "Some of those fellows may sneak up in our rear and make off with our mounts."
"They won"t be unguarded," declared Billee, who was too old a fighter to make the mistake of leaving his rear open to attack. "I"ll have a couple of the hands stay with the horses."
"Not me you won"t!" shouted Yellin" Kid. "Me, I"m goin" to _fight_!
I"m not goin" to be nurse-maid for a lot of cow ponies!"
"Me either!" declared Snake.
"Order in the ranks!" snapped Billee with blazing eyes. "I"m in charge here, by the instructions of the boss, and I won"t have anybody saying what they will and won"t do! You heard me!"
He was as different from the usual mild Old Billee Dobb as chalk is from cheese. He was in his element and he knew it.
"No offense, chief," said Yellin" Kid, humbly and in subdued tones.
"But I do want to get a shot at these fellers!"
"I wonder if Del Pinzo can be back of this gang?" mused Nort as he rode beside his brother toward the glen.
"I wouldn"t put it past him," answered d.i.c.k. "But I thought he was in jail."
"They don"t seem to make, out here, the kind of jails that will keep Del Pinzo behind the bars," commented Nort. "If he"s around these diggings he"d be the very one to engineer some dirty trick."
"Speaking of diggings," went on d.i.c.k, "what do you reckon it was Bud saw those fellows digging out of the sides of the cave?"
"Give it up, for the time being. We"ll find out when we get inside.
But in spite of the fact that Bud thinks he saw some queer operations he may have dreamed it all--after that gas attack, you know."
"Yea, I guess so. It"s queer all around. Fancy rustlers being so up to date as to use the tactics of chemical warfare."
"There"s been a lot of strange things since the Big War," stated Nort.
"Maybe some of these rustlers were in the chemical division of the A.E.F. and learned tricks there of how to make and send out of cylinders gas that would knock a man out but not kill him."
"That"s possible. But what about the horses, cattle and men who were killed here in Death Valley? I mean years ago, the way Billee tells it. Did these fellows have anything to do with that?"
"Hard to say, but I don"t believe so."
"Then what did?"
"That"s what we"ve got to find out after we get through with this gang."
The avengers urged their ponies ahead at a fast clip and the sun was still far from the meridian when they came in sight of the entrance to the defile. Dark and sinister it loomed in contrast to the brightness of the day. What secrets did it hold?
"I wonder if Old Tosh is up there, helping the rustlers?" mused d.i.c.k as Billee got ready to call a halt and deploy his forces.
"Don"t believe that old yarb doctor does any more harm than giving c.h.i.n.ks the stomach-ache," chuckled Nort. "But he may have rented that cave to those fellows."
"Nervy of him, considering that the cave is on Dot and Dash land," said d.i.c.k.
It did not take long to get ready for the attack. Billee named the men he wanted to remain as a rear guard in charge of the horses, and they accepted the detail in as cheerful spirits as possible. To the relief of Yellin" Kid and Snake Purdee, they were not compelled to remain thus inactive.
"Though you fellows may have a fight on your hands," Billee said to the horse guard as he posted them, "these fellows may dash out after we rouse "em, and it"ll be up to you to deal with "em."
"We"ll do that all right, boss," chuckled a big, lanky puncher, one of the new hands hired.
With Nort and d.i.c.k at his side, Billee Dobb led the way up into the dark defile. Every man had his gun out and was eager-eyed for what might happen next.
"Don"t make any more noise than you can help," cautioned Billee to the men back of him. "We want to surprise these _hombres_ if we can."
On and on they went, over big and little bowlders, up into the glen where the frowning, towering walls looked down on them. The pa.s.sage became narrower. They were now approaching the cave.
"Steady, boys!" called Billee as they rounded a turn and came within view of the dark entrance to the cavern.
It was a tense moment. Some of the men carried a gun in either hand.
Nort and d.i.c.k had one each, and Billee was armed likewise. A little wind began blowing down the gulch in the faces of the attackers. It seemed to bring with it a slight mist.
"Gettin" foggy," commented Snake. "I wonder----"
Then he began to cough and choke. So did Nort, d.i.c.k and Old Billee.
The white mist came floating nearer.
"Look out, boys!" suddenly shouted Yellin" Kid. "It"s a gas attack, same as in the war. Look out!"
A moment later the party was sneezing, coughing and gasping for breath as the faint white mist, blown by the wind, enveloped them. It caused a terrible, gripping sensation, a constriction of the throat muscles so that breathing was difficult.