"Wal, if you younkers are as hungry as me, we"ll have a bite."
They were in the middle of the undulating plain, with no wood or water in sight; but that was a small matter. In a twinkling all three were out of their saddles, and the guide unstrapped a large bundle from its fastening to the saddle of his pony. This, being unwrapped, disclosed a goodly portion of cooked and tender steak and plenty of well-baked brown bread. Furthermore, there were a couple of bottles of milk--enough for two meals at least.
These having been placed on the gra.s.s, the bits were removed from the mouths of their horses, who were allowed to graze while their masters were partaking of one of the most enjoyable meals they had ever eaten.
"If I"d expected to be alone," explained Hazletine, "I wouldn"t have brought this stuff with me, but we may not see a maverick or any game all the way home. I wouldn"t mind it, but I don"t s"pose you are used to it."
"I should say not," replied Jack, as well as he could, while his mouth was filled with bread, meat and milk; "I"m hungry enough to eat a mule."
"And I feel as if I could chew his saddle," added Fred, laboring under the same difficulty in speaking clearly. "If our appet.i.tes keep up at this rate, there will be a shrinkage among the cattle in Wyoming before we go home."
"What do you mean by a maverick?" asked Jack of their guide.
"It"s an unbranded cow or calf that don"t b"long to n.o.body, and consequently it don"t make no difference whether n.o.body or somebody brands or kills it."
The rhetoric of this sentence may not have been faultless, but its meaning was clear to the boys. They ate until they wished no more, and were vastly relieved to note that something was left for another meal.
"That"ll see us through till morning," said Jack, "but how about to-morrow and the next day?"
"If we don"t see anything to kill, we must wait till we git to the ranch."
Fred groaned.
"You"ll have to tie me in the saddle, for I shan"t be able to sit up."
The smile on the face of the guide raised the hope that he was not in earnest in making this dreadful announcement, but neither Jack nor Fred were quite easy in mind.
The halt was less than an hour, when the three were in the saddle again.
Hazletine, instead of pressing directly toward the ranch that was their destination, bore to the left, thus approaching the Wind River range.
"There"s a little settlement off to the right," he said, "of the name of Sweet.w.a.ter; we could reach it by night, but it takes us a good many miles out of our path, and there"s nothing to be gained by losing the time."
"Are you following a straight course to the ranch?"
"Pretty near; but I"m edging to the left, toward the foot-hills, "cause there"s better camping-ground over there."
This was satisfactory, and the youths were not the ones to question a decision of so experienced a guide and mountaineer. Besides, they had hope that one reason for the slight change of course was that it increased the chance of obtaining game. For the present, the question of food supply was the most absorbing one that demanded attention. Other matters could wait, but a st.u.r.dy, growing lad finds his appet.i.te something whose cravings can be soothed only by the one method that nature intended.
CHAPTER III.
ON GUARD.
The beautiful weather continued unchanged throughout the afternoon. As the sun declined in the sky there was a perceptible coolness in the air, but the exercise of riding removed all necessity for using their blankets.
Although the party had been edging toward the foot-hills for hours, it seemed to the boys that they were as far off as ever. They had covered many miles, but those who have travelled in the West know the deceptive character of the crystalline atmosphere, so far as distances are concerned. However, as twilight began closing in they reached a small grove of trees, which was the destination of the guide from the first.
It was there he meant to camp for the night, and he could not have selected a better place had he spent a week in looking for it.
The grove covered less than an acre, the trees standing well apart, and wholly free from brush and undergrowth. Thus even the horses could pa.s.s back and forth freely. Over this shaded s.p.a.ce the dark-green gra.s.s grew luxuriantly, with a soft juiciness of texture which made it the ideal food for cattle and horses. In the middle of the grove bubbled a spring of clear cold water, whose winding course could be traced far out on the plain by the fringe of deeper green which accompanied it.
Saddles and bridles were removed, and the ponies turned free to crop the gra.s.s until they were filled, when they would lie down for the night.
The blankets were spread on the ground near the spring, and then, at the suggestion of Hazletine, all three joined in gathering dried branches and limbs with which to start a fire. It was now cool enough to make the warmth welcome, while the flame would add to the cheerfulness of the occasion.
Jack and Fred had never ridden so far at one stretch, and when they reclined on their blankets to watch Hank start the fire they were thoroughly tired out; but it seemed to them their hunger was more ravenous than ever. Each forbore to speak of it, but the deliberation of their friend in preparing the meal was almost intolerable.
The first night spent by the boys in camping out in the wilds of Wyoming was one that can never be forgotten. When the meal was finished and the last vestige of food eaten, the three stretched out where they could feel the grateful warmth of the fire that had been kindled against the trunk of a large oak. Hank had again lighted his pipe, and deeply interested Jack and Fred by his reminiscences of a life that had been filled to overflowing with strange experience and adventure. They listened, unconscious of the pa.s.sage of the hours, until he abruptly asked:
"What time is it?"
Each youth looked at his watch, and, to his astonishment, saw that it was nearly half-past ten. They had supposed that it was fully two hours earlier.
"One of the rules that must always be follered," said the guide, "when hunting or away from home, is that all the party mustn"t sleep at the same time."
"Then one has to stand watch?"
"It looks that way. Now, we"ll divide the time atween us, each taking a part, so that it won"t come heavy on any one."
"That will suit us," Fred hastened to say, while Jack nodded his head.
"All right. You, Jack, will keep watch till twelve--that is midnight; then you"ll rouse t"other younker, and he"ll stand guard till two; then he"ll give me a kick, and I"ll run things till daylight."
"What are we likely to see?" asked Jack, who naturally desired to learn all the points concerning his new duties.
"How should I know?" asked Hank, with a grin. "There may be wild animals, sich as grizzlies, cinnamon or black bears; there may be wolves, or dog Injins looking for a chance to steal our ponies."
"Why do you call them "dog Indians?""
"A dog Injin is a tramp "mong the other tribes; he don"t live much with any of "em, but sneaks round the country, looking for a chance to steal something, and it don"t matter what it is."
"Suppose I catch sight of one of the animals you name, or a dog Indian--what shall I do?"
"Shoot him quicker"n lightning."
This was a startling order, but the guide was in earnest.
"Are you afeard to do it?" he asked, half contemptuously.
"No; I"ll shoot the instant it is necessary, but I don"t fancy the idea of picking off an Indian without warning."
"If you give him warning you won"t pick him off. If you"re so squeamish, you might argufy the matter with him."
"Leave that to me; I"m on duty now; go to sleep."
Without another word the guide wrapped his blanket about him and stretched out in front of the fire, with his feet toward it. Judging from his heavy breathing, it was barely five minutes before he became unconscious.
"It strikes me this is rushing things," remarked Jack to Fred, as the two sat beside each other. "Last night the "V. W. W." were in the sleeper of the Union Pacific; to-night they are looking out for a chance to shoot Indians."