Read Ebook: The X Bar X boys on Whirlpool River by Ferris James Cody Rogers Walter S Illustrator

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Ebook has 1016 lines and 42776 words, and 21 pages

"Maybe," Roy said slowly. "So Gus is going to leave, is he?"

"Yep! Fact is, he's gone now. When dad finished, Gus straightened up like a man and shook his head to clear it. Then he spoke right out and admitted he'd been in the wrong--that he'd got it coming to him. Said it was all his fault about the cows and that dad was perfectly right to fire him, and that he's blamed sorry."

"He did?" Roy's eyes lighted. "Good for Gus! I knew he was a straight shooter, even if he did make a mistake. What did The Pup say then?"

"He looked at Gus with a kind of funny expression on his face. Then he let a gob of tobacco juice ride at the ground, laughed, and walked away. Gus took it all. He sure feels pretty low over this."

At that moment Mrs. Manley came to the door, saw Teddy and Roy seated on the porch steps, and called to them.

"Boys," she said, "will you come in a minute? Your father wants to see you."

"And so do I," a girl's voice added. Belle Ada, the sister of Roy and Teddy, walked out on the porch. "Where's that new whip you promised me, Teddy? Got it?"

"Haven't had time yet, Belle," Teddy answered. "Have it to-morrow sure. I'm going in to town then, and I'll stop by and pick it up. It ought to be at the express office by now. I ordered it last week."

"Oh, you'll forget it," Belle declared, and then laughed.

Belle was twelve years old, with dark hair and eyes. In disposition she was a great deal like Teddy--happy-go-lucky, always ready for fun.

"You'd better tie a string around your finger. Or, better still, around your toe. You're liable to miss it on your finger, and you stub your toe so often that you can't miss it there."

"Aw, take a rest," and Teddy grinned. "Come on, Roy, we'll hop in and see dad. Where is he, Mother?"

"In his room. I think it's about Gus that he wants to talk to you. I'm so sorry that happened, boys! I told your father that he should go more slowly. He was so worked up over Mr. Trummer's visit that he wasn't quite himself. I tried to calm him as much as I could, and now I think he regrets that he acted so hastily. But you go in and let him tell you himself."

Mr. Manley was seated in a chair in his room, with his corncob pipe, unlit, between his teeth. This was always a sign of mental uneasiness with him. When smoke came from the pipe, all was well. When it reposed in his mouth cold and dead, there was usually something up.

"Want us, Dad?" Teddy asked.

"Yes. Want to make talk. Come in. Shut the door. Either one of you see Gus?"

"He's gone, Dad," Roy answered. "Teddy, you saw him go, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. He rode away with a bag on his saddle about two hours ago. He owned his own horse, didn't he, Dad?"

"Yes! Gus came to me with a pony, saddle, and nothin' else, three years ago. Wanted a job. I gave it to him. So he's gone, eh?"

"Afraid so, Dad. Didn't you tell him to clear out?"

"I did, and I'm sorry now that I did it. Your mother's been talkin' to me, and, as usual, she's made me see the error of my ways. I was too fast. Jake Trummer got me all worked up. He used to be my best friend, next to Pete Ball. Well, it's too late now, I guess. As for Joe Marino, I don't care when he leaves. We never should have taken him. He didn't know much about punchin', and the first day he was here I kind of got set against him. He's gone, too, I suppose?"

"No, he hasn't," Teddy declared. "I saw him at the bunk-house talkin' to Pop Burns a little while ago. Pop didn't seem to care much about listening. He said something sharp and turned away. Guess The Pup must have been beefing about you throwing him out."

"He won't get far with Pop," Mr. Manley chuckled. "Imagine Pop hearin' anything against the X Bar X! Not him. Well, I guess that's all, boys. I was hopin' I could catch Gus and explain to him. The poor geezer must have been worried about something, or he never would have done a thing like he did."

"You're right, Dad," Teddy declared. "I noticed he hasn't looked well for some time. Keeps talking about a letter all the while. Yep, it's too bad. But it can't be helped now."

"No," and Mr. Manley sighed. Then he arose.

"We got a job ahead of us to-morrow. Got to get those cows off Trummer's land. I don't want no man but me to feed my cattle. So be ready to start early. If you see Marino, you can tell him, for me, that the sooner he leaves the better I'll like it." Again Mr. Manley sighed. "But I sure wish it had been some one else besides Gus," he added.

Guarded Words

No one gave much thought to Joe Marino, "The Pup." Though he had worked for Bardwell Manley, somehow he had never become a part of the ranch, as the rest had. He was a man apart, neither seeking nor admitting intimate friendship. His fondness for the cup, alleged to cheer, was early discovered, but Mr. Manley was loath to discharge a man for a personal defect so long as it did not affect his work. Up to this time The Pup had been a lone drinker, but now, when it became necessary to send him forth because he shirked his job, he dragged one of the most popular boys on the ranch with him.

Pop Burns was loud in his denunciation of the tempter. While the boys were saddling their broncos the next morning, preparing to head for Whirlpool River, the old man halted The Pup as he was lurching past toward the cook house.

"You still eatin' here?" he wanted to know.

"I am. Anything to you?" The Pup's eyes, red from the effect of the last night's indiscretion, glared evilly. "Want to ask any more questions?"

"Well, now, maybe jest one or two," the veteran puncher said slowly. "First, where'd Gus duck to?"

"How should I know? Think I'm his keeper?"

"Keeper? Not any! I thought you pretended to be his friend, but I guess I was mistaken. Usually, when a man tells a fellow certain things, that other man kind of likes to keep track of his buddy."

"Hey? What do you mean--certain things? I don't know nothin' about Gus. He rode with me a few times, that's all." The Pup leered suggestively. "If you mean the letter he was waitin' for from that skirt down Togas way, why--"

Pop Burns' expression changed. His eyes narrowed, and the lines about his mouth deepened. His hands clenched until they looked like solid balls of brown leather.

"Suppose you just forget about that," he said evenly, an unwonted dignity coming into the old man's voice and manner. "Understand? We ain't in the habit of talkin' out in public about another man's affairs. Gus was a friend of mine, I ain't aimin' to listen to a coyote like you makin' fun of him. Get me?"

The Pup started to reply, then took a second look at Pop's face, and thought better of it. With an uneasy laugh he turned away and walked toward the corral, where his pony was tied. Pop motioned to Teddy, who was filling a can of flour some distance away.

"Hear that?"

Teddy nodded.

"Some of it. I didn't want to interfere, so I kept quiet. Dad wants The Pup off the place as soon as possible. He blames him for the whole affair."

"Yore dad's right about that, Teddy. The Pup has got a streak of orneriness in him a yard wide. He ain't no good to no one, least of all himself. Wouldn't be surprised if we saw some more of him, at that, one way or another."

"You mean he'll make trouble?"

"Well, he ain't appeared to be a dove of peace so far, has he?" Pop countered. "An' he'll not hang his tail between his laigs an' run without one more nip at somebody. You mark my words! I knew them kind of waddies. Long ago, when yore grandpop was alive--an' yore dad was only a shaver then, like you are--we had a cuss by the name of--" He broke off suddenly. "All right, boss! Comin'!" Pop called out, and he hurried off in response to Mr. Manley's call.

Teddy watched him disappear in the direction of the ranch house, then reflectively continued packing the can with flour. But as he worked with his hands, a frown came to his face. He was remembering Pop's prophecy.

It would be a shame if anything unpleasant happened now. Why, it was not so long ago that they had rescued Belle and Nell Willis and Ethel Carew from the kidnappers. How were the girls on the 8 X 8 getting on? Teddy wondered.

He came to a sudden decision to ride over to Peter Ball's place to visit them as soon as this business was over.

Clamping the lid tight on the flour can, the boy thought of the cattle on Whirlpool River and of the absent Gus Tripp.

"Mighty queer that Gus would go to pieces like that," he muttered to himself. "There's a reason behind it all, or I miss my guess. Gus sure looked downhearted when he rode out."

Teddy carried the can and the flour bin toward the house. It was now about eight o'clock, and the bright fall sun brought the landscape out in bold relief. Teddy paused a moment before he entered the house and peered toward the mountains to the west, where he and Roy had lately come to grips with the gang that had run off with his sister and her two friends. Then his gaze shifted, and he looked over the rolling prairie toward the spot where they had earlier captured this same gang of rustlers, though they had later escaped to make more mischief. A grim smile curved the boy's lips.

"Did some one say the West was a quiet place to live in?" he muttered, and laughed shortly. "Seems to me we do nothing but meet trouble out here! Well, I suppose it's all in the game. Now we've got a mean job to get the cows off Whirlpool River. However--" He shrugged his shoulders, replaced the flour bin, while the can he had filled he carried to the yard and fastened to his saddle. His father had told them to prepare for a journey of several days, and this flour, mixed as it was with other ingredients, made fine "pan bread."

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