Frederick Gordon

“ Sammy was disappointed. There was no sign that any human being had ever made his home in the cave. Sammy had hoped to find an old bed or stool or blanket to hold up his theory. But there was absolutely nothing of the kind.
"Robber's cave, is it?" joked Bob.
"Gold and diamonds," grinned Frank.
"You fellows make me tired," said Sammy, put on the defensive. "Do you think I can have these things made to order? What do you boobs expect, anyway?" he snorted wrathfully. "Here you have a kidnapping, a chase by cowboys, a lynching and a big cave all in one day, and you're not satisfied yet." ”

“ Frank, and even Sammy, had still cherished a sneaking hope that their parents might look on the gun question a little more favorably than Bob's parents had, but they soon found out that they were mistaken. Both families cried out in horror at the idea, and it began to look as though the Indians and outlaws were safe as far as the boys were concerned.
"There's no use," said Sammy, shaking his head mournfully when he met his chums the next morning. "Our only chance will be to pick up some guns after we get out there." ”

“ Running through a cave of course. Robbers choose just that kind of place——"
"Oh, forget it, Sammy," broke in Bob with a tired expression. "You're thinking of nothing all the time but robbers and mysteries."
"And if he ever saw a robber," added Frank, "he'd run hard to get away from him."
"Of course I would," admitted Sammy. "And so would you, too. But they can't hang around their caves all the time, and we might keep watch and slide in when there was nobody there. There's no telling what we might find."
"Well, we won't count the money just yet anyway," said Bob with a grin. ”

“ Claxton laughed outright.
"The only trouble I have with them," he said, "is that sometimes the men get to teasing and browbeating Tom Lee and I have to stop it for the sake of fair play."
"I thought some of them were highbinders," said Sammy, feebly.
"I suppose there are some of that kind," assented Mr. Claxton with a careless nod; "but they stick pretty closely to the big cities, like Sacramento and San Francisco, and we never have to worry about them out here."
"I suppose you have rattlesnakes out here?" said Bob.
Mr. Claxton's face grew grave.
"More than we want," he said. ”

“ There was plenty of water and fresh towels and for the next few minutes there was a vigorous splashing and rubbing as the Fairview boys removed the dust of travel.
"Don't they seem nice, kind people?" said Sammy, between rubs. "They make you feel right away as though you'd known them for a long time."
"Mother said we'd feel at home the minute we got here," answered George.
"She thinks there's nobody like Mr. and Mrs. Claxton," put in Frank.
"It certainly looks as if we were going to have a dandy time here," prophesied Bob. ”

“ Claxton?" asked George.
"We'll bring you home a great big mess of fish for supper," said Bob, coaxingly.
"I know there are lots of bullheads and catfish there," remarked Sammy, "and I shouldn't wonder, too, if there were perch and pickerel."
"You boys have got such a wheedling way with you that I can't refuse you anything," laughed Mrs. Claxton. "I guess it will be all right for you to go, but you must be sure to get home before dark. I'll have Tom put up a nice lunch for you." ”

“ They looked at each other for an instant and then by common consent they looked toward the window of the room where Bob had been put to bed.
"Don't you think you saw that curtain move?" asked Sammy.
"It looked like that," agreed Frank. "But, of course, it might have been the wind."
"Wind nothing!" retorted Sammy, scornfully. "The wind that moved that curtain is named Bob Bouncer."
"Let's go in and rough house him," suggested Frank.
"We surely will," replied Sammy. "A fellow that isn't too sick to shoot a putty blower isn't too sick to have a pillow bounced on his head. Come along." ”

“ His dress and ways were a novelty to them, and now that their appetites were satisfied they watched him with a great deal of interest as he moved about clearing the table.
"Maybe he's a highbinder," said Sammy in a low tone to Frank, who was seated next to him.
"What's a highbinder?" asked Frank.
"Oh, I don't know exactly," answered Sammy. "But I think they're a kind of bandit or murderer that other Chinese hire when they have somebody that they want to put out of the way."
"There you go again," murmured Frank. "Can't you ever get over guessing about people, Sammy?" ”

“ But none of them felt that they were safe. They didn't know but what the snake at any moment might wind its way up the supports on which the bunks were built. They could feel their hair rising on their heads with horror.
Now that the candle was extinguished, the whole bunk-house was in perfect darkness. They listened fearfully. Every thing was still as the grave except for the sibilant hiss and angry rattle that came to their ears as the enraged reptile ranged around the room, seeking some means of escape. ”

“ The boys groaned in sympathy.
"We might make blowguns though," said Bob, brightening up. "They say you can learn to shoot with them just as well as with a rifle."
It was an unlucky reference, as Bob saw as soon as he had spoken.
"Just like a putty blower," suggested Frank.
"Bob won't need any practice," remarked Sammy, as he and Frank bore down on their victim.
There was a good-natured scuffle as Sammy and Frank rolled Bob over and over on the carpet. Then Mrs. Bouncer's smiling face appeared at the door, and she drove the madcap lads off to bed. ”

“ And I can see a lot of fun that we can get out of this cave, too. What's the matter with our making it a kind of headquarters while we're on the ranch? It's as dry as a bone and maybe Mrs. Claxton will let us bring blankets and grub out here and stay over night once in a while. Think of sleeping in a cave. What do you think the boys in Fairview would say to that?"
"It'll make them crazy when they hear of it," said Frank, complacently.
"You bet it will," agreed Bob.
"And we can have a big fire outside the cave, and one of us will keep watch while the others sleep," put in Sammy. ”

“ But when the Winter had gone and had been followed by Spring, the boys naturally began to plan for the Summer vacation. Mr. Bouncer had taken a cottage at a seaside resort called Lighthouse Cove, and Sammy and Frank had been cordially invited to go with Bob. They had had a splendid time, and Sammy had been greatly stirred up by the strange actions of a man who in Sammy's opinion was certainly digging for pirate gold. The boys, too, had a very dangerous adventure when a motor launch on which they were broke from its moorings in a storm and drifted out to sea. ”

“ I had another good look at it while he was standing under the tree with the rope around his neck, and I'm surer now than I was before that he was one of the men we saw on the train with that infernal machine."
"How do you know that it was an infernal machine?"
"I don't just know," admitted Sammy. "But a man who's bad enough to kidnap a girl and run off with her is bad enough to blow folks up!"
"I don't care how bad he was," replied George. "It doesn't seem right to hang him without letting him have a lawyer or a trial and giving him his chance." ”

“ Sammy's face showed his disappointment, and Mr. Claxton smiled.
"You needn't feel bad about it," he said. "Take it from me, the best place to see a grizzly bear is behind the bars of a cage in a menagerie or in the Zoo."
"How about wolves?" asked George. "Do they trouble you much out here?"
"Not at all in the Summer time," replied the ranchman. "Sometimes during a hard Winter they get desperate and come around trying to get a calf out of the herd. But they don't succeed very often at that. ”

“ I guess you boys got to me just in time."
"It must have been something you'd eaten," suggested Frank.
"You've just been cramming yourself with those everlasting suckers," said Sammy, severely.
"Huh," snorted Bob, "you're a pretty one to talk! I bet I didn't eat any more candy this morning than you did."
"Never mind what the reason was," broke in Frank. "The only thing we care for now is that Bob is safe and that we're all on solid ground." ”

“ They were starting to run when Sammy called a halt.
"Wait a minute, fellows," he said. "I'm just as crazy to get near that fire as you are. But how do we know who those people are? What are they doing out here in the open? They may be outlaws or robbers for all we know."
"I don't care if they are," said Bob, desperately. "They can rob me of all I've got if they'll only let me get warm by their fire."
But George had been somewhat impressed by what Sammy had said and he stopped them.
"It won't do any harm to be careful," he said. "My father says it is always better to be safe than sorry. ”

“ He folded his arms in a gloomy manner that spoke volumes of the possible danger of the trip, and the other boys felt rather shivery. In imagination they could see the bones of the young adventurers bleaching on the western plains.
"If we do get back," went on Sammy, when he had let this sink in far enough, "we'll bring you fellows something that we've picked up out there. Maybe it'll be the rattles of a snake——"
"Or the teeth of a grizzly bear," put in Bob, hopefully.
"I'd rather have a scalp," put in Hank Blair.
"The claws of a panther would be good enough for me," said Jim Eaton. ”

“ But he's a cowardly brute and jumps at the sight of his own shadow."
"Are there any Indians out this way that ever go on the warpath?" asked Bob.
"Hardly," grinned Mr. Claxton. "The only Indians we ever see in these parts are those that hang around the saloons in the towns doing odd jobs for the sake of a drink."
It was not a very dignified picture of the noble red man, and the boys sighed in spirit. Hank Blair's hope that they would bring him a scalp seemed very far from being realized.
"Do the Chinese ever give you any trouble?" asked Sammy, desperately. ”

“ Sammy felt the sickening sensation at the pit of his stomach that he had sometimes felt when an elevator started down with a rush. So this was all his great discovery amounted to! Another bubble of his had burst.
"So that was it," he said slowly.
"That's all it was," replied the conductor. "Both of those men have boys of their own and are good citizens and fathers. But don't feel a bit bad about it, my boy," he added kindly. "Anybody who isn't up in baseball slang might easily have made the same mistake. ”

“ The rest of the journey passed without special incident, and all the party were delighted when just before dark they found themselves once more in Fairview. After all, this was home, where most of their happiest hours had been spent, and though they liked to get away from it at times for a change of scene they were always glad to get back again to the old home town.
Sammy and Frank got a loving welcome from their folks and each home became at once a beehive where every one was kept busy preparing for the trip. There was a lot to do and not much time to do it in. ”

“ One of them even turned part way round in his seat and tried to get into conversation with the boys.
"Where are you youngsters going all by yourselves?" he asked in a friendly way.
"Out on a ranch," George answered promptly.
"Near Grand Forks," put in Sammy.
"We're going to stay all the rest of the Summer," added Bob.
"Is that so?" said the other genially. "Quite a long trip for boys of your age without any grown-ups with you. I was born and brought up on a ranch myself."
He went on to tell them many interesting things about ranch life, and they listened with the most absorbing interest. ”

“ But they kept on, and as the river made several windings they were soon out of sight of their first camping place.
Confident now that they were reasonably safe from pursuit, they relaxed their efforts, and Bob and Frank took their turn at the oars while the others took charge of the horses.
"I suppose they've hung that poor fellow by this time," said Bob with a shiver.
"I shouldn't wonder," replied George.
"Perhaps he deserved it," remarked Sammy. "He may have murdered somebody besides stealing the girl. His face looked as though he were bad enough for anything. ”

“ There are plenty of other sandwiches and you can fix them this time to suit yourself."
"Listen to him!" shouted Sammy.
"Of all the nerve!" muttered George.
"He really thinks he's going to get away with it!" cried Frank.
"Well, he's got another think coming," said George. "What will we do to him, fellows?"
"He ought to be hung by the neck until he's dead," declared Sammy, whose eyes were still watering and throat smarting.
"Killing's too good for him," put in Frank.
"I'll tell you what we'll do," declared George. "We'll give him a dose of his own medicine. ”

“ After supper the boys were walking down near the bunk-house when they met Hank Thompson.
"Where are the rest of the men, Hank?" asked George, after they had exchanged greetings.
"All of them off on a round-up," replied Hank. "They won't be back till late to-night."
"You must be rather lonesome," said Frank, with a smile.
"I've got one fellow down there to keep me company," grinned Hank. "But he ain't what you might call real sociable like."
"What do you mean?" asked Sammy, with quick curiosity.
"Come along into the bunk-house and you kin see fur yerselves," answered Hank. ”

“ Sammy wondered at their hardihood in discussing the crime so openly. Probably they thought that the noise of the train would be their protection. Or they might have noticed that those seated right behind them were boys instead of men, and this might have made them careless.
"They never made a bigger mistake," Sammy said to himself. "I'll show them that boys are not to be trifled with."
Already Sammy saw his name in big headlines in the papers, accompanied by his picture. He thought of the sensation this would make, not only with his own immediate chums, but with the other boys of Fairview. ”

“ Claxton, "how would you boys like to have horses of your own to ride while you're here?" The boys gasped with delight, and Mr. Claxton smiled.
"Tell Hank to go down to the corral and bring the horses up here," he directed his foreman. "Have you boys ever had any experience in riding before?" he asked, when the foreman had gone to execute his mission.
They had to confess that outside of an occasional ride on one of the sedate old horses of Fairview that could hardly get up enough spirit to break into a trot, they had had no experience. ”