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CHAPTER V
THE WARNING

Flaring up suddenly, a stick, in the embers of the fire which had longbeen smoldering, burst into blaze. By the light of this Dick saw thefigure hurrying out of the maze of sleeping bodies in the camp. Andthere was light enough to see, though dimly, that the figure was thatof an old man.

"Billee Dobb, is that you?" cried Dick, lowering the gun with which hehad begun to draw a bead on the moving figure. "What's the matter?"

But, even as he asked the question his eyes roved to the place wherethe old puncher had spread his blankets. And a huddled form there toldDick that Billee was still sleeping.

Then, before the boy rancher could again get his gun up, the mysteriousfigure that had caused the night alarm slipped out of the circle offirelight and into the shadows of darkness.

Hardly sure, even yet, that it was not all a dream, part of the queer, fantastic vision of the cowboy shoe salesman kicking his foot, Dick satthere on his blankets, fingering his gun and wondering what wouldhappen next.

"Did I see an old man or didn't I?" the boy was asking himself when twoother things happened simultaneously, in the end convincing him that itwas not all a dream.

One thing that happened was that Billee Dobb himself awakened and satup as Dick was doing.

"What's the row?" the veteran cattle puncher demanded.

Before Dick could reply there was a disturbance among the tetheredponies as though something had alarmed them. In a flash it came toDick that the intruder he had seen was trying to steal a horse. Theponies did not dream. When they saw anything they knew it was real.Accordingly the boy sharply called:

"A horse thief, Billee!"

This warning was enough to set any Westerner on the alert in aninstant, for, in spite of the progress of automobiles, the horse isstill, in the cattle reaches of the west, a thing most vitally needed.

"Horse thieves, eh?" cried Billee in ringing tones. "The varmints!

Come on, boys! We'll get 'em!"

His cries and the voice of Dick served to rouse the others in camp andin a few moments Nort, Bud, Yellin' Kid and Snake Purdee had unrolledfrom their warm blankets and had grabbed their guns. Bud threw somelight cottonwood on the embers and the blaze that at once resultedshowed objects up fairly plainly, though there was sufficient shadow tomake the picking out of any particular horse thief very difficult.

"Where is he – which way did he go?" shouted Yellin' Kid.

"Over there!" and Dick pointed the trail along which they had riddenthat day. Quickly he told his story – how he had been awakened by themidnight visitor kicking the boy's foot as he strode over him.

"Come on!" called Snake and in a moment the entire camp was trailingafter him in the direction where Dick had seen the old man vanish.

But it was like pursuing one of the shadows of the night, and it didnot take long, after emerging from the circle of illumination of thefire into the blackness of the surrounding night, to impress all withthe idea that a capture was out of the question.

"How many horses did he get?" asked Bud. "Gee! Why didn't you wakeme, Dick?"

"I did as soon as I got my wits about me," was the answer. "It allhappened so suddenly."

"Horse thieves don't generally send word they're comin'!" chuckled

Billee. "But it strikes me you've made a mistake, Dick."

"A mistake, how?"

"Callin' this old man, as you say he was, a horse thief."

"What else was he?"

"I'm not sayin' he wasn't. But he didn't take any of our ponies.

Count for yourself."

It took only a few moments to enumerate the riding and pack animalstethered near the camp and the count was found to total correctly. Notan animal was missing.

"Guess you were too quick for him," commented Nort to his brother.

"It's lucky you woke up."

"It's lucky he kicked my foot!" chuckled Dick. "Lucky for us andunlucky for him."

"Somewhat," admitted Billee Dobb. "Well, he come here and he wentaway, and we aren't none the worse off as far as I can make out. GuessI was a little out when I said not to stand guard. But I didn'timagine we were in horse-thieves' country."

"Hadn't we better have sentry-go from now on?" suggested Bud.

"'Twouldn't be a bad idea," admitted Billee.

"I'll take first shot at it," said Dick. "I'm wide awake now and since

I saw this old man I'll know him again if he comes sneaking back."

Nort and Bud were as eager to take the first watch as was Dick, but heinsisted that it go to him. So, after another supply of light wood wasplaced near the fire in readiness to throw on and produce a quickblaze, in case of another alarm, the others retired to their blanketsand Dick was left on guard.

Once more the silence of the night settled over the camp, a silencebroken only by the occasional howl of a distant coyote. Dick madehimself as comfortable as possible and at first he was able to keepwidely awake. Then as the fatigues of the day manifested themselves ina desire to go to sleep once more he found himself wishing that theintruder would come back again to furnish excitement to keep him awake.

But nothing like that happened. The night continued quiet and in duetime it came the turn of Bud to relieve Dick. Later Nort relieved Budand finished the night watch which came to an end when a rosy tint inthe east announced, the coming of a new day.

"Well, you didn't catch anybody I see!" chuckled Billee as he sauntereddown to the water hole to wash for breakfast.

"No, nothing happened while I was on duty," announced Bud.

"He knew better than to come while I was sitting up waiting for him,"added Nort.

"You didn't see anything; did you, Dick?" asked Yellin' Kid of theremaining sentry. "I mean after the first scare."

"No, nothing. He didn't come back – whoever he was."

"Wonder what he came for, anyhow?" mused Bud who had started to follow

Billee to the water hole.

Suddenly Nort, who was walking near his cousin, stooped and pickedsomething up off the ground. It was a soiled bit of paper, evidentlypart of what had once been a grocery bag.

"Maybe he came to leave this!" suggested Nort as he turned the paperover.

"Came to leave that – what is it?" asked Bud.

"It's some sort of a warning, I guess," was the answer. "Look!"

He held the soiled scrap out to the others. The writing was large andstraggling, but it was plain. The warning said:

KEEP AWAY FROM DEATH VALLEY IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU. S. T.

CHAPTER VI
AT DOT AND DASH

Silently the little circle of ranchers, young and old, gazed at theominous warning Nort had picked up. Yellin' Kid was the first tospeak, following the reading of the message on the dirty piece of bagpaper.

"Well, I'll be horn-swoggled!" voiced the Kid in his usual loud tones.

Billee Dobb looked sharply from Nort to Dick and then at Bud.

"This any of your doin's?" he asked.

"Our doings! What do you mean?" challenged Bud.

"I mean you aren't getting up some stunts for the rodeo – oh, Iforgot – that's off," the veteran puncher hastened to add. "But none ofyou youngsters did this, I hope."

"Dropped that warning?" questioned Dick. "I should say not! I didn'tdo it!"

"Nor I!" voiced Nort. "I picked it up, and I can see, Billee, youmight naturally be suspicious of me as one who knew just where tolocate this piece of paper. But I had nothing to do with it."

"Nor I!" said Bud. "'Tisn't my idea of the right kind of a joke toplay."

"You never can tell what young fellows will do," murmured Old Billee.

"But I'm glad to hear you three say you had nothing to do with it.

Sort of relieves me."

"'Tisn't my kind of writing," went on Dick as though he thought, because he had given the first alarm and had been, in fact, the onlyone to view the midnight intruder, that more suspicion might attach tohim as the joker than to any one else.

"I'm not much on writin' myself," declared Yellin' Kid, "and while Imight say I'd be proud if I could sling a pen the way this feller did,I want it distinctly understood I didn't have nothin' to do with it."

"You needn't tell the folks in the next county about it," gently chidedBillee. Then he took the paper from Snake Purdee, who was curiouslyexamining it, and subjected it to a close scrutiny.

"Make anything of it, Billee?" asked Yellin' Kid endeavoring to put thesoft pedal on his voice.

"The writin' ain't that of anybody I know," said the veteran, "and Ican't, offhand, recall anybody whose initials are S.T. But TimMellick, who keeps the store over at Palmo, has paper bags of the samekind of stuff as this."

"I don't believe that will be much of a clew," said Dick. "Most paperbags are alike, and store keepers get their supply of them from awholesale house that supplies a hundred customers."

"No, I don't reckon we can do much toward pickin' up the trail of thisfellow from that scrap," admitted Billee. "So the next best thing todo is to get breakfust."

"That's right – let's eat!" exclaimed Snake.

"But you aren't going to throw that away; are you?" asked Dick as hesaw Billee folding the ragged piece of brown paper containing thesinister warning.

"Throw it away? Oh, no! Of course I'm not. I'm going to keep ituntil I can find out what it means."

"What it means is plain enough," said Bud. "Somebody doesn't want usto go on to Death Valley and Dot and Dash ranch."

"All the more reason why we should go on there and see what it means!"cried Nort.

"That's the talk!" echoed his brother and cousin.

"If they're trying to scare us away, they'll find we don't scare wortha cent," added Bud.

"It goes to prove, though," remarked Dick, "that Billee's story islikely to be borne out. I mean that there's something queer going onat Death Valley."

"Queer is right!" assented Bud. "Though whether this is a warning inour interests, sent by one who doesn't want to see any of us get putout of business with the poisoned water, or whether it's a warning tokeep away so we won't discover some crooked business – that's somethingwe can't answer."

"Not yet," said Billee Dobb significantly. "But we'll soon be able to.I've got my mind made up, now. I'm going to see this thing through tothe finish!" and he smote his right fist into his open left hand with asound like the report of a small gun.

"That's the way to talk!" cried Yellin' Kid. "I wish I'd had a sightof the fellow who dropped that warning," he went on. "He would besitting down here now talking Turkey and tellin' what it was all about.Why didn't you call me first, Dick?"

"I raised the alarm as soon as I could wake myself up," was the answer.

"But I guess we were all sleeping pretty sound."

While Snake was frying the bacon and making the coffee, some of theothers cast about the camp in a circle, seeking some clew to themidnight visitor. But nothing could be found that shed any light onthe mystery. It was evident that the man, whoever he was, had riddento the camp, had picketed his horse out some distance and then hadsneaked in among the prostrate, sleeping figures. Evidently his objectwas merely to leave the warning, and not to rob or commit some moreserious crime. And his touching the foot of Dick was an accident.Then, seeing he had caused an alarm, the man slipped away, dropping hisnote.

Puzzle their heads as they did, none of the six could recall any one, either among their friends or enemies, whose initials were S.T. andDick's suggestion, that the symbols of a name were only assumed, seemedto be generally accepted.

Breakfast was eaten, camp was broken and once more, after anothercasual casting about for possible clews to the intruder, the cavalcadewas under way. But one more night separated them from the vicinity ofDeath Valley and the new ranch.

"And the sooner we can get there and begin checking up on some of thethings we've heard the better I'll like it," remarked Bud.

"I guess we all will," echoed Nort.

"I only hope we'll find something tangible, and not a lot moremysteries," spoke Dick.

"It'll probably turn out to be poisoned springs or bad water,"suggested Yellin' Kid. "That's the most reasonable explanation."

"Um!" was all Billee Dobb would reply to that.

They made rather good time that day, as the trail was now downward forthey had passed the range of low hills outside of the valley. And whennight came, and they were once more camped out, they knew that thefollowing day would see them at Dot and Dash ranch.

"What about standing guard to-night?" asked Bud of his cousins whencamp was established and a good supper had been eaten.

"'Twon't do any harm to have sentry-go," agreed Dick.

"But the chances are a hundred to one against anything happening todisturb us," said Nort. "That fellow isn't likely to come back."

"I agree with you," said Bud. "But, all the same, I think we'll allsleep sounder if we stand watch and watch."

"It'll be our turn," declared Snake. "We three old gazaboes will taketurns. You kids had last night. This is ours."

It was no more than fair and the boy ranchers were glad enough to letthe men act as sentries. So Billee, Snake and Yellin' Kid arranged itamong themselves, leaving the night to uninterrupted slumber for thethree boys.

"That is, we'll sleep if nothing wakes us," said Bud.

And nothing did. Nor did any of the cowboys, who took turns stayingawake during the night, report any untoward occurrences. But in spiteof that fact when Bud went to the grub box to get out some bacon hefound, stuck in a pack, a folded brown paper, like the one on which theother warning was written. And this message was of like import withthe other. It said:

DON'T GO TO DOT AND DASH.

However there was no signature to this. But none was needed to make itcertain that it was from the same hand.

"Well, what do you know about that!" cried Nort when he saw what Budhad found.

"How'd he get in camp to leave that warning without being seen orheard?" asked Dick.

"Guess it's up to us," admitted Billee with a sheepish smile. "We oldgeezers must 'a' been asleep at the switch. No tellin' which one itwas," he went on, "'ceptin' I'll swear nobody slipped past when I wason guard."

"And nobody came into camp while I was sentry," added Snake.

"That goes for me, too!" came from Yellin' Kid.

"Then we'll all have to plead guilty," chuckled Billee. "Anyhow here'sthe warnin' and it looks as if this fellow, whoever he is, wasfollerin' us up to discourage us from going on."

"Well, he shan't discourage me!" exclaimed Bud.

"Nor me!" came in a duet from Nort and Dick.

"That's the ticket! Then we'll go on!" said Billee. "But I would liketo know," he murmured, "how this chap can sneak in and out of a campwithout rousing somebody. I sure would!"

However there was nothing more to be done. And after making sure noclews could be picked up, the second warning was placed with the first,in Billee's big leather wallet, and the travelers prepared to resumethe trail.

They were now in a wilder and more lonesome country than any they hadever before visited. It was distinctly the "bad lands," but often insuch a region can be found isolated places where abundant water andherbage offer ideal sites for cattle raising.

Such, Mr. Merkel had said, was his new Dot and Dash ranch. And it wasapparent to the boys and their older companions, as they rode along, that the valley was a good locality for raising cattle.

"This must be the place," said Bud as they began riding down theopposite side of the slope they had climbed to cross the low range ofmountains. "It's just as dad described it. I'll show these papers towhoever's in charge and they'll know we have come to take over theranch." He tapped in his pocket a bundle of documents which his fatherhad given him to show the transfer of authority.

"Yes, that's Dot and Dash," said Billee as he recalled some of thefamiliar landmarks. "This is the place where I used to punch cattle."

"Seems to be a right nice sort of a place," murmured Snake. "And Ireckon them tales about all the cattle droppin' dead are fakes. Lookat that herd," and he pointed to a collection of dots on a distant hill.

"Nobody said all the cows died!" retorted Billee. "And maybe the badspell, whatever it was, has worked itself out. I hope so. But there'sDot and Dash all right," and he waved to a collection of ranchbuildings that came into view with a turn of the trail.

In a short time they had traversed the slope and were on the level andgreen floor of a pleasant valley, long and narrow, yet wide enough togive space to several big ranches. The hills were barren and rugged insome places, and wooded in others.

On up to the ranch rode the cavalcade, the thoughts of the boys busywith many things. It was rather a tamer entry than they had counted onafter Billee's stories and the receipt of the two dramatic warnings.

"Guess we aren't going to have any trouble after all," said Dick asthey rode their horses to the hitching rail, made the reins fast anddismounted to enter the main house.

"It's quiet enough," said Nort

"'Tis, for a fact," echoed Bud. "Doesn't seem to be anybody aroundhere for me to serve my possession papers on!" he chuckled. "Hello!Anybody home?" he called loudly.

There was no answer save the echoes of his voice through the ramblingbuilding.

"Give 'em a call, Kid, you can make yourself heard," suggested Snake, and the yeller let out a ringing shout.

Still there was no reply and the silence was beginning to get on thenerves of the boys when Billee, who had been roaming around, came inwith a queer look on his face.

"What's the matter?" asked Bud.

"There's a dead man outside in the yard," was the quiet answer of theveteran puncher.

CHAPTER VII
SAM TARBELL'S STORY

This news, so startling, coming as it did after the strange silencethat seemed to wrap Dot and Dash in a pall, and following the talk thathad been going on the last few days concerning the sinister aspect ofthe situation, was enough to startle any one. And the boy rancherswere no exception.

"A dead man?" gasped Bud.

"Who is he?" Nort wanted to know.

"Who killed him?" was Dick's question.

To these inquiries Old Billee Dobb returned no answer. As for Yellin'Kid and Snake Purdee, they just stood in the middle of the desertedliving room of the ranch house and stared at the old puncher. Deathdid not frighten, nor was it anything new to the cowboys. Yet Billee'snews was startling.

"Let's go have a look at him," suggested Yellin' Kid, in no whitlowering his voice as he might reasonably be expected to do under thecircumstances. "Where is he? Do you know him, Billee?"

"Never saw him this side of sole leather as far as I know," answeredthe veteran. "But he's out there by the corral, and here's anotherthing. If we're going to turn our ponies loose into that same corralthe fence has got to be mended. 'Twon't hold a yearling as it is now."

"That can be 'tended to later," remarked Snake. "Let's go have a lookat this poor gazaboo you say has cashed in."

"It looks as if Death Valley was living up to its name," said Nort toBud as he and the other lads followed the men out of the silent anddeserted house.

"Can't tell yet," was Bud's rejoinder. "This may be just a naturaldeath, and somebody that has no connection with this ranch. Lots ofpassing strangers stop at our place and he may have stopped here."

"Well, even then, that doesn't say what killed him," protested Nort.

"We'll soon find out," went on Bud. "Come on."

Billee Dobb was leading the way toward his startling discovery, and amoment later the whole outfit from Diamond X came upon the body. Itlay, as Billee had said, near a corral the fence of which was much inneed of repairs. The man was a typical cowboy, with a bright redneckerchief and sheepskin chaps. His gun had fallen from the holsterand lay beside him. His horse was nowhere to be seen, and a cowboywithout a pony between his legs, or at least in his immediate vicinity,is like Hamlet with the melancholy Dane left out.

"There he is," said Billee in a low voice.

Snake and Yellin' Kid stopped in their tracks. But Bud, who, perhaps, was too young to feel any squeamishness at the proximity to death, hurried forward and knelt beside the motionless figure. Seeing whattheir chum had done, Nort and Dick started to follow. But they werehalted, when they had almost reached the man, by Bud's voice exclaiming:

"He isn't dead at all! He's breathing!"

"He is?" cried Nort.

"Sure! He isn't dead at all! Get me some water. We ought to have adoctor, but maybe we can pull him around until we can find one. Butget some water —pronto!"

Dick slung his canteen around, pulled out the stopper and, an instantlater, was kneeling beside Bud and the stranger. Nort helped Bud, onthe opposite side, support the man's head, which appeared to be butloosely attached to his body and the boys finally succeeded in forcinga little water between the almost lifeless lips.

"We ought to have some sort of a stimulant," said Bud as he noticed afaint flickering of the man's eyelids, as though life was strugglinghard to return to the frame it had almost decided to vacate.

"I got some aromatic ammonia in my saddle bags," said Dick. "Yourmother put it in with a lot of other medicine, thinking we might needit."

"We do, now, and mighty bad!" exclaimed Bud. "Rustle it here, Dick."

A little later the powerful heart stimulant, mixed with a little water, was being administered to the stranger, and when the fumes of it haddone their work the fluttering of his eyelids became stronger.

"He's comin' 'round," observed Billee who, with his two oldercompanions, had drawn nearer to observe what the boys were doing.

"Looks like you didn't call the turn on him after all," said Yellin'

Kid, for once in his life at least lowering his voice.

"I hope I didn't," said Billee. "I'd like him to pull through. Maybehe can tell us what's wrong with Dot and Dash."

"Don't look like there was anything wrong," commented Snake, lettinghis eyes rove away from the prostrate stranger to the wide reaches ofthe ranch and the valley in which it was so snugly located. "Thisseems to be a right proper place to raise cattle. I only wish it wasmine. I'm tired of being just a puncher. I'd like to own this place.I think it's all bunk what you been tellin' us, Billee."

"You wait," was all Billee would reply. "You can't tell by squintin'at a toad how much wool there is on him, and you can't give a ranch agood name just by lookin' it over. You wait!"

By this time the ammonia had completed its work and restored toconsciousness the prostrate stranger. He was able to sit up now, without being supported by Bud and his cousins. And as he supportedhimself on one hand, while with the other he reached for his fallengun, he murmured:

"Who are you and what happened?"

"Stranger," pronounced Billee, who, by common consent seemed to be thespokesman, "we can answer the first part of your question but not thelast. All we know is we arrived here to find you – er – stretched outlike you was takin' a sleep." Billee had a certain delicacy aboutmentioning death, now that the man was so evidently alive.

"As for us, we're from Mr. Merkel's ranch – Diamond X – and we're senthere to take charge of Dot and Dash. You may have heard of us and youmay not."

"Oh, yes, I've heard of you," was the somewhat unexpected answer. "Infact I was waiting for you to come to take charge."

"Then you aren't a stranger here?" asked Bud.

"Well, I been here a few days, that's all. I was Mr. Barter's foremanup to the time he quit, and sold out, so he told me. He asked me tostay here and turn the place over to the new owner. Merkel – yes, that's the name. I was away when the deal went through."

"I have the papers here," said Bud, reaching for the documents in hispocket.

"'Tain't necessary. I'll take your word for it, my boy. And now thatyou're in charge I'm going to vamoose. I've had full and plenty."

He struggled to his feet, plainly showing how weak he was, swayedunsteadily for a moment and then staggered to a bench on the shady sideof the bunk house not far from the corral.

"If I could have another nip of whatever that was you gave me – " hemurmured.

Bud gave him the remainder of the ammonia and it brought a tinge ofcolor to the tanned and leathery cheeks of the puncher.

"I guess I can light out now," he went on. "Have you seen my pony – oh,

I forgot – he's dead. Well – "

He looked at the untenanted corral and then to the bunch of tetheredanimals the outfit from Diamond X had brought with them.

"Look here!" exclaimed Bud. "Do you mind telling us what happened? Wehave heard strange stories about this ranch and don't know whether ornot to believe them. We found you stretched out and – "

"Sort of took me for dead; didn't you?" asked the man.

Now that he had given the opening Billee had no hesitation in replying:

"We sure thought you had cashed in."

"Well, I nearly did," said the man. "I believe I would have been deadin a short time if you hadn't come along. My horse is dead, I'm sureof that. And how I managed to drag myself here after he collapsedunder me is more than I know. But I did, hoping I might get some help.Then I passed out. That's all I know until I found myself sitting upand drinking camphor water."

"'Tisn't camphor," said Bud. "It's aromatic ammonia."

"Oh," murmured the man. "Well, sort of tasted like the old camphorbottle my mother used when she got faint. However, I'm much obliged.And, now that you're in possession I'll be traveling on. Only – myhorse – "

He was as lost without a steed as a sailor would be without a ship, andhe was plainly at a loss how to proceed.

"Look here!" broke in Bud, who, as the representative of his fathercould speak with some authority, "we can't let you go this way. In thefirst place you're not fit to travel on, and, in the second place wewant to hear your story. After that maybe we can fix you up with apony if you want to leave."

"I'll tell you my story all right," said the man, readily enough. "Andthanks for the loan of a horse. As for staying here – after whathappened – I guess I don't feel much like it."

"What happened?" asked Dick, eagerly.

"Lots of things, but the main one was that I nearly passed out onaccount of some deviltry. But I'd better begin at the beginning."

"'Twould seem the most sensible way," said Old Billee. "In the firstplace what's your name?"

"Sam Tarbell," was the answer.

In an instant Bud, Dick and Nort exchanged glances. Like a flash cameto them the memory of the warning paper, signed with the initials S.T.They would fit this man's name – Sam Tarbell.

But if Billee, Snake and Yellin' Kid thought of this coincidence theydid not remark upon it.

"Sam Tarbell; eh?" murmured Billee. "I used to know a feller of thatname once. Only he was Bill Tarbell. I don't reckon he could 'a' beenyour brother; could he?"

Sam Tarbell shook his head.

"I never had a brother," he answered. "Well, as I was saying, I beenacting as foreman for Mr. Barter a few days back, and when he sold outI agreed to stay and deliver the ranch to the new owners."

"What became of Tim Dolan, who was foreman, and all the otherpunchers?" asked Snake. "Takes more'n a foreman, which you say you arenow, to run a shebang like this. What happened to them?"

"Well," said Sam slowly, "some died and the rest, including Dolan, litout and that left me. Dolan was foreman, like you said, but hevamoosed in a hurry and I almost cashed in when – "

He suddenly interrupted his story to gaze off across the level plain.The others, following his glance, saw riding along an old man on asomewhat ancient steed. He was an old man with a white beard andflowing, white locks, and as he glimpsed him Sam exclaimed:

"There's the old man now!"