As the night came on the spirits of the three scouts seemed to sink considerably. Somehow the passing of the sun and coming of darkness before the rising of the moon brought with it a new sense of being at the mercy of these rough men, who snapped their fingers at the law, and did about as they pleased.

Ned at first wondered why they had been brought here to the camp, the location of which had long been a mystery to outsiders. He even feared that circumstance meant something terrible to himself and two chums, because now that they held the secret of the hide-out of the rustlers, it did not seem likely they would be allowed to depart, even if they swore never to betray the fugitives from justice.

Then he noticed certain signs, being a most observant lad, as we already know, that told him another story. The rustlers for some reason or other were getting ready to make a change of base. Perhaps they believed that the vicinity of the Double Cross Ranch was likely to become too warm for them after what had happened, for Ally Sloper must have brought considerable news when he joined the gang.

The boys were allowed to sit together on a blanket. They had been tersely warned by the hoarse-voiced giant that if they so much as tried to escape they were sure to be shot down like coyotes; and there was that in his ferocious manner that made Harry shiver with apprehension; while Jimmy was seen to clench his fists and grit his teeth, as though his fighting blood had been aroused.

Ned had to smile, though, when he looked at the fearful difference between the two; one a giant and the other not far from being a dwarf. It reminded him of a little bantam defying a great barnyard rooster, or of David, armed only with his puny sling, facing Goliath, the mighty man of the Philistines.

Fortunately Jimmy had sense enough not to open his mouth, thanks to the shove Ned gave him with his elbow. Had he dared say anything bold and saucy to the big bully, the chances were he would have rued the day, for Hy Adams could have easily seized him by the nape of the neck and swung him around his head six or seven times, just for a lark.

“I wonder now do we get any?” Jimmy was saying, rather plaintively, as he sniffed the odors of supper cooking.

Jimmy could have stood for almost anything save starvation, or being deprived of his regular feed. If he had known that he had to run the gauntlet in the morning, or be toasted at the stake, the chances were that he would have let out a howl to the effect that he hoped they would at least fill him up with something to eat before making him lie down for the night.

“I wonder where he can be right now?” Harry was whispering, as he managed to cast his eyes around the bordering rocks, without doing it in such an open manner as to invite suspicion, in case any of the rustlers were watching them.

“Of course you mean dear old Jack,” the scout master went on to say; “and I’m hoping he’s at the ranch by this time, telling his story to the Colonel.”

“I can shut my eyes and see the riot there’d be in that case,” mused Harry, with a sigh; “every puncher would be wanting to join the rescue bunch, and the herds might go hang for one night. But Ned, perhaps he followed us up here?”

“Yes, that might be so,” admitted the other scout.

“Meaning to try and get us loose all by himself,” added Harry, huskily, as if the very thought of such a thing caused him to tremble with eagerness.

“It would be a great feat if Jack could manage it,” admitted Ned, longingly, “and I’ve got a lot of faith in our chum; but somehow I hope he’s chosen to make for the ranch and get the boys started this way.”

“Queer they didn’t bother doing much hunting for Jack, did they?” pursued Harry.

“Oh! you heard what the leader said, that it was too smoky and unpleasant down in the canyon, and that they’d come back in the morning to look him up. Little do they care whether he’s living or dead. They’re a heartless bunch; and I’d like to see them caught in a net. You can see they’ve got some of their women folks along, and that this is like a regular border village. There’s a pack of dogs, and over in that cabin I’ve counted as many as four children – all with hair that looks like it had never known a comb and clothes that would shame an Indian squaw. But the men are a tough lot, and all they seem to care for is playing cards, drinking, smoking and stealing cattle.”

The night had settled down by now. It was dark at first, because the moon would not rise until a little later, being now past its full.

Greatly to the relief of Jimmy one of the women brought them over some supper, such as it was. They were hungry enough to forget its shortcomings, though Jimmy did complain a little that they saw the bottom of the kettle too soon to suit him, and that he just knew he’d wake up feeling starved long before dawn. But then Ned and Harry were so used to hearing their comrade let out this sort of a wail that they let it pass by, without extending him any sympathy.

“Now for a night of it!” Harry said, later on, after they had been sitting there, watching the strange scene until they began to feel sleepy.

“But how are we goin’ to sleep without our blankets?” Jimmy wanted to know.

“We might ask for some,” Ned told him, “but honest now, I’d feel a little queer about snuggling down in some of the coverings I’ve noticed around here.”

“Same with me,” added Harry, shuddering, “because I’m silly enough to be a little particular about the blanket I get my face down in. If they’d only let us crawl in out of the night air, that tumbledown cabin close by would suit the bill. Suppose you beckon to that leader fellow and ask him, Ned?”

So when Ned managed to catch the eye of the party he believed to be the much wanted Clem Parsons, he invited him to come over to where they sat, which the man did, though with a frown on his scarred face and an ugly look in his eye that the boys did not like any too well.

“It gets pretty cool toward morning and as we haven’t any blankets, would you mind if we crawled inside that deserted cabin there to sleep?” Ned asked.

“So you can get your heads together and try to skip out, is that what you’re after?” the rustler demanded, harshly. “Well, this place is as good as anything you’ll get, so make the most of it. Tomorrow we’re meaning to fix you up, so as to let old Colonel Job know what we think of him. Perhaps he’ll have a special cage built to keep his prize fowls in when you get back to Double Cross Ranch. We owe him a long bill, and think we see a chance to pay it before we quit this region for our new location down in Arizona. Now shut up and don’t give us any bother, or I’ll let Hy Adams loose on you. He wanted to have a quirt jubilee right away, with you boys tied to stakes, and every puncher being allowed three cuts at your bare shoulders. But I said, ‘Wait till morning for the fun.’”

With that he turned on his heel and left them, Jimmy with wide-open mouth and trembling with indignation.

“D’ye think now he meant that, or was he playin’ hocus-pocus with us boys?” was what Jimmy asked, as soon as he could catch his breath.

“I’d like to believe it was in the nature of a joke,” Ned told him, “and that he was only trying to make us feel bad during the rest of the night; but from all I’ve heard about Clem Parsons, he’s a cold-blooded scamp, and I’m afraid he means to do something to us, Harry, that will make your Uncle Job furious. He said they meant to leave this part of the country, and on that account it’s likely they’ll go further than if they expected to stay around here right along.”

“Gee! I’m sorry to hear that,” Harry observed, and it could be seen that the boy must be considerably worked up, for Harry seldom used slang of any kind.

As for Jimmy, he ground those strong white teeth of his and muttered to himself in a fashion that told how excited he was.

“There he is talking with that big rustler now,” Harry remarked, a minute later; “the one you think must be Hy Adams, and who hurried over to join the leader after he saw him leave us. See the giant swinging his arms, and hear him growl like thunder in the distance. Now, what d’ye think he can be asking of Clem Parsons, Ned? D’ye expect he wants to have that nice little practice whipping-bee right away, and not wait for morning to come?”

“I don’t know, but something’s bothering him – that’s sure – for he keeps pointing this way and wagging that great big head of his, like he’d shake it off. Seems to me as though he’s winning his point, too, because the other man isn’t objecting as much as he did before.”

“There, he shrugs his shoulders and turns away, just like he told him to do as he wanted and that as for him, he washed his hands of the whole business. Oh! what if they do start in to use those cruel quirts on our backs, Ned?”

Ned Nestor turned a little white himself at the very thought; but he clenched his teeth in that determined way of his and said, slowly:

“That would be pretty tough, boys, and I hope it doesn’t strike us; but if it should, remember that we’re scouts, and supposed to be able to stand pain, like the Indians were taught, without wincing or crying out.”

All of them were watching Hy Adams with uneasy eyes. They seemed to know from the triumphant glare with which the terror of the hills observed them that he must have carried his point with the leader, and was now only figuring on how he had better proceed.

“Oh! if only I had my Marlin here right now, mebbe I wouldn’t put him on the blink in a hurry, though?” Jimmy was sighing; “I’d hold up the camp and let you fellers find your own guns. Then we’d pick out the ones we wanted to keep, and tell the others to clear out. But that’s all a dream, because here I am with only me two fists to back me up, and they wouldn’t count against that hog!”

Hy Adams was now talking with several of the most dissipated looking of the men. Whatever he might be telling them it seemed to please the others immensely, for they laughed harshly; and one fellow immediately stepped over to take down his quirt from where it hung alongside the door of a shack.

“There, did you see that?” demanded Harry, “it means whips after all, Ned! Oh! to think of their cruel hearts. Just like we lived down in Delaware, where they have the whipping post going. Can we do anything to get them to let up on the game?”

“I’m sorry to say not,” responded Ned. “Seems as if they’d got to the point where they must see the blood flow to satisfy their desire for revenge. We spoiled their little scheme for getting your uncle’s best herd of prize cattle that he means for exhibition purposes and this Adams has it in for us on that account.”

“Did you ever see such a terrible brute in your born days?” Harry asked, with a shiver of dread, for there were three punchers now who had laid hold of quirts and amused themselves, cracking the lashes at the ends of the whips as though desirous of inspiring additional fear in the hearts of the prisoners by making such suggestive sounds.

“Amos was right when he said his step-father was the biggest terror along the border,” Ned admitted. “I’ve seen some bad men, but never one that struck you as the howling storm does, and that describes Hy Adams. I’m feeling sorry for Amos, who must get in the way of that ham of a fist every once in so often. And that little woman who calls Hy Adams her husband, just think of how she must suffer when he rages like a bull in a china shop?”

“Now he’s heading this way, Ned,” Harry said half inaudibly, for he was tremendously excited.

“Well, try your level best to show a brave front, Harry, no matter what happens. We’ve been in lots of tough places and, somehow, always seem to get out before the worst we’ve been expecting comes along. I’ll try and talk him out of doing this cowardly thing. Sometimes I seem to be able to swing people around to my way of thinking, you know, Harry.”

“Yes, that’s so, Ned, you nearly always can; but you’re up against it this time, I’m afraid. He’s only a big brute, and chances are he’ll strike you in the mouth if you try and talk him out of doing a thing he wants to carry out. We certainly are in the worst fix of our lives right now.”

“Talk to me about the silver linin’ of the cloud,” burst out Jimmy, “I’d like to see what that means. Here we’re in a black hole and the ladder’s been took away. I’m feeling pretty punk myself; but c’n stand it if the rest of you do.”

“They always say it’s darkest just before dawn, Jimmy,” advised Ned, seeking to buoy up the spirits of his two chums more than that he could himself see any reason for hope.

The giant, accompanied by a crowd of men and women, advanced toward the spot where the three scouts stood awaiting their coming, for the boys had scrambled to their feet, anxious to know the worst.

“Peel off!” roared the bulky leader, with some pretty strong additions to the order that no doubt he fancied were apt to strike terror to the hearts of the trio of khaki-clad boys who had fallen into their hands. “Strip them ere jackets oft in a hurry, ’case we’s agwine tuh warm yuh up some. Fear’d ye’d git cold in the night, was yuh? We’ll fix it so’t you won’t need tuh worry ’bout feelin’ the chill o’ the night air. Quick now, git bare down tuh the waist, er we’ll hev tuh help ye strip!”

Ned did not say a word of protest. He realized then and there that such a thing would be on the same principle as waving a red flag in front of an enraged bull.

He looked at Harry and Jimmy and then began to unbutton his faded khaki coat, while the impatient giant started to snap his quirt viciously close to their ears, as though he could hardly wait until the time came to use it on their shrinking flesh.

They did not dare linger too long, and yet it was without any heart that the chums began to disrobe. Who could blame them for their hesitation and the beseeching looks they fastened on the red face of the big bully of the camp. But water falling on the rock would make as much impression as these looks seemed to do on Hy Adams.

They were down to the last garment when Harry uttered a little cry.

“Look, oh, look, Ned, who’s coming into camp!” he whispered; but Jimmy must have also caught the words, for he immediately added:

“Sure, it’s little Amos and his poor maw; mebbe they know the camp’s agoin’ to be busted up and they got orders from the boss to come here, so’s to travel along with the rest. But shucks! Little Amos and his maw can’t help us any. They just come in time to see the circus – that’s all!”

And yet, strange as it might seem, a tiny glow of hope struggled up in Ned’s heart; just as though the coming of those two helpless ones might be the straw that was meant to swing the balance again in their favor, he knew not how!

CHAPTER XXII.
THE REAL BOSS – CONCLUSION

Ned saw Amos, who was leading a couple of burros loaded with stuff apparently from the cabin on the creek, stop and stare at them. Then he dropped the ropes by which he was leading the pack animals, and clutching his mother’s dress pointed excitedly toward the spot where the drama was being conducted.

Just what he may have said Ned did not know, but to his astonishment both Amos and his “maw” started toward them, almost running in their eagerness to get there.

Some one among the rustlers must have seen them coming, for Ned discovered that broad smiles were spreading over the faces of the men nearest him, and he wondered why this should be.

He knew very soon.

Hy Adams was bustling around and roaring as was his wont, because he saw the boys ceasing their efforts to disrobe, as he had ordered.

“I done tole yuh what yuh’d git ’less yuh hurried, and take that!” he shouted at the top of his terrible voice, as he aimed a vicious cut at the nearest scout, who happened to be Jimmy.

The quirt struck him squarely across his shoulders, and as there was only a thin garment to protect the skin, Jimmy gave utterance to an involuntary yell, though there may have possibly been more of anger in the outcry than distress.

Then something unexpected happened. That stinging quirt was snatched from the uplifted hand of the bully, and, as he whirled to see who dared interfere with his pleasure, he seemed rooted to the spot to discover the blazing face of a wiry little woman thrust close up to his.

“What’s all this mean, Hy Adams, you big hulking coward!” she shrilled in tones that could be heard all over the camp; “here you darin’ to whip the brave boys that saved our Amos from bein’ drawed down in a quicksand! I told ’em when they stopped in to see me that I’d do anything I could to pay ’em back, and seems like the time has come sooner’n we thought it would. Jest drap them whips – all of ye! There ain’t agoin’ to be any fun like that to-night, you hear me, Hy Adams? Tell the pack to clear out. Hurry up now, and do what I say, or I’ll humble you afore the hull crowd!”

There never was such a complete change in a man as had come over the giant. In that apparently meek little woman he knew of old that he had his boss. Ned understood now plainly enough what Amos meant every time he mentioned his step-father as being such a bully that men jumped to do his bidding; and, on each occasion, wound up with a few mysterious words that, at the time, had piqued his, Ned’s, curiosity very much.

Hy Adams glared at his wife for a full minute; but if anything her snapping eyes blazed with more fire than ever. Then he wilted, as a starched linen collar is likely to do on a hot summer day.

“Shore, it’s all right, Belinda, if yuh sez so,” he said weakly, “we was jest agivin’ ’em a little skeer tuh pay up fur them havin’ knocked us out o’ a bully lot o’ prize steers. But I sure reckons as how they been punished enough. Turn around, boys, and let it go till mornin’, when we’ll kerry out our plans.”

“Not if they mean any harm acomin’ to these boys, just put that in yer pipe and smoke it, Hy Adams,” his wife told him, as she shook her fore finger under his nose; then she suddenly thrust her whole hand against his face, and continued: “Now, make yerself skeerce, ’cause I wants to talk with these boys. But I’ll be awatchin’ you, Hy Adams, don’t forgit that. And I allers keep my word, you know.”

Then Ned understood what Amos had meant when he said there were “high old times” at home every time this big step-father of his came around, and that his visits were getting less numerous.

After that the boys had it easier. Mrs. Adams even got out several blankets of her own from the bundles on the pack animals and loaned them to the scouts; but all of them wished she hadn’t been so kind, for they felt that now they must of necessity make use of the coverings, and it hurt some.

By degrees the camp quieted down. Jimmy was long since fast asleep, but then Jimmy could get in that condition with only half a chance. Harry had remained wakeful quite a while, but Ned believed he, too, must have crossed over, for at times he was able to catch the regular breathing of his chum that seemed to tell of slumber and oblivion, so far as worries went.

Ned could not manage to forget himself. He turned from side to side and assumed all sorts of fresh attitudes, but his brain seemed too entirely active, for even when he closed his eyes he kept on thinking of everything under the sun.

So midnight came and went.

The small hours of the night had now arrived and, sure enough, a coolness began to spread about that made Ned draw that blanket up closer to his face, much as he disliked doing so.

Once, as he was turning to avoid some small object that felt like a root and bored into his ribs under the double blanket, he saw something moving over among the bushes. Looking a second time, Ned was sure it must be a handkerchief. Then it vanished and something else took its place, which he made out to be the face of a man.

Evidently the party must have been trying to catch his attention, for immediately he looked in that direction he saw the other make a warning gesture and then drop down again out of sight.

Ned was thrilled, for he understood from this significant sign that help must be at hand. Who the man was he could not positively say. It may have been Colonel Job; then again he rather fancied that it was Chunky, the lanky puncher, for whom all the scouts had conceived such a liking.

Lying there Ned waited to see what was going to happen.

He could hear the pawing of ponies that were secured near by. A dog bayed the moon, as his kind have a weakness for doing at a certain time of each month. Other sounds there were, too, such as might be expected in a camp like that of the roaming cattle thieves.

Then Ned began to notice movements here and there. He fancied that the camp was being surrounded, and how his heart thrilled with rapture at the thought. Unable to keep the secret to himself, he kicked Harry in the shins, and before that worthy could voice an indignant protest, Ned was whispering the inspiring truth in his ear.

In turn Harry told Jimmy, so that presently the three chums were lying there trying to catch fugitive glimpses of what was going on without exciting the suspicion of the cattle poachers.

Then there was a sudden loud cry of alarm. A woman, it turned out, had discovered the lurking shadowy figures in the bushes, when she awoke feeling feverish in the night, and started for the spring close by in order to quench her thirst.

After that it was like a volcano when the whole top blows out. There were loud shouts and yells and screams; there came the quick detonation of firearms and the shrieks of women and children.

The rustlers were taken quite by surprise, and besides a bunch of the Double Cross punchers the sheriff and his big posse was on hand, bent on wiping out the reproach that had so long existed in his territory, so that the camp was pretty well surrounded on every side.

In spite of all precautions, however, when the turmoil and excitement were at their height, some of the men managed to break away and escape, at least for the time being.

Neither Hy Adams nor the leader, Clem Parsons, were among these lucky ones. Ned himself had been quick to act. He had noticed so many things since coming to the rustlers’ camp that he could put his finger on the spot where his rifle as also the weapons of his chums had been stowed. And his first act was to fling himself into that tent with all the eagerness of a hungry hawk.

He had met a man crawling out and collided with him in such a clever way that the fellow was knocked senseless, while the only damage Ned sustained was a lump on the side of his head, which later on yielded to treatment and witch hazel.

No sooner had he found his rifle than Ned was off, in hopes of running across the leader of the rustlers, Clem Parsons, the man who had one of the most checkered careers back of him known to Secret Service officials.

Once again luck was with Ned, for he came upon the tall man with the scar on his left cheek just as he was making headlong for the neighboring rocks. If he had once passed from the sight of those who were busily engaged capturing the camp, there was every reason to suspect that the foxy rascal would not be come up with in a hurry again.

“Halt! throw up your hand, Clem Parsons. I’ve got a warrant for your arrest. The Government wants you at Washington, and I’ve been asked to fetch or send you there. This rifle shoots true, and my finger is on the trigger, so go slow if you know what’s good for you!”

The rascal saw that he was in a trap and that so long as that gun bore on him he would be next door to crazy to attempt any hostile move. So Ned called to Jack, whom he saw close by, to come and tie the hands of Clem Parsons behind his back until he could borrow a pair of steel handcuffs from the sheriff.

Hy Adams was also in limbo. He had fought like a tiger, for he was possessed of a spirit of ferocity that could stand up before anything but the will of his little meek-looking wife; but a glancing blow from a clubbed gun knocked him out, and the sheriff had him fastened up so all his enormous strength was of no avail by the time his wits came back to him again.

Some of the rustlers managed to escape, but the gang was broken up for good as both leaders had fallen into the grip of the law. To finish with Clem Parsons it might be said that the scouts found a chance to send him on to where he was wanted and that in due time he received a long sentence.

Hy Adams is still in a Nevada penitentiary, and will be considerably older if he lives to complete the sentence he received, as a stealer of cattle and horses. Amos and his mother removed to a town, where the boy could attend school. Colonel Job and his wife interested themselves in Mrs. Adams and saw that she was placed in a position where she could earn a good living doing sewing for the people of the neighboring ranches. Amos expects to soon take his place as a regular puncher on the pay roll of the Double Cross, for boy that he is he has proven to be as expert at rounding up and branding cattle as any veteran might be.

Of course, having carried out his mission, Ned could enjoy all that followed with a free heart. And Harry, too, soon came to the conclusion that it would be a very good and profitable investment; so that his accounts of what the ranch was capable of producing soon convinced his father, who had every faith in the boy’s judgment. Of course, Colonel Job and Mr. Henshaw were delighted with the glowing prospect that opened out before them.

What glorious times Ned and his three scout chums did have during the period of their stay on the plains. They explored every nook within three days’ journey, and even took a run over to the famous Colorado Canyon, where Harry was able to feast his eyes to his heart’s content on the strange rock homes of those cliff dwellers, the Moqui Indians; and Jack took myriads of pictures of what they saw while in the gigantic cleft that is reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world.

The vacation was all too short, and in the joy of the present they could even, for the time being, forget the terrible suffering they had endured while making their way across country from Los Angeles, first by automobile and then with pack mules purchased from a prospecting party that was starting back home disgusted with the hard luck that had pursued them.

When the time came to say good-bye to the Double Cross Ranch and the punchers who had come to think so highly of the scouts, Ned and his three chums felt almost broken hearted. They would never forget all they had gone through with on this wonderful trip; and what with the copious notes taken on the way, while the stirring incidents were still fresh in their memories, and the abundance of fine pictures Jack carried back with him, it would seem as though less fortunate members of the troop might get a pretty good idea of what had happened to their four comrades.

Of course, Ned and his chums were bound to see other stirring adventures, and we only trust that it may be our privilege to write some of them up for the pleasure of those boys who delight to read of brave hearts and intrepid souls among the wearers of the khaki.