They were coming all right. But for the time he was holding his own and even doing a little better. They had raced their horses from the ranch3 in their endeavor to catch up with him, while he had only ambled4 along over the same distance. He exulted5 as he realized the distance was rapidly growing greater between them.
“Why don’t they shoot?” he thought. Hardly had the thought flashed through his brain when a bullet whistled by him. Then came another and another.
“Guess I’m too far,” he thought. “Out of range!” But he guessed wrong, for a moment later his pony6 stumbled and fell. He rolled clear and staggered to his feet and started to run on. But a moment later he was jerked to earth. One of the men had roped him.
When his captors came up he realized that Jerry was not with them and he turned to look back over the way they had come. No Jerry was in sight. Evidently as soon as real trouble started the men had decided7 it was better for Jerry to keep out of it.
“Thought you’d get away, did you?” said Wesley with an ugly laugh. “Swell chance.”
Bob kept quiet. They tied his arms to his[196] sides with the lasso and then one of the men went over to the pony Bob had ridden and, putting a revolver to its head, fired. Bob realized that no matter how mean a citizen a cowboy might be, he would not let an animal suffer. The shot which had dismounted him had hit the pony in one of the hind8 legs and had broken it.
Little was said as they took Bob and hoisted9 him into the saddle of one of their horses. Harper got up behind him and handled the reins10 on either side of his body. He turned the horse’s head away from the trail into the low brush that here covered the ground. The other man followed.
Bob was not gagged. Probably his captors were certain that no matter how hard he yelled there would be no one near enough to hear. That being the case, the boy decided that it was useless to wear out his lungs. So he kept his tongue still and suffered in silence.
“You figgered you was goin’ to git clean away an’ dust it for the dam, huh? Goin’ to tell ’em that we-uns up here was aimin’ to play thunder with that ol’ bunch o’ masonry12 that’s a-goin’ to take the bread out o’ our mouths, huh?”
Bob paid no attention to this outburst, letting it go past his ears. Wesley’s voice from behind took up the refrain.
“And, if it’ll do you any good, which it ain’t, you might know that we are not only aimin’ to bust13 up that dam down yonder, but we’re goin’ to do it, sure. It’ll all be over by the time you get back there, though, so I reckon the information won’t help you much.”
They both laughed.
“This li’l’ rooster thinkin’ he could come along up this here way an’ fool us! But Jerry’s got the hand all dealt with Miguel. The Greasers will turn the trick any night now. Then it’s good-bye ol’ dam for some time.”
“Yep,” boasted Harper, “an’ mebbeso we can keep a-puttin’ it off ontwell they git plum tired of tryin’ to buck14 us cowmen.”
“You can’t do it!” flared15 out Bob, unable to restrain himself any longer. “The Service will beat you, and don’t you forget it!”
“Shut up!” roared Harper in his ear. “Children should be seen and not heard!” And to emphasize his remark he fetched the boy a ringing clip on the side of the head. Not having the use of his hands, Bob lost his balance and fell out of the saddle.
A short dash for freedom was all he got, for Wesley on the other horse caught him before he had gone many steps. This time they tied his feet by means of a rope under the horse’s belly16.
“Reckon you won’t try that again,” grunted17 Harper when once again they were proceeding18 towards what the boy imagined would be some sort of prison.
His captors began talking about the situation at the Mexican border and Bob drank in every word they said. It was just now that he began to realize what depth of feeling there was about the way the situation was being handled and to what lengths the ranchers and cattlemen would go to force the United States to make war on the other country. Wesley and Harper undoubtedly19 were “bad men,” but Bob was convinced by their talk that they had started on this particular piece of villainy for reasons which they thought were right. Probably when the thing began, they never planned anything worse than a strike among the Mexicans in order to delay for a year or two longer the flooding of the rangeland. Then had come the chance to induce the Mexicans to commit worse crimes in order to strengthen the feeling against Mexico and thus bring on war. Holman, the boss of these men and Bob’s host, had said that he wanted to move his stock to his ranch in Mexico when the dam was finished—but it would be foolish to do that while the country was still so unsettled. Presumably, there were a lot of men in the same fix as Holman, and these, naturally, wanted the United States to step in and make the unsettled country peaceful.
As he was revolving20 these things in his mind they came to an opening in the thick brush. It lay right on the edge of the river, close to which they had been traveling. Evidently it was the place that had been decided upon as his prison, for, almost screened by the encroaching scrub oaks, was an adobe21 hut. Bob could not imagine what it had been used for. As they approached it in the gathering22 gloom of night, it did not seem to have any opening except a door. No windows were visible from the direction in which they came and Bob doubted if there were any on the other side.
“I figger our bird will be pretty near safe in this li’l’ cage,” said Dave Harper. “’Member when we holed up that hoss thief here?”
“Sure do,” was the answer. “’Specially safe as I elect myself a c’mittee o’ one to stick here on guard.”
They unbound the boy and pulled him off the horse. They went rapidly through his pockets and relieved him of everything they could find—his watch, small change, and the jackknife he always carried. Then, before he had a moment to limber up his cramped23 muscles, he was dumped unceremoniously into the hut and the door was pulled to.
“It’s good we fixed24 up this door and put this bolt on,” Bob heard Wesley remark as the bar fell into place. “Now both of us can go back to the ranch so’s it won’t look suspicious. The kid is safe here till doomsday.”
“Mebbeso, but I ain’t goin’ to take no chance on it! I’m goin’ to stay right here till morning and then you can come down and do a spell o’ watchin’ too!”
Probably this last remark was meant only to impress him, Bob thought. If the hut would hold him, Harper wouldn’t spend the night watching. It would be too uncomfortable. Moreover, it would be all the same if Harper was able to make his prisoner believe he would be outside waiting for an attempt at escape. Once more he heard a voice. This time it was directed at him. It was Harper.
“Listen, kid! Someone will let you out o’ there before you starve. And I’ll be camped right here until the thing that’s goin’ to happen, happens. You might jest as well make yourself at home and stop worrying, ’cause it won’t get you nowheres. Good night and sweet dreams!”
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1
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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2
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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3
ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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4
ambled
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| v.（马）缓行( amble的过去式和过去分词 )；从容地走，漫步 | |
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5
exulted
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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7
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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8
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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9
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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11
taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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12
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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13
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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14
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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15
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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16
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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17
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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18
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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19
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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20
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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21
adobe
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| n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司 | |
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22
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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23
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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24
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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25
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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