The Trail Boys of the Plains; Or, The Hunt for the Big BuffaloFoster, W. Bert (Walter Bertram)
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The Trail Boys of the Plains; Or, The Hunt for the Big Buffalo
Foster, W. Bert (Walter Bertram)
American bison -- Juvenile fiction; Mine accidents -- Juvenile fiction; West (U.S.) -- Juvenile fiction
It was just then that Chet touched his chum’s arm and pointed to the
second figure by the campfire. This man was sitting, with his back
against a log and his knees drawn up. He was the one who smoked, and it
was both a vile pipe and strong tobacco he was sucking on.
Dig nodded vigorously when he made out the features of this man in the
shadow. “It’s Tony,” he breathed in Chet’s ear. “But who’s he?” and he
pointed to the sleeping man.
Chet shook his head over that question. Somehow that broad-brimmed,
black hat looked familiar; but Chet could not place it just then.
Besides, he was too anxious regarding what they should do with these two
rascals.
Chet had refused to let Dig bring his rifle; but both boys carried their
ropes. He saw that Tony Traddles cuddled a rifle in the hollow of his
arm; it had slipped down until it lay in such a position that the man
would have hard work to grab it up quickly. As for the sleeping rascal,
Chet could not see that he was armed at all.
The boys both had their revolvers, but at the start Chet had forbidden
Dig to flourish his pistol.
“Somebody might get hurt. They’ve stolen from us, but they did not try
to injure us. And how we should feel if we managed to seriously hurt one
of them!”
Of course, in a sober moment, Dig would have agreed to this; but at the
time he grumbled some.
“They didn’t hurt us? Huh! look at my forehead. If it hadn’t been for
them, I wouldn’t have a headache.”
He was in full accord with his chum, however, agreeing that Chet should
take the lead. Tony Traddles, the bewhiskered, ragged tramp, was really
nodding as he pretended to keep watch before the brightly burning fire.
He pulled at his pipe slowly; his effort to draw the smoke into his
mouth was almost mechanical.
Dig was the better of the two chums with the rope, as well as with
horses. Chet signalled him to watch the sleeping man so that when he
roused and sat up Dig could noose him before he had a chance to seize a
weapon. For his own part, Chet stepped away a few paces and made ready
his lariat.
There were no trees or shrubs in the way. Tony’s eyes were too full of
sleep to see him. Besides, both boys were behind the log and Tony would
have had to turn his head to catch a glimpse of them.
Dig was getting nervous when he saw his chum taking so much time for his
preparations. Suppose Tony aroused suddenly—or the other man?
But Chet was not going to miss his man by any over-eagerness. He made
sure the coil of the rope ran free and that the noose was open. Then he
threw the lariat and it dropped just where he wanted it to—over the
head and shoulders of the gorilla-like rascal.
“Help!” grunted Tony, who had been quite asleep, feeling the tightening
of the noose about his arms.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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