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 bust 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 buck us cowmen.”
“You can’t do it!” flared 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 belly.
“Reckon you won’t try that again,” grunted Harper when once again they were proceeding 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 undoubtedly 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.