Roughriders of the Pampas: A Tale of Ranch Life in South America

by F. S. Brereton

"Now, Harold, you will be able to pick a horse, and try what it is to sit a South American saddle," cried Dudley, as the party prepared to ride away. "See here, I will give you a lesson in mounting."

Pepito had brought Dudley's favorite horse to meet him, and striding up to the beast he sprang into the saddle with a bound which surprised the lad who was watching. The reins were gathered up in an instant, the feet seemed to find the stirrups by themselves, and in a moment he was off. But Dudley swung his animal round when fifty yards away, brought him back at a gallop, and was on his feet beside Mr. Blunt at the very moment when his horse came to a standstill.

"Just what I have been longing for ever since we left for Buenos Ayres," he laughed. "Life on shipboard may be very nice, but give me the open pampas and a horse."

"And me also," sang out Mr. Blunt, as he climbed into his saddle. "You will learn it all in a little while, Harold, and, like Dudley, will enjoy every minute of the day. For me the life is fascinating, and I'll be bound that you will find it the same. But come along. Let us be off."

Harold had had some practice with horses in England, and he mounted the beast he had chosen without so much as a qualm. But he soon found that an American saddle and a fresh, almost wild, horse were very different from pigskin and the hacks one usually obtains elsewhere. Still, he sat well, and managed his steed after a little practice. Indeed, he soon felt so much at home that he was able to take some note of his surroundings, and was delighted with the pampas. As to the camp they formed that night, the hearty meal, and his bed under the shelter of his saddle, the boy simply revelled in the experience, and woke as rosy and happy as possible. Within a week he had quite settled down to the new life, and ever by the side of our hero had ridden from end to end of the rancho. By then a good proportion of the logs which Mr. Blunt had ordered had been delivered at the wharf on the river, and had been divided.

"I have arranged for the work of fort building to go on at each of the corrals at one and the same time," said the owner of the estancia, as he and the lads sat in the one room of the house one evening after the day's ranching was done. "And I will give you my reasons for such a step. A plan that appeared some three weeks ago to be one demanding no haste is now one which undoubtedly demands instant execution. I shall not feel secure till all the forts are erected."

"Then have you had news of the roughs who attacked us?" demanded Dudley anxiously, for ever since the attack made upon them on the river he had been thinking of the consequences. He had now obtained some insight into the conditions of this portion of South America, and knew that the Entre Rios district was one which lay at the mercy of any well-organized gang of brigands who cared to take to the pampas. He had met a few of the neighboring ranchers, all of whom had at some time been victims of the Indian raids, or of sudden onset by white outlaws, and he knew now how real was the danger of which Mr. Blunt had warned him on the way out to the country. "You have heard something?" he asked. "What is the news, sir?"

"There is little, but what I have gathered is bad," was the prompt answer. "I set agents to work, and already I have had a report. The ringleader of the gang who attacked us on the way up the river—I mean, of course, the ruffian who organized them, but who took no active part, has not yet been discovered. But the authorities in Montevideo have had warning that a gang is being formed. They have had complaints about these marauders before, and as far as possible they endeavor to send warning to the ranchers. They tell me that it has come to their knowledge that the graziers in the Entre Rios district are to be attacked; but where the gang of rascals is now, when they will commence operations, and of how many they consist, the agents have no definite information. So we must be prepared, for the storm will burst when least expected, and those who have made no preparation will go under. For that reason I am setting all the hands I can procure to work at the forts, and I shall not rest till they are completed."

That he was ill at ease was evident, and from that date, for a month, building operations went on feverishly, and wooden forts were erected close to each one of the corrals. Not till they were finished did Mr. Blunt consider that he could spare Dudley.

"I have waited till now, as an attack might come at any moment," he said one day when each one of the forts was declared to be ready. "We have now finished the first portion of our plan. It remains now to train the men, to teach them the signals, and to accustom them to the use of the forts. After that is done we must communicate with the neighboring ranchers, and I will send you two youngsters to make all arrangements. You shall set out at the end of the week, and I will give you an escort, for you might be attacked. Select your own men, Dudley, and let me know who they are as soon as possible."