This was shown to Donald by the way the four loyal punchers kept in a bunch, and rubbed elbows with the three new hands, whom the young owner of the ranch had employed to help out.
The night was not far away, and from indications it promised to be one calculated to be marked with a red star in the history of the Bar-S Ranch.
Adrian wondered how his father would have handled such a situation. The thought caused him to grit his teeth, and determine that come what might he would never knuckle down to those greedy Walkers; if forced to the wall he would give up trying to run the ranch, and leave a barren desert behind him when he retired; but not one dollar of tribute would he ever knowingly pay in order to purchase immunity.
Presently he saw Donald beckoning to him, and
went over to where the other chum was standing, leaning on the bars of the nearest corral.
Donald seemed to be amused over something, and of course Adrian was immediately curious to know what it meant.
“Tell me, so I can laugh with you, Donald,” he remarked; “things look so serious all about us that it’d do me a heap of good just to have one little chuckle, if only I knew of anything funny. What’s been happening around here?”
“Why, it’s this way,” replied the other, looking to right and left first, as though he did not want any one to overhear what he meant to say, for Donald never hurt anybody’s feelings if he could avoid it; “your Uncle Fred came along here, and chancing to see Charley Moo, he made all sorts of gestures until he caught his eye, and then beckoned him over.”
“Sure,” Adrian went on to say, “to give him orders for supper, I reckon; because there’s a raft of hungry punchers to feed tonight; and they tell me that Aunt Josie never bothers her head about what the boys get to eat, because her supper is cooked privately, and as a rule she eats it alone, uncle preferring to mess with his hands.”
“Well, I guess this night Uncle Fred’s a little mite afraid your aunt might take a notion to eat with the boys, like lots of women folks do on ranches down our way, so as to civilize the savages, they say.