Adrian also noticed that as they worked these fellows were forever twisting their heads around, and shooting anxious looks in the direction of the ranch house, just as though they anticipated an eruption at any moment now, when affairs might be brought around to a crisis.
He wished he could only get a chance to inform them who he was, and make sure that they would stand by him when the explosion came. How Uncle Fred would act was altogether uncertain, as yet. Adrian remembered him as a fiery little man
who could look furious when he wanted, and was deemed utterly fearless when it came to facing a leveled gun in the hand of a desperate cattle thief; but then that was a different thing to standing up before a screaming, angry woman, whom he dared not lay a hand on because of the fact that she was a member of the other sex; while at the same time she was privileged, as his lawful spouse, to scratch and pound him to her heart’s content.
Perhaps it was strange that with all this racket taking place those in the ranch house had not issued forth as yet, to ascertain what it meant. But then cowboys are nearly always such a noisy set that one becomes accustomed to their wild whooping and yelling, and pays little attention to a sudden outburst of that kind.
But Billie knew it could not last.
“There, I saw a fellow skoot inside the house right then, Adrian!” he suddenly cried; “and chances are he’ll hand ’em the information that the stampeded herd is safe back again. If that gle-orious news don’t fetch ’em out on the licketty-split run then I don’t know beans. Just you watch and see what’s going to happen! Hey! see that, would you? I guess now that little fellow might be your one-time fe-rocious Uncle Fred, what’s been sat down on by the woman’s rights rule. See him shade his eyes with his hand, and stare at the cattle, as if he reckoned he might be plumb locoed. And
now he’s started on the full run this way, to find out what happened. They never had a stolen bunch of stock come back before, you see; and that’s what makes ’em crazy over it. It seems too good to be true, to some of these fellows; while others are looking as black as the inside of my hat, and saying all sorts of bad things among themselves. Here he comes, Adrian; now get ready to push back the brim of your hat, and let Uncle Fred recognize you!”
Adrian was hardly listening to all these excited remarks on the part of the fat chum. With Donald close beside him, still mounted on his pony, he awaited the coming of the ranch manager, now running swiftly toward the spot where they had halted.
“And there she sprints after him!” gasped Billie; “Oh! My! Now mebbe we are going to see high jinks? Here, hold on, Mr. Thomas, what you sliding out like that for? They won’t hurt you, so long as my chum says you can stay!”
But the man they had picked up on the trail did not seem to fancy the looks of things, for he made the utmost haste to limp over to the nearest bunk house, around which he hurried so as to lose his identity in the crowd that was gathering.