"Y-e-o-w!" chorused the cowboys.
CHAPTER XVI
TAD WHIPS A MOUNTAIN BOY
"Shame! Shame on you!" cried Tad Butler indignantly.
The lad leaped from his pony which he quickly tethered to the hitching bar in front of the store.
This done he ran to his fallen companion, who still lay where the lariat had thrown him. He was half stunned and covered with dust. After jerking him from his pony, however, the cowboys, though continuing their shouts of glee, had made no further effort to molest Philip.
Tad quickly released him.
"I 've had a lot to do with cowboys, but you're the first I ever knew who would do a thing like that. The cowboys I know are gentlemen."
"Then, d'ye mean to say that we ain't, ye miserable cayuse?" demanded one of the number, rising menacingly.
"The fellow who roped that boy is a loafer!" answered Tad bravely, taking a couple of paces forward and facing the crowd. "You wouldn't dare do that to a man, especially if he had a gun as you have. Why didn't you try it on Luke Lame when he was over here?"