Bud swore softly.
“It’s war to the knife from now on between Ricker and me”; he said the words in the manner of a man registering a vow.
CHAPTER XII—THE RAID
Most of the Bar X riders had been recalled from the range before daybreak. Bud Anderson had them lined up and was explaining the reason of their sudden recall when Mason appeared on the scene.
After a few more terse words to his men, Bud signaled to Mason and they drew off to one side, leaving the cowboys muttering sullen threats against the Ricker faction.
“The men sure are in an ugly frame of mind and want to get at the Ricker crowd,” Bud began in an undertone to Mason. “Tex is a favorite among my cowboys, and I’m going to raid Ricker’s ranch and get the man who did the shooting. Tex got a bullet through his shoulder and close to his lungs, the doctor says. One of our boys was once a surgeon and has been taking care of Tex all right.”
Mason was puzzled over one point; he remembered he had seen Tex just before Ricker’s men rode up.
“How did Tex come to be at the Post when I saw him here when the men lined up behind you?” he queried, “and how did he get in a fight with Ricker’s bunch?”
“There wasn’t any fight,” Bud answered with deadly emphasis to his words. “You remember I had to call Tex down a bit yesterday as I knew he was likely to start something. Well, after that I didn’t pay any more attention to him, and as he is a sensitive cuss, he took a fool notion to wander off down to the Post by himself.
“No one saw him go, and as near as I can make out by his talk, he had drunk a little too much at the hotel and feeling wobbly on his feet he started for the hotel porch to get some air. Just as he opened the door, Ricker’s bunch swung around the corner and one of them took a quick shot at him. The gang never stopped, but made directly for their ranch. Tex says he got a good look at the man that shot him, and I am going after him to-day.