“Afraid so, boys. After what Nick said I can’t afford to leave the place without some one who can handle things. We’ve got a long ride ahead of us—might be a week. And I’ve got to know that the ranch is bein’ taken care of. I didn’t exactly like Marino’s attitude when I gave him the gate. If he tries any funny stuff, you’ve got to be on the job.”
“I see, Dad,” Roy answered. “That’s the right thing, I guess. If you want us to come on later, we can head down the river by boat and get there almost as soon as you can. Now what are the orders, Dad?”
It was a disappointment for the boys to stay at home, when they had been counting on riding with their father, but both saw the wisdom of Mr. Manley’s plan. Their mother would not care to stay any length of time on the ranch without some one of responsibility near by, especially in view of what had lately happened. She was not a nervous woman, but she realized that the presence of a man like Joe Marino on the ranch was a constant threat.
Then, as Teddy and Roy thought that their two friends from the 8 X 8 were visiting Belle, things began to look brighter. They had no real reason for expecting trouble from Jake Trummer. As soon as he heard the straight of the affair he would probably “snap to,” as Teddy expressed it.
“But if you want us, we’ll be ready,” the boy continued. “You’re taking five men, aren’t you? That ought to be enough. We haven’t more than three hundred head in that herd, from the last checking. Guess five can handle ’em.”
Mr. Manley smiled at his son’s assumption of an old rancher’s prerogative, but he took care that Teddy did not see the smile. He wanted his sons to have full confidence in themselves, and to this end he never hesitated to place responsibility on either Teddy or Roy.
Before starting, Mr. Manley gave the necessary instructions for the running of the ranch, then, with complete assurance that they would be carried out to the letter, he set out. Teddy and Roy watched the party, led by Mr. Manley, head for the road and toward Whirlpool River.
“Kind of wish we were going,” Teddy declared, as he waved a hand in farewell. “But dad knows best. Come on—let’s see what Nell and Curly are doing.”
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Teddy and Roy, after they had attended to the immediate business of the ranch, went for an evening ride with the three girls. Bug Eye and his Fishmobile were to stay the night, and possibly several days, to look over some cattle on the north range that Peter Ball, his boss, was thinking of purchasing to fill out his stock. There had been an epidemic of blackleg among the cows of the 8 X 8, and Mr. Ball wanted to get some healthy Durhams in to fill out, as he had lately contracted to fill a large order from Denver for cattle on the hoof.
On the way back to the ranch, Nell and Ethel, or more popularly, “Curly,” rode on ahead, while Teddy and Roy talked in low tones of The Pup. Roy had neglected to tell his father of the conversation he had heard behind the cook house, but when he informed Teddy, the younger lad attached little importance to it.