Dick in the Desert

CHAPTER V.

DICK "PULLS THROUGH."

When Dick had retraced his steps to Mansfield's he found no less than ten of the citizens there, several of whom he had already met; and all were evidently eager to talk with the boy who had walked across Smoke Creek Desert.

There were but few in that section of the country who would have dared to make the venture, although it was by no means a dangerous or difficult journey for a horseman; and Dick's bravery, in connection with all the circumstances, pleased the citizens of Antelope Spring wonderfully well.

The package Dick carried told that he had been successful in finding a physician, and Mr. Mansfield was curious to learn how much the medical gentleman had charged for his services.

"He wouldn't take a cent," Dick said in reply to the question. "It seems to me the folks in this town are mighty good."

"I don't reckon we'll ever be hung for our goodness," the proprietor of the shop said with a grin; "but it is considerable of a treat to see a kid with so much sand as you've shown. Dr. Manter knew which side his bread was buttered on when he wouldn't take your money; an' if your father don't get better with what you're takin' to him, you can count on Manter seein' the thing through. You've got quite a load, my son."

"Yes; an' I'm countin' on carryin' more, if you'll take money for what I buy. I don't want to set myself up for a beggar, 'cause I've got the stuff to pay for everything."

"What do you want?"

"About ten pounds of flour, and the same weight in bacon or salt pork, with a little pepper and salt, will be as much as I can carry."

"It's a good deal more'n I'd want to tote forty-five miles 'twixt now and sunset," one of the visitors remarked; and Dick replied cheerily, —

"It wouldn't seem very heavy if you was carryin' it to your folks who'd had nothin' but fresh meat to eat for the last month. Mother and Margie will be wild when I bring in that much."

"I'll put up twenty-five pounds in all, for I reckon there are other things that would come handy," Mr. Mansfield said as he began to weigh out the articles, and Dick asked quickly, —

"You're to let me pay for 'em?"

"Sure," the proprietor replied as he winked at the loungers. "You shall give all the stuff is worth."

"I didn't want to hang 'round here very long; but Mr. Mason said I was to wait for him."

"If Bob Mason give sich orders it'll be worth your while to stop a spell; for he's as cross-grained as a broncho when matters don't go to his likin', an' might make trouble for you."

Dick was considerably disturbed by this remark, which had much the sound of a threat, and looked out of the door uneasily.

The citizens had been exceedingly kind to him; but he had had no little experience with inhabitants of frontier towns, and knew that friendship might be changed to enmity very suddenly.

The shopkeeper had not finished filling the small order when Bob Mason rode up on a wiry-looking broncho, and after tying the beast to a hitching-post, entered the store.

"I had an idea that was what you were up to," one of the loungers said; and Mason replied with a laugh, —

"When we have sich a visitor as this 'ere kid, I reckon we're called on to make things pleasant for him." Then turning to Dick he added, "If it so be your daddy pulls through all right for the next week or ten days, he should be in condition to ride this far?"

"After the horses have rested a little I counted on starting for Willow Point."

"It strikes me that would be too rough a journey for the old man at this time of the year. We're needin' kids like you in this town, an' I allow you'll find a shelter here till spring. Then, if the settlement don't suit you, it'll be only a case of goin' on when the travellin' is easier."

"Do you mean that we'd better live here?" Dick asked in surprise.

"That's the way some of us have figgered it."

"Can I find work enough to pay our way? You see, daddy won't be in shape to do anything for quite a spell."

"I'll give you a job on my ranch, an' pay fair wages."

"Then we'll be glad to stop."

"All right, my son. You shall take your own time about comin', and I'll hold the job open till you get here. Now I'm allowin' to lend you that broncho, so you can get back in case the old man grows worse. He's a tricky beast; but I reckon you'll handle him without any too much trouble. The only drawback is that I can't furnish a saddle."

"If you can spare the pony, I'll get along without the fixings," Dick replied, his eyes gleaming with delight; for with such a steed he would be able to visit the town at short notice, if it should become necessary.

"I'm allowin' that I've got a saddle he can have for a spell," Mr. Mansfield replied thoughtfully; and although Dick insisted that there was really no need of one, it was brought out.

The loungers took it upon themselves to see that the broncho was properly harnessed; and now that it was no longer necessary to limit the weight of the supplies, the shopkeeper suggested that the amount of flour and bacon be doubled.

"Will ten dollars be enough to pay for it?" Dick asked.

"We'll make a charge of it, seein's you're goin' to work for Bob Mason. You can give me an order on him after you've been here a spell, an' it'll be the same thing as cash."

"Now you're doin' the square thing, Mansfield," Mason said approvingly; and despite Dick's protests that he preferred to pay his way so long as he had the money, the matter was thus arranged.

"You are sure I can earn enough to pay for what we'll need to eat between now and spring?" the boy asked doubtfully.

"I'm allowing from what I've seen, that you'll earn a man's wages, an' that'll be thirty dollars a month. If your father is anything like you, I'll guarantee he can find work enough to support the family; an' Antelope Spring is needin' settlers mighty bad."

The supply of provisions and the medicines were packed in a bag, divided into two portions of equal weight that they might be carried over the saddle, and then Dick was ready to mount.

He realized fully how kind the people of the town had been to him, and was eager to say that which should give token of the gratitude in his heart; but the words refused to come at his bidding.

He stammered in the attempt to speak, cleared his throat nervously, and tried again, —

"You've been mighty good, all hands, an' I'm thinkin' it'll help daddy pull through. I wish – I wish" —

"That's all right, my son," Bob Mason interrupted. "We've got a good idea of what you want to say, an' you can let it go at that. As a general thing we don't get stuck on kids; but when one flashes up in the style you have, we cotton to him mightily. You can push that 'ere broncho right along, for forty-five miles ain't any terrible big job for him, an' canter into camp this side of midnight with considerable time to spare."

"I thank you all, an' so will mother an' daddy when they get here," he said in a husky tone, as he mounted; and then waving his cap by way of adieu, he rode away, the happiest boy to be found on either side of the Rocky Mountains.

Night had not fully come when he halted at the eastern edge of the desert to give the broncho water and grass; and here he remained an hour, the crackers and cheese left from breakfast affording an appetizing supper to a lad who had known but little variation in his bill of fare from fresh meat, broiled or stewed, more often without salt or pepper.

The stars guided him on the course across the waste of sand, and the pony made his way over the yielding surface at a pace which surprised the rider.

"He can walk four miles an hour, according to this showing, and I should be in camp before ten o'clock."

In this he was not mistaken. The broncho pushed ahead rapidly, proving that he had traversed deserts before, and was eager to complete the journey; and when Dick came within sight of the wagon, his mother was standing in front of the camp-fire, so intent on broiling a slice of venison that she was ignorant of his coming until he shouted cheerily, —

"Here I am, mother dear, coming along with a good bit of style, and so many fine things that you'll open your eyes mighty wide when this bag is emptied. How is my poor old man?"

He had dismounted as he ceased speaking, and was instantly clasped in his mother's arms.

"O Dick, Dick, how sore my heart has been! Your father said you could not get across the desert on foot, and I have pictured you lying on the sands dying."

"You've made your pictures all wrong, dearie; for here I am in prime condition, and loaded down with good things. The people up at Antelope Spring have shown themselves to be mighty generous. How is daddy?"

"He is resting comfortably just now, although he has suffered considerable pain. Did you see a doctor?"

"Yes; an' am loaded way up to the muzzle with directions as to what must be done. Let's go in and see the poor old man, an' then I'll tell you both the story."

Mr. Stevens's voice was heard from the inside of the wagon as he spoke Dick's name; Margie clambered out, her big brown eyes heavy with slumber, to greet her brother, and the boy was forced to receive her caresses before it was possible to care for the broncho.

Then, as soon as might be, Dick entered the wagon, and the hand-clasp from his father was sufficient reward for all his sufferings in the desert.

It was midnight before he finished telling of his journey, and reception by the men of Antelope Spring.

He would have kept secret the peril which came to him with the sand-storm; but his father questioned him so closely that it became necessary to go into all the details, and more than once before the tale was concluded did his mother press him lovingly to her as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You mustn't cry now it is all over," he said with a smile, as he returned the warm pressure of her hand. "I'm none the worse for havin' been half buried, an' we're rich. I'm countin' on pullin' out of here as soon as the horses are in condition; an' we'll stay at the town till spring – perhaps longer."

Although he claimed that he was not hungry, his mother insisted on preparing supper from the seemingly ample store of provisions; and when the meal had been eaten it was so nearly morning that Dick would have dispensed with the formality of going to bed, but that his mother declared it was necessary he should gain some rest.

His heart was filled with thankfulness when he lay down under the wagon again, covered with a blanket; and perhaps for the first time in his life Dick did more than repeat the prayer his mother taught him, for he whispered very softly, —

"You've been mighty good to me, God, an' I hope you're goin' to let my poor old man have another whack at livin'."

Dick had repeated to his mother all the instructions given him by the physician, and before he was awake next morning Mrs. Stevens set about dressing the wound in a more thorough manner than had ever been possible before.

She was yet engaged in this task when the boy opened his eyes, and learning to his surprise that the day was at least an hour old, sprang to his feet like one who has been guilty of an indiscretion.

"What! up already?" he cried in surprise, as looking through the flap of the wagon-covering, he saw what his mother was doing.

"Yes, Dick dear, and I have good news for you. Both your father and I now think he was mistaken in believing the bone was shattered by the bullet. Perhaps it is splintered some, but nothing more serious."

"Then you won't be obliged to have it cut off, daddy, an' should be able to get round right soon."

"There's this much certain, Dick, whether the bone is injured or not, my life has been saved through your efforts; for I know enough about gun-shot wounds to understand that I couldn't have pulled through without something more than we were able to get here."

"Yet you would have prevented me from leaving if I had told you what was in my mind."

"I should for a fact; because if one of us two must go under, it would be best for mother an' Margie that I was that one."

"Why, daddy! you have no right to talk like that!"

"It's true, Dick. I've been a sort of ne'er-do-well, otherwise I wouldn't have been called Roving Dick, while you are really the head of the house."

"I won't listen to such talk, daddy; for it sounds as if you were out of your head again, as when we were alone that night. You'll perk up after we're at Antelope Spring, an' show the people there what you can do."

"I shall be obliged to work very hard in order to make a good showing by the side of you."

Dick hurried away, for it pained him to hear his father talk in such fashion; yet at the same time he hoped most fervently that there would be no more roaming in search of a place where the least possible amount of labor was necessary, and it really seemed as if "Roving Dick" had made up his mind to lead a different life.

There was little opportunity for the boy to remain idle.

The supplies he had brought from Mr. Mansfield's shop would not suffice to provide the family with food many days unless it was re-enforced by fresh meat; and as soon as Dick had seen to it that the horses and the broncho were safe, he made preparations for a hunting-trip.

When breakfast had been eaten, and how delicious was the taste of bacon and flour-bread to this little party, which had been deprived of such food so long, he started off, returning at night-fall with a small deer and half a dozen rabbits.

The greater portion of the venison he cut up ready for smoking; and when his mother asked why he was planning so much labor for himself, he replied cheerily, —

"We're likely to lay here ten days at the very least, for the horses won't be in condition to travel in much less time; and now is my chance to put in a stock of provisions for the winter. It never'll do to spend all my wages for food; because you and Margie are to be fitted out in proper shape, and now I haven't even the rifle to sell, for that belongs to the prospectors."

Not an idle hour did Dick Stevens spend during the time they remained encamped at Buffalo Meadows; and when the time came that his father believed they might safely begin the journey to Antelope Spring, he had such a supply of smoked meat as would keep the family in food many days.

Mr. Stevens's wound had healed with reasonable rapidity, thanks to the materials for its dressing which Dick had risked his life to procure; and on the morning they decided to cross the desert the invalid was able to take his place on the front seat of the wagon to play the part of driver.

Dick rode the broncho, as a matter of course; and to him this journey was most enjoyable.

Not until the second day did the family arrive at their destination, and Dick received such a reception as caused his cheeks to redden with joy.

Bob Mason chanced to be in front of Mansfield's store when the party rode up, and insisted on their remaining there until he could summon the inhabitants of the settlement to give them welcome.

"We're glad you've come," Mr. Mason said when he believed the time had come for him to make a speech. "We've seen the kid, an' know how much sand he's got; so if the rest of the family are anything like him, and I reckon they must be, we're gettin' the kind of citizens we hanker after. I've pre-empted the boy, an' allow he'll look out for things on the ranch as well as any man I could hire, an' a good deal better'n the average run. We've got a house here for the rest of you, an' Stevens will find plenty of work if he's handy with tools. Now then, kid, we'll get the old folks settled, an' after that I'll yank you off with me."

Mason led the way to a rude shanty of boards, which was neither the best nor the worst dwelling in the town; and to Mrs. Stevens and Margie it seemed much like a palace, for it was a place they could call home, a pleasure they had not enjoyed since leaving Willow Point two years ago.

Dick observed with satisfaction that there was a sufficient amount of furniture in the shanty to serve his parents until money could be earned with which to purchase more; and then he rode away with Bob Mason, leading the team-horses to that gentleman's corral.

He had brought his family to a home, and had before him a good prospect of supplying them with food, even though his father should not be able to do any work until the coming spring; therefore Dick Stevens was a very happy boy.

Here we will leave him; for he is yet in Mason's employ, and it is said in Antelope Spring to-day, or was a few months ago, that when "Bob Mason hired that kid to oversee his ranch, he knew what he was about."

It is hard to believe that a boy only fifteen years of age (for Dick has now been an overseer, or "boss puncher" as it is termed in Nevada, nearly two years) could care for a ranch of six hundred acres; yet he has done it, as more than one can testify, and in such a satisfactory manner that next year he is to have an interest in the herds and flocks on the "Mason Place."

Mr. Stevens recovered from the wound in due time; and early in the spring after his arrival at the settlement, he joined Messrs. Parsons & Robinson in prospecting among the ranges.

His good fortune was even greater than Dick's; for before the winter came again the firm had struck a rich lead of silver, which has been worked with such profit that "Roving Dick's" home is one of the best and the cosiest to be found in the State.

Mr. Stevens would have been glad had young Dick decided to give up his work on the ranch; but the latter has declared again and again that he will leave mining strictly alone, because "cattle are good enough for him."