The Boy Ranchers in Death Valley: or, Diamond X and the Poison Mystery

"Then what'd you run for?" Yellin' Kid wanted to know.

"Because I wasn't sure of what sort of stuff it was. There's lots ofkinds of gas, you know. We had one kind in the war that would justknock a man out for a few hours. I reckon that's the kind they shot atBud and the kind they just now loosed at us. But I wasn't takin' anychances!"

"I should say not!" cried Billee Dobb. "But now we're out of dangerfor a while, what's to be done next?"

Nort had the answer ready in a moment.

"Gas masks!" he exclaimed.

"Gas masks?" echoed Billee.

"Sure! I get you!" cried Snake. "That's the ticket! Gas masks! Sameas we used in war when the Germans let their gas loose. Why didn't Ithink of it before?"

"There's been so much happening!" remarked Dick, "that it's a wonder wethought of half we did. But gas masks would be just what is neededhere. Only where are we going to get them?"

Up spoke one of the new cowboys to observe:

"There's a branch of the American Legion in Los Pompan. I belong to itand so do some of the other boys. 'Tain't much of a branch, but theygot some war relics hangin' around the meetin' room, and I seen somegas masks there the last time I was in. I reckon we can borrow themwithout any trouble."

"Golly! That's the cheese!" cried Nort.

"But are the masks any good?" Dick asked. "If they're relics of thewar they're likely to be old and no good. And a gas mask that won'tkeep gas out is worse than none at all."

"You're right there!" exclaimed Sim Roller, who had proposed thematter. "Some of the masks are the same as the boys used in France.But others are new ones they got from the gov'ment lately to decoratethe meetin' room. I reckon they'd be fresh, with charcoal in andeverything needed."

"Will you see if you can get some for us?" asked Billee, who was incharge during the forced absence of Bud.

"Sure!"

"Good!" cried Nort. "Then we'll come back and have another go at thesefellows!"

"Yes, it will need another go," remarked Billee, looking at theentrance to the defile out of which a faint mist was still floating."We don't dare go back at 'em now, unprotected. They're regulardevils, that's what they are! Devils!"

"Wonder what their game is?" mused Dick as he and his brother, with theother cowboys, moved to where their horses were picketed in charge ofthe guard.

"They want to keep us out of that glen," suggested Nort.

"But why?" went on Dick.

"So they can poison more cattle and bust up this ranch and rustle whatstock they don't kill," was what Nort answered.

"It doesn't seem reasonable that they'd poison cattle," and Dick shookhis head. "What good would dead ones be to them? They can't be sold, and it wouldn't pay to kill 'em just for the hides."

"No, that's so," admitted Nort. "But they evidently want to keep usout of that glen, and drive us away from the ranch if possible, so theycan have it for themselves."

"Part of that seems like to be true," spoke Billee, taking a part inthe discussion. "But this isn't the first time there have been queerdoings at Dot and Dash. Years ago I'm pretty sure there was no band ofdevils up here with cylinders of gas. This is something new."

"Tell me, Billee," resumed Nort, "on what sections of the ranch didmost of the deaths occur – I mean when you worked here?"

"Well," and the veteran scratched his head reflectively, "as near as Ican remember they was all somewhere near this glen, come to think ofit."

"And this is where Sam Tarbell's horse was killed and where Sam wasknocked out – near this glen; wasn't it?" went on Nort.

"That's true enough."

"And it's from this glen that Bud got his dose of poison gas and where, just now, we got ours; isn't it?"

"Sure," Billee was forced to say.

"Well, then," went on Nort, "isn't it reasonable to suppose that thisband – or some bunch like it – has been doing this right along?"

Here Billee shook his head.

"You can't make me believe," he said, "that this gang, or one like it, has been doin' this gas business all along. In the first place theearliest, mysterious death on Dot and Dash took place many years ago, before poison gas in war was thought of. I won't deny that this bunchback there," and he nodded in the direction of Smugglers' Glen, "Iwon't deny but what they may be usin' war gas. But it wasn't so yearsago.".

"Then it looks," spoke Dick, "as if these men had some object inkeeping us out of the glen."

"That's it!" cried Billee. "There's something up there they don't wantus to find out."

"Maybe it's the secret Old Tosh has of makin' sarsaparilla," said Snake.

"No," objected Dick, "I don't believe the old man is mixed up in thisat all. He was in the cave, that's sure, but I think this bunch ofrascals with their poison gas have deposed him and taken possession fortheir own ends."

"And what those ends are it's for us to find out," suggested Nort.

"Sure!" cried his companions.

"We'll get gas masks and make another attack!" added Snake.

"I wonder what we'll find?" mused Dick.

"Bud could have told if they hadn't knocked him out," suggested Nort."He says he saw them pounding rocks and digging in the sides of thecave. They were after something besides cattle, that's sure."

"Diamonds!" some one said.

"That's been mentioned before," remarked Dick. "It is out of thequestion, I think, but it may be something always associated withdiamonds."

"What's that?" exclaimed several.

"Gold, maybe," was the quick answer, and into the eyes of every manthere came a sudden, new gleam.

"By golly!" cried Yellin' Kid in his loudest tones, "I'll bet you'reright! There's a gold mine in that cave and those fellers want to keepit for themselves! Whoopee! Let's get them there gas masks and rustlethe whole bunch over the border. Then we'll have the gold forourselves! Come on!"

CHAPTER XX

GLITTERING YELLOW

Such excitement followed the Kid's outburst that the very horses seemedimbued with it. The cowboys, keeping well out of the way of thatfloating, white cloud of gas – more or less poisonous, it was not to bedoubted – had mounted their animals and were on their way, by aroundabout trail, to the ranch house.