"It was an owl," answered Kid. "It was his ears you seen stickin'

up! Listen!"

And, a moment later, there was the mournful hooting of the nocturnal bird, which had flown away, but on such downy-feathered wings that it made no sound.

"An owl!" murmured d.i.c.k. Then he was glad he had not shot first, as he had intended. He would only have awakened the others and been laughed at for his pains. Sometimes, he reflected, it was better to hold your fire, even in the west, that region of quick action.

Soon there was a little grayish, pinkish light to be observed over the edge of the eastern hill. It grew slowly, and daylight came, though it was some time before the sun itself was seen, so deep were the searchers down in the defile.

After breakfast they set out again, looking carefully for signs of the rustlers, but they saw none, and at last they decided that, in some mysterious manner, their quarry had given them the slip.

"Though I don't see how they did it," declared Slim, somewhat vexed that he and his men were not better able to pick up the trail.

"There must be some side pa.s.sage--like that!" suddenly declared Yellin' Kid, leaping from his horse and then, as suddenly disappearing from the sight of his companions. "Hey! What's the idea! Where'd he go?" asked Snake.

"In this side pa.s.sage," answered Yellin' Kid, as suddenly reappearing. "Look, here's a crack, or fissure in the rock, I saw it from where I sat on my pony. It goes off from th' main trail, but I can't see where it leads."

They all dismounted and investigated. As the Kid had said, it was a traverse defile, opening out of the main one and almost at right angles. The opening was concealed behind a great pinnacle of rock, so that the cleft was only visible from a certain point, and it was at this point that the Kid saw it.

"Where does it go to?" asked Bud as they entered, single file. It was only wide enough for that.

"We've got to follow and see!" said Slim.

"If there was a place like that, back where we discovered we were in a maze, it would have been easy enough for the rustlers to have driven the cattle through, one at a time," observed Nort.

"But there wasn't any such place!" declared Bud. "We made sure of that. But where does this lead?"

That was what they all conjectured, and they were soon to learn.

As they rode along, the side cleft widened, until there was room enough for three to ride abreast. And it was while thus progressing that d.i.c.k, who was in the lead with Slim and Snake, made a surprising discovery. He rode around a turn in the new trail, and at the sight of something beyond, in the smaller, rocky defile, he set up such a shout as brought all his companions to his side.

"What is it?" shouted Bud.

"Look!" answered d.i.c.k, pointing. "Del Pinzo and big gang!"

CHAPTER XXI

IN PURSUIT

Two deep-throated shouts echoed amid the winding mazes of the small canyon leading off from the main gulch that the boy ranchers and their friends had been following. One shout followed closely on that of d.i.c.k, announcing his amazing discovery. The other came from the band of rascals whose hiding place had at last been spied out, and by a mere chance at that.

One shout was that of joyful antic.i.p.ation, and this came from Bud, d.i.c.k, Nort and the friends from Diamond X. This shout had in it an antic.i.p.ation of righteous punishment to be inflicted on those who had stolen the cattle.

The other shout was of baffled rage that their hiding place had been discovered. This shout came from Del Pinzo and his gang.

For it was the lawless Mexican half-breed and his followers, numbering in all more than two score, whom d.i.c.k had seen as he made the turn in that winding and narrow gorge. At a place where the rocky defile flared out, making a sort of amphitheatre there were gathered about a spring of water, their horses tethered where they could crop the scanty herbage, the crowd of which our friends had long been in pursuit.

Following the two shouts--one of pleased discovery and the other of baffled rage at being discovered--there was quick action.

"Here they are!" shouted Bud, as soon as he had joined d.i.c.k, and had seen what the latter had fairly stumbled upon. "Here's the Del Pinzo crowd!"

Up came riding Nort, Slim, Snake and the others.

"Oh, boy! We've got 'em just where we want 'em," was the exclamation of Yellin' Kid. And I leave you to judge in what tone he uttered the words.

"Unlimber, boys!" called Slim Degnan, grimly and significantly as he whipped out his .45. "There's likely to be action!"

"Hold on! Wait a minute!" counseled Snake, as Bud and his cousins were about to urge their horses forward. The cowboy reached out, and his hand fell with a firm grip on the bridle of Bud's steed.

"What's the idea?" asked that boy rancher. "Now we've found the rascals, can't we go in and clean 'em up?"

"That's natural Bud, most natural," conceded Snake. "But what's th' use runnin' your head in a bee's nest if yon can git th'

honey some other way?"

"You mean it won't be safe to ride up to 'em and fight 'em?'?"

asked Nort.

"Somethin' like that, yes, son," answered the cowboy. "I think Del Pinzo an' his crowd have been waitin' for just such a chance as this. They'd ask nothin' better than t' have us rush 'em, an'

then they'd have a good excuse for sayin', afterward, that they popped us off in self-defense."

"Snake's right!" declared Yellin' Kid, modulating his voice somewhat. "We'd better play this hand cautious like."

Seeing that this was the sentiment of the more experienced men, Bud and his cousins held back, and a moment later, urged by the cowboys, the ranch lads had turned aside and the whole body of pursuers had retreated to a position somewhat away from the turn of the trail where d.i.c.k had looked through the defile and had seen the rascals encamped.

"What's the next move?" asked Nort, as the party gathered together, giving their horses a breathing spell, for which the animals were, doubtless, very thankful.

"We'd better look for some shelter," advised Snake, "an' then see what we can do toward learnin' th' intentions of this bunch of bad actors."

"You mean sort of spy 'em out?" asked d.i.c.k.

"That's it," chimed in Yellin' Kid. "If this is goin' to be a fight, an' it sh.o.r.e looks as if there was, we want to take all th' advantage we can. They outnumber us two to one!"

This was true enough. The fleeting glimpse our friends had of the outlaws, through the crack in the rocky wall, showed that there were more than two score under the leadership of the unscrupulous Del Pinzo.

Following the skilful advice of the cowboys, Bud and his cousins took their places behind some sheltering rocks, leading their horses in with them, for much depended on their mounts. Without them it meant giving up the chase. And even if one pony was killed or wounded, it meant that its owner would have to make his way back on foot, which was neither pleasant nor safe.

"Get your guns ready," said Slim. "There's going to be action, but not just yet. We want this to be a winnin' fight if we can make it so."

Once within comparative shelter, and feeling somewhat calmer after the first wild excitement, Bud, Nort and d.i.c.k looked to their older companions for further advice.

"Somebody's got t' go back t' that crack, unbeknownst t' them scoundrels, an' see what they're doin'," decided Slim.

"S'pose they're there yet?" asked Bud.

"Either that, or they've taken the alarm an' are on their way, or they're doin' just what we are--gittin' ready for a fight," said the foreman grimly. "An' what it is they're doin' we want t'

know. Snake, you're pretty good at Indian tactics. S'pose you sneak up there an' take a look in."