"Him all leddy," grinned the Chinaman.

"Let's get together, boys," commanded Mr. Phipps, with a sweep of his broad hand. "I've got to get over to Three Mile Crick after lunch, so I reckon we'll hold a confab right now."

The boys. .h.i.tched their chairs up closer to Mr. Phipps and the lemonade, and when their gla.s.ses had been refilled the ranchman continued.

"Mebbe y'all don't know it, but there's been a lot o' devilment goin' on for quite a spell back. We've kep' it dark, hopin' to catch whoever done it, but no chance. There's somethin' or some one raisin' Cain with my sheep. We've missed a lot o' lambs, plumb gone. We've found sheep with pieces o' their backs clean torn out, an' last week I come across a big ram all smashed to bits like he'd been dropped off a cliff.

"Night 'fore last young Morales who has a hut ten mile north of here, hears somethin' doin' and rushes out of his hut. Bein' a Greaser he don't know any better than to yell. Somethin' jabs him in the shoulder and he lets off his sixgun. Then, he swears he heard wings an' was carried up in the air for a minute and was dropped. O' course all that's pure guff--yuh can't believe what a Greaser says nohow. But j.a.p Fisher, my foreman, finds him yesterday lyin' with his leg broke, a couple hundred yards from the hut."

"Mebbe he wasn't lyin', Mr. Phipps!" broke in Jerry excitedly. "Listen."

And he rapidly sketched their adventure of the night before. It was now the turn of Herb and Gray to stare, while Mr. Phipps listened in growing surprise.

"Jehosaphat!" he exclaimed when Jerry finished. "That sure beats me! I figured Morales was doin' a heap o' fabricatin', but he may 'a' told the truth for once. Anyhow, here's what I had in mind. Gray has been fillin'

me and Herb up with his Boy Scout stuff, so I want to know why y'all don't get busy? If yuh will, I'll put up for the equipment on condition that yuh get right after what's raisin' thunder with them sheep. You boys have a heap o' time hangin' heavy on your young hands, and yuh might as well be doin' somethin' useful. It'll save me bringin' in a lot o' men from Silver City, an' as far as brain goes yuh'll have 'em beat a mile. How about it?"

Fred caught an appealing glance from Gray, and though he hesitated to put himself forward, he was a loyal scout, and as he had taken a decided liking to the clean-cut New Yorker, he felt obliged to comply with the earnest request Gray had made when they met.

"I think it's bully, Mr. Phipps," Fred gathered courage to say. "Of course I'm new out here an' all that, but I've been in the scouts pretty near three years now and it's done me a heap of good. More fun than a circus too."

"Sure, we'll do it!" cried Dunk. "We'll lay for that Thunder Bird of yours, Carl, eh, Jerry?"

"Bet your life!" answered Jerry fervently.

"Here wait a minute," cried Mr. Phipps. "What's this about the Thunder Bird, Carlito? What do you know 'bout this thing?"

"Nothing, sir," replied the young Apache with a smile. "I just guessed that it was the Thunder Bird. Of course, I don't believe that. We could certainly have some fun besides being of possible use to you."

"Count me in too," cried Fly. "Aviator's badge for mine!"

"Same here," "Me too." "That's what I say," came from all the boys.

"Good," shouted Jerry enthusiastically. "Carl can run the trailin' end of it an' Dunk can boss the first-aid work an' Windy'll be chief cook and bottle washer o' the whole bunch!"

"There's the lunch gong," laughed Mr. Phipps, springing to his feet.

"Come on to grub pile! I've got to get away pretty quick, but y'all can have the ranch to yourselves all day. Comin', Hop Sing, comin'. Chase along, boys!"

CHAPTER III

THE LEGEND OF THE THUNDER BIRD

Immediately after lunch Mr. Phipps hastened off and the boys returned to the veranda to form their patrol. Herb Phipps was acclaimed chairman and the meeting was on.

"First thing's nomination of officers," announced the chair. "Shoot in some names, yuh guys!"

"The patrol leader's got to be a first-cla.s.s scout," grinned Gray.

"Stand up, Windy! I move the nom'nations be closed!"

"Here, hold on!" Fred sprang up at once. "I'll only be here a few weeks, kids. What's the use? One of you had better--"

"Aw, beat it." "Sit down!" "Cut it out!" came from the others. Dunk gained the floor.

"Second the nomination, Mr. Chairman! Let's make Windy leader while he's here, anyhow."

"All in favor?"

"Aye." And Fred was elected. Carlito was then put up against Gray for a.s.sistant, but the New Yorker promptly withdrew and the young Apache got the honor. The boys were then sworn by Fred and Gray together, and the patrol was a fact.

"What we goin' to call her?" asked Fly. Various t.i.tles were proposed and voted down but finally Carl came across with "The Thunder Bird Patrol."

This was greeted with a yell of delight, and was chosen without delay.

"Oh, Windy!" called Jerry from a swing at the other end of the veranda.

"Chase out to the kitchen and tell Hop Sing to give you the rattler lariat, will you? This swing needs tying up."

Fred promptly rose and vanished, suspecting nothing. At Fort Bayard the men had a standing joke on all tenderfeet. They sent them all over the fort asking for the "rattler lariat"--which is slang for whiskey--and as whiskey is a thing forbidden at the fort, the unhappy tenderfoot usually ended up under arrest. The crowd on the porch expected that Hop Sing would catch the joke as he had done before, and send Fred out to the bunkhouse or corral to some of the men who would send him on farther.

"Thought mebbe it'd be good for him," grinned Jerry in expectation.

"Windy's pretty solid, but he's liable to get the notion that being from the East he knows 'bout everythin' that's--Wow!"

The speech ended in a startled yell. Jerry and Fly had been sitting in the vine-shaded swing at the end of the porch, and from the vines beside them came an unmistakable rattle. Jerry took one flying leap, lost his balance, and crashed into Dunk's chair. Fly followed him so closely that he tripped and all three rolled headfirst into Carlito. At the same instant there was a rustle among the vines and Herb jumped to the wall, where a revolver was hanging.

"Don't shoot!" came the laughing voice of Fred. As he poked his head through the vines a shout went up and Fred came around the corner of the veranda. "Pretty slick," he laughed, as Jerry scrambled up. "Hop Sing put me wise, though!"

"Say, did you make that blamed rattle?" inquired Fly uneasily.

"Sure," grinned Windy, holding up a string of rattles. "Hop gave me these and showed me how to use 'em."

"Oh, what I'll do to that c.h.i.n.k!" groaned Jerry as the crowd shouted with laughter. But just then Hop Sing appeared with a platter of doughnuts as propitiation, and peace was made.

During the afternoon Fred and Gray measured the others for their uniforms. These would consist of the breeches, puttees and coat, the latter being only necessary for trips up into the mountains where it was chilly. A complete list of everything that was wanted was made out and given to Herb, who would hand it over to his father to be ordered at once.

"Ever see a cliff dwelling, Windy?" asked Dunk, after they had been measured.

"No," answered Fred. "Any 'round here?"

"Sure," cried Fly eagerly. "Feller over at Silver City has a tame one--built it himself! Collects two bits each from tourists to see it."

"Shut up!" laughed Dunk, and fired a pillow at Fly. "There's a mighty good bunch of 'em over north of the post, Windy. Five or six real old Mojaves there too. Make baskets and stuff to sell. S'pose we ride over there to-morrow, fellows."

This proved agreeable to all save Fly, who was to help his father with some work. So it was arranged that Herb and Gray should come over early for the others and all would take a trip who could do so.

"Tell your dad," said Jerry to Herb, "that we'll start work Monday. This is Tuesday. If our uniforms ain't here it won't matter."

"Monday night, then," replied Herb. "I can't see what there is to do 'cept just sit around and keep an eye on the sheep all night. We'll prob'ly scatter all over the range."