boys'll be able to beat thegame. They cleaned up the Chinese smugglers and beat the rustlers, sothey may cheat this mysterious death – whatever it is."
"Hush!" warned Mr. Merkel, for the old man, in the rancher's privateoffice, had spoken rather loudly. "I don't want my wife and Nell tohear. They'd never let the boys go, and I'm not sure I should, either."
"I'm going to be with them," Billee said, as if that meant a lot, andit really did.
"I'll send Yellin' Kid and Snake Purdee, too," decided Mr. Merkel.
"Yes," agreed Billee, "and it's going to be hard to beat that bunch.Well, maybe the curse has died out, but I'm afraid not – I'm afraidnot," he added with an ominous shake of his head as he went to thecorral to arrange about selecting the horses for the coming trip.
Los Pompan was about a week's ride, by easy stages, from Diamond X, andwhile the trip could have been made by train or auto, the boys decidedto take their horses. Considerable in the way of supplies must betaken, and, after all, an auto is not of much use, even theever-dependable flivver, in riding herd, a round-up or cutting out abunch of cattle for shipment. Albeit most of the ranchers owned carswhich came in handy for going to and fro from town, or getting in foodand supplies to the ranch house.
"We may be able to pick up a cheap, second-hand car after we get outthere," remarked Nort when his brother and Bud were talking plans overwith him a few days before the start. This was after they had decidedto ride their ponies to Death Valley rather than take the rusty andtrusty old Tin Lizzie which they owned and which carried them back andforth between Happy Valley and Diamond X.
"Yes, we may need a car to run down this mysterious death-dealing forcethat Billee sets such a store by," agreed Bud.
Final preparations were made. The boy ranchers, with Billee, Snake andYellin' Kid were to take over Dot and Dash. Mrs. Merkel and Nell saidtheir good-byes, happily unaware of the dangerous phase of theundertaking. As for the boys, they would not admit it was dangerous.To them it was a great lark.
"I only hope they'll sing the same tune after they've seen some of thethings I've seen," remarked Old Billee. "But I'll stick by 'em to thelast!"
"On our way!" cried Bud, the morning of the start, when their ponieshad been saddled and extra mounts, carrying packs, were loaded withfood and supplies.
"Hit the trail!" echoed Nort.
"And we'll come back with its scalp!" added Dick, referring, though notspecifically, to the mystery.
"Good-bye, boys," said Mr. Merkel in a low voice. "And – take care ofyourselves," he added as he clasped firmly the hands of his son andnephews. "Don't take any risks."
"No, sir!" they promised. But Mr. Merkel took that for what it wasworth.
So they were on the trail at last, setting out with high hopes andlight hearts for Death Valley.
"Where's that outfit heading for?" asked a passing puncher from CircleT ranch, the nearest to Diamond X, and a place owned by Thomas Ogden, who was quite friendly with Mr. Merkel.
"That outfit?" questioningly repeated Babe Milton, sizing up the manand noting that he was a stranger, "that bunch is going to Los Pompanto take over a new ranch the boss bought." It was no secret – half thepeople around Palmo knew what Mr. Merkel had done, though they had notheard the sinister reports of Death Valley.
"To Los Pompan, eh?" murmured the puncher, looking at the cloud of dustwhich hovered over the cavalcade of the boy ranchers. "Los Pompan,"and he seemed unusually interested.
"Know anything about it?" asked Babe.
"Who, me? Not a thing!" and, putting spurs to his mount he was off andaway.
"I don't want to be impolite," murmured Babe as he watched the puncherdisappear in a cloud of dust, "but I think you're a liar!"
Meanwhile the boy ranchers were on the trail. What they would find in
Death Valley not even Billee Dobb could tell.
CHAPTER IV
A NIGHT ALARM
"Well, Dick, how they coming?"
Bud Merkel urged his pony up alongside the mount of his cousin and gaveyoung Shannon a friendly poke in the ribs.
"Oh, everything's fine, Bud," responded Dick.
"How about you, Nort?"
"I'm sitting pretty," was the response from the other boy rancher.
"That's good," and Bud began to whistle a lively air. "Thought maybeyou were getting tired of the trip."
"What, so soon? And we've only been on the trail three days!"exclaimed Nort. "What do you think we are – tenderfeet?"
"Sure not!" replied Bud. "But this is one of the longest trips we'veever taken without something happening, and I thought maybe you twowere getting discouraged."
"Nothing to it!" chuckled Dick. "As you say, nothing much has reallyhappened, but we've been having a fine time since we started out fromDiamond X."
"And there's still plenty of time for things to happen before we get to
Dot and Dash and see what Death Valley looks like," suggested Nort.
"You said it, kid!" exclaimed Snake Purdee who, with Old Billee Dobb onone flank, and Yellin' Kid on the other, was trailing the three boysalong the rough and dusty trail. "There's plenty of time yet forthings to happen."
It was their third day of travel since Mr. Merkel had sent the boys andthe older ranch hands off to take possession of his new placeconcerning which Billee had told such sinister tales. The first daywas uneventful if you eliminate the fact that the pack of one of theled horses came loose, spilling the outfit on the ground. But it waseasily salvaged though it took some little time to pursue and rope thehorse who seemed inclined to take a holiday.
The first night saw the travelers camping under the glorious stars andthough, as a matter of precaution the boys insisted on standing guard,it was not necessary. Aside from the distant howling of coyotes, not asound disturbed their slumbers.
They traveled on the next day, stopping to cook their dinner over anopen fire and the boys declared they had even beaten Ma Merkel at thecooking game. Though Billee Dobb was heard to complain that the beans, which Dick passed to him, somehow lacked the home ranch flavor.
They were now on their third day of travel, after two uneventful nightsspent in the open, and, so far, nothing had happened. Truth to tell,Dick and Nort were beginning to get a bit discouraged. They had heardmuch about the great and glorious west before coming to live at DiamondX and the things that happened shortly after they arrived were quite"up to sample," as Dick used to remark. And in the succeeding seasonsthey passed with Bud, riding fence, helping at the round-ups and at thecutting out of cattle for shipment, enough had taken place to satisfyany reasonable lad.
So it was not without reason that Dick and Nort expected somethingstartling to happen after they had started on this expedition.Especially after what Billee Dobb had told them concerning Death Valley.
"But we haven't had any trouble since that one load was spilled,"complained Dick as he and his brother and cousin rode along together.
"Are you looking for trouble?" chuckled Bud.
