The Broncho Rider Boys with the Texas Rangers

  THE BRONCHO RIDER BOYS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS

  or

  The Capture of the Smugglers On the Rio Grande

  by

  FRANK FOWLER

  Author of "The Broncho Rider Boys At Keystone Ranch." "The Broncho Rider Boys In Arizona." "The Broncho Rider Boys Along The Border." "The Broncho Rider Boys On The Wyoming Trail."

  A. L. Burt CompanyNew York.

  Copyright, 1915By A. L. Burt Company

  THE BRONCHO RIDER BOYS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER I.--A MULE HUNT IN THE CHAPARRAL. CHAPTER II.--A WILD CHASE AND ITS RESULT. CHAPTER III.--A DANGEROUS MISSION. CHAPTER IV.--A FRIEND IN NEED. CHAPTER V.--A NIGHT IN A MEXICAN KITCHEN. CHAPTER VI.--ADRIAN MAKES A CAPTURE. CHAPTER VII.--IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. CHAPTER VIII.--IN THE SMUGGLER'S CAVE. CHAPTER IX.--GUADALUPE IN DANGER. CHAPTER X.--SANTIAGO'S STRATEGY. CHAPTER XI.--A COUNCIL OF WAR. CHAPTER XII.--THE BATTLE AT THE CAVE. CHAPTER XIII.--A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE. CHAPTER XIV.--PANCHO VILLA. CHAPTER XV.--A SHOT IN THE DARK. CHAPTER XVI.--A VALUABLE DISCOVERY. CHAPTER XVII.--A MEETING OF REVOLUTIONISTS. CHAPTER XVIII.--SPRINGING THE TRAP. CHAPTER XIX.--WITH THE REGULAR ARMY. CHAPTER XX.--SCOUTING FOR UNCLE SAM. CHAPTER XXI.--JOINING THE REVOLUTIONISTS. CHAPTER XXII.--BESIEGED BY REVOLUTIONISTS. CHAPTER XXIII.--BILLIE SOLVES A MYSTERY. CHAPTER XXIV.--LOST IN THE CHAPARRAL. CHAPTER XXV.--THE FIGHT IN MIDSTREAM. CHAPTER XXVI.--BILLIE OVERHEARS A SECRET. CHAPTER XXVII.--HUSTLING FOR EVIDENCE. CHAPTER XXVIII.--A QUESTION OF NEUTRALITY. CHAPTER XXIX.--IN THE DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN. CHAPTER XXX.--AU REVOIR, BUT NOT GOOD-BY.

  CHAPTER I.

  A MULE HUNT IN THE CHAPARRAL.

  "Crack!" went Broncho Billie's revolver and the silver dollar which hadbeen tossed into the air as a target went spinning into the yellowwaters of the Rio Grande as a result of Billie's unerring aim.

  "Not a bad shot, Ad," remarked Billie with a laugh as he ejected theshell from the cylinder and shoved a fresh cartridge into the emptychamber of the revolver. "I don't miss 'em very often now, and this timethe river is a dollar in."

  "Yes," replied Adrian, a bit crestfallen, "and I'm a dollar out."

  "Didn't think I'd hit it, eh?" and Billie's round face broadened till itlooked like a full moon.

  "Well, I didn't know but you might, but I hadn't stopped to think whatwould happen to the dollar if you did. The river didn't look so near."

  Billie chuckled to himself good-naturedly as he returned his six-shooterto its holster, while Adrian continued:

  "I'll make a better guess at distances before I try it again. I can'tafford to be losing dollars like that."

  "Oh, that's all right, Ad!" and Billie shoved his hand down into hispocket. "Here's one to take its place."

  Adrian shook his head and made no move to take the proffered coin.

  "Go on, take it!" insisted Billie. "I don't want to make you lose yourlast dollar."

  "That's all right about my last dollar," replied Adrian. "I guess I knowwhere to get another, and the lesson is worth a peso."

  "Well, if you go broke because of it, don't be afraid to tell me," wasBillie's joking reply; "but what can be keeping Donald, I wonder. It'shigh time we were getting back over the river," and Billie cast his eyetoward the mountains some miles in the distance to see how close totheir tops the sun was getting.

  "He'll surely be here in a few minutes," said Adrian. "He knows how longit will take us to get to town as well as we do."

  And while the boys are awaiting the arrival of their companion, it mightbe well to explain to any reader who has not had the pleasure of readingthe preceding volumes of the Broncho Rider Boys series something aboutthe trio of young Americans whose names have been mentioned.

  Adrian Sherwood, who had so recklessly risked his silver dollar as atarget for his companion to shoot at, was the owner of a ranch inWyoming, which he had but recently inherited and come into possession ofthrough a series of most exciting adventures as told in a precedingvolume of this series, entitled "The Broncho Rider Boys on the WyomingTrail." He was a youth of much wisdom and judgment for one of his yearsand a close chum of Billie, who had been christened William StonewallJackson Winkle.

  Because of the exciting adventures through which Adrian, Billie andDonald had passed and because they had practically lived in the saddlefor the past year and a half, they had become known to the cowboys andrough riders of three states as "The Broncho Rider Boys." Born in thesouth, but having spent most of his boyhood in New York State, Billiehad come west nearly two years previous to find health and to ridhimself of the superfluous weight which some good-natured doctor hadsaid was the cause of his trouble. Months in the saddle had made verylittle difference in his weight and if there were a more healthy chap inthe country than he, such a one would be hard to find.

  When Billie first came west, he was a veritable tenderfoot. He wasalways creating fun for those with whom he was thrown and was invariablyin some sort of trouble. The number of times he had been thrown from theback of his broncho could hardly be enumerated, and more in fun thanbecause he was a daring rider, he had been rechristened Broncho Billieby his cowboy friends.

  But Billie had developed rapidly. Of the three there was not one whocould ride or shoot better than he. His only weak spot was in throwingthe lariat. He never seemed to get just the proper hang and his attemptsto use the rope almost invariably resulted in disaster to himself or hisfriends. As is usually the case with fat people, Billie fairly bubbledover with good humor, being a fine example of Tony Lumpkin's famousadvice to "laugh and grow fat."

  Donald Mackay, Billie's cousin, whom he had come west to visit, was theson of the owner of a big ranch, known as Keystone Ranch. He was one ofthose steady, reliable boys whom we have all met and who can always bedepended upon in any emergency to do the right thing, although at timeshe may be slower than some others in the manner in which he works. Takenall in all they were a well-balanced trio, as their actions under manytrying conditions and in many hazardous adventures had justly proved.They had thwarted an unscrupulous syndicate from robbing Donald's fatherof valuable property. They had protected an inoffensive tribe of Indiansagainst the designs of a band of sharpers, and they had straightened outaffairs at Adrian's ranch in a manner which would have been a credit tomuch older heads.

  After their adventures in Wyoming, as told in a preceding volume, theyhad started to return to Arizona by a two months' ride through Coloradoand New Mexico; but, when they reached Albuquerque, they had received aletter from Billie's father, saying that he was going on a vacation tripto El Paso, Texas, and asking if it were possible for Billie to meet himthere.

  "Of course I can," exclaimed Billie aloud, as he read the letter.

  "Of course you can what?" queried Donald.

  "Meet father in El Paso," was the reply.

  "What, and leave us to go home all alone?" said Adrian.

  "There's two of you, isn't there?" retorted Billie, forgetting hisgrammar entirely.

  "Of course there are two of us; but that's hardly a company, while, aseverybody knows, three make a crowd," and Adrian laughed almost sadly."Who'd take care of Jupiter?"

  Now Jupiter was the broncho which Billie's uncle had given him when hefirst came West, and a terrible time Billie had had in breaking him. Hehadn't thought about him.

  "You could lead him, couldn't you?" asked Billie.

  "We're driving two pack mules now. How would you expect us to take careof Jupiter?"

  Billie shook his head slowly. "I don't know," he said.

  "I'll tell you what," suddenly exclaimed Donald, "we'l
l all go to ElPaso. We'll ride there. It isn't so many days out of our way, and we'llsee something of the country. We might even get a look at PresidentMadero, of Mexico."

  Donald's suggestion met with immediate approval by the others, and so,instead of going southwest from Albuquerque, they headed south. Becauseof the lay of the land, they had traveled farther south than was reallynecessary, but had figured it out that it would be better riding in thevalley of the Rio Grande than to climb over the range of mountains thatforms the watershed of the Pecos River. Striking the Rio Grande nearLangtry, they had slowly ridden up stream toward El Paso, first on oneside of the river and then on the other, until this afternoon found themapproaching the mouth of the Concho river, which empties into the RioGrande from the Mexican side.

  Two hours previous they had halted in the chaparral for a bite to eatand a short _siesta_. While they were lounging about, Donald hadannounced his intention of going to a little hamlet, the adobe houses ofwhich could be seen a couple of miles away, to see if he could not buy a_riata_, as a rope for leading horses is called.

  "Why not wait until we reach Presidio?" queried Adrian. "We should reachthere by dark."

  "We may not, and we need it to tether the pack mules. The one on Bray isworn out, and first thing we know he'll wander away and we'll waste awhole day looking for him."

  "Well, hurry up, then," said Billie. "We don't want to be waiting aroundhere all the afternoon."

  Without more words Donald had mounted Wireless, for so his mount wasnamed, and ridden away in the direction of the houses, while Billie andAdrian had strolled up the bank of the river, killing time. It wasduring this stroll that Billie had offered to show his skill with asix-shooter by hitting a silver dollar thrown into the air.

  They had hardly been out of sight of the halting place during theirstroll, but, upon their return, instead of finding Donald, they foundold Bray, one of the pack mules, missing, just as Donald had predicted.

  "He cannot have gone far," declared Adrian. "He hasn't had time."

  "That's certain," was Billie's reassuring comment, and, feeling surethat a few minutes' search of the chaparral would reveal the missinganimal, they started out hastily, on foot, not deeming it necessary evento mount their steeds.

  For the next ten minutes they tramped through the chaparral, calling toeach other as they went, but no sign of the mule could be found. Thenthey returned to the camp and mounted their horses, but, although thisenabled them to see over the tops of the mesquite bushes that spread outfor miles up and down the river, they could see nothing of the missinganimal.

  "There comes Don," Billie at last sung out, as he caught sight of thereturning horseman. "Maybe he can give us some advice."

  But Donald had no advice to give, except to scatter and search.

  "I hate to say 'I told you so,'" laughed Donald, "because it was reallymy fault that I didn't get a new _riata_ before. I reckon now we mightas well decide to stop here all right, for I can see we have ourafternoon's work cut out."

  Half an hour's riding having revealed no sign of Bray, the boys againmet at the camp.

  "Haven't you seen anything at all?" called out Adrian, as the boys camewithin hailing distance of each other.

  "Yes," replied Billie, "I saw a _hacienda_ about three miles up theriver. I knew Don spoke a little Mexican, so I came back to tell him,and ask if you didn't think it would be a good thing to apply to theowner for help. Maybe some of the peons have run across Bray and drivenhim home."

  "Good idea," said Adrian. "You fellows go up to the _hacienda_ and I'llstay here and look after the other mule and the camp. I'm glad Braydidn't have his pack on, or we'd stand a chance of going hungrytonight."

  "Don't mention such a thing," laughed Billie. "The very thought of itfills me with despair."