The Broncho Rider Boys with the Texas Rangers Part 25

This plan having been decided upon, Donald and Adrian threw off their superfluous clothing and waded out into the stream, while Billie secreted himself behind a little pile of brush, left on the sh.o.r.e by the last high water.

They had hardly taken their positions, when the faint sound of oars came to their ears and a couple of minutes later a good-sized batteau came into sight through the darkness. It was rowed by six men while a half dozen more were seated at the bow and in the stern.

The batteau had no sooner touched the sh.o.r.e than those in the bow sprang out and pulled the boat partially onto the gravelly beach. The others followed more slowly, but after a minute or more all were landed. Not a word was spoken for some minutes, and several of the men spread themselves out into a scouting party. One of them pa.s.sed so close to the place where Billie was concealed that he could have touched him with his hand; but it never seemed to occur to the Mexicans that anyone might be hidden on the beach.

Those who were not on the lookout, pushed the boat back into the water and turned it so they could pull out immediately it had received its load. Then for the first time a spoken order was given in a low voice-a voice which sounded strangely familiar to Billie, although he could not think where he had heard it.

"All ready!" it said, "and hurry up! Juan and I will be sufficient to guard the boat!"

"So ho!" exclaimed Billie to himself! "It appears we are to have two to deal with," and as he saw the figures steal away in the darkness he slipped silently nearer to the boat to see how the guard was placed.

A glance was sufficient to show him that one man sat in the boat with oars in his hands, while the speaker stood on the sh.o.r.e. He had not yet decided what to do, when he noticed that the boat was silently and slowly drawing away from land. The sh.o.r.e guard must have noticed it at the same time, for he said in a sharp whisper to the oarsman:

"You're drifting out! Hold your boat to the sh.o.r.e!"

The oarsman gave a couple of strokes with his oars, but without any apparent result! The boat continued to draw away.

"The current must be very swift!" he muttered.

"Or else you are very weak," declared the man on sh.o.r.e, and he leaned over to grasp the boat, which was still within reach.

This was Billie's opportunity and he was quick to seize it. He had realized from the beginning that it was not the current, but Adrian and Donald who were pulling the boat into the stream, and so, as the man on sh.o.r.e leaned over to grasp the boat, Billie sprang forward and gave him a violent shove, which landed him face down in the bottom of the batteau, and sent the craft well out into the stream.

Then, without a moment's hesitation, Billie sprang in after him, calling out to the other two boys to scramble aboard without delay.

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, there was a crack of rifles and the shouts of the Rangers mingled with the cries of the gun-runners, who had been caught in the trap.

But quick as Billie had been, the man whom he had pushed into the boat was quicker. He was on his feet in an instant and grappling with the lad, while at the sound of the shots he called to the oarsman:

"Pull for the other sh.o.r.e! Pull for your life!"

Although Billie was large and strong for his age he was no match for his a.s.sailant, who was not only possessed of much strength, but was as agile as a cat. Almost in less time than it takes to tell it, he had thrown the boy to the bottom of the boat. Quickly he picked up an oar, as though to deal him a blow, when his attention was diverted by the severe rocking of the boat.

Turning to see the cause, he espied Donald and Adrian piling in over the gunwale.

Raising aloft the oar which he had intended for Billie, he aimed a vicious blow at the head nearest him, but as the blow was about to descend, Billie caught him by one leg and he dropped the oar to save himself from falling into the water.

By this time the oarsman had discovered the condition of affairs and had come to his companion's rescue. Rising in his place he struck with his oar the boy nearest him. It happened to be Donald, and the oar came down on his shoulder with a sounding whack. It was only by the greatest good luck that it did not hit him on the head. As it was it caused him to utter a cry of pain and release his hold on the boat.

It was a critical moment.

Adrian had just succeeded in pulling himself into the boat, but had not yet gained his footing; Donald was apparently helpless in the water, and Billie was struggling with the leader of the gun-runners, while the oarsman, with oar in hand, seemed to command the situation.

But before the man with the oar could gather himself for another blow Adrian, from his crouching position, sprang upon him. His head struck the Mexican squarely in the pit of the stomach, and with a loud "Ah!" as the wind was knocked out of him he toppled over into the water. The next instant Adrian reached over and seized Donald by the hair and pulled him up to the boat, where he was able to grasp the gunwale with his uninjured arm.

The blow which struck Donald, and his cry, had a most unfortunate result upon Billie. For just a moment he was undecided whether to throw his antagonist into the river, or to release his hold and help Donald. In that moment his opponent saw his opportunity and took advantage of it.

With his doubled knee he struck Billie in the face and as the lad fell over into the boat, he plunged into the river and struck out for the Mexican sh.o.r.e.

"Don't let him get away," cried Billie, as soon as he could gather himself to speak. "It's the leader of the gang!"

"All right," said Adrian. "Help me pull Donald in and we'll row after him."

In almost no time Donald was helped into the boat and Billie and Adrian seized the oars and started in pursuit of the fleeing Mexican. They were not expert oarsmen, but they did their best and the boat made good headway. But row as hard as they could, they were unable to discover a trace of the fugitive, and it soon became evident that he had escaped in the darkness. Neither did they see anything of the man whom Adrian had knocked overboard.

"We haven't made a very creditable record," declared Adrian as they finally ceased rowing and tried to make out where they were. "I hope Capt. Peak did better."

Considerably crestfallen, the boys turned the boat and rowed for the American sh.o.r.e, where they shortly arrived.

"Well," said Capt. Peak as they beached the batteau and sprang ash.o.r.e, "I see you have the boat. Did you get anything else?"

"Nothing but a sore shoulder," replied Donald ruefully.

"It's all my fault," declared Billie. "I ought to have shot the leader instead of trying to capture him."

"The leader!" exclaimed Capt. Peak. "Was it the leader you were fighting with?"

"Sure!" was Billie's emphatic reply. "And he's a good one, too!"

"You ought to know," laughed the Captain. "It was your old friend, Don Rafael."

"What!" cried Billie, as he regarded Capt. Peak with a look of blank despair. "Don Rafael! You don't mean it!"

"That's what the men say, and I have no doubt they know."

"And to think that I had my hands on him and didn't recognize him!" said Billie, almost in tears with disappointment. "That's twice I've let him escape. I'll bet I don't do it a third time!"

CHAPTER XIX.

WITH THE REGULAR ARMY.

Despite the escape of Don Rafael, the expedition had been a great success. All the other gun-runners, with the possible exception of the one whom Adrian knocked into the river, had either been captured or shot, the arms had been secured for evidence, and the boat, which had been so well used, had been captured.

"It's all very well for the Rangers," said Billie to Donald as they were climbing into bed that night, "but it hasn't helped me a bit. I am no nearer keeping my promise to Santiago than I was yesterday morning. In fact, I am further away, for Don Rafael will be more cautious than ever."

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it," replied Donald good-naturedly. "Go to bed and sleep over it. You may dream it out. Because we've done our best today is no sign we cannot do better tomorrow. We profit by experience, my father says. Our very failures make us try that much harder."

"That's a fact," declared Adrian. "I've proved that myself."

"It doesn't seem as though I could try much harder," said Billie, with a vigorous shake of his head; "but as Donald says, the best thing to do now is to sleep over it," and he tumbled into bed and was soon sleeping as soundly as though he had not just been through an ordeal which would have been a memorable one even for one much more experienced than Broncho Billie.

The events of the morrow proved that sleeping over the matter was the very best thing that could have been done, because it was the last real good night's sleep the boys had for some time. While they were eating their breakfast the next morning, Capt. Peak came in and told them that a revolution against President Madero had already broken out and that General Felix Diaz was attacking Vera Cruz.

"So you see," he added, "our predictions were pretty nearly correct."