Frank Merriwell's Athletes Part 50

Upon the heads of the riders were broad-brimmed hats, some of them being of stiff rawhide and some being the well-known Stetson sombrero, which cost anywhere from eighteen to eighty dollars.

Every man had a handkerchief knotted about his neck, and a cartridge belt, bearing heavy revolvers in open holsters, about his waist.

Their hair was long and unkempt, and their faces were weather-tanned.

Some had on long-legged, high-heeled boots, and some wore leather leggins, while at the heels of every man were heavy, murderous-looking spurs.

With their jangling spurs, flapping ropes and buckskin strings, broad-brimmed hats, bright-colored handkerchiefs, they certainly were a most impressive cavalcade of prairie scamperers.

As they swept toward the corrals near the ranch, Rodney's men ran out and greeted them with a yell.

In return the Tilford men suddenly jerked out their "guns," and sent twenty shots into the air. Then they flung the little ponies on their haunches, stopping in an instant with such suddenness that almost any fairly expert rider must have been sent flying headlong over the animal's ears to the ground.

"There, fellows," smiled Frank, with a wave of his hand toward the arrivals, "there is a band of genuine wild and woolly cow-punchers. Take a good look at them, for the real cowboy is disappearing, and, in a very few years you will not be able to see a sight like that anywhere on this continent."

"I suppose they are all right," said Diamond, "but it is plain enough that they are great bluffers."

"In what way?" asked Frank, quickly.

"In their get up. There is no reason why they should look so extremely tough beyond their own personal desire to appear like bad men."

"I think you are wrong, old fellow. Name something about them that they might discard."

"Their long hair, to begin with. That is pure affectation."

"Not at all. Long hair is a necessity with them."

"Get out! How?"

"Well, you know they are exposed to all kinds of weather. Their business is out of doors, rain or s.h.i.+ne, and in many changes of climate. They have found by experience that long hair protects their eyes and ears. If they were to keep their hair cut short, many of them would be troubled with sore eyes, pains in the head and loud ringing in the ears."

"That may be true," acknowledged Jack; "but just look at those outrageous hats."

"That is the only sort of hat suitable for cowboys to wear, as it protects from from the sun and from the rain. The very fact that it has been used for generation after generation without changing fas.h.i.+on is enough to indicate that necessity, not vanity, dictated its origin."

"But see those wretched rawhide affairs."

"I see them. Those are the cheap hats, and they are made by the cowboys themselves. Years ago every cowboy made his own hat, as manufacturers had not discovered that there was money in making hats for the punchers.

An old cattleman once told me how they made their hats."

"How it peen done, Vrankie? You toldt us dot," urged Hans.

"When a cowboy wanted to make a hat for himself, he went out and dug in the ground a hole as near the size and shape of his head as he could make it. Then a large, circular piece of rawhide, soft, wet and pliable, was spread over the hole. Next, with a bunch of gra.s.s or buckskin, the center of the rawhide was pressed down into the hole till it a.s.sumed its size and shape. The surrounding circle of hide, which was to be the brim, was kept flat on the ground by constant patting and pressing with the hands. When the hat was molded, it was left till it was well dried by the sun. Then it was taken to a place where smoke and heat scorched it till it was perfectly waterproof. When it was trimmed with strings and straps, it was ready for use."

"How about those bright handkerchiefs the men use about their necks?

Surely those are worn to attract attention. They might be carried in the pocket quite as well."

"Wrong again, Jack. Very often when riding at full speed the eyes of the cowboy are filled with mud or sand, and then the handkerchief is ready for use. The man can catch up a corner and wipe out his eyes without pulling in his horse. In sand storms the handkerchief is sometimes called into use as a veil. Having it tied about his neck, the owner of the handkerchief knows it is secure. If he had to take it out and restore it to his pocket every time he used it, he would lose it frequently. Sometimes he uses the handkerchief when his horse is racing along, and the animal stumbles. The handkerchief must be dropped instantly. He could not fail to lose it if it were not tied about his neck."

"Well, look at those outrageous leather leggins. What are they for?"

"To protect their clothes from the wear and tear of the saddles, from being torn by thorns, mesquite or cactus, and sometimes to protect them from rattlesnakes."

"Hus.h.!.+ Well, how about the high heels on their boots? I have you there!

That is a pure case of vanity, and you must acknowledge it."

Frank smiled.

"Not at all, my boy. Those boots cost from eighteen to forty dollars a pair, and are made to order. The heels are long and sloping toward the sole of the foot not to make the foot look small, but to keep it from slipping out of the stirrup in a time of danger, when the cowboy's horse may be tearing along at breakneck speed. Those boots are made to ride in, not to walk in."

"But the spurs-the spurs!" cried Diamond, triumphantly. "They are outrageous and cruel. Surely those huge implements of torture are made thus to look savage and attract attention."

"Not a bit of it. Singular as it may seem, the smaller spurs used in the East are much more cruel. They cut the horse; these big spurs do not.

They are made big and strong that they may not wear out. Sometimes the only way a cowboy can save his horse from being run down by a mad steer is by using the spur sharply. At such a time it is far better for a horse to be prodded with a steel spur than to have a foot or more of horns run into him, which might result in the throwing of the rider to be trampled to death, and the loss of several hundred cattle. See?"

Diamond looked discomfited.

"At least, on one point I have you," he cried. "You can't get around it."

"Name the point."

"The fringe-the fringe on their suits. There is pure vanity, you will admit."

"Quite the contrary. The fringe comes along the outside seam of their trousers and sleeves. There is no sewing there, but the buckskin is slashed in narrow strip and knotted together. That is the purpose the fringe plays. The ends are left to hide the knots and any holes that might be seen gaping between them."

"Begobs!" cried Barney, in admiration, "it's yersilf, Frankie, thot knows all about it, but pwhere yez got yer infermation is pwhat Oi dunno."

"This is not the first time I have been among the cowboys, and I always keep eyes and ears open wherever I am. I have managed to pick up such knowledge as I possess concerning them by watching and listening. They have ever been very interesting to me."

"Mr. Merriwell, I congratulate you!" cried Sadie Rodney. "I am surprised to find a 'tenderfoot' knows so much about cow-punchers."

"I'd never faound aout half that if I'd lived right with them a year,"

declared Ephraim Gallup. "They're darned pecooler critters, an' I guess this one comin' this way is one of the most pecooler 'mongst 'em."

Indian Charlie had left the others, and was sauntering toward the little party on the veranda.

Sadie Rodney looked serious, and shrank close to Inza, in whose ear she murmured:

"I am afraid of that man. He has asked me to marry him. I have refused him a dozen times, but he persists, and he says he will have me in spite of myself. I do not dare anger him, for there is no telling what he might do."

Frank heard her words.

"The fellow deserves a good thumping!" he mentally exclaimed.

CHAPTER XXVIII-INDIAN CHARLIE IS SURPRISED