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Pony Rider Boys in Louisiana

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<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> <h3>WHAT TAD FOUND ON THE TRAIL</h3> "Venison steak and boiled bayou water doesn't go so badly after all," observed Stacy Brown wisely. "Especially when you have had a hand in getting the steak," laughed Walter. "That's the idea," agreed Chunky. "We know how we got him, too, don't we, Tad?" Butler nodded absently. His mind was not on that particular subject at the moment. There was that on his mind which he was trying to solve, in order to get a clear understanding, but reason as he might he was not able to work the problem out to his own satisfaction. "Mr. Lilly, you don't think for a moment that this man who stole the doe could have been responsible in any way for the attack of the pack on our hounds, do you?" questioned the Professor. Tad looked up with keen interest reflected on his face. "I don't see how that would be possible, Professor. Man can't make those whelps do his bidding. At any rate, we shan't be troubled again after what the boys did to them this afternoon. That was a killing worth while. I reckon I'll have something to tell the folks when I get home and so will you. The Major will be interested, too. He said you were a lively bunch, but I reckon he didn't know just how true that was when he said it." "Yes, the Major was right," observed Stacy airily. "Some of us are all of that." "Especially Stacy Brown," spoke up Ned. "Stacy Brown and Tad Butler," corrected the fat boy. "Still, you and the Professor did very well after you got on the job. But we had them pretty well thinned out by the time you arrived. About all there was left to do was to gather up the wounded and bury the dead. Professor, that pistol of yours would stop an elephant. How it did keel those beasts over!" chuckled Stacy at the recollection of Professor Zepplin's shooting. "It is my old army pistol. I contend that these new-fangled weapons are no more effective, especially in small arms. There has been some improvement in the long-range guns since my time." "Since the North 'fit' the South," suggested Lilly with a grin. "Yes. It is a far cry from the old muzzle-loader to the improved weapon of today. A far cry, indeed." "Then you think the fellow with whom we had the trouble could have had nothing to do with the attack of the wolves?" questioned Tad. "Of course not. That might have been possible, but it wasn't." "Ambiguous, but good sense," muttered Professor Zepplin. "Why do you ask?" demanded Lilly. "I wanted to know. I am a little bothered about some features of the affair," Tad answered. Lilly regarded the Pony Rider Boy thoughtfully. "You have something on your mind?" "Well, yes, I have," admitted Tad. "Out with it. It doesn't do to hold in too much at a time like the present." "You know I went out on that trail this afternoon, Mr. Lilly?" "No, I didn't know it. To which trail do you refer?" "The bear trail we will call it." "From the other way?" "Yes, sir. I went in the opposite direction to that supposed to have been taken by Bruin, and I discovered some things that puzzled me." "On the trail?" asked the Professor. "Yes, sir." "What did you discover?" demanded Lilly eagerly. "I found the trail of a horse in the first place." "Going which way?" "Toward this camp. The horse turned—" "You don't mean this camp exactly. You mean the place where we made temporary camp this afternoon, don't you?" "Yes, sir, that is what I mean. The horse, as I was saying, turned about just beyond where we had the fight with the wolves, and took the back trail, or nearly so." "Hm-m-m!" mused the guide. "That is peculiar. Fresh tracks?" "Within a few hours of the time I found them, sir." "What did you make of them?" "Not much of anything. But that was not all I discovered. I found a dead dog a little way from camp." "I saw several myself," laughed Ned Rector. "One of our dogs?" questioned Lilly. "No, sir, it was not. Furthermore, the dog had a leash, a long one, about his neck. He hadn't been dragged. I found the dog's footprints almost up to the point where his carcass lay." Bill Lilly was beginning to show signs of excitement. "Go on. What had happened to the dog?" "He had been shot and left where he was killed. The wolves or some other animals had torn his flesh some, but not so much that I could not tell what killed him. He was killed by a bullet. I wonder why?" "Can't you guess?" asked Lilly. "I have an idea now. It has just occurred to me." Lilly rose to his full height, tugging at his moustache with both hands, gazing fixedly at Tad Butler. "It's more work of that miserable whelp. He's done it this time. I see how it was. I should have thought of that before. If my eyes had been as sharp as yours, Master Tad, you wouldn't need to have told me." "Tell us what you suspect," urged Professor Zepplin, who was as much puzzled as the rest. Even Stacy was regarding the guide with inquiring eyes. The latter was striding up and down, tugging at his moustache as if he owed it a grudge. "What I suspect? I don't suspect at all. I know now, thanks to Master Tad's keen scent. What has been done is this. Some whelp, knowing what we were going to do, has hit the bear trail leading a dog. He knew the wolves were in that vicinity, so he rode along the back trail, leading the dog behind him, knowing full well that the wolves would scent it, and, knowing it was a lone dog, would follow it. You see he figured that the pack would sooner or later come up with our hounds. He knew that there would be a battle and he hoped we would lose all our dogs." "The cold-blooded scoundrel!" exclaimed Ned Rector. "There! What did I tell you, Tad?" cried Stacy. "I ought to have shot the beast while I had the chance. He played us about as I thought he would. Why, if you had let me have my way, I should have taken his horse away from him and set him adrift. I guess he wouldn't have played any such miserable trick on us. No, sir, he would have all he wanted to do to get out of the woods, let alone dragging a lone dog along the bear trail to call the wolves to our pack. Oh, what a beast!" "It is well that your revengeful disposition was not allowed free range," answered the Professor rebukingly. "It is done now. We can't help ourselves," said Tad. "It isn't done," exclaimed Lilly. "I am not done. I am going after the man who caused the death of half of our hounds. He isn't fit to eat out of the same pan with the dogs. Better would he eat with the wild pigs of the swamp. Master Butler, you have keen eyes and you are sharp as a she-bear with cubs." Tad smiled at the comparison. "Tomorrow morning I hit the trail. Do you want to go with me, Butler?" "I am ready for anything," answered the Pony Rider Boy. "So am I," piped Chunky. "One is enough," replied Lilly. "I think the two of us will be able to do the job as it should be done." "What is it you propose to do?" questioned the Professor. "Well, we-all reckon to catch the fellow who is bothering us. When a mosquito buzzes around your head, threatening to bite you, you swat him, don't you?" "Yes, but this is different." "It's the same thing, except that this mosquito has two legs instead of four. He'll be limping on one before I have finished with him if I get hold of him." "Surely, you don't intend to shed human blood?" objected Professor Zepplin. "I am not saying what I'll do. I am taking the kid with me to kind of hold me back in case I get too mad. Then, as I said, he has the eyes that see things as they are. Tomorrow morning, Master Tad, with the Professor's permission—" "I will consider the matter," answered the Professor. "Tomorrow morning," said Tad, grinning and nodding to his companions. "You folks will make an awful fizzle of it if you don't take me along," declared the fat boy with a slow shake of the head. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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