Transforming Learning and Teaching We can if 1st Edition Barbara Macgilchrist
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- 5. Transforming Learning and Teaching We can if 1st Edition Barbara Macgilchrist Digital Instant Download Author(s): Barbara MacGilchrist, Margaret Buttress ISBN(s): 9781412900553, 1412900557 Edition: 1 File Details: PDF, 1.83 MB Year: 2004 Language: english
- 6. Transforming LearningandTeaching B A R B A R A M A C G I L C H R I S T A N D M A R G A R E T B U T T R E S S
- 7. TRANSFORMING LEARNING AND TEACHING 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page i
- 8. Professor Barbara MacGilchrist is Deputy Director at the Institute of Education, University of London and an Associate Director of the Institute’s International School Effectiveness and Improvement Centre. She has been a teacher, a head- teacher, local education authority inspector and chief inspector, and has substantial experience of professional development and school improvement programmes. She is the author of Managing Access and Entitlement in Primary Education (Trentham, 1992) and co-author of Planning Matters (Paul Chapman Publishing, 1995) and The Intelligent School (Paul Chapman/Sage Publishing, 1997; 2004). She has published a wide range of articles for practitioners in professional journals and on the National College for School Leadership website. In 2003 she was awarded an OBE for her ser- vices to the ‘education and professional development of teachers’. Margaret Buttress is the Headteacher of Highlands Primary School in the London Borough of Redbridge. Prior to this she was a teacher and deputy headteacher in the outer London Boroughs of Merton, Hillingdon and Ealing. She has led and man- aged two successful amalgamations, including Highlands, where she has been Headteacher since 1997. Awarded a Research Associateship by the National College for School Leadership in 2001, she has disseminated the transformational learning from the ‘Learning to Learn’ project locally, nationally and internationally. She has been a member of groups developing revised school self-evaluation and monitoring frameworks for Redbridge. She is also contributing to the Department for Education and Skills’ pilot schemes and consultation exercises on the New Relationship with Schools. 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page ii
- 9. TRANSFORMING LEARNING AND TEACHING ‘we can if … ’ Barbara MacGilchrist and Margaret Buttress 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page iii
- 10. © 2005 Barbara MacGilchrist and Margaret Buttress First published 2005 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. Paul Chapman Publishing A SAGE Publications Company 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B-42, Panchsheel Enclave Post Box 4109 New Delhi 110 017 Library of Congress Control Number: 2004106433 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 1 4129 0055 7 ISBN 1 4129 0056 5 (pbk) Typeset by Dorwyn Ltd, Wells. Printed in Great Britain by Athenaeum Press, Gateshead 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page iv
- 11. Dedicated to Gareth Brooke-Williams an inspirational and charismatic headteacher who always believed ‘we can if … ’. (1952–2001) v 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page v
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- 13. Contents Page Acknowledgements x Introduction – ‘we can if … ’ 1 The story 1 How the story is told 2 How the book can be used 3 1 Setting the scene 4 The ‘Learning to Learn’ project 4 The LEA context at the beginning of the project 8 A brief description of the schools 9 Our guiding mantra – ‘we can if… ’ 10 2 Getting started and keeping going 11 Taking time to get to know one another and share concerns 12 Taking time to clarify the purposes of the journey (our learning intentions!) 13 Beginning to learn how to learn from each other 15 Bringing the rest of our travelling companions on board 18 Collecting baseline data 21 Sharing ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ along the route and supporting one another 22 Conclusion 26 3 Developing our teaching practice to enhance pupils’ learning 29 Encouraging thinking skills and learning skills 29 Developing the ‘language of learning’ in our classrooms 32 Stimulating the learning brain 40 Developing children’s emotional intelligence 45 Conclusion 53 4 Supporting teachers as learners and researchers 55 Developing teachers as learners 55 Coaching managers in the skills of leadership for learning 58 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page vii
- 14. Providing induction programmes for newly recruited staff and NQTs 62 Investing in high-quality training opportunities for all 66 Embedding support and development within our school improvement plans 70 Conclusion 71 5 Providing leadership for learning 73 Headteachers model total commitment 73 Leadership is distributed across the school 78 Deputy heads become the ‘levers’ of school improvement 80 Middle managers and teams become leaders of learning and learning leaders 85 Leadership roles are developed amongst other members of staff 89 Children become leaders of learning 94 Conclusion 97 6 Accelerating children’s learning 99 Heeding the health warnings 99 Reflecting on and reviewing progress 102 Maintaining and enhancing inclusive provision for a broad and balanced curriculum 110 Creative differentiation to support inclusion 113 Conclusion 122 7 Keeping track of children’s learning 123 Identifying issues that can inform and have an impact on the tracking of pupils’ learning 123 Ensuring the micro and macro management of quantitative data 127 Using a range of qualitative tracking measures 131 Tracking the focus cohort 135 Conclusion 136 8 Evaluating the impact of the ‘Learning to Learn’ project 138 Analysing test data to assess the value added by the schools 138 Taking account of the outcomes of objective external validations 144 Obtaining people’s perceptions of ‘Learning to Learn’ 146 Conclusion 157 9 Growing learners – children’s views about learning 159 What does learning mean to you? 160 What does it mean if you learn something? 162 How do you learn best? 162 How do you feel learning has improved for you? 165 Are there particular things teachers, support staff or other pupils do which help you to learn? 167 How do you feel about the ‘no put-down’ zones? 170 CONTENTS viii 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page viii
- 15. What gets in the way of your learning? How do you try to sort this out? 171 Are there things you wish your teacher would do that he/she does not do? 173 What is it like to be a learner in your class? 174 Conclusion 177 10 Transforming learning and teaching – lessons and key principles 178 Lessons learned 178 Transforming learning and teaching – key principles 183 Conclusion 186 Glossary 188 Bibliography 189 Index 192 ix CONTENTS 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page ix
- 16. Acknowledgements This book reflects the learning journey of five primary schools and is a celebration of primary practice in the London Borough of Redbridge. In writing up the ‘Learning to Learn’ project we have tried to encapsulate the deep learning that took place within our learning community. Particular thanks are extended to the headteachers for their unwavering leadership, support and colle- giality during the project: Lesley Hagon, Headteacher, Ilford Jewish Primary School Helen Marchant, Acting Headteacher, Oakdale Junior School Judith Skelton, Headteacher, Churchfields Junior School Dinah Smith, Headteacher, Parkhill Junior School. The outstanding contributions, and engagement, from staff and pupils in all five schools have been instrumental in translating the aims of the project into practical reality. The support of parents and governors was a vital part of this process. Judith Skelton’s organization and collation of the children’s views about learning was greatly appreciated. Special thanks are extended to the staff, pupils and governors of Highlands Pri- mary School, for their enthusiasm, forbearance, and continued support whilst the authors were writing this book. Outstanding contributions from Jean Durr, Ian Ben- nett, Sue Barnes and Angela Sparkes in their leadership, challenge and support have been especially appreciated, as has the very practical support provided by members of the office staff. The vision, creative foresight, courage and tenacity of our mentor, Melanie Fos- ter, enabled the learning journey to happen for all. Lisa Starr, through her unstint- ing support, kept us on track. We wish to thank Jackie Lee for her endless patience, goodwill and endurance in helping us to type and retype our story, and Bob Percival for his work in producing the data. We also wish to thank the following for their individual contributions. Martin Coles, Janice Eacott, Anne Farmer, Claire Griffiths, Sue Hyett, Rachel Jackson, Vicky x 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page x
- 17. Jones, Roz Levin, Isobel Madhani, Samim Patel, Mary Robinson, Maninder Sagoo, Jes Da Santos, Robeena Shah, Linda Snow, Geoff Southworth, Mick Taylor, Jo Wakefield, Saira Yakub and Meena Zaverchand. Last, but not least, Barbara would like to thank her husband, Bob, and Margaret would like to thank her husband, Patrick, daughters, Jessica and Martha, and her mother, Margaret, for their support and encouragement. Barbara MacGilchrist Margaret Buttress xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8625PRE.QXD 03/10/2004 22:31 Page xi
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- 19. Introduction–‘wecanif…’ The story This book tells the story of how a group of primary schools transformed learning and teaching. It is a ‘warts and all’ story, which provides a fascinating insight into the day-to-day realities of trying to bring about school improvement. The book describes the wide range of practical strategies the schools used for supporting and enhancing: • children’s learning • teachers’ learning • the schools’ capacity for learning. It describes how the focus on learning led to significant improvements in children’s motivation, behaviour, engagement in learning and learning outcomes. It also illus- trates how, through teachers learning with, and from one another, the schools’ capacity for sustained improvement was strengthened. The book is based on an action research project entitled ‘Learning to Learn’ which concentrated on the development of children’s understanding, skills and attitudes about themselves as learners, and about the learning and thinking strategies they were currently using, and could use in the future. Throughout, the book gives the children’s perspective on the impact that the pro- ject had on them. It describes what worked for the schools, and what did not. It draws out the main lessons learned for: We introduce this book by describing: what the story is about how the story is told how it can be used. 1 8625BOOK.QXD 03/10/2004 22:23 Page 1
- 20. • children • teachers • support staff • headteachers • parents • external consultants. It raises issues about the transfer of learners from primary to secondary school. The story told by the schools is an important one. It reminds us that there is much more to education than a narrow concentration on target setting and league tables. It tells the story of a group of schools committed to: inclusive education for all; the pro- vision of a rich, broad curriculum, and the development of young people’s confi- dence, self-esteem and the skills and attitudes needed to become lifelong learners. How the story is told The story begins in Chapter 1 with a brief description of the ‘Learning to Learn’ pro- ject and those involved in it, to provide a context for the chapters that follow. Chapter 2 describes – warts and all – how the ‘Learning to Learn’ headteachers and their mentors came together, developed a learning orientation and brought their staff on board. Chapter 3 recounts how the schools developed their teaching prac- tice to develop pupils’ learning. Adults learning to learn take up the following two chapters. Chapter 4’s account of how the schools supported teachers as learners and researchers, is followed, in Chapter 5, by how the schools provided leadership for learning, and the different people involved in that process. The spotlight then refocuses on the children. Chapter 6 deals with the strategies the schools used to accelerate learning and Chapter 7 with how the schools kept track of children’s learning. The impact of the ‘Learning to Learn’ project is summarized in Chapter 8 in respect of: • children’s levels of achievement in English, mathematics and science, and how these outcomes compared with other schools in the borough and with schools nationally • teachers and their teaching practice • the headteachers • parents • those who work with the schools. The progress made by the schools is affirmed in Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspection reports. The children’s own story about the growth of them- TRANSFORMING LEARNING AND TEACHING 2 8625BOOK.QXD 03/10/2004 22:23 Page 2
- 21. selves as learners and about their learning journey follows in Chapter 9. The different strands of the ‘Learning to Learn’ story come together in Chapter 10. The lessons learned and the implications for future practice in schools and LEAs are identified. The story does not end here however. The schools are continuing to work together and have now been joined by some more primary schools and a group of secondary schools to form an enlarged ‘Learning to Learn’ network. This network of schools is building on the work of the original group of five to ensure that the lessons learned by them inform the next stage of their learning journey together. How the book can be used The book is intended for school leaders and practising teachers in primary and sec- ondary schools, and for those who work in an advisory or consultancy capacity with schools. It will also be of interest to those training to be teachers and to their teachers. Theme headings are highlighted at the beginning of each chapter. Subdivisions of each heading are similarly marked, to enable the reader to see the big picture at a glance. Most chapters end with a concluding section in which we review what we did, and reflect on what we learned. These reviews and reflections can be used as a starting point for individual, group or whole-staff learning and professional devel- opment. In the last chapter, arising from the lessons learned, we identify some key principles that need to underpin the transformation of learning and teaching. We conclude with a series of questions to promote discussion amongst practitioners and policy-makers. Throughout the book there are practical examples of the ‘Learning to Learn’ pro- ject in action, which it is hoped practitioners will find informative and useful for enhancing their own practice. For those involved in networked learning communi- ties, or about to be, the book offers practical strategies for maximizing the effec- tiveness of such groups. In using the book it is important to bear in mind the strapline – ‘we can if … ’ . This was our guiding mantra because it signified our belief that all children (and adults for that matter) can learn. It underpinned our commitment to inclusive education for all in the context of a broad and balanced curriculum for the twenty-first century. Barbara MacGilchrist Margaret Buttress April 2004 3 INTRODUCTION – ‘WE CAN IF . . . ’ 8625BOOK.QXD 03/10/2004 22:23 Page 3
- 22. 1 Settingthescene Effective educational leaders are continuously open to new learning because the (leadership for learning) journey keeps changing. (Stoll et al., 2003, p. 103) This chapter describes the rationale for the ‘Learning to Learn’ project and gives an outline of how the project was designed. It also provides background information about the outer London borough in which the five schools were located, and a pen portrait of each of the schools involved. It ends by describing the reason for our guiding mantra, ‘we can if … ’. The ‘Learning to Learn’ project The project grew out of a learning partnership between a group of primary schools, their local education authority (LEA), the outer London Borough of Redbridge and a higher education institution (HEI), the Institute of Education, University of Lon- don. The overall purpose of the project was to support, promote and share good practice in learning and teaching, so as to improve the quality of the learning expe- rience for all young people and raise their levels of achievement. The emphasis on all the children was important because an inclusive approach to education for all was a guiding principle for the project. The project was underpinned by two fun- damentals. First, that developing, changing and improving learning and teaching in the classroom is at the heart of school improvement. Secondly, that to do this children and teachers, along with the headteacher and other school staff and those We set the scene by describing: the ‘Learning to Learn’ project the LEA context at the beginning of the project the schools our guiding mantra – ‘we can if … ’. 4 8625BOOK.QXD 03/10/2004 22:23 Page 4
- 23. who support them from outside, including parents, need to learn with and from one another. This belief was premised on our view that a focus on learning rather than on performance will enhance children’s progress and achievement. After much heart searching and debate, we decided to use the following question as our initial starting point: Does the development of teachers’ and children’s metacognitive skills signifi- cantly enhance children’s achievement in learning? We began with this question because we were very aware that there is a growing amount of research evidence to show that, if children are taught to develop and understand their thinking strategies, then this can make a real difference to their learning in school and beyond. We knew that, as Stoll and colleagues (2003) argue: Becoming skilled at metacognition requires focused teaching, lots of examples and a great deal of practice. When pupils have developed proficiency with monitoring their own learning and identifying what they need next, they are more able to transfer their learning to new settings and events, to have deeper understanding and to build the habits of mind that make them lifelong learners (p. 70). We also knew that, to enable this to happen, teachers need to have a good under- standing of how children learn, so as to be able to use this knowledge to try out and develop a broad repertoire of teaching strategies. As will become clear in the chapters that follow, this question about metacogni- tion, in other words – thinking about thinking – was the beginning of a long jour- ney that led us along an exciting, challenging route with many different pathways and some dead ends! Very soon into the journey, we recognized that there was much more to learning than metacognition. Therefore, we broadened our horizons and focused on metalearning – learning about learning. In concentrating on the learning process, and the factors that can contribute to effective learning, we found ourselves exploring social, emotional, cognitive, neurological, psychological and physiological aspects of learning, and the practical implications of these in the classroom and across the school as a whole. The children had a central role to play in this process. Listening to children’s views about themselves as learners, about their learning and about the things that teachers do that best supports their learn- ing, was of fundamental importance to the project. So much so, that throughout the book, we have ensured that the children’s story is described and told. We believed, as Jean Rudduck and colleagues (1996, p. 1) do, that: what pupils say about teaching, learning and schooling is not only worth lis- tening to, but provides an important – perhaps the most important – founda- tion for thinking about ways of improving schools. 5 SETTING THE SCENE 8625BOOK.QXD 03/10/2004 22:23 Page 5
- 24. In recognition of the fact that learning is a complex process, the project drew on a wide range of research and practice. We paid particular attention to the literature concerned with: • effective learning (Watkins, 2000; Watkins et al., 2001; 2002) • the development of metacognitive skills (McGuinness, 1999) • formative assessment (Assessment Reform Group, 1999; Black and Wiliam, 1998) • motivation (Dweck, 1986) • accelerated learning (Smith and Call, 2000) • multiple intelligence (Gardner, 1993; 1999) • emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1996; 1998) • learning and the brain (Greenfield, 1997; McNeil, 1999). Preparations for the project began in 1999–2000 and then spanned two academic years, from September 2000 to July 2002. It combined support and pressure, in a planned way, at different, but complementary levels: • within the schools • between the schools • between the schools and the LEA • between the HEI, the LEA and the schools. Chapter 2 describes how the project got started and what the schools, the LEA and the HEI did to make this happen. The project was designed to ensure that the five schools that eventually became involved, took control of their own improvement processes. Although we were working on a ‘project’ together, the ultimate aim was to ensure that the learning and teaching practices, developed in the schools, would be sustained, developed and kept under regular review way beyond the life of the project. In other words, this was not simply another initiative or a one-off programme. Rather, it was a seri- ous attempt to improve, change and embed learning and teaching in the schools now and in the future. There was also a commitment to disseminate good practice and lessons learned, not just within this ‘networked community’, but to a wider network of schools in the LEA in the long term. The writing of this book is part of that commitment. There were a number of key elements that featured in this action research project. They included: • a commitment to learning for all • accepting oneself as a learner (both staff and children) • rigorous ‘critical friendships’ • high-quality professional development including dialogue between and across the schools about the nature of learning TRANSFORMING LEARNING AND TEACHING 6 8625BOOK.QXD 03/10/2004 22:23 Page 6
- 25. • involving children in their own learning; in other words, viewing them as learn- ing citizens involved in their own learning process • exploring notions of intelligence and learning styles • the need to be very specific about learning, so as to inform planning, learning intentions and short- and long-term targets • quantitative and qualitative assessment to support learners and their learning • supporting school self-evaluation. To enable the schools to ‘learn to learn’ a wide range of strategies was used. These strategies included: • combined in-service training sessions for teachers, support staff and governors across all five schools • in-school staff development opportunities focused on learning and teaching • inter-school visiting by teachers to observe and share practice • a visit by teachers from all five schools to a Canadian school district • feedback from regular developmental joint visits by the LEA Advisory Officer for special educational needs and the HEI partner • the development of a ‘critical friendship’ network for the headteachers them- selves. The three partners (schools, LEA and HEI) in the project met on a regular basis throughout the two-year period. The LEA contributed the vital support of a man- agement officer, Lisa Starr, who co-ordinated and effectively minuted all meetings, and distributed research papers and documentation. This enabled the process within the project to be clearly documented. To monitor and evaluate the impact of the project, a range of qualitative (soft) and quantitative (hard) data was gathered at the beginning, during, and at the end of the project. These included: • pupil, teacher and parent questionnaires • systematic tracking over two years of the progress and achievement of a targeted cohort of children in each school (those who were in year 5 at the beginning of the project) using a wide range of measures including attainment data • pupil, teacher and headteacher interviews by the LEA and HEI partners • documentary evidence, for example, children’s work and teachers’ lesson plans • regular joint LEA/HEI classroom observation in each school across the two years • headteacher progress reports on changes in children’s and teachers’ behaviours over the two years. The chapters that follow tell the story of our journey together and the final chap- ter draws out the important lessons that we learned. Without doubt we found that our learning partnership resulted in changes in the ways in which the children 7 SETTING THE SCENE 8625BOOK.QXD 03/10/2004 22:23 Page 7
- 26. Other documents randomly have different content
- 27. Buffalo Bill had laid a hand on his heart. “He’s alive yet,” said he. At that moment the doctor came. “A shooting, eh?” said he, looking down at the man on the bed with merely professional interest. “Pretty bad, but I’ll see what I can do.” The most the doctor could do was to revive Hawkins. The man opened his eyes, and stared around. “Whar’s Buffler Bill?” he asked feebly. “Here!” said the scout, pushing close to the bed. “Yer pard, Hickok——” “Here, too, Hawkins,” cut in Wild Bill, stepping to the scout’s side. Hawkins lifted a hand, and brushed it across his forehead. “The little hoss brought me ter town, eh?” he muttered. “I was purty nigh fagged when I got that thar rope around me an’ tied ter the saddle horn. I reckon I’m about done an’——” He paused abruptly, a faint gleam coming into his eyes as they rested on the sky pilot. “That you, parson?” “It’s I, Ace,” said Jordan, coming up on the other side of the bed and taking Hawkins by the hand. “Who did this?” “Red Steve. I reckoned he might.” “Because you helped me?” asked Wild Bill. “Nary,” said Hawkins, a faint smile hovering around his lips, “the White Caps hadn’t found that out yit. This was done bekase I tried ter help Perry.” “Perry?” gasped Nate Dunbar. “Yes, Perry,” went on Hawkins. “I got ter be muy pronto if I git you fellers headed right. Remember when I left ye, Wild Bill?”
- 28. “Yes.” “Well, the White Caps rode ter the Star-A ranch. I was afeared we might see ye thar, but we didn’t. A trick was played on Perry.” “Trick?” echoed the scout. “What sort of a trick?” “Why, Red Steve had Shorty Dobbs take off his white fixin’s an’ ride up ter the ranch house. Shorty asked for Perry. When Perry come out, Shorty told him that Nate Dunbar had been arrested in Hackamore for stealin’ dimings from Isaacs, that Buffler Bill had gone to town, and that Buffler had sent him—Shorty—arter Perry. Perry wasn’t ter tell anybody what had happened ’r whar he was goin’. He sneaked out ter the c’ral, got onter his hoss, an’ started with Shorty. When them two come ter whar the rest of us was waitin’ fer ’em, in the timber, Perry was nabbed. I tried ter help Perry, an’ then’s when Red Steve let me have it. I knowed right off I’d got my whatfer, but I wanted ter make Hackamore an’ tell the facts ter Buffler Bill.” Hawkins’ strength failed at this point, and the doctor had to give him a stimulant to enable him to rally. Presently he went on. “They chased me, Red Steve, Shorty, an’ the rest, but the little hoss was too fast fer ’em. I tell ye what, that buckskin kin go! I was afeared, though, that I’d play out afore we reached town, an’ that the hoss would kerry me back ter the Circle-B. But he didn’t. He brung me hyer.” “What about Perry, Hawkins?” asked the scout. “It’s long odds whether ye save him er not. They’ve took him ter Crowder’s c’ral—they—they——” Hawkins’ head fell back, and his eyes closed. Jordan threw a questioning, startled look at the doctor, but the doctor shook his head. “Not yet, parson,” said he; “it won’t be long, though.”
- 29. “They’ve bagged Dick Perry—the scoundrels!” muttered Nate Dunbar. “What’re they going to do with him?” “If they follow out the plan as I got it from Red Steve,” said Wild Bill, “they’re going to stake Perry out and head a drove of stampeding longhorns his way.” The sky pilot’s face went white. “They couldn’t be so inhuman!” he declared. “They wouldn’t dare do such a murderous thing!” “You don’t know Red Steve, parson,” said Wild Bill. “Even Lige Benner balked at that game—but his brother Jerry stood for it, and Red Steve is going to do this unknown to Lige.” “We’ve got to do something,” cried Dunbar. “We can’t stand here like this.” “That’s right, Nate,” agreed the scout; “we’ve got to make a quick move for Perry. The three of us can manage it, I reckon. It’s a fight against long odds, for Red Steve and his White Caps have several hours the start of us, but we’ll do what we can. Do you know where Crowder’s corral is?” “Yes. The corral ain’t used now, except for an occasional round- up.” “Well, that’s our destination. Spurs and quirts, friends!” As they started from the room, the scout turned and looked back. Jordan was just laying a blanket over the silent form on the bed. He caught the scout’s look, and nodded. Buffalo Bill hurried on after Dunbar and Wild Bill. In ten minutes they were slashing along the trail toward the Brazos, Dunbar laying a course that was to bring them to Crowder’s old corral by the shortest route. “This is a bad job for Red Steve,” remarked Buffalo Bill, as they galloped along.
- 30. “It’s not the only notch Red Steve has on his guns,” said Dunbar. “That Ace Hawkins was plumb white!” declared the Laramie man. “He did what he thought was right, and it seems hard that he’s got to pay for it like this.” “Hawkins and the sky pilot must have been pretty good friends, Pard Hickok. If they hadn’t been, Hawkins would never have gone to the parson, as he did, and told him that trouble was hatching at the Circle-B ranch.” “Human nature is a queer country,” mused Wild Bill. “No Apache Injun could have thought up a worse scheme than Red Steve concocted for putting Perry out of the way. Hawkins looked to be on a par with Steve, Shorty Dobbs, and the other White Caps, but, from the way he’s acted, is easy to see you can’t always judge a man by his looks. I take off my hat to Ace Hawkins! He was a whole man.” Dunbar’s mind was running on Perry—as was quite natural, in the circumstances. “Red Steve decoyed Perry away from the ranch,” said Dunbar, “and got him to leave without telling Hattie, or any of your pards, Buffalo Bill, where he was going. It was my trouble that was getting Dick away—and the whelps downed him in the trail, and by now must have him at Crowder’s corral. If we can save Dick, well and good; if we can’t, I’ll camp on Red Steve’s trail, and stay there until I get him or he gets me, one or t’other.” “If I get a good chance,” cried Wild Bill, “I’ll camp on Red Steve’s trail myself, just on account of Ace Hawkins. Hawkins, while he was with Steve’s gang, was playing a part, same as I was. He did it well, too; so well that he fooled me. But, talking of snakes, that Jerry Benner is the most venomous rattler loose in this cattle country. Lige can’t hold a candle to him.” The horses were none too fresh, especially Beeswax; but they stretched themselves gallantly to their work. Dunbar set the pace. The scout had brought Bloom’s rifle with him. He had taken it from the jail, in order to be on the safe side; and when the start for
- 31. Crowder’s corral was made it seemed good business to keep the gun in hand against possible emergencies. After two hours of rapid travel, the three riders topped a “rise” that gave them a distant view of the Brazos. “Over there,” announced Dunbar, pointing with his quirt, “is Crowder’s corral.”
- 32. CHAPTER XXI. LO N G O D D S. The Brazos River, along this part of its course, flowed through bluffy country. Here and there the low bluffs gave way to show the river, sparkling in between. The old corral came distinctly into view at about the time a wave of stampeding cattle rolled down toward the plain out of the mouth of one of the gullies in the bluffs. Buffalo Bill shifted his eyes from the log walls of the corral to the rushing tide of steers. “There goes the stampede!” shouted Wild Bill. “We’re not a minute too soon!” “Where’s Perry?” demanded the frantic Dunbar, sweeping his eyes over the level country in the vicinity of the corral. “If you want to locate Perry,” answered the scout, “watch the cattle. The scoundrels who started that stampede must have got them headed in the way they want them to go.” The thump of hoofs and the click of knocking horns could be heard distinctly, while the gully began to smoke from the dust kicked up by the racing steers. “I can’t see Perry,” cried Dunbar; “that confounded dust blurs everything. Let’s head off the cattle, if we can! Perhaps we can get them to milling!” Everything considered, this seemed to be the best course. It was doubtful whether the frenzied longhorns would keep to the course marked out for them by Red Steve and his men, and in this very doubt lay a chance for Perry.
- 33. Uncertainty, however, hedged in every move the scout and his two companions could make. Had they known definitely just where Perry was, they could have planned their efforts in his behalf more intelligently. The three riders scattered, Dunbar riding to nag at the herd’s flank close in toward the bluffs. Wild Bill made a dead set at the rolling, dusty tide nearer the corral. The scout, on the other hand, pointed Bear Paw in a direction that would cut the wide path along which the steers were running at a hundred yards or more in advance of the leaders. As the scout rode, he not only watched the steers, but kept on the alert for some sign of Red Steve and the scoundrels with him. The dust had become a dense cloud, and screened most of the frenzied herd. From the depths of the cloud came the clickety-clack of striking horns and the rumble of hoofs. Suddenly the scout grew rigid in his saddle. The next moment he had lifted himself high in his stirrups, and was peering ahead at the object that had flashed before his eyes. The dust whirled and eddied about the object so that, for a few moments, the scout was not sure of what he saw. When Bear Paw had brought him closer, every doubt faded. Perry was before him, and directly in the course of the charging steers! Four stakes had been planted in the earth, so as to form a square. In the centre of the square lay Perry, flat on his back, arms and legs stretched out. Each wrist and each ankle was fastened to a stake. The cattleman’s torture, as he lay helpless between the stakes, hearing the stampeding herd draw closer and closer, must have been intense. What was there the scout could do? While Bear Paw continued to race on, Buffalo Bill once more lifted himself in his stirrups and shouted for Wild Bill and Dunbar.
- 34. The dust was so thick he could not see either of the men, and the noise was so great his voice could not travel far. If anything was done for Perry, it must be the scout alone who did it. There was but one move open to him. This was to fling himself forward and get between the approaching steers and the helpless man roped to the stakes. Just what could be accomplished by this move was problematical. There was absolutely no other way, however, by which even possible aid could be given to Perry. It was a time when seconds counted. Half a minute brought the scout in the position he had settled upon, and he pulled Bear Paw to a sharp halt. He was between the rancher and the moving dust cloud—the cloud from whose forward edge pushed the foam-flecked nostrils and the wide horns of the charging leaders. Turning half around in his saddle so as to face the steer, the scout lifted the gun from the saddle horn. Could quick work with the rifle save Perry, or would that rushing tide of steers overwhelm Buffalo Bill and the unfortunate cattle baron? Even as this momentous problem flashed through the scout’s brain the rifle was at his shoulder. Sping! The hoarse roar of the gun echoed suddenly against the background of noise caused by the steers. One of the animals pitched forward. Swiftly the scout worked the breech mechanism and forced a fresh cartridge into place. Sping! Another steer went down.
- 35. He picked the animals off the edge of the herd, so that those behind had to swerve farther and farther to the right in order to find clear ground. Sping! coughed the rifle; clatter, clatter, sping! Six shots emptied the magazine, but the last two bullets dropped steers in such a way that those behind tumbled over the slain, so that there was a horrible tangle of living and struggling animals, rolling and floundering on the plain. But the main part of the herd had been deflected. Sitting breathless in his saddle, the king of scouts saw the edge of the rushing herd just graze the stakes. Loose earth was thrown at him and Perry by the flying hoofs, and a choking fog rolled around and over them. In three or four minutes the last of the steers had passed. Six had been left on the plain, and to those six Buffalo Bill and Perry owed their lives. Wild Bill and Dunbar, now that the dust had settled somewhat so they could see, put spurs to their horses and dashed toward the scout. “What were you killing Circle-B steers for, pard?” asked Wild Bill, his voice husky with the dust. “To turn the herd so it would go around Perry,” answered the scout. “Perry?” echoed Dunbar. The scout backed Bear Paw one side and waved his hand toward the stakes, and the man bound between them. A bellow of anger broke from the Laramie man, to be taken up and re-echoed by Dunbar. Throwing himself from his saddle, the young rancher jerked a knife from his pocket and slashed the ropes that held Perry in his torturing position.
- 36. For some time Perry could not move or speak, so worn out and spent was he from the ordeal through which he had passed. At last he succeeded in rising to a sitting posture and turned his bloodshot eyes on the scout. “Cody,” said he huskily, “you fought against long odds, and you won out with the narrowest kind of a margin. If you hadn’t turned those steers by a few feet, just where and when you did, you and I would both have been done for.” “A miss is as good as a mile,” laughed the scout. “There wasn’t time to cut the ropes and ride away with you, so I had to stand my ground and fall back on the rifle. Red Steve pegged you out, like that?” “I don’t know who it was. The scoundrels wore white caps drawn over their heads. They got hold of me by a trick—a trick that would have worked successfully ninety-nine times out of a hundred. A man came to the house and asked for me. When I went out, he said that Nate had been arrested for stealing diamonds, that Buffalo Bill had gone to Hackamore, and that I was wanted there. I wasn’t to tell my daughter, nor any of Buffalo Bill’s pards. I could understand about not telling Hattie, but why I was not to tell the scout’s pards was a mystery. I see now that Red Steve was afraid, if old Nomad, the baron and Little Cayuse knew where I was going, they might try to dissuade me, or to let some one else go. I hadn’t got far from the house along the trail when the white-capped men made an attack. The attack was unexpected, and I was taken at a disadvantage. They bound me and carried me to the old corral. There I was left till morning, when they brought me here and staked me out. “I hadn’t an idea what they were intending to do; but, when I heard the rumble of racing hoofs, I surmised what the fiends were about. They were planning to have those cattle race over me and trample my life out! This must have been some of Lige Benner’s doing. But how did you three manage to learn of my predicament?”
- 37. “If you feel able to ride, Perry,” said the scout, “we can talk that over on the way back to the ranch. What became of your horse?” “He got away during the fight I had with the White Caps on the trail. I presume he went back to the ranch. Hattie is probably doing a lot of worrying, and the quicker Nate and I reach the ranch house, the better it will be.” “Dunbar and I might do a little riding and see if we can’t locate Red Steve, or some of his men,” suggested Wild Bill. “No use,” said the scout. “Those scoundrels are on their way back to the Circle-B ranch by now. We will leave them alone till some other time. Our trails will cross again, pard, and when they do——” The scout finished with a grim frown and a shrug of the shoulders. “When our trails cross again,” said Wild Bill, “we’ll remember Ace Hawkins. I’ve marked Red Steve for my own private kybosh. Take notice, everybody!” Perry got up behind Dunbar, and on the way to the Star-A ranch the events that had led up to the stampede and the rescue of Perry were recounted for the rancher’s benefit. When the recital was done, Perry was silent for some time. “I wonder,” he finally muttered, “when Nate and I will reach the end of this hostility? How much longer will Benner keep up his evil work?” “I think you’ve seen the last of it, Perry,” said Wild Bill. “When he learns how his latest plans have failed, all around, he’ll probably take a vacation in some other part of the State and stay there till the last of the trouble blows over.” “And he tried to rob Dunbar of his good name, and me of my life,” exclaimed Perry, “just to satisfy his desire for vengeance!” “He was hit pretty hard, during that other set-to we had with him,” said Wild Bill, “and it’s hard for Lige Benner to forget.”
- 38. “He’s got something else to forget now,” commented Dunbar grimly.
- 39. CHAPTER XXII. P E A C E O N T H E B R A ZO S. When the scout, the Laramie man, Nate Dunbar and Perry rode up to the ranch house, they found Nomad and Cayuse just about to start off on their horses. The girl was in front of the cabin. At sight of her husband and her father, she ran toward them with a cry of joy. Nate flung himself from his saddle and clasped his wife in his arms. Hattie did not know how great a reason she had for rejoicing over the return of Dunbar and Perry. But she was soon to know. “Waugh,” whooped the old trapper. “Ef hyer ain’t the lot o’ ye. Wouldn’t give us a chance ter ride out an’ hunt ye up, would ye, Perry? Mrs. Dunbar was erbout worried ter death, an’ Cayuse an’ me was goin’ on er hike ter see ef we couldn’t locate ye. Whar’d ye go ter, last night? An’ Buffler, how’d you come out in Hackamore? Ye must hev made good, er Nate wouldn’t be hyar with ye.” “Hackamore?” echoed Mrs. Dunbar, withdrawing from her husband’s arms and turning to her father, “what happened in Hackamore, dad? This is the first time I’ve heard that anything was going wrong in town.” “Nate will tell you all about it, Hattie,” said Perry. “Get us something to eat, will you, while he’s doing it? We’re a lot of hungry men, girl, I can tell you that. I’ll take your horse, Nate.” Nomad and Cayuse dropped into line and led their horses back to the corral with the others. The baron was asleep in the hammock. When the meal was ready Nomad turned the hammock upside down and informed the
- 40. sputtering baron that everybody had got back and that all hands were sitting in at the chuck table. “Vat a habbiness!” cried the baron bursting in on the scout and the rest just as they were taking their chairs for a late breakfast. “Vat a fine pitzness dot eferybody got oudt oof eferyt’ing und dot ve vas all corraled again mit ourselufs! Nodding much habbened to me dis trip, aber I don’d mind dot. Der bleasure oof finding you all togedder, iss more as I can oxbress.” “Choke off, pard,” cried old Nomad; “Buffler is erbout ter tell us what happened in Hackamore, while us fellers was gyardin’ Mrs. Dunbar an’ the Star-A cabin. Don’t keep him hangin’ fire.” The events that had transpired in Hackamore were recounted, and Hattie Dunbar flushed, and paled, and trembled at the peril her husband had so narrowly escaped. “We owe a lot to you, Mr. Hickok,” said the girl. “We’ll never forget what we owe Mr. Hickok, will we, Nate?” “No, Hattie,” answered Nate. “I reckon you, and I, and Dick can keep track of our obligations.” “The sky pilot gets all the credit,” asserted Wild Bill. And then, of course, he had to explain how it was Hawkins’ friendship for Jordan that had brought about the escape from the adobe house on the hill. To that escape, and to the knowledge Wild Bill had acquired in the adobe house, the rescue of Dunbar from the toils of the law was due. “I hope,” said Hattie tremulously, “that we have reached the end of Lige Benner’s persecutions. Couldn’t something be done to him for what he tried to do to Nate?” “I doubt it,” answered Buffalo Bill. “We have a clear case against both Benners, Lige and Jerry, and this statement in writing by Abe Isaacs clinches the evidence, but I don’t believe Lige Benner could be punished by any court in this part of the country. He is too powerful. I think, however, that you and your people, Mrs. Dunbar,
- 41. will never be troubled any more by the Benners. They went too far, in this last work, and everybody on the Brazos will learn of it. Every respectable cattleman will have nothing but contempt and disgust for the Benners after this.” “We could swing Red Steve for what he’s done, Pard Cody,” declared Wild Bill. “Providing we could catch him,” said the scout. “And providing you could prove that he was the man who shot Hawkins,” added Dunbar. “I’m pretty sure Red Steve was one of the White Caps,” put in Perry, “but I didn’t get a look at his face, and I couldn’t swear to it.” “How about the man who came here and lured you out into the trail?” queried the scout. “I never saw that man before.” “They call him Shorty Dobbs over at the Circle-B,” said the Laramie man. “I don’t think Dobbs has been with Benner long,” spoke up Dunbar. “All’s well that ends well, they say,” observed Perry, “and I wish some one would tell me for certain that the present peace on the Brazos will last.” “I and my pards will stay around here until we’re sure there’ll be nothing but peace on the river,” said the scout. “That makes me feel easier in my mind,” declared Perry. “With you and your pards for friends and champions, Buffalo Bill, anything Benner can do won’t worry me much.” “Buffler hes got somethin’ up his sleeve,” said old Nomad, “an’ I’ll bet a blue stack on it.” “Vat it iss, bard?” queried the inquisitive baron.
- 42. “He’s goin’ ter hang eround ther Brazos an’ lay fer Red Steve. Steve was erbout ther fust ruffian the scout got acquainted with on the Brazos, an’ I reckon he’s plannin’ ter make Steve ther last, as well.” “Red Steve richly deserves punishment for his misdeeds,” said the scout. “I couldn’t leave the Brazos while Red Steve was still at large without feeling I had failed in my duty.” “Same here,” seconded the Laramie man. “But don’t you forget, Pard Cody, that I’ve marked Red Steve for my own. He and I are going to come together, before many days, and then he’ll go to some place where the law’s doing its regulation work and answer for Ace Hawkins.” “The law’s in full bloom in Hackamore, Hickok,” laughed the scout. “It’s not the sort of Bloom that spells right and justice. The sheriff in Hackamore is working for the Benners, if I’m any judge.” “Bloom has always been hand-and-glove with Lige Benner,” said Perry. “And he has never been a friend of Nate’s and mine. He was only too willing, I’ll warrant you, to arrest Nate for taking those diamonds.” “Ten to one,” spoke up Wild Bill, “Jerry Benner gave Bloom his cue before Abe Isaacs made his howl about the stones being stolen.” “Ther hull thing sounds like er frame-up, from start ter finish,” dropped in old Nomad. “Thet Jerry Benner must er had a powerful head ter set a thing like thet ter goin’.” “That head of his will get Lige Benner into trouble, one of these days,” averred Wild Bill. “Oh,” exclaimed Nate Dunbar, pushing back from the table, “I was forgetting something.” His hand went into an inside pocket and he brought out a little, plush-covered box.
- 43. “I didn’t finish all the business that took me to Hackamore,” he went on, “but I did manage to wind up the most important part of it. That’s for you, Hattie.” A cry of delight broke from the girl when she saw the diamond. “Whenever I look at this ring, Nate,” she said, slipping it on her finger and holding it where the sun struck vari-colored hues from the stone, “I shall always remember your peril in Hackamore, and the gallant friends who saved you from the plots of Lige Benner.” “Amen to that,” added Dick Perry.
- 44. CHAPTER XXIII. R E D T H U N D E R B O LT. Buffalo Bill was in earnest when he said that he could not leave the Brazos while Red Steve was at large, and, after a day’s rest, the scout set out for Hackamore with his trapper pard. It was his intention to call on Sheriff Bloom and learn what, if anything, he knew about Steve. The pards were riding quietly along the trail when Nomad suddenly drew rein. “I’m a Piegan, Buffler,” he howled, “ef it ain’t thet thar Thunderbolt critter, ther demon o’ ther range, ther big medicine steer thet kain’t be captured er killed. Wisht we had er rifle!” Thunderbolt was an outcast. In all that cattle country of the Brazos every man’s hand was against him. Bred on the wild llano, he was early compelled to shift for himself, growing up into a wild and untrammeled freedom. He rebelled against authority and asked only to be let alone. Grass and water were free. He took his forage wherever he found it. In the winter he starved more or less, fighting out the “northers” under the lee of hills, or in the leafless shelters of the Brazos thickets; but in the spring and summer he roamed at will, grazing wherever fancy led him and sniffing the air and watching keen-eyed for human foes. When he was three years old, this maverick fell in with a bunch of cattle from one of the Brazos ranches. He experienced a desire for brute companionship, and when the cowboys came he was caught in a gully and hurried in the direction of the branding pen.
- 45. A rope was thrown. Imbued with the strength of a huge body and the unfettered years, he snapped the rope in twain, overset a horse and threw a cowboy sprawling. Then he raced for the great out- doors, bent only on getting clear of these human foes, with their ropes, and their fires, and their branding irons. Six men on fleet horses took after him. One rider, his mount fleeter than the others, came near to running him down. Just as the noose was leaving the pursuer’s hand, the maverick whirled to an about face and charged. A revolver echoed. Its puny report was almost lost in the immensity of the plain. The bullet bit into the maverick’s dusty side, ran like fire along his ribs and filled his heart with madness. Like a thunderbolt he collided with horse and rider; and when he broke away and raced on to his hardly won freedom, he left a dead cow pony behind him, and a cowboy with a broken arm. From that moment, the maverick was called Red Thunderbolt throughout the range. War was declared on him, and cunning traps were devised for his capture. But never a trap closed upon Red Thunderbolt. His brute cunning was more than a match for the cunning of his foes. But the maverick did not come off scatheless in his various encounters with mounted men. He broke more ropes than ever went wrong on that range before; and he broke more saddle cinches and injured more good saddle leather than natural wear and tear would have accomplished in half a dozen years. Also, he killed a cowboy. When goaded into frenzy by the pestering horsemen with their ropes and guns, Red Thunderbolt pitted his life against the lives of his enemies. He was playing the game, and the unfortunate cowboy had yielded to the fortunes of war. From that time on, the nature of the campaign against Thunderbolt underwent a change. No further attempts were made to
- 46. rope the unmanageable maverick, but all cowboys were armed with rifles and ordered to shoot him on sight, and to shoot to kill. Again and again the longhorn was wounded. His red hide was scarred with bullet wounds. Nevertheless, he continued to live and to defy his enemies, and it seemed that he bore a charmed life. Wild tales of what Red Thunderbolt had done and was capable of doing were noised up and down the Brazos. It was gravely declared that he was seen at Portala’s, on the upper river, at noon of a certain day; and, at two o’clock in the afternoon of that day, he was also discovered racing across the range a hundred and fifty miles to the south of Portala’s. From this it was argued that Thunderbolt, whenever he chose to “let himself out,” had the speed of a lightning express train. The maverick, from accounts, was able to appear in two widely separated places at the same time. His strength was talked of in awed whispers, and took on an aspect as incredible as his speed. It was related that before the killing of Dusenberry, two cowboys had roped Thunderbolt, and that he had pulled both men, saddles and all, over their horses’ heads. Thunderbolt had faded away with the saddles. The missing gear had at last been found in a dry wash —with the ropes neatly coiled and lying over the saddle horns! Such wonder tales, aroused by the remarkable prowess of Thunderbolt, filled every rider of the range with something akin to panic. Cowboys no longer hunted the maverick by ones or in couples— they rather avoided him, or the haunts where he was supposed to be, unless they traveled in parties of three or more. For two years Red Thunderbolt kept up the battle, spreading terror wherever he went and growing wise in the ways of the cowboy hunters. He was a veteran.
- 47. One day, he was feeding in the Whiplash Hills that bordered the Brazos. He was close to a trail, and the wind was in the wrong direction for him to scent the approach of a man on foot, who came suddenly into view around the base of an uplift. Thunderbolt was less than a hundred feet from the man. The latter, recognizing the steer, gave a wild yell, and jerked a revolver from his belt. There was nothing the man could climb and get out of the longhorn’s way, nothing he could get behind. The maverick, seeing the glimmering thing rise in the man’s hand, realized that there was danger. Thunderbolt had learned that the safest way out of danger was by charging, not running. So his head dropped, he gave a wild bellow, and started for the man like a red streak. Crack! The lead went wide. Another moment and the man was lifted clear of the ground and thrown a dozen feet, alighting on the earth with cruel force. Red Thunderbolt, from the impetus of his first charge, passed on around the base of the hill. It was his intention to turn and repeat the charge, trampling and horning the man on the ground as long as he showed any signs of life. But, when the trail beyond the hill’s base opened before Thunderbolt’s eyes, he saw a sight that gave him pause. Two mounted men were coming toward him at speed—and they were not the sort of men with whom the maverick was familiar. Their horses were larger than the usual cow pony, larger and stronger. And the men who backed them were clad differently than the human enemies whom Thunderbolt had heretofore encountered. Furthermore, they were thundering toward him, ropes in their hands, fiercely determined.
- 48. “Waugh!” howled one of the horsemen. “I’m er Piegan, Buffler, ef et ain’t thet thar Thunderbolt critter, ther demon o’ ther range, ther big medicine steer thet kain’t be captered er killed. Wisht we had er rifle!” “That was a man’s shout we heard, Nick!” answered Buffalo Bill. “We’ll keep Thunderbolt busy while the man gets away, anyhow. Let’s see what we can do with our ropes.” Again Thunderbolt made up his mind to throw himself headlong into the threatening danger, escaping the coil by either killing or crippling his foes. “He’s chargin’!” whooped the old trapper. “Look out fer yerself, pard!” The king of scouts needed no urging. He had already measured his peril. Thunderbolt was almost upon him when, with a prick of the rowels, he whirled Bear Paw aside. The longhorn tore on, the tip of one branching horn missing Bear Paw by no more than an inch. Nomad’s rope shot through the air and the noose dropped on the steer’s head. It seemed as though it must surely close around the steer’s neck. Thunderbolt, however, by a flirt of the head, caused the menacing coil to fall into the trail. Old Nomad roared in a strange outburst of disgust and admiration. “Looket thar! Thunder an’ kerry one! Say, Buffler, did ye see how he got out from under? Tork erbout yore knowin’ steers, I reckon he heads the percession. Watch yer eye! He’s game, an’ he’s comin’ at us ag’in.” Thunderbolt seemed to have settled on Buffalo Bill as the one foeman most worthy of his valor. Whirling around on his hind hoofs, he bellowed and started like a cyclone for the scout. Then Nomad, watching with all his eyes, saw something he had never seen before.
- 49. The king of scouts, noose in hand, rushed at Thunderbolt. Both horseman and steer were going head-on toward each other, and neither seemed to have the least notion of dodging. When they were almost together, Bear Paw, who had not his equal in all Texas for jumping, went into the air like a bird suddenly taking wing. He passed clean over the charging steer, and at the same moment the scout dropped his own noose. The stout hempen coil encircled the steer’s neck. The scout had barely time to halt Bear Paw and turn and brace the horse for the shock that followed. The impact, when the rope was all payed out, was terrific. Bear Paw’s hind hoofs were jerked into the air. What might have happened, had the rope held, is problematical. But the rope broke from the saddle and Red Thunderbolt raced on with the loose end flying. “Waal, sufferin, whipperwills!” boomed the old trapper. “I never seen ye do nothin’ like thet afore, Buffler! Et was some great, et was so. An’ Thunderbolt got enough. He’s sizzlin’ erlong to’rds the open, an’ mighty glad, I opine, ter git erway from sich a jumpin’, rope- throwin’ pair o’ marvels as you an’ Bear Paw.” “He’s got my rope!” yelled the scout. “Let’s follow him!” With that, both riders raced around the foot of the hill. The scout and the trapper were no more than a moment racing around the foot of the hill; but when the trail around the turn was before them, there was not a trace of Red Thunderbolt, and no sign of the man whose wild shout had first claimed the attention of the pards. “Hyar’s a go!” muttered Nomad, pulling Hide-rack to a halt, and screwing up his face into a puzzled frown. “Whar’d thet steer hike ter, Buffler?” “He’s made a getaway through some gully,” was the answer. “I reckon there’s no use hunting for him, pard. A steer as knowing as
- 50. he is can be trusted to keep away from us. That was a good rope of mine,” he added regretfully. “Thunderbolt must have pulled on it like a locomotive to tear it away from the saddle.” “An’ ther ombray thet we heerd a yellin’,” went on the trapper, “he ain’t eround, nuther. Must be he took ter his heels as soon as Thunderbolt begun payin’ attention ter us.” “The man was on foot,” said the scout, indicating boot-tracks in the trail. “I don’t blame him for taking to his heels. I’d have done the same, if I’d been in his place. Still, the fellow might crawl out of his crevice and say something to us, I should think. If we hadn’t interfered, the longhorn would have charged him again.” “Ther feller shot at ther maverick oncet. I heerd the bark of er gun.” “So did I. But what good is a revolver against Red Thunderbolt? There’s not enough powder back of a revolver bullet to get it through the longhorn’s hide. I’m beginning to understand, now, why Thunderbolt has made such a big impression on the Brazos cattlemen.” “Same hyar.” Nomad lifted himself in his stirrups and made a trumpet of his hands; then he yelled for the missing man who had faced the steer on foot, and fired the revolver. No answer was returned. “Don’t bother, Nick,” said the scout. “The fellow couldn’t have been hurt very much, seeing that he was able to use his legs and get away. We’ll ride on to Hackamore.” The pards thereupon continued their journey in the direction of town. The coming interview with Bloom was delicate business. Diplomacy would be necessary—diplomacy, backed by nerve.
- 51. As peacemaker, however, the scout felt that a truce must be patched up with Bloom. Nate Dunbar was in Hackamore, hiring cowboys and buying supplies for the ranch. He had gone on this errand once before, only to be interrupted by a plot of Benner’s that had well-nigh turned out disastrously. “How ye goin’ erbout et ter tork with Bloom?” asked Old Nomad, as he and the scout galloped onward, stirrup to stirrup. “We’ve got to handle him with gloves, I reckon,” answered the scout. “He ort ter be handled with the buckskin end of er quirt,” growled the trapper. “That’s right, Nick. But now that Benner has been properly disciplined, I’m in hopes that Bloom will see things differently. We can’t leave this part of Texas until we patch up a peace between Bloom and the ranchers at the Star-A. There must be peace all up and down the Brazos when we leave the river.” “I’m more of er hand fer distarbin’ ther peace, Buffler, than fer makin’ et. Thar’s er heap more excitement in diggin’ up the hatchet than in buryin’ et.” “Bosh!” laughed the scout. “Nick, you and I never went into a job yet without having for our end and aim the establishment of peace and security. Drastic measures are sometimes necessary in order to smooth the kinks out of law and order.” “H’m,” muttered Nomad. “I reckon I think too much o’ ther fightin’ end. In smoothin’ out kinks, I’d ruther land on ’em with both feet, with a gun in each fist. Rubbin’ the tangles out with love pats an’ coo-coo words is some more’n I kin do. Thar’s erbout as much sentiment in me as thar is in er horn toad. Anyways, this hyar di- plom-a-cy—is thet what ye call et?—ain’t wuth er whoop ef it ain’t backed by narve. By ther same token, what good’s narve ef ye ain’t got a leetle hardware tucked away up yore sleeve?”
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