Ben’s answer was surprising. “It was Pop Hamilton!” the cowboy cried out angrily. “He’s got no right! Let me loose!”
As Bess started to move toward him, Nancy grabbed her arm. “Not yet,” she said. “Ben, tell us why Pop did this.”
The man’s eyes became like slits and he hissed, “Pop double-crossed me and left me here to starve!”
The girls doubted this. Nancy took a step forward and said, “Now suppose you tell us the truth!”
Ben Rall changed his attitude. Giving Nancy a sickening smile, he said, “I’ll make a bargain with you. If you’ll untie me, I’ll give you the whole story straight.”
Nancy did not believe him. She asked, “Where did you meet Pop?”
“At the Buffalo Spring,” the cowboy replied. “But that’s when he double-crossed me and wouldn’t carry out the instructions in the note. He brought a package of money with him, but instead of handing it to me he got those fresh boys, Chuck and Range, to tie me up.”
Nancy wondered if she should tell this man that she was sure Pop had told him that he was believed to be an accessory in a kidnapping. She decided not to, but was puzzled. If Ben’s story was true, why didn’t Pop return and take his prisoner into custody?
Just then Ben Rall began to laugh uproariously. The girls looked at him in surprise. What had brought about this change of attitude?
Finally, between chuckles and sighs, Ben Rall said, “Pop Hamilton thinks he’s the smartest rancher in the whole West. Well, I’m here to tell you he ain’t. He left me tied up while he and the boys went off to find the person who gave me that ransom note, but they don’t stand a ghost of a chance of doing that. What’s more’n likely to happen is they’ll get themselves killed!”
Nancy was shocked by this announcement. Did Pop Hamilton know of the danger he was riding into?
Bess, in the meantime, had begun to tremble. She asked, almost in a whisper, “Did Chuck and Range really go off with him?”
“Sure they did. You may never see them again!”
Bess sagged against Nancy and then settled to the ground. George too was horrified by the man’s statement. She said to Ben, “Just what do you mean?”
Ben roared with laughter again. “The two of ’em will likely get hung!”
This was too much for Bess, who screamed and then put her head in her hands. Burying her face between her knees she rocked back and forth in despair.
“I can’t stand it!” she wailed.
Nancy was upset but she managed to ask Ben, “Where did you send Pop, Chuck, and Range?”
A sly look came to the man’s face. “Let me go and I’ll tell you!” he answered, his lips curling into a sneer.
Nancy informed the cowboy that Pop Hamilton was a deputy sheriff and tying Ben up was the same as putting him in jail. “If I let you loose, I’d be breaking the law. I can’t do that.”
Ben shrugged. “Have it your own way,” he said. “But if you’ll untie me, I’ll lead you to the place where I sent Pop Hamilton and your boyfriends on their ponies.”
Nancy did not answer, but Bess raised her head. “Nancy,” she said, “isn’t it worse to think of something happening to Pop, Chuck, and Range than it is of untying Ben?” She looked around. “He doesn’t even have his pony, so he couldn’t go far away if he escapes.”
“That’s right,” the man said. “What’s more, Pop took my gun. Now I ain’t got nothin’ to defend myself with. So you see, you have nothing to worry about. Untie me!”
Bess looked pleadingly at Nancy. “Please!” she begged.
Nancy did not know what to do. There might be some truth in what Bess was saying. On the other hand, Ben could easily get away from the three girls. She had a hunch his pony was hidden close by, even though the girls could not see it.
“Listen!” George cried out. “I hear hoofbeats.”
Were the oncoming riders Pop and the boys, or friends of Ben’s?
“Let’s hide!” George urged.
For safety the three girls ran behind trees. In a few minutes their worries were over. Riding toward them were Pop, Chuck, and Range, all of them unharmed!
Nancy and the other girls came out of hiding. The riders were amazed to see them.
“Well. I’ll be a gopher’s uncle!” Chuck exclaimed.
“How did you get here?” Pop asked the girls.
“On the backs of three ponies,” Nancy replied. She grinned. “We came to see if you had captured the man you were after. We found him tied up but wondered where you had gone.”
Ben was mumbling to himself but the girls could catch only the words “cowgirl,” now and then, and “Hate the whole bunch of ’em.”
“Your prisoner begged us to let him go and even promised to lead us to you,” Nancy said.
Pop Hamilton glared at Ben, then said to the girls, “I’m glad you didn’t let this slippery eel go. He’s not to be trusted.”
Bess spoke. “I’m glad none of you got hurt as Ben said you would.”
George asked, “Did you find the kidnappers?”
Pop shook his head. “We took a chance following a direction Ben told us to go, but of course he wasn’t telling the truth.”
The rancher suggested that the girls continue their ride. He and the boys would take the prisoner to town and have him locked up. “Then maybe he’ll talk!”
“You can’t do that!” Ben shouted. “All I did was deliver a message and didn’t even get paid for all my trouble.”
He was told that he was wanted as a material witness, if not an accessory to the kidnapping. Apparently Ben had forgotten this possibility. He said no more, but glared at his captors.
As the girls were about to walk off and descend the slope, Chuck called out, “See you at the barbecue tonight!”
Range said he would be there promptly. “George, don’t be late!”
The girls rode back to the ranch house. During the afternoon they all wrote letters home, then bathed and dressed for the evening cookout. They looked very attractive in their cowgirl costumes.
George chuckled. “If Ben Rall could see us now, he’d sure say he hated cowgirls dressed up!”
Nancy sighed. “I have a feeling that Ben is only a small part of the whole mystery of Roger Paine’s disappearance and the sky phantom. How I wish we could get a break in the case!”
The three friends went to the lobby. Chuck and Range were waiting for Bess and George. For a moment Nancy felt a bit lonesome. She wished Ned were there, or even Bruce.
As the five young people stepped outdoors, they saw a small plane coming in for a landing on a nearby field. It set down, taxied toward the ranch house, and then stopped. A moment later Ned, Burt, and Dave stepped out.
“Oh!” the girls cried out together, and all of them started to run toward their Emerson College friends.
“Hi!” they called out.
Nancy quickly outdistanced the others, because Chuck had grabbed Bess’s arm, and Range had taken hold of George’s, slowing their progress.
Ned swept Nancy into his arms and kissed her. “I’m so glad to see you!” he said. “And what a beautiful suntan!”
“It’s wonderful to see you, too!” Nancy replied. “You’re just in time to help solve a big mystery we’ve come across.”
Ned, who was a tall, attractive football player, grinned. “I can’t wait to start.” He doubled up as if he were rushing a ball. “Where’s the enemy’s goal line?”
By now Bess and George had broken away from their escorts and hurried forward. Dave looked admiringly at Bess and said, “How’s my cowgirl doing?”
George and Burt’s greeting was a little more formal, but too warm to suit Range. The new-comers were introduced to the ranch boys, but Chuck and Range were aloof. Ned received a hearty handshake, however.
As they all walked back toward the ranch house, Nancy took Ned aside and in whispers told him about Bess’s plight.
“I could see right away that something was wrong,” Ned replied. “I don’t like this kind of situation. It could mean trouble.”
The Emerson boys checked in. Then they went to their room to unpack and change into more appropriate clothes for the barbecue than those they had worn on the plane trip.
Many people were milling around and were very sociable. After Nancy’s group had filled their plates, however, they went off a little distance by themselves. It was evident that conversation was strained. Nancy and Ned tried to make this less noticeable by talking about the boys’ trip to the ranch, then by completely analyzing the mystery of the sky phantom, the strange cloud, and the kidnapping of Roger Paine.
When Nancy’s report had been discussed from every angle, Ned changed the subject and asked about Nancy’s flying lessons.
“I’m getting along very well, according to my instructor,” she answered. “He thinks I’ll be ready to solo in a little while.”
“That’s great,” Ned replied. “I can’t wait to see you manipulate the stick.”
As soon as the barbecue was over, Chuck and Range stood up and said good-night to the others. They did not smile or say anything to show that the visitors were welcome guests at the Hamilton Ranch.
Bess had controlled herself very well during the evening, but as soon as the girls reached their room she flung herself on the bed and sobbed.
“Oh what am I going to do?” she said. “This is awful—just awful!”
George, who was less emotional than her cousin, said severely, “You’re going to get a good sound rest. Don’t open your eyes until morning. If you keep on crying like this, you’re going to look like a hollow-eyed ghost!”
Nancy, more sympathetic, added, “Please try to relax and calm down. Let tomorrow take care of itself.”
Despite their worries, the three girls did sleep well, but awoke early. While waiting for the Emerson boys to appear for breakfast they walked outdoors. Pop was just coming in.
“Mornin’, girls,” he said cheerfully. Then he winked at them. “I sent Chuck and Range off on a special assignment across the hills. It’ll take them all day.” Without waiting for any comment, he strode into the ranch house.
Nancy thought, “What a wise man he is!”
As the girls looked after him, they saw their friends from home coming outside. There were greetings all around, then Nancy asked if the boys had slept well.
Dave’s reply was, “Chuck and Range did, but I didn’t. Someone put nettles in my bed!”
CHAPTER XVIII
The Amazing Cache
DAVE said no more about the nettles in his bed, but Burt burst out, “He thinks Chuck did it!”
At once Bess came to the defense of her cowboy friend. “He wouldn’t do such a thing!” she declared. “I just know he didn’t do it.”
Nancy spoke up too in Chuck’s defense. She told Dave that the Hamilton Ranch cowboy was a very fine person. Though he was jealous of Dave’s friendship with Bess, Chuck would not play a mean trick on him. “Certainly not one like putting nettles in a bed,” she added.
“I’m not sure,” Dave replied. He said he still felt pretty uncomfortable from the prickles. “I’ve had two baths, but my skin’s itching and stinging. I must have a million punctures in my back.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Bess. “Maybe the discomfort will wear off soon.”
The six young people went in to breakfast and by the time the meal was over, Dave seemed to feel like himself again.
As they got up and walked toward the lobby, Nancy said, “I have a little errand to do. Will you all excuse me? I won’t be gone long.”
“Promise?” Ned teased.
“Promise,” she responded.
The group expected her to tell them what her errand was but the young detective did not explain. Nancy walked to the bunkhouse. Most of the cowboys had left for their day’s work but in one area of the building she could hear voices. Nancy stood at the doorway and listened.
A man was saying, “That was a rotten trick to play.”
“He deserved it!” another cowboy replied.
The first man went on, “Pop expects all of us to be gentlemen, Stevie. That includes not playing annoying tricks on guests at this ranch.”
“I don’t care,” Stevie replied. “I hate these dudes that come here from the coast. They think they’re pretty smooth. They need to be taken down a peg.”
Nancy wondered, “Are they talking about our Emerson friends?”
Stevie went on, “That guy Dave came out to steal Chuck’s girl, and I aim to fix it otherwise. And don’t ask me to apologize to him. Listen, if you squeal—”
Nancy did not wait to hear the rest. She ran all the way back to the ranch house lobby, where her friends were talking. Breathless, she hurried up to them.
“Chuck didn’t put those nettles in your bed, Dave,” she said. “It was a cowboy named Stevie.” Nancy related what she had just overheard at the bunkhouse.
“Where is he?” Dave asked, excited. “I’ll go there right now and have it out with this Stevie!”
“Please don’t,” Bess begged him. “Let Pop Hamilton settle this.”
Dave finally agreed, and Nancy went off to find the rancher and report to him. She met him coming outside. Pop said he was looking for Nancy and her friends.
“Did you want to see me?” he asked.
Nancy said yes, told him about the nettles, and identified the perpetrator. “I don’t want to be a tattletale, but—”
Pop interrupted her. “I’m glad you told me. I’ll see to it that no more pranks are played on your friends.” He frowned. “I don’t allow this kind of nonsense around here.”
He walked with her to the others in the group and said with a smile, “If you all plan to go riding this morning, I have a chore for you. Any takers?”
“What is it?” Burt asked.
“Up in the west field there are two cows with newborn calves. I’d like the four of them brought down here.”
“I’d love to see the calves,” Bess said. “I’ll bet they’re darling.”
Dave asked, “But what do you do with a newborn calf?”
Pop laughed. “Don’t worry. The mother will take care of her baby. You’d be surprised at how strong a day-old calf is. It can travel for miles and miles. But sometimes a timber wolf will attack and kill it. The animal will be safer here.”