_ CHAPTER XVII. A CATTLE STAMPEDE
"What's that?" cried Uncle Fred. "A prairie fire?"
"Yes, and a bad one, too," answered the man. "I saw it when I was bringing in those steers you told me to get ready to ship away on the train. I just left them, knowing they'd keep out of danger, and rode as fast as I could to tell you."
"That's right! Glad you did!" exclaimed Uncle Fred. "Now we must get to work right away to stop the fire from burning us out. Come on, boys!" he called. "Where's Captain Roy?"
"Here I am!" cried the former soldier, as he came out of the dining-room where he had been helping Margy and Mun Bun get up in their chairs, ready to eat. "What's the matter?"
"Prairie fire!" answered Uncle Fred. "We've got to stop it coming any farther this way, or it may burn all our ranch buildings down! No time for dinner now! We've got to fight the fire!"
"Can I help?" asked Russ eagerly.
"I want to just the same as him!" added Laddie.
"No, you boys must keep out of the way," answered Daddy Bunker. "I'll go and help Fred," he said to his wife. "You'll have to keep the children with you."
"I will," answered Mrs. Bunker.
"Oh, you don't need to do that," said Uncle Fred. "The fire is not near us yet, and if we can plow a wide strip of ground in time, the fire will come to the edge of that and stop. The older children can stand out of the way and watch the plowing, if they like."
"Can we see the fire, too?" asked Russ.
"Yes. Though you can't go very close," his uncle answered. "Let them have a look," he added to Daddy Bunker. "It isn't every day they see a prairie fire, and they'll never forget it. There will be no danger to them."
"All right," said Daddy Bunker. "Russ and Laddie and Violet and Rose may go to watch the plowing and see the fire. But Mun Bun and Margy must stay at home."
"I like to stay at home," said Margy. "I'm awful busy to-day."
"I like to stay at home, too," said Mun Bun, who generally did what his little sister did.
So with the two smallest Bunkers at home with their mother, the other four went with Daddy Bunker to see the fire and watch the cowboys at work.
When Uncle Fred had called the cowboys, they stopped whatever they were doing and began to get ready to fight the fire. Some of them had had their dinners, and others had not. But even those that had not eaten got ready to work. Captain Roy hurried out, also ready to help.
"Get all the horses and plows you can find," said Uncle Fred. "If we haven't enough we'll borrow some from the neighbors."
Though no other ranchmen lived within several miles of Uncle Fred, still there were a few who had plows and horses that could be used. Uncle Fred had a telephone in his house, and Captain Roy was soon calling up the nearest ranchers, asking them to hurry with their plows and horses to make a big, wide strip of bare ground, so the fire would have nothing to burn.
"They'll be here as soon as they can," said the captain. "They have already seen the fire."
"I see it, too!" exclaimed Russ. "Look at the black smoke!"
"And I can see blazes, too!" exclaimed Laddie.
"So can I," added Rose.
"Who started the fire?" asked Violet.
"That we don't know," answered Uncle Fred. "Sometimes a cowboy may drop a match and forget about it. Again some one may start a campfire and forget to put it out when he leaves. All those things start prairie fires."
Uncle Fred and Captain Roy, and as many cowboys as could be found, started toward the cloud of black smoke with plows and horses. As Russ had said, the smoke-cloud could plainly be seen. It seemed to be rolling along the ground, as white, fleecy clouds roll along in the sky. And at the bottom of the black cloud could be seen fire.
The four little Bunkers were led by their father out to where they could have a good view of the fire. The smoke was blacker now, and the flames could be seen more plainly. At times, when the wind blew with unusual strength, the children could smell the smoke and burning grass.
"Does the wind push the fire on, same as it pushed Russ's sail-wagon?" asked Vi.
"Just the same," answered her father. "The fire comes toward us just as fast as the wind blows. If the wind would only blow the other way the fire would not harm us."
But the wind was blowing right toward Uncle Fred's ranch houses, and he and the cowboys knew they must hurry to plow the safety strip of land.
And so they began. Back and forth the teams of horses pulled the plows, turning the dry grass under and leaving only bare earth on top. Then other cowboys came, and the farmers and ranchers who had been telephoned to, and soon many were fighting the prairie fire.
Nearer and nearer it came. The horses, smelling the smoke and seeing the flames, began to snort and prance around.
"Only a little more now," cried Uncle Fred, "and we'll be safe!"
Back and forth the plows hurried, turning up strip after strip of damp ground. It was so hot now, because the fire was nearer, that Daddy Bunker led the children back a way.
"Could the fire get ahead of me if I ran fast?" asked Russ, as he watched the flames and smoke.
"Yes, if the wind blows hard the fire can go faster than the fastest man can run," said Captain Roy, who came up to where Daddy Bunker stood. The captain was thirsty, and wanted a drink of water from the pail Daddy Bunker had carried from the house.
"Do you think you can stop the fire?" asked Violet.
"Oh, yes, we'll stop it now all right," the former soldier answered. "We started to plow just in time."
And so it happened. The flames and smoke in the burning tall grass rolled right up to the edge of the plowed strip, and then they stopped. There was nothing more for the fire to "eat," as Russ called it. Some little tongues of fire tried to creep around the ends of the plowed strip, but the cowboys soon beat these out by throwing shovels full of dirt on them.
"There! Now the fire is out!" cried Uncle Fred. "There is no more danger."
"And will your houses be all right?" Rose asked.
"Yes, they won't burn now."
There was still much smoke in the air, but the wind was blowing it away. And then the children could see the big field, all burned black by the fire.
"The cows can't eat that now, can they?" asked Laddie.
"No, it's spoiled for pasture," said Uncle Fred. "But it will grow up again. Still a prairie fire is a bad thing."
The little Bunkers thought so, too, and they were glad when it was over. They went back to the house, leaving some of the cowboys on guard, to see that no stray sparks started another fire.
"And now we'll have dinner," said Uncle Fred. "It's a little late, but we'll call it dinner just the same."
He invited the men from the other ranches, who had come to help him fight the fire, to stay with him, and soon Bill Johnson was serving a meal to many hungry men. The little Bunkers had theirs separately.
That afternoon Russ and Laddie and Vi went fishing again, while Mrs. Bunker took the other children for a ride in one of Uncle Fred's wagons, with Daddy Bunker to drive. She went to call on a neighbor, about five miles away; a lady who used to live near Mrs. Bunker, but whom she had not seen for a long while.
Laddie, Russ and Violet had fun fishing, and caught enough for Bill Johnson to cook for supper.
"Come on!" called Laddie to Russ that evening, after they had played for a while out near the barn. "Let's go over and get a drink out of the spring."
"All right," agreed Russ. "Maybe we can see what makes it dry up."
"Maybe a bad Indian does it," suggested Laddie. "If I saw him do it I'd lasso him."
"So would I--only they won't let us have lassos any more."
"Well, maybe they would if they knew we could catch an Indian," went on Laddie hopefully. "Come on, anyhow." Then off they started toward the spring.
"Oh, look!" exclaimed Russ, who had run on ahead. "The water's all gone again!"
"It is?" cried Laddie. "Oh, we'd better go and tell Uncle Fred! Let me see!"
He hurried to his brother's side. Surely enough, there was hardly a pailful of water in the bottom of the spring. And the stream that trickled in through the rocks at the back had stopped.
"Do you s'pose the bad men are taking any more of Uncle Fred's cattle?" asked Laddie. "He said they did that when the spring went dry."
The two little boys managed to dip up a drink in the half a cocoanut shell, and then they looked about them. Night was coming on, and the sun had set some little time before.
"Hark! what's that?" asked Russ, listening.
"Thunder?" asked Laddie. "Is it thunder?"
"It sounds like it," said Russ, "but I don't see any lightning. I guess we'd better go home, anyhow."
They started away from the spring, and then Laddie suddenly cried:
"Oh, look! Look at Uncle Fred's cows all running away!"
Russ looked, and saw a big bunch of cattle rushing and thundering across the plain. It was the hoofs of the cattle beating on the ground that made the sound like thunder.
"Oh, what is it? What is it?" cried Laddie. "What makes 'em run like that?"
"It's a cattle stampede!" shouted a voice, almost in the ears of the boys. "Look out! Up you come!" _