Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 7, 1925 — page 119: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE “T reckon there’s no secret about that, ma’am. Travis was tellin’ me to follow you.” “For what reason?” — She now looked at Naylor, and the man reddened under the scathing glance she gave him. _ “He was sayin’ you knowed Se an’ that you wasn’! to get to Demimg or the Circle Dot.” “The beast!” — Naylor was silent. He appeared reluc- tant and apologetic, although sullenly de- termined. = Edna said no more to him just then. While her horse was still drinking she slid out of the saddle and darted toward the wild brush that fringed the sloping side of the gully. She had taken only a dozen steps when she heard a swishing over her head and a noose settled down over her shoulders, pinned, her arms to her sides and 3 brought her to a sudden halt. Silently sne fought to free ‘herself. the more she struggled ‘the tighter grew the rope. She saw Naylor’s horse backing, 8 the rope taut. The range bred animal would per mit her to get no slack in the rope. Naylor slid off the horse and leaped to- ward her. She kicked viciously at him, but missed. And then, in spite of her furious resist- ance Naylor tied her hands behind her with a piece ‘of “ hogging ” rope. Next, while she still silently struggled, he picked her up bodily and carried her to: his horse. He placed her in the saddle and swung up behind her. Without a word he took up the réins and sent the horse down the eully at a fair rate of speed. Edna was too furiously angry to talk, and Naylor in no mood to say Se oe went on silently. Half a mile or so from where the cap- ture had taken place Naylor urged the horse out of the gully and sent him off at a tangent, through some timber. Later he wheeled the horse again and crossed a stretch of plain. Within half an hour from the time she had felt the noose settle over her shoulders, Edna was riding a trail which looked fa- VALLEY OF THE STARS. get away, anyhow! ” he added. But he’s had a chanst to palaver.. = = — miliar. was taking her to the place where the nignot before she had seen him and Travis through a window. Once more, when Nav let dismounted and lifted her down, she tried to escape. This time Naylor lost patience with her. He leaped after her, seized her roughly, and growled: “Damn you, if you try that again [ll truss youl” She didn’t know what the term “ truss” meant, but she gathered from Naylor’s tone that it was something violent and unusual, _so she was passive while Naylor carried her into the cabin and placed her in a- chair. “ Now, if you know wha? s best for you, you'll stay where you are put!” he declared. “There ain’t no sense of you tryin’ to “ The chief don’t mean to let you go anywhere until You was a damn fool to Tide over here, anyway!” He went out, Jocking the door behind him. An hour later she saw him pass one of the windows, and she called to him, ask- ing him to come in and loosen the ropes which bound her hands together, for her hands were numb and her arms aching. ~Naylor entered, looked at the rope. “TY reckon you ain't got a, hell of a chanst to get away, anyhow,” he decided. “ You ain’t got no hoss, an’ walkin’ ain’t no pic- nic. Besides, [ll be hangin’ around.” He 7 aoues the rope and moved to the door, where he stood and watched her as she got up from the chair and rubbed her wrists to restore circulation. Then she faced him. “Naylor,” she said, “if you will let me go I promise to say nothing about your being concerned with what has happened to Watt Hamlin and the Porters. I will even swear that you were helping me all the time!” “That’s no good,” Naylor replied. He smiled crookedly. c There ain’t no chanst of you gettin’ away. Travis was sendin’ some of the boys south, to watch all the trails, im case I didn’t Ketch you. You'll never get to whcre you can do any talkin’! But. = was not until she saw a cabin ahead of her that she realized Naylor oy me “comicbooks.co