Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine, Vol. 107 No. 3 — page 158: what you’re looking at

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

500 ARGOSY AND RAILROAD MAN’S MAGAZINE. might possibly have seen the horseman start off, but that is not certain. He unques- tionably would have supposed him an ordi- nary rider if he had not noticed the man until he reached the mouth of the lane. Meantime the engineer had made his best speed to the line of. waiting horses. Slowing to a walk so as not to scare them, though, as he discovered on examination, most of them looked too bony and spiritless for that, he approached and carefully in- spected the bunch. He took his time in the selection; the more haste in choosing a mount might prove less speed in the end. He tightened the saddle-girths and ran a finger along the head straps of the bridle of the horse picked to judge their fit, receiv- ing a snap from the pony’s teeth, which gave him satisfaction. Not only was this animal a wiry, tough-looking little beast, but he had life. Up into the saddle Weir went, following Sorenson’s line to the lane, down which he swung. Coming out into the next street, he pursued it to the next intersecting street, and there galloped for the edge of town without trying to guess the way taken by the cattleman. Once he reached the open fields he would quickly get sight of the man racing away somewhere on the mesa. Evidently. the man he pursued had not taken so direct a course as had Weir, for when the latter at length came forth where he could have a wide view he perceived the horseman a quarter of a mile off and farther east, galloping south. The engineer at once raced thither to gain the same road, and turning into it, made after Sorenson. Thus the two men sped away from San Mateo. The wire fences and the adobe houses of Mexicans owning little farms ad- joining soon ceased. The wide mesa lay on either side. Though a quarter of a mile had separated the men when Weir first observed the other, the distance between had been increased while the engineer was gaining the road, until now the interval was almost twice as much. Weir guessed the fleeing man’s plan. In- stead of seeking the railroad for the pres- ent, he would disappear in the mountains, where with the assistance of some loyal em- ployee, cow-man or sheep-herder, he would lie hid until the first fury of the hunt had subsided. Possibly his bold brain even con- ceived the idea of again returning to San Mateo some dark night soon and of further looting the office safe and vault, vigilance being relaxed. In any case, he would expect to remain secure from pursuit in some mountain fast- ness until either on horseback or by auto- mobile he could work his way out of the country. With what he had unquestion- ably carried off he would not be a poor man. In some spot far away he could assume a new name, start in business, and later be Joined by his wife and crippled son. Alas, for those plans, arising like mush- rooms on the ruins of his life! Behind him followed the same inexorable antagonist who so swiftly had brought everything crashing about his head. Possibly Soren- son, once out of the town, had failed ta look back; possibly looking back he had been unable to. distinguish against the blur of houses and trees the horseman galloping in the moonlight alorig the same road. But all at once when they were two miles away from San Mateo he discovered Weir, who had been gradually cutting down the space between until now again he was within @ quarter of a mile of his quarry. Sorenson had been riding rapidly but not hard; he now beat his horse to a furious gallop—a good pony, too, from its speed, showing that the cattleman as well as Weir had picked his mount with care. Weir did not urge his horse to a similar pace, only maintaining a fast, steady gallop that kept the other in sight though the space between once more widened. Ap- parently Sorenson realized the folly of at- tempting to outrun his pursuer at once, for he soon dropped back into a regular, mile- eating gallop. Gradually in turn Weir crept up to his old position. . To each the only sound was that of drum- ming hoofbeats. In front rode the fleeing man—dethroned leader, criminal, and mur- derer. Behind relentlessly came his Nemesis, the son of the man whom he had deceived and damned to mental suffering. All about them as they flew along was the silent, moonlit, sage-covered mesa. At their right towered the misty, unchanging peaks, . 4 S ~ p- aquee- . _ = — . i et et i ee eel re Ne ee - Se ge ate em eee a tm mre Um _— = _— _ = A OMmicboooks mM