The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 117: what you’re looking at

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

MESQUITE RANCH. Again the fear that haunted hér set- tled down over Natalie, quenching the brave light in her eyes, the faith with which she defended Radford. But her belief in him was not changed. Only the awful foreboding of which she could not rid herself again took hold of her and seemed to sap her very life. Stratton went back to town and told Mrs. Barrington that Ted had gone out to some ranch miles beyond the Mesquite and word could. not reach him of her being there for sev- eral days at least. Three days passed, four, and none of Silsby’s scouting punchers found a trace of Radford. Natalie sent for Siusby and demanded that he take her, with a chosen number of men, over to the Gill ranch to force some confes- sion from the owner about the where- abouts of Radford. “°Tain’t no use trying to git him right among his own men. He wouldn’t tell a thing,” Silsby objected. ‘“ Something — something must be done!” she cried desperately. Her impatience was greater than Mrs. Barrington’s, but not more dis- turbing to Stratton. Mrs. Barring- ton, used all her life to the quick ac- tion of trained servants, telephones, motor-cars, and other speedy means at the service of the rich, fumed and fretted at Ted’s non-appearance. ‘Stratton dared not tell her that the belief that her son had met death by violence was gradually becoming con- viction among the men who knew of his disappearance. She would at once begin to tele- eraph for detectives, for local officers, setting in motion all the machinery to discover the criminal, to end with finding out that her son himself was an object of suspicion and liable to suffer at the hands of the law. Only telling her how closely Ted was connected with the death of Nick Bullen would stop her activity about finding him or his body and the ones to blame for his disappearance. ‘This 819 Stratton could not bring himself to do, so he sedulously guarded her from all information. She knew of his visits to the Stone House and wanted to relieve the mon- otony of waiting by an exchange of civilities. But Natalie absolutely re- fused to accept the invitation. She knew how intent upon the mar- riage of her son and Miss Hethering- ton Mrs. Barrington was. Her pride rebelled against her accepting any at- tentions from a woman who would not extend them if she guessed that she was the girl to whom Ted referred in the telegram to Bess. Driven. by the innate force of the desire in her, Silsby had consented against his better judgment to go to the Double X. He started from the Stone House toward the spring. But a cry stopped him. A tall, young fellow had just come up the trail from the other side of the butte. Natalie had seen him. With the little scream she had darted across the rocks and seized the big fellow. For a moment Silsby interpreted her eagerness and the dark bulk of the newcomer as it rose against the sky to mean that Radford had come. But he saw his mistake a moment later. “Where have you been all these days?”’ Natalie demanded. ‘“ I—I didn’t come over bec’us’ I—”’ It was Sykes. What he would have said was of no moment to Natalie. She shook him. “Where ees M. Radford?” cried. ‘T ain’t seen him sence—” Sykes stopped; he discovered Silsby watching and listening. “ Sence when?” Silsby asked, to re- eret it a moment later. ‘None uv yer business!” Sykes re- sponded with the habitual discourtesy which the Double X-ers and the Mes- quiters kept for each other. He had recognized the big ranch- owner before he spoke. He appeared to find a peculiar’ satisfaction in vent- ing a good deal of scorn in his words. she EOPMIG OO KS (E@)