The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 121: what you’re looking at

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

even she, mercurial as she was, could change it. He gave a yell that made his horse leap forward, and Silsby took the signal and dashed after him. Natalie watched them with quiver- ing lips. The punchers stood about, not quite sure what the occasion de- manded. “T shall go!” she cried, turning her face so that the moon shone down upon falling tears and a little mouth trying hard to hold steady. “ So’ll we, by gosh!” the punchers cried, moved by her tears and by their own love of excitement. Rushing on toward the cafions, Sils- by and Red looked back and saw Nata- lie at the head of her body-guard fol- lowing. “The boys’ll take keer uv her. They kin feed her at the shacks on the ranges ef she’s fool ’nuf to keep a comin’, Silsby observed, settling again in his saddle and giving himself up to one aim, to cover ground in the direc- tion of the Cochinino with the best speed and the greatest care of his - Mount. The first thirty miles was compara- tively easy. - Red and Silsby made it without any severe strain on their horses, and in splendid time. But when they reached the mountains they began a tedious journey that irked them unbearably. While they were certain of their advantage over the Double X-ers, who must come from the ranch itself, they had no means of knowing what plans had been laid by which communication with others in- terested in the deed might be made. If Sykes had ridden to the ranch, told Gill that Radford did have the deed, and was probably on his way to investigate the Cochinino Mine, it was possible that word had been sent into Pinon, fifteen miles from the Double X ranch-house, and telegrams for- warded that could go by a roundabout route to a town within eight miles of the mine. It was only reasonable to suppose that the one behind Gill in the effort 823 to secure the deed, or Gill alone if he were the real instigator of the move- ment, had posted an assistant where he might be needed, at the téwn where any One seeking information about the mine would be certain to come. Any one except Ted Radford! If this person got word from Gill that the bearer of the deed was ap- proaching the mine by another route, it would be the first thing he would think of to send some one to prevent his ever reaching the mine, and espe- cially to relieve him of the deed. Big Red and Silsby talked grimly of the chances of being ready to rescue Radford as they toiled through the canons, traveled along ledges that over- looked depths too great to be consid- ered. Even thinking of them made men sick and weak. Silsby’s ranges ran up into these mountains. He knew them in their more accessible parts; but the way by which they journeyed to the Cochinino was one he had gone but once, and that so many years before that he was not certain of it. ‘They had to leave their horses, trust- ing that they would find their way back to the ranch. As they went on they began to think that Radford, without a supply of food, unfamiliar with the range-shacks where he might have got- ten some, and but just recovered from the strained leg, had little chance of ever reaching his destination alive. They had climbed for a day when suddenly a horse came whinnying from beside a stream-bed they were approaching. They both recognized the horse; the brand on its left hind leg simply told them what they already knew. This was the horse Ted had ridden. Clearly Ted had managed to ride much. farther than they, If he could have spoken to them at that moment it“ would have been to say that “ his luck’? was with him in finding an easier route which they had gone a bit too far to the north to enjoy. Bit all trace of him was lost, They Gomichbooks (E@)