The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 62: what you’re looking at

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

nil Oe ee as eS St So = SS ee eg at = : ‘ = - 764 man to be intimidated. He faced Red “with refusal written large on his de- termined face. “Say, don’t git so worked up, young feller. [ ain't a tryin’ to boss ye. Only the rest uv the boys knows these hyah rocks like a book. Some- buddy's got to stay hyah in case we run the skunk down. Ye see, this is the only way fur him to git out ef we do a good job up yander. Mebbe ye'll git the job uv wingin’ him.” Big Red liked his touchy tenderfoot immensely. He had seen him make good on pure pluck when his knowl- edge of broncos or steers left much to be desired. He had no intention ot giving him an easy job that cast as- persions on his courage, and he was ~ willing to make a pretty long explana- tion to let Radford know it. Ted accepted the situation. It was the only thing to do. He was ignorant about the location, and he had had enough experience with the deceptive .and devious mountain ways to know he might keep them hunting him all night after they had — or given up the Double X-ers. He saw them all disappear as if they. had melted into the rocks. He sat down in a black shadow against a big boulder and stretched his ears for the first sound that would indicate sight of the quarry. The night was silent with that profundity which is as painfully op- pressive to the ears as noise. ‘Ted erew restless. There was something disquieting in the strange, big faces that were shaped in the profiles of the jutting rocks. They stared down at him with the stoic attention they had practised for such ages that it made him lonely to think of them. He rose cautiously, and, taking ad- vantage of the shadows, stole slowly toward that ‘ whitelike rock” which Big Red had indicated as the focus of the hunt. He heard the gurgle of water and knew he must be near the place where the Apache Spring gushed forth to fill its basinlike pool. ~~ a a SS oe Se ee a ea ee Bae tea Sa —— ae THE ARGOSY. The person who put the bitter drug, or whatever had been used to turn the waters to gall, must have placed it at the source of the spring. Nerving himself to it, Ted bent down and tasted the water where it emerged from the rock. It°was cold and deli- ciously pure. He drank eagerly, wash- ing away the puckery feeling that still teased his tongue. Suddenly the silent world about him burst into chaos of sound. He leaped away from the spring, energized by the shouts that rang down from the heights above him. Red's voice called to some to stop. There was a wild clatter of loosened stones. Ted dodged back under a shelving rock as they came bounding down on his head. “Stop or I'll shoot!” Red yelled again. Radford cuddled against the rock. The idea that Red might be behind the individual who was disturbing the ‘rocks and in line with where he had stood a second before made him ap- preciate the shelter he had gained. The rocks still showered down, so he knew that the pursued had not obeyed Red's peremptory demand. At any moment Red might fire and a crumpling figure fall down over the shelf of rock. There was something indescribably trying to Radford as he watched the edge of the rock over him and antici- pated the bark of Red’s gun and the falling quarry. He could hear the boys shouting and scrambling among the loose stones as they rushed in pur- suit of the man they hunted. But Big Red’s bellow was what he listened for with the greatest attention. Then everything was still. They had lost sight of the man. The rocks no longer fell over the edge of the shelf. At the risk of being mistaken for the quarry, Radford started to crawl from his shelter. But he did not go. Something small and soft and panting in sobs fell against him. It rebounded, and Ted EOPMICLOOKS (E@)