The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 82: what you’re looking at

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

784 it was several seconds before he re- alized that the thundering hoofs still pounded their death-monody, but not near him. He lifted his head. His pony lay beside him, panting. Back along the arroyo he saw a strange sight, A man stood on the high bank—the cattle bellowed and struggled in the crevice. It was Big Red. Radford saw him seize the horns of one of the steers and pull with all his mighty strength. With the curious obedience that wild creatures show to man when they recog- nize that their brute strength 1s futile, the steer did its best to respond. Ted saw him plunge and writhe, and finally climb, dripping with sweat and blood, from among his fellows. Heedless of a sharp pain that darted through his leg as he sprang up, Rad- ford ran back till he came to a break in the bank where he could climb to the level ground above. Big Ked had seized another steer by the horns and was tugging and swearing when Ted reached him. He laid hold, and together they released a second animal from the horrible mass. Ted worked like mad. The groaning of the mangled cattle goaded him. He could see hoofs crush through the ribs of cattle underneath. Horns tangled and gored. Groans like no other sounds he had ever heard rose from the steers, crushed and smothering under their kind. They pulled as many as they could _reach from the arroyo. Radford saw Big Red slide down into the gully. He followed him, and together they worked> to coax and pull and drive the steers that could walk either way along the trench. Covered with blood from the wound- ed animals, Ted stared at his com- panion. Big Red was a horror to see. “Where are the other fellows? ” Ted demanded, indignant at the cow- boys who had left them to struggle with the awful situation alone. Red had pulled his guns from his belt. Five of the steers, too much hurt THE ARGOSY. to move, lay groaning on the ground. Five shots sounded and the groaning ceased. “What did it?”’ Ted asked as they climbed back to the level. “ Dunno.” Big Red was beyond swearing. Those dead steers and their terror-weak fellows, moving off slowly along the bottom of the arroyo, filled him with a wrath that stifled words. He stumped grimly along the torn ground that marked the flight of the cattle. Radford whistled to his horse. It had climbed from the crevice in a spas- modic effort inspired by the fear of the cattle coming toward it. It came to him now, dripping with sweat and un- certain on its legs. Radford hung on to the saddle-horn and eased his aching leg for the walk to the spring where Big Red was pro- ceeding to find out why Silsby and the boys had let the cattle go to destruction. He stopped and stared as he found Big Red was staring, open-mouthed, Above a lake of fire, leaping red flames, stood Natalie le Fevre. In her firm little hand she held a pistol. She was talking. It was almost unbelievable. Red and Radford looked at each other and then back at that lake of yellow tongues dancing like devils while the young French girl stood on the rock above like the spirit of the conflagration. Silsby and the cowboys were ranged below her, looking up. It was a most amazing spectacle; and the two ob- servers hurried forward eagerly. “The little she-devil! She does it somehow!” Big Red exclaimed. Ted gazed at the slim figure. He saw the big luminous eyes set in a face so white it looked like a snow-mask. But he could not believe that she had been the one to send the cattle on their fear- ful death-race, and incidentally to al- most end things for him. 2 His leg was throbbing with fierce pain. But his mind was clear—so clear that it never for a moment after Big Red spoke was clouded with a doubt of - EORNIC OOOKS (©)