The Argosy, Vol. 82, No. 3 — page 196: what you’re looking at

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

570 his thought half aloud. “But you won’t have to stand it long, old girl! Il have those ropes off you and that water to your lips as soon as they’ve gone out of sight!” Still the rascals made no move to take their departure. A_ half-hour passed. Then another. And yet they sat or lolled about on the ground. What were they waiting for, Jeff asked himself with fever- ish impatience? Not to watch the effect of their devilish scheme of torture upon his wife, it was plain, for they paid scant heed to her as she sat tied to the post before the bowl of water. Jeff, stiff from his long, motionless vigil, looked up again at the sun. It was be- ginning to sink over the edge of the west- ern horizon. And his straining ears could catch no sound of* hoof-beats from the road behind him that would tell of the arrival of. help from the settlement. Suddenly, catching his breath, Jeff dart- ed back a second time out of sight around the hill. The bandits were on the move at last. But, instead of heading in the direction whence they had come, they were advancing, bringing his wife with them, his way—toward the town. Turning, Jeff ran swiftly back to seek some cover from which he could watch where they went. The sun dropped from the heavens as the marauders passed his _hiding-place. Jeff set off after them — his jaws tight- locked and his eyes narrowed to vengeful pin-points. His baby —it had been killed by the gang. He knew that now. For he had not seen it with them. “They must be goin’ to make a night attack on the town,” Jeff told himself through his clenched teeth. “ Figgerin’, I spose, that they can take the settlement by surprise, an’ wipe out every man an’ woman in it. Jenny never got there with the buckboard and the message I sent. The boys would have ridden back this far by now if she had. They don’t know what’s in store for ’em. An’ I’ve got to warn ’em—by gettin’ ahead of them butchers, some way, without them seein’ or hearin’ me an’ beatin’ ’em to the town!” A range of hills ran along beside the road to the left. Among them Jeff would be out of sight of the Mexicans as he ran past them to come out on the road ahead. THE ARGOSY. He would be far enough away by that time to be hidden from their view in the night as he raced on to warn the townsmen of their coming. Suddenly Jeff halted. He could plainly : hear the voices and shuffling footfalls of the gang as they moved along the road on his left, which told him that he was abreast of them. And before him lay an open space, several hundred feet in length, between that hill and the one ahead of it. He would be seen if he attempted to cross that clearing now. He would have to wait until the rabble had gone by. From the shelter of the hillside he watched the mob straggle into view. And then—a strange thing happened. Without a moment’s warning the ragged crowd scat- tered from the middle of the road. Drop- ping down into the cover of the sage-brush that dotted the plain to the right of the thoroughfare, every mother’s son disap- peared in the twinkling of an eye, leaving Jeff Miller’s wife standing there alone. Darting out from his covert, Jeff ran to her and caught her wrist;dragging her back with him into his place of conceal- ment. “Oh, Jeff!” she broke down, weeping against his shoulder. ‘“ The baby—they— they’ve—” He held her close, his face grim. “They killed it, did they?” he asked. She nodded with streaming eyes. “Tt cried,” she explained. ‘‘ And—and the leader said the squalling got on his nerves. He ordered one of the others to— to—<"” ¢ She could not finish. Jeff held her to him tighter, awkwardly patting her shoul- der, and then released her. “What did they run for just now?” he inquired. ‘IT don’t know,” she answered dully, “IT didn’t see or hear anything. You know what they’re up to, don’t you? An attack on the town. They’ve been talking about murdering everybody there—” “Quick!” he broke in on her, seizing her hand again. ‘ They’re coming after us now. Of course they saw me jump out and grab you. An’ we'll be the first ones they'll butcher, unless I can get into a ra- vine with you an’ hold ’em off at the mouth of it with this gun—” “But when it’s empty,” she asked— ‘““what’s to become of us then? They’re three hundred to one—” Gomichbooks (E©)