The Argosy, Vol. 84 No. 2 — page 142: what you’re looking at

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

024 tying his feet into the stirrup leathers; then, one of the men taking the bridle in his hands, they set off at a gallop down the trail. They had gagged him so tightly that he could hardly manage to breathe. Derby glared at his captors helplessly, striving to reach some clue to their iden- tity, but realizing that he had never seen any of the men before. On and on they led him through the rough chaparral, where, being unable to protect himself with his arms, the mesquite thorns lac- erated and tore his face. Up gulch and dry river-bed, over hill and through canon his captors galloped with him at a pace impossible to men not reared and trained in the saddle. At sundown the vaqgueros reined in their lathered horses, and lifting Derby down, they tied him to a scraggly pine which grew out of the side of the hill at a sharp angle. As an extra precaution against his escape, they removed his boots, for no man could cross the sharp, thorn-covered rocks without protection for his feet. Then they withdrew a few yards, and, building a small fire, started to prepare supper for themselves. They spoke in low voices, and though Derby strained his ears, he could not understand their con- versation. The men’s swarthy faces looked even more sinister in the light of the fire than they had appeared in the glare of day. The whole scene was theatrical and un- real, with the shadows of the ranchmen gliding in front of the fire, the distant yowl of a coyote, and the tip of the moon rising in clear silver above the black crest of the mountains. For an hour Derby stood lashed to the tree-trunk, until it seemed as if he must collapse from lack of circulation and from the strangling of the gag; but still he re- ceived no attention from the Mexicans or any sign that they thought of him. He strained his eyes staring into the dark- ness, striving to make some guess as to his whereabouts, but the place in which THE ARGOSY. he was trapped was typical of hundreds of square miles of the southern bad lands. Suddenly, outlined in the moonlight, he saw upon the last ridge across which his captors had carried him the figure of a horseman. The image loomed for an instant, then disappeared into the hollow. Another and another horseman followed until he had counted twenty in all. The Mexicans by the fire rose and moved toward the newcomers. In a few minutes the horsemen rode into the light of the fire and dismounted, throwing their bridles over the heads of their mounts and leaving them to wander free in the man- ner of the trained cow-pony. As the men passed before the fire Derby noticed that they were masked. They seated themselves in a large circle, still maintaining silence. Then two of the Mexicans who had captured Derby suddenly came over and unfastened him from the tree. Then they dragged him into the center of the circle, prodding him with their spurs when, ham- pered by his ropes, he swayed upon his feet. They stood him close to the fire where the light shone in his face, and, quickly driving two picket-pins into the ground, fastened his feet to them. “ Adios!” laughed one of the Mexicans mockingly. Then he and the other three of the original band withdrew to the out- side of the circle. Derby saw money passed to them by one of the newcomers, then watched them mount and ride away through the murk toward the Mexican line and oblivion. The circle of men about him drew closer until the more distant were not more than ten feet away. Through their masks their sinister eyes reflected the firelight as if they had been beasts of rey. Gerard held his head high and met their glances firmly. His cheeks burned from his nearness to the fire and he suf- fered intensely from his bonds; but he did not flinch. Suddenly the deep voice of Symmonds .OO S CONMUG (C©@)