Argosy All-Story Weekly, October 6, 1923 — page 107: what you’re looking at

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

-THE AVENGING SHEPHERD. ‘line said about “ My brother Andres” it had no reference to Dorr. Andres’s name was repeated in the line in which Dorr’s name occurred. So the message must say two things: something about Andres and Dorr; and something about Andres and Timoteo. Joseph could only guess what the latter statement might -be. And yet, it was vital to his plans that he know for a So what this message said. He wished that Peter had not gone on. “He was one of the few, outside of the Basques themselves, who even attempted to speak the tongue. Later, Joseph realized that it was unlikely that the old man could read or write a word of Basque, for his -knowledge of the language was doubtless restricted to a matter of sounds. During the succeeding days, the boy sat for hours with Timoteo’s message in his hands. In all that time, he deciphered only one phrase: “ d-arrai-t ”—“ it follows me.” There was a ranger’s cabin just beyond Coal Creek. Joseph thought of going there in the hope of meeting some of the Basque herders then in the Reserve. He soon ar- gued himself out of the notion, however, for if Timoteo’s message said that Andres had killed Dorr, then no one but old Angel himself must read it. It was, potentially, a powerful. weapon, and not to be mis- ~ used. For five days after Peter had left the mountain, Joseph did nothing but study the letter. No one came to spy on him, for Peter talked but little in town, and that little was received skeptically. Men laughed at his story of the lean years to come. — 4oseph had convinced Peter that night in the dug-out, but even he found the tale fanciful now that he was back in his ac- customed haunts. At times he wondered if the boy had not been touched by some strange malady of the brain. If he could have seen Joseph staring trancelike at the penciled note for hours at a time, Slippy- foot and Grimm at his feet, apparently as sorely perplexed as their master, he would have found it hard to have believed cise Wise. a deciphering of Timoteo’ s message if you could speak? 889 had become an obsession. manner. After reading his mother’s letter, he had replaced it in the bottle and brought it to the dug-out. Timoteo’s note had so engaged his attention ever since that he had not touched the bottle. That he picked it up now was only because he was about — = to pin the two messages together again preparatory to putting them away.- He ees had determined to go back to the mountain = top and search the cairn for some se of the missing notebook. Idly turning over his mother’s etre as he pinned the two papers together, he was rendered speechless on finding himself gazing at a translation of Timoteo’s note. Perspiration dewed his brow as he stared _ It was addressed to Timoteo’ = at = it. father and said: My brother Andres, the coward, has left me to die. I called to him, but he took the horses and ran. Dorr shot me as I finished — cutting the fence. bent over me. hang for it. It follows me. Grieve not, my father. pect of men raised to hate their own? It is morning. I heara crow.- It has not long to wait. TIMOTEO. see Grinan cawed as Josenh finished ead. = ing the note. The boy looked at him coldly. “Grimm,” he muttered, “1 wonder if it was you who followed Timotec and And you, — Slippy-foot—what would you have to say For once the eyes of both of you are veiled. But no matter. We have waited long enough. To-night _ the three of us shall attend one whose debt —=-_—> cawed a requiem for his soul. is heavy.” CHAPTER X. THE SYMBOL OF HELPLESSNESS, LMOST a week had passed now since Joseph had left the coulee and in. that =e time, although his flock numbered _ only a score, the sweet grass had been oO Just where it might have carried Joseph, it is impossible — to say, but he was destined to have the — note made plain to him in a most startling _— What were you to ex- Ss - = = com. choo cS COl Andres killed him as he But I see now that he will =