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Show I fi 1 m n P P pop CCI IRF I e?,r,;;:r By George Agnew Chamberlain os""- CHAPTER XV n Joyce sprang from bed. ran to a great rosewood wardrobe and snatched out her polo coat As she slipped Into It there came a knock on the door. Dirk opened. Don Jorge entered, led by Leonardo and closely followed by Luz and Adan. "You don't have to tell me what it was, Maxie," said Joyce. "Let's go to the roof." ' Dirk and Leonardo, one on each side, fairly lifted Don Jorge along and presently the whole party emerged Into the light of a late moon, climbing almost darkly Into a star-spangled sky. They gathered In a huddle against the frontal para-pet para-pet and waited In expectant silence. ""It's foolish to stand so close together," to-gether," remarked Arnaldo presently, present-ly, and as he spoke there came a flash, another boom, but no howling howl-ing shell only an earth-shaking thud and then an opaque column of dust where the flash had shown. Silence again a long silence, broken at last by Don Jorge. "Tell me, somebody, what you saw; I heard, but for the love of heaven, give me eyes." "Let me speak." said Dirk. "Of course you know it's artillery, Max- -fe, but I can tell you more than that. It's howitzers a battery of them firing from the bottom of the barranca. Since the elevation even of a howitzer has certain inexorable limits, the first shell passed over us and the second the one you just heard hit the lip of the gorge. It's my bet there won't be another fired before daylight." "Why not?" asked Don Jorge. "Because Dorado has to do one of two things, both of them difficult He must either move the guns farther far-ther away along the bed of the barranca bar-ranca or remove the wheels to get a sharper angle, and dropping the carriage is a tedious operation." "You know a great deal for one too young to have been in the war," said Don Jorge, comforted. "Plattsburg," murmured Dirk. He was interrupted by a carbine volley resulting in a splatter of bullets bul-lets against the wall beneath them. They retreated in haste, all but Leonardo Le-onardo who hurried to the southern bastion to direct a counter offensive. Safe below, Joyce drew Dirk aside. "Things look black. Dirk, and there's nobody I want to talk to but you not even Maxie and certainly not Adan. Artillery, cannon the one thing I can't answer!" "It's a tough one," admitted Dirk. "I felt so sure," mourned Joyce; "now I feel helpless and a fooL" Suddenly she lifted her eyes to his face. "By the way, that bit about the battery of howitzers. Who told you? How did you know?" "I guess you're no fool after all," said Dirk; "nothing gets past you." He took out the ambassador's letter let-ter and handed it to her. "Read that, Joyce; and it's bad news for me any way you take it If I stay I'll have a black mark against me the rest of my life; if I desert you I'm a skunk I'd smell in my own nostrils." Joyce glanced through the letter, then read it again, word by word, rkrase by phrase, the color in her w.eeks steadily heightening. Her breath began to come quickly; suddenly sud-denly she crushed the paper into a ball and held it in her closed fist as her wide eyes stared through Dirk and the wall beyond. "Joyce, oh, Joyce," he begged, . "don't take it like that! I'll write him, I'll " "Write to whom?" she interrupted sharply. "The ambassador, of course." "The ambassador?" said Joyce. "Oh, that! Why, I wasn't even thinking think-ing of your part of it. Onelia," she breathed, "General Onelia!" Her brows gathered in a tight frown. "Onelia wasn't minister of war when he sent me down here ordered or-dered Pancho to drop me into the lion's den, and then clear out! There's something crooked, something some-thing I don't understand. Listen, Dirk, there's a perfectly good flivver, fliv-ver, as you know, the other side of the barranca. I have the key to it. Tomorrow today since it's almost dawn you and I are going to Mexico Mex-ico City." "You're crazy!" cried Dirk. "How are we going to cross the barranca fly?" "We'll ride around it ten miles down and ten back." "While Dorado and his men twiddle twid-dle their thumbs?" "Stop!" cried Joyce, her blue eyes almost black. "If you can't help, keep your mouth Oh, Dirk, darling, I'm sorry. But our horses are faster so much faster. Doesn't that make a difference? Doesn't it? There must be a way there must!" "Sweetheart I was nearly a skunk, and now I'm surely a rat! But don't worry; I'm cured. Take a bath, eat, change into your riding rid-ing togs. I'm off to sock a feed of oats into the horses." "I love you when you talk like ay said Joyce. "I'm glad to ! omise I'll do exactly as you say except I must see Maxie first" Dirk was on his way before the words were out of her mouth and she turned into Don Jorge's study. "Maxie, there's a chance the guns won't get the range of the house at nil. Even If they do, the one tiling to look out for Is fire. Fortunately For-tunately there's lots of water and plenty of people to carry it. Do you think there's any reason I should stay?" "Reason?" repeated the blind man, bewildered and a little shocked by what sounded like a threat of desertion. "No, senorita; it is well you should withdraw from danger." "I?" gasped Joyce, "I withdraw from danger? Maxie, are you trying try-ing to make me laugh?" Color swept into Don Jorge's checks and his sightless eyes watered wa-tered at the corners. "Ah, chica, my beloved child, forgive a blind man for his mistake. Where is it you intend to go?" "Mr. Van Suttart and I will start for Mexico City as soon as it's light enough to see." Adan Arnaldo, who had scarcely listened and was sitting with head hanging despondently, suddenly mm rr f--'--'v. V' - - . . t-i 1 Their Riders Had Dared to Pass to the Northern Side of the Barranca. straightened and rose to his feet. "Me, tool" he cried fervently. "But how?" "I'm sorry, Adan," said Joyce. "You're going to be terribly disappointed. dis-appointed. You don't ride very well, and besides, there are only two horses fast enough to do the trick. Of course It will have to be a race of wits and speed between us and Dorado's outfit." Don Jorge shook his head doubtfully. doubt-fully. "Too far," he muttered, "Toluca is too far. You don't know our campesinos; they won't have to ride, they could walk you down." Joyce hesitated whether to mention men-tion the flivver; out of consideration for Adan, poor exile, she decided not. "You'll have to leave it to us, Maxie," Max-ie," she said finally. "We'll surely find a way." "Even so," said Don Jorge, "I don't understand. Say you do reach the city, what then?" Again Joyce hesitated before she answered. "Maxie, by the ambassador's ambas-sador's letter to Mr. Van Suttart we know General Onelia has become be-come minister of war." "Onelia," murmured Don Jorge, frowning; then he cried out, "Onelia!" "One-lia!" "Yes," said Joyce; "perhaps perhaps " She stopped, her hps trembling. Arnaldo moved forward and something in his pose seized her attention. at-tention. Most men she had known threw up their heads when they came to some crucial decision, but not Adan his sank between his shoulders. "It is good you should try to get to Mexico City, but don't go blind. Margarida Fonseca, General Gen-eral Onelia you think you know them, eh?" "Why, of course," said Joyce, but the sudden doubt in her eyes belied her words. "No, no," said Adan. "I'll tell you. Together those two arrange to have Dorado driven out from La Barranca yes. You think it is for you, but they leave you all alone, abandon you. Why? To make trouble trou-ble for my friend, General Sebas-tiano, Sebas-tiano, minister of war. It was almost al-most certain you would get killed, but no matter to them. Even without with-out getting killed it seems you've made enough trouble to put that old fox Onelia into Sebastiano's shoes." "Oh!" gasped Joyce, cheeks and eyes flaming, "now I see it all! Thanks, Adan; you've cleared up the one point that was bothering me. Oh, I'll get even I'll " She broke off and her face, so illumined by emotion, hardened to a look of determination. "I need n cold bnth. I've got to dross, eat" She hurried from tho room. The horses were saddled, Joyce and Dirk ready, but with the break of day came heartbreaking disappointment disap-pointment It was Leonardo who brought the bad news. Descending from the ramparts he reported that Dorado's following had almost doubled dou-bled overnight. That wasn't the worst of it; secure by reason of their numbers for the first time their riders had dared pass to the northern side of the barranca. Hero was the picture: straight out from the eastern gate was the great ditch with the rope brldgo gone and the howitzers, temporarily silenced, In its depths. Beyond near and yet so far was Pancho's abandoned flivver. What need had Dorado to guard that section? None. Had his men stayed on the south side, as had been their Invariable custom, faster horsemen might have ridden around them, but he had been too clever. They had deployed on the near side of the chasm In two broad fans, well out of range, almost three miles to the east and west of the hacienda. There they waited like vultures for the moment when fire or ruin should drive its Inmates into the open. Dirk turned away, not caring to see what must be in Joyce's eyes. "Well," he murmured, "I guess the game is up." "Wait," said Joyce. "Come here, Dirk. Come quite close, so nobody else will hear. Look in my eyes, Dirk. How far can a horse Jump?" He stared at her and the longer he looked the more did a bar of steel seem to form between her eyes and his. "I don't remember the record, rec-ord, Joyce," he said quietly, "but it's well over the width of the barranca bar-ranca at the spot where the bridge used to be. Shall I help you up?" "Please," said Joyce. He bent his knee and she mounted Rayo; an instant later he was astride Tronido. They tried to walk the horses across the great court and through the zaguan, kut the mysterious seismograph of sympathy sympa-thy between horse and rider made the beasts toss their heads and mince sidewise toward the gate. Adan Arnaldo came running after them. "Where are you going? What do you think you're doing?" "Never mind, Adan," said Joyce. "Open the eastern gate, will you?" "No!" shouted Arnaldo. Joyce turned to Toballto and raised her quirt "Open the gate!" she commanded. "Open!" He obeyed; the bar tumbled and one leaf swung back. Joyce was the first to rush through, Dirk hard at her heels; already they were at a full gallop a near bolt "Joyce!" he fairly screamed. "Stop! It isn't fair! For God's sake, Joyce, give the horses a chance!" For the first time he laid quirt to Tronido. The gallant beast took it well. Seeming to sense what was wanted, he laid belly to ground and drew level on the right of Rayo just as the barranca came into full view. That was all Dirk asked. He began to ride Joyce off, slowly at first then with firmer pressure. Now they were galloping in a wide circle, cir-cle, giving the horses and themselves them-selves opportunity to steady down. Dirk could talk and be heard. "That was a close call, Joyce; thoy wouldn't have jumped they'd have ridden Into the gorgo head down. But now that they've hHd a chanco to look at It, come on." He whirled Tronido, headed him straight for the barranca and began to lift him with knee, hand and voice. Rayo was beside him, stride for stride. They rode together he and Joyce were together. (Vut of the tall of his eye he felt rather than saw her figure, tense where It ought to be tense, light where It ought to be light, crouching into the saddle, passing Its message of courage to the horse beneath: "Are you afraid? No. Neither am II" At 15 yards from the brink the horses stmmed to get a first inkling of what was coming and at 20 a mysterious change took place In the rhythm of muscle and stride. They were gathering themselves, feeling tho sod, digging in for the mighty leap. Then the rush that peculiar hurtling where heart, muscle and bone make their bid to slap the impossible in the face. Thunder and Lightning they hit the take-off side by side and soared. Joyce had a sensation of flying, abyss above, nhvis hflnuj Ravn's hind feet, ev erything gathered under, made the level with only half an inch to spare. He was overl But not Tronido. Before Dirk had time to know terror he was conscious con-scious of dark blots In the chasm where It widened on the left the guns surrounded by a pale sea of upturned faces, fixed in astonishment astonish-ment Then he knew, he saw what was coming. The blood in his veins turned cold, ceased flowing, as he felt the last vain wrench of the back between his legs. Tronido's hind hoofs missed the top by a full foot, but simultaneously his knees and chest crashed against it, catapulting catapult-ing his rider to safety as the great horse fell backward, screaming, to his death. "Dirk, oh, Dirk!" cried Joyce. She reined Rayo down, turned and started to dismount "Don't! Don't get off," shouted Dirk springing to his feet and taking tak-ing a firm grip on her stirrup leather. leath-er. "Ride for the flivver. Don't mind me; I know what I'm doing. You can't shake me at any pace. Ride!" She headed eastward along the barranca but missed the gully she sought and had to turn back. It was Dirk, now on the other side, who spied the tattered top of the car. He let go, fell, rolled to his feet and shouted after her: "Joyce! Here we are! Come back!" It took her almost a minute to turn the horse and in that time she caught two glimpses of many riders, one group converging from the east, the other from far to the west. Presently Pres-ently they would stream together in a single furious charge toward the one point Dorado had not dreamed he need guard. She dismounted, dug the key to the flivver from inside in-side her glove and handed it to Dirk. "We'll have to hurry," she said, "the riders are coming fast" "Much good It will do them," he muttered as he switched on the ignition, ig-nition, "there isn't a horse in the bunch could make it" "You're being a little stupid, dear, aren't you? Perhaps not a horse, but a bullet can. What shall I do with Rayo?" (TO BE COXTIXUED) |