Show youth 0 t h R rides d ALM t THE STORY 80 FAR on their way to the new cottonwood 00 d gold diggin irs lit in colorado orado in the seventies robert gilson I 1 C easterner mt erner who tells tella the a atory tor and hayden a veteran miner his partner secretly witness tile ilia holdup hold up of a stage coach CHAPTER I 1 continued 2 i I 1 saw a of tile leaves among tile lie into a space he be tween patches of tile green pattern I 1 eisaw baw a n horse lionso holtig round sidewise hid and backward ui its tin in independent istead will when lio lie la 14 about to be mounted ills flanks appeared llast birst then lien ills his side lie ho was waa a rangy lean Anic rican lionso of flint yellow shade blinde which we called buckskin in fit the west in fin those days but on ills nigh flank as s lie expend tt it to tny lily view tile the full chish of tile sun stin brought out ft a lighter patch na its though lie ho were turning white a patch which with lily iny ob observation I 1 compared I 1 mentally nen tally to the top of it pear or the I 1 1 anck ack view of tile the head and shoulders of if veiled woman A second later inter I 1 paw lila ills rider mount hooted tit in incon ious dark clothes still wearing it n intiso the bandits were nil all dressed fo f o much alike that except for tle the big fellow they lind to tile mo no separate identity the thicket quivered no wore more they were gone keep on oil kayin close it te wita mick now tie ho no longer wills but spoke ahmid they kin kill sen Us ui just ns na we liln kin bee ile ho chuckled in ills his beard hid their herseg front ft the stage people hard to mask it li horse orsel I 1 well even if we shoot I 1 began throwing forward my iny uneasy noss of conscience an ali what was the use of shoot I 1 ln n only to git alt tho woman killed interrupted buck even if wo nye shoot weve got in little evidence I 1 purs pursued tied td tenderfoot replied MCI impressively pres what you dont know in ili this mans country dunt dont hurt you yon none what do you mean I 1 asked my eastern sense hone of low and order not it little shocked 1 I mean replied buck that wr dont know ti othIn yet about the lay of tills country or to to kit git you in an nna out of trouble lie ile chuckled 11 rain in ili lila ills heard find and grew garrulous darn slick jol job did you gotico liow how smooth the they rot got away it if anybody UD lie hero ro ino Imd been disposed or inclined to do any shooda they ahey wn ans q only a second when you could a got nil four of lent ani I 1 won tier ler tie lie mused jest what the rear lookout look fook out was sIgn illin fur ills question was answered nt at chrt when a mule cam drawing nn an enil grunt grant wagon hove into sight I 1 clow us off liy fly n family or of 1 ie remarked buck Vl alit thoy could a known the joke on pill cm 1 well I 1 giless wed better be get gettell till hade back to the jacks im going down there I 1 sald cu irlo sity perhaps something thing stronger was drawing drow liiK inc buck rolled over nil and regarded me full in the face if anybody asks you yon questions you olt see bothin but the tall nil ond end of tills hits little circus lie said ali especially ally you saw no horses lio they do anyway but kit git a roll or n watch or two from those first passengers they fatuck vp tip I 1 they got tile express strongbox strong box said bald I 1 yes and who owned what was in it t some money devil or other in wall street replied buck all right I 1 replied perhaps ns as cuming more reluctance titan than I 1 felt It eally I 1 was a little relie relieved veI not to have to admit that we had witnessed tills lilg episode without opening fire muck buck remarking you go ahead I 1 want to pack iron took the two long guns find and turned back bach to tho train I 1 rope up then and began toward tho the road down tho face of tile the hogback As I 1 cattle down tile lie little bearded be ardeil titan man whom 1 land rell feen relieved oved of ills wallet arns ro re marking to the express iness lugert youre n bite guard you fire let your stage git held up till lu in broad daylight and you with it sawed off shot gun over your kaves 1 I uis robbed too I 1 put in a larger mini with a drooping apa sen lion ilon mustache anti anil I 1 say sa tic lie lone done right light ono one shot nit nil tho the lenders dow don fin find this licie here messenger Is loolen into four fuoti of hardware SUPPO suppose sc h in and fit a sh othow how many of us ili ft got it huh Th ehnts rits right cattle in half a dozen doz ell voices plainly tho the general sentiment run nin against shooting anti and my pride of courage rested easler easier I 1 itimus nio then for the binon women she choin v giuin I 1 recognized us its tile older cider sat inside the stage fallat ng herself with etli the elge edlia of a 0 newspaper she wal a aged und and it i little more I 1 fore fon orv to speak to lier her she did not senn ro cep tive glancing around irO tind I 1 that I 1 had bad overlooked the one leal benl tragedy of this anali the nigh bilte le leader atler at some home time tit in these lio lie had let ills head settle into the dust clust for tit lie last time fin and died and by its ills head stool stood the other lonan tier her eyes on his wounded wOul ded helid head drawn byll by know 1 not lot want bilut I 1 am pulse I 1 approached appi cached herl her sli sh looked up across trie me dead horse 10 looked 0 ked me mc fuli un in ili tho the eye ee hereace Her Ilert face tace was so fall tf t e by will irwin copyright b by will irwin service of pity and tenderness that I 1 could foci feet the tears starting behind my own eyes alint expression of tenderness which held ino file speechless changed and merged into it little nicker flicker of wonder then I 1 saw that she was indeed young and beautiful when finally anally she dropped tier gaze from froin mine find spoke her for accent was of the nast you arent you one of tile the passengers no I 1 said rut but isna I 1 saw the end of it I 1 shoot I 1 added hastily it have been of any use in excusing myself I 1 was ae accusing myself but title slie reassured rens suied tile nic and I 1 felt with enuine genuine enu lne feeling im glad you 11 silo she said im klad glad I 1 dont have to see a man tills way slie she glanced down nt at the dead horse oven even a bandit site she stood musing a moment I 1 lind find time to notice ii a birin chin a mouth just it trine trifle too wide for our standards of beauty in those days like ilke my lily mothers I 1 noted note mentally hut but pink rind ind gently bowed a flue fine drawn pointed nose dork dark blue eyes crime la Is always cruel she said 1 I 1 1 I never thought of that before tills this this Is my iny first sight of it silo sho seemed now to pull herself out of tills this mood and slip looked tile me over will tier her engaging glance of frankness n 0 youre from the east too silo sho how lid did you know sald said I 1 1 I mean to be impertinent she answered smiling but its ita your accent acquire at Il harvard arvard and most moat difficult to niter alter into the forceful and manly tones of tile west said 1 I site laughed at that though lightly and all I 1 liked tier her laugh and at present I 1 went on im bound for cottonwood Colt onwood too only instead of traveling in fit the effete luxury of a stage im driving a jack train 1 I dont know how flow else a lone wom woin tin nn la Is to travel she replied its just ns as well those bandits rob me inc slie stopped as though feeling slie she ila had said too much olt oh they get round to you then I 1 inquired and cursed myself for my lily hypocrisy somehow I 1 felt averse in that moment to lying no she said though I 1 think they were going to when that shot stopped them anil and the lady inside your 1 I began oil oh chos just another passenger alio lie replied to tny thy unformed question im traveling to cottonwood alone silo she took it fill all beautifully 11 ini ill going to stake a claim find and take my illy chances I 1 said leaving it delicately open for her to slake my lily curiosity it if she wished apparently ellie blie saw tile tie point mid parried im going up on business bu she replied I 1 just then their buck joined us its risk ing ans innocently what tile Uni culty might be tile the passengers stir surrounded rounded him babbled ont olit their separate sto ties rles buck breaking in fit now and then with n bland well coill or you yon dont say inyl I 1 Di fint which way they went inquired buck on the marst pall pause what ive been saying liiK declared the little ninn nian who lind been robbed trails liot hot now ily tile the time the sherIff gets started bo be dead cold if we was half a set of if nien wed he be formin a posse right now tin an chasin lem cm 11 and us without a saddle in the lie outfit interposed the express messenger coldly logically well a great grand line this Is I 1 said the injured passenger gayln a hundred dollars to sit robbed took three hundred dollars in tells off me nn all if I 1 a lid hid weve heard that before said the express messenger it looked boen for a second like tro trouble libla doubtless it would have been trouble lint but for aluck im ill coln to follow 11 ways on oil foot lie said All anybody body along I 1 hild to Rut suppress press a smile tit at my lily crafty partner lie and I 1 lone alone knew that the bundles bandits ila and got clent clear away the injured pass passenger criger fits bluff called call ril said fit rather weakly I 1 thought Th fits the the express nies messenger enger threw his fits sawed off shotgun sho agun over ills arm they two plunged into afie ho thicket ket and tile the rest of tile lie passengers lifter after it second of hesitation followed I 1 saw that with alic tit eye of beauty on file I 1 must not hold bock back walt it 11 inI minute nute I 1 culled 1 1 I nin going along at that the he unknown woman put out tier hand ro that lint she almost touched touch cil tyly my elbow drew it in ili with A little flush of confusion and olt oh you wont do anything gabli I 1 she slie faltered thares Th cres no danger they nn 1111 1 ast 1st have gone I 1 replied wath exact truth anil and yet with hypocrisy As I 1 saied through the mud past tile the coach I 1 looked up the middle aged woman was regarding uie tile front from under her friezes frizzes friz zes welli well its IM time 11 1 1 she remarked grimly I 1 came upon our company following in ili upon order the footprints of tile four bandits for a quarter of it mile we ve floundered and stumbled already faint protests were rising from the rear over the tf to futility of 0 f the whole proceeding p ro ce when duck buck came to a turn of the creek and peered around a willows growing loso to the I 1 curve of the bank I 1 shot up beside him film lie he pointed sunken in tile creek lay tho the big iron box open wo all plunged forward Tha rayer syer express safe sald said nuck the messenger bent down and examined ined it A cold chisel quite evidently tin lind been edged into tile tho crack between box find lid and tile the inadequate lock had find been severed by a few smashing blows tho the messenger wits was running over the envelopes which strewed the bottom of the box lie ile turned toward us and lie he was palo under tinder ills hla ton tall they took the money lie ho said gone how flow lunch said buck 1 I aint supposed to know said the express messenger but twenty thousand if anybody asks you wheres the niall mall sack some one inquired As aa wo we spread out in a straggling line of searchers the express messenger Ines still squatted by the box stared blankly into its depths but suddenly lie ho looked up and said tithe take tile the mull mail sack huck buck whistled aint no raw beginners these liere here bandits lie he remarked know if they rob the dinall in trouble with urle le sam we gave up tip tile the pur pursuit sult As wo we turned back tile tho express ines messenger find an I 1 picked up tile he box by its handles and carried it between us ua ily by now two more wagon outfits had plied piled up tip back of the stage I 1 saw the driver was hitching a little bay bronco into the place of the dead tender leader I 1 learned afterward that lie was the spare horse of a wagon outfit leased on oil tho the spot at a ruinous rate my aly unknown lady was leaning against her shelf of rock surrounded by four men I 1 caught her face she was waa smiling but with nil tier her feminine reserves up however ia as I 1 came into tile the road she saw me ane and I 1 felt that tier her deep blue eyes had for just an instant flattered me file with personal concern that momentarily menta trenta rily she had stepped out from tier lier what did you findel find she asked as I 1 approached the group so not to tier lier but to tile company I 1 told the story of our little adventure I 1 had not finished when the stage driver 1 is 1 T I 1 was alone with her now but only for tho the brief brie passage from thil the rock to the stage coach door yelled all aboard 1 the wagon men departed to their outfits I 1 was almlie with tier her now hut but only for tile tho brief passage from tile the rock to tile the stagecoach stage coach door my nnnie Is gilson robert gison I 1 isaid said a good olt old new england name she remarked n second cliff in 1033 1633 11 said I 1 then felt my iny cheeks checks tingling with tile I 1 lie ghost of shame shallie it seemed like bo boasting aRting that site she was gathering tier lier duster about tier her silo she was starting hut I 1 sald said no lio more h lest st silo sho chinigo chill go the subject doubtless silo sho saw tile the point tit in my lily pause mine little Is dearie daane mrs denne deane site she ria piled and ve stepped to the stagecoach then its as I 1 closed the door and slip she se settled down lightly in tier her sent site she sald said without hint or prompting from me 1 I shall be boarding with mrs barnaby hei here and a wave of tier hor gloved land hand indicated tile the woman to tier her right you will put in that lady grittily grimly if ever that hint freight frel glit company gets my lily outfit into camp the way tills this stage line Is run I 1 must lust say tile lie chances la Is promis tn I 1 must say the coach jerked away any but tier her conver conversation gation buzzed through the lie creaking of the leather boot tile the rattle of the wheels she the young unknown she liao given ine ile it a subtle half expressed inflation vit fla atlon tion the 1 slow glow about my lily heart boldine told tol dine me that l I 1 liked that just its as I 1 did not like tier her mrs buck spoke I 1 found that my eyes were still on tile retreating coach otie one dum duin thing after another lie said if it aint a cave ln in its robbers b ers wont vo ait to lie a four foot patell patch of pay dirt left by the time we strike capp camp well anyhow any how stage drivers Is some foule use this here one n ne put mo me right about that trail forthwith we clambered over the rocks to tho the mesa where our burros which duck buck had calmly staked out before I 1 he le rejoined me grazed at the extreme end of their lines CHAPTER II 11 the interruption of tile stage robbery took most of our morning by dusk we nye had advanced only ten eary miles for now we were really climbing while I 1 unsaddled cut down a dead pine for wood built a fire on a course of rocks which thrust its crest above tile the snow started supper buck went ahead la in the dying light to re conti olter ile he returned in ills his native state of cynical pessimism vo ve should bo be in luck if we made cottonwood in III two days As for the chance at a claim duck revealed ills hla pessimism on that score by a series of speculations concerning miners wages in cottonwood above the ledge edge of 0 rock where burned our alre a scant circle of young pines grew on a miniature plateau from which tile tho snow had melted there we tethered our |