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Show THE PONY EXPRESS RIDER ! ( A T1. of ll.. Old ) Hf i By ARTHUR. COODRICH (Copyright, r, by JoiephD.IJowlti) BV Silence hung heavy In the plazn of BV Santa Fo late one afternoon In 1805. Hpi- Suddenly there came a clatter of hoofs, K unsteady with weariness, scattering ' tho stillness with shnrp echoes. A BwJ man, coming out nt tho moment from Bb one of tho low adobe buildings, waved BV his hand and the rider drew up short BW and stopped. The two men ns they faced each other were in striking contrnst. Ono stood with his foot well apart, sinews pulled B tight like wire-rope over his slight B frame. The other, broad shoulders bout H with fatigue, begrimed with dirt, but B black eyes Hashing with tho unsubdued B fire of youth, swung himself from tho B sweating, panting beast. Thoy wero B both pony express riders. B The dismounted rider's knees gave un- B der him and ho leaned ngalnst his horse H for support. "Tired?" asked tho older man with I a malovolent grin. H Tho young follow stared at him B vaguely for a moment. Then a thought B Bcemcd to strike him, for ho lcanod for- ward eagerly. B "Look-n-hcro, Harry! I'm petered, B you're fresh. You go to Fort Union nn' B back for mo fer n ten-spot?" B "I'll go," snld tho other, and they B walked slowly to tho corral. Half nn B hbur later "OldJIorry" Simmons rodo B down tho plnza. Meanwhllo Ralph Mead B ' was lying sprawled on a narrow bunlc B In tho corral, sleeping tho sleep of sheer exhaustion. Ralph Mead had been left fatherless, B motherless and penniless when ho was 11 years old. His nearest relatives had B bound him out to a hard-headed Con-ncctlcut Con-ncctlcut farmer who bcllovcd in cor- Bb pornl punishment for persons smnller H thnn himself. Three months later tho BV boy slipped out of the housb of his slnv- BV cry and started west In pursuit of cx- BV cltcmcnt nnd happiness. Ho was now B 18 years old, with the muscle and Judg- Ba mcnt and experience of a frontiersman BY Bw Tho sun was glaring sullenly through B the doorway when ho nwoko suddenly. B "Hero you, Mead! Git up an' out o' B this." BVj "What's matter?" ho naked, still half- Bj asleep. BS "You've got to go to Fort Union." B Mead smiled reproachfully nnd, lying Bl back onco more, curled up on tho bunlc BV nnd closed his oyes. BBj "Harry Simmons gono-Fort Union," Bl ho said, sleepily. BB "Simmons 's dead. Killed nnd scalped BJ at Tccos Church" ho heard tho voice BB say. Then ho jumped to his feet, and BB threw on Ms clothes ns ho listened. BB "Party of Mexicans Just enmo in BB found Simmons. Indians out, Nnvahoos BB and Whlto Mountain Apaches. Regular BB trail dangerous." BVm Thcso wero tho words Hint his now BB acute senses heard nnd understood. BB The black mustang had killed two BB men nnd hnd maimed a third beforo Im BTAIITED WEST. Mend hnd broken him. Now ho was tho rider's slave, and proud of it. No ono ' clso dared ride him. Ami so, on thoy went through tho hot sunshlno, Mend's brain steadied by sleop, his senses keen, his horse throbbing beneath him, and danger ahead. As ho rounded n turn In the trail Into which n great rock hnd Jutted nnd obscured ob-scured tho vlow, tho bloody scene lny quivering before him. At tho right of the roadway Indians; nt tho left,' Indl-j Indl-j nns, crouching behind bowlders, hiding I In tho chaparral, slipping sinuously t among tho high bunch grass, fighting i across tho trnll that lay before him. Only n second ho hesitated. Ho could I not go back. Soma of them had prob- ably already seen him. I "I started fer Fort Union," ho mut- I" . tered, "and by th' etornal I'm goln'!" I Mead dropped tho rein over tho high i pomnol of his snddlo and leaning for- I ward, lny closo to tho mustang's neck, I seizing ns ho did so the revolvers from I his high boots. Almost Instantly they wero in tho midst of It, the benst piling- P lng sure-footed over dead bodies still I warm in tho alkali dust, tho man shoot- r lng at random to both right nnd left and 4 bellowing at tho top of his vplco. t Almost before ho know It he was past i them and boring straight nn through the whistling wind. , His mad daring had saved him tem porarily, but It had also united the fighting fight-ing war parties. Thoy wero probably tho samo bands which hnd nmbushed Bj Simmons and hnd later cut across to Bj the canyon and quarreled thore. They Bj were coming! Mend heaved'n deep Blgh Bj and called again to tho mustang; thoy Bj atarted down the narrow trail byond. Bj' law rambling structure, lllioaijjoup Hi of huts, sprang up suddenly bostdt.tho road, nnd in tho doorway stood a lrl. Mead started ns ho saw her a girl, and thoso devils behind! Tho mustang plowed hor fore foct Into tho ground ana stopped. "Injuns half mile back comln' rapid," ho shouted. Tho girl, of good height for a woman, broad-hipped, full-breasted, full-breasted, a healthy red showing through tho tan other cheeks, her smooth brown hair braided carelessly to her waist, her arms akimbo, stared nt him doubtfully as ho ailed with quick slaps the empty chambers of a revolver. "Git along, stranger," sho called, In singsong tones. "Ilcckon you're afenrd." Tho mustang's cars nt that Instant stood straight onco more and quivering. Mead turned upon tho girl, and covorcd her with the revolver. "Git yer horso an' ycr family goln', quick," ho ordered, dellberntely. For a second tho girl did not movo, but smiled defiantly at him; then bIio stood bolt upright, tense, listening. She heard now tho confused rumble of many horses, far away, at which tho tired mustang mus-tang was already dancing impatiently. Sho disappeared within tho building while ho sat In tho nnrrow trail, tho noUo of tho pursuit growing rnpldly louder la his ears. A frightened whinnying whin-nying enmo from somewhere nt tho rear of tho main cabin; a door slammed and n single, squatty, dirty-yellow mustang sprang Into sight around tho corner of tho structure, tho girl straddling Its bare back. At that moment n shrieking, echoing yell nroso behind them. They had been seen. Then tho race began onco more, tho black mustang pounding doggedly behind the wicked pneo of tho yellow beast. Two miles fnrthor on ho came up with tho girl as thoy wero fording a narrow creek. "Ain't seen un Injun senco wo'vo ben thar," sho gasped between breaths, as If In explanation. "Dad, he's went to Santa Fe." "Throo th' canyon?" Sho nodded her head ns they reached tho farther bank nnd sho took tho lead again. Dut tho black mustnng was weakening; his gait wavered, his oyoa wero bloodshot. At last ho stumbled nnd fell on one knee, the leg snapped', and ho lny quivering ncross tho trnll. Tho girl turned abruptly and came back. Mead took the mail bagB from tho mus-tnng'a mus-tnng'a back nnd throw them to hr. "I'll hold 'cm back whllo yo git n start," ho said, laconically, drawing his pistols. Ho turned to fnco tho trail. "Good-by," ho called over his shoulder. "Stranger!" tho girl said, quietly. Ho whirled nnd faced a small pistol sho had drawn from her belt. "Git up behind, quick. I ain't a-goln' to budge a foot ef yo don't," Bhe added as ho hesitated. Mend laughed aloud as ho thought how quickly sho had turned his own game upon him. Then sho laughed also ns ho tuned und mercifully shot tho blnck mustnng, before leaping up behind her. Tho yellow mustang struggled forward for-ward bravely under tho doublo burden, but tho contest was unequal. Tho hoof-beats hoof-beats behind them grow louder nnd nt last thoy could hear tho nolso of guttural gut-tural voices from behind the turns In tho winding trnll. A fow moments later an nrrow struck flro lu tho rondway bo sido them. Then, ns Mead reached down for a revolver, tho girl uttered a low cry. There was tho fort, lens thau n mllo away, its bare walls looming gray In tho dlstnncc. Together thoy spurred the straining beast beneath them down tho long in-cllno, in-cllno, whllo nrrows and an occasional bullet whirred nnd swig nbout them. Thoy could hear now tho quick breath of tho tired horses behind them, tho triumphant tri-umphant shouts, tho beat of stinging thongs upon n dozen hnunches. Now enmo tho short up-hill stretch to tho fort, n little more thnn a quarter of n mllo awny, but tho exhausted mustang shivered with each bound up tho ascent, his reach growing shorter, his pace slower. slow-er. Two nrrows struck him nlmost nt tho samo Instant, nnd liw fell heavily. Dut Mead hnd Jumped clear, carrying tho girl with him. They wero on their feet quickly. "Ilun!" he called. His first shot rang out, and nn Indian trailed from the snd-die. snd-die. Others went down beforo his stendy aim as ho ran backward up tho Incline. In-cline. His left arm foil limp and the pistol droppod to tho ground. Soma ono picked It up. Some one was firing calmly calm-ly beside him. Tho horses wero almost on them nnd tho sneering, gloating, painted faces, when ho heard vaguely u rumbling, many-voiced cheer behind him, then tho foremost Indians looked beyond him and wheeled suddenly unci dashed down tho hill In scattering confusion. con-fusion. A fow days later a man, his arm still In n sling, rodo down the hill from Fort Union. A girl rodo beside him. The man looked nt her furtively now nnd then nnd his rugged fnco showed cm barrassmont. "Say," ho said nt last, "I've got a red-colored red-colored temper. I'm menn, I nm." "Huh!" she answered, sturlng nt the trail. Tho man hosltnted fpr n moment "I've got $11.17 exnet," ho remarked Tho girl did not chango her position Tho man was silent for n moment oi two. "Whoro'ro yo hendln' fer?" ho asked with something like a sigh. Sho turned and looked nt him, o smile quivering about her full lips. "Whoro'ro you-all goln'?" sho asked monnlngly. Tho two horses came closo together nnd stopped short to the tug of thelj bridles. After n tlmo thoy went on onco more. "Whnt'll yer dad say?" asked tho man "Dnd," returned tho girl, patting hor mustnng's neck caressingly, "ho weren't good fer much, tho' ho meant right, dad did. Ef he's nllvo, ho'll Jest go off 'botif Is business." "Say," cried tho man, a thought suddenly sud-denly striking him. "Whut's yer name?" "Annlo," sho said, |
