Show lip ROB R R AUML goo lip uy 6 LAN goal Z d 0 R ae I 1 P ar CHAPTER IX continued 11 some time during the night he was awakened As tie lie lay there eyes open a soft hand touched his cheek and a whisper brought him film wide awoke awake transfixed and thrilling jim I 1 wake up it to Is V L helen knelt beside him jim sat oat up with a violent start you youl I 1 what la Is it flais that devil h dushl not so loud nothing has happened 4 but I 1 could nt steep slee and I 1 must talk to you or go out of my my mind in the starlight tier her face had the some same pearl white tint as the clouds all right talk but bui its risky he whispered huskily his hand band rested upon the blanket slie she bent lower so BO tant her face was closer and fhe she could whisper very soft softly lk first I 1 want to tell you how cruelly it has come home to no me my Ign ignorance orande my failure to believe belleve and trust you even after you soso sobo rudely insulted me that day up on the mountain trait trail it if I 1 had only had faith in you then I 1 its itle too late but I 1 want you to know I 1 have the faith now only the fear and the suspense are wearing me out but you tire are well all right still ile harmed you helen I 1 0 o no he be has hag not harmed me and I 1 am not ill 11 im fro losing lean flesh because I 1 cant eat cat but noth noih ing lately I 1 dont sleep because im horribly afraid he will come and smother mo ino or choke meso I 1 cont cant cry out ive slept some in the day daytime dine jim the thing Is I 1 cant stand it much longer I 1 think I 1 frightened him but I 1 can seel see seo l 1 can call feel oh jim for G ds saka bake to do something to end this horror she leaned or fell forward in the weakness of the lie moment tier her head against him lie ile stroked it gently tits his reaction na its far from that pas slonnie and mocking embrace at star ranch as could have been pos sible helen dont give up he replied you have been brave and it has gone botter better than we could hope only a little while longer I 1 we might steal awny away knowlt now yes ive thought of that nut bill only to get bet lost und starve or die of thirst in these brokes brakes that almost would he be better for nse me if you cant stick it 11 out well plan and cosay tomorrow night we must have food horses hersca i its ita only honest though to tell you yet the hie chances ore are a hundred to one against us ua weve got nn an oven even break it if wo we wait how flow can you think that this gang la Is about ready to go up in smoke therell be a terrible tight fight flays surely will be killed and just as surely more than ho he that will leave a proposition I 1 can handle without risk to you ryen ilven then still have to und find a way out of this awful place yes hut bill id have time and I 1 helen trust me ine its the best beat plan it if you take me hark back to my brother ill give you the ransom pont dont insult me he replied bitterly terl y at that she drew up tip suddenly and threw tier her hair hilr back bach from her face forgive mo me 4 you see ace I 1 have lost my thid tant never occurred to me before cut but ill reward you in some way to have saved you will be nil all the reward I 1 ash and more diore than I 1 deserve you have forgotten that I 1 coveyou lov eyou 1 avs aval l had andi slip she whispered tier her great eyes studied him in th thester chestar estar light as tt it the fact had a vastly different significance here than it lini w nt at star ranch much 4 sll 11 1 lenly she stiffened ened over tier her shoulder a hou I 1 ll er jims eye was arrested by a 0 glint of stor starlight light upon a bright object on the ground above and behind tt it a shape than ill the dark background gradually took the outline of a man on hands and kneel cold terror assal assailed led jim wall despite tits his iron nerve that crawling upon them with a gun in his q liand 1 1 1 A bursting 1 i t i r s tang tide of blood through jims velna veins paralle paralleled lod the it lightning lush flash of ills his thoughts death for fornoth both of them was terribly close ills gun was under his pillow helen knelt between him and the robber A move of even the slightest kind would be fatal cunning must take precedence ot of athlon its hays flays lie ho whispered scarcely audibly bly follow menow then exerting nit all ills his will to speak naturally he said aloud no miss I 1 I 1 errick im sorry but I 1 cant you I 1 dont approve of hays kid coping yeli but its done and im a member ot of ills hand band I 1 would riot not ot of going against him let alone trying to run off with drw there was a 4 tense silence fraught THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING jim wall young cowpuncher from wyoming seeks a new held field in utah ile he meets hank flank hays who tells tella him he be Is working for or an englishman tIngs n florrick derrick who has located a big ranch hays and others are plot t to 0 teal steal their employers employer cattle and money lie he and his lieutenants lieutenant ride aldo away to drive oil off the first bunch of cattle lierseman tle lies eseman seman hays flays rival among the cattle rustlers tells tell wall hays was waa once his bis Hoess mans partner and double crossed him herrick delegates jim to go to grand arand junction to meet helen fl erricks sister jim tries to impress her with the fact act that he jim Is a desperado of the worst type but the girl theata tho information lightly hays betrays unusual interest in tho the coming of miss herrick Herr lck jim finds himself falling in love with helen and a nd finally kisses her sh dismisses him but relents and asks him not to leave the ranch hays men return having sold the tha cattle and brought bark back the money A quick getaway Is imperative hays flays tells his men to go on ahead that he will join them later ue ile cornea comes with helen helan herrick herrack a captive explaining that he robbed herrick and stole etola helen for ransom neal realizing izing the girl will be worse off it if she falls into ile Heese mans roans alu clutches aches jim rides on with hank and his men heesemann Hee Ilee semans riders ar are dlag discovered in pursuit after a battle in which lat imer one of hays hay S in men n Is wounded hays leads the gang into a canyon the slobbers noh bers boost before he diem latimer tells jim and smoky slocum that hays flays ba has held out tome some of the money he stole from herrack Herr lck with much apprehension for jim would she be able to play piny up to him hanal there was just a n chance that hays had not heard any of their whispers in which case it was ivas possible to deceive htiu him helen comprehend comprehended pretended ended cd ill give you the ransom money she said quite clearly and certainly most persuasively my brother will reward you otherwise you cant bribe me ho he rejoined and I 1 advise you to try it on smoky or any of the others hays manhave may have had only money in n his mind at first but now 11 dont move lira come came h a low hard voice from the shadow helen gave a little gasp and sagged on her knees kneel jim waited a moment 1 I wont hank lie he replied then hays flays tall form loomed black above the thereso therl rise so of ground ue he strode forward it if he tui hit d sheathed hla his gun jim would have made short work of that interview but he held it halt half leveled velea le glancing darkly in the starlight the robber chief down upon jim slid and helen ills features were indistinguishable but the polso of tits his head was expressive enough still jim sensed that thai he had been misled you antl cat he declared roughly it if I 1 ketch you again agnin tr tryan yinto to bribe any of my outfit ill treat you so you wont want to go back bach to your bilby raced brother now you kit git to your tent I 1 helen rose unsteadily and vanished in the gloom allm wall you aint been with me longan long nn I 1 dont know you but im this deal to heart flays said slowly im ranch much obliged I 1 reckon youre the only man in the outfit who could of withstood thet woman no youre wrong hank smoky have listened to her and im sure the others would have stood pat pdt 11 1 my NJ y faith was near gone bats enyou in you hank youve no gall call to lose it youve about split your gaug over tilts this woman wal im not askin judgments from you or any of the outfit growled the chief gloomily all be good in an glad to git your share of the ransom the thing la is boss will we get ur lays hays made a violent move like a striking snake what you iou mean by thet thel im askin you ll 11 air you t you git yours demanded hoye no you might say I 1 was for till nil of us replied jim curtly i wal val ill kit git the outfit together no an do 10 some askin myself its a good idea it might pro pre vent the split provided you divide the money you stole from herrick ill wring thet thel white eats cats peek peck hissed thet the robber youre wrong boss bass she tell we me slie she know you jou robbed her brother sparrow con teased before he bleil alett lays swore a mighty oath au aal ile he squealed t yes to smoky an me we kept it secret until we hadbo had to tell they knew so methin was wrong all the time you kno there was something pathetic in the fallen chieftains shame and amaze ily illy tills this time lie he seemed to realize ills hla crime you see flank how your outfit lias has stood by you even in your alah I 1 I 1 IT it aint too late latreill lat eIll ill I 1 make amends he rejoined hoarsely find and stalked away in n th the darkness jim had breakfasted breal fasted lefore before the other men were up with rifle in hand lie he headed toward the western exit loneliness was paramount there was no soun donly an silence no life at alit all I 1 not a winged creature hovering over that I 1 ghastly region t hut but over this scene of at desolation slowly spread the sol cran blight or li hc atins cating blazing sun soon to mantle all in illusive copper diaze before that hour arrived jim wall val tools took tilt iii the held glass below in the hie camp the tuen men were hazll stirring to ft a late breakfast the door of le cabin was open A glint of gold the dark aperture then the tall form of flays stalked out he yawned dawned lie ile stretched wide his bis longares lon long garms aarns ills 1118 ruddy face gleamed in the glass to that sight walls calls whole being leaped by heaven 1 his bis voice rang out hays your last morning stretch k before this day done stretch fo forever reverl let his men have their hour thought jim darkly but if f they did not mete out justice austice to their chief the end was nevertheless fixed and I 1 unalterable jim settled back and stilted hlf his neld glass more from hab habit lUthan than an am semblance of the old watchfulness there was nothing to see but the stark denudation of the brakes suddenly into jims magnified ell cle of vision crept dark objects it 11 long line of them tie ile was so startled that the glass wavered out of line ile he moved it to and fro searching what could that have been an error erro 0 sight a line of cedars a conception of idle mind I 1 Tb there erel I 1 he bren breathed thed ile he had caught it again not cedars not brush but moving objects I 1 ba D heavens heaven sl I 1 he muttered am I 1 dotty horses I 1 A line of dark horses 1 ills straining eyes blurred lie he lowered the glass with shaking hands so help me it looks like ri riders deral I 1 A third time jim caught the ob ejects ile he froze the glass on them flusek horses aed an d riders with packs A bursting gush of hot blood ran nil all through him it looked like Hee heesemann semans outfit at least three miles away approaching slow ly py by a route far to the south 0 ol 01 I 1 that over which hays flays had come about three miles muttered jim coming slow lost but that wash in head into the hays flays trail if they strike that come fast fasi not no enough en 0 ugh rain yet to wash out our tra tracks acks weve not time to pac pack kand and ride out by thunder cornered oat now hank flank hays bays jim took one more straining took look no NOi hope hopel I 1 it was a big outfit and a 1 I not traveling so BO slowly either alic ie leader bestrode a black hoarse i jim in remembered that horse horsek snatching up hla rifle he slung the field glass over his shoulder and ran down off the bluff to the camp to his profound amaze he espied hays flays bound hand and toot foot with A stick behind him and through his el bows bowa the robber eat in an buncom fordable for table posture against the wood pile to in a second jim saw that hap had been gagged and his face wa so contorted by ragel that it ap feared scarcely tinman human 01 up I 1 cried jim breaking out of 0 his bewilderment hays us gave vent to an inarticulate sound but it was expressive jim wheeled to stalk under the shack hla his hand on ills his gun as if he be hall half expected heeseman to have arrived before him to his amaze miss her rick was sitting at the rude table eating breakfast A big gun that thai jim recognized as hays pr property lay conspicuously in front of her hap happy ajack jack whistling as aa us usual u was serving serving her what does tilts this meant mean demanded d jim ask ash the men she replied curtly 0 outside and below the shack sal smoky on a rock with the other standing near Maw efm drawled with a grin you see wave weve got A new chief who haag aled the bassill Ille eleckon Ile ckon I 1 did with a little help i what for ril it I 1 know our lady pals oner made me do it atsa herrick forced you to ti tip hays flays up queried jim trying to conceal his exultation 1 I 1 should shiver she did hays flays hair trigger gun cached right into my belly an says will you tie this villain an swear by bj your boner not to release him or a al low w any of these other men to do sr so or ir will you have me shoot youl ilowe she get that thai ganv gun wal vie she snatched it quick ern light nID how an when slit alit cocked it with both hands it went off batig 1 the pullet bullet went between hanks legs tickled him you can see the hole in his pants sty my gawl law you never see a qian sit s scared thet eurl curt cool as aa a cucui ber cocked the gun again un tin held lays hays up then all of us we was wac BMW at the table she made us all stand hands high an all then she performed thet little trick with hanks gun agin nay my gizzard JIM I 1 hope to die if I 1 go cold in an stiff but I 1 promised on my word of honor as a robber thet id lie ile hank up an make the other tellers fellers play square it was so runny funny too thet 1 I 1 near bust hays soon as he was helpless got over tits his scare beare an then was he mad I 1 I 1 reckon no one on this earth saw a madder man ile he cussed so terrible thet she made mcging me gag him i well ill bo be blo 1 gasped jim am no wonder we was wass wed had breakfast an hank waa was tr tryon yin to face us tellers fellers ill say became he came clean jim he divided all the money he be got from herrick derrick an his stater sister an the gold things an diamonds fellers 1 he said 1 I could lie ile an say I 1 meant to lve ive this to you later but im not built thet way I 1 double crossed you all first time in roy my life I 1 meant to keep it nil all an the ransom ter for the girl but now there wont be no ransom after fter m im not coln to give her up ashes m mine ine an I 1 can do as I 1 want in if any of you dont like itsou it you van make your kick now wal we was so plumb flabbergasted thet ve see the gurl who came dose close on the sun side of shelter she heard the whole d nl jim I 1 wish you could at 7 the thing Is floss boss will we va get it have seen her when she stepped up op 0 o hank I 1 dont know what did it 1 debbe her eyes but he shore y gilted it was then she snatched its ila gun 0 so 0 the dealt ejaculated una what are you going to dols do dont ask me I 1 gave my word in ill keep it for that matter the rest of our outfit air ter for the gurl ransom or no ransom suddenly jim |