Show t bif westhill we baars chaiten continued 14 an ill bet you a million pesos apesos thet it if you OU got eoln an she blie spen seen you as I 1 lye ive seen you wal I 1 know what sed think of you this old world aint changed much some women may be will walte te ski skinned tined an soft eyed an sweet voiced an high but they all like to see a man I 1 1 gene heres your game let doncarlos don carlos come along be civil if he an aa his gang are hungry feed era em take even a little overbear ln tn Greaser talk bo be blind it if he wants his gang to steal so methin let him think the women hev llev misled down to the ranch but if he says youre alyin if he be as much as looks round to see the women jest jump him same as you jumped pat howe tie ale an Mon Monty tyll 11 hang back for fer thet an it if your strong bluff dont go eo through it if the dons gang bang even evea thinks of fl ashin guns then well open up au an all I 1 got ta say Is it if them thein greasers stand tor for real gunplay be sure fust I 1 ever seen nets there are white men in that rang gang said eald stewart shore but me an Mon Monty tyll 11 be th chinkin inkin of thet it if they start tiny any thin liev hev to be shore quick all right nels kela old friend and thanks replied stewart nels acla returned to the comp campfire fire and stewart resumed his silent guard guests sat talking in low voices until a late lata hour the incident now began to take on the nature of helens long yearned for adventure some of the party even grew merry in a subdued way then gra gradually dutilly one by on one ethey they dived and went to bed to keep from thinking of stewart and the burning anger he ha had caused her to feel for herself madeline tried to keep keel her mind on an other things but thought of him recurred and each time there was a hot commotion in her breast hard to stifle intelligent reasoning seemed out of her power in the daylight it had been possible for her to be oblivious to stewarts deceit after the moment of its realization at night however la in the strange silence and hovering shadows of gloom with the speaking stars seeming to call to her with the moan of the wind in the pines and the melancholy mourn of coyotes in the distance she was not able to govern her thought and emotion she had inadvertently heard nets conversation con ers atlon with stewart she had listened hoping to hear some good news or to lo hear the worst she had learned both and moreover enlighten anent on one point of stewarts complex motives he wished willied to spare her any sight that might offend frighten or als disgust her yet vet this stewart who showed a fineness of feeling that might have been wanting even in ili boyd hervey harvey maintained a secret rendezvous with that pretty abandoned bonita here always the hot shame like a live stinging internal fire abruptly ended thought the hours wore on and at length as the stars legan began to pale and there was no sound whatever she fell asleep she was called out of her slumber day ay hall had broken bright and cool the sun un was still below the eastern crags ambrose with several other cowboys bad brought up buckets of spring water and hot coffee find and cakes party appeared to be none the worse tor for the nights experience indeed the meager breakfast might have been as merrily partaken partaker par taken of as it was hungrily had not ambrose enjoined silence hence expecting company down below he said this information and the summary wanner in which the cowboys soon led 4 L 0 so f romlea promise not to make any dolse replied madeline Madell nn the ahe party higher up among the ruined of rock caused a recurrence of anxiety madeline insisted on not going beyond a projection of cliff from which she could see directly down into the camp ambrose do you really think the guerrillas will come she asked sure we know nets just rode in and said they were on their way up miss hammond can I 1 trust you you wont let out a squeal it if theres a fight down there stewart told me to we you out of sigild or keep you from lookin 11 1 I promise not to make any noise replied Hadel madeline lne Madel madeline lne ii arranged ranged her coat so 0 o that lidle lif could lie im odou it and etues down awn A romance by banc grey Cop night by harper and brothers brother to watt wait developments level blits there came a slight rattling off of stones in tho cicur rear she turned to see helen sliding down a bank with a perplexed and troubled cowboy ambrose sternly and hero heio leally prepared to carry her back to the hie others ile he laid hold of her la in a fury cury with eyes blazing helen whispered let go bt met majesty what does this fool mean madeline laughed she knew helen and had marked the whisper when or helen would have spoken imperiously sly ly and not low madeline explained to her the exigency of the situation 1 I might run but ill never scream sold bald helen with that ambrose had to be content to let her stay however he found her a place somewhat farther hack back from Madell nes position where he said there was less danger of her being seen then he sternly bound her to silence tarried it a moment to comfort christine his wife acting us as mald to the ladled ladle 3 and returned to where madeline lay concealed ile he had been there scarcely a moment when he whispered 1 I hear bosses the guerrillas are hiding place was well protected from possible discovery from below she could peep over a kind of ef parapet through an opening in the tips of the pines that readied reached up to the cliff ell frand and obtain a commanding view of the camp circle and its ita immediate surroundings she could not however see far either to right or left of the camp owing to the obstructing foliage presently the sound of horses hoofs quickened the beat of her pulse and caused her to turn keener saze gaze upon the cowboys below although she had some inkling of the course stewart and his men were wera to pursue she was wag not by any means prepared tor for the indifference she saw frank was asleep or pretended to be ba three cowboys were lazily and unconcernedly cern edly attending to campfire duties such as baking biscuits watching the ovens and washing tins and pots the elaborate set of aluminum plates cups etc together with the other c camp i t in p fixtures that had done service f for 0 r made mada lines hues party had disappeared nick steele sat with his back to a log smoking his pipe another cowboy had just brought the horses closer into camp where they stood waiting to be saddled nets nels appeared to be fussing over a pock stewart was rolling a cigarette monty had apparently nothing to do for the present except whistle which he was doing much more loudly than melodiously the tha whole ensemble gave an Impress impression lorl of careless cai elesa indifference the sound of 1 hoofs grew louder and slowed ili beat one of the cowboys pointed do n the trail toward which several of ill lili comrades turned their head tor for a vi i ment alent then went on with their occur eions presently a ahn y dusty horse bearing bearin a lean ragged cil dark rider rodo rode into the camp and halted lial ted another followed and another horses with mexican riders came in single file and stopped behind the leader buenos dias senor ceremoniously said the foremost guerrilla by straining her earn eara madeline heard that voice and she recognized it as belonging to don carlos stewart siewart answered the greeting in Span spanish ibb and waving his hand toward the campfire campf lre added la in english get down and eat th the I 1 guerrillas were anything but slow la in complying cimpl ing they crowded to the fire then spread in a little circle and squatted upon the ground laying their weapons beside them the cowboys were not cordial in their reception of this visit but they were hospitable pi table the law of the desert had always been to give food and drink to wayfaring men whether lost or hunted or hunting they appear to be friendly enough whispered madeline ambrose tell me explain to me the real thing sure gene thinks after you ladles ladies to carry you oft off but bill gene oh denes some highfalutin in his ideas lately most of us boys think the guerrillas are out to rob all whatever might have been the secret motive of don carlos and his men they did not allow it to interfere with a hearty appreciation of a generous amount of food then as each and every one began coroll to roll and smoke the inevitable cigarette of the mexican there was a subtle change in manner they smoked and looked about the camp off into the woods up at the crags and back atthe at the leisurely cowboys they had the air of men waiting afo aitor something senor began don carlos addressing stewart As he spoke he swept his bis sombrero to indicate tile the camp circle madeline could not distinguish his bis words but his gesture plainly indicated a question in regard to the rest of the camping party stewarts Ste reply and the wave of his hand down the trail meant that his bis party had gone home stewart turned to some task and the guerrilla leader quietly smoked he looked cunning end and thoughtful presently a 0 big boned man with 1 a I bullet bead headland und a blistered red face of evil coarseness got up and threw away hla his cigarette he was wa an american hey cull he ha called in loud voice abbt sit alt ye coln to cough up a drink 7 my boys dont carry liquor on the trail replied stewart St ewait ilaw haw haw I 1 I 1 I 1 lacerd over in rodeo thet ye was ins gittin to be shore some ter fer temperance said this fellow 1 I linte hate to drink water but I 1 guess ive gotter do it Us ue went vent to the spring sprawled down to drink and 1 all ot of a sudden lie he thrust his hia arm down in the water to bring forth foith a basket the tha cowboys la in the hurry of packing hod had neglected to re remove this basket and it contained bottles of wine and liquors for guests they had been submerged in ili the spring to keep them cold the guerrilla tumbled fumbled with the lid ild opened it and then got up uttering a loud roar of bf delight stewart made an almost imperceptible motion as if to leap forward but lie checked the impulse guess my party forgot that youre welcome to it like bees the guerrillas swarmed around the lucky finder of the tha bottles the drink did not last long and it served only to liberate the spirit of I 1 like bees the th guerrillas swarmed around the lucky finder of the th bottles recklessness the several white outlaws vegan b egan to prowl around the camp some of the mexicans did dad likewise others waited showing by their ill concealed expectancy tile nature of their thoughts rt it was the demeanor of oc stewart and ills comrades that puzzled madeline apparently they felt no anxiety or even particular interest intel est don carlos who had been covertly watching them now made his scrutiny open even aggressive the guerrilla leader seemed undecided budnot in any sense puzzled in her growing excitement madeline had not clearly heard ambrosej Am broses low whispers and she ronde made on an effort to distract some of her attention from those below to the cowboy crouching beside her the quality the note of ambrosej Am broses whisper had changed it had a slight sibilant sound dont be mad if sudden like I 1 clap my hands over your eyes miss hilm mond 11 he be was saying So brewin below I 1 never seen gene so cool a dangerous sign in him and look see how the boys boya are tog together etherl 1 oh its slow and acel acci dent like but I 1 know its lt sure not it accident C that foxy greaser knows too but maybe his men dont it if they are wise they sense enough to care the don though hes worried its nels and monty hes wa watch achin ln and well he be need do it I 1 there nick and franl frank have settled down aown on that log with they dont seem to be guns but look how heavy their vests hang bang A gun in each side I 1 those boys can pull a gun and flop over that log quicker than you can think do you notice how nets nela and monty and gene are square between them guerrillas and the trail up here it seem on purpose pui pose but it Is look at nels and monty how quiet they are together paying no attention to the guerrillas I 1 see monty look at gene then I 1 see sec nets nela look at gene well its up to gene and coln to back lian I 1 reckon miss hammond ammond II be dead greasers round that camp long ago it if nets nels and monty were footloose foot loose behold beholden ln to gene plain and lord loidl I 1 how it tickles me to watch them I 1 both two forty laves butts sw ingin clear theres twenty four shots in them four guns and theres twenty three guerrillas it if nets nels and monty ever throw guns at that close range why before know what was up be a pile of greasers therel there I 1 stewart said sald something to the don I 1 wonder what ill gamble it was something to get the dons outfit all close together surel sure I 1 greasers have no sense but them white guerrillas dodkin some borne dubious what evers comin ort off will come coma soon you can bet I 1 wish I 1 was down there but rilay maybe bil it wont come to a scrape scrap stewarts set on avo ldla that iles hes a wonderful chap to get hla his way lord though rd id like to see him go after that Grea greaser serl I 1 seel the don DM cant stolid prosperity all this strange behavior of cowboys Is 13 beyond his pulque soaked brains then hes het a greaser if gene knock him on tile tha bead pre landy hell bau begin to 16 set get over his scare even of nets nels will and monty nut but gerk 11 III II pick out the right time never neer saw nets nels in but one fight then he just shot a greasers arin aim off for bryin to draw on him but ive heard all about lilia blin and monty I 1 the real old fashioned gun ann ill n what I 1 dont understand Is how monty leeps keeps so quiet and easy anil and peaceful like not his way with such oil an outfit lookin for trouble oila 0 lia I 1 now for the grand bluff looks like no light fight nt all I 1 the guerrilla leafier leader had ceased hla his restless steps and glances glan cei and turned to stewart stew art with something of bold in ills aspect gracyas Gra clas senor lie he said adelos 11 lie ile swept ills sombrero in the direction of the troll trail leading down the mount mountain atil to the ranch and as he completed the gesture a smile crafty and jeering crossed his swarthy inee face ambrose Aro biose whispered so low that madeline scarcely heard him if the greaser roes goes chrit way hell fiad and our horses and get to the trick oh ob hes wise now I 1 but ill gamble lie he never even eten starts on that trail neither hurriedly nor guardedly stewart rose out of ills his lenning leaning posture and took a couple of long strides toward don carlos carloa go do back the way you came lie be fairly yelled celled and his voice had the ring of A bugle buele ambrose nudged madeline his whisper was tense and rapid dont dodt miss genes called him what evers comin off will bebbere be here quick as see I 1 I 1 guess maybe that greaser dont savvy good U 3 lingo look at that dirty face turn green put one on eyo eye on nels and monty 1 great just to see em cm just as quiet and easy but oh ob tha differ difference encel 1 bent and nd stiff that means every muscle Is like a rawhide rinta wat witch chin ln with eyes that can see ee the of them greasers minds now there aint a boss hair between them greasers and h 1 11 I 1 don carlos gave stewart one long malignant stare then he threw back his head bead swept up the sombrero and his evil ell smile allowed gleaming teeth senor he began with magnificent bound stewart was upon him hilll the guerrillas cry was throttled in his throat A alerre wrestling ensued too swift to see lee clearly then heavy sodden blows and don carlos was beaten to the tha ground stewart leaped back then crouching with his hands on the butts of guns at his hips he yelled lr lie thun dered 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