The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-05-09
CHAPTER ".


CHAPTER ".
NwEcH THE CATTLE ARE sTAMPEDED BY
LoRENA' GANG.
I had not an idea as to SPIDER prob
able whereabouts. The desert was so
very large and Spider so very minute a
speck upon it's surface that itstruck me
after we had started out that our quest
was singularly hopeless ore. Lee.
however. differed from me-
ssI don't see no trouble IN KNOWN
where ter go. he said. 'sPug Hollis,
he'll be prutty sure ter strike lords
Aqua Caliente. an Spider'll sure be in
his wake. All we got ter do is ter go
ter Aqua Caliente, too; that's all. If
anything's wrong an that kids alive.
he'll be maxim some noise er other ter
let US know. He's a star at maxim a
noise, Spider IS. It's right in his line :"
By this time we were we'll away from
the camp, out Of sight of the fire. But
for the pole star that Lung burning
brightly over our heads I would not
have had the faintest notion of the di-
rection in which we were going. But
Lee, with the plainsman's unerring In
stinct, loped steadily along without
ever raising his eyes Lee vas not a
talkative person. The only sound that
broke the oppressive stiffness was the
dismal yelp of distant coyote, the
smothered pad Of the hoofs of our
mounts as they fell on the soft sand
and the regular click of the spur chains
against our heavy wooden stirrups.
Only once did Lee speak
4.Moen s comm up See? That's fine.
C'n tell what we're doin now. He
pointed to silvery sheen on tie dark
blue horizon, into which few minutes
later the full moon climbed. streaking
the rolling surface of the desert with
bright light and blacklist shadow and
silyering the stately forms of the tree
cactus that studded the desert thickly.
A faint white lire a mile ahead marked
the course of a trail, toward which. by
tacit consent, we turned our horses.
Suddenly Lee held up his hand as a
signal that should listen, AT first !
could hear nothing. Then, sounding
faint in the distance. there came three
pops of a pistol
4sThat's him-somebody what wants
help, anyhow, called Lee cover be.
yon' the rise, thar, they are. We en- SEQ
from the top Les hustle-quick!" !"
Putting spurs to our horses, we soon
were climbing long, stony ridge that
for miles divided the plain. concealing
one half from the other.
Our horses stopped of their own ac-
cord as they reached the top At first
we could see nothing Then my atten-
tion was attracted by moving blot
near the edge of the black shadow
thrown by the ridge. AS we locked the
blot passed out Of the shadow and was
at once defined as bunch of cattle
driven by three horsemen toward Aqua
Caliente. Who these men were we
could not tell at that distance. but they
were not Of our force, and one Of them,
from the peaked crown Of his hat. was
probably Mexican. They We're driving
the cattle rapidly. One of the men stop
ped, and, turning, looked intently IN
the direction from which he had come.
One of his companions came back and
joined him. Then, after a moment. they
both wheeled and galloped back to the
herd. where the third man seemed anx-
iously to await them. Evidently the
three we're uneasy about something.
s.They think somebody is a-follsrin
'em, said Lee softly in my ear. They
were not far from the truth if they did
think so. A horsenan emerged from the
shadow, and the brilliant moonlight fell
on the diminutive form and bright.
new chaps Of Spider.
- The men saw Spider nearly as soon as
I. Two of them at once pulled up their
horses and stopped, evidently intending
to bar the way. Spider stopped also
The men rode on. and Spider followed,
preserving his distance unchanged
They repeated this naneuver two or
three times until at last the man with
the Mexican hat lost his temper. He
turned suddenly and Garted after Spider
at the full speed Of his horse
Firing three quick shots at hia pur-
suer. Spider whirled about. and. with
yell of delight vanished into the shad-
-<S~S.r~~> 49,
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