Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1906-11-16
CHATTER XII.


angry bee, fed over US. l ducked my
head at the sound; but give myself the
credit Of saying that poked it up again
the next moment.
MAY the fend grip him, but he has
q Mauser pistolP' cried Reski, and saw
that the weapon In his own hand was
Of the common bulldog make. "At this
range l can do nothing against him."
He dashed his horses, and they plunged
CALAMITY forward. / could see that Mar
nae had stopped his sleigh and was cud-
ding his weapon with a perfect cool,
ness Even at that distance seemed
to feel the goggling murder in his eyes.
Zip Eipl He had missed again!
Thungl l saw one of the galloping
horses stagger, and then his head and
shoulders seemed to fall away, as If he
had dropped forward into hole. There
was a humping and a twisting wrench,
the snow by the roadside seemed to
spring up At me, and the next instant l
was struggling in cold. binding darkness.
wriggled out from the drift, gasp
ing, with the fakes In my mouth and
eyes. The sleigh was twisted across the
road, half covering the dead horse The
other two had scrambled to their feet
and now stood shivering, with dropping
heads. The fall had knocked the heart
clean out Of them. Reski lay beside
them, huddled where he had fallen
Eighty yards away Marnac had stopped
and was watching US. He seemed salts
fed with what he saw, for presently he
, turned and, lashing his team, trotted on
down the road.
don't suppose it was more than a
couple Of minutes before Reski came
round, though it seemed long enough to
me. He had got a nasty thump on the
head, but as a matter of fact his wrist
turned out to be the more serious bust
ness, being very badly sprained indeed.
made sling out of a neck wrap and
fixed him up as well as was able. The
man had q remarkable vitality, besides
brute courage, for, the moment l had
finished, he walked over and examined
the sleigh.
1t looked hopeless enough. One of the
runners had been torn almost clean away,
and the central part was badly cracked.
The body of the poor lad Ivan lay on its
back In the roadway, staring up at the
sky. l threw a rug over it.
well, we can't go on, that's certain, -
said.
mot In the sleigh, mein Herr" he
answered calmly.
"And how else2'
''Thers are the horses, one for each.
When you have freed them of their har.
ness, viii ask you to assist me to
mount"
There was no good arguing with him,
and / was ashamed to seem less eager
than a man in his crippled condition.
With his clasp knife / cut the twisted
traces away and freed them Of their
collars. At his direction l dragged the
body Of Ivan into the sleigh and left him
there decently covered.
Reski mounted from the stump Of a
tree, to which led the stronger Of the
pair. l was a fairly good rider, but l
was excessively stiff from my long drive,
and not little shaken by my fall. My
beast seemed to have the sharpest knife
bone Of a back that Nature ever gave
to hOrsetiesh. But, after all. there was
nothing to be gained by grumbling. Per
haps | was growing wiser by painful ex-
perience.
A curious pair we must have looked
that morning. Reski, with his arm in a
sling, and the butt Of his revolver peep
ing from his waist belt, would have made
as good a stage brigand as need be. For
myself, l was In too much Of immediate
pain from the jOlting trot of the brute
code to carry a formidable appearance.
could never have imagined that
horse lived with such adamantine fet-
locks as mine seemed to possess.
have no exact record of the time.
but should imagine that it was about
half an hour later that we sighted Mar.
nae again. He was then a good three
quarters Of a mile ahead, but travelling
leisurely, Also, l was very glad to no.
tice that we were free of the waste lands.
and that the spire of a church was pok-
ing out amongst some poplars ahead of
him. He would never dare to use his
revolver a second time when men were
about. Also, we might procure another
sleigh and team.
Reski sent his heels into his horse. and
we quickened our pace, though the Door
brutes were getting very done and drove
heavily along with hanging heads. 1t
was about then that noticed a man be-
hind US.
We were topping a slight rise when 1
looked round. He was then some dis
lance In our rear, but coming up fast. As
far as l could make out, he was In a sort
OF uniform and well mounted. The DOS
Sibility Of official help was very pleas
ant.
We were gaining on Marnac, who had
not yet noticed US.
With kicks and curses from Resli. and
the application Of a hazel branch from
myself, we had squeezed a NUMBERING
Eallop out Of our horses The sleigh was
not more than one hundred yards AWAY.
Resh gripped his reins In his teeth and
drew his revolver.
stop, therel Stop, say, in the name
Of the lawP'
1t was the man from behind who hall
ed us, but we rode on.
stop, or I freP'
pulled up. don't think II was very
eowardly when you think of 1t. Besides,
] was anxious to explain.
Resh rode on.
The man who had shouted flashed By
me, travelling at an easy gallop. He was
dressed In a neat green uniform and
carried drawn revolver.
Reski rode on.
Il was all over in a moment. The
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