The Red Cloud chief., 1907-11-22

waru her ana spoke roughly:
WHAT
Then he paused and stammered in q
strangely altered and unnatural voice
"YaSS'm. I'm the Waterman"
She noted two other darklcs ut work
below and was vaguely surprised. not
so much at their presence, as at the
ANN in which they moved. for they
seemed under stress of some great
haste. running hithcr and yon. She
saw horses standing In the trail and
sensed something lndeflnably odd and
alarming in the air. Turning to the
man she opened her mouth to speak,
when from the rank grass under her
feet came Il noise which set her a
tinglc and at which her suspicious
lcapcd full to the solution. II wa the
groan OF n man. Again he gave voice
to his pain, and she knew that she
stood face to face with something sin
lister. Tales of SluiCe robbers had come
to her and rumorS OF the daring raids
Into which men were lured by the vel.
low sheen, aud yet this was Incredible.
\ hundred men lay within sound of her
voice. She could hear their laughter.
One WAS whistIing II popular refrain.
A quarter mile away ON every hand
were other camps. A scream from her
would bring them all. Nonsense, this
was no sluiCe robbery. ana then the
man in the bushes below moancd for
the third time.
"What is that?' she said.
without reply the . lowered the
muzZlc of his rifle till it covered her
breast, and at the same time she heard
the double click of the hammer.
keep stu aud don't move" he
warned. Were desperate, and we
can't take any chances, miss"
ooh. you are stealing the gold
She was wildly frightened, yes stood
still while the lookout anXiously d.
vidcd his attention between her and
the tents above until his companions
signalcd him that they were through
and the horses were loaded. Then he
spoke:
II don't know what to do with you.
but / guess I'll tic you up"
"What!' she said.
"I'm going to tie and gag you 80 you
can't hOller."
Oh. don't you dare" she cricd fierce.
ly. I'll stand right here till you've
gone, and | won't scream. | promise"
She looked up ut him appculingly. at
which he dipped his head. So that she
caught only Il glimpse of his face, and
then backed away.
".All right. Don't try It because I'll
be hidden In those bushes yonder at
the bend. and I'll keep you covered till
the Others are gone" He leapcd down
the bank, ran To the cavalcadc. mount
ed quickly, and the three dashed their
horses into n run. disappearing up the
trail arounc the sharp curve. She
heard the blows of their quirts us they
whipped the pack horses.
They were long out of sight before
the girl moved or made sound. al
though she knew that none of the three
had paused at the bend. She only
stood and gnzcd, for as they gallopcd
of she had heard the scrap OF Il broken
sentence. 1t was but one excited
word sounding through the rattle of
hoofS her namC-"IIclcn," and
yet because of ii she did not voice the
alarm. but rather began 10 piece to-
gcthcr bit by bit the strange points of
this adventure. She recalled the out
lines of her Captor with Il wrinkle Of
~pcrplcNity. Her fright disappeared en-
tircly. giving place to intense excite
ment. NO, no: il can't bc. And yet |
wonder If ii is she cried. "Oh, I
wonder If it could be-
She opened her lips To cry aloud, then
heSitatcd. She started toward the
tents. then paused. ana for many mo.
mentS after the hoof beats had died
out she stayed undecided. Surely she
wished To give the signal. To force the
fierce pursuit, What meant this rob
berry. this defiance Of the law, of her
uncle's edicts and of Mcnamara? They
were common thieves, criminals, out
laws, these men. deserving punish
mcnt, and yet she recalled n darker
night. when she herself had sobbcd
II uuiycred with the terrors of Dur-
suit and two men had shielded her
with their bodies.
She turned and sped toward the
tents, bursting in through the canvas
door. Instantly every man rose to his
feet at sight of her pallid face, her
flashing eyes and rumpled hair.
"Sluice robbers" she cried breath
lessly. Quick! 4 holdup! The watch,
man Is hurt!'
A roar shook the night air, and the
men poured out past her, while the
day shift came tumblinG forth from
every quarter in various stages of un.