The Ely miner., 1912-03-08
CHAPTER xxxIv.-(continued1

Eight hosses in thar" he an,
nounced soberly; then turned to
Keith. Say, Jack, what do you figure
this shebang to be. anyhow? You
don't reckon it's old Sanchezs outfit,
do yer?"
Likely as not, Joe. though l never
saw him around here"
Joe filled his cheek with tobacco,
staring about through the darkness.
We'll. If that oil cuss is yere now
we'uns is sure in fer fight" he COM
mented positively.
They rounded the corral fence on
hands and knees, crawled into bunch
of bushes somewhat to the rear of the
silent. desolate-appearing cabin. and
lay down fiat behind a pile of saddles,
from which position they could plain
ly discern the rear door.
Had their camp over there in the
corner of the corral when | was here
before" he said in whisper. Where
do you suppose they can be now?"
The wary scout lifted his head,
shifting into the darkness like a point
er dog.
West O ther cabin thar, out O. ther
wind. most likeIf | smell tobacco"
Even as the wuiTrs left his lips a
man came sauntering slowly around
the eastern corner, his outlines barely
visible, but the red glow of a pipe
bowl showing plainly. He stopped, d.
rectly facing them, yawning sleepily,
and then turned the other corner.
Another moment and they distinctly
heard voice:
Hustle up thar now, Manuel, an
turn out; it's your watch; wake up,
dam yer-maybe that'll bring yet ter
life"
TIE remedy applied to the sleeper
must have been efficacious, as, an in
stant later, another figure slouched
into view. the new arrival rubbing
his eyes with one hand, the other
clutching short-barrelled gun. From
the high peak of his hat it was evil
dent this new guard was a Mexican.
He walked to the corner, glanced
along the east side wall toward the
front Of the cabin, and then, apparent
ly satisfied the coast was clear, start
ed toward the stream. shutting along
within q foot of where Keith lay fiat
on the ground A moment later the men
heard him splashing softly in the wa
ter. and Keith rolled over. his lips
at Bristoe's ear.
slip down there, Ben," he whis-
pered. 'and quiet that fellow. I'll find
out how many are on the west side.
Do the job without any noise"
He waited until the scout had dis
appeared like a snake. not even a
rustling leaf telling of his passage.
and then silently crept forward nim-
self, yet with less caution. until he
was able to peer about the corner OF
the cabin and dimly distinguish the
blanketed forms of several men lying
close in against the side wall. They
rested so nearly together 1t was diff
cult to separate them in that dark
ness, stars giving the only light. but
he finally determined their number at
five Five; the Mexican would make
six, and there would surely be another
guard posted out N the front-seven.
But there were eight horses down
there in the corral Then the eighth
man-Hawley, without doubt-must
be in the cabin. At the thought
Keith's teeth clinched, and he had to
struggle to control his passion. But
no; that would never do; he must dis
cover first exactly where the girl was
located: after that they would attend
to the ours. Before creeping back to
the others, he made quick examina-
ton along the rear of the cabin. but
could find no visible point of weak
ness. He tried to recall from memory
the nature Of the lock on that back
door, but could remember nothing ex-
cept an ordinary wooden latch. II
hs could insert a knife into the crscs