The herald., 1913-01-16
A Companionable
Girl
By EDGAR L. THOMPSON

one III WIN S4.VOO III Il man VIM udu
Just opened a store in a settlement OF
the Pecos river.
had about fifty miles TO go, Travelled
on horseback and, OF course. carried II
AZ caliber revolver at my hip took .
snack with me. but ate it up before IL
o'clock. About in the afternoon |
passed house where there were lot
OF horses tied 10 posts before the door
Thinking 1 might get a dinner, | rode
up to the door and called out:
Hello, therew
| heard COmmotiOn inside, and
pretty soon man came 10 the door
some one if necessary, and | noticed
he held his right hand behind him. SO
that he could have easily drawn on me
He asked what ! wanted, and when |
told him he said there were a little salt
pork and corn pOne in the house that !
could have il could worry them down
l dismOunted, went in and found an
other man and q girl apparently about
twenty years old. They gave me the
eatables, and when l had finished my
meal one of the men asked me where /
was going. l told him. and after a con
ference with the others he came TO me
and said
"NeighbOr, would you mind helpin' a
gal through on the way you're gOinE'
I'D be very glad to do So" | replied
"Well, Mol. you'd better go with
him. and you'd better take two of the
horses with you. We won't need EN-
You wouldn't mind leadin' 'em, would
you?"
Not n bit" said Mol.
We'd been on the road together about
an hour when we heard a distant clat-
ter of horses boots behind us. Mol
looked at me. frightened. | asked her
what scared her. and she said ne was
afraid road agents were coming. AT
the same time she turned her horses
head into q thicket beside the road
| followed her, and after riding a few
hundred yards from the road she stop
ped. We listened and failed to hear
the footballs. Mol looked awfully
scared and said she believed whoever
she had heard behind US had seen us
turn into the wood and were following
us and that the reason they made no
sound was because they were riding on
the turf.
] thought of the thousand dollars !
carried. and, thinking q girl might be
better able 10 keep it from men. | told
her | had money with me and asked
her II she could conceal II on her per
son for me till the danger had passed
She was too frightened TO reply ut
once. but when / got her attention she
took the bills and crammed them into
her bosom. / was much pleased. for
felt that they were safer there from
men than on me.
1t was soon evident that some per,
son, or rather persons. were after us.
for we heard them near us in the wood.
but we were in depression. with the
bushes thick between us and them. and.
although we got glimpses Of them
they didn't find us. Our great fear
was that one Of the horses would be-
tray us by a whinny. but fortunately
we escaped that, and in time our pur-
suers gave up hunting for US in that
vicinity. We heard man call to an
other, We've come too far; they turn
ed In farther back" Then we heard
them so in the direction from which
we had come.
The girl. taking the lead, started up
and made for the road farther on.
following. But when she reached 1t
she kept on the turf. I was astonish-
ed at the energy and foresight she
displayed. She chung to the led horses.
though occasionally when fearful Of
being overhauled she showed signs OF
turning them adrift. Finally, hearing
approaching hoof beats on the road In
the direction we were going. she let
the horses go, striking them with her
whip. and they made of into the wood.
This done, she modulated her gait,
and we rode on at a slow canter. We
met a man driving a team. and | ex-
pected Moll would warn him OF the
road agents ahead Of him. but she
didn't. and we went on till he had
passed out OF hearing, when she be-
gan to lash her horse like a fury. |
spurred my own mount to do his best.
but 1t was soon evident that he could
not keep up with hers, and the first
thing | knew he stumbled and fell.
throwing me over his head on the turf
beside the road.
heard the road agents coming. but
I could now do nothing to escape them.
Indeed, 1t wasn't necessary since Mol
had gone on with the money, at which
was much pleased. as I considered
II saved. When our pursuers-three
men-came up to me recognized
one of the customers OF the bank
where I was employed. and he recog-
nized me. He told me that they were
after horse thieves, and when / told
him my experience he pronounced my
friend Mol one Of them. The look on
my face startled the party, and when
they asked for an explanation l told
them that Moll had the banks thou,
sand dollars.
One Of the men went after the led
horses Moll had let go, while the other
two went on after Mol. Had my
horse not stumbled | would not have
been in a position to inform the pur.
suers Of the direction she had taken
and the money had given her for