Gunnison news-champion., 1915-07-02


sGeaos-~ she sssEnaae - ss srsu.o
70 ssss=ay aar ~silaEee-as yoo
hasrs--sr o all b. The sos-s -
yoa'~
As xeE csususaas the sea 70 81
sts voice her Gathar ragaG hss maa-
man tsa- b. xas. Tor the tsas bong
dssessea Of hss h.a5itsal a.ssk 81 srisia
hesr-sessness
And seeinz that thaFe vas no oshes
xav Of aaiafing him. the gsri turned
to the third HsaH.
Nos gimmy.- she said orssDiy-
~Into thai car-and be quick about :
and gag him"
II vaa d.. her fasher foamed. IN
have soar I5fe-"
A aoariah of her weapons gaines
instant obedience.
she stapsad up on the running board
and shot a quick searching glance
at the face OF the chauffeur
'ssralgh; ahead, my mani she said
Make for the nearest pass through
those hills wonder and don't delay
unless yog are anxious for trouble. Oh
you goi"
The car began to move. She swept
the three men in the desert a mocking
bow. jumped into the body of the car
and slammed the door
They made no effort to plead the1
cause and secure passage even as fes
as the edge OF the desert. doubtless
they knew too well the futility Of thae,
she thought. as she settled back In .
seat. chuckling with the memory a
those three masks of dismay unmira-
gated
II was not until nve minutes later.
when she Strengthened up from making
Alan comfortable that she realizes
what had made them 70 ooetent to
abide by her will
Then she heard their voices lifted
sogether in a long. shril howl that ~ss
quickly answered BY fainter yells from
. distant quarter Of the desert then
BY pistols popping and flashing some
two miles away. then by a growing
rumble of galloping hoofs.
The night glasses in the car afforded
her flashes of a body Of several horse
men-some six or seven, she judged
making at top speed toward the spot
where Marrophat, Hicks and Jimmy
waited beside q beacon which they
had built and lighted
Half q dozen sentences exchanged
with the chauffeur advised her that
these were horsemen from the town
Of Mesa who had charged themselves
with the duty of avenging the death
of Hopi Jim Slade.
A sardonic chuckle from within
Trine's gag soaded the girl into q sui
len fury.
Exacting his utmost speed from the
chauffeur, under penalty of her dis
pleasure, she set herself to revive
Alan.
With the aid of such stores of food
and drink as the car carried, this was
quickly enough accomplished
Strangling with an overdose Of
brandy too little diluted with water
Alan sat up. grasped the conditions
in a fash. and gained further informa-
ton as he devoured sandwiches and
emptied a canteen.
The mountain pass was now, he
judged a mile distant. The Eight on
the hill de according to the chauf-
feur. was that of a prospector who
had camped there temporarily. There
was nothing, then. to be feared from
that quarter. but solely from the rear
where the horsemen. having pick ID
up Marrophat and his companions.
had instituted hot pursuit, and were
now strung out In a long. struggling
line. three horses carrying double the
farthermost-perhaps a mile and Q
half away-one with a single rider
the nearest, well within three-quar.
ters of a mile.
Nobly mounted. this last came on
like the wind gaining on the motor
car with every stride for his horse
was trained to such going. whereas
ny in dust and sand
None the less, it had won to a point
within a quarter of a mile from the
pass before the horseman got within
what he esteemed the proper range,
AMI opened FIRE.
He fired thrice His first shot winged
wide. his second by ill-chance ripped
through a rear tire of the car, thus
placing upon 1t an additional handi.
cap. while his third sought the zenith
as his hands few up and he dropped
from the saddle, drilled through the
body by Alan's only shot.
A long1range pistol duel was IN
4 progress before the car had covered
half the remaining distance to the
pass.
By the time 1t entered this last
which proved to be a narrow ravine
with towering side of crumbly earth
and shale and broken rock, the pur
su- was not shundred yards behind
while the firing was well-nigh contin
uous.
Two hundred feet above the trail
two mon vere uorlipo With da-,,r.<~