The Holly chieftain., 1915-07-23
Copyright. 1915, by Otis y Wood
THIRTEENTH lNsTALLMENT
TONGUES OF FLAME.
CHAPTER XVIII.

From the shadows of the trees on
the farther side of the river, Craig
with strained eyes watched Quests
struggle. He saw him reach Lenora,
watched him struggle to the bank
with her, waited until he had lifted
her on to his horse Then he turned
slowly around and faced the one coun-
try In the world where freedom was
still possible for him. He looked into
the wall of darkness. penetrated only
at one spot by little blaze of light.
Slowly, with his arm through the
bride of his horse, he limped towards
1t. AS he drew nearer and discovered
its source, he hesitated The light
came through the uncurtained Win
dows of saloon, three long, yellow
shafts Illuminating the stunted
shrubs and sandy places. Craig kept
in the shadow between them and
drew little nearer From inside he
could hear the humping of a worn
piano. the twanging of a guitar, the
rattle of glasses, the uproarious shout
ing of men, the shrill laughter of
women, The tired men and the lame
horse stole reluctantly little nearer.
Craig listened once more wearily. 1t
was home he longed for so much
and rest. The very thought of the
place sickened him. Even when he
reached the door, he hesitated and in
stead of entering stood back amongst
the shadows. If only he could find
any other sort of shelter!
Inside, the scene was ordinary
enough. There was long bar, against,
which were lounging half dozen
typical Mexican cowpunchers. There
was a small space cleared for dancing,
at the farther end of which two per-
formers were making weird but ve-
hement music. Three girls were dane
ing with cowboys, not ungracefully
considering the state of the floor and
the frequent discords in the music
One Of them-the prettiest--stopped
abruptly and pushed her partner away
from her.
you have drunk too much, josef"
she exclaimed. "You cannot dance.
You tread on my feet and you lean
against me. l do not like it. will
dance with you another night when
you are sober Go away, please"
Her cavalier swayed for a moment
on his feet.
$50 you will not dance any longer
with JOSEF" he muttered. Every we'll,
you shall drink with him, then We
will sit together at one of those little
tables. Listen, you shall drink wine."
Il do not want to drink wine with
you. All that I wish is to be left
alone" the girl insisted curtly.
Perhaps this is what you want"
he cried, as he stopped down to kiss
her
She swung her right hand round
and struck him on the face. He stag
gered back for moment There was
a red flush which showed through the
tan of his cheek. Then he drew lit
tie nearer to her, and before she could
escape had passed his long arm
around her body. He drew her to the
chair placed by the side of the wall.
His left hand played with the knife
at his belt.
Marta, little sweetheart" he said,
mockingly, you must pay for that
blow. Don't be afraid" he went on,
as he drew the knife across his leath-
er breeches. "a little scratch across
your cheek, SO! 1t is but tn, brand
Of your master, love token from
lose Steady, now, little Maverick"
The girl struggled violently, bat
Jose was strong; such brawls were
common and those Of the company
who noticed at all, merely laughed at
the girls futile struggles. Jose's arm
was already raised with the knife in
his hand when sudden blow brought
a yell of pain to his lips. The knife
fell clattering to the floor. He sprang
up, his eyes red with fury. man
had entered the door from behind
and was standing within few feet
OF Him. a man with long. pale face,
dark eyes, travelstained, and with the
air of a fugitive. A flood of incoherent
abuse streamed from Joses lips. He
stopped for the knife. Marta threw
herself upon him. The two cowboys
who had been dancing suddenly inter
vened. The girl screamed.
at was Jose's fault" she cried.
~Jose Tae mad. He would have killed