The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1915-02-01

iNOW JlIuuy she Sdlu CTlSply
Into that car-and be quick about II
and gag him!"
IF you do" her father foamed, "Ill
have your life"
A flourish OF her weapons gained
instant obedience.
She stepped up on the running board
and shot a quick, searching glance
at the face of the chauffeur
Straight ahead, my mani" she said
Make for the nearest pass through
those hills yonder, and don't delay
unless you are anxious for trouble. Off
you go!"
The car began to move. She swept
the three men in the desert hooking
bow, jumped into the body of the car
and slammed the door.
They made no effort to plead their
cause and secure passage even as far
] as the edge of the desert; doubtless
they knew too well the futility of that,
she thought as she settled back in a
seat chuckling with the memory of
those three masks of dismay unmiti-
gated.
1t was not until five minutes later.
when she Strengthened up from making
Alan comfortable, that she realized
what had made them SO content to
abide by her will
Then she heard their voices lifted
together in a long, shrill howl that was
quickly answered by fainter yells from
a distant quarter of the desert, then
by pistols popping and flashing some
two miles away, then by growing
rumble IF galloping hoofs.
The night glasses in the car afforded
her flashes of body of several horse
men-some six or seven she Judged
where Marrophat, Hicks and Jimmy
waited beside beacon which they
had built and lighted
Half a 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 goaded the girl into a 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 flash, and gained further informa-
ton as he devoured sandwiches and |
emptfed a canteen.
The mountain pass was now, he
judged, mile distant. The light on
the hillside, according to the chauf-
feur, was that of prospector who
had camped there temporarily. There
was nothing, then, to be feared from
that quarter, but solely from the rear
the horsemen, having picked
up Marrophat and his companions,
had instituted hot pursuit, and were
now strung out In long, struggling
line, three horses carrying double the
rthermost-perhaps mile and
half away-one with single rider
The nearest, well within three-quar-
ers of mile.
Nobly mounted this last came on
ike the wind, gaining on the motor
,ar with every stride; for his horse
vas trained to such going, whereas
he car at best could only labor heav-
ly in dust and sand.
None the less, it had won to a point
within quarter Of mile from the
,ass before the horseman got within
What he esteemed the proper range,
nj opened fire.
He fired thrice. His first shot winged I
vide, his second by ill-chance ripped
through a rear tire Of the car, thus {
lacing upon it an additional handi-
ap, while his third sought the zenith s
s his hands flew up and he dropped {
rom the saddle, drilled through the
ody by Alan's only shot {
A long-range pistol duel was in I
rogress before the car had covered
alf the remaining distance to the '
ass. f
By the time it entered this last, a
hich proved to be narrow ravine
18th towering side of crumbly earth t
nd shale and broken rock, the pur- l.
lit was not a hundred yards behind, !
lille the firing was wellnigh contin-
ous
Two hundred feet above the trail
yo men we're working with desperate x
aste at some mysterious business
Tough none noticed them.
Only the chauffeur was aware of q
oman running down the hillside at
/ angle, to intercept the car several
BIZ
A