The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1916-11-09

.
The nslier and the giri that's been
stayin' here he began breathlessly.
Yes. yes Interrupted Ellsworth
What about themT-
"Carriilo's got EN- =
"Are yOu sgreT the landowner de-
msnded
Hell. Of course Tm surel~ the COW
boy snOrted. Didn't I see It hap
penT'
(which way dld they goT' demand
ei Ellsworth, buckllng on a cartridge
belt and revolver.
ZIP the COstilla canyon the cow
boy answered.
Its CsrrillO's gang. right enough"
said Ellsworth. "and It'll take some
hard riding IL we are going TO catch
up with them"
Half an hour later Ellsworth. fol-
lowed By score Of cowboys armed 10
the teeth. was gathering up the val
ley toward the mouth Of the COstilla
canyon. At the head Of the canyon.
however. the pursuers were compe. l~i
to pause. for from this point two tral.s
led into the mountains and. In the
darkness. IL was impossible TO tell
which Of them the bandits aud their
cnptlyes had taken. As they were
discussing the question. one of the
cowboys spied something white lying
on the ground. IL was a woman's
handkerchief.
Were on the righ, trail. boys
cried Ellsworth.
The first faint light Of dawn was
gliding the peaks OF the Sierras when
Olga and Morton were roughly 1wak-
ened by their captors aEJ ordered to
mount. As the little cayalcade slowly
made Its way up the trail. which had
now become extremely steep. a rifle
shot rang out amid the trees below.
A second shot followed and then an
other. Five minutes later one OF the
/ bandits who had been acting as a rear
guard came hurrying up. Around his
head was twisted a handkerchief on
which was n splotch Of crimson.
THE punchers 70 he gasped. They're
right behind us-twenty Of 'eml"
The leader Of the bnnd ripped out a
| torrent Of oaths. Jose" he called 10
one Of his men, half.breed Of pc
culinrly evil appearance, "you and
Manuel go ahead with the prisoners.
II they try to escape or make any
trouble. shoot 'ein. The rest OF us
will hold back the punchers until
you've got a good start"
In obedience TO his orders, Olga and
Morton, with their two guards, pushed
on up the hill. while the bandits took
shelter behind rocks and trees to check
the advance Of the men OF the BARE.
Just as thu prisoners and their guards
reached the oyerhanging crags which
marked the entrance to the pass q
splutter OF rife fire suddenly broke
out below them. The cowboys and
the bandits were In action. Morton
lnstinctively checked his horse to lis
ten, but the outlaw named Jose tapped
his rife with so significant a gesture
that the Fastener moved forward
without a word OF protest.
Leaving the pass, their trail now led
across the toughest country that Nor
ton had ever seen. Jose turned his
horse from the trail and, pushing his
way through a screen OF underbrush.
entered a narrow cleft In what ap-
| peared, from n little distance, TO be a
! solid wall of rock, TO emerge, a mo-
ment later, In veritable secret val
| ley. From the top OF one Of the cliffs
mountain stream tumbled in u series
Of cascades and waterfalls to the val
ley floor, across which 1t wound and
twisted to disappear subterraneously
upon the other side. Beside the stream
some tents were pitched and beyond
them was an open fireplace over which
a man was cooking. Instead Of dis
mounting at the tents, their guards
conducted Olga and Morton straight
across the little valley toward the cliff
on the opposite side. As they ap.
preached, Morton noticed, cut In the
face Of the cliff, square aperture
which resembled the entrance to a
small tunnel or to the gallery Of Il
mine. He guessed, and rightly that
| IL was tne entrance 10 one OF tnOse
natural caverns with which the Sler.
ras abound and which the bandit lead
er had utilized as habitation. Jose
exchanged n few words In Spanish
with fellow-bnndt, evidently n sen.
try, who was lounglng at the entrance
and, evidently receiving an answer In
the affirmative, flung himself from his
horse and strode, with Jangling spurs
into the cavern. ogla and Morton
deJectedly sitting their horses, could
hear IA murmur OF voices within but
the words were indlstlngulshable
Presently Jose reappeared accompan'
led by man who, the captlves In.
stantly OWNED. was the outlaw chief
himself. They were In the presence
OF the man whose name was n synonym
for courage. coolness, cunning and
cruelty from one end OF California "a
the other.
lie swept Off his hat at sight OF
Olga.
| n. n