Meade County news., 1917-02-15
AS they swept past the low bush

| Ab IHey swept past LHe lOW DuSu
at the entrance of the gulley, the rider
looked down at the man behind 1t. He
saw blond, florid young fellow, whose
blue eyes and small red-lipped mouth
were ugly with hate. A glimpse, and
he was past the Outlier.
The woman, crouched Just beyond,
under the edge of the bank, was blaz-
ing away toward the Indians with an
automatic revolver. An instant later he
pulled up his mare alongside the buck
board and looked up with cool alert
ness at the third member Of the party,
under the brink of the bank. The man
ceased firing and twisted his thickset
body half about so that he could stare
down at the newcomer.
The fusiIlade Of the Indians had
ceased the instant their view Of the
fugitive was cut off. Yet, after a sin
gle hard look, the man on the bank
turned away to thrust his rifle up over
the edge and shoot. The rider wheeled
his mare and rode back past the skit-
tish ponies. The woman had crept in
from the entrance of the gulley to
where she could stand upright without
exposing herself to the fire Of the
Indians.
She came up the slope with an easy,
springing step that told of youthful
buoyancy. From under the hem of her
neat gingham dress peeped the toes of
small, blue-beaded moccasins. Having
reloaded her pistol, she raised her
head to look up at the rider. He was
lifting his hand to touch his hat with
perfunctory courtesy. Then he saw
her face-calm, proud, vividly beauti-
full.
He removed his hat, with a sudden
change in his manner that brought a
CLEAN into the girls blue-black eyes.
A trife disconnected by the girls
cool scrutiny, he brusquely demanded:
"What is the trouble here"
She looked from his cavalry puttees
to his army saddle and the butt of his
rifle. II guess you needn't worry about
your scalp" she assured him, her rich
cOntralto voice as soft as it was sweet
ly mocking. "YOu came near getting a
hair brand, 1 see. But you're safe
enough now If you keep Close"
The raillery brought slight flush in
to his sallow cheeks. Yet his gaze did
not finch before her look of disdain.
He asked another question: "Have
they taken the agency%
mo. We saw this bunch I'D the
bank. Reggie cut loose at them before
Pere could stop him."
"'PereT Ah-your father. The
other man fred at them first, you say?"
"Can you blame him? He was along
when the agent was shot down, last
week. You may have heard of the
murder"
"Yes. Still 1t was wrong for him to
invite an attack, with woman in his
party"
"Oh, I'm only a quarterbreed, you
Know" replied the girl with ironical
lightness. Besides, Reggie thought
the party was trying to head us off.
Don't worry. Charlie Redbear crawled
up the road half an hour ago. The
chances are we can hold out until he
fetches the police" A rifle shot pune
tuated the remark.
The rider looked over the coulee
bank across at the jagged crest of the
butte. "If they slip over there" he
said, "this position will become unten-
able. The butte is the key to the stu
ation."
He looked at the girl, between con-
cern and swiftly growing admiration of
her remarkable beauty. Her eyes were
like blue-black diamonds. An almost
imperceptible film of old-gold enriched
the cream and rose of her cheeks. Her
jet-black hair was of French fineness.
The curve Of her rather large mouth
was perfect.
But the red lips were again parting
In disdainful smile. She replied with
out seeking to conceal her scorn: "If
you're afraid they'll take the butte,
you might get away by boiling down
the coulee. Well do what we can to
draw their fire."
"You WIFI" he said. "Thank you for
your suggestion. 1 believe I'll follow
1t. Kindly step aside"
She stood motionless, her eyes gilt
tering with cold contempt of his cow
ardice. Unchecked by the look, he
leaned forward in the saddle. The
mare leaped away like a startled deer.
Once clear Of the gulley she swerved
sharply and raced away down the cou-
lee. The flight was so unexpected, so
daring and so swift that the fugitive
had been borne a good fifty yards down
along the foot of the near slope before
the Indians opened fire on him.
The girl had crept forward and
crouched in the entrance Of the gulley
to peer after him.
'The coward !" she cried. "The cow
ard hope they get himl"
But before one of the many bullets
could find the leaping, recedlng mark,
mare and rider shot out Of sight behind
a clump of willows. At once the firing
ceased.
The blond young man under the bush