The Parma herald. (Parma, Idaho) 1903-1917, 1917-04-26

OuCS uOIes Anu dLu SOluS " lnlllh
what to do before tell you anything
or do anything"
''You know 1 tried to kill your cou-
sin! You know nothing Of the kind.
Your cousin tried to kill me. He's
bully and coward, a man that doesn't
know what fair fighting means"
"You are safe in abusing him when
he's not here"
"Send him to me-" His voice shook
with anger. "Tell him I'm wounded;
tell him I've had nothing to eat since
fought him before. And If he's still
afraid'-De Spain drew and broke his
revolver almost like a flash. In that
Incredibly quick instant she realized
he might have threatened her life be-
fore she could move muscle-"tell
your fine cousin I've got one cartridge
left-just one!" So saying, he held in
one hand the loaded cartridge and in
the other the empty revolver.
you've asked me to go-Fm going.
How much of what you tell me is true,
don't know. But l can believe my
own eyes, and believe you are not in
condition to do much injury, even if
you came here with that intention. You
will certainly lose your life if you move
from your hiding place"
She started away. He leaned toward
her. stop" he said peremptorily,
raising himself with a wrenching eff
fort. Something in the stern eye held
her. His extended hand pointed toward
her as arbitrarily as if, instead of lying
helpless at her feet, he could command
her to his bidding. 81 want to ask you
question. I've told you the truth. !
have just one cartridge. If you are
going to send your cousin and his men
here, it's only fair l should know 1t
now-isn't it?"
my cousin is wounded" she said,
| pausing. And then with indecisiOn
IF you stay here quietly you are not
| likely to be mOlested."
She stepped down from the ledge
as noiselessly as she had come. Shaken
by the discovery she had so unexpect-
| eddy made, Nan retreated almost pre-
cipitately from the spot. And the
question of what to do worried her as
much as it worried De Spain. The
whole range had been shaken by the
Calabasas fight. Even the men in
Morgan's gap, supposed to be past
masters of the game played in the
closed room at Calabasas, had been
stunned by the issue of the few min
utes with Jeffries' new man.
Nan, who had heard but one side of !
the story pictured the aggressor from
the tale of the two who lived to tell |
of the horribly sharp action with him. |
But Mans common sense whispered to |
her, whatever might be said about De |
SPANS starting the fight, that one man |
locked in room with four enemies, all
dangerous in an ARRAY, was not likely
to begin a fight unless forced to
none, at least, but mailman would do
so.
Unhappy and irresolute, Nan, when
she got home, was glad of an excuse
to ride to Calabasas for packet of
dressing coming by stage from Sleepy
Cat for Gale, who lay wounded at Satt
Morgan's; and, eating a hasty lunch
con, she ordered her horse and set out
Should she tell her Uncle Duke of
finding De Spain? Whenever she de-
cided that she must, something in the
recollection of De Spain's condition IN
settled her resolution. Tales enough
of his bloodthirstinesS his merciless
efficiency, his ever-ready craft and con-
summate duplicity were familiar to
her. Yet only few of these stories
appealed to Mans innate convictions
of truth and justice. She lived among
men who were, for the most part, not
truthful or dependable even in small
could they be relied on to
tell the truth about De SPANS motives !
and conduct? As to his deadly skill
with arms, no stories were needed to ,
confirm this, even though she herself !
had once overcome him in a contest.
The evidence of his mastery had now '
a fatal pre-eminence among the TRACE
dies of the Spanish sinks. Where he ,
lay he could, if he meditated revenge
on her people, murder any of them, al r
most at will. To spare his life imper- -,
led to this extent theirs-but surely :
he lay not far from death by exhaus-
ion. And if he was not helped soon h
ne would die.
But who was to help him? Certainly :
lone of his friends. If she told them 7
hey would try to reach him. That q
would mean an appalling-an unthink- $
lble-fght All came back to one ter RI
flying alternative: Should she help
his wretched man herself? And if he
lived, would he repay her by shooting
someone of her own kin?
The long ride to Calabasas went fast
IS the debate swept on, and the vivid W
hook of her strange experience re- "
urred to her imagination. Il
She drew up before the big barn. h
i'm McAlpin was coming out to 90 to S
upper. Nan asked for her package OF
nd wanted to start directly back W
gain. McAlpin refused absolutely to al
ear OF it. He looked at her horse and
to be shocked. He told her s.
he had ridden hard, urged her to dis =
lount, and sent her pony in to be W
ubbed. While her horse was cared gf
or, McAlpin asked, in his harmless hi
cotch way, about Gale. to
Concerning Gale, Nan was noncom- &C
,ittal. But she listened with interest, w
lore or less yelled, to whatever run
ing comment McAlpin had to offer
cncerning the Calabasas fight. "And re
e., 600 Gala ,,,{,,,l -.