The Snyder signal. (Snyder, Tex.) 1887-????, 1920-04-09
By
Raymond Spears

ROAD tner2, III Oluel w saw h,'N' 81
the bride path up cut-bank draw ana
through the Bad Lands to Whimsey' IL Wou'u
save time, going that way.
But. with a lump the like of which Tule had
never seen to his recollection, the Dlach horsy]
sprang sideways, and left Tule IN the IrAi'.
Then the horse turned short ana galiopeu away
down the trail, and Tule heard 1t splash across
the ford, half a mile away, still running 10
Nov, amt that hell?' he asked hilhse'i'
"lIe won't stop short of camp
But Tule was on an errand, and he ala not
think of turning back. lie wondered what thel
horse had feared, and looked IN the dlrection
from which it had SHE'D. lie struck a match
and looked, and caught CLINT of retlectlon,
Walking into the buffalo-berry bushes, ana
ten feet back in the mass, he came to machine 4
a bit of whose nickel plate had caught his gilnt.
The machine was fifty feet from the brdiei
path, across hard alkali clay, and Toole knew
that it must be perfectly invisible IRON tne|
trail by day
"Why, it's a motor cycle." he exclaimed i
and then he added "Why didn't / think of
that when | was hunting Jack rabbit trails z
OF course il was motor cycle, What else|
would make a single wheel track like rabbit
running through the buffalo grass and over thcI
prairie sod?
Tue had started on. when he had n SUDDEN
thought. That thing was in some way asso-
ciated with the bank robbery at Alka Buttes-|
possibly it was, anyhow, The trail of the pinto|
mare had ended at the horse, but the mansI
tracks were lost in rabbit trails.
Tue went back, and burned some moreI
matches around the machine. crawling through
the buffalo brush on his hands and knees. LEM
feet beyond the motor cycle under the cut bank
wrapped in piece of brown oilcloth, was bun
die, and when Tule opened it up at the END, !
he found packs of bills four large bricks.
He rewrapped the package and put it undeft
his arm. and then cut across the Bad Lands toI
the regular road.
1t was midnight when he came into Whimsyl
with the bundle wrapped up in his dark red
sweater He put Colonel Rolweys letter into
the letter box AT the post office, and then heS
went on to the little hotel. There he hit the
triangle a lick, and that brought the night
clerk, who gave him a ROOM In the mornin8
he was down at the breakfast table with the
first of them all. a slim crooked-shoulderedS
brght-red-haired little man, with sharp, peak
ed, chmleSs face.
This little man. who might have been any
where from twenty-five 10 thrty-tlVe years o
age wore pair of short khaki motor cycle
trousers, and coat with a belt around lt-lke
a bicycle suit coat. His hands were large AND
flexible and through his lips Smirked smile
his eyes had a cold and implacabe stare tina.
made his smile a mirthleSs grim, like rattle
snakes. and quite as repulslve
Good morning" the little man greeted
Fine morning! I'm from the East-N'York
and I'm on a walking tower across the country
| come i'm here yesterday moInin', and liked ~
SO well ! stayed over. Amt IN no hurry
y'know'
Il should remark So" Tule asscnted Il used
to ride bicycle, and that was slow enough FOL
crosS-countly work
Bicycle They're out Of date ow-the
motor cycles the thing. well used to ridc
some. back East"
''You couldn't get through this country on
one" Tulc shook his head, It'd block you everyl
side YOU turned
Oh no lou can go anywhere on one OIL
them Why J. Well | went right through
pastures and rode in the woods on trails, back
Fast. where | come from
Back East-what part ~
"Buffalo-er-you know Buffao's m
N'York"
why, Richmond Avenue My people aref
quite wealthy They. cr-Iyc been-cr-I
kind of "A black sheep, you know But I'll showI
them
Going to make your stake, eh?"
Going to make it? Say, old boy, it's made IN
You've no kick coming. them
None in the world. and what's more, It'll
take my wife back with me too"
Your wife,"
well, she amt yet, but she's a lonesome II
little girl and she's took a shine to me, all \
rght-So here goes You'll see! My names
Drll--E. Luther Drill"
Mine is Eehock-Tule Bedrock"
"Eh? Bedrock Why Um-m, Glad TO
meet you. SIR
They shook hands across the breakfast table
Soon after breakfast the little man put on his N
bicycle cap and started walking out the road n
that led to the littl shack on the homestead
claim Just out of Wnmsy's ambitious corpora
tion limits.
Tule with his heart sinking watched him 90 II
till the feck of Il man in the distance turned
in at the shack's roadway.
The DANCED little cuss!" Tue swore to hin
self. "Holdup. sneak, brag, pirate!"
TUE called him other things lie was anprv