Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1920-07-09

lad talked already more than he in
ended. but what was the differencef
"Cateras took her." he admitted,
but ! don't know whar. I tried ter find
'ut whar she was, but nobody'd tell
ne. Then had ter pull out"
WestcOtt interjected a question.
whats the valley like, an how do
'ou get into lit" ~
swell, I'd say II was just sort o.
ink In the desert, a kinder freak.
Anyhow, I never saw nuthin' like 1t
fore. The walls is solid rock, almost
straight up an down, but thar's con-
siderable stream fiowin' down thar
hat just bursts out hole In the
ock, an plenty o. grass fer quite a
lunch Of steers"
"How do they get down into itr'
"'Long a windin' trail on the west
ide. 1t used to be mighty rough,
eckon, an only good fer mixers, but
hey fixed II up so they can drive cat
lie down, an even wagon II yer take
I easy"
sand there is no other way to the
,ottom except along this trailr
"That's bout ALL"
Brennan and Westcott looked at
,ach other, both uncertain as to the
,ext step. What were they to do with
heir prisoner? And how could they
proceed toward effecting the rescue Of
he helpless girl? 1t was a problem
rot easy to solve, II what Moore told
hem was true. The latter shuffled his
eet In the sand, lifted his eyes shrewd-
v, and studied the faces of his cap
ors. He was figuring his own
nance.
"YOu fellows want ter get down in
er the valley?" he asked at last.
EYES," and Brennan turned again
quickly, IF 1t can be done. OF course
thar's only two of us, an It would be
sort o. foolish tryin' ter fight way
through, even ag'in' Mexicans. Fiji
teen ter two is some odds, but faint in
my nature, or Jim's here ter turn
round an leave that girl In the hands
O. them cusses-is 1t, Jim"
81 never WILL" replied WestcOtt
earnestly. mot If I have to tackle the
whole outfit alone"
"YOu won't have to do that. What's
the idea, MOOref
"Oh, was just thinkin'," he an
swered, still uncertain. IF show yer
way, what Is thar in 1t fer meT'
Brennan stiffened, his features ex-
pressing nothing.
"what do you meani I'm an officer
o. the lawI"
81 know it; amt asking yer ter
make no promise. But yer word will
go HI ov a ways If this ever gets In
court If help yer I've got to be pro-
tected frum Bill Lacy. He'd kill me
as quick as he'd look at me. Then
I'd want yer ter tell the judge how 1t
all happened. / know ye're square,
Dan Brennan, an whatever yer says
goes"
The marshal stuck out his hand.
"That's the gospel truth, Matt" he
said gravely, "an' I'm with yer-till the
cows come home. What Is 1t you
known"
"Well," with q quick breath as he
took the plunge, "it's like this, mar
shall there Is just one place out yon-
der" and he waved his hand to indi-
cate the direction, ION the east rim o
the valley, where yer might get down.
Ye'd have ter hang on tooth an toe
nail; but both of yer are mountain
men, an / reckon yer could make the
trip IL yer took 1t careful an slow
like"
Westcott asked: "How can we get
there safely? Can you guide usf'
Moore swept his eyes over the dull
range Of sand, expectOrated thought
fully, and rammed his hands deep into
his trouser-pockets. He was slow
about answering, but the two men
waited motionless.
IF 1t was me-" he said finally, I'D
take it on foot. It'll be a jaunt ov
near on to three miles, unless yer
want ter risk bein' seen by them
Mexes on the main trail. You couldn't
go straight, but would have ter circle
out an travel mostly behind that ridge
o. sand thar to the left. Coin that
away nobody's likely ter get sight o.
yer on foot. You couldn't take no
boss, though. Here'd be my plan
Lead this yere outfit o. mine an your
ponies back inter them sand dunes
whar nobody ever goes. They're tired
'nough ter stand, an there amt any
thing fer 'em to Craze on. Then we
kin hoOf It over ter the place I'm tell
in yer about, an yer kin sorter size
II up fer yerselves. That's fair, amt
it?"
They went at II with a will. The
team was driven into the security OF
the sand drifts and unhitched. The
saddles were taken from the backs Of
the ponies, and what grain Moore had
In the wagon was carefully appor-
toned among the four animals. Salts
fed these would not stray, the men
looked carefully to their supply Of
ammunition and set forth on their
tramp.
This proved a harder journey than
either Brennan or Westcott had an
Al loI on hxfC