Gunnison news-champion., 1921-03-25

tended out into the plain afTyrJl.ng
them considerable prUterflpn a. they
cautiously advanced. seeking every
possible. bit OF shelter ShBuuessy u
Ing the Geld EiHSsss loaned him by the
major surveyed the ground carefully
before vrnruriug 20 lead the way. and.
10 this manner. the lIfrls party finally
Crsp' ln hel nd fh- crest Of land over.
looking rhs valley Of the Cottonwood
T. had been the plan 10 drop silent
ly over IN. edge of the bank. and
WORT rh.lr vby along 80 as to at
tack ,he outlaws from the rear. thus
0'utr-ins the es"up" Of any lmp"s
sble But ono. there on the ground
the sl1Te wns found 10 be far too
abrupt for this purpose. and the Idea
had 10 be abandoned. tn" only other
procedure was TO creep along under
the protection OF the ridge trusting
TO svri'tness Of attack The sergeant
crcpt forward inch by inch. wafchful
Of everything In front. He never
glanced back. but his ~Hrbine was
flung forward. cooked and ready. I,
was hfty yards TO where the gnurled
cedar protruded above the bank. but
no sign OF any movement greeted hiu
until he had nearly reached that point
Then suddenly. with no warning OF
any Kind. red. bloarei face showed
Itself up above the edge Of the bank.
The startled eyes looked directly In
TO the muzzlc Of the cnrbine.
stop right there. buddyl" said the
serGran, stcrnly. Now lads. over
you gOI'
They took the leap recElcssly. some
rolling down the steep slope. Others
finding some sort OF foorhold and rush
Ing Aercely forward The guard was
taken by complete surprise. helpless
most OF them before they could even
reach their feet or grasp tneir wea-
pons Shaunessy hacked his prisoner
down TO where the others stood sullcn-
. ly. and surveyed the scene.
Five: thnrs the whole bunch he
said with satisfaction. n very good
Job Now. Gates. go up there and wig
wuE the major"
Ten minutes later the ndyaScc fiIes
VI All' NalAhAs tAAt AbtfNfAA AAtF ''t--f ~ AAF'
bluff and began To slowly move down
the steep trail. Hays expressed his ap
pruval.
Exceedingly well done sergeant /:
got the whole outfit I see. Have your
men bring up your horses. The girl
. Tells Us We have 9 IRE, road nov into
the valley. 50 we viii move right along.
Quietly men. and keep your distance.
Uustug CaFhines ForwurdI'
They moved srcndity al a walk. the
troopers eagerly peeriug ahead. yet
rnutIousIy refining back their mounts,
There was scarcely a tiukIinG OF &C
cuutrements as the long column OF
horsemen slowly advanced down the
crooked trail toward the snow covered
valley far below Pnucha riding ne
side the major. led the way through
the curtain 10 where the Cottonwood
plunged over the rock precipice into
the deeper gorge beyond. To her mp
llfied hand of warning the column
halted the Mexican girl leaning over
to explain the situation ahead.
"Eei is vera steep grade" she said.
"an sharp turn at the bottom where
the trail runs under the falls On the
other side is a log house. and they al
ways keep a guard there. senor."
And beyondT-
The valley Is OPEN
/ He tried TO see through the snow
squalls. but with little success.
"Row heavy Is the guard!"
THAT l cannot tei!, senior. There
we're but two men there, when come
ons But the log hut is saloon. and
many may be there now. Eet is best
&c nse utmost caution"
No one Is likely to be between this
point and that1"
Not on watch-no: some one might
be passing out; they come and CO."
"Of course, we run that risk. The
falling water makes noise enough to
prevent our being heard. yet think #
may be best to use a scouting party.
The only way we can trap those fel-
lows into n fight Is through a surprise
teii. lie goI upon one knee again, anu
the ".45" spat twice viciously before
trooper sent bullet crashing into
his brain. Hays felt the zipp of lead
past his face. but stood erect. unburt.
Behind him Pancha uttered n startled
sob and sank slowly onto the snow.
He sprane back and caught her. hold
ing her head up on his knee. his eyes
staring down into her white, upturned
face She breathed once-thaf was
all: never spoke. never moved except
for the slight tremor Of her slender
form In his arms The major laid her
softly down. his own face drawn and
white with sudden passion. and strobe
across to where the slain outlaw lay
in a huddied heap. An instant he
looked down al the brutal face. obliv.
ious to all else.
.D-n your be mutfered 10 use
~ rAge. = wish I'd killed your