Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1923-01-05
Desert Gold
CONTINUED from Page Six

NCOnLluueu from rage SKI
the right. Blanco Sol seemed to turn
as on a pivot and charged back
toward the lower end of the valley.
He circled over to Gales right and
stretched u into his run. There
were now five raiders in pursuit, and
they came sweeping down, yelling and
shooting, evidently sure of their
quarry. Ladd reserved his fire. He
kept turning from back to front in
his saddle.
Manifestly he intended to try to
lead the raiders round in front of
Gales position, and, presently, Gale
saw he was going to succeed. The
raiders, riding like vaqueros, swept
on in a curve, cutting off what dis
lance they could. Blanco Sol pound
ed by, his rapid, rhythmic ~hoofbeats
plainly to be heard. He was running
easily.
Gale tried to still the jump of heart
and pulse, and turned his eye again
on the nearest pursuer. This raider
was crossing in. his carblne held
muzzle up in his right hsnd and he
was coming swiftly. Il vas a long
shot, upward Of fiT.' - red yards.
Gale had not time f. : 't'ft The sights
of the Remington, b. "a l-new the
gun and. HOLDING co.. - "non the
swiftly moving blot. he ..' n shoot.
The rifle was auter'a.'e: Cs'' needed
only to pull the trigger. Swiftly he
worked it. Suddenlv tie leading
horse leaped convulsiyely. not up nor
aside, but straight ahead, and her
he crashed to the ground, throwing his
rider like a catapult. and then slid
and rolled. He half got up, fell back,
and kicked but his rider e moved.
The other rangers sawed the reins
of %plunging steeds and whirled to
escape the unseen battery. Gale
slipped a fresh clip into the maya
zine of his rifle. He restrained him
self from useless firing and gave eager
eye to the duel below. Ladd began to
shoot while Sol was running. The
400 rang out sharply-then again.
The heavy bullets streaked the dust
all the way across the valley. The
raiders spurred madly in pursuit.
loading and firing. They shot ten
times while Ladd shot once, and all
in vain; and on Ladd's sixth shot a
raider toppled backward, threw his
carbine and fell with his foot catching
in a stirrup. The frightened horse
plunged away, dragging him in a path
of dust.
Ladd had emptied a magazine, and
now Blanco Sol Guickened and length
ened his running stride. He ran away
from his pursuers. Then it was that
the rangers ruse was OWNED by the
raiders. They hauled sharply up and
seemed to be comforting. But that
was a fatal mistake. Blanco Sol was
seen to break his gait and slow down
in several jumps, then square away
and stand stockstill. Ladd fired at the
closely grouped raiders. An instant
passed. Then Gale heard the spat of
a bullet out in front, saw a puff of
dust, then heard the lead strike the
rocks and go whining away. And it was
after this that one of the raiders fell
prone from his saddle. The steel
jacketed .4O5 had gone through him
on it's uninterrupted way to hum past
Gales position.
The remaining two raiders fran
tically spurred their horses and fled up
the valley. Ladd sent Sol after them.
The raiders split, one making for the
eastern outlet, the other circling back
of the mosquitoes. Laid kept on after
the latter. Then puffs of white smoke
and rifle shots family cracking told of
Jim Lash's hand in the game. How
ever, he succeeded only in driving the
railer back into the valley. But Ladd
had turned the other horSeman, and
now it appeared the two raiders were
between Lash above on the stony
slope and Ladd below on the level.
There was desperate riding on part
of the raiders to keep from being
hemmed IN closer. Only one of them
got away, and he came riding for lire
down under the eastern wall. Blanco
Sol settled into his graceful, beautiful
swing. He gained steadily, though lie
was far from extending himself.
Some few hundred rods to the LETT
of Gale the raider put his horse to the
weathered slope. He began to climb.
Zigzag they went up and up, and when
Ladd reached the edge of the slope
they were high along the cracked and
guttered rampant. Once-twice Ladd
raised the long rife, but each time he
lowered it. Gale OWNED that the
rangers restraint was not on account
of the Mexican, bat for that valiant
and faithful horse. Up and up he
went, and the yellow dust clouds rose.
and an avalanche rolled rafting and
cracking down the sloIe. 1t was be-
yond belief that q horse, burdened or
unburdened, could find footing and
hold it upon that wall of narrow
Lodges and inverted, slanting gullies.
DID 10 alinohnd ON -fnOtn6 &c q