River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1923-08-09


by the arm Keith sprang from his
ear and came over Sam and Nor
| mon hurried up.
"What's this?" demanded Keith
angrily, suspicion rife in his voice.
II picked him up three mile back,
| hoofn' 1t. He was headin' TO Bitter
| Flats but he wanted the ranch,' said
the cowboy to Sandy. ignoring Keith.
s'We burned wind an leather comm
in, seem Jim Plimsoll an some of
his gang have made off with Miss
| Mollyr
'Where'd this happen?' demanded
| Sandy. "Sam, go git Pronto TO me
| an saddle up"
That's the hi of it." said the
rider. 1.-THE pore d--n fool don't
know. Plumb loco Scared to death.
| Been wanderin' round sence afore
| noon"
Donald Keith sagged suddenly and
Sandy picked the lad UP in his arms,
| strobe with him to the car and laid
| him on the cushions.
| "Git some water" he ordered
Keith. We've got no Ticker on the
| ranch"
| Keith bent, opened a shallow
drawer beneath the seat and produced
silver flask. He unscrewed the top
and poured some liquor into it. San
! dy raised the boys head and lifted
the whisky to his pallid lips, gray as
! his face where the flesh matched the
powdery alkali that covered it.
The cordial trickled down and Don
AIDS eyes opened. Almost immediate
/ " color came back into his cheeks
and lips and he tried to sit up. Sandy
| helped him.
snow, sonny" he said. TELL us
about IL. Where did you leave
Molly?"
81 don't know just where. I wasn't
noticing just which way we rode. She
did the leading l don't know how
ever got back"
Didn't she tell you where you
were maxim fo'?''
"She didn't name it, 1t was little
lake in some canyon where Molly said
there used to be beavers"
/ Beaver Dam canyon" said Sandy
exultantly. "You left here bout
seven. How fast did you trail?'
1--WE walked the horses most of the
time 1t was all uphill. And looked
at my watch a little before it hap
pened 1t was quarter of eleven.
We saw some men ahead of US. Molly
no he
they disappeared. We were riding In
a mass and two of them showed again,
coming out of the trees ahead of us.
One of them, on a big black horse,
held up his hand"
"Jim Plimsoll"
''Yes. Molly recognized him and
spoke to him to get out of the trail.
Grit was trailing us. Plimsoll
wouldn't move. l heard more horses
back of us and l turned to look. Two
more men were coming up behind.
Molly spurred Blaze on and cut at
Plimsoll with her quirt. He grabbed
her hand with his left. Grit sprang
up at him and he got out his gun from
the shoulder sling and shot him."
"Shot the dawg? Hit himf
eyes, in the leg. He fired at him
again, but Grit got into the brush"
"Jest what were you dom all the
time?" Sandy knew the lad was a
tenderfoot. knew he would have been
small use on such an occasion, but
the thought of Grit rising to the res
cue, falling back shot, brought the
taunt.
1.-THE two men behind told me to
throw up my hands, said young
Keith, his face reddening. what
could I do?"
"Nothin', son. You c'dn't have done
thing. Go on
"Plimsoll twisted Molly's wrist so
that the quirt fell to the ground. The
man who was with him tossed his
rope over her and they twisted 1t
round her arms. I had the muzzle
Of rifle poked into my ribs. They
made me get off my horse And they
made me walk back along the trail.
They fired bullets each side of me and
laughed at me when I lodged" Don
/ AIDS eyes were filled with tears of
self-pity and the remembrance of his
helpless rage. 81 didn't know what
TO do. / couldn't rescue Molly with
out a horse. / only had revolver
against their rifles and I'm not much
of a shot. / tried to get back here
but 1t was hard to find the way. 1
was all in when your man found me-"
/ "All right, my son. Keith. I'm go
1 In to borrow that flask of yores.
| Might need it,"
He jumped from the car, flask in
hand, and ran to the ranch house.
| Kate Nicholson met him as he en-
tered. "Hasa anything happened to
/ Mollyg she gasped.
That's what I'm goin' to find out"
Sandy answered. Mormon, git me
my cartridge belt an some extry
shells fo' my rife"
you amt takin' Sam?" asked Nor
mon. returning with the cartridge