The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1923-07-12

Tie DdnOunnd from his neck anu lying
II tight about his wrist, fastening the
knots with his teeth. With a look AT
Molly. %crumpled unconscious In the
corner, he sought for more liquor.
found It and poured himself a big
Jorum, gulping II down while the blood
dripped heavily from the bandage. He
was sOggy with shock and fatigue, the
strong stuff half p~aralyzed his facul-
ties and he dropped into a chair. gaz-
ing stupidity at his wrist.
His Imagination was a curse to him.
He had seen Grit's s~lavering jaws a.
they rose in the leap, the crimson
glare In his eyes To all intents tie
dog was mad. II had been lying
wounded In the sun. Only madness
could have given II strength to track
so far. What If it meant lockjaw-
hydrophobia.
Water-that was the test! There
was water that Cookie had brought
in for coffee. half a bucket, by the
stove. He felt a sudden repugnance
toward Ii. The slaShed veins in his
wrists burned and thrObbed as If they
were oOzing molten lead instead of
blood. And he was growing weak. II
might bleed to death. But what vas
the use?
Grit, who had opened a way out
for Molly. hay still beneath the table.
Molly, overtaXed, was in a swOon
Plimsoll sat In a stupor. The door
swung wide. Cookie rushed in, his
face muddy with alarm.
THE shows gone wrong" he cried
to Pllmsoll, who stared at him. half
comprehending. For Gawd's sake.
what's happened here? Gimme a
drink" He snatched at the bottle
and swallowed from the neck. Here,
you need a swig. We got to gilt out
of here, pronto. Have you s~cragged
the gel?' He thrust the bottle at
Plimsoll, who drank, senses rallying
by the urge Of danger that emanated
from the cook like the sweaty stencil
Of a frightened animal.
"Brandon's gang has come back"
said Cookie. "It's the do lest streak
Of luck. They must have fell In with
Wyatt or some Of his pals, They must
have been TO the ranch. They cut Oft
the boys and the horses over by Sand
crick Reynolds got clear. He saw
them comm an streaked 1t. They
were shootin' like HI. he said. Hahn
an Butch has gone up to the lookout
to Hear thatT"
That was q single rife-shot, fol.
lowed by the others, The last almost
as one.
"H-lr" cried PlimscIl, 'they've got
us this end, It's Wyatt. Just my
Id luck for him to meet up with
Brandon"
Cookie ran outside and Plimsoll fol.
lowed TO the door, lethargy leaving
him in the face of disaster, though he
could not think fast or clearly. Hahn
came gathering over the rocks on his
horse, his face chalky white.
go get him a slug of whisky
Plimsoll ordered Cookie.
But Cookie, his face twltching with
fright, jumped for his own mount and
went ~galloping down the valley to the
south.
Plimsoll sent curses after him.
reaching for his own pistol before he
remembered II was inside, dragging
Hahn's half out of Its holster and
then quitting as the fleeing cook tan.
gented and disappeared behind some
timber.
The handkerchief about PlimsolP.
wounded wrist was now a sodden rag
bu. the loss Of blood had cleared his
brain. He set his left arm about
Hahn and helped him into the cabin
Molly was stirring and Plimsoil
scowled blackiy at her. He gave
Hahn a drink.
i Brace up" he said; "what hap
pened7 / know about Reynolds.
mean at the lookout"
"we no more than made the look,
OUT" said Hahn. before six mer
came riding along. heeled for trouble
one OF them was the black-beardet
guy from California who was her,
with that Brandon. FIRST time the,
came nosing around. And another
was Wyatt. Wyatt was just startIn,
to point 'em out the entrance wher
Butch lets him have II. Hits hin
smack In the forehead. Before h,
could show EN- the way In. He ma,
have told EN- about II on the way up
But Blackboard must have caught tn,
shine Of Butch's barrel. He fire.
b~ack-they all had their rifles hand.
cross the pommel-the bullet goei
plumb through the tree and knock
Butch down. Went through both hips
He falls against me and show. II
the open. sliding on that id slipper
bowlder. sliding inside and out o
range. but they got me.
They'll be through any minur,
Plim. You can'f tell how much Wyatt
told 'em on the way up. They've go
me. can't ride. My lungs are flIina
ap. Butch Ia p~aralyzed-if Ne ain
dead. A hi Of a wind-upi Yon ca
make II out the way Reynolds did
None OF the gang thar len with VIVA;
knows about the slde-trail by Spu
rock. But you'd better beat It. NJ,
I've turned my last card The cas-
Is emptyr