Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1926-10-28
CHAPTER XYI-eontinued

~ MN ana ne paid no attention.
could hear the water pounding down
Into the tunnel and tried to dral
him away. did once and tried e
twist back the wheel but he Jumped
at me AMI we fought. He was too
strong FOR me and he flung me or at
last. He was crazy, beside himself. a
mailman. IT wasn't just the liquor.
I'm going TO drown him. he said.
Drown him like a rat And ne cursed
at me first and then-threatened me.
II was desperate. I saw a wrench
on the seat and struck him with It
on the back OF his head. He went
down. staggering-an I got to the
wheel When the roar OF the water
ended. knew you were safe. I sup
pose tainted You came. !"
For the pair Of them. for the mo-
ment. as their eyes met, there was no
one else in the gatehouse. Burns
stopped to the floor and picked up a
tool
There's blood on the wrench" he
said. under his breath to Cox. Hey.
where's that Mexican going7"
"It must have been Baxter
glimpsed as I came out of the shaft"
Caleb was saying. 'IIe had just come
TO, ! suppose. and
He broke OF nj Burns' exclamation.
The superintendent pointed to where
PadilIa was running over the plain
toward the foothills. head low. eyes
searching the ground like hound on
trail. Something glittered In his hand.
Hes after Baxter" cried Caleb.
'9Iell EiII him I've got 10 stop tTHt.
Mrs Carquinez. you'll go with Miss
Clinton and Maria to Fl Nido. I'll
get there later I've got to prevent
Padilla committing murder You
won't need me. Cox. go ahead with
ont me-
He sprang through the door. hat
less. his wet clothes clinging to limbs
and body. starting out to run down
Padllla before the avenging Mexican
closed with his quarry That the
Mexican would he implacable. deaf |
and dumb and blind to all hut his
vengeance against the. man who had
injured la senorita. Caleb knew. New
ertheless Padllla must be stopped
from crime and the penalty lie
thought more of this than OF Baxter
as he followed the dusty trail across
the plain that led straight toward a
wooded arroyo.
Padilla was nearly halfway to the
foothills before Caleb started hut he
gradually overhauled the Mexican.
he was furious enough. remembering
Betty's white skin with the bruises
IN it, her torn garments. to beat Bax-
er to a pulp. Baxter he realized.
must have overheard Feely's report to
Burns and seized his chance to get
wen with Caleb.
The thought of Betty swift TO his
escue. her Intuition quickened, sure
y by some tie between them. OF Betty
ghting with the drunken. crazy Bax-
er. beating him down with the
was glorious to him in pro-
ortion TO his rage The only thing .
hat curbed his own anger from the
Iexican's intent to kill was. perhaps,
he sight Of the knife In Padilla's !
and. the sudden knowledge or what :
enalty the Mexican would have to
nv for murder. OF Maria and Betty's Z
PROV. But he was not going to let :
axter of scot-free II he got at him. y
My the one thought beat against the
rath that exulted already AT the i
ea OF getting Baxter within reach 2
his hands. the remembrance that q
Inishment must stop short OF mur- 9
r.. There his New England sanity q
ught for restraint He had won 8
etty-he must not lose her II
A little stream sometimes babbied .
,wn the arroyo where Padilla. a /"
inbred yards ahead Of Caleb still. v
sappeared In a jungle OF buckeye -
d manzanita. Footprints OF them -
tn were plain in the still moist earth =, ~
r a few-paces and then abruptly =
appeared. Baxter had taken 10 the rs
lehill and the thicker underground.
leb halted perplexed. He had lit W
breath left for the call to PadllIa. Sc
felt It was useless before ne ut
ed It sa
he stood alert, listening. To his 20
ut. and abead there sounded 81 81
lrp crack OF dry twIgs and he start ma
on again. buffeting his way through an
; boughs and brambles. ms
Ie was certain that Baxter could De
elude Padilla. For years the Mex Al
q had guarded his senorita under
vow taken by him and Marin. that Diu
held back their own happiness uai
added fuel to a slowly growing sos
e that, now the time had come. 100
I'D give deep knife wounds IN ex-
nge for the bruises OF his mistress. 80
ess Caleb could come up with him tx
ter was as good a. dead
nhriit CRY % aEony sounded from =
dense growth Of the arroyo. not In
sway. toward the head OF the hen
y . second Caleb stood stul mon