The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-09-22
N7he GAY BANDIT
~ gf,-e,p Of the :, B 30 Cd
~ TOM GILL


For time they drove on through
the night. Then, uneasy at the long
silence, Ted asked, "Tired, Bob5"
No answer. The weight of thu
older man seemed heavier, and a:
again Ted looked down Bob's head
swayed Imply forward with little
sigh. tanning on the brakes Tee
took the mans shoulders in hi:
arms and raised him. The face was
dead-white, but in a minute the gray
eyes opened and the lips moved.
Very family Ted heard the words
"Punctured in the side. Take me
out to the RANCH" Again the eye.
flickered. Sorry" he whispered. and
tainted.
For a brief moment in the silence
of the starlit desert Ted sat very
still, while one by one past memo
ries crowded in on him, until at las,
they had formed themselves into an
unacceptable pattern. With the sud-
denness of a lightning bolt the truth
burst forth. Ell Coyotel
Curiously, as if he were looking
upon a stranger, Ted gazed down
at this man who sat so quietly be-
side him. He felt his own heart
pounding and dull throbbing in his
brain. FL Coyotel The man all the
border was seeking, the killer with
price upon his head. This man
SO loved and hated, praised and con-
demned, sat helpless beside him, and
suddenly Ted realized that. bandit
and killer, this man was the nearest
friend he had in the world.
Very gently Ted started the car,
then wrapped one huge arm about
the limp figure. On that side tho
mans clothes were already wet with
blood. Rapidly Ted sped through
the night. Once he looked at his
watcl1-a little after ten. There
would be no one at the ranchhouse.
The servants would be in their own
quarters. Once the car struck a rut
in the road. and the man groaned.
Ted drove more cautiously. slowing
down almost 10 a stop where the
road was broken.
Once on the state highway, Ted
shot the car at a mad pace down
the road. Mile posts flashed by. The
lights of Verdi doomed up to the
west. and skirting the town. Ted
tore on to the ranch. The bars were
down, and driving up to the house
he stopped and switched off the
lights. Raising the stricken man in
his arms, Ted ran up the steps.
pausing once to listen, but conscious
only of the beating of his own
heart. The servants had already
gone.
Inside, with hasty. unaccustomed
fingers. he cut away the coat and
blood-stained shirt. The wound was
no longer bleeding. The heart still
beat. but very feebly. In desperation
Ted looked about the room. A first
aid kit, he remembered. was in the
medicine chest, and in a short time
he had sterilized the dark jagged
wound and fastened heavy bandages
over it. He poured a little whisky
between the mans lips, then waited,
feeling horribly alone. terribly in
need of aid.
AS he stood there 4 faint flush
came to Bob's cheeks, and for an
instant he opened his eyes. then
closed them.
STOPPING forward. Ted caught the
words. "You can trust the cook. And
tell Ann-Ann at Mendoza's. But
no doctor-remember. no doctor.
You know why" Then again his face
paled. Consciousness had left him.
Ted pulled chair to the bedside.
There was nothing to do but wait
and hope. Slowly the minutes of
midnight licked by. and the early
hours OF morning. Ever his eyes
turned to the still form that breath.
ed 50 slowly beneath the covers.
More than once. like some physical
chill it came over him how utterly
alone was this man whose hand had
been raised against the entrenched
scheme OF things. This man. he
found himself thinking. had doomed
himself to the lone fight He could
turn nowhere. He could rely on
no one. This man who held the
border n terror his las, outpost
against the domination Of the stroaa.