The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-06-16
CHAPTER XIII-Continued

he could see his five men following
him. He waved his hat and one of
them waved in return; so without
further ado he rode down to join Ro-
berta.
The girl held up her hand, enjoining
silence, as Hobart refined in beside
her. "Listen" she commanded.
He bent his head. Family to him
came the report of rifles.
There were twenty herders with
the band an hour ago." the girl re-
ported. Don Jaime counted them.
There doesn't appear to be that many
now"
Hobart swept the scene with his
binoculars. "Tenl Half the gang
went ahead to preempt the water, and
Don Jaime has walked into them.
He's alive and kicking, though. If he
were not, there wouldn't be any shoot
ing. And Julio hasn't got there yet
Well, he'll be careful. He'll probably
come in from the rear and help the
Jaime is in the old corral or at the
water-hole. SmOkeless powder, you
see. One cannot tell. But the sheep
move forward That indicates conf
dence. Yes. Dingle has the water !"
"Then Don james fighting ten of
them"
Looks that way. He must be in
the old corral, because he wouldn't
last minute in the open. The cor
raj is boarded close and the light Is
failing. If he keeps moving he will
not be too easy to hit"
Julio rode out into the open a quar-
ter of mile south of them. Instantly
Hobart pulled his rifle, sighted care
fully and threw up the dirt in front Of
the boy to attract his attention. When
Julio pulled up and looked around to
see where the attack came from, Ho-
bart waved his hat at him and moved
out from the sheltering fringe of
bushes onto the grassy floor of the
valley, Roberta by his side. Instantly
Julio recognized them.
"You stay where you are, girl" Ken
Hobart commanded. My other five
men will be riding down the hill pretty
soon. You tell them my orders are to
charge the men with the sheep imme-
diately."
"What are you going to do, Mr.. Ho-
bart?"
I'm going to join Julio, and the
two of us will advance along the south
side of this valley toward the water
hole. The range will be too long for
the herders with the sheep to stop us,
] think. Jimmy's in a jackpot and
needs help mighty bad, so Julio and
/ will furnish what we can. Adios! !"
He galloped away diagonally across
the valley, motioning for Julio to join
him. The boy did not hesitate. Ro-
berta watched them in an agony of
apprehension.
The herders with the sheep were
firing at Hobart and Julio, galloping
across their front. Ken had stated
that the range would be too long for
effective fire by men not versed in the
science of accurate shooting at ex-
IRENE ranges, but nevertheless the girl
saw Julio's pinto go down, saw the boy
shoot out over the animals neck. He
was up instantly and hack beside the
horse.
Getting his rifle" Roberta thought.
Ken Hobart had pulled up and was
riding back to Julio, who, in turn, was
running to meet him. There was not
an instant's pause in the stride of the
horse, yet Julio mounted double be-
hind Hobart, the horse whirled, and
the daring pair were on their way
again.
There, alone at the foot of the hill
watching this drama, Roberta prayed
for those men as she had never prayed
before; she cried out In agony when
Ken Hobart's horse went to it's knees,
rose again-and stood STILL Even one
so IMMERSED in warfare as Roberta
could realize that the poor brute had
been hit and crippled. She saw Ho-
bart and Julio dismount and. kneeling
some twenty feet apart, open fire on
the distant herders as calmly as If
shooting at markl
And then. over the crest behind her,
came the five men detailed to follow
Ken Hobart. They came down the
slope at fast gallop, spurred on by
the sounds of conflict in the valley be-
low, but slackened speed as they
sighted the girl, holding up her hand
In a signal to halt.
She trembled so she could, with diff
~ onhoranftu sfnnr Tot
engaged at the water-hole with ten
men-Ken Hobart and Julio over south
shooting at the herders-Ken says
rear attack"
The three American riders gazed at
her, not quite comprehending, DESTROYS,
perhaps, of receiving more explicit in
structions in such an emergency
what are you standing there for?"
Roberta cried Historically. Follow
me. I'll show you" With a savage
little dig of her dull dress spurs she
was off, the five men streaming behind
her. Across the northern flank of the
valley they raced. the patter of rifle
fire from the herders probably drown
ing the sound of their thudding ap-
proach, for they were within a hun
dred yards of the nearest men before
the latter saw them. One of them fired
at Roberta. -. She thrilled with a
cold fear and wild exaltation as the
bullet whispered past her head
afterward she had faint recollection
of a dark. frightened, but defiant face
that doomed 70 an instant in front of
her before she rode the man down.
Pistol shots then a backward
look Behind her the five rode with
appraised pistols, flourishing them at