Evening star., 1935-03-06

M nearest easement. Below him
| wi the wall dropped giddy
| height. There were no stars.
| A moon was up. but 1t only
| lighted the swirling confusion OF the
storm clouds which had spread out
of the east until almost the entire
sky was covered. Gusty. warm breaths
of the coming storm struck into the
face of the Kid.
He dropped to his knees and
peered into the dimness below him.
Then the hand of Rubriz fell on his
shoulder
This is a thing I have always
known" said the outlaw-"that one
day should be in such place, with
no escape, and the enemy all before
me. and behind me cliff that could
not be climbed. Well, San Juan Of
Capistrano has been my friend. but
now he is tired, perhaps. Let us be
ready to die together, like men. Let
us pile up the dead"
"Look!" said Montana. "There Is
ledge here, under the window. It
is wide enough for man to lie on
if the man uses care-it Is almost q
foot wide-it is more than q foot
wide-you see?"
MISERY of my soul!" breathed the
bandit, peering down through the
darkness beside his friend. Lie
there? Even a bird with wings would
be afraid to lie there"
1T has to be this way, or are we
to surrender to bad luck. Mateo?
I'll show you the way!"
AS he slid through the window. the
first gust of the rain struck him. The
big, wind-swept drops drove through
his clothing instantly to the SKIN, ana
made him tremble. Then his feet
found the ledge. 1t was yard and
a half below the window and consisted
merely of the space left when the
wall receded in one of its Set-backS,
of which there were several between
the bottom and the top.
Follow me, Mateo!" he called.
'It is possible to stand on 1t. Let
yourself down. Stand with your toes
on the outside of the ledge to slant
your body in against the wall. And
then"
He could not speak again, for the
outer door to the rooms OF the gov
ernor now went down with pro0-
gious crash. He saw Mateo's bulky
form swing down from the window.
Then the Mexican was beside him,
edging in pursuit as he worked his
way cautiously along the narrow
ledge.
Overhead, there was laundering Of
footballs, A light swung out from
the window almost instantly and dis
appeared again. 1t flashed from
another window around the corner OF
the tower, a radiance that glittered
| for moment through the slant lines
| of the falling rain.
And then the wind came in bill
low and with booming sound and
began to pry at Montana to loosen
him from his hold.
He came to the corner OF the tower.
And here the ledge disappeared. It
did not turn onto the other side OF
the wall. So that they were utterly
checked and held, here, to standstill.
But Mateo was cheerful, beside him.
"I was wrong!" said Rubriz. THAT
saint OF Capistrano, that fellow is
not one to lose heart. He will make
this as wide as a road to us and"
Here the voice went out Of him.
The wind, screaming suddenly, stag
gered Rubriz so that he fought for
his balance with swinging arms on
the verge of the foothold. And Mon
tana, digging his feet strongly in on
the edge of the rock, getting par
tial handhold on the corner masonry
of the tower, reached out with his left
hand and pulled at the big Mexican.
The pull and the jar Of the wind
swung him sidewise so that the
storm could get at him more fully.