Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1936-01-31
CHAPTER I

shadow OF his rifle barrel to fall, blue
black, a~ross rock beside him that
Kenneth Chester received the least
warning of the impending attack. The
shadow was only a scant four inches
long by half an inch wide and was,
moreover, at least three hundred yards
distant, yet the deep-set and brightly
blue eyes of the long limbed rider saw
it.
"What the devils wrong" he asked
of himself, "when PEACHES are on the
path not ten mile out O. Novedad ?"
Imperceptibly, the pressure of his
powerful fingers increased on the plat
ed rawhide bride of the golden bay
he bestrode. The animal decreased
it's gait until it was walking a scant
twenty feet before the lead burro of
long line that plodded patiently on
wards amid miasma of shifting dust.
"Yank -" the leader, gaunt fea-
lures hidden by the brim of an old
cavalry hat, turned as though to ad-
just the hitch of a burro's load
"There 'Pache up yonder."
At once the bloodshot gray eyes of
a second rider in stained homespuns
commenced to flash over the landscape
like darting swallows.
Don't see 'em, Chief" he mutter-
ed, carelessly shifting his ponderous
buffalo gun to a handler position.
"Where?"
"Ridge to the right. Pass the word
back to bear left and close up the
jacks" Smiling grimly, the leader,
dull red hair a-gleam turned to scan
the line of long-eared, white faced
burros, each of which carried on it's
back two hairy buffalo quarters that,
with hoofs pointed skyward, swayed
and lurched to their stride. eff there's
lot of 'em, we'll head for that knoll
behind"
Quite deliberately the meat hunters
steady blue eyes again swept the rug
ged terrain ahead. To the right rose
steep and barren ridge of gray stone
and clay which, studded with boulders
and bushes, offered an ideal ambush.
To the left was a lower, mesquite
grown ridge and Immediately behind
the little outfit rose the small solitary
hillock which Kenneth Chester had
designated as a refuge.
While covertly lossening the heavy
Colt that was slung to the pommel of
his silver mounted saddle in addition
to the gun on his hip, Ken refined to
the left, gradually heading the fore
most burros back towards the hillock,
as though taking new line of travel
to avoid shallow gully.
'Twenty yards more," he reflected,
and his blood commenced to leap more
swiftly, well stand a better chance"
Damn! So near Novedad-how many
of those Internal red devils were
there?
"Hey, Brownell," he called, beckon-
ing very short hunter whose long
gray hair hung in greasy wisps over
his shoulders, "take look at that last
jack. Pears to me like he's gone"
He broke off short when, making a
deadly, sibilant hiss, bright CLEAN
flashed past his ear and, with magic
suddenness, an arrow buried itself
deep in buffalo haunch just beyond
the leaders, narrow-waisted body
There it lodged, it's red feathering
showing up very bright against the
dusty fur which still remained to pro-
tect the meat from dust and flies.
"Yi-yi-yi-yi!" The dreaded yelping
Apache war cry sounded from the
nearby ridge so, without an instant's
delay, the five horsemen levelled their
long barreled buffalo guns and fired
at perhaps two dozen black haired,
bronzed figures which, decked in scar
let loin cloths, appeared from behind
rocks with the ease and silence of rat
tlesnakes, only to instantly disappear.
Some of these launched long-shafted
arrows and others fired clumsy, muz-
zle-loading muskets that filled the air
with smoke and whining slugs.
'Keep the jacks together, boys"
called Ken, hatless as slug swept it
to earth and left his red hair to CLEAN
like a battle flag. Don't let none
of 'em break loose. This meats worth
it's heft in silver at Novedad."
Snorting with fright, the fifty-odd
burros pricked up long furry ears and,
herded by the yelling buffalo hunters,
began to scramble nimbly up among
the rocks of the hillock at a quick
nincing gallop. One of them, how
ever, uttered a human-sounding scream
of pain when an Apache arrow buried
itself up to the feathers in his flank.
"Not too FAST" Ken yelled in even,
ringing tones that successfully domi-
mated the clatter of the hoofs, the yells