Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise., 1936-03-06
CHAPTER VI


damn funny?"
But the girl did not seem to heal
him. Lips quivering, she uttered
smothered cry and sprang forward.
Lucia-Mescalero Ted Mescalert
Apaches-Lucia! The sequence Of
thought was clear as day.
"Oh, Ken. you are hurt There
there's blood on your shirt"
A bitter, jeering laugh burst from
the frontiersman's stiffened lips.
"Blood? Why sure-there's some
but reckon it amt half enough to suit
you ma'am. Reckon I'm fool, but
amt so big as you reckon"
With one hand pressing the COM
press to his dripping wounded side,
Ken limped off through the darkness
regardless of the girls distracted
cries.
Ken Chester sat moody and silent,
chin on clenched fist at the entrance OF
the patched and well-worn wall tent
which he occupied in company with
Yank Terris, his saturnine chief scout.
"Naw, that posse didn't see no more
PEACHES last night. Reckon those
braves sneaked in to grab easy
skelp," Yank said, and sent long
parabola of tobacco juice out into the
sunlight. "But you was right, the
dead Injun was eMscalero-hed a
silver and turquoise belt onto him
sportin' the rattlesnake pattern.
What's bitin' yuh, chief?" he contin-
ued, "you look plum detected; amt
YOUR vittels settin' we'll on your stum-
mick ?"
Ken sighed and instantly felt the
rain of the shallow wound along his
ribs. But that was the lesser of the
two pains which had been tormenting
him.
"No. Yank," he muttered, II don't
feel so good But faint nothin' SER
ious. You mosey down to town and
listen to what's bein' said. Soon's 1
get a lineup on the Injun situation
we'll pull our freight outta Novedad.
Things bein' as they bel shouldn't
wonder but buff'ler meat will fetch
more dinero now."
Jerkily, like camp chair being un-
folded, Yank heaved his tall, bony
form to standing position and brush
ed back the long, grayish hair which
hung to his shoulders SO that it min
gled with the fringe running across
his back.
"Okay, chief"
"Just minute" The frontiersman
raised a OBTAINING hand. "See if you
can find that Ute who hablars Span
ish. He ought to be somewhere down
by the bake ovens. His squaw, she's
that cross-eyed one with the green
serape, can tell you where he is-if
she amt drunk as usual"
Yank nodded, then he swung off
down the dusty road towards the tent
town, for the frontiersman's camp lay
a good half mile beyond the outer
most tents. The air was cleaner there
Ken maintained, and fighting drunks
weren't so apt to go tripping over the
tent ropes.
Left alone, Ken sighed and returned
to that problem which had kept him
sleepless. 1t was terribly plain that
Lucia NOVEL; had played with him
with consummate skill. Yes,, that
Coor;eb Lolood of l,ora o,,mb+ +o bouo
warned him. She would never forget
or forgive an affront.
"What a locoed jackrabbit was,"
he reproached himself with bitter
smile. "She sure led me right up to
the barbecue"
Beautiful and treacherous as cop
perhead, he summed her up, and won
dered whether Mescalero Ted had not
witnessed the whole affair. By God,
he'd settle with that big blond devil
before the day was out. Yet more
than ever he found himself yearning
for Lucia. He must have her-that
single kiss had aroused within his
brain countless hungry demons that
would give him no peace. She had
looked frightened maybe she hadn't
thought things would go that far. If
she had, she didn't know Mescalero
Ted.
The hollow clatter of horses hoofs
drawing near prompted him to glance
cut into the midday sunshine beyond
the tent fly. 1t was FELTON,, look Of
great concern on his face.
Hello, Ken," he greeted as he
swung off heavily. "How are yor
maxim it this morning ?"
"So-so. The Injun only give me {