The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1942-07-23

stood a. the shoulders OF the horse.
opened the door. He showed hlm-
self vaguely in the doorway and
quickly stepped into the yard, his
bulk merging with the shadows of
the cabin wall. who's that?"
Morgan. Did Hack ride this
way?"
Vance delayed his answer. Then
he said in lower voice; "Come
closer, Clay"
Morgan went forward until
Vance stood at the shoulders of
the horse.
Vance murmured: "Herendeen's
got somebody watchin' me-" His
talk rubbed the shadows with a soft
ness that didn't carry beyond Nor
gan. Hack passed here Friday
night. Think he's up in the hills
above Freeport."
Thanks"
Vance said: You'll bump into
Ben's riders along the trail"
Morgan recrossed the clearing. A
quarter-mile southwark he struck
the wide trail leading from War
Pass to Freeport and settled into
run. Darkness packed the round
about trees but at intervals, as he
crossed an occasional small noun
tain meadow or the charred area
of an old burn, moonlight showed
all things pale and soft. In his
mind at the moment was a picture
of the section toward which Hack
Breathitt had apparently gone, and
a fairly definite idea of Hacks pos
sible hideout had occurred to him
when the smell of dust brought him
out of his thinking; he had pulled
the horse to walk, deep in these
quilt-thick shadows of the forest,
when a mans voice came from the
immediate foreground.
The man said: "Who is it?"
Morgan said, "You go to he'll,
Bones"
"Oh, Morgan" grumbled Bones
McGeen.
Get out of the trail"
McGeen thought about that, and
didn't like it. For he said: "You
can go around me, / guess"
Morgan matched insolence with
insolence. 81 guess not, Bones. Hack
saw the color of your tail, and I
think I'll see it." He hit his pony
with the spurs, driving it forward
at a long jump. It carried him
against McGeen, his knee jamming
McGeen's knee. McGeen's shoul-
ders turned and one arm lifted sud-
denly-all this was a dull, shape
less scene in the black-and Nor
gan, bending in the saddle, knocked
that swinging arm down with his
hand and caught McGeen around
the waist. Both horses were mill
ing across the trail. McGeen shout
ed, "By God" His guns explo-
sion was like a dynamite racket in
the settled stiffness of the hills. The
shot struck somewhere in the high
trees. Morgan used his spurs, still
holding McGeen. He dragged Nc
Geen out of the saddle as he plunged
forward; he carried McGeen like
this, McGeen slipping lower and
lower in his arms until the mans
feet were hitting the ground. Nor
gan's pony Broke into a run, ex-
cited by the humping of McGeen's
legs, and at last rushed down the
trail at dead bolt. McGeen stran-
gled up yell and made huge eff
fort to get free, which was the
moment Morgan let go, dropping
McGeen fiat. He was hundred
yards away before McGeen tried a
shot. The bullet slashed into a pine.
Bones's cursing rose to a fever
pitch.
Morgan called back, "The ride
was free, Bones"
There was no foot of this section
he didn't know. Now, making a
quick guess, he began to climb
through the hills by one narrow
trace and another. He came to the
head of a gulch, fell into it and
rode sightlessly along for a half
mile. A steady current of wind
came against his left side, cold as
ice-water. At this point he swung
the pony and scrambled half up the
ridge to kind of stony shelf. The
draught of air poured out of a deep
recess here; facing it. Morgan spoke
against the night.
"Hack-it's me. Morgan"
He had no answer but he sat the
long while, once repeating the
call. There was no smell of smoke
and no sound at all except for the
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