Adventure Magazine Cover — page 111: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

up to it by the fighting. He may have been down there till the fighting began, but when they was riding up the cafion and_I was getting my wits back, one of the gang ‘made game of me, saying, ‘Dropped in to see that I didn’t talk to Miss Mary, eh?’ Now there was only one man who would have said that—Keene.” “He was harking back to your talk to him when you two come near fighting with knives in the next room,’’ murmured Uncle Dick. “Exactly. And the man who said it was the one next to me on my right, for the cur leading my horse never yipped a word and kept as low over his saddle as a Co- manche. The man on my right drew ahead when we struck into the patch of _ light cast by the fire. He was the chap _ in the black mask.” Uncle Dick swallowed convulsively and cried: “TT knew you was going to say that! But how about his voice? Didn’t you hear him laugh or speak?” “Bah! ~No human being was ever cussed - with such a voice. A trick of his. You oughter heard him mimic Baptiste to Miss Mary. You’d swear he was the trader himself. Wait till I can get on my feet~ maybe tomorrow—then I’m going to see him and have a little fuss.” “You oughter be all right by day after tomorrow anyway. Reckon I'll ‘do a little looking round myself. I want to pay him for two mule-loads of trade-stuff and then help hang him, if he can’t prove he’s innocent.’’: “Tt won’t come to hanging, if I see him,” said Peace slowly. ‘“We’ll both be- gin shooting promiscu’s-like on sight. How’s Miss Mary?” “All beat out. She’ll sleep all day most likely.” “I’m hungry to see her and talk with her.” “Tomorrow. Go to sleep. Rest is what you need. The bullet hole won’t trouble you much. Now I must talk with the Mexican. We must know whether the agents passed through the gate or turned back. “We was aiming for it when I quit the saddle. Maybe they turned back though,” mumbled Peace, closing his eyes. Uncle Dick returned to the eating-room and tapped softly on the girl’s door. The Quail appeared, holding a finger to her ea 2 8 a lips, and Uncle Dick nodded, highly pleased- = that his charge should sleep. Repairing — ae to the kitchen, he asked the Mexican if — a any horsemen had passed through the Bate during the night, bound south. _ The Mexican promptly swore by all the saints that no horsemen had used the ~~ gate. The barrier was raised only early — . in the morning to let the freighters through Be ee and to bring Peace inside. Filling his pipe, Uncle Dick walked to the rear of the cook-house, where Yellow ‘Bear and his men were separating the trade-goods into two piles, one for them- _ selves and one for Little Raven and his followers. The division was finally com- pleted and Uncle Dick asked the chief to step aside. “The men we followed rode up the pass _ toward the gate. The Mexican says they did not pass through the gate,” he in- formed. “All Mexicans are liars,” calmly re- plied the chief. “But this man has worked for me for some time and I believe him.” “Cut-Hand and the Arapahoes would have met them if they had turned back.” “T know, yet I think the Mexican spoke. the truth. He wouldn’t dare lie for the sake of stealing the toll.” “Then their horses have wings like the thunder-birds, and flew over the moun- tains,” sarcastically suggested the chief, tentatively daubing a bit of vermilion paint on his nose and trying to get the effect by looking cross-eyed. “There are new trails back from the road and high up—trails-you would. never sus- pect unless you stumbled upon them. I want you to send your best trackers to look for signs. They either turned back, or else they have a secret trail that leads over the top of the pass without going throughmy gate.” } Yellow Bear promised: “My men shall go out after they have eaten. If there is any hidden trail they will find it.” Standing with Yellow Bear before the entrance to the station, Uncle Dick re- ceived the reports of the Arapaho scouts. Pieced together, their observations gon- vinced him the gang had taken to both sides of the pass high above the toll-road before reaching the gate. Splitting into small