LITMIR.BIZ

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Listening for a moment, he finally groped through it and opened an inner portal; this was a hallway leading he knew not just where. But he could hear the creaking of a rocker out on the porch and presently a man coughing. Nowhere could he see a light until he turned about and looked at the other end of the hall; then he made out a faint yellow beam creeping beneath a doorway. On his toes he crept toward it, listening. No sound.

      Undoubtedly it was the girl's room since all the rest of the house was dark. She was in there, waiting for trouble to break, grieving for what the day had seen. Well, it was a poor time to spend in grief. Right now self-preservation was foremost. He put his hand on the knob, very much wanting to announce himself but afraid of having her challenge him and thus arouse Trono. Half turning it, he felt the latch give and at a single movement opened the door, swung himself inside and closed it, coming face to face with Jill.

      She was in a chair and she had a gun trained directly on him. The color had partly left her face, but he was never to forget that flash of eye which fell fully upon him and then, after what seemed a long, long time, fade before relief. She had been expecting someone else—had posted herself there to stop that someone. Lilly put a finger to his lips and crossed the room. "Fix up. We're pullin' out. Quick now."

      She nodded, keeping the silence, and rose. Whatever of resentment Lilly had felt against her for withholding trust in him vanished. She was a thoroughbred! She asked no silly questions, wasted no time. A small bundle of papers went into her coat pocket, papers she had no doubt salvaged from her father's office. Then she clapped on a battered hunting hat and turned to him as if asking his approval. And for the first time he saw friendliness in her face. The color had returned; something moved in the depths of her eyes as she held out her hand, offering him her gun. He shook his head and beckoned. Together they stepped into the hall, closing the door behind, crossing to the kitchen and threading its cluttered space to the back. The night breeze struck Lilly's face and the fresh, sage-scented air was as a call to adventure. Up above, the sky was metal black, pricked by a dozen dim stars. Beyond this cluttered yard and its garrison of lustful, over-weening men was freedom. Southward stood the shadow of the pine forest. Lilly felt the girl's hand slip into his; with a swift upthrust of reckless pride he closed his calloused fists about her small fingers and led her across the yard toward the corrals, venturing a husky phrase.

      "We'll beat 'em, my girl. Don't you forget it."

      They had only passed the smoke house when a strangled cry emerged from it—a cry that woke every echo on the ranch. Boots struck the bunkhouse floor, the hum of speech ceased. Trono's bull voice boomed across the area. "Who's that?"

      "Shucks," grunted Lilly. "I didn't hit that hombre nowise hard enough. Comes o' bein' chicken-hearted. Now we've got to leg it. Hold tight, girl."

      The crew rushed pell-mell out of their quarters and directed by another muffled cry, bore down upon the smoke house as Lilly and the girl slipped away from the yard and circled the corrals; Pattipaws waited somewhere ahead, obscured by the heavy shadows. Fury was behind. The crew had found and released the imprisoned puncher. Lilly, chuckling softly, observed he hadn't impaired the man's voice. It rose toward the sky in outraged accents. "—An' I gits a strangle holt on 'im an' he breaks it like I was a leetle chil'. Belts me acrost the coco a terrible wallop! Boys, I'm all busted up! Somebody gimme a drink! Oh, Gawd that was a dirty blow! I'll rake him across his face with m' spurs! Yeh, I will! Say, gimme a drink!"

      "Pattipaws," breathed Lilly, coming to a halt. They were behind the corrals, groping into a small hollow. "Injun, where are you at? By the Lord Harry, I hope he got the cayuses. Listen to Trono yell!"

      Trono had done some exploring on his own account and found the girl missing. He was thundering furiously at the crew. "Jill's done gone. That red-head missin', too? Well, you damn fools, don't stand there chatterin' like a cage full o' monkeys! Git yore hosses! They ain't far away! Two-three you boys gallop aroun' the premises! On yore toes now! We're shore sunk if they ain't rounded up!"

      "I'm shore glad to hear it from his own mouth," muttered Lilly. "Pattipaws—Oh, that you?" The Indian slipped up to them and grunted briefly. He was leading three horses. Lilly helped the girl into a saddle, hearing someone running around the corrals, rapidly approaching. "Injun," murmured Lilly, "you lead off to'rd the hills, savvy? Walk along easy for a hundred yards, so they won't hear."

      The Indian was in front, the girl in the center and Lilly at the rear. They climbed the far slope of the hollow and pointed south, going at a slow and silent gait The exploring party had gone on to the back of the corrals, missing the hollow by a few yards. Elsewhere was the creaking confusion of men saddling up in the dark. Trono's bellicose voice rose and fell, cursing, threatening, lashing at the crew as so many convicts. Quite gradually these sounds grew less distinct and mingled to a kind of rumble. Lilly spoke to the Indian. "All right. Let's stretch out now. We'll have to clear this place before they begin to circle around. Hustle."

      Jill had not uttered a word all this time. And now as they swung toward the towering shadow of the pine forest she was equally silent. The leather gear creaked beneath them and the steady breathing of the horses made a kind of rhythm as they covered the miles. Behind them was the one clear beacon of the sky, the North Star. Elsewhere a dusky veil covered the countless twinkling lights; a soft breeze fanned them and presently the aromatic smell of the sage was blended with that of the trees.

      It was a sober, thoughtful caravan that fled from the JIB. Once only during the night were they in danger. Lilly halting the group got down and put his ear to the ground. Somewhere in the near distance was a pursuing party. He published it briefly. "Find us a hollow or arroyo somewhere, Injun. We'll anchor a minute." The Indian grunted and turned his course until they were traveling back toward the ranch. The ground grew rough and in five minutes dropped from them. Here they stopped and waited until the rumbling of hoofs could be distinctly heard in the clear, quiet air. Presently a cavalcade swept by with a great clatter and groaning, to vanish westward. Lilly waited some length of time and then signaled the Indian to move on. As near as he could judge, Trono was sweeping the land in widening circles from the ranch.

      Midnight passed and they stopped for a brief breathing spell. Toward morning they reached the first trees and began climbing, penetrating deeper and deeper into the recesses of the pines. Daybreak found them high above the valley floor. Lilly, seeing the weariness on the girl's face called a halt. But she was quick to dissent, saying, "If you're stopping on my account, I won't have it. I can travel as long as needed." And Pattipaws made a vague gesture forward, at which Lilly gave in. So they went for perhaps another hour until the pines suddenly made a small bayou and revealed a cabin. There they stopped.

      It was an old, mouldering trappers' cabin. On all sides of the little clearing the ground rose in rugged layers and the underbrush sprang up quickly between the trees. Not a great deal farther ahead Lilly saw the base of a half bald peak and he marked it as a place from which he might scour the valley below. Meanwhile there were other things to consider. Rest and food—and a plan for the future. For all her splendid endurance and courage, the mark of the night's ride was on the girl as she slid from the horse and looked uncertainly to Lilly.

      "Well," said she, "what are you planning now, Red?"

      Lilly grew unaccountably warm at her use of the name. The last twelve hours had revealed many things to her; she accepted him now. Drowsiness weighted her lids, but still there was a frank friendliness in her eyes, and unreserved trust.

      "First off we'll fix up a place for you to get a little sleep," he replied. "But not in that shack. If they pick up our trail—and I think they wall—they'll have a look at it. I'll spread the saddle blankets up in the brush for you. As for anything to eat, it appears as if we went on a water diet for a few meals."

      She waved that aside as unimportant. "I've been hungry before." Then she flushed a little, still holding his eyes. "I'm—I'm sorry. Most of this is my own fault. But Slim and Bill were two of Dad's trusted men. Even Trono was always kind to me. I had no idea—"

      "Yore dad," he reminded her, "was a powerful man. Nobody tried anything on him. They toed the mark and jumped at his word. But you can never tell what a fellow carries around in his mind. That crew puzzles me. A fine bunch of bandits! I'd think yore dad would have known what

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