Sudden Outlawed

"yu've been rubbin' noses with Jed," Sandy chaffed. "The war-whoops is all busy chasin' the festive buffalo."

Sudden started to grin, changed his mind, and gripped a gun instead. "Here's some that ain't," he said quietly.

Out of the brush a line of horsemen had silently emerged, pulling up in the form of a half-circle about two hundred yards from the herd. They were Indians, big, well-built fellows, sitting their mettlesome little ponies like bronze statues. Each brave carried a long lance, bow and arrows, and on the left arm a round shield of buffalo hide, hair inwards, stretched on hickory, with pictures of the moon, stars, serpents, and other symbolic devices painted on the front. Their fierce faces, and their chests, were daubed with colour.

At the sight of them the cowboys pulled out their rifles, but the Indians showed no hostility. Only one advanced, a tall oldish man, gaily bedecked with eagle plumes, and bearing on his shield the presentment of a black bear. His right hand was raised, palm outwards, in token that he came on a peaceful mission. Despite the cruel, crafty expression on his face he was an imposing figure. He rode straight to the foreman--having doubtless observed him giving orders--uttered a guttural "How!" and began to speak. Jeff listened for a moment and shook his head.

"No savvy," he said, and beckoned to Sudden. "Mebbe yu can find out what he's after."

The redskin repeated his statement and the cowboy was able to gather the gist of it.

"He says he is Black Bear, a great chief, that this is Commanche country, an' we got no right to take cattle through it," he translated. "He wants tribute in cows."

The foreman's face grew bleak. "How many?" he asked. Sudden put the question and the Indian, resting his lance across his knees, pointed first to himself, then to Sudden, and raised both hands. The cowboy explained :

"Redskins reckon thisaway : one is a finger, five a hand, ten, two hands, twenty, a man. Yu can figure it yoreself."

Jeff, who had been watching the chief's movements closely, did so, and swore. "Give him fifty steers?" he snarled. "Tell him to go to hell."

"Don't know enough o' the lingo," Sudden said. "I'll offer him five--Injuns is like Jews, allus ask more'n they expect to get."

Black Bear listened gravely to the white man's explanation, haltingly told in a mixture of Indian tongues, and ending with the raising of one hand only. Then he drew himself up haughtily, flashed a meaning glance at his followers, and fixed his savage eyes on this paleface who had insulted him with so paltry an offer. Sudden met the stare with one equally steady. For one long moment the black eyes battled with the blue and then the redskin wrenched his pony round and trotted back to his band. The cowboys, who had allowed the herd to drift towards the other end of the valley, waited, rifles ready, for the expected charge. They saw Black Bear rejoin his men and face about but he gave no signal.

"What's the game, Jim?" the foreman asked, anxiously scanning the line of silent savages.

"Damned if I know," Sudden replied. "Looks like they're waitin' for somethin'."

The crash of a gun, followed by the fainter report of a pistol, came from where the camp lay and instantly a rider whirled his mount and spurred in that direction ; it was Sandy. The Indians were gesticulating, waving their weapons, and reining in their eager ponies. Sudden turned to the foreman.

"They're attackin' the camp--that's why these devils were holdin' back. I'll follow Sandy ; yu can handle this bunch."

A pressure of his knees and he was off, threading his way through the scared cattle. He had covered but a short distance when a burst of yells, mingled with the spiteful crack of exploding powder, told him that the enemy had charged.

Sandy reached 'the camping-ground just in time to see a tall, lithe warrior, with a limp form draped over his shoulder, disappear in the brush, and oblivious to everything else, dashed in pursuit. He knew that his friend was just behind him, for he had seen the big black pounding down the valley. The trees hampered him and he arrived in the open only to see the abductor sling his burden like a sack of meal across the backof a waiting pony, spring up behind it, and dart away. The cowboy dared not risk a shot lest he hit the girl ; he could but try to run the redskin down.

Sudden arrived on the heels of Sandy, saw him vanish, and turned his attention to what was happening. A dead Indian--his head half blown away--sprawled in his path, and another lay huddled by the wagon, from which a steady string of curses issued. Near the fire, Peg-leg was outstretched, a smudge of blood on his face, and over his body Aunt Judy was struggling desperately with a squat, bow-legged savage, whose paint-smeared features she had further decorated with several vivid red streaks. Fighting like a wildcat, and spitting oaths of which a cowboy might well have been proud, she was giving the Comanche brave plenty to think about. Try as he might, he could not clutch those long bony arms with their fearsome claws.

"Knock my man over, huh, ye Gawd-damned, mis-begotten, copper-coloured heathen," she yelled, and with a quick stoop, snatched a skillet from the fire and whanged him across the face.

Driven back by the blow, the redskin, evidently despairing of capturing a white squaw for himself, drew his knife. His hand swung up and then a bullet from Sudden's gun toppled him to the ground. Aunt Judy staggered weakly to her husband, flinging herself on her knees beside him. As she wiped away the blood, the cook opened his eyes and sat up.

"I'm awright," he said. "One o' these bastards got me with the butt of his lance an' I took the count." His eyes roamed round the little clearing. "There was four of 'em. Where's the other?"

"Got away, takin' Miss Carol," Aunt Judy told him, adding a venomous hope concerning the redskin's future state.

"Shucks, cussin' don't help," Peg-leg said, and his better-half stared at him ; Satan reproving sin would have astonished her less.

"Yu just found that out?" she asked acidly.

Sudden interrupted the squabble by putting a question. It appeared the raiders had approached the camp on foot. Peg- ' leg had seen one stepping to the wagon and laid him out with a shotgun. Then he had been struck down from behind. His wife took up the tale. The women had been in the tent and when Peg-leg fired, the girl ran out, to be immediately seized, overpowered, and tied. Aunt Judy following, was attacked by a third savage, while a fourth attempted to climb into the wagon.

"Sam blowed his light out an' he's liable to do the same to as if he ain't attended to," she finished.

They found the cattleman propped up on one elbow, a six-shooter gripped in his right hand. The fury in his rugged face save way to fear when he heard of Carol's capture, and he cursed anew the man whose bullet had laid him low. Sudden tried to soothe him by pointing out that Sandy was in pursuit, but the effort failed.

"They'll get him too--damn the crooked luck," he dejectedly replied. "How's Jeff makin' it?"

Hammering hoofs brought the answer and the Infant pulled his panting pony to a sliding stop by the wagon.

"We druv 'em off," he announced triumphantly. "Got six at the first rattle. That discouraged 'em some, an' they started circlin'. It didn't help 'em none for we got two-three more. [hen the of chief lets out a whoop an' they scoops up their dead an' vanishes--complete. Jeff said for to tell yu the herd ain't scattered much an' we'll be ready to start in 'bout an hour."

Sudden explained why this would not be possible and the youth's face lengthened.

"Hell, that's bad," he said. "Sandy went after her?"

"Yeah, an' as he ain't back, it's possible they got him too."

The rancher's querulous voice came from the wagon : "Get Jeff an' the boys an' go after these damned women-stealers."

Sudden shook his head. "Listen to me, seh," he said earnestly. "That Black Bear is a wise hombre an' he'll figure on us doin' that very thing, which is why he didn't stay an' fight it out; Comanches ain't cowards, yu savvy. If they can trap the outfit they get the herd easy."

"To hell with the herd," Eden snapped. "I'd sooner lose every hoof than harm should happen to Carol."

"Shore, but that ain't the way to go about it," the cowboy urged. "We gotta walk in the water some."

"He's right, boss," Peg-leg put in. "Let Jim trail 'em an' see how things is. No sense in runnin' our heads into a yeller-jackets' nest."

The old man gave a grudging assent ; he knew they were advising him widely but his fiery disposition, and the contempt of the frontier men for the redskin called for something moreaggressive ; the thought of his girl at the mercy of those painted devils filled him with fury.

Sudden's preparations were soon made. He decided to take the black, for if he could liberate the captives, speed would be essential. He was mounting when Jeff rode in ; Sudden explained his errand.

"O' course, it's on the cards they'll gather me in too," he aid. "Then it'll be up to yu an' the boys. I'll leave a plain trail."

The foreman's face was sombre. "It looks bad, Jim," he said. "Why should they be so sot on gittin' a white woman, huh?"

Sudden did not reply to the question. He could have offered a reason, but he feared the foreman would deem it fantastic. But his knowledge of redskin nature, relentless and untiring in its pursuit of vengeance, told him that it was possible.

Following Sandy's trail, his mind was busy with the idea he had forborne to mention to the foreman. It had suggested itself when he learned the girl had been carried off. The braves from whom he had rescued her on the day he had first ridden to the S E had been Comanches, and there was a chance that they belonged to Black Bear's tribe. Had the one who escaped remained in the neighbourhood, watching the preparations for the drive, following it day by day, waiting for the 'opportunity to avenge his comrade? Sudden's thoughts reverted to the moccasin prints he had found when Eden was stricken down. No Indian had fired that shot, but one might have been spying on the camp and driven away by the advent of the assassin. The cowboy's lips set grimly. If this theory was correct, the girl's peril was indeed dire.

He experienced no difficulty in following the trail since neither pursuer nor pursued had any other thought than speed. The deeper indentations of the animal carrying the double burden could be distinguished. The tracks led him towards a forest of pines, the plumed heads of which shut out the sun. He paused for a moment and pulled out a pistol before plunging into the shadowy depths. The ghostly, bared trunks of the trees, rank after rank, were most of them large enough to conceal a lurking enemy. An ideal spot, the cowboy decided, for an ambush.

He had not gone far when his intuition appeared to be justified. At a point where the foliage overhead made the wood almost dark, he came upon evidence that a struggle had taken place ; the carpet of pine-needles had been violently disturbed, and on the bole of a tree was a blotch of blood. Had Sandy caught his man? Sudden did not think so--the indications suggested that it was the other way about. A careful examination of the nearby tree-trunks showed that the ground behind several was slightly flattened. Moreover, the trail of the two horses continued on through the wood.

"That hombre had it all planned out," the cowboy muttered. "They were waitin' here for a pursuin' party. Well, Sandy ain't dead, seemin'ly, or they'd 'a' scalped an' left him."

Somewhat cheered by this reflection, he rode on, noting that the bloodstains recurred at intervals. Presently he emerged from the timber and at once pulled up ; an increase in the hoof-prints showed that other riders had joined the pair he was following.

"The ambushin' braves picked up their hosses 'bout here," he surmised. "Must be near a dozen of 'em. Nig, we gotta watch out."

He went on cautiously, keeping well away from any spot which offered a likely hiding-place. But he had to take some risks, for the day was advancing and it would be hopeless to follow the trail in the dark. A little later he came to a narrow ravine littered with boulders, debris wrested by the weather from the rock walls. Pacing slowly along, eyes alert for any sound or movement, he saw something which brought an oath to his lips: lying face downwards at the side of the gully was a bound and gagged man. Sudden slid from his saddle and turned him over ; it was Sandy. As he stooped to remove the gag a rope swished, he was flung violently backwards, and a savage war-cry pealed out. Realizing that he too had been tricked he grabbed at a gun but a crashing blow from behind robbed him of reason.

Chapter XVI

WHEN Sudden regained his senses his first impression was that someone was kicking him on the head, but he soon realized that the throbbing jars he felt were the result of the blow he had received. Lying on his back, his hands tied, he was unable to find out the extent of the injury. In the semi-darkness he could see that he was inside a kind of inverted funnel and knew it for an Indian tepee. Outside, the weird wail of a woman rose above the barking of dogs and guttural voices of men.

"So they got me," he said aloud. "If my head didn't hurt so much I'd say it was solid bone. Wonder where Sandy is?"

"'Lo, Jim," a low voice answered. "yu come to life again?"

"No, I'm dead from the neck up," was the disgusted reply. "Of all the fools ..."

"It was neat, allasame," Sandy consoled. "They knowed yu'd hop off to tend to me--any fella would. All they had to do was squat behind the rocks an' rope yu. First time I ever figured as the bait in a trap."

"Where's Miss Carol?"

"Right here, wore out an' sleepin'. What d'yu reckon they'll do to us, Jim?"

Sudden was still sore in both body and mind. "Cuff our ears an' tell us to be good boys in future, don't yu reckon?" was his sarcastic reply, and then, "Shucks, we'll find a way out." After a pause, "There was blood on the trail ; yu hurt?"

"No, I winged one when they jumped me," Sandy explained.

"Jeff an' the boys'll search us out," Sudden said.

"Don't bet on it. Soon after they collected yu the main bunch branched off, taking yore hoss an' mine. One brave reckoned on ridin' the black but that pet o' yores just planted both hind hoofs on his chest an' if he ain't stopped breathin' altogether, I'll lay he's findin' it a painful process. After that, they elected to lead him."

"Nigger don't like Injuns."

"I'm believin' yu. Well, the rest of us struck a stream, waded down it for near half a mile, an' then went along a stony gulch where a herd o' buffalo wouldn't leave a trace."

Sudden was silent ; this put a different complexion on matters. The rescue party would follow the prints of the shod horses and probably blunder into a trap just as he and Sandy had done. The commotion outside increased in volume and other wailing voices joined the first.

"Black Bear's band has got back an' some more squaws have learned they are widders," Sudden surmised.

There was a slight movement in the gloom on the far side of the tepee ; the noise had awakened the third prisoner.

"Sandy," the girl whispered. "Did I hear Mister Green's voice?"

"Shore, I'm here, Miss Carol," Sudden replied.

"Thank heaven," she said. "I feared you were--killed." He Trailed grimly into the darkness ; she did not realize that death might yet be a boon to crave for. Still speaking in a low voice, she went on, "Mister Green, the Indian who brought me here is the other--the one who got away."

It gave Sudden no pleasure to find that his conjecture had proved correct. Affecting a jocularity he did not feel, he said: "Persevering beggar ; we'll have to discourage him some."

"I'm--scared," she confessed.

"Don't yu be," he urged, and then lied nobly, "the boys'll be along any time now an' snake us outa this mess."

His confident tone was comforting and she uttered a sigh of relief ; somehow she felt that with these two men beside her, tied though they were, the situation was not quite hopeless.

The flap of the tent was flung aside and a savage, carrying a lighted pine-knot, stalked in. Of medium height, his headdress of eagle-plumes and erect bearing made him appear taller. He was young, less than thirty, Sudden estimated, and moved with the agile sinuosity of a snake. On his bare breast the mask of a fox was crudely pictured in red, and the streaks of paint on his face intensified its sinister expression of cruelty. He shot one triumphant glance at the girl, strode across to Sudden and stooped, thrusting the torch almost into the cowboy's face. For an instant he gazed and then a flash of ferocious joy illumined the dark eyes.

"Damnation, he remembers me," the captive reflected. "Trust an Injun for that."

Spitting out a few rapid sentences in his own tongue, the Indian, after testing the bonds of all three, glided away.

"What did he say?" Sandy thoughtlessly inquired.

Sudden, though he could not have given a literal translation gathered sufficient to know that he had been promised a slow and very agonizing end. Not wishing to further alarm the girl, his reply was evasive:

"He's goin' to have a pow-wow with me in the mornin'." Sandy's tone was incredulous. "A pow" he began, and stopped. "Shore, he'll want to talk things over," he went on. "Mebbe he'll dicker with us for beeves."

Long into the night the shrieks of the women mourning their dead endured. Sudden could vision them, kneeling on the bare earth, their bodies streaming with blood from the gashes they inflicted upon themselves. The spectacle would rouse resentment against the hated paleface prisoners to the highest pitch, and unless a miracle happened . . . In a gust of revolt, he strained at his bonds, but the man who had tied them knew his business. He tried to sleep, well aware that he would need all his nerve for the coming ordeal.

Daylight brought them visitors, an armed brave and a squaw bearing platters of food, pieces of cooked flesh and cakes of meal, with which they had to deal as best they could with bound hands. One unacquainted with Indians might have argued from this that they were not yet to die, but Sudden knew it was but a refinement of cruelty ; a man weak from want of food would succumb to torture sooner.

When they had eaten, the redskin removed the bonds from Sudden's ankles and pointed to the entrance of the tent. The cowboy saw the alarm in the girl's eyes and forced a grin on his set lips.

"Goin' to have a word with Foxy," he said. "Back soon."

"What does it really mean?" Carol's white lips whispered, as the pair went out.

Sandy was cursing softly but vividly. "It means--hell," he groaned.

They heard a fierce yell of execration as the captive appeared, and in an agony of fear, dragged themselves to the opening of the tepee. The sight they saw did not reassure them.

The camp was of fair size, consisting of more than a score of lodges, set in a rude circle and hedged in by trees and brush. Round the open space in the centre the whole tribe was gathered, men, women, and children, shrieking and yelling in savage exultation. The hubbub increased as , the white man was conducted to a large tree on the edge of the clearing. Two more warriors now joined the first. Releasing his hands, they gripped a wrist apiece, forced his arms back and again secured them behind the tree-trunk. The position was intensely painful and rendered the sufferer as helpless as a tied steer.

No sooner was this done than the onlookers surged forward, broke into an eerie chant, and began to circle the tree in a wild dance. The oblique rays of the mounting sun, flickering through the foliage, shadowed the fantastic capers on the ground. Though they shook their weapons in his face, no one of the dancers attempted to touch the prisoner. Interminably, as it seemed to the object of it, the monotonous dirge went on. All the tribe were not taking part ; on the far side of the clearing stood a group of Indians whose plumed heads showed that they were chiefs ; among them was Black Bear.

Wooden-faced, the bound man stared stolidly at the dancing devils who mocked as they passed him. His head still throbbed from the rough treatment of yesterday and his arm-muscles ached under the unnatural strain to which they were being subjected, but he knew he must show no sign of weakness ; that was what these fiends were hoping for. To avoid thinking of what was to come he sent his mind back into the past, recalling the dark hours in Fourways, where he had also awaited death ; it was a grim thought that the outlaw's rescue might yet prove something to be regretted. It would be Sandy's turn next, and then the girl ; the eyes of Red Fox had plainly told her fate.

A raucous command rang out and the droning ring broke and swept back, forming in a half-circle on the far side of the clearing. From among the chiefs Red Fox strode, his feathers fluttering in the faint breeze, to pause a few paces from the prisoner. His dark face was alight with savage triumph.

"For the slaying of Running Deer, my brother, you shall die many times. On your knees you shall beg for death and it shall not come."

Sudden's expression was contemptuous. "Red Fox has a big mouth," he said. "He might frighten a papoose."

He knew that the shaft had gone home, though only a tremor of rage betrayed the fact ; the redskin was crafty.

"Red Fox has sharp teeth but will not bite too soon," he countered. "yet if the white dog desires a speedy death, he shall have his chance."

He stepped back, drew a short, heavy-hafted knife from his belt, and glanced pridefully round at his audience. Then his right arm swung up, down, and like a streak of silver the blade flashed through the sunlight and embedded itself in the tree-trunk. Sudden felt a trickle of warm blood and realized that the keen edge. missing his head by a hair's-breadth. had nicked his ear. The thrower, bent slightly forward, watched the result of his effort with evil enjoyment.

11 CI

"Move, and earn the death you will presently pray for," he called out.

A medley of mocking yells came from the spectators and a score of voices repeated the taunt; both they and the cunning devil who had uttered it knew that the invitation would not be accepted. However desperate his situation, a sane, healthy man will hold on to life as long as possible, and though Sudden could see no chance of escape, he cherished a hope that he might somehow get free and go down fighting. So he schooled his aching muscles and became as motionless as the tree against which he stood.

With steady, unwinking eyes, he saw the fling of the brown arm again, the gleam of the twinkling steel, and felt the wind of the blade on his cheek. The second knife missed him by less than an inch. Amid the shouts of admiration for the prowess of their chief, were jeers for the man who had declined to die. Sudden was concerned with someone else ; from behind had come a hoarse whisper :

"yore han's is free. When that varmint comes to git his stickers, grab one an' let him have it. Then jump for the tepee, git yore guns, and gimme a chance to start the gal an' yore friend off. There'll be a hoss waitin' for yu."

Like a dazed man, the cowboy listened. The voice was one he had heard before but in the stress of the moment he could not place it. He could feel that his wrists had been loosed and lowered his arms slightly to relieve the numbing ache. He looked at Red Fox ; the chief was strutting to and fro, enjoying his triumph, and seemed to be in no hurry to fetch his weapons. Sudden wanted him nearer.

"Red Fox is clumsy," he announced loudly. "An Apache or Kiowa boy could throw the knife better."

Like a stung man the savage whirled, his dusky features aflame with fury.

"White spawn!" he cried, "I will cut off your ears with the knives ; I will pin your fingers one by one to the tree."

Haughtily he stepped forward and that was the moment the victim had been waiting for. Snatching one of the knives, he balanced it on his palm for an instant, and then hurled it at the advancing savage. With a strangled cry Red Fox crumpled up, the steel buried to the haft in his throat.

For one staggering moment there was silence and then the petrified onlookers saw the man they had believed to be securely tied leap across the open space and vanish into one of the tepees. The sight restored their power to move and with a ferocious threatening howl, they rushed in pursuit.

Sudden found the tepee empty. Buckling on his belt, he drew both guns and sprang to the entrance. A surging wave of maddened redskins was sweeping down upon him, and a cloud of arrows greeted his appearance, piercing the buffalo-hide walls of the tepee, and whistling past his ears. His Colts spouted flame and before that continuous hail of hurtling lead the charge withered and broke, the Indians scattering in all directions. But he knew the respite was but momentary ; they would surround him, and then.... Reloading his weapons, he became aware that someone had entered, and swung about. He saw a brown, paint-lined face, feathered scalp-lock, and his thumb was on the point of releasing the hammer when the intruder spoke :

"Hold on thar, friend ; I ain't no war-whoop."

It was the voice of the man who had freed him, and now he remembered it as that of the "still-hunter" who had come into their camp on the Colorado. Tyson gave him no time for questions.

"The gal is away on yore black an' yore friend with her, though he balked some at leavin' yu," he said. "There's a hoss waitin' an' yu ain't got but a minit--them devils is closin' in, which is why they've stopped yappin'." He pointed to the back of the tepee, where a long slit in the hide covering provided an exit, adding, "It'll be nip an' tuck as it is."

"What about yu?" the cowboy asked.

"I'm stayin'," was the jaunty reply. "I c'n pass as one of 'ern an' "--he chuckled with sinister glee--"I'll make me some converts."

Sudden did not attempt to dissuade him ; Tyson evidently knew what he was about. He held cut a hand.

"This puts me deep in yore debt," he said.

"Nary a bit--I ain't forgot that grub an' smoking'," was the reply. "Head due west an' hump yoreseif."

Sudden slid through the opening and found the horse. Being Indian property there was no saddle, but the hackamore bridle was all the cowboy needed and in a trice he was on the beast's back and spurring for the open. A shout of rage and a few spasmodic arrows greeted his appearance and a redskin rose out of the long grass and sprang at him, only to go downwith a shriek under the plunging feet. A score of leaping strides and the fugitive knew that he was safe for the time. He would be pursued, but the Indians had first to secure their ponies and this would give him a fair start. Nevertheless, he pressed on at full speed, casting an occasional glance at the trail, where the prints of shod horses seemed to indicate that he was following his friends.

Unfortunately, the nature of the country did not favour him, for though undulating, it was open, offering little opportunity of keeping out of sight. Sadden had covered but a few miles when, from the crest of a long slope, he saw the pair he was in search of, and uttered a man-sized curse when he realized that they were waiting for him. With a violent gesture he signed them to go on and let his own mount feel the spurs. His greeting, when he ranged alongside, was hardly one of gratitude.

"Have yu lost yore wits?" he asked Sandy. "yu oughta be a coupla miles farther away right now."

"We were anxious about you," the girl explained. "I insisted on waiting."

Sudden looked around disgustedly. "There ain't a hole we could hide in," he said.

As they surmounted another incline a faint whoop was borne to them on the breeze, and back on the trail was a billowing cloud of dust in which tiny dark forms could be dimly distinguished. Sudden's lips clamped together as he studied the animal he bestrode. Sandy was riding his own horse, which was a good one.

"Friend Tyson don't savvy ponies, or mebbe this is all he could lay his paws on," he commented. He reached over and removed his rifle from the saddle of the black, and said to Sandy, "yu an' Miss Carol go ahead ; my hoss is fast for a mile or two, but ain't got no bottom."

"Like hell we will," the boy retorted hotly. "What yu goin' to do?"

"Stay an' argue with these copper-coloured gents. That'll give yu time to get the girl away--mebbe."

Ere Sandy could voice his objection to this proposal a fierce yell apprised them of another factor to be considered, and effectually closed the argument. Less than half a mile distant, and coming towards them, was another band of redskins who, at the sight of the whites, quirted their ponies into a run. The fugitives were between two fires. Sudden swung his horse to the right.

"Follow me," he cried. "We gotta find a better place than this to stand 'em off."

"Mebbe they'll scrap with each other an' give us a chance to sneak off," Sandy said hopefully, as they raced at top speed across the plain.

"The second lot are Comanches too," Sudden told him, and shot a hasty glance over his shoulder. "Hell, they're gainin'. Head for that bluff ; it looks a likely spot."

He pointed to a small plateau, the approaching slope of which was, at one spot, broken away, leaving a vertical wall. At the foot of this were several boulders. With the girl and the horses sheltered behind the largest of these, the two men gripped their weapons and waited.

"They may get us, boy, but we'll make 'em pay," Sudden grated.

Chapter XVII

THE onslaught did not come at once. The white men saw the two bands meet and fraternize, with much shouting, gesticulation, and brandishing of weapons. Probably the position their prey had taken up did not please them ; it meant a frontal attack, and most Indians had a healthy fear of the "guns that fired for ever." Sandy was counting.

"Thirty of 'em," he said in a low voice. "If they wait till dark we ain't got a hope."

"They won't--Injuns don't like night-work--too many bad spirits about," Sudden reminded him. "They may decide to sit down an' starve us out."

Sandy's face lengthened ; they had neither food nor water. Lying each behind a sheltering rock they awaited the outcome of the argument taking place amongst the enemy.

"Odd that fella Tyson showin' up," Sandy remarked. "Must 'a' changed his mind about searchin' out a settlement."

"Mebbe, but he'd have time to do that an' then catch us up," Sudden pointed out. "He could easy make three miles to our one."

"Well, I ain't carin' how it was but I'm hopin' he'll play another hand. He busted in on us just as yu hid the knife in that skunk's gullet, an' believe me, he was welcome. Hell! they're again'.

The savages, strung out in a long line, had turned tail and were trotting slowly away.

"No such luck," Sudden said. "They're a-comin'. Don't shoot till yo're shore an' aim low ; if yu miss the man yu'll get the hoss."

He was right ; with a whoop the warriors whirled their ponies and raced at the men they had hoped to catch unprepared. In the sunlight the bared bodies shone like polished bronze and the levelled lances were silver-bladed. Feathered head-dresses streamed in the wind as the , galloping ponies gathered speed. The muffled thunder of their thudding feet mingled with the threatening cries of the riders. Sudden waited until they were some fifty paces distant, and then:

"Let 'em have it," he said.

The reports of the repeating rifles rang out and gaps showed in the advancing line as men and horses went down. Not waiting to reload, the defenders drew their pistols--which at the short range were as effective--and continued the fusillade. The deadly stream of lead was too much for the attackers ; the line broke in the middle, the two halves sweeping round, to retreat at full speed. A grin spread over Sandy's perspiring features.

"Reckon they won't come that caper again," he said, busy recharging his weapons. "Funny they didn't use their bows."

"Want us alive," Sudden explained. "I'm bettin' they didn't savvy we'd got our guns."

"Well, they know now," Sandy said, "though there's some it won't interest no more."

He nodded grimly at the plain before them, where the bodies of seven men and as many horses could be seen. Even as they looked, one of the former rose, and crouching, ran towards his friends. Sandy's rifle cracked and the runner reeled and fell.

"Been watchin' that jasper," the marksman said callously. "Had a notion I on'y got his bronc."

The incident evoked howls of rage from the Comanches, with threatening gestures, but the warriors kept their distance. They had been taught a sharp lesson and had no wish for another. Carol, crouching tiredly behind a boulder, called a question, and Sandy cursed the country, the Indians, and lastly, himself.

"Wouldn't yu fancy a fella might have brains enough to hop off an' fill a canteen at the first stream, huh?" he queried savagely.

"Why, no, when two minutes' delay could mean life or death," his friend consoled.

He went over to the girl and explained the position, concluding with the droll little smile which, even in the direst danger, he was able to summon. "yu see, we left in just a suspicion o' haste. Still, Sandy might have . .

She would not have that. "He had enough to think of, and I ought not to have said anything. Do you think the redskins will attack again?"

Sandy's voice answered the question. "Hi, Jim, they're limn' up ; looks like they aim to have another try."

In fact, the long line was moving forward again but this time it extended farther--yards separating the riders. Also, they were moving slowly, the ponies gradually gathering pace for the final dash. This made the task of the defenders more difficult, for instead of firing into a mass, they had to place every shot.

"No use waitin' till they're near," Sudden said. "Pick yore man an' let fly soon as he's in range."

"I'm takin' that jigger on the pinto," Sandy said, and pulled the trigger. "Cuss the luck," he added, as the horse went down, and its rider, after rolling on the ground, arose and shook a vengeful fist.

Sudden toppled a tall warrior from his seat and then an amazing change came over the scene. From somewhere be-' hind the attacking line rang out a volley of rifle-fire which sent half a dozen ponies careering across the plain masterless. The Comanches, taken utterly by surprise, scattered and fled, hotly pursued by the newcomers, who wore the garb of white men. Sandy swung his hat and whooped.

"It'll be the boys, Jim ; they've found us at last," he cried. "Why for yu lookin' as if yu'd lost a dollar?"

"If that's the outfit, the S E has been takin' on hands--there was a dozen of 'em," Sudden replied. "Ever hear o' the steak that fell outa the frying-pan?" Before the boy could reply, the rescuers came racing back,and their leader, reining in, pushed up the brim of his battered sombrero and disclosed the malevolent face of Navajo. He grinned evilly as he recognized the men to whose aid he had come.

"Well, well, see who's here," he drawled. "Sandy, his sidekick, an' "--his triumphant eyes travelled to the girl--"that must be Eden's gal. Shore was lucky for yu-all that we took a fancy to see what mischief this red scum was up to."

"We're obliged to yu," Sudden said shortly.

"Oh, yeah," the ruffian sneered. "But seein' we're Rogue's men yu'll have to thank him in person. I'm bettin' * he'll be main pleased to see yu."

The covert intimation that they were prisoners was no more than Sudden expected. For a moment he did not reply ; he was studying their new captors. Two of them he had seen at the outlaw hide-out, though he did not know their names ; the rest were strangers.

"I was wantin' a word with Rogue anyway," Sudden said.

"Good, then we'll be movin'--I reckon them 'paints has got their needin's," Navajo returned. His eyes narrowed. "There's on'y one point: yu boys must be tired ; guess we'll carry yore guns for yu."

Sudden laughed scornfully. "yu don't guess very good," he retorted. "If yu want our weapons yu'll have to buy 'em an' the price will be high. Sabe?"

Navajo did. The cowboy had rested his rifle against a rock and now stood with hands hovering over the butts of his revolvers, his slitted eyes boring into those of the other. The half-breed hesitated ; he had seen those long, nervous fingers at work before. It was twelve men against two, but ... His glance went to the plain, still dotted with brown bodies. His shoulders shrugged submission.

"yu an' yore men lead the way--we'll follow," Sudden said. "At the first sign of funny business, yu'll take a header into hell, Navajo."

The man scowled, but made no reply. He realized that the prisoners would be of no use dead, and he was not sure of his leader's attitude towards them ; Rogue did not confide in him. So, when they set out, he and his ruffians went first, followed by Sudden and Sandy with the girl riding between them. Carol, who had not heard all that passed, was curious.

"Who are these men?" she asked.

"Some of Rogue's Riders an' they are takin' us to their chief," Sudden told her. "We ain't out o' the wood yet."

"Rogue?" she cried in amazement. "But he's a Texan outlaw. What is he doing so far north?"

"He followed us--it was his gang stampeded the herd."

"Well, at least they are white--not savages."

Luckily she did not see the look her companions exchanged ; it would not have added to her comfort.

Two hours of slow but arduous riding, owing to the difficult nature of the trail, brought them to the outlaws' camp pitched in a glade on the bank of a stream and shadowed by tall pines. A small fire, near which lay cooking utensils, a little heap of stores covered by a slicker, saddles carelessly thrown down, picketed ponies, and the absence of any shelter, denoted the temporary nature of the halting-place. Around a spread blanket four men were playing cards, while another paced slowly to and fro. He looked up as Navajo rode in.

"Get any buffalo?" he asked.

"Never seed hide nor hair o' one," the half-breed replied. "The boys'll have to pull their belts in to-night. Allasame, we had good huntin'."

Rogue's eyes widened when he saw the last three of the party. "How come?" he asked sharply.

Sullenly the man recounted the circumstances. His coup was not being received with the enthusiasm he had looked for. His chief heard him with an expressionless face until he came to the weapon incident, and then he said :

"So Jim didn't wanta part with his guns, huh?"

The jeer in his voice stung the half-breed. "It would have meant a battle ; I reckon I played it right," he retorted angrily. "yu played it safe, anyway," came the sneer. "Awright, I'll talk to Jim now--alone."

"yu ain't overlookin' what this means, Rogue?" the other urged. "That's Carol Eden there, an' her dad'll turn over the whole herd to git her back. Why, it's a pat hand. But mebbe this is what yu bin plannin'? Mebbe Jim an' Sandy was fetchin' her in when the Injuns"

His leader's cold gaze stopped him. "Mebbe yu'll mind yore own business, Navajo," he said. "When I want yore advice I'll shorely ask for it. Tell Jim I'm waitin'."

The scowling half-breed slouched to where the girl and her companions were standing, and gave the message. His leeringeyes swept over Carol and brought the hot blood to her cheeks. Sudden saw the look and said sternly:

"If any guy gets fresh, Sandy, shoot him."

When he had gone, the girl turned to her companion and said quietly, "What is going to happen?"

"I dunno," the young man told her. "Jim'll get us out ; he's a wizard, that fella."

"You seem to think a great deal of him," she said.

"I think more of him than anyone else in the world--but wo," he added hastily.

"Your father and mother?" she suggested.

Sandy shook his head. "Dad, yes, but I can scarcely remember my mother."

She did not pursue the inquiry. There was a 'warmth in his eyes which stirred her pulses despite the danger which threatened them.

Sudden found the outlaw sitting on a fallen tree at the edge of the camp. He greeted the young man with a hard smile. He seemed to have aged, the lines in his face were deeper, and he looked haggard. Sudden sat down and rolled a cigarette.

"Howdy, Jim," the outlaw greeted. "Navajo said yu wanted to see me."

"Well, I wasn't goin' to let him fancy he fetched me in," Sudden explained.

Rogue nodded in comprehension. "Allasame, yu've lost out, Jim, an! I've won," he stated.

Sudden's eyebrows went up. "That so?" he queried. "The game ain't finished yet."

"Talk sense, boy," Rogue retorted. "Sam Eden thinks the world an' all o' that girl ; I can make my own terms. She's the winnin' card an' I hold it."

"But yu won't play it," Sudden said quietly.

The elder man glowered at him. "Th' hell I won't? Who'll stop me?"

"yu will," came the cool response. "Listen to me, Rogue. yo're one tough hombre--I never met a tougher--but at bottom yo're a white man an' yu can't forget that once yu had women-folk yu thought a lot of, an' that there was a time when yu'd 'a' shot a man just for speakin' disrespectful of a girl like Miss Eden. She's in yore han's by accident ; yu can't use her to rob her father, an' yu know it."

For a moment he thought the man he had spoken to so boldly was about to spring upon him. The cold eyes had grown hot and the big fists were bunched into knots. But the outlaw held himself in, only his voice betraying the tearing passion which possessed him.

"What's past is past an' no damn business o' yores," he said thickly. "Why should I care how she comes to be here? To Sam Eden I'm a road-agent an' cattle-thief an' if I fell into his han's, even by accident"--with a heavy sneer--"he'd stretch my neck. All right, I ain't blamin' him, but this time it happens to be my turn. I'd be loco to pass up such a chance as this, an' what d'yu s'pose my men would say, huh?"

Under his hat-brim, the younger man's eyes gleamed slyly. "Hadn't thought o' that," he admitted. "yeah, I reckon yu'd find it middlin' hard to persuade 'em."

He saw the other's jaw tighten and his own face remained wooden under the sharp scrutiny it received. Rogue pondered heavily for a while, his brows knitted, and then stood up, motioning the cowboy to follow. The card-game had ceased and the men were gathered in a group listening to the half-breed. They opened out when their leader approached.

"Well, Navajo, yu got it figured out to yore satisfaction?" Rogue asked.

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Don't need any figurin'," he replied. "Eden hands over the herd an' gits his gal back ; that's all there is to it."

The outlaw leader folded his arms, his eyes flinty.

"The girl goes back to her father, now, an' without conditions," he said deliberately. "I don't war with women." The decision stunned them to silence for a moment and then babel broke out. Above the protesting voices that of Navajo made itself heard :

"See here, Rogue, we all got a say in this," he cried. "yu ain't the on'y one."

"I've said it," the outlaw told him. "As long as I'm boss o' this band I run things my own way." His baleful, bloodshot eyes travelled to the half-breed. "Navajo, yu got ambitions to fill my shoes. Step out an' pull yore gun ; we'll settle it here an' now."

The other men watched the half-breed curiously. Any one of them might have shot down the challenger but it would have meant a battle, for not all of them were disloyal to Rogue. Also, there was that lean-limbed cowboy, of whose abilityto use his gun there was no doubt. Navajo was not the stuff to stand an acid test.

"yu got me all wrong, Rogue," he protested. "I ain't makin' trouble, an' I reckon the boys don't want none neither. Gittin' the herd is all that matters. It seemed an easy way, but if yu got itfixed different, we ain't carin'."

Having gained his end, Rogue was too astute to overplay his hand. He knew the men, understood that self-interest was the only factor which governed their crude natures. Once satisfied that they would not lose, they would be tractable enough.

"I want them cattle as bad as yu do--got to have 'em, in fact," he said quickly. "So yu needn't to worry 'bout that."

Boldly turning his back on them, he walked to the tree-trunk. Sudden stepped after him. The tempest of emotion which had raged through him seemed to have weakened the outlaw physically ; he looked tired and his face was drawn.

"Rogue, yu acted like a white man an' I'm rememberin' it," Sudden told him.

"I acted like a damn fool an' I'm forgettin' it," came the sardonic reply. He was silent awhile, pondering. "How in hell am Ito get that gal back to her of man? It's most of ten mile. Can't use any o' the boys, an' I dursn't leave 'em just now."

"Send Sandy, an' yu can have my word, an' his, that he'll come back--alone," Sudden suggested. "yu can tell him that my life depends on his doin' that, though there's no need."

"yu trust him that much?" the outlaw asked, almost a wistful note in his voice, and when Sudden nodded, "Well, it 'pears to be the on'y trail out."

He walked over to where the girl and her companion were waiting, anxiously. Carol, born of fighting stock, faced the famous desperado fearlessly. With scarcely a glance at her, Rogue said roughly:

"I don't want yu here. This fella"--he gestured to Sandy --"will take yu back to yore camp ; it ain't so far."

"Thank you," the girl said. "I am sure my father"

"Don't get any fool notions," he interrupted harshly. "Tell Eden I can win without usin' women." He beckoned Sandy aside. "The herd lies due west--yu can't miss it. Now, I want yore word that'yu'll come back--alone. If yu don't show up, or bring company, it will go hard with Jim. yu sabe?"

"I'll be back--if the war-whoops don't get me," the young man promised. "An' Rogue, I wanta say thisa mighty han'some act"

"Aw, go to hell," the outlaw retorted. "She interferes, an' that's all there is to it. Get agoin'."

Furtive glances followed the pair as they rode away, but there was no protest, and the inevitable ribald remarks were uttered in undertones. Sudden had waved a cheerful paw but purposely did not go near them ; he had no desire to invent explanations. When they had gone, Rogue came to him.

"What about them guns o' yores, Jim?"

"I've pledged myself to stay here till Sandy returns. Don't yu reckon it would be wiser to let me wear 'em till then?" The other considered the proposition ; in the event of more trouble with the men, the prisoner would necessarily be on his side.

"Mebbe yo're right," he decided.

Meanwhile the girl and her escort were slowly making their way in the direction they believed the S E camp to lie, slowly because, there being no trail, they had to pick a path for themselves in the wilderness.

Despite the necessity for constant caution, Sandy stole an occasional glance at the girl riding beside him. She had courage, and if the slim, straight figure now drooped slightly in the saddle, it was only to be expected after the nerve-wracking ordeal of the last forty-eight hours. Her first words, after they had ridden a mile in silence, took him by surprise:

"Some of those men seemed to know you."

"We'd met 'em," Sandy admitted. "yu run up against all sorts when yo're driftin round."

She did not speak for some moments, and then, "Why did that man let me go? He could have made his own terms with my father."

"It's got me guessin'," the boy told her, truthfully enough. "Mebbe Jim struck some sort o' bargain, seein' he stayed behind."

Carol shook her head. "He could have kept all of us," she pointed out. "He was disputing with his men when the shooting occurred. Was anyone hurt?"

"I expect so," Sandy replied. "That's a tough team an' it takes a hard man to handle 'em. Rogue's all o' that."

"Somehow I wasn't afraid of him," Carol said reflectively. "Though I believe he had just killed or maimed a fellow-creature."

Chapter XVIII

IN the S E Camp, anxiety at the absence of their young mistress deepened when neither Sandy nor Sudden put in an appearance. A search-party was sent out but owing to the redskins' use of dividing their forces, was led astray and lost the trail completely on a wide strip of stony ground. Its return with-Jut Carol reduced the invalid to a state of blasphemous despair ; he cursed everything and everybody, including himself for exposing her to such a peril. Aunt Judy, who had spent all her life among rough-tongued men, fled before the torrent of vituperation, and her husband, nursing a sore head, listened with awe. As he afterwards confessed to the outfit:

"For comprehensive cussin' I never heard the beat of it ; the 0I' Man shorely covered the ground. I reckon he musta bin a mule-skinner one time."

But bad language, however "good" it may be, gets one nowhere and morning broke upon a helpless, and wellnigh hopeless community. The cattleman, propped up by the fire, looked at his foreman in sullen misery.

"Never oughta let her come," he burst out presently. "Jeff, yu gotta find that damn trail. Take all the boys

"The herd" the foreman began, and stopped when the lightning commenced to flicker in his employer's eyes. "Hey, Jeff, there's a coupla riders a-comin'," Pebbles yelled. The foreman ran to the speaker's side. Two horsemen were entering the valley at the far end. Jeff studied them for a moment and shook his head in disappointment.

"That ain't Jim's black," he said.

"They might 'a' swapped hosses," Pebbles said hopefully. "It ain't neither of 'em," Jeff replied, and, as the visitors drew nearer, added, "Why, if it ain't Mister Baudry." The gambler it was, and with him was a middle-aged, bent-shouldered fellow, with a long horse-face and deep-set sly eyes. With a word of greeting to the cowboys, the pair rode to where Eden was sitting, and dismounted.

Baudry shook hands with Eden and presented his companion : "Meet Davy Dutt ; he's in a deal with me."

The cattleman received the stranger without undue enthusiasm--Mister Dutt's exterior was not impressive. Then, in reply to an inquiry for Carol, he told the story of their predicament, and was surprised at the effect it produced ; the gambler's full, faintly-tanned face took on a yellowish tinge and his voice betrayed real concern.

"My God!" he cried. "Miss Carol in the hands of savages? That's terrible, Sam. What are you doing about it?"

Eden told him and Baudry swore in perplexity. "you can't do a thing till you locate those damned heathens. Got any ideas, Davy?"

"Nope," the stranger confessed. "yu seen the kind o' country we come through ; yu could hide Noo york in it."

The gambler explained that they had been travelling northwest from Fort Worth, and finding a cattle-trail some way back, had followed it on the chance of it proving to be the S E.

The day passed monotonously enough for the little group left in the camp, and when, as the sun sank in the west, the searchers again reported failure to discover the trail of the red raiders, a blanket of gloom descended upon the whole company. For the cattleman, weakened by illness, the blow was a crushing one, and, strange to say, Baudry was little less affected. Of them all, Judy was obstinately optimistic.

"That Green fella's got savvy," she announced. "He'll fetch her back."

The prophecy proved nearly correct, for as the dusk was deepening into dark, Sandy and his charge rode wearily into camp and were instantly surrounded by whooping cowboys. The rancher's eyes bulged when he found the girl he feared was lost for ever, kneeling beside him. One arm hugging her close, the other hand went to Sandy.

"By heavens, boy, yu've put me deeper in yore debt than I can say," he cried.

Sandy fidgeted. "I ain't done nothin'," he said. "yu gotta thank Jim."

Naturally Carol was the centre of attraction ; everyone was avid to hear what had happened to her. The story of Sudden's slaying of Red Fox brought ejaculations of "Bravo Jim" and "Good old Texas" from the cowboys, but when she related how they had been rescued from the redskins by some of Rogue's riders, it was Baudry who spoke:

"What's brought that road-agent to these parts?" he asked. "Think he's been trailing you, Sam?"

"It would be a safe bet he stampeded our cows," the tore-man volunteered.

"But if he's after my herd why did he let yu an' Sandy go?" Eden asked the girl. "He must 'a' knowed he had me cinched."

"I was to tell you that he could win without women," she replied.

"Huh! there's two words to that," her father said grimly. With the girl safe by his side he was becoming his own dour self again. He looked at Sandy. "Can yu explain it?"

"No, but I'm guessin' Jim fixed somethin', an' that's why he stayed an' I've to go back."

"Like hell yu have," the cattleman exploded.

"I've promised."

"A promise to a prowlin' thief don't hold."

Sandy looked at the girl; in the firelight her cheeks appeared - pale ; her lips were silent, but her eyes spoke.

"Rogue's word to me was that if I didn't show up' it would go hard with Jim," Sandy added.

"Did he call him by his name?" Baudry put in.

"No, he said 'yore friend,' " was the quick reply. "An' because he's that, I'm goin' back--alone."

The rancher was about to make another angry protest, but Carol anticipated him: "Daddy, he has to go," she said, and the young man's heart leapt at the regret in her voice. "Yu would do the same yourself."

The old man snorted, but his hard face softened as he looked at Sandy. "She's right, boy, o' course," he admitted. "Yu have it to do, but yu can tell Rogue that if he harms either yu or Jim I'll hound him down an' hang him, if it takes the rest o' my days."

Sandy grinned. "I'll pass on the message, but he don't strike me as a man to scare easy."

An hour later, having fed, Sandy transferred his saddle to a fresh horse and started for the outlaws' camp. He had seen Carol for one moment before he left, had grasped a slim brown hand, had heard a whispered, "Good luck, Sandy." The kindness in her eyes went with him as he rode into the gloom.

Eden and the gambler were alone at the fire. The women had retired to their tent and Dutt had expressed a desire to view the sleeping herd. Baudry, biting on a black cigar, was the first to speak.

"Damned if I can fathom Rogue's game, Sam," he said reflectively. "He has you cold and throws the hand in. Why?''

"Yu can search me," the rancher replied. "Carol figures he has a soft spot, but gals get romantic notions 'bout fellas like him. He's reckoned the most ruthless ruffian in Texas, an' that's sayin' a lot."

"Those two men joined you for the drive, dropping in from nowhere," Jethro proceeded. "And one of them--Greenanswers pretty well to the printed description of Sudden."

"Whose last job was pulled off while Green was at the S E."

"True, but it would be a safe play for one of Rogue's men to put the blame on a fellow he knew could prove an alibi."

"yu suggestin' that Green an' Sandy are in cahoots with Rogue?" Eden asked, and there was a rasp in his voice.

"I'm saying it's possible, that's all," was the reply. "your daughter said some of the outlaws knew them."

"Then why did them two boys fetch back near a thousand head after the stampede?"

Baudry chuckled. "you have to admit they knew where to find them," he pointed out. "See here, Sam. Mightn't it be that Rogue realized that the stampede was a mistake, that it would pay him better to let you drive the cattle north for him to steal within reach of a market where they'd fetch four or five times as much. Why, that may be the reason he ain't forcing your hand now."

The rancher's brows drew together. Put like this the plan seemed all too probable, and the idea that he was being played with was far from pleasant. Little devils of doubt began to trouble him, but his obstinate disposition drove him to argue. "Tryin' to bump me off don't seem to fit in."

"Why not, if his first scheme was to grab the herd as soon as he could? I'm supposing it was later he got the notion of aiming for the bigger prize, an' I'd wager something it was Green gave it him ; he ain't a fool, that fellow, believe me."

"I don't think yo're right, Jethro," Eden said stubbornly. Baudry smiled. "Well, perhaps not," he said easily. "But I'm telling you, those two men will be back before long ; they're more use to Rogue here."

"I'll be glad to see 'em," the cattleman said stoutly, but the seeds of suspicion had been sown. "Aimin' to travel with us, Jethro?"

"Maybe we can be of some use," was the reply.

"Pleased to have yu," the rancher said heartily.

The visitor was silent for a time, and then, with the air of one who has come to a decision, he flung the butt of his cigar into the glowing ashes, and looked across at his host.

"Sam, you know what I do for a living," he began. "Well, I'm planning to give myself a fresh deal and drop the cards. With the coin I get when you cash in on your herd I'm starting a ranch--I've got options on land not far from the S E ; with the railways coming west and the northern ranches needing stock, there's going to be money in cattle. But more than that, I want to settle down, with a home of my own--and a wife."

"Why, that's good hearin', Jethro," the rancher said. "Mebbe yo're on the way to fetch the lady, huh?"

The gambler's teeth gleamed as his thick lips parted in a half-smile. "Not exactly," he said. "The lady is travelling north too ; in fact, she's less than fifty yards away at this moment."

Eden straightened up, his eyes wide. "yu--mean--Carol?" he cried incredulously.

"Sickness hasn't dulled your wits, Sam," the other replied with a heavy attempt at jocularity. "And why not?"

"I never dreamt of it," the old man evaded.

This was true ; though Baudry had been a frequent visitor at the S E, the possibility that the girl was the attraction had not once occurred to its owner. Now, faced with the fact, he suddenly realized that he knew very little about the man, save his profession. A chance meeting over a card game in San Antonio had been the beginning of their friendship, and later, Baudry helped him in his plan of purchasing land. Still on the right side of forty, suave, well-dressed and apparently wealthy, the gambler did not lack attraction for the other sex, but .. . Sam Eden shook his head, as though in answer to his own query, and Baudry's narrowed, watching eyes grew cold.

"Any objections, Sam?"

"Have yu spoken to her?"

"No, I reckoned the square thing was to ask you first."

Eden breathed his relief ; it gave him a way out. Sandy's devotion to the girl was patent, and once or twice he had seen her looking at the boy ; women were queer, but he could not conceive that she would prefer the older, sophisticated man for her mate. So he replied with more confidence :

"It's entirely her affair, Jethro. Even if I could claim her as my own child, I wouldn't attempt to influence her. Whatever she says, goes, with me."

The gambler lit another cigar. "Fair enough," he said evenly. "I'm not asking you to do my courting, Sam. When do you expect to pull out from here?"

"Can't say ; must give them boys a chance to come in."

"They'll do it--with a fine tale of how they hoodwinked Rogue and got away," Baudry sneered.

Long after, when he had been lifted back into his bed in the wagon, the words recurred to the rancher. He fought against the fear that they might be the truth but could not completely convince himself ; Baudry's arguments had seemed all too plausible. Moreover, the outlaw's impudent warning that he intended to have the herd was disturbing ; Eden was well aware that his outfit was numerically weak and if two members of it could not be depended upon ...

Chapter XIX

SANDY experienced little difficulty in finding the outlaws' camp again. A bright moon enabled him to recognize the landmarks --a twisted tree, a jutting spire of rock, a wedge of chaparral, which the plainsman instinctively notes when travelling a trail by which he must return. As he rode in, a man with a levelled gun stepped from the shadow of a tree and ordered him to halt. A glance satisfied him.

"So yu come back?" Sligh said, for he it was. "Damned if I thought yu'd be such a fool."

"It warn't folly, Sligh, just pure affection--for yu," was the flippant reply. "What's the next move?"

"yu pass yore gun to me."

Sandy pulled out his revolver but instead of handing it over, he pointed the muzzle at Sligh. "Now yu can blaze away an' we'll go to hell together," he said pleasantly.

"Rogue's orders," the man growled.

"Then I'll take 'em from him," Sandy retorted. "Where is he?"

The outlaw pointed to a small fire apart from the larger one in the centre of the glade. Sandy grinned.

"Go ahead," he said. "I might lose my way."

"Think yo're smart, huh?" came the sneer.

"Smart's my middle name," the young man chuckled. "Do we take root here?"

With a curse the sentinel slouched off. Two men were sitting by the fire and when Sandy reached it, Sligh had already voiced his complaint.

"Pulled his gun on me," he growled. "If it hadn't bin for yore orders, I'd 'a' blowed him apart."

Rogue looked up as the boy slid from his saddle. "'Lo, Sandy, I'm wantin' that weapon," he said quietly.

Sandy's eyes were on the other figure at the fire. "What's the word, Jim?" he asked.

"yu got Miss Eden back?" Sudden queried, and when his friend nodded, he drew his own guns, handing them, butts first, to the outlaw leader. "Ante up, Sandy," he went on. "Rogue has kept his part o' the bargain an' we gotta keep our'n." He smiled sardonically across the flames. "We're yore prisoners, Rogue, but I'm givin' yu warnin' that we'll light out if we get a chance."

"Then I'll have to tie yu," Rogue rapped.

"I don't blame yu," Sudden smiled, and at a nod from him, Sandy relinquished his revolver.

Later, three shapeless, blanket-covered forms lay round the smaller fire. The only difference between them was that two of them were tied hand and foot and appeared to be fast asleep. The third was wide awake, wrestling with the problem of what to do with his prisoners. The disarming and binding had been merely a bluff, for he did not want them ; they could only be a burden. The girl had been a different proposition--a weapon --but he could not credit the rancher with great solicitude for two of his hands. Their detention would mean two less to defend the herd, but be dismissed this aspect ; his own force was strong enough. A gleam of steel in the flickering firelight caught his eye ; it was a knife, used in the binding and forgotten. It helped him to a decision.

He glanced at the sky, where clouds had now blotted out the moon, flinging a pall of darkness over the camp. Soundlessly he edged over until he was close to Sudden, and able to reach the knife. The cowboy was breathing stertorously. Carefully raising the blanket, Rogue severed the bonds which confined the sleeper's wrists, and dropping the blade, rolled back to his former position. Fora time nothing happened and then he saw Sudden stretch and lie still again. Rogue knew he had discovered that his arms were free.

Presently the dark blotch of the cowboy's blanket stirred as he slowly sat up. He saw the knife, reached for it, and freed his ankles. With a whispered warning, he did the same for his fellow-prisoner. Then, on hands and knees, Sudden crept to the outlaw, whose heavy breathing suggested deep slumber. The confiscated weapons were beside him. Leaving their blankets rolled in some semblance of human forms, the captives crawled away from the fire, and reached the edge of the glade.

"The hosses are on the far side," Sudden whispered. "We'll have to pass Sligh. While I deal with him, yu slip around an' get the broncs."

Skirting the edge of the encampment, they moved swiftly and silently over the floor of matted pine-needles and presently saw the sentinel leaning against a pine, his rifle beside him. Like a shadow Sudden darted from tree to tree, and then. dropping on his belly, wormed his way forward. All that the unsuspecting watcher knew was that out of the murk a figure rose at his very feet and fingers of steel clutched his throat, prisoning any sound he might have uttered. Savagely he fought back, twisting, striking, kicking, but the relentless pressure of that vice-like grip was paralysing ; he could not breathe, his throat throbbed with pain, and the world went black before his bulging eyes. A few moments and the man was a limp and senseless weight. Sudden let him fall and hurried after Sandy. That young man had not been idle ; he had found the horses. and saddles. Soon the outlaw camp was behind them. For a while they rode in silence and then Sandy could restrain his curiosity no longer.

"How in hell did yu manage it, Jim?" he asked.

"I didn't," Sudden smiled. "Some kind gent cut my paws loose an' left the knife handy."

"Cripes, I'll bet it wasn't Sligh."

"yu'd win. It was another fella, an' when he came creepin' up on me with that sticker in his fist, well, I've knowed happier moments. I played I was asleep-snored real hearty."

"yu can too," Sandy complimented. "Did yu recognize him?"

"It was Rogue hisself."

"Oh, yeah," came the sarcastic reply. "Havin' tied us up he would turn us loose, wouldn't he?"

"Them bonds was just eyewash for the gang. Rogue didn't .rant us--we gotta be watched allatime, an' he knows Eden tin't goin' to part with a single steer on our account, so he gets rid of us--his own way. That was Sligh's knife--I saw him drop it ; he'll get the blame an' we'll get the credit. Rogue 's one smart hombre."

A smudge of grey in the eastern sky had turned to a golden glow and the red rim of the sun was pushing above the horizon when they rode down the valley and sighted the S E wagon. Peg-leg, busy preparing the morning meal, let out a yell which brought men leaping from their blankets and grabbing for guns. When they saw that it was not an Indian raid they laughed and swore at the cook. The foreman, his wrinkled :ace one smile, surveyed the pair delightedly.

"Nice damn couple, ain't yu?" he said. "Holdin' the drive up thisaway. The 0I' Man oughta give yu yore time."

"An' yore chin would hit yore toes if he did, yu holy fraud," Sudden retorted. "Now, Sandy an' me ain't had no sleep for 'bout a year. Who's got spare blankets? We had to leave our'n behind."

For a couple of hours they slept like dead men and then Jeff aroused them. "Sam's askin' for yu," he said.

They found the cattleman sitting at the end of the wagon. He was recovering rapidly ; the tonic air of the prairies, aided by his tough constitution, had worked wonders. Baudry and Carol were with him, and several of the outfit lingered near.

"Here's the truants, boss," the foreman grinned. "I was tellin' Jim yu oughta give 'em their time."

Eden had smothered his doubts and his rugged face softened as he surveyed the men to whom he owed so much. "I reckon they oughta have anythin' they ask for, but I'm hopin' it won't be that," he said. "Green, Sandy tells me I gotta thank yu for gettin' my girl back."

"Sandy's modesty'll be the ruin of him," Sudden smiled.

"I ain't forgettin' his part," Eden replied. "I'm curious to learn how yu persuaded that ruffian to let her go ; he had me thrown an' tied."

"yeah, he knowed that," the cowboy agreed. "I gambled on two cards--his past an' his pride. I figured that, sunk as he is, some respect for a good woman might remain, an' I was right. For the rest, his message to yu explains it--just the natural vanity o' the man. These were his weak spots, an' I hit 'em good an' hard."

"Then we'll hear more of him?"

"Shorely. He'll strike when he's ready, but I'm guessin' that won't be till we're nearer a market. He's got nigh a score o' men."

Baudry looked at the cattleman and nodded ; he had expressed the same view of the rustler's intentions. With a half-sneer he turned to Sudden.

"yu seem pretty well acquainted with this cattle-thief," he said. "Perhaps he turned you loose too?"

"Now I wonder who told yu?" Sudden debated. "He did that very thing."

Sam Eden's keen eyes widened at this and there was suspicion in them.

"D'yu mean that, Green?" the rancher asked sharply, and when the other nodded, "Why should he do that?" The cowboy related the manner of their escape.

Sudden sensed the hostility in the tone. "His men had none of his finer feelin's."

"Fine feelings--in an outlaw?" gibed the gambler savagely. "That's more than I can swallow."

"He let her go," the cowboy reminded.

"Yes, at your request," came the sneer. "Were you ever one of his gang?"

"No, were yu?" Sudden asked.

Pebbles, who was one of the listening riders, chuckled audibly, and the visitor's face flushed with anger.

"Damn your impudence," he shouted. "What do you mean by that?"

Sudden bent forward, his eyes bleak. "Just what I said," he replied. "Listen to me, Mister Man. On'y two fellas here can talk down to me with safety--my boss an' his foreman. yo're speakin' outa turn."

For a moment the gambler's narrow eyes clashed with those of the speaker and then turned in mute appeal to his host. Sam Eden was nonplussed. Torn between gratitude and friendship, he did not know how to deal with the tiny tempest which had so swiftly arisen. Carol came to his aid.

"Mister Baudry appears to be forgetting that these two men risked their lives to save me, first from Indians, and thenfrom outlaws," she said. "To my mind, that alone matters."

Like a dash of cold water the words brought Baudry to his senses ; his ill-humour vanished and he achieved some sort of a smile.

"you're right, Miss Eden," he said heartily. "Nothing else ounts. I'm sorry, Sam, but I let my ideas run away with me. If that Rogue fellow happened to be here, I'd thank him, whatever his motive may have been."

This ended the discussion, but as Sudden and the foreman went to get their horses, the cowboy asked casually: "yu known friend Baudry long?"

"Nope, an' yu needn't name him my friend neither," Jeff said bluntly. "Don't fancy the ,fella nohow, an' I'll bet if he had a tail there'd be rattles on it."

"Sandy an' me ain't popular in that quarter," Sudden reflected aloud.

"Aw, yu should worry," Jeff told him. "So yu don't think Rogue will try again yet?"

"I ain't worryin', not that yu'd notice," was the reply, and then, "No, barrin' Injuns, flooded rivers, stampedes, storms an' dry stretches, I figure we'll have an easy trip for a while."

Jeff's expression was one of mock disgust. "Yo're a cheerful cuss, I don't believe," he said.

Later, Sudden had a word with Sandy. That young man was still puzzling over the outlaw's complicity in their escape, and said so.

"Shake yore head an' start that stuff yu think with workin'," was the smiling advice he received. "Without us, the S E would be short-handed an' Rogue wants the herd to go through yet awhile."

"Then why did he stampede it?"

"I figure his idea then was to sell the cows to the jasper who was payin' him to break the drive. Now, he's aimin' to handle 'em himself an' clean up a packet."

"Then he's double-crossin' the other man."

"It don't follow. Rogue is a pretty ornery proposition, but he's got points. He told me that this fella was willin' to take the S E cows, but he didn't say he's promised to let him have 'em."

"Glad yu put brother Baudry back a bit. What yu think of him?"

"I don't," Sudden grinned. "But--I'm goin' to."

Chapter XX

THE cattle, rested by the stay in the valley, made good progress, and the tally of the miles covered grew as the peaceful days passed. The members of the outfit, living in their saddles through the long, lazy hours, became jubilant at the thought that their tremendous task might soon be accomplished. Jed, .true to his nature, was pessimistic. /

"It's too easy," he complained. "Like slidin' down a steep hill, yu gotta watch out for the bump at the bottom."

Sandy too was not of the cheerful ones, but for a different reason. Baudry's monopoly of Carol was so complete that the young man rarely had an opportunity of riding with her. Moreover, the gambler, as a guest, ate with the women and Eden, a circumstance which did not lessen Sandy's resentment.

"Cuss it, he's got all the chances," he grumbled.

"Too bad," Sudden commiserated. "Now if yu could show her that red head o' yores ..."

The boy had to laugh. "yu misbegotten son o' misfortune. Some day I'll tell her all about yu," he threatened.

Sudden's hands went up. "Keno!" he cried. "Wait till I'm outa the country."

Sandy's soreness over the situation would have been diminished had he known that Carol was beginning to find the constant company of the visitor irksome. Hitherto it had never occurred to her to regard him as a possible suitor, but his attentions and rather fulsome compliments were forcing her to face the fact. She had never liked him ; but Baudry, with all his astuteness, had not discovered this.

Like most of his type, he held a poor opinion of the other sex ; they were all alike, save that some were more desirable than others. The budding beauty and dewy freshness of this prairie flower had aroused in him a physical intoxication which he called love, but was little more than lust. He wanted, and would have her, and if marriage was the price he would pay it, but ...

In the cowboy, Sandy, he recognized an obstacle to his hopes, just as in the fellow's friend, Green, he saw a menace to his other plans. Bitterly he cursed Rogue for releasing them. Somehow, they must be got out of the way.

Camp was pitched on the tree-fringed bank of a widish ver, but the fact that it had to be negotiated on the morrow gave them no uneasiness. They had crossed several streams of varying size during the past weeks and had come to regard the operation as of no more than ordinary moment.

The herd was bedded down and the crooning voices of the watching riders came faintly to the rest of the outfit loafing and smoking round the fire.

To Sudden, as they went to take their trick of night-riding, Jeff addressed a query : "Can yu make any sort o' guess where we're at?"

"Never been north," Sudden told him. "This river might be the Wichita, but that don't mean we're clear o' the redskins ; they hunt all over."

"I ain't worryin' much about the war-whoops--it's that lousy outlaw loses me sleep--not knowin' when he's goin' to strike."

"I'm allowin' it won't be yet," the cowboy assured him. Pacing slowly around the slumbering herd, under a star-specked sky, he found himself thinking of Rogue. An odd mixture, this miscreant who robbed and killed without compunction, yet retained a respect for women. An outcast, leader of a band recruited from the scum of the settlement, afraid to show his face in any decent community, that, for such a man as Rogue must once have been could only mean hell on earth. It was easy to understand how, whipped by his degradation, in savage disdain, he plunged more deeply into the mire. Sudden knew the feeling, had experienced and almost yielded to it. But for this drive to a new country where he might start afresh.... A wise Providence veils the future ; Sudden could not know that events were even then shaping to hurl him back into the quicksands of shame and danger. Two men, seated out of hearing of the camp, were discussing him.

"Those cowboys have to be got rid of, Davy," the gambler said. "They're liable to make things difficult. Why in hell Rogue let them go I can't guess. What's his game?"

"I'd say he's tryin' to double-cross us," was the reply.

"If he does, I'll kill him," Baudry said. "No man ever did that to me and got away with it."

There was no anger, no boastfulness in the low, even voice, and well aware that it might be a warning to himself, Dutt, toughened as he was, was conscious of a slight shiver which was not due to the night air. He had no illusions regarding J ethro Baudry, knowing that he would slay his best friend if it suited his purpose.

"I've got the glimmerings of a scheme," the gambler resumed. "Let you know when it's worked out. In the meantime, keep a close eye on those fellows."

At dawn they crossed the river without mishap and resumed the long trek northwards across a plain which spread out before them as far as the eye could reach ; there were no trees, no hills, and the foreman--fearing the next stream might be far away--took care that the beasts were well watered before a start was made. The air was cool yet, but the sun, thrusting up into a clear sky, promised plenty of heat presently.

Baudry, as usual, had loped his horse to Carol's side. The gambler's greedy eyes gloated over the girl's slim, supple form as it swayed easily to the paces of her pony. Schooled as he was by his profession to conceal all emotion, and cold-blooded as a fish, her beauty and desirableness turned the ice in his veins to fire. He bent low over his horse's neck lest his look should betray him.

"you get more charming every day," he murmured. "This nomad life seems to suit you."

"I love it," she smiled.

"The West is wonderful," he said, "but don't you ever have a hankering to see the real big cities of the world, New york, London, Paris, Rome, with their fine streets, famous picture-galleries, palaces, cathedrals, theatres, and to join in the whirl of pleasure they offer?"

"Why, certainly, that would be great, and I expect every girl has such dreams," Carol confessed. "But after a while I would want to come home to Texas."

"Just to go on raising cows," the gambler said, a suspicion of contempt in his tone.

It brought a faint flush to the girl's lightly tanned cheeks. "Just to go on raising--a new Empire," she said quietly Her shining eyes and low voice proclaimed her earnestness. This was a phase of her he had not suspected, but--though he might inwardly sneer at her vision--he was quick to take his cue.

"You're entirely right, Miss Carol, though I'll admit I hadn't looked at it quite that way," he responded. "And I'm proposing to do my share by starting a ranch not very far away from the S E--just to raise cows." He smiled, hesitated a moment and then, "But first, I'm taking a holiday, to see all the places I mentioned, and others." He leant across and laid a hand on one of hers. "Will you come with me--Carol?"

Completely taken by surprise, she could only stare at him. He did not wait for a reply.

"I want you for my wife, girl," he said hoarsely. "I'm mad about you--have been since we first met. I'll give you everything you ask for. We'll see all the world can show us and then come back--to Texas. I'm planning big, my dear, but I can swing it ; the West is going to hear of Jethro Baudry, believe me."

Carol's eyes opened wide and she shrank from him, dragging her hand from his hot clasp. His gaze enveloped her avidly, yet she could scarcely credit she had heard aright. To her youthful mind the idea of a husband nearly twice her own age seemed preposterous.

"But I've no intention of marrying yet, Mister Baudry, and I don't like you--in that way," she stammered at last. The gambler's face showed his chagrin. Women were usually kind to him and he had flattered himself that the dazzling prospect he had held out, combined with his own power of attraction, would be more than sufficient to win this unsophisticated girl of the wilds.

"Perhaps I've spoken too soon. Will you try to care for me, Carol?" he urged. "There isn't anyone else, is there?" He saw the warm colour steal into her cheeks again at that and his lips bunched in an ugly pout.

"No, of course not," she protested.

"You haven't got notions about any of these scarecrow riders, have you?" he asked keenly, and instantly saw that he had made a slip.

The impertinence angered her. "These men may be poor and ragged, Mister Baudry," she retorted, "but there is not one of them who would do or say anything to hurt me, or who would not risk his life for mine."

"I know it--I'm all wrong," he said contritely. "It's pure jealousy, girl ; you've got into my blood. Promise me you'll think it over."

"I would much rather forget it," she replied. "We can be friends."

"No," he cried passionately. "It's all or nothing with me. I'm not taking your answer yet. I'll make you care. Do you know what they say of me in the settlements? `Jethro Baudry always wins--sooner or later.' That's my reputation, and by the Lord, it shan't fail me now."

Wounded pride, desire, and disappointment transformed his usually immobile face into that of a savage beast, but in a moment the smiling mask was back.

"I'll not bother you any more now, Carol," he said. "I fancy Dutt is in front ; I have a word to say to him."

He rode off, raking his mount ruthlessly with the spurs, a fact which did him no good with his lady-love ; Carol loved horses, and distrusted those who ill-treated them.

Scarcely had he gone when his place was taken by Sandy--one of the "scarecrows"--and the girl could not but mentally compare them. Certainly the boy's attire was shabby and worn, but the lithe body, poised so easily in the saddle, and the deeply-tanned, youthful face, with impudent eyes which always dropped before her own, more than swung the balance in his favour.

"Don't often get this chance nowadays," he greeted. "How come the guardian angel ain't ridin' herd on yu?"

"you ought not to speak so of my father's friend," she reproved, but there was a demure twinkle accompanying the words. "Mister Baudry wanted to find Mister Dutt. I expect he thought there was no danger of Indians stealing' me again just now."

"Sometimes I 'most wish they would," Sandy told her. Not daring to ask the obvious question, she changed the subject. "Are we nearing the end of the drive?"

"I dunno, but I'm hopin' there's quite a ways to go yet." Once more she felt she was on dangerous ground, but her eyebrows rose. Sandy's explanation was glib enough: "When the herd is sold, I figure we won't be wanted, an' I'll be out of a job."

Her face was turned away ; truth to tell, she was afraid to look at him lest he should see her fear. For his words had brought a sudden realization of what parting with him would mean, and with it all -thought of Baudry vanished like smoke before a puff of wind. Her voice shook a little when at length she spoke :

"Dad will need you all at the ranch. He won't let any of you go--unless you want to."

"Then here's one he can't lose--I'll stick closer to him than his own skin," the young man replied gaily.

"And Mister Baudry is starting a ranch near the S E." Sandy whistled softly. "Is that so?" he said, and then, "I wouldn't ride for him."

There was no rancour in the remark and she knew that she herself had nothing to do with his decision ; the gambler--as a man--had been weighed and found wanting, in the cowboy's estimation.

Chapter XXI

THE man was sitting, his back against a tree, his eyes closed. By his side lay a rifle and a saddle, while round his middle was slung a heavy revolver. His thin, harsh face, from which jutted a beak of a nose, gave him a predatory expression, and a straggling, uncared-for beard lent an appearance of age which his wiry frame belied. It was Jed, riding point, who discovered him.

"Hey, stranger, yu have shorely picked a port place for a nap," he called.

The man opened his eyes. "Hell!" he said weakly, "I was beginnin' to think I was the last fella left in the world. Ain't got a shot o' licker, 1 s'pose? I'm about all in."

"Friend," the cowboy grinned, "I've helped hustle these yere long-horns from near San Antonio. If yu think a Texan would carry painkiller all that way yu don't know the breed. I figure yu lost yore bronc?" The stranger nodded. "The chuck-wagon an' remuda'll be along presently ; they'll fix yu up."

In camp that night the stranger told his story. His name, he said, was "Rollitt," and he was horse-wrangler to the trail outfit they had followed. One morning he had missed several horses, set out to track them, and had been surprised and chased by Indians.

"Kiowas, they were, I guessed, but I didn't wait to make shore" he said. "I've got used to my hair bein' where it is an' didn't nohow fancy it as a decoration for a brave's bridle, so I scratched gravel plenty eager. By bad luck they was between me an' the camp, so I had to run west. Well, I lost them war-whoops, but I killed my hoss doin' it--just dropped under me--an' then I discovered I'd lost myself. That musta bin near a coupla weeks ago, though I lost count o' time too--I'm a good loser, yu see. Wanderin' around, totin' a saddle ain't so funny, 'specially when yo're outa grub. I was afraid to shoot, case them red devils was about, so I lived mainly on berries an' nuts. Once I knocked a sage hen over with a rock, an' I got a rattler--after he come close to getting me an' skinned an' et him."

Aunt Judy uttered a grunt of disgust. "Lawry me, man, yu must 'a' bin hard put to it," she said.

"Shore was, ma'am," Rollitt replied. "But that rattler was good--nice white meat like a chicken ; I've had wuss eatin'."

Listening to the story, Sudden had studied the man closely but could call up no recollection of him. A whispered question to Sandy brought only a shake of the head. Rollitt's explanation seemed likely enough and yet Sudden had a feeling that something was wrong. Eden, however, seemed satisfied.

"yu've had a tough time, stranger, an' I reckon there's small hope o' joinin' yore own outfit yet awhile," he said. "We lost our wrangler back on the trail ; one o' the boys has been deputizin', but I guess he'd be pleased to hand over the job. What do yu say?"

"Well, I'm shorely a maverick an' I'm thankin' yu," the newcomer replied, and, as the cattleman put a question, "This country is new to me but I figure yu should be north o' the Wichita. We kept a straighter line, but we got held up an' had to hand over cash or cattle. I'd say the longer trip'll pay yu in the end."

So it was arranged. Rollitt took over the remuda and appeared to know the work. He did not mix much with the men but was frequently seen in converse with Dutt, who explained that both of them hailed from Missouri. Sudden saw little of the man, but, as he confided to Sandy, that little was enough.

"What's the poor devil done to yu?" the young man asked. "Nothin'--yet," was the reply. "yu didn't see all Rogue's men, did yu?"

"Less'n half, I'd say ; he had a biggish crowd--scattered too. yu ain' thinkin' this jigger was planted there to wait for us? His tale seemed straight enough."

But Sudden was serious. "I've a hunch he's here to make trouble--mebbe for us."

"Well, 0I-timer, man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward," Sandy quoted. "We've met the gent afore an' we're still here, ain't we?"

He was in a gay humour these days. His lady smiled upon and permitted him to ride with her again, for Baudry--though he accompanied her now and then--deliberately absented himself in the hope that she might miss him.

It was nearly a week later that Sudden's forebodings were justified. The foreman, distress signals flying in his face, strode over to where the men were breakfasting and called Sudden aside.

"The 01' Man wants yu an' Sandy, pronto," he said.

The cattleman was sitting with his back to a wagon wheel. Carol, Baudry, and Dutt were seated near, and standing by was the new hand, Rollitt. Eden's brows bent in a heavy frown when he saw the men he had sent for. He wasted no time.

"Green, how long yu been one o' Rogue's riders?" he rasped.

"I ain't," the cowboy said coolly.

"Don't lie," the old man roared. "Rollitt here saw yu in Rogue's hide-out just before yu come to the S E."

Sudden looked at the wrangler. "So yu are one o' his men?"

"Nope, I happened to drift in," the fellow said sullenly. "He made me an offer an' I refused it."

"My own case exactly," Sudden said dryly.

"Yu were seen workin' with the outlaws, brandin' stolen cattle," Eden went on.

"Those men were feedin' me ; I gave a hand," Sudden explained. "I was told the cows were mavericks."

"yu were mighty friendly with Rogue, an' after yu'd gone he gave out that yu were on an errand for him." 'Sudden's eyes sought the informer again. "For a casual stranger yu seem to have been pretty deep in Rogue's confidence," he said acidly.

Eden ignored the comment. "An' yore `errand' was to get into my outfit an' help wreck the drive," he said bitterly.

"I 'pear to have failed down on that," the accused replied.

"yeah, for yore own reasons," Eden sneered. "No wonder yu could round up them stampeded steers. Easy, warn't it, when yore boss--gettin' a better idea--told yu to do it. An' then, for some devil's purpose, he lets yu fetch my daughter back."

"Make a job of it," Sudden urged with savage sarcasm. "Say. 1 was in cahoots with the Comanches too."

"Yu went after yore fellow-thief--I'll give yu that much credit," the cattleman snapped.

"I'm obliged," the cowboy countered.

Baudry drew a paper from his pocket, unfolded, and held it up. "Isn't this your description?" he asked.

Sudden did not need to read it--every word had been branded on his brain as by a hot iron. Nevertheless, he leant forward and scanned it leisurely.

"Them particulars might apply to a hundred others," he evaded. "An' my hoss ain't got a white face."

"Hasn't it?" the gambler rapped out. "I'd like to be sure of that. Rollitt, fetch that black."

Sudden's face hardened to stone. "Don't yu--unless yu want to die," he warned. "Sometime, when he was a colt, I reckon, that hoss had an adventure with a skunk, an' he hates 'em."

"Never seen the bronc I couldn't handle," Rollitt growled. "Go ahead," Sudden said. "I'm givin' yu permission, but I won't promise to bury yu ; I don't like skunks neither." The wrangler hesitated, and was obviously relieved when the cattleman broke in angrily: "To hell with the hoss. Where's the need o' that when Rollitt heard yu referred to as 'Sudden' by the outlaws? yu denyin' it?"

"I'm not denyin' anythin'," Sudden said tersely. "An' now --what?"

"I oughta tell my men to string the pair o' yu up to the nearest tree."

The unjust threat stirred the cowboy to anger. "Come alive, Eden," he said roughly. "What sort of an outfit would yu have left?"

"Showin' your true colours now--gunman stuff, eh?" Baudry said scornfully.

"Lettin' myself be hanged wouldn't prove my innocence," the other retorted. He looked at the rancher. "Eden, yo're followin' a false trail," he said quietly. "One o' these days yu'll find that out. For now--I'm goin'."

The old man did not reply at once ; doubts were disturbing him. He could not forget that Sudden had saved Carol from the Indians, but--as Baudry had been at pains to point outthe worst outlaw in the wilds would have done no less in like circumstances. His troubled gaze travelled to Sandy. The youth forestalled him.

"Jim's my friend ; if he goes, I do," he said.

The defiant tone roused the rancher's quick temper again. "yo're damn right there," he rasped. "But first yu'll answer a question. What took yu outa camp the night I got this?" He tapped his wounded chest.

The boy's face flamed at the accusation--for it amounted to that. "yu think I creased yu?" he cried indignantly, and then, "Hell! what's the good ... ?"

"I don't think--I know," came the passionate assertion. "yore boss, Rogue, put yu up to bump me off, an' when yu failed, Lasker had to try."

"He'd have got yu too, with a second shot, if Jim here hadn't stopped him," Sandy savagely reminded. "yu explainin' that?"

"Simple," Eden sneered. "Lasker had bungled it an' might 'a' talked. It was a safe play to silence him an' get solid with me."

Sandy had no more to say. His world had come crashing about his ears and he could see nothing but the set, pale face of a girl, who, with downcast eyes, had been a witness of his degradation. Baudry, seated next to her, was watching him with an expression of contemptuous amusement. Little did the gambler suspect how near he was to death at that moment. Eden made a violent gesture.

"Punch the breeze, the pair o' yu," he said hoarsely. "Jeff, yu go along an' see they don't take nothin' but what belongs to 'em."

At this gratuitous insult, Sudden, his thumbs hooked in his belt, shot a scornful look at the speaker. "Don't overplay yore hand, Eden," he warned. "As for yore threats, there ain't a man in yore outfit would pull a gun on me, 'cept that cardsharp an' his two friends, an' they haven't the guts." His cold, appraising gaze travelled from Baudry to Dutt and Rollitt. "Like I said," he added, as they made no move. "Threeyeller--dawgs. Adios!"

As he turned away, the gambler's hand went to his pistol, but the rancher spoke sharply: "None o' that, Jethro. Call him back if yu want, but yu should 'a' took .him up when he offered."

The other shrugged his shoulders indifferently, but there was a frozen fury in his voice as he replied, "you're too squeamish, Sam ; you don't give a rattler an even break--if you're wise."

In the rope corral which held the night-horses Sudden and Sandy found their mounts. The foreman watched in silence as they rolled their blankets, and then burst out:

"Jim, I just can't believe it--the 0I' Man must be loco. It warn't no use sayin' a word--on'y 'a' made him wuss."

"I know, ol'-timer," Sudden said, with a hard smile. "It's a queer yarn--too long to tell now--truth an' lies all snarled up. I ain't blamin' the boss--much ; he's sick, an' with Rogue hangin' on his heels, it ain't surprisin' he's suspicious. Things look bad, but yu can take it Sandy didn't fire that shot an' I'm not as black as Nigger here."

"Is it true yo're the fella they call `Sudden,' Jim?"

"yeah, but there's an explanation to that too. Keep a-smilin', Jeff ; there was never a rope so badly tangled it couldn't be straightened out."

At this moment Peg-leg stumped up, carrying a small package. "Here's a bit o' grub an' a skillet my of gal has sent," he began. "Said she didn't care what yu'd done but she'd be teetotally damned if she let yu be turned loose without the means o' makin' a mouthful o' coffee. She's agoin' to give Sam hark from the tomb when she gits him alone."

"She's a lady, Peg-leg," Sudden replied, tying the parcel to the cantle of his saddle. "This will shorely be welcome."

From the back of the big black he smiled wryly down at the two men. "We'll be seein' yu--mebbe," he said.

For upwards of two miles neither of the outcasts spoke and then Sandy's bitterness overflowed: "Damnation, even she believes I shot the 0I' Man."

"yu ain't no right to say that. yu weren't lookin' but I fancy I saw a hand wave from the tent as we left camp."

Sandy's doleful face changed magically. "yu did, Jim?" he asked eagerly.

His companion grinned.

"He's just as happy as if she had waved," he reflected. "An' anyways, he'd do more'n tell a lie for me."

"Where do we head for, Jim?" the subject of his thoughts asked. "We got plenty choice."

"We have to find Rogue," was the unexpected reply.

Sandy stared at him. "Hell, Jim, yu ain't goin' to throw down the 0I' Man, are yu?" There was real concern in hisvoice. "I'm admittin' he's treated us pretty mean, but he's been misled, an' the boys are our friends ..."

"Findin' don't mean joinin'," Sudden pointed out. "The S E is finished with us--or fancies so--but I ain't finished with them. I don't figure on lettin' Rogue beat me, an' I'm mighty interested in Mister Baudry."

"Me too, in fact, I was so interested that I damn near beefed him where he sat."

"I guessed that an' was all set to knock yore gun up."

"Whatever for?" Sandy inquired.

"It would 'a' turned that camp into a slaughter-pen. Now, we gotta keep cases on Rogue an' the herd, an' be ready to sit in the game."

"yo're right, Jim," the boy agreed. "I'm a durned fool."

"yu said it," his friend smiled. "There's time when yore brain wouldn't keep a flea outa trouble."

"Awright, Solomon the Second," Sandy grinned. "Mebbe yu can tell me who pulled the floor from under us."

"Rollitt is my guess, but who put him up to it?" Sudden debated. "Was it Rogue, tryin' to get rid of us, or that tinhorn card-cheat? An' what's he after, anyways? Hell's flames, it's one fine tangle to unravel an' we got on'y loose ends."

"Here's another," Sandy contributed. "Baudry is goin' in for cattle--startin' a range somewhere near the S E."

Sudden whistled and relapsed into a long silence. At dusk they camped in a dense thicket of scrub and dwarf-oak little more than a mile to the right of the herd, with which they had been keeping pace. They were building a small fire when a low voice called, "Howdy, friends!" and a man slid from the shadows. The flickering flame showed that it was Tyson.