Starlight Riders Boxed-Set 50 Western Classics in One Edition. Ernest Haycox

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

      She was struggling to keep awake. "I think he did. You see Trono picked quarrels with some of our old hands and they quit. Usually there'd be a new man the next morning. Dad didn't like some of them—I could see that, though he never told me—but we had to have help and Trono always recommended them. So Dad took Trono's word. Now that I think of it. Trono seemed to do a lot of things, these last few months, that Dad used to do himself. Dad—was getting sick."

      "Uhuh. Trono packed the ranch with his own private bunch. Prob'ly bought Slim and Bill to his own side o' the fence. It's an old story. Well, it looks like a running fight for us. We'll do a lot of dodgin' before we can hit back."

      "You're the boss, Red. I'll not speak out of my turn from now on."

      That gave him courage to say what was in the back of his head. Through the long night ride he had come to a plan that he thought would work. "All right. We'll, sleep on it. Then, this afternoon we'll dodge into Powder and leave you."

      He was not quite prepared for her sudden awaking. Dissent flashed in the dark eyes. "What will I do there?"

      "Just wait until I get things in order."

      "And where will you be?"

      "Roamin' these hills and sort of scoutin' until I lay a few traps. Don't you worry, girl. Inside of three-four days I'll wash these bad, bold hombres off the map."

      "Leave me in town, doing nothing while you're up here fighting? No! I won't do it, Red."

      "But look here. I've got to leave you in a safe place. This is going to be a rough job."

      She was looking at him with a curious intensity. There was something of her father in that sharp, weighing, penetrating glance; something of the same forthright recklessness in the way she threw back her head and pursed her lips together. The rich color rose higher in her cheeks. "I'll ride with you. Do you think I'm a coward? This is my country and I'll fight for it. Oh, I know what you're thinking! How will I stand up! Don't you worry about me. And I don't care a rap what anybody thinks! Maybe I can't be of any help. Maybe I'll even hinder you. But I'd die in Powder. I'd feel like a shirker, thinking about you doing the hard work and me doing nothing. No, we'll ride together, Red."

      She spoke her mind and turned half away, as if afraid to see the effect on the man. Lilly fumbled for his cigarette papers, disturbed profoundly. This was not at all as he had planned it. What could she be thinking of, anyway? In the midst of these troubled reflections he caught her eyes—and his uncertainty vanished. She was a fighter, like her daddy. And she had forgotten, it seemed, that she was a woman. He doubted if she realized what a curious, gossiping world would have to say.

      "Red, I know what you're thinking. Never mind me. I don't belong to any social clubs and so they can't kick me out in disgrace. It's my business. I'm not an infant—and I will fight for JIB!"

      He nodded. "All right. That's settled. We'll get along somehow. Now for a siesta. Come along."

      He took off the saddles and appropriated the blankets, leading her well into the thicket. It was a rough bed, among the rocks, but when she settled down she was already half asleep. Lilly bent over and folded a loose end around her shoulders, wondering if ever a girl had been fashioned quite like Jill Breck. The dark hair was all tousled, making her strangely boyish. Yet no amount of sun or rain or rough riding could conceal the beauties of the clear white skin of her neck or the pink flush on her cheeks. She had a drowsy, warming СКАЧАТЬ