VIII
RIFLE SHOTS FROM THE CLIFFS
Thank Heaven it was just noon! Judith sprang to her feet, her eyesbright and hard, and ran down to the men's quarters. Coming up fromthe corral were Carson and Bud Lee.
"Miller with the pay-roll money has been held up and robbed at SquawCreek," she told them swiftly. "Get some men together, Carson, and tryto head the robber off."
The two men, having glanced quickly at each other, stood a momentlooking at her curiously.
"That's on the level, is it, Miss Judith?" demanded Carson slowly.
"Of course it's on the level!" she cried impatiently. "Oh, I know whatyou're thinking. I'm going to phone immediately to the bank at RockyBend and have another man sent out with more money. You can count upongetting your pay at six o'clock!"
"I told you, didn't I," muttered Carson, "that I wasn't worrying nonepersonal? But if I was you I'd sure have the money on tap!"
With that he left her, going hastily to round up what men he could findand get them into their saddles. Bud Lee, his eyes still on her, stoodwhere he was.
"Well," demanded the girl, "aren't you going, too?" Suddenly angeredby his leisurely air, she added cuttingly: "Not afraid, are you?"
"I was thinking," Lee answered coolly, "that the stick-up gent willmost probably figure on a play like that. If he was real wise he'dmosey along toward Rocky Bend and pop off your second man. Twothousand bucks a day would make a real nice little draw."
Judith paused, frowning. There was truth in that. If Trevors reallywere behind this, he would have chosen his man carefully; he would haveplanned ahead.
"If you'll do my way," continued Lee thoughtfully, "I'll have justenough time to roll a smoke and saddle little old Climax. He's in thestable now. You're not afraid of my double-crossing you? Even if asmart-headed man had planned the hold-up he wouldn't figure on a playlike this. He'd think we'd have a Rocky Bender bring it out or elsewait until to-morrow."
"It won't do," she decided quickly. "I want that money here at sixo'clock."
"Eighty miles," mused the horse foreman. "Six hours. That's ridingright along, but do it my way and I'll gamble you my own string ofhorses--and they're worth considerable more than a thousand--that I'llbe back, heeled, at six."
Judith, quick at decisions, looked him hard in the eye, heard his plan,and three minutes later Bud Lee, a revolver in his shirt, rode awayfrom the ranch-house, headed toward Rocky Bend. Judith already hadcalled up Tripp, and the veterinarian himself, leading the fastestsaddle-horse he could get his hands on at brief notice, was also ridingtoward Rocky Bend, from the Lower End, five miles in advance of Lee atthe start. He went at a gentle trot, consulting his watch now and then.
So Bud Lee, riding as once those hard, dare-devil riders rode whocarried across the land the mail-bag of the Pony Express, overtook DocTripp and changed to a fresh horse at the end of the first fifteenmiles. He swung out of his saddle, stretched his long legs, remarkedlightly that it was a real fine day, and was gone again upon a freshmount with twenty-five miles between him and Rocky Bend. The clock atthe bank marked forty-three minutes after two as Lee, leaving asweating horse at the door on Main Street, presented his check at thepaying teller's window. The money, in a small canvas bag, was ready.
"Hello, Bud," and "Hello, Dan'l," was the beginning and end of theconversation which ensued. Lee did not stop to count the money. Hedrew his belt up a hole as he went back to the door, found a freshhorse there fighting its bit and all but lifting the stable-boy off hisfeet, mounted and sped back along Main Street.
Judith was to send out another man leading still another fresh horsefor him so that he could not fail to be back at the ranch-house by sixo'clock. As Bud Lee, riding hard but never without thought for thehorse which carried him, began the return trip, he drew the heavycaliber revolver from his shirt and thrust it into his belt. When hehad left Rocky Bend half a dozen miles behind him and was hurrying oninto the outskirts of that country of rolling hills and pine forests,his hand was never six inches from the gun-butt.
The road wound in and out among the pines, always climbing. Lee racedon, his eyes bright and keen, watchful and suspicious of every stillshadow or stirring branch. Coming up the two-mile-long Cuesta Grade,he saved his horse a little. From the top of the mountain, before heagain followed a winding road back to the river's side, he saw ahorseman riding a distant ridge; the glinted upon the rider's rifle.
"Old Carson himself," thought Lee. "Looking for the hold-up man.Shucks! They'll never find him this trip."
Letting his own animal out into its swinging stride as he got down tomore level going, he hammered on at his clip of fifteen miles an hour.In the thick shade of the forest, three miles before he came to theline fence of the Blue Lake ranch, he saw another horseman, this one EdMasters, the "college kid." The young fellow's flushed, eager facepassed in a blur as Lee shot by.
Another mile, and Bud Lee was riding through a clearing, with the tallcliffs of Squaw Creek canon looming high on his left, when suddenly andabsolutely without warning, his horse screamed, gathered itself for awild plunge, staggered, stood a moment trembling terribly, then with alow moan collapsed under him.
Lee swung out and to one side, landing clear as the big brute fell. Hedid not understand. He had ridden the animal hard but certainly nothard enough for this. And then he saw and his eyes blazed with anger.He had heard no shot, nothing beyond the metallic pounding of the shodhoofs on flinty road, but there from an ugly hole in the neck thesaddle-horse was pouring out its blood.
"Smokeless powder and a Maxim silencer!" muttered Lee, his eyes takingnote of the ten thousand possible hiding-places on the cliff's.
In his ears there was a little whine as a second bullet sang its way byhis head. Again he sought to locate the marksman, again saw nothingbut crag and precipice and brushy clump. He took time for that thingwhich came so hard to him, sent a bullet from his own revolver into hishorse's brain, and then slipped out of the clearing into the shelter ofthe pines.
"Two miles left to the border line," he estimated it. "Afoot."
Stiff from the saddle, he moved on slowly for a little. But as hismuscles responded and warmed to the effort, he broke into a trottingrun. Only a little now could he keep under cover; if he went on withany degree of speed he must keep to the road and the open. The thoughtcame to him that he might lie under cover until dark. The secondthought came to him that he had assured Judith that he would be back ontime, and he forged ahead.
For the second time that day he heard the whine of a bullet. Hethought that the shot came from the cliffs just at the head of SquawCreek canon. But he could not be sure. There was ample protectionthere for a man hiding, tall brush in a hollow and three or fourstunted trees, wind-twisted. He'd make the climb to-morrow and seeabout it. Now he'd keep right on moving. Little used to travellingsave on a horse's back he was shot through with odd little pains whenat last he came to the border-line fenced and the waiting horse. TommyBurkitt held it for him while Lee mounted.
"Somebody up on the cliffs, head of the canon," panted Lee at Tommy'samazed expression when Lee came running into sight. "Killed my horse.Go after him, Tommy. Tell the other boys." And on he went, poundingout the last fifteen miles, the canvas bag beating safely against hisside.
Judith, in the courtyard, watched him ride in. She looked swiftly athim from the watch on her wrist. Her eyes brightened. It lacked sevenminutes to six. As Bud dropped the canvas bag into her hands sheflashed at him the most wonderful, radiant smile that the long horsemanhad ever seen. She gripped his lean, brown hand hard in hers.
"Bud, you're a brick!" she cried.
Mrs. Langworthy had just come out with Hampton, Trevors, and the major.
Judith turned from Lee to Trevors but managed to keep half an eye onMrs. Langworthy.
"You see, it's pay-day with us, Mr. Trevors," she said quietly. "Andwhen pay-day comes we pay our men at six o'clock in spite of hell andhigh
water!"
Bud Lee, leading his horse away, turned for a word. "A man killed ahorse for me to-day," he said very gently, and his eyes rested steadilyupon Trevors. "If I ever get him, or the man who put him up to it, I'mgoing to get him right."
Judith of Blue Lake Ranch Page 8