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
