shook a minatory finger at him. 'That young fella has a brain where yu on'y got bone, Sam Eden.'
'Put a bridle on that tongue,' the cattleman snapped. 'If yore husband had any sense he'd 'a' taken a whip to yu years hack.'
'An' if yu had any yu'd 'a' listened to Green 'stead o' that mealy-mouthed, tat-faced card-sharp yo're so fond of,' she countered.
'The fat-faced card-sharp is obliged for your opinion, ma'am.'
Baudry had just ridden up. Though his voice was studiously polite, his eyes were venomous. The lady was not abashed.
'Yo're welcome,' she retorted, and vanished behind the canvas flaps.
'You take a lot from your hired folk, Eden,' the guest said. 'Shucks, women must chatter, an' she'd give her life for Carol,' the old man excused.
'Well, that alone lets her off with me. What brought Green?' The other told him, and the gambler's face grew grave. 'Seems to be nothing else to do, but it's like setting the fox to guard the chickens,' was his comment.
Meanwhile, Sudden had reached the head of the herd and told his news to the astounded foreman.
'A piece along is a steep-walled gully with a'most no outlet,' he explained. 'Throw the cows, wagon, an' remuda in there, take cover at the entrance, an' wait. When yu don't show up, the Injuns'll come a-lookin' for yu. If yu can stand 'em off for a while, there's help on the way.'
'Help?' ejaculated Jeff. 'Where in blazes from?'
'I've sent for Rogue,' Sudden replied. 'Yu see, he's figurin' to lift this herd--presently, so he won't stand by an' let the redskins have it.'
The foreman's troubled face broke into a grin. 'Gosh! that's one bright idea, boy,' he exclaimed. 'We can deal with that damned outlaw later, but for the time we use him. What did the 0I' Man say?'
'I ain't got time even to tell yu what he didn't say,' the cowboy smiled. 'Get busy, ol'-timer, an' if anybody starts shootin' from behind the Injuns yu'll know that me an' Sandy is sittin' in.'
He whirled his horse and raced for the far side of the trail. The foreman's gaze followed him reflectively. 'Outlaw, huh?'he muttered. 'Pity the damned country ain't got a lot more like him.'
Riding ahead, he soon found the spot Sudden had described and saw its suitability. The floor of the gully lay below the level of the plain, which sloped into it, and the walls on either side were well-nigh vertical. The outlet at the far end was too rough and steep even for long-horns to attempt unless badly scared. The entrance was guarded by scrub and rocks which would afford good cover for the defenders. He saw no sign of Indians and surmised, rightly, that knowing the herd must come that way, they were not troubling to watch its progress.
Jeff waited there impatiently, having already given orders for the cows to be hustled along. Soon the leaders appeared, at a lumbering, clumsy trot, bellowing a protest against the unusual exertion. Hurriedly they were hazed into the gully as they arrived and left to their own devices. This took time, and the foreman cast many anxious glances up the trail. When, at length, the wagon and remuda followed the last of the cattle, he breathed more freely, and telling the outfit to hunt cover, sought his employer. He found him fuming.
'Ain't I the owner o' this herd no more, or are yu takin' orders from Green?' was his first question.
'Shore yo're the owner, an' I'm doin' my best to keep yu that,' Jeff said tartly. 'Yu gotta remember this, Sam, they may be yore cows, but the boys' lives are their own.'
'Yu think that fella was talkin' straight?' Eden demanded.
'yeah, an' so would yu if yu weren't as prejudiced as hell,' was the blunt reply. 'Anyways, we'll know soon. The Injuns will have heard the cattle an' be wonderin' why we ain't turnin' up '
'Bah! I don't believe--'
The crack of a rifle cut him short and the foreman dashed to the entrance of the gully. The Infant, kneeling behind a ridge, was disgustedly reloading. He had, he claimed, seen a feathered top-knot above a bush some two hundred yards up the trail. Jeff returned to report.-
'That scout'll spill the beans,' he said. 'They'll be along plenty soon.'
'Help me outa this an' reach my gun,' the old man ordered. 'Boss, yu ain't fit,' the foreman protested.
'I can sit behind a rock just as well as in that blasted hell on wheels,' Eden snorted. 'Gimme a hand.'
With Jeff's assistance he climbed out, walked weakly to the line of defence, and ensconced himself behind a boulder. The outfit cheered him lustily. As one of them put it, the Old Man might be short on temper, but he had grit enough for ten. As Jeff turned away, Judy had a last word :
'Tell that ornery man o' mine not to git hisself shot, 'cause I'm dependin' on him,' she said.
But Peg-leg never got the message, for when the bearer emerged into the open, it was driven from his mind ; the enemy had grown tired of waiting. Down the trail from the east came a long line of mounted savages, their paint-smeared, copper-coloured bodies gleaming in the bright light. Each warrior carried the circular shield of buffalo hide, a bow, and a sheaf of arrows. Here and there came the flash of a gun-barrel--oldfashioned muzzle- loaders, bartered for skins, or gained in a raid on some solitary settlement. Save for an occasional shrill cry, the advance was made in silence.
''Paches,' the foreman decided. 'Comanches would 'a' bin screamin' their dirty throats out.' With the quick eye of one accustomed to count cattle he made a calculation. 'Over fifty. Gosh! I'm hopin' Rogue don't dawdle any.' He surveyed his slim line of defence anxiously. 'Lie close, lads,' he warned, 'an' don't let loose' till I give the word ; we can't afford to miss.'
Baudry, rifle in hand, had joined the cattleman. No one, looking at his passive, unconcerned features, would have guessed that all his carefully planned scheme depended upon the defeat of the redskins. With narrowed eyes he watched the far end of the line swing round until, with one screeching yell, the riders flogged their ponies into a dead run and charged full at the mouth of the gully. Like a wave of destruction the savages surged on and it seemed that the handful of whites must be swept away. Silent, grim-faced, with levelled weapons, they waited for the word. It did not come until the foe were less than a hundred paces distant, and then:
'Give 'em hell, boys,' the foreman rasped.
The crash of the rifles was followed by exultant shouts from the marksmen as they saw bronze bodies go down before their bullets. The stream of lead disrupted the wave in the centre and the two halves curved left and right, replying to the rifles with a cloud of arrows, some of which sang past the ears ofthe white men. Out on the trail a half-dozen dead or wounded were stretched, and as many horses.
The redskins were soon on the move again. Strung out in a line they headed west and then whirled and raced their ponies across the gully mouth, each horseman, as he arrived opposite the opening, vanishing from sight.
'Where in hell they got to?' the Infant queried.
'Lyin' alongside the hoss, with a foot through the bellyband,' Jeff explained, and added grimly, 'Down the hosses, son, an' watch out for arrers.'
The caution was needed, for from under the necks of the galloping ponies the red riders sent a succession of the deadly shafts, which whistled through the air and searched the cover. The defenders replied with their rifles, but the moving single marks were difficult to hit, and they did not meet with much success. The braves who had successfully crossed the firing-line swung up into their seats again and circled round to repeat the manoeuvre. From the far side of the trail two rifles crashed and the same number of ponies became riderless. The foreman chuckled.
'Jim an' Sandy is gettin' interested,' he said.
His satisfaction was short-lived. From a clump of thorn ten paces distant came a gasping gurgle and the rattle of a dropped weapon. At the risk of his life, Jeff sprang to the spot, only to find he could do nothing. Crumpled up on the ground, an arrow through his throat, lay Silent. The foreman straightened the body, placed the hat over the face, and swore savagely. As he turned away, the Infant called:
'Hey, Jeff, pull this damn stick out--it hurts like blazes.' An arrow had transfixed the boy's forearm. Snapping the shaft, the foreman drew out the barbed end, inspecting the edges of the wound closely. Then he nodded, and tied it up with a handkerchief.
'Mighta bin wuss,' he said. 'Keep down ; they've got Silent.'
The procession of seemingly masterless mustangs had passed and a respite from the rain of arrows ensued. The Apaches were bunched together farther down the trail. The intermittent bark of two guns from the rear of the attackers indicated that Jim and Sandy were still interested. At the other end of the firing-line Jed was wrinkling his brow.
'Say, Dumpy, how many d'yu figure we've knocked over?' he asked.
