Ranching For Sylvia Volume-554 by Harold Bindloss (chrome ebook reader .TXT) 📕

As He Half Recognized; But He Had Grown Savage With Fatigue, And He Had

Already Suffered As Much As He Was Capable Of Bearing At The Hands Of

The Cattle Thieves.  Now He Meant To Turn On Them; But He Would Be At

Their Mercy In The Open.

His Weariness Seemed To Fall Away From Him To Give Place To Grim Fury

As He Broke Into A Run, And He Did Not Look Back For A While.  When He

Did So, The Figures Had Grown Larger; One Could See That They Were

Moving Swiftly; And The Bluff Was Still Far Away.  George Believed That

He Had Been Noticed And He Strove To Quicken His Pace.  The Beat Of

Hoofs Was In His Ears When He Next Looked Around; The Three Horsemen

Were Converging, Growing More Distinct; And The Bluff Was Still A Mile

Ahead.  He Was Stumbling And Reeling, His Hat Fell Off, And He Dared

Not Stop To Pick It Up.

A Mile Was Covered; He Would Not Look Back Again, Though The Thud Of

Hoofs Had Swelled Into A Sharp Staccato Drumming.  With Face Fiercely

Set And The Perspiration Dripping From Him, He Held On, Scorched And

Partly Dazzled By The Glare.  The Wood Was Getting Closer; He Thought

It Was Scarcely A Quarter Of A Mile Off.  His Heart Throbbed Madly, The

Pain In His Side Had Grown Excruciating; But Somehow He Must Keep

Going.  His Eyes Smarted With The Moisture That Ran Into Them, His Lips

And Mouth Were Salty; He Was Suffering Torment; But He Kept On His Feet.

At Length, When The Trees Were Close Ahead, A Faint Smudge Of Smoke

Appeared On The Edge Of Them; There Was A Report Like A Whipcrack, And

He Stopped In Despair.  His Last Refuge Was Held Against Him.  Then, As

He Turned In Savage Desperation To Meet The Rustlers' Onslaught With

The Ax, He Saw There Were Only Two Horsemen, Who Pulled Up Suddenly,

About Sixty Yards Away.  The Third Was Not Visible, But His Horse,

Which Had Fallen, Was Struggling In The Grass.  As The Meaning Of This

Dawned On George He Broke In A Wild, Breathless Yell Of Exultation;

There Was Another Crack Behind Him, And The Two Horsemen Wheeled.  They

Were Not Too Soon, For A Mounted Man In Khaki With Something That

Flashed Across His Saddle Was Riding Hard From Behind The Bluff To Cut

Them Off.  Another Appeared, Going At A Furious Gallop, And George

Stood Watching While The Four Figures Grew Smaller Upon The Prairie.

Turning At A Shout He Saw Flett And Edgar Walking Toward Him, And He

Went With Them To The Fallen Horse.  A Man Lay, Gray In Face, Among The

Grass, Held Down By The Body Of The Animal Which Partly Rested Upon Him.

"Get Me Out," He Begged Hoarsely.  "Leg's Broke."

George Felt Incapable Of Helping.  He Sat Down While The Other Two

Extricated The Man; Then Flett Placed His Carbine Against The Horse's

Head, And After The Report It Ceased Its Struggling.

"She Came Down On Me Sudden; Couldn't Get My Foot Clear In Time," The

Rustler Explained.

"You Had To Be Stopped.  I Sighted At A Hundred; A Quick Shot," Flett

Remarked.  "Is There Anything Else The Matter Except Your Leg?"

"I Guess It's Enough," Said The Helpless Man.

Flett Turned To George.

"Walk Into The Bluff And You'll Strike Our Camp.  West Must Stay With

Me Until We Put On Some Fixing That Will Hold This Fellow's Leg

Together."

George Did As He Was Bidden, And Sat Down Again Limply When He Reached

An Opening In The Wood Where A Pile Of Branches, With A Kettle

Suspended Over Them, Had Been Laid Ready For Lighting.  Presently The

Others Rejoined Him.

"The Fellow Can't Be Moved Until We Get A Wagon," Said Flett.  "We've

Been Looking For You All Over The Country, But It Was Quite A While

Before We Got A Hint That Sent Us Down This Way.  We Had Stopped In The

Bluff When We Saw A Fellow Running With Three Mounted Men After Him,

And We Lay Close, Expecting To Get The Bunch.  It's Unfortunate They

Got Too Near You And I Had To Shoot, But I Guess The Boys Will Bring

Them Back."

Edgar Looked At His Comrade Reproachfully.

"If You Could Only Have Sprinted A Little And Kept Ahead, We Would

Either Have Outflanked Them Or Have Had The Finest Imaginable Ride With

Every Chance Of Running The Fellows Down.  As Things Turned Out, I

Couldn't Go Off With The Troopers Until I Found That You Had Got

Through Unhurt."

"I'm Sorry," George Told Him, With A Little Dry Laugh.  "But I Don't

Think I Spared Any Effort During The Last Quarter Of A Mile."

Then He Related His Adventures, And Answered A Number Of Questions.

"You'll Take My Horse," Said Flett, "And Start For The Railroad As Soon

As You Feel Able.  Get On To Regina By The First Train; Judging By The

Last Wire I Got, You'll Still Be In Time.  West Had Better Go With You

To The Station, And He Can Send A Wagon For The Man Who's Hurt.  Now I

Guess We'll Get You Something To Eat."

"I Shouldn't Mind," Said George.  "It's Twenty-Four Hours Since My Last

Meal, And That One Was Remarkably Small."

He Drank A Canful Of Cold Tea, And Then Went Suddenly To Sleep While

The Others Lighted The Fire.

The Trial At Regina Proved Sensational.  Crimes Attended With Violence

Were Not Unknown In The Vicinity, And Cattle Were Now And Then Stolen

In The Neighboring Province Of Alberta; But That Such Things As The

Prosecutor's Tale Revealed Should Happen Aroused Wide-Spread

Astonishment And Virtuous Indignation.  Nevertheless, They Were Proved,

For Flett Had Procured A Number Of Witnesses And, What Was More, Had

Secured Their Attendance.

In Addition To This, Other Offenses Were Hinted At; The Doings Of An

Organized Gang Of Desperadoes And Their Accomplices Were Detailed, And

Facts Were Brought To Light Which Made The Withdrawal Of The Sachem

License Inevitable.  The Defense Took Strong Exception To This Mode Of

Procedure, Pointing Out That The Court Was Only Concerned With A

Specified Offense, And That It Was Not Permissible To Drag In

Extraneous And Largely Supposititious Matter.  During The Sweltering

Days The Trial Lasted, There Were Brisk Encounters Between The Lawyers,

And Several Points The Prosecution Sought To Prove Were Ruled

Irrelevant.  As A Climax, Came George's Story, Which Caused A

Sensation, Though The Close-Packed Assembly Felt That He Scarcely Did

Justice To His Theme.

In Concluding, The Crown Prosecutor Pointed Out How Rapidly The

Outbreaks Of Turbulent Lawlessness Had Spread.  They Were All, He

Contended, Connected With And Leading Up To The Last Outrage, Of Which

The Men Before Him Were Accused.  It Was Obvious That This Unruliness

Must Be Sternly Stamped Out Before It Spread Farther, And If The Court

Agreed With Him That The Charge Was Fully Proved, He Must Press For A

Drastic And Deterrent Penalty.

The Odds Were Heavily Against The Defense From The Beginning.  The

Credibility Of Flett's Witnesses Could Not Be Assailed, And

Cross-Examination Only Threw A More Favorable Light Upon Their

Character.  Inside The Court, And Out Of It As The Newspapers

Circulated, Grant Stood Revealed As A Fearless Citizen, With A Stern

Sense Of His Duty To The Community; George, Somewhat To His Annoyance,

As A More Romantic Personage Of The Same Description, And Hardie, Who

Had Been Brought In To Prove Certain Points Against Which The Defense

Protested, As One Who Had Fought And Suffered In A Righteous Cause.

In The End, The Three Prisoners Were Convicted, And When The Court

Broke Up The Police Applied For Several Fresh Warrants, Which Were

Issued.

As George Was Walking Toward His Hotel, He Met Flett, To Whom He Had

Not Spoken Since They Separated In The Bluff.

"I Was Waiting For You," Said The Constable.  "I'm Sorry We'll Have To

Call You Up Again As Soon As The Rustler's Leg Is Better.  He's In The

Guard-Room, And The Boys Got One Of The Other Fellows; But We Can Talk

About It On The Train.  I'm Going Back To My Post."

George Arranged To Meet Him, And They Were Sitting In A Roomy Smoking

Compartment As The Big Express Sped Across Wide Gray Levels And Past

Vast Stretches Of Ripening Grain, When The Next Allusion Was Made To

The Matter.

"I Suppose You'll Be Sergeant Shortly," George Remarked.

"Corporal Comes First," Said Flett.  "They Stick To The Regular

Rotation."

"That's True, But They Seem To Use Some Discretion In Exceptional

Cases.  I Hardly Think You'll Remain A Corporal."

Flett's Eyes Twinkled.

"I Did Get Something That Sounded Like A Hint.  I'll Confess That I

Felt Like Whooping After It."

"You Have Deserved All You'll Get," George Declared.

They Spent The Night At A Junction, Where Flett Had Some Business, And

It Was The Next Evening When The Local Train Ran Into Sage Butte.  The

Platform Was