Though the sun had not yet appeared, there was light in the open, but in among the trees, it was still night. Sudden, on his black steed, leading the way, seemed to those following to be merely a moving patch of the shadow which encompassed them. Strung out in single file--for the trail was narrow--progress was slow, and silent save for the creak ofleather as a rider shifted in his seat, and the sound of treading hooves.
Steadily the climb proceeded, but it was a long and tiring one, and by the time they reached their destination, the slanting rays of the rising sun were painting the tree-tops with gold. But the riders did not think of this; they were there to kill.
A short distance from the bandits' stronghold they dismounted, concealed their mounts in the bushes, and advanced on foot. Nippert chuckled when the clearing was in sight.
"Kind of 'em to leave them stumps--they'll give us mighty good cover," he remarked. "There don't seem to be no one about. D'you s'pose we could rush the place, Jim?"
"Too risky--they may be waitin' for us," the marshal said. "Spread out an' pick yore positions, but don't shoot till yu have a target." Lined out in a half-circle fronting the building they crept forward, each man selecting the shelter he fancied. When they were all settled, Sudden fired into the air. Almost at once the door was flung back and Mullins appeared, rifle in hand.
"Who are you, an' what do you want?" he called.
The marshal stood up. "yu know me, an' I want Mrs. Gray," he replied.
"Why should you think she's here?"
"I told him so." Masters rose as he spoke, and his presence there seemed to strike the rustler dumb; it was as though he had seen an apparition. With an effort he fought down the feeling.
"The gal's gone," he said. "Sark fetched her, an' they're off to git married at Drywash." The statement produced an oath from Dave, and an incredulous shrug from the marshal. "We'll see for ourselves," the latter replied.
"Then you'd better come a-shootin'," Jake snapped. "An' here's one to begin with." With the words, he swung his rifle up and fired, the mis sile failing to find the mark by a mere inch. Sudden replied, shooting from the hip, but Jake was taking no more chances, and his bullet only buried itself in the slammed door. Immediately, gun-barrels were thrust from the unglazed windows, and a succession of spiteful cracks awoke the echoes. The fight was on.
The early exchange of shots did no damage; the light was still poor, and the necessity for avoiding exposure interfered with accuracy. Movement on either side received instant attention, and both parties being chary of providing opportunities, the firing became spasmodic.
Moments passed and then the sun glinted on a cautiously pushed-out rifle-barrel. They fired together, saw the weapon slide forward as though released by nerveless fingers, and flash to the ground.
"That's one to me," Sudden said. "An' one less to them. I figured the Bar O would be here by this," he added.
"They got twice the distance to travel. How did yu hit on the other way?"
"Got Jake to lay a trail for me," Sudden smiled, and then explained.
"Cunnin' like a fox," the young man complimented. "I dunno why I trust yu." Time dragged on, the sun became more searching, and the position of the assailants correspondingly uncomfortable. Cramped with crouching behind scanty cover, with parched throats--they had not thought to bring water-bottles into the fray--they sweated and suffered, but not in silence. Nip-pert, remembering his cool bar, with its shelves of satisfying beverages, spoke feelingly of the unusual state to which he was reduced, and ended :
"We'd oughta rushed 'em right away, Jim."
"If we had yu might be needin' a drink still more," was the sardonic reply. "With the Dumb-bell crowd, they're all of two to one. Pass the word to cripple the door." The Welcome citizens, glad of a definite mark, obeyed the order eagerly, and sent a hail of lead into the unoffendingtimber. This outburst of activity provoked an immediate response from the defenders.
"Leave the door to the others," Sudden told his companion. "If them woman-stealers think we're concentratin' on that, they may get careless." They did; finding no bullets came towards the windows, and anxious to reply to the bombardment, several of the besieged showed themselves for an instant and paid penalty. The door itself, one hinge demolished, was sagging drunkenly, and attempts were being made to barricade it when a burst of gun-fire from the rear of the building advised those within that they were in danger of being surrounded. The Bar O outfit had arrived and was getting to work. Mullins, comprehending what had happened, inquired for Sark.
"Seen him go upstairs," Galt informed.
With a black scowl, Jake took the steps three at a time. The door of Mrs. Gray's prison was ajar, and he heard S arks' voice :
"This is our chance to git off--I've bin waitin' for the moment. My hoss is hid in the brush handy. All the men is busy at the front; they won't see us."
"you are ready to desert your riders?"
"They can take care o' theirselves. I'm thinkin' o' you."
"My friends are outside," she replied. "I shall wait here for them." The contempt in her eyes, coupled with the knowledge that time was precious, stripped him off his mask. In a voice trembling with exasperation, he cried, "They'll be too late. Yo're comin' with me, like it or not, an' before we've bin long together, you'll ..." A burst of flame drowned the remainder of the sentence, and also the footsteps of the man who slid into the room, gun in hand. He saw the bound girl cowering on the bed, the insenate bully standing over her, and struck once, swiftly and surely, with the butt of his weapon. Sark crumpled at his feet, and he kicked the inert mass in sheer savagery.
"A double-dealin' coyote," he said. "But he's right about one thing--this ain't no safe place for you--nor me."
"Have you--killed him?" she whispered.
"Reckon not," he replied, with a hard grin. "But I will if you say so." She shuddered but did not reply. The jarring crash of the firing was becoming incessant, but so far the window of this room had escaped attention. Jake tested this by allowing his hat to be visible--having first removed his head from it; no shots came. He then picked up a rope from the floor; it had been Dave's the girl remembered with a sigh, and a portion of it had served to bind her. Working swiftly, he looped it beneath her armpits.
"If you sing out, or struggle, I'll stop yor mouth with--kisses," he threatened.
Silently she suffered herself to be carried to the window and lowered to the ground, where Mullins immediately followed her. As yet, they had been unobserved, but now, with twenty yards of clearing to negotiate, discovery was inevitable. The abductor had thought of this. Slinging the helpless girl across one shoulder, he strode forward, a jeer of triumph on his face; they would not dare to risk hitting the burden he carried.
And so it proved, but at the instant he disappeared among the enveloping trees, the marshal and his deputy sprang up, and regardless of the bullets which greeted them, sprinted after him. They reached the shelter of the brush safely, and thrusting through, were in time to see the quarry fling the girl on the neck of a horse, leap into the saddle, and drive home the spurs.
"Damnation, he's done us," Dave panted.
Sudden dropped to one knee, levelled his rifle, and squeezed the trigger. The horse staggered and went down, but the rider jumped clear, dragging his captive with him. One sweeping slash severed the cord confining her ankles, and she was forced to her feet.
"Run ! " Jake hissed. "If those hombres catch us, youdie." He flashed the knife before her eyes, and gripping an arm pulled her after him. "Hell burn their souls, I'll beat 'em yet." That he would stop at nothing, even murder, in his desperation, she did not doubt, and strove to obey, stumbling blindly at his heels through thorny thickets which tore her garments and lacerated the flesh. In and out they wound, and she divined that her captor was chiefly concerned to baffle pursuit, while at the same time, heading in a definite direction. Unnoticed, she contrived at intervals, to let fall a fragment of her tattered frock. The din of the battle behind them was growing fainter when they emerged into the open again. Torn, breathless, with aching limbs, she sank wearily. But the ruffian gave her no respite.