“ROBBER’S ROOST.”

Matamata Record, Volume XIX, Issue 1692, 3 January 1936, Page 3

“ROBBER’S ROOST.”

Copyright.

That was the last he spoke to Jim. Muttering to himself, he laid a huge roll of bills under the belt Hays had deposited op the little shelf of rock. Then he vanished. Scarcely had he gotten out of sight when Jim thought of the field-glass. Smoky should have taken it. Jim risked going back to his pack to secure it, and had the fun of dodging another bullet. Jim returned to his safe cover and waited. Sitting against the wall he used the glass to try to locate Smoky across the oval. Meanwhile the sharpshooter kept tiring regularly. Next he attempted to locate this diligent member of Heeseman’s outfit. This man evidently shot from behind the rim, low down, and not even the tip of his rifle could be seen. Jim had a grim feeling that this fighter would not much longer be so comfortable. Before this, Smoky must have passed the danger zone below. ;WKat had beoome of Hays? Waiting alone among these deflecting bullets wore on Jim’s mood. He decided to peep "out of the-hole again; To this entf. he climbed to the shelf, rifle in hand and the glass slung round his ’

He could command every' point with the aid of the field-glass, without exposing his head. The sharpshooters had eased up a bit on wasting ammunition. Jim sought for the owl-shaped piece of rim rock and igot it in the. centre of the circle.

An instant later a far-off shot thrilled Jim. That might be Smoky. Suddenly a dark form staggered up, flinging arms aloft, silhouetted black against the sky. That must be the sharpshooter. Smofcy had reached hint; Headlong he pitched off the cliff, to plunge sheer into the wash below. Sfnoky had at least carried out his ideal atMi of rifles fell off, but with left was not the scattering, kind. It meant a lessening ■wer. One at least for every ; of Smoky Slocum’s 1 And the'cliff grew louder, closer. ’sVgang, what was left, were 'om/that fire out of the west. ly, ; Jim espied Hays boldly the islope. But it appearte had not' been discovered ose on top were facing the ril. to* the west. . rvelled at the, purpose of the :efj. f.SUU another shot' from he, la»tl .But Hays had igj* enough to see over. Lev r rifle, he took deliberate aim., j£ -'^rhen;he •Aired. l. : .~ “He'eafeiflan!’’ -hissed. Jim, as sure’ as if he himselfftiad held that gun. • ; Hays, working -the lever of his rifle,

bounded : back /and aside. ' Shots boemed. One knocked him to bis 'knees, but he Judged up to flreagain. Again he was hit', 1 or the rifle was, for. it broke from his bands. Drawing his two revolvers he levelled them, and as he fired one, ithen the other, he backed against the last broken section of the wall. Jim saw the red dust spatter from the rock above. The shots thinned out and ceased. Hays was turningAto the left, his remaining gun lowere'd. He was aiming down the slope on the other side. He flredi again-—then no more. Those who were' left of Heeseman’s outfit had taken flight. Hays watched them, strode to the aide of the big rook, and kept on watching them. . Soon he turned back and, sheathing one gun, took to reloading the'

By ZANE GREY.

other. It was at this moment that Jim relinquished the field-glass to take up his rifle. With naked eyes, through the aperture in the brush, he could see Hays finish loading his gun. This moment, to Jim’s avid mind, was the one in which to kill the robber. lie drew a bead on Hays’ breast. But he could not press the trigger. Lowering tiie hammer, Jim watched Hays stride up among the rocks and disappear. Jim leaped up out of the hole to have a better look. Far beyond the red ridge he discerned men running along the white wash. There were three of them, scattered. A fourth appeared from behind a bank, and he was crippled. He waved frantically to the comrades who had left him to fare for himself. They were headed for the cove where the horses still stood. And their precipitate flight attested to the end of that battle and as surely to the last of Heeseman’s outfit. CHAPTER 25. Jim picked up the field-glass, and slinging it in his elbow essayed a descent. into the cave. On the shelf he hesitated and sat a moment locked in thought. A second time he stared do\vn, only to halt straddling the notch. The.battle had worked out fatefully and fatally. Would‘he see Smoky again? Yet nothing had changed ‘the issue. The end was not yet.. With his blood surging back to his heart, Jim leaped down to meet the robber chief.

Hays was not yet in sight. Thunder was now rolling and booming over the brakes, and grey veils of rain drifted : from purple clouds. The Storm, black as ink, centred over the peaks of the Henrvs. Between the intervals- of mumbling rumble there was an intense quietness, a sultry, suspension of air. Even in that moment the beauty of the scene struck Jim as appalling. It seemed unnatural, because death lay about him, bloody and ghastly; and down the arroyo stalked the relentless robber.

Jim strode out. . The chief hove in sight. He walked slowly with an air of intense preoccupation. “Where’s Smoky?” called Jim, his lynx eyes on Hays’ right hand. “Cashed in/’ boomed Hays, fastening great hollow eyes of pale fire upon Jim. “He had cover. He plugged I don’t know how many. But Morley’s outfit had throwed in with Heeseman. An’ when thet gambler Stud broke an’ run Smoky had to head him off. They killed each other.” “Who got away? I saw four, men,, one crippled.”. . : . ' ; V. • •“Morley an’ Montana fer two. I didn!t recognise. the others. They, shore run," throwin’ rifles away:” . . “They' were' making for thfelr ses,;j*ied half a mile back. Where’ll they go, Hays?” “Fer more men. Morley is most as stubborn as Heeseman. An’ once he’s seen this roost of ours-—he’ll want It, an’ to wipe out what’s left of us."

“Ileeseman?" “Wal, he didn’t run, Jim. Haw! Haw! He’s dead.” The chief strode to the mouth of the cave and stared around. Jim remained at the spot he had selected, to one side, between the robber and Helen’s covert.

“Jack an’ Mac, too?" he ejaculated in amsfl. “How come? No more of thet outfit sneaked down in hyar.”

“Mac stuck his noddle too far out of that hole in the cave. And Happy Jack stopped a glancing bullet. There’s just two of us left, Hays. By the way—you going to bury your dead?” “No. If Ido anythin’ at all it’ll be fer my gurl. Them stiffs ain’t a pretty sight.”

If Jim Wall needed any galvanising shock to nerve him to the deed he had resolved upon, that single possessive word was enough. . “I’ll bury them later," he said..

“Good. I’m all in. I climbed moren’ a mile to git to them fellers.” Hays sat down heavily, and ran his right hiujd inside his shirt to feel of the bulge of liis shoulder j Jim saw him wince. Blood had' soaked through his shirt. " . : '*£ “You got hit, I see.” - ;;

“Flesh wound..,,„ Nothin’ to fuss over this. minniL . Art’ I’ve gof a crease on my head!' Thet hurts like sixty. Half an inch lower an’ ” “I’d have been left lord of Robbers’ Roost?”

“You shore would, Jim. Lousy with money, an’ a gurl to look after. But it jest didn’t happen thet way.” “No, it didn’t. But it will!” That cool statement pierced the robber’s lethargic mind. Up went his shaggy head and the pale eyes, opaque, like burned-out furnaces, took on a tiny, curious gleam. When his hand came slowly dowb from inside his shirt the fingers were stained red.

“What kind of a crack was that?” he demanded, puzzled. “Hays, you forget.”

“Oh, ho! Reckon I did. Never thought I’d fergit Smoky’s blastin’ tongue. But, Jim, this wasn’t no mix of yours.” “I’ve made it mine.” “You an’ Smoky come to be pards?” ‘‘Yes. But more than that.” “You’re sore thet I didn’t divvy square?” “Hays,. I take it you double-crossed me same as you did them.”

“Uh-huh. Wal, you got me in a corner, I reckon. Thar’s only two of us left. I’d he crazy to quarrel. .. .

Would a third of my money square me?” “No.” “It wouldn’t. Wal, you air aimin’ at a bargain. Say half, then?” “No.”

A tremor ran over the robber’s frame. That was a release of swift passion—hot blood leaped, again. But he controlled himself.

“Jim, I don’t savvy. What’s eatin’ you? Half the money hyar is a fortune fer one man. I did play the hawg. But thet’s past.” “I won’t make any deals with you.” “Ahuh. Then we’ve split?" “Long ago, Hays.” “Air you tryin’ to piok a fight with me?” At this Jim laughed.

“’Cause If you air, I jest won’t fight. I’d be senseless. You an’ me can git along. I like you. We’ll throw together, hide somewhere a while, then build up another outfit.’’ “Hays, you’re thick-skulled,” retorted Jim, sarcastically. “Must I tell you that you can’t bamboozle me?”

“Who’s trying to?” demanded the robber, hotly. “All I’m tryin' Is to patoh it up.” “It can’t be flone.” “I’ll give', you two-thirds of the money.” “Haysj I wouldn’t take another dol-

lar from you—that you gave willingly."

Jim had turned his left side slightly towards Hays, concealing his right hand, which had slipped to his gun hult, with his thumb on the hammer I For Jim then, llays was as good as dead.

"It’ll all be mine, presently,” he replied. "Holdin’ me up, huh?” rasped Hays.. “Learned to be a shore-enough robber, trailin’ with me, huh?”

“Hays, I promised Smoky I’d kill you—which he meant to do if he had lived to come back.”

The robber’s face grew a dirty .white raider his thin beard. At las! he understood so much, at least. What volumes his stupidity spoke for his absorption ! It changed. Jim’s posture, his unseen hand suddenly loomed with tremendous meaning. “Shore. Thet doesn’t sui prise me,” admitted the robber. “When men’s feelin’s are' raw, as in a time like this, they clash. But I did my share to clear the air. An’ if Smoky had come back he’d have seen it different. I could have talked him out of it. . . . Jim, you’re shore smart enough to see thet, an’ you oughter be honest enough to admit it.” “I daresay you could have won Smoky back. He had a fool worship for you .... But you can’t talk me out of anything.” “Why, fer Gawd’s sake ; —when I’m givin. 1 you all the best of the deal?" “Because I want the girl,” thundered Jim.

A great astonishment held Hays stricken. Through It realisation Altered.

“Thet! Thet was it —all the time!” he gasped. “All the time, Hank Hays,” replied Jim, steadily, and it was the robber’s eyes, pale Ares no longer, that he watched for thought and will. Still he saw the violent muscular quivering which slowly diminished to freeze into rigidity. He had struck the right chord. In whatever way possible, Hank Hays loved this woman. However It had begun, the sordid, brutal thing had ended in Hays’ worship of the golden-haired sister of Herrick. Jim read this in the extraordinary betraying eyes; and read more —that It had been Helen the robber had fought for, not his lost caste with his men, not the honour of thieves. It was this that accounted for the infernal blaze of unquenchable hate, of courage that death itself could scarcely have stilled. All this immediately coalesced into the conscious resolve to act and killl CHAPTER 16. As the robber sprang up Jim’s first shot took him somewhere in the breast. It whirled him half round. His gun, spouting Aame, tore up the gravel at Jim’s feet. A terrible wound with its agony, a consciousness of its mortality, added to the overwhelming ferocity of jealous hate, gave the man superhuman physical activity. He whirled, bounding the' other Way so swiftly that Jini’s second shot rnissed. him altogether. Hays’ gun was booming, but it was also describing the--same curves- and jerks as his body. Then as passion gave place to desperate need and the gun aligned itself with Jim, Jim’s third shot- destroyed aim, force, and consciousness. Hays’ demoniac face set woodenly. The gun, with hammer up, dropped to explode. And the robber lodged against the slant of wall, dead, with the awfulness of his mortal passion stamped upon his features. It was over. Jim breathed. The hand which held his gun was so wet that he thought his blood was Aowing. But it was sweat.

“I wish —Smoky could —know,” muttered Jim, over a convulsive jaw. He shoved HayiToff the wall. Wiping his face, Jim staggered to the rock and sat down. Spent and heaving he sat there, his will operating on a whirling mind. It was over —the thing that had had to come. All dead! Loyal and faithless robbers alike. What to do now? The girl? Escape from that hellhole, soon to be besieged again! He must pack that very hour and ride —ride away with her.

“Jim —oh, Jim,” came a cry from the back of the cave.

“Helen —it’s all —over,” he called, hoarsely. -. She appeared in the opening. “Gone?” she whispered.

“Yes, gone—and dead.” “I—saw —you . .. . is he —dead?” “You bet your life,” burst out Jim, his breast oppressed. “Oil, help me out!”

He ran to assist her. She came sliding out, to fall on her knees, clasping Jim with fierce arms. Her head fell against him. “Get up,” he ordered, sharply, trying to lift her. But she was more than a dead weight. #‘God bless you! Oh, God bless you;” she cried. The voice was husky, strange, yet carried the richness and contralto melody that had been one of Helen’s charms.

“Don’t say that!” he exclaimed, aghast.

“Jim’s you’ve saved me,” she whispered. .Tim’s hands plucked at her arms, caught them. She loosened her hold and raised her head to look up at him. He saw only her eyes, tearless, strained i in overwhelming gratitude. “N o — n ot yet” he blurted out. “Wo must burry out of this.” She arose, still clinging to him “Forgive me. lam selfish. We can talk some other tijne. I should have realised you would wamt to leave here at once. .. . Tell me what to do. I will obey."

Jim stepped back and shook himself.

“You kept me from thinking,” he began, ponderingly. “Yes, we must leave here ~ . . Put on your riding clothes. Pack this dress you have on—-and all you have. Take your time. We’re safe for. the present. And ddn’t look out. I’ve got to bury Hays, and the men.!'-.-. . \ _ '

“My spirit wouldn’t faint at-that,!’ she replied. “1 saw you kill the wretch—and I could help you bury him.”

“I won’t need - you,” replied Jim, constrainedly,- and wheeled away,: Madly he rushed to and frii, while he sea?ohed the dead robbers, to Aing their money and valuables in a pile. Then he dragged them to the brink of the wash and toppled them over. Action had begun to steady Jin, if not compose him. He shoved all the money into his saddlebag. Next he packed every one of his shells. He might be attacked again in that hiding place. Then he selected supplies for two packs and Ailed them, not forgetting a few utensils. His next move was to strap blankets and saddles on the two gentlest horses. Those he led back to the cave, where he packed them. ' After that he had only to saddle Bay and the grey horse Helen, had ridden there. Suddenly he thought of Smoky. If he had been alone, or with another man, even a helpless one, he would have taken time to And that strange and faithful robber, and have given him decent burial. But he would not leave the girl.

While he stood there, trying to think what else to do, he remembered a sack of grain that Hays had packed from Star Ranch. He found it half full and tied It on the lighter pack.

He hurried back to the girl, calling: “Are you ready?” “I’ve been waiting,” she said, and came swiftly out. The rider’s costume brought out the rounded grace of her form. She had braided her hair. The sombrero he remembered shaded her face. >...

“Where are your veil and long coat?” asked Jim, seeing her as on

that unforgettable day. “He burned them,” she answered in* a stiAed voice. V “Get into this;” And he held: slicker for her. It ' enveloped dragged on the ground. ■ -“We’re In forstorm. : 1 Rainy season iluec v ypu must keep:, dry,” -" . .■ /. .. “Ride .close .beside me. wbgre. there’* room. Just ahead where there’s not,” he directed her., . •„ ...y Jim tied the halters Of the two pack animals to their packs,, and started them off. Then he vaulted upon Bair the' Arst time for many weeks. Thjf. horse pranced, but steadied down under an iron hand and heel, Helen looked bactf 1 as one fascinated, but Jim bent stem gaze ahead. “I would destroy this canyon if that were in my power. Gome,” he Said. They rode up out of the oval, driv- ’ ing the pack horses ahead. The rain was now falling heavily. On they gravel ridge to the west Jim saw • dead man lying prone. Soon they entered the wJd& shallow wash, in the sand of which Jim espied footprints filling with water. They, rode out of the tail of the storm and into a widening of the wash, where ,!t reached proportions of a small valley/ Scrub cedar and; brush and cactus began to show, and patches of ers on low, sandy knfftls. They passed the cove where the riders’ horses . had been left. Broad and deep was the trail to the south. . “Are you all rjglit?” Jim queried. “Oh, I did not know l could feet rapture again. Yes, I am.” “You’re dizzy Just the same. You sway in the saddle. Ride closer to me, while you can . . . Give me your hand. Don’t talk. But 100k —look! You might see what I do not see.” They rode at length to, a canyon head, down which the hoof tracks turned. “We came this way by night, but I remember,” she said. “Do you dare to follow them?" “We must not.” ‘ “But that is the way to Star Ranch!” (To be Continued).