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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..86e1751 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50105 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50105) diff --git a/old/50105-0.txt b/old/50105-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2d0c1dc..0000000 --- a/old/50105-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7843 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the Old -Apache Trail, by Jessie Graham Flower - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the Old Apache Trail - -Author: Jessie Graham Flower - -Release Date: October 1, 2015 [EBook #50105] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRACE HARLOWE'S OVERLAND *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rick Morris and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders. _Frontispiece._] - - - - -Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders on the Old Apache Trail - - _By_ - JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A.M. - - Author of The Grace Harlowe High School Series, The Grace Harlowe - College Girls Series, Grace Harlowe’s Problem, Grace Harlowe’s - Golden Summer, Grace Harlowe Overseas, Grace Harlowe - with the Red Cross in France, Grace Harlowe with the - U. S. Troops in the Argonne, Grace Harlowe with - the Marines at Chateau Thierry, Grace Harlowe - with the Yankee Shock Boys at St. Quentin, - Grace Harlowe with the American Army - on the Rhine, etc., etc. - - Illustrated - - PHILADELPHIA - HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY - - - - - COPYRIGHTED, 1921, BY - HOWARD E. ALTEMUS - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - CHAPTER I--THE CALL OF THE WILD 11 - - The Overton girls plan for a summer outing in the saddle. - Hippy has a dark secret. “No weak lemonade trips for me,” - declares Emma Dean. A proposal that is both interesting - and alarming. Old friends reunited. A journey toward the - setting sun. - - CHAPTER II--ON THE OVERLAND COACH 25 - - Grace Harlowe’s discovery. Overton girls vote for a night - ride on the old Deadwood stagecoach. “Play tricks on us and - you will be sorry.” Off for a novel ride. Inside passengers - register a violent protest. The coach threatens to fall to - pieces. - - CHAPTER III--A THRILLING HALT 41 - - Hippy takes a new kind of “sideslip.” Grace hears of the - savage Apaches. Ike Fairweather is amazed. Elfreda issues - a solemn warning. “Something is going on here!” exclaims - Grace Harlowe under her breath. “All out, and keep your - hands up!” - - CHAPTER IV--THE BATTLE WITH THE BANDITS 52 - - Highwaymen and Overton girls in a pitched battle. “The - cowards!” cries Grace Harlowe. Bandits discover their - mistake too late. Wounded and defeated, outlaws of the - Apache Trail throw away their weapons. Disaster overtakes - the Overton girls. - - CHAPTER V--WANTED BY THE SHERIFF 63 - - The Deadwood stagecoach goes over a precipice and is - lost. Ike Fairweather’s rage beyond the power of words - to express. Grace gives her prisoners a stern warning. A - grilling journey on foot. A notorious bandit leader among - the captives. - - CHAPTER VI--A SHOT WELL PLACED 74 - - Ike Fairweather joins the Overton party. Riders of the - Old Apache Trail. Lieutenant Wingate comes a cropper. A - succession of spills. The first night in camp. Hippy’s - oratory is checked by a bullet. “Put out the campfire!” - commands Grace Harlowe. - - CHAPTER VII--A LIVELY NIGHT IN CAMP 84 - - The first casualty. A mysterious shot. The Overton camp is - put under guard. Rifle shots alarm the campers. A silence - “heavy with significance.” Ike Fairweather wings a night - prowler. Grace makes a startling discovery. “The ponies - have gone, Mr. Fairweather!” - - CHAPTER VIII--HIPPY CALLS TO ARMS 94 - - Aroused by a low-spoken warning. Hurried preparations are - made to defend the camp. The battle opened with a thrilling - Indian war whoop. “Steady, girls! We’re going to catch it!” - Strategy that bore fruit. “We have ’em on the run!” cries - Hippy. - - CHAPTER IX--A STARTLING DISCOVERY 101 - - Attackers lose heavily. Indians or white men--which? The - Overton girls enjoy a real picnic. Emma Dean is missing. - “Elfreda, get a rifle and come with me!” directs Grace - Harlowe incisively. “Something serious surely has happened - to Emma.” - - CHAPTER X--A DOUBLE CAPTURE 110 - - Grace picks up the trail. The search continued deep into a - somber canyon. Signal shots are fired. A human voice sounds - close at hand. “Grace! Oh, Grace! Save me!” wails Emma - Dean. Overton girls in the hands of mountain outlaws. - - CHAPTER XI--FOLLOWING A COLD TRAIL 123 - - “I tell you I heard Grace’s signal shots!” Lieutenant - Wingate fails to find a trace of the missing ones. Ike - noses out the trail. “Right here’s where they took to their - ponies.” A weird night journey. The guide confesses himself - beaten. - - CHAPTER XII--AN INTERRUPTED INTERVIEW 131 - - Threats fail to disturb Grace Harlowe. A bandit’s wife - demands to know why Grace shot Con Bates. “I’m goin’ to see - thet you settle for thet little job.” Belle Bates meets her - match. “Drop thet gun, an’ do it quick!” commands a stern - voice behind Grace Harlowe. - - CHAPTER XIII--A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 138 - - A case of shoot or be shot. “Run, Emma! Run!” A battle - of give and take. Grace gets a bullet wound. A dash for - freedom. The escape. Grace makes the best of a serious - situation. A blood-chilling wail of agony sounds close at - hand. - - CHAPTER XIV--A NIGHT OF TERROR 150 - - “There it goes again!” Emma Dean gives way to her fears as - the wild, haunting wail is repeated. Two yellow eyes in the - dark. Grace fires a telling shot. Alarmed by signal shots - in the canyon. The two Overton girls witness a spirited - battle. - - CHAPTER XV--IKE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF 160 - - The end of a grilling hike. Western Jones wings the - bandits. Elfreda Briggs sews up Grace Harlowe’s wound. The - operation proves to be more than Ike and Emma can stand. - “Next time I shore’ll look t’other way,” avers the old - stagecoach driver. - - CHAPTER XVI--A GLIMPSE INTO FAIRYLAND 166 - - Overton girls mess in the weird forest of Sahuaro. The - outfit selects a new name for itself. Lieutenant Wingate’s - speech rudely interrupted. The wonders of the Apache - Mountains are unfolded before the Overland Riders. Hippy’s - chest swells with pride. - - CHAPTER XVII--GOING TO BED IN THE CLOUDS 175 - - Lieutenant Wingate loses his hat, and Ike Fairweather has a - narrow escape. Grace decides to explore the ancient cliff - dwellings. Being above the clouds gives the Overland Riders - a new thrill. An alarm arouses Grace at dead of night. - - CHAPTER XVIII--THE HARDEST BLOW OF ALL 186 - - A jar and a crash. “Some one has run our wagon off the - trail into the canyon!” gasps Grace Harlowe. Hippy and the - bandits battle in a cloud. Grace takes a hand. Emma Dean - bewails the loss of her black silk skirt. Horses and riders - are now obliged to carry the Overlanders’ equipment. - - CHAPTER XIX--HEROINES OF THE TRAIL 198 - - The arrival at Roosevelt Dam. Grace Harlowe meets an old - friend from the front. The fame of the Overland Riders has - preceded them. An Apache Indian engaged to care for the - ponies. An evening of real enjoyment at the mountain inn. - - CHAPTER XX--THE MYSTERIOUS ARROW 205 - - Picnicking by the blue waters of Lake Roosevelt. “The end - of a perfect day!” Guests entertained at the Overland - Riders’ camp. Food, to Hippy, of greater moment than mere - Indians. The army spirit of freedom. A barbed messenger - drops into the camp of the Overlanders. - - CHAPTER XXI--A NIGHT OF THRILLS 217 - - A warning of trouble to come. The storm breaks. “I think - we are going to catch it,” mutters Grace Harlowe. Tents - wrecked by the gale. The Overland camp is swept by bullets - from the mountains. Tea and crackers replace storm and - bullets. Guests have an exciting time. - - CHAPTER XXII--RELICS OF AN ANCIENT RACE 228 - - A picnic in the home of the Cliff Dwellers. A guest faints - on the brink of the chasm. Grace prepares for her daring - descent. General Gordon protests. “Hold fast to the rope!” - All being ready, Grace Harlowe goes over the edge of the - precipice, a smile on her face. - - CHAPTER XXIII--BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY 236 - - A dizzy descent through space. “Harlowe luck is with me!” - Grace explores the ancient community house. The mustiness - of centuries is on the air. “That smells like a dead fire!” - Grace Harlowe is startled by a human groan. The discovery. - - CHAPTER XXIV--GRACE SOLVES THE MOUNTAIN MYSTERY 242 - - “Joe Smoky Face! What does this mean?” demands Grace. In - the bandits’ lair. A lonely vigil on the mountain. Grace - traps the bandits. “That is what I call good shooting,” - declares Grace Harlowe. Overland Riders at the journey’s - end. - - - - -GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS ON THE OLD APACHE TRAIL - -CHAPTER I - -THE CALL OF THE WILD - - -“I have asked you to visit me for a twofold reason,” announced Grace -Harlowe to her friends of the Overton Unit. “In other words, I have a -vacation proposal to make to you.” - -“Which, translated into plain English, means that you wish to lead us -into new fields of adventure,” interjected Emma Dean. - -“Perhaps,” smiled Grace. - -“I suspected as much when I received your invitation to come here,” -nodded Elfreda Briggs. - -“Curiosity has taken full possession of me, Grace. What is the big -idea?” urged Anne Nesbit eagerly. - -“So far as I am concerned, no plans have been made,” replied Grace. -“The original suggestion may have been mine--that is, the suggestion -that we get together for a real outing. From that nucleus, Hippy -says he has worked out a plan that promises entertainment, health -and adventure for the jaded Overton girls after their strenuous war -service. Hippy and Nora will be here in a few moments. He will tell you -all about it.” - -“Dark mystery,” murmured Emma. - -“Let me ask you girls something,” resumed Grace. “Since we returned -from France, where we all did our bit, has each of you been perfectly -contented with the simple life, well content to remain at home without -feeling one little moment’s yearning to see something stirring? Search -your innermost consciousness and tell me what you find there in answer -to my question.” - -For a moment no one essayed an answer; then Elfreda spoke up. - -“To be frank with you, Loyalheart, I have been perfectly miserable,” -declared Miss Briggs thoughtfully. - -Grace nodded and smiled. - -“In France, amid the activity and excitement of war, not to speak of -the peril, I was positive that once out of it, once back in my peaceful -home, I never again should feel the slightest inclination to wander,” -continued Elfreda. “For a few months, following my return from the war -zone, I really was contented, delightfully so, luxuriously so, I might -say, for I was ‘living the lazy life of Reilley,’ as the doughboys say. - -“Well, finally I awakened from my dream. I was restless, ill at ease. -While away to war my law practice of course had gone to smash. It had -not met me at the train upon my return, either, and the way I felt -I didn’t care; but upon awakening I realized that what I needed was -activity. However, the sort of activity that my particular ailment -demanded was not at hand, and I was on the verge of doing something -desperate when your letter came asking me to join our friends at your -home to talk over a vacation trip. Grace Harlowe, you are a life saver. -That is the honest-to-goodness truth and the whole truth,” finished -Elfreda amid laughter. - -“That is what I say, or rather what I probably should have said had I -the eloquence of our legal friend, Elfreda Briggs,” bubbled Emma. “Give -me excitement or I die!” - -Grace glanced at Anne, who nodded and smiled. - -“I follow where you lead, Loyalheart,” said Anne. “Too bad that the -rest of the Unit are unable to be with us, but those not otherwise -engaged are mostly roaming over the face of the earth, just as we are -proposing to do. By the way, what are we to do--where are we to go and -how?” - -“We are all suffering a reaction from the war, but a strenuous few -weeks in the open surely will settle us down,” said Grace. “There come -Hippy and Nora. Now you will know all about it,” she added, stepping -to the veranda to greet the newcomers. “Welcome, Nora Wingate. How are -you, Lieutenant?” - -“All present or accounted for,” answered Hippy jovially. “Happy to -meet you, ladies,” he greeted, bowing profoundly as he entered the -house. “I haven’t been so pleased over anything since I downed my first -Boche plane in France. There, there, Nora darling, don’t monopolize -the girls. Give your hero husband a chance. I take it that you are to -join out with us in our big mid-summer vacation?” questioned Hippy, -addressing himself to Emma Dean. - -“Are you going to lead the party?” demanded Emma. - -“I may have that honor.” Hippy bowed humbly. - -“Count me out!” emphasized Emma. - -“No, no, no,” protested Anne and Elfreda laughingly. - -“Before jumping at conclusions perhaps it would be as well for us to -listen to Lieutenant Wingate’s plan,” suggested Grace, rising. “Dinner -is being served. Come! We can talk while we eat,” she added, leading -the way to the dining room whose windows overlooked the sloping green -lawns of Grace Harlowe’s much-loved home. - -Elfreda, Anne and Emma had, within the hour, arrived at Haven Home -where Grace had been living quietly and restfully since her return from -France, in which country she and her friends of the Overton Unit had -been serving with the Red Cross during the closing year of the war. - -Grace’s husband, Captain Tom Gray, was still in Russia where he had -been sent from France on a military mission, and Yvonne, her adopted -daughter, was a pupil in a private school in New England, so she felt -free to invite the girls of her Unit to join with her in a summer’s -outing that would offer both recreation and adventure. - -Anne Nesbit, Elfreda Briggs and Emma Dean were the only members of the -Unit who had not already made their plans for the summer. - -While Grace would have been pleased to have all the girls of the -Overton Unit join in her proposed outing, she was just as well pleased -that her invitation had not been more generally accepted. The present -party was of about the right size, as she reasoned it. Then again, the -members of the party had been close associates for many years; they -had shared their girlhood joys and sorrows; they had suffered together -in those desperate days in France when it seemed to them that the very -universe were rending itself asunder, and from all this had been born a -better understanding of each other and a greater love and respect. - -It was, therefore, a happy gathering that sat down to dinner in Grace -Harlowe’s Oakdale home on that balmy mid-summer afternoon. For a time -there was chatter and laughter, the reviving of old college and war -memories, intermingled with occasional chaffing of Hippy Wingate, -always a shining mark for the Overton girls’ teasing. - -“Girls,” finally announced Grace, “Hippy has a dark secret locked in -his heart, to be brought to light only when we girls are present.” - -“I could see the moment he came in that he had,” interrupted Elfreda. -“Hippy always was a poor dissembler.” - -“Yes, that’s what Nora says,” replied Hippy sheepishly. - -“I believe that you girls are not all aware of the fact that Hippy is -now a man of affairs,” resumed Grace. “Therefore, his words must be -given weight accordingly. Hippy, being too modest to tell you about it -himself, I would have you all know that, upon his return from the war, -he found himself a rich man, following the death of a wealthy uncle -who was so proud of our Flying Lieutenant’s great achievements in the -war that he left Hippy all his worldly possessions. Our Hippy, it is -rumored, is now lying awake nights trying to devise new ways to spend -his fortune.” - -“No, no, nothing like that,” protested Hippy Wingate, with a -disapproving shake of the head. “What I really am trying to figure out -is how _not_ to spend it--that is, not all at once. Of course, so far -as my dear friends are concerned, that is another matter,” added Hippy -quite seriously. - -“My ancestors originated in Missouri. You will have to demonstrate,” -observed Emma Dean amid much laughter. - -“What we are at the moment most interested in is the dark secret. You -have something to say to us,” reminded Miss Briggs. - -“Yes, Hippy, do not keep us in suspense,” urged Grace. - -“Go on, darling. They will walk out and leave you if you don’t start -pretty soon,” warned Nora. - -“Ahem!” began Lieutenant Wingate. - -“Are you going to make a speech?” demanded Emma apprehensively. - -“What I am about to say will answer your question. Grace has been -suggesting that this outfit get together and spend the latter part of -the summer in the open. That set my brain in operation.” - -“Your what?” interrupted Emma. - -Grace laughed merrily, and then begged Hippy’s pardon. - -“Upon my return from the war,” resumed Hippy, unheeding the -interruption, “my friend, Captain Jamieson, of the State Constabulary, -asked me to volunteer to serve in the troop with him on strike duty. -I did so. Girls, you have no idea of the joy I found in ‘packing -leather,’ as the horsemen call it--horseback riding. After that -experience with the troop, when Grace was speaking about an outing in -the open, it occurred to me that the Overton Unit might work off its -surplus energy in the saddle, and at the same time have a glorious -outing. Brown Eyes, tell them of your experience in the saddle.” - -Grace related how, after having been made an honorary member of -the troop, she had taken up horseback riding and what a wonderful -revelation it had been to her. - -“Take my word for it, too, Brown Eyes already is as fine a rider -as there is in the troop. The captain says she is a natural born -horsewoman,” declared Hippy with enthusiasm. “Even my Nora promises -that, hereafter, riding horseback is to be her own principal -recreation. How many of you girls ride?” - -Elfreda and Anne said they had ridden some when younger, but not -recently. Emma Dean owned a pony, she said, but had not been on its -back in more than two years. - -“Good!” exclaimed Lieutenant Wingate. “You all at least know how to -stick on leather, so we will proceed to the next stage of the journey. -My great secret is no longer a secret. You already know what I am about -to propose. Do you girls wish to join out with us for a month or so in -the saddle?” - -“To go where?” questioned Elfreda. - -“That is for us girls to decide upon,” interjected Grace. “The first -question to be settled is, who will go?” - -“All in favor of taking a horseback trip say ‘aye’; contrary ‘no,’” -cried Hippy. - -The answer was a chorus of ayes. - -“The ayes have it! We go,” announced the lieutenant, smiling his -pleasure at the decision. - -“Have you a suggestion to offer as to where we might go?” asked Anne. - -“It was my thought that we might tour New England,” answered the -lieutenant. - -“New England!” cried Emma Dean. “There isn’t any fun in doing that. -When I go out for adventure I wish the real thing. Adventure in New -England! Huh! It hasn’t existed in New England since the Indians put -down an arrow barrage on the Pilgrim Fathers. You will have to think of -something more exciting than New England if you expect me to go with -you.” - -“Where do we get the saddle horses?” was Elfreda’s query. - -“Hippy will arrange for that,” Grace informed her. “I agree with Emma -that, so long as we are going out for adventure, we should get as far -from the beaten paths as possible. Roughing it in the real meaning of -the term is what we girls need.” - -“That is what I say,” cried Emma. “No weak lemonade trips for me. Give -me a wild west or give me an automobile.” - -“I am certain that Loyalheart has a suggestion to offer,” said Miss -Briggs, nodding in Grace’s direction. - -“Yes, I have,” admitted Grace. “My advice is that we adopt Emma’s -suggestion and go west. Speaking for myself, there is one place out -there that always has held a great fascination for me. I refer to the -Old Apache Trail in Arizona. From what I have read of that part of the -country, one should be able to find adventure in a horseback journey -over the old trail. Going so far by train, before we start with horses, -will make it rather an expensive trip, but I do not believe it will be -beyond our means.” - -Emma’s eyes widened. - -“Indians? Are there Indians there?” - -“Every bush hides a lurking Apache,” Lieutenant Wingate gravely -informed her. - -“Oh!” exclaimed Emma under her breath. - -“I do not believe it is quite so alarming as that,” laughed Grace. -“Even though there are Indians, we probably shall not be troubled by -them. Are there any further suggestions, girls?” - -“The Apache Trail sounds interesting to me,” admitted Anne. - -“Both interesting and alarming,” averred Elfreda. “However, we know -from past experiences that trouble always goes hand in hand with Grace -Harlowe, so we are fully prepared in advance for whatever may come to -us. What do we take with us, and how are we to dress?” - -“It has occurred to me that we can wear our old army uniforms, without -insignia,” replied Grace. “They will be appropriate for riding, but we -should wear campaign hats in place of our overseas caps. Such changes -of clothing as we shall require can be carried in our steamer trunks -which we will send ahead by express. My advice is not to carry any -finery. Let us keep in the simple atmosphere at all times, bearing in -mind that this will not be a Pullman car outing after we reach our -starting point. How soon can you girls be ready?” - -Elfreda said she would be prepared to leave in about ten days, having -some office legal matters to clear up before going away. The others -said they could be ready in even less time than that, so it was decided -that they should meet at Oakdale for the start for the west on August -first. Hippy, in the meantime, would, so far as possible, arrange by -correspondence for the horses they were to ride, and for such equipment -as had to do with his part in the preparations. - -The following few days were busy ones for all, between riding -horseback, taking short gallops out into the country on such mounts -as they could find at livery stables, and planning for their vacation -in the saddle. On these rides, Hippy and Grace taught the others such -riding points as they had learned in their riding experiences, all -save Emma quickly adapting themselves to the saddle, so that the -week’s vacation at Haven Home lengthened to twelve days before Elfreda -and Emma entrained for home. Anne remained with Grace, there being no -reason why she should return home, as her husband, still in the service -of his country, was on the other side of the Atlantic. - -In the intervening days before the start for the west, Hippy -corresponded by wire and letter, with the postmaster at Globe, Arizona, -who informed the lieutenant that there were two stock farms near that -place, where mounts suitable for the Overton girls’ needs might be -purchased or hired at reasonable prices. It was decided, however, that -no definite arrangement for horses should be made until Hippy had had -opportunity to look them over, with all the girls present to approve of -his selection. - -Grace, having completed most of her preparations for their outing, -now made a brief journey to the city to visit Yvonne at her school, -returning home in time to welcome Elfreda and Emma, who arrived -at Oakdale looking trim and pretty in their new tailor-made serge -traveling suits. Grace looked her two friends over critically on their -arrival. - -“Becoming, but not quite suitable for horseback riding,” she observed, -referring to their costumes. - -“Our riding suits are in our steamer trunks,” explained Elfreda. “I -know--you said we were not to take any finery along, but surely, while -traveling on a train we should wear something other than our uniforms.” - -Grace admitted that perhaps this would be advisable, and decided that -the party would be less conspicuous in traveling clothes. - -It was a merry company at Haven Home that evening, the eve of the -Overton girls’ departure for the west on what, each one instinctively -felt, was destined to be an eventful journey. Several neighbors came in -and there was music, with Irish songs by Nora, a characteristic speech -from the lips of Lieutenant Wingate, followed by dancing, refreshments -and much chatter, until a late hour. - -After the neighbors had said their good-byes the Overton girls put the -finishing touches to their packing and closed their trunks. - -“To be opened when we reach Arizona,” announced Grace, placing her -trunk key in her purse, smiling at her friends with that rare smile -that so attracted people to her. - -Quite a party was at the station to see the outfit off next morning, -though naturally the crowd was neither so great nor so boisterous -as when, upon her arrival home from the war, Grace Harlowe had been -literally carried from the train to her home, a heroine, not in -theory, but in fact, as the crosses of war of two nations, pinned to -her blouse, bore evidence. - -Farewells were waved from car windows, the tall maples and spreading -elms of Haven Home melted into the distance as the journey toward the -setting sun was begun. - -“Somehow I have a feeling that this vacation of ours is not to be -an unalloyed sweet summer’s dream,” sighed Elfreda Briggs, settling -herself resignedly for the journey. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -ON THE OVERLAND COACH - - -“Oh, girls, I’ve made a perfectly marvelous discovery,” cried Grace -Harlowe as she burst into the parlor of the hotel at Globe, Arizona, on -the morning following their arrival from the east. - -“Which means, watch your step, Overton Unit,” reminded Elfreda Briggs. -“What is the nature of your discovery, a long lost brother or something -of that sort?” - -“My discovery is a genuine old Deadwood stagecoach,” Grace informed her -companions. - -Elfreda regarded her narrowly. - -“Our Flying Lieutenant, Hippy Wingate, is examining it now to see if -it is really fit for use,” continued Grace with no abatement of her -enthusiasm. - -“A Deadwood stagecoach?” wondered Emma Dean. - -“That is the kind of coach they used in the old stagecoach days of the -early west,” Elfreda Briggs explained. - -“Eh? The kind that the bandits used to hold up, and rob the passengers? -That husband of mine used to read all about it when he was a youngster. -He declares that had the war not come along when it did, he might have -been a bandit himself,” asserted Nora Wingate. “What does he want to -look over that old stagecoach for?” she demanded suspiciously. - -“Hippy is thinking of taking a ride in it,” smiled Grace. “Listen to -me, girls! I will tell you what Hippy and I have to suggest.” - -“It is about time,” muttered Elfreda. - -“The suggestion is,” resumed Grace, “that we girls take a trip in the -Deadwood coach, say out as far as the Apache Lodge on the trail. There -is no reason why we should not, at least, make a night drive, say up -to about midnight, go into camp for a few hours’ sleep, and then drive -back to Globe in the early morning. Should we like the coaching well -enough we can go on and do the entire hundred and twenty miles of the -Old Apache Trail in that way.” - -“This is all very well, but what about the ponies that the lieutenant -has hired for the ride over the trail?” questioned Anne. - -“We can have the ponies led through to Phœnix and ride them back, -camping along the way back for the rest of our vacation,” replied -Grace. “Hippy will arrange that matter, and make a deal with the -stagecoach owner after he has carefully looked the old wagon over to -make certain that it will go through the trip without falling apart.” - -“You think it will be a perfectly safe thing to do, do you, Grace?” -questioned Elfreda Briggs. - -“Yes, if the stagecoach holds together,” answered Grace smilingly. - -“If!” muttered J. Elfreda under her breath. - -“But, Grace, suppose a band of bad men hold us up and rob us?” urged -Emma apprehensively. - -“No danger whatever, my dear. Those days have passed in the great west, -as have the savage Apaches of olden time, though the trip will take -us over the ground on which they fought many fierce battles. Ah! Here -comes Hippy now. How about it, Lieutenant?” - -“All set, Brown Eyes. The owner of the stagecoach says he has a new set -of wheels that he will put on, as the old ones would not stand up under -the load we shall have. Otherwise, the old rattler is good for many a -journey over the trail. I think the owner got a good idea from us, and -that he will make the Deadwood stagecoach trip a regular attraction for -tourists. What do you say, girls?” - -“Grace is the one to say,” averred Elfreda. “On our journey out here -you will remember that we decided she should be our captain. I may have -my doubts about the advisability of the proposed coaching trip, but I -will agree to it with a certain mental reservation. _Alors!_ Let’s go!” - -“Have you seen the owner of the ponies?” asked Grace, turning to -Lieutenant Wingate. - -Hippy nodded. - -“He doesn’t care what we do, so long as he gets his money.” - -“When will the stagecoach be ready?” questioned Grace. - -“Within an hour, if you decide to make the trip.” - -“That is all very well, so far as it goes,” observed Nora Wingate. -“What I wish to ask is how are we going to sleep and eat?” - -“We shall take with us twenty-four hours’ rations and a small tent, -which can be carried on the roof of the stagecoach. Hippy can sleep -on the floor of the coach and we girls will sleep in the tent,” Grace -informed her companions. - -“Any old place is good enough for Hippy,” complained Lieutenant Wingate. - -“A man like yourself, who has slept on a cloud, hovering over the -German lines on the French front, ought not to complain about having -to sleep on nice, soft blankets on the floor of a stagecoach,” teased -Grace. - -“Who’s complaining?” retorted Hippy. “What is the verdict?” - -“Unless there are objections which argument cannot overcome, I shall -decide for taking the stagecoach,” announced Grace. - -“Ladies, please give voice to your preferences, and be quick about it,” -urged Hippy. - -The vote was unanimous for the stagecoach. - -“Brown Eyes, will you attend to getting the food?” he asked. - -“Yes, with Nora’s assistance. We will go shopping at once, Nora dear. -Hippy, please tell the stagecoach man that we will take the coach, and -that we shall be ready to leave at four o’clock this afternoon. Please -see that the A tent is shipped aboard our craft. By the way, what does -he propose to charge us for the trip out and back?” - -“Twenty dollars,” replied Hippy. Lieutenant Wingate added, that, if -Grace would give him a memorandum of exactly what she wished to carry -along, he would get the equipment together at once. - -“I will do that now,” replied Grace. “Upon reflection, I would suggest -that you tell the man who owns the ponies we have hired, to hold the -animals here, as we shall be back here to-morrow. I have about decided -that one night with the stagecoach will give us all the thrills we -are looking for in that direction. Anyway, we are out here to ride -horseback, so you girls must not look too hard for comfort in your -surroundings. Riding in this part of the country is work, and you will -discover that it is not at all like galloping about a ring in a riding -academy or pleasant jaunts through shady country lanes.” - -“Or a trip in a luxurious automobile,” suggested Elfreda. - -“Or a flight into the blue in a plane,” added Hippy. “Give me the air -every time, the freedom of the skies, the azure and the birds and the--” - -“Look out! Your motor is going to stall,” warned Emma Dean amid general -laughter. - -“I agree with you,” nodded Elfreda. - -Lieutenant Wingate went out laughing and chuckling to himself, and -after his departure Grace assigned their duties to each of the girls, -then herself started out with Nora to purchase supplies. These -consisted of a small quantity of canned goods, potatoes, bacon, coffee, -and salt and pepper, with a few other odds and ends, all of which Grace -ordered done up in a large package and delivered to the stagecoach man. -The purchases were quickly made and within a very short time Grace and -Nora were back at the hotel. - -“Does the drosky drive up to the hotel for us?” greeted Emma Dean, as -the two girls entered. - -“It does not. I should not care to make our outfit so conspicuous as -that,” rebuked Grace. - -“Oh, fiddlesticks! What is the use of making a splurge when there is no -one to see it?” grumbled Emma. - -“Wurra, child!” cried Irish Nora. “This is no traveling show for the -benefit of the natives.” - -“Nora is perfectly right,” agreed Grace. “We are here for our own -enjoyment, and, though perhaps we may be a show in ourselves, we do not -propose to perform for the edification of the public if we can avoid -it.” - -“What is this I hear about a show?” cried J. Elfreda, at that moment -entering the hotel parlor with Anne. - -Nora explained that Emma wished to drive away in style. - -“Wait! Just wait, Emma, until we return from this trip of ours. If we -do not show the Globites something new in styles after we have passed -through the refining influences of the Apache Trail, I shall admit that -I am not a prophetess,” laughed Elfreda. “I just now saw Hippy with his -coat off working on that old ark, that he calls a stagecoach, before -an admiring audience of natives. He _was_ making himself conspicuous. -Are we expected to trust life and limb to that ancient craft, Grace -Harlowe?” - -“We are and we shall,” answered Grace. - -“Then I think those of you who have property had better make your wills -before embarking. Nora, this applies especially to you and Hippy who -so recently have come into a fortune. Grace made her will before going -overseas to drive an ambulance on the French front, but Emma, having -spent all her money on finery, had no need to make a will.” - -“How about yourself?” questioned Grace teasingly. - -“I am merely a struggling young lawyeress who isn’t supposed to have -money to will, and who most assuredly has no clients to pay her any. -Isn’t it about time for luncheon?” - -Grace said it was, but that they were waiting for Hippy so that all -might sit down together. - -Lieutenant Wingate came in shortly after that, covered with dirt, and a -beauty spot on one cheek. - -“You are a sight, Hippy Wingate,” chided Grace. “How did you get -yourself in such a condition?” - -“Helping the man grease the wagon.” - -“You go right up to our room and make yourself fit to sit down with -civilized persons,” ordered Nora. “I am ashamed to own you as my -husband.” - -“Isn’t that a fine way to order around a fellow who has fought the -Boche on high, and who will go down in history as a brave air fighter?” -teased Anne. - -“Some husbands have to be ordered. Mine is one of them,” answered Nora, -giving Hippy’s ear a tweak. “Now run along, little man.” - -Hippy kissed Nora and ran upstairs laughing to himself. Nora’s scolding -did not even penetrate skin deep with Lieutenant Wingate, nor did she -intend that it should. - -Soon after that the Overton College girls filed into the dining room -where a number of tourists were having luncheon. The girls, in their -overseas uniforms, attracted attention at once, many of the guests -having been told who the young women, with the tanned faces and -familiar uniforms, were. The guests also had been informed that the man -with the party was Lieutenant Wingate, a noted American air fighter -who stood high up in the list of those who had downed more than twenty -enemy planes. - -As she took her seat at the table, Grace bowed smilingly to two ladies -who had come in on the train with them that morning. - -“Girls, what shall we eat?” she asked. - -“Speaking for myself as a modest person, I think I shall begin at -the top of the menu and eat my way all the way down to the bottom,” -observed Hippy solemnly amid the laughter of the others. - -Luncheon finished, the party went out sight-seeing, and for a look at -the ponies that Hippy had hired for the trip over the Old Apache Trail, -on which journey they would have started on the following morning had -Grace not chanced to discover the old Deadwood stagecoach. - -At three o’clock that afternoon the party of Overton girls loaded their -belongings, such as would be needed for a twenty-four hour jaunt, into -an automobile, and drove to the stable where the stage driver, Ike -Fairweather by name, was preparing to harness up the four horses that -were to draw the coach. - -Hippy removed his coat and assisted in the operations, while the girls -inspected the stagecoach and stowed away their belongings. - -Emma’s nose went up ever so little when she peered into the interior -of the vehicle, observing the old rickety wooden seats, the tattered -curtains and the cracks in the warped flooring. - -“If this old ark lasts until we get out of town, I am no prophet,” she -declared. “What if it breaks down?” - -“We can walk, just as some of us have had to do in France when an -ambulance went out of commission,” answered Grace laughingly. She then -placed blankets on the hardwood seats and packed their provisions -underneath. - -By this time Ike was hooking up the four horses. That he was an -experienced man Grace saw after observing him critically for a few -moments, and she was certain that they could safely trust themselves to -his driving. - -“I have a lurking idea that the girls of this outfit are in for a ride -that they will not soon forget, even though things look favorable,” she -thought, smiling to herself. - -“Grace Harlowe, what are you laughing at?” demanded Anne. - -“I was thinking of something very, very funny,” replied Grace. - -“Let me in on the joke, please,” begged Emma. - -“Not now. Perhaps later on.” - -Elfreda regarded her frowningly. - -“If you play any tricks on us, Loyalheart, you will be sorry,” warned -Miss Briggs. - -“How can you even suggest such a thing?” cried Grace. “Did you ever -know me to play pranks on my friends?” - -“There have been occasions when suspicions assumed real shapes in my -mind,” retorted Elfreda. - -“See to it that this is not one of those occasions. I believe we are -about ready to make our start. Mr. Fairweather, where is there a good -place for us to make camp to-night? I do not think we should try to -make the Lodge this evening. All we desire is to take the coach into -the mountains, make camp, and come back in the early morning. It -doesn’t matter whether or not we go so far as the Lodge.” - -“Squaw Valley or just beyond I reckon is as good as any place on the -trail,” observed the driver, reflectively stroking his whiskers. - -“How far is that from here--I mean Squaw Valley?” - -“Nigh onto thirty mile, I reckon.” - -“That, I think, will be about as much of a trip as my companions can -stand, so we will say Squaw Valley, or the next available point. I -leave the selection of the camping place to your judgment. What time do -you think we shall reach the Valley?” - -“’Bout ten o’clock. Have to go slow when we get into the hills, an’ -we bump ’em right smart after leavin’ Globe. Sharp turns and narrow -trail in spots, but it ain’t much like the days when I driv a coach an’ -four in the hills an’ carried the mail an’ kep’ a weather eye out for -bandits. Since then them buzz wagons has took all the starch out of -livin’. Ever drive one?” - -“I drove an ambulance at the front for nearly a year of the war,” -answered Grace quietly. - -“You don’t say?” Ike regarded the slender figure of the young Overton -girl, his gaze finally coming to rest on her well-tanned face. “Come to -look you over, you’ve got a mighty steady eye an’ a good jaw. I’ve seen -thet kind before an’ sometimes behind a gun. Thet kind is fine till you -get them riled, then look out for the lightnin’. Where you goin’ to -ride?” - -“Outside with you until we reach Squaw Valley, if I may,” answered -Grace smilingly. - -“Glad to have you. All aboard thet’s goin’!” - -“Please get in with the girls, Hippy. Later on you and I will change -seats, if that will suit you,” said Grace. - -The lieutenant stood aside until the four girls were safely stowed away -in the stagecoach, Grace, in the meantime, having swung herself up to -the front seat with the driver. The door slammed, Ike cracked his whip, -and the coach started with a jolt that brought strong protest from the -passengers down below. - -“Hey there, you!” shouted Hippy, thrusting his head out. “I haven’t got -my safety belt on, so don’t take off like that again or you will throw -me out.” - -“Hang on, Lieutenant!” urged Grace, her laughing eyes peering over the -edge of the coach into the red, perspiring face of Hippy Wingate. “That -is the way I had to do when I went flying with you in France. If you -will recall, you said yesterday that you must have excitement. I am -simply providing it for you, and I have an idea you will get all you -wish by the time we have done with this journey.” - -The lieutenant drew in his head and they heard nothing more from him -for some time. - -The Deadwood stagecoach swept out with a rattle and a clatter and a -groaning in every joint, that aroused the apprehension, not only of its -passengers, but of persons on the streets who paused to see the outfit -wheel past them, the four horses at a brisk trot. - -Leaving the town quickly behind them, the stagecoach swept out into the -open. The smoke of the Old Dominion and Inquisition smelting furnaces -hung gray against the sky, but the Overton girls were soon past the -tall black buildings of cooling copper, riding away toward the west at -a pace that caused the stagecoach to complain even more bitterly than -before. - -It was to be a mere outing, a jaunt in an historic old stagecoach, over -an equally historic trail, but that was all, so far as Grace Harlowe -and her friends had planned it. What the “jaunt” developed into was an -exciting adventure, which had in it all the elements of a real tragedy. -Grace already was glorying in the fresh air, the roll of the vehicle -under her, and the uncertainty of what the next moment held for her. - -“Will our wagon stand a lively run down the grade?” she questioned, as -they topped a rise and she saw a stretch of about half a mile of trail -falling away and disappearing in the valley below them. - -“I reckon it will,” grinned the driver. - -“How about the horses?” - -“Thet’s all right. Don’t you worry ’bout the nags, Miss.” - -“Then shake them out. Let’s stir up those people in the coach and show -them what riding in a Deadwood stagecoach really means,” eagerly urged -Grace Harlowe. - -Ike did. He gave the reins a shake and cracked the long-lashed whip -that sounded to Grace like the report of a pistol. - -The horses responded instantly, starting down the steep grade at a -lively gallop, accompanied by encouraging yelps from Ike Fairweather. - -“Thet’s the way we driv when we thought the Redskins was after us,” he -called to Grace without turning his head. - -Twenty seconds later the coach was rolling like a ship in a heavy sea, -accompanied by a medley of shrieks and shouts of protest from the -jumbled cargo of passengers inside. - -“Faster! Faster, Mr. Fairweather,” urged Grace. - -Ike’s yelps grew louder and closer together, and the gallop of the -four-horse team became a run. About this time the occupants on the -inside of the coach, having reached the limit of their endurance, -registered a violent protest. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -A THRILLING HALT - - -“Hi, up there! Cut the gun!” bellowed the voice of Hippy Wingate, using -an aviator’s term for shutting off the power. “Stop it, I say! You will -have us all in the ditch!” - -Grace grinned at Ike and Ike grinned at his team. Neither made any -reply to Hippy’s wail of distress. Grace’s hat was now off, her hair -was blowing in the wind, and her eyes were snapping. - -“Oh, that _was_ glorious, Mr. Fairweather,” she cried as the stagecoach -reached the bottom of the grade and lurched around a sharp curve on two -wheels, a proceeding that brought another series of shrieks from the -occupants of the coach. - -Hippy was still protesting and threatening, then suddenly Grace and -Ike were startled at hearing the lieutenant’s voice close behind them, -right at their ears, it seemed. - -Grace turned and found herself looking into the flushed face of Hippy -Wingate whose head and shoulders were above the top of the coach. He -was standing on the window sill of the door and clinging to the edge of -the roof of the stagecoach. - -“Get down, Hippy! You will be thrown off and hurt,” begged Grace. - -“I can’t be any worse injured than I am now after being played football -with inside of this old box. What’s the matter? Isn’t there a brake on -this bundle of junk?” - -“I don’t know. Sorry, but I thought you might enjoy a few sideslips to -remind you of France. Please stop, Mr. Fairweather. He will break his -neck if he tries to get down while we are in motion.” - -Ike applied the brake and pulled up the horses, whereupon Hippy sprang -down to the trail and swung aboard again. - -“If you do that again I’ll walk,” was his parting threat. - -“How’d you like it, Miss?” grinned the driver. - -“Splendid! I have not had such an exciting ride since one time when I -was racing with my ambulance in France to clear a cross-roads ahead of -a shell that was on the way there,” declared Grace. - -“I was goin’ to ask you ’bout the war. You must have seen some big -ones--big shells?” - -“Many of them.” - -“Never got hit, did you!” - -“I was wounded three times.” - -“You don’t say!” Ike gazed at her with new interest. “Was he in the -war, too?” referring to Hippy. - -“Yes, as an aviator, and fought many battles in the air. All the young -women who are with us on this drive also saw service in the war zone in -France. They were a part of the Overton College Unit that went overseas -for the Red Cross.” - -“Must have been purty bad business, thet.” - -“It was, but I would not have missed it for anything. Did many men from -your city go to the war?” - -Ike nodded. - -“Some didn’t come back, neither. S’pose your ambulance got hit once, -anyway?” - -“I lost four cars during the time I was driving. Two were blown up and -the others were wrecked in accidents,” Grace informed her companion on -the driver’s seat. “My husband is still in the service. He is now in -Russia where he was sent after the armistice was signed.” - -“Your husband? You don’t say! I wouldn’t think it. Why, you don’t look -like more’n a school girl. I’ll bet he’d like to be here right this -minute.” - -“And I’ll bet I should like to have him here, too,” answered Grace -smilingly. “Do you think we shall be able to stir up any excitement on -the trail? We propose to do the entire journey on our ponies, you know, -starting the day after to-morrow.” - -“Mebby, mebby,” reflected Ike. - -“Are there any Apaches left in the mountains?” questioned Grace. - -“Yes. Too many of ’em.” - -“Friendly?” - -“Sometimes when they want to beg or steal somethin’ from you. Don’t -trust ’em, Miss. An Indian’s an Indian, ’specially when he’s an Apache. -They’d do a heap lot more than they do if they dared. Can you shoot?” - -“Some,” admitted Grace. - -“I’ll bet you’re a dead shot. If them eyes was behind a gun thet was -pinted at me, I’d put up my hands without bein’ asked a second time.” - -“Were you ever held up by bandits?” asked Grace, eager to get the old -stagecoach driver started talking of his experiences. - -“Regular thing in the old days.” - -“What did you do in those emergencies?” - -“Ginerally put up my paws when I was invited to. Such fellows can shoot -and most always does.” - -“But, Mr. Fairweather, did your passengers never venture to defend -themselves!” - -“Once a man did. He’s down there now, near where we’re goin’ to stop -for chuck--in Squaw Valley.” - -“He was not quick enough! Is that it, sir!” - -“You said it. Was the Germans quick on the trigger?” - -“Their sharpshooters were very quick. Good shots, too, all of them, but -our sharpshooters could beat them at stalking. You know our boys like -to fight Indian style, while the German fights by rule and orders.” - -The driver nodded his understanding, and began admonishing the -off-wheel horse who was using his heels rather too freely. - -“Thet critter would run away if I give him half a show,” grinned Ike. - -“Of course if he were to do that and turn the coach over, you could not -help yourself, could you, Mr. Fairweather?” questioned Grace innocently. - -Ike gave her a quick sidelong glance, but Grace Harlowe’s face was -guileless. - -“I b’lieve you’d like to have him run away,” he chuckled. - -“Oh, no, nothing like that, sir. My friends might get hurt. Otherwise, -I should not mind it at all.” - -“You shore are a queer one,” muttered Ike. “Over beyond the rise you -see ahead is Squaw Valley. Good water there and fine place to have -chuck. How much further do you reckon on goin’?” - -“I was about to suggest that you decide that. If we ride until ten -o’clock it will be late enough. I imagine, too, that our friends in the -coach will have had enough of it by then. After leaving the Valley, if -we decide to go further, I will go inside, giving Lieutenant Wingate an -opportunity to ride outside with you. Perhaps you may be able to induce -him to tell you how he fought the Huns above the clouds. I know you -will enjoy hearing of it from a man who has fought that way.” - -“Shore, I would. Never was a prisoner over there, was you?” asked Ike. - -“Yes, the Boches got me once and sent me to a prison camp, but I made -my escape. They came near getting me twice after that.” - -“Huh! Got a family?” Ike was determined to get all the information he -could. He had been doing it for years from the passengers who rode with -him on top of the stage. - -“If you mean children, I have a daughter, an adopted French girl. I -found her in a deserted French village one night, the village at the -time being under heavy artillery fire. I adopted the little one later, -and she is now at school back east. Isn’t that Squaw Valley?” asked -Grace, pointing. - -“Thet’s her.” - -A few moments later the stagecoach drew out to one side of the trail -and stopped. - -“All out for mess,” cried Grace, springing to the ground. “How do you -folks feel after that delightful ride?” - -“Ride, did you call it?” demanded Hippy Wingate, getting out -laboriously and limping about to take the kinks out of his legs. “It’s -worse than hitting one of those bumpy white clouds with an airplane.” - -“Grace Harlowe, I believe you gave us that shaking up on purpose,” -accused Elfreda Briggs. - -The others voiced their protests in no uncertain manner. - -“You will forget all about it after we have made tea and cooked our -bacon,” comforted Grace, neither admitting nor denying the accusation. -“There is nothing like a good shaking up to accelerate one’s appetite.” - -Under Grace Harlowe’s skillful hands a little fire was soon flickering -beside the trail, the driver eyeing the blaze with approval; then the -Overton girls got briskly to work preparing the supper. - -“Where’d you learn to make an Indian cook-fire?” demanded Ike. - -“My husband taught me. He is a forester, you know,” replied Grace. - -“Know how to make a lean-to?” - -“Oh, yes, sir.” - -“You’ll do. No tenderfoot ’bout you. Reckon I’ll fetch water for the -folks and horses now.” - -The party ate sitting on the ground, Ike’s interest during the meal -being divided between Grace Harlowe and Lieutenant Wingate. They were -the first real heroes that he had ever known, and he proposed to make -the most of his opportunity. - -“Well, Mr. Fairweather, shall we go on?” asked Grace after they had -finished the meal. - -“Reckon so. Better camping ground further on.” - -Equipment was quickly packed away and Ike hooked up for the start, but -before leaving, Hippy Wingate and Elfreda issued a solemn warning that -there was to be no more speeding. - -The night, now upon them, was moonless, but the stars shed a faint -light on the trail causing it to stand out dimly for a short distance -ahead of them, save here and there, where overhanging rocks threw it -into a deep shadow. It was an ideal night for traveling, cool but -invigorating, with the breath of mountain and canyon heavy on the -still evening air. - -Lieutenant Wingate was riding with the driver, Grace now being inside -the coach with the other girls. To protect themselves from the chill -mountain air, Elfreda, Anne, Emma and Nora had wrapped themselves in -blankets and were dozing off to sleep. - -Grace was not sleepy, though the slow movement of the stagecoach as -the horses climbed the steep grade was monotonous. She was too keenly -alive to the wonders of the mountains to think of sleep, anyway. Grace -leaned well out, with head down, watching the white trail that had -echoed to the scuff of the moccasin of the savage redmen so many times -in the past, and that was slipping slowly from under her, now and then -gazing ahead along the narrow way with wondering eyes. The distant -conversation of Lieutenant Wingate and Ike Fairweather drifted down in -undistinguishable murmurs. - -“Hippy is filling Ike with war stories, and he is drawing the long bow -too, I’ll venture to say. What’s that?” Grace drew a sharp breath and -her heart gave a thump. - -The Overton girl thought she had seen a figure dart to the side of the -road and into the shadow of the rocks as the coach swung around a sharp -bend on the mountain trail. - -“Yes, there is another! Something is going on here!” - -Grace opened the coach door on the opposite side. There was a long, -sloping bank on that side, the right side, leading down, she did not -know how far, for the bottom was in deep shadow. - -“Perhaps there are Indians on the trail,” muttered Grace, slipping out -to the trail, and closing the coach door behind her as she trotted -along beside the slowly moving stagecoach. She then hopped to the step -where she crouched, clinging to the door frame with one hand. Grace -could still hear Hippy and Ike Fairweather speaking, and so interested -were they in their conversation that they failed to see what Grace -Harlowe’s keen eyes had discovered. - -“After all, what I saw may be simply prowlers,” reflected Grace, though -her intuition told her that the figures she had discovered on the trail -ahead meant something more than mere prowling. - -Grace Harlowe’s intuition, in this instance, was not at fault. - -Two rifle reports close at hand broke the mountain stillness, and the -coach stopped with a sudden jolt as Ike Fairweather brought his horses -to their haunches, so quickly did he pull them up. - -A cry, which Grace recognized as having been uttered by Emma Dean, was -heard in the coach. - -“Flat down on the floor, every one of you, and not another sound!” -commanded Grace in a low voice, dropping on all fours to the trail, and -in that position crawling under the coach on hands and feet. - -Before ducking under, a quick upward glance had shown Grace that -Lieutenant Wingate’s hands were thrust above his head, and that Ike -Fairweather was holding his as high as possible. - -“All out, and keep your hands above your heads!” commanded a stern -voice on the mountain side of the coach. “Quick!” - -Grace Harlowe unlimbered her little automatic revolver from its holster -under her blouse, the weapon that she had carried through the war. - -Four frightened girls, crouching on the floor of the Deadwood coach, -had not uttered a sound since the command to step out was uttered, nor -had they made a movement to obey that command. - -“Come out of that on the jump!” ordered the same stern voice that Grace -had first heard, but this time in a new and more menacing tone. - -A pair of booted legs appeared before Grace at the side of the coach, -and she heard the coach door jerked open, followed by a scream from -Emma. - -Without an instant’s hesitation, Grace thrust her revolver forward -until its muzzle was close to one of the booted legs, and pulled the -trigger. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE BATTLE WITH THE BANDITS - - -The highwayman uttered a yell, and leaped clear of the ground, dropping -his rifle, which clattered to the trail within easy reach of the -Overton girl’s hand. - -_Bang!_ _Bang!_ - -Two rifle bullets ripped through the roof of the old stagecoach. - -“The cowards!” fumed Grace under her breath. - -Snatching up the rifle that the highwayman had dropped, she crawled out -from under the coach, and ran around behind it just as two more bandit -shots rang out. - -Grace threw the rifle to her shoulder and fired at a shadowy figure -that she could barely see, and, in the next second, Lieutenant -Wingate’s heavy army revolver cracked spitefully from the front seat -of the coach. With Grace Harlowe’s first shot Hippy had unlimbered, and -his revolver was now banging away to good purpose, as Grace realized -when she heard another yell of pain. - -“Look out, Grace, I’m coming!” warned Hippy as he leaped from the top -of the coach to the trail. - -“Disarm this fellow, please! He is wounded only in the leg, and he’s -dangerous. I will take care of the others while you are doing that,” -said Grace, starting to creep forward with rifle ready to fire. - -_Bang!_ - -A revolver flashed from behind a jutting shelf of rock. - -_Bang!_ - -The rifle in Grace Harlowe’s hands answered the revolver shot. She -heard her bullet smack against the shale rock and pieces of stone -patter on the trail. - -“Ouch!” grunted the bandit who had fired at her. - -Grace was certain that she had not hit the man, but she believed that a -splinter of rock had accomplished what her bullet had missed doing. - -While all of this was going on, Hippy was removing the weapons -from the bandit through whose leg Grace had fired a bullet from her -automatic revolver. - -The Overton girl was still cautiously creeping forward. - -“If any of you highwaymen fires another shot it will be your last,” she -warned. - -“Look out, Mrs. Gray! I reckon there’s another of them critters behind -thet pint of rock,” drawled the calm voice of Ike Fairweather, who -sat holding his horses, observing the fight with fascinated eyes. -Ike, eager as he was to get into the fight, dared not leave his team, -knowing that, if he did so, they would promptly run away with the coach -and outfit. - -“I have my eye on him, Mr. Fairweather,” replied Grace in a voice that -was without a trace of excitement. “You heard what I said, fellow!” -she added, addressing the bandit lurking behind the rock. “Toss your -weapons into the road! Toss them out!” - -_Bang!_ - -Again Grace Harlowe had fired at the same rock, and again she heard a -scattering rain of shale that her bullet dislodged. - -The highwayman hiding there threw his rifle away. She heard it fall on -the trail, but was certain that the man still possessed at least one -revolver, and perhaps two. - -[Illustration: “Disarm This Fellow.”] - -“The rest of them! You have two more weapons. Out with them, quick!” - -Two revolvers followed the rifle and fell on the trail, just as she was -about to emphasize her command with another shot, as a reminder that -she meant what she said. - -With rifle at ready, Grace now sprang boldly to the ledge of rock where -she saw a man standing leaning against a tree, a hand pressed to his -forehead. A few yards further on were two others, one lying beside the -trail, the other sitting with his back against a rock. - -“How many of you are there?” demanded Grace of the standing man. - -“Three others,” weakly answered the bandit. - -“Are the two here badly hurt?” - -“I--I don’t know.” - -“What’s the matter with you?” - -“Splinter of rock hit me on the head,” groaned the fellow. - -“You stand where you are if you know what is good for you,” directed -Grace. “Get up!” she ordered, stepping over to the sitting bandit. - -“I can’t. Got smacked in the laig an’ haid. I reckon I’ll git you yet -fer this bizness.” - -“Don’t threaten. Hippy!” - -“Righto!” - -“When you can leave your patient, please come here.” - -Lieutenant Wingate approached at a brisk trot. By now the rest of -the Overton girls, having found their courage, had crept from the -stagecoach and were hiding behind it, peering out through troubled -eyes. Elfreda finally stepped out and walked slowly toward the scene of -activity, but halted a little distance from it, not wishing to detract -Grace’s attention from her work. - -“Please search the fellow sitting here and remove his weapons, Hippy. -Also, please see if I have killed the one on the ground there. I can’t -quite bring myself to touch either of them,” said Grace. - -The man referred to was not dead, but he was unconscious. - -“He will be out of his trance soon, I think,” announced Hippy after a -brief diagnosis. “He has a dandy scalp wound. Good work, Brown Eyes. -Any more of his kind looking for trouble?” - -“I think not. Have you searched each one, Hippy?” - -“Yes.” Lieutenant Wingate was still working over the unconscious -bandit. “He is coming around now.” - -“Elfreda!” - -“Yes, Grace.” - -“Where are the girls?” - -“Hiding behind the coach until the smoke of battle has cleared.” - -“Please tell them to watch the fellow that I winged first, and to shout -if he tries to crawl away. You ask Mr. Fairweather if he has any rope. -When we get these fellows in condition to move we shall have to tie -them.” - -Elfreda walked back to the coach, returning a few moments later with a -coil of clothesline. - -“Is there anything more that I can do to assist you, Grace?” she asked. - -“Yes. Tell Mr. Fairweather to turn the coach around, for we must return -to Globe as quickly as possible. The prisoners must have attention, and -then--” - -“Jail,” suggested Elfreda. - -Grace nodded. - -“The driver says he will have to unhook the horses and turn the coach -around by hand,” Miss Briggs reported. - -“Tell him to do so. What will he do with the horses while turning the -vehicle?” - -“He says he must stake them down,” replied Elfreda, “because the team -will run away the instant his back is turned.” - -Grace made no reply, but stepped over to Lieutenant Wingate. - -“How is your man?” she questioned. - -“He will be ready for jail by the time Ike is ready to start. That’s -all right, old pard,” he added, speaking to the man he was working -over. “Don’t struggle, for I can’t spare the time just now to clout -you over the head. You thought this wagonload of girls would be an -easy mark to rob, didn’t you? I reckon you have several other guesses -coming. Of course you couldn’t be expected to know that this crowd is -right out of the war zone in France, every mother’s daughter of them -just eager for trouble. The matter with you amateurs is that you don’t -know how to start a real mix-up.” - -“Please don’t nag the man, Lieutenant,” admonished Grace. - -“I’m not. I’m giving him brotherly advice for the good of his -physiognomy. How is the bird there by the coach?” - -Grace said the girls were watching that bandit. She handed the -clothesline to Hippy. - -“You must tie his feet. He promises to be troublesome,” she warned, -referring to the man that Hippy had restored to consciousness. “Be -humane about it, and do not hurt him unless you have to. Should that be -necessary make a quick, clean job of it.” This was said principally for -the benefit of the prisoner. - -“Leave him to me,” growled Lieutenant Wingate. - -“When the patient is able to be moved, please carry him to the coach. -Mr. Fairweather will help you, if you need him. While you are doing -that I will keep watch over the fellow with the damaged head.” - -“I don’t need any assistance, thank you,” returned Hippy, who, after -tying the feet of his prisoner, grasped the bandit under the arms and -dragged him to the coach, where he dumped the man on the ground. - -“Here’s two of the birds, Isaac,” chuckled the lieutenant. “Two more -over there are being guarded by Mrs. Gray. Think we girls are able to -take care of a cheap bunch of highwaymen, such as these fellows?” he -demanded. - -Ike stroked his whiskers. - -“Between you and thet there little woman over there, I shore reckon you -could clean up ’bout three times your weight in mountain lions. Never -did see anythin’ like the way she lit into ’em. Bah!” growled Ike, -giving the man whom Grace had shot in the leg a prod with the toe of -his boot. - -“Lucky for you, you sneak, thet the woman banged you in the leg. She -could just as easy put thet lead through your head. She’s the little -lady thet can put ’em where she wants ’em to go, any old time,” -finished the driver. - -“How soon will you be ready?” questioned Lieutenant Wingate. “We’ll be -on our way right smart, I reckon. Where do you figger on putting ’em?” - -“Two on the floor on blankets, so it will not be so hard on them. The -other two bandits can sit up and I will do the watching. There will be -room for myself and three women inside. The other two passengers can -squeeze in on top of the coach with you. That all right, Ike?” “Shore. -Have it any way you like. Mebby they won’t be surprised back in Globe -when we come crackin’ in with these birds. I’ll bet a stockin’ full -of marbles thet the sheriff’ll be glad to get his hands on ’em. Mebby -these are the fellows that have been stealin’ things at both ends of -the trail.” - -“There!” exclaimed Hippy, straightening up. “I think you two will now -stay tied until I get ready to untie you. Nora, will you watch them? If -one of them so much as speaks to you, you yell for me.” - -Ike, having staked down his horses at the edge of the trail, now began -turning the coach around. Lieutenant Wingate, in the meantime, had -rejoined Grace. - -“Are they behaving themselves?” he asked. - -“Perfectly, Lieutenant. I can’t help feeling that it was -unsportsmanlike in me to shoot that fellow through the leg without even -giving him a chance to defend himself.” - -“Ho, ho, ho!” roared Hippy. “I shall have to repeat that to Nora. -Listen to these words of wisdom from a man of wisdom. When you set -out to finish a poisonous snake, wallop him! Do not wait for him to -coil, nor strike from a letter S position. Get him! That is the method -I followed in fighting Boches in the air. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be -here, but some other fellows would be there still. Hulloa! What is -going on back yonder? Run, Grace! I believe the prisoners are trying to -get away.” - -They could hear the girls uttering cries of alarm. - -Grace wheeled like a flash, but she did not run. Instead, she uttered a -peal of laughter. - -“Oh, that is too bad,” she cried, suddenly changing her tone. - -“What is it? What is it?” demanded Hippy. - -“Nothing worth worrying about. The old stagecoach got away from Mr. -Fairweather while he was turning it, and it went over the edge of the -trail into the canyon, that’s all. Listen! You will hear it strike the -bottom in a few seconds.” - -“There she goes! Good-bye, old Deadwood,” added Grace as a distant -crash was borne faintly to their ears. - -“Now we surely are in a fix,” groaned Lieutenant Wingate. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -WANTED BY THE SHERIFF - - -“Watch the prisoners, Hippy! Anybody hurt?” called Grace as she came -running to the scene of the disaster. - -“No, but Mr. Fairweather’s feelings are considerably ruffled,” replied -Miss Briggs. - -Ike, after having been dragged to the very edge of the trail by the -coach, had picked himself up and was brushing the dirt from his -clothes, for he had been dragged right across the trail, but let go -just in time to save himself. - -“Why, Mr. Fairweather, what in the world has happened?” begged Grace -solicitously. - -“Don’t ask me, woman, or I’ll say somethin’. I’m mad clean through.” - -“I do not blame you,” answered Grace sympathetically. “How did it -occur?” - -“The blamed thing got away from me while I was backin’ it around by -hand, thet’s all. Ought to have known better’n to tackle it alone.” - -“How long will it take to get the coach back on the trail so that we -may go on?” questioned Emma Dean innocently. - -“Get it on the trail?” Ike Fairweather groaned hopelessly. “We’ll never -get it up, Miss. She shore is a basket of kindlin’ wood now, an’ I -don’t know what we’re goin’ to do.” - -“We can walk,” answered Grace confidently. “How far are we from Globe?” - -“Nigh onto thirty mile, I reckon.” - -“Walk thirty miles?” cried Emma. “I should simply expire.” - -“I reckon you’ll have to walk if you want to get back,” grumbled Ike. - -“Walking is most excellent exercise, and I am certain that it will do -all of us good. I have a plan, Mr. Fairweather,” spoke up Grace. - -“Thought you would have.” - -At this juncture, Lieutenant Wingate came up leading the two wounded -men who had been left down the trail. He too wished to know what the -plan was for getting back to town. - -“I was about to suggest something to Mr. Fairweather,” replied Grace. -“We shall have to use the coach horses to help carry us.” - -“Do not forget our prisoners in your calculations,” reminded Hippy -Wingate. “Surely, you do not propose to let them go?” - -“I have not forgotten. No, sir, we are not going to release them -after all the bother they have put us to. Let me see, there are four -prisoners and five girls.” - -“And two men,” interjected Hippy. - -“By placing two bandits on a horse, that will leave two horses to carry -the rest of us. The girls can ride two on a horse, which will take care -of Nora, Anne, Elfreda and Emma. You two men and myself will walk. -Should we walkers get foot weary, we can change places with the girls -who are riding. Does that meet with your approval, Mr. Fairweather?” - -“It shore does.” - -Hippy suggested, instead, that he be permitted to ride back to town for -assistance, but Grace objected to this. - -“The prisoners need medical attention, and we shall have to go on short -rations as it is, so we have no time to lose. We will tie the four men -on two horses and tie the pair of horses together; Mr. Fairweather can -lead the animals; you, Hippy, will walk alongside of them and I will -bring up the rear.” - -“What if one of the bandits drops off and gives us the slip?” -questioned Hippy. - -“I shall see to it that he doesn’t get far,” answered Grace -significantly. - -“Huh!” grunted Ike. “I thought the lieutenant was givin’ me a fairy -story ’bout your doin’s in the war. Jedgin’ from what I’ve seen -to-night I reckon he hasn’t told the half of what there is to tell. -Why, lady, if you was to live out here you’d be sheriff of the county -at the next election. I reckon I know of one vote you’d get.” - -“Thank you. Then you approve of my plan?” asked Grace. - -“From the ground up.” - -“And you folks?” she questioned, turning to her companions. - -All nodded their heads in approval. - -“I wish I had an airplane,” grumbled Hippy Wingate. “I never did like -to walk when I had to.” - -“We will take the rifles and revolvers of the highwaymen with us. I -do not believe they will have use for their weapons. We may need them -ourselves. Mr. Fairweather, if you will get the horses ready we will -load up and start.” - -Ike removed his sombrero and wiped his forehead on his sleeve. - -“Yes, I’ll get ’em ready, but what Ike Fairweather wants to say, -he can’t, ’cause somehow it sticks in his crop an’ won’t come out. -You’re the real thing, all of you is, an’ any galoot that says you -ain’t--well, Ike Fairweather will take care of thet critter.” - -“You fellows, I have a word for you,” announced Grace, turning to the -prisoners. “I warn you that if you try to get away I shall shoot.” - -“Which, altogether an’ in partic’lar means thet the everlastin’ -daylights will be blown out of the critter thet tries to get away,” -reminded Ike. “Fair warnin’s fair warnin’.” - -“But not Fairweather,” chuckled Hippy Wingate, which brought a groan of -disapproval from the Overton girls. - -Placing the prisoners on the horses and tying them securely was a -proceeding that took some little time, so that it was fully an hour -later before the procession started out, Elfreda, Anne, Emma and Nora -riding on the two leading horses, Ike leading the prisoners’ mounts, -Hippy in the middle of the procession, and Grace Harlowe, with a -bandit’s rifle slung in the crook of her right arm, bringing up the -rear. - -The highwaymen were sullen, not uttering a word, so far as Grace -had heard, though she had no doubt that they had quietly exchanged -confidences. The one who was most severely wounded was the man whose -scalp a bullet had raked, but he apparently was in no danger, though -still weak from loss of blood. - -“Is there a place where we can get breakfast, if still on the trail in -the morning?” called Anne. - -“Narry a place,” answered Ike Fairweather. - -They plodded on, Grace, if anything, being the most cheerful and -contented member of the party. At break of day they halted, having -made about ten miles of the thirty. From the little kit pack in which -each one carried emergency rations, they eked out a slender breakfast, -though they had neither coffee nor tea, that part of the food supply -being at the bottom of the canyon in the wreckage of the old Deadwood -coach. The prisoners, however, refused to eat, maintaining a sullen -silence as they watched their captors partaking of breakfast. - -At the noon halt, Grace and Elfreda dressed the prisoners’ wounds, -binding them up with skillful hands with pieces of cloth torn from -skirts. It was not the first time that either Grace Harlowe or Elfreda -Briggs had dressed bullet wounds, both having been called upon to do -so in numerous instances on the western front in France. The prisoners -watched the dressing operations without uttering a word of comment, but -the expressions on their faces were not pleasant to look upon. - -Ike, who had been regarding the wound-dressing with interest, turned, -as the girls finished their work, and walked away running his fingers -through his whiskers. - -The prisoners were placed on the horses and secured, after which the -party started on again. - -“Horses comin’ up the trail,” announced Ike, a few moments later, -holding up a hand for the party to stop. - -Grace ran forward to halt the two horses carrying the four girls. - -“Some one is coming, girls. Go back and get out of the way in case -there should be trouble,” she directed. - -Grace joined Ike after the girls had taken up a safe position, Hippy -standing expectantly by the prisoners, the outfit, with rifles in hand, -ready to meet whatever trouble might be in store for them. - -Three horsemen swept around a bend in the trail, and the instant they -hove in sight, Ike Fairweather uttered a shout. - -“It’s Deputy Sheriff Wheelock,” he cried. “Now we’re all right. Howdy, -Wheelock!” - -The deputy, upon recognizing Ike, swung down from his horse, doffed his -hat to Grace, and turned to Mr. Fairweather. - -“What do you reckon you’ve got here!” demanded the deputy. - -Ike explained who and what his outfit was, relating briefly the story -of the loss of the stagecoach and the capture of the bandits. - -“This little woman did the business. Deputy Sheriff Wheelock, Mrs. -Gray,” introduced Ike. - -“Do you know the prisoners, sir?” she asked. - -After looking the bandits over closely, the deputy shook his head. He -asked Ike if he needed any assistance to get the prisoners in. Grace -answered the question by saying that they did not. - -“We’re going out after a fellow who lives in the mountains and who -has been shooting game out of season, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do, -I’ll send one of my men to Globe in a hurry and have him ride out to -the sheriff’s ranch and get him,” offered the deputy. “That will save -you waiting for the sheriff when you get in. I reckon maybe these are -fellows that Sheriff Collins has been looking for. Take your men right -to the jail, Ike, and Collins will do the rest.” - -After starting one of his men back toward Globe, Mr. Wheelock, mounted, -waved a hand, and, with his assistant, galloped on. The Overton party -assumed its former formation and plodded on, weary, but encouraged by -the realization that only a few hours now separated them from their -goal. - -It was half past three o’clock in the afternoon when the weary, -dust-covered Overton party reached the Arizona town from which it had -made its start the day before. The four girls, on two horses, decided -that they would dismount before entering the town, even Emma Dean -declaring that this was one time when she was not seeking publicity. - -The news of the plucky fight that Grace and Hippy had made, and their -capture of four highwaymen, had been carried to town by the deputy’s -assistant, and throngs stood on the main street awaiting the arrival of -the party. Occasionally there was a cheer from a group of enthusiasts, -but generally the townspeople were silent, curiosity being their -leading emotion. - -“Girls, I think it might be advisable for you to go on to the hotel! -You look all fagged out,” suggested Grace. “Run along, and I will be -over there as soon as we have disposed of our prisoners.” - -Elfreda, Nora, Anne and Emma quickly separated themselves from the -outfit, Ike Fairweather, accompanied by Grace and Hippy, heading for -the jail. The sheriff came out to meet them as they rounded up their -horses before the jail entrance. He strode straight to the bandit that -Grace, while crouching under the stagecoach, had shot in the leg. - -“Hulloa, Con,” greeted the officer. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to -see you. I’ve got a nice little room ready for you. You may find it a -bit cramped, but it is the best we have in the house to-day. - -“Ah! I see you have some familiar faces with you,” added the sheriff, -directing a swift, appraising glance at the other prisoners. “A fine -bunch of brave men you are to let yourselves get caught by a party of -women. Who are _you_?” he demanded, wheeling on Hippy. - -“I am Lieutenant Wingate, Sheriff. This is Mrs. Grace Harlowe Gray who -got the drop on these fellows when all the rest of us were helpless.” - -“Glad to meet you, Mrs. Gray,” greeted the sheriff, removing his hat -and stepping forward to shake hands with the Overton girl. “I’m Jim -Collins, sheriff of this county. So you did this little job, eh? You -don’t look it for a little bit, but you’ve delivered the goods, and -that’s the answer. My hat is off to you. Do you know who you have -here?” he questioned, pointing to the bandit with the wounded leg. - -“No, sir, I do not.” - -“He is Con Bates, one of the few real bandit leaders left in this part -of the west. He’s a bad man, Miss, and I couldn’t begin to express to -you how pleased I am to get my paws on him.” - -“Who are the others?” asked Grace. - -The sheriff named them and Grace fixed the names in her mind. - -“Con is the most dangerous of the lot,” Sheriff Collins informed her. -“This isn’t all of the outfit by any means. The rest are in the hills -somewhere. What do you reckon on doing now?” - -“I hope that we may be able to get out on the trail with our ponies -some time to-morrow.” - -“Don’t plan to leave until the late afternoon. I shall need you to -appear against these men to-morrow. Going over the trail, eh? You’ll -need to keep your eyes peeled when you get up in the mountains again. -Some of the critters still at large may take it into their heads to -even up with you for this job you’ve done. Then, too, there’s some -roving bands of trouble-hunting Apaches up there who are out with the -excuse that they’re waiting for the hunting season to open. I’ll talk -with you about that later.” - -“Thank you, Sheriff. I leave the prisoners in your hands, but I should -like to have their rifles, if you do not object.” - -“Sure thing. You may need them, too. I’ll see you in the morning.” - -Grace shook hands with Ike Fairweather and whispered to him that -she would give him a check for whatever he considered the Deadwood -stagecoach worth. - -“Nothin’ doin’,” growled Ike. “Thet old coach wa’n’t worth ten dollars, -an’ I’ve had about a million dollars’ worth of excitement out of this -here trip. Wish I was goin’ to be with you on your pony journey, for I -know you folks now. You’ll be stirrin’ up things the whole length of -the Old Apache Trail, or my name ain’t Ike Fairweather.” - -Promising to see Ike later on, Grace and Hippy hurried to the Dominion -Hotel where Hippy’s wife and the other girls were anxiously awaiting -them. - -All hands then went to their rooms, bathed, and went to bed for a few -hours’ sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -A SHOT WELL PLACED - - -Grace started out early the next morning for a call on Ike Fairweather. -The whole party slept the late afternoon and night through, without -even awakening for supper. She found Ike grooming his horses. - -“Good morning, Mr. Fairweather. I hope you are none the worse for your -trip,” greeted Grace smilingly. - -“I shore ain’t,” grinned Ike. “How’s yourself?” - -“I feel fit. What I wished to see you about was to ask if you can -recommend some one to provide and drive our supply wagon.” - -Ike stroked his whiskers and regarded her quizzically. - -“How will I do?” he asked. - -“Do you mean it? Would you really like to drive for us?” questioned -Grace, brightening. - -“I shore would, an’ it won’t cost you a cent ’cept for the feed for the -hosses. Tell me ’bout it.” - -“Not supposing that you would care for such work, we did not even think -of you in that connection. If, however, you really wish to go with us -we shall be very glad to have you.” - -“I’m your man.” - -“That is fine. Of course, you understand that we shall pay you, and -before we start we must decide upon a price that will be perfectly -satisfactory to you. I would suggest that you get under way about two -o’clock this afternoon, and we will follow you a couple of hours later. -Make camp at Squaw Valley. There is plenty of room there for a camp. -Two horses should be enough to draw the wagon. Our camping outfit is at -the railroad station. Have you a wagon?” - -“Yes, a covered one thet will be just the thing for you. Can sleep in -it if you like.” - -“We shall sleep in our tents. All provisions and the like we shall send -to you some time before you leave.” - -The hearing that afternoon, attended by the entire Overton outfit, -was of short duration. Grace gave her testimony briefly and to the -point. What she was most concerned about was whether or not it would be -necessary for her to return for the trial of the bandits, and she was -relieved to learn that it would not, and that Ike Fairweather would be -the witness who would appear against the prisoners at the trial at the -fall term of court. - -Before leaving the court, Grace was complimented by the judge for her -part in capturing Con Bates and his fellow highwaymen. Sheriff Collins -accompanied her from the court room. - -“I’ll have an eye on you while your party is in this neck of the -woods,” he volunteered. “What shall I do with the rifles I promised -you?” - -“If not too much trouble, please send them to Mr. Fairweather’s stable -before two o’clock this afternoon. He is to drive our wagon for us and -will pack the rifles with the other equipment. Is there ammunition for -the rifles or shall I purchase some?” - -“Get fifty rounds for each rifle, and, Miss, it’s my hunch that you -will do well not to pack the rifles away so deep that you can’t reach -them in a hurry,” advised Mr. Collins. - -After thanking the sheriff for his courtesy, Grace hurried back to the -hotel. The rest of the day was devoted to preparations for the journey. -Ike Fairweather, now fully informed as to the immediate plans of his -party, got away with the wagon on time, and two hours later the Overton -girls started on their second journey into the gorgeous mountains that -stand sentinel along the Old Apache Trail. The ponies they were riding -were a bit lively at the start, especially the one ridden by Grace, as -the party galloped out of the town. Emma Dean was making heavy weather -of it, bobbing up and down like a chip on the sea, until Grace, fearful -that Emma would fall off, rode up beside her for a word of caution. - -“Sit your saddle firmly, and do not try to resist the motion of your -horse. Move with him, or, rather, permit your body to follow his -movements,” advised Grace. “There! You see you _can_ ride.” - -“I know, but it bumps me almost to death. How far do we have to ride? -This beast isn’t a bit like my pony.” - -“Thirty miles or thereabouts.” - -“Oh--h--h!” wailed Emma. “Look at Hippy!” - -They had barely cleared the town and emerged into the open country when -Hippy Wingate’s apparently docile pony suddenly came to life. The -animal whirled and started back toward Globe, whereupon Hippy used his -crop vigorously. Instantly, the pony began to buck in the most approved -western broncho style, and Hippy was more often in the air than on the -saddle. - -The Overton girls reined in and watched the lieutenant’s battle, -offering suggestions and advice that might have been helpful had the -lieutenant had time to listen. - -Hippy had had no experience with bucking ponies, and, as a result, he -was becoming more and more confused from the terrible jolting he was -getting. - -“Hang on, Hippy, my darling,” encouraged Nora in a shrill voice. - -“There he goes!” gasped J. Elfreda Briggs. - -Hippy made a long, ungraceful dive over the lowered head of the native -pony. At the side of the road there was a ditch with a full twelve -inches of water flowing over a bottom of soft mud. Lieutenant Wingate -landed on head and shoulders in the ditch. His feet pawed the air for a -few seconds, then Hippy flopped over, with face down in the water and -mud. - -It was Elfreda Briggs who checked Hippy’s pony at the psychological -moment, for the little fellow already had whirled preparatory to racing -for home. As it was he dragged Elfreda along with him until Grace -sprang to her assistance and threw her weight on the bit, at the same -time talking soothingly to the animal whose stubborn resentment slowly -melted. Elfreda led him back without help and stood holding the pony, -waiting for Hippy to take charge of him. - -Lieutenant Wingate was plastered with mud, which Nora was solicitously -mopping from his face with her handkerchief. - -“Let it dry on, then roll him on the grass when we find some,” -suggested Emma. - -“Yes, who coddled you when you fell out of a cloud and crashed down on -the French front?” laughed Grace. - -“I didn’t fall out,” protested Hippy indignantly, though a little -thickly, for there was still mud in his mouth. “It was the other fellow -who fell and crashed.” - -“Come, take your pony,” urged Elfreda. “I have my own to look after. -I would suggest, too, that if you will treat him right you will have -little trouble with him.” - -“You don’t have to take the brute’s part. I reckon I know how to handle -a horse.” - -“And you have a horse that knows how to handle you, if my observation -is not at fault,” interjected Grace Harlowe. - -Hippy acted upon Elfreda’s advice, however, petted the pony and -offered it some candy, which the animal refused, and finally swung -himself into the saddle. - -The party then moved off at a brisk gallop. The sun was behind the -mountains when they reached Squaw Valley for the second time. Down on -the level below the trail they saw their tents pitched and ready for -them. The wagon team was staked down, a fire was burning in front of -the tents, and Ike Fairweather was observed working about the camp. The -girls shouted and Ike waved a hand. - -Without leaving their saddles, the entire party slid their ponies -down the steep bank without a single rider coming a cropper, though -Emma lost her stirrups and was clinging to the pommel of her saddle, -bouncing up and down perilously as the party trotted into camp. When -her pony stopped, which it did abruptly, Emma fell off in a heap. About -the same instant Lieutenant Wingate’s pony stepped in a hole and Hippy -went off over the pony’s head, but this time he clung to the bridle -rein and held the animal. - -“Good work,” complimented Grace when Hippy, very red of face, struggled -to his feet. “You surely are a graceful animal, Lieutenant. Pinal Creek -is a little way beyond this camp, and I suppose you will be falling -into that next.” - -“That’s right. Abuse a fellow when he is down,” growled the lieutenant. - -Grace, with her bridle rein thrown over one arm, walked over to Ike -Fairweather. - -“Now that Lieutenant Wingate has finished his performance, I wish to -say that it is very fine of you to get our supper started.” - -The bacon was in the frying pan, and the potatoes, baked in hot ashes, -were ready to be served, as Grace discovered upon testing them with -a fork; the coffee was done, and the tin plates were already on the -folding table that had been included with the equipment. Oilcloth -spread over the table made it look quite attractive. - -Folding camp stools had been placed by Ike, and Hippy promptly took a -seat at the head of the table. - -“Being the only male member of this party, proper, my place is at the -head of the table,” he declared. “Be seated, ladies, I beg of you. -Kellner--Garcon, I mean, bring on the food and--” - -“Please eat and be silent,” urged Grace laughingly, as she began -serving the food. “In my childhood days I was taught that children, -while at table, should be seen and not heard. Come, Mr. Fairweather, -sit down. We are all one family now.” - -“Had my grub,” answered the driver gruffly. “Never did like to eat at -fashionable hours.” - -Darkness had enveloped mountain and canyon by the time the evening meal -was finished. It was the deep, mysterious darkness of the mountains. -The girls could hear the faint, musical murmur of Pinal Creek, a few -hundred yards below them, music that accentuated the romance of the -mysterious mountain night. Hippy Wingate, finally, having eaten all he -could conveniently stow away, stood up and rapped on a tin plate for -order. - -“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, raising the plate above his head -where it reflected the light from the campfire. “We are now in the -former haunts of the murderous Apaches. We have fallen willing victims -to the irresistible charm and the magic power of the waters of Pinal -Creek.” - -“Some one has been reading a guide book,” observed Anne mischievously. - -“Please be silent when your superiors are speaking. Where was I?” - -“Up Pinal Creek, I believe,” reminded Elfreda dryly. - -“Exactly. We have penetrated far into the labyrinth of the red men of -other days, the place where the savages crept with stealthy tread until -their primitive language came to know it as the Apache Trail. Along -this weird and amazing pathway--” - -_Pock!_ - -The tin plate was whisked from Hippy’s hand and fell clattering to the -ground. - -_Bang!_ came the belated report of a rifle. - -Emma Dean uttered a stifled little cry of alarm. - -“It is nothing but a bullet, my dear young woman, a chance shot from -somewhere up in the mountains. Kindly pass me another plate that I may -continue with my narration.” - -Grace Harlowe’s face reflected sudden concern, then she smiled, but her -companions plainly were nervous. - -“Where was I?” again asked Hippy. - -“I believe you were laboring along on the amazing pathway,” Anne -informed him. - -“Thank you,” bowed the lieutenant as Grace offered him another plate. -“Along this weird and amazing pathway, as already remarked, are -crowded, in bewildering succession, scenes that grip the imagination -like phantom photo plays of the world’s creation. It was on this -pathway, this weird and amazing trail that--” - -The second plate left Hippy Wingate’s hand as if by magic, again -followed by the report of a rifle. Hippy sank down on his campstool, -holding the hand that had held the plate. - -“The campfire, Mr. Fairweather!” urged Grace calmly, with a note of -incisiveness in her tone. - -Ike sprang up and kicked the burning embers away, stamping out the -little flickering flames, leaving only a scattered bed of glowing coals. - -A bullet whistled over the heads of the Overton girls, but the -shooter’s aim was not so good this time. - -“Some critter shore is tryin’ to shoot up this outfit,” growled Ike -Fairweather. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -A LIVELY NIGHT IN CAMP - - -“Are you hit, Lieutenant?” questioned Grace, stepping over to Hippy. - -“Yes, on my right thumb. Don’t get excited, Nora,” begged Hippy as his -wife ran to him. “The bullet merely broke the skin.” - -“This is what comes of your nonsense, Hippy Wingate,” rebuked Nora. “It -was the shiny tin plate that did it.” - -Grace nodded. - -“Shall I pour water on the coals?” asked Ike, his voice trembling with -anger. - -“Not now, Mr. Fairweather. We will first see what develops,” replied -Grace. - -“What do you reckon on doin’ ’bout this shootin’, Miss?” persisted the -driver. - -“We must protect ourselves, of course, but just how, we shall have to -consider carefully. Is the creek fordable along here?” - -“I reckon so. No difficulty ’bout anyone gettin’ over thet wants to. -Why, Miss?” - -“I was wondering if the man who shot at us could easily cross to this -side of the stream,” murmured Grace reflectively. - -“He could.” - -“Then we shall have to take turns at guarding the camp to-night. I will -watch it until midnight; Lieutenant Wingate will relieve me then and -remain on watch until four in the morning, which is the hour you turn -out, Mr. Fairweather,” suggested Grace. - -Ike insisted that he could keep watch all night, but Grace shook her -head, declaring that such an arrangement would not be fair to him. - -“I really believe, Mr. Fairweather, that you would be willing to go -without sleep during the entire journey, just for the sake of getting -sight of the man who shot at us,” averred Grace. - -“I would thet,” rumbled Ike. - -“Please don’t let the incident worry you. We girls have been under fire -too often to be greatly disturbed by a few rifle shots. Of course, it -isn’t comfortable to be shot at by a man who knows how to use a rifle -as well as that fellow apparently does, but so long as he doesn’t hit -one of us why worry?” laughed Grace. - -Ike stroked his whiskers and shook his head. At this juncture, Elfreda, -who had taken upon herself the task of dressing Lieutenant Wingate’s -wound, announced that it was completed. - -“I’m mighty glad it was the thumb instead of the trigger finger,” said -Hippy. “I may have use for that trigger finger before reaching the -other end of the Apache Trail.” - -“Yes, and the opportunity may come to-night,” added Grace. She then -told him of her plan for guarding the camp, rather expecting that the -lieutenant would protest against being called in the middle of the -night to do guard duty. - -On the contrary, Hippy eagerly seconded the suggestion, and promptly -got out his rifle, which he began to clean and oil. - -“I’m ready. Bring on your bad men,” he cried dramatically. - -An hour later the camp was in silence, all, save Grace, being asleep -in their tents. Her watch passed without incident. At midnight she -made a tour of the camp and its immediate vicinity, and, finding the -ponies quiet, returned to camp and awakened Lieutenant Wingate. The -wagon team being staked down close to the camp, just to the rear of the -little pup-tent in which the driver slept, needed no watching, for Ike -could hear their every move. - -“Nothing of a disturbing nature has occurred,” Grace informed -Lieutenant Wingate who came out with rifle in hand, yawning and -stretching himself. “Please keep a sharp lookout and have your rifle -within reach at all times. That is no more than common prudence.” - -“Now, Brown Eyes, I know what to do. Just you turn in for a night of -sweet dreams, leaving all the rest to Hippy Wingate.” - -Reaching her tent, Grace paused, and stood looking out until she saw -Hippy stroll away and disappear in the darkness. She then undressed, -crept in between the blankets and immediately went to sleep. - -It seemed to Grace that she had been asleep but a few moments, when, -dreaming of the war, she was awakened by what, in her dream, sounded -like the explosion of a shell. Grace sprang up and ran to the door of -her tent. - -Two heavy rifle reports told her that trouble was afoot, and she -surmised that Lieutenant Wingate was in the thick of it, but hearing -the lieutenant calling to Ike in an effort to locate him, Grace began -to wonder. - -The Apache Trail lay a short distance above the Overton camp; the -creek, near which the ponies were tethered, being about an equal -distance below the camp. The shooting, she discovered, was occurring -somewhere between the camp and the trail. - -Grace stepped out into the open, facing the trail, just in time to hear -a bullet whistle over her head. She ducked instinctively. - -“You watch the camp, Lieutenant,” she heard Ike Fairweather call. - -“No, I’m going with you,” answered Hippy. - -“Are we attacked?” called Elfreda Briggs from her tent. “Grace! Are you -there?” - -“I don’t know what the trouble is, Elfreda, but--” She broke off -abruptly as a sudden thought came to her. “Look out for the camp, -Elfreda!” Without a word of explanation, Grace whirled and sped toward -the spot where the horses were staked. To her rear, somewhere in the -vicinity of the Apache Trail, she heard two more rifle reports, but -whether from the weapons in the hands of Ike Fairweather and Lieutenant -Wingate, or from other sources, she was unable to determine. - -Nearing the tethering ground Grace proceeded with more caution, not -knowing what new menace she might find confronting her there, but the -murmur of Pinal Creek was the only sound that interrupted the mountain -stillness, a stillness that, on this occasion, seemed heavy with -significance. - -At the edge of the tethering ground, Grace halted sharply and peered -about her. - -“Gone! Every one of them gone!” she gasped. “I suspected this very -thing. This is too bad.” Grace started to return to camp and tripped -over a tethering stake, measuring her length on the ground. Before -rising she fingered the stake and the short piece of rope still -attached to it. She finally untied the rope, and, with it, started for -the camp at a brisk trot. As Grace neared the tents, Ike and Hippy came -in from the trail side. - -“I winged one critter,” cried Ike as he espied Grace. “He was sneakin’ -towards the camp when I discovered him. You see I kinder thought -somethin’ was wrong, so I picked up a rifle an’ went out scoutin’ for -trouble. Well, I s’prised the critter an’ let him have it hot, thet’s -all.” - -“We gave him the run, Brown Eyes,” boasted Lieutenant Wingate. - -“Di--di--did you hit him?” stammered Emma. - -“I reckon I hit the critter once, for I heard him grunt. We’re all -right now, though. I don’t reckon he’ll be comin’ back this night.” - -“Having accomplished his purpose, I do not think he will return,” -replied Grace dryly. - -“Eh? What’s thet you say, Mrs. Gray?” demanded Ike, sensing a deeper -meaning behind Grace Harlowe’s remark. - -“The ponies have disappeared, Mr. Fairweather!” - -“What?” Ike’s whiskers visibly bristled. - -“I said the ponies have disappeared. Look at this, will you?” she -requested, extending the section of rope that she had removed from the -tethering stake. “What do you make of it, sir?” - -Ike Fairweather, recognizing the rope, held it close to his eyes and -regarded it critically, while stroking his whiskers with his other hand. - -“Thet rope has been cut!” he declared after an instant of hesitation. - -“Yes, I think so,” agreed Grace. “Before it is too late let’s see if we -can find the ponies. I will go with you. Lieutenant, will you please -stay here and watch the camp?” - -“Yes, but what are you going to do, Brown Eyes?” questioned Hippy. - -“I am going with Mr. Fairweather,” flung back Grace, who already was -running to catch up with Ike, he having strode away too excited for -words. Not a word was exchanged between them until they reached the -tethering ground, when Grace suggested that he use her flash lamp, -which she handed to him. - -For the following few minutes, Ike Fairweather uttered nothing but -grunts, now and then pointing to the ground as he followed the faintly -discernible hoof-prints of their ponies down to the creek. There the -trail turned and followed along the bank of the stream for a short -distance, whence it took a turn toward the Apache Trail, which Grace -and Ike reached shortly afterwards. - -“There! See thet!” Ike pointed down to the Apache Trail, on which a -beam from the flash lamp was resting. - -“I see horse tracks, if that is what you mean, sir. I suppose they are -the tracks of our ponies, and if so, they appear to be headed towards -Globe.” - -“They shore are, Miss. Listen! While I was chasin’ the fellow thet was -prowlin’ ’bout the camp, three other galoots was stealin’ the ponies. -I found the men’s tracks back there, an’ you can see ’em right here -on the trail. What them critters have done is to start your ponies -towards home, an’ the horses prob’ly are a long ways from here this -very minute. We shore are in a fix. What do you reckon on doin’ ’bout -it?” demanded Ike, caressing his whiskers and regarding his companion -questioningly. - -“Suppose we return to camp and talk it over,” suggested Grace. - -Ike nodded, and they started back toward the camp. Reaching there, -Grace quickly explained to her companions what had occurred, and asked -if any one had a suggestion to offer as to what should be done in the -emergency. - -“Do you think the ponies will go all the way to Globe?” asked -Lieutenant Wingate. - -“They shore will.” - -“What leads you to believe that the robbers who took the animals did -not go away with them?” interjected Miss Briggs. - -“The tracks of the men, Miss. After they reached the Apache Trail the -horses started on alone at a gallop, as you can see by the hoof-prints. -The two-legged critters went over the edge of the trail an’ hit it up -for the hills, thet’s how I know.” - -“I see only one way out of our difficulty,” spoke up Grace, who -had been pondering over the problem. “We have your wagon team, Mr. -Fairweather. That much is saved to us, so I would suggest that you take -one of the wagon horses and start at once for Globe to fetch our ponies -back.” - -Hippy said he would accompany Mr. Fairweather, but Grace negatived his -proposal with an emphatic shake of the head. - -“You may be needed here, Lieutenant,” she said. “Should Mr. Fairweather -find that he needs assistance in leading the ponies back to camp he -will hire a man to ride out with him. Will you do all this for us, Mr. -Fairweather?” - -“I reckon. But first I’d like to get the critter thet teased me out of -camp while the others stole the ponies,” the old driver fumed under his -breath. “I’m off.” - -Ike saddled up in a hurry, Grace in the meantime filling a kit bag with -food, which she handed to the driver. - -“Now, Hippy, I believe you have something to say to me,” reminded Grace -as Ike disappeared in the darkness. - -“Brown Eyes, I was asleep when this thing started,” Lieutenant Wingate -confessed. - -“Hippy Wingate!” rebuked Nora. - -“Yes, I was, but only for a few minutes. It was right after I had made -my trip to inspect the camp, after Grace turned in. Everything was snug -and quiet, so I leaned my rifle against a tree and sat down. Well, I -lost myself, that’s all. I ought to be shot.” - -“You said it,” approved Emma Dean. - -“I promise you, on my honor, that it will not occur again,” protested -Hippy. - -“What woke you up?” asked Grace. - -“Ike’s first shot.” - -“I thought so,” nodded Grace. “He must have known you were asleep, but -Ike never mentioned it to me. Please listen to me, Lieutenant! We are -really in a serious situation at this moment. The thieves who took our -horses probably had a further plan in mind at the time, and I should -not be at all surprised if they attempted to carry it out this very -night.” - -“Just what are we to infer from that remark, Loyalheart?” asked Miss -Briggs a bit anxiously. - -“I mean that this camp may be attacked before morning--that in all -probability it will be!” declared Grace Harlowe. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -HIPPY CALLS TO ARMS - - -Emma Dean uttered a cry of alarm. - -“Be an Overton girl,” admonished Elfreda Briggs. - -“I--I can’t help it. I--I’m afraid,” wailed Emma, starting for her tent -where she threw herself on her cot and gave way to tears. - -Grace, in the meantime, was making suggestions to Hippy as to how the -camp should be guarded during the rest of the night. After he had -faithfully promised that he would never again nap, Grace turned toward -her own tent. - -It was fully an hour later before Grace succeeded in quieting her -nerves sufficiently to permit her to go to sleep. She awakened with a -start a few moments later. After listening and hearing nothing, Grace -decided that hers was wholly a case of nerves, and again tried to sleep. - -It was useless. She could not make her eyelids stay closed. - -A figure darkened the tent opening. - -“Grace!” called Lieutenant Wingate in a low, guarded voice. - -“Yes? What is it?” she demanded. - -“There’s a bunch of prowlers near where the ponies were, but what they -are doing I can’t make out without going down there. I thought best to -call you first.” - -“Go away while I dress! I will be with you in a moment. Don’t awaken -the girls just yet.” - -“Where are they?” she whispered, stepping up beside him. - -Hippy pointed towards the creek. - -“I don’t see them now, but I did just before you came out,” he said. - -“Hold your place, please, and keep a sharp lookout. I want to take -a look from the other side of the camp.” Grace crept away in the -darkness, but in a few moments came back. - -“They are up near the trail now, and I think they are mounted, for -I heard a horse whinney,” declared Grace. Running to the tents she -awakened her companions. Elfreda was directed to take her place out in -front, with Lieutenant Wingate and Grace, to assist in defending the -camp. - -The three defenders were armed with rifles, in addition to which Hippy -and Grace each carried a revolver. - -“What is the plan?” questioned Hippy, seeking final directions. - -“Should we be shot at we will shoot back. That’s all I can say in -advance,” replied Grace. - -“Can they see us, Loyalheart?” whispered Miss Briggs. - -“No, I think not. The camp lies in a deep shadow and we have no fire -burning. Hark!” - -“I hear it,” muttered Lieutenant Wingate. “I hear horses trotting.” - -“Hold your fire and await developments. We must not make the mistake of -shooting at some one who doesn’t deserve it,” cautioned Grace. - -“Merciful heaven! What is that?” cried J. Elfreda. - -A shrill, weird yell, which Grace instantly recognized as an Indian war -whoop, split the stillness of mountain and canyon. Many had been the -time in the forest depths that Grace Harlowe’s husband had uttered this -thrilling war cry for her benefit, in fact he had taught Grace herself -to do it. - -“A war whoop,” she answered. - -“Steady, girls! We’re going to get it,” warned Hippy. - -“Down flat, everybody!” called Grace. - -The hoof-beats of the galloping horses of the night marauders were now -plainly heard by each member of the Overton party. Another yell, then a -rattling rifle fire swept the camp. - -“Shall we shoot?” questioned Elfreda anxiously. - -“No, not yet,” answered Grace briefly. - -“I think they are going to circle the camp,” volunteered Lieutenant -Wingate. - -“We will wait until they have made the circuit, then let them have it, -unless you have a better plan, Lieutenant. Every one keep down as low -as possible and take no chances,” she called to Nora, Anne and Emma. -The three defenders assumed a crouching attitude and waited. - -The attackers were howling and shooting at the same time, their bullets -being fired so low that Grace feared some of her party would be hit. -Horses and men out there in the valley were dim shadows, unreal to the -little group of defenders, but real enough when it came to the rifles -that were sending out darting flashes of fire and whistling bullets. - -As the riders completed their first circuit of the camp and drew -in closer, Lieutenant Wingate, without waiting for further orders, -threw the rifle to his shoulder and fired. A few seconds later, Grace -followed with a shot, then Miss Briggs pulled the trigger of her weapon. - -“Keep it up!” urged Hippy. “Follow them all the way around with your -fire, and take advantage of all the cover you can find.” - -The Overton outfit was in the fight in deadly earnest now. Darting here -and there to keep the attackers in view, the two girls and Lieutenant -Wingate continued to fire their rifles until at least two shoulders -were aching from the kick of the weapons. - -The spirited defense of the three plucky campers must have amazed their -assailants, for the men drew off a little and cut a wider circle on the -next circuit of the camp, but still keeping up and receiving a rapid -fire all the way around. - -“Look out! They’ve changed their tactics,” warned Hippy. “They’re -charging us, the fools! Hold fire till they’re in easy reach, then -give it to ’em! Just let it slowly peter out now. Don’t cut it off all -at once.” - -The Overton fire was permitted to die out by degrees, finally ceasing -altogether. The strategy of Grace and Hippy had accomplished what they -wished it to do--it had made the attackers careless, they evidently -surmising from the way the firing died away, that the defenders either -had been killed or wounded. - -Uttering shrill yells, and shooting, it seemed, with every jump of -their horses, the night riders swept down on the little camp in Squaw -Valley, determined to put a speedy finish to their work. - -“Ready! Fire!” commanded Lieutenant Wingate. - -The defenders opened up on the advancing horsemen, firing as rapidly as -they could pull the triggers of their rifles. A moment or so of this, -apparently, was enough for the attackers, who suddenly whirled and -raced their horses further out, where they again began shooting, with -bullets from the camp still following them. - -“We have ’em on the run! Keep ’em going!” urged Hippy, trying to locate -their assailants, whose rifles, at that instant, had suddenly ceased -firing. Now and then one or another of the defenders, discovering a -movement among the marauders, would shoot, but such shots elicited no -reply. - -Hippy finally advised that the defenders divide their force, and each -take a side of the camp to avoid a surprise, which was done. - -“Is it all over?” cried Emma Dean from her hiding place. - -“We hope so, but keep down close to the ground for the present,” -advised Miss Briggs. “Are you girls all right?” - -“Yes, but not riotously happy,” returned Anne. - -“The attackers, I should say, are less so; therefore, don’t worry,” -answered Elfreda. - -To the great relief of the campers, not another shot was fired in Squaw -Valley that night, the attackers having disappeared as mysteriously -as they came, nor did the Overton party know whether they had been -attacked by white men or Indians. - -“All over but the shouting,” cried Hippy, as the day began to dawn, -laying his rifle aside. “Hey! What’s that out there?” he demanded, -pointing to an object that lay some two hundred yards from the camp. - -“I believe it is a horse! Hippy Wingate, we have killed a horse!” -exclaimed Grace Harlowe in amazement. “Oh, that is too bad!” - -“Burning shame!” chortled Hippy. - -“Yes, and there is another one down near the creek,” added Miss Briggs -excitedly. - -“I did it with my trusty rifle,” cried Hippy boastfully. - -“You are welcome to all the glory there is,” answered Grace. “Shall we -have a look at the animals? Perhaps we may learn something. Come! We -will take our rifles with us.” - -The Overton defenders had succeeded better than they knew. Not only -had they driven off a superior number of desperate men, but they had -shot from under their attackers two horses, and possibly downed as many -riders. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -A STARTLING DISCOVERY - - -“It is my opinion that this is an Indian pony,” announced Lieutenant -Wingate, bending over the dead horse nearest to the camp. - -“How do you know?” questioned Grace, giving Hippy a swift glance to -learn if he were in earnest. - -“Because it looks like pictures of Indian ponies that I have seen.” - -Grace smiled, but made no comment. - -“Here is a rifle under the critter, too,” he added. “I wonder what -happened to the rider?” - -“Is it an Indian rifle?” asked Miss Briggs in all seriousness. - -Hippy confessed that he did not know. - -“I don’t believe you would qualify as an expert on things Indian,” -laughed Grace, starting on with her companions toward the creek to look -at the second victim of the Overton girls’ shooting. They found nothing -on that pony except saddle and bridle. - -“Please remove the equipment from them, Lieutenant,” Grace requested. -“I will take the rifle. I wish Mr. Fairweather to examine the -equipment.” - -“I sincerely hope he knows more about Indians than Hippy does,” -observed Elfreda dryly. - -“Do you think those scoundrels will come back?” questioned Elfreda as -they were returning to camp. - -“Not in the daytime. If you mean will they bother us in future, I will -say yes, and, being a prudent person, I shall try to be prepared for -them this evening.” - -“You are a queer girl, Loyalheart. The longer I know you the less -I understand you. You are the gentlest, sweetest woman I have ever -known, but under the surface you have an armor of steel,” declared Miss -Briggs. - -“This mountain air surely is making you light-headed, Elfreda dear,” -laughingly retorted Grace Harlowe. “I am a woman like yourself, no -different, and, like yourself, I have fairly good control over my -nervous system. Youth and years of outdoor activity have given me the -qualities you have in mind.” - -“Perhaps that is it. It has given you something else, too--it has given -you beauty of face and figure, given you a better understanding and a -greater love for your friends, and mankind in general.” - -Grace nodded over the latter sentiment. - -“If all young women could come to understand what outdoor life means -to one, I do not believe they would cling to the town, to their late -hours, late suppers and nerve-breaking rounds of social pleasures. It -is no especial credit to a woman to be beautiful; it is her duty to -be so. Any woman whom nature has endowed with a substantial physical -foundation may be beautiful, but not from wearing fashionable clothes -or the use of cosmetics. Right here in the open is the remedy free to -all. The open spots, Elfreda; God’s free air; healthful, wholesome -exercise, and right thinking and right doing. Pardon me, dear. I do not -often open my heart like this, though I think of these things every day -of my life.” - -“I call yours a pretty good religion,” declared Elfreda with emphasis. - -“I do not call it my religion,” objected Grace. “Rather, is it my -rule of practice. One might call it the application of the greater -principle.” - -“We are wading into deep water. Suppose we have breakfast,” twinkled -Miss Briggs. - -“Yes. Some time to-day I propose that we go for a tramp along the creek -and up the nearby canyons, and practice a little of what I am preaching -to you. We will all go and have the best kind of a time. Ah! Nora and -Anne are getting breakfast.” - -“Have plenty of food,” cried Hippy as he came in a few moments later -with the saddles and bridles of the dead horses. “A night in the -Overton trenches does give one an appetite.” - -Throwing the equipment down, Hippy told Nora, Emma and Anne about the -fight of the previous night, not forgetting to give himself all the -credit to which he considered himself entitled. - -“This is terrible,” wailed Emma. “I’m afraid of somebody or something.” - -“Fiddlesticks!” rebuked Elfreda. “After going through a great war one -should not have nerves. Let’s eat.” - -After breakfast the defenders turned in for a few hours’ sleep, Nora -and Anne in the meantime standing guard over the camp. No trouble was -looked for during the day, but Grace fully expected that they would -have plenty of it, in one form or another, when darkness had settled -over the valley. - -This apprehension was not permitted to interfere with their enjoyment -of the day, so, after the sleepers had finished their naps, mess kits -were packed and the party started toward the creek for an old-fashioned -picnic. - -Grace had a twofold reason for wishing to go to the creek and up the -canyons. First, she hoped to put her companions in a better frame of -mind, and for herself she wished to satisfy her curiosity as to the -direction that the night raiders took after the Overton party drove -them off. - -Hippy Wingate was left to watch the camp--and to sleep, as Grace -suspected that he would do. - -Grace Harlowe, with rifle under her arm, led her party, singing college -songs as she tripped along, just as she and her companions were wont to -do when picnicking in the Overton hills. - -Reaching Pinal Creek, the party followed it along for a short distance, -then turned off into a high-walled canyon, where they finally camped -and spread their luncheon on the ground by the side of a rippling -mountain stream. There they ate and chatted. - -Grace had studied the ground along creek and canyon for indications -of the course taken by the night raiders after the battle. The -hoof-prints, however, seemed to end at the bank of Pinal Creek, and she -was unable to pick them up again. - -The other girls, following the luncheon, amused themselves with lying -flat on their backs, gazing up the sheer walls of the canyon at the -ribbon of blue sky lined out by the tops of the canyon walls. Later on -they strolled off singly and in pairs in search of wild flowers. - -“I’m going up this canyon,” called Grace, who had risen and picked her -way along the little stream that joined Pinal Creek some distance below -them. “If any one of you gets into difficulties give the Overton yell.” - -“Same to you,” called Nora. - -It was more than an hour later when Grace came sauntering downstream, -humming happily, for the vastness of the mountains and the grandeur of -the scenery had thrilled and entranced her. Anne was waiting for her at -the point where the girls had taken their luncheon. - -“Where are the girls?” called Grace as she espied her companion. - -“Downstream somewhere. They said not to worry, as they might keep on -going until they reached the valley.” - -“It is getting late, and I think it advisable for all to return to camp -at once. Come along, Anne dear. I stirred up something up there that I -believe to be a large wild animal. That is, I heard it, but could not -see it. Should we still be in camp in the valley to-morrow, I hope to -go hunting for it.” - -“Provided you yourself are not hunted,” suggested Anne. - -Grace laughed. - -“Don’t you think I am quite able to take care of myself?” she asked. - -“Up to a certain point, yes. Beyond that I am apprehensive.” - -“Merely another case of nerves, Anne dear, so forget it and enjoy the -scenery. Yonder is where we turn to take the trail for home. The girls -must have tired of wandering in this wonderful place.” - -Arm in arm the two girls strolled back towards the camp, chatting, -laughing and enjoying the bracing mountain air. - -“The girls are at the camp,” said Anne, pointing. - -“I have an idea that they did not feel wholly safe in the mountains,” -replied Grace. “I really believe that I could spend the rest of my -life here and without ever knowing a moment of loneliness.” - -“Tenderfeet!” chided Anne laughingly, as she and Grace entered the camp. - -Grace’s alert eyes instantly missed one of the Overton girls. - -“Where is Emma? Has she gone to bed?” she demanded. - -“Emma?” wondered Miss Briggs. - -“We left her with Anne,” Nora informed them. - -“Yes, and Emma went downstream a few moments after you girls went away. -She said she would go back to camp, gathering flowers on the way,” -interjected Anne. - -“How long was this before I joined you, Anne?” questioned Grace, -turning to her companion. - -“I should say about three-quarters of an hour,” answered Anne, a -worried look creeping into her eyes. - -“What’s this?” demanded Lieutenant Wingate. “Emma missing?” - -“Don’t worry. She will turn up all right,” comforted Nora. “You can’t -lose Emma Dean so easily.” - -“Elfreda, please get a rifle and come with me,” directed Grace -incisively. “Hippy, I should like to have you go with us, but it is -more important that you remain here to look after the camp. Should we -not find Emma soon, I will fire three interval shots for assistance. -You will then hurry to me, but in that event, bring Nora and Anne with -you. In no circumstances leave them here alone.” - -Grace issued her directions calmly, but there was that in her tone that -brought a worried look to four pairs of eyes. That she suspected more -than appeared on the surface was apparent to all. - -“You--you don’t think that anything ha--as happened to Emma, do you?” -begged Anne. - -“Girls, something serious surely has happened to Emma Dean!” gravely -responded Grace Harlowe. “Come, Elfreda! We must not lose an instant. -You people be alert for rifle signals.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A DOUBLE CAPTURE - - -Grace started away at a brisk trot, followed by Elfreda Briggs, until -they reached the bank of the creek. - -“My gracious, Loyalheart, but you can race,” gasped J. Elfreda. - -“Please work downstream, Elfreda. Watch carefully for footprints and -broken twigs. I shall proceed upstream. About a quarter of a mile above -here several deep canyons branch off, and it is possible that Emma may -have taken one of these in search of flowers and lost her way,” said -Grace. - -“How far shall I go?” questioned Miss Briggs. - -“Meet me here in an hour. Should you need me in the meantime, or, -should you find Emma, fire three signal shots, with an interval between -each shot. If in need of assistance I will do the same, and, should you -hear three interval shots, answer them by the same signal with your -rifle. That will be a warning to the camp as well. Hippy understands -that, in case we give such a signal, he is to come on the run, and -bring the girls with him, so that they may not be left alone in the -camp. Good-bye and the best of luck.” - -Grace turned and hurried up the stream, Elfreda proceeding in the -opposite direction. Grace ran on until she reached the point where the -narrow canyons radiated out from the one the girls had first taken on -their way to the picnic ground. - -A stream of clear, sparkling mountain water was rippling down each -radiating canyon, and fragrant wild flowers gently nodded their -greeting along the bank of the stream, from the crevices of rocks and -from little patches of dirt that clung precariously to the mountainside. - -“I do not believe Emma Dean could resist these flowers,” murmured Grace. - -In order to observe both banks, Grace stepped into the stream that -flowed from the larger of the canyons, and waded along it, regardless -of the fact that the icy-cold water instantly took all feeling from -her feet, her whole attention being centered on the flower-bordered -banks of the stream. Grace was peering at the wild flowers, looking for -plucked stems. - -The Overton girl suddenly uttered an exclamation and sank down on her -knees at the edge of the creek. - -“Ah! Plucked flowers. Some one has picked them within a few hours, for -the stems are still bleeding.” - -Grace began examining the ground with infinite care, but though she -found flowers that had been crushed down, she failed to find a single -distinct footprint. Further up the stream, however, she came upon that -for which she had been searching--the imprint of a human foot, a small, -slender foot. - -Reasonably certain that she had at last come upon the trail of her -missing companion, Grace sprang up and ran as rapidly as the rough -going would permit, plunging deeper and deeper into the canyon that was -now dimmed with the gloom of the approaching mountain night. - -The Overton girl’s first impression was that she should fire her -rifle, but believing that Emma could not be far away, unless she had -wandered into still another canyon and become wholly lost in the maze, -Grace decided first to search a little further. At several such canyon -intersections Grace herself became confused, but careful examination of -a few yards of her own trail to the rear soon set her straight. - -From time to time she would pause and raise her voice in a long-drawn -call that must have reached far up the canyon and up the mountainside -as well. - -“I shall have to signal for assistance,” finally decided Grace, -the gloom now having become so deep that she was no longer able to -distinguish the tell-tale marks left by Emma Dean’s shoes. - -“When Hippy and the girls come, we will build fires, and, with torches, -follow the trail until we find her.” - -Grace decided to signal for assistance, and pointing her rifle into the -air she fired three times at intervals. She waited, listening intently. -There was no response that she could hear, so she fired three more -signal shots. - -This time three faint reports were borne to her ears, but whether they -were the echoes of her own shots or the answer to her signals, Grace -did not know. - -When about to move forward again, Grace’s nerves gave a tremendous jump -as a human voice sounded close at hand. - -“What do you all reckon you’re shootin’ at?” demanded the voice. It was -a woman’s voice, which, in the circumstances, was a welcome thing to -Grace Harlowe, even though it was a voice that she did not know. - -Grace whirled and brought her rifle to bear on the owner of the voice. -She peered into the darkness and was barely able to make out the form -of the speaker. - -“Who are you?” demanded Grace. - -“I reckon you’d better say somethin’ for yourself,” answered the woman. - -“Very well. I am looking for a young woman who is missing from my -party, and who, I believe, came up this canyon.” - -“Is her name Dean?” - -“Yes, yes!” cried Grace. “You have found her?” - -“I reckon so. The kid fell down and hurt herself a little. She’s up the -canyon a piece. I’ll show you.” - -“Oh, thank you.” - -The woman turned and strode away, Grace following, her anxiety for Emma -banishing all thoughts from mind of the strangeness of this woman’s -presence in the dark canyon. - -With the rifle still tucked under her arm, Grace stumbled along over -the rough ground, managing to keep up with her guide, at the expense -of several falls. Grace knew that she was proceeding in the direction -which she believed Emma had followed, and she was, therefore, eager to -get ahead as rapidly as possible. - -“Is Miss Dean badly hurt?” she questioned anxiously, stepping up beside -her companion. - -“Hurt her ankle, thet’s all,” was the brief reply. - -“Oh, that is too bad. How much further have we to go?” - -“Reckon we’re there now. Miss Dean!” - -“Emma! Are you there?” cried Grace. - -“Grace! Oh, Grace! Save me!” wailed Emma Dean. - -Grace Harlowe sprang forward, ahead of her companion, but she did -not reach Emma. A pair of wiry arms were suddenly thrown about her, -pinioning the Overton girl’s arms to her sides. Grace wriggled and -struggled desperately, using every trick she knew to free herself, and -appeared to be getting the best of the struggle, when an unlooked-for -interruption occurred. - -“Bud!” cried the woman sharply. - -A man sprang forward in response to the call. - -“Take her gun!” panted the woman. “She’s a terror.” - -The rifle was wrenched from Grace’s hand, then the man jerked her hands -behind her back and tied them there. - -“Thar! I don’t reckon as you’ll do much more fightin’ right smart,” -declared the woman, releasing her grip and stepping back, breathing -heavily. - -Grace, too, was breathing hard, but more from resentment than from -exhaustion. She now swiftly began to reason out the meaning of what -had occurred, and in a moment it became clear to her that she was in -the hands of the band that had been harassing the Overton girls on the -Apache Trail. - -“Emma, are you hurt?” called Grace. - -“Only my feelings. They’re wrecked,” answered Emma with a touch of her -old-time humor. “Come here, Grace.” - -“Stay where you be!” commanded the woman. - -“You are not otherwise hurt?” begged Grace. - -“No,” answered Emma. - -“Now, woman, if you do not mind explaining the meaning of this -high-handed affair, I am quite ready to listen,” announced Grace -Harlowe evenly, at the same time facing her captor, whose face she had -not yet been able to see in the darkness. - -“Shut up!” ordered the man. “We got to git out of here on the jump. -Belle, you rustle her along, an’ if she gits balky, hit her a clip over -the haid. You owe her one anyhow.” - -“I demand that you release us both instantly!” answered Grace. - -Without replying, the woman roughly grasped Grace by an arm and -propelled her along at a swift pace, Grace stumbling over nearly every -step of the way, until they came up with two men who were guarding -several horses. At this juncture, the man addressed as “Bud” came -hurrying up to them, leading Emma Dean. Her hands, also, were securely -bound behind her, and Emma was abusing and threatening her conductor at -every step of the way. - -“Oh, Grace!” she cried plaintively when she was halted close by her -friend. - -“Keep quiet, Emma, please,” warned Grace. “Are your hands tied?” - -“Yes. The brutes tied the rope so tight that it hurts awfully.” - -“If we untie your hands will you promise not to try to get away?” -questioned Belle, addressing both girls. - -“No!” answered Grace with emphasis. - -The woman shrugged her shoulders. - -“Cut them loose,” she ordered. “They can’t ride thet way without -fallin’ off. You women! If you try to run away, you’ll be shot, thet’s -all,” warned Belle as Bud severed the ropes that held the hands of the -two girls. - -“Git up! Both of you. Be lively ’bout it, too,” he ordered, pointing to -one of the horses. - -Grace took all the time in mounting that she dared, and Emma crowded -into the saddle behind her. - -“Give the critter his haid. He knows where to go better’n you do, I -reckon,” advised Bud, swinging into his own saddle. - -The woman rode up and took the lead, Bud falling in behind Grace and -Emma. Grace saw one man ride forward and join Belle, while still -another remained behind, standing by his horse. Evidently he was not -going with them. - -The party then started up the canyon, the ponies now and then breaking -into a trot, as the footing permitted. Soon after the start, they began -climbing the mountain side, along what Grace realized was a narrow -trail, too narrow for safety, and on which the ordinarily sure-footed -ponies slipped and stumbled perilously. - -“Tell me what occurred,” whispered Grace to her companion. - -“I was picking flowers when that woman caught hold of me. I never heard -her approach, and she nearly scared me out of my wits when she grabbed -me and clapped a hand over my mouth. Grace, I overheard the woman and -that fellow Bud talking, and I learned some things. You can’t guess why -they have stolen us.” - -“In revenge, I presume, for what we did to Con Bates and his fellows. -This, undoubtedly, is the gang that has been harassing us.” - -“Yes, that is one reason. The other is that they hope to get some money -for us.” - -“You mean ransom?” asked Grace in a guarded whisper. - -“Yes. Isn’t it silly? It’s romantic, too.” - -“So, that is it, eh? They will have a fine time getting it. I still -have my revolver inside my waist, Emma Dean, and, if necessary, I shall -use it. I don’t think they will dare to really harm us, but we must be -on the alert every minute for an opportunity to escape. Leave all that -to me, for I shall know when the time is opportune for such a move on -our part.” - -“What if they search you and find the revolver?” questioned Emma. - -“They had better not try it,” muttered Grace. - -She told Emma that the Overton outfit were no doubt, even then, -searching for them, though she said she doubted the ability of the -searchers to pick up and follow the trail. - -“Should Mr. Fairweather get back in time, he can and will follow it, -and I shall expect him to do that very thing. Above all, keep your -head, Emma dear, and do not talk too much. The less they know about us -the better. I don’t believe they know who I am, and I sincerely hope -they do not find out.” - -“Yes, they do know. How, I can’t even guess, but one of the men came up -and reported to that ruffian, Bud, that you were coming up the trail -with Belle. He referred to you as the ‘Harlowe woman.’” - -“Hm-m-m-m-m,” mused Grace. “They are sharper than I thought. Hold tight -to me, Emma. It won’t do at all for either of us to slip off. We are -liable to be shot if we do.” - -As they worked their way up the mountain trail, Grace tore bits of -linen from her handkerchief and cautiously allowed them to drift to the -ground, hoping thereby to so mark the trail that their friends would -see and understand. - -The captors did not speak a word to the girls, slipping hoofs, creaking -leather and the heavy breathing of the ponies being the only sounds -accompanying the journey. - -Some time near morning a halt was made, and for a few minutes Bud and -the woman sat on their ponies listening. Grace surmised that they had -heard something. Either this or they were expecting to hear something. -A few minutes later the man who had been left down in the canyon came -jogging up to them, giving a signal whistle while still some distance -to the rear. - -The woman rode out a few yards to meet the newcomer, and was joined -by Bud, whereupon an animated, but low-toned conversation between the -three ensued. - -“Hang on! There’s goin’ to be some rough ridin’,” warned Belle as she -galloped up to the two girls, following the conference. “We’ve got to -make a certain place before sun-up. No funny business, neither,” she -added warningly. - -It was a grilling ride that the Overton girls experienced during the -next two hours. A halt finally was called to enable two of the men to -go back and mask the trail of the ponies, but just how it was done -Grace was unable to see, owing to the darkness that still enshrouded -the mountains. - -Day dawned slowly, finding the party threading its way through rocky -defiles, now well at the top of the ridge of mountains. Gray, rolling -hills and rocky towers were all about them, and in the east the -grayness of the skies was gradually giving way to pale rose and silver -that lengthened and brightened along a horizon broken by many mountain -peaks. - -The party finally came to a halt in an open space, well screened by -rocks from view of any roving eyes that might be observing from near or -distant mountain tops. - -There the captors made a hurried breakfast. Grace and Emma were -directed to help themselves to food, which they did, then sat down by -themselves to eat, under the observant eyes of their captors. - -The men plainly were ill at ease, and it was evident that they still -were listening expectantly. Finally, one of the men saddled his horse -and rode back, he soon being lost to sight among the rocks. - -“Those ruffians really fear that they are being followed,” muttered -Grace, barely loud enough for Emma, for whose ears the words were -intended, to hear. “They have sent that fellow back to take an -observation. I wonder if they have good reason for thinking that they -_are_ being followed?” - -“Why can’t we cut and run?” suggested Emma. - -“There is nothing to hinder our doing so, except that we probably -should be shot before we reached yonder rocks.” - -“There comes Belle now!” whispered Emma excitedly. - -“Keep quiet, please, and let me do the talking,” advised Grace. - -The woman was approaching the two girls at a rapid step, an expression -in her eyes that Grace Harlowe did not like. In repose, Belle’s face, -while regular, and rather attractive at first glance, showed hard -lines, particularly about the mouth, indicating that, when occasion -demanded, she could be hard and merciless. The expression that the face -of their captor wore as she came towards them gave promise that the -present might be such an occasion. - -Belle halted before the Overton girls and stood regarding them through -narrowed eyelids. Then she spoke, and what she had to say brought a -pallor to Emma Dean’s face, and stirred the fighting instincts of Grace -Harlowe to the danger point. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -FOLLOWING A COLD TRAIL - - -“I tell you I heard Grace’s signal shots!” protested Elfreda Briggs, -in reply to Hippy’s declaration that he had heard no shots except the -three fired by Elfreda. - -“Listening, as I was, I surely would have heard the signal had she -given it,” averred the lieutenant. “It’s too dark to see anything, but -of course, if you girls have anything to suggest, I am ready to act.” - -“Hippy Wingate! You don’t mean that you’re going to sit down and leave -Grace and Emma in that terrible canyon all night?” protested Nora, -indignantly. - -“No, not without an effort to find them. I didn’t mean that I should -sit by the campfire and wait for daylight. I’m going now.” Hippy slung -his rifle under his arm and strode off toward the creek. “Should -anything break loose, shoot,” he called back. - -Reaching the creek, the lieutenant trudged along it to the canyon, -Elfreda having told him that Grace had gone in that direction. He -examined the bank of the creek with a pocket lamp that Anne had handed -to him, as Grace had done before him, but failed to find footprints. -When he arrived at the point from which other canyons radiated, the -lieutenant took the wrong one and wandered along its course for half -a mile. Finding nothing of what he sought, he returned to the creek -and searched along a second canyon, and so on until finally reaching -the dark ravine through which Grace really had gone in search of Emma. -Hippy, on the contrary, failed to find a trail. - -It was long past midnight when finally he gave up his search and -started back to the camp. As he neared it, he discovered, by the light -of the campfire, that a string of ponies was being led down from the -Apache Trail. - -“There comes Ike! Now we’ll see what can be done,” cried the lieutenant -in a relieved tone. Hippy started on a run for the camp. By the time he -reached there Ike had arrived and the Overton girls were gathered about -him, all speaking at once, trying to tell him of the disaster that had -befallen them. - -“Them critters got Miss Dean and Mrs. Gray?” demanded Ike. - -“We do not know. We know that they are missing,” replied Elfreda. -“Hippy, did you discover anything?” - -“Not a thing.” - -“Come here, Western. Folks, this is Western Jones thet came along with -me to help lead the string of ponies. Glad now thet I fetched him. -West, please stake down the ponies. Now you folks tell me every little -thing thet’s happened, so I can get a line on this business.” - -The girls told the old stagecoach driver of the occurrences of the -night when he left for Globe, of the picnic, of Emma’s disappearance -and of Grace’s having gone in search of her. - -“We’ve got to find ’em, thet’s all,” declared Ike, after a moment’s -thought. “Tell you what we’ll do. The lieutenant and I’ll take two -ponies and lead ’em until we pick up the trail, then we’ll ride as -far up the canyon as we can an’ walk the rest of the way. We’ll send -the ponies back if we have to. They’ll come right back so long as the -others are staked here.” - -“What about guarding the camp?” questioned Lieutenant Wingate. - -“Western Jones can do thet. West, how’d you like a little brush with -some of thet Con Bates gang?” demanded Ike, grinning. - -“Sweeter’n wild honey,” grinned Western. “Is it them as has done this -trick?” - -“I reckon mebby it is. We don’t know for shore. Mebby Apaches, for all -I know.” - -“Leave ’em to me,” grinned Western Jones. - -“Then you keep these gals right here in this camp, an’ don’t you let -a one of ’em get away till I come back. Got the makin’s of a light, -Lieutenant, or have I got to carry a torch to light the way?” - -“I have a flash lamp.” - -“Saddle up an’ we’ll be off right smart, an’ we’ll bring back the -missin’ girls. I don’t reckon as thet gang will have more’n a mouthful -of success with them two little ladies. They better look out thet -they don’t rile thet sweet, smilin’ Grace Harlowe too much or they’ll -discover, when it’s too late, thet they barked agin’ the wrong -cottonwood. Look for us when we get back.” - -“Darling, be careful! Don’t get shot,” begged Nora, giving her husband -a good-bye kiss. - -Hippy hurried along and joined Mr. Fairweather, and together they -saddled and bridled, and then strode down to the creek leading their -mounts. Ike took the flash lamp and, soon after reaching the stream, he -picked up the trail of the Overton party on their way to the picnic -grounds. He found Lieutenant Wingate’s footprints also. - -Reaching the point where other trails radiated out from the main -canyon, Ike bade his companion hold the horses. Then began a -painstaking examination of the ground, along the little mountain -stream, a proceeding that excited Lieutenant Wingate’s admiration. -After a time Mr. Fairweather’s light disappeared and Hippy was left in -the somber canyon to pass the time as best he might. - -Ike was gone an hour. He returned without showing a light. Hippy heard -him when he was almost upon him, and challenged. - -“It’s Ike,” was the brief answer. - -“What luck?” questioned Hippy. - -“Struck the trail. Stands out like a boulevard in a big city. Found -somethin’ else, too.” - -“What was it?” - -“Found where some woman met one of ours an’ went with her up the -canyon. It wa’n’t a regular white girl’s footprint thet the woman made. -Reckon it was an Indian or some mountain woman, ’cause she had on -moccasins. There was three or four men a little further upstream an’ -they had horses. I found this up there. Reco’nize it?” Ike held out -something white and turned the ray of the flash lamp on it. - -“E. D.” muttered Hippy. “I should say this is Miss Dean’s -handkerchief. Well, what next?” - -“All hands got on the horses and went on up the canyon. I come back -from that pint.” - -“Ike, you are a wonder! How do you do it? I couldn’t read the story -of a trail the way you do, if I was to practice it all the rest of my -life.” - -“An’ I reckon thet if I tried to sail one of them flyin’ machines my -name would be Dennis, right smart,” replied Ike. “Get aboard! We’re -goin’ right up thet trail and we’re goin’ to keep goin’ till either we -lose it for good, or find the gals, or get shot doin’ one or t’other. -We can’t pull off an’ wait till mornin’. Mornin’ may be too late.” - -Hippy swung into his saddle, Ike being but a few seconds behind him in -mounting, Mr. Fairweather taking the lead at a slow jog trot. - -“Right here’s where they took to the ponies,” announced Ike finally. -How he knew that in the darkness, Hippy was unable to imagine, but -then, Hippy Wingate had not followed mountain trails at any stage of -his career, and knew nothing of them. - -Ike now began to flash his light against the mountain, first on one -side, then on the other. - -“Whoa!” The command came out sharp and incisive. “Hold my nag, -Lieutenant.” The old driver dismounted, and, handing his bridle rein -to his companion, began climbing up along the mountainside, keeping the -ray of his light directly on the ground at his feet. - -Ike returned in a few minutes. - -“I reckon we’ve got to do some tall climbin’ ourselves. Party went -up the mountain here.” Ike mounted and started up a twisting, narrow -trail, his light now in almost continuous use, for the going was -extremely perilous. - -“See them bits of white cloth alongside the trail?” Ike called back. - -“I had not noticed them. I see them now,” answered Hippy. - -“Them’s markers that Mrs. Gray prob’bly dropped to show us the way. -Thet’s a real gal, Lieutenant.” - -Hippy marveled in silence. - -Day was breaking when they reached the top, and, looking back, Hippy -found himself wondering how they ever made it, for the mountain they -had climbed looked to Lieutenant Wingate to be straight up and down. - -Ike Fairweather again dismounted, was searching the ground, running -back and forth, covering wider and wider stretches of rock and earth, -continuously combing his whiskers with his fingers, and perspiring -freely. Ike finally returned to his companion, his chagrin reflected in -his face. - -“What’s the matter, Ike?” asked Hippy in a cheerful voice, a tone that, -at the moment, did not reflect his real feelings. - -“Matter? I’m plumb locoed, Lieutenant. I’ve lost the trail, an’ I don’t -know where to look for it. It’s a mighty big place up here, an’ mebby -we find the track an’ mebby we don’t. Leastwise, I’m sorry for the gals -who, I’ll bet, are lookin’ their eyes out for us.” - -“You are excited, Ike. Sit down, consult your whiskers and perhaps you -may find an idea or something in them,” suggested Hippy gravely. - -Ike promptly adopted his companion’s suggestion, and for the next -several minutes gave himself up to reflection, punctuated with an -occasional throaty growl. - -“I’ve got it! I’ve got it, Lieutenant!” cried Ike, springing up. “It’s -a cold trail.” - -“A trail with snow or something on it?” questioned Hippy innocently. “I -haven’t seen snow in these mountains, but I presume there is plenty of -it.” - -“No, no, Lieutenant. A cold trail’s a fixed trail--doctored so as to -mislead a trailer, or covered up altogether so he can’t find it. I -reckon Ike Fairweather ain’t goin’ to be fooled by no cheap mountain -trick like thet. Lieutenant, you work to the right, while I go to the -left. Take a wide circle along the top of the mountain an’ come up -with me by thet monument you can see the top of over to the north’ard. -Watch the ground like sixty, an’ watch out for broken twigs an’ crushed -clumps of grass. If you find any, sit still an’ wait for me.” - -Hippy Wingate wheeled his pony and trotted off to the right, peering at -the ground, a puzzled expression in his eyes. - -“I shouldn’t know a frozen trail, or whatever you call it, if I saw -one,” he muttered helplessly. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -AN INTERRUPTED INTERVIEW - - -“You come with me, Mrs. Gray!” commanded the woman who had lured Grace -to capture. “I reckon you and me got somethin’ to settle.” - -“I do not know what you mean, but I am ready,” announced Grace, rising. -“Come, Emma!” - -“You set where you be!” ordered Belle savagely. - -Emma’s eyes flashed her resentment, and, for a few seconds, Grace -feared that her little companion was about to do something rash. Miss -Dean, who had started to rise, now settled back, face flushed, her -whole body a-tremble, but more from anger than from fear. - -“When I want you I’ll call you,” was the woman’s parting admonition as -she turned away, nodding to Grace to follow her. - -Belle led her captive off behind some rocks, within easy calling -distance of the group of bandits who were still munching at their -breakfast and at the same time keeping an eye on Emma Dean. - -The instant that Grace could do so without being observed by the men, -she thrust her hand inside her tunic and quickly transferred her -automatic revolver to the right hand pocket. She was now walking along -with both hands in her pockets, feeling more confidence in herself now -that a means of defense lay within her right hand. - -The mountain woman halted behind a wall of rock, and, leaning against -it, surveyed Grace with malignant eyes. - -“You Harlowe woman, what do you reckon I ought to do to you?” she -demanded. - -“I don’t reckon you’d better do anything to me, except to permit -myself and companion to return to our camp,” answered Grace, lounging -carelessly, scuffing the dirt with the toe of her boot, but not -permitting her gaze to leave the face of the mountain woman for a -second. - -“What if I do?” Belle’s eyes blazed. - -“I have friends who never will cease their efforts until you have -paid in full, bitterly so, for what you may have done to me or to my -companion, Miss Dean.” - -“You threaten me?” demanded the woman, her hand slipping to the -revolver that swung in its holster from her hip. - -“No. I am simply stating a fact, and you know it,” calmly replied Grace. - -“Why did you shoot my husband?” snapped Belle. - -“Why did I wha--at?” gasped Grace. - -“You heard what I said.” - -“Who is your husband?” - -“Con Bates. I’m Belle Bates, an’ I’m goin’ to see to it thet you settle -for thet little job you did.” - -“So, you are the wife of that highwayman, eh? I begin to understand. -What is it you wish me to do?” - -“Settle up right smart.” - -“How?” questioned Grace, now smilingly. - -“I reckon you got money or you wouldn’t be out on a trip like you be. -You will write a letter to your friends, telling them to shell out all -the money they have, to leave it in a certain place that I’ll tell you -’bout, then to get back to Globe as fast as hoss flesh will carry ’em, -and then you all get out of the country, an’ stay out.” - -“Do you believe they will be foolish enough to leave money for one -of your gang to go and help himself to? I don’t believe you know -my friends. Why, your messenger never could get away with anything -so simple as that. Let us consider this matter. Suppose I do write -the sort of letter you demand, and further, that, by this childish -subterfuge, you get such money as our outfit has with it, what will -be your next move? What do you then propose to do with Miss Dean and -myself?” - -“I reckon mebby I’ll let you go.” - -“Mebby, eh? That is too indefinite, but I presume it is as good as the -word of an outlaw like yourself can be,” replied Grace boldly. “Suppose -I refuse to do as you request? What then, Mrs. Bandit?” - -“I’ll serve you as you served Con, only more so.” - -“How do you know my name?” questioned Grace, more for the sake of -gaining time to further plan to outwit this woman, whom Grace fully -believed meant to do something desperate, than because she cared to -know. She saw, too, that Belle Bates was working herself into a high -pitch of excitement and anger that might result in greater peril for -her captives. - -“Thet’s none of your business,” retorted Belle in reply to the Overton -girl’s question. - -“Let me suggest another plan. If you will send Miss Dean with the -letter to my friends, I will write to them that they are to deposit, -if they wish, a certain amount of money in whatever place you may -designate.” - -“See anything green in my eyes?” jeered the bandit’s wife. - -“My plan is no more foolish than yours. I suggested it merely to prove -to you that yours will not stand the test. Why, Belle Bates, if such a -thing as ransom for me were suggested to them, my friends would throw -your messenger out of camp and probably into Pinal Creek. They would -then nose out your trail and they would follow you until yourself and -every member of your thieving band were in jail or worse. You can -expect nothing less, for you are as bad as the worst of your miserable -outfit,” added Grace. - -Belle Bates’ face was not pleasant to look upon at that moment, and -her rage was rapidly getting the better of what little judgment she -possessed. - -This was exactly what Grace Harlowe was seeking to accomplish, to get -her captor in such a rage that she would do something that would give -Grace an advantage, nor did the Overton girl overlook the possibility -that Belle Bates’ rage might lead to the woman’s using her revolver on -her tantalizer. - -Fortunately for Grace, the situation did not develop that way. With a -cry of rage, Belle sprang at Grace Harlowe with clenched fists. - -“I’ll fix that purty face of yours!” she cried, and launched a swift -blow at her captive. - -The Overton girl, smiling aggravatingly, had stood calmly awaiting the -rush, and easily dodged the blow that the Bates woman struck at her. - -At that point Grace Harlowe got into action. Her left hand shot out and -was as swiftly withdrawn, holding in it the heavy revolver which she -had snatched from Belle Bates’ holster. Grace instantly sprang back out -of reach of those wiry arms, whose strength she already had felt, and -pointed the weapon at her adversary. - -“Put your hands over your head!” she commanded sternly. “Quick! Don’t -utter a sound or I’ll shoot. Now back up against the rock behind you.” - -“I’ll kill you for this!” fumed the woman. Belle Bates had been trained -in the hard school of the mountains; she had faced weapons before, and -she had seen others face them, as well as some who went down before -them. One glance into the brown eyes that were looking along the barrel -of her own revolver told Belle that Grace Harlowe meant what she had -said and that she possessed the nerve to carry out her threat. - -“Turn around facing the rock and rest your hands against it as high -above your head as you can reach!” commanded Grace. - -The woman obeyed sullenly. - -“You will now call to Miss Dean to come here. Be careful how you do it, -too, and remember what is behind you. I hope there is nothing behind -_me_,” added Grace to herself. - -Belle hesitated. Grace uttered another warning, a more insistent one, -whereupon the mountain woman called to Emma Dean to come to her. - -“Drop thet gun, an’ do it quick!” came the sharp command in a man’s -voice behind Grace Harlowe. - -The Overton girl’s heart seemed to leap into her throat. She felt a -suffocating sensation there, her breath coming only with great effort, -and she could feel herself going cold all over. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE - - -“Oh, Grace, what is it?” cried Emma, who at this juncture arrived on -the scene. - -Grace Harlowe’s reaction came with Emma’s words. Whirling in a flash, -Grace dropped to her knees just as the revolver of the bandit was -fired at her. How the fellow had managed to get behind her without her -knowing it, Grace was at a loss to understand. - -A cry behind her now told Grace that the bullet intended for her -had hit Belle Bates instead. It was now a question of fight or be -killed, or both, so far as Grace was concerned, and, coming close on -the discharge of the bandit’s revolver, she took a quick shot at the -fellow, following it up with a second shot, as the bandit again fired. - -The man staggered under the Overton girl’s second shot, and collapsed -on the ground. - -“Run!” cried Grace. “Run, Emma!” - -Emma Dean paused hesitatingly, then darted away, but the instant she -was out of sight of the bandits, Emma stopped short to wait for her -companion. - -Grace was still in the thick of trouble, but, though the wounded -bandit, lying flat on his back, continued to shoot, the Overton girl -was thankful that Belle Bates had no weapon to use on her. - -Though the fight had been under way less than twenty seconds, the -bandits were already running to the scene. Grace, following her second -shot, had darted away, calling to Emma as she ran. - -“Run! They’re after us!” admonished Grace as she came up with Emma. - -A scattering fire of revolver bullets spattered on the rocks about -them, but, by lively sprinting, they soon succeeded in placing -substantial barriers of rock between them and their pursuers. The -bandits, of course, possessed the advantage of long experience in this -sort of warfare, but Grace’s mind was an alert one, quick to receive -impressions and quick to react. - -“I hear horses coming!” panted Emma. - -“Yes. They’ve taken to the ponies. We must get where the ponies cannot -conveniently go, and do it quick. Run on your toes. Be careful not to -leave a footprint anywhere,” cautioned Grace. - -It was soon apparent from the sounds, however, that the horsemen were -overtaking the girls, though Grace felt reasonably certain that the -bandits did not know where she and Emma at that moment were. In the -circumstances there appeared only one way to avoid discovery, and that -was to do some skillful dodging, which the two girls promptly did when -the pursuers drew closer to them. Grace and Emma hid behind a rock, -and, as the riders swept down toward them, moved step by step around -it, so that the rock should always be between them and the bandits. - -The outlaws swung by at a brisk gallop which left Grace and Emma to the -rear of their pursuers. - -“Run! We must find a hiding place,” urged Grace. - -“Grace Harlowe, there is blood on your face!” cried Emma as they ran. -“Were you hit?” - -“I got a scratch on the head. A bullet scratched my scalp when I -started to run away from the fight,” grinned Grace. - -The way was now becoming more rugged, but the girls did not lessen -their pace, and for nearly an hour they continued their plunging, -stumbling sprint, at the expense of many falls and bruises, thankful -that, thus far, they had succeeded in eluding their pursuers. - -[Illustration: The Outlaws Swung By.] - -“I can’t go any further!” wailed Emma. “I simply can’t, Grace.” - -“You must, Emma. This is too exposed a place for us to halt. There! -What did I tell you?” - -A rifle bullet had _pinged_ against a rock close at hand, and -ricochetted off with a weird _zing--g--g--g_, followed by the report of -a rifle. - -Emma suddenly forgot her weariness and, together, the girls fled from -that danger spot. Now that their presence had been discovered, Grace -decided to make another change of course, which she did instantly. It -was a fortunate change, too, for it led the girls to the edge of the -mountain. A few yards below where they were standing, Grace saw a shelf -of rock jutting out, and rightly surmised that beneath that they might -find a hiding place. - -Getting to the shelf and underneath it, without leaving a tell-tale -trail, was difficult, but they succeeded in accomplishing it. - -“Lie down and try to get some sleep,” advised Grace, after the two had -squeezed in under the shelf. “We are in no immediate danger here.” - -Being on the verge of utter exhaustion, Emma Dean needed no urging, -and almost immediately sank into a deep sleep, while Grace lay back -with closed eyes, getting what rest she could, and reflecting over -the exciting incidents of the last few hours. As for the bandit she -had shot, she did not believe his wound to be a serious one. Grace had -aimed for the upper left limb, and believed she had hit it. She had not -had time to turn to see how seriously Belle Bates was wounded. - -Nothing more having been heard of the bandits, Grace finally turned her -attention to the important matter of getting back to the Overton camp. -First, she got her points of compass from the sun, but this did not -greatly assist her, not knowing to a certainty in which direction the -camp lay. Not a familiar landmark could she find. - -“Wake up! We must be going,” said Grace, gently shaking her companion. - -“Grace dear, I’m so lame and stiff that I don’t believe I can walk.” - -“Perhaps you prefer to remain here and starve or be captured again,” -suggested Grace. - -Emma got up, and said she was ready. - -The two girls then started off as briskly as Miss Dean’s sore joints -would permit. They continued on until four o’clock in the afternoon -without finding the trail over which they had ridden to the mountain -top. - -“I fear we shall not find it, dear,” Grace finally admitted. - -“Then what are we to do!” pleaded Emma. “I’m so hungry, so thirsty and -so weary.” - -“I have been thinking of that, and looking over the landscape at the -same time. It seems to me that the second canyon over there should lead -us somewhere near our camp. Look to your right and you will observe -that the second canyon appears to merge into the one immediately in our -foreground, so we will try to get down the mountain and work our way -toward the point of intersection. - -“We shall find water to drink in the canyon, and we must watch sharply -for berries, of which I saw many when out picnicking. Other than a few -berries, we cannot hope to get much of anything to eat until we reach -camp.” - -Emma groaned. They then began a cautious descent of the mountain, -creeping from rock to rock, slipping and sliding, now and then at the -imminent peril of being dashed to death on the rocks far below them. - -“Here is a bush of mountain berries. Come and get them, but be careful -not to fall,” Grace called to her companion. - -Emma, upon reaching the bush, threw herself down beside it and ate -ravenously, then suddenly realizing that her companion had not had a -taste of the berries, she shamefacedly begged Grace’s pardon for her -greediness. - -The bottom of the canyon was in deep shadow when the girls finally -reached it, though it was still daylight on the mountain top. A -rippling stream of water at their feet, for the moment, put all other -thoughts out of the minds of Grace Harlowe and Emma Dean, and they -drank and choked until they could drink no more, and, after bathing -their faces in the cold mountain stream, they arose from the brook -greatly refreshed. - -“That was almost as good as a meal,” declared Grace. “It will have to -answer for my meal, because I failed to find more berries.” - -Emma made no reply to this, but she thought volumes of uncomplimentary -things about herself. - -Now that the chill night air was settling over the mountains, the wound -in Grace’s scalp began to stiffen and give her considerable pain, but -she kept her suffering to herself, and, taking Emma by the hand, began -trudging down the canyon, that already was in impenetrable darkness. -They stumbled on for hours, until finally Emma gave out entirely. - -“Grace, I simply cannot go another step,” she wailed. - -Lighting a match, Grace peered into the face of her little companion, -and she saw that Emma really was suffering from exhaustion. - -“All right, little pard, we will camp right here. I wish I had a light. -I lost my pocket lamp yesterday, but I am going to try to make a -fire. You sit down and do the best you can while I feel about for the -makings.” - -After accumulating a few handfuls of twigs that would burn, Grace -placed them beside Emma, and began feeling about for a suitable camping -place. She found one under a projection of rock that had been worn out, -perhaps by the high waters of centuries. There was shale and dirt under -the rocky shelf, which Grace partly scooped out with her hands, and -a few moments later a cheerful little fire was burning. By its light -Grace cleared away as much more of the dirt and shale as possible, -piling in green boughs in their place. - -“Is it safe to have a fire?” questioned Emma apprehensively. - -“No. We must have warmth or we shall freeze, chilled through as we -already are. Get in under the rock and you will soon feel quite -comfortable, I know.” - -“Aren’t you coming in, too?” asked Emma. - -“Yes, after I have laid in sufficient fuel for the night,” replied -Grace. “As for the fire, you see I have laid it close to the rock, and -I doubt if it could be seen from the top of the mountain.” - -“I wish I could do things as you do, Loyalheart.” - -“You could if you had to. There! I think we are fixed for the night, -and now I will join you. Are you comfortable?” she asked, snuggling -down beside Emma. - -“I should be were we not in such a mess, dear.” - -“Be thankful for small things, Emma. This really is quite comfy. All we -need to complete our comfort are a few slices of bacon and a hot cup of -coffee apiece,” chuckled Grace. - -“Grace Harlowe, you are positively cruel to speak of it,” rebuked Emma. -“For the moment I had forgotten that I was hungry, then you had to -remind me of it. I could almost faint at thought of how hungry I am. -Never, never again will I make fun of Hippy Wingate’s appetite. I never -knew what a terrible thing an appetite could be.” - -“I agree with you that it can be, in some circumstances,” admitted -Grace. “Suppose you go to sleep now.” - -“Oh, I can’t. I am too frightened,” protested Emma. “Isn’t it still, -and isn’t the stillness in this canyon the noisiest thing you ever -heard?” - -Grace laughed merrily. - -“You have expressed it exactly, little woman. Please get to sleep. I -shall not answer another question, so do not ask any.” - -Grace kept her word, and preserved a stony silence to all of her -companion’s questions. Emma, soon tiring of asking questions that -elicited no reply, ceased asking them and finally dozed off to sleep. - -Grace Harlowe poked the fire and put on fresh fuel from time to time, -keeping her lonely vigil, listening and wondering whether or not she -would ever be able to find her way back to the camp of the Overton -outfit. - -Lulled by the warmth of the fire, and worn out from her trying -experience, Grace’s head finally drooped until it rested on Emma Dean’s -shoulder. - -Grace awakened with a start, then sank back into a sound sleep, which -lasted but a few moments. The support of Emma’s shoulder was suddenly -withdrawn, as Emma, uttering a piercing shriek, leaped to her feet. -Grace toppled over sideways, but was upright, wide awake in an instant. - -In the light of the fire that was now burning low, she saw Emma, half -standing, half crouching, her face ghastly pale, her body shaking as -from a heavy chill. - -“What is it?” demanded Grace sharply. - -“I--I didn’t see, I heard,” gasped Miss Dean. “Oh, Grace, it was awful.” - -“Tell me what frightened you!” insisted Grace in a severe tone of voice. - -“Something screamed and wailed. It sounded like the wail of a lost -soul. You know what I mean.” - -“Never having heard a lost soul wail, I don’t. The mountain silence -must have ‘got your wind up,’ as the soldiers say of a man who is -frightened. Lie down and go to slee--” - -Grace got no further. The silent, surcharged air split to a piercing -scream, followed by a frightful, blood-chilling wail of agony. It was -with an effort that Grace restrained herself from leaping to her feet, -as Emma Dean again screamed, but the cold chills were racing up and -down her spine, her nerves partly out of control. - -“I can’t stand it! Oh, Grace, Grace, save me!” Emma, weeping -hysterically, threw herself into her companion’s arms as that -nerve-racking wail of agony again woke the echoes of the canyon, this -time seeming to be directly over their heads. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -A NIGHT OF TERROR - - -Grace Harlowe was frightened. At least, for a moment, she felt her -nerves giving way under the strain, and she feared she too was going to -scream. Instead, she gave Emma Dean a severe shaking. - -“Stop it, I tell you! You will have the bandits down on us next. -Goodness knows we have trouble enough on our hands without again having -to deal with those ruffians.” - -“I don’t care. I prefer bandits rather than to have that terrible thing -in the air over me,” cried Emma. - -“It is an animal, though I must admit that the wail did sound like the -voice of a woman in mortal agony. There it goes again. Steady yourself, -Emma! Be an Overton girl!” - -Emma Dean buried her head in Grace’s lap and again gave way to a storm -of tears. Her whole body was jerking nervously, but Grace petted and -coddled, and talked to her, until finally Miss Dean, in a measure, -recovered her composure. - -The wild, haunting, mournful wail was repeated. Emma shivered and -so did Grace, despite her self-control, but both girls immediately -recovered their composure. - -The wail burst suddenly, appallingly close, seeming, to their -overstrained nerves, to be right under the shelter that covered the -Overton girls. - -Emma Dean leaped to her feet, and was about to dash out into the canyon -when Grace caught and hauled her back. At that instant, the heavy thud -of padded feet striking the ground in front of the camping place was -heard by both girls. - -Peering over the little fire, Grace saw two yellow, ball-like eyes out -there in the darkness. Emma discovered them at about the same time, but -she made no sound, save a faint gurgle in her throat. - -Here was something tangible, something to give battle to, and a peril -that one could see and face had few terrors for Grace Harlowe. - -The bandit revolver that Grace had taken from Belle Bates was -cautiously drawn from its holster. Grace took steady aim and pulled the -trigger. A heavy report crashed out, echoing and buffeting the canyon -walls far up the dark mountain gorge. - -Grace fired again, and, this time, a scream of rage or pain, neither -girl could decide which, again set the echoes screaming up the canyon, -but the yellow eyes were no longer there when Grace got a clear view of -the scene. - -“There! Your friend, the lost soul, has at least one bullet in his -body. You see how foolish you were to be so frightened,” rebuked Grace, -forgetful for the moment that she too had been on the verge of giving -way to the terror inspired by those agonizing wails. “I am going to see -what I can discover.” - -“Please, please don’t leave me alone,” begged Emma. “I can’t stand it.” - -“I am not going away, just out front. Remain where you are. That beast -may still be lurking about.” - -Grace stepped out cautiously, carrying a flickering firebrand in her -left hand, the bandit woman’s revolver in her right, ready for instant -action. Upon examining the rocks for traces of their terrifying -visitor, she found fresh blood stains. A trail of drops led up the -canyon from that point, but the Overton girl did not follow it, knowing -that peril might lurk on that trail. - -“Don’t ever say that I cannot shoot straight,” cried Grace as she -returned to her companion. “I hit the beast.” - -“What was it?” questioned Emma, still pale and disturbed. - -“I can’t say for certain. I know I never heard anything so -blood-curdling as that frightful wail. I have been thinking, and it -seems to me I have heard that the mountain lion, or cougar, has the -wildest, most agonized scream of anything in the western mountains.” - -“Do you think he will come back?” - -“I do not believe so. Were I in his place I shouldn’t. I will keep -awake and watch. That is the prudent thing to do, so you lie down and -sleep for the rest of the night.” - -Once more Grace took up her vigil, and after a time Emma again dropped -off to sleep. The excitement had set Grace’s head aching, and the scalp -wound pained her frightfully. She tried to lie back and doze, but did -not succeed. Suddenly three shots, revolver shots, she decided, aroused -Grace to instant alertness. - -Listening intently, she heard three answering shots. - -“A signal! Emma, wake up!” - -“Wha--at is it?” cried Miss Dean, starting up heavy-eyed, swaying a -little as she got wearily to her feet. - -“Shots up the canyon. They were signal shots, too. We must put out the -fire and get away from here. Help me fetch water from the stream to -douse the fire. Take your hat. Be lively!” - -The fire being low, only a few hatfuls were necessary to extinguish it. -This done, Grace threw boughs from their bed over the heap of ashes, -then grabbing Emma by a hand fairly dragged her across the stream and -on a few yards to the opposite base of the mountain. - -“Climb, but be careful!” directed Grace. - -The two girls scrambled up the mountainside until it grew so steep that -they could go no further. - -“Lie down!” directed Grace. Both were breathing heavily from exertion -and excitement. - -“I hear them!” whispered Emma. - -“Yes. There appear to be several of them, judging from the voices,” -answered Grace. - -The approaching party halted a little way up the canyon, but the halt -was brief, and the horsemen, as such they proved to be, moved on down, -as it seemed to Grace, with greater caution, for she could no longer -hear voices, only the soft hoof thuds of horses feeling their way in -the black night of the canyon. - -“They have stopped at our little camp,” whispered Grace. “I felt -certain that they would smell the dead fire. Keep very quiet, and be -careful that you do not dislodge a stone. If you do, we’re lost.” - -A match was lighted down there, and for a few seconds the dim outlines -of horses were visible to the watching, listening girls. - -A low-toned conference followed, more matches were lighted, flickering -here and there like scattered fireflies. Grace felt, rather than saw, -that the men were examining the ground for trail signs. If so, they -failed to discover the direction that the Overton girls had taken in -their scramble up the mountainside. - -“Aren’t they going?” questioned Emma. - -“I think so. Keep quiet until we are certain. It may be a trick to lure -us back.” - -A few moments later the horses of the party were heard thudding down -the canyon, and the two girls breathed with less restraint. - -“Emma, I think those men were our bandits. I wonder!” - -“Wonder what?” - -“I wonder if they are not on their way to the Overton camp? Emma Dean, -I believe we are in our own canyon, or near it!” cried Grace, a trace -of excitement in her tone. - -“Even if we are, we cannot find our way out in the darkness,” answered -Emma helplessly. - -“Yes we can. At least we cannot get far out of our way unless we climb -a mountain, and that we shall not do. Let’s get down, but be as quiet -as possible, for we must not be caught again. It will go hard with us -if we are.” - -“Suppose they _should_ catch us?” questioned Emma anxiously. - -“Those men are desperate, but if they get us again it will be after I -have no shells left in my weapons.” - -Grace began cautiously scrambling down the mountainside, followed by -her companion, who exhibited less caution. The critical moment for the -girls was when they reached the bottom, and for several moments after -setting their feet on solid ground, they stood listening. - -“Come! They have gone,” decided Grace, slipping a hand into her -companion’s. “We will follow the canyon until we land somewhere.” - -They picked their way as carefully as was possible in the darkness, but -the going was so rough that Grace finally took to the little mountain -stream, and plodded on down it, until the sound of a greater volume of -water ahead caught her ears. She thereupon immediately stepped from the -stream, proceeding with caution, and in a few moments they came to the -stream that Grace had heard. There, the Overton girl felt about with -her hands for a time, then lighted a match. - -“Emma!” she cried, “do you know where we are?” - -“No.” - -“We are on Pinal Creek. We are almost home, little one, and our -troubles are nearly at an end. Oh, I am so happy--and so hungry,” added -Grace, laughing a little hysterically. - -“I can’t believe it. Let’s run,” urged Miss Dean. - -“Don’t forget that the bandits are somewhere ahead of us. I suspect -that they are in the vicinity of our camp.” - -Grace was anxious for her friends. No shots, so far as she had heard, -had been fired by them, and she began to fear that perhaps all was not -well in the Overton camp. They pressed on more rapidly now, finally -reaching the creek side of Squaw Valley. No fire burned in the camp, -nor could the girls see the tents, which was not surprising, for the -night in the valley was almost as dark as in the mountain canyon that -they had just left. - -“The silence here seems charged with possibilities,” whispered Grace. -“Keep alert, Emma.” - -“I am, but it doesn’t seem to do any good. I feel wretched and -frightened.” - -“There they go!” cried Grace. - -A sudden scattering fire of rifle shots somewhere out in the field made -the girls’ nerves jump. - -“There go our rifles, too,” added Grace, as a spirited fire sprang up -at the point where the two girls believed their camp to be located. - -“Oh, what shall we do?” cried Emma. - -“Get into a safe place. We have no rifles and can do nothing to assist -our friends.” Grasping Emma’s hand again, Grace ran back to the creek. - -“Down!” she ordered as bullets began to rustle the leaves over their -heads. - -Both girls threw themselves down, and, with heads slightly raised, -watched the flashes from the rifles. The outlaws were not riding this -time, but were skulking, fighting Indian fashion, and Grace was now -certain that the bandits that had been harassing the Overton outfit had -returned for another attack. - -The battle was being savagely waged on both sides, but who of her -companions were taking part in it, Grace of course did not know. The -first intimation she had that the fight was ended was when she saw four -horsemen gallop down to the creek and head up the canyon. - -“There they go,” announced Grace Harlowe in a relieved tone. “Hurry! -Some one may have been hurt.” - -Hand in hand the girls dragged their weary feet across the valley and -up toward the camp. - -“Do--do you think our people will shoo--oot at us?” stammered Emma. - -“They may at that. I will signal them.” Grace fired three interval -shots into the air, following it with the Overton hail, which was so -weak that it barely carried to the camp. - -“O-v-e-r-t-o-n!” came an answering shout from the camp. - -Grace and Emma soon discovered the figures of two men approaching them -at a run. - -“Who’s there?” called the voice of Hippy Wingate. “Speak or I’ll shoot.” - -“Harlowe!” answered Grace weakly. “Oh, Emma, I’m going to faint!” she -cried, and collapsed. - -When Grace recovered consciousness she was in her own camp. A camp fire -was blazing, and a group of anxious faces were bending over her. Grace -smiled and closed her eyes. - -“She has fallen asleep, don’t disturb her,” said Elfreda Briggs. “The -poor child is utterly exhausted. It is a wonder that she is alive after -what she plainly has gone through.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -IKE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF - - -Grace and Emma, following Grace’s faint, had been carried into camp -by Lieutenant Wingate and Ike Fairweather. Emma, giving way to the -reaction, after her trying experience, had immediately sunk into a -profound sleep, from which they had not awakened her. The two girls had -been put to bed, neither awakening until long after daylight. - -Miss Briggs had examined the bullet wound on Grace’s scalp and decided -that it should have attention as soon as she awakened. - -No one was in her tent when finally Grace opened her eyes. After a few -minutes of blissful resting, the Overton girl got up and dressed. She -was a little dizzy at first, but the sensation quickly passed, and she -walked out just as luncheon was being prepared. - -There was a shout of welcome as Grace appeared, and the girls of the -party ran to her, fairly overwhelming her with their joyous embraces. -Emma, who had awakened and dressed, came out a few minutes after Grace. - -“We are famished. Please give us something to eat,” begged Grace. -“While we are eating you may tell us what has been going on here.” - -“I reckon we’d like to hear ’bout you first,” spoke up Ike. - -Grace thereupon related the story of the experiences of herself and -Emma, touching briefly on her own part in it. - -“I reckon the woman thet got shot is goin’ to die,” observed Ike. - -“How do you know?” questioned Grace, bending a keen glance on the -driver. - -“Heard the bandits talkin’ about it up in the mountains.” - -Ike then told of the search that Hippy and himself had made for the -missing girls, of their losing the trail and not finding it again, and -finally of having discovered the bandits, spied on them, and from their -conversation learned that Grace Harlowe and Emma Dean had escaped. - -Ike said he learned, too, that the bandits were about to start for the -Overton camp, at the direction of Belle Bates, “and shoot the place up -for keeps,” as Ike put it. Hearing that, and knowing that the two girls -had escaped, Ike and Hippy started for home as fast as their horses -could travel, fully expecting to find Grace and Emma at the camp. They -had arrived at camp about an hour before the bandits. - -“The battle you know ’bout, I reckon. Western Jones here shot two -of the critters off their horses, but the galoots gathered up their -wounded and rode away with ’em. I’ll bet there ain’t a one of ’em that -hasn’t a bullet hole in his carcass followin’ thet raid. You fixed one -in the leg up on the mountain. I heard ’em say so. Reckon you must have -shot high on purpose, ’cause you hit him nigh the hip.” - -“I am glad it was no worse,” observed Grace gravely. - -“Hope they keep on comin’ ’long, so, by the time we get to the end of -the trail, they’ll be purty well shot off.” - -“By the way, I shot at and hit an animal that I think must have been a -cougar,” Grace informed them. After she had described the terrifying -scream of the animal, Ike nodded. - -“Thet’s cougar. Must have hit him hard or he’d jumped you. They’re bad -medicine when wounded. Reckon he crawled off an’ died. What are you -goin’ to do now?” - -“I think the first thing to be done is to sew up Mrs. Gray’s scalp -wound,” suggested Elfreda. “Do you wish me to do it, Grace?” - -“Yes. I was going to ask you to do that for me. Suppose you do it now.” - -Elfreda got her first-aid kit and her needles and silk, selected what -she wished from the kit and handed the rest to Emma to hold. - -“It might be wise to have some one else assist you. Remember, Emma has -never worked in a hospital,” suggested Grace, seating herself in the -camp chair that Anne had placed for her. - -“Time she began,” answered Elfreda briefly. “Emma, you will be present, -but not heard, during this proceeding.” - -Ike Fairweather had drawn up a soapbox and sat down on it just outside -of the circle that had gathered about the scene. His eyes were filled -with curiosity. Ike did not fully understand what was “coming off,” as -he later described it, but felt certain that he was about to witness -something interesting. - -Steeling herself to resist the pain, Grace talked as Miss Briggs -inserted the needle and began stitching the scalp together, but the -lines of her face showed the strain under which Grace was laboring. - -“Elfreda, haven’t you nearly finished with that patchwork?” she finally -asked in a queer, strained voice. - -“One more stitch and I am done. There! It is _fini_, as the Frenchmen -would say. Thank you, Emma. I will take the kit.” - -The kit dropped from Miss Dean’s nerveless fingers, and, uttering a -little moan, she collapsed. - -“Emma has fainted. Throw a pail of water on her face,” directed -Elfreda, calmly proceeding to place a bandage over Grace’s head. - -Nora ran for water, while Anne, who had sprung forward, turned the -fainting girl over on her back and fanned her with a sombrero. - -Emma’s faint was the crowning climax for Ike Fairweather. Ike went over -backward with his soapbox, landing on his back in a dead faint. - -Hippy grabbed the old coach driver, the veteran of many a hold-up and -thrilling battle in the mountains, and twisted him about so his head -might be higher than his feet. - -“Nora darling, fetch _two_ pails of water,” called Hippy. “What ails -this bunch of tenderfeet, anyway?” - -Grace smiled in spite of her suffering, as Elfreda assisted her to a -cot that had been placed for her. In the meantime Ike and Emma were -regaining consciousness. - -“Well, I swan!” gasped Ike Fairweather after Hippy had laughingly -assisted him to a sitting position, Anne having performed a similar -service for Emma. “Never did nothin’ like thet before.” - -“I hope you never do it again if you continue to pilot this outfit,” -rebuked the lieutenant. - -“I won’t,” promised Mr. Fairweather. “Next time I shore’ll look t’other -way,” he added, amid laughter. - -Grace beckoned to him to come to her. - -“Did Mr. Jones return to Globe?” she asked. - -“Yes, and the young women gave him a right nice present beside what he -asked for helpin’ me to get the ponies out here.” - -“I want to thank you for all the trouble you had in looking for Miss -Dean and myself. That is what I wished to say to you,” added Grace -smilingly. “When do you think we should strike camp and go on?” - -“Whenever you feel fit, Miss.” - -“I think it will be advisable to wait until morning, even though the -bandits attack us here again.” - -“Reckon they got enough for a day or so,” observed Ike dryly. -“To-morrow mornin’, then, is it?” - -“Yes. Make camp to-morrow afternoon wherever you think best, only do -not let us get past your camping place. Thank you so much. I do not -know what we should have done without you, but I sincerely hope our -more serious troubles are now at an end,” added Grace. - -“Mebby, mebby,” observed Ike Fairweather, thoughtfully stroking his -whiskers. “Between you an’ me, I don’t reckon they be.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -A GLIMPSE INTO FAIRYLAND - - -The Overton girls’ equipment wagon, as was customary, went ahead of the -outfit next morning, and had been gone for nearly two hours when the -party decided to start on their way. - -Hippy Wingate saddled their horses for them, and gallantly assisted -them to mount. - -“That husband of mine must have learned how to assist ladies to their -saddles when I wasn’t looking,” frowned Nora. - -Grace shook her head. - -“It is the thought of how near he has come to losing us all in the -battles with the bandits that has softened Hippy’s heart,” corrected -Grace Harlowe. - -“I wish I could believe it,” muttered Nora Wingate. - -The outfit started out, led by Lieutenant Wingate, who took a -circuitous route to reach the Apache Trail, in order to avoid the steep -ascent that they would have encountered had they taken a more direct -course to the trail. - -The eyes of the Overton girls were sparkling. For the moment they had -forgotten their troubles, forgotten the peril-laden mysteries of the -Apache Mountains, forgotten all but the glorious morning, and the -wonders that lay all about them. - -The first halt made was at the Great Forest of Sahuaro, a forest of -giant cacti which flourishes all through the Apache and other mountain -regions in that immediate section. Some of these great, awkward plants -are all of fifty feet high, and from their spiny, fluted trunks issue -branches which almost equal the trunks in diameter. - -Crowning this weird, ungainly invention of nature is a brilliant red -waxen flower of great beauty. - -“That is the state flower of Arizona,” Grace informed her companions, -pointing to the sea of red that stretched away for a long distance. “I -propose that we dismount, have our luncheon here and chat for an hour -or so.” - -“Motion carried,” cried Emma, slipping from her saddle. - -Ponies were tethered, and while Hippy was seeking water “for man and -beast,” as he expressed it, the girls got out their mess kits and -rations. Grace built a little cook fire, and, in remarkably short time, -the mess call was heard at the edge of the cactus forest, while the -ponies nibbled at what they found. - -“I’ve been thinking,” began Hippy, “that--” - -“Marvellous,” murmured Emma. - -“That only weaklings faint away,” finished the lieutenant. - -“Is that all you had in your mind beside thought of food?” Emma came -back spiritedly. - -“No, not all. What I really was about to say, was that this outfit -should have a name.” - -“Perhaps we already have a name among certain persons who have smelled -our powder,” twinkled Grace Harlowe. - -“I too have been thinking that we, as an organization, should call -ourselves something,” agreed Elfreda. - -“Aren’t we the Overseas Girls?” questioned Nora. - -“Not now. We may be all at sea, but we are not overseas,” answered -Grace. - -“I move we call ourselves the Rough Rider Patrol,” suggested Hippy. - -“Awful!” objected Emma. “This is not a part of the State Constabulary.” - -“I have it!” cried Hippy. “You’ll say it’s a stroke of genius when you -hear it. I have the name that fits this outfit from the ground up. ‘The -Automobile Girls on Horseback,’ that’s the name for you children,” -glowed Hippy. - -A chorus of laughs greeted the suggestion. - -“Instead of being a stroke of genius, I should call that a stroke of -paralysis,” declared Nora. - -“Such is the support that Hippy Wingate gets from his wife,” complained -the lieutenant. - -“Can you blame her?” teased Grace. “Anne, Elfreda, we have not heard -from you.” - -“While you people have been making sport of Hippy’s suggestions, I wish -to say that he has made an excellent one,” asserted Elfreda. - -“Oh, Elfreda!” cried Anne and Nora in one voice. - -“I will give you to understand that I am no automobile girl on -horseback,” asserted Emma indignantly. “I won’t ride under any such -name, either. I--I’ll faint away first. There now!” - -“Save the heroics, Emma. Nothing is further from my mind than to call -our outfit by that name,” replied Elfreda. - -“I call that downright mean,” objected Hippy, with mock indignation. -“You raise my hopes to the skies, shower me with compliments, -calculated to prove that I am not a paralytic, then you drop me over -the edge. I leave it to Nora if that isn’t cruelty to animals.” - -“It is,” agreed Nora gravely, whereat the Overton girls broke into a -peal of merry laughter. - -“You are both wrong and right, Hippy Wingate. I stand on what I said a -few moments ago, that you made an excellent suggestion,” declared Miss -Briggs. “I did not mean that your title was wholly good, for it isn’t.” - -“Awful,” interjected Emma Dean. - -“For the love of goodness, give our legal talent a chance,” begged -Hippy, frowning at Emma. - -“Hippy mentioned the Rough Rider Patrol, which gave me the idea for a -name that I think will grow upon you as you sleep over it.” - -“Not on Hippy. Only snores follow in the wake of Morpheus when he’s -headed in my direction,” retorted the lieutenant. - -“Elfreda, what is your suggestion?” asked Grace. - -“My suggestion is that we be known as _Grace Harlowe’s Overland -Riders_!” - -“No, no!” protested Grace. “Give some one else a chance. Why not as -well call us Lieutenant Wingate’s Overland Chasers?” - -“Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders! That’s the name. Yip, yip, yeow!” -shrilled Emma Dean. - -“Look out, she’s going to do the fainting act again,” warned Hippy -sharply, whereat Emma subsided. - -“We are all agreed on the question of the name suggested by Elfreda,” -announced Anne. “It is a fine name, and cannot be improved upon.” - -“Neither can the Overland Riders,” interjected Emma. - -“Of course, if you girls wish it that way, I have no objection, but it -does seem to me that the name ‘Overland Riders’ should be sufficient -without having to hook my name ahead. ‘Overland’ sounds like Overton -and is a good word for us, a lucky word.” - -“Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders it is, now, always and forever,” -announced Elfreda. - -“So long as the unearthly, ghostly, weird _sahuaro_ shall flourish -and grow red flowers,” added Hippy Wingate amid the laughter of his -companions. - -“Overland Riders, boots and saddles!” called Grace, springing up. - -The Riders followed her, each running to her pony, quickly coiling the -lead rope about the pommel of her saddle and mounting. - -“That was well done, girls. Only Lieutenant Wingate bungled,” called -Captain Grace as she started away at a gallop. - -“I missed my stirrup,” answered Hippy lamely, but no one heeded, if she -heard. - -“We make camp at Summit, do we not?” asked Elfreda, riding up beside -Grace. - -“That was the word that Mr. Fairweather left for us. He says we shall -have a wonderful view there, and that an excellent camping site is -to be had just off the trail. I hope we shall not be visited by the -trouble-makers to-night.” - -“So do I, but I actually believe you would be in the dumps, in a -regular blue funk, were we to be allowed to move along peaceably -without excitement or thrills,” averred Miss Briggs. - -Grace smiled and clucked to her pony. - -It was four o’clock in the afternoon, when, after a day of toiling up -steep grades, along precipitous cliffs, scattered mesas and buttes, -they rode out on a level stretch of trail with a view spread before -them such as none of those joyous, happy girls ever before had gazed -upon. - -“The Summit!” shouted Grace. “Did you ever see anything so perfectly -gorgeous?” Grace removed her sombrero and sat gazing in silent -enjoyment of the scene. - -Roosevelt Lake, an emerald gem set in the vari-colored mountains, lay -twenty-seven miles below them. To their left, against the skies, loomed -the famous Four Peaks Mountains, and, to the right and below them, the -Sierra Ancha Range, all a mass of gorgeous colors in the light of the -late afternoon sun. - -Hippy could repress his bubbling spirits no longer. He cleared his -throat loudly. - -“Hippy is going to make another speech,” said Anne. - -“If he does I’ll run,” wailed Emma. - -“Ladies and gentlemen--that includes myself--you are gazing on the -largest artificial body of water in the world--Roosevelt Lake--a body -of water completely walled in by mountains, thirty miles long and four -miles across at its widest part. Set in the--” - -“Please defer your oration until it is too dark to see,” begged Grace -laughingly. “I prefer to enjoy the view now.” - -“Hippy being wound up, you can’t stop him. I know, for I have tried -many, many times,” whispered Nora. - -“Set in the sapphire rocks of the great colorful mountains, held back -by the dam, like Hoppi, the Nile God, at whose magic touch the mighty -Egyptian River brings forth such abundance, our prosaic Uncle Sam is -causing the desert--Whoa! Wha--” - -Lieutenant Wingate’s pony, left to its own devices while its master -was lost in the glory of his own oratory, had nosed off the trail to -browse, and stepped on a rounded rock. The pony, in trying to recover -its balance, went down violently on its knees. Hippy went over the -animal’s head, landing on his back in the dirt at the side of the -trail. - -Hippy uttered a grunt when he struck the ground. - -“He’s killed! He’s killed!” cried Nora. “Serve him right if he is.” - -“Oh, Nora, don’t say that,” begged Grace, restraining her laughter. - -Hippy sat up slowly and picked up his sombrero. - -“As I was saying when, for the moment checked by this trifling -brute-interruption,” spoke Hippy, “our prosaic Uncle Sam is causing -the desert to bloom as the rose. The dam is two hundred and eighty -feet high. That is the distance through which the overflow falls into -Salt River Canyon. Ladies and gentlemen--that includes myself--I have -finished.” Hippy got up and began brushing the dirt from his clothes. - -“The kind Fates be thanked,” murmured Elfreda Briggs. - -“Hippy must have been studying a new guide book,” observed Anne -mischievously. - -“He has not painted the picture a stroke too gorgeously,” averred -Grace. “This truly is a glimpse right into fairyland.” - -Hippy Wingate’s chest swelled with pride. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -GOING TO BED IN THE CLOUDS - - -The Overland Riders did not turn from the scene until the “sapphire -rocks,” described in Lieutenant Wingate’s colorful oratory, had turned -a dull gray as the sun moved over behind the mountains to the west. - -“Forward for a quick gallop to the camping site!” called Grace, who led -the way alone. “Column of two’s!” - -In this formation they presented a spirited appearance. - -Ike Fairweather heard them pounding along the trail, and stepped out -to watch the troop come on. They swept down on him in a cloud of dust, -and in answer to an enthusiastic wave of his sombrero, Grace spun her -own sombrero as high in the air as she could hurl it, drove her pony -forward to meet it, and deftly caught it as it came spinning back. - -“Whoo--oo--oope!” shouted Ike. - -“Woo--oo--oo--oo!” howled Hippy, trying to imitate an Indian war whoop, -but failing miserably. - -Not to be outdone by Grace Harlowe, the lieutenant too spun his -sombrero into the air, but instead of spinning it on its rim he spun it -flat. - -The sombrero floated gracefully off in the direction of Roosevelt Lake, -sinking lower and lower into the shadows of the chasm hundreds of feet -below them, until it finally disappeared altogether. - -“My hat! My hat!” howled Hippy. - -The Overland Riders were almost hysterical with laughter when they -brought their ponies down to a quick stop, after Grace, in her -merriment, had nearly ridden down Ike Fairweather. Ike had only saved -himself from disaster by hastily throwing himself into the roadside -ditch. - -Nora Wingate was laughing so much that she forgot to scold her husband, -and Hippy kept them laughing for as much longer as possible, so that -Nora might not remember to give him the good-natured grilling that he -knew he deserved. - -It came, however, when Ike teased him about letting a woman outdo him -in riding and hat tossing. - -“You wouldn’t imagine that my husband ever was a bird of the air, -flying above the clouds as gracefully as a wild duck on its way to a -new home in the sunny south. Now would you, Mr. Fairweather?” - -“Well, seein’ as you have put the question up to me pintedly, I don’t -reckon as I would,” was Ike’s conclusion, after a brief stroking of his -whiskers. - -There followed another merry laugh at Hippy’s expense, then the outfit -dismounted and led their ponies to the tethering ground that had been -selected for the purpose. - -“You folks’ll find it a little crowded, but the camp is high and fine,” -volunteered Mr. Fairweather. - -“Where is your wagon?” asked Lieutenant Wingate. - -“’Bout a hundred yards further along the trail. Not room enough for it -hereabouts, an’ I can’t drag it up the hill where the horses are. I -reckon thet after this I’ll have the horses in pistol shot of me all -the time.” - -“Either that or we shall have to post a guard over the animals every -night,” said Grace. “Please show us where to take our ponies,” she -requested. - -A “tote path,” a narrow path used principally by foot travelers, led -up the mountain side, winding through cacti and scrub cottonwoods -for more than a hundred yards, and up this narrow, crooked path the -Overland Riders led their saddle ponies, finally emerging on a narrow -mesa or tableland, bordered with scraggly cottonwoods that found their -moisture in a nearby mountain stream. - -The camp of the Overton girls had been pitched by this stream, fresh -water close at hand being a vital thing to outdoor camps. - -Hippy Wingate tied his pony to a tree, and, stepping to the edge of the -mesa, waved a hand toward the black abyss beyond and below them. - -“The yawning chasm!” he exclaimed, and sat down. - -“That is the most fascinating speech you ever made, Lieutenant -Wingate,” observed Miss Briggs. - -“Eh? That so? Why?” - -“Because there were only three words in it,” interjected Emma Dean. - -Hippy sniffed, and, getting up, went over and untied his pony. - -While the men were staking down the horses and fetching water for them -from the stream, the girls were busily engaged in preparing supper. -Ike not only had pitched the tents, but had placed the luggage of his -charges in its proper place and set the camp in order in advance of the -arrival of the party. - -The campfire was still low, purposely kept so for cooking purposes, but -a heap of wood nearby promised a cheerful blaze later on. - -Pork and beans, bread without butter, canned soup and cake, that Hippy -Wingate declared had been baked on a cactus plant, together with a -large pot of coffee, formed the principal part of the evening’s bill of -fare. - -“Not a prize winner in variety, but great chow,” approved Hippy, which -was high praise for Lieutenant Wingate. - -Following the meal, Elfreda questioned the old stagecoach driver about -the country where they were encamped. - -“All Apache ground,” answered Ike with a comprehensive wave of the -hand. “They’ve fit over every inch of it. You’ll see some of them folks -to-morrow or next day. How long do you reckon on stayin’ at the Lodge?” - -“What is there to keep us busy there?” asked Grace. - -“The lake, the cliff dwellers’ homes, Apaches, an’ huntin’ in the -Sierra Anchas, if you folks care for thet. There’s great fishin’ in the -lake too.” - -“It sounds interesting,” agreed Grace, “but of course you know we do -not care to camp where there are people. What we are out for is to get -away from people. What is there in the way of game in the Sierra Ancha -Range?” - -“Deer, bear an’ cougar is the big game. Plenty of smaller stuff.” - -“I will talk with our party about the hunting, but I hardly think -they will care for it. Is it possible to visit the cliff dwellings?” -questioned Grace. - -“Some of ’em. Others can’t be reached.” - -Elfreda glanced quickly at Grace and frowned to herself. - -“You mean that no one has been able to get to them, Mr. Fairweather?” - -“Yes, Mrs. Gray.” - -“Why not?” - -“Sharp cliffs hundreds of feet up or down.” - -“One can get above them, I suppose?” persisted Grace. - -“Yes, by takin’ a trail ’round the mountain.” - -“I’ll take a try at exploring them,” observed Hippy as if he really -meant it. - -“You will not if you keep on eating,” declared Nora. - -“Are there other trails that lead to the top--I should say that lead to -the mountain where these cliff dwellers lived?” questioned Grace. - -“From other directions, yes.” - -“So that one could get there without following the route we have taken -thus far?” - -“Oh, yes.” - -“What _are_ you driving at, Grace?” demanded Anne. - -“Information, Anne dear. Remember, one never can know too much about -anything.” - -“Yes he can,” differed Hippy. “One can know too much about overland -riding. I know so much about it already that it pains me to think about -how much I do know, and the journey isn’t half over. At this rate I -shall acquire so much information that my brain surely will blow up one -day.” - -“Your what?” asked Emma innocently. - -Even Ike Fairweather joined in the laugh, that followed. Nora nodded, -and smiled her approval at Emma. - -“I should prefer to blow up from an oversupply of brains than to faint -because of short measure,” retorted Hippy heatedly. - -“Brakes on!” ordered Grace, trying hard not to laugh. “That was real -mean of you, Hippy Wingate. I think you should apologize to Emma.” - -“All right, let’s go. I do apologize, Miss Dean. My seeming rudeness -was not rudeness at all, it was merely an effort on my part to make -conversation and to maintain my reputation for making myself agreeable. -I’ll go further with my apology and assure you that I know that it -wasn’t because you are sometimes brainless that you fainted, but -because--” - -“Hippy Wingate!” rebuked Nora sharply. “I shall never, never speak to -you again unless you tell Emma you are sorry.” - -“Whether I mean it or not?” - -“Please do as I ask you to.” - -“Ike, have you another hat in the wagon that I can wear to town -to-morrow?” - -Mr. Fairweather said he had not. - -“I am sorry, Miss Dean, and I hope you will forgive me for my rude--my -seeming rudeness,” corrected Hippy. - -Emma’s face broke out into smiles, indicating that the clouds had -passed. - -“You are forgiven, Hippy,” she nodded. - -“Whether I mean it or not?” - -“Yes.” - -“Thank you. I will think it over and let you know to-morrow whether or -not I do mean it.” Hippy lifted his head and inhaled a long breath. - -“Fog! We are rapidly being enveloped in it,” exclaimed Anne who had -observed the lieutenant’s action. - -“That is what you call it. I call it a cloud. I ought to know, for many -is the time that I have smelled clouds,” declared Hippy. - -“Yep, them’s clouds,” confirmed the old coach driver. - -The Overland Riders uttered exclamations of amazement, for being above -the clouds was a new experience to all except Grace Harlowe, who had -once made a thrilling flight with Lieutenant Wingate on the French -front. Emma Dean, however, declared that she could see nothing about -fog to rave over, and it was difficult to convince her that they really -were enveloped in clouds such as she had seen drifting above the -mountain tops all that afternoon. - -Grace proposed that they turn in early that night in order to be up -with the sun and get the benefit of the early morning view, which Ike -Fairweather said was well worth seeing. - -“Going to bed in the clouds! How romantic,” murmured Anne. - -“Yes, but why get sentimental over it?” grinned Hippy. - -“Wouldn’t it be awful were we to fall out of bed?” suggested Emma. - -Ike Fairweather and Lieutenant Wingate took more than ordinary pains -in staking down the horses for the night, even though the animals were -tethered so close to the camp that their every move might be heard by -the campers. Ike distinctly objected to making a second trip to Globe -for a bunch of runaway ponies. - -While the men were engaged with the ponies, the Overton girls were -chatting in Grace Harlowe’s tent, and Elfreda Briggs was dressing the -wound on Grace’s head. - -“It is really wonderful how rapidly a wound heals with you,” marvelled -Miss Briggs. - -“I am well and strong, so why should it not be so?” replied Grace. “I -hope you take the bandage from my wound soon, because I wish to look -nice when we reach the hotel at Roosevelt Lake.” - -“All is secure, sir,” announced Hippy from without. - -“Thank you, Lieutenant,” acknowledged Grace. “You will find food in the -tin box in the store-tent, provided you get hungry in the night.” - -“Pleasant dreams, and do not fall out of bed,” piped Emma. - -“If I do, you will hear me,” retorted Hippy. - -“Yes, we surely shall feel the mountain shake when _you_ land,” -chuckled Anne. - -“Good-night, all,” called Hippy, and strode off laughing to himself, a -chorus of good-nights following him. For an hour or more intermittent -chattering was heard in the girls’ tents. Through the open tent flaps -they could see the cloud fog swirling about, and the damp, musty odor -of the sky-mist was strong in their nostrils. - -“The glory of the mountains! How I should love to spend all summer -right on this wonderful spot,” murmured Grace, and, turning over, went -quickly to sleep. - -Shortly after midnight Grace awakened, and lay gazing out at the -drifting gray fog. - -“What was that?” Grace sat up suddenly, listening for a repetition of -the sound that had disturbed her. - -What Grace had heard sounded to her like the rattle of a wagon, -followed by a loud squeak, but the sound was not repeated. - -The Overton girl sprang up, dressed hurriedly and buckled on her -revolver holster. She then ran over to Lieutenant Wingate’s tent and -softly called his name. There was no reply from within, nor could Grace -hear breathing there. - -Thrusting a flash lamp through the tent opening, she swept the interior -with a brief ray of light. The tent was unoccupied, and the blankets -lay on the ground in a confused heap, indicating to her that Lieutenant -Wingate had taken a hurried departure. - -“Something surely is going on, and Hippy has gone to investigate,” -muttered Grace. “That young man surely is improving.” - -Without an instant’s hesitation, Grace ran out and down the tote path, -proceeding cautiously as she neared the trail, her step giving off no -sound that could be heard a few yards away. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE HARDEST BLOW OF ALL - - -Reaching the trail, Grace crept toward the point where the equipment -wagon had been parked. - -She now understood the meaning of the sound that she had heard from -her tent. The wagon was being turned, and again she heard what she -recognized now as the squeal of a wagon’s king-bolt, accompanied by a -low, guttural grunt. - -“Look out!” The command was low, but incisive. - -A jar and a crash followed, then something went thundering down the -mountainside. - -“Some one has run the wagon off the trail into the canyon!” gasped -Grace Harlowe. - -_Bang!_ A revolver shot caused Grace to duck. She had faintly seen the -flash in the fog-cloud ahead of her, and the flash seemed to indicate -that the weapon had been fired at her. - -_Bang!_ _Bang!_ came two answering shots. - -“Hippy fired the first shot! I must get in,” cried Grace, pressing -close to the rocks on the upper side of the trail, and creeping -forward. - -The firing on both sides was increasing in rapidity, and it was -apparent that a hot fight was in progress. - -Four men suddenly ran past her, one being supported by a companion on -either side, but she could barely discern the figures in the fog. - -“Halt!” commanded Grace sternly, bringing her weapon up in readiness to -enforce her command. - -The answer to her challenge was a shot, which Grace answered with a -bullet from her bandit revolver, but in the mist all objects were -distorted and her aim was bad. - -Another bullet, this time from the right, whistled over Grace Harlowe’s -head, fired from Lieutenant Wingate’s weapon. Hippy had seen, and was -firing at her. - -“Overland!” shouted the girl. - -“Grace!” - -“Yes. Hurry! We can get them. Don’t shoot till you catch up with me. -Hurry, hurry!” - -“I winged one,” gloated Hippy. “Give it to ’em, Grace! They’ve dumped -the wagon.” - -“Don’t talk. Run, and keep your eyes open!” she admonished. “Take the -outside of the trail. I’ll hug the bank.” - -The two started on at a fast, but cautious sprint. Ahead, they could -hear voices. - -“We have you! Surrender!” shouted Lieutenant Wingate. - -Grace grinned as she ducked. She had ducked in good time, too, for two -bullets answered Hippy’s challenge. Both Hippy and Grace then opened up -on their adversaries. - -The revolver reports had awakened the entire camp. Ike Fairweather had -tumbled out of bed and sprang to Lieutenant Wingate’s tent. Finding it -unoccupied, he reasoned that Hippy was in trouble down on the trail. -The girls, by this time, had run from their tents, calling out to know -what was wrong. - -“Don’t know. Stay here an’ look out for yerselves,” flung back Ike as -he dashed down the slope toward the Apache Trail. - -“Awaken Grace,” called Anne excitedly. - -“I venture to say that Grace Harlowe is already very much awake and -down there in the thick of it,” replied Miss Briggs calmly. - -“She’s gone!” wailed Emma, who had run to Grace’s tent to give the -alarm. “Oh, I am so afraid something will happen to her.” - -“My Hippy has gone, too,” cried Nora Wingate. “They’ll be killed, both -of them! I wish I never had come to this terrible place.” - -“Did you stew like that when your husband was fighting Boches in -France?” rebuked Elfreda. - -“No, but he isn’t fighting Boches now.” - -“There they go at it again!” cried Anne. “This is almost as exciting -as France. All one needs to make her believe she is back on the battle -front is the explosion of a Hun shell.” - -Down on the Apache Trail the battle was being waged with honors a -little in favor of the Overlanders. Hippy had hit at least one of the -prowlers. That he knew, but, so far, he and Grace had escaped without a -bullet coming close enough to endanger them. One man was still working -his revolver somewhere ahead of Hippy and Grace. - -“Let them have it before they get away,” she urged, whereupon Hippy -began shooting into the fog with renewed vigor. - -“There they go!” cried Grace. “I heard them sliding down the bank. Come -on! We may yet catch them.” - -Hippy turned his revolver in the direction that Grace was pointing, and -blazed away. - -“Overland!” shouted a voice behind them in the new rallying cry of the -outfit. - -“Here!” answered Hippy. “You are too late, Ike. The fun is all over.” - -“What happened, Lieutenant?” demanded the driver as he sprinted up to -them. “I heard the shootin’ and lit out for the wagon, which I couldn’t -find hide nor hair of.” - -“You have lost your wagon, Mr. Fairweather,” Grace informed him. - -“What’s thet you say?” - -“They have dumped the wagon down into the canyon, and a good part of -our equipment is with it,” replied Grace. - -Ike, for the moment, was unable to find words appropriate to express -his emotion, then, recovering his voice, he launched into a torrent of -threats as he stamped about, shaking his clenched fists. - -“You will have to catch them before you carry out all those threats, -Mr. Fairweather,” reminded Grace. “Lieutenant, the scoundrels have a -wounded man with them, and cannot move rapidly. Shall we go after them?” - -“Yes,” answered Hippy. “Ike and I will go. You go back and reassure the -girls, Brown Eyes.” - -“Very good. Yours is the better judgment.” - -“I thought you would look at it that way,” observed Hippy. - -The two men quickly were swallowed up in the mist, and Grace turned -toward the camp, more disturbed in mind than she cared to admit to -herself. Should their assailants persist in their attacks on the -outfit, it was reasonably certain that one or more of the Overton party -sooner or later would be wounded, or worse. - -“Overland!” called Grace. The call was promptly answered from the camp, -and Grace was met at the upper end of the tote path by a group of -worried girls. She explained that Hippy, who had gone out to intercept -the work of the night prowlers, had continued on with Ike Fairweather -in pursuit of them. - -“What were those ruffians trying to do this time?” questioned Miss -Briggs. - -“They not only tried, but they did,” answered Grace. “Girls, those -rascals ran our equipment wagon off the trail and into the canyon.” - -A chorus of “ohs” greeted the announcement. - -“Does this mean that we shall have to abandon our trip?” anxiously -asked Elfreda. - -“It does not, J. Elfreda. Did you ever know of an Overton girl to -confess herself beaten?” - -“No. That is the last thing I should look for you to do.” - -“Your question is answered. We are going to get that band of ruffians -before the end of the Apache Trail is reached, or they will get us,” -declared Grace. “Please stir the fire and make coffee for our men. I am -going down the tote trail to see that we are not surprised.” - -Crouching beside the trail, Grace finally heard Hippy and Ike -returning. - -“They got away, but we exchanged shots with them,” called Hippy in -reply to Grace’s hail. “They went down into the canyon, but Ike said -there was no use wasting time following them, for they know the ground -better than we do. Sorry, but we did the best we could.” - -“You surely did all that any one could have done,” agreed Grace. “We -might as well go back to camp, as Nora probably is worrying about you. -The girls will have coffee for you when you get in.” - -“I smell it, an’ it smells mighty good,” exclaimed Ike. - -The coffee was ready for them when they arrived, and Anne was down on -her knees toasting bread before a bed of coals. All hands immediately -sat down before the fire to take refreshment and to discuss their -situation. - -“Right here, I wish to say to you, my friends, that we should -recompense Mr. Fairweather for the loss of his wagon,” declared Grace. - -“Don’t want no recompense,” growled the old stagecoach driver. - -“Yes!” shouted the girls, and Hippy came along with a deep bass “yes.” - -Sudden concern appeared in the face of Emma Dean at this juncture. - -“Where is my black silk dress that was in the wagon?” she asked, half -fearfully. - -“Deep, deep down at the bottom of the canyon,” rumbled Lieutenant -Wingate. - -Emma uttered a dismal wail. - -“Who’s going to pay me for my black silk? Who, I ask you, Grace -Harlowe? Who is going to recompense _me_?” - -The Overton girls burst out laughing. - -“Each of us has lost clothing, Emma,” comforted Grace. “We have two -changes right here with us, however, so why worry? Mr. Fairweather, is -there a possibility of getting to the bottom of the canyon to salvage -our clothing?” - -“No use tryin’ it. Apaches will have it before you can get it.” - -“Apaches?” questioned Lieutenant Wingate. “We haven’t seen one since we -started, Mr. Fairweather.” - -“Mebby not, but the Redskins have seen you folks.” - -“Kiss your belongings good-bye, girls,” advised Elfreda Briggs. “When -next you see your raiment it perhaps will be beautifying some dusky -maiden of the mountains.” - -“Don’t s’pose you’ll need me any more now thet the wagon’s gone,” -suggested Ike gloomily. - -“On the contrary, we wish you to continue through with us, Mr. -Fairweather,” said Grace. “When we settle with you at Phœnix, we -shall make up to you any loss that you may have sustained.” - -Ike’s face brightened, not because of the promise to pay, but because -the outfit did not intend to send him home. - -“Thank you, folks. You make me right happy, you shore do. What do you -reckon on doin’?” - -“Let me see. We must be about thirty miles from Roosevelt Lake now,” -reflected Grace. - -“’Bout three mile short of thet,” nodded Ike. - -“Do you think we can pack what stuff we have left on your wagon horses -and our ponies?” questioned Grace. - -“Reckon so.” - -“Of course we don’t care to carry much extra weight on the saddle -animals, just light equipment, and if you cannot get through to -Roosevelt to-day, we will make camp to-night and ride in to-morrow -morning.” - -Ike shook his head. - -“Nope. I can’t make it in a day, but you folks better ride right on in -an’ stay at the Lodge. It’s a good tavern for these parts and it ain’t -ever too full to hold some more. I’ll be ’long ’bout eleven o’clock in -the mornin’ the day after, an’ make camp for you all there.” - -“Thank you. That difficulty is overcome. I propose that we now turn in. -Girls, we have time for a beauty sleep before the rising of the sun, -when I hope each of you will come out and enjoy the scene with me,” -nodded Grace smilingly. - -The rest of the night passed without incident, and Ike sounded the -getting-up call a few minutes before sun-up. There followed a hurried -dressing, some grumbling, and finally much laughter because Emma Dean, -in her attempt at haste, got all tangled up in her garments. - -The Overland Riders, however, found themselves well paid for their -early rising. A scene, such as they had never dreamed existed, lay -before them. A sea of clouds hid the valley and the lake, white, -billowy, lazy clouds that were drifting slowly under the warmth of the -rising sun. - -Above this white sea loomed the Four Peaks of the Apache Range, turned -to red and gold by the morning sun, and, on beyond the Peaks, here and -there a sapphire rock thrust its sharp point through the white billows. - -“How beautiful!” murmured Elfreda Briggs. - -“Beyond the power of words to express,” replied Grace Harlowe, barely -above a whisper. - -Anne linked arms with Grace and patted her hand, but spoke no word. -Even the bare-headed, irrepressible Hippy seemed lost in silent -admiration. Perhaps it was the beauty of the scene, or perhaps it was -that those billowing clouds carried him back in memory to the bitter -days when Lieutenant Wingate was fighting for life above just such -clouds as these, high over the German lines in France. - -Grace finally sat down, chin in hand, lost in wonder, her whole being -filled with an exultation that she had known but once before, and then -in a far different environment, when caught in a barrage at Chateau -Thierry, when all the tremendous elements of the universe seemed -to have joined in a mad medley. That was war, bitter, soul-racking -war. This was peace, and she wondered that each should arouse in her -emotions that were so much alike. - -“Ahem!” began Hippy Wingate impressively, and the spell was broken. “We -are now standing--” - -“You are mistaken. Some of us are sitting,” corrected Emma Dean. - -“On the pinnacle of the Apache Trail, the most ancient trail on our -continent. Well may this be called Oldest America, for men have -traversed this route since remotest time, where the silence of eternity -broods over the mesas and the canyons and the peaks. And where, with -this wonderful scene that comes with the dawning of the day, all the -mystery of the world seems brought together. Ahem!” - -A painful silence of several seconds was broken by the judicial voice -of Elfreda Briggs. - -“I sentence the prisoner to ten years’ hard labor,” she announced. - -Shouts of laughter, and a cry from Emma that he should be sent up for -life, put the Overlanders in a merry mood. Even Ike Fairweather, whose -eyes had grown large under the spell of Hippy’s oratory, permitted -himself to indulge in a loud guffaw. - -After a rather hurried breakfast, the outfit began packing up for -the start. It was not an easy task to pack the tents and equipment -on the backs of the horses, in view of the fact that each animal, -except the wagon horses, must also carry a rider. The work was finally -accomplished, however, each rider placing a pack of small stuff on her -own back, in addition to the pack already lashed to the back of her -pony. - -Before starting out, Grace induced Elfreda to remove the bandage from -her head. The wound was found to be healed, much to the relief of both. - -Ike had made an early start, and two hours later the Overlanders -galloped away, and then began the downward ride that would take them to -the great artificial waterway, where both entertainment and adventure -awaited them. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -HEROINES OF THE TRAIL - - -On the way to Roosevelt, before the Overland girls caught up with him, -Ike Fairweather had met a deputy sheriff and posse, who had been in -the mountains looking for a horse thief, but were now returning to the -place for which the Overlanders were headed. - -From Ike the deputy learned of the attacks on the Overland girls, and -of their plucky defense. Ike, furthermore, became loquacious, told the -officer all he knew about Grace Harlowe and her friends, not forgetting -the redoubtable Hippy Wingate who had “shot down more German airplanes -than any other man in the Allied armies.” - -When the deputy reached Roosevelt, he repeated Ike’s story at the -Lodge, as the hotel at Roosevelt Lake was called, so, without their -knowledge, the Overlanders’ praises were sung there some hours in -advance of their arrival. When the girls came up with Ike just before -noon that day, and took luncheon with him, Mr. Fairweather discreetly -neglected to mention what he had told the deputy sheriff about them. - -Three hours later the Overland Riders reached the bottom of the grade -to Roosevelt, rounded the “painted rocks” that stood sentinel over -the trail there, and walked their horses across the great spillway of -Roosevelt Dam, more than three hundred yards in length, this spillway -releasing the surplus water from Lake Roosevelt, which is formed by the -waters held in check and backed up by Roosevelt Dam. The water in its -nearly three hundred feet fall from the top of the spillway roared into -Salt River Canyon, a miniature Niagara, sending up clouds of rainbow -spray, the thunder of its fall echoing down the canyon for miles. - -Elfreda Briggs, who was riding by Grace’s side, leaned over and shouted -into her companion’s ear: - -“Hippy can indulge in as much oratory as he pleases here. No one will -hear him above the roar of the waterfall, for which much thanks.” - -Grace nodded and grinned. - -After crossing the spillway, the party turned to the right and followed -a shining white trail along the edge of the lake to the Apache Lodge, -which was located, they found, between the east and west arms of the -lake. - -Some difficulty was experienced in finding a place where they could -stake down their ponies, but finally succeeding in tethering the -animals, they quickly removed the packs from the backs of “man, woman -and beast,” as Miss Briggs characterized it. - -“Lieutenant, if you do not mind going bare-headed, we will all walk -over to the Lodge and see if they will let us in,” said Grace. - -It was a dust-covered, brown-faced, bright-eyed party of girls who -mounted the steps of the veranda of the Lodge, where a group of -tourists were enjoying the cool mountain air of the late afternoon. All -eyes were turned on the newcomers. - -“The one with the brown hair is Grace Harlowe. The man is the great -American Ace,” Grace heard one of the tourists confide to a companion. - -The Overton girl gave the speaker a brief, steady look. - -“I will see if I can arrange for accommodations for us here,” said -Grace, turning to the young women of her party. “Perhaps it will be as -well for you to wait on the veranda.” - -“Ask the proprietor if he has any old hats for sale,” suggested Hippy -Wingate as Grace was entering the Lodge, at which there was an audible -titter from several of the women guests of the place. - -“Have you room, sir, for a party of six not very presentable persons?” -questioned Grace, smiling at the clerk. - -“For you, yes. I believe you are Mrs. Grace Harlowe Gray, are you not?” - -The Overton girl looked her amazement. - -“May I ask how you know my name, sir?” - -“The deputy sheriff told me that you and your party were on the way -here. How many rooms do you require?” - -“Three with baths. I do not know how long we shall remain, but probably -not longer than some time to-morrow. We shall go into camp when what is -left of our equipment arrives.” - -“Yes, I understand that you ladies have had a mishap,” volunteered the -clerk. - -“Is there anything that this man doesn’t know about us?” she wondered. -To the clerk she said: “We shall need a reliable man to watch our -horses to-night. Will you be so kind as to send some one to us, some -person who is to be depended upon?” - -The clerk said he would, and that the rooms for the party would be -ready whenever they desired to take possession. - -Grace returned to the veranda, and, as she stepped out, she halted and -gazed in amazement. Elfreda, Hippy and the others of her party were -speaking with a tall, bronzed man of distinguished appearance. With -him were a gentleman and three ladies. Grace recognized him of the -distinguished bearing instantly. - -“General Gordon! How do you do!” she greeted, flushing with pleasure. - -The general strode forward and grasped both her hands. - -“My dear Mrs. Gray, I am happy beyond words to see you again. This -is my wife; and Colonel Cartwright, the colonel’s sister, and Mrs. -Cartwright. The colonel served with us in France, but I believe you -never met him, which was a misfortune for both.” - -“This young woman,” announced the general to his friends, but in a tone -of voice loud enough to be heard by most persons on the veranda, “saved -my life on the battlefield in the Argonne. Had it not been for her, I -should not be here. I have already told Mrs. Gordon the story.” - -“Please, General,” begged Grace, flushing with embarrassment, but the -general went on unheeding. - -“Mrs. Gray dragged me into a deserted German machine-gun nest after I -had been wounded on the field, manned a machine gun and held the Boches -off until she could flash Morse signals to our lines that night. We -were, at that time, being fired upon by both armies. A braver woman -does not live.” - -“Suppose we speak of the beauties of the Old Apache Trail,” suggested -Grace, which brought a hearty laugh from all, and relieved the tension -under which she was suffering. - -“When I heard that Grace Harlowe Gray and her friends of the Overton -Unit had proved themselves the heroines of the trail, I said, ‘That’s -our Grace Harlowe, the doughboys’ Grace Harlowe,’ and I was glad. You -must join our party this evening and we will talk war,” he urged. - -“Grace, here is an Indian who wishes to speak with you,” interrupted -Hippy. - -“Me take care ponies,” said the Indian. “Me Joe Smoky Face.” - -“Do you work about the Lodge?” questioned Grace. - -“Yes.” - -“I will see the clerk about you. Please excuse me for a moment.” Grace -stepped briskly into the Lodge, followed by Lieutenant Wingate and the -Indian. During her absence, the general briefly related the story, as -he knew it, of the work of the Overton Unit in France. - -“I think the man understands what is required of him. The clerk says he -is dependable,” announced Grace upon her return to the veranda. “The -horses being arranged for, I think we will go to our quarters now, if -you will excuse us, General.” - -“You will join us at dinner, Mrs. Gray?” questioned the general. - -“Yes, thank you.” - -The Overton girls went to their rooms, not to appear again until -just before dinner time. Wearing fresh uniforms, well groomed, eyes -sparkling, cheeks tinged with faint flushes, they elicited a murmur of -approval from the tourists as they stepped out on the veranda to join -General Gordon and his party. - -“Mess is served,” announced the general. - -“Yes, but oh, so different,” laughingly replied Grace Harlowe. - -At the general’s request, one table had been set to accommodate the two -parties, and the dinner proved to be a happy occasion for all. At the -general’s suggestion, it was decided that the two parties should take -a launch trip the length of Lake Roosevelt on the following morning. -The general said he would charter a launch, that they would take their -luncheons with them and have a real picnic at the mouth of Tonto Creek -at the upper end of the lake, thirty miles away. - -A delightful evening was passed at the Lodge where Grace and the -general exchanged war reminiscences, after which the girls went to -their quarters for the night. Hippy strolled out to look over the -ponies and to give Joe Smoky Face final instructions, then returned to -the Lodge and went to bed. - -The Overton girls were sound asleep by then. It was the first night, -since they started over the Apache Trail, that they had been free from -nerve-strain, but there were other nights coming, nights that they felt -would hold a full measure of excitement and adventure for them, and -none realized this possibility better than did Grace Harlowe herself. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -THE MYSTERIOUS ARROW - - -“The end of a perfect day,” breathed Elfreda Briggs, as the launch -bearing the Overland Riders and General Gordon’s party rounded a point -of land, and the Lodge, for which they were now heading, stood out -white against its dark background of mountains. - -The voyage over the blue waters of Lake Roosevelt, and the picnic -at the upper end of the lake, had been most enjoyable. Nothing had -occurred to mar the pleasure of the sixty-mile voyage, through -enchanting scenery. - -“I think Miss Briggs has echoed the sentiments of all of us,” spoke up -Anne. - -“It would have been just our luck to have had the old boat sink under -us,” differed Emma, amid much laughter. - -“There’s our camp,” Hippy informed them. “Ike has arrived and is ready -for us.” - -All eyes were turned toward the shore, where the little white tents of -the Overland Riders nestled at the base of the mountains, close to the -water’s edge, the camp having been pitched a short quarter of a mile up -the lake from the Lodge. - -“It looks good to me,” declared the general. “I envy you young women -the life you are leading out here, and wish I might be so fortunate as -to belong to your outfit.” - -“You’d regret it,” chuckled Emma Dean. - -“Try me and see,” the general came back quickly. - -“Very well, we will take you at your word, General,” answered Grace. -“This evening you shall have mess with the Overland Riders in their -camp. We shall undoubtedly be on short rations still, but that is a -part of the life.” - -“Good! I accept,” nodded the general. - -“The invitation includes all of your party, of course,” said Grace, -glancing inquiringly at the smiling faces around the cockpit of the -launch. - -“I know it will be a delightful experience,” declared Mrs. Cartwright. - -“Wonderful!” added Miss Cartwright. - -“I, for one, already have accepted, in my own mind,” nodded the -general’s wife. - -“Having lost our wagon with most of our table ware, we cannot offer you -any luxuries. We have only our mess kits, and the plates in them will -barely go around. It may be necessary for two persons to eat from the -same plate,” added Grace mischievously. - -“May we sleep at the camp to-night? I should so dearly love to sleep in -a tent in the open,” declared Miss Cartwright. - -“I fear it will be too cold for you. We will speak of it later, -however. After you have spent a few hours in camp and partaken of our -fare, you may not wish to remain over night.” - -“Of course you are desirous of visiting the ancient homes of the cliff -dwellers up yonder?” questioned Mrs. Gordon, pointing to the mountains. - -“Yes, indeed. I hope to do some exploring there, too,” answered Grace. -“When we land at the Lodge, if you good people will wait on the veranda -for me, I will run over to the camp and see what shape we are in, then -call for you later,” suggested Grace as they neared the landing place. - -Grace and Hippy left their party at the Lodge pier and hurried to the -camp. - -“We are to have company for mess this evening, Mr. Fairweather. How -well are we supplied with provisions?” she asked. - -The old stagecoach driver said they had bacon, canned beans and coffee, -but not much of anything else. - -“See if you can purchase something more at the Lodge, especially -potatoes. Did you find an Indian here taking care of the ponies?” - -“Joe Smoky Face, as he called himself, was here lookin’ after the -ponies, but when I came he went away. Don’t like them Apaches. Bad -medicine, every one of ’em.” - -“Joe is said to be trustworthy,” said Grace. - -“Good Indians wear white men’s dress. This Redskin dresses like what he -is--an Apache--an’ he lives with his tribe up the mountain,” growled -Ike. - -“Why worry about Indians?” interjected Lieutenant Wingate. “Food and -more food is the burning question of the hour.” - -Grace directed the driver to take one of the horses and fetch some -potatoes and some few other necessaries from the Lodge. - -“It is quite probable that we shall be here for a few days, so nothing -in the way of food need be left behind,” she told him. - -Following Ike’s departure, Grace and Hippy began putting the finishing -touches to the camp. Blankets were neatly rolled and placed on the -folding cots; a fancy paper spread was laid over the rough table that -Ike had constructed for them, and paper napkins laid at each plate. -A bunch of wild asters, set between two stones, to keep them from -toppling over, completed the table decorations. - -“There!” announced Grace, surveying the result of her labors. “We may -not be strong on food, but we have decorations. Perhaps the guests may -overlook the mere matter of food,” she added laughingly. - -By the time the camp was in order, Ike came trotting up with his pack -animal. He had a bushel of potatoes, and some fresh vegetables from -which Grace prepared a salad, and while she was doing this, Ike thrust -the potatoes into hot ashes to bake. - -“The young ladies will be here to help to finish getting the supper -ready, Mr. Fairweather. I shall return at seven with our company. One -of the guests is General Gordon, a brave soldier whom I met on the -battlefield in the Argonne. The other is Colonel Cartwright, another -valiant soldier of the late war. I thought you might be interested in -knowing something about these men, for they _are_ real men.” - -“Just like myself,” added Hippy. - -“Yes, Hippy, I agree with you there. Shall you go to the Lodge with me? -I think you had best do so as the ladies may need assistance over the -rough ground between here and the Lodge. Mr. Fairweather, our guests -may conclude that they wish to stay all night. If so, we ladies will -sleep in one tent, giving the guests the cots and most of the blankets. -What is your opinion of the weather?” - -“Might rain.” - -“I am of the same opinion. However, what’s the odds? Come, Hippy!” - -Reaching the Lodge, Grace directed the girls to go to camp and have the -supper ready to be served at seven o’clock sharp, telling them of the -preparations that already had been made. - -She then sat down to wait for her friends, who were still in their -rooms. There were any number of persons who welcomed the opportunity -to engage the Overland Rider in conversation, which at once turned to -war subjects. What Grace had to say about the war, however, did not -concern herself, but had to do with General Gordon’s achievements on -the western front. - -“Won’t you please tell us, Mrs. Gray, how you won the French war cross -and the distinguished service medal?” begged a lady courteously. - -“General Gordon evidently has been talking out of meetin’,” laughed -Grace. “Please excuse me from speaking of myself. Surely, you realize -that it would be most embarrassing to me to speak of myself.” - -The lady begged her pardon, and declared that it was rude of her to -have asked the question. Grace smiled and began telling her questioner -of the work of the Overton Unit, and of Lieutenant Wingate’s valiant -services in the army flying corps. This led to stories of the war, and -when General Gordon and his party came down he found nearly all the -guests of the Lodge gathered about the Overton College girl, listening -to her praise, not only of the Overton girls, but of the young men of -America, who had fought the great fight. - -“Are we late?” asked Mrs. Gordon, extending her hand. - -“No, you are in good time, but I think we should start now. Where is -Lieutenant Wingate? I have not seen him since we reached the hotel.” - -“Some one said he was seen trying to borrow a hat from the chef to wear -to supper,” answered a male voice. - -“That is the army spirit of freedom,” nodded Grace. “Incidentally it -is like Lieutenant Wingate. He lost his hat on the way in, and the -wagon that carried most of our wearing apparel lies at the bottom of -a canyon. We will be going. If you ladies and gentlemen care to visit -our camp we shall be glad to have you do so to-morrow,” added Grace -courteously, turning to the guests to whom she had been telling war -stories. - -“Here comes the lieutenant,” informed the man who had told Grace where -he had last seen Hippy. The lieutenant wore a derby hat, a full size -too small for him, and this, crowning his army uniform, made him look -ridiculous. - -A laugh greeted his appearance. - -Hippy’s face wore a severe expression. He offered his arm to Miss -Cartwright with grace and dignity. At least that was what he intended -it to be, but Grace thanked the kind fates that Emma Dean was not -present to express her opinion of Hippy’s appearance before all the -guests of the hotel. - -“Have you decided to remain with us to-night, General?” asked Grace. - -“Mrs. Gordon and myself and Miss Cartwright will accept your -hospitality, if you are certain that we shall not be crowding you.” - -“There is plenty of room in the mountains,” answered Grace with a wave -of the hand. “You are used to campaigning, General, but I hope the -ladies will not regret their decision.” - -They assured Grace that they would not; so the party started out full -of anticipation for the new experience that lay before them. - -The general, when they reached the camp, turned to Grace with eyes -twinkling. - -“I would know, even did I not know that this was your camp, that some -one who had been with the forces, had laid it out,” he said. - -“Old Mr. Fairweather, our driver, laid it out,” answered Grace -mischievously. - -“He is an apt pupil,” returned the general. - -“You win, General,” laughed Grace. - -“Isn’t this delightful?” cried Miss Cartwright. “And look at the table. -Pardon my ill manners, but this is so different from what I expected to -find in--in--” - -“In a traveling circus,” finished Emma amid laughter. - -“Oh, the worst is yet to come,” observed Hippy. - -Grace introduced Mr. Fairweather to their guests, who shook hands -cordially with the old stagecoach driver. - -“Are the potatoes done?” whispered Grace. - -Ike nodded. - -Odors of frying bacon and the aroma of coffee were in the air, and, -when Grace announced that the guests were to be seated, the summons was -quickly answered. Grace had brought a pound of butter with her from -the Lodge, a luxury that the Overland girls themselves had not enjoyed -since the first day out from Globe. - -“I haven’t had such an appetite since I left France,” declared the -general. - -“Perhaps you have not had so much exercise and fresh air in any one day -since then,” suggested Elfreda. - -“Possibly that explains it,” replied the officer dryly. - -The supper went along merrily, the stock of bacon being considerably -depleted when finally the guests refused another helping, and, at -Grace’s invitation, rose and strolled over to the cheerful campfire, -where they sat down, the men to smoke their pipes and the women to chat. - -It was ten o’clock when Colonel Cartwright said he must be getting back -to the Lodge. He added that there was dancing there, and invited the -Overland girls to go over and dance, but Grace declined for her party, -saying that they had a strenuous day ahead of them, as they wished to -explore the cliff dwellers’ homes on the morrow. Grace had further -plans in mind regarding the explorations, but she said nothing to her -guests about it. - -“General,” said Grace, calling the officer aside before the colonel and -his wife took their leave. “It looks like a storm to-night. I wish you -and Mrs. Gordon to remain if you desire to do so, but we may have a wet -time of it.” - -“An old campaigner like myself doesn’t mind a little thing like a -wetting. You should know that.” - -“I am not thinking of you, but of Mrs. Gordon and Miss Cartwright.” - -“Both good scouts,” answered the general. - -“Campers’ fare will be yours then, sir. Good-night, Colonel and Mrs. -Cartwright. We shall be happy to have you join us for mess at any time.” - -Before leaving, the colonel invited the Overland girls to have dinner -with him at the Lodge on the following evening and remain for the dance. - -Grace said they could not think of it, so far as the dinner was -concerned, but that, if they were not too tired, they would go over for -the dance. - -The Gordons and Miss Cartwright resumed their positions by the campfire -after the colonel and his wife, escorted by Hippy, still wearing his -derby hat, started towards the Lodge. - -The fire was blazing up cheerfully, and before it the girls of the -Overton Unit sat and talked with the guests of their campaigning days -in France. - -Something whistled down from the air, and every person in the outfit -heard the thud when it struck the ground. - -“A stone from the mountain,” said the general. - -“I think not,” replied Grace, getting up. - -“It fell right near where you’re standin’,” called Ike Fairweather as -Grace began looking about her alertly. “Looked like a stick.” - -“Ah! I see it.” Grace sprang forward, followed by General Gordon, and, -with her pocket lamp, examined the object that had so mysteriously -fallen among them. - -“An arrow!” exclaimed the general. “Probably a spent arrow from the -Indian camp.” - -“The Indian camp is too far away for that, sir,” replied Grace. - -“Broken, isn’t it, Mrs. Gray?” questioned the officer, stooping over to -pluck the missile from the ground. - -“Wait!” warned the Overton girl. She examined the arrow as it stood -doubled over at the break, which was about midway of the shaft, then -withdrew the point and carried the whole to the campfire for further -examination. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -A NIGHT OF THRILLS - - -After a careful scrutiny of the arrow, Grace glanced up at the general, -who was regarding her inquiringly. - -“What do you find?” he asked. - -“That the arrow has been weakened in the middle by a cut with a knife. -It appears to have been the intention of the person who shot it, that -it should break on striking the ground. You can see that the cut is a -fresh one, probably made only a little while ago.” - -“Yes, so I observe. What does that signify?” - -“I am not well posted on Indian lore, but I do know that, with the -Chinese, a broken stick or twig cast before one is a warning. Mr. -Fairweather, will you please come here?” - -Ike stepped over and stood frowningly regarding the shaft that Grace -was holding up for his inspection. - -“This is an Indian arrow, is it not, Mr. Fairweather?” she asked. - -“Yes.” - -“What does it mean when an Indian shoots an arrow with such a break as -this in it?” - -“Trouble!” answered the stagecoach driver without hesitation. “It’s a -warning, Mrs. Gray.” - -“Then it must have come from an Indian who feels kindly toward us. -What I do not understand is, why, if he wished to give us warning of -something, he did not come to us with it.” - -“Indians is queer critters,” observed Ike wisely. “There’s no -accountin’ for Indians, and ’specially Apaches.” - -“I think I agree with you,” answered Grace, rewarding the old man with -a smile. “Please see to it that the ponies are well staked. Nothing -more, Mr. Fairweather.” - -After the driver had walked away, Grace leaned back and laughed. - -“I have a feeling, General, that before this night ends you will be -wishing that you had remained at the Lodge,” chuckled Grace. - -“Oh, no, nothing like that, Mrs. Gray. I should enjoy a little -excitement. It has been a long time since the armistice was signed, and -with it the real joy of trying to live, passed.” - -“Yes, I agree with you.” Excusing herself, as Hippy came up and sat -down to chat with the general while the girls were entertaining Mrs. -Gordon and Miss Cartwright, Grace walked over to Ike who was restaking -the horses. - -“We hope to do some mountain climbing to-morrow, and if we do so I -shall require several hundred feet of light, strong rope. Please see if -you can get it for me. What do you think?” asked Grace, nodding toward -the sky. - -“Mountain squall, I reckon.” - -“More than a squall, I should say. However, you know more about the -mountain weather than I do. And, confidentially, Mr. Fairweather, that -broken arrow leads me to believe that it would be good judgment for you -to take a rifle to bed with you to-night,” suggested Grace. - -Ike grinned and nodded. - -Returning to her guests, Grace suggested to them that it might be well -to turn in, as a busy day was before them for the morrow. - -“General, you and the lieutenant will occupy the small tent to the -right; the ladies will take the middle one, and we girls will occupy -the large outside tent. I hope you will sleep well. Lieutenant, please -show the general to his sleeping place.” - -Half an hour later the Overland girls were chattering in low tones in -their own tent. Hippy and the general were already snoring in theirs, -while the two women guests were having some difficulty in getting to -sleep in their strange surroundings. - -Grace had thrown herself down on her cot where she lay pondering on -the mystery of the broken arrow. After half an hour of this she got -up to have a look at the weather before turning in for the night, -observing that the campfire, fanned by a breeze from the mountains, was -flickering and snapping as if in protest at being disturbed. - -Shading her eyes with a hand and gazing up to the mountains, Grace saw -dark clouds swirling about the Four Peaks in the distance, and heard -a deep-throated, far away roar of thunder. A dull red flash on the -opposite side of the range of mountains reminded her of flashes from -the big guns on the battle front. - -“I think we are going to catch it,” observed the Overland girl. “Can it -be that the arrow was a storm warning?” Grace dismissed the thought as -improbable, and, returning to her tent, laid aside her clothes and got -into bed. She was awakened some two hours later by tremendous gusts of -wind, accompanied by flapping canvas and a heavy downpour of rain. - -Lightning flashes were outlining the black clouds, and crashes of -thunder reverberated from peak to peak, seeming finally to lose -themselves in the black depths of the canyons. - -Grace got up and dressed, and, putting on her slicker, stepped out. The -raindrops beat on her face, stinging like tiny hailstones. - -The ponies were whinneying and rearing, so Grace stepped over and -tried to quiet them, and there Ike Fairweather found her as she stood -revealed when a flash of lightning deluged the camp with a blinding -light. - -“That you, Mrs. Gray?” he called, uncertain just which one of the -outfit it was that he saw. - -“Yes.” Grace had to shout to make herself heard above the roar of the -gale. “Where is the lieutenant?” - -“Sleepin’. Think the tents will hold?” questioned Ike anxiously. - -“I hope so. Please look after the horses. I will rout out the -lieutenant and see what we can do to keep the tents down, especially -the one occupied by General Gordon’s wife and companion.” - -Grace ran back and called Hippy. The general heard the call and -answered first. - -“Heavy storm, sir,” Grace informed him. “Hippy, please hurry out. I -need you.” - -“Wha--at is it? Is Jerry coming?” answered Hippy Wingate sleepily. - -The general laughed. - -“It is bad, isn’t it? What do you wish me to do, Mrs. Gray?” he asked. - -“We must try to hold down Mrs. Gordon’s tent, but I fear we shall lose -some of our canvas.” - -“There goes one already!” cried the general, as the tent he and -Lieutenant Wingate had occupied puffed out like a balloon and -disappeared in the darkness. The lieutenant made no effort to recover -it, but ran calling to Grace to know where she was. - -“Sit on the stakes. Hold the guests’ tent down at all hazards,” she -cried. - -Elfreda had taken charge of the tent occupied by the Overland girls, -and was hurrying her companions with their dressing. They had barely -finished dressing, when the tent pulled its stakes and toppled over. - -“Grab it! Don’t let it get away!” shouted Miss Briggs. - -“What was that?” cried General Gordon, when, during a brief lull in the -storm, his ears caught a familiar whistling sound. - -“A bullet, sir,” answered Grace promptly. “Watch out for the next gust -of wind. It’s going to be a severe one.” - -“There they come again!” exclaimed the general, as bullets began -spraying the camp. - -Grace sprang to the tent occupied by Mrs. Gordon, which Hippy was doing -his best to hold down. - -“Lie flat on the ground, Mrs. Gordon!” she shouted. “We’re under fire.” - -At about the same instant Elfreda Briggs was uttering a similar warning -to the girls in her charge. - -The gun-fire grew hotter, continued so for a few moments, then suddenly -ceased as a fresh blast of storm swept down on the camp from the -mountains, and then, despite all their efforts, the tent that Grace and -the two men were now holding, gave way under the tremendous power of -the wind. - -Mrs. Gordon and Miss Cartwright, while thoroughly frightened, were too -plucky to make any outcry, and, after a few moments of lively work, the -general and Hippy, with some assistance from Grace, succeeded in saving -the tent. - -About that time the rain dwindled to a sprinkle, and bullets again -began to spatter about the camp. Uttering an exclamation, Grace ran for -her rifle, which she thrust into Hippy Wingate’s hand. - -“Look!” Grace pointed up at a spot on the mountains. “Look closely and -you will see the flashes of the rifles that are shooting at us. Every -time you see a flash, shoot at it!” - -Hippy located the flashes instantly, and began firing at them, Grace -observing and offering suggestions. - -“What is he shooting at?” questioned the general. - -“At the flashes of the guns up yonder on the mountain. If your eye is -quick enough you can see them.” - -General Gordon, who had reassured Mrs. Gordon and her companion by -telling them that the storm had about blown itself out, at the same -time cautioning both to keep down close to the ground so long as the -shooting lasted, watched Lieutenant Wingate’s work with the rifle with -interest. - -After Hippy had twice emptied the magazine of the rifle, the fog -clouds blotted out the peaks of the mountains and slowly settled down, -drawing a mantle over the point from which the bullets had been coming, -whereupon the fire from the mountains ceased and Lieutenant Wingate -laid down his rifle. - -“I hope that ends it for to-night,” said Grace. “I think the fog will -hold pretty much as it is, so the next thing is a campfire if we can -find enough fuel to start one.” - -Ike was already engaged in this task. General Gordon, in the meantime, -was assisting Mrs. Gordon and Miss Cartwright over to the fire which -Ike was fanning into life with his sombrero. - -“I am so sorry, Mrs. Gordon,” sympathized Grace, as the general’s wife -began shaking out her wet, wrinkled skirt. - -Mrs. Gordon laughed. - -“I am quite willing to suffer such slight discomfort for the privilege -of seeing this outfit at work in an emergency,” she declared. - -Grace suggested to the general that it might be advisable to take the -ladies back to the Lodge for the rest of the night. - -“No, no, no!” protested Miss Cartwright. “I, for one, propose to see it -through.” - -“So do I,” approved Mrs. Gordon. - -Elfreda, who had found the makings, was brewing tea over the fire and -Anne was toasting crackers on the other side of it. - -“Storm, bullets, then tea and crackers! Isn’t this romantic?” cried -Miss Cartwright. “You young ladies surely do know how to do things.” - -The warmth of the campfire, and the refreshments, put new spirits into -the party, and they were now able to laugh over their plight. The -guests, however, were at a loss to understand why any one should wish -to shoot at the camp of the Overland Riders. - -“I cannot comprehend how they were able to place their bullets right in -the camp in all that darkness and storm,” wondered Mrs. Gordon. - -“Their rifles undoubtedly were aimed and set before dark,” answered -Lieutenant Wingate. - -“The broken arrow, General,” reminded Grace, nodding to General Gordon. - -“Hm--m--m--m!” mused the World-war veteran. - -The rest of the night was passed by the campers with some discomfort, -but without further disturbance, the tops of the mountains being hidden -from sight by the cloud fog until the morning sun cleared away the -mists, when a glorious day was in prospect. - -“No cliff-dwelling explorations to-day, girls!” cried Elfreda next -morning. “We shall have to do our family washing and ironing this -morning.” - -“If we do I know of one who will have to stay in bed during the -process,” piped Emma. “I haven’t been able to find my everyday skirt, -and I suppose that too has been blown off into the canyon, perhaps to -keep my black silk company.” - -Soon after breakfast, Colonel and Mrs. Cartwright came over, they -having been much concerned for their friends upon learning that a -severe mountain storm had swept the valley in the night. The colonel -urged all hands to have dinner with him at the Lodge, but the girls -declined, saying that they had work for every minute of the day, so -their guests left after obtaining a promise from Grace that she and -her friends would attend the dance at the Lodge that evening. - -“I have an idea, and to-morrow I shall try to put it to the test,” -murmured Grace, using her glasses in a long, searching study of the -mountains to the rear of the camp. - -It was a hard day’s work that the Overland girls did, but when night -came they were ready for the entertainment at the Lodge, and were as -well groomed as though they had but just come from their own dressing -rooms at home. - -“I do not know how you do it. It is wonderful,” exclaimed Miss -Cartwright in greeting to the Overlanders upon their arrival at the -Lodge. - -The dance lasted until half after eleven o’clock, and the girls -declared that they had not had such a delightful evening since their -last hop at Overton College. - -“Come out and get shotted with us,” urged Emma Dean as they were about -to take their departure for the camp. - -That night the Overland party was treated to another deluge of bullets, -but the firing did no damage, beyond putting a hole through the -pup-tent occupied by Ike Fairweather. All hands, despite their loss -of sleep, were up early on the following morning making preparation -for their journey to the homes of the ancient Cliff Dwellers where an -exciting day awaited them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -RELICS OF AN ANCIENT RACE - - -The Gordons and Cartwrights had engaged a conveyance to take them to -the point on the Apache Trail where they must turn off and walk about -a mile to reach the homes of the Cliff Dwellers. The Overland Riders -preferred to ride their ponies, Ike taking his team to carry himself -and the rations for the day. - -Tucked away with the equipment was a strong rope several hundred feet -in length, Ike, at Grace’s request, having provided this and other -equipment without asking too many questions. - -An early start was made, both parties reaching the turning-off place at -about the same time, and shortly thereafter a merry company, carrying -picnic baskets, was ascending the steep, narrow trail that led to the -Tonto Cliff Dwellings. - -They found the first of the two main groups of prehistoric community -dwellings free of tourists, and the Overton College girls stood in awe -as they gazed on the massive masonry of this relic of an unknown past. - -“Are you familiar with the history of these cliff dwellings, Mrs. -Gray?” asked the general. - -“I must confess that I am not wholly familiar with the subject, sir. -Will you tell us what you know about them?” - -“No one knows of their beginning, nor of the people who inhabited them. -We do know that Coronado’s Scouts discovered them nearly four hundred -years ago. The Coronado Scouts, it is said, believed that they found -the frontier fortresses of that rich kingdom of Tontonteac, which was -one of the seven they sought.” - -“The dwellings were not then occupied, were they?” asked Anne. - -“Oh, no,” responded the general. “They were in ruins as you see them -now, so you can form some idea of the antiquity of the dwellings.” - -“Do you know whether or not the Cliff Dwellers were here ahead of the -Indians, sir?” asked Grace. - -“It is supposed that they were, for the Indians of the present day do -not even know of them in legend. The dwellers must have had enemies, -man or beast, for you see they built their castles in out-of-reach -spots. They builded them well, too, high under leaning walls of rock, -of blocked stone, set with strong adobe mortar. They were architects, -and they were builders, were those ancients,” declared the general. - -“A peculiar feature of their homes is that each community lived in -a community house, said to have included sixty to seventy rooms. -The three dwellings that are accessible do not show what the inner -arrangements were, but a fourth one, that has never been explored, is -believed to be in a better state of preservation.” - -“That is the one I propose to have a look at,” declared Grace. - -“I suspected as much,” nodded the general. “Don’t try it, is my advice. -You don’t know what kind of a precipice one would have to pass over to -get there.” - -“I know the precipice, for I have examined it through my glasses, but I -am not convinced that there is no other entrance to the place.” - -“What makes you think that?” - -“The formation of the sheer wall that falls away from their front -dooryard shows that it has been in that same condition for perhaps -thousands of years, and probably was in the same condition in the days -of the Cliff Dwellers. Suppose we have our luncheon here and then have -a look at the top of this unknown cliff home.” - -All through the luncheon that was eaten in an ancient community house, -with the magnificent view of mountain and canyon spread out before -them, General Gordon was regarding Grace perplexedly. - -“I believe she really intends to try it,” he muttered. “How, I do not -know. She does, though, and I have no doubt the plan is already clearly -outlined under that head of fair brown hair.” - -“So you do not believe I can do it, eh?” chided Grace, favoring the -officer with a brilliant smile. - -“Do not believe--Mrs. Gray, are you a mind reader?” demanded the -general. - -“When a mental process is reflected in a face as it has been in yours -for the last five minutes, the reading is easy.” - -The general shrugged his shoulders in true French form. - -“I give up,” he exclaimed. - -“I wish the walls of this ancient place might be read as easily,” added -Grace. “Do you think the ladies can stand a climb to the top of the -mountain?” - -“Oh, yes; it is not a long nor a very hard climb, I should judge from -the looks of it,” replied the general. - -It was decided to leave the hampers at the lunching place, but to carry -their mess kits. Grace told Ike Fairweather to take the rope with -him, as it might be needed. In her own kit she carried a ball of stout -twine, ammunition for her rifle and for the automatic that swung in its -holster. - -“All is ready. Please take your time, ladies, and if you tire, you must -say so,” she directed. - -“We follow where you lead, Mrs. Gray,” promised Miss Cartwright -dramatically. - -“Don’t make rash promises, Miss Cartwright,” warned the general. “You -don’t know what you are promising. I think _I_ do.” - -“Just wait and see,” teased the young woman. - -It was a hard hike to the brow of the mountain, taking nearly two -hours, at the rate they traveled. The party finally came out on a broad -table of rock, from which the mountain sloped away a short distance, -then took a sheer drop of a thousand feet. - -None of the party ventured to look over the brink until Grace finally -did so, then turned laughingly to Miss Cartwright. - -“Are you following?” - -“Yes.” Miss Cartwright stepped up beside Grace and gazed off over the -great precipice. - -[Illustration: Grace Disappeared Over the Edge.] - -Suddenly the army officer’s sister swayed dizzily, and, had Grace lost -her head for a second, a disaster probably would have resulted. Grace’s -arm quickly encircled the waist of Miss Cartwright and drew her back, -now in a fainting condition. The dizzy height had been too much for -the young woman’s nerves. Grace gravely handed her over to Colonel -Cartwright. - -“I am sorry, sir, that I encouraged her. It was not prudent of me at -all,” she said. - -Grace, after studying the face of the cliff for a few moments, stepped -back and spoke to Ike Fairweather, pointing to a projecting tower of -rock that crowned the tableland like a monument. - -“You can snub the rope around that,” she said. - -“Mrs. Gray, surely you are not going to try that desperate descent?” -begged General Gordon. - -“Try is the word, General. If you think it advisable, take Mrs. Gordon -and Miss Cartwright for a walk. To see me go over may upset them. The -descent is perfectly safe, provided the rope doesn’t break. I have -my reasons, other than mere curiosity, for attempting to get to the -Community House down there.” - -“Very good, Mrs. Gray. Depend upon me for whatever I may be able to do. -I think I understand your real motive. Do not worry about the ladies; -if they cannot stand it to see you go over they can turn their backs on -you.” - -Preparations were quickly made, Miss Cartwright observing wide-eyed -and a little pale. Ike had made a sling with a board bottom for Grace -to sit in. In addition to this, she slipped a loop of the rope under -her shoulders. Grace then produced the ball of strong twine from her -kit, and made an end fast to the “monument.” She directed that some one -keep hold of the twine at all times for signals. - -“One pull will mean that I have a message to send up; two pulls will -advise you that I am to be hauled up,” Grace informed them. “Are you -ready?” - -“Ready!” announced the four men in chorus. General Gordon added that -he would stand at the upper edge of the slope and watch Grace over its -lower edge, from which point she would have a sheer drop of what he -estimated to be about three hundred feet to the cliff dwelling. - -“Loyalheart! Do be careful,” admonished Elfreda anxiously. “I know -there is no use trying to dissuade you from attempting this foolish -thing, so we can do nothing except to wish you luck.” - -“Yes you can--you can hold fast to the rope,” corrected Grace. Smiling -and nodding to her companions, she took a final look about, then crept -cautiously down to the edge of the slope, where the sheer drop began, -waved a hand and disappeared over the edge of the precipice. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY - - -Before starting on her perilous venture, Grace had directed that the -rope be paid out slowly, so as not to set up so much friction that the -rope would be in danger of burning. - -As she went over, Grace took one look below her and closed her eyes, -but after a few moments she summoned her courage, opened her eyes and -looked down. She could see, directly beneath her, the ledge under which -the Cliff Dwellers’ Community House had been constructed. Out in front -of the ledge were the white stone walls and part of the roof of the -ancient structure, which she was on her way to explore. - -“Getting down is easy. It is getting back that is going to be the big -problem,” muttered the plucky girl. “It is worth the risk. Think of -it, Grace Harlowe, you possibly will be the first human being to set -foot on that shelf of rock in ten centuries, perhaps ten times ten -centuries.” - -Grace wriggled and twisted herself into position for a suitable -landing, and, as it was, she grazed the wall of the cliff dwelling, -slipping down the side of it, kicking out vigorously to keep from -tearing her clothing on the protruding points of stone, until her feet -touched the ground. - -“Down! Harlowe luck is with me thus far.” Grace hastily penciled a -note, reading: - -“Arrived safely. Send the string back with a small stone to weight it. -Fine view down here. I start exploring. Don’t worry if you don’t hear -from me for an hour or so.” - -One tug on the line, and the Overton girl was rewarded by seeing her -message slowly rising at the end of the twine. - -Grace thereupon took account of her surroundings. With her glass she -picked up the Lodge, then the tiny dots that she knew were the Overland -Riders’ tents. It was a clear view to the camp, and, as Grace described -it to herself, a good shooting range. - -Now began her explorations. There were heaps of rotted stone and -adobe mortar all about, but taking it all in all, the community house -appeared to be in an excellent state of preservation. Grace took -her time, and moved slowly, using extreme caution, not knowing what -emergency she might have to meet at any moment. Over heaps of stone -and rubbish she climbed to such chambers as she could reach. The -ceilings in the Community House were so low that she was obliged to -stoop; window apertures were no more than six inches across and of -equal height, but the light shed by these was sufficient to enable her -to pick her way about. - -The mustiness of centuries hung heavy on the air despite the -ventilation, and birds, disturbed by her entrance, gave Grace a start -as they winged their way toward the light. Not a relic, however, did -the Overton girl find in her search of the chambers. - -On coming out of the cliff dwelling, Grace suddenly halted and sniffed -the air. - -“That smells like a dead fire,” she muttered. “Perhaps I have company -here.” Picking her way cautiously in under the ledge that formed a -partial roof for the ancient Community House, Grace found herself in -a vast, tunnel-like opening. Black darkness lay ahead of her, but the -odor of a dead fire grew stronger in her nostrils as she proceeded. - -Grace now brought her flash lamp from her pocket, passing it to her -left hand, and, holding the automatic in a firm grip in her right, she -advanced, prepared for emergencies. - -She examined the walls briefly. From their smoothness, it occurred -to Grace that water had once flowed through the tunnel. How far back -the tunnel led into the mountain she could not even guess, but it -was reasonable to suppose that it was not a waterway when the Cliff -Dwellers lived there. - -“I am getting near it! The dead fire odor is growing stronger!” Grace -told herself in a whisper. “I believe my surmises are correct. How -I wish one of the men were with me. However, I’m in it and must go -through with it,” she muttered. - -Using her flash lamp to guard against stepping into a pitfall, the -Overton girl picked her way cautiously along. Here and there were huge -crevices in the wall of the tunnel, which, as Grace described it to -herself, was in reality “the rear yard of the ancient Cliff Dwellers.” - -The crevices, as she shot rays of light into them, were dark and -forbidding, but, looking back, the white towers of the Community House -stood out reassuringly. - -“Ah!” - -Grace had stepped into a heap of ashes and they felt warm under her -feet. Stooping over and running her hand into the mass she found that -the ashes, at the bottom, really were warm. - -“There has been a recent fire here, but the ashes are several hours -old. I wish Tom were here. He could tell me, within half an hour, just -how long ago this heap was a blazing fire. Let me reason this out.” -Grace leaned against the wall and reflected. - -“Some one has been in this place within a dozen hours or so. It is -reasonable to assume, too, that they did not come over the precipice; -hence there must be some other entrance, some other way, and perhaps an -easier one. I am going on.” - -Grace started ahead resolutely, now and then flashing a ribbon of light -to the floor directly ahead of her. Her keenness was rewarded a few -moments later, and the Overton girl, dropping to her knees, examined -the rocky floor with great care. - -What Grace had discovered was the imprint of a heavy-soled boot, faint -but clearly defined. Her next discovery was a frying pan, some tin -plates and a heap of bones that looked as if they might be beef bones. - -“They surely live well up here. I--” - -Grace jumped. That is, her nerves did; her body did not move at all, -but she heard her heart beat, and it was pounding fast and hard. What -had disturbed and startled her was a groan, a distinctly human groan, -and then deep silence settled over the tunnel, broken only by the -faint, repressed breathing of Grace herself. - -The natural impulse was to turn on her light, but Grace Harlowe was too -prudent to do that just yet. She preferred to wait and listen. This -policy produced results. A second groan, more prolonged than before, -followed. - -It was a human groan of distress that she had heard, though whether -real or feigned the girl was unable to decide in her own mind, but she -now realized that she must make the advance herself. Arriving at this -decision, Grace turned on her light, and, with the automatic revolver -thrust ahead of her, ready for instant use, she began a cautious -search for the source of the voice. - -“Groan again, so I may know where you are,” she called softly. “If you -are hoping to play a trick on me I shall shoot on sight!” - -The response came back almost at once, the voice sounding ahead of her -and to the right side of the tunnel. She moved forward with renewed -caution, and, a few steps further on, as she flashed her ribbon of -light into a niche in the wall of the tunnel, she saw him. - -Grace approached cautiously, still holding her weapon at ready, for, -though she was looking down on a man, apparently hound and gagged, she -proposed to take no more than the absolutely necessary chances. - -Leaning over, with the revolver pointed down at him, Grace turned the -light of her lamp into the face of the owner of the voice. As she did -so she uttered an exclamation of amazement. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -GRACE SOLVES THE MOUNTAIN MYSTERY - - -“Joe Smoky Face!” cried Grace Harlowe. “What does this mean?” - -“Me kill um!” raged the Indian who had guarded their ponies on the -night of the Overland Riders’ arrival, after Grace had removed the gag -from his mouth. - -“Kill whom?” - -“Con Bates and Ben Jackson.” - -Grace freed the man from his bonds. - -“Are there rifles here?” - -“Yes.” - -“Get two, quick, if you know where they are. Is any one else here in -this place?” - -“All gone. Not come back till moonrise. When come back mebby kill white -girls. Catch Joe Smoky Face and fetch here.” - -“Joe, did you shoot that arrow into our camp to warn us?” demanded -Grace, a sudden light flooding her mentality. - -“Me shoot arrow.” Joe ran down the tunnel a few yards and returned with -two rifles, both loaded. - -“Now we are all right, if you are certain that no one will come here. -Tell me as quickly as you can, what happened to you.” - -From the Indian’s monosyllables, and, using her imagination freely, -Grace inferred that Joe had overheard the bandits when they were spying -on the Overland Riders’ camp, and, after the men had gone away as Joe -supposed, he had fired the arrow into the camp to warn Grace Harlowe -and her friends. The bandits, however, had not gone away, and when they -saw what Joe had done, they suddenly fell upon him, bound and gagged -him and carried him to their lair in the ancient Community House of the -Cliff Dwellers. - -“Was Con Bates one of those men?” she asked. - -“Him come along.” - -“Who is Ben Jackson?” - -“Bad man who follow white girls till Bates make escape at Globe and -come along to help. Much bad men. Steal much. Plenty here. You find. -Joe Smoky Face know where.” - -“You say they have gone to Globe. Con Bates would not dare to go there. -How did he get out of jail?” - -“Not know. Mebby he not go Globe to-day. Ben Jackson he go. Mebby Con -he stay in bushes.” - -“How many men come here?” - -Joe counted six on his fingers. - -“Show me the way out,” demanded Grace. - -“Hole in mountain. Joe show. Joe show other things.” - -The Indian did. He led the Overton girl into dark recesses in the wall -of the tunnel, where, by the light of her lamp, she saw plunder that -made her eyes widen. It was mostly small merchandise, but valuable. -There were gold and silver articles and some precious stones, but -not many, that Grace, in her hasty examination, thought were of -considerable value. - -In another cache there were silks, carefully wrapped, and a regular -arsenal of rifles, revolvers and ammunition, all probably stolen. Grace -Harlowe’s eyes glowed. - -“Were those men here last night--I mean did they shoot from out there?” -pointing to the mouth of the cave of the Cliff Dwellers. - -“Yes, shoot at white girls’ camp.” - -“I thought so. When I saw the flashes from their rifles, and this -morning looked at this place with my glasses, I made up my mind that -the shots had been fired from here. Joe, we must catch these men, every -one of them. Do you think you can get back to your people without -being seen, provided any of the bandits should still be about your -camp?” - -“Joe get back.” - -“Very good. Go back to your camp on the mountain side and send a -trustworthy Indian to get the sheriff. I will send a letter by you to -the clerk at the Lodge, and he can telephone for the sheriff. When the -sheriff and his party are found, have them led here, but do not try to -get here until dark. Do the bandits keep a guard on the outside of this -place at night?” - -“Joe not know.” - -The Indian was trotting ahead, Grace lighting the way with her lamp. -She observed that the instinct of the Indian enabled him to follow the -outward trail with as little difficulty as if he had been over it many -times. - -“Come end now,” finally announced Joe, the trail having narrowed down -so that they were obliged to go in single file. It was dark as night -where they were, but Joe knew how to reach the light. She saw him put a -shoulder to the low roof and lift from a narrow opening a slab of rock, -which he cautiously shoved an inch or so to one side, and for several -minutes stood with eyes at the crack he had made. - -“All gone,” said Joe, pushing the slab of rock aside. - -Following her guide, Grace crawled out and looked about her. The -opening through which she had emerged was on the sloping side of the -mountain, well screened by cactus. The Indian replaced the slab of -stone, which then looked to be a part of the cavern wall. - -“Very simple,” muttered Grace, gazing about her and fixing every detail -of the surroundings in her mind. The Overton girl then wrote a note to -the clerk of the Lodge, telling him exactly what was to be done, and -that she would remain on watch awaiting the arrival of the officers -after dark. She handed the note to Joe Smoky Face. - -“Joe, you will come back with the sheriff, so he will not miss the -place. I have written that you will. Go, now!” - -The Indian trotted away and Grace saw him secrete the rifle he had -brought out with him. Following his departure Grace got her bearings -and started around the mountain to rejoin her friends whom she knew -were anxiously awaiting a signal from her. - -The amazement of the Overland Riders and their friends when Grace came -walking in among them was too great for words for a few seconds; then -the Overlanders gave a shout. - -“We must pack up at once and the party must return to the Lodge. I’ve -made a great discovery and solved the mystery of the Apache Trail,” -she announced. - -Grace then briefly related the story of her adventure and told the -party what she wished them to do. - -“Above all, say nothing to any person outside of our circle. Do not -even discuss our discovery among yourselves where possibly you may be -overheard, for those men probably have confederates. I wish them to -come back so we may capture them. Miss Cartwright, will you ride my -pony back to camp?” - -“Yes. Why?” - -“So that the same number of persons may return on horseback. Go -directly to the camp, then walk back to the Lodge. I shall remain on -the mountain to watch the tunnel entrance.” - -“Not alone, Mrs. Gray. Surely, we cannot permit you to do that,” -objected General Gordon. “I shall remain there with you.” - -Grace shook her head. - -“It won’t do. Your absence would cause comment, which is exactly what -I do not wish. Having rifle and revolver I shall be able to take care -of myself. All that I shall attempt to do is to watch for the return of -the bandits and make certain that they do not post a sentry outside. -You must be going now, but for goodness sake pull up that rope and -string, and leave me some food to carry in my kit. It is probable that -I shall not be back until late to-night.” - -Ike hurriedly packed up, and after good-byes had been said the party -started down the mountain side on their way to the point where their -horses were tethered. Grace soon lost sight of them, then, tucking the -rifle under her arm, she walked slowly around the mountain, and down, -until she came within sight of the opening through which she had made -her exit from the tunnel. - -After watching for some time, Grace sought a hiding place, which she -found in a slight depression behind a shelf of shale rock. She knew -that there were long, weary hours of waiting ahead of her, but Grace -was determined, now that the opportunity was hers, to turn the tables -for good on the men who had tormented the Overland Riders. - -Con Bates had escaped; how, she could not imagine, and Ben Jackson had -assumed to himself the task of revenging the bandits’ grudge against -the Overland outfit that had objected to being held up and robbed. - -Grace passed most of the time resting, lying back gazing at the sky and -the mountains that stretched away for many miles. At dusk she nibbled -at her luncheon, then settled down in earnest to her vigil. A new moon -hung high in the west, which she knew would shed a faint light on her -elevated position until well into the evening. - -Ten o’clock came, but still no bandits. A few moments after ten o’clock, -however, Grace’s patience was rewarded. She discovered a crouching -figure, which at first she took to be an Indian, but a moment later -saw that it was a white man. He was followed at intervals by five -others, all cautiously approaching the tunnel entrance. After a careful -scrutiny of the entrance, and, apparently finding nothing wrong there, -the six men entered, after one had removed the stone. After the six men -had crawled in, the tunnel opening was closed behind them. - -Grace waited a few moments, then, springing up, ran to the scene, and -began piling rocks on the entrance slab, some being so heavy that she -was obliged to roll them. This she continued until her hands were -blistered and her back was aching desperately. - -“There! I’d like to see a bandit get out now,” emphasized the Overland -Rider, drawing off a little way, and sitting down with rifle at ready -in her lap. - -Not a sound was heard from the tunnel entrance for nearly an hour, then -a faint tapping there indicated to her that the bandits were trying -to break their way out, the prisoner’s escape, no doubt, having been -discovered. - -Grace fired her rifle into the pile of rocks, whereupon the tapping -ceased, but her vigil became an anxious one from that moment on. -Shortly after midnight the Overton girl discovered a shadowy figure -creeping toward her over the rocks. Grace eyed it keenly, then levelled -her rifle at it. - -“Hands up!” she commanded sharply. - -Joe Smoky Face rose and waved a hand. - -“All right! I know you,” called Grace in a relieved tone of voice. -“Where is the sheriff?” - -“Him come.” Joe uttered a whistle, whereupon Jim Collins, with his -deputy, Wheaton, and a posse of ten men, including General Gordon and -Lieutenant Wingate, clambered up the rocks. - -“Your men are over there, Sheriff. I have blocked the entrance, and -believe they are near it now,” Grace informed the sheriff as he came up -to her. - -“Is there no other way by which they can get out, Miss?” he asked. - -“No, sir.” - -“You know the lay of the land; what do you suggest?” - -“Remove the rocks that I have piled up until you come to the slab. -Tell the men--there are six in there--to lay down their arms and come -out, one at a time. Should they refuse, you might tell them you will -keep them bottled up until they surrender, even if it takes a month.” - -The loose stones were immediately removed, as Grace had suggested; -whereupon the sheriff delivered his ultimatum to the bandits. -Lieutenant Wingate, in the meantime, had formed the posse on the upper -side of the tunnel opening. - -Several minutes elapsed without a sound being heard from the tunnel, -then a voice called to Sheriff Collins. - -“We surrender! Don’t shoot!” - -“Look out for tricks!” warned Grace Harlowe. “I think that is Con Bates -speaking.” - -The bandits pushed the slab from the opening and came out singly and -apparently unarmed. - -“Look out!” cried Grace sharply. - -Almost in the same instant a revolver in the hands of Con Bates was -fired. The five other bandits instantly began banging away at the -posse, at the same time scattering and starting to run. - -“Let ’em have it low! Don’t kill them, please,” begged Grace. - -Sheriff Collins downed Con Bates with a bullet in his shoulder. - -Grace took no part in the battle, but sat crouched, chin in hands, -narrowly watching the fight while bullets whined over her head and -ricochetted from the rocks on either side of her. - -The five bandits remaining after their leader had been downed were -tumbled over with bullets in their legs in almost that many seconds. -But the five were plucky. They struggled to their feet and again began -firing. Two volleys from the posse put them down a second time, and -this time they stayed down. - -“That is what I call good shooting!” declared Grace Harlowe, standing -up. - -“Great work! Great work!” approved the general. - -“A fine bunch of critters, you are!” raged the sheriff, addressing the -defeated bandits. “Ought to finish you right here. Thank this woman -that I don’t do that very thing. I’ll do it anyhow if any one of you -galoots so much as bats an eyelash. Throw those guns away!” roared Mr. -Collins. - -The Bates gang gave up and were quickly manacled and searched for -further weapons. The prisoners secured, Sheriff Collins strode over to -Grace. - -“Shake, Pard!” he cried, thrusting out a wiry brown hand. “Bet you’d -face an old she bear with cubs, an’ laugh at her when she made murder -faces at you. We won’t have any more trouble with these critters. I -reckon we’ve got the whole gang now, an’ the trail is clear, thanks to -you an’ your friends.” - -At Grace’s suggestion, Joe led the sheriff and some of his men to the -tunnel, where a large amount of valuable plunder was recovered. That -night the prisoners were bound to horses and started for the jail at -Globe where, this time, they remained until eventually sentenced to -long terms in prison. Of Belle Bates, no trace was found. The guests of -the Lodge next day gave a dance in honor of the Overlanders, to whom -belonged the honor of ridding the Apache Trail of the last band of -desperate men that had preyed upon it. - -General Gordon and his party left a day later, after good-byes had -been regretfully said. At Grace’s suggestion a purse was made up by -the girls for Joe Smoky Face, after he had assisted Ike Fairweather to -pack the equipment in readiness for moving next day, and early on the -following morning the Overland Riders set out in their saddles for the -long journey to Phœnix, where they arrived a week later, tanned by -sun and weather, eyes sparkling and spirits effervescing. - -That day they bade farewell to the faithful old stagecoach driver, -who had already shipped their ponies by rail, and was to follow the -animals on to Globe that night. - -In the evening, the Overland Riders held a meeting at the hotel, at -which they discussed their future plans. It was decided to make the -organization a permanent one, and to seek recreation and adventure in -the saddle each season, until they tired of it. - -It had been a wonderful vacation, with just enough excitement to make -it interesting, as Grace expressed it, leaving the girls of the old -Overton Unit better physically and mentally, with a new beauty in -face and figure, each better equipped to meet life’s responsibilities -through the coming year. - - * * * * * - -“We have not decided where we shall go on our next journey,” reminded -Elfreda Briggs next day, after the Overlanders had settled themselves -in a Pullman car for the homeward journey. - -“I was just thinking of a suggestion offered by Mr. Fairweather,” said -Grace. “In telling me of the adventures of a cousin of his on the -American Desert, he casually mentioned that some time we should try to -make the journey across it in the saddle.” - -“What is there there?” questioned Anne. - -“Principally sand and terrific heat. Crossing the desert on horseback -really is a tremendous undertaking, but, if not strenuous enough to -satisfy us, we might even essay Death Valley. Mr. Fairweather said we -could get his cousin to act as our guide. I am rather inclined toward -the Great American Desert. - -“_Alors!_ Let’s go,” urged Elfreda Briggs. - -“Other things being equal, what do you say, folks?” questioned Grace -smilingly. - -“Yes!” answered the Overlanders enthusiastically. - -Grace chuckled. - -“You do not know it, of course, but, now that you have decided, I am -going to say that you Overlanders are headed straight for an adventure -that will satisfy even Hippy Wingate. I have no doubt the desert is -yawning for us at this very moment,” declared Grace. - -As later events proved, Grace Harlowe was not a false prophet, and, -in a following volume, entitled “GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS ON -THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT,” will be related the experiences of these -adventure-loving girls amid scenes new to them, and in facing trials -that called for sheer pluck and clear heads while riding the trackless -alkali desert of the Great West. - - -THE END - - - - -HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY’S - -Best and Least Expensive Books for Boys and Girls - - -The Motor Boat Club Series - -By H. IRVING HANCOCK - -The keynote of these books is manliness. The stories are wonderfully -entertaining, and they are at the same time sound and wholesome. No boy -will willingly lay down an unfinished book in this series. - - 1 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB OF THE KENNEBEC; Or, The Secret of - Smugglers’ Island. - - 2 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AT NANTUCKET; Or, The Mystery of the - Dunstan Heir. - - 3 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB OFF LONG ISLAND; Or, A Daring Marine Game - at Racing Speed. - - 4 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AND THE WIRELESS; Or, The Dot, Dash and - Dare Cruise. - - 5 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB IN FLORIDA; Or, Laying the Ghost of - Alligator Swamp. - - 6 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AT THE GOLDEN GATE; Or, A Thrilling Capture - in the Great Fog. - - 7 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB ON THE GREAT LAKES; Or, The Flying Dutchman - of the Big Fresh Water. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - Sold by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price. - - Henry Altemus Company - 1326-1336 Vine Street Philadelphia - - - - -Battleship Boys Series - -By FRANK GEE PATCHIN - -These stories throb with the life of young Americans on today’s huge -drab Dreadnaughts. - - 1 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS AT SEA; Or, Two Apprentices in Uncle Sam’s - Navy. - - 2 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS’ FIRST STEP UPWARD; Or, Winning Their - Grades as Petty Officers. - - 3 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS IN FOREIGN SERVICE; Or, Earning New Ratings - in European Seas. - - 4 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS IN THE TROPICS; Or, Upholding the American - Flag in a Honduras Revolution. - - 6 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS IN THE WARDROOM; Or, Winning their - Commissions as Line Officers. - - 7 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS WITH THE ADRIATIC CHASERS; Or, Blocking the - Path of the Undersea Raiders. - - 8 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS’ SKY PATROL; Or, Fighting the Hun from - above the Clouds. - - Price, $1.00 each. - - - - -The Range and Grange Hustlers - -By FRANK GEE PATCHIN - -Have you any idea of the excitements, the glories of life on great -ranches in the West? Any bright boy will “devour” the books of this -series, once he has made a start with the first volume. - - 1 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS ON THE RANCH; Or, The Boy - Shepherds of the Great Divide. - - 2 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS’ GREATEST ROUND-UP; Or, Pitting - Their Wits Against a Packers’ Combine. - - 3 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS ON THE PLAINS; Or, Following the - Steam Plows Across the Prairie. - - 4 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS AT CHICAGO; Or, The Conspiracy of - the Wheat Pit. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -Submarine Boys Series - -By VICTOR G. DURHAM - - 1 THE SUBMARINE BOYS ON DUTY; Or, Life on A Diving Torpedo Boat. - - 2 THE SUBMARINE BOYS’ TRIAL TRIP; Or, “Making Good” as Young - Experts. - - 3 THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE MIDDIES; Or, The Prize Detail at - Annapolis. - - 4 THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE SPIES; Or, Dodging the Sharks of the - Deep. - - 5 THE SUBMARINE BOYS’ LIGHTNING CRUISE; Or, The Young Kings of - the Deep. - - 6 THE SUBMARINE BOYS FOR THE FLAG; Or, Deeding Their Lives to - Uncle Sam. - - 7 THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE SMUGGLERS; Or, Breaking Up the New - Jersey Customs Frauds. - - - - -Grace Harlowe Overseas Series - - 1 GRACE HARLOWE OVERSEAS. - - 2 GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE RED CROSS IN FRANCE. - - 3 GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE MARINES AT CHATEAU THIERRY. - - 4 GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN THE ARGONNE. - - - - -The College Girls Series - -By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A.M. - - 1 GRACE HARLOWE’S FIRST YEAR AT OVERTON COLLEGE. - - 2 GRACE HARLOWE’S SECOND YEAR AT OVERTON COLLEGE. - - 3 GRACE HARLOWE’S THIRD YEAR AT OVERTON COLLEGE. - - 4 GRACE HARLOWE’S FOURTH YEAR AT OVERTON COLLEGE. - - 5 GRACE HARLOWE’S RETURN TO OVERTON CAMPUS. - - 6 GRACE HARLOWE’S PROBLEM. - - 7 GRACE HARLOWE’S GOLDEN SUMMER. - -All these books are bound in Cloth and will be sent postpaid on receipt -of only $1.00 each. - - - - -Pony Rider Boys Series - -By FRANK GEE PATCHIN - -These tales may be aptly described the best books for boys and girls. - - 1 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES; Or, The Secret of the - Lost Claim.--2 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN TEXAS; Or, The Veiled - Riddle of the Plains.--3 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN MONTANA; Or, - The Mystery of the Old Custer Trail.--4 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN - THE OZARKS; Or, The Secret of Ruby Mountain.--5 THE PONY RIDER - BOYS IN THE ALKALI; Or, Finding a Key to the Desert Maze.--6 - THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN NEW MEXICO; Or, The End of the Silver - Trail.--7 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON; Or, The - Mystery of Bright Angel Gulch. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -The Boys of Steel Series - -By JAMES R. MEARS - -Each book presents vivid picture of this great industry. Each story is -full of adventure and fascination. - - 1 THE IRON BOYS IN THE MINES; Or, Starting at the Bottom of the - Shaft.--2 THE IRON BOYS AS FOREMEN; Or, Heading the Diamond - Drill Shift.--3 THE IRON BOYS ON THE ORE BOATS; Or, Roughing It - on the Great Lakes.--4 THE IRON BOYS IN THE STEEL MILLS; Or, - Beginning Anew In the Cinder Pits. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -The Madge Morton Books - -By AMY D. V. CHALMERS - - 1 MADGE MORTON--CAPTAIN OF THE MERRY MAID. - - 2 MADGE MORTON’S SECRET. - - 3 MADGE MORTON’S TRUST. - - 4 MADGE MORTON’S VICTORY. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -West Point Series - -By H. IRVING HANCOCK - -The principal characters in these narratives are manly, young Americans -whose doings will inspire all boy readers. - - 1 DICK PRESCOTT’S FIRST YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, Two Chums in the - Cadet Gray. - - 2 DICK PRESCOTT’S SECOND YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, Finding the - Glory of the Soldier’s Life. - - 3 DICK PRESCOTT’S THIRD YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, Standing Firm for - Flag and Honor. - - 4 DICK PRESCOTT’S FOURTH YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, Ready to Drop - the Gray for Shoulder Straps. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -Annapolis Series - -By H. IRVING HANCOCK - -The Spirit of the new Navy is delightfully and truthfully depicted in -these volumes. - - 1 DAVE DARRIN’S FIRST YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Two Plebe Midshipmen - at the U. S. Naval Academy. - - 2 DAVE DARRIN’S SECOND YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Two Midshipmen as - Naval Academy “Youngsters.” - - 3 DAVE DARRIN’S THIRD YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Leaders of the - Second Class Midshipmen. - - 4 DAVE DARRIN’S FOURTH YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Headed for - Graduation and the Big Cruise. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -The Young Engineers Series - -By H. IRVING HANCOCK - -The heroes of these stories are known to readers of the High School -Boys Series. In this new series Tom Reade and Harry Hazelton prove -worthy of all the traditions of Dick & Co. - - 1 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN COLORADO; Or, At Railroad Building in - Earnest. - - 2 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN ARIZONA; Or, Laying Tracks on the - “Man-Killer” Quicksand. - - 3 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN NEVADA; Or, Seeking Fortune on the Turn - of a Pick. - - 4 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN MEXICO; Or, Fighting the Mine Swindlers. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -Boys of the Army Series - -By H. IRVING HANCOCK - -These books breathe the life and spirit of the United States Army of -to-day, and the life, just as it is, is described by a master pen. - - 1 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS IN THE RANKS; Or, Two Recruits in the United - States Army. - - 2 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS ON FIELD DUTY; Or, Winning Corporal’s Chevrons. - - 3 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS AS SERGEANTS; Or, Handling Their First Real - Commands. - - 4 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS IN THE PHILIPPINES; Or, Following the Flag - Against the Moros. - - 5 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS AS LIEUTENANTS; Or, Serving Old Glory as - Line Officers. - - 6 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS WITH PERSHING; Or, Dick Prescott at Grips - with the Boche. - - 7 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS SMASH THE GERMANS; Or, Winding Up the - Great War. - - - - -Dave Darrin Series - -By H. IRVING HANCOCK - - 1 DAVE DARRIN AT VERA CRUZ; Or, Fighting With the U. S. Navy in - Mexico. - - 2 DAVE DARRIN ON MEDITERRANEAN SERVICE. - - 3 DAVE DARRIN’S SOUTH AMERICAN CRUISE. - - 4 DAVE DARRIN ON THE ASIATIC STATION. - - 5 DAVE DARRIN AND THE GERMAN SUBMARINES. - - 6 DAVE DARRIN AFTER THE MINE LAYERS; Or, Hitting the Enemy a Hard - Naval Blow. - - - - -The Meadow-Brook Girls Series - -By JANET ALDRIDGE - - 1 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS UNDER CANVAS. - - 2 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ACROSS COUNTRY. - - 3 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS AFLOAT. - - 4 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE HILLS. - - 5 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS BY THE SEA. - - 6 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON THE TENNIS COURTS. - -All these books are bound in Cloth and will be sent postpaid on receipt -of only $1.00 each. - - - - -High School Boys Series - -By H. IRVING HANCOCK - -In this series of bright, crisp books a new note has been struck. - -Boys of every age under sixty will be interested in these fascinating -volumes. - - 1 THE HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMEN; Or, Dick & Co.’s First Year Pranks - and Sports. - - 2 THE HIGH SCHOOL PITCHER; Or, Dick & Co. on the Gridley Diamond. - - 3 THE HIGH SCHOOL LEFT END; Or, Dick & Co. Grilling on the - Football Gridiron. - - 4 THE HIGH SCHOOL CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM; Or, Dick & Co. Leading the - Athletic Vanguard. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -Grammar School Boys Series - -By H. IRVING HANCOCK - -This series of stories, based on the actual doings of grammar school -boys, comes near to the heart of the average American boy. - - 1 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS OF GRIDLEY; Or, Dick & Co. Start Things - Moving. - - 2 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS SNOWBOUND; Or, Dick & Co. at Winter - Sports. - - 3 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS IN THE WOODS; Or, Dick & Co. Trail Fun - and Knowledge. - - 4 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS IN SUMMER ATHLETICS; Or, Dick & Co. - Make Their Fame Secure. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -High School Boys’ Vacation Series - -By H. IRVING HANCOCK - -“Give us more Dick Prescott books!” - -This has been the burden of the cry from young readers of the country -over. Almost numberless letters have been received by the publishers, -making this eager demand; for Dick Prescott, Dave Darrin, Tom Reade, -and the other members of Dick & Co. are the most popular high school -boys in the land. Boys will alternately thrill and chuckle when reading -these splendid narratives. - - 1 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ CANOE CLUB; Or, Dick & Co.’s Rivals on - Lake Pleasant. - - 2 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS IN SUMMER CAMP; Or, The Dick Prescott Six - Training for the Gridley Eleven. - - 3 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ FISHING TRIP; Or, Dick & Co. in the - Wilderness. - - 4 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ TRAINING HIKE; Or, Dick & Co. Making - Themselves “Hard as Nails.” - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -The Circus Boys Series - -By EDGAR B. P. DARLINGTON - -Mr. Darlington’s books breathe forth every phase of an intensely -interesting and exciting life. - - 1 THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE FLYING RINGS; Or, Making the Start in - the Sawdust Life. - - 2 THE CIRCUS BOYS ACROSS THE CONTINENT; Or, Winning New Laurels - on the Tanbark. - - 3 THE CIRCUS BOYS IN DIXIE LAND; Or, Winning the Plaudits of the - Sunny South. - - 4 THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE MISSISSIPPI; Or, Afloat with the Big - Show on the Big River. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -The High School Girls Series - -By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A. M. - -These breezy stories of the American High School Girl take the reader -fairly by storm. - - 1 GRACE HARLOWE’S PLEBE YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; Or, The Merry Doings - of the Oakdale Freshman Girls. - - 2 GRACE HARLOWE’S SOPHOMORE YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; Or, The Record - of the Girl Chums in Work and Athletics. - - 3 GRACE HARLOWE’S JUNIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; Or, Fast Friends in - the Sororities. - - 4 GRACE HARLOWE’S SENIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; Or, The Parting of - the Ways. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -The Automobile Girls Series - -By LAURA DENT CRANE - -No girl’s library--no family book-case can be considered at all -complete unless it contains these sparkling twentieth-century books. - - 1 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT NEWPORT; Or, Watching the Summer - Parade.--2 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS IN THE BERKSHIRES; Or, The - Ghost of Lost Man’s Trail.--3 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS ALONG THE - HUDSON; Or, Fighting Fire In Sleepy Hollow.--4 THE AUTOMOBILE - GIRLS AT CHICAGO; Or, Winning Out Against Heavy Odds.--5 THE - AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT PALM BEACH; Or, Proving Their Mettle Under - Southern Skies.--6 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT WASHINGTON; Or, - Checkmating the Plots of Foreign Spies. - - Cloth, Illustrated Price, per Volume, $1.00 - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: - - Page 42 - while we are in motion. _changed to_ - while we are in motion.” - - Page 221 - General Gordon’s wife and companion. _changed to_ - General Gordon’s wife and companion.” - - Page 224 - who had reasurred Mrs. Gordon _changed to_ - who had reassured Mrs. Gordon - - Page 241 - seach for the source of the voice _changed to_ - search for the source of the voice - - Boys of the Army Series - 6, 7 and 8 have been respectively _changed to_ - 5, 6 and 7 - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the -Old Apache Trail, by Jessie Graham Flower - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRACE HARLOWE'S OVERLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 50105-0.txt or 50105-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/1/0/50105/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rick Morris and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the Old Apache Trail - -Author: Jessie Graham Flower - -Release Date: October 1, 2015 [EBook #50105] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRACE HARLOWE'S OVERLAND *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rick Morris and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="divider" /> -<h1>Grace Harlowe’s Overland<br /> -Riders on the Old<br /> -Apache Trail</h1> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="hidehand"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" height="752" alt="" /> -</div> -</div> - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="figcenter width400"> -<img src="images/i-001.jpg" width="400" height="610" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders.</p> -<p class="caption2"><i>Frontispiece.</i></p> -</div> - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<p class="title p150">Grace Harlowe’s Overland<br /> -Riders on the Old<br /> -Apache Trail</p> -</div> - -<p class="title p120 mt3"><small><i>By</i></small><br /> -JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A.M.</p> - -<p class="title"><small>Author of The Grace Harlowe High School Series, The Grace Harlowe -College Girls Series, Grace Harlowe’s Problem, Grace Harlowe’s -Golden Summer, Grace Harlowe Overseas, Grace Harlowe -with the Red Cross in France, Grace Harlowe with the -U. S. Troops in the Argonne, Grace Harlowe with -the Marines at Chateau Thierry, Grace Harlowe -with the Yankee Shock Boys at St. Quentin, -Grace Harlowe with the American Army -on the Rhine, etc., etc.</small></p> - -<p class="title mt3">Illustrated</p> - -<p class="title mt3"><span class="spaced"> PHILADELPHIA</span><br /> -<span class="p120 word-space">HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY</span></p> - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Copyrighted, 1921, by<br /> -Howard E. Altemus</span></p> -</div> - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<h2><a name="contents" id="contents"></a>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> -<table summary="Content"> -<tr> -<td> </td> -<td class="right"><small>PAGE</small></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter I</span>—<span class="smcap">The Call of the Wild</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i">11</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">The Overton girls plan for a summer outing in the -saddle. Hippy has a dark secret. “No weak lemonade -trips for me,” declares Emma Dean. A proposal -that is both interesting and alarming. Old friends -reunited. A journey toward the setting sun.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter II</span>—<span class="smcap">On the Overland Coach</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#ii">25</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Grace Harlowe’s discovery. Overton girls vote for a -night ride on the old Deadwood stagecoach. “Play -tricks on us and you will be sorry.” Off for a novel -ride. Inside passengers register a violent protest. -The coach threatens to fall to pieces.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter III</span>—<span class="smcap">A Thrilling Halt</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#iii">41</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Hippy takes a new kind of “sideslip.” Grace hears -of the savage Apaches. Ike Fairweather is amazed. -Elfreda issues a solemn warning. “Something is going -on here!” exclaims Grace Harlowe under her -breath. “All out, and keep your hands up!”</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter IV</span>—<span class="smcap">The Battle with the Bandits</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#iv">52</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Highwaymen and Overton girls in a pitched battle. -“The cowards!” cries Grace Harlowe. Bandits discover -their mistake too late. Wounded and defeated, -outlaws of the Apache Trail throw away their weapons. -Disaster overtakes the Overton girls.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">6</a></span> -<span class="smcap">Chapter V</span>—<span class="smcap">Wanted by the Sheriff</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#v">63</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">The Deadwood stagecoach goes over a precipice and is -lost. Ike Fairweather’s rage beyond the power of -words to express. Grace gives her prisoners a stern -warning. A grilling journey on foot. A notorious -bandit leader among the captives.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter VI</span>—<span class="smcap">A Shot Well Placed</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#vi">74</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Ike Fairweather joins the Overton party. Riders of -the Old Apache Trail. Lieutenant Wingate comes a -cropper. A succession of spills. The first night in -camp. Hippy’s oratory is checked by a bullet. “Put -out the campfire!” commands Grace Harlowe.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter VII</span>—<span class="smcap">A Lively Night in Camp</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#vii">84</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">The first casualty. A mysterious shot. The Overton -camp is put under guard. Rifle shots alarm the campers. -A silence “heavy with significance.” Ike Fairweather -wings a night prowler. Grace makes a -startling discovery. “The ponies have gone, Mr. Fairweather!”</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII</span>—<span class="smcap">Hippy Calls to Arms</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#viii">94</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Aroused by a low-spoken warning. Hurried preparations -are made to defend the camp. The battle opened -with a thrilling Indian war whoop. “Steady, girls! -We’re going to catch it!” Strategy that bore fruit. -“We have ’em on the run!” cries Hippy.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter IX</span>—<span class="smcap">A Startling Discovery</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#ix">101</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Attackers lose heavily. Indians or white men—which? -The Overton girls enjoy a real picnic. Emma Dean is -missing. “Elfreda, get a rifle and come with me!” -directs Grace Harlowe incisively. “Something serious -surely has happened to Emma.”</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">7</a></span> -<span class="smcap">Chapter X</span>—<span class="smcap">A Double Capture</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#x">110</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Grace picks up the trail. The search continued deep -into a somber canyon. Signal shots are fired. A human -voice sounds close at hand. “Grace! Oh, Grace! -Save me!” wails Emma Dean. Overton girls in the -hands of mountain outlaws.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XI</span>—<span class="smcap">Following a Cold Trail</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xi">123</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">“I tell you I heard Grace’s signal shots!” Lieutenant -Wingate fails to find a trace of the missing ones. -Ike noses out the trail. “Right here’s where they -took to their ponies.” A weird night journey. The -guide confesses himself beaten.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XII</span>—<span class="smcap">An Interrupted Interview</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xii">131</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Threats fail to disturb Grace Harlowe. A bandit’s -wife demands to know why Grace shot Con Bates. -“I’m goin’ to see thet you settle for thet little job.” -Belle Bates meets her match. “Drop thet gun, an’ do -it quick!” commands a stern voice behind Grace Harlowe.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XIII</span>—<span class="smcap">A Struggle for Life</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xiii">138</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">A case of shoot or be shot. “Run, Emma! Run!” A -battle of give and take. Grace gets a bullet wound. -A dash for freedom. The escape. Grace makes the -best of a serious situation. A blood-chilling wail of -agony sounds close at hand.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XIV</span>—<span class="smcap">A Night of Terror</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xiv">150</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">“There it goes again!” Emma Dean gives way to -her fears as the wild, haunting wail is repeated. Two -yellow eyes in the dark. Grace fires a telling shot. -Alarmed by signal shots in the canyon. The two Overton -girls witness a spirited battle.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span> -<span class="smcap">Chapter XV</span>—<span class="smcap">Ike Distinguishes Himself</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xv">160</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">The end of a grilling hike. Western Jones wings the -bandits. Elfreda Briggs sews up Grace Harlowe’s -wound. The operation proves to be more than Ike and -Emma can stand. “Next time I shore’ll look t’other -way,” avers the old stagecoach driver.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XVI</span>—<span class="smcap">A Glimpse into Fairyland</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xvi">166</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Overton girls mess in the weird forest of Sahuaro. The -outfit selects a new name for itself. Lieutenant Wingate’s -speech rudely interrupted. The wonders of the -Apache Mountains are unfolded before the Overland -Riders. Hippy’s chest swells with pride.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XVII</span>—<span class="smcap">Going to Bed in the Clouds</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xvii">175</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Lieutenant Wingate loses his hat, and Ike Fairweather -has a narrow escape. Grace decides to explore the ancient -cliff dwellings. Being above the clouds gives the -Overland Riders a new thrill. An alarm arouses Grace -at dead of night.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XVIII</span>—<span class="smcap">The Hardest Blow of All</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xviii">186</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">A jar and a crash. “Some one has run our wagon off -the trail into the canyon!” gasps Grace Harlowe. -Hippy and the bandits battle in a cloud. Grace takes -a hand. Emma Dean bewails the loss of her black silk -skirt. Horses and riders are now obliged to carry the -Overlanders’ equipment.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XIX</span>—<span class="smcap">Heroines of the Trail</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xix">198</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">The arrival at Roosevelt Dam. Grace Harlowe meets -an old friend from the front. The fame of the Overland -Riders has preceded them. An Apache Indian -engaged to care for the ponies. An evening of real -enjoyment at the mountain inn.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span> -<span class="smcap">Chapter XX</span>—<span class="smcap">The Mysterious Arrow</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xx">205</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">Picnicking by the blue waters of Lake Roosevelt. -“The end of a perfect day!” Guests entertained at -the Overland Riders’ camp. Food, to Hippy, of -greater moment than mere Indians. The army spirit -of freedom. A barbed messenger drops into the camp -of the Overlanders.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XXI</span>—<span class="smcap">A Night of Thrills</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xxi">217</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">A warning of trouble to come. The storm breaks. -“I think we are going to catch it,” mutters Grace -Harlowe. Tents wrecked by the gale. The Overland -camp is swept by bullets from the mountains. Tea -and crackers replace storm and bullets. Guests have -an exciting time.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XXII</span>—<span class="smcap">Relics of an Ancient Race</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xxii">228</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">A picnic in the home of the Cliff Dwellers. A guest -faints on the brink of the chasm. Grace prepares for -her daring descent. General Gordon protests. “Hold -fast to the rope!” All being ready, Grace Harlowe -goes over the edge of the precipice, a smile on her face.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XXIII</span>—<span class="smcap">Between Earth and Sky</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xxiii">236</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">A dizzy descent through space. “Harlowe luck is -with me!” Grace explores the ancient community -house. The mustiness of centuries is on the air. -“That smells like a dead fire!” Grace Harlowe is -startled by a human groan. The discovery.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="number"><span class="smcap">Chapter XXIV</span>—<span class="smcap">Grace Solves the Mountain Mystery</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xxiv">242</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="description">“Joe Smoky Face! What does this mean?” demands -Grace. In the bandits’ lair. A lonely vigil on the -mountain. Grace traps the bandits. “That is what -I call good shooting,” declares Grace Harlowe. -Overland Riders at the journey’s end.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span></td> -</tr> -</table> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<a name="i" id="i"></a> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span> - -<p class="center p150"><strong>GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS ON THE OLD APACHE TRAIL</strong></p> - -<hr class="short" /> -</div> - -<h2>CHAPTER I<br /> -<small>THE CALL OF THE WILD</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“I</span> HAVE asked you to visit me for a twofold reason,” announced Grace -Harlowe to her friends of the Overton Unit. “In other words, I have a -vacation proposal to make to you.”</p> - -<p>“Which, translated into plain English, means that you wish to lead us -into new fields of adventure,” interjected Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps,” smiled Grace.</p> - -<p>“I suspected as much when I received your invitation to come here,” -nodded Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Curiosity has taken full possession of me, Grace. What is the big -idea?” urged Anne Nesbit eagerly.</p> - -<p>“So far as I am concerned, no plans have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span> been made,” replied Grace. -“The original suggestion may have been mine—that is, the suggestion -that we get together for a real outing. From that nucleus, Hippy -says he has worked out a plan that promises entertainment, health -and adventure for the jaded Overton girls after their strenuous war -service. Hippy and Nora will be here in a few moments. He will tell you -all about it.”</p> - -<p>“Dark mystery,” murmured Emma.</p> - -<p>“Let me ask you girls something,” resumed Grace. “Since we returned -from France, where we all did our bit, has each of you been perfectly -contented with the simple life, well content to remain at home without -feeling one little moment’s yearning to see something stirring? Search -your innermost consciousness and tell me what you find there in answer -to my question.”</p> - -<p>For a moment no one essayed an answer; then Elfreda spoke up.</p> - -<p>“To be frank with you, Loyalheart, I have been perfectly miserable,” -declared Miss Briggs thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>Grace nodded and smiled.</p> - -<p>“In France, amid the activity and excitement of war, not to speak of -the peril, I was positive that once out of it, once back in my peaceful -home, I never again should feel the slightest inclination<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span> to wander,” -continued Elfreda. “For a few months, following my return from the war -zone, I really was contented, delightfully so, luxuriously so, I might -say, for I was ‘living the lazy life of Reilley,’ as the doughboys say.</p> - -<p>“Well, finally I awakened from my dream. I was restless, ill at ease. -While away to war my law practice of course had gone to smash. It had -not met me at the train upon my return, either, and the way I felt -I didn’t care; but upon awakening I realized that what I needed was -activity. However, the sort of activity that my particular ailment -demanded was not at hand, and I was on the verge of doing something -desperate when your letter came asking me to join our friends at your -home to talk over a vacation trip. Grace Harlowe, you are a life saver. -That is the honest-to-goodness truth and the whole truth,” finished -Elfreda amid laughter.</p> - -<p>“That is what I say, or rather what I probably should have said had I -the eloquence of our legal friend, Elfreda Briggs,” bubbled Emma. “Give -me excitement or I die!”</p> - -<p>Grace glanced at Anne, who nodded and smiled.</p> - -<p>“I follow where you lead, Loyalheart,” said Anne. “Too bad that the -rest of the Unit are unable to be with us, but those not otherwise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span> -engaged are mostly roaming over the face of the earth, just as we are -proposing to do. By the way, what are we to do—where are we to go and -how?”</p> - -<p>“We are all suffering a reaction from the war, but a strenuous few -weeks in the open surely will settle us down,” said Grace. “There come -Hippy and Nora. Now you will know all about it,” she added, stepping -to the veranda to greet the newcomers. “Welcome, Nora Wingate. How are -you, Lieutenant?”</p> - -<p>“All present or accounted for,” answered Hippy jovially. “Happy to -meet you, ladies,” he greeted, bowing profoundly as he entered the -house. “I haven’t been so pleased over anything since I downed my first -Boche plane in France. There, there, Nora darling, don’t monopolize -the girls. Give your hero husband a chance. I take it that you are to -join out with us in our big mid-summer vacation?” questioned Hippy, -addressing himself to Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>“Are you going to lead the party?” demanded Emma.</p> - -<p>“I may have that honor.” Hippy bowed humbly.</p> - -<p>“Count me out!” emphasized Emma.</p> - -<p>“No, no, no,” protested Anne and Elfreda laughingly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span>“Before jumping at conclusions perhaps it would be as well for us to -listen to Lieutenant Wingate’s plan,” suggested Grace, rising. “Dinner -is being served. Come! We can talk while we eat,” she added, leading -the way to the dining room whose windows overlooked the sloping green -lawns of Grace Harlowe’s much-loved home.</p> - -<p>Elfreda, Anne and Emma had, within the hour, arrived at Haven Home -where Grace had been living quietly and restfully since her return from -France, in which country she and her friends of the Overton Unit had -been serving with the Red Cross during the closing year of the war.</p> - -<p>Grace’s husband, Captain Tom Gray, was still in Russia where he had -been sent from France on a military mission, and Yvonne, her adopted -daughter, was a pupil in a private school in New England, so she felt -free to invite the girls of her Unit to join with her in a summer’s -outing that would offer both recreation and adventure.</p> - -<p>Anne Nesbit, Elfreda Briggs and Emma Dean were the only members of the -Unit who had not already made their plans for the summer.</p> - -<p>While Grace would have been pleased to have all the girls of the -Overton Unit join in her proposed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span> outing, she was just as well pleased -that her invitation had not been more generally accepted. The present -party was of about the right size, as she reasoned it. Then again, the -members of the party had been close associates for many years; they -had shared their girlhood joys and sorrows; they had suffered together -in those desperate days in France when it seemed to them that the very -universe were rending itself asunder, and from all this had been born a -better understanding of each other and a greater love and respect.</p> - -<p>It was, therefore, a happy gathering that sat down to dinner in Grace -Harlowe’s Oakdale home on that balmy mid-summer afternoon. For a time -there was chatter and laughter, the reviving of old college and war -memories, intermingled with occasional chaffing of Hippy Wingate, -always a shining mark for the Overton girls’ teasing.</p> - -<p>“Girls,” finally announced Grace, “Hippy has a dark secret locked in -his heart, to be brought to light only when we girls are present.”</p> - -<p>“I could see the moment he came in that he had,” interrupted Elfreda. -“Hippy always was a poor dissembler.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s what Nora says,” replied Hippy sheepishly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span> -“I believe that you girls are not all aware of the fact that Hippy is -now a man of affairs,” resumed Grace. “Therefore, his words must be -given weight accordingly. Hippy, being too modest to tell you about it -himself, I would have you all know that, upon his return from the war, -he found himself a rich man, following the death of a wealthy uncle -who was so proud of our Flying Lieutenant’s great achievements in the -war that he left Hippy all his worldly possessions. Our Hippy, it is -rumored, is now lying awake nights trying to devise new ways to spend -his fortune.”</p> - -<p>“No, no, nothing like that,” protested Hippy Wingate, with a -disapproving shake of the head. “What I really am trying to figure out -is how <em>not</em> to spend it—that is, not all at once. Of course, so far -as my dear friends are concerned, that is another matter,” added Hippy -quite seriously.</p> - -<p>“My ancestors originated in Missouri. You will have to demonstrate,” -observed Emma Dean amid much laughter.</p> - -<p>“What we are at the moment most interested in is the dark secret. You -have something to say to us,” reminded Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Hippy, do not keep us in suspense,” urged Grace.</p> - -<p>“Go on, darling. They will walk out and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span> leave you if you don’t start -pretty soon,” warned Nora.</p> - -<p>“Ahem!” began Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Are you going to make a speech?” demanded Emma apprehensively.</p> - -<p>“What I am about to say will answer your question. Grace has been -suggesting that this outfit get together and spend the latter part of -the summer in the open. That set my brain in operation.”</p> - -<p>“Your what?” interrupted Emma.</p> - -<p>Grace laughed merrily, and then begged Hippy’s pardon.</p> - -<p>“Upon my return from the war,” resumed Hippy, unheeding the -interruption, “my friend, Captain Jamieson, of the State Constabulary, -asked me to volunteer to serve in the troop with him on strike duty. -I did so. Girls, you have no idea of the joy I found in ‘packing -leather,’ as the horsemen call it—horseback riding. After that -experience with the troop, when Grace was speaking about an outing in -the open, it occurred to me that the Overton Unit might work off its -surplus energy in the saddle, and at the same time have a glorious -outing. Brown Eyes, tell them of your experience in the saddle.”</p> - -<p>Grace related how, after having been made an honorary member of -the troop, she had taken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span> up horseback riding and what a wonderful -revelation it had been to her.</p> - -<p>“Take my word for it, too, Brown Eyes already is as fine a rider -as there is in the troop. The captain says she is a natural born -horsewoman,” declared Hippy with enthusiasm. “Even my Nora promises -that, hereafter, riding horseback is to be her own principal -recreation. How many of you girls ride?”</p> - -<p>Elfreda and Anne said they had ridden some when younger, but not -recently. Emma Dean owned a pony, she said, but had not been on its -back in more than two years.</p> - -<p>“Good!” exclaimed Lieutenant Wingate. “You all at least know how to -stick on leather, so we will proceed to the next stage of the journey. -My great secret is no longer a secret. You already know what I am about -to propose. Do you girls wish to join out with us for a month or so in -the saddle?”</p> - -<p>“To go where?” questioned Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“That is for us girls to decide upon,” interjected Grace. “The first -question to be settled is, who will go?”</p> - -<p>“All in favor of taking a horseback trip say ‘aye’; contrary ‘no,’” -cried Hippy.</p> - -<p>The answer was a chorus of ayes.</p> - -<p>“The ayes have it! We go,” announced the lieutenant, smiling his -pleasure at the decision.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span> -“Have you a suggestion to offer as to where we might go?” asked Anne.</p> - -<p>“It was my thought that we might tour New England,” answered the -lieutenant.</p> - -<p>“New England!” cried Emma Dean. “There isn’t any fun in doing that. -When I go out for adventure I wish the real thing. Adventure in New -England! Huh! It hasn’t existed in New England since the Indians put -down an arrow barrage on the Pilgrim Fathers. You will have to think of -something more exciting than New England if you expect me to go with -you.”</p> - -<p>“Where do we get the saddle horses?” was Elfreda’s query.</p> - -<p>“Hippy will arrange for that,” Grace informed her. “I agree with Emma -that, so long as we are going out for adventure, we should get as far -from the beaten paths as possible. Roughing it in the real meaning of -the term is what we girls need.”</p> - -<p>“That is what I say,” cried Emma. “No weak lemonade trips for me. Give -me a wild west or give me an automobile.”</p> - -<p>“I am certain that Loyalheart has a suggestion to offer,” said Miss -Briggs, nodding in Grace’s direction.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I have,” admitted Grace. “My advice is that we adopt Emma’s -suggestion and go west. Speaking for myself, there is one place<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span> out -there that always has held a great fascination for me. I refer to the -Old Apache Trail in Arizona. From what I have read of that part of the -country, one should be able to find adventure in a horseback journey -over the old trail. Going so far by train, before we start with horses, -will make it rather an expensive trip, but I do not believe it will be -beyond our means.”</p> - -<p>Emma’s eyes widened.</p> - -<p>“Indians? Are there Indians there?”</p> - -<p>“Every bush hides a lurking Apache,” Lieutenant Wingate gravely -informed her.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” exclaimed Emma under her breath.</p> - -<p>“I do not believe it is quite so alarming as that,” laughed Grace. -“Even though there are Indians, we probably shall not be troubled by -them. Are there any further suggestions, girls?”</p> - -<p>“The Apache Trail sounds interesting to me,” admitted Anne.</p> - -<p>“Both interesting and alarming,” averred Elfreda. “However, we know -from past experiences that trouble always goes hand in hand with Grace -Harlowe, so we are fully prepared in advance for whatever may come to -us. What do we take with us, and how are we to dress?”</p> - -<p>“It has occurred to me that we can wear our old army uniforms, without -insignia,” replied<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> Grace. “They will be appropriate for riding, but we -should wear campaign hats in place of our overseas caps. Such changes -of clothing as we shall require can be carried in our steamer trunks -which we will send ahead by express. My advice is not to carry any -finery. Let us keep in the simple atmosphere at all times, bearing in -mind that this will not be a Pullman car outing after we reach our -starting point. How soon can you girls be ready?”</p> - -<p>Elfreda said she would be prepared to leave in about ten days, having -some office legal matters to clear up before going away. The others -said they could be ready in even less time than that, so it was decided -that they should meet at Oakdale for the start for the west on August -first. Hippy, in the meantime, would, so far as possible, arrange by -correspondence for the horses they were to ride, and for such equipment -as had to do with his part in the preparations.</p> - -<p>The following few days were busy ones for all, between riding -horseback, taking short gallops out into the country on such mounts -as they could find at livery stables, and planning for their vacation -in the saddle. On these rides, Hippy and Grace taught the others such -riding points as they had learned in their riding experiences, all -save Emma quickly adapting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span> themselves to the saddle, so that the -week’s vacation at Haven Home lengthened to twelve days before Elfreda -and Emma entrained for home. Anne remained with Grace, there being no -reason why she should return home, as her husband, still in the service -of his country, was on the other side of the Atlantic.</p> - -<p>In the intervening days before the start for the west, Hippy -corresponded by wire and letter, with the postmaster at Globe, Arizona, -who informed the lieutenant that there were two stock farms near that -place, where mounts suitable for the Overton girls’ needs might be -purchased or hired at reasonable prices. It was decided, however, that -no definite arrangement for horses should be made until Hippy had had -opportunity to look them over, with all the girls present to approve of -his selection.</p> - -<p>Grace, having completed most of her preparations for their outing, -now made a brief journey to the city to visit Yvonne at her school, -returning home in time to welcome Elfreda and Emma, who arrived -at Oakdale looking trim and pretty in their new tailor-made serge -traveling suits. Grace looked her two friends over critically on their -arrival.</p> - -<p>“Becoming, but not quite suitable for horseback riding,” she observed, -referring to their costumes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span> -“Our riding suits are in our steamer trunks,” explained Elfreda. “I -know—you said we were not to take any finery along, but surely, while -traveling on a train we should wear something other than our uniforms.”</p> - -<p>Grace admitted that perhaps this would be advisable, and decided that -the party would be less conspicuous in traveling clothes.</p> - -<p>It was a merry company at Haven Home that evening, the eve of the -Overton girls’ departure for the west on what, each one instinctively -felt, was destined to be an eventful journey. Several neighbors came in -and there was music, with Irish songs by Nora, a characteristic speech -from the lips of Lieutenant Wingate, followed by dancing, refreshments -and much chatter, until a late hour.</p> - -<p>After the neighbors had said their good-byes the Overton girls put the -finishing touches to their packing and closed their trunks.</p> - -<p>“To be opened when we reach Arizona,” announced Grace, placing her -trunk key in her purse, smiling at her friends with that rare smile -that so attracted people to her.</p> - -<p>Quite a party was at the station to see the outfit off next morning, -though naturally the crowd was neither so great nor so boisterous -as when, upon her arrival home from the war, Grace Harlowe had been -literally carried from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span> the train to her home, a heroine, not in -theory, but in fact, as the crosses of war of two nations, pinned to -her blouse, bore evidence.</p> - -<p>Farewells were waved from car windows, the tall maples and spreading -elms of Haven Home melted into the distance as the journey toward the -setting sun was begun.</p> - -<p>“Somehow I have a feeling that this vacation of ours is not to be -an unalloyed sweet summer’s dream,” sighed Elfreda Briggs, settling -herself resignedly for the journey.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="ii" id="ii"></a>CHAPTER II<br /> -<small>ON THE OVERLAND COACH</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“O</span>H, girls, I’ve made a perfectly marvelous discovery,” cried Grace -Harlowe as she burst into the parlor of the hotel at Globe, Arizona, on -the morning following their arrival from the east.</p> - -<p>“Which means, watch your step, Overton Unit,” reminded Elfreda Briggs. -“What is the nature of your discovery, a long lost brother or something -of that sort?”</p> - -<p>“My discovery is a genuine old Deadwood stagecoach,” Grace informed her -companions.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span> -Elfreda regarded her narrowly.</p> - -<p>“Our Flying Lieutenant, Hippy Wingate, is examining it now to see if -it is really fit for use,” continued Grace with no abatement of her -enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>“A Deadwood stagecoach?” wondered Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>“That is the kind of coach they used in the old stagecoach days of the -early west,” Elfreda Briggs explained.</p> - -<p>“Eh? The kind that the bandits used to hold up, and rob the passengers? -That husband of mine used to read all about it when he was a youngster. -He declares that had the war not come along when it did, he might have -been a bandit himself,” asserted Nora Wingate. “What does he want to -look over that old stagecoach for?” she demanded suspiciously.</p> - -<p>“Hippy is thinking of taking a ride in it,” smiled Grace. “Listen to -me, girls! I will tell you what Hippy and I have to suggest.”</p> - -<p>“It is about time,” muttered Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“The suggestion is,” resumed Grace, “that we girls take a trip in the -Deadwood coach, say out as far as the Apache Lodge on the trail. There -is no reason why we should not, at least, make a night drive, say up -to about midnight, go into camp for a few hours’ sleep, and then drive -back to Globe in the early morning.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span> Should we like the coaching well -enough we can go on and do the entire hundred and twenty miles of the -Old Apache Trail in that way.”</p> - -<p>“This is all very well, but what about the ponies that the lieutenant -has hired for the ride over the trail?” questioned Anne.</p> - -<p>“We can have the ponies led through to Phœnix and ride them back, -camping along the way back for the rest of our vacation,” replied -Grace. “Hippy will arrange that matter, and make a deal with the -stagecoach owner after he has carefully looked the old wagon over to -make certain that it will go through the trip without falling apart.”</p> - -<p>“You think it will be a perfectly safe thing to do, do you, Grace?” -questioned Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Yes, if the stagecoach holds together,” answered Grace smilingly.</p> - -<p>“If!” muttered J. Elfreda under her breath.</p> - -<p>“But, Grace, suppose a band of bad men hold us up and rob us?” urged -Emma apprehensively.</p> - -<p>“No danger whatever, my dear. Those days have passed in the great west, -as have the savage Apaches of olden time, though the trip will take -us over the ground on which they fought many fierce battles. Ah! Here -comes Hippy now. How about it, Lieutenant?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span>“All set, Brown Eyes. The owner of the stagecoach says he has a new set -of wheels that he will put on, as the old ones would not stand up under -the load we shall have. Otherwise, the old rattler is good for many a -journey over the trail. I think the owner got a good idea from us, and -that he will make the Deadwood stagecoach trip a regular attraction for -tourists. What do you say, girls?”</p> - -<p>“Grace is the one to say,” averred Elfreda. “On our journey out here -you will remember that we decided she should be our captain. I may have -my doubts about the advisability of the proposed coaching trip, but I -will agree to it with a certain mental reservation. <em>Alors!</em> Let’s go!”</p> - -<p>“Have you seen the owner of the ponies?” asked Grace, turning to -Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>Hippy nodded.</p> - -<p>“He doesn’t care what we do, so long as he gets his money.”</p> - -<p>“When will the stagecoach be ready?” questioned Grace.</p> - -<p>“Within an hour, if you decide to make the trip.”</p> - -<p>“That is all very well, so far as it goes,” observed Nora Wingate. -“What I wish to ask is how are we going to sleep and eat?”</p> - -<p>“We shall take with us twenty-four hours’<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span> rations and a small tent, -which can be carried on the roof of the stagecoach. Hippy can sleep -on the floor of the coach and we girls will sleep in the tent,” Grace -informed her companions.</p> - -<p>“Any old place is good enough for Hippy,” complained Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>“A man like yourself, who has slept on a cloud, hovering over the -German lines on the French front, ought not to complain about having -to sleep on nice, soft blankets on the floor of a stagecoach,” teased -Grace.</p> - -<p>“Who’s complaining?” retorted Hippy. “What is the verdict?”</p> - -<p>“Unless there are objections which argument cannot overcome, I shall -decide for taking the stagecoach,” announced Grace.</p> - -<p>“Ladies, please give voice to your preferences, and be quick about it,” -urged Hippy.</p> - -<p>The vote was unanimous for the stagecoach.</p> - -<p>“Brown Eyes, will you attend to getting the food?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, with Nora’s assistance. We will go shopping at once, Nora dear. -Hippy, please tell the stagecoach man that we will take the coach, and -that we shall be ready to leave at four o’clock this afternoon. Please -see that the A tent is shipped aboard our craft. By the way,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span> what does -he propose to charge us for the trip out and back?”</p> - -<p>“Twenty dollars,” replied Hippy. Lieutenant Wingate added, that, if -Grace would give him a memorandum of exactly what she wished to carry -along, he would get the equipment together at once.</p> - -<p>“I will do that now,” replied Grace. “Upon reflection, I would suggest -that you tell the man who owns the ponies we have hired, to hold the -animals here, as we shall be back here to-morrow. I have about decided -that one night with the stagecoach will give us all the thrills we -are looking for in that direction. Anyway, we are out here to ride -horseback, so you girls must not look too hard for comfort in your -surroundings. Riding in this part of the country is work, and you will -discover that it is not at all like galloping about a ring in a riding -academy or pleasant jaunts through shady country lanes.”</p> - -<p>“Or a trip in a luxurious automobile,” suggested Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Or a flight into the blue in a plane,” added Hippy. “Give me the air -every time, the freedom of the skies, the azure and the birds and the—”</p> - -<p>“Look out! Your motor is going to stall,” warned Emma Dean amid general -laughter.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span> -“I agree with you,” nodded Elfreda.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Wingate went out laughing and chuckling to himself, and -after his departure Grace assigned their duties to each of the girls, -then herself started out with Nora to purchase supplies. These -consisted of a small quantity of canned goods, potatoes, bacon, coffee, -and salt and pepper, with a few other odds and ends, all of which Grace -ordered done up in a large package and delivered to the stagecoach man. -The purchases were quickly made and within a very short time Grace and -Nora were back at the hotel.</p> - -<p>“Does the drosky drive up to the hotel for us?” greeted Emma Dean, as -the two girls entered.</p> - -<p>“It does not. I should not care to make our outfit so conspicuous as -that,” rebuked Grace.</p> - -<p>“Oh, fiddlesticks! What is the use of making a splurge when there is no -one to see it?” grumbled Emma.</p> - -<p>“Wurra, child!” cried Irish Nora. “This is no traveling show for the -benefit of the natives.”</p> - -<p>“Nora is perfectly right,” agreed Grace. “We are here for our own -enjoyment, and, though perhaps we may be a show in ourselves, we do not -propose to perform for the edification of the public if we can avoid -it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span> -“What is this I hear about a show?” cried J. Elfreda, at that moment -entering the hotel parlor with Anne.</p> - -<p>Nora explained that Emma wished to drive away in style.</p> - -<p>“Wait! Just wait, Emma, until we return from this trip of ours. If we -do not show the Globites something new in styles after we have passed -through the refining influences of the Apache Trail, I shall admit that -I am not a prophetess,” laughed Elfreda. “I just now saw Hippy with his -coat off working on that old ark, that he calls a stagecoach, before -an admiring audience of natives. He <em>was</em> making himself conspicuous. -Are we expected to trust life and limb to that ancient craft, Grace -Harlowe?”</p> - -<p>“We are and we shall,” answered Grace.</p> - -<p>“Then I think those of you who have property had better make your wills -before embarking. Nora, this applies especially to you and Hippy who -so recently have come into a fortune. Grace made her will before going -overseas to drive an ambulance on the French front, but Emma, having -spent all her money on finery, had no need to make a will.”</p> - -<p>“How about yourself?” questioned Grace teasingly.</p> - -<p>“I am merely a struggling young lawyeress<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span> who isn’t supposed to have -money to will, and who most assuredly has no clients to pay her any. -Isn’t it about time for luncheon?”</p> - -<p>Grace said it was, but that they were waiting for Hippy so that all -might sit down together.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Wingate came in shortly after that, covered with dirt, and a -beauty spot on one cheek.</p> - -<p>“You are a sight, Hippy Wingate,” chided Grace. “How did you get -yourself in such a condition?”</p> - -<p>“Helping the man grease the wagon.”</p> - -<p>“You go right up to our room and make yourself fit to sit down with -civilized persons,” ordered Nora. “I am ashamed to own you as my -husband.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t that a fine way to order around a fellow who has fought the -Boche on high, and who will go down in history as a brave air fighter?” -teased Anne.</p> - -<p>“Some husbands have to be ordered. Mine is one of them,” answered Nora, -giving Hippy’s ear a tweak. “Now run along, little man.”</p> - -<p>Hippy kissed Nora and ran upstairs laughing to himself. Nora’s scolding -did not even penetrate skin deep with Lieutenant Wingate, nor did she -intend that it should.</p> - -<p>Soon after that the Overton College girls filed into the dining room -where a number of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span> tourists were having luncheon. The girls, in their -overseas uniforms, attracted attention at once, many of the guests -having been told who the young women, with the tanned faces and -familiar uniforms, were. The guests also had been informed that the man -with the party was Lieutenant Wingate, a noted American air fighter -who stood high up in the list of those who had downed more than twenty -enemy planes.</p> - -<p>As she took her seat at the table, Grace bowed smilingly to two ladies -who had come in on the train with them that morning.</p> - -<p>“Girls, what shall we eat?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Speaking for myself as a modest person, I think I shall begin at -the top of the menu and eat my way all the way down to the bottom,” -observed Hippy solemnly amid the laughter of the others.</p> - -<p>Luncheon finished, the party went out sight-seeing, and for a look at -the ponies that Hippy had hired for the trip over the Old Apache Trail, -on which journey they would have started on the following morning had -Grace not chanced to discover the old Deadwood stagecoach.</p> - -<p>At three o’clock that afternoon the party of Overton girls loaded their -belongings, such as would be needed for a twenty-four hour jaunt, into -an automobile, and drove to the stable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span> where the stage driver, Ike -Fairweather by name, was preparing to harness up the four horses that -were to draw the coach.</p> - -<p>Hippy removed his coat and assisted in the operations, while the girls -inspected the stagecoach and stowed away their belongings.</p> - -<p>Emma’s nose went up ever so little when she peered into the interior -of the vehicle, observing the old rickety wooden seats, the tattered -curtains and the cracks in the warped flooring.</p> - -<p>“If this old ark lasts until we get out of town, I am no prophet,” she -declared. “What if it breaks down?”</p> - -<p>“We can walk, just as some of us have had to do in France when an -ambulance went out of commission,” answered Grace laughingly. She then -placed blankets on the hardwood seats and packed their provisions -underneath.</p> - -<p>By this time Ike was hooking up the four horses. That he was an -experienced man Grace saw after observing him critically for a few -moments, and she was certain that they could safely trust themselves to -his driving.</p> - -<p>“I have a lurking idea that the girls of this outfit are in for a ride -that they will not soon forget, even though things look favorable,” she -thought, smiling to herself.</p> - -<p>“Grace Harlowe, what are you laughing at?” demanded Anne.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span> -“I was thinking of something very, very funny,” replied Grace.</p> - -<p>“Let me in on the joke, please,” begged Emma.</p> - -<p>“Not now. Perhaps later on.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda regarded her frowningly.</p> - -<p>“If you play any tricks on us, Loyalheart, you will be sorry,” warned -Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“How can you even suggest such a thing?” cried Grace. “Did you ever -know me to play pranks on my friends?”</p> - -<p>“There have been occasions when suspicions assumed real shapes in my -mind,” retorted Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“See to it that this is not one of those occasions. I believe we are -about ready to make our start. Mr. Fairweather, where is there a good -place for us to make camp to-night? I do not think we should try to -make the Lodge this evening. All we desire is to take the coach into -the mountains, make camp, and come back in the early morning. It -doesn’t matter whether or not we go so far as the Lodge.”</p> - -<p>“Squaw Valley or just beyond I reckon is as good as any place on the -trail,” observed the driver, reflectively stroking his whiskers.</p> - -<p>“How far is that from here—I mean Squaw Valley?”</p> - -<p>“Nigh onto thirty mile, I reckon.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span> -“That, I think, will be about as much of a trip as my companions can -stand, so we will say Squaw Valley, or the next available point. I -leave the selection of the camping place to your judgment. What time do -you think we shall reach the Valley?”</p> - -<p>“’Bout ten o’clock. Have to go slow when we get into the hills, an’ -we bump ’em right smart after leavin’ Globe. Sharp turns and narrow -trail in spots, but it ain’t much like the days when I driv a coach an’ -four in the hills an’ carried the mail an’ kep’ a weather eye out for -bandits. Since then them buzz wagons has took all the starch out of -livin’. Ever drive one?”</p> - -<p>“I drove an ambulance at the front for nearly a year of the war,” -answered Grace quietly.</p> - -<p>“You don’t say?” Ike regarded the slender figure of the young Overton -girl, his gaze finally coming to rest on her well-tanned face. “Come to -look you over, you’ve got a mighty steady eye an’ a good jaw. I’ve seen -thet kind before an’ sometimes behind a gun. Thet kind is fine till you -get them riled, then look out for the lightnin’. Where you goin’ to -ride?”</p> - -<p>“Outside with you until we reach Squaw Valley, if I may,” answered -Grace smilingly.</p> - -<p>“Glad to have you. All aboard thet’s goin’!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span> -“Please get in with the girls, Hippy. Later on you and I will change -seats, if that will suit you,” said Grace.</p> - -<p>The lieutenant stood aside until the four girls were safely stowed away -in the stagecoach, Grace, in the meantime, having swung herself up to -the front seat with the driver. The door slammed, Ike cracked his whip, -and the coach started with a jolt that brought strong protest from the -passengers down below.</p> - -<p>“Hey there, you!” shouted Hippy, thrusting his head out. “I haven’t got -my safety belt on, so don’t take off like that again or you will throw -me out.”</p> - -<p>“Hang on, Lieutenant!” urged Grace, her laughing eyes peering over the -edge of the coach into the red, perspiring face of Hippy Wingate. “That -is the way I had to do when I went flying with you in France. If you -will recall, you said yesterday that you must have excitement. I am -simply providing it for you, and I have an idea you will get all you -wish by the time we have done with this journey.”</p> - -<p>The lieutenant drew in his head and they heard nothing more from him -for some time.</p> - -<p>The Deadwood stagecoach swept out with a rattle and a clatter and a -groaning in every joint, that aroused the apprehension, not only of its -passengers, but of persons on the streets<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span> who paused to see the outfit -wheel past them, the four horses at a brisk trot.</p> - -<p>Leaving the town quickly behind them, the stagecoach swept out into the -open. The smoke of the Old Dominion and Inquisition smelting furnaces -hung gray against the sky, but the Overton girls were soon past the -tall black buildings of cooling copper, riding away toward the west at -a pace that caused the stagecoach to complain even more bitterly than -before.</p> - -<p>It was to be a mere outing, a jaunt in an historic old stagecoach, over -an equally historic trail, but that was all, so far as Grace Harlowe -and her friends had planned it. What the “jaunt” developed into was an -exciting adventure, which had in it all the elements of a real tragedy. -Grace already was glorying in the fresh air, the roll of the vehicle -under her, and the uncertainty of what the next moment held for her.</p> - -<p>“Will our wagon stand a lively run down the grade?” she questioned, as -they topped a rise and she saw a stretch of about half a mile of trail -falling away and disappearing in the valley below them.</p> - -<p>“I reckon it will,” grinned the driver.</p> - -<p>“How about the horses?”</p> - -<p>“Thet’s all right. Don’t you worry ’bout the nags, Miss.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span> -“Then shake them out. Let’s stir up those people in the coach and show -them what riding in a Deadwood stagecoach really means,” eagerly urged -Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>Ike did. He gave the reins a shake and cracked the long-lashed whip -that sounded to Grace like the report of a pistol.</p> - -<p>The horses responded instantly, starting down the steep grade at a -lively gallop, accompanied by encouraging yelps from Ike Fairweather.</p> - -<p>“Thet’s the way we driv when we thought the Redskins was after us,” he -called to Grace without turning his head.</p> - -<p>Twenty seconds later the coach was rolling like a ship in a heavy sea, -accompanied by a medley of shrieks and shouts of protest from the -jumbled cargo of passengers inside.</p> - -<p>“Faster! Faster, Mr. Fairweather,” urged Grace.</p> - -<p>Ike’s yelps grew louder and closer together, and the gallop of the -four-horse team became a run. About this time the occupants on the -inside of the coach, having reached the limit of their endurance, -registered a violent protest.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span> -</div> -<h2> -<a name="iii" id="iii"></a>CHAPTER III<br /> -<small>A THRILLING HALT</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“H</span>I, up there! Cut the gun!” bellowed the voice of Hippy Wingate, using -an aviator’s term for shutting off the power. “Stop it, I say! You will -have us all in the ditch!”</p> - -<p>Grace grinned at Ike and Ike grinned at his team. Neither made any -reply to Hippy’s wail of distress. Grace’s hat was now off, her hair -was blowing in the wind, and her eyes were snapping.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that <em>was</em> glorious, Mr. Fairweather,” she cried as the stagecoach -reached the bottom of the grade and lurched around a sharp curve on two -wheels, a proceeding that brought another series of shrieks from the -occupants of the coach.</p> - -<p>Hippy was still protesting and threatening, then suddenly Grace and -Ike were startled at hearing the lieutenant’s voice close behind them, -right at their ears, it seemed.</p> - -<p>Grace turned and found herself looking into the flushed face of Hippy -Wingate whose head<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span> and shoulders were above the top of the coach. He -was standing on the window sill of the door and clinging to the edge of -the roof of the stagecoach.</p> - -<p>“Get down, Hippy! You will be thrown off and hurt,” begged Grace.</p> - -<p>“I can’t be any worse injured than I am now after being played football -with inside of this old box. What’s the matter? Isn’t there a brake on -this bundle of junk?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. Sorry, but I thought you might enjoy a few sideslips to -remind you of France. Please stop, Mr. Fairweather. He will break his -neck if he tries to get down while we are in -<a name="motion" id="motion"></a><ins title="Original omitted closing quotation mark">motion.”</ins></p> - -<p>Ike applied the brake and pulled up the horses, whereupon Hippy sprang -down to the trail and swung aboard again.</p> - -<p>“If you do that again I’ll walk,” was his parting threat.</p> - -<p>“How’d you like it, Miss?” grinned the driver.</p> - -<p>“Splendid! I have not had such an exciting ride since one time when I -was racing with my ambulance in France to clear a cross-roads ahead of -a shell that was on the way there,” declared Grace.</p> - -<p>“I was goin’ to ask you ’bout the war. You must have seen some big -ones—big shells?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span> -“Many of them.”</p> - -<p>“Never got hit, did you!”</p> - -<p>“I was wounded three times.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t say!” Ike gazed at her with new interest. “Was he in the -war, too?” referring to Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, as an aviator, and fought many battles in the air. All the young -women who are with us on this drive also saw service in the war zone in -France. They were a part of the Overton College Unit that went overseas -for the Red Cross.”</p> - -<p>“Must have been purty bad business, thet.”</p> - -<p>“It was, but I would not have missed it for anything. Did many men from -your city go to the war?”</p> - -<p>Ike nodded.</p> - -<p>“Some didn’t come back, neither. S’pose your ambulance got hit once, -anyway?”</p> - -<p>“I lost four cars during the time I was driving. Two were blown up and -the others were wrecked in accidents,” Grace informed her companion on -the driver’s seat. “My husband is still in the service. He is now in -Russia where he was sent after the armistice was signed.”</p> - -<p>“Your husband? You don’t say! I wouldn’t think it. Why, you don’t look -like more’n a school girl. I’ll bet he’d like to be here right this -minute.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span> -“And I’ll bet I should like to have him here, too,” answered Grace -smilingly. “Do you think we shall be able to stir up any excitement on -the trail? We propose to do the entire journey on our ponies, you know, -starting the day after to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“Mebby, mebby,” reflected Ike.</p> - -<p>“Are there any Apaches left in the mountains?” questioned Grace.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Too many of ’em.”</p> - -<p>“Friendly?”</p> - -<p>“Sometimes when they want to beg or steal somethin’ from you. Don’t -trust ’em, Miss. An Indian’s an Indian, ’specially when he’s an Apache. -They’d do a heap lot more than they do if they dared. Can you shoot?”</p> - -<p>“Some,” admitted Grace.</p> - -<p>“I’ll bet you’re a dead shot. If them eyes was behind a gun thet was -pinted at me, I’d put up my hands without bein’ asked a second time.”</p> - -<p>“Were you ever held up by bandits?” asked Grace, eager to get the old -stagecoach driver started talking of his experiences.</p> - -<p>“Regular thing in the old days.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do in those emergencies?”</p> - -<p>“Ginerally put up my paws when I was invited to. Such fellows can shoot -and most always does.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span> -“But, Mr. Fairweather, did your passengers never venture to defend -themselves!”</p> - -<p>“Once a man did. He’s down there now, near where we’re goin’ to stop -for chuck—in Squaw Valley.”</p> - -<p>“He was not quick enough! Is that it, sir!”</p> - -<p>“You said it. Was the Germans quick on the trigger?”</p> - -<p>“Their sharpshooters were very quick. Good shots, too, all of them, but -our sharpshooters could beat them at stalking. You know our boys like -to fight Indian style, while the German fights by rule and orders.”</p> - -<p>The driver nodded his understanding, and began admonishing the -off-wheel horse who was using his heels rather too freely.</p> - -<p>“Thet critter would run away if I give him half a show,” grinned Ike.</p> - -<p>“Of course if he were to do that and turn the coach over, you could not -help yourself, could you, Mr. Fairweather?” questioned Grace innocently.</p> - -<p>Ike gave her a quick sidelong glance, but Grace Harlowe’s face was -guileless.</p> - -<p>“I b’lieve you’d like to have him run away,” he chuckled.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, nothing like that, sir. My friends might get hurt. Otherwise, -I should not mind it at all.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span> -“You shore are a queer one,” muttered Ike. “Over beyond the rise you -see ahead is Squaw Valley. Good water there and fine place to have -chuck. How much further do you reckon on goin’?”</p> - -<p>“I was about to suggest that you decide that. If we ride until ten -o’clock it will be late enough. I imagine, too, that our friends in the -coach will have had enough of it by then. After leaving the Valley, if -we decide to go further, I will go inside, giving Lieutenant Wingate an -opportunity to ride outside with you. Perhaps you may be able to induce -him to tell you how he fought the Huns above the clouds. I know you -will enjoy hearing of it from a man who has fought that way.”</p> - -<p>“Shore, I would. Never was a prisoner over there, was you?” asked Ike.</p> - -<p>“Yes, the Boches got me once and sent me to a prison camp, but I made -my escape. They came near getting me twice after that.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! Got a family?” Ike was determined to get all the information he -could. He had been doing it for years from the passengers who rode with -him on top of the stage.</p> - -<p>“If you mean children, I have a daughter, an adopted French girl. I -found her in a deserted French village one night, the village at the -time being under heavy artillery fire. I adopted the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span> little one later, -and she is now at school back east. Isn’t that Squaw Valley?” asked -Grace, pointing.</p> - -<p>“Thet’s her.”</p> - -<p>A few moments later the stagecoach drew out to one side of the trail -and stopped.</p> - -<p>“All out for mess,” cried Grace, springing to the ground. “How do you -folks feel after that delightful ride?”</p> - -<p>“Ride, did you call it?” demanded Hippy Wingate, getting out -laboriously and limping about to take the kinks out of his legs. “It’s -worse than hitting one of those bumpy white clouds with an airplane.”</p> - -<p>“Grace Harlowe, I believe you gave us that shaking up on purpose,” -accused Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>The others voiced their protests in no uncertain manner.</p> - -<p>“You will forget all about it after we have made tea and cooked our -bacon,” comforted Grace, neither admitting nor denying the accusation. -“There is nothing like a good shaking up to accelerate one’s appetite.”</p> - -<p>Under Grace Harlowe’s skillful hands a little fire was soon flickering -beside the trail, the driver eyeing the blaze with approval; then the -Overton girls got briskly to work preparing the supper.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span> -“Where’d you learn to make an Indian cook-fire?” demanded Ike.</p> - -<p>“My husband taught me. He is a forester, you know,” replied Grace.</p> - -<p>“Know how to make a lean-to?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll do. No tenderfoot ’bout you. Reckon I’ll fetch water for the -folks and horses now.”</p> - -<p>The party ate sitting on the ground, Ike’s interest during the meal -being divided between Grace Harlowe and Lieutenant Wingate. They were -the first real heroes that he had ever known, and he proposed to make -the most of his opportunity.</p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. Fairweather, shall we go on?” asked Grace after they had -finished the meal.</p> - -<p>“Reckon so. Better camping ground further on.”</p> - -<p>Equipment was quickly packed away and Ike hooked up for the start, but -before leaving, Hippy Wingate and Elfreda issued a solemn warning that -there was to be no more speeding.</p> - -<p>The night, now upon them, was moonless, but the stars shed a faint -light on the trail causing it to stand out dimly for a short distance -ahead of them, save here and there, where overhanging rocks threw it -into a deep shadow. It was an ideal night for traveling, cool but -invigorating,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span> with the breath of mountain and canyon heavy on the -still evening air.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Wingate was riding with the driver, Grace now being inside -the coach with the other girls. To protect themselves from the chill -mountain air, Elfreda, Anne, Emma and Nora had wrapped themselves in -blankets and were dozing off to sleep.</p> - -<p>Grace was not sleepy, though the slow movement of the stagecoach as -the horses climbed the steep grade was monotonous. She was too keenly -alive to the wonders of the mountains to think of sleep, anyway. Grace -leaned well out, with head down, watching the white trail that had -echoed to the scuff of the moccasin of the savage redmen so many times -in the past, and that was slipping slowly from under her, now and then -gazing ahead along the narrow way with wondering eyes. The distant -conversation of Lieutenant Wingate and Ike Fairweather drifted down in -undistinguishable murmurs.</p> - -<p>“Hippy is filling Ike with war stories, and he is drawing the long bow -too, I’ll venture to say. What’s that?” Grace drew a sharp breath and -her heart gave a thump.</p> - -<p>The Overton girl thought she had seen a figure dart to the side of the -road and into the shadow of the rocks as the coach swung around a sharp -bend on the mountain trail.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span> -“Yes, there is another! Something is going on here!”</p> - -<p>Grace opened the coach door on the opposite side. There was a long, -sloping bank on that side, the right side, leading down, she did not -know how far, for the bottom was in deep shadow.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps there are Indians on the trail,” muttered Grace, slipping out -to the trail, and closing the coach door behind her as she trotted -along beside the slowly moving stagecoach. She then hopped to the step -where she crouched, clinging to the door frame with one hand. Grace -could still hear Hippy and Ike Fairweather speaking, and so interested -were they in their conversation that they failed to see what Grace -Harlowe’s keen eyes had discovered.</p> - -<p>“After all, what I saw may be simply prowlers,” reflected Grace, though -her intuition told her that the figures she had discovered on the trail -ahead meant something more than mere prowling.</p> - -<p>Grace Harlowe’s intuition, in this instance, was not at fault.</p> - -<p>Two rifle reports close at hand broke the mountain stillness, and the -coach stopped with a sudden jolt as Ike Fairweather brought his horses -to their haunches, so quickly did he pull them up.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span> -A cry, which Grace recognized as having been uttered by Emma Dean, was -heard in the coach.</p> - -<p>“Flat down on the floor, every one of you, and not another sound!” -commanded Grace in a low voice, dropping on all fours to the trail, and -in that position crawling under the coach on hands and feet.</p> - -<p>Before ducking under, a quick upward glance had shown Grace that -Lieutenant Wingate’s hands were thrust above his head, and that Ike -Fairweather was holding his as high as possible.</p> - -<p>“All out, and keep your hands above your heads!” commanded a stern -voice on the mountain side of the coach. “Quick!”</p> - -<p>Grace Harlowe unlimbered her little automatic revolver from its holster -under her blouse, the weapon that she had carried through the war.</p> - -<p>Four frightened girls, crouching on the floor of the Deadwood coach, -had not uttered a sound since the command to step out was uttered, nor -had they made a movement to obey that command.</p> - -<p>“Come out of that on the jump!” ordered the same stern voice that Grace -had first heard, but this time in a new and more menacing tone.</p> - -<p>A pair of booted legs appeared before Grace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span> at the side of the coach, -and she heard the coach door jerked open, followed by a scream from -Emma.</p> - -<p>Without an instant’s hesitation, Grace thrust her revolver forward -until its muzzle was close to one of the booted legs, and pulled the -trigger.</p> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="iv" id="iv"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /> -<small>THE BATTLE WITH THE BANDITS</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE highwayman uttered a yell, and leaped clear of the ground, dropping -his rifle, which clattered to the trail within easy reach of the -Overton girl’s hand.</p> - -<p><em>Bang!</em> <em>Bang!</em></p> - -<p>Two rifle bullets ripped through the roof of the old stagecoach.</p> - -<p>“The cowards!” fumed Grace under her breath.</p> - -<p>Snatching up the rifle that the highwayman had dropped, she crawled out -from under the coach, and ran around behind it just as two more bandit -shots rang out.</p> - -<p>Grace threw the rifle to her shoulder and fired at a shadowy figure -that she could barely see, and, in the next second, Lieutenant -Wingate’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span> heavy army revolver cracked spitefully from the front seat -of the coach. With Grace Harlowe’s first shot Hippy had unlimbered, and -his revolver was now banging away to good purpose, as Grace realized -when she heard another yell of pain.</p> - -<p>“Look out, Grace, I’m coming!” warned Hippy as he leaped from the top -of the coach to the trail.</p> - -<p>“Disarm this fellow, please! He is wounded only in the leg, and he’s -dangerous. I will take care of the others while you are doing that,” -said Grace, starting to creep forward with rifle ready to fire.</p> - -<p><em>Bang!</em></p> - -<p>A revolver flashed from behind a jutting shelf of rock.</p> - -<p><em>Bang!</em></p> - -<p>The rifle in Grace Harlowe’s hands answered the revolver shot. She -heard her bullet smack against the shale rock and pieces of stone -patter on the trail.</p> - -<p>“Ouch!” grunted the bandit who had fired at her.</p> - -<p>Grace was certain that she had not hit the man, but she believed that a -splinter of rock had accomplished what her bullet had missed doing.</p> - -<p>While all of this was going on, Hippy was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span> removing the weapons -from the bandit through whose leg Grace had fired a bullet from her -automatic revolver.</p> - -<p>The Overton girl was still cautiously creeping forward.</p> - -<p>“If any of you highwaymen fires another shot it will be your last,” she -warned.</p> - -<p>“Look out, Mrs. Gray! I reckon there’s another of them critters behind -thet pint of rock,” drawled the calm voice of Ike Fairweather, who -sat holding his horses, observing the fight with fascinated eyes. -Ike, eager as he was to get into the fight, dared not leave his team, -knowing that, if he did so, they would promptly run away with the coach -and outfit.</p> - -<p>“I have my eye on him, Mr. Fairweather,” replied Grace in a voice that -was without a trace of excitement. “You heard what I said, fellow!” -she added, addressing the bandit lurking behind the rock. “Toss your -weapons into the road! Toss them out!”</p> - -<p><em>Bang!</em></p> - -<p>Again Grace Harlowe had fired at the same rock, and again she heard a -scattering rain of shale that her bullet dislodged.</p> - -<p>The highwayman hiding there threw his rifle away. She heard it fall on -the trail, but was certain that the man still possessed at least one -revolver, and perhaps two. -</p> - -<div class="figcenter width400"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span> -<img src="images/i-002.jpg" width="400" height="602" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">“Disarm This Fellow.”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span> -“The rest of them! You have two more weapons. Out with them, quick!”</p> - -<p>Two revolvers followed the rifle and fell on the trail, just as she was -about to emphasize her command with another shot, as a reminder that -she meant what she said.</p> - -<p>With rifle at ready, Grace now sprang boldly to the ledge of rock where -she saw a man standing leaning against a tree, a hand pressed to his -forehead. A few yards further on were two others, one lying beside the -trail, the other sitting with his back against a rock.</p> - -<p>“How many of you are there?” demanded Grace of the standing man.</p> - -<p>“Three others,” weakly answered the bandit.</p> - -<p>“Are the two here badly hurt?”</p> - -<p>“I—I don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter with you?”</p> - -<p>“Splinter of rock hit me on the head,” groaned the fellow.</p> - -<p>“You stand where you are if you know what is good for you,” directed -Grace. “Get up!” she ordered, stepping over to the sitting bandit.</p> - -<p>“I can’t. Got smacked in the laig an’ haid. I reckon I’ll git you yet -fer this bizness.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t threaten. Hippy!”</p> - -<p>“Righto!”</p> - -<p>“When you can leave your patient, please come here.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span> -Lieutenant Wingate approached at a brisk trot. By now the rest of -the Overton girls, having found their courage, had crept from the -stagecoach and were hiding behind it, peering out through troubled -eyes. Elfreda finally stepped out and walked slowly toward the scene of -activity, but halted a little distance from it, not wishing to detract -Grace’s attention from her work.</p> - -<p>“Please search the fellow sitting here and remove his weapons, Hippy. -Also, please see if I have killed the one on the ground there. I can’t -quite bring myself to touch either of them,” said Grace.</p> - -<p>The man referred to was not dead, but he was unconscious.</p> - -<p>“He will be out of his trance soon, I think,” announced Hippy after a -brief diagnosis. “He has a dandy scalp wound. Good work, Brown Eyes. -Any more of his kind looking for trouble?”</p> - -<p>“I think not. Have you searched each one, Hippy?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.” Lieutenant Wingate was still working over the unconscious -bandit. “He is coming around now.”</p> - -<p>“Elfreda!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Grace.”</p> - -<p>“Where are the girls?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span> -“Hiding behind the coach until the smoke of battle has cleared.”</p> - -<p>“Please tell them to watch the fellow that I winged first, and to shout -if he tries to crawl away. You ask Mr. Fairweather if he has any rope. -When we get these fellows in condition to move we shall have to tie -them.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda walked back to the coach, returning a few moments later with a -coil of clothesline.</p> - -<p>“Is there anything more that I can do to assist you, Grace?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Tell Mr. Fairweather to turn the coach around, for we must return -to Globe as quickly as possible. The prisoners must have attention, and -then—”</p> - -<p>“Jail,” suggested Elfreda.</p> - -<p>Grace nodded.</p> - -<p>“The driver says he will have to unhook the horses and turn the coach -around by hand,” Miss Briggs reported.</p> - -<p>“Tell him to do so. What will he do with the horses while turning the -vehicle?”</p> - -<p>“He says he must stake them down,” replied Elfreda, “because the team -will run away the instant his back is turned.”</p> - -<p>Grace made no reply, but stepped over to Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>“How is your man?” she questioned.</p> - -<p>“He will be ready for jail by the time Ike is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span> ready to start. That’s -all right, old pard,” he added, speaking to the man he was working -over. “Don’t struggle, for I can’t spare the time just now to clout -you over the head. You thought this wagonload of girls would be an -easy mark to rob, didn’t you? I reckon you have several other guesses -coming. Of course you couldn’t be expected to know that this crowd is -right out of the war zone in France, every mother’s daughter of them -just eager for trouble. The matter with you amateurs is that you don’t -know how to start a real mix-up.”</p> - -<p>“Please don’t nag the man, Lieutenant,” admonished Grace.</p> - -<p>“I’m not. I’m giving him brotherly advice for the good of his -physiognomy. How is the bird there by the coach?”</p> - -<p>Grace said the girls were watching that bandit. She handed the -clothesline to Hippy.</p> - -<p>“You must tie his feet. He promises to be troublesome,” she warned, -referring to the man that Hippy had restored to consciousness. “Be -humane about it, and do not hurt him unless you have to. Should that be -necessary make a quick, clean job of it.” This was said principally for -the benefit of the prisoner.</p> - -<p>“Leave him to me,” growled Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>“When the patient is able to be moved, please<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span> carry him to the coach. -Mr. Fairweather will help you, if you need him. While you are doing -that I will keep watch over the fellow with the damaged head.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t need any assistance, thank you,” returned Hippy, who, after -tying the feet of his prisoner, grasped the bandit under the arms and -dragged him to the coach, where he dumped the man on the ground.</p> - -<p>“Here’s two of the birds, Isaac,” chuckled the lieutenant. “Two more -over there are being guarded by Mrs. Gray. Think we girls are able to -take care of a cheap bunch of highwaymen, such as these fellows?” he -demanded.</p> - -<p>Ike stroked his whiskers.</p> - -<p>“Between you and thet there little woman over there, I shore reckon you -could clean up ’bout three times your weight in mountain lions. Never -did see anythin’ like the way she lit into ’em. Bah!” growled Ike, -giving the man whom Grace had shot in the leg a prod with the toe of -his boot.</p> - -<p>“Lucky for you, you sneak, thet the woman banged you in the leg. She -could just as easy put thet lead through your head. She’s the little -lady thet can put ’em where she wants ’em to go, any old time,” -finished the driver.</p> - -<p>“How soon will you be ready?” questioned Lieutenant Wingate.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span> “We’ll be -on our way right smart, I reckon. Where do you figger on putting ’em?”</p> - -<p>“Two on the floor on blankets, so it will not be so hard on them. The -other two bandits can sit up and I will do the watching. There will be -room for myself and three women inside. The other two passengers can -squeeze in on top of the coach with you. That all right, Ike?” “Shore. -Have it any way you like. Mebby they won’t be surprised back in Globe -when we come crackin’ in with these birds. I’ll bet a stockin’ full -of marbles thet the sheriff’ll be glad to get his hands on ’em. Mebby -these are the fellows that have been stealin’ things at both ends of -the trail.”</p> - -<p>“There!” exclaimed Hippy, straightening up. “I think you two will now -stay tied until I get ready to untie you. Nora, will you watch them? If -one of them so much as speaks to you, you yell for me.”</p> - -<p>Ike, having staked down his horses at the edge of the trail, now began -turning the coach around. Lieutenant Wingate, in the meantime, had -rejoined Grace.</p> - -<p>“Are they behaving themselves?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Perfectly, Lieutenant. I can’t help feeling that it was -unsportsmanlike in me to shoot that fellow through the leg without even -giving him a chance to defend himself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span> -“Ho, ho, ho!” roared Hippy. “I shall have to repeat that to Nora. -Listen to these words of wisdom from a man of wisdom. When you set -out to finish a poisonous snake, wallop him! Do not wait for him to -coil, nor strike from a letter S position. Get him! That is the method -I followed in fighting Boches in the air. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be -here, but some other fellows would be there still. Hulloa! What is -going on back yonder? Run, Grace! I believe the prisoners are trying to -get away.”</p> - -<p>They could hear the girls uttering cries of alarm.</p> - -<p>Grace wheeled like a flash, but she did not run. Instead, she uttered a -peal of laughter.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that is too bad,” she cried, suddenly changing her tone.</p> - -<p>“What is it? What is it?” demanded Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Nothing worth worrying about. The old stagecoach got away from Mr. -Fairweather while he was turning it, and it went over the edge of the -trail into the canyon, that’s all. Listen! You will hear it strike the -bottom in a few seconds.”</p> - -<p>“There she goes! Good-bye, old Deadwood,” added Grace as a distant -crash was borne faintly to their ears.</p> - -<p>“Now we surely are in a fix,” groaned Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="v" id="v"></a>CHAPTER V<br /> -<small>WANTED BY THE SHERIFF</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“W</span>ATCH the prisoners, Hippy! Anybody hurt?” called Grace as she came -running to the scene of the disaster.</p> - -<p>“No, but Mr. Fairweather’s feelings are considerably ruffled,” replied -Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>Ike, after having been dragged to the very edge of the trail by the -coach, had picked himself up and was brushing the dirt from his -clothes, for he had been dragged right across the trail, but let go -just in time to save himself.</p> - -<p>“Why, Mr. Fairweather, what in the world has happened?” begged Grace -solicitously.</p> - -<p>“Don’t ask me, woman, or I’ll say somethin’. I’m mad clean through.”</p> - -<p>“I do not blame you,” answered Grace sympathetically. “How did it -occur?”</p> - -<p>“The blamed thing got away from me while I was backin’ it around by -hand, thet’s all. Ought to have known better’n to tackle it alone.”</p> - -<p>“How long will it take to get the coach back<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span> on the trail so that we -may go on?” questioned Emma Dean innocently.</p> - -<p>“Get it on the trail?” Ike Fairweather groaned hopelessly. “We’ll never -get it up, Miss. She shore is a basket of kindlin’ wood now, an’ I -don’t know what we’re goin’ to do.”</p> - -<p>“We can walk,” answered Grace confidently. “How far are we from Globe?”</p> - -<p>“Nigh onto thirty mile, I reckon.”</p> - -<p>“Walk thirty miles?” cried Emma. “I should simply expire.”</p> - -<p>“I reckon you’ll have to walk if you want to get back,” grumbled Ike.</p> - -<p>“Walking is most excellent exercise, and I am certain that it will do -all of us good. I have a plan, Mr. Fairweather,” spoke up Grace.</p> - -<p>“Thought you would have.”</p> - -<p>At this juncture, Lieutenant Wingate came up leading the two wounded -men who had been left down the trail. He too wished to know what the -plan was for getting back to town.</p> - -<p>“I was about to suggest something to Mr. Fairweather,” replied Grace. -“We shall have to use the coach horses to help carry us.”</p> - -<p>“Do not forget our prisoners in your calculations,” reminded Hippy -Wingate. “Surely, you do not propose to let them go?”</p> - -<p>“I have not forgotten. No, sir, we are not going to release them -after all the bother they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span> have put us to. Let me see, there are four -prisoners and five girls.”</p> - -<p>“And two men,” interjected Hippy.</p> - -<p>“By placing two bandits on a horse, that will leave two horses to carry -the rest of us. The girls can ride two on a horse, which will take care -of Nora, Anne, Elfreda and Emma. You two men and myself will walk. -Should we walkers get foot weary, we can change places with the girls -who are riding. Does that meet with your approval, Mr. Fairweather?”</p> - -<p>“It shore does.”</p> - -<p>Hippy suggested, instead, that he be permitted to ride back to town for -assistance, but Grace objected to this.</p> - -<p>“The prisoners need medical attention, and we shall have to go on short -rations as it is, so we have no time to lose. We will tie the four men -on two horses and tie the pair of horses together; Mr. Fairweather can -lead the animals; you, Hippy, will walk alongside of them and I will -bring up the rear.”</p> - -<p>“What if one of the bandits drops off and gives us the slip?” -questioned Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I shall see to it that he doesn’t get far,” answered Grace -significantly.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” grunted Ike. “I thought the lieutenant was givin’ me a fairy -story ’bout your doin’s in the war. Jedgin’ from what I’ve seen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span> -to-night I reckon he hasn’t told the half of what there is to tell. -Why, lady, if you was to live out here you’d be sheriff of the county -at the next election. I reckon I know of one vote you’d get.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you. Then you approve of my plan?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“From the ground up.”</p> - -<p>“And you folks?” she questioned, turning to her companions.</p> - -<p>All nodded their heads in approval.</p> - -<p>“I wish I had an airplane,” grumbled Hippy Wingate. “I never did like -to walk when I had to.”</p> - -<p>“We will take the rifles and revolvers of the highwaymen with us. I -do not believe they will have use for their weapons. We may need them -ourselves. Mr. Fairweather, if you will get the horses ready we will -load up and start.”</p> - -<p>Ike removed his sombrero and wiped his forehead on his sleeve.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’ll get ’em ready, but what Ike Fairweather wants to say, -he can’t, ’cause somehow it sticks in his crop an’ won’t come out. -You’re the real thing, all of you is, an’ any galoot that says you -ain’t—well, Ike Fairweather will take care of thet critter.”</p> - -<p>“You fellows, I have a word for you,” announced Grace, turning to the -prisoners. “I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span> warn you that if you try to get away I shall shoot.”</p> - -<p>“Which, altogether an’ in partic’lar means thet the everlastin’ -daylights will be blown out of the critter thet tries to get away,” -reminded Ike. “Fair warnin’s fair warnin’.”</p> - -<p>“But not Fairweather,” chuckled Hippy Wingate, which brought a groan of -disapproval from the Overton girls.</p> - -<p>Placing the prisoners on the horses and tying them securely was a -proceeding that took some little time, so that it was fully an hour -later before the procession started out, Elfreda, Anne, Emma and Nora -riding on the two leading horses, Ike leading the prisoners’ mounts, -Hippy in the middle of the procession, and Grace Harlowe, with a -bandit’s rifle slung in the crook of her right arm, bringing up the -rear.</p> - -<p>The highwaymen were sullen, not uttering a word, so far as Grace -had heard, though she had no doubt that they had quietly exchanged -confidences. The one who was most severely wounded was the man whose -scalp a bullet had raked, but he apparently was in no danger, though -still weak from loss of blood.</p> - -<p>“Is there a place where we can get breakfast, if still on the trail in -the morning?” called Anne.</p> - -<p>“Narry a place,” answered Ike Fairweather.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span> -They plodded on, Grace, if anything, being the most cheerful and -contented member of the party. At break of day they halted, having -made about ten miles of the thirty. From the little kit pack in which -each one carried emergency rations, they eked out a slender breakfast, -though they had neither coffee nor tea, that part of the food supply -being at the bottom of the canyon in the wreckage of the old Deadwood -coach. The prisoners, however, refused to eat, maintaining a sullen -silence as they watched their captors partaking of breakfast.</p> - -<p>At the noon halt, Grace and Elfreda dressed the prisoners’ wounds, -binding them up with skillful hands with pieces of cloth torn from -skirts. It was not the first time that either Grace Harlowe or Elfreda -Briggs had dressed bullet wounds, both having been called upon to do -so in numerous instances on the western front in France. The prisoners -watched the dressing operations without uttering a word of comment, but -the expressions on their faces were not pleasant to look upon.</p> - -<p>Ike, who had been regarding the wound-dressing with interest, turned, -as the girls finished their work, and walked away running his fingers -through his whiskers.</p> - -<p>The prisoners were placed on the horses and secured, after which the -party started on again.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span> -“Horses comin’ up the trail,” announced Ike, a few moments later, -holding up a hand for the party to stop.</p> - -<p>Grace ran forward to halt the two horses carrying the four girls.</p> - -<p>“Some one is coming, girls. Go back and get out of the way in case -there should be trouble,” she directed.</p> - -<p>Grace joined Ike after the girls had taken up a safe position, Hippy -standing expectantly by the prisoners, the outfit, with rifles in hand, -ready to meet whatever trouble might be in store for them.</p> - -<p>Three horsemen swept around a bend in the trail, and the instant they -hove in sight, Ike Fairweather uttered a shout.</p> - -<p>“It’s Deputy Sheriff Wheelock,” he cried. “Now we’re all right. Howdy, -Wheelock!”</p> - -<p>The deputy, upon recognizing Ike, swung down from his horse, doffed his -hat to Grace, and turned to Mr. Fairweather.</p> - -<p>“What do you reckon you’ve got here!” demanded the deputy.</p> - -<p>Ike explained who and what his outfit was, relating briefly the story -of the loss of the stagecoach and the capture of the bandits.</p> - -<p>“This little woman did the business. Deputy Sheriff Wheelock, Mrs. -Gray,” introduced Ike.</p> - -<p>“Do you know the prisoners, sir?” she asked.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span> -After looking the bandits over closely, the deputy shook his head. He -asked Ike if he needed any assistance to get the prisoners in. Grace -answered the question by saying that they did not.</p> - -<p>“We’re going out after a fellow who lives in the mountains and who -has been shooting game out of season, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do, -I’ll send one of my men to Globe in a hurry and have him ride out to -the sheriff’s ranch and get him,” offered the deputy. “That will save -you waiting for the sheriff when you get in. I reckon maybe these are -fellows that Sheriff Collins has been looking for. Take your men right -to the jail, Ike, and Collins will do the rest.”</p> - -<p>After starting one of his men back toward Globe, Mr. Wheelock, mounted, -waved a hand, and, with his assistant, galloped on. The Overton party -assumed its former formation and plodded on, weary, but encouraged by -the realization that only a few hours now separated them from their -goal.</p> - -<p>It was half past three o’clock in the afternoon when the weary, -dust-covered Overton party reached the Arizona town from which it had -made its start the day before. The four girls, on two horses, decided -that they would dismount before entering the town, even Emma<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span> Dean -declaring that this was one time when she was not seeking publicity.</p> - -<p>The news of the plucky fight that Grace and Hippy had made, and their -capture of four highwaymen, had been carried to town by the deputy’s -assistant, and throngs stood on the main street awaiting the arrival of -the party. Occasionally there was a cheer from a group of enthusiasts, -but generally the townspeople were silent, curiosity being their -leading emotion.</p> - -<p>“Girls, I think it might be advisable for you to go on to the hotel! -You look all fagged out,” suggested Grace. “Run along, and I will be -over there as soon as we have disposed of our prisoners.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda, Nora, Anne and Emma quickly separated themselves from the -outfit, Ike Fairweather, accompanied by Grace and Hippy, heading for -the jail. The sheriff came out to meet them as they rounded up their -horses before the jail entrance. He strode straight to the bandit that -Grace, while crouching under the stagecoach, had shot in the leg.</p> - -<p>“Hulloa, Con,” greeted the officer. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to -see you. I’ve got a nice little room ready for you. You may find it a -bit cramped, but it is the best we have in the house to-day.</p> - -<p>“Ah! I see you have some familiar faces<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span> with you,” added the sheriff, -directing a swift, appraising glance at the other prisoners. “A fine -bunch of brave men you are to let yourselves get caught by a party of -women. Who are <em>you</em>?” he demanded, wheeling on Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I am Lieutenant Wingate, Sheriff. This is Mrs. Grace Harlowe Gray who -got the drop on these fellows when all the rest of us were helpless.”</p> - -<p>“Glad to meet you, Mrs. Gray,” greeted the sheriff, removing his hat -and stepping forward to shake hands with the Overton girl. “I’m Jim -Collins, sheriff of this county. So you did this little job, eh? You -don’t look it for a little bit, but you’ve delivered the goods, and -that’s the answer. My hat is off to you. Do you know who you have -here?” he questioned, pointing to the bandit with the wounded leg.</p> - -<p>“No, sir, I do not.”</p> - -<p>“He is Con Bates, one of the few real bandit leaders left in this part -of the west. He’s a bad man, Miss, and I couldn’t begin to express to -you how pleased I am to get my paws on him.”</p> - -<p>“Who are the others?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>The sheriff named them and Grace fixed the names in her mind.</p> - -<p>“Con is the most dangerous of the lot,” Sheriff Collins informed her. -“This isn’t all of the outfit by any means. The rest are in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span> hills -somewhere. What do you reckon on doing now?”</p> - -<p>“I hope that we may be able to get out on the trail with our ponies -some time to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t plan to leave until the late afternoon. I shall need you to -appear against these men to-morrow. Going over the trail, eh? You’ll -need to keep your eyes peeled when you get up in the mountains again. -Some of the critters still at large may take it into their heads to -even up with you for this job you’ve done. Then, too, there’s some -roving bands of trouble-hunting Apaches up there who are out with the -excuse that they’re waiting for the hunting season to open. I’ll talk -with you about that later.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Sheriff. I leave the prisoners in your hands, but I should -like to have their rifles, if you do not object.”</p> - -<p>“Sure thing. You may need them, too. I’ll see you in the morning.”</p> - -<p>Grace shook hands with Ike Fairweather and whispered to him that -she would give him a check for whatever he considered the Deadwood -stagecoach worth.</p> - -<p>“Nothin’ doin’,” growled Ike. “Thet old coach wa’n’t worth ten dollars, -an’ I’ve had about a million dollars’ worth of excitement out of this -here trip. Wish I was goin’ to be with you on your pony journey, for I -know you folks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span> now. You’ll be stirrin’ up things the whole length of -the Old Apache Trail, or my name ain’t Ike Fairweather.”</p> - -<p>Promising to see Ike later on, Grace and Hippy hurried to the Dominion -Hotel where Hippy’s wife and the other girls were anxiously awaiting -them.</p> - -<p>All hands then went to their rooms, bathed, and went to bed for a few -hours’ sleep.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="vi" id="vi"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /> -<small>A SHOT WELL PLACED</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">G</span>RACE started out early the next morning for a call on Ike Fairweather. -The whole party slept the late afternoon and night through, without -even awakening for supper. She found Ike grooming his horses.</p> - -<p>“Good morning, Mr. Fairweather. I hope you are none the worse for your -trip,” greeted Grace smilingly.</p> - -<p>“I shore ain’t,” grinned Ike. “How’s yourself?”</p> - -<p>“I feel fit. What I wished to see you about was to ask if you can -recommend some one to provide and drive our supply wagon.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span> -Ike stroked his whiskers and regarded her quizzically.</p> - -<p>“How will I do?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean it? Would you really like to drive for us?” questioned -Grace, brightening.</p> - -<p>“I shore would, an’ it won’t cost you a cent ’cept for the feed for the -hosses. Tell me ’bout it.”</p> - -<p>“Not supposing that you would care for such work, we did not even think -of you in that connection. If, however, you really wish to go with us -we shall be very glad to have you.”</p> - -<p>“I’m your man.”</p> - -<p>“That is fine. Of course, you understand that we shall pay you, and -before we start we must decide upon a price that will be perfectly -satisfactory to you. I would suggest that you get under way about two -o’clock this afternoon, and we will follow you a couple of hours later. -Make camp at Squaw Valley. There is plenty of room there for a camp. -Two horses should be enough to draw the wagon. Our camping outfit is at -the railroad station. Have you a wagon?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, a covered one thet will be just the thing for you. Can sleep in -it if you like.”</p> - -<p>“We shall sleep in our tents. All provisions and the like we shall send -to you some time before you leave.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span> -The hearing that afternoon, attended by the entire Overton outfit, -was of short duration. Grace gave her testimony briefly and to the -point. What she was most concerned about was whether or not it would be -necessary for her to return for the trial of the bandits, and she was -relieved to learn that it would not, and that Ike Fairweather would be -the witness who would appear against the prisoners at the trial at the -fall term of court.</p> - -<p>Before leaving the court, Grace was complimented by the judge for her -part in capturing Con Bates and his fellow highwaymen. Sheriff Collins -accompanied her from the court room.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have an eye on you while your party is in this neck of the -woods,” he volunteered. “What shall I do with the rifles I promised -you?”</p> - -<p>“If not too much trouble, please send them to Mr. Fairweather’s stable -before two o’clock this afternoon. He is to drive our wagon for us and -will pack the rifles with the other equipment. Is there ammunition for -the rifles or shall I purchase some?”</p> - -<p>“Get fifty rounds for each rifle, and, Miss, it’s my hunch that you -will do well not to pack the rifles away so deep that you can’t reach -them in a hurry,” advised Mr. Collins.</p> - -<p>After thanking the sheriff for his courtesy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span> Grace hurried back to the -hotel. The rest of the day was devoted to preparations for the journey. -Ike Fairweather, now fully informed as to the immediate plans of his -party, got away with the wagon on time, and two hours later the Overton -girls started on their second journey into the gorgeous mountains that -stand sentinel along the Old Apache Trail. The ponies they were riding -were a bit lively at the start, especially the one ridden by Grace, as -the party galloped out of the town. Emma Dean was making heavy weather -of it, bobbing up and down like a chip on the sea, until Grace, fearful -that Emma would fall off, rode up beside her for a word of caution.</p> - -<p>“Sit your saddle firmly, and do not try to resist the motion of your -horse. Move with him, or, rather, permit your body to follow his -movements,” advised Grace. “There! You see you <em>can</em> ride.”</p> - -<p>“I know, but it bumps me almost to death. How far do we have to ride? -This beast isn’t a bit like my pony.”</p> - -<p>“Thirty miles or thereabouts.”</p> - -<p>“Oh—h—h!” wailed Emma. “Look at Hippy!”</p> - -<p>They had barely cleared the town and emerged into the open country when -Hippy Wingate’s apparently docile pony suddenly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span> came to life. The -animal whirled and started back toward Globe, whereupon Hippy used his -crop vigorously. Instantly, the pony began to buck in the most approved -western broncho style, and Hippy was more often in the air than on the -saddle.</p> - -<p>The Overton girls reined in and watched the lieutenant’s battle, -offering suggestions and advice that might have been helpful had the -lieutenant had time to listen.</p> - -<p>Hippy had had no experience with bucking ponies, and, as a result, he -was becoming more and more confused from the terrible jolting he was -getting.</p> - -<p>“Hang on, Hippy, my darling,” encouraged Nora in a shrill voice.</p> - -<p>“There he goes!” gasped J. Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>Hippy made a long, ungraceful dive over the lowered head of the native -pony. At the side of the road there was a ditch with a full twelve -inches of water flowing over a bottom of soft mud. Lieutenant Wingate -landed on head and shoulders in the ditch. His feet pawed the air for a -few seconds, then Hippy flopped over, with face down in the water and -mud.</p> - -<p>It was Elfreda Briggs who checked Hippy’s pony at the psychological -moment, for the little fellow already had whirled preparatory to racing -for home. As it was he dragged Elfreda<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span> along with him until Grace -sprang to her assistance and threw her weight on the bit, at the same -time talking soothingly to the animal whose stubborn resentment slowly -melted. Elfreda led him back without help and stood holding the pony, -waiting for Hippy to take charge of him.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Wingate was plastered with mud, which Nora was solicitously -mopping from his face with her handkerchief.</p> - -<p>“Let it dry on, then roll him on the grass when we find some,” -suggested Emma.</p> - -<p>“Yes, who coddled you when you fell out of a cloud and crashed down on -the French front?” laughed Grace.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t fall out,” protested Hippy indignantly, though a little -thickly, for there was still mud in his mouth. “It was the other fellow -who fell and crashed.”</p> - -<p>“Come, take your pony,” urged Elfreda. “I have my own to look after. -I would suggest, too, that if you will treat him right you will have -little trouble with him.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t have to take the brute’s part. I reckon I know how to handle -a horse.”</p> - -<p>“And you have a horse that knows how to handle you, if my observation -is not at fault,” interjected Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>Hippy acted upon Elfreda’s advice, however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span> petted the pony and -offered it some candy, which the animal refused, and finally swung -himself into the saddle.</p> - -<p>The party then moved off at a brisk gallop. The sun was behind the -mountains when they reached Squaw Valley for the second time. Down on -the level below the trail they saw their tents pitched and ready for -them. The wagon team was staked down, a fire was burning in front of -the tents, and Ike Fairweather was observed working about the camp. The -girls shouted and Ike waved a hand.</p> - -<p>Without leaving their saddles, the entire party slid their ponies -down the steep bank without a single rider coming a cropper, though -Emma lost her stirrups and was clinging to the pommel of her saddle, -bouncing up and down perilously as the party trotted into camp. When -her pony stopped, which it did abruptly, Emma fell off in a heap. About -the same instant Lieutenant Wingate’s pony stepped in a hole and Hippy -went off over the pony’s head, but this time he clung to the bridle -rein and held the animal.</p> - -<p>“Good work,” complimented Grace when Hippy, very red of face, struggled -to his feet. “You surely are a graceful animal, Lieutenant. Pinal Creek -is a little way beyond this camp, and I suppose you will be falling -into that next.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span> -“That’s right. Abuse a fellow when he is down,” growled the lieutenant.</p> - -<p>Grace, with her bridle rein thrown over one arm, walked over to Ike -Fairweather.</p> - -<p>“Now that Lieutenant Wingate has finished his performance, I wish to -say that it is very fine of you to get our supper started.”</p> - -<p>The bacon was in the frying pan, and the potatoes, baked in hot ashes, -were ready to be served, as Grace discovered upon testing them with -a fork; the coffee was done, and the tin plates were already on the -folding table that had been included with the equipment. Oilcloth -spread over the table made it look quite attractive.</p> - -<p>Folding camp stools had been placed by Ike, and Hippy promptly took a -seat at the head of the table.</p> - -<p>“Being the only male member of this party, proper, my place is at the -head of the table,” he declared. “Be seated, ladies, I beg of you. -Kellner—Garcon, I mean, bring on the food and—”</p> - -<p>“Please eat and be silent,” urged Grace laughingly, as she began -serving the food. “In my childhood days I was taught that children, -while at table, should be seen and not heard. Come, Mr. Fairweather, -sit down. We are all one family now.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span> -“Had my grub,” answered the driver gruffly. “Never did like to eat at -fashionable hours.”</p> - -<p>Darkness had enveloped mountain and canyon by the time the evening meal -was finished. It was the deep, mysterious darkness of the mountains. -The girls could hear the faint, musical murmur of Pinal Creek, a few -hundred yards below them, music that accentuated the romance of the -mysterious mountain night. Hippy Wingate, finally, having eaten all he -could conveniently stow away, stood up and rapped on a tin plate for -order.</p> - -<p>“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, raising the plate above his head -where it reflected the light from the campfire. “We are now in the -former haunts of the murderous Apaches. We have fallen willing victims -to the irresistible charm and the magic power of the waters of Pinal -Creek.”</p> - -<p>“Some one has been reading a guide book,” observed Anne mischievously.</p> - -<p>“Please be silent when your superiors are speaking. Where was I?”</p> - -<p>“Up Pinal Creek, I believe,” reminded Elfreda dryly.</p> - -<p>“Exactly. We have penetrated far into the labyrinth of the red men of -other days, the place where the savages crept with stealthy tread until -their primitive language came to know it as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span> the Apache Trail. Along -this weird and amazing pathway—”</p> - -<p><em>Pock!</em></p> - -<p>The tin plate was whisked from Hippy’s hand and fell clattering to the -ground.</p> - -<p><em>Bang!</em> came the belated report of a rifle.</p> - -<p>Emma Dean uttered a stifled little cry of alarm.</p> - -<p>“It is nothing but a bullet, my dear young woman, a chance shot from -somewhere up in the mountains. Kindly pass me another plate that I may -continue with my narration.”</p> - -<p>Grace Harlowe’s face reflected sudden concern, then she smiled, but her -companions plainly were nervous.</p> - -<p>“Where was I?” again asked Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I believe you were laboring along on the amazing pathway,” Anne -informed him.</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” bowed the lieutenant as Grace offered him another plate. -“Along this weird and amazing pathway, as already remarked, are -crowded, in bewildering succession, scenes that grip the imagination -like phantom photo plays of the world’s creation. It was on this -pathway, this weird and amazing trail that—”</p> - -<p>The second plate left Hippy Wingate’s hand as if by magic, again -followed by the report of a rifle. Hippy sank down on his campstool, -holding the hand that had held the plate.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span> -“The campfire, Mr. Fairweather!” urged Grace calmly, with a note of -incisiveness in her tone.</p> - -<p>Ike sprang up and kicked the burning embers away, stamping out the -little flickering flames, leaving only a scattered bed of glowing coals.</p> - -<p>A bullet whistled over the heads of the Overton girls, but the -shooter’s aim was not so good this time.</p> - -<p>“Some critter shore is tryin’ to shoot up this outfit,” growled Ike -Fairweather.</p> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="vii" id="vii"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /> -<small>A LIVELY NIGHT IN CAMP</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“A</span>RE you hit, Lieutenant?” questioned Grace, stepping over to Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, on my right thumb. Don’t get excited, Nora,” begged Hippy as his -wife ran to him. “The bullet merely broke the skin.”</p> - -<p>“This is what comes of your nonsense, Hippy Wingate,” rebuked Nora. “It -was the shiny tin plate that did it.”</p> - -<p>Grace nodded.</p> - -<p>“Shall I pour water on the coals?” asked Ike, his voice trembling with -anger.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span> -“Not now, Mr. Fairweather. We will first see what develops,” replied -Grace.</p> - -<p>“What do you reckon on doin’ ’bout this shootin’, Miss?” persisted the -driver.</p> - -<p>“We must protect ourselves, of course, but just how, we shall have to -consider carefully. Is the creek fordable along here?”</p> - -<p>“I reckon so. No difficulty ’bout anyone gettin’ over thet wants to. -Why, Miss?”</p> - -<p>“I was wondering if the man who shot at us could easily cross to this -side of the stream,” murmured Grace reflectively.</p> - -<p>“He could.”</p> - -<p>“Then we shall have to take turns at guarding the camp to-night. I will -watch it until midnight; Lieutenant Wingate will relieve me then and -remain on watch until four in the morning, which is the hour you turn -out, Mr. Fairweather,” suggested Grace.</p> - -<p>Ike insisted that he could keep watch all night, but Grace shook her -head, declaring that such an arrangement would not be fair to him.</p> - -<p>“I really believe, Mr. Fairweather, that you would be willing to go -without sleep during the entire journey, just for the sake of getting -sight of the man who shot at us,” averred Grace.</p> - -<p>“I would thet,” rumbled Ike.</p> - -<p>“Please don’t let the incident worry you. We girls have been under fire -too often to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span> greatly disturbed by a few rifle shots. Of course, it -isn’t comfortable to be shot at by a man who knows how to use a rifle -as well as that fellow apparently does, but so long as he doesn’t hit -one of us why worry?” laughed Grace.</p> - -<p>Ike stroked his whiskers and shook his head. At this juncture, Elfreda, -who had taken upon herself the task of dressing Lieutenant Wingate’s -wound, announced that it was completed.</p> - -<p>“I’m mighty glad it was the thumb instead of the trigger finger,” said -Hippy. “I may have use for that trigger finger before reaching the -other end of the Apache Trail.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and the opportunity may come to-night,” added Grace. She then -told him of her plan for guarding the camp, rather expecting that the -lieutenant would protest against being called in the middle of the -night to do guard duty.</p> - -<p>On the contrary, Hippy eagerly seconded the suggestion, and promptly -got out his rifle, which he began to clean and oil.</p> - -<p>“I’m ready. Bring on your bad men,” he cried dramatically.</p> - -<p>An hour later the camp was in silence, all, save Grace, being asleep -in their tents. Her watch passed without incident. At midnight she -made a tour of the camp and its immediate vicinity, and, finding the -ponies quiet, returned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span> to camp and awakened Lieutenant Wingate. The -wagon team being staked down close to the camp, just to the rear of the -little pup-tent in which the driver slept, needed no watching, for Ike -could hear their every move.</p> - -<p>“Nothing of a disturbing nature has occurred,” Grace informed -Lieutenant Wingate who came out with rifle in hand, yawning and -stretching himself. “Please keep a sharp lookout and have your rifle -within reach at all times. That is no more than common prudence.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Brown Eyes, I know what to do. Just you turn in for a night of -sweet dreams, leaving all the rest to Hippy Wingate.”</p> - -<p>Reaching her tent, Grace paused, and stood looking out until she saw -Hippy stroll away and disappear in the darkness. She then undressed, -crept in between the blankets and immediately went to sleep.</p> - -<p>It seemed to Grace that she had been asleep but a few moments, when, -dreaming of the war, she was awakened by what, in her dream, sounded -like the explosion of a shell. Grace sprang up and ran to the door of -her tent.</p> - -<p>Two heavy rifle reports told her that trouble was afoot, and she -surmised that Lieutenant Wingate was in the thick of it, but hearing -the lieutenant calling to Ike in an effort to locate him, Grace began -to wonder.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span> -The Apache Trail lay a short distance above the Overton camp; the -creek, near which the ponies were tethered, being about an equal -distance below the camp. The shooting, she discovered, was occurring -somewhere between the camp and the trail.</p> - -<p>Grace stepped out into the open, facing the trail, just in time to hear -a bullet whistle over her head. She ducked instinctively.</p> - -<p>“You watch the camp, Lieutenant,” she heard Ike Fairweather call.</p> - -<p>“No, I’m going with you,” answered Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Are we attacked?” called Elfreda Briggs from her tent. “Grace! Are you -there?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what the trouble is, Elfreda, but—” She broke off -abruptly as a sudden thought came to her. “Look out for the camp, -Elfreda!” Without a word of explanation, Grace whirled and sped toward -the spot where the horses were staked. To her rear, somewhere in the -vicinity of the Apache Trail, she heard two more rifle reports, but -whether from the weapons in the hands of Ike Fairweather and Lieutenant -Wingate, or from other sources, she was unable to determine.</p> - -<p>Nearing the tethering ground Grace proceeded with more caution, not -knowing what new menace she might find confronting her there, but the -murmur of Pinal Creek was the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span> only sound that interrupted the mountain -stillness, a stillness that, on this occasion, seemed heavy with -significance.</p> - -<p>At the edge of the tethering ground, Grace halted sharply and peered -about her.</p> - -<p>“Gone! Every one of them gone!” she gasped. “I suspected this very -thing. This is too bad.” Grace started to return to camp and tripped -over a tethering stake, measuring her length on the ground. Before -rising she fingered the stake and the short piece of rope still -attached to it. She finally untied the rope, and, with it, started for -the camp at a brisk trot. As Grace neared the tents, Ike and Hippy came -in from the trail side.</p> - -<p>“I winged one critter,” cried Ike as he espied Grace. “He was sneakin’ -towards the camp when I discovered him. You see I kinder thought -somethin’ was wrong, so I picked up a rifle an’ went out scoutin’ for -trouble. Well, I s’prised the critter an’ let him have it hot, thet’s -all.”</p> - -<p>“We gave him the run, Brown Eyes,” boasted Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Di—di—did you hit him?” stammered Emma.</p> - -<p>“I reckon I hit the critter once, for I heard him grunt. We’re all -right now, though. I don’t reckon he’ll be comin’ back this night.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span> -“Having accomplished his purpose, I do not think he will return,” -replied Grace dryly.</p> - -<p>“Eh? What’s thet you say, Mrs. Gray?” demanded Ike, sensing a deeper -meaning behind Grace Harlowe’s remark.</p> - -<p>“The ponies have disappeared, Mr. Fairweather!”</p> - -<p>“What?” Ike’s whiskers visibly bristled.</p> - -<p>“I said the ponies have disappeared. Look at this, will you?” she -requested, extending the section of rope that she had removed from the -tethering stake. “What do you make of it, sir?”</p> - -<p>Ike Fairweather, recognizing the rope, held it close to his eyes and -regarded it critically, while stroking his whiskers with his other hand.</p> - -<p>“Thet rope has been cut!” he declared after an instant of hesitation.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I think so,” agreed Grace. “Before it is too late let’s see if we -can find the ponies. I will go with you. Lieutenant, will you please -stay here and watch the camp?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but what are you going to do, Brown Eyes?” questioned Hippy.</p> - -<p>“I am going with Mr. Fairweather,” flung back Grace, who already was -running to catch up with Ike, he having strode away too excited for -words. Not a word was exchanged between them until they reached the -tethering ground,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span> when Grace suggested that he use her flash lamp, -which she handed to him.</p> - -<p>For the following few minutes, Ike Fairweather uttered nothing but -grunts, now and then pointing to the ground as he followed the faintly -discernible hoof-prints of their ponies down to the creek. There the -trail turned and followed along the bank of the stream for a short -distance, whence it took a turn toward the Apache Trail, which Grace -and Ike reached shortly afterwards.</p> - -<p>“There! See thet!” Ike pointed down to the Apache Trail, on which a -beam from the flash lamp was resting.</p> - -<p>“I see horse tracks, if that is what you mean, sir. I suppose they are -the tracks of our ponies, and if so, they appear to be headed towards -Globe.”</p> - -<p>“They shore are, Miss. Listen! While I was chasin’ the fellow thet was -prowlin’ ’bout the camp, three other galoots was stealin’ the ponies. -I found the men’s tracks back there, an’ you can see ’em right here -on the trail. What them critters have done is to start your ponies -towards home, an’ the horses prob’ly are a long ways from here this -very minute. We shore are in a fix. What do you reckon on doin’ ’bout -it?” demanded Ike, caressing his whiskers and regarding his companion -questioningly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span> -“Suppose we return to camp and talk it over,” suggested Grace.</p> - -<p>Ike nodded, and they started back toward the camp. Reaching there, -Grace quickly explained to her companions what had occurred, and asked -if any one had a suggestion to offer as to what should be done in the -emergency.</p> - -<p>“Do you think the ponies will go all the way to Globe?” asked -Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>“They shore will.”</p> - -<p>“What leads you to believe that the robbers who took the animals did -not go away with them?” interjected Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“The tracks of the men, Miss. After they reached the Apache Trail the -horses started on alone at a gallop, as you can see by the hoof-prints. -The two-legged critters went over the edge of the trail an’ hit it up -for the hills, thet’s how I know.”</p> - -<p>“I see only one way out of our difficulty,” spoke up Grace, who -had been pondering over the problem. “We have your wagon team, Mr. -Fairweather. That much is saved to us, so I would suggest that you take -one of the wagon horses and start at once for Globe to fetch our ponies -back.”</p> - -<p>Hippy said he would accompany Mr. Fairweather, but Grace negatived his -proposal with an emphatic shake of the head.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span> -“You may be needed here, Lieutenant,” she said. “Should Mr. Fairweather -find that he needs assistance in leading the ponies back to camp he -will hire a man to ride out with him. Will you do all this for us, Mr. -Fairweather?”</p> - -<p>“I reckon. But first I’d like to get the critter thet teased me out of -camp while the others stole the ponies,” the old driver fumed under his -breath. “I’m off.”</p> - -<p>Ike saddled up in a hurry, Grace in the meantime filling a kit bag with -food, which she handed to the driver.</p> - -<p>“Now, Hippy, I believe you have something to say to me,” reminded Grace -as Ike disappeared in the darkness.</p> - -<p>“Brown Eyes, I was asleep when this thing started,” Lieutenant Wingate -confessed.</p> - -<p>“Hippy Wingate!” rebuked Nora.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I was, but only for a few minutes. It was right after I had made -my trip to inspect the camp, after Grace turned in. Everything was snug -and quiet, so I leaned my rifle against a tree and sat down. Well, I -lost myself, that’s all. I ought to be shot.”</p> - -<p>“You said it,” approved Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>“I promise you, on my honor, that it will not occur again,” protested -Hippy.</p> - -<p>“What woke you up?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“Ike’s first shot.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span> -“I thought so,” nodded Grace. “He must have known you were asleep, but -Ike never mentioned it to me. Please listen to me, Lieutenant! We are -really in a serious situation at this moment. The thieves who took our -horses probably had a further plan in mind at the time, and I should -not be at all surprised if they attempted to carry it out this very -night.”</p> - -<p>“Just what are we to infer from that remark, Loyalheart?” asked Miss -Briggs a bit anxiously.</p> - -<p>“I mean that this camp may be attacked before morning—that in all -probability it will be!” declared Grace Harlowe.</p> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="viii" id="viii"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<small>HIPPY CALLS TO ARMS</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">E</span>MMA DEAN uttered a cry of alarm.</p> - -<p>“Be an Overton girl,” admonished Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>“I—I can’t help it. I—I’m afraid,” wailed Emma, starting for her tent -where she threw herself on her cot and gave way to tears.</p> - -<p>Grace, in the meantime, was making suggestions to Hippy as to how the -camp should be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span> guarded during the rest of the night. After he had -faithfully promised that he would never again nap, Grace turned toward -her own tent.</p> - -<p>It was fully an hour later before Grace succeeded in quieting her -nerves sufficiently to permit her to go to sleep. She awakened with a -start a few moments later. After listening and hearing nothing, Grace -decided that hers was wholly a case of nerves, and again tried to sleep.</p> - -<p>It was useless. She could not make her eyelids stay closed.</p> - -<p>A figure darkened the tent opening.</p> - -<p>“Grace!” called Lieutenant Wingate in a low, guarded voice.</p> - -<p>“Yes? What is it?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>“There’s a bunch of prowlers near where the ponies were, but what they -are doing I can’t make out without going down there. I thought best to -call you first.”</p> - -<p>“Go away while I dress! I will be with you in a moment. Don’t awaken -the girls just yet.”</p> - -<p>“Where are they?” she whispered, stepping up beside him.</p> - -<p>Hippy pointed towards the creek.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see them now, but I did just before you came out,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Hold your place, please, and keep a sharp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span> lookout. I want to take -a look from the other side of the camp.” Grace crept away in the -darkness, but in a few moments came back.</p> - -<p>“They are up near the trail now, and I think they are mounted, for -I heard a horse whinney,” declared Grace. Running to the tents she -awakened her companions. Elfreda was directed to take her place out in -front, with Lieutenant Wingate and Grace, to assist in defending the -camp.</p> - -<p>The three defenders were armed with rifles, in addition to which Hippy -and Grace each carried a revolver.</p> - -<p>“What is the plan?” questioned Hippy, seeking final directions.</p> - -<p>“Should we be shot at we will shoot back. That’s all I can say in -advance,” replied Grace.</p> - -<p>“Can they see us, Loyalheart?” whispered Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“No, I think not. The camp lies in a deep shadow and we have no fire -burning. Hark!”</p> - -<p>“I hear it,” muttered Lieutenant Wingate. “I hear horses trotting.”</p> - -<p>“Hold your fire and await developments. We must not make the mistake of -shooting at some one who doesn’t deserve it,” cautioned Grace.</p> - -<p>“Merciful heaven! What is that?” cried J. Elfreda.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span> -A shrill, weird yell, which Grace instantly recognized as an Indian war -whoop, split the stillness of mountain and canyon. Many had been the -time in the forest depths that Grace Harlowe’s husband had uttered this -thrilling war cry for her benefit, in fact he had taught Grace herself -to do it.</p> - -<p>“A war whoop,” she answered.</p> - -<p>“Steady, girls! We’re going to get it,” warned Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Down flat, everybody!” called Grace.</p> - -<p>The hoof-beats of the galloping horses of the night marauders were now -plainly heard by each member of the Overton party. Another yell, then a -rattling rifle fire swept the camp.</p> - -<p>“Shall we shoot?” questioned Elfreda anxiously.</p> - -<p>“No, not yet,” answered Grace briefly.</p> - -<p>“I think they are going to circle the camp,” volunteered Lieutenant -Wingate.</p> - -<p>“We will wait until they have made the circuit, then let them have it, -unless you have a better plan, Lieutenant. Every one keep down as low -as possible and take no chances,” she called to Nora, Anne and Emma. -The three defenders assumed a crouching attitude and waited.</p> - -<p>The attackers were howling and shooting at the same time, their bullets -being fired so low<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span> that Grace feared some of her party would be hit. -Horses and men out there in the valley were dim shadows, unreal to the -little group of defenders, but real enough when it came to the rifles -that were sending out darting flashes of fire and whistling bullets.</p> - -<p>As the riders completed their first circuit of the camp and drew -in closer, Lieutenant Wingate, without waiting for further orders, -threw the rifle to his shoulder and fired. A few seconds later, Grace -followed with a shot, then Miss Briggs pulled the trigger of her weapon.</p> - -<p>“Keep it up!” urged Hippy. “Follow them all the way around with your -fire, and take advantage of all the cover you can find.”</p> - -<p>The Overton outfit was in the fight in deadly earnest now. Darting here -and there to keep the attackers in view, the two girls and Lieutenant -Wingate continued to fire their rifles until at least two shoulders -were aching from the kick of the weapons.</p> - -<p>The spirited defense of the three plucky campers must have amazed their -assailants, for the men drew off a little and cut a wider circle on the -next circuit of the camp, but still keeping up and receiving a rapid -fire all the way around.</p> - -<p>“Look out! They’ve changed their tactics,” warned Hippy. “They’re -charging us, the fools! Hold fire till they’re in easy reach, then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span> -give it to ’em! Just let it slowly peter out now. Don’t cut it off all -at once.”</p> - -<p>The Overton fire was permitted to die out by degrees, finally ceasing -altogether. The strategy of Grace and Hippy had accomplished what they -wished it to do—it had made the attackers careless, they evidently -surmising from the way the firing died away, that the defenders either -had been killed or wounded.</p> - -<p>Uttering shrill yells, and shooting, it seemed, with every jump of -their horses, the night riders swept down on the little camp in Squaw -Valley, determined to put a speedy finish to their work.</p> - -<p>“Ready! Fire!” commanded Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>The defenders opened up on the advancing horsemen, firing as rapidly as -they could pull the triggers of their rifles. A moment or so of this, -apparently, was enough for the attackers, who suddenly whirled and -raced their horses further out, where they again began shooting, with -bullets from the camp still following them.</p> - -<p>“We have ’em on the run! Keep ’em going!” urged Hippy, trying to locate -their assailants, whose rifles, at that instant, had suddenly ceased -firing. Now and then one or another of the defenders, discovering a -movement among the marauders, would shoot, but such shots elicited no -reply.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span> -Hippy finally advised that the defenders divide their force, and each -take a side of the camp to avoid a surprise, which was done.</p> - -<p>“Is it all over?” cried Emma Dean from her hiding place.</p> - -<p>“We hope so, but keep down close to the ground for the present,” -advised Miss Briggs. “Are you girls all right?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but not riotously happy,” returned Anne.</p> - -<p>“The attackers, I should say, are less so; therefore, don’t worry,” -answered Elfreda.</p> - -<p>To the great relief of the campers, not another shot was fired in Squaw -Valley that night, the attackers having disappeared as mysteriously -as they came, nor did the Overton party know whether they had been -attacked by white men or Indians.</p> - -<p>“All over but the shouting,” cried Hippy, as the day began to dawn, -laying his rifle aside. “Hey! What’s that out there?” he demanded, -pointing to an object that lay some two hundred yards from the camp.</p> - -<p>“I believe it is a horse! Hippy Wingate, we have killed a horse!” -exclaimed Grace Harlowe in amazement. “Oh, that is too bad!”</p> - -<p>“Burning shame!” chortled Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and there is another one down near the creek,” added Miss Briggs -excitedly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> -“I did it with my trusty rifle,” cried Hippy boastfully.</p> - -<p>“You are welcome to all the glory there is,” answered Grace. “Shall we -have a look at the animals? Perhaps we may learn something. Come! We -will take our rifles with us.”</p> - -<p>The Overton defenders had succeeded better than they knew. Not only -had they driven off a superior number of desperate men, but they had -shot from under their attackers two horses, and possibly downed as many -riders.</p> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="ix" id="ix"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /> -<small>A STARTLING DISCOVERY</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“I</span>T is my opinion that this is an Indian pony,” announced Lieutenant -Wingate, bending over the dead horse nearest to the camp.</p> - -<p>“How do you know?” questioned Grace, giving Hippy a swift glance to -learn if he were in earnest.</p> - -<p>“Because it looks like pictures of Indian ponies that I have seen.”</p> - -<p>Grace smiled, but made no comment.</p> - -<p>“Here is a rifle under the critter, too,” he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> added. “I wonder what -happened to the rider?”</p> - -<p>“Is it an Indian rifle?” asked Miss Briggs in all seriousness.</p> - -<p>Hippy confessed that he did not know.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe you would qualify as an expert on things Indian,” -laughed Grace, starting on with her companions toward the creek to look -at the second victim of the Overton girls’ shooting. They found nothing -on that pony except saddle and bridle.</p> - -<p>“Please remove the equipment from them, Lieutenant,” Grace requested. -“I will take the rifle. I wish Mr. Fairweather to examine the -equipment.”</p> - -<p>“I sincerely hope he knows more about Indians than Hippy does,” -observed Elfreda dryly.</p> - -<p>“Do you think those scoundrels will come back?” questioned Elfreda as -they were returning to camp.</p> - -<p>“Not in the daytime. If you mean will they bother us in future, I will -say yes, and, being a prudent person, I shall try to be prepared for -them this evening.”</p> - -<p>“You are a queer girl, Loyalheart. The longer I know you the less -I understand you. You are the gentlest, sweetest woman I have ever -known, but under the surface you have an armor of steel,” declared Miss -Briggs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span> -“This mountain air surely is making you light-headed, Elfreda dear,” -laughingly retorted Grace Harlowe. “I am a woman like yourself, no -different, and, like yourself, I have fairly good control over my -nervous system. Youth and years of outdoor activity have given me the -qualities you have in mind.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps that is it. It has given you something else, too—it has given -you beauty of face and figure, given you a better understanding and a -greater love for your friends, and mankind in general.”</p> - -<p>Grace nodded over the latter sentiment.</p> - -<p>“If all young women could come to understand what outdoor life means -to one, I do not believe they would cling to the town, to their late -hours, late suppers and nerve-breaking rounds of social pleasures. It -is no especial credit to a woman to be beautiful; it is her duty to -be so. Any woman whom nature has endowed with a substantial physical -foundation may be beautiful, but not from wearing fashionable clothes -or the use of cosmetics. Right here in the open is the remedy free to -all. The open spots, Elfreda; God’s free air; healthful, wholesome -exercise, and right thinking and right doing. Pardon me, dear. I do not -often open my heart like this, though I think of these things every day -of my life.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> -“I call yours a pretty good religion,” declared Elfreda with emphasis.</p> - -<p>“I do not call it my religion,” objected Grace. “Rather, is it my -rule of practice. One might call it the application of the greater -principle.”</p> - -<p>“We are wading into deep water. Suppose we have breakfast,” twinkled -Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Some time to-day I propose that we go for a tramp along the creek -and up the nearby canyons, and practice a little of what I am preaching -to you. We will all go and have the best kind of a time. Ah! Nora and -Anne are getting breakfast.”</p> - -<p>“Have plenty of food,” cried Hippy as he came in a few moments later -with the saddles and bridles of the dead horses. “A night in the -Overton trenches does give one an appetite.”</p> - -<p>Throwing the equipment down, Hippy told Nora, Emma and Anne about the -fight of the previous night, not forgetting to give himself all the -credit to which he considered himself entitled.</p> - -<p>“This is terrible,” wailed Emma. “I’m afraid of somebody or something.”</p> - -<p>“Fiddlesticks!” rebuked Elfreda. “After going through a great war one -should not have nerves. Let’s eat.”</p> - -<p>After breakfast the defenders turned in for a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span> few hours’ sleep, Nora -and Anne in the meantime standing guard over the camp. No trouble was -looked for during the day, but Grace fully expected that they would -have plenty of it, in one form or another, when darkness had settled -over the valley.</p> - -<p>This apprehension was not permitted to interfere with their enjoyment -of the day, so, after the sleepers had finished their naps, mess kits -were packed and the party started toward the creek for an old-fashioned -picnic.</p> - -<p>Grace had a twofold reason for wishing to go to the creek and up the -canyons. First, she hoped to put her companions in a better frame of -mind, and for herself she wished to satisfy her curiosity as to the -direction that the night raiders took after the Overton party drove -them off.</p> - -<p>Hippy Wingate was left to watch the camp—and to sleep, as Grace -suspected that he would do.</p> - -<p>Grace Harlowe, with rifle under her arm, led her party, singing college -songs as she tripped along, just as she and her companions were wont to -do when picnicking in the Overton hills.</p> - -<p>Reaching Pinal Creek, the party followed it along for a short distance, -then turned off into a high-walled canyon, where they finally camped -and spread their luncheon on the ground by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span> side of a rippling -mountain stream. There they ate and chatted.</p> - -<p>Grace had studied the ground along creek and canyon for indications -of the course taken by the night raiders after the battle. The -hoof-prints, however, seemed to end at the bank of Pinal Creek, and she -was unable to pick them up again.</p> - -<p>The other girls, following the luncheon, amused themselves with lying -flat on their backs, gazing up the sheer walls of the canyon at the -ribbon of blue sky lined out by the tops of the canyon walls. Later on -they strolled off singly and in pairs in search of wild flowers.</p> - -<p>“I’m going up this canyon,” called Grace, who had risen and picked her -way along the little stream that joined Pinal Creek some distance below -them. “If any one of you gets into difficulties give the Overton yell.”</p> - -<p>“Same to you,” called Nora.</p> - -<p>It was more than an hour later when Grace came sauntering downstream, -humming happily, for the vastness of the mountains and the grandeur of -the scenery had thrilled and entranced her. Anne was waiting for her at -the point where the girls had taken their luncheon.</p> - -<p>“Where are the girls?” called Grace as she espied her companion.</p> - -<p>“Downstream somewhere. They said not to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span> worry, as they might keep on -going until they reached the valley.”</p> - -<p>“It is getting late, and I think it advisable for all to return to camp -at once. Come along, Anne dear. I stirred up something up there that I -believe to be a large wild animal. That is, I heard it, but could not -see it. Should we still be in camp in the valley to-morrow, I hope to -go hunting for it.”</p> - -<p>“Provided you yourself are not hunted,” suggested Anne.</p> - -<p>Grace laughed.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think I am quite able to take care of myself?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Up to a certain point, yes. Beyond that I am apprehensive.”</p> - -<p>“Merely another case of nerves, Anne dear, so forget it and enjoy the -scenery. Yonder is where we turn to take the trail for home. The girls -must have tired of wandering in this wonderful place.”</p> - -<p>Arm in arm the two girls strolled back towards the camp, chatting, -laughing and enjoying the bracing mountain air.</p> - -<p>“The girls are at the camp,” said Anne, pointing.</p> - -<p>“I have an idea that they did not feel wholly safe in the mountains,” -replied Grace. “I really believe that I could spend the rest of my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span> -life here and without ever knowing a moment of loneliness.”</p> - -<p>“Tenderfeet!” chided Anne laughingly, as she and Grace entered the camp.</p> - -<p>Grace’s alert eyes instantly missed one of the Overton girls.</p> - -<p>“Where is Emma? Has she gone to bed?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>“Emma?” wondered Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“We left her with Anne,” Nora informed them.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and Emma went downstream a few moments after you girls went away. -She said she would go back to camp, gathering flowers on the way,” -interjected Anne.</p> - -<p>“How long was this before I joined you, Anne?” questioned Grace, -turning to her companion.</p> - -<p>“I should say about three-quarters of an hour,” answered Anne, a -worried look creeping into her eyes.</p> - -<p>“What’s this?” demanded Lieutenant Wingate. “Emma missing?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry. She will turn up all right,” comforted Nora. “You can’t -lose Emma Dean so easily.”</p> - -<p>“Elfreda, please get a rifle and come with me,” directed Grace -incisively. “Hippy, I should like to have you go with us, but it is -more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span> important that you remain here to look after the camp. Should we -not find Emma soon, I will fire three interval shots for assistance. -You will then hurry to me, but in that event, bring Nora and Anne with -you. In no circumstances leave them here alone.”</p> - -<p>Grace issued her directions calmly, but there was that in her tone that -brought a worried look to four pairs of eyes. That she suspected more -than appeared on the surface was apparent to all.</p> - -<p>“You—you don’t think that anything ha—as happened to Emma, do you?” -begged Anne.</p> - -<p>“Girls, something serious surely has happened to Emma Dean!” gravely -responded Grace Harlowe. “Come, Elfreda! We must not lose an instant. -You people be alert for rifle signals.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="x" id="x"></a>CHAPTER X<br /> -<small>A DOUBLE CAPTURE</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">G</span>RACE started away at a brisk trot, followed by Elfreda Briggs, until -they reached the bank of the creek.</p> - -<p>“My gracious, Loyalheart, but you can race,” gasped J. Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Please work downstream, Elfreda. Watch carefully for footprints and -broken twigs. I shall proceed upstream. About a quarter of a mile above -here several deep canyons branch off, and it is possible that Emma may -have taken one of these in search of flowers and lost her way,” said -Grace.</p> - -<p>“How far shall I go?” questioned Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Meet me here in an hour. Should you need me in the meantime, or, -should you find Emma, fire three signal shots, with an interval between -each shot. If in need of assistance I will do the same, and, should you -hear three interval shots, answer them by the same signal with your -rifle. That will be a warning to the camp as well. Hippy understands -that, in case we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span> give such a signal, he is to come on the run, and -bring the girls with him, so that they may not be left alone in the -camp. Good-bye and the best of luck.”</p> - -<p>Grace turned and hurried up the stream, Elfreda proceeding in the -opposite direction. Grace ran on until she reached the point where the -narrow canyons radiated out from the one the girls had first taken on -their way to the picnic ground.</p> - -<p>A stream of clear, sparkling mountain water was rippling down each -radiating canyon, and fragrant wild flowers gently nodded their -greeting along the bank of the stream, from the crevices of rocks and -from little patches of dirt that clung precariously to the mountainside.</p> - -<p>“I do not believe Emma Dean could resist these flowers,” murmured Grace.</p> - -<p>In order to observe both banks, Grace stepped into the stream that -flowed from the larger of the canyons, and waded along it, regardless -of the fact that the icy-cold water instantly took all feeling from -her feet, her whole attention being centered on the flower-bordered -banks of the stream. Grace was peering at the wild flowers, looking for -plucked stems.</p> - -<p>The Overton girl suddenly uttered an exclamation and sank down on her -knees at the edge of the creek.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> -“Ah! Plucked flowers. Some one has picked them within a few hours, for -the stems are still bleeding.”</p> - -<p>Grace began examining the ground with infinite care, but though she -found flowers that had been crushed down, she failed to find a single -distinct footprint. Further up the stream, however, she came upon that -for which she had been searching—the imprint of a human foot, a small, -slender foot.</p> - -<p>Reasonably certain that she had at last come upon the trail of her -missing companion, Grace sprang up and ran as rapidly as the rough -going would permit, plunging deeper and deeper into the canyon that was -now dimmed with the gloom of the approaching mountain night.</p> - -<p>The Overton girl’s first impression was that she should fire her -rifle, but believing that Emma could not be far away, unless she had -wandered into still another canyon and become wholly lost in the maze, -Grace decided first to search a little further. At several such canyon -intersections Grace herself became confused, but careful examination of -a few yards of her own trail to the rear soon set her straight.</p> - -<p>From time to time she would pause and raise her voice in a long-drawn -call that must have reached far up the canyon and up the mountainside -as well.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> -“I shall have to signal for assistance,” finally decided Grace, -the gloom now having become so deep that she was no longer able to -distinguish the tell-tale marks left by Emma Dean’s shoes.</p> - -<p>“When Hippy and the girls come, we will build fires, and, with torches, -follow the trail until we find her.”</p> - -<p>Grace decided to signal for assistance, and pointing her rifle into the -air she fired three times at intervals. She waited, listening intently. -There was no response that she could hear, so she fired three more -signal shots.</p> - -<p>This time three faint reports were borne to her ears, but whether they -were the echoes of her own shots or the answer to her signals, Grace -did not know.</p> - -<p>When about to move forward again, Grace’s nerves gave a tremendous jump -as a human voice sounded close at hand.</p> - -<p>“What do you all reckon you’re shootin’ at?” demanded the voice. It was -a woman’s voice, which, in the circumstances, was a welcome thing to -Grace Harlowe, even though it was a voice that she did not know.</p> - -<p>Grace whirled and brought her rifle to bear on the owner of the voice. -She peered into the darkness and was barely able to make out the form -of the speaker.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” demanded Grace.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> -“I reckon you’d better say somethin’ for yourself,” answered the woman.</p> - -<p>“Very well. I am looking for a young woman who is missing from my -party, and who, I believe, came up this canyon.”</p> - -<p>“Is her name Dean?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes!” cried Grace. “You have found her?”</p> - -<p>“I reckon so. The kid fell down and hurt herself a little. She’s up the -canyon a piece. I’ll show you.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you.”</p> - -<p>The woman turned and strode away, Grace following, her anxiety for Emma -banishing all thoughts from mind of the strangeness of this woman’s -presence in the dark canyon.</p> - -<p>With the rifle still tucked under her arm, Grace stumbled along over -the rough ground, managing to keep up with her guide, at the expense -of several falls. Grace knew that she was proceeding in the direction -which she believed Emma had followed, and she was, therefore, eager to -get ahead as rapidly as possible.</p> - -<p>“Is Miss Dean badly hurt?” she questioned anxiously, stepping up beside -her companion.</p> - -<p>“Hurt her ankle, thet’s all,” was the brief reply.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that is too bad. How much further have we to go?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span> -“Reckon we’re there now. Miss Dean!”</p> - -<p>“Emma! Are you there?” cried Grace.</p> - -<p>“Grace! Oh, Grace! Save me!” wailed Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>Grace Harlowe sprang forward, ahead of her companion, but she did -not reach Emma. A pair of wiry arms were suddenly thrown about her, -pinioning the Overton girl’s arms to her sides. Grace wriggled and -struggled desperately, using every trick she knew to free herself, and -appeared to be getting the best of the struggle, when an unlooked-for -interruption occurred.</p> - -<p>“Bud!” cried the woman sharply.</p> - -<p>A man sprang forward in response to the call.</p> - -<p>“Take her gun!” panted the woman. “She’s a terror.”</p> - -<p>The rifle was wrenched from Grace’s hand, then the man jerked her hands -behind her back and tied them there.</p> - -<p>“Thar! I don’t reckon as you’ll do much more fightin’ right smart,” -declared the woman, releasing her grip and stepping back, breathing -heavily.</p> - -<p>Grace, too, was breathing hard, but more from resentment than from -exhaustion. She now swiftly began to reason out the meaning of what -had occurred, and in a moment it became<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span> clear to her that she was in -the hands of the band that had been harassing the Overton girls on the -Apache Trail.</p> - -<p>“Emma, are you hurt?” called Grace.</p> - -<p>“Only my feelings. They’re wrecked,” answered Emma with a touch of her -old-time humor. “Come here, Grace.”</p> - -<p>“Stay where you be!” commanded the woman.</p> - -<p>“You are not otherwise hurt?” begged Grace.</p> - -<p>“No,” answered Emma.</p> - -<p>“Now, woman, if you do not mind explaining the meaning of this -high-handed affair, I am quite ready to listen,” announced Grace -Harlowe evenly, at the same time facing her captor, whose face she had -not yet been able to see in the darkness.</p> - -<p>“Shut up!” ordered the man. “We got to git out of here on the jump. -Belle, you rustle her along, an’ if she gits balky, hit her a clip over -the haid. You owe her one anyhow.”</p> - -<p>“I demand that you release us both instantly!” answered Grace.</p> - -<p>Without replying, the woman roughly grasped Grace by an arm and -propelled her along at a swift pace, Grace stumbling over nearly every -step of the way, until they came up with two men who were guarding -several horses. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> this juncture, the man addressed as “Bud” came -hurrying up to them, leading Emma Dean. Her hands, also, were securely -bound behind her, and Emma was abusing and threatening her conductor at -every step of the way.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Grace!” she cried plaintively when she was halted close by her -friend.</p> - -<p>“Keep quiet, Emma, please,” warned Grace. “Are your hands tied?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. The brutes tied the rope so tight that it hurts awfully.”</p> - -<p>“If we untie your hands will you promise not to try to get away?” -questioned Belle, addressing both girls.</p> - -<p>“No!” answered Grace with emphasis.</p> - -<p>The woman shrugged her shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Cut them loose,” she ordered. “They can’t ride thet way without -fallin’ off. You women! If you try to run away, you’ll be shot, thet’s -all,” warned Belle as Bud severed the ropes that held the hands of the -two girls.</p> - -<p>“Git up! Both of you. Be lively ’bout it, too,” he ordered, pointing to -one of the horses.</p> - -<p>Grace took all the time in mounting that she dared, and Emma crowded -into the saddle behind her.</p> - -<p>“Give the critter his haid. He knows where to go better’n you do, I -reckon,” advised Bud, swinging into his own saddle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span> -The woman rode up and took the lead, Bud falling in behind Grace and -Emma. Grace saw one man ride forward and join Belle, while still -another remained behind, standing by his horse. Evidently he was not -going with them.</p> - -<p>The party then started up the canyon, the ponies now and then breaking -into a trot, as the footing permitted. Soon after the start, they began -climbing the mountain side, along what Grace realized was a narrow -trail, too narrow for safety, and on which the ordinarily sure-footed -ponies slipped and stumbled perilously.</p> - -<p>“Tell me what occurred,” whispered Grace to her companion.</p> - -<p>“I was picking flowers when that woman caught hold of me. I never heard -her approach, and she nearly scared me out of my wits when she grabbed -me and clapped a hand over my mouth. Grace, I overheard the woman and -that fellow Bud talking, and I learned some things. You can’t guess why -they have stolen us.”</p> - -<p>“In revenge, I presume, for what we did to Con Bates and his fellows. -This, undoubtedly, is the gang that has been harassing us.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is one reason. The other is that they hope to get some money -for us.”</p> - -<p>“You mean ransom?” asked Grace in a guarded whisper.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> -“Yes. Isn’t it silly? It’s romantic, too.”</p> - -<p>“So, that is it, eh? They will have a fine time getting it. I still -have my revolver inside my waist, Emma Dean, and, if necessary, I shall -use it. I don’t think they will dare to really harm us, but we must be -on the alert every minute for an opportunity to escape. Leave all that -to me, for I shall know when the time is opportune for such a move on -our part.”</p> - -<p>“What if they search you and find the revolver?” questioned Emma.</p> - -<p>“They had better not try it,” muttered Grace.</p> - -<p>She told Emma that the Overton outfit were no doubt, even then, -searching for them, though she said she doubted the ability of the -searchers to pick up and follow the trail.</p> - -<p>“Should Mr. Fairweather get back in time, he can and will follow it, -and I shall expect him to do that very thing. Above all, keep your -head, Emma dear, and do not talk too much. The less they know about us -the better. I don’t believe they know who I am, and I sincerely hope -they do not find out.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, they do know. How, I can’t even guess, but one of the men came up -and reported to that ruffian, Bud, that you were coming up the trail -with Belle. He referred to you as the ‘Harlowe woman.’”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> -“Hm-m-m-m-m,” mused Grace. “They are sharper than I thought. Hold tight -to me, Emma. It won’t do at all for either of us to slip off. We are -liable to be shot if we do.”</p> - -<p>As they worked their way up the mountain trail, Grace tore bits of -linen from her handkerchief and cautiously allowed them to drift to the -ground, hoping thereby to so mark the trail that their friends would -see and understand.</p> - -<p>The captors did not speak a word to the girls, slipping hoofs, creaking -leather and the heavy breathing of the ponies being the only sounds -accompanying the journey.</p> - -<p>Some time near morning a halt was made, and for a few minutes Bud and -the woman sat on their ponies listening. Grace surmised that they had -heard something. Either this or they were expecting to hear something. -A few minutes later the man who had been left down in the canyon came -jogging up to them, giving a signal whistle while still some distance -to the rear.</p> - -<p>The woman rode out a few yards to meet the newcomer, and was joined -by Bud, whereupon an animated, but low-toned conversation between the -three ensued.</p> - -<p>“Hang on! There’s goin’ to be some rough ridin’,” warned Belle as she -galloped up to the two girls, following the conference. “We’ve<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> got to -make a certain place before sun-up. No funny business, neither,” she -added warningly.</p> - -<p>It was a grilling ride that the Overton girls experienced during the -next two hours. A halt finally was called to enable two of the men to -go back and mask the trail of the ponies, but just how it was done -Grace was unable to see, owing to the darkness that still enshrouded -the mountains.</p> - -<p>Day dawned slowly, finding the party threading its way through rocky -defiles, now well at the top of the ridge of mountains. Gray, rolling -hills and rocky towers were all about them, and in the east the -grayness of the skies was gradually giving way to pale rose and silver -that lengthened and brightened along a horizon broken by many mountain -peaks.</p> - -<p>The party finally came to a halt in an open space, well screened by -rocks from view of any roving eyes that might be observing from near or -distant mountain tops.</p> - -<p>There the captors made a hurried breakfast. Grace and Emma were -directed to help themselves to food, which they did, then sat down by -themselves to eat, under the observant eyes of their captors.</p> - -<p>The men plainly were ill at ease, and it was evident that they still -were listening expectantly. Finally, one of the men saddled his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> horse -and rode back, he soon being lost to sight among the rocks.</p> - -<p>“Those ruffians really fear that they are being followed,” muttered -Grace, barely loud enough for Emma, for whose ears the words were -intended, to hear. “They have sent that fellow back to take an -observation. I wonder if they have good reason for thinking that they -<em>are</em> being followed?”</p> - -<p>“Why can’t we cut and run?” suggested Emma.</p> - -<p>“There is nothing to hinder our doing so, except that we probably -should be shot before we reached yonder rocks.”</p> - -<p>“There comes Belle now!” whispered Emma excitedly.</p> - -<p>“Keep quiet, please, and let me do the talking,” advised Grace.</p> - -<p>The woman was approaching the two girls at a rapid step, an expression -in her eyes that Grace Harlowe did not like. In repose, Belle’s face, -while regular, and rather attractive at first glance, showed hard -lines, particularly about the mouth, indicating that, when occasion -demanded, she could be hard and merciless. The expression that the face -of their captor wore as she came towards them gave promise that the -present might be such an occasion.</p> - -<p>Belle halted before the Overton girls and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> stood regarding them through -narrowed eyelids. Then she spoke, and what she had to say brought a -pallor to Emma Dean’s face, and stirred the fighting instincts of Grace -Harlowe to the danger point.</p> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="xi" id="xi"></a>CHAPTER XI<br /> -<small>FOLLOWING A COLD TRAIL</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“I</span> TELL you I heard Grace’s signal shots!” protested Elfreda Briggs, -in reply to Hippy’s declaration that he had heard no shots except the -three fired by Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Listening, as I was, I surely would have heard the signal had she -given it,” averred the lieutenant. “It’s too dark to see anything, but -of course, if you girls have anything to suggest, I am ready to act.”</p> - -<p>“Hippy Wingate! You don’t mean that you’re going to sit down and leave -Grace and Emma in that terrible canyon all night?” protested Nora, -indignantly.</p> - -<p>“No, not without an effort to find them. I didn’t mean that I should -sit by the campfire and wait for daylight. I’m going now.” Hippy slung -his rifle under his arm and strode<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> off toward the creek. “Should -anything break loose, shoot,” he called back.</p> - -<p>Reaching the creek, the lieutenant trudged along it to the canyon, -Elfreda having told him that Grace had gone in that direction. He -examined the bank of the creek with a pocket lamp that Anne had handed -to him, as Grace had done before him, but failed to find footprints. -When he arrived at the point from which other canyons radiated, the -lieutenant took the wrong one and wandered along its course for half -a mile. Finding nothing of what he sought, he returned to the creek -and searched along a second canyon, and so on until finally reaching -the dark ravine through which Grace really had gone in search of Emma. -Hippy, on the contrary, failed to find a trail.</p> - -<p>It was long past midnight when finally he gave up his search and -started back to the camp. As he neared it, he discovered, by the light -of the campfire, that a string of ponies was being led down from the -Apache Trail.</p> - -<p>“There comes Ike! Now we’ll see what can be done,” cried the lieutenant -in a relieved tone. Hippy started on a run for the camp. By the time he -reached there Ike had arrived and the Overton girls were gathered about -him, all speaking at once, trying to tell him of the disaster that had -befallen them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> -“Them critters got Miss Dean and Mrs. Gray?” demanded Ike.</p> - -<p>“We do not know. We know that they are missing,” replied Elfreda. -“Hippy, did you discover anything?”</p> - -<p>“Not a thing.”</p> - -<p>“Come here, Western. Folks, this is Western Jones thet came along with -me to help lead the string of ponies. Glad now thet I fetched him. -West, please stake down the ponies. Now you folks tell me every little -thing thet’s happened, so I can get a line on this business.”</p> - -<p>The girls told the old stagecoach driver of the occurrences of the -night when he left for Globe, of the picnic, of Emma’s disappearance -and of Grace’s having gone in search of her.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got to find ’em, thet’s all,” declared Ike, after a moment’s -thought. “Tell you what we’ll do. The lieutenant and I’ll take two -ponies and lead ’em until we pick up the trail, then we’ll ride as -far up the canyon as we can an’ walk the rest of the way. We’ll send -the ponies back if we have to. They’ll come right back so long as the -others are staked here.”</p> - -<p>“What about guarding the camp?” questioned Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>“Western Jones can do thet. West, how’d you like a little brush with -some of thet Con Bates gang?” demanded Ike, grinning.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> -“Sweeter’n wild honey,” grinned Western. “Is it them as has done this -trick?”</p> - -<p>“I reckon mebby it is. We don’t know for shore. Mebby Apaches, for all -I know.”</p> - -<p>“Leave ’em to me,” grinned Western Jones.</p> - -<p>“Then you keep these gals right here in this camp, an’ don’t you let -a one of ’em get away till I come back. Got the makin’s of a light, -Lieutenant, or have I got to carry a torch to light the way?”</p> - -<p>“I have a flash lamp.”</p> - -<p>“Saddle up an’ we’ll be off right smart, an’ we’ll bring back the -missin’ girls. I don’t reckon as thet gang will have more’n a mouthful -of success with them two little ladies. They better look out thet -they don’t rile thet sweet, smilin’ Grace Harlowe too much or they’ll -discover, when it’s too late, thet they barked agin’ the wrong -cottonwood. Look for us when we get back.”</p> - -<p>“Darling, be careful! Don’t get shot,” begged Nora, giving her husband -a good-bye kiss.</p> - -<p>Hippy hurried along and joined Mr. Fairweather, and together they -saddled and bridled, and then strode down to the creek leading their -mounts. Ike took the flash lamp and, soon after reaching the stream, he -picked up the trail of the Overton party on their way to the picnic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> -grounds. He found Lieutenant Wingate’s footprints also.</p> - -<p>Reaching the point where other trails radiated out from the main -canyon, Ike bade his companion hold the horses. Then began a -painstaking examination of the ground, along the little mountain -stream, a proceeding that excited Lieutenant Wingate’s admiration. -After a time Mr. Fairweather’s light disappeared and Hippy was left in -the somber canyon to pass the time as best he might.</p> - -<p>Ike was gone an hour. He returned without showing a light. Hippy heard -him when he was almost upon him, and challenged.</p> - -<p>“It’s Ike,” was the brief answer.</p> - -<p>“What luck?” questioned Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Struck the trail. Stands out like a boulevard in a big city. Found -somethin’ else, too.”</p> - -<p>“What was it?”</p> - -<p>“Found where some woman met one of ours an’ went with her up the -canyon. It wa’n’t a regular white girl’s footprint thet the woman made. -Reckon it was an Indian or some mountain woman, ’cause she had on -moccasins. There was three or four men a little further upstream an’ -they had horses. I found this up there. Reco’nize it?” Ike held out -something white and turned the ray of the flash lamp on it.</p> - -<p>“E. D.” muttered Hippy. “I should say this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> is Miss Dean’s -handkerchief. Well, what next?”</p> - -<p>“All hands got on the horses and went on up the canyon. I come back -from that pint.”</p> - -<p>“Ike, you are a wonder! How do you do it? I couldn’t read the story -of a trail the way you do, if I was to practice it all the rest of my -life.”</p> - -<p>“An’ I reckon thet if I tried to sail one of them flyin’ machines my -name would be Dennis, right smart,” replied Ike. “Get aboard! We’re -goin’ right up thet trail and we’re goin’ to keep goin’ till either we -lose it for good, or find the gals, or get shot doin’ one or t’other. -We can’t pull off an’ wait till mornin’. Mornin’ may be too late.”</p> - -<p>Hippy swung into his saddle, Ike being but a few seconds behind him in -mounting, Mr. Fairweather taking the lead at a slow jog trot.</p> - -<p>“Right here’s where they took to the ponies,” announced Ike finally. -How he knew that in the darkness, Hippy was unable to imagine, but -then, Hippy Wingate had not followed mountain trails at any stage of -his career, and knew nothing of them.</p> - -<p>Ike now began to flash his light against the mountain, first on one -side, then on the other.</p> - -<p>“Whoa!” The command came out sharp and incisive. “Hold my nag, -Lieutenant.” The old driver dismounted, and, handing his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> bridle rein -to his companion, began climbing up along the mountainside, keeping the -ray of his light directly on the ground at his feet.</p> - -<p>Ike returned in a few minutes.</p> - -<p>“I reckon we’ve got to do some tall climbin’ ourselves. Party went -up the mountain here.” Ike mounted and started up a twisting, narrow -trail, his light now in almost continuous use, for the going was -extremely perilous.</p> - -<p>“See them bits of white cloth alongside the trail?” Ike called back.</p> - -<p>“I had not noticed them. I see them now,” answered Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Them’s markers that Mrs. Gray prob’bly dropped to show us the way. -Thet’s a real gal, Lieutenant.”</p> - -<p>Hippy marveled in silence.</p> - -<p>Day was breaking when they reached the top, and, looking back, Hippy -found himself wondering how they ever made it, for the mountain they -had climbed looked to Lieutenant Wingate to be straight up and down.</p> - -<p>Ike Fairweather again dismounted, was searching the ground, running -back and forth, covering wider and wider stretches of rock and earth, -continuously combing his whiskers with his fingers, and perspiring -freely. Ike finally returned to his companion, his chagrin reflected in -his face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> -“What’s the matter, Ike?” asked Hippy in a cheerful voice, a tone that, -at the moment, did not reflect his real feelings.</p> - -<p>“Matter? I’m plumb locoed, Lieutenant. I’ve lost the trail, an’ I don’t -know where to look for it. It’s a mighty big place up here, an’ mebby -we find the track an’ mebby we don’t. Leastwise, I’m sorry for the gals -who, I’ll bet, are lookin’ their eyes out for us.”</p> - -<p>“You are excited, Ike. Sit down, consult your whiskers and perhaps you -may find an idea or something in them,” suggested Hippy gravely.</p> - -<p>Ike promptly adopted his companion’s suggestion, and for the next -several minutes gave himself up to reflection, punctuated with an -occasional throaty growl.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got it! I’ve got it, Lieutenant!” cried Ike, springing up. “It’s -a cold trail.”</p> - -<p>“A trail with snow or something on it?” questioned Hippy innocently. “I -haven’t seen snow in these mountains, but I presume there is plenty of -it.”</p> - -<p>“No, no, Lieutenant. A cold trail’s a fixed trail—doctored so as to -mislead a trailer, or covered up altogether so he can’t find it. I -reckon Ike Fairweather ain’t goin’ to be fooled by no cheap mountain -trick like thet. Lieutenant, you work to the right, while I go to the -left.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> Take a wide circle along the top of the mountain an’ come up -with me by thet monument you can see the top of over to the north’ard. -Watch the ground like sixty, an’ watch out for broken twigs an’ crushed -clumps of grass. If you find any, sit still an’ wait for me.”</p> - -<p>Hippy Wingate wheeled his pony and trotted off to the right, peering at -the ground, a puzzled expression in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t know a frozen trail, or whatever you call it, if I saw -one,” he muttered helplessly.</p> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="xii" id="xii"></a>CHAPTER XII<br /> -<small>AN INTERRUPTED INTERVIEW</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“Y</span>OU come with me, Mrs. Gray!” commanded the woman who had lured Grace -to capture. “I reckon you and me got somethin’ to settle.”</p> - -<p>“I do not know what you mean, but I am ready,” announced Grace, rising. -“Come, Emma!”</p> - -<p>“You set where you be!” ordered Belle savagely.</p> - -<p>Emma’s eyes flashed her resentment, and, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span> a few seconds, Grace -feared that her little companion was about to do something rash. Miss -Dean, who had started to rise, now settled back, face flushed, her -whole body a-tremble, but more from anger than from fear.</p> - -<p>“When I want you I’ll call you,” was the woman’s parting admonition as -she turned away, nodding to Grace to follow her.</p> - -<p>Belle led her captive off behind some rocks, within easy calling -distance of the group of bandits who were still munching at their -breakfast and at the same time keeping an eye on Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>The instant that Grace could do so without being observed by the men, -she thrust her hand inside her tunic and quickly transferred her -automatic revolver to the right hand pocket. She was now walking along -with both hands in her pockets, feeling more confidence in herself now -that a means of defense lay within her right hand.</p> - -<p>The mountain woman halted behind a wall of rock, and, leaning against -it, surveyed Grace with malignant eyes.</p> - -<p>“You Harlowe woman, what do you reckon I ought to do to you?” she -demanded.</p> - -<p>“I don’t reckon you’d better do anything to me, except to permit -myself and companion to return to our camp,” answered Grace, lounging<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> -carelessly, scuffing the dirt with the toe of her boot, but not -permitting her gaze to leave the face of the mountain woman for a -second.</p> - -<p>“What if I do?” Belle’s eyes blazed.</p> - -<p>“I have friends who never will cease their efforts until you have -paid in full, bitterly so, for what you may have done to me or to my -companion, Miss Dean.”</p> - -<p>“You threaten me?” demanded the woman, her hand slipping to the -revolver that swung in its holster from her hip.</p> - -<p>“No. I am simply stating a fact, and you know it,” calmly replied Grace.</p> - -<p>“Why did you shoot my husband?” snapped Belle.</p> - -<p>“Why did I wha—at?” gasped Grace.</p> - -<p>“You heard what I said.”</p> - -<p>“Who is your husband?”</p> - -<p>“Con Bates. I’m Belle Bates, an’ I’m goin’ to see to it thet you settle -for thet little job you did.”</p> - -<p>“So, you are the wife of that highwayman, eh? I begin to understand. -What is it you wish me to do?”</p> - -<p>“Settle up right smart.”</p> - -<p>“How?” questioned Grace, now smilingly.</p> - -<p>“I reckon you got money or you wouldn’t be out on a trip like you be. -You will write a letter to your friends, telling them to shell out all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> -the money they have, to leave it in a certain place that I’ll tell you -’bout, then to get back to Globe as fast as hoss flesh will carry ’em, -and then you all get out of the country, an’ stay out.”</p> - -<p>“Do you believe they will be foolish enough to leave money for one -of your gang to go and help himself to? I don’t believe you know -my friends. Why, your messenger never could get away with anything -so simple as that. Let us consider this matter. Suppose I do write -the sort of letter you demand, and further, that, by this childish -subterfuge, you get such money as our outfit has with it, what will -be your next move? What do you then propose to do with Miss Dean and -myself?”</p> - -<p>“I reckon mebby I’ll let you go.”</p> - -<p>“Mebby, eh? That is too indefinite, but I presume it is as good as the -word of an outlaw like yourself can be,” replied Grace boldly. “Suppose -I refuse to do as you request? What then, Mrs. Bandit?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll serve you as you served Con, only more so.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know my name?” questioned Grace, more for the sake of -gaining time to further plan to outwit this woman, whom Grace fully -believed meant to do something desperate, than because she cared to -know. She saw, too,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> that Belle Bates was working herself into a high -pitch of excitement and anger that might result in greater peril for -her captives.</p> - -<p>“Thet’s none of your business,” retorted Belle in reply to the Overton -girl’s question.</p> - -<p>“Let me suggest another plan. If you will send Miss Dean with the -letter to my friends, I will write to them that they are to deposit, -if they wish, a certain amount of money in whatever place you may -designate.”</p> - -<p>“See anything green in my eyes?” jeered the bandit’s wife.</p> - -<p>“My plan is no more foolish than yours. I suggested it merely to prove -to you that yours will not stand the test. Why, Belle Bates, if such a -thing as ransom for me were suggested to them, my friends would throw -your messenger out of camp and probably into Pinal Creek. They would -then nose out your trail and they would follow you until yourself and -every member of your thieving band were in jail or worse. You can -expect nothing less, for you are as bad as the worst of your miserable -outfit,” added Grace.</p> - -<p>Belle Bates’ face was not pleasant to look upon at that moment, and -her rage was rapidly getting the better of what little judgment she -possessed.</p> - -<p>This was exactly what Grace Harlowe was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span> seeking to accomplish, to get -her captor in such a rage that she would do something that would give -Grace an advantage, nor did the Overton girl overlook the possibility -that Belle Bates’ rage might lead to the woman’s using her revolver on -her tantalizer.</p> - -<p>Fortunately for Grace, the situation did not develop that way. With a -cry of rage, Belle sprang at Grace Harlowe with clenched fists.</p> - -<p>“I’ll fix that purty face of yours!” she cried, and launched a swift -blow at her captive.</p> - -<p>The Overton girl, smiling aggravatingly, had stood calmly awaiting the -rush, and easily dodged the blow that the Bates woman struck at her.</p> - -<p>At that point Grace Harlowe got into action. Her left hand shot out and -was as swiftly withdrawn, holding in it the heavy revolver which she -had snatched from Belle Bates’ holster. Grace instantly sprang back out -of reach of those wiry arms, whose strength she already had felt, and -pointed the weapon at her adversary.</p> - -<p>“Put your hands over your head!” she commanded sternly. “Quick! Don’t -utter a sound or I’ll shoot. Now back up against the rock behind you.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll kill you for this!” fumed the woman. Belle Bates had been trained -in the hard school<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> of the mountains; she had faced weapons before, and -she had seen others face them, as well as some who went down before -them. One glance into the brown eyes that were looking along the barrel -of her own revolver told Belle that Grace Harlowe meant what she had -said and that she possessed the nerve to carry out her threat.</p> - -<p>“Turn around facing the rock and rest your hands against it as high -above your head as you can reach!” commanded Grace.</p> - -<p>The woman obeyed sullenly.</p> - -<p>“You will now call to Miss Dean to come here. Be careful how you do it, -too, and remember what is behind you. I hope there is nothing behind -<em>me</em>,” added Grace to herself.</p> - -<p>Belle hesitated. Grace uttered another warning, a more insistent one, -whereupon the mountain woman called to Emma Dean to come to her.</p> - -<p>“Drop thet gun, an’ do it quick!” came the sharp command in a man’s -voice behind Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>The Overton girl’s heart seemed to leap into her throat. She felt a -suffocating sensation there, her breath coming only with great effort, -and she could feel herself going cold all over.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xiii" id="xiii"></a>CHAPTER XIII<br /> -<small>A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“O</span>H, Grace, what is it?” cried Emma, who at this juncture arrived on -the scene.</p> - -<p>Grace Harlowe’s reaction came with Emma’s words. Whirling in a flash, -Grace dropped to her knees just as the revolver of the bandit was -fired at her. How the fellow had managed to get behind her without her -knowing it, Grace was at a loss to understand.</p> - -<p>A cry behind her now told Grace that the bullet intended for her -had hit Belle Bates instead. It was now a question of fight or be -killed, or both, so far as Grace was concerned, and, coming close on -the discharge of the bandit’s revolver, she took a quick shot at the -fellow, following it up with a second shot, as the bandit again fired.</p> - -<p>The man staggered under the Overton girl’s second shot, and collapsed -on the ground.</p> - -<p>“Run!” cried Grace. “Run, Emma!”</p> - -<p>Emma Dean paused hesitatingly, then darted away, but the instant she -was out of sight of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> the bandits, Emma stopped short to wait for her -companion.</p> - -<p>Grace was still in the thick of trouble, but, though the wounded -bandit, lying flat on his back, continued to shoot, the Overton girl -was thankful that Belle Bates had no weapon to use on her.</p> - -<p>Though the fight had been under way less than twenty seconds, the -bandits were already running to the scene. Grace, following her second -shot, had darted away, calling to Emma as she ran.</p> - -<p>“Run! They’re after us!” admonished Grace as she came up with Emma.</p> - -<p>A scattering fire of revolver bullets spattered on the rocks about -them, but, by lively sprinting, they soon succeeded in placing -substantial barriers of rock between them and their pursuers. The -bandits, of course, possessed the advantage of long experience in this -sort of warfare, but Grace’s mind was an alert one, quick to receive -impressions and quick to react.</p> - -<p>“I hear horses coming!” panted Emma.</p> - -<p>“Yes. They’ve taken to the ponies. We must get where the ponies cannot -conveniently go, and do it quick. Run on your toes. Be careful not to -leave a footprint anywhere,” cautioned Grace.</p> - -<p>It was soon apparent from the sounds, however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> that the horsemen were -overtaking the girls, though Grace felt reasonably certain that the -bandits did not know where she and Emma at that moment were. In the -circumstances there appeared only one way to avoid discovery, and that -was to do some skillful dodging, which the two girls promptly did when -the pursuers drew closer to them. Grace and Emma hid behind a rock, -and, as the riders swept down toward them, moved step by step around -it, so that the rock should always be between them and the bandits.</p> - -<p>The outlaws swung by at a brisk gallop which left Grace and Emma to the -rear of their pursuers.</p> - -<p>“Run! We must find a hiding place,” urged Grace.</p> - -<p>“Grace Harlowe, there is blood on your face!” cried Emma as they ran. -“Were you hit?”</p> - -<p>“I got a scratch on the head. A bullet scratched my scalp when I -started to run away from the fight,” grinned Grace.</p> - -<p>The way was now becoming more rugged, but the girls did not lessen -their pace, and for nearly an hour they continued their plunging, -stumbling sprint, at the expense of many falls and bruises, thankful -that, thus far, they had succeeded in eluding their pursuers.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> -<img src="images/i-003.jpg" width="400" height="605" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">The Outlaws Swung By.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span> -“I can’t go any further!” wailed Emma. “I simply can’t, Grace.”</p> - -<p>“You must, Emma. This is too exposed a place for us to halt. There! -What did I tell you?”</p> - -<p>A rifle bullet had <em>pinged</em> against a rock close at hand, and -ricochetted off with a weird <em>zing—g—g—g</em>, followed by the report of -a rifle.</p> - -<p>Emma suddenly forgot her weariness and, together, the girls fled from -that danger spot. Now that their presence had been discovered, Grace -decided to make another change of course, which she did instantly. It -was a fortunate change, too, for it led the girls to the edge of the -mountain. A few yards below where they were standing, Grace saw a shelf -of rock jutting out, and rightly surmised that beneath that they might -find a hiding place.</p> - -<p>Getting to the shelf and underneath it, without leaving a tell-tale -trail, was difficult, but they succeeded in accomplishing it.</p> - -<p>“Lie down and try to get some sleep,” advised Grace, after the two had -squeezed in under the shelf. “We are in no immediate danger here.”</p> - -<p>Being on the verge of utter exhaustion, Emma Dean needed no urging, -and almost immediately sank into a deep sleep, while Grace lay back -with closed eyes, getting what rest she could,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> and reflecting over -the exciting incidents of the last few hours. As for the bandit she -had shot, she did not believe his wound to be a serious one. Grace had -aimed for the upper left limb, and believed she had hit it. She had not -had time to turn to see how seriously Belle Bates was wounded.</p> - -<p>Nothing more having been heard of the bandits, Grace finally turned her -attention to the important matter of getting back to the Overton camp. -First, she got her points of compass from the sun, but this did not -greatly assist her, not knowing to a certainty in which direction the -camp lay. Not a familiar landmark could she find.</p> - -<p>“Wake up! We must be going,” said Grace, gently shaking her companion.</p> - -<p>“Grace dear, I’m so lame and stiff that I don’t believe I can walk.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you prefer to remain here and starve or be captured again,” -suggested Grace.</p> - -<p>Emma got up, and said she was ready.</p> - -<p>The two girls then started off as briskly as Miss Dean’s sore joints -would permit. They continued on until four o’clock in the afternoon -without finding the trail over which they had ridden to the mountain -top.</p> - -<p>“I fear we shall not find it, dear,” Grace finally admitted.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> -“Then what are we to do!” pleaded Emma. “I’m so hungry, so thirsty and -so weary.”</p> - -<p>“I have been thinking of that, and looking over the landscape at the -same time. It seems to me that the second canyon over there should lead -us somewhere near our camp. Look to your right and you will observe -that the second canyon appears to merge into the one immediately in our -foreground, so we will try to get down the mountain and work our way -toward the point of intersection.</p> - -<p>“We shall find water to drink in the canyon, and we must watch sharply -for berries, of which I saw many when out picnicking. Other than a few -berries, we cannot hope to get much of anything to eat until we reach -camp.”</p> - -<p>Emma groaned. They then began a cautious descent of the mountain, -creeping from rock to rock, slipping and sliding, now and then at the -imminent peril of being dashed to death on the rocks far below them.</p> - -<p>“Here is a bush of mountain berries. Come and get them, but be careful -not to fall,” Grace called to her companion.</p> - -<p>Emma, upon reaching the bush, threw herself down beside it and ate -ravenously, then suddenly realizing that her companion had not had a -taste of the berries, she shamefacedly begged Grace’s pardon for her -greediness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> -The bottom of the canyon was in deep shadow when the girls finally -reached it, though it was still daylight on the mountain top. A -rippling stream of water at their feet, for the moment, put all other -thoughts out of the minds of Grace Harlowe and Emma Dean, and they -drank and choked until they could drink no more, and, after bathing -their faces in the cold mountain stream, they arose from the brook -greatly refreshed.</p> - -<p>“That was almost as good as a meal,” declared Grace. “It will have to -answer for my meal, because I failed to find more berries.”</p> - -<p>Emma made no reply to this, but she thought volumes of uncomplimentary -things about herself.</p> - -<p>Now that the chill night air was settling over the mountains, the wound -in Grace’s scalp began to stiffen and give her considerable pain, but -she kept her suffering to herself, and, taking Emma by the hand, began -trudging down the canyon, that already was in impenetrable darkness. -They stumbled on for hours, until finally Emma gave out entirely.</p> - -<p>“Grace, I simply cannot go another step,” she wailed.</p> - -<p>Lighting a match, Grace peered into the face of her little companion, -and she saw that Emma really was suffering from exhaustion.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span> -“All right, little pard, we will camp right here. I wish I had a light. -I lost my pocket lamp yesterday, but I am going to try to make a -fire. You sit down and do the best you can while I feel about for the -makings.”</p> - -<p>After accumulating a few handfuls of twigs that would burn, Grace -placed them beside Emma, and began feeling about for a suitable camping -place. She found one under a projection of rock that had been worn out, -perhaps by the high waters of centuries. There was shale and dirt under -the rocky shelf, which Grace partly scooped out with her hands, and -a few moments later a cheerful little fire was burning. By its light -Grace cleared away as much more of the dirt and shale as possible, -piling in green boughs in their place.</p> - -<p>“Is it safe to have a fire?” questioned Emma apprehensively.</p> - -<p>“No. We must have warmth or we shall freeze, chilled through as we -already are. Get in under the rock and you will soon feel quite -comfortable, I know.”</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you coming in, too?” asked Emma.</p> - -<p>“Yes, after I have laid in sufficient fuel for the night,” replied -Grace. “As for the fire, you see I have laid it close to the rock, and -I doubt if it could be seen from the top of the mountain.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> -“I wish I could do things as you do, Loyalheart.”</p> - -<p>“You could if you had to. There! I think we are fixed for the night, -and now I will join you. Are you comfortable?” she asked, snuggling -down beside Emma.</p> - -<p>“I should be were we not in such a mess, dear.”</p> - -<p>“Be thankful for small things, Emma. This really is quite comfy. All we -need to complete our comfort are a few slices of bacon and a hot cup of -coffee apiece,” chuckled Grace.</p> - -<p>“Grace Harlowe, you are positively cruel to speak of it,” rebuked Emma. -“For the moment I had forgotten that I was hungry, then you had to -remind me of it. I could almost faint at thought of how hungry I am. -Never, never again will I make fun of Hippy Wingate’s appetite. I never -knew what a terrible thing an appetite could be.”</p> - -<p>“I agree with you that it can be, in some circumstances,” admitted -Grace. “Suppose you go to sleep now.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I can’t. I am too frightened,” protested Emma. “Isn’t it still, -and isn’t the stillness in this canyon the noisiest thing you ever -heard?”</p> - -<p>Grace laughed merrily.</p> - -<p>“You have expressed it exactly, little woman.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span> Please get to sleep. I -shall not answer another question, so do not ask any.”</p> - -<p>Grace kept her word, and preserved a stony silence to all of her -companion’s questions. Emma, soon tiring of asking questions that -elicited no reply, ceased asking them and finally dozed off to sleep.</p> - -<p>Grace Harlowe poked the fire and put on fresh fuel from time to time, -keeping her lonely vigil, listening and wondering whether or not she -would ever be able to find her way back to the camp of the Overton -outfit.</p> - -<p>Lulled by the warmth of the fire, and worn out from her trying -experience, Grace’s head finally drooped until it rested on Emma Dean’s -shoulder.</p> - -<p>Grace awakened with a start, then sank back into a sound sleep, which -lasted but a few moments. The support of Emma’s shoulder was suddenly -withdrawn, as Emma, uttering a piercing shriek, leaped to her feet. -Grace toppled over sideways, but was upright, wide awake in an instant.</p> - -<p>In the light of the fire that was now burning low, she saw Emma, half -standing, half crouching, her face ghastly pale, her body shaking as -from a heavy chill.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” demanded Grace sharply.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> -“I—I didn’t see, I heard,” gasped Miss Dean. “Oh, Grace, it was awful.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me what frightened you!” insisted Grace in a severe tone of voice.</p> - -<p>“Something screamed and wailed. It sounded like the wail of a lost -soul. You know what I mean.”</p> - -<p>“Never having heard a lost soul wail, I don’t. The mountain silence -must have ‘got your wind up,’ as the soldiers say of a man who is -frightened. Lie down and go to slee—”</p> - -<p>Grace got no further. The silent, surcharged air split to a piercing -scream, followed by a frightful, blood-chilling wail of agony. It was -with an effort that Grace restrained herself from leaping to her feet, -as Emma Dean again screamed, but the cold chills were racing up and -down her spine, her nerves partly out of control.</p> - -<p>“I can’t stand it! Oh, Grace, Grace, save me!” Emma, weeping -hysterically, threw herself into her companion’s arms as that -nerve-racking wail of agony again woke the echoes of the canyon, this -time seeming to be directly over their heads.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xiv" id="xiv"></a>CHAPTER XIV<br /> -<small>A NIGHT OF TERROR</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">G</span>RACE HARLOWE was frightened. At least, for a moment, she felt her -nerves giving way under the strain, and she feared she too was going to -scream. Instead, she gave Emma Dean a severe shaking.</p> - -<p>“Stop it, I tell you! You will have the bandits down on us next. -Goodness knows we have trouble enough on our hands without again having -to deal with those ruffians.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care. I prefer bandits rather than to have that terrible thing -in the air over me,” cried Emma.</p> - -<p>“It is an animal, though I must admit that the wail did sound like the -voice of a woman in mortal agony. There it goes again. Steady yourself, -Emma! Be an Overton girl!”</p> - -<p>Emma Dean buried her head in Grace’s lap and again gave way to a storm -of tears. Her whole body was jerking nervously, but Grace petted and -coddled, and talked to her, until finally Miss Dean, in a measure, -recovered her composure.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> -The wild, haunting, mournful wail was repeated. Emma shivered and -so did Grace, despite her self-control, but both girls immediately -recovered their composure.</p> - -<p>The wail burst suddenly, appallingly close, seeming, to their -overstrained nerves, to be right under the shelter that covered the -Overton girls.</p> - -<p>Emma Dean leaped to her feet, and was about to dash out into the canyon -when Grace caught and hauled her back. At that instant, the heavy thud -of padded feet striking the ground in front of the camping place was -heard by both girls.</p> - -<p>Peering over the little fire, Grace saw two yellow, ball-like eyes out -there in the darkness. Emma discovered them at about the same time, but -she made no sound, save a faint gurgle in her throat.</p> - -<p>Here was something tangible, something to give battle to, and a peril -that one could see and face had few terrors for Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>The bandit revolver that Grace had taken from Belle Bates was -cautiously drawn from its holster. Grace took steady aim and pulled the -trigger. A heavy report crashed out, echoing and buffeting the canyon -walls far up the dark mountain gorge.</p> - -<p>Grace fired again, and, this time, a scream of rage or pain, neither -girl could decide which,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> again set the echoes screaming up the canyon, -but the yellow eyes were no longer there when Grace got a clear view of -the scene.</p> - -<p>“There! Your friend, the lost soul, has at least one bullet in his -body. You see how foolish you were to be so frightened,” rebuked Grace, -forgetful for the moment that she too had been on the verge of giving -way to the terror inspired by those agonizing wails. “I am going to see -what I can discover.”</p> - -<p>“Please, please don’t leave me alone,” begged Emma. “I can’t stand it.”</p> - -<p>“I am not going away, just out front. Remain where you are. That beast -may still be lurking about.”</p> - -<p>Grace stepped out cautiously, carrying a flickering firebrand in her -left hand, the bandit woman’s revolver in her right, ready for instant -action. Upon examining the rocks for traces of their terrifying -visitor, she found fresh blood stains. A trail of drops led up the -canyon from that point, but the Overton girl did not follow it, knowing -that peril might lurk on that trail.</p> - -<p>“Don’t ever say that I cannot shoot straight,” cried Grace as she -returned to her companion. “I hit the beast.”</p> - -<p>“What was it?” questioned Emma, still pale and disturbed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> -“I can’t say for certain. I know I never heard anything so -blood-curdling as that frightful wail. I have been thinking, and it -seems to me I have heard that the mountain lion, or cougar, has the -wildest, most agonized scream of anything in the western mountains.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think he will come back?”</p> - -<p>“I do not believe so. Were I in his place I shouldn’t. I will keep -awake and watch. That is the prudent thing to do, so you lie down and -sleep for the rest of the night.”</p> - -<p>Once more Grace took up her vigil, and after a time Emma again dropped -off to sleep. The excitement had set Grace’s head aching, and the scalp -wound pained her frightfully. She tried to lie back and doze, but did -not succeed. Suddenly three shots, revolver shots, she decided, aroused -Grace to instant alertness.</p> - -<p>Listening intently, she heard three answering shots.</p> - -<p>“A signal! Emma, wake up!”</p> - -<p>“Wha—at is it?” cried Miss Dean, starting up heavy-eyed, swaying a -little as she got wearily to her feet.</p> - -<p>“Shots up the canyon. They were signal shots, too. We must put out the -fire and get away from here. Help me fetch water from the stream to -douse the fire. Take your hat. Be lively!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span> -The fire being low, only a few hatfuls were necessary to extinguish it. -This done, Grace threw boughs from their bed over the heap of ashes, -then grabbing Emma by a hand fairly dragged her across the stream and -on a few yards to the opposite base of the mountain.</p> - -<p>“Climb, but be careful!” directed Grace.</p> - -<p>The two girls scrambled up the mountainside until it grew so steep that -they could go no further.</p> - -<p>“Lie down!” directed Grace. Both were breathing heavily from exertion -and excitement.</p> - -<p>“I hear them!” whispered Emma.</p> - -<p>“Yes. There appear to be several of them, judging from the voices,” -answered Grace.</p> - -<p>The approaching party halted a little way up the canyon, but the halt -was brief, and the horsemen, as such they proved to be, moved on down, -as it seemed to Grace, with greater caution, for she could no longer -hear voices, only the soft hoof thuds of horses feeling their way in -the black night of the canyon.</p> - -<p>“They have stopped at our little camp,” whispered Grace. “I felt -certain that they would smell the dead fire. Keep very quiet, and be -careful that you do not dislodge a stone. If you do, we’re lost.”</p> - -<p>A match was lighted down there, and for a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> few seconds the dim outlines -of horses were visible to the watching, listening girls.</p> - -<p>A low-toned conference followed, more matches were lighted, flickering -here and there like scattered fireflies. Grace felt, rather than saw, -that the men were examining the ground for trail signs. If so, they -failed to discover the direction that the Overton girls had taken in -their scramble up the mountainside.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t they going?” questioned Emma.</p> - -<p>“I think so. Keep quiet until we are certain. It may be a trick to lure -us back.”</p> - -<p>A few moments later the horses of the party were heard thudding down -the canyon, and the two girls breathed with less restraint.</p> - -<p>“Emma, I think those men were our bandits. I wonder!”</p> - -<p>“Wonder what?”</p> - -<p>“I wonder if they are not on their way to the Overton camp? Emma Dean, -I believe we are in our own canyon, or near it!” cried Grace, a trace -of excitement in her tone.</p> - -<p>“Even if we are, we cannot find our way out in the darkness,” answered -Emma helplessly.</p> - -<p>“Yes we can. At least we cannot get far out of our way unless we climb -a mountain, and that we shall not do. Let’s get down, but be as quiet -as possible, for we must not be caught again. It will go hard with us -if we are.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> -“Suppose they <em>should</em> catch us?” questioned Emma anxiously.</p> - -<p>“Those men are desperate, but if they get us again it will be after I -have no shells left in my weapons.”</p> - -<p>Grace began cautiously scrambling down the mountainside, followed by -her companion, who exhibited less caution. The critical moment for the -girls was when they reached the bottom, and for several moments after -setting their feet on solid ground, they stood listening.</p> - -<p>“Come! They have gone,” decided Grace, slipping a hand into her -companion’s. “We will follow the canyon until we land somewhere.”</p> - -<p>They picked their way as carefully as was possible in the darkness, but -the going was so rough that Grace finally took to the little mountain -stream, and plodded on down it, until the sound of a greater volume of -water ahead caught her ears. She thereupon immediately stepped from the -stream, proceeding with caution, and in a few moments they came to the -stream that Grace had heard. There, the Overton girl felt about with -her hands for a time, then lighted a match.</p> - -<p>“Emma!” she cried, “do you know where we are?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span> -“We are on Pinal Creek. We are almost home, little one, and our -troubles are nearly at an end. Oh, I am so happy—and so hungry,” added -Grace, laughing a little hysterically.</p> - -<p>“I can’t believe it. Let’s run,” urged Miss Dean.</p> - -<p>“Don’t forget that the bandits are somewhere ahead of us. I suspect -that they are in the vicinity of our camp.”</p> - -<p>Grace was anxious for her friends. No shots, so far as she had heard, -had been fired by them, and she began to fear that perhaps all was not -well in the Overton camp. They pressed on more rapidly now, finally -reaching the creek side of Squaw Valley. No fire burned in the camp, -nor could the girls see the tents, which was not surprising, for the -night in the valley was almost as dark as in the mountain canyon that -they had just left.</p> - -<p>“The silence here seems charged with possibilities,” whispered Grace. -“Keep alert, Emma.”</p> - -<p>“I am, but it doesn’t seem to do any good. I feel wretched and -frightened.”</p> - -<p>“There they go!” cried Grace.</p> - -<p>A sudden scattering fire of rifle shots somewhere out in the field made -the girls’ nerves jump.</p> - -<p>“There go our rifles, too,” added Grace, as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> spirited fire sprang up -at the point where the two girls believed their camp to be located.</p> - -<p>“Oh, what shall we do?” cried Emma.</p> - -<p>“Get into a safe place. We have no rifles and can do nothing to assist -our friends.” Grasping Emma’s hand again, Grace ran back to the creek.</p> - -<p>“Down!” she ordered as bullets began to rustle the leaves over their -heads.</p> - -<p>Both girls threw themselves down, and, with heads slightly raised, -watched the flashes from the rifles. The outlaws were not riding this -time, but were skulking, fighting Indian fashion, and Grace was now -certain that the bandits that had been harassing the Overton outfit had -returned for another attack.</p> - -<p>The battle was being savagely waged on both sides, but who of her -companions were taking part in it, Grace of course did not know. The -first intimation she had that the fight was ended was when she saw four -horsemen gallop down to the creek and head up the canyon.</p> - -<p>“There they go,” announced Grace Harlowe in a relieved tone. “Hurry! -Some one may have been hurt.”</p> - -<p>Hand in hand the girls dragged their weary feet across the valley and -up toward the camp.</p> - -<p>“Do—do you think our people will shoo—oot at us?” stammered Emma.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span> -“They may at that. I will signal them.” Grace fired three interval -shots into the air, following it with the Overton hail, which was so -weak that it barely carried to the camp.</p> - -<p>“O-v-e-r-t-o-n!” came an answering shout from the camp.</p> - -<p>Grace and Emma soon discovered the figures of two men approaching them -at a run.</p> - -<p>“Who’s there?” called the voice of Hippy Wingate. “Speak or I’ll shoot.”</p> - -<p>“Harlowe!” answered Grace weakly. “Oh, Emma, I’m going to faint!” she -cried, and collapsed.</p> - -<p>When Grace recovered consciousness she was in her own camp. A camp fire -was blazing, and a group of anxious faces were bending over her. Grace -smiled and closed her eyes.</p> - -<p>“She has fallen asleep, don’t disturb her,” said Elfreda Briggs. “The -poor child is utterly exhausted. It is a wonder that she is alive after -what she plainly has gone through.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xv" id="xv"></a>CHAPTER XV<br /> -<small>IKE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">G</span>RACE and Emma, following Grace’s faint, had been carried into camp -by Lieutenant Wingate and Ike Fairweather. Emma, giving way to the -reaction, after her trying experience, had immediately sunk into a -profound sleep, from which they had not awakened her. The two girls had -been put to bed, neither awakening until long after daylight.</p> - -<p>Miss Briggs had examined the bullet wound on Grace’s scalp and decided -that it should have attention as soon as she awakened.</p> - -<p>No one was in her tent when finally Grace opened her eyes. After a few -minutes of blissful resting, the Overton girl got up and dressed. She -was a little dizzy at first, but the sensation quickly passed, and she -walked out just as luncheon was being prepared.</p> - -<p>There was a shout of welcome as Grace appeared, and the girls of the -party ran to her, fairly overwhelming her with their joyous embraces. -Emma, who had awakened and dressed, came out a few minutes after Grace.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> -“We are famished. Please give us something to eat,” begged Grace. -“While we are eating you may tell us what has been going on here.”</p> - -<p>“I reckon we’d like to hear ’bout you first,” spoke up Ike.</p> - -<p>Grace thereupon related the story of the experiences of herself and -Emma, touching briefly on her own part in it.</p> - -<p>“I reckon the woman thet got shot is goin’ to die,” observed Ike.</p> - -<p>“How do you know?” questioned Grace, bending a keen glance on the -driver.</p> - -<p>“Heard the bandits talkin’ about it up in the mountains.”</p> - -<p>Ike then told of the search that Hippy and himself had made for the -missing girls, of their losing the trail and not finding it again, and -finally of having discovered the bandits, spied on them, and from their -conversation learned that Grace Harlowe and Emma Dean had escaped.</p> - -<p>Ike said he learned, too, that the bandits were about to start for the -Overton camp, at the direction of Belle Bates, “and shoot the place up -for keeps,” as Ike put it. Hearing that, and knowing that the two girls -had escaped, Ike and Hippy started for home as fast as their horses -could travel, fully expecting to find Grace and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span> Emma at the camp. They -had arrived at camp about an hour before the bandits.</p> - -<p>“The battle you know ’bout, I reckon. Western Jones here shot two -of the critters off their horses, but the galoots gathered up their -wounded and rode away with ’em. I’ll bet there ain’t a one of ’em that -hasn’t a bullet hole in his carcass followin’ thet raid. You fixed one -in the leg up on the mountain. I heard ’em say so. Reckon you must have -shot high on purpose, ’cause you hit him nigh the hip.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad it was no worse,” observed Grace gravely.</p> - -<p>“Hope they keep on comin’ ’long, so, by the time we get to the end of -the trail, they’ll be purty well shot off.”</p> - -<p>“By the way, I shot at and hit an animal that I think must have been a -cougar,” Grace informed them. After she had described the terrifying -scream of the animal, Ike nodded.</p> - -<p>“Thet’s cougar. Must have hit him hard or he’d jumped you. They’re bad -medicine when wounded. Reckon he crawled off an’ died. What are you -goin’ to do now?”</p> - -<p>“I think the first thing to be done is to sew up Mrs. Gray’s scalp -wound,” suggested Elfreda. “Do you wish me to do it, Grace?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I was going to ask you to do that for me. Suppose you do it now.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> -Elfreda got her first-aid kit and her needles and silk, selected what -she wished from the kit and handed the rest to Emma to hold.</p> - -<p>“It might be wise to have some one else assist you. Remember, Emma has -never worked in a hospital,” suggested Grace, seating herself in the -camp chair that Anne had placed for her.</p> - -<p>“Time she began,” answered Elfreda briefly. “Emma, you will be present, -but not heard, during this proceeding.”</p> - -<p>Ike Fairweather had drawn up a soapbox and sat down on it just outside -of the circle that had gathered about the scene. His eyes were filled -with curiosity. Ike did not fully understand what was “coming off,” as -he later described it, but felt certain that he was about to witness -something interesting.</p> - -<p>Steeling herself to resist the pain, Grace talked as Miss Briggs -inserted the needle and began stitching the scalp together, but the -lines of her face showed the strain under which Grace was laboring.</p> - -<p>“Elfreda, haven’t you nearly finished with that patchwork?” she finally -asked in a queer, strained voice.</p> - -<p>“One more stitch and I am done. There! It is <em>fini</em>, as the Frenchmen -would say. Thank you, Emma. I will take the kit.”</p> - -<p>The kit dropped from Miss Dean’s nerveless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> fingers, and, uttering a -little moan, she collapsed.</p> - -<p>“Emma has fainted. Throw a pail of water on her face,” directed -Elfreda, calmly proceeding to place a bandage over Grace’s head.</p> - -<p>Nora ran for water, while Anne, who had sprung forward, turned the -fainting girl over on her back and fanned her with a sombrero.</p> - -<p>Emma’s faint was the crowning climax for Ike Fairweather. Ike went over -backward with his soapbox, landing on his back in a dead faint.</p> - -<p>Hippy grabbed the old coach driver, the veteran of many a hold-up and -thrilling battle in the mountains, and twisted him about so his head -might be higher than his feet.</p> - -<p>“Nora darling, fetch <em>two</em> pails of water,” called Hippy. “What ails -this bunch of tenderfeet, anyway?”</p> - -<p>Grace smiled in spite of her suffering, as Elfreda assisted her to a -cot that had been placed for her. In the meantime Ike and Emma were -regaining consciousness.</p> - -<p>“Well, I swan!” gasped Ike Fairweather after Hippy had laughingly -assisted him to a sitting position, Anne having performed a similar -service for Emma. “Never did nothin’ like thet before.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you never do it again if you continue to pilot this outfit,” -rebuked the lieutenant.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> -“I won’t,” promised Mr. Fairweather. “Next time I shore’ll look t’other -way,” he added, amid laughter.</p> - -<p>Grace beckoned to him to come to her.</p> - -<p>“Did Mr. Jones return to Globe?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and the young women gave him a right nice present beside what he -asked for helpin’ me to get the ponies out here.”</p> - -<p>“I want to thank you for all the trouble you had in looking for Miss -Dean and myself. That is what I wished to say to you,” added Grace -smilingly. “When do you think we should strike camp and go on?”</p> - -<p>“Whenever you feel fit, Miss.”</p> - -<p>“I think it will be advisable to wait until morning, even though the -bandits attack us here again.”</p> - -<p>“Reckon they got enough for a day or so,” observed Ike dryly. -“To-morrow mornin’, then, is it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Make camp to-morrow afternoon wherever you think best, only do -not let us get past your camping place. Thank you so much. I do not -know what we should have done without you, but I sincerely hope our -more serious troubles are now at an end,” added Grace.</p> - -<p>“Mebby, mebby,” observed Ike Fairweather, thoughtfully stroking his -whiskers. “Between you an’ me, I don’t reckon they be.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xvi" id="xvi"></a>CHAPTER XVI<br /> -<small>A GLIMPSE INTO FAIRYLAND</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE Overton girls’ equipment wagon, as was customary, went ahead of the -outfit next morning, and had been gone for nearly two hours when the -party decided to start on their way.</p> - -<p>Hippy Wingate saddled their horses for them, and gallantly assisted -them to mount.</p> - -<p>“That husband of mine must have learned how to assist ladies to their -saddles when I wasn’t looking,” frowned Nora.</p> - -<p>Grace shook her head.</p> - -<p>“It is the thought of how near he has come to losing us all in the -battles with the bandits that has softened Hippy’s heart,” corrected -Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>“I wish I could believe it,” muttered Nora Wingate.</p> - -<p>The outfit started out, led by Lieutenant Wingate, who took a -circuitous route to reach the Apache Trail, in order to avoid the steep -ascent that they would have encountered had they taken a more direct -course to the trail.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span> -The eyes of the Overton girls were sparkling. For the moment they had -forgotten their troubles, forgotten the peril-laden mysteries of the -Apache Mountains, forgotten all but the glorious morning, and the -wonders that lay all about them.</p> - -<p>The first halt made was at the Great Forest of Sahuaro, a forest of -giant cacti which flourishes all through the Apache and other mountain -regions in that immediate section. Some of these great, awkward plants -are all of fifty feet high, and from their spiny, fluted trunks issue -branches which almost equal the trunks in diameter.</p> - -<p>Crowning this weird, ungainly invention of nature is a brilliant red -waxen flower of great beauty.</p> - -<p>“That is the state flower of Arizona,” Grace informed her companions, -pointing to the sea of red that stretched away for a long distance. “I -propose that we dismount, have our luncheon here and chat for an hour -or so.”</p> - -<p>“Motion carried,” cried Emma, slipping from her saddle.</p> - -<p>Ponies were tethered, and while Hippy was seeking water “for man and -beast,” as he expressed it, the girls got out their mess kits and -rations. Grace built a little cook fire, and, in remarkably short time, -the mess call was heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span> at the edge of the cactus forest, while the -ponies nibbled at what they found.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been thinking,” began Hippy, “that—”</p> - -<p>“Marvellous,” murmured Emma.</p> - -<p>“That only weaklings faint away,” finished the lieutenant.</p> - -<p>“Is that all you had in your mind beside thought of food?” Emma came -back spiritedly.</p> - -<p>“No, not all. What I really was about to say, was that this outfit -should have a name.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps we already have a name among certain persons who have smelled -our powder,” twinkled Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>“I too have been thinking that we, as an organization, should call -ourselves something,” agreed Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t we the Overseas Girls?” questioned Nora.</p> - -<p>“Not now. We may be all at sea, but we are not overseas,” answered -Grace.</p> - -<p>“I move we call ourselves the Rough Rider Patrol,” suggested Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Awful!” objected Emma. “This is not a part of the State Constabulary.”</p> - -<p>“I have it!” cried Hippy. “You’ll say it’s a stroke of genius when you -hear it. I have the name that fits this outfit from the ground up. ‘The -Automobile Girls on Horseback,’ that’s the name for you children,” -glowed Hippy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span> -A chorus of laughs greeted the suggestion.</p> - -<p>“Instead of being a stroke of genius, I should call that a stroke of -paralysis,” declared Nora.</p> - -<p>“Such is the support that Hippy Wingate gets from his wife,” complained -the lieutenant.</p> - -<p>“Can you blame her?” teased Grace. “Anne, Elfreda, we have not heard -from you.”</p> - -<p>“While you people have been making sport of Hippy’s suggestions, I wish -to say that he has made an excellent one,” asserted Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Elfreda!” cried Anne and Nora in one voice.</p> - -<p>“I will give you to understand that I am no automobile girl on -horseback,” asserted Emma indignantly. “I won’t ride under any such -name, either. I—I’ll faint away first. There now!”</p> - -<p>“Save the heroics, Emma. Nothing is further from my mind than to call -our outfit by that name,” replied Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“I call that downright mean,” objected Hippy, with mock indignation. -“You raise my hopes to the skies, shower me with compliments, -calculated to prove that I am not a paralytic, then you drop me over -the edge. I leave it to Nora if that isn’t cruelty to animals.”</p> - -<p>“It is,” agreed Nora gravely, whereat the Overton girls broke into a -peal of merry laughter.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> -“You are both wrong and right, Hippy Wingate. I stand on what I said a -few moments ago, that you made an excellent suggestion,” declared Miss -Briggs. “I did not mean that your title was wholly good, for it isn’t.”</p> - -<p>“Awful,” interjected Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>“For the love of goodness, give our legal talent a chance,” begged -Hippy, frowning at Emma.</p> - -<p>“Hippy mentioned the Rough Rider Patrol, which gave me the idea for a -name that I think will grow upon you as you sleep over it.”</p> - -<p>“Not on Hippy. Only snores follow in the wake of Morpheus when he’s -headed in my direction,” retorted the lieutenant.</p> - -<p>“Elfreda, what is your suggestion?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“My suggestion is that we be known as <em>Grace Harlowe’s Overland -Riders</em>!”</p> - -<p>“No, no!” protested Grace. “Give some one else a chance. Why not as -well call us Lieutenant Wingate’s Overland Chasers?”</p> - -<p>“Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders! That’s the name. Yip, yip, yeow!” -shrilled Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>“Look out, she’s going to do the fainting act again,” warned Hippy -sharply, whereat Emma subsided.</p> - -<p>“We are all agreed on the question of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> name suggested by Elfreda,” -announced Anne. “It is a fine name, and cannot be improved upon.”</p> - -<p>“Neither can the Overland Riders,” interjected Emma.</p> - -<p>“Of course, if you girls wish it that way, I have no objection, but it -does seem to me that the name ‘Overland Riders’ should be sufficient -without having to hook my name ahead. ‘Overland’ sounds like Overton -and is a good word for us, a lucky word.”</p> - -<p>“Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders it is, now, always and forever,” -announced Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“So long as the unearthly, ghostly, weird <em>sahuaro</em> shall flourish -and grow red flowers,” added Hippy Wingate amid the laughter of his -companions.</p> - -<p>“Overland Riders, boots and saddles!” called Grace, springing up.</p> - -<p>The Riders followed her, each running to her pony, quickly coiling the -lead rope about the pommel of her saddle and mounting.</p> - -<p>“That was well done, girls. Only Lieutenant Wingate bungled,” called -Captain Grace as she started away at a gallop.</p> - -<p>“I missed my stirrup,” answered Hippy lamely, but no one heeded, if she -heard.</p> - -<p>“We make camp at Summit, do we not?” asked Elfreda, riding up beside -Grace.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> -“That was the word that Mr. Fairweather left for us. He says we shall -have a wonderful view there, and that an excellent camping site is -to be had just off the trail. I hope we shall not be visited by the -trouble-makers to-night.”</p> - -<p>“So do I, but I actually believe you would be in the dumps, in a -regular blue funk, were we to be allowed to move along peaceably -without excitement or thrills,” averred Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>Grace smiled and clucked to her pony.</p> - -<p>It was four o’clock in the afternoon, when, after a day of toiling up -steep grades, along precipitous cliffs, scattered mesas and buttes, -they rode out on a level stretch of trail with a view spread before -them such as none of those joyous, happy girls ever before had gazed -upon.</p> - -<p>“The Summit!” shouted Grace. “Did you ever see anything so perfectly -gorgeous?” Grace removed her sombrero and sat gazing in silent -enjoyment of the scene.</p> - -<p>Roosevelt Lake, an emerald gem set in the vari-colored mountains, lay -twenty-seven miles below them. To their left, against the skies, loomed -the famous Four Peaks Mountains, and, to the right and below them, the -Sierra Ancha Range, all a mass of gorgeous colors in the light of the -late afternoon sun.</p> - -<p>Hippy could repress his bubbling spirits no longer. He cleared his -throat loudly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> -“Hippy is going to make another speech,” said Anne.</p> - -<p>“If he does I’ll run,” wailed Emma.</p> - -<p>“Ladies and gentlemen—that includes myself—you are gazing on the -largest artificial body of water in the world—Roosevelt Lake—a body -of water completely walled in by mountains, thirty miles long and four -miles across at its widest part. Set in the—”</p> - -<p>“Please defer your oration until it is too dark to see,” begged Grace -laughingly. “I prefer to enjoy the view now.”</p> - -<p>“Hippy being wound up, you can’t stop him. I know, for I have tried -many, many times,” whispered Nora.</p> - -<p>“Set in the sapphire rocks of the great colorful mountains, held back -by the dam, like Hoppi, the Nile God, at whose magic touch the mighty -Egyptian River brings forth such abundance, our prosaic Uncle Sam is -causing the desert—Whoa! Wha—”</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Wingate’s pony, left to its own devices while its master -was lost in the glory of his own oratory, had nosed off the trail to -browse, and stepped on a rounded rock. The pony, in trying to recover -its balance, went down violently on its knees. Hippy went over the -animal’s head, landing on his back in the dirt at the side of the -trail.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span> -Hippy uttered a grunt when he struck the ground.</p> - -<p>“He’s killed! He’s killed!” cried Nora. “Serve him right if he is.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Nora, don’t say that,” begged Grace, restraining her laughter.</p> - -<p>Hippy sat up slowly and picked up his sombrero.</p> - -<p>“As I was saying when, for the moment checked by this trifling -brute-interruption,” spoke Hippy, “our prosaic Uncle Sam is causing -the desert to bloom as the rose. The dam is two hundred and eighty -feet high. That is the distance through which the overflow falls into -Salt River Canyon. Ladies and gentlemen—that includes myself—I have -finished.” Hippy got up and began brushing the dirt from his clothes.</p> - -<p>“The kind Fates be thanked,” murmured Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Hippy must have been studying a new guide book,” observed Anne -mischievously.</p> - -<p>“He has not painted the picture a stroke too gorgeously,” averred -Grace. “This truly is a glimpse right into fairyland.”</p> - -<p>Hippy Wingate’s chest swelled with pride.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xvii" id="xvii"></a>CHAPTER XVII<br /> -<small>GOING TO BED IN THE CLOUDS</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE Overland Riders did not turn from the scene until the “sapphire -rocks,” described in Lieutenant Wingate’s colorful oratory, had turned -a dull gray as the sun moved over behind the mountains to the west.</p> - -<p>“Forward for a quick gallop to the camping site!” called Grace, who led -the way alone. “Column of two’s!”</p> - -<p>In this formation they presented a spirited appearance.</p> - -<p>Ike Fairweather heard them pounding along the trail, and stepped out -to watch the troop come on. They swept down on him in a cloud of dust, -and in answer to an enthusiastic wave of his sombrero, Grace spun her -own sombrero as high in the air as she could hurl it, drove her pony -forward to meet it, and deftly caught it as it came spinning back.</p> - -<p>“Whoo—oo—oope!” shouted Ike.</p> - -<p>“Woo—oo—oo—oo!” howled Hippy, trying to imitate an Indian war whoop, -but failing miserably.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> -Not to be outdone by Grace Harlowe, the lieutenant too spun his -sombrero into the air, but instead of spinning it on its rim he spun it -flat.</p> - -<p>The sombrero floated gracefully off in the direction of Roosevelt Lake, -sinking lower and lower into the shadows of the chasm hundreds of feet -below them, until it finally disappeared altogether.</p> - -<p>“My hat! My hat!” howled Hippy.</p> - -<p>The Overland Riders were almost hysterical with laughter when they -brought their ponies down to a quick stop, after Grace, in her -merriment, had nearly ridden down Ike Fairweather. Ike had only saved -himself from disaster by hastily throwing himself into the roadside -ditch.</p> - -<p>Nora Wingate was laughing so much that she forgot to scold her husband, -and Hippy kept them laughing for as much longer as possible, so that -Nora might not remember to give him the good-natured grilling that he -knew he deserved.</p> - -<p>It came, however, when Ike teased him about letting a woman outdo him -in riding and hat tossing.</p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t imagine that my husband ever was a bird of the air, -flying above the clouds as gracefully as a wild duck on its way to a -new home in the sunny south. Now would you, Mr. Fairweather?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> -“Well, seein’ as you have put the question up to me pintedly, I don’t -reckon as I would,” was Ike’s conclusion, after a brief stroking of his -whiskers.</p> - -<p>There followed another merry laugh at Hippy’s expense, then the outfit -dismounted and led their ponies to the tethering ground that had been -selected for the purpose.</p> - -<p>“You folks’ll find it a little crowded, but the camp is high and fine,” -volunteered Mr. Fairweather.</p> - -<p>“Where is your wagon?” asked Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>“’Bout a hundred yards further along the trail. Not room enough for it -hereabouts, an’ I can’t drag it up the hill where the horses are. I -reckon thet after this I’ll have the horses in pistol shot of me all -the time.”</p> - -<p>“Either that or we shall have to post a guard over the animals every -night,” said Grace. “Please show us where to take our ponies,” she -requested.</p> - -<p>A “tote path,” a narrow path used principally by foot travelers, led -up the mountain side, winding through cacti and scrub cottonwoods -for more than a hundred yards, and up this narrow, crooked path the -Overland Riders led their saddle ponies, finally emerging on a narrow -mesa or tableland, bordered with scraggly cottonwoods<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> that found their -moisture in a nearby mountain stream.</p> - -<p>The camp of the Overton girls had been pitched by this stream, fresh -water close at hand being a vital thing to outdoor camps.</p> - -<p>Hippy Wingate tied his pony to a tree, and, stepping to the edge of the -mesa, waved a hand toward the black abyss beyond and below them.</p> - -<p>“The yawning chasm!” he exclaimed, and sat down.</p> - -<p>“That is the most fascinating speech you ever made, Lieutenant -Wingate,” observed Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Eh? That so? Why?”</p> - -<p>“Because there were only three words in it,” interjected Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>Hippy sniffed, and, getting up, went over and untied his pony.</p> - -<p>While the men were staking down the horses and fetching water for them -from the stream, the girls were busily engaged in preparing supper. -Ike not only had pitched the tents, but had placed the luggage of his -charges in its proper place and set the camp in order in advance of the -arrival of the party.</p> - -<p>The campfire was still low, purposely kept so for cooking purposes, but -a heap of wood nearby promised a cheerful blaze later on.</p> - -<p>Pork and beans, bread without butter, canned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> soup and cake, that Hippy -Wingate declared had been baked on a cactus plant, together with a -large pot of coffee, formed the principal part of the evening’s bill of -fare.</p> - -<p>“Not a prize winner in variety, but great chow,” approved Hippy, which -was high praise for Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>Following the meal, Elfreda questioned the old stagecoach driver about -the country where they were encamped.</p> - -<p>“All Apache ground,” answered Ike with a comprehensive wave of the -hand. “They’ve fit over every inch of it. You’ll see some of them folks -to-morrow or next day. How long do you reckon on stayin’ at the Lodge?”</p> - -<p>“What is there to keep us busy there?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“The lake, the cliff dwellers’ homes, Apaches, an’ huntin’ in the -Sierra Anchas, if you folks care for thet. There’s great fishin’ in the -lake too.”</p> - -<p>“It sounds interesting,” agreed Grace, “but of course you know we do -not care to camp where there are people. What we are out for is to get -away from people. What is there in the way of game in the Sierra Ancha -Range?”</p> - -<p>“Deer, bear an’ cougar is the big game. Plenty of smaller stuff.”</p> - -<p>“I will talk with our party about the hunting,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span> but I hardly think -they will care for it. Is it possible to visit the cliff dwellings?” -questioned Grace.</p> - -<p>“Some of ’em. Others can’t be reached.”</p> - -<p>Elfreda glanced quickly at Grace and frowned to herself.</p> - -<p>“You mean that no one has been able to get to them, Mr. Fairweather?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Mrs. Gray.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“Sharp cliffs hundreds of feet up or down.”</p> - -<p>“One can get above them, I suppose?” persisted Grace.</p> - -<p>“Yes, by takin’ a trail ’round the mountain.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll take a try at exploring them,” observed Hippy as if he really -meant it.</p> - -<p>“You will not if you keep on eating,” declared Nora.</p> - -<p>“Are there other trails that lead to the top—I should say that lead to -the mountain where these cliff dwellers lived?” questioned Grace.</p> - -<p>“From other directions, yes.”</p> - -<p>“So that one could get there without following the route we have taken -thus far?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes.”</p> - -<p>“What <em>are</em> you driving at, Grace?” demanded Anne.</p> - -<p>“Information, Anne dear. Remember, one never can know too much about -anything.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span> -“Yes he can,” differed Hippy. “One can know too much about overland -riding. I know so much about it already that it pains me to think about -how much I do know, and the journey isn’t half over. At this rate I -shall acquire so much information that my brain surely will blow up one -day.”</p> - -<p>“Your what?” asked Emma innocently.</p> - -<p>Even Ike Fairweather joined in the laugh, that followed. Nora nodded, -and smiled her approval at Emma.</p> - -<p>“I should prefer to blow up from an oversupply of brains than to faint -because of short measure,” retorted Hippy heatedly.</p> - -<p>“Brakes on!” ordered Grace, trying hard not to laugh. “That was real -mean of you, Hippy Wingate. I think you should apologize to Emma.”</p> - -<p>“All right, let’s go. I do apologize, Miss Dean. My seeming rudeness -was not rudeness at all, it was merely an effort on my part to make -conversation and to maintain my reputation for making myself agreeable. -I’ll go further with my apology and assure you that I know that it -wasn’t because you are sometimes brainless that you fainted, but -because—”</p> - -<p>“Hippy Wingate!” rebuked Nora sharply. “I shall never, never speak to -you again unless you tell Emma you are sorry.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span> -“Whether I mean it or not?”</p> - -<p>“Please do as I ask you to.”</p> - -<p>“Ike, have you another hat in the wagon that I can wear to town -to-morrow?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Fairweather said he had not.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry, Miss Dean, and I hope you will forgive me for my rude—my -seeming rudeness,” corrected Hippy.</p> - -<p>Emma’s face broke out into smiles, indicating that the clouds had -passed.</p> - -<p>“You are forgiven, Hippy,” she nodded.</p> - -<p>“Whether I mean it or not?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you. I will think it over and let you know to-morrow whether or -not I do mean it.” Hippy lifted his head and inhaled a long breath.</p> - -<p>“Fog! We are rapidly being enveloped in it,” exclaimed Anne who had -observed the lieutenant’s action.</p> - -<p>“That is what you call it. I call it a cloud. I ought to know, for many -is the time that I have smelled clouds,” declared Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Yep, them’s clouds,” confirmed the old coach driver.</p> - -<p>The Overland Riders uttered exclamations of amazement, for being above -the clouds was a new experience to all except Grace Harlowe, who had -once made a thrilling flight with Lieutenant Wingate on the French -front. Emma<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span> Dean, however, declared that she could see nothing about -fog to rave over, and it was difficult to convince her that they really -were enveloped in clouds such as she had seen drifting above the -mountain tops all that afternoon.</p> - -<p>Grace proposed that they turn in early that night in order to be up -with the sun and get the benefit of the early morning view, which Ike -Fairweather said was well worth seeing.</p> - -<p>“Going to bed in the clouds! How romantic,” murmured Anne.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but why get sentimental over it?” grinned Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t it be awful were we to fall out of bed?” suggested Emma.</p> - -<p>Ike Fairweather and Lieutenant Wingate took more than ordinary pains -in staking down the horses for the night, even though the animals were -tethered so close to the camp that their every move might be heard by -the campers. Ike distinctly objected to making a second trip to Globe -for a bunch of runaway ponies.</p> - -<p>While the men were engaged with the ponies, the Overton girls were -chatting in Grace Harlowe’s tent, and Elfreda Briggs was dressing the -wound on Grace’s head.</p> - -<p>“It is really wonderful how rapidly a wound heals with you,” marvelled -Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“I am well and strong, so why should it not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span> be so?” replied Grace. “I -hope you take the bandage from my wound soon, because I wish to look -nice when we reach the hotel at Roosevelt Lake.”</p> - -<p>“All is secure, sir,” announced Hippy from without.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Lieutenant,” acknowledged Grace. “You will find food in the -tin box in the store-tent, provided you get hungry in the night.”</p> - -<p>“Pleasant dreams, and do not fall out of bed,” piped Emma.</p> - -<p>“If I do, you will hear me,” retorted Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, we surely shall feel the mountain shake when <em>you</em> land,” -chuckled Anne.</p> - -<p>“Good-night, all,” called Hippy, and strode off laughing to himself, a -chorus of good-nights following him. For an hour or more intermittent -chattering was heard in the girls’ tents. Through the open tent flaps -they could see the cloud fog swirling about, and the damp, musty odor -of the sky-mist was strong in their nostrils.</p> - -<p>“The glory of the mountains! How I should love to spend all summer -right on this wonderful spot,” murmured Grace, and, turning over, went -quickly to sleep.</p> - -<p>Shortly after midnight Grace awakened, and lay gazing out at the -drifting gray fog.</p> - -<p>“What was that?” Grace sat up suddenly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> listening for a repetition of -the sound that had disturbed her.</p> - -<p>What Grace had heard sounded to her like the rattle of a wagon, -followed by a loud squeak, but the sound was not repeated.</p> - -<p>The Overton girl sprang up, dressed hurriedly and buckled on her -revolver holster. She then ran over to Lieutenant Wingate’s tent and -softly called his name. There was no reply from within, nor could Grace -hear breathing there.</p> - -<p>Thrusting a flash lamp through the tent opening, she swept the interior -with a brief ray of light. The tent was unoccupied, and the blankets -lay on the ground in a confused heap, indicating to her that Lieutenant -Wingate had taken a hurried departure.</p> - -<p>“Something surely is going on, and Hippy has gone to investigate,” -muttered Grace. “That young man surely is improving.”</p> - -<p>Without an instant’s hesitation, Grace ran out and down the tote path, -proceeding cautiously as she neared the trail, her step giving off no -sound that could be heard a few yards away.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xviii" id="xviii"></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br /> -<small>THE HARDEST BLOW OF ALL</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">R</span>EACHING the trail, Grace crept toward the point where the equipment -wagon had been parked.</p> - -<p>She now understood the meaning of the sound that she had heard from -her tent. The wagon was being turned, and again she heard what she -recognized now as the squeal of a wagon’s king-bolt, accompanied by a -low, guttural grunt.</p> - -<p>“Look out!” The command was low, but incisive.</p> - -<p>A jar and a crash followed, then something went thundering down the -mountainside.</p> - -<p>“Some one has run the wagon off the trail into the canyon!” gasped -Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p><em>Bang!</em> A revolver shot caused Grace to duck. She had faintly seen the -flash in the fog-cloud ahead of her, and the flash seemed to indicate -that the weapon had been fired at her.</p> - -<p><em>Bang!</em> <em>Bang!</em> came two answering shots.</p> - -<p>“Hippy fired the first shot! I must get in,” cried Grace, pressing -close to the rocks on the upper side of the trail, and creeping -forward.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span> -The firing on both sides was increasing in rapidity, and it was -apparent that a hot fight was in progress.</p> - -<p>Four men suddenly ran past her, one being supported by a companion on -either side, but she could barely discern the figures in the fog.</p> - -<p>“Halt!” commanded Grace sternly, bringing her weapon up in readiness to -enforce her command.</p> - -<p>The answer to her challenge was a shot, which Grace answered with a -bullet from her bandit revolver, but in the mist all objects were -distorted and her aim was bad.</p> - -<p>Another bullet, this time from the right, whistled over Grace Harlowe’s -head, fired from Lieutenant Wingate’s weapon. Hippy had seen, and was -firing at her.</p> - -<p>“Overland!” shouted the girl.</p> - -<p>“Grace!”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Hurry! We can get them. Don’t shoot till you catch up with me. -Hurry, hurry!”</p> - -<p>“I winged one,” gloated Hippy. “Give it to ’em, Grace! They’ve dumped -the wagon.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t talk. Run, and keep your eyes open!” she admonished. “Take the -outside of the trail. I’ll hug the bank.”</p> - -<p>The two started on at a fast, but cautious sprint. Ahead, they could -hear voices.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span> -“We have you! Surrender!” shouted Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p>Grace grinned as she ducked. She had ducked in good time, too, for two -bullets answered Hippy’s challenge. Both Hippy and Grace then opened up -on their adversaries.</p> - -<p>The revolver reports had awakened the entire camp. Ike Fairweather had -tumbled out of bed and sprang to Lieutenant Wingate’s tent. Finding it -unoccupied, he reasoned that Hippy was in trouble down on the trail. -The girls, by this time, had run from their tents, calling out to know -what was wrong.</p> - -<p>“Don’t know. Stay here an’ look out for yerselves,” flung back Ike as -he dashed down the slope toward the Apache Trail.</p> - -<p>“Awaken Grace,” called Anne excitedly.</p> - -<p>“I venture to say that Grace Harlowe is already very much awake and -down there in the thick of it,” replied Miss Briggs calmly.</p> - -<p>“She’s gone!” wailed Emma, who had run to Grace’s tent to give the -alarm. “Oh, I am so afraid something will happen to her.”</p> - -<p>“My Hippy has gone, too,” cried Nora Wingate. “They’ll be killed, both -of them! I wish I never had come to this terrible place.”</p> - -<p>“Did you stew like that when your husband was fighting Boches in -France?” rebuked Elfreda.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span> -“No, but he isn’t fighting Boches now.”</p> - -<p>“There they go at it again!” cried Anne. “This is almost as exciting -as France. All one needs to make her believe she is back on the battle -front is the explosion of a Hun shell.”</p> - -<p>Down on the Apache Trail the battle was being waged with honors a -little in favor of the Overlanders. Hippy had hit at least one of the -prowlers. That he knew, but, so far, he and Grace had escaped without a -bullet coming close enough to endanger them. One man was still working -his revolver somewhere ahead of Hippy and Grace.</p> - -<p>“Let them have it before they get away,” she urged, whereupon Hippy -began shooting into the fog with renewed vigor.</p> - -<p>“There they go!” cried Grace. “I heard them sliding down the bank. Come -on! We may yet catch them.”</p> - -<p>Hippy turned his revolver in the direction that Grace was pointing, and -blazed away.</p> - -<p>“Overland!” shouted a voice behind them in the new rallying cry of the -outfit.</p> - -<p>“Here!” answered Hippy. “You are too late, Ike. The fun is all over.”</p> - -<p>“What happened, Lieutenant?” demanded the driver as he sprinted up to -them. “I heard the shootin’ and lit out for the wagon, which I couldn’t -find hide nor hair of.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span> -“You have lost your wagon, Mr. Fairweather,” Grace informed him.</p> - -<p>“What’s thet you say?”</p> - -<p>“They have dumped the wagon down into the canyon, and a good part of -our equipment is with it,” replied Grace.</p> - -<p>Ike, for the moment, was unable to find words appropriate to express -his emotion, then, recovering his voice, he launched into a torrent of -threats as he stamped about, shaking his clenched fists.</p> - -<p>“You will have to catch them before you carry out all those threats, -Mr. Fairweather,” reminded Grace. “Lieutenant, the scoundrels have a -wounded man with them, and cannot move rapidly. Shall we go after them?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Hippy. “Ike and I will go. You go back and reassure the -girls, Brown Eyes.”</p> - -<p>“Very good. Yours is the better judgment.”</p> - -<p>“I thought you would look at it that way,” observed Hippy.</p> - -<p>The two men quickly were swallowed up in the mist, and Grace turned -toward the camp, more disturbed in mind than she cared to admit to -herself. Should their assailants persist in their attacks on the -outfit, it was reasonably certain that one or more of the Overton party -sooner or later would be wounded, or worse.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span> -“Overland!” called Grace. The call was promptly answered from the camp, -and Grace was met at the upper end of the tote path by a group of -worried girls. She explained that Hippy, who had gone out to intercept -the work of the night prowlers, had continued on with Ike Fairweather -in pursuit of them.</p> - -<p>“What were those ruffians trying to do this time?” questioned Miss -Briggs.</p> - -<p>“They not only tried, but they did,” answered Grace. “Girls, those -rascals ran our equipment wagon off the trail and into the canyon.”</p> - -<p>A chorus of “ohs” greeted the announcement.</p> - -<p>“Does this mean that we shall have to abandon our trip?” anxiously -asked Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“It does not, J. Elfreda. Did you ever know of an Overton girl to -confess herself beaten?”</p> - -<p>“No. That is the last thing I should look for you to do.”</p> - -<p>“Your question is answered. We are going to get that band of ruffians -before the end of the Apache Trail is reached, or they will get us,” -declared Grace. “Please stir the fire and make coffee for our men. I am -going down the tote trail to see that we are not surprised.”</p> - -<p>Crouching beside the trail, Grace finally heard Hippy and Ike -returning.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> -“They got away, but we exchanged shots with them,” called Hippy in -reply to Grace’s hail. “They went down into the canyon, but Ike said -there was no use wasting time following them, for they know the ground -better than we do. Sorry, but we did the best we could.”</p> - -<p>“You surely did all that any one could have done,” agreed Grace. “We -might as well go back to camp, as Nora probably is worrying about you. -The girls will have coffee for you when you get in.”</p> - -<p>“I smell it, an’ it smells mighty good,” exclaimed Ike.</p> - -<p>The coffee was ready for them when they arrived, and Anne was down on -her knees toasting bread before a bed of coals. All hands immediately -sat down before the fire to take refreshment and to discuss their -situation.</p> - -<p>“Right here, I wish to say to you, my friends, that we should -recompense Mr. Fairweather for the loss of his wagon,” declared Grace.</p> - -<p>“Don’t want no recompense,” growled the old stagecoach driver.</p> - -<p>“Yes!” shouted the girls, and Hippy came along with a deep bass “yes.”</p> - -<p>Sudden concern appeared in the face of Emma Dean at this juncture.</p> - -<p>“Where is my black silk dress that was in the wagon?” she asked, half -fearfully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span> -“Deep, deep down at the bottom of the canyon,” rumbled Lieutenant -Wingate.</p> - -<p>Emma uttered a dismal wail.</p> - -<p>“Who’s going to pay me for my black silk? Who, I ask you, Grace -Harlowe? Who is going to recompense <em>me</em>?”</p> - -<p>The Overton girls burst out laughing.</p> - -<p>“Each of us has lost clothing, Emma,” comforted Grace. “We have two -changes right here with us, however, so why worry? Mr. Fairweather, is -there a possibility of getting to the bottom of the canyon to salvage -our clothing?”</p> - -<p>“No use tryin’ it. Apaches will have it before you can get it.”</p> - -<p>“Apaches?” questioned Lieutenant Wingate. “We haven’t seen one since we -started, Mr. Fairweather.”</p> - -<p>“Mebby not, but the Redskins have seen you folks.”</p> - -<p>“Kiss your belongings good-bye, girls,” advised Elfreda Briggs. “When -next you see your raiment it perhaps will be beautifying some dusky -maiden of the mountains.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t s’pose you’ll need me any more now thet the wagon’s gone,” -suggested Ike gloomily.</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, we wish you to continue through with us, Mr. -Fairweather,” said Grace. “When we settle with you at Phœnix, we -shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span> make up to you any loss that you may have sustained.”</p> - -<p>Ike’s face brightened, not because of the promise to pay, but because -the outfit did not intend to send him home.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, folks. You make me right happy, you shore do. What do you -reckon on doin’?”</p> - -<p>“Let me see. We must be about thirty miles from Roosevelt Lake now,” -reflected Grace.</p> - -<p>“’Bout three mile short of thet,” nodded Ike.</p> - -<p>“Do you think we can pack what stuff we have left on your wagon horses -and our ponies?” questioned Grace.</p> - -<p>“Reckon so.”</p> - -<p>“Of course we don’t care to carry much extra weight on the saddle -animals, just light equipment, and if you cannot get through to -Roosevelt to-day, we will make camp to-night and ride in to-morrow -morning.”</p> - -<p>Ike shook his head.</p> - -<p>“Nope. I can’t make it in a day, but you folks better ride right on in -an’ stay at the Lodge. It’s a good tavern for these parts and it ain’t -ever too full to hold some more. I’ll be ’long ’bout eleven o’clock in -the mornin’ the day after, an’ make camp for you all there.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you. That difficulty is overcome. I propose that we now turn in. -Girls, we have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span> time for a beauty sleep before the rising of the sun, -when I hope each of you will come out and enjoy the scene with me,” -nodded Grace smilingly.</p> - -<p>The rest of the night passed without incident, and Ike sounded the -getting-up call a few minutes before sun-up. There followed a hurried -dressing, some grumbling, and finally much laughter because Emma Dean, -in her attempt at haste, got all tangled up in her garments.</p> - -<p>The Overland Riders, however, found themselves well paid for their -early rising. A scene, such as they had never dreamed existed, lay -before them. A sea of clouds hid the valley and the lake, white, -billowy, lazy clouds that were drifting slowly under the warmth of the -rising sun.</p> - -<p>Above this white sea loomed the Four Peaks of the Apache Range, turned -to red and gold by the morning sun, and, on beyond the Peaks, here and -there a sapphire rock thrust its sharp point through the white billows.</p> - -<p>“How beautiful!” murmured Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Beyond the power of words to express,” replied Grace Harlowe, barely -above a whisper.</p> - -<p>Anne linked arms with Grace and patted her hand, but spoke no word. -Even the bare-headed, irrepressible Hippy seemed lost in silent -admiration. Perhaps it was the beauty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span> of the scene, or perhaps it was -that those billowing clouds carried him back in memory to the bitter -days when Lieutenant Wingate was fighting for life above just such -clouds as these, high over the German lines in France.</p> - -<p>Grace finally sat down, chin in hand, lost in wonder, her whole being -filled with an exultation that she had known but once before, and then -in a far different environment, when caught in a barrage at Chateau -Thierry, when all the tremendous elements of the universe seemed -to have joined in a mad medley. That was war, bitter, soul-racking -war. This was peace, and she wondered that each should arouse in her -emotions that were so much alike.</p> - -<p>“Ahem!” began Hippy Wingate impressively, and the spell was broken. “We -are now standing—”</p> - -<p>“You are mistaken. Some of us are sitting,” corrected Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>“On the pinnacle of the Apache Trail, the most ancient trail on our -continent. Well may this be called Oldest America, for men have -traversed this route since remotest time, where the silence of eternity -broods over the mesas and the canyons and the peaks. And where, with -this wonderful scene that comes with the dawning of the day, all the -mystery of the world seems brought together. Ahem!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span> -A painful silence of several seconds was broken by the judicial voice -of Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>“I sentence the prisoner to ten years’ hard labor,” she announced.</p> - -<p>Shouts of laughter, and a cry from Emma that he should be sent up for -life, put the Overlanders in a merry mood. Even Ike Fairweather, whose -eyes had grown large under the spell of Hippy’s oratory, permitted -himself to indulge in a loud guffaw.</p> - -<p>After a rather hurried breakfast, the outfit began packing up for -the start. It was not an easy task to pack the tents and equipment -on the backs of the horses, in view of the fact that each animal, -except the wagon horses, must also carry a rider. The work was finally -accomplished, however, each rider placing a pack of small stuff on her -own back, in addition to the pack already lashed to the back of her -pony.</p> - -<p>Before starting out, Grace induced Elfreda to remove the bandage from -her head. The wound was found to be healed, much to the relief of both.</p> - -<p>Ike had made an early start, and two hours later the Overlanders -galloped away, and then began the downward ride that would take them to -the great artificial waterway, where both entertainment and adventure -awaited them.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xix" id="xix"></a>CHAPTER XIX<br /> -<small>HEROINES OF THE TRAIL</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">O</span>N the way to Roosevelt, before the Overland girls caught up with him, -Ike Fairweather had met a deputy sheriff and posse, who had been in -the mountains looking for a horse thief, but were now returning to the -place for which the Overlanders were headed.</p> - -<p>From Ike the deputy learned of the attacks on the Overland girls, and -of their plucky defense. Ike, furthermore, became loquacious, told the -officer all he knew about Grace Harlowe and her friends, not forgetting -the redoubtable Hippy Wingate who had “shot down more German airplanes -than any other man in the Allied armies.”</p> - -<p>When the deputy reached Roosevelt, he repeated Ike’s story at the -Lodge, as the hotel at Roosevelt Lake was called, so, without their -knowledge, the Overlanders’ praises were sung there some hours in -advance of their arrival. When the girls came up with Ike just before -noon that day, and took luncheon with him, Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span> Fairweather discreetly -neglected to mention what he had told the deputy sheriff about them.</p> - -<p>Three hours later the Overland Riders reached the bottom of the grade -to Roosevelt, rounded the “painted rocks” that stood sentinel over -the trail there, and walked their horses across the great spillway of -Roosevelt Dam, more than three hundred yards in length, this spillway -releasing the surplus water from Lake Roosevelt, which is formed by the -waters held in check and backed up by Roosevelt Dam. The water in its -nearly three hundred feet fall from the top of the spillway roared into -Salt River Canyon, a miniature Niagara, sending up clouds of rainbow -spray, the thunder of its fall echoing down the canyon for miles.</p> - -<p>Elfreda Briggs, who was riding by Grace’s side, leaned over and shouted -into her companion’s ear:</p> - -<p>“Hippy can indulge in as much oratory as he pleases here. No one will -hear him above the roar of the waterfall, for which much thanks.”</p> - -<p>Grace nodded and grinned.</p> - -<p>After crossing the spillway, the party turned to the right and followed -a shining white trail along the edge of the lake to the Apache Lodge, -which was located, they found, between the east and west arms of the -lake.</p> - -<p>Some difficulty was experienced in finding a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span> place where they could -stake down their ponies, but finally succeeding in tethering the -animals, they quickly removed the packs from the backs of “man, woman -and beast,” as Miss Briggs characterized it.</p> - -<p>“Lieutenant, if you do not mind going bare-headed, we will all walk -over to the Lodge and see if they will let us in,” said Grace.</p> - -<p>It was a dust-covered, brown-faced, bright-eyed party of girls who -mounted the steps of the veranda of the Lodge, where a group of -tourists were enjoying the cool mountain air of the late afternoon. All -eyes were turned on the newcomers.</p> - -<p>“The one with the brown hair is Grace Harlowe. The man is the great -American Ace,” Grace heard one of the tourists confide to a companion.</p> - -<p>The Overton girl gave the speaker a brief, steady look.</p> - -<p>“I will see if I can arrange for accommodations for us here,” said -Grace, turning to the young women of her party. “Perhaps it will be as -well for you to wait on the veranda.”</p> - -<p>“Ask the proprietor if he has any old hats for sale,” suggested Hippy -Wingate as Grace was entering the Lodge, at which there was an audible -titter from several of the women guests of the place.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span> -“Have you room, sir, for a party of six not very presentable persons?” -questioned Grace, smiling at the clerk.</p> - -<p>“For you, yes. I believe you are Mrs. Grace Harlowe Gray, are you not?”</p> - -<p>The Overton girl looked her amazement.</p> - -<p>“May I ask how you know my name, sir?”</p> - -<p>“The deputy sheriff told me that you and your party were on the way -here. How many rooms do you require?”</p> - -<p>“Three with baths. I do not know how long we shall remain, but probably -not longer than some time to-morrow. We shall go into camp when what is -left of our equipment arrives.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I understand that you ladies have had a mishap,” volunteered the -clerk.</p> - -<p>“Is there anything that this man doesn’t know about us?” she wondered. -To the clerk she said: “We shall need a reliable man to watch our -horses to-night. Will you be so kind as to send some one to us, some -person who is to be depended upon?”</p> - -<p>The clerk said he would, and that the rooms for the party would be -ready whenever they desired to take possession.</p> - -<p>Grace returned to the veranda, and, as she stepped out, she halted and -gazed in amazement. Elfreda, Hippy and the others of her party were -speaking with a tall, bronzed man of distinguished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span> appearance. With -him were a gentleman and three ladies. Grace recognized him of the -distinguished bearing instantly.</p> - -<p>“General Gordon! How do you do!” she greeted, flushing with pleasure.</p> - -<p>The general strode forward and grasped both her hands.</p> - -<p>“My dear Mrs. Gray, I am happy beyond words to see you again. This -is my wife; and Colonel Cartwright, the colonel’s sister, and Mrs. -Cartwright. The colonel served with us in France, but I believe you -never met him, which was a misfortune for both.”</p> - -<p>“This young woman,” announced the general to his friends, but in a tone -of voice loud enough to be heard by most persons on the veranda, “saved -my life on the battlefield in the Argonne. Had it not been for her, I -should not be here. I have already told Mrs. Gordon the story.”</p> - -<p>“Please, General,” begged Grace, flushing with embarrassment, but the -general went on unheeding.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Gray dragged me into a deserted German machine-gun nest after I -had been wounded on the field, manned a machine gun and held the Boches -off until she could flash Morse signals to our lines that night. We -were, at that time, being fired upon by both armies. A braver woman -does not live.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span> -“Suppose we speak of the beauties of the Old Apache Trail,” suggested -Grace, which brought a hearty laugh from all, and relieved the tension -under which she was suffering.</p> - -<p>“When I heard that Grace Harlowe Gray and her friends of the Overton -Unit had proved themselves the heroines of the trail, I said, ‘That’s -our Grace Harlowe, the doughboys’ Grace Harlowe,’ and I was glad. You -must join our party this evening and we will talk war,” he urged.</p> - -<p>“Grace, here is an Indian who wishes to speak with you,” interrupted -Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Me take care ponies,” said the Indian. “Me Joe Smoky Face.”</p> - -<p>“Do you work about the Lodge?” questioned Grace.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“I will see the clerk about you. Please excuse me for a moment.” Grace -stepped briskly into the Lodge, followed by Lieutenant Wingate and the -Indian. During her absence, the general briefly related the story, as -he knew it, of the work of the Overton Unit in France.</p> - -<p>“I think the man understands what is required of him. The clerk says he -is dependable,” announced Grace upon her return to the veranda. “The -horses being arranged for, I think we will go to our quarters now, if -you will excuse us, General.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span> -“You will join us at dinner, Mrs. Gray?” questioned the general.</p> - -<p>“Yes, thank you.”</p> - -<p>The Overton girls went to their rooms, not to appear again until -just before dinner time. Wearing fresh uniforms, well groomed, eyes -sparkling, cheeks tinged with faint flushes, they elicited a murmur of -approval from the tourists as they stepped out on the veranda to join -General Gordon and his party.</p> - -<p>“Mess is served,” announced the general.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but oh, so different,” laughingly replied Grace Harlowe.</p> - -<p>At the general’s request, one table had been set to accommodate the two -parties, and the dinner proved to be a happy occasion for all. At the -general’s suggestion, it was decided that the two parties should take -a launch trip the length of Lake Roosevelt on the following morning. -The general said he would charter a launch, that they would take their -luncheons with them and have a real picnic at the mouth of Tonto Creek -at the upper end of the lake, thirty miles away.</p> - -<p>A delightful evening was passed at the Lodge where Grace and the -general exchanged war reminiscences, after which the girls went to -their quarters for the night. Hippy strolled out to look over the -ponies and to give Joe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span> Smoky Face final instructions, then returned to -the Lodge and went to bed.</p> - -<p>The Overton girls were sound asleep by then. It was the first night, -since they started over the Apache Trail, that they had been free from -nerve-strain, but there were other nights coming, nights that they felt -would hold a full measure of excitement and adventure for them, and -none realized this possibility better than did Grace Harlowe herself.</p> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="xx" id="xx"></a>CHAPTER XX<br /> -<small>THE MYSTERIOUS ARROW</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“T</span>HE end of a perfect day,” breathed Elfreda Briggs, as the launch -bearing the Overland Riders and General Gordon’s party rounded a point -of land, and the Lodge, for which they were now heading, stood out -white against its dark background of mountains.</p> - -<p>The voyage over the blue waters of Lake Roosevelt, and the picnic -at the upper end of the lake, had been most enjoyable. Nothing had -occurred to mar the pleasure of the sixty-mile voyage, through -enchanting scenery.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span> -“I think Miss Briggs has echoed the sentiments of all of us,” spoke up -Anne.</p> - -<p>“It would have been just our luck to have had the old boat sink under -us,” differed Emma, amid much laughter.</p> - -<p>“There’s our camp,” Hippy informed them. “Ike has arrived and is ready -for us.”</p> - -<p>All eyes were turned toward the shore, where the little white tents of -the Overland Riders nestled at the base of the mountains, close to the -water’s edge, the camp having been pitched a short quarter of a mile up -the lake from the Lodge.</p> - -<p>“It looks good to me,” declared the general. “I envy you young women -the life you are leading out here, and wish I might be so fortunate as -to belong to your outfit.”</p> - -<p>“You’d regret it,” chuckled Emma Dean.</p> - -<p>“Try me and see,” the general came back quickly.</p> - -<p>“Very well, we will take you at your word, General,” answered Grace. -“This evening you shall have mess with the Overland Riders in their -camp. We shall undoubtedly be on short rations still, but that is a -part of the life.”</p> - -<p>“Good! I accept,” nodded the general.</p> - -<p>“The invitation includes all of your party, of course,” said Grace, -glancing inquiringly at the smiling faces around the cockpit of the -launch.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span> -“I know it will be a delightful experience,” declared Mrs. Cartwright.</p> - -<p>“Wonderful!” added Miss Cartwright.</p> - -<p>“I, for one, already have accepted, in my own mind,” nodded the -general’s wife.</p> - -<p>“Having lost our wagon with most of our table ware, we cannot offer you -any luxuries. We have only our mess kits, and the plates in them will -barely go around. It may be necessary for two persons to eat from the -same plate,” added Grace mischievously.</p> - -<p>“May we sleep at the camp to-night? I should so dearly love to sleep in -a tent in the open,” declared Miss Cartwright.</p> - -<p>“I fear it will be too cold for you. We will speak of it later, -however. After you have spent a few hours in camp and partaken of our -fare, you may not wish to remain over night.”</p> - -<p>“Of course you are desirous of visiting the ancient homes of the cliff -dwellers up yonder?” questioned Mrs. Gordon, pointing to the mountains.</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed. I hope to do some exploring there, too,” answered Grace. -“When we land at the Lodge, if you good people will wait on the veranda -for me, I will run over to the camp and see what shape we are in, then -call for you later,” suggested Grace as they neared the landing place.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span> -Grace and Hippy left their party at the Lodge pier and hurried to the -camp.</p> - -<p>“We are to have company for mess this evening, Mr. Fairweather. How -well are we supplied with provisions?” she asked.</p> - -<p>The old stagecoach driver said they had bacon, canned beans and coffee, -but not much of anything else.</p> - -<p>“See if you can purchase something more at the Lodge, especially -potatoes. Did you find an Indian here taking care of the ponies?”</p> - -<p>“Joe Smoky Face, as he called himself, was here lookin’ after the -ponies, but when I came he went away. Don’t like them Apaches. Bad -medicine, every one of ’em.”</p> - -<p>“Joe is said to be trustworthy,” said Grace.</p> - -<p>“Good Indians wear white men’s dress. This Redskin dresses like what he -is—an Apache—an’ he lives with his tribe up the mountain,” growled -Ike.</p> - -<p>“Why worry about Indians?” interjected Lieutenant Wingate. “Food and -more food is the burning question of the hour.”</p> - -<p>Grace directed the driver to take one of the horses and fetch some -potatoes and some few other necessaries from the Lodge.</p> - -<p>“It is quite probable that we shall be here for a few days, so nothing -in the way of food need be left behind,” she told him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span> -Following Ike’s departure, Grace and Hippy began putting the finishing -touches to the camp. Blankets were neatly rolled and placed on the -folding cots; a fancy paper spread was laid over the rough table that -Ike had constructed for them, and paper napkins laid at each plate. -A bunch of wild asters, set between two stones, to keep them from -toppling over, completed the table decorations.</p> - -<p>“There!” announced Grace, surveying the result of her labors. “We may -not be strong on food, but we have decorations. Perhaps the guests may -overlook the mere matter of food,” she added laughingly.</p> - -<p>By the time the camp was in order, Ike came trotting up with his pack -animal. He had a bushel of potatoes, and some fresh vegetables from -which Grace prepared a salad, and while she was doing this, Ike thrust -the potatoes into hot ashes to bake.</p> - -<p>“The young ladies will be here to help to finish getting the supper -ready, Mr. Fairweather. I shall return at seven with our company. One -of the guests is General Gordon, a brave soldier whom I met on the -battlefield in the Argonne. The other is Colonel Cartwright, another -valiant soldier of the late war. I thought you might be interested in -knowing something about these men, for they <em>are</em> real men.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span> -“Just like myself,” added Hippy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Hippy, I agree with you there. Shall you go to the Lodge with me? -I think you had best do so as the ladies may need assistance over the -rough ground between here and the Lodge. Mr. Fairweather, our guests -may conclude that they wish to stay all night. If so, we ladies will -sleep in one tent, giving the guests the cots and most of the blankets. -What is your opinion of the weather?”</p> - -<p>“Might rain.”</p> - -<p>“I am of the same opinion. However, what’s the odds? Come, Hippy!”</p> - -<p>Reaching the Lodge, Grace directed the girls to go to camp and have the -supper ready to be served at seven o’clock sharp, telling them of the -preparations that already had been made.</p> - -<p>She then sat down to wait for her friends, who were still in their -rooms. There were any number of persons who welcomed the opportunity -to engage the Overland Rider in conversation, which at once turned to -war subjects. What Grace had to say about the war, however, did not -concern herself, but had to do with General Gordon’s achievements on -the western front.</p> - -<p>“Won’t you please tell us, Mrs. Gray, how you won the French war cross -and the distinguished service medal?” begged a lady courteously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span> -“General Gordon evidently has been talking out of meetin’,” laughed -Grace. “Please excuse me from speaking of myself. Surely, you realize -that it would be most embarrassing to me to speak of myself.”</p> - -<p>The lady begged her pardon, and declared that it was rude of her to -have asked the question. Grace smiled and began telling her questioner -of the work of the Overton Unit, and of Lieutenant Wingate’s valiant -services in the army flying corps. This led to stories of the war, and -when General Gordon and his party came down he found nearly all the -guests of the Lodge gathered about the Overton College girl, listening -to her praise, not only of the Overton girls, but of the young men of -America, who had fought the great fight.</p> - -<p>“Are we late?” asked Mrs. Gordon, extending her hand.</p> - -<p>“No, you are in good time, but I think we should start now. Where is -Lieutenant Wingate? I have not seen him since we reached the hotel.”</p> - -<p>“Some one said he was seen trying to borrow a hat from the chef to wear -to supper,” answered a male voice.</p> - -<p>“That is the army spirit of freedom,” nodded Grace. “Incidentally it -is like Lieutenant Wingate. He lost his hat on the way in, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span> -wagon that carried most of our wearing apparel lies at the bottom of -a canyon. We will be going. If you ladies and gentlemen care to visit -our camp we shall be glad to have you do so to-morrow,” added Grace -courteously, turning to the guests to whom she had been telling war -stories.</p> - -<p>“Here comes the lieutenant,” informed the man who had told Grace where -he had last seen Hippy. The lieutenant wore a derby hat, a full size -too small for him, and this, crowning his army uniform, made him look -ridiculous.</p> - -<p>A laugh greeted his appearance.</p> - -<p>Hippy’s face wore a severe expression. He offered his arm to Miss -Cartwright with grace and dignity. At least that was what he intended -it to be, but Grace thanked the kind fates that Emma Dean was not -present to express her opinion of Hippy’s appearance before all the -guests of the hotel.</p> - -<p>“Have you decided to remain with us to-night, General?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Gordon and myself and Miss Cartwright will accept your -hospitality, if you are certain that we shall not be crowding you.”</p> - -<p>“There is plenty of room in the mountains,” answered Grace with a wave -of the hand. “You are used to campaigning, General, but I hope the -ladies will not regret their decision.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span> -They assured Grace that they would not; so the party started out full -of anticipation for the new experience that lay before them.</p> - -<p>The general, when they reached the camp, turned to Grace with eyes -twinkling.</p> - -<p>“I would know, even did I not know that this was your camp, that some -one who had been with the forces, had laid it out,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Old Mr. Fairweather, our driver, laid it out,” answered Grace -mischievously.</p> - -<p>“He is an apt pupil,” returned the general.</p> - -<p>“You win, General,” laughed Grace.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t this delightful?” cried Miss Cartwright. “And look at the table. -Pardon my ill manners, but this is so different from what I expected to -find in—in—”</p> - -<p>“In a traveling circus,” finished Emma amid laughter.</p> - -<p>“Oh, the worst is yet to come,” observed Hippy.</p> - -<p>Grace introduced Mr. Fairweather to their guests, who shook hands -cordially with the old stagecoach driver.</p> - -<p>“Are the potatoes done?” whispered Grace.</p> - -<p>Ike nodded.</p> - -<p>Odors of frying bacon and the aroma of coffee were in the air, and, -when Grace announced that the guests were to be seated, the summons was -quickly answered. Grace had brought a pound<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span> of butter with her from -the Lodge, a luxury that the Overland girls themselves had not enjoyed -since the first day out from Globe.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t had such an appetite since I left France,” declared the -general.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you have not had so much exercise and fresh air in any one day -since then,” suggested Elfreda.</p> - -<p>“Possibly that explains it,” replied the officer dryly.</p> - -<p>The supper went along merrily, the stock of bacon being considerably -depleted when finally the guests refused another helping, and, at -Grace’s invitation, rose and strolled over to the cheerful campfire, -where they sat down, the men to smoke their pipes and the women to chat.</p> - -<p>It was ten o’clock when Colonel Cartwright said he must be getting back -to the Lodge. He added that there was dancing there, and invited the -Overland girls to go over and dance, but Grace declined for her party, -saying that they had a strenuous day ahead of them, as they wished to -explore the cliff dwellers’ homes on the morrow. Grace had further -plans in mind regarding the explorations, but she said nothing to her -guests about it.</p> - -<p>“General,” said Grace, calling the officer aside before the colonel and -his wife took their leave. “It looks like a storm to-night. I wish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span> you -and Mrs. Gordon to remain if you desire to do so, but we may have a wet -time of it.”</p> - -<p>“An old campaigner like myself doesn’t mind a little thing like a -wetting. You should know that.”</p> - -<p>“I am not thinking of you, but of Mrs. Gordon and Miss Cartwright.”</p> - -<p>“Both good scouts,” answered the general.</p> - -<p>“Campers’ fare will be yours then, sir. Good-night, Colonel and Mrs. -Cartwright. We shall be happy to have you join us for mess at any time.”</p> - -<p>Before leaving, the colonel invited the Overland girls to have dinner -with him at the Lodge on the following evening and remain for the dance.</p> - -<p>Grace said they could not think of it, so far as the dinner was -concerned, but that, if they were not too tired, they would go over for -the dance.</p> - -<p>The Gordons and Miss Cartwright resumed their positions by the campfire -after the colonel and his wife, escorted by Hippy, still wearing his -derby hat, started towards the Lodge.</p> - -<p>The fire was blazing up cheerfully, and before it the girls of the -Overton Unit sat and talked with the guests of their campaigning days -in France.</p> - -<p>Something whistled down from the air, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span> every person in the outfit -heard the thud when it struck the ground.</p> - -<p>“A stone from the mountain,” said the general.</p> - -<p>“I think not,” replied Grace, getting up.</p> - -<p>“It fell right near where you’re standin’,” called Ike Fairweather as -Grace began looking about her alertly. “Looked like a stick.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! I see it.” Grace sprang forward, followed by General Gordon, and, -with her pocket lamp, examined the object that had so mysteriously -fallen among them.</p> - -<p>“An arrow!” exclaimed the general. “Probably a spent arrow from the -Indian camp.”</p> - -<p>“The Indian camp is too far away for that, sir,” replied Grace.</p> - -<p>“Broken, isn’t it, Mrs. Gray?” questioned the officer, stooping over to -pluck the missile from the ground.</p> - -<p>“Wait!” warned the Overton girl. She examined the arrow as it stood -doubled over at the break, which was about midway of the shaft, then -withdrew the point and carried the whole to the campfire for further -examination.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xxi" id="xxi"></a>CHAPTER XXI<br /> -<small>A NIGHT OF THRILLS</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">A</span>FTER a careful scrutiny of the arrow, Grace glanced up at the general, -who was regarding her inquiringly.</p> - -<p>“What do you find?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“That the arrow has been weakened in the middle by a cut with a knife. -It appears to have been the intention of the person who shot it, that -it should break on striking the ground. You can see that the cut is a -fresh one, probably made only a little while ago.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, so I observe. What does that signify?”</p> - -<p>“I am not well posted on Indian lore, but I do know that, with the -Chinese, a broken stick or twig cast before one is a warning. Mr. -Fairweather, will you please come here?”</p> - -<p>Ike stepped over and stood frowningly regarding the shaft that Grace -was holding up for his inspection.</p> - -<p>“This is an Indian arrow, is it not, Mr. Fairweather?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span> -“What does it mean when an Indian shoots an arrow with such a break as -this in it?”</p> - -<p>“Trouble!” answered the stagecoach driver without hesitation. “It’s a -warning, Mrs. Gray.”</p> - -<p>“Then it must have come from an Indian who feels kindly toward us. -What I do not understand is, why, if he wished to give us warning of -something, he did not come to us with it.”</p> - -<p>“Indians is queer critters,” observed Ike wisely. “There’s no -accountin’ for Indians, and ’specially Apaches.”</p> - -<p>“I think I agree with you,” answered Grace, rewarding the old man with -a smile. “Please see to it that the ponies are well staked. Nothing -more, Mr. Fairweather.”</p> - -<p>After the driver had walked away, Grace leaned back and laughed.</p> - -<p>“I have a feeling, General, that before this night ends you will be -wishing that you had remained at the Lodge,” chuckled Grace.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, nothing like that, Mrs. Gray. I should enjoy a little -excitement. It has been a long time since the armistice was signed, and -with it the real joy of trying to live, passed.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I agree with you.” Excusing herself, as Hippy came up and sat -down to chat with the general while the girls were entertaining Mrs. -Gordon and Miss Cartwright, Grace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span> walked over to Ike who was restaking -the horses.</p> - -<p>“We hope to do some mountain climbing to-morrow, and if we do so I -shall require several hundred feet of light, strong rope. Please see if -you can get it for me. What do you think?” asked Grace, nodding toward -the sky.</p> - -<p>“Mountain squall, I reckon.”</p> - -<p>“More than a squall, I should say. However, you know more about the -mountain weather than I do. And, confidentially, Mr. Fairweather, that -broken arrow leads me to believe that it would be good judgment for you -to take a rifle to bed with you to-night,” suggested Grace.</p> - -<p>Ike grinned and nodded.</p> - -<p>Returning to her guests, Grace suggested to them that it might be well -to turn in, as a busy day was before them for the morrow.</p> - -<p>“General, you and the lieutenant will occupy the small tent to the -right; the ladies will take the middle one, and we girls will occupy -the large outside tent. I hope you will sleep well. Lieutenant, please -show the general to his sleeping place.”</p> - -<p>Half an hour later the Overland girls were chattering in low tones in -their own tent. Hippy and the general were already snoring in theirs, -while the two women guests were having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span> some difficulty in getting to -sleep in their strange surroundings.</p> - -<p>Grace had thrown herself down on her cot where she lay pondering on -the mystery of the broken arrow. After half an hour of this she got -up to have a look at the weather before turning in for the night, -observing that the campfire, fanned by a breeze from the mountains, was -flickering and snapping as if in protest at being disturbed.</p> - -<p>Shading her eyes with a hand and gazing up to the mountains, Grace saw -dark clouds swirling about the Four Peaks in the distance, and heard -a deep-throated, far away roar of thunder. A dull red flash on the -opposite side of the range of mountains reminded her of flashes from -the big guns on the battle front.</p> - -<p>“I think we are going to catch it,” observed the Overland girl. “Can it -be that the arrow was a storm warning?” Grace dismissed the thought as -improbable, and, returning to her tent, laid aside her clothes and got -into bed. She was awakened some two hours later by tremendous gusts of -wind, accompanied by flapping canvas and a heavy downpour of rain.</p> - -<p>Lightning flashes were outlining the black clouds, and crashes of -thunder reverberated from peak to peak, seeming finally to lose -themselves in the black depths of the canyons.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span> -Grace got up and dressed, and, putting on her slicker, stepped out. The -raindrops beat on her face, stinging like tiny hailstones.</p> - -<p>The ponies were whinneying and rearing, so Grace stepped over and -tried to quiet them, and there Ike Fairweather found her as she stood -revealed when a flash of lightning deluged the camp with a blinding -light.</p> - -<p>“That you, Mrs. Gray?” he called, uncertain just which one of the -outfit it was that he saw.</p> - -<p>“Yes.” Grace had to shout to make herself heard above the roar of the -gale. “Where is the lieutenant?”</p> - -<p>“Sleepin’. Think the tents will hold?” questioned Ike anxiously.</p> - -<p>“I hope so. Please look after the horses. I will rout out the -lieutenant and see what we can do to keep the tents down, especially -the one occupied by General Gordon’s wife and -<a name="companion" id="companion"></a><ins title="Original omitted closing quotation mark">companion.”</ins></p> - -<p>Grace ran back and called Hippy. The general heard the call and -answered first.</p> - -<p>“Heavy storm, sir,” Grace informed him. “Hippy, please hurry out. I -need you.”</p> - -<p>“Wha—at is it? Is Jerry coming?” answered Hippy Wingate sleepily.</p> - -<p>The general laughed.</p> - -<p>“It is bad, isn’t it? What do you wish me to do, Mrs. Gray?” he asked.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span> -“We must try to hold down Mrs. Gordon’s tent, but I fear we shall lose -some of our canvas.”</p> - -<p>“There goes one already!” cried the general, as the tent he and -Lieutenant Wingate had occupied puffed out like a balloon and -disappeared in the darkness. The lieutenant made no effort to recover -it, but ran calling to Grace to know where she was.</p> - -<p>“Sit on the stakes. Hold the guests’ tent down at all hazards,” she -cried.</p> - -<p>Elfreda had taken charge of the tent occupied by the Overland girls, -and was hurrying her companions with their dressing. They had barely -finished dressing, when the tent pulled its stakes and toppled over.</p> - -<p>“Grab it! Don’t let it get away!” shouted Miss Briggs.</p> - -<p>“What was that?” cried General Gordon, when, during a brief lull in the -storm, his ears caught a familiar whistling sound.</p> - -<p>“A bullet, sir,” answered Grace promptly. “Watch out for the next gust -of wind. It’s going to be a severe one.”</p> - -<p>“There they come again!” exclaimed the general, as bullets began -spraying the camp.</p> - -<p>Grace sprang to the tent occupied by Mrs. Gordon, which Hippy was doing -his best to hold down.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span> -“Lie flat on the ground, Mrs. Gordon!” she shouted. “We’re under fire.”</p> - -<p>At about the same instant Elfreda Briggs was uttering a similar warning -to the girls in her charge.</p> - -<p>The gun-fire grew hotter, continued so for a few moments, then suddenly -ceased as a fresh blast of storm swept down on the camp from the -mountains, and then, despite all their efforts, the tent that Grace and -the two men were now holding, gave way under the tremendous power of -the wind.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Gordon and Miss Cartwright, while thoroughly frightened, were too -plucky to make any outcry, and, after a few moments of lively work, the -general and Hippy, with some assistance from Grace, succeeded in saving -the tent.</p> - -<p>About that time the rain dwindled to a sprinkle, and bullets again -began to spatter about the camp. Uttering an exclamation, Grace ran for -her rifle, which she thrust into Hippy Wingate’s hand.</p> - -<p>“Look!” Grace pointed up at a spot on the mountains. “Look closely and -you will see the flashes of the rifles that are shooting at us. Every -time you see a flash, shoot at it!”</p> - -<p>Hippy located the flashes instantly, and began firing at them, Grace -observing and offering suggestions.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span> -“What is he shooting at?” questioned the general.</p> - -<p>“At the flashes of the guns up yonder on the mountain. If your eye is -quick enough you can see them.”</p> - -<p>General Gordon, who had <a name="reassured" id="reassured"></a><ins title="Original has reasurred">reassured</ins> Mrs. Gordon and her -companion by telling them that the storm had about blown itself out, -at the same time cautioning both to keep down close to the ground so -long as the shooting lasted, watched Lieutenant Wingate’s work with the -rifle with interest.</p> - -<p>After Hippy had twice emptied the magazine of the rifle, the fog -clouds blotted out the peaks of the mountains and slowly settled down, -drawing a mantle over the point from which the bullets had been coming, -whereupon the fire from the mountains ceased and Lieutenant Wingate -laid down his rifle.</p> - -<p>“I hope that ends it for to-night,” said Grace. “I think the fog will -hold pretty much as it is, so the next thing is a campfire if we can -find enough fuel to start one.”</p> - -<p>Ike was already engaged in this task. General Gordon, in the meantime, -was assisting Mrs. Gordon and Miss Cartwright over to the fire which -Ike was fanning into life with his sombrero.</p> - -<p>“I am so sorry, Mrs. Gordon,” sympathized<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span> Grace, as the general’s wife -began shaking out her wet, wrinkled skirt.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Gordon laughed.</p> - -<p>“I am quite willing to suffer such slight discomfort for the privilege -of seeing this outfit at work in an emergency,” she declared.</p> - -<p>Grace suggested to the general that it might be advisable to take the -ladies back to the Lodge for the rest of the night.</p> - -<p>“No, no, no!” protested Miss Cartwright. “I, for one, propose to see it -through.”</p> - -<p>“So do I,” approved Mrs. Gordon.</p> - -<p>Elfreda, who had found the makings, was brewing tea over the fire and -Anne was toasting crackers on the other side of it.</p> - -<p>“Storm, bullets, then tea and crackers! Isn’t this romantic?” cried -Miss Cartwright. “You young ladies surely do know how to do things.”</p> - -<p>The warmth of the campfire, and the refreshments, put new spirits into -the party, and they were now able to laugh over their plight. The -guests, however, were at a loss to understand why any one should wish -to shoot at the camp of the Overland Riders.</p> - -<p>“I cannot comprehend how they were able to place their bullets right in -the camp in all that darkness and storm,” wondered Mrs. Gordon.</p> - -<p>“Their rifles undoubtedly were aimed and set before dark,” answered -Lieutenant Wingate.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span> -“The broken arrow, General,” reminded Grace, nodding to General Gordon.</p> - -<p>“Hm—m—m—m!” mused the World-war veteran.</p> - -<p>The rest of the night was passed by the campers with some discomfort, -but without further disturbance, the tops of the mountains being hidden -from sight by the cloud fog until the morning sun cleared away the -mists, when a glorious day was in prospect.</p> - -<p>“No cliff-dwelling explorations to-day, girls!” cried Elfreda next -morning. “We shall have to do our family washing and ironing this -morning.”</p> - -<p>“If we do I know of one who will have to stay in bed during the -process,” piped Emma. “I haven’t been able to find my everyday skirt, -and I suppose that too has been blown off into the canyon, perhaps to -keep my black silk company.”</p> - -<p>Soon after breakfast, Colonel and Mrs. Cartwright came over, they -having been much concerned for their friends upon learning that a -severe mountain storm had swept the valley in the night. The colonel -urged all hands to have dinner with him at the Lodge, but the girls -declined, saying that they had work for every minute of the day, so -their guests left after obtaining a promise from Grace that she and -her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span> friends would attend the dance at the Lodge that evening.</p> - -<p>“I have an idea, and to-morrow I shall try to put it to the test,” -murmured Grace, using her glasses in a long, searching study of the -mountains to the rear of the camp.</p> - -<p>It was a hard day’s work that the Overland girls did, but when night -came they were ready for the entertainment at the Lodge, and were as -well groomed as though they had but just come from their own dressing -rooms at home.</p> - -<p>“I do not know how you do it. It is wonderful,” exclaimed Miss -Cartwright in greeting to the Overlanders upon their arrival at the -Lodge.</p> - -<p>The dance lasted until half after eleven o’clock, and the girls -declared that they had not had such a delightful evening since their -last hop at Overton College.</p> - -<p>“Come out and get shotted with us,” urged Emma Dean as they were about -to take their departure for the camp.</p> - -<p>That night the Overland party was treated to another deluge of bullets, -but the firing did no damage, beyond putting a hole through the -pup-tent occupied by Ike Fairweather. All hands, despite their loss -of sleep, were up early on the following morning making preparation -for their journey to the homes of the ancient Cliff Dwellers where an -exciting day awaited them.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xxii" id="xxii"></a>CHAPTER XXII<br /> -<small>RELICS OF AN ANCIENT RACE</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE Gordons and Cartwrights had engaged a conveyance to take them to -the point on the Apache Trail where they must turn off and walk about -a mile to reach the homes of the Cliff Dwellers. The Overland Riders -preferred to ride their ponies, Ike taking his team to carry himself -and the rations for the day.</p> - -<p>Tucked away with the equipment was a strong rope several hundred feet -in length, Ike, at Grace’s request, having provided this and other -equipment without asking too many questions.</p> - -<p>An early start was made, both parties reaching the turning-off place at -about the same time, and shortly thereafter a merry company, carrying -picnic baskets, was ascending the steep, narrow trail that led to the -Tonto Cliff Dwellings.</p> - -<p>They found the first of the two main groups of prehistoric community -dwellings free of tourists, and the Overton College girls stood in awe -as they gazed on the massive masonry of this relic of an unknown past.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span> -“Are you familiar with the history of these cliff dwellings, Mrs. -Gray?” asked the general.</p> - -<p>“I must confess that I am not wholly familiar with the subject, sir. -Will you tell us what you know about them?”</p> - -<p>“No one knows of their beginning, nor of the people who inhabited them. -We do know that Coronado’s Scouts discovered them nearly four hundred -years ago. The Coronado Scouts, it is said, believed that they found -the frontier fortresses of that rich kingdom of Tontonteac, which was -one of the seven they sought.”</p> - -<p>“The dwellings were not then occupied, were they?” asked Anne.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” responded the general. “They were in ruins as you see them -now, so you can form some idea of the antiquity of the dwellings.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know whether or not the Cliff Dwellers were here ahead of the -Indians, sir?” asked Grace.</p> - -<p>“It is supposed that they were, for the Indians of the present day do -not even know of them in legend. The dwellers must have had enemies, -man or beast, for you see they built their castles in out-of-reach -spots. They builded them well, too, high under leaning walls of rock, -of blocked stone, set with strong adobe mortar. They were architects, -and they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span> builders, were those ancients,” declared the general.</p> - -<p>“A peculiar feature of their homes is that each community lived in -a community house, said to have included sixty to seventy rooms. -The three dwellings that are accessible do not show what the inner -arrangements were, but a fourth one, that has never been explored, is -believed to be in a better state of preservation.”</p> - -<p>“That is the one I propose to have a look at,” declared Grace.</p> - -<p>“I suspected as much,” nodded the general. “Don’t try it, is my advice. -You don’t know what kind of a precipice one would have to pass over to -get there.”</p> - -<p>“I know the precipice, for I have examined it through my glasses, but I -am not convinced that there is no other entrance to the place.”</p> - -<p>“What makes you think that?”</p> - -<p>“The formation of the sheer wall that falls away from their front -dooryard shows that it has been in that same condition for perhaps -thousands of years, and probably was in the same condition in the days -of the Cliff Dwellers. Suppose we have our luncheon here and then have -a look at the top of this unknown cliff home.”</p> - -<p>All through the luncheon that was eaten in an ancient community house, -with the magnificent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span> view of mountain and canyon spread out before -them, General Gordon was regarding Grace perplexedly.</p> - -<p>“I believe she really intends to try it,” he muttered. “How, I do not -know. She does, though, and I have no doubt the plan is already clearly -outlined under that head of fair brown hair.”</p> - -<p>“So you do not believe I can do it, eh?” chided Grace, favoring the -officer with a brilliant smile.</p> - -<p>“Do not believe—Mrs. Gray, are you a mind reader?” demanded the -general.</p> - -<p>“When a mental process is reflected in a face as it has been in yours -for the last five minutes, the reading is easy.”</p> - -<p>The general shrugged his shoulders in true French form.</p> - -<p>“I give up,” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“I wish the walls of this ancient place might be read as easily,” added -Grace. “Do you think the ladies can stand a climb to the top of the -mountain?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes; it is not a long nor a very hard climb, I should judge from -the looks of it,” replied the general.</p> - -<p>It was decided to leave the hampers at the lunching place, but to carry -their mess kits. Grace told Ike Fairweather to take the rope<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span> with -him, as it might be needed. In her own kit she carried a ball of stout -twine, ammunition for her rifle and for the automatic that swung in its -holster.</p> - -<p>“All is ready. Please take your time, ladies, and if you tire, you must -say so,” she directed.</p> - -<p>“We follow where you lead, Mrs. Gray,” promised Miss Cartwright -dramatically.</p> - -<p>“Don’t make rash promises, Miss Cartwright,” warned the general. “You -don’t know what you are promising. I think <em>I</em> do.”</p> - -<p>“Just wait and see,” teased the young woman.</p> - -<p>It was a hard hike to the brow of the mountain, taking nearly two -hours, at the rate they traveled. The party finally came out on a broad -table of rock, from which the mountain sloped away a short distance, -then took a sheer drop of a thousand feet.</p> - -<p>None of the party ventured to look over the brink until Grace finally -did so, then turned laughingly to Miss Cartwright.</p> - -<p>“Are you following?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.” Miss Cartwright stepped up beside Grace and gazed off over the -great precipice.</p> - -<div class="figcenter width400"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span> -<img src="images/i-004.jpg" width="400" height="610" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Grace Disappeared Over the Edge.</p> -</div> - -<p>Suddenly the army officer’s sister swayed dizzily, and, had Grace lost -her head for a second, a disaster probably would have resulted. Grace’s -arm quickly encircled the waist of Miss<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span> Cartwright and drew her back, -now in a fainting condition. The dizzy height had been too much for -the young woman’s nerves. Grace gravely handed her over to Colonel -Cartwright.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry, sir, that I encouraged her. It was not prudent of me at -all,” she said.</p> - -<p>Grace, after studying the face of the cliff for a few moments, stepped -back and spoke to Ike Fairweather, pointing to a projecting tower of -rock that crowned the tableland like a monument.</p> - -<p>“You can snub the rope around that,” she said.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Gray, surely you are not going to try that desperate descent?” -begged General Gordon.</p> - -<p>“Try is the word, General. If you think it advisable, take Mrs. Gordon -and Miss Cartwright for a walk. To see me go over may upset them. The -descent is perfectly safe, provided the rope doesn’t break. I have -my reasons, other than mere curiosity, for attempting to get to the -Community House down there.”</p> - -<p>“Very good, Mrs. Gray. Depend upon me for whatever I may be able to do. -I think I understand your real motive. Do not worry about the ladies; -if they cannot stand it to see you go over they can turn their backs on -you.”</p> - -<p>Preparations were quickly made, Miss Cartwright<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span> observing wide-eyed -and a little pale. Ike had made a sling with a board bottom for Grace -to sit in. In addition to this, she slipped a loop of the rope under -her shoulders. Grace then produced the ball of strong twine from her -kit, and made an end fast to the “monument.” She directed that some one -keep hold of the twine at all times for signals.</p> - -<p>“One pull will mean that I have a message to send up; two pulls will -advise you that I am to be hauled up,” Grace informed them. “Are you -ready?”</p> - -<p>“Ready!” announced the four men in chorus. General Gordon added that -he would stand at the upper edge of the slope and watch Grace over its -lower edge, from which point she would have a sheer drop of what he -estimated to be about three hundred feet to the cliff dwelling.</p> - -<p>“Loyalheart! Do be careful,” admonished Elfreda anxiously. “I know -there is no use trying to dissuade you from attempting this foolish -thing, so we can do nothing except to wish you luck.”</p> - -<p>“Yes you can—you can hold fast to the rope,” corrected Grace. Smiling -and nodding to her companions, she took a final look about, then crept -cautiously down to the edge of the slope, where the sheer drop began, -waved a hand and disappeared over the edge of the precipice.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="xxiii" id="xxiii"></a>CHAPTER XXIII<br /> -<small>BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">B</span>EFORE starting on her perilous venture, Grace had directed that the -rope be paid out slowly, so as not to set up so much friction that the -rope would be in danger of burning.</p> - -<p>As she went over, Grace took one look below her and closed her eyes, -but after a few moments she summoned her courage, opened her eyes and -looked down. She could see, directly beneath her, the ledge under which -the Cliff Dwellers’ Community House had been constructed. Out in front -of the ledge were the white stone walls and part of the roof of the -ancient structure, which she was on her way to explore.</p> - -<p>“Getting down is easy. It is getting back that is going to be the big -problem,” muttered the plucky girl. “It is worth the risk. Think of -it, Grace Harlowe, you possibly will be the first human being to set -foot on that shelf of rock in ten centuries, perhaps ten times ten -centuries.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span> -Grace wriggled and twisted herself into position for a suitable -landing, and, as it was, she grazed the wall of the cliff dwelling, -slipping down the side of it, kicking out vigorously to keep from -tearing her clothing on the protruding points of stone, until her feet -touched the ground.</p> - -<p>“Down! Harlowe luck is with me thus far.” Grace hastily penciled a -note, reading:</p> - -<p>“Arrived safely. Send the string back with a small stone to weight it. -Fine view down here. I start exploring. Don’t worry if you don’t hear -from me for an hour or so.”</p> - -<p>One tug on the line, and the Overton girl was rewarded by seeing her -message slowly rising at the end of the twine.</p> - -<p>Grace thereupon took account of her surroundings. With her glass she -picked up the Lodge, then the tiny dots that she knew were the Overland -Riders’ tents. It was a clear view to the camp, and, as Grace described -it to herself, a good shooting range.</p> - -<p>Now began her explorations. There were heaps of rotted stone and -adobe mortar all about, but taking it all in all, the community house -appeared to be in an excellent state of preservation. Grace took -her time, and moved slowly, using extreme caution, not knowing what -emergency she might have to meet at any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span> moment. Over heaps of stone -and rubbish she climbed to such chambers as she could reach. The -ceilings in the Community House were so low that she was obliged to -stoop; window apertures were no more than six inches across and of -equal height, but the light shed by these was sufficient to enable her -to pick her way about.</p> - -<p>The mustiness of centuries hung heavy on the air despite the -ventilation, and birds, disturbed by her entrance, gave Grace a start -as they winged their way toward the light. Not a relic, however, did -the Overton girl find in her search of the chambers.</p> - -<p>On coming out of the cliff dwelling, Grace suddenly halted and sniffed -the air.</p> - -<p>“That smells like a dead fire,” she muttered. “Perhaps I have company -here.” Picking her way cautiously in under the ledge that formed a -partial roof for the ancient Community House, Grace found herself in -a vast, tunnel-like opening. Black darkness lay ahead of her, but the -odor of a dead fire grew stronger in her nostrils as she proceeded.</p> - -<p>Grace now brought her flash lamp from her pocket, passing it to her -left hand, and, holding the automatic in a firm grip in her right, she -advanced, prepared for emergencies.</p> - -<p>She examined the walls briefly. From their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span> smoothness, it occurred -to Grace that water had once flowed through the tunnel. How far back -the tunnel led into the mountain she could not even guess, but it -was reasonable to suppose that it was not a waterway when the Cliff -Dwellers lived there.</p> - -<p>“I am getting near it! The dead fire odor is growing stronger!” Grace -told herself in a whisper. “I believe my surmises are correct. How -I wish one of the men were with me. However, I’m in it and must go -through with it,” she muttered.</p> - -<p>Using her flash lamp to guard against stepping into a pitfall, the -Overton girl picked her way cautiously along. Here and there were huge -crevices in the wall of the tunnel, which, as Grace described it to -herself, was in reality “the rear yard of the ancient Cliff Dwellers.”</p> - -<p>The crevices, as she shot rays of light into them, were dark and -forbidding, but, looking back, the white towers of the Community House -stood out reassuringly.</p> - -<p>“Ah!”</p> - -<p>Grace had stepped into a heap of ashes and they felt warm under her -feet. Stooping over and running her hand into the mass she found that -the ashes, at the bottom, really were warm.</p> - -<p>“There has been a recent fire here, but the ashes are several hours -old. I wish Tom were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span> here. He could tell me, within half an hour, just -how long ago this heap was a blazing fire. Let me reason this out.” -Grace leaned against the wall and reflected.</p> - -<p>“Some one has been in this place within a dozen hours or so. It is -reasonable to assume, too, that they did not come over the precipice; -hence there must be some other entrance, some other way, and perhaps an -easier one. I am going on.”</p> - -<p>Grace started ahead resolutely, now and then flashing a ribbon of light -to the floor directly ahead of her. Her keenness was rewarded a few -moments later, and the Overton girl, dropping to her knees, examined -the rocky floor with great care.</p> - -<p>What Grace had discovered was the imprint of a heavy-soled boot, faint -but clearly defined. Her next discovery was a frying pan, some tin -plates and a heap of bones that looked as if they might be beef bones.</p> - -<p>“They surely live well up here. I—”</p> - -<p>Grace jumped. That is, her nerves did; her body did not move at all, -but she heard her heart beat, and it was pounding fast and hard. What -had disturbed and startled her was a groan, a distinctly human groan, -and then deep silence settled over the tunnel, broken only by the -faint, repressed breathing of Grace herself.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span> -The natural impulse was to turn on her light, but Grace Harlowe was too -prudent to do that just yet. She preferred to wait and listen. This -policy produced results. A second groan, more prolonged than before, -followed.</p> - -<p>It was a human groan of distress that she had heard, though whether -real or feigned the girl was unable to decide in her own mind, but she -now realized that she must make the advance herself. Arriving at this -decision, Grace turned on her light, and, with the automatic revolver -thrust ahead of her, ready for instant use, she began a cautious -<a name="search" id="search"></a><ins title="Original has seach">search</ins> for the source of the voice.</p> - -<p>“Groan again, so I may know where you are,” she called softly. “If you -are hoping to play a trick on me I shall shoot on sight!”</p> - -<p>The response came back almost at once, the voice sounding ahead of her -and to the right side of the tunnel. She moved forward with renewed -caution, and, a few steps further on, as she flashed her ribbon of -light into a niche in the wall of the tunnel, she saw him.</p> - -<p>Grace approached cautiously, still holding her weapon at ready, for, -though she was looking down on a man, apparently hound and gagged, she -proposed to take no more than the absolutely necessary chances.</p> - -<p>Leaning over, with the revolver pointed down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span> at him, Grace turned the -light of her lamp into the face of the owner of the voice. As she did -so she uttered an exclamation of amazement.</p> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="xxiv" id="xxiv"></a>CHAPTER XXIV<br /> -<small>GRACE SOLVES THE MOUNTAIN MYSTERY</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="dropcap">“J</span>OE SMOKY FACE!” cried Grace Harlowe. “What does this mean?”</p> - -<p>“Me kill um!” raged the Indian who had guarded their ponies on the -night of the Overland Riders’ arrival, after Grace had removed the gag -from his mouth.</p> - -<p>“Kill whom?”</p> - -<p>“Con Bates and Ben Jackson.”</p> - -<p>Grace freed the man from his bonds.</p> - -<p>“Are there rifles here?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Get two, quick, if you know where they are. Is any one else here in -this place?”</p> - -<p>“All gone. Not come back till moonrise. When come back mebby kill white -girls. Catch Joe Smoky Face and fetch here.”</p> - -<p>“Joe, did you shoot that arrow into our camp to warn us?” demanded -Grace, a sudden light flooding her mentality.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span> -“Me shoot arrow.” Joe ran down the tunnel a few yards and returned with -two rifles, both loaded.</p> - -<p>“Now we are all right, if you are certain that no one will come here. -Tell me as quickly as you can, what happened to you.”</p> - -<p>From the Indian’s monosyllables, and, using her imagination freely, -Grace inferred that Joe had overheard the bandits when they were spying -on the Overland Riders’ camp, and, after the men had gone away as Joe -supposed, he had fired the arrow into the camp to warn Grace Harlowe -and her friends. The bandits, however, had not gone away, and when they -saw what Joe had done, they suddenly fell upon him, bound and gagged -him and carried him to their lair in the ancient Community House of the -Cliff Dwellers.</p> - -<p>“Was Con Bates one of those men?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Him come along.”</p> - -<p>“Who is Ben Jackson?”</p> - -<p>“Bad man who follow white girls till Bates make escape at Globe and -come along to help. Much bad men. Steal much. Plenty here. You find. -Joe Smoky Face know where.”</p> - -<p>“You say they have gone to Globe. Con Bates would not dare to go there. -How did he get out of jail?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span> -“Not know. Mebby he not go Globe to-day. Ben Jackson he go. Mebby Con -he stay in bushes.”</p> - -<p>“How many men come here?”</p> - -<p>Joe counted six on his fingers.</p> - -<p>“Show me the way out,” demanded Grace.</p> - -<p>“Hole in mountain. Joe show. Joe show other things.”</p> - -<p>The Indian did. He led the Overton girl into dark recesses in the wall -of the tunnel, where, by the light of her lamp, she saw plunder that -made her eyes widen. It was mostly small merchandise, but valuable. -There were gold and silver articles and some precious stones, but -not many, that Grace, in her hasty examination, thought were of -considerable value.</p> - -<p>In another cache there were silks, carefully wrapped, and a regular -arsenal of rifles, revolvers and ammunition, all probably stolen. Grace -Harlowe’s eyes glowed.</p> - -<p>“Were those men here last night—I mean did they shoot from out there?” -pointing to the mouth of the cave of the Cliff Dwellers.</p> - -<p>“Yes, shoot at white girls’ camp.”</p> - -<p>“I thought so. When I saw the flashes from their rifles, and this -morning looked at this place with my glasses, I made up my mind that -the shots had been fired from here. Joe, we must catch these men, every -one of them. Do you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span> think you can get back to your people without -being seen, provided any of the bandits should still be about your -camp?”</p> - -<p>“Joe get back.”</p> - -<p>“Very good. Go back to your camp on the mountain side and send a -trustworthy Indian to get the sheriff. I will send a letter by you to -the clerk at the Lodge, and he can telephone for the sheriff. When the -sheriff and his party are found, have them led here, but do not try to -get here until dark. Do the bandits keep a guard on the outside of this -place at night?”</p> - -<p>“Joe not know.”</p> - -<p>The Indian was trotting ahead, Grace lighting the way with her lamp. -She observed that the instinct of the Indian enabled him to follow the -outward trail with as little difficulty as if he had been over it many -times.</p> - -<p>“Come end now,” finally announced Joe, the trail having narrowed down -so that they were obliged to go in single file. It was dark as night -where they were, but Joe knew how to reach the light. She saw him put a -shoulder to the low roof and lift from a narrow opening a slab of rock, -which he cautiously shoved an inch or so to one side, and for several -minutes stood with eyes at the crack he had made.</p> - -<p>“All gone,” said Joe, pushing the slab of rock aside.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span> -Following her guide, Grace crawled out and looked about her. The -opening through which she had emerged was on the sloping side of the -mountain, well screened by cactus. The Indian replaced the slab of -stone, which then looked to be a part of the cavern wall.</p> - -<p>“Very simple,” muttered Grace, gazing about her and fixing every detail -of the surroundings in her mind. The Overton girl then wrote a note to -the clerk of the Lodge, telling him exactly what was to be done, and -that she would remain on watch awaiting the arrival of the officers -after dark. She handed the note to Joe Smoky Face.</p> - -<p>“Joe, you will come back with the sheriff, so he will not miss the -place. I have written that you will. Go, now!”</p> - -<p>The Indian trotted away and Grace saw him secrete the rifle he had -brought out with him. Following his departure Grace got her bearings -and started around the mountain to rejoin her friends whom she knew -were anxiously awaiting a signal from her.</p> - -<p>The amazement of the Overland Riders and their friends when Grace came -walking in among them was too great for words for a few seconds; then -the Overlanders gave a shout.</p> - -<p>“We must pack up at once and the party must return to the Lodge. I’ve -made a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span> discovery and solved the mystery of the Apache Trail,” -she announced.</p> - -<p>Grace then briefly related the story of her adventure and told the -party what she wished them to do.</p> - -<p>“Above all, say nothing to any person outside of our circle. Do not -even discuss our discovery among yourselves where possibly you may be -overheard, for those men probably have confederates. I wish them to -come back so we may capture them. Miss Cartwright, will you ride my -pony back to camp?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Why?”</p> - -<p>“So that the same number of persons may return on horseback. Go -directly to the camp, then walk back to the Lodge. I shall remain on -the mountain to watch the tunnel entrance.”</p> - -<p>“Not alone, Mrs. Gray. Surely, we cannot permit you to do that,” -objected General Gordon. “I shall remain there with you.”</p> - -<p>Grace shook her head.</p> - -<p>“It won’t do. Your absence would cause comment, which is exactly what -I do not wish. Having rifle and revolver I shall be able to take care -of myself. All that I shall attempt to do is to watch for the return of -the bandits and make certain that they do not post a sentry outside. -You must be going now, but for goodness sake pull up that rope and -string, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span> leave me some food to carry in my kit. It is probable that -I shall not be back until late to-night.”</p> - -<p>Ike hurriedly packed up, and after good-byes had been said the party -started down the mountain side on their way to the point where their -horses were tethered. Grace soon lost sight of them, then, tucking the -rifle under her arm, she walked slowly around the mountain, and down, -until she came within sight of the opening through which she had made -her exit from the tunnel.</p> - -<p>After watching for some time, Grace sought a hiding place, which she -found in a slight depression behind a shelf of shale rock. She knew -that there were long, weary hours of waiting ahead of her, but Grace -was determined, now that the opportunity was hers, to turn the tables -for good on the men who had tormented the Overland Riders.</p> - -<p>Con Bates had escaped; how, she could not imagine, and Ben Jackson had -assumed to himself the task of revenging the bandits’ grudge against -the Overland outfit that had objected to being held up and robbed.</p> - -<p>Grace passed most of the time resting, lying back gazing at the sky and -the mountains that stretched away for many miles. At dusk she nibbled -at her luncheon, then settled down in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span> earnest to her vigil. A new moon -hung high in the west, which she knew would shed a faint light on her -elevated position until well into the evening.</p> - -<p>Ten o’clock came, but still no bandits. A few moments after ten -o’clock, however, Grace’s patience was rewarded. She discovered a -crouching figure, which at first she took to be an Indian, but a moment -later saw that it was a white man. He was followed at intervals by five -others, all cautiously approaching the tunnel entrance. After a careful -scrutiny of the entrance, and, apparently finding nothing wrong there, -the six men entered, after one had removed the stone. After the six men -had crawled in, the tunnel opening was closed behind them.</p> - -<p>Grace waited a few moments, then, springing up, ran to the scene, and -began piling rocks on the entrance slab, some being so heavy that she -was obliged to roll them. This she continued until her hands were -blistered and her back was aching desperately.</p> - -<p>“There! I’d like to see a bandit get out now,” emphasized the Overland -Rider, drawing off a little way, and sitting down with rifle at ready -in her lap.</p> - -<p>Not a sound was heard from the tunnel entrance for nearly an hour, then -a faint tapping<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span> there indicated to her that the bandits were trying -to break their way out, the prisoner’s escape, no doubt, having been -discovered.</p> - -<p>Grace fired her rifle into the pile of rocks, whereupon the tapping -ceased, but her vigil became an anxious one from that moment on. -Shortly after midnight the Overton girl discovered a shadowy figure -creeping toward her over the rocks. Grace eyed it keenly, then levelled -her rifle at it.</p> - -<p>“Hands up!” she commanded sharply.</p> - -<p>Joe Smoky Face rose and waved a hand.</p> - -<p>“All right! I know you,” called Grace in a relieved tone of voice. -“Where is the sheriff?”</p> - -<p>“Him come.” Joe uttered a whistle, whereupon Jim Collins, with his -deputy, Wheaton, and a posse of ten men, including General Gordon and -Lieutenant Wingate, clambered up the rocks.</p> - -<p>“Your men are over there, Sheriff. I have blocked the entrance, and -believe they are near it now,” Grace informed the sheriff as he came up -to her.</p> - -<p>“Is there no other way by which they can get out, Miss?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“No, sir.”</p> - -<p>“You know the lay of the land; what do you suggest?”</p> - -<p>“Remove the rocks that I have piled up until<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span> you come to the slab. -Tell the men—there are six in there—to lay down their arms and come -out, one at a time. Should they refuse, you might tell them you will -keep them bottled up until they surrender, even if it takes a month.”</p> - -<p>The loose stones were immediately removed, as Grace had suggested; -whereupon the sheriff delivered his ultimatum to the bandits. -Lieutenant Wingate, in the meantime, had formed the posse on the upper -side of the tunnel opening.</p> - -<p>Several minutes elapsed without a sound being heard from the tunnel, -then a voice called to Sheriff Collins.</p> - -<p>“We surrender! Don’t shoot!”</p> - -<p>“Look out for tricks!” warned Grace Harlowe. “I think that is Con Bates -speaking.”</p> - -<p>The bandits pushed the slab from the opening and came out singly and -apparently unarmed.</p> - -<p>“Look out!” cried Grace sharply.</p> - -<p>Almost in the same instant a revolver in the hands of Con Bates was -fired. The five other bandits instantly began banging away at the -posse, at the same time scattering and starting to run.</p> - -<p>“Let ’em have it low! Don’t kill them, please,” begged Grace.</p> - -<p>Sheriff Collins downed Con Bates with a bullet in his shoulder.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span> -Grace took no part in the battle, but sat crouched, chin in hands, -narrowly watching the fight while bullets whined over her head and -ricochetted from the rocks on either side of her.</p> - -<p>The five bandits remaining after their leader had been downed were -tumbled over with bullets in their legs in almost that many seconds. -But the five were plucky. They struggled to their feet and again began -firing. Two volleys from the posse put them down a second time, and -this time they stayed down.</p> - -<p>“That is what I call good shooting!” declared Grace Harlowe, standing -up.</p> - -<p>“Great work! Great work!” approved the general.</p> - -<p>“A fine bunch of critters, you are!” raged the sheriff, addressing the -defeated bandits. “Ought to finish you right here. Thank this woman -that I don’t do that very thing. I’ll do it anyhow if any one of you -galoots so much as bats an eyelash. Throw those guns away!” roared Mr. -Collins.</p> - -<p>The Bates gang gave up and were quickly manacled and searched for -further weapons. The prisoners secured, Sheriff Collins strode over to -Grace.</p> - -<p>“Shake, Pard!” he cried, thrusting out a wiry brown hand. “Bet you’d -face an old she bear with cubs, an’ laugh at her when she made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span> murder -faces at you. We won’t have any more trouble with these critters. I -reckon we’ve got the whole gang now, an’ the trail is clear, thanks to -you an’ your friends.”</p> - -<p>At Grace’s suggestion, Joe led the sheriff and some of his men to the -tunnel, where a large amount of valuable plunder was recovered. That -night the prisoners were bound to horses and started for the jail at -Globe where, this time, they remained until eventually sentenced to -long terms in prison. Of Belle Bates, no trace was found. The guests of -the Lodge next day gave a dance in honor of the Overlanders, to whom -belonged the honor of ridding the Apache Trail of the last band of -desperate men that had preyed upon it.</p> - -<p>General Gordon and his party left a day later, after good-byes had -been regretfully said. At Grace’s suggestion a purse was made up by -the girls for Joe Smoky Face, after he had assisted Ike Fairweather to -pack the equipment in readiness for moving next day, and early on the -following morning the Overland Riders set out in their saddles for the -long journey to Phœnix, where they arrived a week later, tanned by -sun and weather, eyes sparkling and spirits effervescing.</p> - -<p>That day they bade farewell to the faithful old stagecoach driver, -who had already shipped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span> their ponies by rail, and was to follow the -animals on to Globe that night.</p> - -<p>In the evening, the Overland Riders held a meeting at the hotel, at -which they discussed their future plans. It was decided to make the -organization a permanent one, and to seek recreation and adventure in -the saddle each season, until they tired of it.</p> - -<p>It had been a wonderful vacation, with just enough excitement to make -it interesting, as Grace expressed it, leaving the girls of the old -Overton Unit better physically and mentally, with a new beauty in -face and figure, each better equipped to meet life’s responsibilities -through the coming year.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>“We have not decided where we shall go on our next journey,” reminded -Elfreda Briggs next day, after the Overlanders had settled themselves -in a Pullman car for the homeward journey.</p> - -<p>“I was just thinking of a suggestion offered by Mr. Fairweather,” said -Grace. “In telling me of the adventures of a cousin of his on the -American Desert, he casually mentioned that some time we should try to -make the journey across it in the saddle.”</p> - -<p>“What is there there?” questioned Anne.</p> - -<p>“Principally sand and terrific heat. Crossing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span> the desert on horseback -really is a tremendous undertaking, but, if not strenuous enough to -satisfy us, we might even essay Death Valley. Mr. Fairweather said we -could get his cousin to act as our guide. I am rather inclined toward -the Great American Desert.</p> - -<p>“<em>Alors!</em> Let’s go,” urged Elfreda Briggs.</p> - -<p>“Other things being equal, what do you say, folks?” questioned Grace -smilingly.</p> - -<p>“Yes!” answered the Overlanders enthusiastically.</p> - -<p>Grace chuckled.</p> - -<p>“You do not know it, of course, but, now that you have decided, I am -going to say that you Overlanders are headed straight for an adventure -that will satisfy even Hippy Wingate. I have no doubt the desert is -yawning for us at this very moment,” declared Grace.</p> - -<p>As later events proved, Grace Harlowe was not a false prophet, and, in -a following volume, entitled “<span class="smcap">Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders on -the Great American Desert</span>,” will be related the experiences of -these adventure-loving girls amid scenes new to them, and in facing -trials that called for sheer pluck and clear heads while riding the -trackless alkali desert of the Great West.</p> - - -<p class="center p120 mt3">THE END</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> - -<div class="container"> -<p class="center nm"><span class="word-space p200">HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY’S</span><br /> -<span class="p200">Best and Least Expensive<br /> -Books for Boys and Girls</span></p> - -<hr class="double" /> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The Motor Boat Club Series</span><br /> -By H. IRVING HANCOCK</strong></p> - -<p>The keynote of these books is manliness. The stories are wonderfully -entertaining, and they are at the same time sound and wholesome. No boy -will willingly lay down an unfinished book in this series.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB OF THE KENNEBEC; Or, The Secret of -Smugglers’ Island.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AT NANTUCKET; Or, The Mystery of the -Dunstan Heir.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB OFF LONG ISLAND; Or, A Daring Marine Game -at Racing Speed.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AND THE WIRELESS; Or, The Dot, Dash and -Dare Cruise.</p> - -<p class="hang">5 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB IN FLORIDA; Or, Laying the Ghost of -Alligator Swamp.</p> - -<p class="hang">6 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AT THE GOLDEN GATE; Or, A Thrilling Capture -in the Great Fog.</p> - -<p class="hang">7 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB ON THE GREAT LAKES; Or, The Flying Dutchman -of the Big Fresh Water.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - -<p class="center clear">Sold by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price.</p> - -<hr class="double3" /> - -<p class="center word-space p200 nm">Henry Altemus Company</p> - -<p class="left-float p150">1326–1336 Vine Street</p> -<p class="right-float p150">Philadelphia</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">Battleship Boys Series</span><br /> -By FRANK GEE PATCHIN</strong></p> - - -<p>These stories throb with the life of young Americans on today’s -huge drab Dreadnaughts.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS AT SEA; Or, Two Apprentices - in Uncle Sam’s Navy.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS’ FIRST STEP UPWARD; Or, - Winning Their Grades as Petty Officers.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS IN FOREIGN SERVICE; Or, - Earning New Ratings in European Seas.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS IN THE TROPICS; Or, Upholding - the American Flag in a Honduras Revolution.</p> - -<p class="hang">6 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS IN THE WARDROOM; Or, - Winning their Commissions as Line Officers.</p> - -<p class="hang">7 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS WITH THE ADRIATIC - CHASERS; Or, Blocking the Path of the Undersea - Raiders.</p> - -<p class="hang nm">8 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS’ SKY PATROL; Or, Fighting - the Hun from above the Clouds.</p> -<p class="right nm">Price, $1.00 each.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The Range and Grange Hustlers</span><br /> -By FRANK GEE PATCHIN</strong></p> - -<p>Have you any idea of the excitements, the glories of life on -great ranches in the West? Any bright boy will “devour” the -books of this series, once he has made a start with the first -volume.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS ON THE - RANCH; Or, The Boy Shepherds of the Great Divide.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS’ GREATEST - ROUND-UP; Or, Pitting Their Wits Against a Packers’ - Combine.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS ON THE - PLAINS; Or, Following the Steam Plows Across the - Prairie.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS AT CHICAGO; - Or, The Conspiracy of the Wheat Pit.</p> - -<hr class="double3" /> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">Submarine Boys Series</span><br /> -By VICTOR G. DURHAM</strong></p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE SUBMARINE BOYS ON DUTY; Or, Life on A Diving Torpedo - Boat.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE SUBMARINE BOYS’ TRIAL TRIP; Or, “Making Good” as - Young Experts.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE MIDDIES; Or, The Prize Detail - at Annapolis.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE SPIES; Or, Dodging the Sharks - of the Deep.</p> - -<p class="hang">5 THE SUBMARINE BOYS’ LIGHTNING CRUISE; Or, The Young - Kings of the Deep.</p> - -<p class="hang">6 THE SUBMARINE BOYS FOR THE FLAG; Or, Deeding Their Lives - to Uncle Sam.</p> - -<p class="hang">7 THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE SMUGGLERS; Or, Breaking Up - the New Jersey Customs Frauds.</p> - -<hr class="book" /> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">Grace Harlowe Overseas Series</span></strong></p> - -<p class="hang">1 GRACE HARLOWE OVERSEAS.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE RED CROSS IN FRANCE.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE MARINES AT CHATEAU THIERRY.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN THE - ARGONNE.</p> - -<hr class="book" /> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The College Girls Series</span><br /> -By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A.M.</strong></p> - -<p class="hang">1 GRACE HARLOWE’S FIRST YEAR AT OVERTON - COLLEGE.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 GRACE HARLOWE’S SECOND YEAR AT OVERTON - COLLEGE.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 GRACE HARLOWE’S THIRD YEAR AT OVERTON - COLLEGE.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 GRACE HARLOWE’S FOURTH YEAR AT OVERTON - COLLEGE.</p> - -<p class="hang">5 GRACE HARLOWE’S RETURN TO OVERTON CAMPUS.</p> - -<p class="hang">6 GRACE HARLOWE’S PROBLEM.</p> - -<p class="hang">7 GRACE HARLOWE’S GOLDEN SUMMER.</p> - -<hr class="double3" /> - -<p>All these books are bound in Cloth and will be sent postpaid -on receipt of only $1.00 each.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">Pony Rider Boys Series</span><br /> -By FRANK GEE PATCHIN</strong></p> - -<p class="noi">These tales may be aptly described the best books for boys and girls.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES; Or, The Secret of the -Lost Claim.—2 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN TEXAS; Or, The -Veiled Riddle of the Plains.—3 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN -MONTANA; Or, The Mystery of the Old Custer Trail.—4 THE -PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE OZARKS; Or, The Secret of Ruby -Mountain.—5 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ALKALI; Or, -Finding a Key to the Desert Maze.—6 THE PONY RIDER BOYS -IN NEW MEXICO; Or, The End of the Silver Trail.—7 THE PONY -RIDER BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON; Or, The Mystery of -Bright Angel Gulch.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The Boys of Steel Series</span><br /> -By JAMES R. MEARS</strong></p> - -<p>Each book presents vivid picture of this great industry. Each story -is full of adventure and fascination.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE IRON BOYS IN THE MINES; Or, Starting at the Bottom of -the Shaft.—2 THE IRON BOYS AS FOREMEN; Or, Heading the -Diamond Drill Shift.—3 THE IRON BOYS ON THE ORE BOATS; -Or, Roughing It on the Great Lakes.—4 THE IRON BOYS IN THE -STEEL MILLS; Or, Beginning Anew In the Cinder Pits.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The Madge Morton Books</span><br /> -By AMY D. V. CHALMERS</strong></p> - -<p class="hang">1 MADGE MORTON—CAPTAIN OF THE MERRY MAID.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 MADGE MORTON’S SECRET.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 MADGE MORTON’S TRUST.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 MADGE MORTON’S VICTORY.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">West Point Series</span><br /> -By H. IRVING HANCOCK</strong></p> - -<p>The principal characters in these narratives are manly, young -Americans whose doings will inspire all boy readers.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 DICK PRESCOTT’S FIRST YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, - Two Chums in the Cadet Gray.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 DICK PRESCOTT’S SECOND YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, - Finding the Glory of the Soldier’s Life.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 DICK PRESCOTT’S THIRD YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, - Standing Firm for Flag and Honor.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 DICK PRESCOTT’S FOURTH YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, - Ready to Drop the Gray for Shoulder Straps.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">Annapolis Series</span><br /> -By H. IRVING HANCOCK</strong></p> - -<p class="noi">The Spirit of the new Navy is delightfully and truthfully depicted -in these volumes.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 DAVE DARRIN’S FIRST YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Two - Plebe Midshipmen at the U. S. Naval Academy.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 DAVE DARRIN’S SECOND YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, - Two Midshipmen as Naval Academy “Youngsters.”</p> - -<p class="hang">3 DAVE DARRIN’S THIRD YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Leaders - of the Second Class Midshipmen.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 DAVE DARRIN’S FOURTH YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, - Headed for Graduation and the Big Cruise.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The Young Engineers Series</span><br /> -By H. IRVING HANCOCK</strong></p> - -<p>The heroes of these stories are known to readers of the High -School Boys Series. In this new series Tom Reade and Harry -Hazelton prove worthy of all the traditions of Dick & Co.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN COLORADO; Or, At Railroad - Building in Earnest.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN ARIZONA; Or, Laying Tracks - on the “Man-Killer” Quicksand.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN NEVADA; Or, Seeking Fortune - on the Turn of a Pick.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN MEXICO; Or, Fighting the - Mine Swindlers.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">Boys of the Army Series</span><br /> -By H. IRVING HANCOCK</strong></p> - -<p>These books breathe the life and spirit of the United States -Army of to-day, and the life, just as it is, is described by a master -pen.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS IN THE RANKS; Or, Two Recruits - in the United States Army.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS ON FIELD DUTY; Or, Winning - Corporal’s Chevrons.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS AS SERGEANTS; Or, Handling - Their First Real Commands.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS IN THE PHILIPPINES; Or, Following - the Flag Against the Moros.</p> - -<p class="hang"><a name="five" id="five"></a><ins title="Original has 6">5</ins> UNCLE SAM’S BOYS AS LIEUTENANTS; Or, Serving -Old Glory as Line Officers.</p> - -<p class="hang"><a name="six" id="six"></a><ins title="Original has 7">6</ins> -UNCLE SAM’S BOYS WITH PERSHING; Or, Dick Prescott -at Grips with the Boche.</p> - -<p class="hang"><a name="seven" id="seven"></a><ins title="Original has 8">7</ins> -UNCLE SAM’S BOYS SMASH THE GERMANS; Or, Winding -Up the Great War.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">Dave Darrin Series</span><br /> -By H. IRVING HANCOCK</strong></p> - -<p class="hang"> 1 DAVE DARRIN AT VERA CRUZ; Or, Fighting With the - U. S. Navy in Mexico.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 DAVE DARRIN ON MEDITERRANEAN SERVICE.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 DAVE DARRIN’S SOUTH AMERICAN CRUISE.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 DAVE DARRIN ON THE ASIATIC STATION.</p> - -<p class="hang">5 DAVE DARRIN AND THE GERMAN SUBMARINES.</p> - -<p class="hang">6 DAVE DARRIN AFTER THE MINE LAYERS; Or, Hitting - the Enemy a Hard Naval Blow.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The Meadow-Brook Girls Series</span><br /> -By JANET ALDRIDGE</strong></p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS UNDER CANVAS.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ACROSS COUNTRY.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS AFLOAT.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE HILLS.</p> - -<p class="hang">5 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS BY THE SEA.</p> - -<p class="hang">6 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON THE TENNIS - COURTS.</p> - -<hr class="double2" /> - -<p>All these books are bound in Cloth and will be sent postpaid -on receipt of only $1.00 each.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">High School Boys Series</span><br /> -By H. IRVING HANCOCK</strong></p> - -<p>In this series of bright, crisp books a new note has been struck.</p> - -<p>Boys of every age under sixty will be interested in these fascinating -volumes.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMEN; Or, Dick & Co.’s First - Year Pranks and Sports.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE HIGH SCHOOL PITCHER; Or, Dick & Co. on the - Gridley Diamond.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE HIGH SCHOOL LEFT END; Or, Dick & Co. Grilling on - the Football Gridiron.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE HIGH SCHOOL CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM; Or, Dick & - Co. Leading the Athletic Vanguard.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">Grammar School Boys Series</span><br /> -By H. IRVING HANCOCK</strong></p> - -<p>This series of stories, based on the actual doings of grammar -school boys, comes near to the heart of the average American boy.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS OF GRIDLEY; Or, Dick - & Co. Start Things Moving.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS SNOWBOUND; Or, Dick - & Co. at Winter Sports.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS IN THE WOODS; Or, - Dick & Co. Trail Fun and Knowledge.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS IN SUMMER ATHLETICS; - Or, Dick & Co. Make Their Fame Secure.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">High School Boys’ Vacation Series</span><br /> -By H. IRVING HANCOCK</strong></p> - -<p>“Give us more Dick Prescott books!”</p> - -<p>This has been the burden of the cry from young readers of the -country over. Almost numberless letters have been received by the -publishers, making this eager demand; for Dick Prescott, Dave Darrin, -Tom Reade, and the other members of Dick & Co. are the most -popular high school boys in the land. Boys will alternately thrill -and chuckle when reading these splendid narratives.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ CANOE CLUB; Or, Dick & Co.’s - Rivals on Lake Pleasant.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS IN SUMMER CAMP; Or, The - Dick Prescott Six Training for the Gridley Eleven.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ FISHING TRIP; Or, Dick & Co. - in the Wilderness.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ TRAINING HIKE; Or, Dick & - Co. Making Themselves “Hard as Nails.”</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The Circus Boys Series</span><br /> -By EDGAR B. P. DARLINGTON</strong></p> - -<p>Mr. Darlington’s books breathe forth every phase of an intensely -interesting and exciting life.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE FLYING RINGS; Or, Making - the Start in the Sawdust Life.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 THE CIRCUS BOYS ACROSS THE CONTINENT; Or, Winning - New Laurels on the Tanbark.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 THE CIRCUS BOYS IN DIXIE LAND; Or, Winning the - Plaudits of the Sunny South.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE MISSISSIPPI; Or, Afloat with - the Big Show on the Big River.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The High School Girls Series</span><br /> -By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A. M.</strong></p> - -<p>These breezy stories of the American High School Girl take the -reader fairly by storm.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 GRACE HARLOWE’S PLEBE YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; - Or, The Merry Doings of the Oakdale Freshman Girls.</p> - -<p class="hang">2 GRACE HARLOWE’S SOPHOMORE YEAR AT HIGH - SCHOOL; Or, The Record of the Girl Chums in Work and - Athletics.</p> - -<p class="hang">3 GRACE HARLOWE’S JUNIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; - Or, Fast Friends in the Sororities.</p> - -<p class="hang">4 GRACE HARLOWE’S SENIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; - Or, The Parting of the Ways.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="double2" /> -</div> - -<p class="center nm"><strong><span class="p200">The Automobile Girls Series</span><br /> -By LAURA DENT CRANE</strong></p> - -<p>No girl’s library—no family book-case can be considered at all -complete unless it contains these sparkling twentieth-century books.</p> - -<p class="hang">1 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT NEWPORT; Or, Watching the Summer - Parade.—2 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS IN THE BERKSHIRES; - Or, The Ghost of Lost Man’s Trail.—3 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS - ALONG THE HUDSON; Or, Fighting Fire In Sleepy Hollow.—4 - THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT CHICAGO; Or, Winning Out - Against Heavy Odds.—5 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT PALM - BEACH; Or, Proving Their Mettle Under Southern Skies.—6 THE - AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT WASHINGTON; Or, Checkmating the - Plots of Foreign Spies.</p> - -<p class="left-float">Cloth, Illustrated</p> -<p class="right-float">Price, per Volume, $1.00</p> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<div class="tn"> -<p class="center p120">Transcriber’s Note:</p> - -<ul class="nobullet"> -<li>Page 42</li> -<li><ul><li>while we are in motion. <i>changed to</i><br /> -while we are in <a href="#motion">motion.”</a></li></ul></li> - -<li>Page 221</li> -<li><ul><li>General Gordon’s wife and companion. <i>changed to</i><br /> -General Gordon’s wife and <a href="#companion">companion.”</a></li></ul></li> - -<li>Page 224</li> -<li><ul><li>who had reasurred Mrs. Gordon <i>changed to</i><br /> -who had <a href="#reassured">reassured</a> Mrs. Gordon</li></ul></li> - -<li>Page 241</li> -<li><ul><li>seach for the source of the voice <i>changed to</i><br /> -<a href="#search">search</a> for the source of the voice</li></ul></li> - -<li>Boys of the Army Series</li> -<li><ul><li>6, 7 and 8 have been respectively <i>changed to</i><br /> -<a href="#five">5</a>, <a href="#six">6</a> and <a href="#seven">7</a></li></ul></li> -</ul> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the -Old Apache Trail, by Jessie Graham Flower - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRACE HARLOWE'S OVERLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 50105-h.htm or 50105-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/1/0/50105/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rick Morris and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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