Chapter XVI
Three Modern Musketeers
The fierce crackling of the flames rolled toward them. The wind served atleast the one purpose of lifting the smoke so that it did not stiflethose on the river-bank. Clanton crept up from the cave and joined them.
"Looks like we're goin' out with fireworks, Billie," he grinned.
"That's nonsense," said Lee sharply. "There's a way of escape, if only wecan find it."
"Blamed if I see it," the young fellow answered. As he looked at her theeyes in his pale face glowed. "But I see one thing. You're the bestlittle pilgrim that ever I met up with."
The heat of the flames came to them in waves.
"You walk out, climb on yore horse, an' ride down the river, Miss Lee.Then we'll make a break for cover. You can't do anything more for us,"insisted Prince.
"That's right," agreed the younger man. "We'll play this out alone. Youcut yore stick an' drift. If we git through I'll sure come back an' thankyou proper some day."
Recently Lee had read "The Three Musketeers." From it there flashed toher a memory of the picture on the cover.
"I know what we'll do," she said, coughing from a swallow of smoke. Shestepped between them and tucked an arm under the elbow of each. "Allfor one, and one for all. Forward march!"
They moved down the embankment side by side to the sand-bed close to thestream, each of the three carrying a rifle tucked close to the side. Fromthe chaparral keen eyes watched them, covering every step they took withready weapons. Miss Lee's party turned to the right and followed theriver-bed in the direction of Los Portales. For the wind was driving thefire down instead of up. Those in the mesquite held a parallel course tocut off any chance of escape.
Some change of wind currents swept the smoke toward them in greatbillows. It enveloped the fugitives in a dense cloud.
"Get yore head down to the water," Billie called into the ear of thegirl.
They lay on the rocks in the shallow water and let the black smoke wavespour over them. Lee felt herself strangling and tried to rise, but aheavy hand on her shoulder held her face down. She sputtered and coughed,fighting desperately for breath. A silk handkerchief was slipped over herface and knotted behind. She felt sick and dizzy. The knowledge flashedacross her mind that she could not stand this long. In its wake cameanother dreadful thought. Was she going to die?
The hand on her shoulder relaxed. Lee felt herself lifted to her feet.She caught at Billie's arm to steady herself, for she was still queer inthe head. For a few moments she stood there coughing the smoke out of herlungs. His arm slipped around her shoulder.
"Take yore time," he advised.
A second shift of the breeze had swept the smoke away. This had savedtheir lives, but it had also given Snaith's men another chance at them Abullet whistled past the head of Clanton, who was for the time a fewyards from his friends. Instantly he whipped the rifle up and fired.
"No luck" he grumbled. "My eyes are sore from the smoke. I can't halfsee."
Lee was not yet quite herself. The experience through which she had justpassed had shaken her nerves.
"Let's get out of here quick!" she cried.
"Take yore time. There's no hurry," Prince iterated. "They won't shootagain, now Jim's close to us."
The younger man grinned, as he had a habit of doing when the cards fellagainst him. "Where'd we go? Look, they've headed us off. We can'ttravel forward. We can't go back. I expect we'll have to file on thequarter-section where we are," he drawled.
A rider had galloped forward and was dismounting close to the river. Hetook shelter behind a boulder.
Billie swept with a glance the plain to their right. A group of horsemenwas approaching. "More good citizens comin' to be in at the finish ofthis man hunt. They ought to build a grand stand an' invite the wholetown," he said sardonically.
A water-gutted arroyo broke the line of liver-bank. Jim, who was limpingheavily, stopped and examined it.
"Let's stay here, Billie, an' fight it out. No use foolin' ourselves.We're trapped. Might as well call for a showdown here as anywhere."
Prince nodded. "Suits me. We'll make our stand right at the head of thearroyo." He turned abruptly to the girl. "It's got to be good-bye here,Miss Lee."
"That's whatever, littlest pilgrim," agreed Clanton promptly. "If you geta chance send word to Webb an' tell him how it was with us."
Her lip trembled. She knew that in the shadow of the immediate future redtragedy lurked. She had done her best to avert it and had failed. Thevery men she was trying to save had dismissed her.
"Must I go?" she begged.
"You must, Miss Lee. We're both grateful to you. Don't you ever doubtthat!" Billie said, his earnest gaze full in hers.
The girl turned away and went up through the sand, her eyes filmed withtears so that she could not see where she was going. The two men enteredthe arroyo. Before they reached the head of it she could hear the crackof exploding rifles. One of the men across the river was firing at themand they were throwing bullets back at him. She wondered, shivering,whether it was her father.
It must have been a few seconds later that she heard the joyous"Eee-yip-eee!" of Prince. Almost at the same time a rider came splashingthrough the shallow water of the river toward her.
The man was her father. He swung down from the saddle and snatched herinto his arms. His haggard face showed her how anxious he had been. Shebegan to sob, overcome, perhaps, as much by his emotion as her own.
"I'll blacksnake the condemned fool that set fire to the prairie!" heswore, gulping down a lump in his throat. "Tell me you-all aren't hurt,Bertie Lee.... God! I thought you was swallowed up in that fire."
"Daddie, daddie I couldn't help it. I had to do it," she wept. "And--Ithought I would choke to death, but Mr. Prince saved me. He kept myface close to the water and made me breathe through a handkerchief."
"Did he?" The man's face set grimly again. "Well, that won't save him. Asfor you, miss, you're goin' to yore room to live on bread an' waterfor a week. I wish you were a boy for about five minutes so's I couldwear you to a frazzle with a cowhide."
Snaith's intentions toward Clanton and Prince had to be postponed for thepresent, the cattleman discovered a few minutes later. When he and Leeemerged from the river-bed to the bank above, the first thing he saw wasa group of cowpunchers shaking hands gayly with the two fugitives. Hisjaw dropped.
"Where in Mexico did they come from?" he asked himself aloud.
"I expect they're Webb's riders," his daughter answered with a little sobof joy. "I thought they'd never come."
"You thought.... How did you know they were comin'?"
"Oh, I sent for them," The girl's dark eyes met his fearlessly. A flickerof a smile crept into them. "I've had the best of you all round, dad.You'd better make that two weeks on bread and water."
Wallace Snaith gathered his forces and retreated from the field ofbattle. A man on a spent horse met him at his own gate as he dismounted.He handed the cattleman a note.
On the sheet of dirty paper was written:
The birds you want are nesting in a dugout on the river four miles belowtown. You got to hurry or they'll be flown.
J.Y.
Snaith read the note, tore it in half, and tossed the pieces away. Heturned to the messenger.
"Tell Joe he's just a few hours late. His news isn't news any more."