THE SHOT IN THE NIGHT
It was dark when they drove into the grounds of the Gaylor ranch, and
the girls gave a gasp of surprise when they saw a regular avenue of
Japanese lanterns leading up to the main entrance.
“The Gaylor people certainly do things in style,” Mason said in
admiration, as he brought the car to a stop in front of the porch.
The ranch house fairly blazed with different colored lanterns and a
soft strain of music greeted their ears as Bruce Gaylor received them
with a shout of welcome. In his breezy Western style he introduced
them to his sisters and later to his parents and all the guests. A
dance was in progress and Mason hastily made sure that he could have
the next one with Josephine. A moment later he signaled Bruce out and
called him over to them.
“I must say you have surprised me this night, Bruce,” he said gaily;
“I didn’t suppose you could put on so fine a show as this, and I want
to congratulate you. Why, this display matches our Eastern society
dances. But there is one thing that sticks me, Bruce; you led me to
suppose you had but one sister, and now I find you have two.”
“Yes, and hurry up and get them signed on your card. I will give you a
straight tip, they are fine dancers,” he answered jovially, seizing
the opportunity to ask Ethel for the next dance.
Mason had his dance with Josephine, and a little later when he came to
look over her card he discovered to his dismay that he could only
secure one of the remaining dances. Her list contained the name of Bud
Anderson signed no less than six times.
When he mentioned this fact to her he thought her manner was a trifle
cool, and try his best, it put a damper on his spirits. He strolled
moodily out on the veranda where he could get a good view of the
dancers. He lit a cigarette and was trying to enjoy a smoke when the
orchestra struck up a waltz.
Josephine was dancing with Bud, and as they floated near to the window
where he stood, he saw that she was laughing and chatting gaily with
him. She certainly was paying particular attention to Bud this
evening, and Mason realized that she had never been so friendly to
him.
“Josephine loves Bud all right, and Jack, you are a damn fool to think
she cares for you any more than a friend,” he mused, savagely grinding
the cigarette under his heel. “Bud has the inside track and he has
known her since she was a kid. Oh, I am a damned fool all right, but I
sure do love her. None of my Eastern girl friends ever made me feel
this way, and the Lord knows, I had plenty of them.”
He heard the rustle of a dress and turning his back drew further into
the shadow. Footsteps sounded behind him and a hand was laid on his
shoulder.
Turning reluctantly around he saw the smiling face of his sister
gazing at him.
“So, here you are, and I have been looking all over the hall for you,”
she cried triumphantly, “but, why the grouch, brother? You look as
though you were attending a funeral instead of a dance.”
“My head felt dull and I came out to get the air,” he answered lamely.
Her eyes looked searchingly into his face.
“It is something more than that. Come, you can’t fool me, your sister.
I know your disposition too well. Tell me what the trouble is, Jack,
and maybe I can help you out.”
“Well,” he began, desperately, “it’s about Josephine. Have you noticed
that she is dancing more often with Bud than anyone else?”
“Meaning yourself, I suppose,” she said with a laugh; “my, but how
vain you men are, and I am sure you haven’t any strings on her?”
“That’s right, rub it in,” he grumbled.
She was tapping her fan lightly on his shoulder and smiling queerly at
him.
“Well, let me give you a tip and see if you know enough to take
advantage of it. When you come to know girls a little better you will
learn to act quicker. Josephine hasn’t said a word to me, but I know I
am right in this; she is merely dancing often with Bud to make you
jealous.”
“What makes you think that?” he demanded eagerly.
She was turning to go and fired a bomb over her shoulder.
“You certainly are slow. When you looked Josephine’s dance card over
early in the evening you failed to put your name down for more than
one dance number.”
She left him with a tantalizing smile, while he cursed himself for an
idiot.
“And I promised her some extra dances, too,” he groaned dismally;
“Gee, Jack, you sure will have to square yourself somehow with
Josephine, and I’ll get that last dance with her or there will be
murder done here this night.”
He did manage to get the last dance with her, but her manner still
continued cool towards him, and for all of his eager advances he felt
he had made a dismal failure in winning her good graces.
The dance broke up at a late hour and Bruce Gaylor prevailed on
Mason’s party to stay at the ranch over night, as he wanted to show
them about the place the next day. He clinched his argument with Mason
by saying he could leave any time the next day and could make the run
back to Bar X ranch in quick time with his car. Bruce had already won
Ethel and Josephine over to his plan, and under the circumstances
Mason could not very well refuse.
The cowboys had already left as they had their duties to perform at
Bar X. This left just Mason’s party with Waneda and Tex, as Bruce had
decided the trip was too long for the Spanish girl to undertake in the
dark, and as Tex had not fully recovered from his wound, the Gaylor
people would not consent to his taking the ride back until the next
day.
The girls readily consented to the plan as they were fatigued from the
dance, and when Mason finally turned in for the night he was tired
enough to thank Bruce most heartily for his hospitality.
The next morning he awoke considerably refreshed and looking at his
watch he was surprised to find he had slept until nine A.M. He dressed
hastily and going out into the ranch grounds found his host conducting
his sister and Josephine about the place.
Mason joined them and was told by his host that they had just started
for the house to have breakfast.
“Then I am just in time,” he said cheerfully, watching Josephine
closely to see if she showed any signs of relenting toward him. “I was
afraid I had made you all late by my tardiness.”
They spent a pleasant morning about the ranch and Mason had to admire
the well kept buildings. The Gaylor ranch differed in design from the
Bar X ranch which was of a Colonial type of construction. The Gaylor
ranch was a magnificent building finished in stucco work, but Mason
liked the Bar X ranch better, with its huge columns and strictly
Southern type. In the afternoon, Bruce provided horses and they
started for a ride over the range.
“It won’t make any difference if you people don’t start back until
night,” Bruce insisted; “and by the way, Jack, if you need any
gasoline I have plenty of it in the storehouse. We use a gasoline
engine to do some of our work here and I see you have powerful lights
on your car, so why worry?”
“Oh, that will be fine,” Josephine cried in delight, “and I only hope
we will have a moonlight night.”
“All right,” Mason agreed, pleased beyond measure that the idea suited
his girl, for he had come to the point of secretly calling Josephine
his girl now.
“I may have to call on you for gas at that, Bruce, although my tank
was full when I left the Bar X ranch. Safety first, you know.”
If Josephine had held any vexation against Mason the night before, all
traces of it had vanished by now, and she graciously permitted him to
ride by her side while Bruce and Ethel rode slightly in advance of
them. Both girls were in high spirits and the laughter and witty
repartee that passed among them was sparkling with good humor. There
was a charm about this girl at his side that drew him to her as a
magnet draws steel. Unconsciously Mason pressed his horse closer to
hers until he was aware that she was smiling at him under almost
closed lashes.
“I don’t see any occasion for you to try and run my horse down,” she
said, smiling at him.
He eased his horse away, feeling provoked at himself.
“There, that’s better,” she said gently; “I suppose the first thing I
know you will be trying to make love to me again.”
“I will most certainly if I get you out alone in my car sometime.”
“That makes me think of something. You promised to teach me how to
drive, and if you remember, the last time I tried it was when we went
to Trader’s Post. You know I am very anxious to learn.”
“Just as soon as we get home again I will promise to take you out and
keep you at it until you do learn, and I will tell you truly that you
did fine that day.”
“Yes, just about like you promised me those extra dances last night,”
Josephine was pouting prettily now.
“You seemed to be enjoying yourself immensely with Bud last night, I
thought,” he said surlily. It was a tender spot with him.
“And why not? He’s a splendid dancer.”
Her eyes were dancing with mischief as she fenced words with him like
a skilful swordsman.
He flung his hands up in mock despair.
“A truce,” he cried gaily, “I solemnly swear to make you an expert
driver the first time we go for an automobile ride. Now, does that
suit you, my Princess?”
“Yes, and I will hold you to your promise, Sir Jack.”
“You see,” he continued, “in making you that promise I have secret
designs on you.”
Her blue eyes opened wide.
“And what are they?”
“That I have hope of succeeding in keeping you away from Bud Anderson
for a short time, at least,” he answered.
Josephine laughed a silvery laugh.
“What in the world are you two chatting about?” Ethel called back to
them.
“Sir Jack just said something funny,” Josephine answered, smiling
roguishly at him.
“It may seem funny to you; but I mean it,” he said frowning.
“My, but you can get serious at times, Sir Jack.”
Ethel fell back and joined in the conversation, and Mason had to stand
some good natured raillery from the girls until Bruce came to his
rescue by calling his attention to a group of riders on their right.
They were less than a quarter of a mile away and were riding slowly on
almost a parallel line with Bruce’s party. There appeared to be four
men in the group, and Mason looked at them in surprise.
“Wonder where those fellows came from,” he observed; “queer we didn’t
see them before this.”
“They just broke out from behind that knoll,” Bruce answered,
indicating with a wave of his hand a rise in the plain. “And they
don’t belong on my ranch either,” he continued; “my men never ride
this range only in pairs. They seem to be observing us pretty close
too. Shall we ride over their way?”
Mason started to agree, but the girls put up such a protest against it
that he abandoned the idea. On second thought he reasoned it would be
doing the girls an injustice if the strangers should turn out to be
enemies and a fight might be the result.
They were too far away to make out their features and he noticed with
a feeling of relief that they had spurred their horses and were
setting rapidly off in a different direction.
“Did you recognize any of those men, Mr. Gaylor?” Josephine
questioned.
“No,” he answered guardedly with a sidelong glance at Mason. “The
distance was too great to make out their features.”
Afterwards on their way back to the ranch, Bruce seizing a favorable
opportunity, confided to Mason in an undertone that he was sure he had
recognized one of the men as Spot Wells.
“Well, don’t let the girls know, as it would worry them to death,” he
cautioned Bruce after he had recovered from his surprise. “I am more
than glad that we didn’t start after them as there would have been a
hot fight on our hands. I know the girls have been enjoying this
outing immensely, thanks to you, old man, and I don’t want anything to
happen to mar their happiness. What makes you think one of them was
Spot Wells? I couldn’t have told my own father at that distance.”
“I didn’t recognize him until they turned their horses and started to
ride off,” Bruce answered. “I can tell Spot Wells by the way he rides;
he used to be a jockey and has never gotten over the habit of riding
well forward on a horse’s neck. Just as they started off I noticed him
take that position.”
“Now that you mention the fact, I noticed one of them rode in a
different style when they started that spurt,” Mason admitted.
The girls were riding up closer to them, putting a stop to their
conversation, and commenced to banter them for neglecting their
charges.
It was well towards evening when they arrived at the ranch and after
supper Mason got his car out and looked at the sky. There was not a
star in sight. Bruce wanted them to remain over and start early the
next morning, but Josephine would not hear to it. Mason seated the
girls and switched the powerful lights on.
“I’m sorry we haven’t the nice moonlight night you wished for,
Josephine,” he said.
“Oh, I don’t care, when we have such fine lights as you have on your
car,” she answered naïvely: “isn’t it wonderful? Why, I can see the
trail just as well as in the day time.”
He smiled at her childlike enthusiasm. This Western girl could
appreciate a ride in a fast car at night with the trail lighted up
with powerful headlights. It appealed to her fancy as she had spent
all her life riding the range on horseback, but when it came night she
had to spend her time about the ranch house.
Mason wondered what would be her thoughts if she could see Fifth
Avenue in New York at night with its countless automobiles and glaring
headlights. He mentally resolved that she should see them if it lay in
his power, and the only bar to his ambition lay in Bud Anderson. The
thought almost caused him to groan out loud, when suddenly he realized
that the object of his thoughts was regarding him gravely.
“Sir Jack,” she cried with an attempt at severity.
He turned and looked at her guiltily.
“If you are going to sit there and moon-gaze when there isn’t any
moon, then I will have to take the wheel and drive. Here comes Mr.
Gaylor to say good-bye to us.”
Mason thanked his host warmly for his hospitality. Ethel and Josephine
joined in by asking him to visit Bar X ranch and bring his sisters to
pay them a call. On his promise to come when he found an opportunity,
Mason started the car off amid a loud roar from the motor. It was a
delightful night for a ride as the day had been hot and the soft cool
night air in their faces with the humming of the motor almost lulled
them to sleep. The girls had little to say, being content to lie back
and enjoy the ride, watching the trail shown by the glare of the
headlights.
Half the distance to Bar X had been covered, when the night air
freshening up a bit, he ordered the girls to wrap themselves up more
warmly.
He had slowed the car down considerably while this was being
accomplished, and then seeing that his charges were again made
comfortable, he started the car off at a high rate of speed.
The car was easily taking the rises in the trail at this new speed and
Mason was figuring that they would arrive at Bar X in about a half
hour.
Suddenly they were startled by the sharp crack of a rifle causing the
girls to scream in terror, while one of the rear tires blew out with a
loud report. For a moment the car plunged wildly, and Mason with his
face drawn white managed by a supreme effort to bring it under
control.