RED ROGERS SENDS A MESSAGE TO THE FORT.
In tense silence, Rose watched the bandit approach to carry out his
master's orders.
An instant the girl thought of defying both the notorious outlaw who
had spurned her and his minion. A slash of her bowie-knife would sever
the bonds of the scout at her back and then she could cover both Red
and Pedro with her six shooters.
The thought of having the desperado in her power and the pleasure it
would be to humble him by forcing an apology from his lips proved
irresistible, and stealthily she dropped her hands to the pistol butts.
Pedro, however, was watching her intently, and as he saw the movement,
leaped upon her, catching her wrists in his powerful hands.
"No you don't, my lady!" he hissed. "Hey, Red, this she-devil was going
to shoot you."
"I'm not surprised. The Landons never were strong on gratitude,"
returned the bandit. "Hurry and take away her shooting irons so she
won't have another chance, and then transfer the prisoners as I told
you."
These words were spoken by Rogers without taking the trouble even to
turn his head, and his utter indifference to her contemplated act of
treachery effected Rose as nothing else could have done.
"Oh, Red, forgive me! Forgive me!" she sobbed. "I didn't mean to
quarrel with you. The excitement of your breaking out of jail and our
escape from the troopers have been too much for my nerves. I know you
were a friend to daddy--and you've been to me. Please for----"
"Bah! Cut it out," interrupted the outlaw, savagely. "You've showed
your real nature. It's lucky for me you did. Now that I know you, I
can make my plans accordingly."
Even the scouts were amazed at the bitterness of this reply, and they
awaited with many misgivings the next move of their strange captor.
That he was doing something, they could all see from the motion of his
right arm, but not until it suited his pleasure did they learn what it
was.
"Are the men ready, Pedro?" he inquired at last.
"Uhuh!"
"Good. Keep a close watch on the girl and the young and the old
prisoners. I'll be back in a little while. Remember, I hold you
responsible for the girl and the others. If you try any tricks or leave
this spot, I'll hunt you down--if I have to follow you into the jail at
Keno!"
These words showed plainly the desperateness of Roger's mood, and the
others followed his every move with apprehension.
Suddenly reining his pony alongside of Shaw, he unwound the sash about
his own waist and bound it about the scout's head, blindfolding him.
This done, he seized the horse by the bridle and started to lead it
down the canyon.
"Remember, your lives will pay the forfeit if I do not find you all
here when I return," he snapped, in warning.
Believing that his end had come, Shaw listened for the slightest sound
that might give an inkling as to the fate in store for him. But only
the tramp of his horse could he hear.
For minutes that seemed interminable, his suspense continued. Now he
thought he caught the sound of rushing water, and feared he was about
to plunge into some swirling stream, then, as the sound died away,
he told himself that his captor was probably leading him toward some
precipice from which he would fall to a horrible death. The uncertainty
was maddening. It seemed to him that his head would burst and in his
mental agony he writhed and squirmed.
But at last his suffering came to an end.
"I'm going to send you with a message to the Fort," exclaimed Rogers,
suddenly, as he stopped the horse. "That is, I'm going to start you
with a message. Whether you live to deliver it is another matter," he
added, grimly. "However, if anything happens to you, the message will
be probably found, because within three hours you ought to be on a well
traveled trail."
In amazement, the scout listened to his words, then felt something
being thrust under the cords that bound his arms.
As this motion ceased, there ensued an absolute silence, then a
resounding slap rang out and Shaw felt his mount leap forward--whither,
he did not know.
And as his horse dashed ahead, Rogers mocking laugh rang in his ears.
Diabolical, indeed, was the plan the terrible outlaw had adopted.
Absolutely helpless, even his powers of speech and sight cut off by a
gag and bandage, and bound fast to a horse, the scout was sent at a
gallop into the night. Should the animal stumble, he might be crushed
to death. Unfamiliar with the trail, in the darkness the horse might
step off a precipice or, should the animal take it into his head, he
might wander among the foothills, browsing in the sweet grass while the
man on his back, tortured by flies and mosquitoes, slowly went crazy
from thirst and hunger.
Little, however, did Rogers reck what fate overtook the scout,
though he hoped the horse would return to the Fort, finding his way
by instinct, well knowing that the sight of the soldier, bound and
wounded, would rouse the colonel to fury, while his crude note was
intended to strike terror by its threats.
But not long did the outlaw have to gloat over his deviltry.
As he stood listening to the hoofbeats of the army horse grow fainter
and fainter, his eyes wandered over the dim outlines of the mountains
surrounding him.
Suddenly he saw a ball of flame shoot into the air from the hill
directly ahead of him, followed almost immediately by other balls from
right and left.
"Rocket signals!" exclaimed Rogers. "By the blood of old Barney! it
won't do for me to delay getting to the Stockade. Judging from their
rockets, the manhunters must be closing in on it. If I'm going to reach
there at all, it must be to-night. I can never get through in the
daytime."
Rose and the others also beheld the signals, and in the face of the
danger all the girl's anger against the outlaw vanished.
"Oh, Red! Did you see those rockets?" she inquired, with her old time
interest in his welfare, as he rejoined his anxious companions.
"Sure I saw 'em," he replied. "Couldn't very well help it--unless I was
blindfolded, like the scout."
At the mention of the luckless man he had led away, the girl drew her
breath sharply.
"What did you do to him?" she demanded.
"It's none of your business, but I don't mind telling you," responded
Rogers, his anger at Rose apparently forgotten. "I sent him with a
message to the Fort."
"But he'll never get there!" protested the girl.
"Why not?"
"The horse doesn't know the way."
"Never you worry. An army horse will always find his way back to his
post--provided nothing happens to him."
"But, if he doesn't go quickly, the man may die!" gasped Rose, in
horror.
"So much the better. It'll give more force to my terms."
At this announcement that the desperado had not only sent a message to
the Fort, but had dictated conditions, the others were amazed.
"What in the world did you say?" queried the girl, voicing the
curiosity of the rest.
"Not much."
"But what?"
"Say, you're asking a good many questions, did you know it?" demanded
Rogers.
His tone, however, indicated that he was not displeased and so Rose
persisted.
"How can I help it since you won't tell without my asking?" she
returned.
"If you ain't just like old Barney," mused the bandit, smiling at the
girl good naturedly. "I've seen Barney ready to shoot a man down, then
something would excite his curiosity, and he'd forget what he was
holding his guns for. Many a time he----"
"Never mind about daddy. What did you say in your message?" interrupted
Rose, impatiently.
"But it was about your daddy."
"About daddy? Oh, Red, tell me." Then a shrewd thought flashed into her
mind and she added: "You're wasting valuable time teasing me."
The words produced the desired effect upon the bandit, recalling him,
as they did, to the danger of his position.
"I guess it would be better for me if we stayed mad," he rejoined. "I
forget everything when I'm talking to you, Rosie."
"Then I won't say another word to you, _ever_, unless you tell me what
message you sent to the Fort," pouted the girl, aware that the breech
between them had been healed.
"Oh, it was nothing much. I just told the colonel I'd come back to keep
the pledge I made to Barney the night he was killed, adding that I
had two more of his men beside the messenger, I was keeping so's he'd
behave. Oh, yes, and I told him if he didn't get a safe conduct for you
and leave it at old man Quint's before to-day week, I'd run down and
burn up his old Fort."
In contemplation of the effect such a message from the man for whom his
troops were scouring the "Bad Lands" would have upon their choleric
colonel, the scouts forgot the precariousness of their position.
"But old turkey gobler won't do it," exclaimed Rose, with the evident
wish of being contradicted.
"No-o. I don't suppose he will," admitted the outlaw, reluctantly. "But
it will give me a chance to make 'em sit-up and take notice. It'll show
'em they've got some job on their hands to catch me when I can run
through their lines, call at old man Quint's and get back again."
"Nobody with any sense would try it," grunted Pedro. "What would become
of Rosie and me if you got caught? You ought to think of others besides
yourself when you're planning these daredevil raids."
"That's just what I am doing," retorted Rogers. "Didn't I tell you I
asked the colonel for a safe conduct for Rosie? If I can only get it,
she can go to Old Mex. and you can go where you please."
"And where'll you go?" demanded Pedro, suspiciously.
"I? Oh, I'll just carry out my pledge and then travel for my health."
The matter-of-fact manner in which the outlaw, who was, even as he
spoke, being hunted by hundreds of men, talked of eluding his pursuers
and fulfilling his promise, gave the scouts an idea of his absolute
fearlessness which they could not but admire, while at the same time
his contempt for the Service galled them.
The girl, however, received Red's words in silence.
"What is the pledge you made to daddy?" she suddenly demanded.
"Something that doesn't concern you, Rosie."
"But it _does_. I don't see why you should run such risks of being
captured, now you're safe, just on account of a promise. _Please_
tell me what it is. I'm Barney's daughter, and as such--if it seems
foolish--I can absolve you from your pledge."
Though they had known that the outlaw had made some sort of promise to
his pal as he lay dying in his arms, neither Rose nor Pedro were aware
of its exact nature. Moreover, the constant reference to it since their
capture had whetted the curiosity of the scouts.
Consequently it was with keenest eagerness the four listened for the
bandit's answer.
"It's generous of you, Rosie, very," he finally declared. "But Red
Rogers never broke a promise yet!"
And with these words, the outlaw mounted his horse and, followed by
Pedro with the prisoners, set out for the Old Stockade.