Mason of Bar X Ranch

The men silently unslung their saddle guns. They each carried a thirty-thirty Remington repeater. Lying prone on the ground, they covered the plateau of Devil’s Gap while the minutes passed slowly. It was a range of about four hundred yards.

From a point of rock which they had their eyes glued upon, they saw the form of a man rise up with a leveled rifle in his hands.

“Bud must be coming through the pass, get that fellow!” Big Joe cried in a hoarse whisper.

Before the words had died from his mouth a shot rang out and the man with the gun pitched forward.

The shot that laid him low had come from somewhere on their left.

“That’s Scotty getting in some of his fine work,” Big Joe said with a chuckle.

Instantly five other men sprang from behind the rock and the firing became general. At the first shot Bud and his men had charged through the pass and taken to cover. Scotty’s shot had warned Bud that something was amiss and had put him on his guard. The firing had become too hot for the halfbreed and his cut-throats, and they had dropped back behind the rock again.

What they had intended for an ambush had been turned into a siege and they were the besieged.

The one who first rose up from behind the rock still lay where he had fallen. Big Joe commenced signaling to Bud to let him know of their presence.

“There were six men in the halfbreed’s gang, wonder where he got them all?” pondered Mason.

“The fellow that dropped first is one of them four men that joined Ricker’s lately. They are the men that Bud rounded up and sent to prison five years ago,” answered Tex.

“I believe you’re right,” agreed Big Joe. “It would be an easy matter for the halfbreed to get them to join him if they thought they had a chance to get Bud.”

A long silence followed, to be broken by a shot still farther off to their left. The firing increased to a volley of shots.

“Scotty is making it warm for them again,” said with a grin. “He is working around rear of them.”

“They can’t stand that hot fire much longer,” declared Big Joe. “Get ready for the men, they will make a charge soon.”

Five minutes later the halfbreed and his men broke cover and charged into the open, intending to fight their way through. Bud and his men advanced to meet them, and the rifle fire grew so hot that Powers and the halfbreed broke and ran. The men that Bud had sent to prison held firm, and walked straight into his fire with curses on their lips. Bud had been slightly wounded, and with bullets kicking up the earth all around him, it was a wonder he was not killed outright. Bud and Red Sullivan had dropped to their knees and were pumping a hail of bullets into the survivors of the halfbreed’s gang. Slowly they crumpled up and the fight was over.

“Get after Powers and the halfbreed, they are trying to escape,” Bud called to Big Joe.

Mason, who had been trying to get a shot at the ringleaders, saw them break and run like the cowards they were. He immediately set out after them in the hope that they would lead him to Josephine, and he intended to pick up Scotty, who had worked around in the direction of the fleers.

Big Joe had seen Mason mount his horse and start. He shouted something after him, but Mason was too far away to hear. Mason had determined to capture the halfbreed and Powers, and rescue Josephine, if it cost him his life. He kept a sharp lookout for Scotty, but could see no sign of him. Just ahead of him was a break in the mountains, and as he swung through it his keen eyes caught sight of his game. Powers and the halfbreed were only a short distance ahead of him.

They had seen him at the same instant. Mason’s eyes glittered. He pulled a heavy Colt revolver, emptying its chambers after them. A yell of defiance was flung back at him. The halfbreed was riding Josephine’s horse and, pulling sharply around, returned his shots.

The bullets sang uncomfortably close to his ears. His horse was behaving badly and he suddenly determined on a ruse. Powers had halted and was taking careful aim at him. Mason abruptly checked his horse and flung himself to the ground, pulling his saddle gun with him, just as Powers commenced firing.

His horse had been hit and let out an agonizing cry. The outlaws gave a cry of exultation when they saw him fall, thinking he had been killed. Mason had dropped near a large rock and kept a firm grip on his gun. Lying on his shoulder, he drew the rifle to his cheek and taking steady aim, fired.

The halfbreed reeled in the saddle and toppled off. A yell of surprise came from Powers, which quickly changed to alarm as one of Mason’s bullets nipped his face. He wheeled his horse and was off in a flash. It was Mason’s turn to be in an exultant mood. Running swiftly to where the halfbreed had fallen, he caught Josephine’s horse and sprang into the saddle.

The halfbreed cursed him as he mounted. He paid no attention to the cut-throat’s blasphemies as he urged Fleet to top speed.

“Now, Powers, we’re on something like equal terms,” he gritted to himself.

He began to rapidly overhaul the outlaw. The fugitive was getting desperate, and fired back at him several times, but his aim was poor. His grim pursuer was fast cutting down the distance between them.

Powers had his eyes set on a pass to a canyon just ahead of him and was making frantic efforts to reach it ahead of his pursuer. Mason saw his purpose, and spoke encouraging words to his panting horse.

“Faster, Fleet, faster, old boy, we’re going to save your mistress!”

The noble beast responded with a fresh burst of speed. Powers had reached the pass, and abandoning his horse took to his heels, disappearing through the pass. Mason quickly made the pass, dismounted, and looking to his weapons, plunged after him. He could hear his man from an occasional stone he dislodged. He was climbing the steep side of the gorge. Soon, the faint sounds from the outlaw ceased. Mason was puzzled and afraid the fugitive would give him the slip, but he determined to keep on climbing the steep side of the gorge, while running a chance of getting shot from ambush.

After a laborious climb he reached a small plateau where he beheld a sight that brought a cry of rage from his lips. It was Josephine struggling in the arms of the outlaw!

Mason instantly threw his rifle to his shoulder.

“Hands up! Powers, or I’ll fire,” he called sharply.

Powers looked up startled, and with bloodshot eyes.

“Shoot!” he cried savagely, swinging Josephine in front of him as a shield.

Mason lowered his gun in dismay.

“Why don’t you shoot?” Powers taunted him, still holding the girl in front of him.

“You coward!” Mason flung the words at him, his eyes blazing with fury. “Drop the girl and fight me like a man. I’ll fight you empty handed.” Suiting the action to his words, he threw his rifle and revolver on the ground.

Powers sneered.

“If you value this girl’s life, don’t move from your tracks,” he said, with a brutal oath, holding a knife up to Mason’s horrified eyes. “I’ll kill her with this knife if you don’t leave your guns here. Go back down the gorge and give me thirty minutes’ start and you can save her life. I am going to the coast with her and we’ll get married.”

“Powers, you’re crazy,” Mason answered to gain time. “If you harm that girl, I’ll hound you to your grave.”

Josephine had given a cry of delight when Mason first had borne down on Powers. Now, she had ceased struggling and was watching Mason with imploring eyes.

Powers showed signs of uneasiness. He was in fear his other pursuers would show up any minute.

“Come, give me thirty minutes’ start or the girl dies!” he threatened.

Great beads of sweat started on Mason’s forehead. He had about made up his mind to obey the fiend’s demand and take a chance of rescuing the girl later, when the sharp crack of a rifle broke the awful stillness, followed by a yell from above them.

Powers clapped his hand to his side and pitched forward on his face. Mason looked up to see where the yell and shot had come from, and saw Scotty standing on a huge boulder holding a smoking rifle in his hands and waving his hat at them. The girl stood looking down at Powers as though in a daze.

Mason leaped quickly to her side.

“Oh, Jack,” Josephine cried, her eyes swimming with tears, and collapsed in his arms.

CHAPTER VIII – THE MEXICAN ESCAPES

Mason’s heart beat violently as he held the dead weight of the girl in his arms. Tenderly he laid her down and hastily made a pillow of his coat to support her head. There was a spring close by and he filled his hat with the cool water and bathed her temples. His efforts were rewarded by a flutter of her eyelids just as Scotty came up and joined them. With a little gasp the girl rose weakly to her feet and stared with dilated eyes at Powers. He was lying on the ground with both hands clutched to his side and groaning.

“Is he dying?” The girl motioned the question to them with dry lips.

“He’s turned his last trick,” Scotty answered, grimly. “The bullet struck him in a vital spot. I had him covered for over five minutes, but didn’t dare fire for fear of hitting you.”

Josephine gave him a grateful look.

“I want to thank you both for saving my life,” she said in a voice deep with emotion.

Scotty mumbled something under his breath and seemed pleased at her praise, while Mason silently pressed her offered hand, his voice too full for words.

“Come, take me home,” she requested with a shudder, after glancing again at Powers.

The outlaw breathed his last just as they were taking their departure. They planned to send Bud and his men back to look after the removal of his body.

“Powers got his just desert,” was Scotty’s comment, as they made their way down the gorge.

Josephine gradually threw off the feeling of depression which had seized her. When they reached the trail leading out of the gorge, she saw her own favorite horse, Fleet. He was quietly grazing where Mason had left him. With a glad cry the girl ran up to him, and throwing her arms around his neck gave him a regular bear hug.

Fleet seemed equally pleased to see his mistress and voiced his appreciation with a low whinny of delight. Scotty insisted on having Mason ride his horse while the Scot rode the horse that Josephine had ridden at the time of her capture by the outlaws.

The girl was in high spirits again by this time, and lightly springing into the saddle started Fleet towards home. She rode slowly while she related her experiences with the outlaws from the time of her capture.

Scotty, in turn, explained how he came to arrive in time to put an end to the outlaw’s career.

He had miscalculated his horse’s speed and in making a wide detour had got far in the outlaw’s rear. Hearing only faint sounds of firing he determined to search for Josephine while waiting for the cowboys to come up. He had left his horse at the bottom of a deep gorge and started to climb a trail that led to a high plateau where he hoped to get a better view of the locality. He had made the summit and climbed up on a huge boulder when his startled eyes took in the scene already described.

“My finger itched when I drew down on that cutthroat, but he had you swung in front of him and I had to wait my chance,” Scotty concluded, addressing Josephine.

Mason told Scotty of his part in the chase, and as they were now nearing the spot where the Mexican had fallen the two men rode in advance as there was a chance of the halfbreed showing fight if he had not been wounded seriously. Mason had no idea how badly he had been hurt, for he had paid little attention to him in his mad dash after Powers. Mason pointed out the spot to Scotty where the Mexican had fallen, but they could see no trace of him.

Josephine, who had drawn up to the group while they were discussing the possible escape of the halfbreed, suddenly remarked:

“Here comes Bud with Joe and the rest of the cowboys.”

The cowboys saw them at about the same time and with a rush and roar, bore swiftly down upon them.

There was an excited clamor of voices as the cowboys dismounted and rushed up to Josephine to shake her hand, each man with hat off and expressing his pleasure at her safe return in his own characteristic way.

Mason and Scotty came in for a generous round of hand-shaking and glory from the cowboys when Josephine told them of their part in her rescue.

Mason walked away from the group of cowboys and sought out Bud, to whom Josephine had immediately gone after greeting the cowboys.

Bud had been wounded in the shoulder and the girl was giving him a scolding for not having gone home at once to have his wound attended to. She was adjusting a crude bandage for him and it gave Mason a sharp pang as he realized that she was gravely concerned over Bud’s welfare. Mason briefly outlined the result of his chase to him, and of the possible escape of the halfbreed. Bud listened quietly until he had finished, then his jaws came together with a snap.

“You and Scotty take the girl home, and the men will stay here with me while we clean up and look into the matter of the halfbreed,” he directed Mason.

Josephine uttered a cry of protest.

“You’re not coming with us?” she asked in a pained voice.

“No,” Bud answered with an air of finality. “We have got some work to do here before we go and I want to see it through.”

Mason admired the grit of the man, for he reasoned that he must be suffering tortures from his wound by this time. The girl gave a sigh as Bud stalked off to give orders to his men, and Mason, watching her, felt convinced that she was in love with her father’s foreman. Soon, Scotty rode toward them on a fresh horse and they set a fast pace for home with Josephine leading and having little to say.

They arrived at the ranch in due time, and Mason had to turn his head away at the touching scene, when the girl burst into the house and into her mother’s arms. They were laughing and crying in the same breath, and the father had his arms around the two, wife and daughter.

The next minute the girl was romping with her dog Rover, and calling him endearing names. A tear glistened on the ranch owner’s cheek as he silently wrung Mason’s hand when Josephine told of his part in her rescue.

That night when Bud and his men returned, they reported that they could find no trace of the halfbreed. They believed that the Mexican with his wide knowledge of the mountains had probably escaped to some retreat.

A few days of rest and quiet were indulged in by the men who had followed the trail of the outlaws so determinedly.

One fine morning, Mason, who had found a shady spot on the porch and had lazily stretched himself out for a nap, found his plans rudely shattered by the mistress of the ranch herself. She came running out of the house and stood surveying him with an air of severity.

“I would like to know, Sir Jack, if you are in the habit of breaking your promises,” she demanded, trying to keep her look of severity while pointing an accusing finger at him.

Mason looked up at her in astonishment. “Why, Josephine, I don’t know what you are driving at,” he answered with a blank look. He thought he had never seen her look as pretty as she did this morning. She stood before him, her eyes fairly dancing with fun.

“Then, Sir, I will refresh your memory,” she began with increasing severity. “Did you or did you not promise me long, long ago to take me for a ride in that fast racing car of yours?”

Mason sprang to his feet.

“What a dunce I’ve been, Josephine,” he exclaimed. “We’ll go for a ride this very morning. What do you say?”

“I’ll say, I’ll go,” she answered with a happy laugh and ran to tell her mother.

Mason backed the trim racer out of the shed and had the motor running smoothly by the time Josephine rejoined him.

“My, but you make a lot of smoke and noise,” she cried, putting her fingers to her ears.

“Just racing the engine a little,” he explained, as the girl bent over to watch him adjust the gas mixture. “Jump in, we’ve picked as fine a morning as you’ll find in these parts,” he added gaily, as he lifted her into the seat with strong arms.

It was an ideal morning with a cool and gentle breeze blowing. Mason let the car out at high speed for several miles, then slowing down a little he turned and looked curiously at the girl beside him. She had not uttered a sound, but sat with parted lips smiling in contentment. Her golden hair blown and tumbled by the wind, and her blue-gray eyes sparkling with the joy of life and health, made her a most bewitching picture.

If she only knew how well he loved her, but with the thought came the image of Anderson who had first claim on her. He gripped the wheel savagely, a frown on his face. The girl was snuggled deep in the cushions.

“Oh, but this ride is fine,” she said in a low voice. Then noticing his frown she added quickly:

“What is the trouble, Sir Jack, didn’t your breakfast set well this morning?”

“Breakfast is the least of my troubles,” he answered, forcing a smile as he slowed the car down to about fifteen miles per hour.

He had much to say to her this morning, and had determined to tell her of his love. Josephine was rearranging her tumbled hair with deft fingers while watching him with an amused smile.

“There,” she said, putting the finishing touches to a rebellious curl. “I hope I look more presentable. You drove like a regular savage, Sir Jack, and you looked like a fiend a minute ago. Now, I can’t see why you should have any troubles, you are getting along fine out here. Perhaps you are worrying about that letter your father wrote to you about Ricker.”

She was regarding him with troubled eyes now, and he thought he detected a tender light in them. He longed to take her in his arms and cover her face with kisses, but crushed the thought out of his mind with a groan.

“Yes, that is one thing that bothers me, and by the way, I received a letter from mother; she and my sister will be out here in a few days,” his voice was steady and sure now.

“Oh, won’t that be grand?” she cried in delight. “I am very anxious to meet your mother and sister, Sir Jack.”

“Sis is a good kid, and I think you will like her. She is about your age, Josephine.”

“Oh, I know I will like your mother and sister just from what you have told me of them. Now, what other troubles have you got, if you can call your mother and sister a trouble?” She was leaning slightly toward him with a half smile mingled with a look of severity on her face.

He shifted uneasily in his seat.

“You have a regular lawyer’s way of pinning a man down to a question,” he said at last.

“Does the truth hurt?”

He had driven the car to one side of the trail and stopped the engine.

“Josephine!” Mason turned and faced her.

“Little girl,” he began and imprisoned both her hands. “It is you that is troubling me. Before I came out here I had been leading a fast life, and had seen bad girls and nice girls, but I never cared for any of them. I know, now, that I love you, Josephine, and I will tell you how I came to know the truth. I admired you from the first time we met, but it took another man to awaken me to the truth; I guess you know who I mean, his name is Anderson and I know you care for him. Please tell me, dear, if I have a chance.”

“I – I – don’t – just know,” Josephine faltered faintly. “I will think it over.”

“You give me a little hope, then?” he cried eagerly. “I won’t bother you about it again to-day, but may I have your permission to tell you how much I love you, some other time?”

“Yes,” she answered gently, “but come, Sir Jack, it’s not nice of you to keep me here all day; we started for Trader’s Post, you know.”

“Really, I had almost forgotten,” he said with a happy boyish laugh, “but we’re nearly there now. Sit tight and I’ll have you there in a jiffy, and then we will take the long road back.”

“But not quite so fast as you drove before, besides you promised to teach me how to drive,” she demurred, smiling at him naïvely.

Mason let the car out at a reasonable road speed and soon the outbuildings of Trader’s Post came into view. A moment later he drove up to the general store where Josephine wished to do some trading.

“This is the place where you rescued the fair Waneda,” she reminded him.

His face reddened.

“I still think the Spanish girl was made an innocent tool by Ricker’s gang and didn’t know what her message contained,” he answered in defence.

Josephine had one foot on the running board and flashed a tantalizing smile up at him.

“See if you can keep out of trouble, Sir Jack, while I am in the store. I will try to be quick,” and with a wave of her hand she disappeared inside.

Mason grinned broadly.

“If she is like most women when they go shopping, I will have some wait,” he mused to himself.

Swinging around in his seat he took to watching the four corners or common, which was all Trader’s Post could boast of.

There were a few people in sight, mostly cowboys, and as he looked, the only hotel in the place came under his observation. Suddenly he sat up stiff and straight, staring hard at the hotel porch. He had made out the figure of MacNutt and he was staggering with locked arms around another cowboy, who was maudlin drunk, and the other cowboy was from Ricker’s ranch!

A low whistle escaped his lips. All his former distrust for this man who called himself MacNutt came back to him with double force. He resolved to denounce MacNutt to the owner of Bar X when he got back to the ranch. He was interrupted in his meditations by Josephine. She came hurrying out of the store with her arms full of bundles and deposited them at his feet with a sigh of relief.

“I didn’t keep you waiting very long, did I?” she asked a little anxiously.

“Yes, I mean no,” he replied absently, still keeping his eyes on the two men.

“What are you staring at?” she questioned.

“Jump in and I will explain to you when we get under way,” he said, starting the car in motion.

“It’s about that man MacNutt,” he confided to her. “While you were in the store I happened to look over to the hotel, and there was MacNutt talking with one of the cowboys from the Ricker ranch. I never quite trusted the fellow from the start, and it looks mighty suspicious to see him mixing with that bunch.”

“It does look peculiar,” Josephine answered gravely. “He knows the Ricker crowd are enemies of my father. I don’t see what MacNutt would want of them.”

“Well, don’t worry your pretty head about it, and I will take the matter up with your father when we get back to the ranch. We are out on a pleasure trip to-day and I am going to teach you how to run this car before we get home.”

“You talk very confidently.”

“Is my confidence misplaced?”

She laughed easily.

“I never met a man like you before.”

“Nor have I ever met a girl like you before,” he returned instantly.

“Oh, come now, you will be trying to make love to me in another minute, and you promised to be good for the rest of the day. What is that thing-ama-jig on the dashboard?”

“That’s the instrument board,” he corrected her, “and what you are pointing at is the speedometer.”

Then he explained the various workings of the instruments to her. They had reached a part of the country that was clear and level for miles, and Mason let the trim racer dart ahead in a fresh burst of speed. Josephine had her eyes glued on the dial indicator and as the hand crept slowly up she saw that they had attained a speed of over fifty miles per hour.

“Slow down,” she managed to gasp, “I can’t talk to you when you drive so fast.”

He obediently slowed the car down.

“I can promise you some exciting times when my friend Roy Purvis gets here,” he said after a long silence.

“Roy Purvis,” she repeated after him, “I never heard you mention that name before.”

“He is an old friend of mine and we used to race together before he went in for aviation. He promised me just before I left New York that he would visit me out here.”

Little did they know what a thrilling part Roy Purvis and his airplane was to play in their future lives.

The girl was deeply interested in what Mason had told her.

“That will be jolly fun,” her eyes were keenly enthusiastic. “I have never seen an airplane, I hope he comes soon.”

Mason nodded.