Heart of the Sunset

rain was heavy enough to drown all other noises. Encountering fresh tracks finally, Dave leaned fro

fancied that he could detect the smell of a wood fire. Almost without a signal from him the mare halted in her tracks until he had satisfied himself. S

ead in that characteristic trick of hers, and simultaneously Dave saw a figure rise out of the grass at his left with rifle leveled. The Ranger remembered afterward the odd foreshortening of the weapon and the crooked twist of the face behind it. With the first jerk of his horse's head his own gun had leaped to his shoulder-he was not conscious of having willed it to do so-and even as he pressed the trigger he beheld a jet of smoke spurt from the muzzle aimed at him. With the kick of his carbine he fel

ngulfed him. He realized that he had ridden her to her death, and at the thought he b

the sodden scene of the ambush; then he was down beside the mare, calling her name h

tesquely huddled figure that had been a cattle thief only a moment before-both he and his assailant had been too close to miss. From the corner of his eye he could see a

ps would never twitch with that clumsy, quivering caress which pleased her master so. One front hoof, washed as clean as agate, w

pposite directions almost at the same moment, to find

an flung himself from the saddle a

le with apprehension. "Mother of God!" breathed the

sing stiffly, whereupon both

nts be p

There was a shot!

the direction of the fa

tered a

he grass, then recoiled and broke in

his eyes. "Is he dead

d!

he fellow was in hell

Pedro; one of Lewis's! Ts

" queried t

f the worst!" chim

t Lewis knew something. The other one got past me, but

I heard but one shot from here, then after an instant my

, but even when he had related the history of the encounter his com

thief had fled, exposing himself only long enough for the old man to take a quick shot in his direction. Ricardo had missed

back to the body of his beloved mare. Ricardo noticed at length that he was crying;

e as a man loves his wife. Who can understand these Gringos?" After a time he approached cau

gently removed Bessie Belle's saddle, br

nd you take-that fellow's. Get a

d y

ollow that man

n the exchange of mounts had been effected and all was r

urned away his face. "Bury her deep, Ricardo, so-the coyotes can't dig her up;

brave man should have. Everything shall be done as you wish; I give you my hand on it." Ricardo reached down and gripped

raised Bessie Belle's head and kissed the lip that had so often explored his palm for sugar. With a m

a running horse are plain in soft ground. Finding wh

hey continued to maintain this course the Ranger became doubly interested. Could it be, he asked himself, that his quarry would have the audacity to ride to the Austin headquarters? If so, his identification promised to become easy, for a man on a sorrel cow-pony was more than likely to

rther on, and was able to trace them far enough to assure himself that his quarry was indeed head

at at this rate darkness would find him far from his goal. Therefore he risked his own interpretation of the rider's intent and pushed on with

ting, for, after the fashion of men cut off from human society, he was subject to insistent fancies. Dave had many times lived over those incidents at the water-hole, and for the life of h

superwoman, and the fact that she was his friend, that something deep within her had answered to him, afforded him a keen satisfaction, the greater, perhaps, because of his surprise that it could be so. Nevertheless, he was uncomfortably aware t

y cold and wet back yonder in the weeping mesquite. He found several cubes of sugar in his pock

fallen her, and that would give them something to talk about. His own escape would interest her, too, a

l in among the irrigated fields. A few moments later when he rode up to the out-buildin

had seen nothing of a sorrel horse or a strange rider, but he had just come in himself.

me questioning he admitted the possibility that he had seen a horse of the description given, but was n

y it belonged to some stranger. Juan could not recollect just where or when

y! He's half-witte

nly. "Do you want to go to jail?" Juan had no such

es

what b

d not n

perhaps?" That wa

rha

is it

ared that he didn't

him until he yelled. "You will make a nice little priso

tment of his underling, but respect for the Rangers w

rider, but knew neither. Mr. Austin and the stranger had arr

ho slunk away rubbing his shoulder. "

ch finding," and Ed Austin himself emerged from t

r. Austin,

s Palmas approached so near that his threatening scowl was v

ing, Law explained in a word

t your man. What d'you want

ing Guzman calves. I trailed him from where he

"I reckon you must be a bad trailer," he laughed. "We've got

He could not imagine why a person of Ed Austin's standing should

he fellow that was branding them with

nd Gonzalez uttered a smothered excl

irons in the fire and the calves necked up

k we know anything abo

man on the s

ned away w

with him," Da

ckly. "How do

boy sa

ou're on the wrong track. The fellow I was with had nothing to do w

Don Ricardo coul

prowling around threatening my help, eh? Trying to frame up a case

ame?" Dave mana

nder him, but there are th

e did you

r since. So you see you're wrong. I presume y

t he was in danger of disregarding the reason for "Young Ed's" incivili

hat you and this Urbina were

kingly. "That's my

hed at his own self-control, though the certainty that Austin was drunk hel

efeat, Ed turned to go. Some tardy sense of duty,

ill show you the way to the kitchen." Then he walked away into

rom his amazement to sa

oy a cup of

d-outs. I reckon I can chew my bridle-reins if I get too

r Ed is a strange man. He is often like this, lately. Y

k I'll ride on to Tad

ead as if apprehensive of the r

of the yard. "By the way," he ventured,

Feria to see about her affairs. She would not permit of th

od night

night,

z walked slowly toward his house

e muttered. "How could

th my own eyes, I saw

ock in the afternoon