Hollis Post-Herald. (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 24, 1921 Page: 2 of 8
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THE HOLLIS POSt-HERALD
COMRADES
PERIL
| CHAPTER XIII—Continued.
I -14~
The harden grew perceptibly heav-
ier as they toiled upward, and several
times they put Macklln down, while
they flung themselves on the rocks to
regain breath for a fresh effort. The
Utitude began to affect Olga. her henrt
beating rapidly from exertion, but she
atruggled on, determined not to yield.
6helby, noting the whiteness of her
face, insisted on frequent periods of
rest, ao that they must have been more
than an hour In attaining the rock
platform abutting on the cave. Get-
ting Macklin's helpless body over that
last high stone rampart proved to be
the most difficult task of all, and was
only accomplished by sheer strength.
Shelby, hanging downward, with limbs
braced against the rock, and slowiy
drawing the Inert body up by the mus-
cles of his arms, assisted to some ex-
tent by the efforts of the girl beneath.
Once safely behind the cover of the
•tone parapet, they lay panting with
exhaustion.
However this was a bodily weari-
ness soon ministered unto. Shelby,
refusing to let Olga attempt any more,
drew the wounded man back Into the
greater security of the cave, and made
blm as comfortable as possible. Tfien,
although still breathing heavily him-
self, he hastily gathered together what
food remained from his store of the
day before, and took this out to share
with her. They sat in the open
Just outside the narrow entrance to
the cave, where, by lifting their heads,
they could look over the parapet info
the deep chasm, of the valley. It
had begun to snow, In large, swirling
flakes, thickly enough to blot out com-
pletely the scene beneath, leaving
them perched high above Its vortex,
as though they lived in another world.
The white curtain gave them a sense
of Isolation, of security, which helped
Immeasurably to restore their courage.
They were beyond all probability of
pursuit, free from immediate peril;
shut off from discovery. All that re-
mained was to wait patiently the re-
turn of Pancha with help. The wind
kept the platform free from snow,
burling It down Into the deep gorge,
powdering the trail they had Just trav-
eled, and thus completely obliterating
any signs of their passage. Tet the
gray gloom weighed heavily on the
girl.
"flow long will It take her?" she
asked.
"Pancha? Oh, she can hardly get
back before late tonight. It Is a hurd
ride, even if she meets with no acci-
dent."
"You do not think she will attempt
to return alone?"
"Not if she brings the doctor. I
said nothing, for I did not believe It
necessary. He will never venture Into
this Hole without an escort, and a
reasonably strong one. I am hoping
she encounters some party out scout-
ing which will make a trip to Ger-
lasche unnecessary. Since the fight
out yonder, troops must be searching
the Bad Lands for renegade Indinns.
They would only be too glad to dis-
cover some guide who would lead
them here."
"But surely they know of this
place?"
"They know of It; yes, In a way.
They possess full Information as to Its
existence. But to get in here is quite
another matter. Without a competent
guide they might hunt for weeks and.
If they did discover the trail through
some accident, the game would be
gone. Only a sudden dash will ever
round that outfit up: they will have to
be hit front and rear, and with no
small force
He looked out into the cloud of
mow. seeking vainly to penetrate the
curtain.
"The I.ord only knows how many
savage devils there are down there
now," he said soberly. "I don't think
there was much of a bunch when I
first came In—mostly white outlaws,
cattle thieves and scum of that kind;
but since the fight Indians have been
coming, a slew of 'em, young bucks
who got away. They'll be desperate
and crazed. What was that 7 That
noise?"
"It came from the cave. Ferhaps it
was Macklln."
They were both upon their feet,
startled by the strange sound. Shelby
bent down and crept in through the
entrance.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Story of a Plot
it was Macklln. burning with fever,
delirious, yet partially conscious once
more, uttering sounds which could
hardly be distinguished as words, and
struggling vainly to lift his body into
an upright position. Through the dusk
of the place he stared dully Into Shel-
by's face, at first without recognition;
then his eyes exhibited terror and be
endeavored to wrench away, cowering
{tack against the rock wall, as though
he beheld a ghost. The horror he felt
gave volume to his voice.
"Good God!" he shrieked. "Am I
dead? Is this hell?"
'No, Kid," and Shelby held him firm-
ly, his tone full of sympathy, "every-
thing is all right. Lie still and don't
worry."
'But who the h—1 are you? Ain't
you Tom Shelby?" be laughed wildly.
"Lord, no; he's dead 1"
"That Is where you are wrong, my
boy. I'm Shelby all right, but a long
ways from being dead."
"You, Shelby? Didn't he get you?"
"Well, yes, he got me, but not quite
strong enough. I failed to stay got
You lie down, and be still. Here, take
a drink of this."
The fellow did as he was ordered,
his hands shaking so that Shelby had
to hold the bottle to his lips. Even as
he drank greedily, his eyes never de-
serted the other's face; until the girl,
creeping silently up behind, came also
Into his range of vision. Her presence
seemed to give him a sense of reality.
"Say, this Is too much for me," he
said huskily, but lying back quiet, "the
two of yer here. Just what's happened
enyhow? It was Pancha, wasn't it
who hauled me out o' that cabin. Well,
where's Pancha? an' what the h—1 is
this place I'm In?"
"Let me tell him, Tom," broke in Ol-
ga, pressing forward, and lifting his
head into her lap. "He will believe me,
and he Is afraid of you yet. You can
hear what I say, Mr. Macklln?"
He nodded, gasping, his eyes on her
face.
"Then listen closely. It will only
take a moment to explain. You were
shot—"
"Yes, yes," he stuttered, "I know;
she did It."
"Oh, you saw, then, who fired. It
was all a mistake, and she was so
sorry. The bullet was meant for In-
dian Joe Laud, but you stepped In the
way."
"Pancha tried to kill Laud?"
"Yes; It was all on account of me.
You—you carried me off because you
believed I had the right to some mon-
ey, didn't you?"
His eyes brightened, but still with
the dull glow of fever In them.
"Sure; you got it comln', too. But
what's that got to do with Joe Laud?
He wasn't noway hooked up on this
game."
"Oh, yes, he was. Ill explain all
that. You told something to a man
named Matt Hanley once."
"Me! maybe I did, when we was
drunk tergether over at Gerlasche.
I'd Just found out 'bout It then. But
he never remembered—Hanley didn't."
"Yes, he did, and he kept watch on
you ever since; he and a fellow, Sla-
gin. They were somewhere up the val-
ley the night you brought me In here,
and they knew what was up. They
followed, meaning to get you put out
of the way somehow, s® they could get
hold of me themselves. I guess they
didn't have brains enough to make it.
I don't know exactly what happened,
but after Slagln got killed—"
"H—1 was that wbat that guy came
to the cabin for?"
"We suppose so; at least that was
what caused Hanley to tell the story
to Indian Joe Laud, and get him to
take a hand. They tried to get the
Mexican. Pancha's brother, to help
them, but something brought on a
quarrel, and Laud killfd him. An In-
dian boy told F'rrtA, and she went
crazy over you. That was what
brought her to the canln."
"An' that oi' devil come there to
gf me. did he7"
"Yes. but first he tried to learn all
he could; things Hanley didn't know,
so he could miike the Job worth while.
Then Pancha tried to shoot him, and
got you."
He struggled to speak.
"Say, lift me up a little more. That's
It; something seems to fill up In my
throat You sure she didn't heur noth-
in' I said there—'bout leavin' her, an'
marryin' you?" &
"1 know she didn't."
"Lord, I'm sure glad o' that. I sorter
thought that was what she plugged me
for; that wouhl be the Mex of it;
they're h—1 on that sort o" thing. I like
her, she's a good scout Why ain't
she here? Where Is she now?"
"She has gone for a doctor; went
down Into the Hole to get a horse to
ride."
"Where Is she goln'?"
"Gerlasche; there's an army sur-
geon there."
"Yes. I know," wearily, "an* where
you got me?"
"Iu a small cave part way np the
bluff."
"Sure, Eagle's cave. Pancha took
me up yere onct an' showed It to me.
An' you two lugged me all that ways?"
"Yes."
He struggled to force back the ob-
struction In his throat.
"Well, what did you do that for?"
he asked almost savagely. "That's
what I don't get through my not 1
lint done nuthln' to make either one
of yer decent ter me. 1 thought Shelby
here was deader'n a doornail, an' I
reckon yon know what I was almln'
ter do with you. There ain't no use
beatin' about the bush. So now, what'd
yer do It for?"
Shelby's band reached Mt and
touched that of nls wife.
"Well, Kid, I'll tell yon." he said
frankly, **we did it for Pancha."
Macklln grinned grimly, exposing
ftls teeth.
"I reckoned that was "boot the
truth," he said recklessly. "But I'll
tell yer one thing—Pancha's never
goln' ter get back before I slide out
I got what's comln' to me, an' there
ain't no doc ever goln' ter hold me
back from goln'—that's straight, ol'
man."
"I'm not so sure, Kid."
"Well, I am. Lord, a man gen-
erally knows when he's got his dose,
I reckon; an' It ain't goln' ter do no-
body no good fer me ter keep my llp$
shut Say, lady, you let your man put
his shoulder back o' me, an' hoist me
up higher. There, now maybe I can
get this thing off my chest."
"You want to explain something?"
"Sure; didn't I tell you. I ain't
goln' ter leave this game wide open
fer Indian Joe to cash In on. You been
decent to me, an' I'll play white as 1
can."
He spoke slow, hesitatingly, as
though his mind wandered, stopping
every moment or two for breath. Once
he coughed sharply, an expression of
pain on his face, but he went grimly
on.
"I'd been on considerable of a bat
down there, an' was soberln' up. You
know the Custer house?"
"Yes; the old hotel."
"Well, It ain't no palace; you could
throw a cat through them partitions
in places; an' I woke up to hear a
couple o' guys talkln' in the next room.
Furst I didn't care what they was say-
In', an' then I begun to take an inter-
est. Seems one of 'em was a lawyer
from Kansas City, or Omaha; an' the
other gazabo was a rlctfi guy from
down East, who was huntln' a niece
who had disappeared out In this coun
try—the name was Churchill—•"
"Is your name Churchill?"
"Mine! Not In a thousand years.
That was all a lie. Well, as near as
I could get hold of the story, this yere
girl's mother was nursln' In Richmond
durin' the war, an' fell In love with a
Yank nn' married him. She never
know'd she was no heiress, an' didn't
dare go heme 'cause she'd married a
Yank. Her people didn't get on to it
for a long while, an' then, I reckon,
they didn't get the story straight
Maybe they didn't try very hard—
anyhow she'd dropped plum outer
sight. Later they found out somehow
that she'd married a regular army offi-
cer, named Carlyn, an' gone West with
blm. I dunuo just what delayed 'em
after that but afore they got these
folks located the woman died, leavin'
a little girl, an' her husband—he was
a colonel by that time—put her Into a
Catholic school. Meanwhile, the colo-
nel got on to some extent, an' began
to make Inquiries down East; but be-
fore he accomplished much, he got
mixed up one night in a street fight
down In Sheridan, an' would bave
been killed If It hadn't been for a ser-
geant he had with him named Cal-
kins. He got him home alive, but he
croaked later. That left the kid alone
at school, but thesetfolks didn't know
where."
"It was In St. Louis."
"Sure, they found out later, but by
that time she'd gone. This yere old
sergeant. Calkins, had come with a
"I Got What's Comin' to Me."
power of attorney, or something, an'
got her out. That's where I furst be-
gun to get real Interested—after this
fellow Calkins got Into the game. I'll
tell yer why I got It Into my nut that
maybe I'd hit a hot trail, where. It It
panned out all right there might be
some boodle in It for me. I run steers
for the XI. about four months once,
and we used 'to drive Into Ponca to
blow ourselves. 1 knowed there was
an ol' fellow hangin' 'round there, in
McCarthy's place mostly, a sorter tin-
horn sport, they called 01' Dad Calk-
ins; an' I'd heard somewhere he had
a girl llvln* with him 'bout seventeen,
or so. Somehow I got to mullln' over
this, an' finally decided to see what
kind of a lead Td struck. It looked
like easy money, If she was the girl,
an' didn't haow yet what was up."
"You went to Ponca for that pur-
poser
'Just prospectln* like. Them othet
two guys went off somewhere else, an'
so I bad easy, sallln*. I couldn't get
next the girl at all. I reckon she
never left the shack; but I got s look
at her, an' It wasn't no trouble to pick
up an acquaintance with Old Dad. He
was tight-mouthed, though, drunk or
gober, an' finallly I had to throw the
fear of God Into him to make him
spill."
"You mean yon threatened him?"
"Yep I I never supposed It would
shake the guts out of him the way It
did, though. The old fool went plum
batty when I told him what I knowed.
He thought I was after him—a detec-
tive, or something—an' he Just crum-
bled up, without makln' no fight at all.
I reckon he'd been hldln' her so long,
he Just naturally got It Into his nut
he was guilty of some crime. Enyhow,
the next thing I knowed, he'd gone out
back of the dance hall an' shot him-
self."
He stopped, shaken by a paroxysm
of coughing. Shelby held him tightly,
and finally this passed away, the man
resting weakly on his arms, but with
mind evidently wandering.
"I used to talk all right," he whis-
pered hoarsely, gasping for breath,
"an' I could warble some, too. Say,
did you ever hear me sing?"
"Yes, Kid, I've heard you."
"Sure, you did. Everybody said I
had a wonderful voice. Trouble with
me Is I never ain't had no show. If
I could'er got started In opera, I'd
never been out yere getting plugged
by no Mex woman. It's hell, ain't It?
But, say; where was I, enyhow?"
"You Just explained why Calkins
killed himself."
"Oh, yes, that's It. Well, o' course
I felt bad abont the ol' man, but it
wasn't no fault o' mine. Then It
seemed like his shufflin' off put the
cards right in my hands. It sure
proved she was the girl an' now she
was left plum alone, It didn't look no
awful hard Job for me to shine up an'
marry her, before enybody else got
wise. Say, I had it all figured out when
you an' Dan McCarthy horned In on
that fool stunt of yours, an' knocked
my game galley-west. Then I cottoned
onto that Job with you. I didn't aim
to stay out there punchin' steers, bnt
Just thought I'd see how things turned
out. I sorter figured it this way—the
girl she didn't care nothin' for you;
she just married yer ter get out er
there, an' hav' some place ter live; an'
maybe, out there on the Cottonwood, I
could make love to her, an' some day
we'd skip out together. That's as far
as I went at furst an' goln' out over
them prairies, I got it into my head
that she didn't have no objection" to a
little flirtation. I was feelln' quite
foxy about it when we got to the
ranch."
The lashes drooped low over Olga's
eyes, and her cheeks burned.
"Then I reckon the devil must er
took charge o' the game, fer the min-
ute I was left alone out there I run
Into a bunch o' Indian cattle thieves.
I knew two of 'em for they were out
of the Hole here, an' all at onct. It
struck me I might Just as well have
the job over with- I took It she didn't
care about you, an' that a little strong
arm stuff would pan out all right. It
works with most women. I didn't
have no notion then of bumping you
off, Shelby, but the buck who took that
job cracked you good an' hard. Well,
that makes the whole story, don't It?"
He shut his eyes, his head falling
back in complete exhaustion. Only his
labored breathing proved that Mack-
lln still lived. Olga held him motion-
less In her lap, bending over and soft-
ly smoothing back his hair with one
hand. Shelby left them there, creep-
ing out through the entrance onto the
rock platform without
It had ceased snowing, but enough
had fallen to cover the bluff with a
white mantle, obliterating the trail,
and leaving the valley below covered.
The sky arched over all dull and gray.
.Shelby hung out over the ledge,
watchfully studying the view out-
spread beneath. It was a peaceful
scene enough, with scarcely a moving
! fiimre visible. He could hardly real-
; ize that this, was the haunt of out-
i laws, where only a few hours before
i he had been desperately struggling for
j life. The daylight revealed no sign
1 of disorder or pursuit, the only re-
minder of what had occurred being
the blackened ruins of the burned
j cabin almost directly below. "Yet
I this was deserted and the snow
i about appeared untrampled. The
' sivrht gave him hope, yet he felt
strangely depressed and unnerved.
' The remembrance of the scene Just
j witnessed could not be cast off.
He had no reason to question the
truth of that occasion and it had
I impressed him strongly. Macklln was
J evidently dying; was already beyond
help. Any breath might prove to be
his last, and It was even then too late
for1 any doctor to save him. But would
Pr.ncha return In time to assist them?
Wnuld she bring sufficient help with
her? In spite of the ominous quiet
below he felt no faith that Indian Joe
would so easily abandon their trail.
He was not that kind. Something
would assuredly arouse his suspicion
that they had not perished In the
flames. Indeed, that could be easily
ascertained by a search of the debris,
and the perturbed ranchman was far
from being satisfied that Pancha
alone knew of this secret trail. Why.
Macklln stated he had himself been up
as far as the cave; and it was scarcely
likely it had been entirely overlooked
so long by these others—the Indians
certainly must have scoured every
inch of these bluffs at one time or an-
other. Something, for the moment
niuy have drawn a?id« suspicions of
his escape, yet tfeoaa devil* would
track him down. lb* convlctloa
haunted him.
He drew back Just In time. There
wes the sharp crark of a rifle; a bul-
let chipped the outer edge of the para
pet and a little puff of smoke curled
up away to the left and vanished
against the leaden sky. Shelby fell
flat on bis face and crept backward,
seeking Instinctively the protection of
an overhanging rock, bis eyes instant-
ly marking thai vogue spiral of
He had guessed right jn^lftn cunning
had already learne<J ihe truth and hid
found means of approach unknown
even to the Mexican girl. Somewhere
In the security of those rocks, keen
eyes were watching every movement
savagely eager to end all by some well-
directed shot Yet with the chug of
the bullet all depression left him. He
knew now what he bad to face; that
narrow platform must be defended, for
hours probably, revolvers pitted
against rifles; himself alone against
an unknown number of assailants. It
Mrs. nancy sharp, of
Los Angeles, who says she
received the greatest surprise of
her life when Tanlac completely
restored her health after she had
almost lost hope of ever getting
well. Suffered twelve years.
, ;vv,x
r-;S
"Stay Back!" He Ordered Sternly.
meant caution as well as bravery, tha
quick wit of a white man outgeneral-
ing savage treachery. Even as' ha
rolled over, so as to cautiously lift his
head, the "45" was Jerked from Its
holster and rested ready In his band.
He heard Olga at the cave entrance.
"Stay back 1" he ordered sternly.
"Don't venture out here yet"
"But what is it? I heard a shot."
"Yes; they have found us all right
Hand me another gun; I may need ft
Did Macklin have one?"
"Yes; It Is still at his belt"
"Get It, and with whatever cart-
ridges he may have. This Is going to
be a fight at short range. "How is the
fellow?"
"I—I am sure he must be dying.
Tom," she said breathlessly. "He
scarcely breathes any more. Isn't there
any way I can help?"
"Only by doing what I asked; get
his gun. This is bound to be some
fight. I don't know how many are out
there; the bird who shot at me is be-
hind that rock yonder; he's Indian all
right; you can glimpse his scalplock
just over the edge. If he would only
shove his nut up about half an Inch
more I'd show him that a '45' ain't
such a bad weapon, when you know
how to use It."
*He advanced, his revolver barrel
across the top, and lay motionless,
sighting along the smooth steel.
"Now, boy, you do that again. Can't
make out exactly where I have gone,
can you? Well, you are going to find
out In about a minute." His grip
tightened. "Ah! there you are!"
His finger pressed the trigger, send-
ing forth a spurt of flame. A brawny
red arm was flung up, the hand grip-
ping at the rock for support; then a
rifle went crashing down into the
chasm and the next instant an Indian
whirled head downward, the body
striking a Darrow ledge and*bouncing
off Into space. Three shots answered
the crack of the revolver, so swiftly as
to see®i echoes, the bullets. striking
the solid rock wall, one, crushed out of
all shape, dropping directly in front
of Olga, crouching in the entrance.
Shelby laughed, but with eyes stern
and watchful.
"Three more located," he said pleas-
antly. "Seem to have us pretty well
trapped. I'd like to know how they
got up here without using the trail. I
thought you were goin' after that ex-
tra gun?"
"I am, Tom, but I can't stay in
there. I want to be out here with
you."
"Why I ain't In a mite o' danger,
little g'ri. Those reds can't shoot
through this rock. All I got to do Is
He here quiet an' take 'em on the
Jump."
"But suppose they rush In on you?"
"It don't hardly look reasonable.
Still, o' course, they might try It. if
they got a white leader. Indians never
would themselves; it's liable to cosf
too heavy."
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
"King's Tobacco Pipe."
This Is a popular nickname for a
peculiarly shaped kiln or furnace In
the northeast ccrner of the tobacco
warehouse belonging to the London
docks. Here contraband goods, such
as tobacco, cigars nnd tea, which had
been smuggled In, were burned. Seized
and unclaimed goods are now sold at
periodical sales, or distributed among
public institutions, bnt damaged and
worthless goods are still baraad.
"After seeing the wonderful result*
my husband obtained from Tanlac I
began tuklng the medicine myself, and
now we both agree that it is the
grandest medicine on earth," said Mrs.
Nancy Sharp, a prominent and highly:
esteemed resident of Los Angeles^
Calif., living at 921 Camulus street,
whose husband is proprietor of the
Merchants' Express Co.
"During the twelve years that I
suffered with Indigestion and stomach
trouble I tried nearly every medicine
I heard about, but nothing helped me
and I lost faith in everything. So,
my wonderful restoration to health
has been the greatest surprise of my;
life.
"I began to feel an Improvement on
finishing my second bottle of Tanlac,.
and now after taking six bottles 1 am
like a new woman: I have a splendid
appetite, eat three hearty meals a day,
enjoy them thoroughly and am never
troubled In the least with Indigestion
or any other disagreeable after ef-
fects.
"Before taking Tanlac most every-
thing I ate caused my stomach to
rebel and I would suffer for hours,
afterwards. I was so dreadfully
nervous that many nights I never
closed my eyes In sleep, but now I
am not the least nervous, and I sleep
like a child. My strength has been
wonderfully increased, and I hav®
much more energy.
"I just wish it was so everybody
troubled like I was knew about thia
wonderful medicine."
Tanlac Is sold by leading drugglsta
everywhere.—Adv.
Fortune smiles on some people and
laughs at many.
ASPIRIN
Name "Bayer" on Genuine
Warning! Unless you see the nam®
"Bayer" on package or on tablets yoa
are not getting genuine Aspirin pre-
scribed by physicians for twenty-one
years and proved safe by millions.
Take Aspirin only as told In the Bayer
package for Colds, Headache, Neural-
gia, Rheumatism, Earache, Toothache,
Lumbago and for Pain. Handy tin
boxes of twelve Bayer Tablets of As-
pirin cost few cents. Druggists also-
sell larger packuges. Aspirin is th©
trade mark of Bayer Manufacture of
Monoaceticacidester of Sallcycacid.—
Adv.
A hard drinker naturally draws the
line at soft drinks.
■- J
50good cigarettes
for 10c from
sack of
one sa
GENUINE
1+
Bull'
DURHAM
TOBACCO
w. N. U., Oklahoma City, No. 1J-t92V
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White, J. Warren. Hollis Post-Herald. (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 24, 1921, newspaper, March 24, 1921; Hollis, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc185602/m1/2/: accessed April 24, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.