Pagina 314 van 439

"I didn't know that, though I knew, of course, he was fearless,"

Arlie said.

"What's that?" Dick drew in his horse sharply, and looked back.

The sound of a rifle shot echoed from hillside to hillside. Like

a streak of light, the girl's pinto flashed past him. He heard

her give a sobbing cry of anguish. Then he saw that Steve was

slipping very slowly from his saddle.

A second shot rang out. The light was beginning to fail, but he

made out a man's figure crouched among the small pines on the

shoulder of Bald Knob. Dick jerked out his revolver as he rode

back, and fired twice. He was quite out of pistol range, but he

wanted the man in ambush to see that help was at hand. He saw

Arlie fling herself from her pony in time to support the Texan

just as he sank to the ground.

"She'll take care of Steve. It's me for that murderer," the young

man thought.