The outlaws had chosen a gully for their ambuscade, but they had made
the mistake of leaving their horses too far away from their place of
concealment. And when they rushed across the stretch of level that
extended from the gully to the draw, half a dozen of them dropped before
they had traveled a quarter of the distance. The others plunged back
into the gully, while the Circle L men yelled exultantly.
As Blackburn had told Shorty, he did not expect to rout or capture the
outlaws; the best he could hope for was that Shorty would get help in
time to head off the cattle before the other outlaws drove them into
Kinney's canon or that he would bring help to the Circle L men in time
to prevent the sanguinary fight which would certainly occur as soon as
the day dawned.
And so Blackburn waited, grimly watchful; though worry began to wrinkle
his face as he noted that the semi-gloom of the starlit night was
lifting, and that a gray streak on the eastern horizon was slowly
broadening.
CHAPTER XXIX
ANTRIM STRIKES
From the doorway of the cabin on the Rabbit Ear, Antrim had watched
Slade and his men ride away. His gaze followed them until they vanished
over the edge of the big plain above the river valley. Then, smiling
crookedly, he turned back into the cabin.
Pages:
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268