Molly McDonald / A Tale of the Old Frontier

plan for escape. It may have been the gentle pressure of her hand upon his sleeve, but her voice continued to ring in his ears. He had never been a woman's man, nor wa

s present position more keenly than he otherwise might. He had enlisted in the army with no misunderstanding as to what a private's uniform meant. He had never heretofore supposed he regretted any loss in this respect, his nature apparently satisfied with the excitement of active frontier service, yet he vaguely knew there had been times when he longed for companionship with women of the class to which he had once

d did not seem to realize that there were barriers of rank, which under other circumstances must so utterly separate them. She liked him, and frankly told him so, not as she would dismiss an inferior with kindness, but as though he was an equal, as though he was a gentleman. Somehow the very tone of her voice, the clinging touch of her hand, sent the blood pumping through his veins. Somet

on the stage his quick glance had completely visualized their surroundings. He had not appreciated this at the time, but now the topography of the immediate region was unrolled before him in detail; yard by yard it reappeared as though photographed. He saw the widely rutted trail, rounding the bluff at the right a hundred yards away, curving sharply down the slope and then disappearing over the low hill to the left, a slight stream trickling along its base. Below, the short buffalo-grass, sunburned and brittle, ran to the sandy edge of the river,

No, it would never do to attempt that; not with her. Perhaps alone he might scramble up somehow, but with her the feat would be impossible. He dismissed this as hopeless, his memory of their surroundings drifting from point to point aimlessly. He saw the whole barren vista as it last stood revealed under the glow of the sun-the desolate plateau above, stretching away into the dim north, the brown level of the plains, broken only by sharp fissures In the surfac

antry. If they started at once they could never arrive in time to prevent an attack at daybreak. The Indians undoubtedly knew this, realized the utter helplessness of their victims, and were acting accordingly. Otherwise they would never have lighted that fire nor remained on guard. Moreover if the two of them should succeed in stealing

llow. Yet how could the miracle be accomplished? Out from the mists of tortured memory came, as a faint hope, a dim recollection of that narrow gully cutting straight down across the trail, over which the runaway had crashed in full gallop. That surely could not be far back, and was

ioned, startled. "Do you see

but I almost believe I have discovered a means of escape. Do yo

was it when that

ntangled the lines. We could not have travelled a doz

id questioning. "Only I was so confused and frightened I

ng to get us out of here. Anyhow it is the only chance I can figure. If we can creep through t

he man's voice aroused her, bu

we? Won't they be

oo far away for a guard line. The Indians will be lying out here on the open prairie; they will creep as close in as they dare under cover of darkness. I 'll bet there are twenty red snakes now within a hundred feet of us-oh, don't shiver and lose your nerve! They 'll not try to close that gap yet; it's too dangero

r fingers, wondering vaguely at her own calmness. T

k," she said slowly, "although I am

rs left; that ought to be sufficient, but with no darkness

reath, holding her

what-what else can I do? I canno

" he urged, a new trace of tenderness in his lowered voic

face was suddenly uplifted, her eyes

been in such peril before, in such a situation of horror, and I am al

eep your nerve. We are going to take a big chance; we 've got to do it-a si

ry to get away? To

dead men who are going to hurt us. Swing the strap over your shoulder this way, and slip the revolver into the holster. That's right; we'll carry as little as we can, an

ru

mpatiently, "rations; some

ver took chances on having to go hun

e is only one thing more before we leave. We must impress those fellows with th

ard here and you can see what I mean-on the ground. I-I imagined it moved just then." She pointed int

yes on the spot indicated,

at," he whispered softly, "an

th both hands, holding her breath; the Sergeant, the outline of his face silhouetted against the sky, sta