Mason of Bar X Ranch

By this time both light and girl had vanished. Tex, who had been watching the corral, gave a snort of disgust.

“I think we made a mistake by not holding the girl up,” he said in a peeved voice to Mason.

“Oh, I think Waneda is too fine a girl to be up to anything crooked,” he answered in her defence.

The lanky cowboy stared hard at him.

“Then you don’t know the breed,” he said with a drawl. “Spanish or Mexican, all are greasers to me. Ain’t getting sweet on her be you? I remember now, that you saved her from the halfbreed one day.”

Mason’s face reddened.

“You jump at conclusions, Tex,” he said sharply. “No offense meant, Jack,” he returned earnestly, “only I wish we had stopped the girl.”

Nothing more was said between them, and they kept silent watch until the first streak of dawn appeared. Big Joe gave the recall signal. When the cowboys had assembled he gave the order to mount and make a quick trip home. The big fellow rode with Mason.

“Jack, I am anxious to hear if Bud had any luck,” he confided to him as they pushed their horses into a fast run.

Mason nodded.

“We’ve just got to find Josephine to-day if Bud hasn’t already found her,” he answered grimly.

They reached Bar X ranch at noontime by hard riding. There they heard good news, the first good news since Josephine’s disappearance. The ranch owner called Big Joe and Mason to the house immediately on their arrival.

“The Spanish girl from Ricker’s came here with a message for Mason this morning,” he burst out excitedly before they got fairly within hearing distance. “I called Bud and he told her Mason was away. She seemed disappointed at the news, but after saying she would leave the message in Bud’s hands, she left. It was addressed to Mr. Mason. After waiting a reasonable length of time, for he didn’t know when you were coming home, Bud opened the message. Well, he almost jumped out of his boots when he read it. The message told him where to find Josephine and how to capture her abductors. They have been gone about an hour now,” he concluded.

“Yes,” cut in his wife, beaming on Mason, “it seems according to the message that this Spanish girl wants to repay Mr. Mason for his kindness to her when she was attacked by the halfbreed. She got hold of information of the place where Josephine is held a captive, and hastened here at once with the information.”

“Sounds reasonable,” commented Big Joe.

“Wish we had stopped her now,” he added to Mason.

Josephine’s mother was almost beside herself with joy at the thought of the safe recovery of her daughter.

“Her dog Rover whined around the house for her,” the ranch owner was saying, “but soon he disappeared and hasn’t showed up since.”

“Where did the message direct them to go and find her?” Big Joe questioned. “They may need help.”

“Devil’s Gap,” the ranch owner answered.

“Devil’s Gap,” Big Joe repeated in wonder. “Why, we were through there three times yesterday, wasn’t we, Jack?”

“There’s something wrong about this,” Mason declared, his brows knitting.

“Bud said that the message read about Josephine’ captors moving about from place to place,” ranch owner explained.

Big Joe was getting impatient.

“Come on, Jack. We’ll go and talk it over with the boys,” he said, turning on his heel with an impatient frown.

Mason followed him. At the bunkhouse they made the cowboys acquainted with this new phase of the hunt.

“I told you so.” Tex cried in a matter-of-fact tone after Big Joe had finished speaking. “We had ought to have held the girl up as I wanted to. Somebody broke through our line last night, and the girl left the ranch soon after I heard that scuffling noise. We don’t know if that message is crooked or not.”

Big Joe was plainly impressed by Tex’s serious manner. Mason was leaning against the bunkhouse door listening wearily to their talk.

“I think we had better get together and make for the Gap. Bud may need help, Joe,” he said from the doorway.

Suddenly he straightened up and looked keenly down the trail. His eyes had caught sight of an object moving slowly towards the bunkhouse.

“Josephine’s dog,” he said aloud.

“What did you say, Jack?” Big Joe called from within.

“Josephine’s dog is coming down the trail and is limping badly,” he answered excitedly.

“Limping, you say, Jack?” Big Joe asked as he came out of the bunkhouse, the cowboys at his back.

“Yes,” Mason answered, “he must have got hurt some way.”

“Come here, old fellow,” he called, for the dog was almost up to them now.

The dog gave a whine of delight as he limped up to Mason and crouched at his feet.

“Poor fellow, his foot is bleeding,” he said as he bent over to examine the injured member. “Why, what’s this?” His eye had caught sight of something white tied to the dog’s collar.

He hastily unfastened the white object and was holding it up for the others to see, when a piece of paper fell to the ground.

“Josephine’s handkerchief and a note!” he cried, aghast, staring hard at the white missive.

Quickly snatching it up he read its contents.

“For God’s sake, boys,” he cried, his face blanching white.

“This note is from Josephine herself. She fastened it to Rover’s collar and sent him home. That message the Spanish girl brought is a decoy, and is leading Bud and his men into an ambush!”

Exclamations of fury broke from the men at his words. Big Joe instantly began giving orders to the cowboys after Mason had read the contents of the note to them.

“Into your saddles, boys,” the big cowboy thundered, his face pale and resolute. “I know a short cut to the Gap, and we’ll be in at the death if we can’t head Bud off. Ride, men, as you never rode before.”

The cowboys were in their saddles in a twinkling, and bending low on their horses’ necks they rode like demons in a race against odds.

Mason wanted to get his automobile out and join in the race against death, but Big Joe wouldn’t listen to his plan.

“It wouldn’t be of any use to us the way we are going into the mountains,” he said, gritting his teeth.

Pomp, the dusky cook, had been dispatched to the house with the note so the ranch owner would know why they had left in such a hurry. Scotty, who had the fastest horse among the cowboys, was drawing gradually away from them.

“Take the short cut, Scotty,” Big Joe ordered him. “When you make the Gap if you hear heavy firing, don’t join Bud, but start blazing away at the halfbreed’s gang and draw their fire. When we get there we’ll open fire on them from a different direction and hem them in if we ain’t too late. Do you get me, Scotty?” he yelled after him.