Outlaws from Afar by Max Brand

Author:Max Brand [Max Brand ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781428508972
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

Chapter Nine

He still had his grip on a rough ledge of the stone that closed the trap when a strong pull from above almost tore the rock away from him. Instinctively he resisted, and heard the voice of McGregor immediately above him, exclaiming in fear and astonishment.

McGregor, who could shoot as though a wizard were controlling the guns. A second pull came, but this time the iron strength of Barney secured the stone slab as firmly as mortar.

After that, he waited for a fresh attempt. He wondered if he should retreat down the passage. He wondered if he should suddenly strive to force his way through into the cabin, which, according to Peary, stood above?

Twice, at considerable intervals, he pushed up the stone a mere trifle. The first time, he heard the familiar voice of Sheriff Elder speaking not far away. Then tramplings came above him. Some small particles of stone showered down into his face. But that was all. No one again attempted to lift the stone, until at last, eaten with impatience, he pushed it up once more. There was no sound for the moment. Then he heard retreating footfalls, retreating voices. Were they leaving, the girl and the two men?

He lifted the stone still farther, and crawled out into a small storage shed surrounded with shelves and bins, and all the shelves heaped full of tinned goods, and every manner of supply. The earthy smell of potatoes he made out, and the sharpness of onions.

And now he heard a voice that was hardly out of his ears, it was so recent a memory—it was the sound of Doc Adler’s speech, as the old man said, “All right, Mack. It’s all clear. They’ve gone over the edge of the mesa, the sheriff and all of ‘em.”

Hinges creaked in the upper part of the next room.

“Sure he won’t come back?” asked McGregor.

“I dunno,” said Adler. “Not today, I guess. Him findin’ me here, it’s spoiled things for me. I’ve gotta move, after this, and where’ll I find as snug a hole as this to lie up in? But I dunno. It was pretty nigh worth a move…hoodwinkin’ the sheriff like that!”

“He might have taken you with him,” said McGregor, his voice descending. “Come on, Sue. Come on down, will you?”

“I’m comin’,” said the voice for which Barney waited most of all. And he set his teeth, hearing it now. For he wanted to rush blindly in on them all, no matter who might be there, and rush off with Sue. He had to fight against that insane impulse.

“How’d the dust come into the face of that fellow, Justis?” asked Adler.

“I poured some through a crack right over his head,” said McGregor.

Adler laughed heartily. “You got brains, is what you got, Mack,” he said.

Barney leveled his revolver at the open door between the shed and the main body of the cabin, and then he crept closer.

“Come along, Sue,” said McGregor.

“I’ll stay in here, Mack,” she said. “I’m sick of the faces of you two.

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