Part 61 (1/2)

Again he heard a sound frohtened gasp of a worowl, in fair iain the gasp, and a low: ”Go away!” in liquid felish!+

Billy uttered a low: ”S-s-sh!+” and tiptoed closer Extending his hands they presently came in contact with a human body which shrank from him with another s closer

A hand reached out through the darkness, found him, and closed upon his sleeve

”Who are you?” asked a low voice

”Billy,” he replied ”Are you alone in here?”

”No, an old woirl, and at the same ti scurried past theainst the path of lesser darkness which oes!” cried Barbara ”She heard you and she has gone for help”

”Then co her to her feet; but they had scarce crossed half the distance to the doorhen the cries of the old wo aroused

Billy thrust a revolver into Barbara's hand ”We gotta irl,” he said ”But you'd better die than be here alone”

As they e fro in Pi Barbara in front of hiht shi+eld her body with his own, turned directly out of the village He did not fire at first hoping that they ht elude detection and thus not draw the fire of the Indians upon them; but he was doomed to disappointment, and they had taken scarcely a dozen steps when a rifle spoke above the noise of human voices and a bullet whizzed past them

Then Billy replied, and Barbara, too, froether they backed away toward the shadow of the trees beyond the village and as they went they poured shot after shot into the village

The Indians, but just awakened and still half stupid from sleep, did not know but that they were attacked by a vastly superior force, and this fear held theh for Billy and Barbara to reach the summit of the bluff from which Billy and Eddie had first been fired upon

Here they were hidden from the view of the Indians, and Billy broke at once into a run, half carrying the girl with a strong arm about her waist

”If we can reach the foothills,” he said, ”I think we can dodge 'eht wehike, Barbara, but we gotta ht finds us in the Piman country on't never make it Anyway,” he concluded optimistically, ”it's all down hill”

”We'll et past the sentry”

”What sentry?” asked Billy ”I didn't see no sentry when I coht,” replied the girl ”In the daytie--on the top of this bluff, for froht they station him farther away in a narrow part of the trail”

”It's ayou tipped ht they was all behind us now”

After that they went more cautiously, and when they reached the part of the trail where the sentry ht be expected to be found, Barbara warned Billy of the fact Like two thieves they crept along in the shadow of the canyon wall Inwardly Billy cursed the darkness of the night which hid fro more than a few paces from them; yet it may have been this very darkness which saved them, since it hid them as effectually from an enemy as it hid the enemy from them They had reached the point where Barbara was positive the sentry should be

The girl was clinging tightly to Billy's left arers as they sunk into his iant frame Even in the face of death Billy Byrne could sense the ecstasies of personal contact with this girl--the only woman he ever had loved or ever would

And then a black shadow loomed before then of warning

CHAPTER XVII ”YOU ARE MY GIRL!”