FullReads

“Behold the Red Rider!” he groaned. “Hold up your hands!”

He pulled the kerchief from his face and threw the poncho over his arm. “Do you see these shears?” he whispered. “I’m going to hold up the stage with ’em. No one ever fires at a road agent. They just shout, ‘Don’t shoot, colonel, and I’ll come down.’ I’m going to bring ’em down with these shears.”

Crosby caught Curtis by the arm, laughing eagerly. “Come to the stables, quick,” he cried. “We’ll get twenty troopers after him before he can go a half mile.” He turned on Ranson with a triumphant chuckle. “You’ll not be dismissed this regiment, if I can help it,” he cried.

Ranson gave an ugly laugh, like the snarl of a puppy over his bone. “If you try to follow me, or interfere with me, Lieutenant Crosby,” he said, “I’ll shoot you and your troopers!”

“With a pair of shears?” jeered Crosby.

“No, with the gun I’ve got in my pocket. Now you listen to me. I’m not going to use that gun on any stage filled with women, driven by a man seventy years old, but–and I mean it–if you try to stop me, I’ll use it on you. I’m going to show you how anyone can bluff a stage full with a pair of tin shears and a red mask for a kicker. And I’ll shoot the man that tries to stop me.”

Ranson sprang to his horse’s side, and stuck his toe into the empty stirrup-strap; there was a scattering of pebbles, a scurry of hoofs, and the horse and rider became a gray blot in the moonlight.

The two lieutenants stood irresolute. Under his breath Crosby was swearing fiercely. Curtis stood staring out of the open door.

“Will he do it?” he asked.

“Of course he’ll do it.”

Curtis crossed the room and dropped into a chair. “And what–what had we better do?” he asked. For some time the other made no answer. His brows were knit, and he tramped the room, scowling at the floor. Then with an exclamation of alarm he stepped lightly to the door of the exchange and threw back the curtain. In the other room, Cahill stood at its furthest corner, scooping sugar from a hogshead.

Crosby’s scowl relaxed, and, reseating himself at the table, he rolled a cigarette. “Now, if he pulls it off,” he whispered, “and gets back to quarters, then–it’s a case of all’s well. But, if he’s shot, or caught, and it all comes out, then it’s up to us to prove he meant it as a practical joke.”

“It isn’t our duty to report it now, is it?” asked Curtis, nervously.

“Certainly not! If he chooses to make an ass of himself, that’s none of our business. Unless he’s found out, we have heard nothing and seen nothing. If he’s caught, then we’ve got to stick by him, and testify that he did it on a bet. He’ll probably win out all right. There is nobody expected on the stage but that Miss Post and her aunt. And the driver’s an old hand. He knows better than to fight.”

“There may be some cowboys coming up.”

“That’s Ranson’s lookout. As Cahill says, the Red Rider takes his chances.”

“I wish there was something we could do now,” Curtis protested, petulantly. “I suppose we’ve just got to sit still and wait for him?”

“That’s all,” answered Crosby, and then leaped to his feet. “What’s that?” he asked. Out on the parade ground, a bugle-call broke suddenly on the soft spring air. It rang like an alarm. The noise of a man running swiftly sounded on the path, and before the officers reached the doorway Sergeant Clancey entered it, and halted at attention.

“The colonel’s orders,” panted the sergeant, “and the lieutenant’s are to take twenty men from G and H Troops, and ride to Kiowa to escort the paymaster.”

“The paymaster!” Crosby cried. “He’s not coming till Thursday.”

“He’s just telegraphed from Kiowa City, lieutenant. He’s ahead of his schedule. He wants an escort for the money. He left Kiowa a few minutes ago in the up stage.”