Boy's Cinema (1939-40)

in fli«ir headlong proKrefls, and then they ciiiiii) upon tlio Oregon trail—the roi»t<5 to that (liiliuit promised land vvhi<:li lay he.yond tho mighty Rockies and tho Idaho territory. The tracks of wafifon-whe«l8 and horses and rattlo proclaimed to them that tho Mason out- fit had indeed left tho camp outside Cloar- \vater, and tlioy pushed fonvnrd at unabated l)acr', finally sighting the column in front of llicin. Tho organiser of tho train and his daughter Margaret were aboard tho leading vehicle in tho procession of prairie selioonors, and, over- laking the column and passing t<i the fore-en<I of it to arrive alongside that first wagon, Jeff and Deadwood hailed John Mason in urgent tones. "Injuns!" Deadwood slioiitcd, "Tho Injuns are coming!" " Spotted Elk's braves arc on (lie warpath, ]VIr. Mason!'- Jeff rapped out. "You've got to high-tail it back to town, and thore'a no time to lose!" The warning brought by tho two scoufs spread swiftly through the train, and teamsters, outriders, and herders were commencing to turn right-about when a l)ig, thick-set man on a sorrel bronc accosted Deadwood and Jeflf. "What's this about timiin' back to town!" he demanded. "I reckon there's enough of us to make a stand against them Shoshones and hold 'em at bay!" The speaker was a fellow known as Hackett. lie had been hired to guide the train west until Jefi and Deadwood should rejoin it, bTit, unbeknown to Mason and the tatter's friends, lie was an emissary of that organisation which was bent on destroying the immigrants. Jeff looked at llackett, then directed his attention on the surrounding counti^yside. " There would be enough of us to make a successfid stand if the battle-ground was in our favour," ho retorted. "But we're jjofkoted in a bunch of hills, and we wouldn't liavo a chance of holding the Redskins at bay. They'd overwhelm us before wo could send more (ban a single volley into them," He swung round on Deadwood. "I'll lead the w-agons into Clearwater," ho announced. "You take charge of the herders and see tlicy turn tho cattle abide before they hit the town. Wo don't wont those beeves ■stampeding throtigh the .streets and wrecking the whole settlement." Deadwood rode off to join the cowhands who were controlling tho drove of cattle belonging to the Mason cohnnn, and Jeff wheeled and made for tho other end of the train. Thirty seconds later the entire oviifit was travelling towards Clearwater at top speed, and had covered a distance of a mile when a swarm of horsemen appeared on the rim of a hill not far to the west. Plundreds strong, those horsemen were the warriors of the yiioshone tribe—bedaubed and l)efeathcred savages ripe for nuirder and pil- lage—and, as they saw the immigrants were streaming back in the direction of town they i-aised a blood-curdling tumult of howls and swept down to the trail in fierce pursuit. Tho settlers raced on, the hindmost among them harried by fusillades of lead and shpweis of arrows that were launched at them by the JJedskins. At first the shooting of tlie braves was in- cfVoctive. Soon, however, tho Shoshones began to gain on those wagons which had formerly been at the head of the column, but which were now at the tail-end of it, and ere long mnsket-bnllets and barbed death-bolts were tiiking toll of the prairie schooners' occupants. Looking back and observing that tho teamsters at the rear of the tiain were hard- l)ressed, Jeff Scott was prompt to take steps io protect them. Within a niinuto or so ho had gathered together a formidable company of outriders, and, dropping back with them to cover the retreat, he and that band of horse- men staged a' running gun duel %vith tho Shoshones in a desperate endeavour to hold them off. Meanwhile, to tho right of the wagons, Deadwood Hawkins and the herdsmen were driving the cattlo over a course par.allel to the trail, and from time to^timo were turning ill their saddles to blaze at'a troop of Indians who liad veered from tho main body of tho ■enemy to concentrate on the cowhands. Jeff caught a momentary glimpse of Dead- wood. The latter waa twiitthig round to ^end a Hhot into tho thick of that scpurafo con- tingent of Jledxkiris when his handsoino pardner descried him, but Jell' did not actually see him fir<?. For Deadwood was stiddcniy lost to view as tho drove of cattle struck a tract of barnin ground froni which their hurrying feet lifted a dniisu curtain of dust. But for that dust-cloud whic'h arose, con- cealing Deadwood and the punchers, Jeff might liavo witnessed the fall of his faithful comrado as a stray bullet from a Shoshono muRkel "creased" his brono and brou(?ht it to eartli —horse and ridi;r plunging mto a shallow gully along whoso vogo tho animal had been galloping. THE MASON WAQON UNAWAKK of what was happening on the trail west _ of the town, Olearwat-er's citizens vvero going about their daily affairs complacently when a lono horseman entered the settlement at a fast clip. lie was tho roguo known as IlackctI, and his destination was a store that was k)cated on tho principal thoroughfaro of Clearwater—a store which was the establishment of Samuel Morgan, trader in furs. Reaching tho porch of Morgan's store, Hackett pulled up vvith a jerk, threw his pony's rein over a hitch-rail, and scrambled from tho saddle. A moment later ho was crossing tho threshold of tho fur-tradei's premises, and, sc.ircely acknowledging the greeting of a lynx-eyed clerk who was the solo inmate of the sale-room, ho hurried to a door that opened on to a private office at the back of the building. Hackett flung open that door without tho formality of knocking, and at once found him- self in tho presence of two men who were seated at a desk. One was Sam Morgan, porilj', sleek-haired, Say, I'll swear them runaway plugs was the ones John Mason was drivin' ! I wonder what happened to him an' Miss Margaret " sallow-vtsaged—Sam Morf;an, hif^hly Mt«eniotl nicinber of fJTearwnters community, mrteiinibiy a person of integrity, but in leulity tho pns- siding evil genius of tliat comfiine which was det*nnine«l that Oregon should remain a realm peopled only by Indian trappers. The oth<!r man prencnt in that back room was a beefy, uriKhavuii, and unsavoury iii- dividuiJ whom Jeff H(;ott would have b<;cii singularly glad U> encoiiritor. For ho was iwm; other than Hull Krugg. As Hackett burst in upon them, Morgan and IJragg looked at him qiiestionini/ly, but iKifoio oither of them could ult^sr a syllablo tho iic<\- comcr blurted out a pieco of news that brought them to their feet. "'J'ho wagon train—it's comin' back to tov.n one jump aliead of tho Injuns I" " Wluil'ji that you say?" It was Morp-aii who spoke, and his voico held a startled note. "The wagon train—coming back to town?" "That's right, boss," llackett panted. "Jeff Scolt an' Hawkins found out somehow that it was gonna bo attacked! They showwi np an' persuaded Mason an' his crowd to luni around. Then tho Shoshones camo on tho scene. They're cha.sin' the column, an' th<-,'i<! hard behind it." Ho gulped for breath. "I pushe<l ahead in warn you," he weut on. "Boss, you wanted that wagon train wi|)cd out. You wanted to prevent any settlers gijt- tin' throigh to Oregon because they'd horn in on the fur trade an' break tho stranglc-hoUi wc'vo got ov it. But this latest scheme o' yours is liable to cost us our scalps unless \vc fade out pronto. If them Injuns bust info town they'll massacre anybody an' evcryboly "Shut up!" Morp;an interrupted har.shly. "No Indians are gom^ to take our scalps. They kno^v we'io friends " He in turn was internipted—by a sudden commotion that arose in the street—aiid. Fef)rinT> 2-it!i, VhX