Boy's Cinema (1933)

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18 Owens was pointing towards the hacienda—and every man there held his breath as, plain against the light of Doris' window, Blaze's lithe figure .showed as he said good-bye to the girl he had come to see. "No—don't shoot!" Owens whispered in a tense voice, as Red drew his gun and aimed deliberately. "Hustle around, boys, and surround the hacienda. Capture him alive. It's two j thousand bucks in our pockets if we do it." Instantly there was a scramble towards the courtyard. Blaze had dropped from the balcony of Doris' window on to a platform above some stone steps. He swung around as he heard the rush of the men's feet across the courtyard, and his hands dropped like lightning to his gun. It swung in a menacing arc at the men, who stopped dead with their hands raised above their heads. " Steady, boys, steady!" Blaze drawled in a mocking voice. "You mustn't go rushin' around like that at this time of night, Owens ! Might give yourself bad dreams or something !" "You robbin' coyote!" Owens shouted Curiously. "What are vou doin' around here?" "heaving, as fast as I can!" Blaze ripped. and before the astonished punchers realised quite what he was doing, had whipped over the rail that separated him from the group, dived among them, and was springing to- wards some stone steps that led to the roof of the hacienda. Ills direction took them by surprise. "He can't get away, boys!" Owens yelled excitedly. "We can surround the hacienda !" The mob separated as they raced around to surround the hacienda. Owens yelled his orders fiercely. "Up on the roof, some of you!" Already four of the men were shin- ning up on to the tiles of the roof as he yelled the order. Mr. Collins came running out, followed by Smithcrs, his trembling secretary. "What's all this about?" he cried. "What's happening?" "It's that train-robber!" Owens an- swered, his eyes on the room. "Reckon he's been paying a visit to your daughter for some reason." "My daughter!" Collins exclaimed. His eyes went to the window of Doris" room, and he saw her standing there, eagerly watching Blaze racing over the roof. " Why—what " he began to stam- mer, when Owens cut him short with a few curt words that brought the blood to Collins' cheeks. "Why." Owens drawled, "he's sweet on Miss Doris, I guess! But don't worry—we'll get him before long !" But that wasn't going to be easy. A man crawled over the ledge of the roof towards Blaze. Blaze saw him in the nick of time, and drove his fist full in the man's face before he had a chance to get upright. The puncher gave a yell, and rolled off the roof to land with a crash in the courtyard. A gun blazed, and a bullet plucked at Blaze's shirtsleeve. "Time to be off!" Blaze muttered. He wrenched off a glove, and put his fingers to his lips. An oar-splitting whistle rent the air. There came an answering whinny from the other side of the courtyard wall, and Tarzan appeared at the gate. He trotted to- wards it swiftly, leaped it as if it had been but a fallen sapling in his way, and galloped towards the spot under the roof where Blaze was standing. A man hurled himself at Blaze. The glove dropped from the outlaw's hand as April 8th, 1933. BOY'S CINEMA he dodged, and fell to the courtyard. The man missed Blaze altogether, and took a flying dive off the roof, to hit the courtyard with a dull thud. Blaze wasted no time over his dropped glove, but lowered himself over the side of the roof, and dropped neatly on to Tarzan's back. "Hi, yip !" he yelled, and Tarzan shot for the gates like an arrow from a bow. Owens was livid at Blaze's escape, and long after the outlaw was out of range he was blazing into the darkness with his gun. Then, with a surly oath, he replaced the revolver in its holster. Collins had gone up to see if his daughter was all right. The rest of the men had returned to the bunkhouse, disgusted at Blaze's getaway, and, gloomily, Owens slouched after them. But, as he came to the spot where Blaze had dropped on to his horse, he stooped and picked up an object lying there on the ground. It was Blaze's glove. He stared at it an instant thought- fully, and then a crooked smile curved his thin lips, and he tucked the glove in his pocket. A moment later he was in the darkened living-room. Set in the wall was the safe, in which the twenty thousand dollars was supposed to be. This safe Owens opened with his key, then scattered the contents about around it, and laid Blaze's glove among the scattered papers. "That'll cook that Romeo's goose!" he muttered, as he crept stealthily out of the living-room. "I guess even pretty little Doris won't look at him so nicely, after tins '." The Ruined Hacienda. THF Collins household was assembled for breakfast next morning on the veranda otitside the living-room. Doris had been riding with her father and Owens, and had come in hungry and ready for breakfast. Her Aunt Sarah and Smithcrs, Collins' secretary, had already begun, and she and Owens set to work to make up for lost time. "I've just got to get some papers I want to look through during breakfast," Mr. Collins said as he went through into the living-room from the veranda. "Shan't be a minute." Doris smiled at him, and listened to Owens, who was discussing the excite- ment of the previous night. "That hombre's got a nerve, tryin" to bust into your room like he did, Miss Doris," he was saying in a nasty voice. " I surely would like to get five minutes alone with that feller." "He wasn't trying to break into my room," Doris defended Blaze stoutly. "I think " But what she thought at that moment was never said, for Collins came burst- ing out of the living-room, his face white with excitement. "The safe's been broken open!" he cried. "We've been robbed." "Robbed !" Everyone started to their feet, and raced into the living-room. Collins pointed dramatically to the opened safe, and the scattered papers. "Look!" he cried. "How much money was in there, Owens?" "About twenty thousand dollars," Owens answered, going towards the safe. He stopped as he reached the scattered papers, then stpoped suddenly, and picked up a glove which lay at his feet, half-covered by a sheet of paper. "Who does this belong to?" he asked significantly. Then added: "I can tell you ! It belongs to that thieving train- robber who was prowling about here last night. I noticed that he only wore one glove when he rode off." "Yes," Doris agreed, and her lips Every Tuesday scem»d suddenly dry. "Yes; I noticed that, too!" She looked at the glove closely. "Yes—it's—his!" Collins' face was grim as he took the glove. "So! He is a thief, after all. is he I" he rasped. "It's high time the sheriff got on to his trail. I'll 'phone bin) now." He stamped out of the living-room, across to his study where the telephone stood on a desk. The door slammed after him. In the living-room the others sat, staring gloomily at the scat- tered papers and the open safe. "Well!" Miss Sarah spoke suddenly, in a tremulous voice. "I suppose this puts a finish to the party we were going to have to-night ! Your father won't feel much like giving a dance with this loss worrying him !" " I suppose it does put the kibosh on things." the manager assented gloomily, staring at the tips of his boots. " Lookin' forward to it, too. I'd already ordered my fancy dress." He gave a rueful laugh. "Was going as a Spanish caballero—I've always wanted to be .i caballero " "Oh, you'll be one, don't worry!" Doris snapped shortly. "Father won't let this upset my dance. I " She stopped dead as the door of the living-room opened a little, and a soft voice said : "Will you ask me to your party, Miss Doris?" They stared in stupefied amazement as Blaze Howell's face showed at the open door. Owens made a movement for his gun, but Blaze's shooter was out in a flash, covering him. "Don't want to scare you ladies, or you, sir "—this to the secretary, who was beginning to shake like a leaf again, "but I've got to keep an eye on Owens," Blake drawled. "Throw over my glove. Owens. I dropped it Last night." He caught it deftly as Owens sullenly threw it. "You know, Miss Doris, things look mighty black against me now." Blaze continued. "Your father's safe lias been robbed, and my glove being found there makes it look as if I'd done it. Someone's played a neat trick—but I hope to convince you before long that I'm as innocent of robbing your father as I am of robbing the train. So I'll come along to your party to-night and I'll ask you for the first dance !" His audacity took Doris' breath away for a moment. Then her eyes flashed, and her cheeks flushed redly. "You wouldn't dare come!" sho flashed. "And as for you dancing with me—you haven't a chance in the world. 1 hate you—you thief!" Her words were bitterly contemptuous, but Blaze only smiled at her. Then, with a brief nod, he said: "Well, I'll be going. You wait a few minutes before any of you move." He backed out, then closed the door quickly. Owens made a move for his gun, but Doris checked him with a quick gesture. Through the crack of the door Blaze's gun was thrust menacingly. For long minutes they sat, 6taring into the round, black hole of the un- moving gun. And then, after four or five minutes, they heard the sound of footsteps outside the door. The gun wobbled, was withdrawn. Owens' hands fled down to his own gun, but before he,could draw it, the door of the living- room opened, and Red walked in, with Blaze's gun in his hand, and a puzzled expression on his crafty face. Someone playing a game on you folk?" he asked. "I came in to find Owens, and found this gun stuck in, the door."-