The Adventure Girls at K Bar O

by Clair Blank

  Chapter XI

  SURPRISE

  The rain had stopped. Darkness was over the world and stars blinkedsolemnly from their heavenly nest. The rain had brought coolness and alight wind that stirred the leaves of the trees.

  Round the campfire were gathered all the girls but the absent Gale. Tomwas collecting firewood and Jim was making sure the horses were securefor the night.

  "Where do you suppose Gale can be?" Janet asked again.

  "I wonder," agreed Phyllis. "This is the first time in my acquaintancewith her that she ever missed a meal."

  "I'm beginning to be worried," Virginia confessed. "I don't see why shestayed away so long."

  "You don't suppose--something could have happened to her?" Valerie askedhesitantly.

  "What for instance?" Madge demanded.

  "Well, her horse might have run away or----"

  "Nonsense!" Carol said crisply. "Gale's horse is the tamest one of thebunch. I'll bet she is having an adventure and a high old time."

  "But where can she be?" insisted Valerie.

  Minutes passed into hours and hours passed and still that question wasnot answered. The camp was thoroughly alarmed now. They were certainGale was in trouble or had lost her way in the strange country. Anynumber of things might have happened, and their thoughts ran rampant.The girls could see that Tom and Jim were as disturbed as they. For thelast half hour Jim had, almost lovingly, been cleaning his revolver.There was something ominous in just the sight of him toying with hisweapon. What was he thinking?

  "What are we going to do?" Valerie asked finally.

  It was time for the girls to retire for it had been planned to rideearly on the morrow. But now, with Gale missing, their plans wereinterrupted. None felt that she could sleep if they did go to bed.

  "You girls might as well go to bed," Tom said practically. "Jim and Iwill wait until dawn and then go out and pick up Gale's trail. It wouldbe no use going now, for we could find nothing in the darkness."

  They realized that he spoke the truth but still it was hard to sit idlewhen they were longing to know what was happening to their comrade.Reluctantly Madge, Carol, Janet and Virginia went to their tent. Valerieand Phyllis followed slowly to theirs. Tom and Jim rolled in theirblankets by the fire, close together so they could talk in low whispers.The light wind stirred the flames and sent them reaching high into theair. A moment more and they died down to smouldering embers. Silencegradually settled down over the tents and those two Indian-like figureson the ground.

  The camp was asleep or so it seemed. Not one occupant of the tents orTom or Jim saw the two figures that stood on the outer edge of thecircle of light and smiled over the serenity which gripped the camp.Big, burly men they were, used to hard riding and hard living. Theleather chaps they wore and their heavy khaki shirts were covered withdust. About their waists hung heavy holster and cartridge belts. Figuresof menace they were, menace to the peace of the Adventure Girls' camp.In their eyes, cold and relentless, was reflected the low, burningembers of the campfire as the two took in every detail. They seemed tohave no desire to disturb the sleeping campers, just to note the lay ofthe land, as it were. When their silent inspection was finished theyturned and melted into the darkness from whence they had come.

  In the tent she shared now with only Phyllis, Valerie lay wakeful andrestless. Her thoughts were contemplating a hundred and one things thatmight have happened to Gale. The two had been friends for a long, longtime and now the thought that her chum might be in trouble or danger,perhaps, made Valerie long to be off to her assistance. She lay staringat the black tent roof. Beside her Phyllis lay calm, breathingregularly, already in the land of dreams. Valerie wished she couldsmother her own troublesome thoughts and go to sleep. Tom and Jim knewwhat they were about and if they said it was no use hunting for Galebefore morning, there simply was no use that was all. She realized thatthey could scarcely find a sign of Gale in the pitch blackness of theArizona night. They thought that Gale might have lost her way and couldnot return to the camp. Valerie seriously doubted that. Gale could findher way about better than any of them. She seemed to possess a sixthsense that enabled her to remember any route or trail of open countrythat she had once taken. Valerie was sure Gale had not lost her way.Instead, there was some other reason why she hadn't returned to thecamp.

  Valerie's memory was particularly fresh with scenes of the night she andGale had been prisoners of the bank bandit. Had something similarhappened to Gale tonight? There was scarcely any other reason she shouldstay away from camp. Valerie wondered if Gale still had her littlerevolver with her. At least she had some little protection with that.

  Valerie sat up and ruffled her hair restlessly. A moment later she stoodat the open tent flap. She could see Tom and Jim rolled snugly in theirblankets. What was that? For an instant she thought a shadow appeared onthe other side of the camp circle. A minute later she changed her mind.It must have been a sudden spurt of the fire that threw a flickeringshadow over the sagebrush. She stepped out and let the flap close behindher. There was no use to waken Phyllis or the others just because shecouldn't sleep. She breathed deeply of the cool night air and marveledat the thrill she felt. It was a thrill to note the difference inherself. How changed she was since the first day they had camped in theopen. The sun and the usually dry air had wrought wonders, wonders thathad seemed impossible to even Valerie herself. She had often wondered ifshe would ever feel the glow of vigorous health. Now she felt like a newperson. That annoying cough had entirely disappeared. She wondered ifthe other girls realized what a transformation had taken place withinher. It had been a severe struggle, the hardest battle she had everfought, but she had won. The weeks of riding and camping, eating andsleeping outdoors, had tanned her skin and put a sparkle in her eyes.Too, she had gained weight. No more was she utterly exhausted at the endof a day's hard ride. No more were the other girls livelier than she.Now she felt equal to any situation that might arise.

  She had walked from the camp a ways to drink in the beauty of the night.Unconsciously she had taken the same route Gale had ridden earlier inthe day. Ahead of her was the rise over which Gale had gone. Valeriestrolled along. The moon came out and threw dark shadows under the treesand brush. Glancing up suddenly, Valerie was startled. She was sure shehad seen a figure step behind a group of trees ahead of her. She laughedat her own fears. Nervousness wasn't usually one of her traits. It mustbe that Gale's disappearance was preying on her mind. She was beginningto imagine ominous sounds and sights. She frowned at the thought of Galeand kicked an unoffending pebble from her path. She might as well goback and try to sleep. There was no use wandering about like a lostsheep. If the others discovered her absence they would be alarmed andthere was no cause to create a disturbance.

  She decided to walk to the top of the rise and take a look at the plainthat stretched away to the right. She liked to see the plains in themoonlight; it all looked as though the earth had been sprinkled withsilver dust. Then she would go back to camp, probably to lay awake untildawn, she thought darkly. It was no use to argue about it. She worriedabout Gale and about what might have happened. With rustlers and bankrobbers in the vicinity, what might not have happened? Too, there wassomething about Tom and Jim that made her apprehensive. They seemed tobe waiting for something. Their whole attitude was one of preparedness,but for what? Did they expect the outlaws to come to the girls' camp?The men would hardly do that she thought with a smile. Why should they?

  She came to the rise of ground and stood there in the moonlight,overlooking the plain. For a moment her eyes were somewhat dazzled bythe brilliance of the moonlight. Then she discerned a low cloud of dustrolling along the horizon. Small dark figures she discerned. What couldit be? She knew, Jim had told them, that a herd of the K Bar O wassomewhere off there to the right. But were the riders moving the cattletonight? They were moving swiftly, too, she could tell.

  Another thought occurred to her and her eyes n
arrowed with suspicion.Could it be rustlers? Rustlers stealing another herd of K Bar O cattle?It was possible, she declared to herself. The regular riders wouldscarcely be moving the cattle so swiftly so late at night. There was noreason they should. On the other hand, if it were rustlers, and if itwere K Bar O cattle, where were the regular riders? Didn't they keep aclose watch these nights when there was such danger in the air? If shewere Gale's uncle, she would put extra men on in an endeavor to catchthe thieves. Suppose there was trickery among the hired hands? Supposeone of the riders whom Mr. Wilson trusted was in league with theoutlaws? It was quite possible. The man could very easily fix it so therustlers would have a clear hand. Was that what was happening? Shefrowned thoughtfully. At any rate, she was sure that it was rustlersmoving K Bar O cattle and she was going to tell Jim and Tom about it.

  She turned and her heart froze in her throat. Before her two men steppedforward to block the path. Rough hands seized her and she was liftedbodily from the ground. Kicking and squirming she let out a piercingscream to summon the help of her camp mates. Just one scream, no morewas she allowed. She was roughly and effectively silenced and carried towhere two horses stood docilely among the trees. Her captors mounted andshe was swung up in front of one of them across the saddle. It was nouse to fight. Her captors were much stronger than she and there was nocourse but to submit in stormy but, she hoped, dignified silence as thetwo horses started away.