"Papa will be
wondering what has become of me."
"Yes," said Bridge, and let her go. He would have been
glad to tell her the truth; but he couldn't do that without
betraying Billy. He had heard enough to know that Francisco
Villa had been so angered over the bold looting of the bank
in the face of a company of his own soldiers that he would
stop at nothing to secure the person of the thief once his
identity was known. Bridge was perfectly satisfied with the
ethics of his own act on the night of the bank robbery. He
knew that the girl would have applauded him, and that
Grayson himself would have done what Bridge did had a like
emergency confronted the ranch foreman; but to have admitted
complicity in the escape of the fugitive would have been to
have exposed himself to the wrath of Villa, and at the same
time revealed the identity of the thief. "Nor," thought Bridge,
"would it get Brazos back for Barbara."
It was after dark when the vaqueros Grayson had sent to
the north range returned to the ranch. They came empty-handed
and slowly for one of them supported a wounded
comrade on the saddle before him. They rode directly to the
office where Grayson and Bridge were going over some of the
business of the day, and when the former saw them his brow
clouded for he knew before he heard their story what had
happened.
Pages:
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429