I was glad things was goin’ so nice. ’Cause lately I’d had t’ worry about Mace a good deal. Her letters had eased up a hull lot. Seems she’d been under the weather fer a few days.
When she writ again though, she said she was O. K., but a-course Noo York was lonesome when a person was sick. Op’ra prospects? Aw, they was fine!
Next thing, I was nervouser’n a cow with the heel-fly. No letters come from the little gal!–leastways, none to Rose. And ev’ry day ole man Sewell snooped ’round the post-office, lookin’ more and more down in the mouth.
“How’s Mace?” Rawson ast him oncet.
“Tol’rable,” he answers, glum as all git out.
That kidnappin’ was fixed on fer Saturday. We didn’t tell Carlota that was the day. Her maw might git wind of the job; ’r the gal ’d go dress up, which ’d spoil the real look of the hull thing. Then, on a Saturday, after five, Pedro was free to come in town–and most allus showed up with some more of the cholos, pumpin’ a hand-car.
This Saturday he come, all right, and went over to Sparks’s corral fer a couple of hosses. (Us punchers ’d tied our broncs over in the corral too, so’s we’d have to run fer ’em when Pedro lit out with the gal. And I’d picked that strawberry roan of Sparks’s fer Boston. It was the fastest critter on four laigs in the hull country. Y’ see, I wanted Boston t’ lead the posse.)
Six o’clock was the time named. It ’d give us more ’n two hours of day fer the chase, and then they’d be a nice long stretch of dusk–just the kind of light fer circlin’ a’ outlaw and capturin’ him, dead ’r alive!
Wal, just afore the battle, mother, all us cow-punchers happened into the Arnaz place. And a-course, Boston was there. Me and him was settin’ ’way back towards the kitchen-end of the room. Pretty soon, we seen Pedro pass the front winda, ridin’ a hoss and leadin’ another. His loaded quirt was a-hangin’ to his one wrist, and on his right laig was the gun filled with blanks that we’d left at Sparks’s fer him. He stopped at the far corner of the house, droppin’ the bridle over the broncs’ haids so they’d stand. Then he came to the side door, opened it about a’ inch, peeked in at Carlota,–she was behind the counter–and whistled.
She walked straight over to him, smilin’–the little cut-up!–and outen the door! Fer a minute, no sound. Then, the signal–a screech.