H. Bedford-Jones

“ The Yaquis swung around, but too late—there was a ragged crack of rifles, a burst of revolver-fire, and the five brown men remained sprawled out in the sunlight. Hampton, to whom all this seemed a dream inchoate, visioned half a dozen men, white men, springing forward across the platform, while Job Warlock darted upon him with a yell of delight. Small wonder that Nelly Barnes uttered one wild cry and pitched forward senseless across the recumbent figure of Eli. ”

“ A last kiss, and Hampton sprang to his place. The crown of rocks was surrounded by rough and cactus-covered ground, but had the advantage of dominating position; from it, Hampton could see far over the desert on all three sides. Behind was the gulf of the arroyo. Eli pointed to a dark crowd of men, beyond rifle-shot, off to the right.
“Now they're splitting up,” he said. “Working out around us, eh? And look yonder, toward the sea—ain't that another gang?”
Hampton looked down the trail toward the harbor and thought that he made out shadowy moving objects. ”

“ Mad oaths burst from the white men. Rifles swept up, revolvers began to crack. Bullets thudded into that writhing mass of humanity and shredded it apart. The blind screams of rage and fury became frantic yells of fear—the peons fell away, thinned out, turned and vanished down the trail again, leaving a red heap behind them. Job Warlock ran forward to look at that heap, but presently he came back again in ghastly pallor. He mutely shook his head, wiped the sweat from his face and collapsed on a boulder, staring at the ground. ”

“ The Injuns up there will spread out and hold us. I know a first-rate place to make our stand if you say so—unless you want to run for it.”
“No use running,” said Hampton. “Go ahead and secure the position. We'll wait up above.”
He held Nelly against him in the darkness, and her hand crept into his. Eli was gone up the trail.
“We can't escape, Dick,” she said quietly.
“We'll not try the impossible, dear,” he responded. “All we can do is to go down fighting.”
“Then I'll do my share, and be thankful when the evil dream is all over! Nothing ahead can be any worse than what is behind.” ”

“ Suddenly Hampton, who was on the right of the rocky crown, was startled by a yell from Eli.
“Look out, Dick—feller creepin' up on you! By that ocotillo bush——”
Hampton twisted about, peered forth at the clump of long, slender cactus spires, and presently caught a movement to one side of it. He fired. A Yaqui leaped into the air like a stricken deer, and fell motionless. Bullets stormed in—one of them raked across Hampton's head, sending the blood dripping into his eyes.
“Come on yere an' take Frenchy's place, Hampton!” yelled Pap Hoskins. “Move smart!” ”

“ Then, from some where out ahead he heard the voice of Dias lifting sharply. He could not get the words, which were in the Yaqui patois, but the firing ceased. The bullets no longer came buzzing and whining, to spatter in bursts of lead on the hot rocks. He wiped the blood from his eyes and looked around.
“Hurt, Nelly?”
“No, Dick.” She looked up at him, smiled bravely. “Eli isn't dead—I couldn't do anything for him though——”
“No matter. It'll be over in a minute now,” said Hampton. “The main thing is not to let 'em get us alive. ”

“ Dias turned to the brown men.
“Go and look after your families,” he ordered. “Five of you remain here. Slay those fools who have forgotten themselves. Go! Guard the señora.”
Ere he had finished speaking, the impatient Yaquis were melting away down the trail. More shots came from below. The panting Chinaman babbled out something about the slaves, and Dias hurled an oath at him. He sought the shade of a big cardon cactus at the edge of the clearing.
“So you're not dead, El Bobo?” Dias looked down at Eli, and smiled. Then his eyes lifted to Hampton's unfaltering gaze. ”

“ His knees gave way suddenly, he flung out his arms, and with a last effort he fired a shot even as he fell; then he lay across the boulder in the hot sunlight, while bullets still thudded into his poor body. Pap Hoskins had found his golden land.
Hampton fired to right and left. The others were all gone now—he was conscious that Nelly Barnes was just behind him, reloading his revolvers. ”

“ There were only three or four of the enemy scattered around, and on them Hampton and the two Mexicans fired; before the rifles could be reloaded, Eli and his companions came in, unhurt, and dropped their loads of ammunition and food.
Now, divining the purpose of the white men, the two Mexicans protested vividly that they desired to take their chance in the desert. Despite the curses of the others, accordingly, Hampton told them to take food and ammunition and go—water there was none. They made up loads and slunk away, having no stomach for what lay ahead in this place. ”

“ Now there swelled up a frightful and horrible sound which held the white men staring and spellbound. It was the mad screaming of men, the bestial howling of men mad with liquor, with hatred, with blood-lust. ”

“ From the cactus, rifles spat fire, and again, in a sudden burst of sound. Frenchy slid softly away into the darkness, and Hampton pulled the girl into shelter of a boulder.
“Wait here and see what happens,” he said. “The fire's dying down—Dias has brought water from the creek. Hello! Some one coming up the trail——”
Puffing breaths and hasty footsteps drew his attention, and the newcomer proved to be Pap Hoskins, who had come up to see what was going on. At the same moment Eli came cautiously back from the edge of the platform, two bullets burning after him. ”

“ So the five fugitives waited for the end, making a full meal on the provisions they had brought, and Frenchy found a canteen on a dead Yaqui which provided a few swallows of water all around.
“So this is the end of it all!” said Nelly Barnes, as she sat hand in hand with Dick Hampton, watching the eastern sky slowly lighten with the dawn. “This is the end—and what a sordid thing it has been all along, with the greed of that man Dias behind everything! It is hard to realize how everybody was deceived ”