The Girl Aviators on Golden Wings Part 21

"Here you, Ah Sing, hurry muchee quick and cook us a meal," roared Red Bill as he perceived the newcomer.

"Alee litee," was the easy-going response, "me catchum plentee quick."

The Oriental, who was by this time quite close, allowed his slant eyes to rest curiously on the two young prisoners. His mask-like face, however, betrayed no emotion of any kind, and with a guttural grunt he was off; apparently to set about his preparations for obeying the orders of the outlaw leader.

Red Bill turned to Peggy and Roy, who had dismounted.

"I'll speak to you two after we've eaten," he said; "in the meantime the young lady kin take that hut thar." He indicated a tumble-down structure near at hand.

"It ain't a Fift' Avenoo mansion," he grinned, "but I reckon it'll hev ter do."

Then he switched on Roy.

"You boy," he growled, "you kin hev thet other shack. If you want ter wash up thar's a bucket. We've hot and cold water in these diggin's, too, so take yer choice. Hot's above, cold's below. An'

one thing. You ain't goin' ter be closely watched. It ain't needful. You rec'lect that red-hot basin we come through?"

As the questioner seemed to pause for an answer Roy nodded.

"Wall the country all around hyar's jes' like that, so thet if yer moseyed you wouldn't stand a Chinaman's chance of gittin' away alive."

Red Bill, with a vindictive grin, turned on his heel abruptly and stalked off, followed by the others. Peggy and Roy were left alone.

Seemingly no restraint was to be put upon them. In fact, it appeared, as Red Bill had pointed out, that an attempted escape could only result fatally for them.

"Whatever will Aunt Sally and the rest be thinking?" exclaimed Peggy as the rough looking group, talking and gesticulating among themselves, made toward the upper end of the valley.

"Poor aunt! She must be in a terrible state of mind," rejoined Roy dejectedly. "If only we could have got word to her or Mr. Bell--"

"In that case we could have taken it ourselves," wisely remarked Peggy; "well, brother mine, there is no use in borrowing trouble.

Let's make the best of it. I've an idea that that redheaded man means to offer us some sort of a proposition after dinner."

"Wish he'd offer us some dinner first; I'm ravenous."

"Well, I couldn't eat a thing till I've got some of this dust off me, so please get me a bucket of water."

"Say, look at that Chinaman eyeing us," broke off Roy suddenly; "wonder what's the matter with him?"

"Guess he isn't used to visitors," suggested Peggy. "So this is where this gang, we heard talked about in Blue Creek, have been hiding themselves. No wonder the sheriff couldn't find them."

"It's an ideal hiding place," agreed Roy, "far too ideal to suit us.

I don't see how we'd ever get out of here without help."

"Oh, as for that, I kept careful track of the way we came. I noted all the landmarks, and I really believe I could pick up the trail--is that the way you say it?--again."

"Good for you. I hope we have a chance to try out your sense of observation. But I'm off to get that water. Say, that Chinaman's staring harder than ever. What do you suppose he wants?"

"I haven't an idea. Opium perhaps. Don't they eat it or do something with it and then have beautiful dreams? I've heard--oh, Roy," the girl broke off breathlessly, "I've got it! You know that little jade G.o.d that Clara c.u.mmings brought back from China with her when her father resigned as consul there?"

"Yes. But what--"

"Well, look here, you silly boy, I've got it on now. Look on my watch chain. I wonder if that could be what--what that Mongolian was regarding so closely?"

"Maybe," responded Roy carelessly, "but now I'm really off to get that water. Hot or cold?"

"Both!" cried Peggy.

The spirits of youth are elastic, and even in their predicament Peggy found her heart almost singing within her at the beauty of the green little valley after their long, dusty journey over the alkali barrens.

"After all," she a.s.sured herself, "I don't believe they mean us any real harm and--oh, what an adventure to tell about when we get home again."

A refres.h.i.+ng wash and a hasty adjustment of her hair before a mirror in a tiny "vanity box," which shared the watch charm snap with the little jade G.o.d, served to still further raise Peggy's spirits.

Red Bill Summers and his followers ate at the upper end of the valley, but the Chinaman brought food on an improvised board tray to the captives. Having set down two dishes of a steaming stew of some kind, flanked with coffee, sweetened and flavored with condensed milk, and real bread, the Oriental glanced swiftly about him. Red Bill and his companions were noisily convivial, and paying no attention to what was transpiring at the lower end of the valley.

Like a flash the Chinaman slid to his knees and extending his hands above his head touched his forehead to the ground three times in front of Peggy.

Then rising he exclaimed:

"Melican girl, gleat joss, mighty joss. Ah Sing he come bymby.

Goo'bye."

He turned swiftly and silently in his silken slippers and glided off without a backward look.

"Well, what do you make of that?" wondered Roy.

"Oh, Roy, don't you see. He was wors.h.i.+ping this joss, as he calls Clara's little jade G.o.d. Just think, this may be a way out of it.

If we can make him believe that--that--"

"That we stand in with his josh--joss--what do you call it?--you mean that we can scare him into letting us have horses to-night and escaping.

"How you do run ahead, Roy. I hadn't thought of that yet. But it might be done. He said he was coming back by and by. I wonder what he wants?"

"Maybe your blessing," grinned Roy. "But come on. Let's tackle this stew while it's hot. It looks great to me after that jack-rabbit supper."

"And this is bread--real bread, too!" cried Peggy, following Roy's example of "tackling the stew."

It was ten minutes after the last mouthful had disappeared that the tall, red-sashed young outlaw came toward the shack in front of which brother and sister were seated.

"The boss wants to see you," he said briefly, and signed to them to follow him.

Red Bill Summers sat alone before the remains of the Chinese cook's dinner. The other outlaws were busied staking out their ponies and removing the dust and perspiration from the little animals' coats.

Far off, like a lost spirit, the treacherous Juan with his burro, could be seen.

From time to time he cast a covert glance toward Peggy and Roy. In his own country treachery such as he had shown would have been visited with death even if the avenger had to die for it himself the next minute.

The outlaw chief looked up as his dapper follower came up with the young Easterners.

"Grub all right?" he asked.

"Not bad at all," responded Roy non-committally. He didn't want to show this red-headed law-breaker that he was afraid of him.