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Quickly she came to his side and motioned him to rise while she tugged at the

knots which held the bonds in place about his arms. Once she stopped long

enough to recross the room and close the door which she had left open when she

entered.

It required fully five minutes--the longest five minutes of Barbara Harding's life,

she thought--before the knots gave to her efforts; but at last the rope fell to the

floor and Billy Byrne was free.

He started to speak, to thank her, and, perhaps, to scold her for the rash thing

she had undertaken for him; but she silenced him again, and with a whispered,

"Come!" turned toward the door.

As she opened it a crack to reconnoiter she kept the revolver pointed straight

ahead of her into the adjoining room. Eddie, however, still slept on in peaceful

ignorance of the trick which was being played upon him.

Now the two started forward for the door which opened from the office upon the

porch, and as they did so Barbara turned again toward Billy to caution him to

silence for his spurs had tinkled as he moved. For a moment their eyes were not

upon Eddie Shorter and Fate had it that at that very moment Eddie awoke and

opened his own eyes.

The sight that met them was so astonishing that for a second the Kansan could

not move. He saw Barbara Harding, a revolver in her hand, aiding the outlaw to

escape, and in the instant that surprise kept him motionless Eddie saw, too,

another picture--the picture of a motherly woman in a little farmhouse back in

Kansas, and Eddie realized that this man, this outlaw, had been the means of

arousing within him a desire and a determination to return again to those loving

arms. Too, the man had saved his mother from injury, and possible death.

Eddie shut his eyes quickly and thought hard and fast. Miss Barbara had always

been kind to him. In his boyish heart he had loved her, hopelessly of course, in a

boyish way. She wanted the outlaw to escape. Eddie realized that he would do

anything that Miss Barbara wanted, even if he had to risk his life at it.

The girl and the man were at the door. She pushed him through ahead of her

while she kept the revolver leveled upon Eddie, then she passed out after him and

closed the door, while Eddie Shorter kept his eyes tightly closed and prayed to his

God that Billy Byrne might get safely away.

Outside and in the rear of the office building Barbara pressed the revolver upon

Billy.

268

The Mucker