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INTERPERSONAL
COGNITION
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INTERPERSONAL
COGNITION
Edited by
MARK W. BALDWIN
ISBN 1-59385-112-X
About the Editor
Mark W. Baldwin, PhD, received his doctorate in 1984 from the University
of Waterloo and held postdoctoral fellowships at the Research Center for
Group Dynamics at the University of Michigan and the Clarke Institute of
Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He then spent several years pursu-
ing an opportunity to cowrite and cohost the award-winning children’s
television series Camp Cariboo. Returning to academia, Dr. Baldwin
taught and researched psychology at the University of Winnipeg for 8 years
before assuming, in 1998, his current position in the Department of Psy-
chology at McGill University in Montreal. Along the way, he served as
Chair of the Social and Personality section of the Canadian Psychological
Association and Associate Editor of the Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, and coauthored (with Rick Hoyle, Michael Kernis, and Mark
Leary) the book Selfhood: Identity, Esteem, Regulation. His major re-
search interests include interpersonal cognition, self-esteem, and adult
attachment theory. Most recently, Dr. Baldwin and his students have been
exploring the possibility of designing computer-based exercises to modify
maladaptive automatic social cognition and have established the website
www.selfesteemgames.mcgill.ca to report this research.
v
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Contributors
Contributors
vii
viii Contributors
Preface
xi
xii Preface
in which a person wonders “What does this person think about me?” He
reviews his sociometer theory of self-esteem, in which self-evaluative reac-
tions are hypothesized to reflect not a freestanding need for self-esteem
but, rather, a hardwired motive for inclusion, valuing, and acceptance by
others. He discusses several specific questions arising from his formulation,
such as why healthy self-esteem is often seen as largely independent of the
opinions of others.
Fitzsimons, Shah, Chartrand, and Bargh (Chapter 5) examine the in-
terplay between interpersonal cognition and goal striving: for example,
when—and how—would being reminded of one’s mother make one more
motivated to achieve? Under what conditions does being in a specific goal
state bring to mind one or more specific relationships? They examine ques-
tions such as these in the light of current social-cognitive work on goal rep-
resentation and activation.
Lydon, Burton, and Menzies-Toman (Chapter 6) investigate motivated
interpersonal cognition, specifically the sorts of illusions and biases that
people often exhibit as they try to maintain a committed relationship
important to their identity. The authors consider in detail the delicate cali-
bration often evidenced between individuals’ exposure to threatening
information of some kind and the motivated cognitive processes that are
marshaled in response.
Murray and Derrick (Chapter 7) analyze the complex and consequen-
tial process of deciding whether, and how much, to trust an intimate part-
ner. The balance between risk-averse strategies of self-protection and
relationship-promoting behaviors based in a confidence about one’s part-
ner’s acceptance and love is defined by expectations and a range of motivated
cognitive processes. This research demonstrates the exquisite interplay be-
tween interpersonal cognition and real-world relationship outcomes.
Fehr (Chapter 8) examines the representation and organization of in-
terpersonal knowledge. She reviews research showing that concepts such as
love, commitment, anger, and intimacy are organized as prototypes around
key exemplars, and that this prototype structure shapes inferences about
new interpersonal experiences. She also presents her recent work on the
scripts people draw on to define an intimate friendship.
Aron, Mashek, McLaughlin-Volpe, Wright, Lewandowski, and Aron
(Chapter 9) propose a form of interpersonal cognition in which a relation-
ship partner is “included” in the self. They review and organize their past
research, which has used novel experimental paradigms to show that
another person’s resources, perspectives, and identities can become experi-
enced as one’s own. They also introduce some more recent findings, includ-
ing the discussion of what it means to feel “too close” to a relationship
partner.
Mikulincer and Shaver (Chapter 10) have developed a social-cognitive
model of attachment behavior, and they argue that social psychology’s ex-
xiv Preface
interdependence theory. For this chapter, which teams one of the field’s
most experienced scholars with one of its talented young researchers, I en-
couraged the authors to take a critical look at some of the unresolved and
problematic issues they see in this still relatively young literature. Their
analysis reminds us that despite the impressive progress that has been
made, several thorny questions remain in our attempts to understand inter-
personal cognition.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
MARK W. BALDWIN
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Contents
Contents
xvii
xviii Contents
Index 449
INTERPERSONAL
The Relational Self and
COGNITION
Transference
1
2 INTERPERSONAL COGNITION
Clark, 1994); this idea parallels our conception of a significant other. Like-
wise, interdependence casts acceptance or rejection by the other in a special
light because of the needs that one has in this relationship, given the kind
of unit relation (Heider, 1958) one has with the other, a bondedness that is
not readily set aside. Needs arising in close relationships are especially im-
portant, in part because of this interdependence, especially in relation to
caretakers when young, when sheer survival depends on them (Andersen et
al., 1997). We discuss these issues more fully later in the chapter.
Our relational-self model is grounded in particular in the literature on
transference, which itself is grounded in social cognition and in social con-
struct theory (Bargh, Bond, Lombardi, & Tota, 1986; Higgins, 1996a;
Higgins & King, 1981; see also Kelly, 1955), which focuses on transient
sources of accessibility (such as priming), chronic sources of accessibility
(frequency of prior use), as well as on the applicability of the construct to
the stimulus. The theory of the relational self also adopts the assumptions
of if–then models of personality (Mischel & Shoda, 1995). That is, it ex-
tends transference in part by proposing that the transference process un-
derlies variability in the relational self because significant-other representa-
tions are relatively stable over time and yet contextual shifts (based on who
is present in the situation) introduce shifts in the relational self across dif-
fering interpersonal contexts. In other words, within our relational-self
model, we use this if–then framework from personality psychology to con-
sider long-standing influences on the self that people bring to situations as
“baggage.” Contemporaneous contexts provoke differing long-standing
aspects of the self, and do so because cues in these contexts overlap in
some way with prior experience stored in memory. In the relational-self
model, specific interpersonal cues in the situation are the “ifs” and the ex-
periences and behaviors that result are the “thens.”
Historical Context
Transference in Psychoanalytic Thought and Psychoanalysis
The clinical concept of transference has long been an essential component
of psychodynamic theory, psychoanalysis, and psychotherapy (e.g., Ehren-
reich, 1989; Greenson, 1965). The literature on transference has thus
tended to consider transference theoretically, applying the notion to clini-
cal case studies and in clinical practice, rather than examining it empiri-
cally using scientific methods (although see Luborsky & Crits-Christoph,
1990).
In classical Freudian theory, transference (Freud, 1912/1958) is said to
occur when childhood fantasies and conflicts about a parent are imposed
by the patient onto the analyst during psychoanalysis (Freud, 1912/1963;
see also Andersen & Glassman, 1996). Freud assumed that people hold in
memory “imagoes” of significant others and that they may influence rela-
4 INTERPERSONAL COGNITION
Methodology in Brief
Research on the social-cognitive process of transference involves activating
a significant-other representation through the presentation of triggering
cues. The cues themselves typically take the form of features about a new
person derived from those that the research participant in fact generated in
a previous session to describe a significant other. We begin with a prelimi-
nary session in which we ask participants to think of a significant other
and to write descriptive sentences in freehand to portray this individual.
Such features tend to include apparent habits and activities, ways of relat-
ing, physical features, attitudes, preferences, traits, and so on. The actual
experiment is presumed to be unrelated and takes place at least 2 weeks af-
ter this preliminary session. Participants arrive to a lab setting with multi-
ple rooms and are led to believe they will meet an “interaction partner”
later in the session. They are exposed to sentence predicates about this new
person, which suggest that this person does (or does not) share a small
number of the significant other’s qualities (based on the features they had
listed about their significant other). Following this exposure, their memory,
evaluation, affect, motives, expectancies, self-ratings, and behavior are as-
sessed, depending on the purposes of the particular study. In most studies,
each participant in the control condition (i.e., the nontransference condi-
tion) is yoked on a one-to-one basis with another participant who is in the
experimental condition (i.e., the transference condition). In this way, each
pair of yoked participants is exposed to the exact same features about the
new person. This allows the content of the experimental stimuli to be per-
fectly controlled across conditions, and enables unequivocal conclusions
about the consequences of being exposed to significant-other resemblance
in a new person, which we show provokes the phenomenon of transfer-
ence.
In this combined idiographic–nomothetic design, the content of trans-
ference is specific to each participant but the processes we investigate are
The Relational Self and Transference 7
scious processes differs from ours, our assumption is and has been that
one’s knowledge about significant others is brought to bear on responses to
new people and that this happens quite automatically—without much in
the way of attention, effort, control, or conscious awareness (Andersen et
al., in press; see also Bargh, 1989).
There is also evidence supporting the idea that significant-other repre-
sentations may be used with particular ease or efficiency even outside of
transference. For example, research in which participants were asked to re-
trieve from memory and to list various features of a significant other has
shown that features of these representations are retrieved from memory ex-
ceptionally quickly as compared with features of other people or categories
(Andersen & Cole, 1990; Andersen et al., 1995).
To test the specific hypothesis about the unconscious activation of
transference, the question was framed in terms of whether or not the sig-
nificant-other representations could be activated subliminally—in a way
that would lead to transference. The research involved participants in a
computer game with another participant, allegedly seated elsewhere in the
building, about whom they might learn something. Afterward they com-
pleted an inference task about this person. During the “computer game,”
significant-other features were flashed for less than 90 milliseconds in
parafoveal vision and pattern-masked. In the yoked-control condition, par-
ticipants were exposed to these exact same features—that is, of someone
else’s significant other—and were also presented with these stimuli sublimi-
nally (Glassman & Andersen, 1999a). As predicted, across two studies, the
results clearly showed that participants in the significant-other condition
made more inferences about the new person that derived from their own
significant other than did participants in the control condition. Conscious-
ness is not a precondition for transference. In our research, we ask partici-
pants to be accurate in their perception of the new person, and we do not
ask them to compare the new person to anyone from their lives. Indeed,
when participants are excluded from the experiment if they happen to
spontaneously mention seeing the link between the new person’s features
and those listed weeks previously about a significant other, the inference
and memory effect still holds (e.g., Berenson & Andersen, 2003).
Overall, the transference phenomenon and the relational self should
arise relatively automatically, that is, effortlessly and even when one is un-
aware of it, does not intend to respond in this way, and has little control
over the process. Other evidence from within this paradigm, which we re-
view below, is also consistent with this assumption.
shows how robust the phenomenon can be. On the other hand, there are
also limits. That is, when a parent who is reportedly loved was also physi-
cally abusive during one’s childhood, one is in fact more likely to expect re-
jection in the transference condition relative to the control condition
(Berenson & Andersen, 2003). In addition, when a significant other is
someone from one’s own family of origin and is positive, but is also some-
one with whom one tends to experience a dreaded self, one is also more
likely to expect rejection in the context of transference (Reznik & Ander-
sen, 2004). In short, anticipated acceptance or rejection from a new person
arises in transference in ways that can derive from a number of different
sources. One such source is how positive or negative the significant other is
seen to be. Another is the degree of negativity one experiences about the
self in the relationship. Expected acceptance or rejection in transference
thus depends more intricately on the content and quality of the relation-
ship than do some other indices of transference.
Other work has shown that people who are sensitive to rejection are
especially vigilant to cues of disapproval from others, and that their per-
ceptions of rejection and expectancies of more rejection are readily acti-
vated (Baldwin & Meunier, 1999; Baldwin & Sinclair, 1996; Downey &
Feldman, 1996). If rejection expectancies are stored with significant-other
representations, then the chronic accessibility of such representations,
which we have demonstrated, suggests one way in which rejection expec-
tancies with various significant others may generalize and be used in inter-
preting new social encounters.
Interpersonal Behavior
The notion that the patterns of behavior that one engages in with a partic-
ular significant other should be stored in the knowledge linking the signifi-
cant other with the self in memory is central to our assumptions. Hence,
another line of research has extended the paradigm into the realm of overt
behavior in a brief dyadic interaction, specifically, an unstructured tele-
phone conversation between the individual experiencing (or not experienc-
ing) transference and another entirely naïve individual (Berk & Andersen,
2000). In this kind of behavioral confirmation paradigm (Snyder, Tanke, &
Berscheid, 1977), we were thus able to examine each participant’s re-
sponses in the conversation and to focus particularly on the behavior of the
“target” person in the interaction when the main participant was or was
not experiencing a positive or a negative transference.
The results indicated that when the new person resembled the per-
ceiver’s own significant other, and hence transference occurred, the target’s
own interpersonal behavior was rated as containing more of the same
affect associated with the significant-other representation in memory,
whether positive or negative. The ratings of independent judges, who as-
The Relational Self and Transference 13
ling for baseline self-evaluation (at pretest) (Hinkley & Andersen, 1996).
Hence, shifts in self-evaluation and self-worth do occur in transference.
Moving beyond the positive–negative dichotomy in significant oth-
ers, it is also possible to examine self-evaluation when holding constant sig-
nificant-other evaluation and varying the nature of the self typically expe-
rienced with the significant other. That is, we examined transference with
a positive significant other associated with a dreaded self (rather than a
desired self; see Reznik & Andersen, 2004). It is entirely possible to like
or love a significant other, and yet to repeatedly find oneself enacting a
dreaded version of the self with this person. The results indicate that
when a significant other is associated with a dreaded self and this signifi-
cant-other representation is triggered in transference, the shift in self-
evaluation that occurs in the direction of the self-with-the-significant-
other becomes considerably more negative. This does not occur in the
absence of transference. Moreover, it does not occur when the transfer-
ence involves a significant other associated with a desired self. As an-
other way of verifying these findings, this research has also indicated
that when a dreaded self is elicited in a positive transference, the features
of the dreaded self become especially accessible, as indicated by response
latencies (Reznik & Andersen, 2004).
In our view, these findings suggest that transference may be a mecha-
nism both for stability in the relational self—due to the long-standing pres-
ence of these significant others in an individual’s life (and the chronic ac-
cessibility of these representations)—and for variability in the relational
self, through shifts in the self provoked by triggering cues in new people.
The latter—the triggering cues—are the “ifs”. The “thens” are the trans-
ference process and the shifts in the self that it entails (Andersen & Chen,
2002; Mischel & Shoda, 1995). In fact, heightened accessibility of relevant
relational-self features is consistent with our assumption that spread of ac-
tivation from the significant-other representation to relevant self-aspects
should occur when the significant-other representation is triggered in
transference (see Andersen et al., in press).
The shift in self-evaluation as a function of the relational self in trans-
ference is largely the kind of shift characterized in the model of contingent
self-worth, which also adopts an if–then approach (Crocker & Wolfe,
2001). In that model, and in the research based on it, cues that are particu-
larly relevant to contingencies of worth are the ones most likely to induce
shifts in self-evaluation. Our view is comparable and specifically focused
on the relational context of the self (see also Baldwin & Sinclair, 1996).
Shifts in the self are evoked in transference, as are shifts in expectancies for
rejection. Indeed, both kinds of shifts are also predicted to occur as a func-
tion of context and preexisting sensitivity to rejection, and this does tend
to occur, as the if–then model of rejection sensitivity suggests (e.g., Downey
& Feldman, 1996).
The Relational Self and Transference 15
Self-Regulatory Focus
Beyond the activation of a need or a goal by means of activating a signifi-
cant other, it is also of importance to ask about how self-regulation arises
in transference (Reznik & Andersen, 2003). To the extent that a particular
self-regulatory style or focus—that is, whether one is geared toward
obtaining positive outcomes or toward avoiding negative outcomes—is as-
sociated with the significant other, this self-regulatory focus should be acti-
vated in transference. For example, if a significant other has tended to
withhold affection or rewards based on poor performance, reaching his or
her ideals should become paramount (given the threat of the loss of love),
and should thus be triggered in transference. Likewise, if the other has
tended to threaten punishments (harsh treatment) based on poor perfor-
mance, then averting or avoiding these punishments should become impor-
tant, and should be triggered in transference (e.g., Andersen & Chen,
2002; also see Higgins, 1987). Self-regulatory responses should become
profoundly relevant in relation to significant others because these others
are uniquely positioned to comfort and enable an affective equilibrium.
Likewise, they are uniquely positioned to disturb one’s equilibrium simply
because of one’s emotional investment in their various responses.
According to self-discrepancy theory and self-regulatory focus theory,
self-discrepancies in which ideal standards are operative and discrepant
from the self are part of a broader self-regulatory system focused on pro-
motion and on attaining positive outcomes. By contrast, self-discrepancies
The Relational Self and Transference 17
in which ought standards are operative and discrepant from the self are
also part of a broader self-regulatory system, in this case, focused on pre-
vention and on detecting and avoiding negative outcomes (Higgins, 1996b,
1996c). In particular, research has examined the degree to which activation
of a significant-other representation in transference would indirectly acti-
vate a self-discrepancy from the other’s perspective (Reznik & Andersen,
2003). That is, participants experiencing transference involving a signifi-
cant other from whose point of view they have an ideal self-discrepancy or
an ought self-discrepancy should experience the activation of this particu-
lar discrepancy, which should lead to the relevant self-regulatory focus.
Indeed, the results showed just this. More motivation to avoid the new
person in transference was evoked among ought-discrepant participants
expecting to meet a new person relative to when they were told they would
not need to do this, that is, during the precise moment that prevention was
relevant (Reznik & Andersen, 2003). On the other hand, among ideal-
discrepant participants, transference evoked less motivation to avoid the
new person while expecting to meet him or her as compared to when no
longer expecting to do so. No such pattern occurred for either group in the
no-resemblance condition. Hence, activation of the significant-other repre-
sentation in transference evoked the distinct self-regulatory system known
to be part of having an ideal versus an ought discrepancy. We see this as an
important contribution to regulatory focus research, since transference
arises in the face of novel interaction partners and shows the subtle impact
of significant others on the motivational system. Other recent research also
supports this, as well as the notion that such processes may occur outside
of awareness (Shah, 2003b, Study 3).
Self-Protective Self-Regulation
We now look at two forms of self-regulation based on the experience of
threat in the context of the transference. Both forms of self-regulation de-
pend on what exactly is threatened. Specifically, a threat to the self is likely
to produce self-protective self-regulation (e.g., Hinkley & Andersen, 1996),
and a threat to the other is likely to evoke other-protective self-regulation
(e.g., Andersen et al., 1996). In each case, the result is that one inflates
one’s view or enhances one’s positive emotions about whatever it is that is
under attack.
When a threat to the self is experienced with reference to a significant
other, then a kind of compensatory self-enhancement or self-inflation
should arise to protect the self. This kind of process has been widely ob-
served in other research literatures (e.g., Greenberg & Pyszczynski, 1985;
Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001; Showers, 1992; Steele, 1988; Taylor & Brown,
1988). Hence, such a process should arise in transference when what is
threatened in the transference is the self because the transference has nega-
tive implications for the self. One way in which a significant other may be
18 INTERPERSONAL COGNITION
Other-Protective Self-Regulation
The second form of self-regulation based on threat is other-protective. Peo-
ple are motivated to protect their perceptions of the significant others in
whom they are invested. The interdependence one has with significant oth-
ers for one’s own outcomes and well-being makes it clear why one may be
motivated to view a positive significant other as basically good, loving and
caring, and safe in spite of flaws. Indeed, people tend to transform the
flaws of their loved ones into virtues, thereby finding ways to regard short-
comings as particularly charming, funny, or endearing (e.g., Murray &
Holmes, 1993). The negative aspect of the other, which might otherwise be
problematic or threatening to one’s view, becomes a plus. Finding a way to
respond positively to negative qualities of the other may in fact be essential
to maintaining a close relationship, and may thus be very well practiced. If
this is well practiced, it ought to take place relatively automatically, which
is what our evidence on affect regulation in transference suggests.
In short, the relatively immediate expression of facial affect in trans-
ference yields especially positive affect in a positive transference when trig-
gering features were in fact negative (Andersen et al., 1996). In a positive
transference, people actually express more positive affect in their facial ex-
The Relational Self and Transference 19
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research was funded in part by Grant No. R01-MH48789 from the National
Institute of Mental Health.
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"And you came from the Lazy S just to see it?"
"Yes, but why all the questions? It's a free country, isn't it?"
"Well, it is for us, so we'll be going. Come on, boys." She gathered up
her reins as if about to mount.
"Not quite so fast," the man snapped. "I've got another question to ask
you."
"I thought you'd ask that. Suppose I don't choose to tell you."
"You'd better."
"Why?"
"Perhaps."
"Well, I don't like threats." Sue's black eyes snapped as she spoke and
both the boys wondered what was coming next. "So I don't think I will tell
you. Now what are you going to do about it?"
"I'll soon show you," and the man took a step forward, but Bob, unable
to keep his hands off any longer, sprang in front of him.
"And if I don't?"
"I'll make you."
The man hesitated a moment, and Bob wondered what was passing in his
mind. It was hardly conceivable, he thought, that he was afraid of him,
especially when he had his friends so near at hand. Perhaps it was
something in the girl's eyes that made him draw back. At any rate, he made
no further movement toward her, and after giving Bob an angry look, turned
and strode off without another word.
"Well, what do you know about that?" Jack asked as soon as he had
disappeared.
"I thought I could bluff him," Sue said, "but if you hadn't stepped up to
him as you did, I don't know as it would have worked," she added turning to
Bob.
"Well, I'm mighty glad he let it go at that," Bob assured her. "I would
have been a baby in his hands."
"I'm not so sure of that," Sue said with an admiring glance at him. "I'll
bet you would have kept him busy."
"I'll say he would," Jack assured her. "Bob's some scrapper and knows
how to take care of himself when it comes to a rough and tumble."
They waited as the sound of the men's voices grew more and more faint
and when they could no longer be heard, Sue proposed that they start.
"I was afraid that they'd come back, but I guess they've really gone," she
said.
They made their way slowly back to the trail stopping to listen now and
then, but there was no sign of the men and, as soon as they reached the path,
they started for home as fast as they dared urge the horses. They had
covered about half the distance down the other side of the mountain when
Bob, who was in the lead, rounded a huge rock which hid the trail from
view, and almost ran into a man, mounted on a roan horse. He was a man
well over the average in size and had an abundant crop of long red hair: Red
Hains beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Bob looked at the man for a moment too dazed to speak, and the big man
returned the scrutiny, a cynical smile parting his lips.
"I beg your pardon," Bob smiled. "You see, the surprise was so great that
I fear I was a bit rude."
"Rude, eh, wall, I should say yer was rude, staring at a man like he was a
wild animal. Whar yer goin'?"
"Don't yer 'spose I kin tell that much? I mean, what's yer destination? Is
that plain?"
"That's it."
"Now yer gettin' down ter brass tacks. Why didn't yer say so in the first
place and save all the wind?"
Bob made no reply to this question and, after a moment, the man asked:
"Did yer meet some men a while back?"
"Yes."
"Whar 'bouts?"
"Wall, if yer know when yer well off yer'll keep a still tongue in yer head
'bout havin' seen them an' me, too," the man threatened as he started his
horse and pushed past them.
"That was Red Hains," Sue said as soon as he was out of hearing.
"Well, he sure does look the part," Sue declared with a shrug of her
shoulders. "I wish they could catch him."
"Do you suppose his hiding place is anywhere in these hills? I mean the
place where he hides the cattle he steals," Jack asked.
"It's more than likely," Sue replied. "You see, it's only a few miles to the
border and he'd naturally choose a place not too far from the line so that he
wouldn't have to drive them very far."
"It seems likely," Bob agreed. Then, after a moment's pause, he said:
"I've an idea. Jack, you ride home with Sue and I'll follow that fellow a bit
and who knows but I may find out where they hang up."
"Not on your life," Sue objected. "Boy, you don't know what you'd be up
against. It's not like your Maine woods where you know your way around.
Besides, they're bad men, who would think no more of killing you than they
would of shooting a steer."
"Maybe not, but then again they might. They know this country and you
don't and that gives them a big advantage."
"But think of the opportunity. They are probably on the way to their
hiding place and there may never be so good a chance again. It's worth the
risk."
"No, it isn't. Remember, I'm responsible for you till we get back to the
ranch."
"Not a chance. You see, I couldn't get lost on these hills, as all I'd have to
do would be to keep on down hill till I got to the bottom and then I'd be out
of the woods."
They argued the matter for some moments and finally Sue gave a
reluctant consent, although Jack shook his head and urged him to go on
with them. But Bob declared that it would be almost criminal to let such a
chance slip, and after a while he, too, gave in.
"But you be home before dark," was Sue's final command as they started
off again.
BOB CAPTURED.
He had gone, perhaps, a mile from the top when his eye caught sight of a
narrow path running off toward the north. The place where it branched off
the main trail was just beyond a huge pine tree and was so well hidden that,
had he not been on the watch for just such a thing, he would never have
seen it.
To his great joy, however, he found that it was only a slight sprain and
that he could bear his weight on it without causing a great amount of pain.
For a moment he seriously considered the advisability of giving it up and
going back, but he was not made of the stuff that gives up easily and he
determined to push on for a while at least. But another sharp rattle in front
fold him that an enemy was protesting his right of way. He had an
automatic in his pocket and, as he was a good shot, he knew that there
would be little difficulty in disposing of the protestor were it not for the fact
that the shot would be certain to alarm the men somewhere ahead of him.
"That would never do," he thought as he picked up a stone about the size
of his fist.
The snake's head was out of sight as he straightened up but rose into
view as he took a step forward. The distance was about ten feet and he
hurled the stone with all his strength but, to his disappointment, he missed.
But he was more fortunate the second time, the rock striking the snake's
head fair and square. The head went down out of sight behind the rock and
he could hear it thrashing about. He waited a few minutes then, picking up
another larger rock, stepped cautiously forward. He had no way of knowing
how badly he had injured his snakeship and, as the noise of the writhing had
stopped, he judged that he had either killed it or else it was coiled ready to
spring. So he tossed the stone in the air in such a way that it fell just behind
the rock which hid the snake from his sight. It made no sound when it
struck from which he judged that it must have landed on the snake. He
waited a moment longer and, hearing nothing, judged that the sake must be
dead. So he stepped nearer until he could see over the rock.
The snake was dead, its head mashed to a jelly by the second rock which
had landed fairly on it. It was a large one, fully as long as the one Sue had
shot earlier in the day.
"I'm going to keep those rattles," he said to himself as he drew his knife
from his pocket and cut them off.
He could not make quite so fast time now as he was obliged to favor his
leg which now gave him considerable pain when he bore his weight on it.
"If I don't meet up with something before long I'll have to give it up, as I
promised to turn up before dark," he thought as he pulled out his watch and
noted that it was nearly four o'clock. "If I don't strike something in another
half-hour I'll turn back. That'll give me time to get back before dark, I
guess."
It was about twenty minutes later when the sharp crack of a rifle brought
him to a quick stop.
Then, a moment later he heard the sound of a man's voice off to his right.
He was unable to distinguish the words although, from the sound, he could
not be far away. The forest was very dense and he felt sure that he could
creep fairly close to them without running much risk. So he turned from the
path and, moving with extreme caution, crept from tree to tree, listening all
the while. Soon he heard the voice again and now it was nearer, so near, in
fact, that he had no difficulty in hearing what he said.
"It's about time Red was gettin' here, don't you think?" the voice asked.
"He'll get here all right, give him time," a second voice replied.
"Wall, I don't like him bein' so confounded long 'bout it," the first voice
growled.
"Aw, yer always a stewin' 'bout somethin' or other. Why don't yer take
things easy like I do?" a third voice broke in.
All the time the boy was creeping nearer until finally, peering out from
behind a thick clump of bushes, he could see the men sitting beneath the
limbs of a large tree while their tired horses were hobbled only a few feet
away. To his disappointment there was no sign of any place which would
serve as a hiding place for stolen cattle. He watched for a few minutes and
then, judging that he had probably learned all that he could and that he
would have barely time to get back to the ranch before dark, he got
carefully to his feet and was about to start when, suddenly a pair of
powerful arms were thrown about him and he was borne to the ground. He
realized at once that it would be useless to resist, so he kept quiet and after a
moment the man seized him by the collar and jerked him to his feet.
"I guess yer're right thar. I caught yer red-handed, so ter speak. But come
on an' we'll see what the rest of the gang think about it."
Still keeping his great hand on Bob's collar he half-dragged and half-led
him to where the others were waiting.
"What yer got thar, Red?" one of them called as soon as they came in
sight.
"Name it an' yer kin have it," Hains laughed. Then as he came into their
midst, he continued:
"I caught this feller a piece back thar watchin' of yer. What'll we do with
him?"
"Why, that the same boy that was with the girl and other boy we found
back a little way off the main trail."
Both because he used better language than the others and by his black
hair and beard, Bob recognized the speaker as the man who had found them
earlier in the day.
"Yes, and believe me the girl was as pretty as a picture and she had some
tongue, believe me."
"An' I 'spose that on account of her prutty face yer let 'em go," Hains
snapped.
"Not exactly on account of that," the man replied. "But there didn't seem
any reason not to."
"I 'spose not, but how 'bout this feller? Want me ter let him go?"
"That's a different thing entirely," the man said. "He was caught spying
on us and that makes a difference."
"I'll say it does, a heap of difference," one of the other men broke in.
"Aw jest put a bullet whar it'll do the most good," a third suggested.
Bob was scared. He knew that he was in the hands of desperate men,
men who would stop at nothing if they thought their safety was threatened,
and his heart sank as he heard the suggestions from the different members
of the band. How he wished he had listened to Sue and his brother and was
safe back at the ranch.
"But he big enough ter tell what he's seen," another declared.
"Aw, what's the use o' arguin' 'bout it I'll do the trick," a man who had
not spoken before, said as he drew an ugly-looking revolver from his belt,
and Bob gave an involuntary shudder.
"Hold on thar, Tim," Hains ordered and the man replaced the gun,
growling something which Bob did not catch. "Let's get supper first an' then
we'll tend ter him. Now, kid, you stay put right thar and if yer try to get
away yer'll get a bullet that'll stop yer. Get me?"
Bob did not doubt that the man meant exactly what he said and he sank
down on a rock with a sigh which he could not repress. Not that he had
given up hope, but he could not help feeling that his situation was desperate
in the extreme. Perhaps after all, he thought, the men were only trying to
scare him. He tried to force himself to believe that such was the case but got
little comfort from the hope. Closing his eyes for a moment he breathed a
silent prayer for protection and, somehow, after that he felt better.
By this time the men had a big fire going and all were busy getting ready
the meal except Hains and the black-haired man. They were talking
earnestly together a little apart from the rest, and it seemed to the watching
boy that the black-haired man was urging the other to some course of
action. But, if so, it appeared that his argument was not meeting with much
success, for Hains frequently shook his head and finally turned away and
went to where the horses were hobbled and carefully looked each one over
as though to satisfy himself that none could wander away.
The entire party seemed, for the time at least, to have forgotten all about
the boy, for no one paid the slightest attention to him. He watched them
carefully and, had it not been for his injured leg, he told himself, he would
have made the attempt to slip away into the dense woods, trusting that he
might get enough of a start before he was missed to enable him to escape.
But hampered, as he knew he would be, with the sprain, he dared not
risk it. So he waited as patiently as possible, wondering what the outcome
would be. Finally the supper, consisting of lamb, which they had roasted
over the fire, potatoes and hot coffee, was ready and the men began to eat
hungrily, still completely ignoring him. Again he was minded to attempt to
get away, but the fear of the injured leg again held him back. He pulled out
his watch and saw that it was well past six o'clock and he began to feel
hungry.
After what seemed a long time, one of the men, at an order from Hains,
came to him bearing a good-sized hunk of meat and a couple of potatoes on
a piece of birch bark, and a tin cup about half-filled with coffee.
"Here yer are, Kid," he said. "Eat, drink and be merry, for ter-morrow,
who knows."
He sat the food down on the ground and turned back. Bob picked it up
and, although there was neither knife, fork or spoon, he managed to eat it
all. The potatoes were a bit soggy, but the meat was good and he was
surprised at the quality of the coffee.
"The fellow who made that coffee knows his job all right," he said to
himself as he drained the last of it.
Greatly to his surprise the men, after they had cleaned up after the meal,
continued to pay not the slightest attention to him, and soon dusk began to
steal over the forest. He could see that a number of the men were playing
cards on a blanket, which they had spread on the ground in front of the fire,
while others, rolled up in their blankets, for it was beginning to grow cool,
were already fast asleep. Apparently it was their intention to pass the night
there, and he began to wonder if, after all, it would not be best to make the
attempt to escape. He could hardly suppose that they had forgotten him, but
he could see no indication that they were aware of his existence.
He had seen neither Hains or the black-haired man since he had eaten
and he wondered what had become of them. Were one or both of them
concealed somewhere where they could watch him? If he made the attempt
to get away would it be to give them the chance for which they were
waiting?
"It's a toss up either way," he thought. "If they intend to put me out of
business they'll do it sooner or later unless I give them the slip, so I don't
know that I'd be much worse off even if I don't succeed. I'm going to make
a stab at it just as soon as it gets a bit darker."
The game of cards evidently was getting more and more exciting and he
could hear the men as they made their bids and often a violent oath broke
from the lips of first one and then another as the card went against them.
Darkness settled rapidly and, a few minutes after he had made his
decision, he was able to see only a few feet from where he sat unless he
looked toward the fire.
"As well now as any time," he thought as, without making the slightest
sound, he began to hitch himself farther away from the fire. He moved three
or four feet and then stopped and listened, watching the men to see if they
were aware of his movements. But the game went on with no abatement
and foot by foot he increased the distance between them and him. At no
instant would he have been in the least surprised to have felt those powerful
arms close about him or even to have felt the impact of a bullet. But nothing
happened and soon he felt that he was far enough away to get up and run
for it. Although he was in the dense forest the trees were not very close
together and there was little or no underbrush, which enabled him, even in
the darkness, to make fairly good speed, and at the end of another ten
minutes, he felt that he was reasonably safe, at least so far as they were
concerned.
But he well knew that not yet was he out of the woods, either literally or
figuratively speaking. Could he find his way back to where he had left
Satan? He was not so sure that he could, but he thanked God that he had, at
least, escaped from what had at the time, seemed almost certain death. If he
only had a flashlight, he thought as he slowed down his pace and began to
hunt for the narrow trail which led to the main path. Once he found that he
felt that he would be reasonably safe and he thought that he was moving in
the right direction but could not be certain. He knew how difficult it was to
maintain a correct sense of direction in the woods, especially at night.
Soon he was sure that, had he been going in the right direction, he ought
to have reached it and turned sharply to the left. He was walking very
slowly now, both on account of the injured leg which was giving him
considerable pain every time he stepped on it, and because he knew that
should he cross it without being aware of it, the chances were that he would
not find it, at least, until morning. For another fifteen minutes he pushed on
and then stopped suddenly. Was that a shout he heard? He listened and
almost at once the sound was repeated. Someone was calling and the shout
was answered by another not very far away. They had missed him and were
searching the woods.
As he crouched there he could hear the men calling one to the other and
all the time they were coming nearer. Flashes of light stabbed the darkness
but, so dense were the branches beneath him, he only caught an occasional
glimpse like the gleam of a firefly. Soon he was aware that two of them had
met directly beneath him, and strained his ears to hear what they were
saying.
"I told Pete to keep an eye on him," were the first words he could
distinguish, and he thought it was Hains' voice.
"I guess Pete got too much interested in his cards," the other said.
"Wall, I'll larn him ter get mixed up with other things when I tell him to
do sumpin'."
"I wouldn't be too hard on Pete, Red. The kid isn't worth it and after all,
what does it matter if he does get away. It's already known that we are in the
country and what he could tell wouldn't hurt us any."
From the language as well as the voice Bob knew that it was the black-
haired man talking. He was the only one in the gang who, so far as he had
heard, used decent English and he wondered how the man came to be
associated with such a crowd.
"'Tain't that I mind the kid so much, but it's the principle o' the thing that
makes me mad. Long's I'm boss they've got to mind what I say."
"That's right so far as it goes, but I warn you that you'll make a big
mistake if you go to rubbing Pete the wrong way just now. He doesn't like
you any too much and the all the boys do like him. First thing you know
he'll get the drop on you and then your rule will be over."
"Aw, what yer givin' us? I tell yer I kin handle a dozen Petes and any o'
the rest of 'em, fer that matter."
"All right, have it your own way," the other replied nonchalantly. "But
don't forget that I warned you."
At this moment two more of the gang joined them and Bob heard one of
the newcomers say:
"Dunno."
"Wall, I guess we might's well get back ter camp. 'Tain't much use
huntin' round here in the dark."
Bob breathed a deep sigh of relief as he heard the men move off in the
darkness. For some time he could hear them talking and shouting as they
called to others of the gang. Gradually their voices grew fainter and soon all
was still and he deemed it safe to descend. But when he reached the ground
he found that he had entirely lost his sense of direction and had not the
slightest idea as to which way to go.
"Guess the safest thing will be to stay right here till morning," he
concluded after thinking the matter over for some time. "If I start out I'll be
just as apt to blunder into their camp again as I am to find that trail."
A glance at the luminous face of his watch told him that it was nearly ten
o'clock. The sky had clouded over and it was steadily growing colder, but
he was dressed fairly warm in his woolen shirt and knew there was little
danger of catching cold.
CHAPTER VII.
It was about five o'clock when Sue and Jack reached the ranch. Jeb was
on the porch as they drove up.
Sue told him what had happened and he listened until she had finished
the frown on his face getting deeper and deeper.
"And you let him do that fool thing?" he said as she paused.
"I didn't let him. He just did it. I told him not to and tried to get him to
give it up," she replied.
"It was not her fault," Jack told him. "You see, when Bob makes up his
mind to do a thing wild horses couldn't stop him and he was bound to do
this so you mustn't blame her."
"But that was Red Hains and his gang you met," Jeb groaned. "If they
catch him spying on them, good night."
"I guess it's only a hunch, but I feel it in my bones that he'll turn up all
right. You see, he always does."
But the man was not convinced and the frown was still on his face as
they led the horses toward the corral.
"I feel mighty guilty," Sue confided to Jack as they removed the saddles.
"You needn't. You did all you could to keep him from going."
"Just the same if anything happens to him I'll never forgive myself."
As they turned back to go to the house they; saw two men riding in
through the gateway.
"There's Slim and Slats and they seem some excited," Sue said.
That the two boys were excited became more apparent as, their horses
reeking with sweat, they pulled up in front of the corral.
"Where and when?" Sue was now fully as excited as the men.
"How many?"
"Close onter 150, so Herb Walters told us. We met him 'bout five miles
out."
"Do they think it was the Hains Gang?" Jack asked anxiously.
"Course it was. Who else could it been?" Slim looked at the boy with a
glance of pity.
"But we met Hains and his gang up in the mountains along about noon,"
Sue told them.
"You heard me the first time. I said we met Hains and his gang up in the
mountains.
"Well, of all the horned toads," Slats began but Slim interrupted.
"Do you think there is much danger?" Sue looked from one to the other.
"Would there be any danger if yer held a sidewinder in yer hand and
invited him ter have a free lunch off yer?"
Jack turned pale as Slats was speaking. "But he won't let them catch
him," he protested.
"If he can help it, you mean," Slats snapped. "When did he aim ter get
back?"
"He promised to get to the ranch before dark," Sue told them.
While talking they had been walking toward the house and Jeb met them
at the steps.
"If he don't show up afore long I reckon we'll have ter do it."
Slim told him of the raid on the stock at the Bar Z and Jeb looked very
thoughtful as he finished.
"It's bad, mighty bad," he said. "It's only a question of a short time
before it'll be our turn unless something's done."
"You said it, boss," Slats agreed and Slim nodded his head.
Supper was a very quiet meal as no one seemed inclined to talk much
each one being busy with his own thoughts. First Sue and then Jack would
step to the door and look off across the prairie to see if Bob was in sight but
each time a shake of the head announced their disappointment to the others.
"But it's not dark yet," Jack said as he sat down after his fourth trip to the
porch.
As soon as the meal was finished they all three gathered on the porch
and it is probable that not one of them took their eyes from the distant hills
during the next half hour.
"We'll wait till seven o'clock and if he don't show up by that time we'll
start," Jeb said as he started down the path which led to the 'shack' where
the cowboys lived. "I'll tell the boys to get the horses ready and, if we have
to go, we can pretty near get to the hills before dark," he added.
When the hour came and brought no sign of the missing boy they set out.
Three of the men were left behind, much against their wishes, as Jeb did not
wish to leave the ranch entirely unprotected. At first he refused to allow Sue
to accompany them, but the girl pleaded so hard that she finally had her
way, as she usually did, and of course, Jack would not hear to being left
behind.
"We'll probably meet him before we get very far," Jeb said as they swept
out of the yard.
"I hope so," Jack replied trying to make his voice sound cheerful.
* * * * * * * *
When Bob awoke the sun was shining. He opened his eyes slowly and,
for an instant, wondered where he was. Then memory returned and he sat
up.
"Well, I had a good sleep anyway," he said half aloud as he got to his
feet.
Although his ankle still hurt when he bore his weight on it he was glad to
note that the pain was considerable less than it had been the night before.
"Now if I can only find Satan," he thought as he looked about trying to
determine which way to go. "Wonder if he's as hungry as I am."
Ordinarily the position of the sum would have told him which way to go
but, inasmuch as he was not at all certain of the direction in which he had
fled during the darkness, he could not be sure. So he determined that he
would again climb the tree in the hopes that the view from the top would set
him straight. The tree was a very tall one overtopping any other near by
and, when he had reached the limb on which he had rested before, he had a
good view over a considerable distance. But it all looked so much alike that
he could pick out no distinguishing mark which was at all helpful to him.
"I'm pretty sure that the path is over that way," he said aloud, pointing
toward the top of the ridge. "I must have crossed it in the darkness without
knowing it."
And a few minutes later he was sure that he was right for he came to a
small path leading through the woods.
"I'm all right now," he thought turning to the right and, with a light heart,
he pushed on as rapidly as the injured ankle would permit.
For an hour he hurried along. The fact that the path seemed much less
rough than it had been yesterday caused him much uneasiness, but he
trusted that it was due to his imagination but, when a second hour had
nearly passed and he had not struck the main trail, he was obliged to
acknowledge to himself that it was not the path he had taken before.
"Guess there's only one thing to do and that's to get up to the top of the
ridge and go down the other side. I'm bound to come somewhere. Looking
for Satan now would be like hunting for a needle in a hay stack," he thought
as he came to a stop. "I ought to have known that this wasn't the right path."
So he turned off to the left and plunged into the thick forest. Once off the
narrow pathway it was very rough going. The trees were so close together
that it was impossible to keep in anything like a straight course and there
was much underbrush through which, at times, he had literally to push his
way. But Bob was a boy who did not easily get discouraged and, although
he was tired and hungry, he kept steadily on never doubting, but that he
would find his way out sooner or later.
He had been off the trail for about half an hour and had been climbing
nearly all that time when he heard a shout. He thought it was off to his right
and paused undecided whether or not it would be advisable to answer it. It
probably was one of the boys hunting him but, then again, it might be one
of the Hains' gang and he hesitated to take the chance. For several moments
he listened, but the shout was not repeated and he started on again. In
another half hour he had reached the top of the ridge but whether he was
above or below the main trail he was unable to determine as, at that point,
the top was heavily wooded. So, after a moment's thought, he decided that
he had better go straight down trusting that he would strike open ground
and be able to get his bearings. It was now ten o'clock and he thought he
ought to reach the foot of the mountain by noon.
He had hardly started when he heard another shout and this time it was
much closer but he did not dare venture to answer it. As before the call was
not repeated but, as he stood listening, he heard the sound of something
making its way through the underbrush and it was coming directly toward
him. Was it a beast or a man, and if the latter, was he friend or foe? The boy
glanced hastily about to find a place of concealment where he could see
without being seen. But, as bad luck would have it, there seemed no such
place at hand and the best he could do was to hide behind the trunk of a big
tree. The man, for by this time he knew by the sound that it was a man, was
close at hand and he could hear him breathing heavily as he stopped not ten
feet from the tree. If only he dared peep out. But he knew that would be to
risk discovery, so he waited hoping that the man would speak and that from
the sound of his voice, he would be able to tell who he was. He did not have
long to wait for, almost immediately he heard him mutter:
"I dunno what in thunder Red wanted ter send me off on a wild goose
chase like this fer."
"It's one of the gang," Bob thought and he feared that the man would
hear his heart beating it sounded so loud to him.
"I'm jest agoin' ter take a rest here," he heard him say and was aware that
he had thrown himself on the ground.
"I hope he doesn't rest long," Bob thought as he carefully shifted his
weight onto the other leg.
But, although he moved with the most extreme caution, he was unable to
avoid a slight rustling of leaves which evidently caught the man's ear, for he
heard him start up and, a moment later he could hear him getting to his feet.
Then he came directly toward the tree.
Knowing that further concealment was out of the question, the boy
determined to put on as bold a front as possible and stepped out to face him,
holding his revolver in his hand.
"Well, if it ain't the kid," the man said as he saw the boy. "Thought thar
was sumpin' behind that tree."
"Well, put up yer gun, sonny. Thar's no need o' guns atween friends. I
ain't a goin' ter hurt yer any."
Bob had recognized the man as one of those who had advised giving him
a necktie party the night before and was not at all deceived by his friendly
attitude. But he was a small man, not much over a hundred and twenty
pounds, and he felt sure that if it should come to a fight he could hold up his
end. So he slipped the revolver back in his pocket.
"No where in particular," the man answered. "Whar you hittin' it fer?"
"Oh."
For the moment Bob was looking the other way and, when he turned, he
was gazing straight into the barrel of an ugly looking automatic.
"So it would seem. May I ask what you are going to do with me?"
"Yer may be suspended sooner yer think fer," the man grinned. "But if
yer try any funny business it won't be necessary."
Bob knew that the time to start anything was not yet so he did as he was
ordered without hesitation, but his brain was busy. He did not intend to be
led back, or driven for that matter, to the Hains gang. He was only too well
aware of the reception that awaited him, for he did not doubt for a minute
but that the man had been hunting for him, and, as he trudged along, he was
busy thinking how he get hold of his captor without getting shot. That the
man would shoot him if he felt that his safety was in danger, he had not the
slightest doubt. Then again, he knew that the quicker he acted the better
chance of success he would stand because there was no telling how soon
they might meet some other member of the gang.
Before he had time to recover himself Bob was on top of him and they
were thrashing about each trying to get a firm hold on the other. Bob almost
at once got a hold on the hand which held the gun and with a sudden twist
sent it flying. Although the man was undersized he was wiry and the boy
was amazed at his strength but, to his great satisfaction, he soon discovered
that he knew nothing regarding the science of wrestling. All he had was
brute strength while Bob was an adept. So, once the gun was out of the way
he felt fairly confident. But the man was fighting like a wild cat and Bob
had all he could manage for some moments to keep his hands away from
his throat.
He hoped that his exertions would soon wind him but, as the struggle
continued, there was no abatement of his fury and Bob decided that he had
better take the offensive without waiting longer. He was underneath at the
moment and with a sudden twist of his body he succeeded in throwing him
off and, an instant later, he had a half Nelson about his neck. Back he bent
the arm until it seemed that the bone must snap, but the man continued to
struggle.
"It'll snap pretty soon," Bob told him. "Better give up."
"All right, you win," the man gasped his face distorted with pain.
Bob immediately released his hold and sprang to his feet. For a moment
the other lay on the ground rubbing his arm then he too got slowly up.
Bob was pretty certain that he had no other gun as he had taken the
opportunity of feeling for it while they were on the ground, but he watched
him closely ready to spring for him if he made a movement toward his
pocket.
"Half Nelson, eh. Well all I got ter say is that I'd sure hate ter run up
against a whole one."
The man had taken a step forward and, as Bob spoke, he suddenly aimed
a blow at his head. Although Bob was on the watch for some such move,
the quickness of it deceived him and the fist landed squarely on the point of
his chin, and he went down. With an exultant cry the man sprang forward,
but before he could reach him again the boy was on his feet. The blow,
although a heavy one, had not landed with its full force as Bob had drawn
his head back in time and he had fallen more because of catching his heel
on a root than from the blow itself. The man hesitated as though surprised at
the quickness with which Bob had got to his feet.
"So that's the way you play the game," Bob said.
"What you mean play the game?"
"Why, up where I come from when a man cries quits he's done, that's
all."
"But I'm not done yer'll find out in 'bout a minute," he snarled as he
sprang forward.
Bob dodged the blow without any great effort and, as he lurched by from
the force with which he had struck, he got in a clip behind the ear which
almost but not quite knocked him over. The man recovered himself and
returned to the attack with a snarl of rage. But Bob was ready for him and
as he rushed he caught him fairly on the point of the chin. It was a heavy
blow and the man went down but he was not knocked out and was on his
feet almost immediately. Evidently he realized by this time that he was no
match for the boy with his fists for this time he rushed at him head down in
an effort to catch him about the knees. It was exactly what Bob had been
hoping for and he set himself to meet it, and the next instant a very
surprised outlaw was flying through the air over his head to fall with a thud
all the fight and most of the wind knocked out of him. It was a trick Bob
had learned from the Jap teacher of wrestling at the college and it now
stood him in good stead.
The outlaw writhed on the ground gasping for breath as Bob stepped up
and stood over him.
"That's another good one," he told him, but he had not yet recovered his
breath sufficiently to be able to speak.
Seeing that he was "hors de combat" for the present at least, Bob stepped
a few feet away and began looking for the outlaw's gun. He knew the
direction in which it had been cast, but it was some moments before he
located it. When he returned the man was sitting up with his back against a
tree but he was still having a hard time breathing.
"No use in being ugly about it," he told him. "I'm the one who ought to
be mad. You had two chances and you can bet your sweet life I'm not going
to give you a third."
Bob was intending to leave at once being confident that the man would
not dare to follow him now that he knew that he was armed, but something
in his face made him hesitate. For the first time he realized that the outlaw
was very young. In fact, as he sat there he did not look much over twenty
and a wave of pity swept over the boy.
Bob was impressed by the fact that the outlaw was now using better
English than he had been and was becoming more and more convinced that
he had seen better days.
"Sure thing, but I guess I'm not much of a credit to the nation."
For an instant the man did not reply and Bob could see that a struggle
was taking place in his mind.
"Would you mind telling me how you happened to get into it?"
Again he hesitated and Bob was surprised to see that tears were in his
eyes. Finally he spoke.
"I suppose it's a common enough story. I lived in Boston and my father
is rich. I had plenty of money but I got in with a fast set, got to gambling
and, of course, lost. I didn't dare to ask father for the money so I forged his
name to a check. It was only for a couple hundred dollars, but I realize now
that it was just as bad as if it had been a million. Then a fellow in our crowd
found it out and threatened to go to father and tell him about it unless I paid
him ten thousand dollars. The only way I could get the money was to forge
another check, but I didn't do it. I skipped and beat my way out here. That
was a little over a month ago and I've had a pretty rough time of it. You see
I never had to work and so don't know how to do anything. I tried a number
of jobs but every time I got fired and I don't blame them for that because I
know I made a mess of it. Then three days ago I fell in with this man,
Hains. I was about starved at the time and he staked me to a good meal, the
first one I've had for most a week. Well I was pretty desperate and when he
asked me to join his gang I, like a weak fool, consented."
"That's all, and I haven't had anything to do with stealing cattle, not yet.
He said I have to wait awhile and learn the ropes before I'd be any good.
Honestly I'm sorry I tried to double cross you, but you see Hains sent me
out to see if I could find out what had become of you and I thought if I
could bring you in it'd be a big feather in my cap. But now I'm glad I got
licked."
There was silence for a moment and then the outlaw said: