Yuma looked surprised. "Yuh mean tuh say yuh don't want the reward
money?"
The masked man shook his head. Then Yuma saw his drawn face and the
blood-soaked shirt.
"Look here, yore hurt bad. Yuh need some patchin' up." He stepped to the
door. "I'll call the Rangers in here tuh take things in hand an' see
about you."
"No, no," the Lone Ranger said quickly. "Tonto will be here and he'll
fix the wound. It doesn't amount to much."
"The hell it don't."
"There's something more important. Wallie was just trying to buy his
freedom. He had Penelope taken to Breed Martin in Red Oak."
"Breed Martin!" howled Yuma, following the name with a string of
invectives. "Why that--"
"Wallie said that Breed was to take the girl to a hiding place and if he
didn't hear from Wallie to go on to Mexico with her."
Yuma's face lost color. His eyes flashed angry fire in a look toward the
erstwhile bandit leader. "An' so he wants tuh be let go free," said Yuma
with terrible coldness in his voice. "Where is this hidin' place?"
Wallie spoke. "D'you think I'm fool enough to tell you? Not me. You let
me go an' you'll see Penny back here soon."
"I think," said Yuma slowly, "yore agoin' tuh tell where at that place
is." He took one step forward, swinging his right hand in a wide arc. It
landed open-palmed with a resounding slap on Wallie's cheek. "That,"
cried Yuma, "ain't even the start!" He brought his left around to slap
the other side of Wallie's face, and then began a dazzling sequence of
open-handed slaps, each one delivered with a force that bounced Wallie's
head from one side to the other. A blow with a closed fist would have
knocked the killer out, and Yuma didn't want this. He slapped until the
other's face became a livid mass of swollen flesh. He would have gone on
until exhaustion made him stop, but the Lone Ranger halted him.
"That's enough, Yuma--enough," the masked man called above cries of
"give 'im hell!" that came from Bryant.
Yuma, breathing hard, stepped back. "That's just the start, yuh ornery
rat," he gasped. "Now you speak up or I'll wade in with more o' the
same!"
Wallie was reeling, clutching at a table for support. His eyes were red,
and blood drooled from a corner of his mouth.
"I didn't intend to let you go that far," the masked man said. "There is
no need of trying to make him reveal this hiding place."
"No need?" demanded Yuma.
"No. Tonto didn't take Penelope to Martin's. He went to Red Oak and then
followed you and the Texas Rangers back here."
"I ain't seen him or that girl," argued Wallie.
"Look out the window." The buckboard with its team still hitched was
near the corral. The children were still on board.
"Where at," cried Yuma, "is my girl?"
"She and Tonto came into the house."
Wallie had slumped to the floor and sat there completely beaten and
wearing a dazed, bewildered expression.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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