Page:Teeftallow-1926.djvu/262

man deserted him. He simply snarled, "To hell with yore wrists, stay where you are!"

All of the men in Abner's car got out and left their captive tied to one of the stays of the motor top. The teamster sat for a moment watching them go. He knew very well that in a few minutes some indecent or terrible thing would be perpetrated on him. He began trying to free himself. He stopped over in the seat and tried to get his mouth to the knot around his wrists, but the rope had sunk too deep in his swollen flesh. He ran his puffed and throbbing fingers along the steel support and found the bar was held on its post by a spread rivet. He eased himself out on the ground, circling the stay with his arms, bent his mouth to the flared rivet and began trying to bite it together. He fitted his canine teeth against the two flanges and bit carefully and powerfully. The iron ground loudly against his teeth but slowly closed together. He tasted rust. He could hear the whitecaps talking, a number of voices at once. He chewed on the iron again. The voices were saying, "We didn't git her. . . . She must have run off with Belshue—he hired a machine at the garage this evenin'. . . . No, Bagley says she shore didn't go off on the train. . . . They ain't no way to git that damned infidel, Belshue—he's gone. . . . Nothin' left but make an example out o' this'n. . . ."

Abner began a frantic jerking at the key in the post. The last phrase he heard meant the crowd would have no other amusement than what they could get out of him. Just as he had the key nearly out, two men came briskly up to the motor. Abner made a desperate pull; his throbbing fingers slipped. The men took hold of his rope. One of them cut the segment that went around the standard. Then without a word they led him between them into the beating focus on the headlights.

The teamster walked towards the spectral tree preceded by three long inky shadows. About him arose a dreamlike sensation of unreality and horror. He thought again of Peck Bradley and a prickly sensation swept his scalp.