Evening star., 1895-10-25


woodcraft to recognize the trail. and it
seemed, SO promptly had the hunt been
undertaken, as If they must presently come
upon Elsie and her captor.
All at once they heard voice in the dis
tance. aud they stopped to listen. 1t came
again in a moment:
"E-L-S-I-Ev'
"Durn fools!'' muttered Martin. pressing
on again. Il didn't s'pose 1 needed to tell
'em not to do that" .f,-..... .-.-.- 49,.
thoughtfully.
Cause replied Martin impatiently,
'the girl isn't lost, don't you understand?
If she was she'd holler, wouldn't she? and
then there'd be no need of our shouting.
She's kidnapped, and all this hollering is
just neat warning to her kidnapers to
lay low. Durn it!'
VIII saw the force of this reasoning, but
there was no comfort in 1T. They came
after time to an open space at least an
acre in extent that was almost unbroken
rock. Hardly a spear Of grass marked the
entire surface. Martin dashed directly
across it. looked eagerly along the edge
of the forest at the further side, and then
turned back disappointed.
Unless my calculations are all wrong"
he said. Jim Kings party crossed this
ledge. So it's no use trying to find our
trail again, for We might be simply tagging
after Jim. But Wen remember that we got
this fur all right. l guess now the best
thing We can do is to strike straight for
the cave l spoke of. Well take the short
est possible cut and let the trails go to
thunder
So they broke into the forest at the end
Of the ledge and pushed their way along
the side of the mountain, tending slightly
upward. 1t was considerably farther from
their starting point to the cave than 20 the
opening of the mine, for the cave lay on
| the further side of ridge. into which the
tunnel had been driven. 1t SO happened,
were exploring the mine with improvised
torches for fifteen minutes OR more before
Martin and Will found the Well-concealed
opening to the cave on the other side of
the ridge.
/ Kings party, too, had been more fortu-
nate in one sense than any of the others
About half mile from the mine they had
found shred of cloth upon the low-reach-
ing limb of a tree. 1t was but a shred,
evidently torn from a Dress and it seemed
to indicate that Elsie had passed that way,
| although none of the men could say for
certain that they recognized it as a part of
any dress they had ever seen her wear.
They pressed OF eagerly, for it did seem
as if this indicated that the Wilkins mine
was the hiding place. Arrived at the mine,
they lost no time in exploring it, but there
| they found no trace whatever of the miss
ing girl. The tunnel came to an end in
narrow shaft half full of ice-cold water
that extended perhaps forty feet further
| into the ridge. King himself took torch
and performed what seemed to be the ut
| terly uncalled-for task of wading so near
| to the end of the shaft that he could see
| told how far the miners had carried their
work.
Then he had returned, terribly chilled to
| the open air, end when some one suggested
a cave mile further on, he gladly gave
| the word to hurry there. believing that con-
| stant exercise was necessary to his health.
Martin and Will noted before entering
the cave, to which they had come thar
there were signs of a campfire a little way
| from it's mouth. That might indicate muck
| or nothing, for hunters might have spent
| the night there. No one but Martin hao
ever observed the cave. 81 .-s'1 =. Ht
They lit torches and entered. It was
| narrow, uneven. irregular passage, with on
| ly here and there space enough between the
walls to admit of man lying down, had
| he chosen chilly and damp a place OF
| shelter To VIII the passage seemed in
| terminable. but their progress was neces-
| sarily very slow, for Martin himself was
| not over familiar with it, and they stopped
/ at every expansion to throw the searching
| light of their torches into possible crannies
and chambers.
| Were at the end of the mne" said
Martin at last; now for cold bath
A pace or two forward and he edged
| through a narrow cleft in the rock and
| stepped into the shaft that King supposed
he had explored thoroughly. He had miss
ed the opening through which Martin and
| viii waded because it turned sharply off at
one side before the end OF the shaft was
reached.
| Like the others. these two explored the
| mine thoroughly, and. like the others. they
set forth on new quests. 1t was not till
| sundovn that they sadly turned about and
| started for Granite village. AS they drew
near Martin said:
Il suppose the other fellows are at the
| house by this time. You go along and tell
our story. I'll join you soon enough, but
| I want to get that snake and take it home
| with me-"
| Will assented silently to this suggestion
! and Martin hurried to the place in the edge
| of the forest where he had left the dead
| reptile hanging over the limb of tree.
| 1t was not there. He exhausted all the
| matches in his pockets examining the
| ground about the tree. Somebody had taken
| the snake away, and full of wonder and not
| a little startled, the woodsman made rapid
| Iy for Mr.. Warren's house.
| CTO be continued tomorrow