The Ravalli Republican., 1898-01-19

/ little for that, and all night long he
kept steadily on his way
It was about half hour before
sunrise when he came near to Ram
apo pass My time has come, he
said to himself. IF can once get
safely through this place, have nc
fear of the rest, OF, the way" But
he was moro excited than he knew,
and he was breathing rapidly as ho
entered the pass He grasped his
heavy walking stick more tightly
and glanced about him. The passage
| between the hills was becoming very
narrow Beside the roadway there
were only Il narrow littlo strip Of
land and the swift flowing stream
that ran noisily on it's way The
steep hillsides rose abrupt and
rocky The damp, cool air of the
early morning, the noise of the
stream tho threatening cliffs and
powders, which might conceal some
Of his enemies, all increased the
nervous dread of the messenger, and
he quickened his stops Once
through, his greatest danger would
be passed.
This will never do" thought
Montagnie. If any one is watch
ing me, shall arouse his suspicious
if | run - And he began to walk lei
surely, although his fear increased
each moment Up to this time he
had seen no one and had met no in
terruption on his journey Perhaps
| his fear was unreasonable, but he
had thought SO much and so long Of
this place and was SO familiar with
!: the stories of the deeds of the muir
dering cowboys there that every
sense was alert, Several times he
thought he saw faces peering out
from behind the powders, but be
had not stopped and now he was al
most through the pass. Yes, he
could see where the valley became
wide before him, and soon he would
bo out from under these terrible
cliffs, with their long shadows and
dark hiding places He began to
breathe more freely now and again
quickenel his pace.
Harki What was that? He
stopped and listened and in mo
ment he knew he had not been de-
ceived. He could hear the sound Of
approaching horsemen, and they
were coming rapidly down the road
before him @.z-..
He glanced behind for a hiding
place, and already had started to
climb the cliffs when he caught
sight of the approaching men and
realized that he could not gain q
place of concealment before they
would be near enough to see him
Perhaps they had already discovered
him There was nothing left but to
resume his place in the road, walk
on as though he neither fem ed nor
suspected anything and keep on as
bold face as possible. But if his
face was bold, it was tho only bold
thing about him, for his heart sank
when he saw the SIN men enter the
pass and bring their horses to 4 walk
when they noticed tho stranger.
He could see their faces now, anG
his alarm increased when he recog-
nized the leader as Richard Smith
He had been at Goshen when his ia
the1, Claudius Smiths along with
= Gordon and De Ia Mar, had been
hanged Montagnie knew what 8
desperado Claudius Smith bad been
and what terror his gang Of COW
boys had been III Orange county anC
along the borders Of New Jersey
Many rewards had been offered fol
his arrest, and about a year and ;
half before this time he had bee1
captured at Oyster Bay and taken t
Goshen, where he was chained t.
/, the floor of the jail and strong
! guard placed over him.
! All his efforts to escape had beer
IN yail3,' al1l. with, his two compan
ions he had been hanged, as Mon
tagnie himself knew, for he ha(
been in Goshen on that very day
, But Smith S son, Richard, had beel
avenging the death of his father
, and the poor Wings in that region
had been suffering more at his hand
, than they had from his father
:, These were the thoughts that Wer
passin rapidly through the mind Q
the messenger, and there was thi
:, desperudo, Richard Smith, az
q proaching and with him five me
as desperate as he at his back Wha
:, villainous looking men they were
i He grasped his walking stick NOR
firmly and tried to appear calm
Good morrow, gentlemen, sal
Montasnie.
II A gruff word was the only reply
* but each man was glancing sharpl
!, at him. Evidently they were su*p
cious, but as they passed on, Nor
n tagnie 5reathed@ more easily Th
d danger was almost passed and in
q moment he would be beyond the:
4 sight.
But he was not to escape so easil,
Withpnf t)rninu his head he w;