The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1902-10-24
A STUDY IN SCARLET

BY A. CONAN DOYLE.
PART II--Chapter v-Continued.

known to him, and 1t was no easy
matter to pick out the path which he
had taken.
The valley in which he found him
self divided and subdivided into
many gorges, which were so like
one another that 1t was impossible to
distinguish one from the other.
He followed one for a mile or more,
until he came to mountain torrent
which he was sure that he had never
seen before.
Night was coming on rapidly, and
1t was almost dark before he at last
found himself In a defile which was
familiar to him.
Even then 1t was no easy matter
to keep to the right track, for the
moon had not yet risen, and the high
cliffs on either side made the obscur-
ity more profound.
Weighed down with his burden,
and weary from his exertions, he
stumbled along, keeping up his heart
by the reflection that every step
brought him nearer to Lucy, and that
he carried With him enough to in
sure them food for the remainder
of their journey.
He had now come to the mouth of
the very defile In which he had left
them.
Even in the darkness he could rec
ognize the outlines of the cliffs
which bounded 1t.
They must, he reflected, be await
ing him anxiously, for he had been
absent nearly five hours.
In the gladness Of his heart he
put his hands to his mouth and made
the glen re-echo to a loud halloo as
a signal that he was coming.
He paused and listened for an an
swer, none came save his own cry,
which clattered up the dreary, silent
ravines, and was borne back to his
ears in countless repetitions.
Again he stouted, even louder than
before, and again no whisper came
back from the friends whom he had
left such short time ago.
A vague, nameless dread came over
him, and he hurried onward fran
tically, dropping the precious food
in his agitation.
When he turned the corner, he
came full in sight of the spot, where
the fire had been lighted. There was
still glowing pile Of wood ashes
there, but 1t had evidently not been
tended since his departure.
The same dead silence still reign
ed all round. With his fears all
changed to convictions, he hurried
on. There was no living creature
near the remains Of the fire; animals,
man, maiden, all were gone.
Bewildered and stunned by this
blow, Jefferson Hope felt his head
spin round and had to lean upon his
rife to save himself from falling.
He was essentially a man OF ac-
tion, however, and speedily recovered
from his temporary impotence.
Selling a half consumed piece Of
wood from the smouldering fire, he
blew 1t into a flame, and proceeded
with its help to examine the little
camp
The ground was all stamped down
by the feet of horses, showing that
a large party of mounted men had
overtaken the fugitives and the di-
rection of their tracks proved that
they had afterward turned back to
Salt Lake City.
Had they carried back both of his
companions with them? Jefferson
Hope had almost persuaded himself
that they must have done so, when
his eye fell upon an object which
made every nerve In his body
tingle within him.
A little way on one side Of the
camp was a low-lying heap Of red
dish soil, which had assuredly not
been there before.
There was no mistaking 1t for any
thing but newly dug grave. AS the
young hunter approached it, he per-
ceived that stick had been planted
on it, with a sheet of paper stuck in
the cleft fork OF 1t.
The inscription upon the paper was
brief, but to the point:
JOHN FERRIER,
FORMERLY OF SALT LAKE CITY.
Died August 4, 1860.
The sturdy old man, whom he had
left so short time before, was gone,
then, and this was all his epitaph.
Jefferson Hope looked wildly round
to see II there was a second grave,
but there was no sign of one.
Lucy had been carried back by
their terrible pursuers to fulfill her
original destiny by becoming one of
the harem of the elders son.
As he stood by the desolate fire ne
felt that the only one thing which
could assuage his grief would be
thorough and complete retribution
brought by his own hand upon his
enemies.
His strong will and untiring energy
should, he determined, be devoted to
that one end. With a grim white face
he retraced his steps to where he
had dropped the food, and having
stirred up the smoldering fire, he
cooked enough to last him for a few
days.
For five days he toiled, footsore
and weary, through the defiles which
he had already traversed on horse
back. At night he flung himself
down among the rocks and snatched
a few hours Of sleep; but before day
break he was always on his way.
On the sixth day he reached the
Eagle Ravine, from which they had
commenced their Inflated flight.
Thence he could look down upon the
home of the Saints.
Worn and exhausted, he leaned
upon his rife and shook his gaunt
hand fercely at the silent, wide
spread city beneath him.
AS he looked at 1t he observed that
there were flags in some of the prin-
cipal streets and other signs of fes-
tivity,
He was still speculating as to what
this might mean. when he heard the
clatter Of a horses hoofs, and saw
a mounted man riding toward him.
As he approached. he recognized
him as a Mormon named Cowper, to
whom he had rendered services at
different times. He therefore accost-
ed him when he got up to him, with
the object OF finding out what Lucy
Ferrier's fate had been.
II am Jefferson Hope" he said.
"You remember me-"
The Mormon looked at him with
undisguised astonishment-inde 1t
was difficult to recognize in this tat
tered unkamnt wandered with cha ef.