Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-06-21

II am dazzled, nevertheless" he re-
torted
"l'iddlestieks" sho said. This Ia a
gave, not Il drawing fnpm."
I'm other words, Am q ieut and not
4 ceurtier," no sm!led, well, n iout
may look ut n princess. We hive no
court etiquette IN tho hills, ] nm sorry
to say"
"1'hnt WIS worry unkind. oven though
You said It most bceoni!ngly," she pro.
tested. You have called this phil n
throne. Lot liz also imngno that you
arc coufter."
You punish me most gently, your
hlghness. shall not forget my man.
hers again, believe me-" He seemed
thoroughly subdued.
Then / shall expect you to remove
that horrid black thing. 1t Is positive
ly villainous. You look much better
without It,"
us 1t an edict or compliment" he
asked. with such deep gravity that she
flushed
1T is neither" she answered "You
don't have to take 1t off unless you
want to-
"In either event it is Off You were
right 1t serves as partial disguise
I have many enemies and the black
patch is n very good friend"
How perfectly lovely" cried Bev
erly "Tcll me all about 1t. ! adore
. stories about feuds and all that
Your husband Is an American. He
should be able to keep you we'll enter.
tanned with blood Land thunder Stories"
said he.
"My hus- What do you-- Oh yes"
gasped Beverly. TO he sure. didn't
hear you, l guess. That was rather a
severe clap of thunder, wasn't it?'
rs that also commando"
"What do you mean?"
There was no thunderclap, you
know"
"Oh, wasn't there?" helplessly.
THE storm Is quite past. There Is
still dash of rain in the air, and the
wind may he dying hard. but aside
from that think the noise Is quite sub
dued.'
II believe you are right. How sud-
den it all was"
"There are several hours between
this and dawn, your highness, and you
should try to get little more sleep.
Your cushions are dry and
Very well, since you are so eager to
get rid Of began Beverly. and then
stopped, for it did not sound partic-
ularly regal, Il should have said, you
are very thoughtful. You will call me
If sleep late?'
I'VE shall start early. with your per.
mission. 1t Is forty miles to Ganlook
and we must be half way there by
nghtfall."
Must we spend another night like
this?" cried Beverly dolefully.
Alas. l fear you must endure us an
other night am afraid, however we
shall not find quarters as comfortable
as those of the Hawk and Raven"
81 didn't mean to be ungrateful and
-er-snppish," she said. wondering II
he knew the meaning of the word.
"No?" he said politely. and she knew
he did not. whereupon she felt dis
tinctly humbled.
you know you speak such excellent
English" she said irrelevantly.
He bowed low. AS he Strengthened
his figure, to his amazement, he be
held an agonizing look of horror OF
her face, her eyes riveted on the mouth
Of the cavern. Then there came an an
grier sound. unlike any that had gone
before in that night of turmoil.
Look there! Quick"
The cry of terror from the glrl'l
palsied lips as she pointed to some
thing behind him awoke the mountain
man to instant action. Instinctivel,
he snatched his long dagger from it
sheath and turned quickly. Not TWEEN
ty feet from them huge catlike beas
stood half crouched on the edge o
the darkness, his long tail switching
angrlly. The feeble light from tn
depth Of the cave threw the long, wa
ter soaked visitor into bold relic
against the black wall beyond. Appar
emily he was as much surprised as til
two who glared at him. as thoug
frozen to the spot. A snarling whine
fierce growl, indicated his fury a
finding bis shelter. his lair, occupied.
MY God! A mountain lion, Ra
vone. Franz! To me-" he cried hoarse
ly, and sprang before her shouting
loudly to the sleepers.
A score Of men, half awake, GRASP
ed their weapons and struggled (
their feet in answer TO his call. Tn
= lions gaunt body shot through the ali
In two bounds he was upon the goa
hunter. Baldos stood squarely an
! firmly to meet the rush OF the mad
Q dened beast, his long dagger poised 10
the dea tn dealing blow.
J, "Run!" he shouted to her.
I Beverly Calhoun had fighting bloc
: In her veins. Utterly unconscious q
+ her action at the time, she quickly DIRE,
r the little silver handled revolver frol
the pocket Of her gown. As man. beai
+ and knife came together. In her excite
: ment she fired recklessly at the con
: batants without any thought Of r.. th
imminent danger Of killing her protsc
or. There was a wild scream of pal
from the wounded beast, more pist,
t shots. fierce yells from the excite
hunters. the rush Of feet, and then Ii
0 terrified and almost frantic girl stal
q gered and fell against the rocky wal
Her wide gray eyes were fastsns
0 upon the writing lion. and the smol