The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-11-29

Il
'ensed something indefnably odd and
alarming in the air. Turning to the
man she opened her mouth to speak.
when from the rank grass under her
rect came noise which set her a.
tingle and at which her suspicious
ieaped full to the solution 1t was the
groan OF man. Again he gave voice
to his pain, and she knew that she
| STOOD race to face with something sin
lster. Tales Of sluice robbers had come
10 her and rumors OF the daring raids
INTO which men were lured by the yell
low sheen, and yet this was incredible.
A hundred men lay within sound of her
voice. She could hear their laughter.
One was whistlng a popular refrain.
A quarter mile away on every hand
were other camps. A scream from her
would bring them all. Nonsense, this
was no siuice robbery. and then the
man in the bushes below moaned for
the third time.
| what is that?" she said.
| Without reply the negro lowered the
| muZzle of his rife till it covered her
| breast, and at the same time she heard
the double click of the hammer.
keep still and don't move" he
warned. "We're desperate, and we
| can't take any chances, miss"
| "Oh, you are stealing the gold'-
She was wildly frightened, yet stood
still while the lookout anxiously di-
vided his attention between her and
| the tents above until his companions
| elgnaled him that they were through
and the horses were loaded. Then he
spoke:
II don't know what to do with you,
but guess I'll tie you up"
WHAT" she said.
"I'm going to tie and gag you so you
can't holler''
"Oh, don't you darev' she cried fierce
ly. "I'll stand right here till you've
gone, and 1 won't scream. l promise"
She looked up at him appealingly, at
which he dipped his head, so that she
caught only glimpse of his face, and
then backed away.
"All right! Don't try it because I'll
be hidden in those bushes yonder at
the bend, and I'll keep you covered till.
the others are gone" He leaped down
the bank, ran to the cavalcade, mount
ed quickly, and the three lashed their
horses into run, disappearing up the
trail around the sharp curve She
heard the blows of their quirts as they
whipped the pack horses.
They were long out of sight before
the girl moved or made sound, al
though she knew that none of the three
had paused at the bend. She only
stood and gazed. for as they galloped
off she had heard the scrap of a broken
sentence. 1t was but one excited
word sounding through the rattle of
hoofs-her own name-"Helenv' and
yet because of it she did not voice the
alarm, but rather began to piece to-
gether bit by bit the strange points of
this adventure. She recalled the out
lines of her captOr with wrinkle OF
perplexity. Her fright disappeared en-
tiTely, giving place to intense excite
ment. mo, no; it can't be. And vet
wonder if it is"! she cried. ooh, I
wonder if it could be!'
She opened her lips to cry aloud, then
hesitated. She started toward the
tents, then paused and for many mo-
ments after the hoOf beats had died
out she stayed undecided Surely she
wished to give the signal, to force the
fierce pursuit. What meant this rob
berry. this defiance of the law, of her
uncle's edicts and of Mcnamara? They
inn l., n,,l-
laws, these men, deserving punish
ment, and yet she recalled a darker
night, when she herself had sobbed
and quivered with the terrors of pur-
suit and two men had shielded her
with their bodies.
She turned and sped toward the
tents, bursting in through the canvas
door. Instantly every man rose to his
feet at sight of her pallid face, her
flashing eyes and rumpled hair.
"Sluice robbersv' she cried breath
lessly. "Quick! A holdupl The watch
man Is hurtv'
A roar shook the night air, and the
men poured out past her, while the
day shift came tumbling forth from
every quarter in various stages of I'M
dress.
Where? Who did it? Where did
they go?'
Mcnamara appeared among them,
fierce and commanding, seeming to
grasp the situation intuitively without
explanation from her.
"Come on, men. Well run 'em down.
Get out the horses. Quickv'
He was mounted even as he spoke
and other joined him. Then, turning,
he waved his long arm up the valley
toward the mountains. Divide into
squads of five and cover the hills.
Run down to Discovery, one of you,
and telephone to town for Voorhees,
and a posse"
AS they made ready to ride away
the girl cried:
"Stop! Not that way. They went
down the gulch-three negroes"
She pointed out Of the valley toward
the dim glow on the southern horizon,
and the cavalcade rode away into the
gloom
CONTINUED next week.