Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-11-17

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IT was almost too dark to catch the
slight discolorations where pebbles
had been disturbed on a fiat surface
or the calk of a horseshoe had slipped
on the uneven face of ledge, and he
had halted under an uplift to wait
for Wickwire on the distant left to adj
vance, when, half a mile below him,
a horseman crossing the river rode
slowly past gap in the rocks and dis
appeared below the next bend. He
was followed in a moment by Sec
ond rider and a third. Whispering
Smith knew he had not been seen. He
had flushed the game, and, wheeling
his horse rode straight up the river
bank to high ground, where he could
circle around widely below then. They
had slipped between his line and
Wickwire's, and were doubling back
following the dry bed of the stream
It was impossible to recall Kennedy
and Scott without giving an alarm, but
by quick detour he could at least
hold the quarry back for 20 minutes
with his rife, and> in that time Ken
nedy and Scott could come up.
Less than haff an hour of daylight
remained If the outlaws could slip
down the wash and out into the Crawl
ing Stone valley they had every chance
of getting away in the night; and if
the third man should be Barney Reb-
stock, Whispering Smith knew that
Sinclair thought only of escape. Smith
alone, of their pursuers, could now
intercept them, but a second hope re-
NAMED: On the left, Wickwire was
high enough to command every turn
in the bed of the river. He might see
them and could force them to cover
with his rifle even at long range. Cast
ing up the chances, Whispering Smith,
riding faster over the uneven ground
than anything but sheer recklessness
would have prompted, fastened across
the waste. His rife lay in his hand,
and he had pushed his horse to run.
A single fearful instinct crowded now
upon the long strain Of the week. A
savage fascination burned like fever
in his veins, and he meant that they
should not get away. Taking chances
that would have shamed him in cooler
moments, he forced his horse at the
end of the long ride to within 100
PAGES of the rivert threw his lines,
slipped like a lizard from the saddle,
and, darling with incredible swiftnesS
from rock to rock, gained the waters
| edge.
From up the long shadows of the
wash there came the wall of an OWL
From it he knew that Wickwire had
seen them and was warning him, but
he had anticipated the warning and
stood below where the hunted men
must ride. He strained his eyes over
| the waste of rock above. For one half
| hour of daylight he would have sold,
in that moment, ten years of his life.
What could he do if they should be
able to secrete themselves until dark
| between him and Wickwire? Gliding
under cover of huge rocks up the dry
watercourse, he reached a spot where
| the floods had scooped a long, hollow
curve out Of soft ledge in the bank,
| leaving a stretch of smooth sand on
| the bed of the stream. At the upper
point great powders pushed out Of
! the river. He could not inspect the
curve from the spot he had gained
! without reckless exposure, but he
must force the little daylight left to
| him. Climbing completely over the
! lower point, he advanced cautiously,
| and from behind a sheltering spur
| stepped out upon an overhanging table
| of rock and looked across the river
| bottom. Three men had halted on the
| sand within the curve. Two lay on
their rifles under the upper point, 120
PAGES from Whispering Smith. The
third man, Seagrue, less than so yards
away, had got off his horse and was
laying down his rife, when the boot
owl screeched again and he looked I'M
easily back. They had chosen for
their halt a spot easily defended, and
needed only darkness to make them
safe, when Smith, stepping out into
plain sight, threw forward his hand.
They heard his sharp call to pitch up,
and the men under the point jumped.
Seagrue had not yet taken his hand
J from his rifle. He threw it to his
shoulder. AS closely together as two
fingers of the right hand can be struck
twice in the palm Of the left, two rifle
shots cracked across the wash. Two
| bullets passed so close in flight they
might have struck. One cut the
dusty hair from Smiths temple and
slit the brim of his hat above his ear;
the other struck Seagrue under the
left eye, plowed through the roof of
his mouth, and, coming out below his
ear, splintered the rock at his back.
The shock alone would have stag
gered bullock, but Seagrue, laughing,
came forward pumping his gun. Sin
clair, at 120 yards, cut instantly into
the fight, and the ball from his rife
creased the alkali that crusted Whis-
pering Smiths unshaven cheek As
i G