The Washington herald., 1912-07-28
CHAPTER XII-Continued.

CdAPTEk Al-Contlnued.
They ate, mostly in silence, and when
the meal was done Philip carefully
cleaned his revolver and oiled it with
bear grease, which he found in a bottle
on the shelf
DeBar watched him as he wiped his
weapon and saw that Philip fabricated
each of the FIVE cartridges which he put
in the chamber
Afterward they smoked
Then DeBar stretched himself out IN
one of the two hunks, and his heavy
breathing soon gave evidence that he
was sleeping.
For time Philip sat beside the stove.
his eyes upon the inaninate form OF
the outlaw Drowsiness overcame him
then, and he rolled into the other bunk.
He was awakened several hours later
by DeBar, who was filling the stove
with wood.
"How's the eyes" he asked, sitting
up.
Good" said the other. Glad you're
awake. The light will be. bad inside
of an hour"
He was rubbing and warming his
hands, and Philip came to the opposite
side of the stove and rubbed and warm
ed his hands. For some reason he
found il difficult to look at DeBar, and
he knew that DeBar was not looking
at him.
Ii was the outlaw who broke the sus-
pense,
"Tve been outside" he said in low
voice. There's an open in front of the
cabin, Just a hundred PAGES across. 1t
L. L.
at opposite sides of the open and at a
given signal approach, firing as we
want to-"
Couldn't be better" exclaimed Philip
briskly, turning to pull his revolver
from its holster.
DeBar watched him with tensely
anxious eyes as he broke the breech,
looked at the shining circle of cart
ridges, and closed it again.
Without a word he went to the door,
opened il, and with his pistol arm
trailing at his side, strobe off to the
right. For a moment Philip stood look
ing after him, a queer lump IN his
throat. He would have liked to shake
hands, and yet at the same time he was
glad that DeBar had gone in this way.
He turned to the left-and saw at a
glance that the outlaw had given him
the best light. DeBar was facing him
when he reached his ground.
Are YOU ready?" he shouted.
Ready cried Philip.
DeBar ran forward, shoulders hunch-
ed low, his pistol arm half extended,
and Philip advanced to meet him. At
seventy PAGES, without stopping IN his
half trot, the outlaw fired, and his bull
let passed in a kissing warning three
feet over Philips head. The latter had
planned to hold his fire until he was
sure of hitting the outlaw IN the arm
or shoulder, but second shot from
him, which seemed to Philip almost to
nip him in the face, stopped him short,
and at fifty PAGES he returned the fire
DeBar ducked low and Philip
thought that he was hit.
Then with fierce yell he darted for
ward, firing as he came.
Again, and still a third time Philip
fired, and as DeBar advanced, unhurt,
after each shot, a cry of amazement
rose to his lips. At forty PAGES he
could nip a four-inch bulps-eye three
times out Of five, and here he missed
mant' At thirty he held an unbeaten
record-and at thirty, here in the
broad open, he still missed his man.
he udQ VI bCDdi
fourth shot, and now with one cart
foot, until DeBar stopped and dellber-
pistols rang out in one report, and,
standing unhurt. a feeling of horror
swept over Philip as he looked at the
other. The outlaws arms fell to his
side. His empty pistol dropped to the
snow, and for a moment he stood rigid,
with his face half turned to the gloomy
sky. while low cry of grief burst from
Philips lips.
In that nomentary posture of DeBar
he saw, not the effect of wound only,
but the grim, terrible rigidity of death.
He dropped his own weapon and ran
forward, and in that instant DeBar
leaped to meet him with the ferceness
of a beastl
1t was a terrible bit of play on De-
Bars part, and for moment took Phil
ip off his guard. He stepped aside, and.
with the cleverness of trained boxer,
he sent a straight cut to the outlaws
face as he closed in But the blow
lacked force, and he staggered back
under the others weight, boiling with
rage at the advantage which DeBar had
taken of HIM
The outlaws hands gripped at his
throat and his fingers sank into his neck
like cords of steel. With a choking
gasp he clutched at DeBar's wrists,
knowing that another nlinute-a half
minute-of that death clutch would
throttle him. He saw the triumph in De
Bars eyes, and with a last supreme eff
fort drew back his arm and sent ter
rife short-arm punch into the others
stomach.
The grip at his throat relaxed. A
second. a third, and a fourth blow, his
arm travelling swiftly in and out, like
a p:ston-rod, and the triumph in De-
Bars eyes was replaced by look of
agony. The fingers at his throat loos-
ened still more, and with sudden