The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1914-12-23
(Chapter Forty-Nine Continued


Roses rival have had it otherwise
She could not have loved him as shd
did had he not been so unmovablH
true AS it was, since she could nof
hope her love might be returned, sba
was content to love and to promi
herself that, if opportunity ever
fered, she would not prove unready
sacrifice herself for her love.
And at times she caught herselM
praying that such opportunity would
be accorded her, and quickly,
that the sacrifice it should DEM
would be complete. :.
Now prayers are sometimes
swered when the boon craved is q
for the soul.
Slowly and painfully these four
toiled along an obscure trail that TO-
lowed the windings of the little river,
until a branch struck into the main
stream and so discovered to them yet
another trail leading into the wess-
ward canyon.
Then again slowly and painfully
they plodded on following blindly -
other trail blazed by Fates as blls
they.
Above them, on the road they had
abandoned, the crimson racer doubled
back to the point where it had passed
Judith and Barcus; its occupants de-
scended, explored, and came present
ly upon the trail of the fugitives.
Bloodhounds could not have sgt
tied down upon a scent with m4e
good will and eagerness than Mr.. Mgr
rophat and his faithful aide.
The sun was high and blazing aboFe
the canyon when the pursuit caene
within rife shot of the, chase.
A spiteful shot roused" the quF-
tet from a pause of lethargiS dis1\
| due to tardy appreciation of
that they had penetrated will
most to the end of blind allie!
A hasty council of war armed Al
with Judith's revolver and posted b
| behind bowlder commanding the
| proaches to the chasm. The weap&-I,
a powerful As, had range sufficient
to numb the impetuosity of the as
sassins and keep them under coJer
| and out of sight of the desperateRs-
says the fugitives were making .
| compass an escape.
For in the shed behind an at
| log cabin-souvenir, no doubt
forgotten rospector-Barcus\
earthed length of stout hempe
With the aid of a rusty shoVN
had hacked this into two equal len
| One of these lengths he proceeded
! make fast around his own waiSt
around Roses. The other
| be similarly employed by
Judith. For it wasvagreed th
| must climb, and while the cliff
nc problem to daunt a mountain eli
er of any pretensions, it was con
cred best that the fugitives should
hitched up in pairs against any
sibility of a slip. The pairing
been determined by the fact
Barcus boosted some slight expert
| in mountaineering, while Rose
plainly the most exhausted of the
women, the least able to help he
In an emergency.
He had worked his cautious way.
with the girl in tow, to point mid
way I'D the face of the cliff, following
a long diagonal that provided the cas-
| lest climbing, when Alan stole back
to Judith and reported that, on the
evidence of observation and belize he
was convinced that the pursuit bad
! turned back-perhaps for want o =
munition, perhaps to execute
less hazardous attempt upon the
of the fugitives.
Without delay, then, he mad :,
| free end of the rope fast arou2R, +
own waist, and, following the W r.
| Gus had chosen, began the as
| Two-thir5s of the climb ha N
accomplished, and Rose and Z nus
| had arrived in safety at the toy be-
fore the temptation to look down
| proved irresistible. !
r Immediately beneath his the
face of the cliff was deeply wed
out, leaving a drop of so fe TO
| shelving ledge of shale as ste as
| roof whose eaves-perhaps bother
fifty feet below-jutted out oSer an
other fall of a hundred feet.
Alan shuddered and swallowed hard
before resuming the ascent.
Another 20 feet brought him 20
a ledge quite six feet wide, offsffng a
broad and easy path to the summit.
He gained this with prayer o. heart
] felt relief and was on the point of
rising to his feet when cry ofhorror
| from Barcus and scream OF terror
from Rose, watching over the upper
edge, warned him barely in e to
/ enable him to snatch at and PIP a
| knob of rock before Judith's Weight
| tautened the rope between them and
| jerked Alan's legs from under him.
His feet and legs kicked the empty
air beyond the lip of the Ledge, he
lay face downward, clutching desper-
ately the knob of rock, praying that it
might not come away in hts grasp
that his grasp might hold, that Earcus
| might arrive in time to save Them
both. The rope was cutting into his
waist like dull knife. The drag Of
Judith's body was frightful. He could
feel her swinging like a pendulum at
the end of its 80 feet, and could
imagine but too wildly what would
happen if the rope should prove
faulty.
The fall of 20 feet to the shale
roof was nothing. What would fol
low would, however, spell death. The
impact of her body would set the
shale in motion, like an avalanche
and beyond the caves was only empti-
ness and the bowlder-strewn bed of
the chasm, hundred feet below!
The sweat poured from his face like
rain. His eyes started in their sock
cts, the blood drummed in This ears
with a roar resembling disthnt thun-
der. His fingers grew numb, his throat
dry.
He felt that he could not hold on