Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-03-12

would have brought half a mountain
side down upon them In a roaring ava.
lanche, then entered upon a narrow
passage where upon one side the
mountain rose sheer TO the swimming
sky, while upon the other 1t dropped
into a sickening abyss. This scant
way they traversed with the reckless
ness OF mountain sheep, and DOR leav-
ing it behind found themselves upon a
broader way. Before them sank a
gorge. slant and deep, a good mile
wide: beyond it arose the towering
heights OF the table mountain towards
which they had been stumbling since
the beginning Of the pursuit. Across
the gorge the flying thing vas already
beating his way, and with but an in
stant's pause in order to pick out their
path the pursuers went scrambling
down. Dislodged rocks few from be-
meath their feet and with leaps of
ever increasing length clattered to
the bottom far below where they land
ed with echoing roars. In their slides
their clothing was ripped to pictur-
esQue rags and their bodies raked and
skinned pitiably. They reached the
bottom, scrambled across and faint
and dizzy once more began the steep
ascent. Climbing, dragging themselves
from rock to rock. often upon their
hands and knees, blinded by sweat,
gasping, they slowly mounted until a
steep field Of jumbled masses split
from the peaks by the erosion and
lightnings of untold ages lay before
them, and over this CHASTITY field Of
unutterable desolation and brooding
silence they went in a last heart
breaking scramble until they reached
the base Of the final cliffs that arose
as sheer as q wall for hundreds Of
feet to the broad, fat surface Of the
mountains summit. Clay staggering
to the face Of the cliff pointed despair
ingly upward. His face was that Of
an old man, furrowed and drawn.
CHASTITY pale, his mouth open. his eyes
wild and rolling. Alan's glance fol-
lowed the raised finger. Two hundred
feet above them and struggling des-
p%erately. sometimes striking the cliff
with his pinions, sometimes falling
back a few feet, but always recovering
himself anu mounting higher, the one
whom they had chased throughout
that awful day vas bearing his prey
yard by yard to the height above.
Then with a last desperate effort he
reached the summit. lowered a second
at its edge and then disappeared, a
smothered cry of triumph falling like
a knell upon the III OF those who
gasped below. Horror-stricken and
utterly spent both Of the pursuers
sank upon the stones with the soul
sickness Of despair upon them.
March staring with sunken eyes
across the broad gulch which they had
last slid into and with infinite toll
worked their way out Of, could from
the height at which he sat see miles
Of the tortuous course along which
they had dashed themselves by pure
strength Of will. Yonder was the
mountain side with its devils trap OF
inclined shale across which they had
crept as n might creep the steep
side OF a roof, hitching themselves
along with the slow painfulness OF
wounded men upon a battlefield. There,
also, was the narrow trail along the
ledge Of ov%erhanging rock where q
stumble would have landed them In
shapeless masses hundreds of feet be-
low. Back OF that, dim In the dis.
lance, was the huge boulder By the
side OF which he had fought his bitter
battle against the stupor Of exhaustion
as he painted himself back to life while
Tolliver had slept, back Of that again
and interminably away the ragged
crest over which they had staggered
as they arose from the other gorge
with Its chaotic bottom of fallen rock
masses. What a distance they had
come-what incredible efforts they
had put forth with all the world swing
ing in a blood red mist before theil
glazed eyes; what tortures OF mind
and body they had endured-and all to
now be bafied by a mere matter oil
hundreds OF feet! And Doris still In
the hands Of that foul monster who
now safe in his eyrie no longer need
be held back by the restraint of fear
Doris! Doris! Great God, what could
he do! 1t seemed as though he mus
60 mad In his agony. His hands
| clenched until they we're white and
bloodless and he bit his lips until the
blood came to keep from crying out
right to the brooding cliffs. The nau
sea OF horror gripped his stomach un
til he became deathly Ill and shivered
as one with the ague, the cold per
spiration bursting from his brow, weak
as a cat. He rolled over upon his face
with his fingers buried in his hair
fighting back the deathly faintnest
with all his powers OF resistance. II
was too horrible to be real-therefore
1t must be a nightmare from which he
would presently awake, or failing IN
that lose his senses TO a verify. HUI
man reason could not long Withstand
such agony.
A noise at his side brought him tc
a sitting posture. Clay had ~regainet
his feet and was staring about In 9
bewildered way, his clothing In rags
and his ~lacerated hands twitching con
vulsively. 81 have rested and now
am going to get her." he said In g
strange voice. II told her that / loved