Yellowstone monitor., 1914-10-15

that seemed an uncommonly stubborn
reluctance, and got his way.
He could not know that smother
ekulked behind barrier of lime bar
rails and overheard al that passed and
when Alan had ducked smartay into
the unfinished building, rose and stole
after him with footsteps as noiseless
"A a cats and face that had the saw
aeery OF tigers when It was tran
silently revealed In q shaft Of moon
light.
At length Alan gained the gridiron
Of girders on q plane with the lighted
window across the way, and crept
along one Of these, gingerly on his
hands and knees, until he came to its
end and might, II he cared to, look
down a hundred feet to the sidewalks.
That view. however, did not tempt;
he kept his eyes level; and was re-
warded with . bare glimpse Of pret.
tily-papered wall, framed in the lace OF
half-drawn curtains.
And Of sudden-whether through
fortuity, or instinct, or the psyche
logical attraction Of his steadfast con-
centration-the tenant Of the room
came to the window and stood there
for little, looking pensively out, alto
gether unconscious of the watcher in
his aerial coign.
Again a horrible uncertainty har'
assed him. Was the woman Rose
or Judith? That she was one of these
he could plainly see. But which? Dared
he assume his hopes fulfilled?
With difficulty he detached his
hungry vision from her, and drawing
from his pocket small notebook, tore
out . blank page, placed this fat on
the girder, found q pencil, and with
the assistance of q ray or two OF
scrawled q message of al
most stenographic brevity.
When he looked up from this task,
she had vanished.
Sitting up, astride the girder, he
took his watch-a cheap affair he had
picked up when reclothing himself in
the garments Of civilized society. at
Providence. that morning-oDened the
back OF the case, and closed 1t upon
the folded message.
Then drawing back his arm, he
breathed silent prayer to. the god of
all true lovers, and cast it from him
with all his might-with such force
that 1t almost unseated him at the end
of the swing. But nothing less would
have served to bridge that yawning
chasm.
And the watch flew straight and
true, squarely through the lighted win
dow and to the further wall.
At that very instant of his exultation
over an obstacle overcome, he heard a
sound behind him Of heavy breathing.
The assassin had come that close
upon his prey when Alan turned and
his peril.
The. same moonbeam which had
aided Alan in the composition OF his
struck across the others face,
and showed It like hideous Chinese
mask Of deadly hatred, with its eye
balls glaring and its lips drawn back
from the naked blade gripped between
It's teeth-a stiletto nothing short OF
foot In length.
With Z sharp. startled movement,
Alan swung himself bodily about, 30
that, seated again astride the girder.
he faced the assassin who sat up.
the girder, his feet hooked
beneath it stiletto poised in his
right hand to strike.
But even now Alan was IN little or
no better case than before. II he faced
the thug, he faced him with no arms
Dther than his bare hands. He had not
even pen-knife In his pockets.
With low cry Of desperation Alan
Bnatched OF his hat, soft and shape
less felt affair, and flung it squarely in
he fellows face.
Before he could recOver-before.
hat is, 1t dropped away and cleared
his vision, Alan had bent forward and
the wrist Of the hand that
held the knife.
He snatched simultaneously at the
,ther hand, but it eluded him.
Alan had this advantage, as long as
he knife might not strike e-that his
light arm was free, while the assassin
lad only his left. With this he stroye
to reach his knife-hand
Ind possess himself Of the weapon.
y persistently Alan foiled his purpose
" dragging the knife-hand toward him
md swinging It far out to one side. At |
he same time he struck repeatedly |
vith his clenched right fist at the 9th.
RS face. His blows did little dam
lge beyond disconcerting the other:
mt this proved . very considarabls
actor IN the duel. In the end. they
erved together with that steady, re-
lstless downward and outward drag,
) break the grip Of the mans locked
sgs.
Abruptly he pitched forward on his
ice along the girder, kicking wildly,
rasping at the fir. The stiletto fell
ON IN instinlkively relaxed grasp.
I'd disappeared. And before Alan
ould release his hold, or ease the
rain upon the right arm of the m.