Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-08-16

point Of view was farthsst from her youthful
thoughts 1t was her own affair; her own
heart
Five days later, as she and the riding mas
ter were cantering along the road, enjoying
every bit of 1t, they heard the beat of hoofs
behind. They drew up and turned. rider
was approaching them at run. 1t was the
head groom. The man stopped his horse in a
cloud Of dust.
Sir, the stables are on frsl-
"Fire7"
All the riding masters savings were in.
vested in the stables The fact that he had
solemnly promised never to leave Florence
alone and that he had accepted q generous
bonus slipped from Lis mind at the thought
of fire, terrible word to any horseman. He
wheeled and started off at breakneck speed
his head groom Gathering behind him.
Florence naturally wondered which of two
courses to pursue: follow them, when she
would be perfectly helpless to aid them, or
continue the ride and save at least one horse
from the terror of seeing flames. She chose
the latter. But she did not ride with the
earlier zest. She felt depressed. She loved
horses, and the thought of them dying in those
wooden stables was horrifying.
The fire, however, proved to be incipient.
But it was plainly incendiary. Some one had
set fire to 1t with a purpose in view. Norton
recognized this fact almost as soon as the fire.
men. He had come this morning with the idea
of surprising Florence. He was going out on
horseback to join her.
His spine grew suddenly cold. A trap
She had been left alone on the road He ran
over to the garage secured car, and went
humming out toward the river road. trap.
and only by the sheerest luck had he turned
up in time.
Meantime Florence was walking her mount
slowly. For once the scenery passed unob-
served She deeply engrossed with her
thoughts, some of which were happy and some
of which were sad. If only her father could
be with her she would Re the happiest girl
alive.
She was brought out Of her revery by the
sight Of man staggering along the road
ahead of her. Finally he plunged upon his
lace in the road. Like the tender hearted girl
she was, she stopped, ismounted and ran to
the fallen man to give him aid She suddenly
found her wrists clasped in two hands like
iron. The man to his feet, smiling evilly.
She struggled wildly but futilely.
g Better be sensible" he said AZ am
stronger than you are And don't wish to
hurt you Walk ahead of me. 1t will be
utterly useless to scream or cry out You
can see for yourself that We are in a deserted
part of the road. If you will promise to act
sensibly shan't lay hand on you. Do you
zee that hut yonder, the fork in the road?
Wen stop there Now, r1arch'
She dropped her handkerchief, later her
bracelet, and finally her crop, in hope that
these slight clews might bring her help. She
knew that Jones would hear of the fire, and,
finding that she hae not returned with the
riding master, would Immediately start out in
pursuit. She was beginning to grow very
fond Of Jones, who never spoke unless spoken
to- who was always at hand, faithful and
loyal.
From afar came the low rumble of q motor.
She wondered If her captor heard 1t. He did,
but his ears tricked him into believing that it
came from another direction. Eventually they
arrived at the hut, and Florence was forced
to enter. The man locked the door and waited
outside for the automobile which he was ex-
pecting He was rather dumfounded when he
saw that it was coming from the city, not
going toward it.
1t was Norton. The riderless horse told
him enough; the handkerchief and bracelet
and crop led him straight for the hut.
The man before the l.ut realized by this
time that he had made a mistake. He at
tempted to reenter he hut and prepare to
defend it till his companions hove in sight
But Florence, recognizing Norton, held the
door with all her strength. The man snarled
and turned upon Norton, only to receive a
smashing blow on the jaw.
Norton flung open the door. Into the car
Florence! There's another car coming up
the road. Hurry!"
1t was not a long chase. The car Of the
auto bandits, looking like an ordinary taxicab,
was high power machine and 1t gained
swiftly on Norton's fou--cylinder. The re-
porter waited grimly.
Keep your head down +" he warned Flor
ence 81 I'm going to take pot at their tires
when they get within range. If 1 MISS I'm
afraid we'll have trouble. Under no circum-
stances attempt to leave this car. Here they
camel"