The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-05-16

Of Ricardo and Of the need Of wringing
the truth from his lying lips. Twice
since that Monday he had seen him In
the distance, now bobbing up with a
mocking salutation among the rocks,
now waving to him from a hiding
place among the trees. Why he took
so keen a delight in disturbing him.
Haynes did not know. He could not
know that Ricardo had been commits
stoned by Haynes enemies to keep in
touch with him so long as he was out
side the walls, and SO less secure; on
the other hand, neither could Ricardo
know that, hidden In the rocks, com
plete ven to the gasoline which the
cripple had discovered in one of the
contractors carts. the terrible ma
chine lay waiting to work upon its
masters bidding. Nor that, on the fol-
lowing day, Haynes was to put his
long cherished plan into effect.
He had planned 1t SO perfectly, this
first act in his revenge, that he could
gloat over 1t, even to the minutest de-
tail. Haynes had learned from obser-
walton, for instance, the times of the
trains that passed the prison site; he
knew them all, from the expresses to
the locals, and had jotted down the
hours and minutes upon the tablets of
an almost perfect memory. And, since
each days delay was dangerous, and
since the order for his return to his
cell might be forthcoming at the
weeks end, he prayed with all his soul
that Ricardo would be there on the
Saturday.
He did return. He crept up under
the shadow of the boulders under
which Haynes was seated, fastening
the gyroscope to n of his crippled
feet. The Englishman had contrived
this strap of his to a nicely. While 1t
bound fast the gyroscope, it also
passed over the other foot, fastening
the two feet together, and thus on
verting him into a sort of statue.
Haynes could balance himself without
effort upon either foot, by reason of
the peculiar nature of his paralysis,
which. when he stood, pulled fast the
tendons of either foot in exactly the
name of a fowls muscles when 1t
roosts, which fasten it to its perch
without an effort. Haynes had every
thing completed at the exact moment
when his divine luck brought Ricardo
under the rock, not ten PAGES away.
The guards were at the other end of
the long line of men, and the Italian
ventured neare A hundred PAGES
away stretched the shining metals,
and the north-bound express was al
ready rumbling in the distance. It
would rush ~northward on its way to
Nokomis without stopping, and ten
minutes later, would possibly have
timed R~icardo's appearance more in
g%eniously.
"My friend" Kissed the Italian from
among the rocks, 81 come to say good
by. l go away--maybe. She damn
fine girl, Mees Eleanor, and she and
me got marriage license yesterday and
get married. Now she make damn fine
bride. Good-by, friend Timmons. To
morrow maybe we be en- route for
Italy-and maybe not. We think OF
you much. Maybe we pray for you.
Maybe we come back in nine years
more, and maybe not. Good-by, old
Pete"
Goaded to desperation, though he
knew there was not a fragment of
truth in his enemy'e haunting words,
Haynes swung round his crutch and
missed. Ricardo waved his hand mock
ingly and turning his back. started
quickly back along the road. He knew
that Haynes could never reach him.
He did not even turn his head until
it was pulled backward upon his Shout
ders. For suddenly there leaped upon
him a dreadful, screaming thing that
caught him by the throat with a grip
of steel, beat him down, struck him,
trampled on him; and, even as his
screams grew fainter and the guards
came running up, Ricardo felt himself
borne off as by a whirlwind and hurt
ling through the air as In a nightmare.
Bullets were whistling over Haynes
head and he laughed loudly. 1t was
delicious; this quaint fulillment of the
dream which he had cherished through
five long years of agony, exactly as he
had planned it; and the guards might
Just as well have fired at the sun, or
at the rushing winds. For now Haynes
was upon the metals and speeding far
away in the wake of the north-bound
express train that had come hurting
past, following 1t upon a single rail,
holding up his enemy with ease with
his strong right arm, while with the
let he pounded him mechanically un-
til the weak muscles tired.
And now he began to hear the roar
Of the approaching southwark train up
on the alternate track, and bending
down as he an, he half shut off the
motive power, so that he moved COM
paratively slowly. He saw the train
fash round the bend of the line, a
dreadful thing, a smoking monster
with a hiss OF noisome breath and
glowing eyes. Ricardo saw 1t and un-
derstood and uttered a wild scream of
terror and prayer. And Haynes. hold
ing him firmly with his mighty right
arm. Kissed into his ear:
where are they?"
A babbling cry issued from the Ital.
ian's foam-fecked lips:
ASK Jack Poole at Grand Valley.
northern New York"
Haynes hesitated one instant. ard
then, with a thrust Of his arm. he
pushed the Italian down the side of
the embankment, away from the train