The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1915-01-19
CHAPTER xLViiI.
Full Flight.

On, what can 1t mean?" Rose whis-
Pered brokenly, clinging to her lovers
arm. Surely you don't think .
Surely, 1t must be accidental .
Surely it can't mean"
I'm afraid 1t does" Alan Law re-
sponded gravely. eyeing the front Of
the Mountain house. Our luck holds
consistently-that's ALL 1t wouldn't
be us If we didn't pick out the one
place where Marrophat and Jimmy
chose to stop over night. Fortunate
ly it's early; I doubt they're up.
With half a show we ought to be able
to find some way Of putting a good
distance between us and this town
before they waken Toni"
But Mr.. Barcus was already at his
elbow. in thorough sympathy with
Alan's Interpretation Of the signifi-
Rance to be attached to the card that
trembled In Roses hand.
"Sharp's the word!" he agreed.
And there's a motor car over there,
IN front OF the blacksmith's. Prob
ably we can hire her"
"Trines carl" Alan calculated
swinging round and recognizing the
here, as WE'LL"
Looks like It," Barcus admitted.
"But so much the better Well just
naturally take the darn thing off his
hands. and I'll bet a dollar there isn't
another car within radius of fifty
miles! Well be we'll out OF these
gfddy mountains long before he finds
anything to chase us with
But his confidence was demon.
strated to be premature by the dis
covery. which rewarded the first cur
sorry examination, that the car was
very thoroughly out of commission.
Two minutes later. hov over, their
earnest inquiries elected the fact
that. although Barcus was justified in
his surmise that the neighboring
country was poverty-stricken in re-
spect of motor cars. Mesquite itself
boasted two motorcycles whose own
ers were not Indifferent to a chance
to sell them secondhand at con-
siderable advance on the retail list
price Of the machines, when new.
And thus 1t was that within ten
minutes frofn Roses discovery OF 4 y
chance-nung} warning in the dust. che
party was AGAIN in rapid motion.
His beauty sleep disturbed by the
departure Of the machine bearing
Barcus and Judith, Seneca Trine
reused on an elbow and looked out Of
the window just In time to see the
second motorcycle gathering momen.
+tum, Alan steering, Rose in the seat
behind
Sixty seconds later a Haunting ban
ner of dust was all that remained to
remind Mesquite that romance had
passed that way-that. and series
OF passionate screams enanating
from the bedchamber OF Seneca
Trine. where the cripple lay posses
sed by seven devils Of insensate rage.
: His screams brought attendance:
!but It was a matter Of many precious
minutes before his demands could be
met and Marrophat and Jimmy reused
from their crapulous slumbers in ad-
Joining chambers; and half an hour
elapsed before the chauffeur, reused
from his own well-earned rest, sue
ceeded I'm convincing the pair that
pursuit with the motor car was out
of the question.
But the devil takes care of his own:
within another half hour what seemed
10 be sheer, bull-headed. dumb luck
brought casual automobile to Mes
auite-a two-seated, high-power
racing machine Of the latest and
speediest pattern. driven by two IRE
too susceptible to Marrophat's offer OF
double the cost OF the car-f. o. b.
Detroit-for its immediate surrender.
The two piled out promptly enough;
Marrophat and Jimmy jumped in;
Trine from his bedroom window sped
them on their murderous mission with
a blast OF blasphemy.
II must have been an hour later
when Alan, checking his motorcycle
as 1t surmounted the summit Of a
long upgrade, looked back and dis
covered. several miles distant on the
far-fung windings Of the mountain
road, a small crimson shape that ran
like a mad thing tirelessly pursued
by a cloud of. tawny dust like gold
en- ghost.
A motor car, beyond all question,
and one Of uncommon road-devouring
quality; It might or might not con
tain Marrophat and Jimmy, once more
In pursuit Whether, or not, bitter
experience had long since educated
Alan in the gentle art of taking nc
chances.
Though 1t was his life that they
sought so pertinaciously, no later than
yesterday (and then by no means fol
the first time). they had proved that
II Rose we're with Alan they would
a. hav r,,fh1occJy In Al