Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-03-17


cade which was escorting the god Ia
a place Of safety.
Vile as were the men he had hired
Wnkerson dared not trust them too
far, He knew that they were, super
stitious. and he feared that when II
came to \ battle between ayarice and
Unborn terror Of the supernatural he
would be left in the lurch.
So lhe, warned Drake not to appear
too anxious and by no means to let
their followers know that they intend.
ed tp, seize the image and take Aawsy
with them.
.aRut II the papers are In. that Idol
Drake. protested, we ought, to BE- able
to get them and replace the old image.
with nobody q Jot the worse" aa5
"That may be possible" was the re-
Spouse. ION the other hand, the plans
may be concealed SO that it will take
time to find them" d M ~,
They discussed y dozen, PLANS and
finally decided that the next night Tie
two Of tMm, accompanied. only sby
their guide, should make, the trial, !, 4
But surprising they have the image.
where shall we 6nd IT. questioned
Drake. They have q |, lot Of stu6 IL
their packs. and Won may be sure they
have CONCEALED the idol well. Unless
they feared Its being stolen again they
Wouldn't be going to al, this paipss". u,
"We'll find II gil right was sWilkkesir.s
sons sole response, ,,4St9 I. II, s,s,3
The evening came when they were
to put their scheme 70 the test, Their
own little company made, camp and
after suppeT. gradually went to sleep.
1t was 10 o'clock when Wilkers0p
nodded to Drake. and they quit their
places by the dying FIRE.
Outside of the circle they met the tn
man who was to guide them. and one
glance at his brutal face showed VIII
kerson that he was once more con
fronted with a problem.
The man made no homes OF demand
Ing q large extra sum in compensa:
ton for his risks and intimated With
extreme plainness that in case his ex.
orbitant b!ackmail was not paid be
would not only not accompany them,
but put it out Of their power to 80
alone.
For an hour Wilkerson bargained
and haggled, but all 70 no purpose. At
last he gave In and practically strip
ped himself Of coin. which the other
pocketed without a thank you.
The three Of them started forth un.
Ter a glimmering noon toward the
priests camp. a mile or SO away By .
spring. Z s
Half an hours steady tramping
brought them within eyeshot Of the
place. and Wilkerson went ahead to
spy out the lay Of things.
When he came back he roughly told
Drake, in reply to his question. that
the idol must be In one of the pack
sacks lying about.
Its a case of sneak up and get q
sack each Of us and then look for the
idol in. IT." he said. ys
'All right" Drake growled. But
it's risky business. In! case Of q mllss
where'll we meet againy"
"At our own camp" Wikerson wills
pered and led the way.
When they came close to the spot
where the natives We're asleep the
three of them paused and listened.
Presently Wilkerson gave a silent
signal that no one was awake. and
they crept up among the baggage.
The first two sacks yielded nothing
and Wilkerson was reaching out for
one that seemed bulkier than the rest
when their guide coughed and instant
~ a couple Of the priests Weakened.
Seeing strangers, they gave an alarm,
and one, apparently a soldier fired OF
an ancient mpsket So close to Drake
that he incOntinently dropped his bur,
den and, fed. v .,s,ra 49,, q, t.,
He heard Wilkerson cursing behind
him. a couple of more shots and then
took to his heels in good earnest as he
heard rapid footsteps.
A moment later Wilkerson had
caught up to him, painting and drag
ging the sack. which he had refused
to surrender.
Between them they carried it on fur.
ther and then rested in a slight hollow
till their guide came up.
III the idol isn't in this sack" Will
kerson said with q snarl, "Inl 60 back
and shoot up the whole outfit and
getit."
When the thongs were cut and the
great bag opened the first object that
met their eyes was the image, they
sought. glimmering in the half light.
The moment he saw it and knew
that his quest a ended Wilkerson
fung the rest OF the stun away and
boldly got to his feet.
Now for our own camp. Well just.
see where these plans are" he growled.
Drake and the guide both protested
in vain.
Safely away from pursuit. they lit .
light and examined their find. .~s,st,
Its the same one" Wilkerson said
triumphantly.
"Made OF metal. too" said Drake
slowly. "Now, where are the plans?"
Inside OF itw announced his com
panion, beating on the idol with hts
gr'. +. .E- ~ ~. .--A a. -