Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1915-06-25
CHAPTER v..-cont,nued.

CHAPTER vl.-contlnued.
~ once gladly accepted her invi-
"tson to investigate the curious dis.
appearance OF the body of poor DIN.
los fellow-victim, determined to oh.
sain the secret knowledge possessed
" that smart. handsome girl before
me. That her suspicious were in the
slght direction felt confident, yet II
sAe aead woman had been removed
ia hidden by the assassin it must have
esen after the discovery made by me.
Inc Fellow must have actually dared
70 return to the spot and carry of the
victim. Yet If he had done that, why
a'd ne allow the corpse of the Italian
70 remain and await discovery? He
might perhaps have been disturbed
ana compelled to make good his
escape.
you tell me, Miss Muriel, that YOU
suspect the truth, and yet you deny
III knowledge of the murdered mani"
! exclaimed In q tone of slight re-
uhtil we have cleared up the mvs.
seay OF the woman I can say nothing"
vas her answer. Il can only tell you,
hr. Gregg, that II what suspect is
1ue. then the affair will be found to
% one of the strangest, most startling
~ most ingenious plots ever devised
~ one man aRainst the life of an
s4her."
Then a man 10 the assassin, you
Aiak?" exelaimed quickly.
] believe 20. But even of that I
an not at all sure. We must first find
he woman"
Rannoeh wood was already in its
sold-brown glory of autumn. and as !
eeood with Muriel Leithcourt on the
edge of it, near the spot where Oiinto
eantfni had fallen, the morning sun
was shining in a cloudless sky. {
asked her opinion which was the most
likely corner, but she replied:
Il know SO little Of this place, Mr..
Gregg. You have known it for years,
while this is only my first season
here"
Very WE'LL" answered. ~Let us
start here, and first take small circle.
examining every bush carefully. The
body may have easily been pushed in
beneath thickci ond well escape oh.
servation."
And SO together. after taking our
bearings, we started of. working our
way into the !hick underground, beat.
ing with our sticks, and making mi.
mute examination Of every bush or
heap Of lead leaves. All through the
morning we walked on, our hands
badly torn by brambles. My own coat
was badly torn, and more than once !
W1s compelled to scramble through
almost impossible thickets; yet we
found no trace of any previous in.
tzuder, and having completed our
circle we're compelled to admit that
the sruesome evidence of the second
crime did not exist at that spot
Murfel was untiring in her activity.
Aither and thither she went, beating
down the high bracken and tangles Of
weeds, poking with her stick into ev-
cry hole and corner, and going far.
tier and farther into the wood in the
certainty that the body was therein
concealed.
Soon we came to deep wooded ra-
vine of the existence Of which l was
In ignorance. It was kind of small
glen through which a rivulet flowed,
bat. the banks were covered with .
thick, impenetrable underground.
This is a most likely place." de-
clared my dainty little companion a.
We approached it. Anything could
easily be concealed in that high
bracken down there. Let us search
the whole glen from end to end" she
cried with enthusiasm.
Acting upon her suggestion and
without thought. of luncheon. we made
. descent Of the steep bank until
We reached the rocky bed Of the
stream. Undaunted, she went on,
spsinging from stone to stone and
steadying herself with her stick. II
We could only discover the body of the
dead woman, then the rest would be
clear, she declared. She would openly
aenounce the assassin. !
The sun had set, and the sky above
showed the crimson Of the distant
afterglow, warning US that 1t was time
we began to think Of how to make our
exit. We wsre passing around sharp
bsnd in the glen where the powders
,wcrs 20 thictly moss grown that our